A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device to reduce power consumption of a multi-link device. In the method, a first multi-link device receives a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from a second multi-link device through a first station, the first PPDU being used to wake up a second station of the first multi-link device, the second station being in a sleep state in a power saving mode. The first multi-link device can determine whether to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU. The application is applied to a wireless local area network system supporting IEEE 802.11ax next-generation WiFi protocol, such as 802.11be or 802.11 series protocol such as EHT.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] According to institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11be Draft, a multicast data frame needs to be sent on all links of an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), while a multicast management frame is sent on the corresponding link of the AP MLD independently.

[0003] However, this way of sending multicast data frames and multicast management frames requires all links of the AP MLD to wake up periodically to receive the buffered multicast data frames and multicast management frames at the AP side, which is not conducive to energy saving of the AP MLD. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and device to reduce the power consumption of a multi-link device.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through the interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0006] The first multi-link device receives a first physical protocol data unit (PPDU) from the second multi-link device through a first station, the first PPDU being used to wake up a second station of the first multi-link device, the second station being in a sleep state in an energy saving mode. The first multi-link device can determine whether to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU.

[0007] The first multi-link device includes a first station and a second station, and the second multi-link device can include a first station and a second station. The first multi-link device and the second multi-link device can communicate through the first station and the second station. Since the second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state, in this method, the second multi-link device can instruct the second station to wake up through the first station, so that the second station wakes up when needed and is in a sleep state when not needed, thereby reducing the power consumption of the multi-link device and facilitating energy saving of the multi-link device.

[0008] The first multi-link device can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD, and the second multi-link device can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. For example, the non-AP MLD can be a station (STA) MLD.

[0009] The first station and the second station can be APs or STAs. For example, when the multi-link device is an AP MLD, the first station and the second station included in the multi-link device can be APs, and when the multi-link device is a non-AP MLD, the first station and the second station included in the multi-link device can be STAs. The multi-link device herein can be the first multi-link device or the second multi-link device. The first station can be one or more, and the second station can be one or more.

[0010] The power management mode of the station (including the first station and / or the second station) includes an active mode and a power saving mode, and in the power saving mode, the power state of the station can further include a wake-up state and a sleep state. In the sleep state, the station does not transmit a message packet, and the power consumption of the station and the multi-link device to which the station belongs is lower. In this method, the second station is in the sleep state, and the first station can be in the active mode or in the wake-up state in the power saving mode.

[0011] In a possible design, the first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the first station of the second multi-link device, and the second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the second station of the second multi-link device.

[0012] The first PPDU can be from the first station of the second multi-link device, and the first station of the corresponding first multi-link device receives the first PPDU.

[0013] Optionally, the first station of the first multi-link device can be connected to the first station of the second multi-link device through the first link, and the second station of the first multi-link device can be connected to the second station of the second multi-link device through the second link. That is, the first station (of the first multi-link device and / or the second multi-link device) is the station corresponding to the first link, and the second station (of the first multi-link device and / or the second multi-link device) is the station corresponding to the second link.

[0014] In a possible scenario, the first link is a primary link, the first station corresponding to the first link is a primary station (for example, a primary AP), and the second link is a non-primary link, and the second station corresponding to the second link is a non-primary station (for example, a non-primary AP).

[0015] In a possible design, the first multi-link device and the second multi-link device can request to wake up the second station through negotiation, for example, define a new wake-up request frame to wake up the second station.

[0016] For example, the first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame, and the wake-up request frame is used to wake up the second station. The wake-up request frame includes one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to the buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual delay of the delay-sensitive service. It can be understood that the one or more information in the wake-up request frame can be carried in one field or in multiple fields, and the order of the fields carrying the one or more information is not limited.

[0017] Correspondingly, a new wake-up response frame can also be defined to inform whether the second multi-link device wakes up the second station or agrees to wake up the second station.

[0018] For example, the first multi-link device can send a fourth PPDU to the second multi-link device according to the first PPDU, and the fourth PPDU includes a wake-up response frame, and the wake-up response frame is used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station. Optionally, the wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station and indication information of whether to agree to wake up.

[0019] In a possible design, the second multi-link device can wake up the second station in a notified manner.

[0020] For example, the first PPDU includes notification information, and the notification information is used to wake up the second station.

[0021] In a possible design, the second multi-link device can detect a request frame to request to wake up the second station.

[0022] For example, the first PPDU includes a probe request frame, and the probe request frame carries a wake-up request element, and the wake-up request element is used to request to wake up the second station.

[0023] In the method, the second multi-link device can wake up the second station in various manners, and the flexibility of communication can be improved.

[0024] In a possible design, the first multi-link device can send an eighth PPDU to the second multi-link device, and the eighth PPDU is used to notify a wake-up condition of the second station.

[0025] For example, the wake-up condition can be that a size of the buffered data reaches a first data amount, or a minimum residual delay of the delay-sensitive service reaches a first delay, and the wake-up condition is not limited herein.

[0026] In one possible design, the first MLD can further transmit, over the first link, a third PPDU including a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame indicating a power state of the second station of the first MLD corresponding to the second link in a power save mode, the power state including an awake state or a doze state.

[0027] For example, the first beacon frame can include a second field and a third field, the second field indicating that the power management mode of the second station is the power save mode, and the third field indicating the power state of the second station. Optionally, the second field can be a power management field, and the third field can be a power status field.

[0028] In this design, the first MLD can adjust the power management mode and the power state of the station included therein.

[0029] For example, when the first MLD determines to wake up the second station of the first MLD according to the first PPDU, the power management mode of the first beacon frame in the third PPDU can be the active mode, or the power management mode of the first beacon frame can be the power save mode and the power state can be the awake state.

[0030] For another example, when the second AP is in the awake state in the power save mode and a clear channel assessment (CCA) idle duration of the second link reaches a first duration, the first MLD adjusts the power state of the second station to the doze state. The power management mode of the first beacon frame in the third PPDU can be the power save mode and the power state can be the doze state.

[0031] In one possible design, the first MLD can further inform the second MLD whether it is a soft AP MLD, and details can be referred to the third and fourth aspects, which are not repeated here.

[0032] In one possible design, the first MLD can further transmit, to the second MLD, information of the second station, and details can be referred to the fifth and sixth aspects, which are not repeated here.

[0033] In one possible design, the first MLD can further transmit, over the first link, a groupcast frame of the second link, and details can be referred to the seventh and eighth aspects, which are not repeated here.

[0034] In a possible design, the first multi-link device can further indicate, to the second multi-link device through the first link, that the second station is unavailable. For details, refer to the ninth aspect and the tenth aspect, which are not repeated here.

[0035] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be implemented through interactions between a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0036] The second multi-link device determines a first PPDU, which is used to wake up a second station of the first multi-link device, where the second station is in a sleep state in a power saving mode. The second multi-link device can send the first PPDU to the first multi-link device through the first station.

[0037] In a possible design, the first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the first station of the second multi-link device, and the second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the second station of the second multi-link device.

[0038] In a possible design, the first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame is used to wake up the second station, and the wake-up request frame includes one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual delay of a time-sensitive service; or

[0039] The first PPDU includes notification information, and the notification information is used to wake up the second station; or

[0040] The first PPDU includes a probe request frame, and the probe request frame carries a wake-up request element, where the wake-up request element is used to request to wake up the second station.

[0041] In a possible design, the second multi-link device can further receive a fourth PPDU from the first multi-link device, and the fourth PPDU includes a wake-up response frame, where the wake-up response frame is used to indicate whether to agree to wake up the second station.

[0042] Optionally, the wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station and indication information about whether to agree to be woken up.

[0043] In a possible design, the first station is a station corresponding to the first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to the second link.

[0044] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be implemented through interactions between a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0045] The first multi-link device sends a second PPDU, and the second multi-link device receives the second PPDU, where the second PPDU includes a multi-link element.

[0046] The second field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0047] In an example, the second field can be a reserved field, which can be used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD. The reserved field is an undefined field that can be used for future multiple options, i.e., the information indicated by the reserved field is undefined. In this method, part or all of the bits in the reserved field can be used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0048] In another example, the second field can be a simultaneous transmit frequency interval field, which is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0049] Optionally, the multi-link element can be carried in a beacon frame. The first multi-link device indicates whether it is a soft AP MLD by carrying the Multi-link element in the beacon frame, and does not rely on the non-simultaneous transmit link pair (NSTR Link Pair) information in the probe response frame for indication, so that the second multi-link device can know whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD through the beacon frame.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through the interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0051] The second multi-link device receives a second PPDU, and the second PPDU includes a multi-link element.

[0052] The first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0053] In an example, the first field can be a reserved field, or can be a simultaneous transmit frequency interval field.

[0054] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through the interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0055] The first multi-link device broadcasts a sixth PPDU on the second link, and the sixth PPDU includes information of the second station; or

[0056] The first multi-link device sends a seventh PPDU on the first link, and the seventh PPDU includes a second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame includes a fourth field, and the fourth field carries information of the second station.

[0057] For example, the fourth field can be an element field of the second link.

[0058] In the method, the first multi-link device can transmit the information of the second station, and the accuracy of communication can be improved.

[0059] The information of the second station includes one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

[0060] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through the interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0061] The second multi-link device receives a sixth PPDU on the second link, and the sixth PPDU includes the information of the second station; or

[0062] The second multi-link device receives a seventh PPDU on the first link, and the seventh PPDU includes a second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame includes a fourth field, and the fourth field carries the information of the second station.

[0063] For example, the fourth field can be an element field of the second link.

[0064] Optionally, the information of the second station includes one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through the interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0066] The first multi-link device can further send a fifth PPDU through the first link, and the fifth PPDU includes identification information of the second link and a multicast frame corresponding to the second link.

[0067] The multicast frame can be a multicast data frame or a multicast management frame, and the method is mainly described with the multicast management frame as the multicast frame.

[0068] In the method, the first multi-link device assists the second link to send the multicast frame through the first link, and the second station corresponding to the second link can always be in a sleep mode without being adjusted to an active mode, and the power consumption of the first multi-link device can be further reduced.

[0069] Optionally, the fifth PPDU includes an address 3 field, and the address 3 field carries the identification information of the second link; or the fifth PPDU includes a frame body, and the frame body carries the identification information of the second link.

[0070] When the multicast management frame of the second link is sent through the first link, it is necessary to use the packet number (PN) allocated by the first link for encryption.

[0071] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0072] The second multi-link device receives, through the first link, a fifth PPDU, the fifth PPDU including identification information of the second link and a multicast frame corresponding to the second link.

[0073] Optionally, the fifth PPDU includes an address 3 field, and the address 3 field carries the identification information of the second link; or the fifth PPDU includes a frame body, and the frame body carries the identification information of the second link.

[0074] In a ninth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0075] The first multi-link device sends, through the first link, a ninth PPDU to the second multi-link device, the ninth PPDU being used to indicate that the second station is unavailable.

[0076] The unavailability can be that the first multi-link device is not allowed to initiate a probe and an association operation on a channel on which the second station operates, can be that the second station of the first multi-link device is about to perform channel switching, during which frame exchange on the second link is prohibited, or can be that the second station of the first multi-link device schedules a quiet period or a restricted target wakeup time (TWT), during which a legacy STA is prohibited from transmitting.

[0077] In a tenth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be implemented through interaction of a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device.

[0078] The second multi-link device receives, through the first link, a ninth PPDU, the ninth PPDU being used to indicate that the second station is unavailable.

[0079] In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first multi-link device or the second multi-link device, or a chip arranged in the first multi-link device or the second multi-link device. The communication apparatus can implement the method in any of the above aspects.

[0080] When the communication apparatus is the first multi-link device, optionally, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit.

[0081] For example, the transceiver unit is configured to receive, through the first station, a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the second multi-link device, the first PPDU being used to wake up a second station of the communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus includes the first station and the second station, and the second station is in a dormant state in a power saving mode.

[0082] a processing unit, configured to determine, according to the first PPDU, whether to wake up the second station.

[0083] In a possible design of the application, the transceiving unit is further configured to send a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element;

[0084] The reserved field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the communication apparatus is a soft AP MLD; or the simultaneous transmit-receive frequency interval field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the communication apparatus is a soft AP MLD.

[0085] In a possible design of the application, the first PPDU comprises a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame being used to wake up the second station, and the wake-up request frame comprising one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or

[0086] The first PPDU comprises informing information, the informing information being used to wake up the second station; or

[0087] The first PPDU comprises a probe request frame, the probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element being used to request to wake up the second station.

[0088] In a possible design of the application, the first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

[0089] In a possible design of the application, the transceiving unit is further configured to send, to the second multi-link device via the first link, a third PPDU, the third PPDU comprising a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame being used to indicate a power state of the second station corresponding to the second link in a power save mode, the power state comprising a wake-up state or a sleep state.

[0090] In a possible design of the application, the first beacon frame comprises a power management mode field and a power state field, the power management mode field being used to indicate that a power management mode of the second station is the power save mode, and the power state field being used to indicate the power state of the second station.

[0091] In a possible design of the application, the processing unit is specifically configured to send, to the second multi-link device via the transceiving unit, a fourth PPDU, the fourth PPDU comprising a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame being used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station.

[0092] In a possible design of the application, the wake-up response frame comprises an identifier of the second station and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

[0093] In a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to broadcast a sixth PPDU on the second link, where the sixth PPDU includes information of the second station; or transmit a seventh PPDU on the first link, where the seventh PPDU includes a second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame includes an element field of the second link, and the element field of the second link carries the information of the second station.

[0094] The information of the second station includes one or more of a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

[0095] When the communication apparatus is the second multi-link device, the communication apparatus includes, optionally, a processing unit and a transceiver.

[0096] For example, the processing unit is configured to determine a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), where the first PPDU is used to wake up a second station of the first multi-link device, and the second station is in a sleep state in a power saving mode.

[0097] The transceiver is configured to transmit the first PPDU to the first multi-link device through the first station.

[0098] In a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to receive a second PPDU, where the second PPDU includes a multi-link element.

[0099] A reserved field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD); or a simultaneous transmit-receive frequency interval field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0100] In a possible design, the first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame, where the wake-up request frame is used to wake up the second station, and the wake-up request frame includes one or more of an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or

[0101] The first PPDU includes informing information, where the informing information is used to wake up the second station; or

[0102] The first PPDU includes a probe request frame, where the probe request frame carries a wake-up request element, and the wake-up request element is used to request to wake up the second station.

[0103] In a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to receive a fourth PPDU from the first multi-link device, where the fourth PPDU includes a wake-up response frame, and the wake-up response frame is used to inform whether the second station is agreed to be woken up.

[0104] In a possible design, the wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station and indication information of whether the second station is agreed to be woken up.

[0105] In a possible design, the first station is a station corresponding to the first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to the second link.

[0106] In a possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a sixth PPDU on the second link, where the sixth PPDU comprises information of the second station; or receive a seventh PPDU on the first link, where the seventh PPDU comprises a second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame comprises an element field of the second link, and the element field of the second link carries the information of the second station.

[0107] The information of the second station comprises one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, a timing synchronization function offset.

[0108] In a twelfth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises a processor configured to perform the method in any one of the preceding aspects.

[0109] Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory having instructions stored therein, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory so that the method in any one of the preceding aspects is performed.

[0110] Optionally, the memory is located in the apparatus or outside the apparatus.

[0111] Optionally, the apparatus further comprises an interface circuit, and the processor is coupled to the interface circuit.

[0112] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0113] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor or arranged separately from the processor.

[0114] In a specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, for example, a read only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip as the processor or arranged separately on different chips, and the type of the memory and the arrangement manner of the memory and the processor are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0115] The communication apparatus can be a chip, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which implements by reading software codes stored in the memory. The memory can be integrated in the processor or arranged separately from the processor.

[0116] In a thirteenth aspect, a processor is provided, including: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the method in any of the aspects above.

[0117] In a specific implementation process, the processor can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation mode of the processor and various circuits.

[0118] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, including: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method in any of the aspects above.

[0119] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any of the aspects above.

[0120] In a sixteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, including a processor and an interface for supporting a communication device to implement the functions involved in any of the aspects above. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary information and data of the communication device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0121] In a seventeenth aspect, a functional entity is provided, which is configured to implement the method in any of the aspects above.

[0122] In an eighteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, including a first multi-link device and a second link device of any of the aspects above.

[0123] The technical effects brought by any of the designs of the second to eighteenth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought by the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0124] It is worth noting that the communication method provided in the first to tenth aspects above can be used alone or in combination, which is not limited here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0125] Figure 1 A diagram of a multi-link device;

[0126] Figure 2 A diagram of a frame structure of a reduced neighbor report element;

[0127] Figure 3 A diagram of a frame structure of a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field;

[0128] Figure 4 A diagram of a frame structure of a basic service set parameter (BSS Parameter) field;

[0129] Figure 5 A diagram of a structure of a communication system;

[0130] Figure 6 A diagram of a frame structure of a multi-link element;

[0131] Figure 7 A diagram of a frame structure of a control frame;

[0132] Figure 8 A diagram of a frame structure of a frame control field;

[0133] Figure 9 A diagram of a frame format of a quiet element;

[0134] Figure 10 A diagram of a structure of a communication system;

[0135] Figure 11 A diagram of a communication process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] Figure 12 A diagram of a frame structure of a wake-up request frame provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] Figure 13 A diagram of a frame structure of a wake-up response frame provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] Figure 14 A diagram of adjusting a power state of a station provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] Figure 15 A diagram of adjusting a power state of a station provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] Figure 16 A frame structure diagram of a multi-link element provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0141] Figure 17 A structure diagram of a communication device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0142] Figure 18 A structure diagram of a communication device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0143] Figure 19 A structure diagram of a communication device provided for an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0144] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0145] In the present application, “and / or” describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that there are three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone. The character “ / ” generally represents an “or” relationship between the associated objects. In the present application, at least one refers to one or more, and multiple refers to two or more. In addition, it should be understood that in the description of the present application, “first”, “second”, etc. are only used to distinguish the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can it be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0146] In addition, in the present application, the same or similar parts between different embodiments can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified. In the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments, and the technical features of each implementation / implementation method / realization method in each embodiment have consistency and can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified and logically conflicted. The technical features of different embodiments, and the technical features of each implementation / implementation method / realization method in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementations, implementation methods, or realization methods according to their inherent logical relationship. The following embodiments of the present application do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0147] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a 5th generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR), a future 6th generation (6G) system, and the like.

[0148] The application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application and the methods of the embodiments of the present application are described below as an example by taking a WLAN system as an example.

[0149] Specifically, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a WLAN system, and the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to any one of the IEEE 802.11 series protocols adopted by the WLAN, such as 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bf and future 802.11 protocols. The method provided by the present application can be implemented by a communication device in a wireless communication system or a chip or processor in the communication device, and accordingly, the communication device supports communication by adopting the IEEE 802.11 series protocols.

[0150] Although the embodiments of the present application are mainly described by taking a network deploying IEEE 802.11 as an example, those skilled in the art can easily understand that various aspects involved in the present application can be extended to other networks adopting various standards or protocols, for example, BLUETOOTH, high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard, mainly used in Europe) and wide area network (WAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), personal area network (PAN) or other now known or later developed networks. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, various aspects provided by the present application can be applicable to any suitable wireless network.

[0151] In addition, the communication system in the present application is only an example, and the communication system to which the present application is applicable is not limited thereto. Herein, the following will not be described in detail.

[0152] The following explains some terms used in the embodiments of the present application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0153] 1) Multi-link device (MLD) with multiple radio modules, each working on a different frequency band or channel or link.

[0154] The MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD, for example, the non-AP MLD can be a station (STA) MLD.

[0155] The MLD includes one or more affiliated stations, where the stations can be APs or STAs. Each affiliated station has its own media access control (MAC) address, as shown in Figure 1 STA1 has its own low MAC address as link address 1, and STA2 has its own low MAC address as link address 2. The MLD also has a high MAC address as the MLD MAC address.

[0156] 2) Soft access point MLD (soft AP MLD), which can use software to implement the functions of an AP MLD on a non-AP MLD.

[0157] When the channels used by two radio modules in the MLD are far enough apart, the links corresponding to the two radio modules can operate independently and do not interfere with each other. If the two links in the MLD support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on one link while receiving data on the other link, the two links support STR, otherwise the two links do not support STR (NSTR). In the 802.11be protocol, it is specified that a soft access point MLD (soft AP MLD) does not support STR, and the remaining types of AP MLDs support STR.

[0158] In one scenario, a mobile phone can be set as a soft AP MLD to allow other devices to associate. For a pair of NSTR links in the soft AP MLD, one of the links can be defined as a primary link, and the other link can be defined as a non-primary link. The AP corresponding to the primary link is referred to as a primary AP, and the AP corresponding to the non-primary link is referred to as a non-primary AP. The non-primary AP is not allowed to send a beacon frame and a probe response frame, so as to avoid a legacy STA associating with the non-primary AP.

[0159] The non-AP MLD can carry information related to the non-primary link through the primary link to assist in implementing the operation of the non-primary link.

[0160] 3) AP discovery process: a STA can discover the existence of an AP through active scanning or passive scanning, and then associate with the AP to establish a connection. In simple terms, the purpose of the STA associating with the AP to establish a connection is to establish one or more links for communication between the STA and the AP.

[0161] In the passive scanning process, the STA can receive a management frame (such as a beacon frame or a broadcast probe response frame) sent by the AP on the channel. For example, the STA can jump to search for a beacon frame sent by an AP on different channels. Once the STA obtains the management information of the AP through the beacon frame, the STA can further communicate with the AP through a probe request frame or a probe response frame to obtain other information in the AP.

[0162] In the active scanning process, the STA can actively broadcast a probe request frame without listening to a beacon frame. If the AP receives the probe request frame and meets certain conditions (the conditions are not limited in the embodiments of the present application), the AP can initiate a random channel access to reply to the probe response frame.

[0163] In order to assist the STA to perform fast scanning, the AP can carry a reduced neighbor report element (Reduced Neighbor Report Element) in a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame to report relevant information of the corresponding AP, so that the STA can obtain the information of the neighbor AP when scanning, select a suitable AP for association, and avoid the STA from constantly scanning the channel, thereby reducing the scanning time of the STA. 802.11be stipulates that a certain affiliated AP needs to carry the relevant information of other affiliated APs belonging to the same AP MLD through the Reduced Neighbor Report Element. Among them, the neighbor AP refers to the neighbor AP of the STA for the STA, and the neighbor AP refers to the neighbor AP of the AP for the AP.

[0164] 4) The format of the Reduced Neighbor Report Element can be as shown in Figure 2 The Reduced Neighbor Report Element includes an Element ID field, a Length field, and one or more Neighbor AP info fields. The Neighbor AP info field includes a TBTT info Header field, an Operating Class field, a Channel Number field, and one or more TBTT info set fields. The TBTT info Header field includes a TBTT info Field Type field, a Filtered neighbor AP field, a Reserved field, a TBTT info count field, and a TBTT info Length field. The TBTT info set field includes one or more TBTT info fields.

[0165] The Operating Class field is used to indicate the operating class to which the working channel of the reported AP belongs. Among them, 0 is the reserved value of the Operating Class field.

[0166] The Channel Number field indicates the channel number corresponding to the reporting AP's operating channel. 0 is a reserved value for the channel number. The STA can determine the specific location of the AP's channel in the frequency band using the Operating Class and Channel Number fields.

[0167] The TBTT info Field Type field indicates the type of TBTT info. This field, along with the TBTT infoLength field, indicates the format of the TBTT info field. Values ​​1, 2, and 3 are reserved for the TBTT info Field Type field.

[0168] The Filtered neighbor AP field is used to indicate whether the service set identifier (SSID) of all basic service sets (BSS) carried in the Neighbor AP info field matches the SSID in the Probe Request frame.

[0169] The Reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0170] The TBTT info count field is used to indicate the number of TBTT info fields contained in the TBTT info set field.

[0171] The TBTT info Length field indicates the length of each TBTT info field. The information format carried by the TBTT info field at different lengths is shown in Table 1 below.

[0172] Table 1

[0173]

[0174] One possible format for the TBTT info field is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, it includes the Neighbor AP TBTT offset field, the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, the Short SSID field, the BSS Parameter field, the 20MHz PSD field, and the MLD Parameters field.

[0175] The Neighbor AP TBTT offset field occupies 1 octet, used to indicate the offset of the reported BSS and the Beacon frame transmission time of the BSS sending the report, in time units (TU), i.e. 1024 microseconds or 1 millisecond. Wherein, the field is 254 to indicate that the offset is 254 Tus or higher, and the field is 255 to indicate that the specific offset is unknown.

[0176] The BSSID field is an optional field, occupying 0 or 6 octets, used to indicate the BSSID corresponding to the reported BSS.

[0177] The Short SSID field is an optional field, occupying 0 or 4 octets, used to indicate the SSID to which the BSS belongs.

[0178] The BSS Parameter field is an optional field, occupying 0 or 1 octet, used to indicate the relevant parameters of the BSS, such as Figure 4As shown, the BSS Parameter field can include an On-channel Tunneling (OCT) recommended field, a Same SSID field, a Multiple BSSID field, a Transmitted BSSID field, a Member Of ESS With 2.4 / 5 GHz Co-Located AP field, an Unsolicited Probe Response Active field, a Co-located AP field, and a Reserved field. The OCT recommended field is located at Bit0, which indicates that the reporting BSS expects to exchange management type media protocol data units (MPDUs) with it through the OCT mechanism. The Same SSID field is located at Bit1, which indicates whether the reporting AP and the AP transmitting the Element have the same SSID. The Multiple BSSID field is located at Bit2, which indicates whether the reporting AP is part of a certain multiple BSSID set. The Transmitted BSSID field is located at Bit3, which further indicates whether the reporting AP is a Transmitted BSSID or a non-transmitted BSSID if the reporting AP is part of a certain multiple BSSID set. The Member Of ESS With 2.4 / 5 GHz Co-Located AP field is located at Bit4, which indicates whether the reporting AP is co-located with a 2.4 / 5 GHz AP (i.e., is not a 6 GHz only AP) and is a member of an extended service set. The Unsolicited Probe Response Active field is located at Bit5, which indicates whether the reporting AP has the unsolicited probe response turned on. The Co-located AP field is located at Bit6, which indicates whether the reporting AP is co-located with the AP transmitting the Report. The Reserved field is located at Bit7.

[0179] The 20MHZ PSD field is an optional field occupying 0 or 1 byte, which indicates the maximum transmit power spectral density.

[0180] The MLD Parameters field occupies 0 or 3 bytes, used to indicate the relevant parameters of the MLD. The field can include the following subfields: a multi-link device identifier (MLD ID) field, a link identifier (Link ID) field, a BSS parameter update counter (BSS Parameters Change Count) field, and a Reserved field. The MLD ID field occupies 8 bits, used to indicate the identifier of the AP MLD. The Link ID field occupies 4 bits, used to indicate the link identifier corresponding to the reported AP. The BSS Parameters Change Count field occupies 8 bits, which increases in value when a key update occurs in the reported AP, otherwise the value of the field remains unchanged. The Reserved field occupies 4 bits.

[0181] 5) 802.11be multi-link aggregation technology: MLDs can implement multi-link aggregation technology. AP MLDs and STA MLDs can establish multiple links to aggregate larger bandwidth, share MAC layer on multiple links, and flexibly transmit message packets, so as to achieve simultaneous transmission of message packets of the same service to the same station.

[0182] A non-AP MLD can establish multiple links through a link to implement simultaneous association of multiple links with an AP MLD. The link that exchanges multi-link association request / response (Multi-link Association Request / Response) frames is called a transmitted link (Transmitted Link), and other links are called non-transmitted links (Non-transmitted Link). The Multi-link Association Request / Response frame can carry information of multiple links to achieve simultaneous association of multiple links.

[0183] As shown in Figure 5 , the non-AP MLD sends an association request (Association Request) frame on link 1, and the Association Request frame carries STA-side information of link 1 and also carries STA-side information of link 2, where link 1 is a Transmitted Link and link 2 is a Non-transmitted Link. The AP MLD replies with an Association Response frame on link 1, and the Association Response frame carries AP-side information of link 1 and also carries AP-side information of link 2.

[0184] STA1 and STA2 of the non-AP MLD establish associations with AP1 and AP2 of the AP MLD, respectively. The AssociationRequest frame can carry a multi-link element, which is used to carry information about the MLD and the sites within the MLD.

[0185] like Figure 6 As shown, a possible Multi-link Element includes an Element ID field, a Length field, an Element ID Extension field, a Multi-Link Control field, a Common Info field, and a Link Info field. The Common Info field carries common information about multiple stations in the MLD, as well as information about the MLD itself. The Link Info field carries information about stations on each link in the MLD, including one or more Per-STA Profile fields. The Per-STA Profile field includes a Subelement ID field, a Length field, and a Data field. The Data field includes a STA Control field, a STA Info field, and a STA Profile field. The STA Profile field includes one or more fields, one or more elements, and non-inheritance element fields. The Multi-Link Control field carries the type of the multi-link element (such as the Basic variant and Probe Request variant as defined by the current protocol, or other types), as well as the Presence Bitmap field, which indicates which fields do not appear.

[0186] 6) A possible frame format is as follows: Figure 7As shown, it includes a Frame Control field, a Duration field, an Address 1 field, an Address 2 field, an Address 3 field, a Sequence Control field, a Quality of Service Control (QoS Control) field, a High Throughput (HT) Control field, a Frame Body field, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0187] The frame format of the Frame Control is as shown in Figure 8 As shown, it includes a Protocol Version field, a Type field, a Subtype field, a To Distribution System (To DS) field, a From DS field, a More Fragment field, a Retry field, a Power Management field, a More Data field, a Protected Frame field, and an HT Control field.

[0188] The Address 1 field is used for a receiver address (RA), the Address 2 is used for indicating a transmitter address (TA), and the Address 3 is used for indicating an address of an AP MLD managed by a receiving end or an address of an AP (indicating an AP in an AP MLD) associated with the receiving end. For a management frame, the Address 3 can be used for frame filtering. For example, the receiving end can determine, according to the Address 3, whether the frame belongs to a BSS, and if not, discard the frame.

[0189] 7) The frame format of a possible Quiet Element is as shown in Figure 9As shown, it includes an Element ID field, a Length field, a Quiet Count field, a Quiet Period field, a Quiet Duration field and a Quiet Offset field. The Quiet Count field is used to indicate the number of TBTTs from the next quiet period, the Quiet Period field is used to indicate the number of TBTTs of two adjacent quiet periods, the Quiet Duration field is used to indicate the duration of the quiet period, and the Quiet Offset field is used to indicate the offset of the quiet period from the nearest Beacon frame.

[0190] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, the communication system shown in Figure 10 The communication system suitable for the embodiments of the present application is described in detail taking the communication system shown in the above as an example. The communication system includes one or more AP MLDs and one or more non-AP MLDs. The AP MLDs include AP1 and AP2, and the non-AP MLDs include STA1 and STA2. Optionally, the communication system can also include one or more Legacy STAs. The frequency bands in which the MLDs in the communication system operate can be all or part of sub-1 gigahertz (GHz), 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz and high frequency 60 GHz, which is not limited here.

[0191] Considering that the Soft AP MLD is usually battery-powered, energy saving is very important. In addition, for the Regular AP MLD, as people pay more and more attention to the impact of electromagnetic radiation on the human body, how to reduce electromagnetic radiation has become one of the focuses of people's attention.

[0192] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below taking the interaction between a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device as an example. In the embodiments of the present application, the first multi-link device includes a first station and a second station, the second multi-link device includes a first station and a second station, and the first multi-link device and the second multi-link device can communicate through the first station and the second station. The second station is in a sleep state in an energy saving mode, and the second multi-link device can instruct the second station of the first multi-link device to wake up through the first station. In this way, the second station can wake up when it needs to wake up and be in a sleep state when it does not need to wake up, which can reduce the power consumption of the multi-link device, is more conducive to energy saving of the multi-link device, and the fewer stations in the multi-link device that are in a wake-up state, the lower the electromagnetic radiation to the human body, so it can also reduce electromagnetic radiation to a certain extent.

[0193] It can be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the first multi-link device and / or the second multi-link device can perform part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, each step can be performed in a different order as presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are performed.

[0194] It should be noted that the names of messages between devices in the following embodiments of the present application or the names of parameters in the messages are only examples, and other names can also be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. In addition, the order, name, carried information or represented meaning of each field in the frame structure are also only examples, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0195] Figure 11 A possible communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes the following steps:

[0196] S1101: The second multi-link device determines a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU).

[0197] The first PPDU is used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

[0198] The first multi-link device includes a first station and a second station, and the corresponding second multi-link device can also include a first station and a second station. The first multi-link device and the second multi-link device communicate through the first station and the second station, that is, the first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the first station of the second multi-link device, and the second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the second station of the second multi-link device. The power management (PM) mode of the first station and the second station can include an active mode or a power save mode, and in the power save mode, it includes two power states of an awake state and a doze state.

[0199] The first station and the second station can be one or more. The first station corresponds to the first link, and the second station corresponds to the second link. The first multi-link device can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD, and the second multi-link device can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. In the embodiments of the present application, the first multi-link device is mainly taken as an AP MLD, and the second multi-link device is taken as a non-AP MLD, the first station of the first multi-link device is a Primary AP (AP1), the second station of the first multi-link device is a non-Primary AP (AP2), the first station of the second multi-link device is a STA1, the second station of the second multi-link device is a STA2, the first link is a primary link, and the second link is a non-primary link.

[0200] In the embodiment, the second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state in the power saving mode. The first PPDU can wake up the second station of the first multi-link device in one or more of the following ways.

[0201] Method 1: The first multi-link device and the second multi-link device can wake up the second station of the first multi-link device by negotiation. The first multi-link device sends a Wakeup Request frame to the second multi-link device, and the second multi-link device returns a Wakeup Response frame to the first multi-link device in response. The Wakeup Request / Response frame is described below.

[0202] The first PPDU includes a Wakeup Request frame used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

[0203] The Wakeup Request frame includes one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to the buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, a link identifier corresponding to the second station, and minimum residual delay information of a delay-sensitive service. It can be understood that the one or more information can be carried in one field or in multiple fields, and the order between the fields carrying the one or more information is not limited herein. The second station corresponds to the second link, and the identifier of the second station can also be represented by the identifier of the second link. Optionally, the Wakeup Request frame can be a newly defined frame structure.

[0204] A possible frame structure of the Wakeup Request frame is as follows: Figure 12As shown, it includes a Category field, an Action field, a Dialog Token field and a Wakeup Request Element field. The Wakeup Request Element field includes one or more of the above information, such as including an Elements ID field, a Length field, a Traffic Identifier (TID) Bitmap field, a Buffer Size High field, a Buffer Size All field, a Remaining Delay field and a Link ID field.

[0205] The TID Bitmap field is used to indicate which TIDs have data to send, such as 1 indicating that the corresponding TID has data to send, and 0 indicating that there is no data to send.

[0206] The size of the buffered data is indicated by the Buffer Size High field and the Buffer Size All field, the Buffer Size High indicating the buffer size of the highest priority TID, and the Buffer Size All indicating the total buffer size of all TIDs. The minimum remaining delay of the delay-sensitive service is indicated by the Remaining Delay field, and the sending end needs to discard the buffered data when the minimum remaining delay is exceeded. The identification of the second station is indicated by the Link ID, which is used to indicate the target link or target station for which the wakeup is requested.

[0207] If the first multi-link device includes two or more links and stations, the wakeup request frame can be used to wake up multiple second stations or multiple links. The wakeup request frame can carry the Link ID of multiple links.

[0208] Method 2: The first multi-link device can inform the second multi-link device to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device in an informed manner.

[0209] The first PPDU includes informing information, which is used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device. For example, the informing information can be carried by A-control.

[0210] Method 3: The first multi-link device can request to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device through a Probe Request frame.

[0211] The first PPDU comprises a probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element for requesting to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device. The wake-up request element can refer to the manner 1, and the similarities are not limited.

[0212] Optionally, in the manners 2 and 3, the second multi-link device can reply to the first multi-link device with information of whether the second station is woken up or whether the second station agrees to be woken up.

[0213] Optionally, the second multi-link device can save the wake-up condition of the second station of the first multi-link device. For example, the first multi-link device broadcasts / transmits an eighth PPDU to the second multi-link device, and the eighth PPDU is used to notify the wake-up condition of the second station of the first multi-link device. For example, the eighth PPDU can comprise a TID-to-link Announcement frame, which is used to notify the wake-up condition of the second station of the first multi-link device, i.e., under what condition the second multi-link device can wake up the second station of the first multi-link device. The TID-to-link Announcement frame can comprise an identifier of the second station, a TID bitmap allowed to be transmitted on the second link, or minimum residual delay information of delay-sensitive service.

[0214] The second multi-link device can know that the second station is in the sleep state in the power saving mode under the following possible conditions. The second multi-link device triggers the wake-up of the second station under the wake-up condition for the second station in the sleep state.

[0215] In one case, the second multi-link device can determine that the second station corresponding to the identifier is in the sleep state in the power saving mode according to the identifier of the second station included in the TID-to-link Announcement frame.

[0216] In another case, the second station of the first multi-link device can inform the second multi-link device that it will be in the sleep state before being adjusted to the sleep state. For example, the second station can inform the second multi-link device through the power management field in the frame structure shown in the following. Figure 8

[0217] Optionally, the second multi-link device can also send second indication information to the first terminal, and the second indication information is used to indicate whether there is data that needs to be sent to the second station of the first multi-link device. For example, the second indication information can be carried in the end of service period (EOSP) field of the QoS Control field shown in the following. Figure 7 Figure 8 ​​the More Data field shown, or carried in the first PPDU.

[0218] S1102: The second multi-link device sends a first PPDU to the first multi-link device through the first station. The corresponding first multi-link device receives the first PPDU through the first station.

[0219] In this embodiment, since the second station of the first multi-link device is in the sleep state, the second multi-link device can send the first PPDU through the first station in the Active mode to request to wake up the second station.

[0220] S1103: The first multi-link device determines whether to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU.

[0221] For example, the first multi-link device can determine whether to agree to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU, if agreeing to wake up, it means to determine to wake up the second station, adjust the second station from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or adjust the power management mode to the active mode, if not agreeing to wake up, it means to determine not to wake up the second station, and keep the second station in the sleep state.

[0222] If the first PPDU sent by the second multi-link device in S1101 is in mode 1, in this S1103, the first multi-link device can send a fourth PPDU to the second multi-link device, the fourth PPDU includes a Wakeup Response frame, the Wakeup Response frame is used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station. The Wakeup Response frame can include information of the second station and / or indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

[0223] A possible frame structure of the Wakeup Response frame is as shown in Figure 13 As shown, it includes a Category field, an Action field, a Dialog Token field, and a Wakeup Response Element field. The Wakeup Response Element field includes an Elements ID field, a Length field, a Link ID field, and a Status Code field. The Link ID field represents the link identification information corresponding to the second station. The Status Code field represents whether to agree to wake up the second station.

[0224] If the first multi-link device includes more than two links and stations, the Wakeup Request frame is used to request to wake up multiple second stations or multiple links, the Wakeup Response frame can carry the Link ID of the multiple links and the Status Code corresponding to each link.

[0225] The first multi-link device can indicate the current power management mode and the power state of the second station via the first link. For example, the first multi-link device transmits a third PPDU on the first link, and the third PPDU comprises a first beacon frame. The first beacon frame can be used to indicate the power management mode of the second station corresponding to the second link. In this case, the first beacon frame can indicate that the power management mode of the second station is the active mode or the power save mode. Alternatively, the first beacon frame can be used to indicate the power state of the second station in the power save mode. In this case, the first beacon frame can indicate that the power state of the second station in the power save mode is the wake-up state or the sleep state. For example, the first beacon frame comprises a power management mode field (e.g., PM=1 represents the power save mode, and PM=0 represents the active mode) and a power state field. The power management mode field is used to indicate that the power management mode of the second station is the active mode or the power save mode. The power state field is used to indicate that the power state of the second station is the wake-up state or the sleep state. In this case, the power management mode field further indicates the power state field only in the power save mode.

[0226] In an implementation, the Per-STA Profile field in the Multi-link Element of the first beacon frame carries the power management mode field and the power state field.

[0227] In another implementation, the reduced neighbor report (RNR) element field in the first beacon frame carries the power management mode field and the power state field.

[0228] When the second station is in the wake-up state in the power save mode, if the idle time of the second station reaches a first time, the first multi-link device can adjust the power management mode of the second station to the power save mode and adjust the power state of the second station to the sleep state. By setting the first time, the second multi-link device can be prevented from frequently waking up the second station via the primary link. The threshold of the first time is arbitrary, for example, the first time is greater than or equal to the time required for medium sync recovery.

[0229] For example Figure 14As shown, the second multi-link device sends a wake-up request to the primary AP of the first multi-link device, the first multi-link device sends an acknowledgement (ACK) message for the wake-up request through the primary AP, and then sends a wake-up response, and the second multi-link device sends an ACK message for the wake-up response through the primary AP. The first multi-link device wakes up the non-primary AP, and after a wake-up delay T1, the non-primary AP is in an awake state. Or when the primary AP agrees to wake up the non-primary AP, it only sends back the wake-up response frame after the non-primary AP is woken up; when the primary AP refuses to wake up the non-primary AP, there is no need for this restriction, and the wake-up response frame can be sent back immediately. When the idle duration of the non-primary AP reaches T2, the non-primary AP of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state.

[0230] Since the power saving of the AP can be optionally supported, it can be indicated in the MLD Capabilities field in the Multi-link element by using a reserved bit whether the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD support the power saving operation of the AP MLD.

[0231] In one possible scenario, the first multi-link device does not have an associated second multi-link device, and the first station of the first multi-link device can carry a Quiet Element field in the third beacon frame, for example Figure 9 As shown. The Quiet Element field is used to indicate a quiet time and set the power management mode to the power saving mode. Referring to Figure 15 As shown, the quiet time starts after a T3 duration after sending the third beacon frame and lasts until the next TBTT. During the quiet period, the first station is in a sleep state in the power saving mode. If the first multi-link device receives an association request from the second multi-link device through the first station and successfully associates within the T3 time period after the first station transmits the third beacon frame, the first station immediately switches the power saving mode to the active mode, and the first station stops carrying the Quiet Element in the subsequently transmitted third beacon frame.

[0232] Optionally, the Channel Number field in the RNR element can also be set to 0 at or after the start of the quiet interval on the first link.

[0233] In the embodiments of the present application, the second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state in the power saving mode, and the second multi-link device can wake up the second station of the first multi-link device through the first station, so that the second station of the first multi-link device can be woken up when needed and be in a sleep state when not needed, which is more conducive to the power saving of the multi-link device.

[0234] Currently, a non-AP MLD can only determine whether an AP MLD is a soft AP MLD by whether non-simultaneous transmit-receive link pair (NSTR Link Pair) information is carried in a Per-STA Profile in a Multi-link element carried in a Probe Response frame. The non-AP MLD cannot know whether the AP MLD is a soft AP MLD through a Beacon frame. Based on this, embodiments of the present application provide the following ways to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0235] The first multi-link device can send a second PPDU, and the second PPDU includes a multi-link element.

[0236] A first field in the multi-link element can be used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD. The first field can be any field in the multi-link element, for example, it can be a reserved field or a simultaneous transmit-receive frequency interval field.

[0237] Method 1: A reserved field of the multi-link element can be used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a soft AP MLD.

[0238] For example, a reserved (Reserved) field in the MLD capability subfield (MLD Capability subfield) in the multi-link element (Multi-link Element) indicates.

[0239] A possible frame structure of the multi-link element can be as follows Figure 16As shown, the Multi-link Element includes a Maximum Number Of Simultaneous Links field, a Single Response Scheduling Support (SRS Support) field, a TID-To-Link Mapping Negotiation Supported field, a Frequency Separation For STR field, and a Reserved field. The Reserved field is an undefined field that can be used for multiple options in the future. In this way, whether the first multi-link device is a SoftAP MLD can be indicated by some or all bits in the Reserved field. For example, 0 in 1 bit of the Reserved field indicates a non-soft AP MLD, such as a regular (Regular) AP MLD, and 1 in 1 bit of the Reserved field indicates a soft AP MLD.

[0240] If some bits (such as the first bit) in the Reserved field are used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a SoftAP MLD, the remaining bits (such as the remaining bits other than the first bit) in the Reserved field can also be used to indicate other information, which is not limited here.

[0241] It can be understood that the Reserved field can also be included in other frames or elements, and the information indicated by the Reserved field in different frames or elements can be the same or different. In this embodiment, only the Reserved field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a SoftAP MLD, and the information indicated by the Reserved field in other frames or elements is not limited.

[0242] Option 2: The Frequency Separation For STR field of the multi-link element can be used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a SoftAP MLD.

[0243] Since a soft AP MLD does not support STR, the Frequency Separation For STR field can be set to a specific value to represent that the AP MLD sending the multi-link element is a soft AP MLD. The value is arbitrary and is not limited here, for example, the Frequency Separation For STR field is set to 31 to represent that the AP MLD sending the multi-link element is a soft AP MLD.

[0244] Optionally, the Multi-link Element can be carried in a Beacon frame.

[0245] In this embodiment, the second multi-link device can learn whether the first multi-link device is a Soft AP MLD. This embodiment can be used in combination with the above-mentioned embodiments, for example, the first multi-link device can send a second PPDU before S1101 to inform the second multi-link device whether it is a Soft AP MLD.

[0246] Currently, the 802.11be Draft stipulates that a Soft AP MLD cannot send a Beacon frame on a non-primary link, but the information of a non-primary AP corresponding to the non-primary link needs to be carried in the Beacon frame, which results in that the related information of the non-primary AP cannot be transmitted to other multi-link devices. Based on this, the following methods are provided in the embodiments of the present application to ensure that the related information of the non-primary AP can be transmitted. In the embodiments of the present application, the second station of the first multi-link device is taken as a non-primary AP for illustration.

[0247] Method 1: The first multi-link device broadcasts a sixth PPDU on the second link, and the sixth PPDU includes the information of the second station.

[0248] In this method, a new broadcast frame (i.e., the sixth PPDU) can be defined on the non-primary link, and the information of the second station is carried through the new broadcast frame. The new broadcast frame can be broadcasted periodically by the first multi-link device.

[0249] Method 2: The first multi-link device sends a seventh PPDU on the first link, and the seventh PPDU includes a second Beacon frame, and the second Beacon frame includes a fourth field, and the fourth field carries the information of the second station.

[0250] In this method, the Beacon frame can be sent on the primary link, and the related information of the non-primary AP is carried by the Beacon.

[0251] For example, the fourth field can be an element field of the second link. The element field of the second link can be an element field such as a Per-STA Profile sub-element or an RNR Element of the non-primary link.

[0252] For example, the Per-STA Profile sub-element of the non-primary link in the Multi-link Element in the second Beacon frame carries the information of the second station.

[0253] For another example, the RNR Element in the Multi-link element in the second Beacon frame carries the information of the second station, and the RNR Element is an element field of the second link.

[0254] For example, the information of the second station includes one or more of the following: a time stamp (TimeStamp), a beacon interval (Beacon Interval), a timing synchronization function offset (TSF Offset).

[0255] Optionally, the beacon interval can not be indicated, for example, the protocol can specify that the beacon interval of the non-primary AP is the same as that of the primary AP.

[0256] If the information of the second station includes the beacon interval, a management frame carrying time information (for example, in TBTT) can be sent on the non-primary link (i.e., the second link), so that the second multi-link device can correctly calculate the time information after receiving the time information on the non-primary link. In particular, when the management frame does not carry the information of the primary AP (assuming the primary AP as the reference AP of the non-primary AP, and the beacon intervals of the two are the same), the second multi-link device can correctly calculate the time information.

[0257] In this embodiment, the first multi-link device can send the information of the non-primary AP on the primary link or the non-primary link, which can improve the accuracy of communication.

[0258] According to the 802.11be draft, multicast data frames need to be copied and sent on all links of the AP MLD, while multicast management frames are independently sent on the corresponding link of the AP MLD. However, this way of sending multicast data frames and multicast management frames (hereinafter referred to as multicast frames) requires all links of the AP MLD to wake up periodically to receive buffered multicast frames on the AP side, which is not conducive to energy saving of the AP MLD. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the primary link assists the non-link in sending multicast management frames, so that the non-primary AP corresponding to the non-link can always be in energy saving mode without the need to adjust to active mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the AP MLD. In this embodiment, multicast management frames included in multicast frames are mainly described. For multicast data frames included in multicast frames, the method provided in this embodiment can also be used, and the similarities are not described in detail.

[0259] In this embodiment, the first multi-link device sends a fifth PPDU through the first link, and the fifth PPDU includes identification information of the second link and multicast management frames corresponding to the second link. The multicast frames include multicast data frames and / or multicast management frames.

[0260] Specifically, the multicast data frame can be sent only on the first link (i.e. the primary link), and the second link (i.e. the non-primary link) does not need to send the multicast data frame. The multicast management frame can be forwarded by the first link by carrying the identification information of the second link, and the second link can also not send the multicast management frame.

[0261] In an implementation, the fifth PPDU includes an Address 3 field, and the Address 3 field carries the identification information of the second link. Optionally, if the multicast management frame is not for a certain link or a certain station of the second multi-link device, the Address 3 field can set the MLD MAC Address of the second multi-link device itself, or can be set as the BSSID corresponding to the second link in the second multi-link device.

[0262] When the multicast management frame of the second link is sent through the first link, encryption needs to be performed using the PN allocated by the first link.

[0263] It is worth noting that this embodiment requires that there is no association of the Legacy STA on the second link.

[0264] In another implementation, the fifth PPDU includes a frame body, and the frame body carries the identification information of the second link.

[0265] The Address 3 field and the frame body can be carried in the frame structure as shown in FIG. 8. Figure 7

[0266] In a possible case, the first multi-link device sends a ninth PPDU to the second multi-link device on the first link, and the ninth PPDU is used to indicate that the second station of the first multi-link device is unavailable. For example, the ninth PPDU can include third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the second station of the first multi-link device is unavailable. The unavailability can specifically be that association procedures are not allowed to be initiated on a channel on which the second station of the first multi-link device works, can be that the second station of the first multi-link device is about to perform channel switching, during which frame exchange is prohibited on the second link, or can be that the second station of the first multi-link device schedules a period of silence or restricted TWT, during which the legacy STA is prohibited from transmitting.

[0267] The second multi-link device is not allowed to initiate association procedures on a channel on which the second station of the first multi-link device works can be that the second multi-link device is not allowed to send a Beacon frame, a Probe Response frame, and an Association Response frame on the channel on which the second station of the first multi-link device works.

[0268] ​In one implementation, the ninth PPDU can include a Channel Switch Mode field, which is used to indicate a switch mode of the channel on which the second station of the first multi-link device operates. When the Channel Switch Mode field is set to 1, it indicates that transmission is prohibited on the channel on which the second station of the first multi-link device operates before the channel switch is completed, and further the Channel Number is set to 0 to indicate that the second station of the first multi-link device is unavailable.

[0269] For example, assume that the AP MLD has 3 affiliated APs, affiliated AP 1 operating at 2.4 GHz (corresponding to link 1), affiliated AP 2 operating at 5 GHz (corresponding to link 2) and affiliated AP 3 operating at 6 GHz (corresponding to link 3). When the traffic load is relatively low, affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 can be set to not allow the second multi-link device to directly initiate association with them on the channel on which they operate, specifically by prohibiting affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 from sending Beacon frames, Probe Response frames and Association Response frames on the channel on which they operate. The second multi-link device is only allowed to initiate association through the channel on which affiliated AP 2 is located. The non-AP MLD can only initiate a multi-link association request on link 2 to establish multiple links, and link 2 must be accepted by the AP MLD. In this way, the AP MLD can set affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 to energy saving mode when the load is relatively low, and wake up affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 for transmission only when the non-AP MLD needs it, which can further reduce the power consumption of the first multi-link device. In addition, link 1 and link 3 are not interfered by legacy STA transmission, which is beneficial to the transmission of low latency traffic.

[0270] Currently, 802.11be Draft specifies that affiliated AP needs to report the information of other affiliated APs that belong to the same AP MLD in the Beacon frame through RNR element. For the above example, affiliated AP 2 needs to indicate the information of affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 in the Beacon frame of link 2 through RNR element. For affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3, which do not allow Pre-EHT STA and single-link EHT STA to associate, a new indication can be added in the RNR element to avoid the client switching to the channel where affiliated AP 1 and affiliated AP 3 work to initiate association.

[0271] The second multi-link device not being allowed to initiate an association procedure on the channel where the second station of the first multi-link device works can mean that the second station of the first multi-link device is unavailable or unavailable, or the second multi-link device is not allowed to switch to the channel where the corresponding reported AP works to directly initiate a probe and association operation. The reason why the second station of the first multi-link device is unavailable or unavailable can be that the station of the first multi-link device is preparing to switch channels or that the second station of the first multi-link device is scheduled to be silent or restrictedTWT.

[0272] For example, the third indication information can be carried in the RNR element, and the RNR element is carried in the ninth PPDU.

[0273] The first multi-link device can send the third indication information to the second multi-link device in one or more of the following ways.

[0274] Way 1: The Channel Number field in the RNR Element is set to a reserved value. The reserved value can be any value, for example, 0 or 255. When a legacy STA reads the Channel Number field as 0 or 255, it cannot obtain the corresponding channel information because the legacy STA cannot read the field, and thus will not attempt to jump to the corresponding channel to send a Probe Request and an Association Request. When an EHT STA and a non-AP MLD read the Channel Number field as 0 or 255, they will not attempt to jump to the corresponding channel to send a Probe Request and an Association Request.

[0275] Way 2: The TBTT info Field Type field is set to a reserved value. The reserved value can be any value, for example, 1. When a legacy STA reads the TBTT info Field Type field as 1, it can not attempt to jump to the corresponding channel to send a Probe Request and an Association Request because the legacy STA cannot read the field. When an EHT STA and a non-AP MLD read the TBTT info Field Type field as 1, they will not attempt to jump to the corresponding channel to send a Probe Request and an Association Request.

[0276] Way 3: A reserved bit in the MLD Parameter field is used for indication. The reserved bit can be any value, for example, 1. When the reserved bit is set to 1, it indicates that an EHT STA or a non-AP MLD is not allowed to send a Probe Request and an Association Request on the corresponding channel. When an EHT STA and a non-AP MLD read the reserved bit as 1, they will not attempt to jump to the corresponding channel to send a Probe Request and an Association Request.

[0277] Way 4: Ways 1 and 2 are combined, or ways 2 and 3 are combined. For example, the Channel Number field in way 1 or the TBTT info Field Type field in way 2 is set to a reserved value to tell a legacy STA, and the reserved bit in way 3 is used to inform an EHT STA and a non-AP MLD.

[0278] The above embodiments can be used alone or in combination.

[0279] It can be understood that the method and / or steps realized by the first multi-link device in each of the above embodiments can also be realized by a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) available for the first multi-link device, and the method and / or steps realized by the second multi-link device can also be realized by a component available for the second multi-link device.

[0280] In the above embodiments of the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced from the perspective of interaction between the first multi-link device and the second multi-link device. In order to realize each function in the above method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the first multi-link device and the second multi-link device can include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and the above functions are realized in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a certain function in the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application of the technical solution and the design constraint conditions.

[0281] The communication device used to realize the above method in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the content in the foregoing can be used in the subsequent embodiments, and the repeated content will not be described again.

[0282] Figure 17 One possible form of the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application is that the communication device 1700 can be used to realize the functions or steps realized by the first multi-link device or the second multi-link device in the above method embodiments. The communication device can include an optional processing unit 1701 and a transceiver unit 1702. Optionally, it can also include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing unit 1701 and the transceiver unit 1702 can be coupled with the storage unit, for example, the processing unit 1701 can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage unit to realize the corresponding method. The above units can be independently set, or partially or totally integrated.

[0283] In some possible implementation manners, the communication device 1700 can correspondingly realize the behaviors and functions of the first multi-link device in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1700 can be an AP MLD, or a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) applied to the AP MLD. The transceiver unit 1702 can be used to perform all receiving or transmitting operations performed by the first multi-link device in the above embodiments. For example Figure 11 S1102 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; wherein the processing unit 1701 is configured to perform all operations performed by the first multi-link device in the above embodiments except for the transceiver operations, for example Figure 11S1103 of the illustrated embodiment determines whether to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU, and / or other processes for supporting the technology described herein.

[0284] The transceiver 1702, for example, receives, by the first station, a first PPDU from a second multi-link device, the first PPDU being used to wake up a second station of the communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus comprises the first station and the second station, the second station being in a sleep state in a power save mode;

[0285] The processing unit 1701 is configured to determine whether to wake up the second station according to the first PPDU.

[0286] In an optional manner, the transceiver 1702 is further configured to send a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element.

[0287] The first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the communication apparatus is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

[0288] The first field can be a reserved field or a simultaneous transmit frequency interval field.

[0289] In an optional manner, the first PPDU comprises a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame being used to wake up the second station, and the wake-up request frame comprises one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or

[0290] The first PPDU comprises notification information, the notification information being used to wake up the second station; or

[0291] The first PPDU comprises a probe request frame, the probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element being used to request to wake up the second station.

[0292] In an optional manner, the first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

[0293] In an optional manner, the transceiver 1702 is further configured to send, by the first station, a third PPDU to the second multi-link device via the first link, the third PPDU comprising a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame being used to indicate a power state of the second station corresponding to the second link in the power save mode, the power state comprising a wake-up state or a sleep state.

[0294] In an optional manner, the first beacon frame comprises a second field and a third field, the second field being used to indicate that the power management mode of the second station is the power save mode, and the third field being used to indicate the power state of the second station.

[0295] For example, the second field can be a power management mode field, and the third field can be a power state field.

[0296] In an optional manner, the processing unit 1701 is specifically configured to send, by the transceiver unit, a fourth PPDU to the second multi-link device, the fourth PPDU comprising a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame being used to inform whether the second station agrees to be woken up.

[0297] In an optional manner, the wake-up response frame comprises an identifier of the second station and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

[0298] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1702 is further configured to broadcast a sixth PPDU on the second link, the sixth PPDU comprising information of the second station; or send a seventh PPDU on the first link, the seventh PPDU comprising a second beacon frame, the second beacon frame comprising a fourth field, the fourth field carrying the information of the second station.

[0299] The fourth field can be an element field of the second link.

[0300] The information of the second station comprises one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

[0301] In some possible implementation manners, the communication apparatus 1700 can correspond to the behaviors and functions of the second multi-link device in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus 1700 can be a STA MLD, or a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) applied to a STA MLD. The transceiver unit 1702 can be configured to perform all the receiving or sending operations performed by the second multi-link device in the above embodiments. For example Figure 11 S1102 in the illustrated embodiment, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; wherein the processing unit 1701 is configured to perform all the operations performed by the second communication apparatus in the above embodiments, except for the transceiver operations, for example, generating Figure 11 The first PPDU in S1101 of the illustrated embodiment, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0302] For example, the processing unit 1701 is configured to determine a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the first PPDU being used to wake up a second station of the first multi-link device, wherein the second station is in a sleep state in a power saving mode.

[0303] The transceiver unit 1702 is configured to send, by the first station, the first PPDU to the first multi-link device.

[0304] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1702 is further configured to receive a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element.

[0305] The first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

[0306] In an optional manner, the first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame is used to wake up the second station, and the wake-up request frame includes one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to the buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station, and a minimum residual delay of the delay-sensitive service; or

[0307] The first PPDU includes notification information, and the notification information is used to wake up the second station; or

[0308] The first PPDU includes a probe request frame, and the probe request frame carries a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element is used to request to wake up the second station.

[0309] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1702 is further configured to receive a fourth PPDU from the first multi-link device, and the fourth PPDU includes a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame is used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station.

[0310] In an optional manner, the wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

[0311] In an optional manner, the first station is a station corresponding to the first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to the second link.

[0312] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1702 is further configured to receive a sixth PPDU on the second link, and the sixth PPDU includes information of the second station; or receive a seventh PPDU on the first link, and the seventh PPDU includes a second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame includes a fourth field carrying information of the second station.

[0313] The information of the second station includes one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

[0314] It should be noted that the communication apparatus 1700 can be used to execute the above-mentioned method embodiments, and specific steps, descriptions, and corresponding beneficial effects can be referred to the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0315] It should be understood that the processing unit 1701 in the embodiments of the present application can be realized by a processor / processing circuit or a processor / processing circuit related circuit component, and the transceiver unit 1702 can be realized by a transceiver / transceiver interface or a transceiver / transceiver interface related circuit component or a communication interface.

[0316] AsFigure 18 One possible form of the communication apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus 1800 can include a processor 1801, a transceiver 1805, and optionally further include a memory 1802. The communication apparatus can be used as the PPDU generation and transmission apparatus in the present application, and can also be used as the PPDU reception apparatus in the present application.

[0317] The transceiver 1805 can be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or the like, and is used to implement the transceiving function. The transceiver 1805 can include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver can be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like, and is used to implement the receiving function. The transmitter can be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, or the like, and is used to implement the transmitting function.

[0318] The memory 1802 can store computer programs or software codes or instructions 1804, which can also be referred to as firmware. The processor 1801 can control the MAC layer and the PHY layer by running the computer programs or software codes or instructions 1803 therein, or by calling the computer programs or software codes or instructions 1804 stored in the memory 1802, to implement the PPDU transmission method provided in each of the embodiments described below. The processor 1801 can be a central processing unit (CPU), and the memory 1802 can be, for example, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).

[0319] The processor 1801 and the transceiver 1805 described in the present application can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed-signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, or the like.

[0320] The communication apparatus 1800 described above can further include an antenna 1806. The modules / units included in the communication apparatus 1800 are only examples, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0321] As described above, the communication apparatus 1800 in the above embodiments can be an AP MLD or a STA MLD, but the scope of the communication apparatus described in the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication apparatus can not be limited by the description of the Figure 18 The AP MLD includes one or more APs, and the STA MLD includes one or more STAs.

[0322] The access point (AP) can be multi-antenna / multi-RF or single-antenna / single-RF, used for transmitting / receiving data packets. In one implementation, the antenna or RF portion of the AP can be separated from the main body of the AP, arranged in a remote configuration. In another implementation, the standby antenna (STA) can be a single-antenna / RF or multi-antenna / multi-RF, and can be a device with two or more antennas, used for transmitting / receiving data packets. In one implementation, the antenna or RF portion of the STA can be separated from the main body of the STA, arranged in a remote configuration.

[0323] The communication device involved in this application can also be a standalone device or part of a larger device. For example, the implementation of the communication device can be:

[0324] (1) A standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) A collection of one or more ICs, optionally including storage components for storing data or instructions; (3) A module that can be embedded in other devices; (4) Receivers, smart terminals, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.; (5) Others, etc.

[0325] For communication devices implemented as chips or chip systems, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 19 The diagram shows the structure of the chip. Figure 19 The chip shown includes a processor 1901 and an interface 1902. There can be one or more processors 1901, and multiple interfaces 1902. Interfaces 1902 are used for signal reception and transmission. Optionally, the chip or chip system may include a memory 1903. The memory 1903 stores necessary program instructions and data for the chip or chip system.

[0326] This application provides embodiments that do not limit the scope and applicability of the claims. Those skilled in the art can make adaptive changes to the function and deployment of the elements involved in this application without departing from the scope of the embodiments, or omit, substitute, or add various processes or components as appropriate.

[0327] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of the above-described method embodiments.

[0328] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of the above-described method embodiments.

[0329] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip system, which comprises a processor and an interface, and is configured to support a communication device to implement functions related to an access point or a station in the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, to determine or process at least one of data and information involved in the above-mentioned method. In a possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory, which is configured to store necessary information and data of the communication device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete components.

[0330] The embodiments of the present application provide a functional entity, which is configured to implement the above-mentioned communication method.

[0331] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, which comprises a first multi-link device and a second multi-link device configured to implement the above-mentioned communication method.

[0332] It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0333] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical implementation. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0334] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-mentioned system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0335] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-mentioned device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0336] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment implementation.

[0337] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0338] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical implementation of the present application or the part of the present application that essentially contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical implementation can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various program codes that can be stored in the medium.

[0339] The steps in the embodiment method of the present application can be adjusted, combined and deleted in sequence according to actual needs.

[0340] The modules / units in the embodiment device of the present application can be combined, divided and deleted according to actual needs.

[0341] The above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical implementation of the present application, and not to limit it; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that it can still modify the technical implementation recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacement for part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical implementation deviate from the scope of the technical implementation of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: a first multi-link device sends, by a first station of the first multi-link device, a third physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to a second multi-link device, the third PPDU comprising a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame indicating that a second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state of a power save mode; the first multi-link device receives, by the first station, a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the second multi-link device, the first PPDU being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, the second station of the first multi-link device being in the sleep state of the power save mode; the first multi-link device determines, according to the first PPDU, whether to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device; the first multi-link device is an access point multi-link device, and the second multi-link device is a non-access point multi-link device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: the first multi-link device sends a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element; a first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to a first station of the second multi-link device, and the first PPDU is from the first station of the second multi-link device; the second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to a second station of the second multi-link device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first PPDU comprises a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, the wake-up request frame comprising one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station of the first multi-link device, a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or the first PPDU comprises informing information, the informing information being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device; or the first PPDU comprises a probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element being used to request to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, the first beacon frame comprises a second field and a third field, the second field being used to indicate that a power management mode of the second station of the first multi-link device is the power save mode, and the third field being used to indicate that a power state of the second station of the first multi-link device is the sleep state.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, the first multi-link device determines, according to the first PPDU, whether to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, specifically comprising: the first multi-link device sends, to the second multi-link device, a fourth PPDU, the fourth PPDU comprising a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame being used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station of the first multi-link device, and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further includes: The first multi-link device sends a fifth PPDU through the first link, the fifth PPDU including identification information of the second link and a multicast frame corresponding to the second link.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further includes: The first multi-link device broadcasts a sixth PPDU on the second link, the sixth PPDU including information of the second station of the first multi-link device; or The first multi-link device sends a seventh PPDU on the first link, the seventh PPDU including a second beacon frame, the second beacon frame including a fourth field carrying information of the second station of the first multi-link device; The information of the second station of the first multi-link device includes one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, a timing synchronization function offset.

11. A communication method characterized by comprising: It includes: The second multi-link device receives a third physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first station of the first multi-link device, the third PPDU including a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame being used to indicate that the second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state in a power saving mode; The second multi-link device determines a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the first PPDU being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, wherein the second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state in a power saving mode; The second multi-link device sends the first PPDU to the first multi-link device through the first station of the second multi-link device; The first multi-link device is an access point multi-link device, and the second multi-link device is a non-access point multi-link device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The method further includes: The second multi-link device receives a second PPDU, the second PPDU including a multi-link element; A first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the first station of the second multi-link device; The second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the second station of the second multi-link device.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein The first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, the wake-up request frame including one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station of the first multi-link device, and a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or The first PPDU includes notification information, the notification information being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device; or The first PPDU includes a probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element being used to request to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein, The method further includes: The second multi-link device receives a fourth PPDU from the first multi-link device, the fourth PPDU comprising a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame being used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The wake-up response frame comprises an identity of the second station of the first multi-link device, and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

17. The method of any one of claims 11-16, wherein, The first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: The second multi-link device receives a fifth PPDU through the first link, the fifth PPDU comprising identity information of the second link and a groupcast frame corresponding to the second link.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: The second multi-link device receives a sixth PPDU on the second link, the sixth PPDU comprising information of the second station of the first multi-link device; or The second multi-link device receives a seventh PPDU on the first link, the seventh PPDU comprising a second beacon frame, the second beacon frame comprising a fourth field, the fourth field carrying information of the second station of the first multi-link device; The information of the second station of the first multi-link device comprises one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first beacon frame comprises a second field and a third field, the second field being used to indicate that the power management mode of the second station of the first multi-link device is the power saving mode, and the third field being used to indicate that the power state of the second station of the first multi-link device is the sleep state.

21. A communications device, characterized by Comprise: The transceiver unit is configured to send, by the first station, a third physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to a second multi-link device, the third PPDU comprising a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame being used to indicate that the second station of the communication device is in a sleep state in a power saving mode; and receive, by the first station, a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the second multi-link device, the first PPDU being used to wake up the second station of the communication device, wherein the communication device comprises the first station and the second station, and the second station of the communication device is in a sleep state in a power saving mode; The processing unit is configured to determine, according to the first PPDU, whether to wake up the second station; The communication device is an access point multi-link device, and the second multi-link device is a non-access point multi-link device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element; A first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the communication device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, The first station of the communication device corresponds to a first station of the second multi-link device, and the first PPDU is from the first station of the second multi-link device; The second station of the communication device corresponds to a second station of the second multi-link device.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, The first PPDU comprises a wake-up request frame, the wake-up request frame being used to wake up a second station of the communication device, the wake-up request frame comprising one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station of the communication device, and a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or The first PPDU comprises informing information, the informing information being used to wake up the second station of the communication device; or The first PPDU comprises a probe request frame, the probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element, the wake-up request element being used to request to wake up the second station of the communication device.

25. The apparatus of any one of claims 21-24, wherein, The first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, The first beacon frame comprises a second field and a third field, the second field being used to indicate that a power management mode of the second station of the communication device is an energy-saving mode, and the third field being used to indicate that a power state of the second station of the communication device is a sleep state.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein, The processing unit is specifically configured to send, by the transceiver unit, a fourth PPDU to the second multi-link device, the fourth PPDU comprising a wake-up response frame, the wake-up response frame being used to inform whether to agree to wake up the second station of the communication device.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein, The wake-up response frame comprises an identifier of the second station of the communication device and indication information of whether to agree to be woken up.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to send, by the first link, a fifth PPDU, the fifth PPDU comprising identifier information of the second link and a groupcast frame corresponding to the second link.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to broadcast, on the second link, a sixth PPDU, the sixth PPDU comprising information of the second station of the communication device, or send, on the first link, a seventh PPDU, the seventh PPDU comprising a second beacon frame, the second beacon frame comprising a fourth field, the fourth field carrying information of the second station of the communication device. The information of the second station of the communication device comprises one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

31. A communications device, characterized by Comprise: A transceiver unit configured to receive, from a first station of a first multi-link device, a third physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the third PPDU comprising a first beacon frame, the first beacon frame being used to indicate that a second station of the first multi-link device is in a sleep state in an energy-saving mode; A processing unit configured to determine a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the first PPDU being used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, wherein the second station of the first multi-link device is in the sleep state in the energy-saving mode; The transceiver unit is further configured to send, by the first station of the communication device, the first PPDU to the first multi-link device; The first multi-link device is an access point multi-link device, and the communication device is a non-access point multi-link device.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second PPDU, the second PPDU comprising a multi-link element; The first field of the multi-link element is used to indicate whether the first multi-link device is a software access point multi-link device (soft AP MLD).

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein, The first station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the first station of the communication apparatus; The second station of the first multi-link device corresponds to the second station of the communication apparatus.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein The first PPDU includes a wake-up request frame used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device, and the wake-up request frame includes one or more of the following information: an access type corresponding to buffered data, a service identifier corresponding to the buffered data, a size of the buffered data, an identifier of the second station of the first multi-link device, a minimum residual latency of a latency-sensitive service; or The first PPDU includes informing information used to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device; or The first PPDU includes a probe request frame carrying a wake-up request element used to request to wake up the second station of the first multi-link device.

35. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein, The transceiver is further configured to receive a fourth PPDU from the first multi-link device, the fourth PPDU including a wake-up response frame used to inform whether the second station of the first multi-link device is agreed to be woken up.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein, The wake-up response frame includes an identifier of the second station of the first multi-link device and indication information of whether to be woken up.

37. The apparatus of any one of claims 31-36, wherein, The first station is a station corresponding to a first link, and the second station is a station corresponding to a second link.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein, The transceiver is further configured to receive a sixth PPDU on the second link, the sixth PPDU including information of the second station of the first multi-link device; or receive a seventh PPDU on the first link, the seventh PPDU including a second beacon frame, the second beacon frame including a fourth field carrying information of the second station of the first multi-link device; The information of the second station of the first multi-link device includes one or more of the following: a timestamp, a beacon interval, and a timing synchronization function offset.

39. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor; The memory stores a computer program; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the apparatus performs the method of any one of claims 1-20.

40. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: The computer program, when executed on a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1-20 to be performed.

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