Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises the steps that first information is received, the first information indicates a first time period, and the first time period is time capable of being used for high-power-consumption transmission; entering a high power consumption mode in the first time period under the condition that the low-delay service exists; or, entering a low-power consumption mode or a high-power consumption mode in the first time period under the condition that the low-delay service does not exist. According to the scheme, the working mode of the terminal equipment can be switched between the high-power-consumption mode and the low-power-consumption mode, so that the terminal equipment is prevented from being in the high-power-consumption mode for a long time, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Reducing device power consumption is one of the main goals of the next generation wireless fidelity (WiFi) protocol (i.e. WiFi 8). However, in the current low-latency service preemptive transmission scheme, the terminal device is always in high power consumption mode to detect whether it can preempt the transmission of uplink low-latency service frames or receive downlink low-latency service frames. In this way, the power consumption of the terminal device is relatively high.

[0003] How to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices remains to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device to reduce the power consumption of a terminal device.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. The method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating a first time period, the first time period being a time that can be used for high-power transmission; in the presence of a low-latency service, entering a high-power mode in the first time period; or, in the absence of a low-latency service, entering a low-power mode or a high-power mode in the first time period.

[0006] In the above scheme, the working mode of the terminal device can be switched between the high power consumption mode and the low power consumption mode, so as to avoid the terminal device being in the high power consumption mode for a long time, which helps to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0007] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: entering a high power consumption mode within a second time period after the first time period ends.

[0008] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: entering a low power consumption mode when a non-low-latency service frame is detected within the second time period.

[0009] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: entering a high power consumption mode after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed.

[0010] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: when a trigger frame is detected in the second time period and there is a low-latency service, maintaining a high power consumption mode, wherein the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink transmission resources.

[0011] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: detecting a trigger frame within the second time period, the trigger frame being used to indicate uplink transmission resources; in the presence of a low-latency service but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources and do not include associated users competing for uplink transmission resources, entering a low power consumption mode and continuing for a first period of time; or, in the absence of a low-latency service, entering a low power consumption mode and continuing for a first period of time.

[0012] In a possible implementation method, the first duration is indicated by the trigger frame.

[0013] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: determining the first duration based on at least one of the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service, the inter-frame interval, and the duration of the confirmation frame.

[0014] In a possible implementation method, after entering the low power consumption mode and maintaining it for a first period of time, the method further includes: entering a high power consumption mode and detecting a downlink low-latency service frame.

[0015] In one possible implementation method, after entering the high power consumption mode and detecting the downlink low-latency service frame, it also includes: maintaining the high power consumption mode when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service; or, entering the low power consumption mode when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service; or, entering the low power consumption mode when no downlink low-latency service frame is detected.

[0016] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: detecting a trigger frame within the second time period, the trigger frame being used to indicate uplink transmission resources; in the presence of low-latency services but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include their own uplink transmission resources but include associated users competing for uplink transmission resources, maintaining a high power consumption mode and competing to use the associated users competing for uplink transmission resources to transmit low-latency services.

[0017] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: maintaining a high power consumption mode when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service.

[0018] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service, entering a low power consumption mode and maintaining a second duration.

[0019] In a possible implementation method, the second duration is determined by the remaining transmission duration of the downlink low-latency service frame and the inter-frame interval.

[0020] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: entering a high power consumption mode before a non-low-latency service frame arrives.

[0021] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: if a non-low-latency service frame is detected and the transmission duration of the non-low-latency service frame is lower than a first threshold, maintaining a high power consumption mode.

[0022] In a possible implementation method, the durations of different downlink non-low-latency service frames are equal.

[0023] In a possible implementation method, each downlink non-low-latency service frame carries a counting indication, and the counting indication is used to determine the starting time of the first time period.

[0024] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: in the presence of a low-latency service, if the starting time of the first time period is unknown, entering a high power consumption mode, detecting a non-low-latency service frame, determining the starting time of the first time period based on the non-low-latency service frame, and entering a low power consumption mode or remaining in a high power consumption mode; entering a high power consumption mode at the starting time of the first time period or before the starting time of the first time period.

[0025] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: in the presence of a low-latency service, if the starting time of the first time period is known, entering a low power consumption mode, and entering a high power consumption mode at the starting time of the first time period or before the starting time of the first time period.

[0026] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: in the presence of a low-latency service, entering a high power consumption mode and detecting a non-low-latency service frame; after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed, seizing the channel to transmit a low-latency service frame; and entering a low power consumption mode after receiving a confirmation frame for the low-latency service frame.

[0027] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) in a terminal device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the first aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0028] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a module (such as a chip) in a network device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the fourth aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute any implementation method in the first aspect. The processor includes one or more.

[0031] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer instructions, the memory being coupled to a processor, and the processor executing the computer instructions stored in the memory so that the device executes any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect is executed.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect to be executed.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor, configured to execute any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applied in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 An example diagram of a method for preempting transmission of a low-latency service in a single-user scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the RPD scheme;

[0039] Figure 5 It is another schematic diagram of the RPD scheme;

[0040] Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of the RPD scheme;

[0041] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a low-power equal-interval preemptive transmission scheme;

[0042] Figure 8 Another schematic diagram of a low-power equal-interval preemptive transmission scheme;

[0043] Fig. 9 Another schematic diagram of a low-power equal-interval preemptive transmission scheme;

[0044] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a low-power unequal-interval preemptive transmission scheme;

[0045] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1 The communication system 1000 shown in the figure includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 also includes the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b), and may also include at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 120a-120j in the figure). The terminal device is connected to the network device by wireless means, and the network device is connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network device and the network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device can be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some network devices can be integrated on one physical device. Terminal devices and network devices can be connected to each other by wire or wireless means. Figure 1 This is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 Not drawn in.

[0048] A network device is an access device that a terminal device uses to access a communication system through wired or wireless means. A network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc.; it may also be a module or unit that performs some functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). A network device may be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110b), may also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0049] The terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to network devices or receive signals from network devices. The terminal device includes but is not limited to terminal devices, terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, stations (STA), etc. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can specifically be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0050] The network equipment and terminal equipment can be fixed or movable. The network equipment and terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on the water surface; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0051] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative, for example, Figure 1 The helicopter or drone 120i in the figure can be configured as a mobile network device. For the terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal device 120i is a network device; but for the network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through the wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through the interface protocol between network devices. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a network device. Therefore, network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a and 110b in the figure may be referred to as communication devices having network device functions. Figure 1 120a-120j in the figure can be called communication devices with terminal equipment functions.

[0052] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem including the network device function. The control subsystem including the network device function here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device including the terminal device function.

[0054] In this application, the network device sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the network device. The cell that has established a wireless connection with the terminal device is called the service cell of the terminal device.

[0055] For ease of explanation, this application will subsequently use STA and AP as an example of a terminal device and a network device, respectively. That is, the STA and AP that appear later can be replaced by a terminal device and a network device, respectively.

[0056] In the embodiment of the present application, a non-AP device used to transmit low latency traffic (LLT) is called an LLT STA, and a non-AP device used to transmit non-low latency traffic is called a non-LLT STA.

[0057] Among them, the communication frame sent by LLT STA to AP carries the data of uplink low-latency service, and the communication frame can also be called uplink low-latency service frame, and the communication frame sent by AP to LLT STA carries the data of downlink low-latency service, and the communication frame can also be called downlink low-latency service frame. Exemplarily, when the communication frame is a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the communication frame can also be expressed as LLT PPDU.

[0058] Reducing device power consumption is one of the main goals of the next generation WiFi protocol (i.e. WiFi 8). Figure 2 An example diagram of a preemptive transmission method for low-latency services in a single-user scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. STA1 only transmits non-low-latency services (non-LLT), and STA2 transmits low-latency services (LLT), that is, STA1 is a non-LLT STA, and STA2 is a LLT STA. In the transmission opportunity (TXOP) window, non-LLT data is transmitted between the AP and STA1. In this TXOP, even if there is high-priority LLT data to be sent, the AP cannot transmit the LLT to STA2 in time, and must wait for the end of STA1's non-LLT PPDU transmission. Therefore, if STA1's non-LLT PPDU lasts too long, the LLT transmission delay will increase significantly. In order to reduce the LLT transmission delay, the AP divides STA1's long non-LLT PPDU into multiple short non-LLT PPDUs, namely. Figure 2At the same time, a new inter-frame space xIFS is introduced to allow STA2 to seize the channel to transmit LLT within the xIFS of the short non-LLT PPDU. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, after the AP caches the LLT data, it stops transmitting the short non-LLT PPDU to STA1, and after xIFS, transmits the LLT PPDU to STA2. In addition, in order to reduce the overhead of the confirmation frame, STA1 only replies with an acknowledgment frame after receiving all the short non-LLT PPDUs, resulting in a significant increase in the reply delay of the confirmation frame. In addition, after STA2 receives an LLT PPDU, it also replies with an acknowledgment frame. The acknowledgment frame can be a block acknowledgment (BA) frame or an ACK frame. Figure 2 The SIFS in it stands for short interframe space, RTS stands for request to send, and CTS stands for clear to send.

[0059] In the above LLT preemptive transmission method, how to reduce the power consumption of STA remains to be solved.

[0060] To solve the above problems, the present application proposes a low-latency preemptive transmission solution that can solve the above problems.

[0061] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method is performed by a terminal device (such as an LLT STA) or a module (such as a chip) for a terminal device, and a network device (such as an AP) or a module (such as a chip) for a network device. For ease of explanation, the following is an example of AP and LLT STA performing the method.

[0062] Step 301: An LLT STA receives first information, where the first information indicates a first time period, where the first time period is a time period that can be used for high power (HP) transmission.

[0063] The first information may be the first time period, or may be information used to determine the first time period.

[0064] Step 302: when there is a low-latency service, enter a high power consumption mode within a first time period; or, when there is no low-latency service, enter a low power consumption (LP) mode or a high power consumption mode within a first time period.

[0065] Among them, low power consumption mode refers to an operating mode in which power consumption is less than a power consumption threshold, such as power saving (PS) mode or doze state. Among them, the operating parameters of different low power consumption modes may be different. High power consumption mode refers to an operating mode in which power consumption is greater than or equal to a power consumption threshold, such as active mode or awake state. Among them, the operating parameters of different high power consumption modes may be different.

[0066] In the above scheme, the working mode of LLT STA can be switched between high power consumption mode and low power consumption mode, so as to avoid LLT STA being in high power consumption mode for a long time, which helps to reduce the power consumption of the device.

[0067] In the embodiment of the present application, switching between low power consumption mode and high power consumption mode requires switching time. Therefore, when the low power consumption mode is about to end, the LLT STA should start switching in advance according to its own switching time to ensure that it is in high power consumption mode within the target time period. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the switching time between the low power consumption mode and the high power consumption mode, and the specific switching start time can be determined by each manufacturer.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present application, the switching time between the low power mode and the high power mode of different working parameters is different. For example, if the low power mode is defined as single-antenna reception and the high power mode is defined as multi-antenna reception, the switching time may be nanoseconds (ns level); if the energy-saving mode is switched to the activation mode, the switching time may be 100 to 200 microseconds (us); if the switching between the low power mode and the high power mode involves bandwidth (BW) switching, the switching time may be milliseconds (ms) level.

[0069] In one possible implementation method, in the presence of a low-latency service, if the starting time of the first time period is unknown, the LLT STA enters a high power consumption mode, detects a non-low-latency service frame, determines the starting time of the first time period based on the non-low-latency service frame, and enters a low power consumption mode or remains in a high power consumption mode; enters a high power consumption mode at the starting time of the first time period or before the starting time of the first time period.

[0070] In one possible implementation method, in the presence of a low-latency service, if the start time of the first time period is known, the LLT STA enters a low power consumption mode, and enters a high power consumption mode at or before the start time of the first time period.

[0071] In one possible implementation method, when there is a low-latency service, the LLT STA enters a high-power consumption mode and detects a non-low-latency service frame; after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed, the channel is seized to transmit a low-latency service frame; after receiving a confirmation frame for the low-latency service frame, the low-power consumption mode is entered.

[0072] In a possible implementation method, the LLT STA enters a high power consumption mode in a second time period after the first time period ends to detect whether there is a non-low-latency service frame, a downlink low-latency service frame or a trigger frame, the trigger frame is used to indicate an uplink transmission resource, and the LLT STA can use the uplink transmission resource to send an uplink low-latency service frame or a buffer status report (buffer status report, BSR) frame, the uplink low-latency service frame carries an uplink low-latency service and the data volume of the uplink low-latency service is less than the data volume threshold, the BSR frame is used to indicate the uplink low-latency service to be transmitted, and the data volume of the uplink low-latency service to be transmitted is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold. The following is an explanation of the different scenarios.

[0073] In case 1, when the LLT STA detects a non-low-latency service frame in the second time period, it enters the low power consumption mode because the LLT STA does not need to receive the non-low-latency service frame.

[0074] In one possible implementation method, after the transmission of a non-low-latency service frame is completed, the LLT STA enters a high power consumption mode to detect whether there is a downlink low-latency service frame or a trigger frame. The trigger frame is used to indicate an uplink transmission resource. The LLT STA can use the uplink transmission resource to send an uplink low-latency service frame or a BSR frame.

[0075] In case 2, when a trigger frame is detected in the second time period and the LLT STA has a low-latency service, the LLT STA maintains a high power consumption mode to facilitate sending an uplink low-latency service frame or a BSR frame on the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame.

[0076] In situation 3, when a trigger frame is detected in the second time period and the LLT STA has a low-latency service (i.e., data of the uplink low-latency service is cached), but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources and do not include uplink transmission resources with AID=0, the LLT STA enters a low power consumption mode and lasts for the first duration.

[0077] The uplink transmission resource with AID=0 refers to an uplink transmission resource that can be used by multiple associated STAs in competition, which is called associated user competition uplink transmission resource or shared uplink transmission resource.

[0078] In this situation 3, although the LLT STA has an uplink low-latency service that needs to be transmitted to the AP, the AP does not allocate uplink transmission resources for itself in the trigger frame and does not include uplink transmission resources with AID=0. Therefore, the LLT STA cannot transmit the uplink low-latency service frame, and the LLT STA can enter the low power mode to save power. The duration for which the LLT STA maintains the low power mode is the first duration, which can be indicated by the trigger frame, or the LLT STA determines the first duration based on at least one of the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service, the inter-frame interval, and the duration of the confirmation frame. Among them, the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service refers to the transmission duration of the AP receiving the uplink low-latency service, and the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service can be indicated by the AP to the LLT STA, and the duration of the confirmation frame refers to the transmission duration of the AP receiving the confirmation frame, and the duration of the confirmation frame can be indicated by the AP to the LLT STA.

[0079] In this situation 3, after the LLT STA enters the low power consumption mode and lasts for the first period of time, it can enter the high power consumption mode and detect the downlink low-latency service frame. Among them, when the downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service, the LLT STA maintains the high power consumption mode to facilitate the reception of the downlink low-latency service from the AP. Alternatively, when the downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service, the LLT STA enters the low power consumption mode. Alternatively, when the downlink low-latency service frame is not detected, the LLT STA also enters the low power consumption mode.

[0080] Scenario 4: When a trigger frame is detected in the second time period but there is no low-latency service, the low power consumption mode is entered and lasts for the first duration.

[0081] The trigger frame is used to indicate uplink transmission resources. For the meaning of the first duration, reference may be made to the above description.

[0082] Since the LLT STA does not have an uplink low-latency service, even if it detects that a trigger frame has allocated uplink transmission resources to itself, it does not need to send an uplink low-latency service, so it can enter the low power consumption mode and maintain the first duration.

[0083] Scenario 5: In the second time period, a trigger frame is detected and the LLT STA has a low-latency service (i.e., data of the uplink low-latency service is cached), but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources, but include uplink transmission resources with AID=0. The LLT STA maintains a high power consumption mode and competes with associated users for uplink transmission resources to transmit low-latency services.

[0084] The uplink transmission resource with AID=0 refers to an uplink transmission resource that can be used by multiple associated STAs in competition, which is called associated user competition uplink transmission resource or shared uplink transmission resource.

[0085] If the LLT STA competes for the uplink transmission resources of the associated user, it sends the uplink low-latency service frame. If it does not compete for the uplink transmission resources of the associated user, it does not send the uplink low-latency service frame.

[0086] In case 6, when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service, the LLT STA maintains a high power consumption mode to receive the downlink low-latency service frame.

[0087] In case 7, when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected within the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service, the LLT STA enters the low power consumption mode and maintains the second duration.

[0088] Among them, the LLT STA can determine the second duration according to the remaining transmission duration of the downlink low-latency service frame and the inter-frame interval.

[0089] In a possible implementation method, before a non-low-latency service frame arrives, the LLT STA enters a high power consumption mode. If a non-low-latency service frame is detected and the transmission duration of the non-low-latency service frame is lower than a first threshold, the LLT STA may maintain the high power consumption mode.

[0090] In a possible implementation method, different downlink non-low-latency service frames (such as non-LLT PPDU) have equal durations.

[0091] In one possible implementation method, each downlink non-low-latency service frame (such as non-LLT PPDU) carries a counting indication, which is used to determine the starting time of the aforementioned first time period. For example, a first time period appears after a fixed number of non-LLT PPDUs. When the LLT STA detects a non-LLT PPDU, it can determine the starting time of the next first time period based on the counting indication in the non-LLT PPDU.

[0092] In the embodiment of the present application, the TXOP may or may not support preemptive transmission, and it is necessary to determine whether the TXOP supports preemptive transmission based on dynamic indication. The following introduces four different implementations of the AP notifying whether the TXOP supports preemptive transmission.

[0093] Implementation method 1: The AP sends a beacon frame, and a new preemptive transmission enable / support indication is added to the Beacon frame, such as a 1-bit Preemption Support subfield, which is used to indicate whether the TXOP enables / supports low-latency service preemptive transmission. For example, if Preemption Support is configured to 1, it indicates that all TXOPs in the current basic service set (BSS) or TXOPs initiated by the AP support preemptive transmission. Alternatively, if Preemption Support is configured to 1, it indicates that the current AP supports low-latency service preemptive transmission. If the preemptive transmission function needs to be enabled, it needs to be indicated through additional signaling.

[0094] Implementation method 2: Within a TXOP, the TXOP initiator and the receiver exchange management frames to negotiate support / rejection of low-latency service preemptive transmission within the current TXOP.

[0095] Implementation method three: within a TXOP, the TXOP initiator sends a control frame or a management frame, such as an RTS frame, carrying a preemptive transmission indication, which is used to notify the current TXOP of support / rejection of preemptive transmission of low-latency services, and can also be used to notify preemptive transmission parameters.

[0096] Implementation method 4: Outside the TXOP, the AP sends a management frame to notify the opening / closing of preemptive transmission; or, within the TXOP, the TXOP initiator sends a management frame to notify the current TXOP to support / refuse preemptive transmission. Among them, if preemptive transmission is turned on, all TXOPs in the current BSS or TXOPs initiated by the AP support preemptive transmission before the AP notifies the closure of this function. The management frame can also be used to notify preemptive transmission parameters, such as PSP parameters. If the management frame is an independently addressed or group addressed frame, the receiver needs to reply with a response frame. If the management frame is a broadcast frame, the receiver does not need to reply with a response frame.

[0097] The following is a specific example. Figure 3 The following examples are provided for illustration. Figures 4 to 10 In the example, T1 and T2 are Figure 3 In the specific example of the first duration and the second duration in the embodiment, the LLT PPDU sent by the AP is Figure 3 A specific example of a downlink low-latency service frame in the embodiment, the LLT PPDU sent by the LLT STA is Figure 3 In the specific example of the uplink low-latency service frame in the embodiment, the non-LLT PPDU sent by the AP is Figure 3In the specific example of the non-low-latency service frame in the embodiment, a short preemption window (SPW), a long preemption window (LPW) or a preemption service period (PSP) is Figure 3 Specific examples of the first time period and the second time period in the embodiment. Figures 4 to 10 In the example, STA1 is a non-LLT STA, and STA2 to STA4 are all LLT STAs. The working modes of STA2 to STA4 can be switched between high power mode and low power mode. In TXOP, the long non-LLT PPDU sent by the AP to STA1 is divided into multiple short non-LLT PPDUs for transmission, and the interframe interval can be SIFS or other newly defined interframe intervals (such as modified interframe space (MIFS) or slot1, etc.).

[0098] The following is divided into three parts. The first part includes a low-power restricted preemption delivery (RPD) scheme, which involves Figures 4 to 6 ; The second part includes a low-power equal-interval preemptive transmission scheme involving Figure 7 to Figure 9 ; The third part includes the unequal interval preemption transmission scheme, involving Fig.10 It should be noted that the following three parts can be implemented independently or in combination with each other.

[0099] Part 1: Low-power RPD transmission solution

[0100] In the RPD scheme, a TXOP may or may not support preemptive transmission, and it is necessary to determine whether a TXOP supports preemptive transmission based on dynamic indication. The following introduces four different implementation methods for AP to notify whether a TXOP supports preemptive transmission.

[0101] In one implementation method, an LLT STA with LP mode receives DL LLT only within the PSP, and can preemptively transmit UL LLT within a time interval after the end of transmission of any PPDU that allows preemptive transmission.

[0102] In one implementation method, within the PSP, the AP sends a Trigger frame to confirm whether the target device (i.e., the LLT STA in LP mode) has been awakened; if the target device has been awakened, after receiving the Trigger frame, it replies with a control frame (such as a PS-Poll frame), a management frame (such as a bandwidth query report (BQR) frame, a buffer status report (BSR) frame, an action frame, etc.) or a data frame (such as a QS-Null frame) after an interval of SIFS. The AP confirms that the target device has been awakened based on the received reply frame, and then sends a DL LLT PPDU, which carries the DL LLT data of the target device.

[0103] In one implementation method, outside the PSP, if the LLT STA with LP mode has no UL LLT data, the LLT STA with LP mode is in LP mode.

[0104] In one implementation method, outside of TXOP, the AP sends a beacon frame (Beacon) or a management frame to the LLT STA in LP mode to notify the next wake-up time.

[0105] In one implementation method, within a TXOP, the TXOP initiator uses a control frame (such as an RTS, a Trigger frame, etc.), a management frame, etc. to carry indication information for notifying the next PSP start time.

[0106] In one implementation method, the AP may use a Beacon frame, a management frame, etc. to notify the LLT STA of one or more PSP parameter sets, each of which may indicate the parameters of a periodic PSP. When the PSP parameter set indicates a periodic PSP, it may include an indication information for indicating the duration of the periodic PSP, such as the number of PSPs using the current PSP parameter set.

[0107] Combine the following Figures 4 to 6 , and the RPD schemes are illustrated, and these schemes are applicable to both periodic PSP and non-periodic PSP. Among them, LLT STA2 is an LLT STA without LP mode, that is, LLT STA2 can transmit low-latency services, but is always in HP mode. LLT STA3~LLT STA4 are LLT STAs with LP mode, that is, LLT STA3~LLT STA4 can transmit low-latency services and can switch between LP mode and HP mode.

[0108] Figure 4FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the RPD scheme. An LLT STA with LP mode receives DL LLT only in PSP, and an LLT STA without LP mode can preempt the reception of DL LLT in the first interval after the transmission of PPDUs that allow preemption is completed. UL LLT of all LLT STAs can preempt transmission in the second interval after the transmission of PPDUs that allow preemption is completed. For example, the second interval is slot1, for example, slot1 is SIFS, the first interval is MIFS, and the second interval is smaller than the first interval.

[0109] When the LLT STA with LP mode does not cache UL LLT data, it maintains LP mode outside the PSP, such as Figure 4 If the LLT STA in LP mode caches the UL LLT, it may switch from LP mode to HP mode outside the PSP to preempt the transmission of UL LLT data, such as Figure 4 As shown in LLT STA3.

[0110] If the LLT STA with LP mode needs to receive DLLLT data in PSP, it will maintain HP mode until it receives DLLLTPPDU and replies to BA. If the LLT STA with LP mode does not need to receive DLLLT data in PSP, it can switch to LP mode after receiving the Trigger frame and maintain it until the next PSP starts.

[0111] In one implementation method, the AP uses Beacon frames, control frames (such as RTS, Trigger frames, etc.), management frames, etc. to carry indication information to notify the next wake-up time, such as the start time of the PSP, the start time of the Beacon frame, etc. In a periodic PSP, the next wake-up time is determined, so no separate notification is required. In an aperiodic PSP, within the PSP, the AP uses a Trigger frame to notify the next wake-up time, or, at the end of the TXOP, the AP uses a management frame to notify the next wake-up time.

[0112] At the start time of the PSP, the AP sends a Trigger frame to notify PSP parameters (such as the start time of the next PSP), request to receive DL LLT data (such as adding a 1-bit indication), etc. The LLT STA with LP mode receives the Trigger frame and determines whether it needs to receive DL LLT data in the current PSP; if necessary, it maintains the HP mode, such as Figure 4 Otherwise, switch to LP mode and maintain, as shown in LLT STA3 in Figure 4 As shown in LLT STA4.

[0113] In addition, the PPDU may include indication information, such as a 1-bit Preemption Indication subfield, which is configured as 1 to indicate that uplink or downlink preemption transmission is allowed within a specified interval after the current PPDU transmission.

[0114] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the RPD scheme. The UL / DL LLT of the LLT STA with LP mode is only transmitted within the PSP, and the LLT STA with LP mode is in LP mode outside the PSP. The UL / DL LLT of the LLT STA without LP mode is allowed to preempt the channel transmission outside the PSP. For example, after the PPDU transmission with Preemption Indication = 0 is completed, the LLT STA without LP mode is allowed to perform UL / DL preemption transmission within the specified interval. Figure 4 Compared with the example, Figure 5 In the example, only the UL LLT of the LLT STA in LP mode is allowed to be transmitted within the PSP, that is, the LLT STA receives the Trigger frame sent by the AP, and reports the low-latency service report frame or transmits the UL LLT data according to the transmission resources allocated by the AP.

[0115] Figure 6 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the RPD solution. The UL / DL LLT of all LLT STAs is transmitted only within the PSP, and only one non-LLT PPDU needs to be transmitted between PSPs, thus saving the preamble symbol overhead. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, in the first PSP, the AP sends a Trigger frame to request the LLT STA to report a low-latency service report frame, and notifies LLT STA2 and LLT STA3 to prepare to receive the downlink LLT PPDU. An indication bit is added to the Trigger frame to notify the LLT STA whether there is DL LLT data to be received in the current PSP; if so, the LLT STA with LP mode needs to maintain HP mode, otherwise, the LLT STA with LP mode can switch to LP mode. In addition, the LLT STA with LP mode that does not need to send / receive LLT PPDU in the PSP can switch to LP mode after replying to the low-latency service report frame.

[0116] Part 2: Low-power equidistant transmission scheme

[0117] Combine the following Figure 7 to Figure 9 , illustrating a low-power equidistant transmission scheme. Among them, LLT STA2 to LLT STA4 are all LLT STAs with LP mode, that is, LLT STA2 to LLT STA4 can transmit low-latency services and can switch between LP mode and HP mode.

[0118] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of low power equal interval preemptive transmission scheme. A PSP is inserted into each interval with a specified number of non-LLT PPDUs. A specified number of non-LLT PPDUs are spaced between two adjacent PSPs. The user is allowed to flexibly configure the interval between two adjacent PSPs (such as the number of non-LLT PPDUs in the interval can be flexibly configured) and the duration of each PSP, or it is specified by the protocol (i.e., static configuration).

[0119] Optionally, each PSP includes two time periods, which are respectively called SPW and LPW.

[0120] The SPW is used to transmit an uplink low-latency service frame whose data volume is small (e.g., less than a data volume threshold), or to transmit a low-latency service report frame, which is used to indicate the data volume of the low-latency service to be transmitted, and the data volume of the low-latency service to be transmitted is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold. Exemplarily, the low-latency service report frame may be a BSR frame.

[0121] The length of LPW is not fixed. LPW is inserted by AP based on needs. For example, when AP needs to send a downlink low-latency service frame to LLT STA, LPW can be inserted. Or when LLT STA needs to send an uplink low-latency service frame and the data volume of the uplink low-latency service frame is large (for example, greater than or equal to the data volume threshold), AP can also insert LPW. Among them, LPW is greater than SPW.

[0122] A trigger frame may be sent at the start time of each PSP, SPW or LPW, and the trigger frame is used to allocate uplink transmission resources.

[0123] The following is an example in which PSP includes SPW and LPW.

[0124] When the LLT STA does not cache the uplink low latency service (UL LLT), the LLT STA decides whether to switch to the HP mode before the SPW start time. There are two different ways:

[0125] Method 1: LLT STA maintains LP mode within SPW. Then LLT STA switches to HP mode within a specified interval after the end of SPW, and detects the signal to determine whether there is LPW. The specified interval usually uses SIFS.

[0126] Method 2: The LLT STA switches to the HP mode before the SPW starts. The LLT STA can report the BSR frame in the SPW and maintain the HP mode after the SPW ends to detect the signal to determine whether there is a LPW.

[0127] When the LLT STA has cached the uplink low-latency service (UL LLT), it switches to HP mode before the SPW start time and reports a low-latency service report frame (such as a BSR frame, a BQR frame, etc.) or transmits a UL LLT frame in the SPW. The details are as follows:

[0128] 1) If the amount of UL LLT data is small, for example, the amount of UL LLT data is less than the data amount threshold, the LLT STA uses the transmission resources specified by the trigger frame within the SPW to send the LLT PPDU, and maintains the HP mode after the SPW ends to detect the signal to determine whether there is an LPW.

[0129] by Figure 7 Taking LLT STA2 as an example, LLT STA2 caches an uplink low-latency service before the SPW in the second PSP. The data volume of the uplink low-latency service is small, so it switches to HP mode before the SPW, maintains HP mode in the SPW and sends LLT PPDU.

[0130] 2) If the UL LLT data volume is large, for example, the UL LLT data volume is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold, the LLT STA reports a BSR frame in the SPW. The BSR frame is used to indicate the amount of UL LLT data to be uploaded, and maintains the HP mode after the SPW ends. In the LPW after the SPW, the LLT PPDU is sent according to the transmission resources specified by the trigger frame.

[0131] by Figure 7 Taking LLT STA3 as an example, LLT STA3 caches an uplink low-latency service before the SPW in the second PSP. The data volume of the uplink low-latency service is large, so it switches to HP mode before SPW, maintains HP mode in SPW and sends BSR frames, receives trigger frames in LPW after SPW, and sends LLT PPDU on the transmission resources specified by the trigger frame.

[0132] The following describes how LLT STA determines whether there is an LPW after the SPW.

[0133] In case 1, after the SPW ends, after a specified interval (such as SIFS), the LLT STA detects a non-LLT PPDU and determines that there is no LPW after the SPW.

[0134] If it is determined that there is no LPW, the LLT STA switches to the LP mode and maintains the LP mode for the remaining transmission time of the non-LLT PPDU, and switches to the HP mode before the start time of the next non-LLT PPDU.

[0135] In a possible implementation, a 1-bit indicator may be added to the SIG field of the PPDU to distinguish between non-LLT PPDU and LLT PPDU.

[0136] In the second scenario, after the SPW ends, if the LLT STA detects a trigger frame or a DL LLT PPDU after a specified interval (such as SIFS), it is determined that there is an LPW after the SPW.

[0137] In one implementation method, a new LPWDuration field may be added in the trigger frame to indicate the LPW duration, or a new ULPreemptionDuration subfield may be added to indicate the uplink preemption transmission duration, and the uplink preemption transmission duration may include the BA frame duration.

[0138] The following describes the detection of a trigger frame and a DL LLT PPDU respectively.

[0139] Scenario 1: In LPW, the LLT STA detects a trigger frame.

[0140] If the trigger frame does not allocate transmission resources to itself, the LLT STA switches to LP mode after detecting the trigger frame. After T1, the LLT STA switches to HP mode within the specified interval to detect whether there is a DL LLT PPDU. After T1, if the LLT STA detects a non-LLT PPDU, it determines that the LPW has ended, switches to LP mode and maintains it, and switches to HP mode before the start time of the next non-LLT PPDU. For example, refer to Figure 7 LLT STA2 maintains the LP mode within the T1 duration after the trigger frame in the LPW, and switches to the HP mode within a specified interval after T1 to detect whether there is a DLLLT PPDU.

[0141] In one implementation method, if the trigger frame indicates the uplink preemption transmission duration, T1 is equal to the uplink preemption transmission duration.

[0142] In another implementation method, if the trigger frame does not indicate the uplink preemption transmission duration, the LLT STA determines T1 according to the UL LLT PPDU duration, the interframe space and the BA frame duration. The UL LLT PPDU duration and the BA frame duration can both be indicated by the trigger frame.

[0143] Scenario 2: In LPW, the LLT STA detects the DL LLT PPDU.

[0144] If the DL LLT PPDU does not contain downlink low-latency service data sent to itself, for example, the DL LLT PPDU does not contain user fields that match its own STA-ID, the LLT STA switches to LP mode, and after T2, switches to HP mode within the specified interval to detect non-LLT PPDU. Among them, if the BA frame duration is unknown, T2 can be determined by the remaining time of the DL LLT PPDU, the inter-frame interval, and the minimum duration of the BA frame. If the BA duration is known, the LPW ends after T2, T2 = remaining time of the DL LLT PPDU + inter-frame interval + BA frame duration. Reference Figure 7 LLT STA4 of , gives an example of T2.

[0145] If the DL LLT PPDU contains downlink low-latency service data sent to itself, for example, the DL LLT PPDU contains user fields that match its own STA-ID, the LLT STA maintains the HP mode, receives the DL LLT PPDU, and replies with a BA frame, where the end time of the BA frame is aligned with the end time of the LPW, and switches to the LP mode after the LPW ends. Figure 7 LLT STA2 and LLT STA3 both received the DL LLT PPDU sent to themselves.

[0146] In one implementation method, if the LLT STA knows the LPW end time, after the LPW ends, the LLT STA does not need to detect the non-LLT PPDU again, and can maintain the LP mode until the UL LLT data is cached and then switched to the HP mode before the next SPW start time.

[0147] In the above detection process, the LLT STA ignores the PPDU of the non-associated AP or non-cooperative AP (such as not belonging to the cooperative AP set). Among them, the LLT STA can use the following methods to determine the associated / cooperative AP:

[0148] Method 1: Detect the BSS Color subfield in the SIG field of the PPDU to determine whether it is a PPDU transmitted by an associated AP or a collaborative AP.

[0149] Optionally, the BSS Color can be configured as the last 6 bits of the AP's medium access control (MAC) address to reduce the probability of conflict between adjacent basic service sets (BSSs).

[0150] Method 2: Detect that the transmission address (TA) / receiving address (RA) of the PPDU is the MAC address of the associated AP or the AP in the AP cooperation set.

[0151] In one implementation method, the duration of the non-LLTPPDU in a TXOP may be configured to be the same and of equal length, and the number of non-LLTPPDUs spaced between two adjacent SPWs is fixed. Figure 8 This is another schematic diagram of the low-power equal-interval preemptive transmission scheme. In this example, different non-LLT PPDUs are of equal length, and the number of non-LLT PPDUs between two adjacent PSPs is 2. When the LLT STA detects the first non-LLT PPDU in the interval between any two PSPs, it can switch to LP mode and maintain it until the next PSP starts. Before the next PSP starts, if the LLT STA does not cache the ULLLT, it will maintain the LP mode until the next PSP ends, such as Figure 8 If LLT STA2 has no UL LLT to send in the first PSP, it maintains LP mode. Before the start time of the next PSP, if LLT STA has cached UL LLT, LLT STA switches to HP mode before the start time of PSP, reports BSR frame or transmits UL LLT frame in PSP, and maintains HP mode after the end of PSP. Figure 8 If LLT STA4 has UL LLT to send in the first PSP, it switches to HP mode before PSP. This method can increase the time for LLT STA to enter LP mode, thereby further reducing power consumption.

[0152] In one implementation method, a count indication may be added to the non-LLT PPDU. Fig. 9 This is another schematic diagram of the low power consumption equal interval preemptive transmission scheme. In this example, a count indicator is added in each non-LLT PPDU.

[0153] By adding an increasing / decreasing count indication in non-LLT PPDUs (for example, in the SIG field), the LLT STA can determine the start time of the next PSP when it detects any non-LLT PPDU in the PSP interval. Specifically, the duration of the non-LLT PPDU is required to be fixed, and the number of non-LLT PPDUs between two adjacent PSPs is required to be fixed. When the LLT STA detects that the increasing / decreasing count indication of any non-LLT PPDU reaches the specified threshold, the start time of the next PSP = the end time of the non-LLT PPDU transmission + the inter-frame interval.

[0154] Taking the count down as an example, the initial value of the counter is set to N-1, and the specified threshold is 0, where N is the number of non-LLT PPDUs between two adjacent PSPs. Fig. 9 , N=2, when the LLT STA detects that the count indication (count) in the non-LLT PPDU is 0, it indicates that the non-LLT PPDU is the last non-LLT PPDU between two adjacent PSPs. Therefore, it can be determined that the start time of the next PSP is equal to the sum of the end time of the non-LLT PPDU transmission and the inter-frame interval.

[0155] In one implementation method, within a TXOP, an LLT STA that only performs uplink low-latency service preemptive transmission and does not perform downlink low-latency service reception wakes up only after caching the UL LLT. After waking up and detecting any non-LLT PPDU, the LLT STA chooses whether to switch to LP mode and maintain it until the next PSP start time. For example, when the duration of the non-LLT PPDU is short, the LLT STA can maintain the HP mode until the next PSP start time. After the LLT STA sends the UL LLT data using the specified transmission resources within the PSP, it switches to the LP mode and maintains it until the next UL LLT data arrives. For example Fig. 9LLT STA2 in the STA wakes up and enters HP mode after LLT arrives, and detects non-LLT PPDU. After detecting any non-LLT PPDU, the next PSP start time can be determined according to the count indication in the non-LLT PPDU, and the LP mode is maintained until the next PSP start time. If the LLT STA wakes up after caching UL LLT and no non-LLT PPDU is detected after waking up, the trigger frame in the SPW can be detected, and the BSR frame or UL LLT PPDU is reported according to the transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame. If the SPW in the PSP reports the BSR frame, it is necessary to detect the trigger frame sent in the LPW, and send the LLT PPDU according to the uplink low-latency service transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame. After receiving the BA frame for the LLT PPDU, the LLT STA enters the LP mode and remains in it until the next UL LLT arrives. For example Fig. 9 LLT STA3 in the example wakes up and enters HP mode after LLT arrives. It does not detect non-LLT PPDU but detects trigger frame in SPW. It can send BSR frame in SPW and send LLT PPDU in LPW after sending BSR frame.

[0156] Part III: Low-power unequal-interval preemptive transmission scheme

[0157] In one implementation method, in order to reduce the air interface overhead of PSP, a low-power unequal interval preemptive transmission scheme can be designed, that is, the AP is not required to insert a PSP after sending a specified number of non-LLT PPDUs, but the LLT STA inserts the PSP when it needs to send an LLT PPDU or BSR frame, so the number of non-LLT PPDUs between two adjacent PSPs can be not fixed. Since this scheme reduces the number of PSPs, it can further reduce the signaling overhead of preemptive transmission. Fig.10 The figure is a schematic diagram of the low-power unequal interval preemptive transmission scheme. Among them, LLT STA2 to LLT STA4 are all LLT STAs with LP mode, that is, LLT STA2 to LLT STA4 can transmit low-latency services and can switch between LP mode and HP mode.

[0158] In this example, the AP sends a management frame (such as a trigger frame) outside the TXOP or at the start of the TXOP to notify the STA of the uplink transmission resources that can be used within the PSP, and no trigger frame is sent within the PSP. A PSP may be inserted after any non-LLT PPDU and PSP. The inter-frame interval between the non-LLT PPDU and the PSP, and the inter-frame interval within the PSP are both slot1. Usually slot1 is set to SIFS. The figure takes slot1=SIFS as an example. The inter-frame interval between two consecutive non-LLT PPDUs is MIFS=slot1+slot2, where the values ​​of slot1 and slot2 can be flexibly configured, and MIFS is not less than the AP transceiver switching time twice. Among them, the AP switches to the receiving state to monitor whether there is a PSP.

[0159] In TXOP, there is only UL LLT. LLT STA that does not need to receive LLT PPDU does not need to detect PSP. It only wakes up and enters HP mode after caching UL LLT. Fig.10 The following uses LLT STA2 and LLT STA3 in the example.

[0160] After LLT STA2 caches the UL LLT, LLT STA2 wakes up (i.e. switches from LP mode to HP mode) and detects the non-LLT PPDU. After LLT STA2 detects the non-LLT PPDU, it chooses whether to switch to LP mode and maintain it until the next PSP start time. For example, when the duration of the non-LLT PPDU is short, the LLT STA can maintain the HP mode until the next PSP start time. Alternatively, the LLT STA enters the LP mode before the next PSP start time. Within the PSP, if the amount of UL LLT data is large, LLT STA2 reports a BSR frame and reports the LLT PPDU within the LPW of the PSP, such as Fig.10 As shown in the figure, in one possible implementation, if the UL LLT data volume is small, LLT STA2 transmits UL LLT using the allocated uplink transmission resources in the SPW of the PSP, without requesting the AP to allocate an LPW for UL LLT preemptive transmission. After LLT STA2 transmits UL LLT in the SPW, it can go to sleep, that is, switch from HP mode to LP mode.

[0161] After LLT STA3 buffers UL LLT data, LLT STA3 wakes up and detects non-LLT PPDU, but may not detect non-LLT PPDU. If LLT STA3 detects a trigger frame, it can use the uplink transmission resources allocated to LLT STA3 by the trigger frame, or compete for the uplink transmission resources of the random access of the associated user (i.e., the uplink transmission resources corresponding to AID=0, which need to be obtained by LLT STA3) to transmit UL LLT. In order to ensure the timely transmission of UL LLT, for LLT STAs that did not report BSR frames in the previous PSP, such as LLT STA3, the AP can allocate a small amount of uplink transmission resources in the trigger frame of the PSP to ensure that the LLT STA that missed the previous PSP transmits UL LLT in time. In the PSP, if LLT STA3 has not transmitted the cached UL LLT, LLT STA3 maintains the HP mode, continues to detect non-LLT PPDU to determine the start time of the next PSP, and preempts the transmission of UL LLT or reports BSR frames in the next PSP. After LLT STA3 finishes transmitting the buffered UL LLT data, LLT STA3 switches to LP mode.

[0162] In TXOP, an LLT STA (such as Fig.10 In LLT STA4, not only does it need to enter HP mode after caching ULLLT, and detect non-LLT PPDU to determine the start time of PSP, but it also needs to detect trigger frame or DLLLT PPDU to determine whether LPW exists. During non-LLT PPDU transmission, LLT STA is allowed to switch to LP mode, but it needs to wake up before the interval slot1 after the non-LLT PPDU transmission ends, detect trigger frame or DLLLT PPDU, and determine whether LPW exists.

[0163] In one implementation method, in an embodiment of the present application, in order to distinguish between non-LLT PPDU and LLT PPDU, a 1-bit indicator bit can be added to the SIG field of the PPDU frame format to indicate the type of PPDU, i.e., non-LLT PPDU or LLT PPDU.

[0164] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device or network device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0165] Fig.11 and Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided for embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, and can also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0166] Fig.11 The communication device 1100 shown includes a processing unit 1110 and a transceiver unit 1120. The communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0167] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver unit 1120 is used to receive first information, where the first information indicates a first time period, and the first time period is a time that can be used for high-power consumption transmission; the processing unit 1110 is used to enter a high-power consumption mode within the first time period when there is a low-latency service; or, in the absence of a low-latency service, enter a low-power consumption mode or a high-power consumption mode within the first time period.

[0168] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to enter a high power consumption mode within a second time period after the first time period ends.

[0169] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to enter a low power consumption mode when a non-low-latency service frame is detected within the second time period.

[0170] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to enter a high power consumption mode after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed.

[0171] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further used to maintain a high power consumption mode when a trigger frame is detected within the second time period and there is a low-latency service, and the trigger frame is used to indicate an uplink transmission resource.

[0172] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to detect a trigger frame within the second time period, and the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink transmission resources; in the presence of low-latency services but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources and do not include associated users competing for uplink transmission resources, enter a low power consumption mode and continue for a first period of time; or, in the absence of low-latency services, enter a low power consumption mode and continue for a first period of time.

[0173] In a possible implementation method, the first duration is indicated by the trigger frame.

[0174] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further used to determine the first duration based on at least one of the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service, the inter-frame interval, and the duration of the confirmation frame.

[0175] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to enter a low power consumption mode and, after continuing for a first period of time, enter a high power consumption mode and detect a downlink low-latency service frame.

[0176] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to enter the high power consumption mode and detect the downlink low-latency service frame. When a downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service, maintain the high power consumption mode; or, when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service, enter the low power consumption mode; or, when no downlink low-latency service frame is detected, enter the low power consumption mode.

[0177] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to detect a trigger frame within the second time period, and the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink transmission resources; when there is a low-latency service but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources but include associated users competing for uplink transmission resources, maintain a high power consumption mode and compete to use the associated users to compete for uplink transmission resources to transmit the low-latency service.

[0178] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to maintain a high power consumption mode when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected within the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service.

[0179] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to enter the low power consumption mode and maintain the second duration when a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service.

[0180] In a possible implementation method, the second duration is determined by the remaining transmission duration of the downlink low-latency service frame and the inter-frame interval.

[0181] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to enter a high power consumption mode before a non-low-latency service frame arrives.

[0182] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is further configured to maintain a high power consumption mode if a non-low-latency service frame is detected and a transmission duration of the non-low-latency service frame is lower than a first threshold.

[0183] In a possible implementation method, the durations of different downlink non-low-latency service frames are equal.

[0184] In a possible implementation method, each downlink non-low-latency service frame carries a counting indication, and the counting indication is used to determine the starting time of the first time period.

[0185] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to, in the presence of a low-latency service, if the starting time of the first time period is unknown, enter a high power consumption mode, detect a non-low-latency service frame, determine the starting time of the first time period according to the non-low-latency service frame, and enter a low power consumption mode or remain in a high power consumption mode; enter a high power consumption mode at the starting time of the first time period or before the starting time of the first time period.

[0186] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to enter a low power consumption mode in the presence of a low-latency service if the starting time of the first time period is known, and enter a high power consumption mode at the starting time of the first time period or before the starting time of the first time period.

[0187] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1110 is also used to enter a high power consumption mode in the presence of a low-latency service and detect a non-low-latency service frame; after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed, seize the channel to transmit a low-latency service frame; and after receiving a confirmation frame for the low-latency service frame, enter a low power consumption mode.

[0188] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1110 and the transceiver unit 1120, reference may be made to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0189] Fig.12The communication device 1200 shown includes a processor 1210 and an interface circuit 1220. The processor 1210 and the interface circuit 1220 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1220 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1200 may also include a memory 1230 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1210 or storing input data required by the processor 1210 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1210 executes instructions.

[0190] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 1210 is used to implement the function of the above processing unit 1110 , and the interface circuit 1220 is used to implement the function of the above transceiver unit 1120 .

[0191] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0192] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory, CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a terminal device or a network device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in an access network device or a terminal as discrete components.

[0193] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. A computer program refers to a set of instructions for each step of an electronic computer or other device with message processing capability, usually written in a certain programming language, and running on a certain target architecture. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0194] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0195] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0196] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: A terminal device applied to a wireless fidelity WiFi system, the method comprising: receiving first information, where the first information indicates a first time period, where the first time period is a time period that can be used for high power consumption transmission; In the case of a low-latency service, entering a high power consumption mode during the first time period; or, In the absence of low-latency services, a low power consumption mode or a high power consumption mode is entered during the first time period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The high power consumption mode is entered in a second time period after the first time period ends.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: When a non-low-latency service frame is detected within the second time period, a low power consumption mode is entered.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Entering a high power consumption mode after the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: When a trigger frame is detected in the second time period and there is a low-latency service, the high power consumption mode is maintained, and the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink transmission resources.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: detecting a trigger frame within the second time period, the trigger frame being used to indicate an uplink transmission resource; In the case where there is a low-latency service but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources and do not include uplink transmission resources for which associated users compete, enter a low power consumption mode for a first duration; or, In the absence of low-latency services, the low power consumption mode is entered and lasts for a first period of time.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first duration is indicated by the trigger frame.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first duration is determined according to at least one of the transmission duration of the uplink low-latency service, the inter-frame interval and the duration of the confirmation frame.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that After the low power consumption mode is entered and lasts for a first period of time, the method further includes: Enter high power consumption mode and detect downlink low latency service frames.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that After entering the high power consumption mode and detecting the downlink low latency service frame, the method further includes: When a downlink low-latency service frame is detected and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service, maintaining a high power consumption mode; or, Entering a low power consumption mode when a downlink low latency service frame is detected and the downlink low latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low latency service; or, If no downlink low-latency service frame is detected, the low power consumption mode is entered.

11. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: detecting a trigger frame within the second time period, the trigger frame being used to indicate an uplink transmission resource; In the case where there is a low-latency service but the uplink transmission resources indicated by the trigger frame do not include its own uplink transmission resources but include associated user competitive uplink transmission resources, maintain a high power consumption mode and compete to use the associated user competitive uplink transmission resources to transmit the low-latency service.

12. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: When a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame contains its own downlink low-latency service, the high power consumption mode is maintained.

13. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: When a downlink low-latency service frame is detected in the second time period and the downlink low-latency service frame does not contain its own downlink low-latency service, enter the low power consumption mode and maintain the second duration.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The second duration is determined by the remaining transmission duration of the downlink low-latency service frame and the inter-frame interval.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: Before the non-low-latency service frame arrives, the high power consumption mode is entered.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: If a non-low-latency service frame is detected and the transmission duration of the non-low-latency service frame is lower than a first threshold, the high power consumption mode is maintained.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that The durations of different downlink non-low-latency service frames are equal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that Each downlink non-low-latency service frame carries a counting indication, and the counting indication is used to determine the starting time of the first time period.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: In the presence of a low-latency service, if the start time of the first time period is unknown, enter a high power consumption mode, detect a non-low-latency service frame, determine the start time of the first time period according to the non-low-latency service frame, and enter a low power consumption mode or remain in a high power consumption mode; Entering the high power consumption mode at or before the start time of the first time period.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: In the presence of a low-latency service, if the start time of the first time period is known, the low power consumption mode is entered, and the high power consumption mode is entered at the start time of the first time period or before the start time of the first time period.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: In the presence of low-latency services, enter high-power consumption mode and detect non-low-latency service frames; After the transmission of the non-low-latency service frame is completed, the channel is seized to transmit the low-latency service frame; After receiving the confirmation frame for the low-latency service frame, enter the low power consumption mode.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 21 is implemented.

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