Equipment power saving method, communication equipment and communication system

Abstract

A device power saving method, a communication device and a communication system. The device power saving method comprises the following steps: determining whether a non-AP MLD (Multi-Connection Site Device) supports a first capability or not; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP to work in a first capability state; the communication parameter types of the first capability state and the second capability state are the same, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state; and determining that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and entering a corresponding power management mode under each link, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point equipment and improving the transmission energy efficiency while ensuring the multi-link establishment efficiency among the multi-connection equipment.

Description

Device power saving method, communication device and communication system TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a device power saving method, a communication device and a communication system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, the contents researched by Wi-Fi technology, such as Ultra High Reliability (UHR), have the vision of improving the reliability of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) connection, reducing delay, improving manageability, increasing throughput at different Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) levels and reducing device-level power consumption, etc.

[0003] In UHR, power saving mechanisms will be further enhanced to ensure the latency requirement of low latency services.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method, a communication device and a communication system to provide further enhanced power saving mechanisms.

[0006] In one aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method applied to an AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0007] determining whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state;

[0008] determining that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and entering a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0009] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a device power saving method applied to a non-AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0010] sending a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the first wireless frame identifying whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link;

[0011] The first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP to work in a first capability state, and the first capability state is of the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0012] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a device power saving method, applied to an AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0013] determining a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of multiple links that the AP MLD receives or rejects a non-AP MLD to request to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode;

[0014] sending a first wireless frame;

[0015] entering a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0016] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a device power saving method, applied to a non-AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0017] receiving a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of multiple links that an AP MLD receives or rejects the non-AP MLD to request to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0018] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is an AP MLD, the AP MLD comprising:

[0019] a first determining module configured to determine whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability includes that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP to work in a first capability state, and the first capability state is of the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state;

[0020] a first processing module configured to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0021] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is a non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD comprising:

[0022] The first sending module is configured to send a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), the first wireless frame indicating whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability, and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link;

[0023] The first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state, and the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0024] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication device, which is an AP MLD, and the AP MLD comprises:

[0025] The second determining module is configured to determine a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame indicating that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish with the AP MLD, and after the first wireless frame is sent, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0026] The second sending module is configured to send the first wireless frame.

[0027] The second processing module is configured to enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0028] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication device, which is a non-AP MLD, and the non-AP MLD comprises:

[0029] The receiving module is configured to receive a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame indicating that an AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish with the AP MLD, and after the first wireless frame is sent, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0030] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication device, which is an AP MLD, and the AP MLD comprises:

[0031] One or more processors;

[0032] The AP MLD is configured to perform the device power saving method described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication device, the communication device being a non-AP MLD, comprising:

[0034] one or more processors;

[0035] The non-AP MLD is configured to perform the device power saving method described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication system, comprising an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD.

[0037] The AP MLD determines whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports the associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state; and the AP MLD determines that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0038] Alternatively, the AP MLD determines a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multiple links that the AP MLD receives or rejects the non-AP MLD requesting to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode; the AP MLD sends the first wireless frame; and the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0039] The non-AP MLD sends a first wireless frame to an AP MLD, the first wireless frame identifies whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame indicates that the AP MLD determines that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link; the first capability comprises that the non-AP STA supports the associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0040] Alternatively, the non-AP MLD receives a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multiple links that the AP MLD receives or rejects the non-AP MLD requesting to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0041] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the device power saving method as described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the multi-connection access point device AP MLD determines whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state; and the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, enters a corresponding power management mode under each link, and effectively reduces the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point device while ensuring the efficiency of multi-link establishment between multi-connection devices, thereby improving the transmission energy efficiency.

[0043] Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following describes the drawings required for the embodiment description. The following drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not specifically limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 1 is one exemplary schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 2 is one exemplary interactive schematic diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 3 is another exemplary interactive schematic diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG. 4 is another exemplary interactive schematic diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG. 5 is a flow schematic diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG. 6 is a flow schematic diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG. 7 is a flow schematic diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG. 8 is a flow schematic diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an AP MLD according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a non-AP MLD according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an AP MLD according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a non-AP MLD according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method, a communication device and a communication system.

[0060] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method applied to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), and the method comprises:

[0061] determining whether a multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP to work in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state;

[0062] determining that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and entering a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0063] In the above embodiments, the multi-connection access point device (AP MLD) determines whether a multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP to work in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state; it is determined that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and a corresponding power management mode is entered under each link. In this way, while ensuring the efficiency of multi-link establishment between multi-connection devices, the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point device is effectively reduced, and the transmission energy efficiency is improved.

[0064] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, the determination of whether the multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports the first capability comprises:

[0065] receiving a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; sending a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD to establish, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode;

[0066] or

[0067] sending a second wireless frame; after receiving an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the AP MLD receives a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD 102 supports the first capability; the AP MLD sends a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD to establish, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode, realizing the switching of the power management mode of the multi-connection access point device, while ensuring the efficiency of the multi-link establishment between the multi-connection devices, effectively reducing the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point device end, and improving the transmission energy efficiency.

[0069] In the above embodiment, after the AP MLD receives an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode. Through the mechanism of the acknowledgement message frame, the communication between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD and the switching of the power management mode are more coordinated and accurate

[0070] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link includes:

[0071] under the first link, entering the active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link includes at least one of the following:

[0072] the link identified in the second wireless frame that the AP MLD agrees to establish and enable is the link from which the second wireless frame is sent;

[0073] the link enabled by the second wireless frame is a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the AP MLD can explicitly identify the links that need to enter the active state through the second wireless frame, and the AP MLD can reasonably allocate frequency resources and power resources. In this way, unnecessary resource waste can be avoided, and the best use of network resources can be ensured.

[0075] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the entering, for each link, into the corresponding power management mode comprises:

[0076] entering, under the second link, into the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of:

[0077] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is rejected to be established;

[0078] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to be established but not enabled;

[0079] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to be established and enabled, and the link that does not send the second wireless frame;

[0080] the link that is established before the sending of the second wireless frame, but not enabled, and not enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the non-AP MLD identifies the second link that enters the first capability state in the first wireless frame, so that the AP MLD adjusts the power management mode of the second link according to the identification information of the second wireless frame after receiving the second wireless frame, thereby maximizing the network performance while ensuring the real-time communication and energy saving.

[0082] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, after entering, under the second link, into the first capability state, the method comprises:

[0083] The affiliated AP working in the fifth link receives the third wireless frame, switches to the active state under the fifth link, and / or sends a fourth wireless frame to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0084] wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state;

[0085] The fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame received by the affiliated AP for the uplink data frame sent by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0086] wherein the fifth link is one or more of the enabled links in the second link.

[0087] In the above embodiments, when the non-AP STA has a transmission requirement, the affiliated AP is switched from the first capability state to the active state by sending the third wireless frame, so as to ensure that the affiliated AP can enter the active state in time when needed, and provide high-performance communication services.

[0088] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, under the second link, after entering the first capability state, the method comprises:

[0089] If the affiliated AP working in the sixth link has buffered data to be sent, the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP is sent buffered data or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the non-AP STA;

[0090] The sixth link is one or more of the first links.

[0091] In the above embodiments, even in the low-power first capability state, timely transmission and confirmation of important data can be ensured, data loss or transmission delay can be avoided, the reliability and data transmission efficiency of the system are improved, energy consumption is effectively managed, and the device endurance time is prolonged.

[0092] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method, applied to a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0093] sending a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the first wireless frame indicating whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and under each link, enter a corresponding power management mode;

[0094] The first capability comprises that the non-AP STA supports the associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as the second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state.

[0095] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first wireless frame sent to the multi-connection access point device AP MLD comprises:

[0096] sending a first wireless frame to an AP MLD; wherein the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; receiving a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish with the AP MLD, and the affiliated AP enters a corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame;

[0097] or

[0098] receiving the second wireless frame; sending an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame to the AP MLD.

[0099] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the entering, under each link, a corresponding power management mode comprises:

[0100] under the first link, the affiliated AP enters an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of:

[0101] the second wireless frame identifies the link that the non-AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link from which the second wireless frame is sent;

[0102] a link that is established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled, is enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0103] In some embodiments of the second aspect, after the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0104] the non-AP STA operating on a third link sends an uplink data frame to an associated AP, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more of the first links.

[0105] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the entering, under each link, a corresponding power management mode comprises:

[0106] under the second link, the affiliated AP enters the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of:

[0107] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is rejected to establish;

[0108] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish but not enabled;

[0109] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish and enabled, and the link is not the link from which the second wireless frame is sent;

[0110] a link that is established before the second wireless frame is sent, but is not enabled, and is not enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0111] In some embodiments of the second aspect, after the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0112] The non-AP STA working in the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to an associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP switching from the first capability state to an active state; and the fourth link is one or more of the second links.

[0113] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method, applied to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), the method comprising:

[0114] determining a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifying one or more of the multi-links that the AP MLD accepts or rejects a non-AP MLD requesting to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an associated AP of the AP MLD entering a corresponding power management mode;

[0115] sending the first wireless frame;

[0116] under each link, entering a corresponding power management mode.

[0117] In some embodiments of the third aspect, before the first wireless frame is determined, the method comprises:

[0118] receiving a second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifying that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0119] In some embodiments of the third aspect, under each link, entering a corresponding power management mode, the method comprises:

[0120] under a first link, entering an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following:

[0121] the link identified in the first wireless frame that the AP MLD agrees to establish and enable is the link from which the first wireless frame is sent;

[0122] a link that is established before the sending of the first wireless frame but not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0123] In some embodiments in combination with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the entering, under each link, into the corresponding power management mode comprises:

[0124] entering, under a second link, into the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of:

[0125] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is refused to be established;

[0126] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to be established but not enabled;

[0127] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to be established and enabled, and for which the first wireless frame is not sent;

[0128] a link that is established before the sending of the first wireless frame but not enabled and not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0129] In some embodiments in combination with the third aspect, in some embodiments, after entering, under a second link, into the first capability state, the method comprises:

[0130] the affiliated AP working on a fifth link receives a third wireless frame, switches to an active state under the fifth link, and / or sends a fourth wireless frame to a non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0131] wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state;

[0132] the fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame that the affiliated AP receives from the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0133] wherein the fifth link is one or more of the enabled links in the second link.

[0134] In some embodiments in combination with the third aspect, in some embodiments, after entering, under a second link, into the first capability state, the method comprises:

[0135] if there is buffered data for the affiliated AP corresponding to a sixth link, sending the buffered data to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP or receiving a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the non-AP STA;

[0136] wherein the sixth link is one or more of the first link.

[0137] In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device power saving method applied to a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0138] receiving a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame indicating one or more of the multi-links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD to accept or reject, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD entering a corresponding power management mode.

[0139] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, before the receiving the first wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0140] sending a second wireless frame to the AP MLD, and the second wireless frame indicating that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports the affiliated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0141] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0142] under a first link, the affiliated AP enters an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following:

[0143] the link accepted and enabled by the non-AP MLD in the first wireless frame is the link from which the first wireless frame is sent;

[0144] the link enabled by the first wireless frame is a link established before the sending of the first wireless frame but not enabled.

[0145] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, after the non-AP MLD receives the first wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0146] the non-AP STA working in a third link sends an uplink data frame to the affiliated AP, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more of the first links.

[0147] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0148] In the second link, the affiliated AP enters the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following:

[0149] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is refused to be established;

[0150] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to be established but not enabled;

[0151] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to be established and enabled, and the first wireless frame is not sent;

[0152] A link that is established before the first wireless frame is sent, but not enabled, and not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0153] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, after the non-AP MLD receives the first wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0154] The non-AP STA working in the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to the associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP to switch from the first capability state to an active state; and the fourth link is one or more links in the second link.

[0155] In the fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, and comprises at least one of a first determining module and a first processing module; wherein the multi-connection access point device AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the first aspect; or the multi-connection access point device AP MLD comprises at least one of a second determining module, a second sending module and a second processing module; wherein the multi-connection access point device AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the third aspect.

[0156] In the sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, comprising a first sending module; wherein the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the second aspect; or the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD comprises a receiving module; wherein the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

[0157] In the seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, comprising:

[0158] One or more processors;

[0159] The multi-connection access point device AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manner of the first aspect or the third aspect.

[0160] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device, which is a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, comprising:

[0161] one or more processors;

[0162] The multi-connection station device non-AP MLD is configured to perform the optional implementation manner of the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0163] In a ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication system, comprising a multi-connection access point device AP MLD and a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD.

[0164] The AP MLD determines whether the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state; and the AP MLD determines that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0165] The AP MLD determines a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more links in a multi-link that the AP MLD receives or rejects a non-AP MLD from requesting to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode; the first wireless frame is sent; and a corresponding power management mode is entered under each link.

[0166] The non-AP MLD sends a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the first wireless frame identifies whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame indicates that the AP MLD determines that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link; the first capability comprises that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state.

[0167] Or, the non-AP MLD receives a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multiple links that the AP MLD accepts or rejects the non-AP MLD to request to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0168] In a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the optional implementation manners of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect.

[0169] In an eleventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, when the program product is executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method described in the optional implementation manners of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect.

[0170] In a twelfth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program, when the computer program is executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in the optional implementation manners of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect.

[0171] In a thirteenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip or a chip system. The chip or the chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the method described in the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0172] It can be understood that the above-mentioned multi-connection access point device AP MLD, multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, communication system, storage medium, program product, computer program, chip or chip system are all used to perform the method proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be repeated here.

[0173] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a device power saving method, a communication device, and a communication system. In some embodiments, the device power saving method, the signal sending method, the wireless frame sending method, and the like can be replaced with each other, and the information processing system, the communication system, and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0174] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but only illustrate some embodiments, and are not specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the scheme after removing part of the steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be exchanged arbitrarily, in addition, the optional implementation manners in an embodiment can be combined arbitrarily; in addition, the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, for example, part or all of the steps of different embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, an embodiment can be combined with the optional implementation manners of other embodiments.

[0175] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent if there is no special description and logical conflict, and can be referred to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0176] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and not as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0178] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0179] In some embodiments, the writing manner of "at least one of A, B", "A and / or B", "A in one case and B in another case", "responding to a case A, responding to another case B", and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: in some embodiments, A is executed regardless of B; in some embodiments, B is executed regardless of A; in some embodiments, A and B are selectively executed; in some embodiments, A and B are executed. When there are more branches such as A, B, C, and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0180] In some embodiments, the writing manner of "A or B" and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: in some embodiments, A is executed regardless of B; in some embodiments, B is executed regardless of A; in some embodiments, A and B are selectively executed. When there are more branches such as A, B, C, and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0181] The prefix words of "first", "second" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute limitation on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The description objects are described in the claims or embodiments, and should not be construed as redundant limitation because of the use of the prefix words. For example, the description object is "field", and the ordinal words before "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not limit the position or order between "fields", and "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified thereby are in the same message or not, nor limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, the description object is "level", and the ordinal words before "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the quantity of the description object is not limited by the ordinal words, and can be one or more. For example, "first device", wherein the quantity of "device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefix words can be the same or different, for example, the description object is "device", and "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and the types thereof can be the same or different. For another example, the description object is "information", and "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and the contents thereof can be the same or different.

[0182] In some embodiments, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A, or indirectly indicating A.

[0183] In some embodiments, the terms of "in response to", "in response to determining", "in the case of", "when", "when", "if", "if" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0184] In some embodiments, the terms of "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", "above" and the like can be replaced with each other, and the terms of "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", "below" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0185] In some embodiments, the apparatuses and devices can be interpreted as entities, and can also be interpreted as virtual, whose names are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and in some cases can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", and the like.

[0186] In some embodiments, the data, information, and the like can be obtained in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country where the data, information, and the like are obtained.

[0187] In some embodiments, the data, information, and the like can be obtained after obtaining the consent of the user.

[0188] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, and any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0189] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0190] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) 101, a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) 102, a non-access point station (non-AP STA) 103, and an affiliated AP of the AP MLD 104. Among them, the number of the affiliated non-AP MLD 103 and the affiliated AP 104 can be one or more, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0191] In some embodiments, the AP MLD 101 and the affiliated AP 104 can be an access point for a mobile terminal to enter a wired network. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting the wired network and the wireless network, and its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then access the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the AP can be a terminal device or a network device with a wireless fidelity chip. Optionally, the AP can support multiple WLAN standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11bf, 802.11bn, and the next generation 802.11 protocol, but is not limited thereto.

[0192] In some embodiments, the multi-link station device 102 and the affiliated multi-link station device 103, for example, include a wireless communication chip supporting WiFi communication function, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal. Optionally, the wireless communication terminal is at least one of a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device supporting WiFi communication function, a WiFi communication function enabled automobile, a smart automobile, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in smart city, a wireless terminal device in smart home, but not limited thereto.

[0193] Specifically, the multi-link station device 102 and the affiliated multi-link station device 103 can be a terminal device or a network device with a wireless fidelity (WiFi) chip. Optionally, the multi-link station device 102 and the affiliated multi-link station device 103 can support multiple WLAN standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11bf, 802.11bn, etc., and support next-generation 802.11 protocol, but not limited thereto.

[0194] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the AP and the STA can be devices supporting multi-link, for example, can be respectively denoted as an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) and a non-access point multi-link device (Non-AP MLD); the AP MLD can represent an access point supporting multi-link communication function, and the non-AP MLD can represent a station supporting multi-link communication function.

[0195] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of system architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0196] The embodiments of the present disclosure described below can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 or part of the subjects, but are not limited thereto. The subjects shown in FIG. 1 are exemplary, and the communication system can include all or part of the subjects in FIG. 1, or other subjects other than FIG. 1. The number and form of each subject is arbitrary, each subject can be physical or virtual, the connection relationship between each subject is exemplary, each subject can not be connected or can be connected, the connection can be in any way, can be direct connection or indirect connection, can be wired connection or wireless connection.

[0197] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a local area network using 802.11 series protocols. In a WLAN, a basic service set (BSS) is a basic component of a WLAN. A BSS network is composed of station devices with some association within a certain coverage area. One situation of association is that stations directly communicate with each other in an ad hoc network, which is called an independent BSS (IBSS). Another more common situation is that in a BSS network, there is only one central station with a full-time management BSS called an access point device, and other STAs in the network are associated with it. Other stations in the BSS network that are not central stations are called terminals, also called non-AP STAs. When describing a STA, it is not necessary to distinguish between a terminal and a non-AP STA. In the same BSS network, due to distance, transmission power, etc., one STA cannot detect other STAs far away from it, and the two are each other's hidden nodes.

[0198] FIG. 2 is an interaction diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the above method includes:

[0199] In step 201, the AP MLD 101 receives a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD 102, and the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD 102 supports a first capability;

[0200] The first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state; and the first capability state is of a same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0201] In a wireless network, in order to reduce the power consumption of a communication device, a power saving mechanism is proposed. The device can perform power management during communication to achieve the purpose of power saving. Specifically, the power management mode mainly includes an active mode and a power save mode (PS Mode). The active mode is the active state, the device does not enter the power save mode, all transceiver links work normally, have the ability to transmit and receive, and the energy consumption is large. The power save mode mainly includes a doze state and an awake state. In the doze state, the device closes its transceiver link and does not perform transmission and reception operation, and the power consumption is extremely low. The device working in the doze state will wake up regularly to check whether the associated device has buffered data to send to itself. In the awake state, the device enters the active state and has the same transmission and reception capability as in the active mode, and the energy consumption is the same as in the active mode. The station device working in the power save mode switches between the doze state and the awake state, reduces the high energy consumption duration of the station device while ensuring the communication quality, and achieves the purpose of power saving. For example, the station device indicates the power mode after completing the current frame exchange through the power management subfield in the frame control field of the wireless frame. When the power management subfield is set to “0”, it indicates that the station device is in the active mode after completing the current frame exchange; when the power management subfield is set to “1”, it indicates that the station device enters the power save mode after completing the current frame exchange. After the station device enters the doze state, it regularly wakes up and receives the beacon frame to determine whether the associated access point device has buffered data to send to itself. If the access point device has buffered data to send, the station device switches to the awake state and sends a power save poll (PS-Poll) frame or other wireless frame to notify the access point device that it is in the awake state, so as to prepare to receive the buffered data sent by the access point device. In addition, the related technology also introduces a target wake time (TWT) mechanism. It is a technology for energy saving, which aims to further reduce the power consumption of Wi-Fi network. Specifically, the TWT mechanism allows the access point device and the station device to set a specific wake-up schedule through negotiation. In this schedule, the station device only switches from the doze state to the awake state in the predetermined time period to perform necessary data transmission. After the transmission is completed, the station device will immediately return to the doze state, thereby minimizing unnecessary power consumption.

[0202] It can be seen that the power saving mechanism provided by the related art is mainly applicable to the station device, and for the access point device, once it enters the sleep mode, it can cause the surrounding station devices to fail to discover the access point device in the sleep state, thereby failing to perform normal communication. With the increase of mobility of the access point device and the dependence on the battery power supply, the energy efficiency management of the access point device becomes particularly important. Meanwhile, the continuous development of wireless communication technology introduces a multi-link operation (MLO) mechanism. A device supporting the MLO function is referred to as a multi-link device (MLD), simply referred to as a multi-connection device. With the aid of the MLO technology, the multi-connection access point device and the multi-connection station device can establish multiple links across frequency bands. Although more links can provide more frequency resources and achieve higher throughput, when the traffic load is not high, the multiple links or radio frequency (RF) links cause the waste of frequency resources and the increase of energy consumption of the device. Among them, for the multi-connection access point device, keeping all the affiliated access point devices in the active working state for a long time increases the energy consumption of the access point device end, which is not conducive to the optimization of the system energy efficiency. Therefore, when the access point device and the station device perform data transmission in the multi-link mode, the power saving mechanism needs to be further enhanced.

[0203] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the AP MLD receives a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD 102 supports a first capability; the AP MLD sends a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish a multi-link to the AP MLD, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters a corresponding power management mode. Wherein, the first capability includes: the non-AP MLD supports the associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state and the second capability state have the same type of communication parameters, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state. Wherein, the first wireless frame includes but is not limited to a probe request (Probe Request) frame, an association request (Association Request) frame, and a re-association request (Re Association Request) frame. Wherein, the second wireless frame includes but is not limited to an association response (Association Response) frame and a re-association response (Re Association Response) frame. Wherein, the power management mode includes the first capability state, the second capability state, and other capability states. Different capability states reflect the operating capability of the device at different power consumption levels. For example, the first capability state includes a low capability (Low Capability State) state, and the second capability state includes an active state (Active State). Wherein, the access point device operates in the low capability state with lower transceiving capability. For example, the access point device operates in low rate and low spatial stream number (for example, 1 spatial stream number). The access point device operates normally in the active state and supports the highest rate and the highest spatial stream for transceiving operation. Wherein, the highest rate and the highest spatial stream number refer to the highest power and the maximum spatial stream number supported by the device under a certain bandwidth, which is indicated in the capability element and the operation element.

[0204] Specifically, in the multi-link established between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, each affiliated AP is responsible for different communication links in multi-link operation, and these links may have different communication needs at different time periods. For example, during peak usage time or when high-bandwidth applications are needed, the affiliated AP needs to remain in the active state to provide sufficient bandwidth and reliable connection. However, when the network load is low or some links are temporarily not needed to be used, if the affiliated AP still remains in the active state, the energy consumption of the access point device end will be increased, and the overall efficiency and network throughput of the system will be reduced.

[0205] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-AP MLD identifies whether the non-AP MLD supports the first capability through the first wireless frame. If the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, the AP MLD sends a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode, realizing the switching of the power management mode of the multi-connection access point device, effectively reducing the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point device end while ensuring the efficiency of the multi-link establishment between the multi-connection devices, and improving the transmission energy efficiency.

[0206] In step 202, the AP MLD 101 sends a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0207] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, if the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, the AP MLD sends a second wireless frame, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode. The power management mode includes a first capability state and an active state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the active state. Through the second wireless frame, the AP MLD can explicitly indicate the acceptance or rejection of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish. This helps the AP MLD to effectively manage and allocate network resources, avoid unnecessary link occupation, and ensure that resources are more efficiently utilized. In addition, by letting the affiliated AP enter the corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame, the management efficiency of the network resources is effectively improved, and the energy consumption is significantly saved.

[0208] In step 203, the non-AP MLD 102 receives the second wireless frame.

[0209] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame sent by the AP MLD, and according to the second wireless frame, the response result of the AP MLD to the request of the non-AP MLD to establish multiple links can be clearly understood, including which links are accepted or rejected. This helps the non-AP MLD to better plan and manage its communication links. In addition, the affiliated AP that switches the power management mode can also be determined according to the second wireless frame, and then the communication strategy is adjusted.

[0210] In some embodiments, step 202 includes:

[0211] Step 2021, entering an active state of the power management mode under a first link; wherein the first link includes at least one of the following:

[0212] The second wireless frame identifies the link that the AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link that sends the second wireless frame;

[0213] The link is established before the second wireless frame is sent but is not enabled, and is enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0214] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP MLD can explicitly identify the link that needs to enter the active state through the second wireless frame, and the AP MLD can reasonably allocate frequency resources and power resources. In this way, unnecessary resource waste can be avoided, and the best use of network resources can be ensured.

[0215] Correspondingly, after the AP MLD enters the active state of the power management mode under the first link, a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD 102 that works under a third link sends an uplink data frame to an associated AP or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more links in the first link.

[0216] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the non-AP STA that works under the third link has buffered data to be sent to the associated AP, the non-AP STA corresponding to the third link successfully competes for a channel and then sends an uplink data frame to the associated AP or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the AP MLD; wherein the third link is one or more links in the first link.

[0217] In some embodiments, step 202 includes:

[0218] Step 2022, entering the first capability state under a second link; wherein the second link includes at least one of the following:

[0219] The second wireless frame identifies the link that is refused to establish;

[0220] The second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish but not enabled;

[0221] The second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish and has been enabled, and the link does not send the second wireless frame;

[0222] The link is established before the second wireless frame is sent, but is not enabled, and is not enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0223] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-AP MLD identifies the second link entering the first capability state in the first wireless frame, so that the AP MLD adjusts the power management mode of the second link according to the identification information of the second wireless frame after receiving the second wireless frame, thereby maximizing the network performance while ensuring the real-time performance of communication and energy saving.

[0224] In some embodiments, after step 202, the non-AP MLD 102 can perform step 204 or step 205.

[0225] In step 204, the non-AP STA working in the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to the associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP switching from the first capability state to the active state; and the fourth link is one or more of the second links.

[0226] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the non-AP STA corresponding to the fourth link has buffered data to be sent to its associated AP, the non-AP STA sends a third wireless frame to its associated AP after successfully contending for the channel. The third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP switching from the first capability state to the active state. Therefore, when the non-AP STA has transmission requirements, the third wireless frame is sent to notify the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state, so as to ensure that the affiliated AP can enter the active state in time when needed, and provide high-performance communication services.

[0227] In step 205, if the non-AP STA working in the fifth link has buffered data to be sent, the non-AP STA sends the buffered data to the AP associated with the non-AP STA, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the AP.

[0228] The fifth link is one or more of the first links.

[0229] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the non-AP STA corresponding to the fifth link has buffered data to be sent to its associated AP, the non-AP STA sends the buffered data to its associated AP or receives a necessary response frame or an acknowledgement frame after successfully contending for the channel. The fifth link is one or more of the first links.

[0230] In some embodiments, after step 204, the non-AP STA working in the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to the associated AP, the AP MLD 101 can perform step 206.

[0231] At step 206, the affiliated AP working at the sixth link receives the third wireless frame, switches to the active state under the sixth link, and / or sends a fourth wireless frame to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP.

[0232] The third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state.

[0233] The fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the affiliated AP to receive the uplink data frame sent by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP.

[0234] The sixth link is one or more of the fourth links.

[0235] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the affiliated AP corresponding to the sixth link receives the third wireless frame sent by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP, and the affiliated AP corresponding to the sixth link switches from the low capability state to the active state. The sixth link is one or more of the fourth links.

[0236] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the time point of sending the fourth wireless frame can be before the affiliated AP switches from the first capability state to the active state, or after the affiliated AP switches from the first capability state to the active state, which is not limited here.

[0237] In some embodiments, after sending the fourth wireless frame, the affiliated AP sending the fourth wireless frame can receive the uplink data sent by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP and send the necessary response frame or acknowledgement frame to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP.

[0238] In some embodiments, after the non-AP STA working at the fifth link sends the third wireless frame to the associated AP at step 205, the AP MLD 101 can perform step 207.

[0239] At step 207, the affiliated AP working at the seventh link receives the uplink data sent by the associated non-AP STA and sends a response frame or an acknowledgement frame to the non-AP STA.

[0240] As an example, refer to FIG. 3, which shows another optional implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure, including the following steps:

[0241] At step 301, the AP MLD 101 sends the second wireless frame.

[0242] In some embodiments, the AP MLD sends a second wireless frame to the non-AP STA, which can identify the affiliated APs of the AP MLD requesting to enter the corresponding power management mode. In addition, in addition to identifying the affiliated APs entering the corresponding power management mode, the second wireless frame can also identify the current state of each link, including which links need to enter the active state and which links can enter the first capability state, so that the non-AP MLD can explicitly know the expected state of each link and confirm according to the needs.

[0243] At step 302, after the AP MLD 101 receives the acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD 102, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0244] In some embodiments, the acknowledgement message frame includes an acknowledgement (ACK) frame.

[0245] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the AP MLD receives the acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode. Through the mechanism of the acknowledgement message frame, the communication and power management mode switching between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD are more coordinated and accurate, avoiding potential communication interruption and resource waste. In this way, not only the energy use of the device is optimized, the endurance time of the device is prolonged, but also the overall efficiency and stability of the network are improved.

[0246] In some embodiments, the present embodiment further includes steps corresponding to steps 2021, 2022, 203, 204, 205, 206 in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0247] As an example, referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows one optional implementation manner of the embodiments of the present disclosure, including the following steps:

[0248] At step 401, the AP MLD 101 determines a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multiple links that the AP MLD 101 receives or rejects the non-AP MLD 102 to request to establish, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD 101 enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0249] In some embodiments, before determining the first wireless frame, the method further includes:

[0250] receive a second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability includes that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state is of a same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0251] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the AP MLD receives a second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD 102 supports a first capability; the AP MLD sends a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD receives or refuses one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD to establish, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode, realizing the switching of the power management mode of the multi-connection access point device, effectively reducing the energy consumption of the multi-connection access point device end while ensuring the efficiency of the multi-link establishment between the multi-connection devices, and improving the transmission energy efficiency.

[0252] In step 402, the AP MLD 101 sends a first wireless frame.

[0253] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, if the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, the AP MLD sends a first wireless frame, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP enters the corresponding power management mode.

[0254] In some embodiments, the present embodiment also includes steps corresponding to steps 2021, 2022, 203, 204, 205, 206 in the foregoing embodiments, respectively, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that in the present embodiment, the first wireless frame is the same as the second wireless frame of the foregoing embodiments, and the second wireless frame has the same function as the first wireless frame in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0255] In some embodiments, the names of information and the like are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and the terms "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "field", "symbol", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", "chip", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0256] In some embodiments, the terms "moment", "point in time", "time", "time position", and the like can be replaced with each other, and the terms "duration", "period", "time window", "window", "time", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0257] In some embodiments, the terms "wireless access scheme", "waveform", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0258] In some embodiments, the terms "certain", "preseted", "preset", "set", "indicated", "certain", "arbitrary", "first", and the like can be replaced with each other, and "certain A", "preset A", "preset A", "set A", "indicated A", "certain A", "arbitrary A", "first A" can be interpreted as A specified in advance in a protocol and the like, or A obtained by setting, configuration, or indication, or A that is certain, arbitrary, or first, but are not limited thereto.

[0259] In some embodiments, determination or judgment can be performed by a value (0 or 1) represented by 1 bit, or by a true or false value (Boolean value) represented by true or false, or by comparison of numerical values (for example, comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0260] In some embodiments, "not expecting to receive" can be interpreted as not receiving in a time domain resource and / or a frequency domain resource, or as not performing subsequent processing on data and the like after receiving the data and the like, and "not expecting to send" can be interpreted as not sending, or as sending but not expecting a response to the content of the sending from the receiving side.

[0261] The device power saving method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can comprise the foregoing steps and at least one of the embodiments. For example, step 201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 206 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 201 and step 202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the combination of step 202 and step 203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the combination of step 204 and step 206 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the combination of step 205 and step 207 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the combination of step 301 and step 302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the combination of step 401 and step 402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0262] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the corresponding description of FIG. 2 can be referred to.

[0263] FIG. 5 is one of flow diagrams of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0264] As shown in FIG. 5, the above method can be applied to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD 101, and the above method comprises:

[0265] Step 501, determining whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state is of the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state.

[0266] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the determination of whether the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports the first capability comprises:

[0267] receiving a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the first wireless frame identifying that a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; sending a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifying that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of the multi-links requested by the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD to establish, and the affiliated AP entering a corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame;

[0268] or

[0269] sending a second wireless frame; after receiving an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the affiliated AP enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0270] In step 502, it is determined that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and in each link, a corresponding power management mode is entered.

[0271] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0272] under the first link, entering an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following:

[0273] the second wireless frame identifies a link agreed to be established and enabled by the AP MLD, and the link is the link for sending the second wireless frame;

[0274] a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled, enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0275] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0276] under the second link, entering the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following:

[0277] the second wireless frame identifies a link refused to be established;

[0278] the second wireless frame identifies a link agreed to be established but not enabled;

[0279] the second wireless frame identifies a link agreed to be established and enabled, and the link does not send the second wireless frame;

[0280] a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame, but not enabled, and not enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0281] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after entering the first capability state under the second link, the method comprises:

[0282] The affiliated AP working in the fifth link receives a third wireless frame, switches to an active state under the fifth link, and / or sends a fourth wireless frame to a non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0283] wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state;

[0284] The fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame received by the affiliated AP for uplink data frames sent by a non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0285] The fifth link is one or more of the enabled links in the second link.

[0286] Optionally, in the second link, after entering the first capability state, the method includes:

[0287] If the sixth link corresponding to the affiliated AP has buffered data to be sent, the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP sends the buffered data or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the non-AP STA;

[0288] The sixth link is one or more of the first link.

[0289] The device power saving method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include the foregoing steps and at least one of the embodiments. For example, step 501 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 502 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of step 501 and step 502 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0290] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 5 can be referred to.

[0291] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0292] As shown in FIG. 6, the above method can be applied to a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD 102, and the above method includes:

[0293] Step 601: sending a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the first wireless frame indicating whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0294] The first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an affiliated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0295] Optionally, in the present embodiment of the present disclosure, the first wireless frame sent to the multi-connection access point device AP MLD includes:

[0296] sending a first wireless frame to an AP MLD; wherein the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; receiving a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish to the AP MLD, and the affiliated AP enters a corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame;

[0297] or

[0298] receiving the second wireless frame; sending an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame to the AP MLD.

[0299] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0300] under the first link, the affiliated AP enters an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following:

[0301] the second wireless frame identifies the link that the non-AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link for sending the second wireless frame;

[0302] the link enabled by the second wireless frame is a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled.

[0303] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0304] the non-AP STA working in the third link sends an uplink data frame to an associated AP, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more of the first links.

[0305] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0306] under the second link, the affiliated AP enters the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following:

[0307] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is rejected to establish;

[0308] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish but not enabled;

[0309] the second wireless frame identifies the link that is agreed to establish and enabled, and the link is not the link for sending the second wireless frame;

[0310] a link that is established before the second wireless frame is sent, but is not enabled, and is not enabled by the second wireless frame.

[0311] Optionally, in embodiments of the present disclosure, after the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0312] The non-AP STA working in the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to the associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP switching from the first capability state to the active state; and the fourth link is one or more of the second links.

[0313] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the corresponding description of FIG. 6 can be referred to.

[0314] FIG. 7 is a third flow diagram of a device power saving method according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0315] As shown in FIG. 7, the above method can be applied to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD 101, and the above method comprises:

[0316] Step 701, determining a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multi-links that the AP MLD receives or rejects a non-AP MLD to request to establish, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0317] Optionally, in embodiments of the present disclosure, before the first wireless frame is determined, the method comprises:

[0318] Receiving a second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports the associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state and the second capability state have the same type of communication parameters, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0319] Step 702, sending the first wireless frame.

[0320] Step 703, entering a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0321] Optionally, in embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering a corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0322] entering an active state of the power management mode under a first link; wherein the first link comprises at least one of:

[0323] identifying, in the first wireless frame, a link that the AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link that transmits the first wireless frame;

[0324] a link that is established before the first wireless frame is transmitted but not enabled, and is enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0325] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering, under each link, into the corresponding power management mode comprises:

[0326] entering the first capability state under a second link; wherein the second link comprises at least one of:

[0327] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is refused to establish;

[0328] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to establish but not enabled;

[0329] the first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to establish and has been enabled, and the link does not transmit the first wireless frame;

[0330] a link that is established before the first wireless frame is transmitted, but not enabled, and not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0331] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after entering the first capability state under the second link, the method comprises:

[0332] the affiliated AP working in a fifth link receives a third wireless frame, switches to an active state under the fifth link, and / or transmits a fourth wireless frame to a non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0333] wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state;

[0334] the fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame that the affiliated AP receives an uplink data frame transmitted by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP;

[0335] wherein the fifth link is one or more of the enabled links in the second link.

[0336] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after entering the first capability state under the second link, the method comprises:

[0337] When the AP works in the sixth link corresponding to the affiliated AP and has buffered data to be sent, the AP sends the buffered data to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame sent by the non-AP STA.

[0338] The sixth link is one or more of the first links.

[0339] The device power saving method disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure can include the foregoing steps and at least one of the embodiments. For example, step 701 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 702 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 703 can be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 701 and step 702 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of step 702 and step 703 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0340] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 7 can be referred to.

[0341] FIG. 8 is a fourth flowchart of a device power saving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0342] As shown in FIG. 8, the above method can be applied to a multi-connection site device non-AP MLD 102, and the above method includes:

[0343] Step 801: receiving a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of the multi-links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish with the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

[0344] Optionally, before the receiving of the first wireless frame, the method includes:

[0345] sending a second wireless frame to the AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability includes that the non-AP MLD supports associating the AP to work in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0346] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link includes:

[0347] Under the first link, the affiliated AP enters an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link includes at least one of the following:

[0348] The first wireless frame identifies a link that the non-AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link on which the first wireless frame is sent;

[0349] The link is established before the first wireless frame is sent but is not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0350] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the non-AP MLD receives the first wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0351] The non-AP STA operating on the third link sends an uplink data frame to an associated AP, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more of the first links.

[0352] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the entering the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises:

[0353] Under the second link, the affiliated AP enters the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following:

[0354] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is refused to establish;

[0355] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to establish but not enabled;

[0356] The first wireless frame identifies a link that is agreed to establish and enabled, and the link does not send the first wireless frame;

[0357] The link is established before the first wireless frame is sent, but is not enabled and is not enabled by the first wireless frame.

[0358] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the non-AP MLD receives the first wireless frame, the method comprises:

[0359] The non-AP STA operating on the fourth link sends a third wireless frame to an associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP to switch from the first capability state to an active state; and the fourth link is one or more of the second links.

[0360] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the corresponding description of FIG. 8 can be referred to.

[0361] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the network device (such as an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0362] It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above device is only a logical function division, and all or part of the units or modules can be integrated into one physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software: for example, the device comprises a processor connected with a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor invokes the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of each unit or module of the device, wherein the processor is a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory in the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, and the functions of part or all of the units or modules can be implemented by the design of the hardware circuit, and the hardware circuit can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of part or all of the units or modules are implemented by the design of the logical relationship between the elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the hardware circuit is a programmable logic device (PLD), and taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by a configuration file, so as to implement the functions of part or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software, or all units or modules can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, or part of the units or modules are implemented in the form of processor invoking software, and the remaining part is implemented in the form of hardware circuit.

[0363] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), a digital signal processor (DSP), and the like. In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through a logical relationship of hardware circuits, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuits is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit. It can be understood that the processor loads instructions to implement the functions of the above part or all units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), and the like.

[0364] FIG. 9 is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the multi-connection access point device AP MLD according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the multi-connection access point device AP MLD 900 can include at least one of a first determining module 901, a first processing module 902, and the like.

[0365] In some embodiments, the first determining module 901 is configured to determine whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability. The first capability includes that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state. The first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state. The first processing module 902 is configured to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0366] Optionally, the first determining module 901 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD 101, in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0367] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD 1000, can include a first sending module 1001.

[0368] In some embodiments, the first sending module 1001 is configured to send, to a multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD, a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame identifying whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability, and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0369] The first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state, and the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

[0370] Optionally, the first sending module 1001 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD 102, in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0371] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, the multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD 1100, can include at least one of a second determining module 1101, a second sending module 1102, and a second processing module 1103.

[0372] In some embodiments, the second determining module 1101 is configured to determine a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame identifying whether the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by a non-AP MLD to establish with the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode; the second sending module 1102 is configured to send the first wireless frame; and the second processing module 1103 is configured to enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

[0373] Optionally, the second determining module 1101 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD 101, in any of the above methods, details of which are not repeated here. The second sending module 1102 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD 101, in any of the above methods, details of which are not repeated here. The second processing module 1103 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity access point device, AP MLD 101, in any of the above methods, details of which are not repeated here.

[0374] FIG. 12 is a second structural schematic diagram of a multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, the multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD 1200, can include a receiving module 1201.

[0375] In some embodiments, the receiving module 1201 is configured to receive a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multiple links that the AP MLD accepts or rejects for the non-AP MLD to request to establish with the AP MLD, and after the first wireless frame is sent, the affiliated APs of the AP MLD enter the corresponding power management mode.

[0376] Optionally, the receiving module 1201 is configured to perform the communication steps performed by the multi-connectivity station device, non-AP MLD 102, in any of the above methods, details of which are not repeated here.

[0377] FIG. 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a terminal 1300 (e.g., a user equipment or the like) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal 1300 can be a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc. supporting a network device to implement any of the above methods, and can also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc. supporting a terminal to implement any of the above methods. The terminal 1300 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and details can be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0378] As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal 1300 includes one or more processors 1301. The processor 1301 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc., for example, can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a program, and process data of the program. The terminal 1300 is configured to perform any of the above methods.

[0379] In some embodiments, the terminal 1300 further includes one or more memories 1302 configured to store instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 1302 can also be outside the terminal 1300.

[0380] In some embodiments, the terminal 1300 further includes one or more transceivers 1304. When the terminal 1300 includes one or more transceivers 1304, the transceiver 1304 performs at least one of the communication steps (for example, steps 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 301, 302, 402, 601, 702, 801, but not limited to) in the above-described methods, and the processor 1301 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, steps 401, 501, 502, 701, 703, but not limited to).

[0381] In some embodiments, the transceiver can include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which can be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms of transceiver, transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving circuit, etc. can be replaced with each other, the terms of transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms of receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0382] In some embodiments, the terminal 1300 can include one or more interface circuits 1303. Optionally, the interface circuit 1303 is connected with the memory 1302, and the interface circuit 1303 can be used to receive signals from the memory 1302 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 1302 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 1303 can read the instructions stored in the memory 1302 and send the instructions to the processor 1301.

[0383] The terminal 1300 described in the above embodiments can be a communication device such as a user equipment, but the scope of the terminal 1300 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the terminal 1300 can not be limited by Figure 13. The communication device can be a stand-alone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be: (1) a stand-alone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally also include storage components for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a Modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handset, mobile unit, vehicle-mounted device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) other, etc.

[0384] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a chip 1400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the case where the terminal 1300 is a chip or a chip system, the structural schematic diagram of the chip 1400 shown in Figure 14 can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0385] The chip 1400 comprises one or more processors 1401, and the chip 1400 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0386] In some embodiments, the chip 1400 further comprises one or more interface circuits 1403. Optionally, the interface circuit 1403 is connected with the memory 1402, and the interface circuit 1403 can be configured to receive signals from the memory 1402 or other devices, and the interface circuit 1403 can be configured to send signals to the memory 1402 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 1403 can read instructions stored in the memory 1402 and send the instructions to the processor 1401.

[0387] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 1403 performs at least one of the communication steps (for example, steps 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 301, 302, 402, 601, 702, 801, but not limited to) in the above methods, and the processor 1401 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, steps 401, 501, 502, 701, 703, but not limited to).

[0388] In some embodiments, the interface circuit, the interface, the transceiver pin, the transceiver, and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0389] In some embodiments, the chip 1400 further comprises one or more memories 1402 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 1402 can be outside the chip 1400.

[0390] The disclosure also proposes a storage medium, and the storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions run on the terminal 1300, the terminal 1300 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer readable storage medium, but not limited to, it can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited to, it can also be a transitory storage medium.

[0391] The disclosure also proposes a program product, and when the program product is executed by the terminal 1300, the terminal 1300 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0392] The disclosure also proposes a computer program, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes any of the above methods.

Claims

1. A device power saving method, comprising: The method is applied to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), and the method comprises: determining whether a multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than that of the second capability state; determining that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and entering a corresponding power management mode under each link.

2. The apparatus power saving method according to claim 1, wherein, The determination of whether the multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports the first capability comprises: receiving a first wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the first wireless frame identifying that a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; sending a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifying that the AP MLD accepts or rejects one or more of the links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish a multi-link to the AP MLD, and the affiliated AP entering a corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame; or sending a second wireless frame; after receiving an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the affiliated AP enters a corresponding power management mode.

3. The power-saving method for equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises: under a first link, entering an active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following: a link identified in the second wireless frame as being accepted and enabled, and the link being the link from which the second wireless frame is sent; a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled, and the link being enabled through the second wireless frame.

4. The apparatus power saving method according to claim 2, wherein, The entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises: under a second link, entering the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following: a link identified in the second wireless frame as being rejected; a link identified in the second wireless frame as being accepted but not enabled; a link identified in the second wireless frame as being accepted and enabled, and the link not being the second wireless frame; a link established before the sending of the second wireless frame, not enabled, and not enabled through the second wireless frame.

5. The apparatus power saving method according to claim 4, wherein, After entering the first capability state under the second link, the method comprises: an affiliated AP operating in a fifth link receives a third wireless frame, switches to an active state under the fifth link, and / or sends a fourth wireless frame to a non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP requests the affiliated AP to switch from the first capability state to the active state; the fourth wireless frame is a response frame or an acknowledgement frame for the affiliated AP receiving an uplink data frame sent by the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP; wherein the fifth link is one or more of the enabled links in the second link.

6. The apparatus power saving method according to claim 3, wherein, In the second link, after entering the first capability state, the method comprises: Working in the sixth link corresponding to the affiliated AP has cache data transmission, then to the non-AP STA associated with the affiliated AP sends cache data or receives the response frame or the acknowledgement frame sent by the non-AP STA; Wherein, the sixth link is one or more of the first link.

7. A device power saving method, comprising: Applied to the multi-connection station device non-AP MLD, the method comprises: Sending a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the first wireless frame identifying whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, in Entering a corresponding power management mode under each link; Wherein, the first capability includes: the non-AP STA supports the associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameters as the second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

8. The apparatus power saving method according to claim 7, wherein, The first wireless frame sent to the AP MLD comprises: Sending a first wireless frame to an AP MLD; wherein the first wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability; receiving a second wireless frame, the second wireless frame identifying that the AP MLD receives or refuses one or more of the multi-links requested by the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD to establish, and the affiliated AP entering a corresponding power management mode after sending the second wireless frame; Or Receiving the second wireless frame; sending an acknowledgement message frame corresponding to the second wireless frame to the AP MLD.

9. The power-saving method for equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that, The entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises: Under the first link, the affiliated AP enters the active state of the power management mode; wherein the first link comprises at least one of the following: The link identified in the second wireless frame that the non-AP MLD agrees to establish and enable, and the link is the link sending the second wireless frame; The link established before the sending of the second wireless frame but not enabled, enabled by the second wireless frame.

10. The apparatus power saving method of claim 9, wherein, After the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises: The non-AP STA working in the third link sends an uplink data frame to the associated AP, or receives a response frame or an acknowledgement frame; wherein the third link is one or more of the first link.

11. The apparatus power saving method of claim 8, wherein, The entering of the corresponding power management mode under each link comprises: Under the second link, the affiliated AP enters the first capability state; wherein the second link comprises at least one of the following: The link identified in the second wireless frame that is refused to establish; The link identified in the second wireless frame that is agreed to establish but not enabled; The link identified in the second wireless frame that is agreed to establish and has been enabled, and the link has not sent the second wireless frame; The link identified in the second wireless frame that is agreed to establish and has been enabled, and the link has not sent the second wireless frame; A link that is established before the second wireless frame is sent, but is not enabled, and is not enabled by the second wireless frame.

12. The apparatus power saving method of claim 11, wherein, After the non-AP MLD receives the second wireless frame, the method comprises: A non-AP STA working in a fourth link sends a third wireless frame to an associated AP; wherein the third wireless frame indicates that the non-AP STA accepts the associated AP switching from the first capability state to an active state; the fourth link is one or more of the second links.

13. A device power saving method, comprising: Applied to a multi-connection access point device AP MLD, the method comprises: Determining a first wireless frame; the first wireless frame identifies one or more of the multi-links that the AP MLD receives or rejects a non-AP MLD from requesting to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode; Sending a first wireless frame; In each link, enter the corresponding power management mode.

14. The apparatus power saving method of claim 13, wherein, Before the determination of the first wireless frame, it comprises: Receiving a second wireless frame sent by the non-AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises: the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state and the second capability state have the same type of communication parameters, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

15. A method for saving power of a device, the method comprising: Applied to a non-AP MLD, the method comprises: Receiving a second wireless frame; the second wireless frame identifies that an AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of the multi-links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the second wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

16. The apparatus power saving method of claim 15, wherein, Before the reception of the second wireless frame, it comprises: Sending a second wireless frame to an AP MLD, and the second wireless frame identifies that the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises: the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state and the second capability state have the same type of communication parameters, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

17. A communication device, wherein the communication device is an AP MLD, characterized in that, The AP MLD comprises: A first determination module for determining whether a multi-connection station device non-AP MLD supports a first capability; wherein the first capability comprises: the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP working in a first capability state; the first capability state and the second capability state have the same type of communication parameters, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state; A first processing module for determining that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and in each link, entering the corresponding power management mode.

18. A communication device, the communication device being a non-AP MLD, characterized in that, The non-AP MLD comprises: The first sending module is configured to send a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), the first wireless frame indicating whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enter a corresponding power management mode under each link. The first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state, and the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state.

19. A communication device, wherein the communication device is an AP MLD, characterized in that, The AP MLD includes: The second determining module is configured to determine a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame indicating that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode. The second sending module is configured to send the first wireless frame. The second processing module is configured to enter a corresponding power management mode under each link.

20. A communication device, the communication device being a non-AP MLD, characterized in that, The non-AP MLD includes: The receiving module is configured to receive a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame indicating that an AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

21. A communication device, the communication device being an AP MLD, characterized in that, The device includes: One or more processors. The AP MLD is configured to perform the device power saving method in any one of claims 1 to 6, or perform the device power saving method in claim 13 or 14.

22. A communication device, the communication device being a non-AP MLD, characterized in that, The device includes: One or more processors. The non-AP MLD is configured to perform the device power saving method in any one of claims 7 to 12, or perform the device power saving method in claim 15 or 16.

23. A communication system, characterized by The device includes an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD. The AP MLD determines whether a multi-connection station device (non-AP MLD) supports a first capability, the first capability including that the non-AP MLD supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state, and the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state; and determines that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link. Or, the AP MLD determines a first wireless frame, the first wireless frame indicating that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the first wireless frame, an affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode; sends the first wireless frame; and enters a corresponding power management mode under each link. The non-AP MLD sends a first wireless frame to a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD), the first wireless frame identifying whether the non-AP MLD supports a first capability; and the first wireless frame instructing the AP MLD to determine that the non-AP MLD supports the first capability, and under each link, enter a corresponding power management mode; wherein the first capability includes that the non-AP STA supports an associated AP operating in a first capability state; the first capability state has the same type of communication parameter as a second capability state, and at least one communication parameter of the first capability state is lower than the second capability state; Or, the non-AP MLD receives a second wireless frame; the second wireless frame identifies that the AP MLD receives or rejects one or more of the multiple links requested by the non-AP MLD to establish to the AP MLD, and after sending the second wireless frame, the affiliated AP of the AP MLD enters a corresponding power management mode.

24. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, When the instructions run on the communication device, the communication device performs the device power saving method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or performs the device power saving method of any one of claims 7 to 12, or performs the device power saving method of claim 13 or 14, or performs the device power saving method of claim 15 or 16.

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