Wireless communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a wireless communication method and a communication device. The method comprises: a first AP receiving first information; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of a first device, the first device comprising a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP. Based on the first information, one AP can obtain information related to the first mode of another AP (i.e. the second AP) and / or a STA associated with the other AP, thereby performing an M-AP cooperation process in a targeted manner, and thereby more reasonably arranging or scheduling the M-AP cooperation, so that the M-AP cooperation can achieve the desired effect.

Description

Wireless communication method and communication device TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] With the development of technology, some communication standards propose a technical solution of mutilate access point (M-AP) cooperation. M-AP cooperation can allow multiple access points (APs) to cooperatively perform a communication process. For example, multiple APs participating in M-AP cooperation can share transmission resources to improve transmission resource utilization.

[0003] The technical solution of M-AP cooperation has room for improvement.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a wireless communication method and a communication device. The various aspects involved in the present application are introduced below.

[0006] In a first aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving, by a first AP, first information; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of a first device, and the first device comprises a second AP and / or a station (STA) associated with the second AP.

[0007] In a second aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, the method comprising: transmitting, by a first device, first information to a first AP; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of the first device, and the first device comprises a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP.

[0008] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first AP, the communication device comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive first information; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of a first device, and the first device comprises a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first device, the communication device comprising: a transmitting unit configured to transmit first information to a first AP; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of the first device, and the first device comprises a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store one or more computer programs, and the processor being configured to invoke the computer programs in the memory to cause the communication device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods of the various aspects described above.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which comprises the communication device described above. In another possible design, the system can further comprise other devices interacting with the communication device in the solution provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program causes a communication device to perform some or all of the steps of the methods in the various aspects described above.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program is operable to cause a communication device to perform some or all of the steps of the methods in the various aspects described above. In some implementations, the computer program product can be a software installation package.

[0014] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip. The chip includes a memory and a processor. The processor can invoke and run a computer program from the memory, to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods in the various aspects described above.

[0015] Based on the first information, one AP can obtain the first mode related information of another AP (i.e., a second AP) and / or a STA associated with the another AP, so as to perform the M-AP cooperation process in a targeted manner, and thus the M-AP cooperation can be more reasonably arranged or scheduled, so that the M-AP cooperation can achieve the expected effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied.

[0017] FIG. 2A is an example diagram of a network topology of multi-AP cooperation.

[0018] FIG. 2B is an example diagram of a scenario of multi-AP cooperation.

[0019] FIG. 2C is an example diagram of another scenario of multi-AP cooperation.

[0020] FIG. 2D is a schematic diagram of a framework of M-AP cooperation.

[0021] FIG. 3A is an example diagram of a cooperative bandwidth in a coordinated orthogonal frequency division multiple access (C-OFDMA) transmission.

[0022] FIG. 3B is a schematic flow diagram of a C-OFDMA transmission.

[0023] FIG. 4 is an example diagram of a coordinated uplink multi user multiple input multiple output (UL MU-MIMO) transmission.

[0024] FIG. 5A is an example diagram of coordinated beamforming / nulling.

[0025] FIG. 5B is an example diagram of an explicit channel state information (CSI) collection procedure.

[0026] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of coordinated spatial multiplexing.

[0027] FIG. 7 is an example diagram of multi-AP joint transmission.

[0028] FIG. 8A is an example diagram of coordinated time division multiple access (C-TDMA).

[0029] FIG. 8B is an example diagram of a C-TDMA procedure with a shared AP.

[0030] FIG. 8C is an example diagram of a C-TDMA procedure with multiple shared APs.

[0031] FIG. 9A is a schematic flow diagram of a dynamic energy saving operation.

[0032] FIG. 9B is a schematic flow diagram of a dynamic energy saving operation.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a schematic flow diagram of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG. 11A is an example diagram of a first information transmission procedure.

[0035] FIG. 11B is an example diagram of another first information transmission procedure.

[0036] FIG. 12A is an example diagram of a first frame transmission procedure.

[0037] FIG. 12B is an example diagram of another first frame transmission procedure.

[0038] FIG. 13 is an example diagram of a C-OFDMA procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] FIG. 14A is an example diagram of a C-BF procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] FIG. 14B is another example diagram of a C-BF procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] FIG. 15A is an example diagram of a J-TX procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] FIG. 15B is another example diagram of a J-TX procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] FIG. 16A is an example diagram of a C-TDMA procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] FIG. 16B is another example diagram of a C-TDMA procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0045] FIG. 17 is an example diagram of a C-OFDMA procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0046] FIG. 18 is an example diagram of a format of an EHT MAC capability information field according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0047] FIG. 19 is an example diagram of a format of an M-AP coordination information element.

[0048] FIG. 20 is an example diagram of a format of a coordination M-AP parameter information field.

[0049] FIG. 21 is an example diagram of a format of an EHT operation parameter field in an EHT operation element.

[0050] FIG. 22 is an example diagram of a format of a DPS frame.

[0051] FIG. 23 is an example diagram of a format of a DPS control field.

[0052] FIG. 24 is an example diagram of a format of a DPS switching information field.

[0053] FIG. 25 is an example diagram of a format of a user information field in a trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG. 26 is an example diagram of a format of a common information field in a MU-RTS frame according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] FIG. 27A is an example diagram of a format of a user information field in a MU-RTS frame according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0056] FIG. 27B is an example diagram of a format of a MU-RTS (TXS) frame according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] FIG. 27C is an example diagram of a format of a common information field in a MU-RTS (TXS) frame.

[0058] FIG. 27D is a format of a user information field of a MU-RTS (TXS) frame.

[0059] FIG. 28 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] FIG. 29 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] FIG. 30 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for communication according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0063] Communication system

[0064] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless fidelity (WiFi), a high performance radio local area network (HIPELAN), a wide area network (WAN), a cellular network or other communication systems, etc. For example, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a communication system using an 802.11 standard. For example, the 802.11 standard includes but is not limited to an 802.11ax standard, an 802.11be standard, a more next generation 802.11 standard, etc.

[0065] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication devices in the communication system 100 can include an AP 111, an AP 112, a station (STA) 121 and a STA 122, wherein the STA 121 can access a network through the AP 111, and the STA 122 can access a network through the AP 112.

[0066] In some implementations, a STA can establish an association relationship with one or more APs, and then the STA and the APs having the association relationship can communicate with each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the AP 111 and the STA 121 can communicate with each other after establishing an association relationship, and the AP 112 and the STA 122 can communicate with each other after establishing an association relationship.

[0067] In some implementations, the communication in the communication system 100 can be the communication between an AP and a non-AP STA, or the communication between a non-AP STA and a non-AP STA, or the communication between a STA and a peer STA, where the peer STA can refer to a device that communicates with the STA, for example, the peer STA can be an AP or a non-AP STA.

[0068] It should be understood that the communication system 100 exemplarily shows two AP STAs and two non-AP STAs, and the communication system 100 can include a larger number of AP STAs, or the communication system 100 can include a larger number of non-AP STAs, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0069] In addition, the above communication system can be applied to a multi-device cooperation scenario, such as a multi-AP (multi-access point, multi-AP) cooperation scenario, or a multi-site cooperation scenario.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the names of AP and / or STA are not limited. In some scenarios, the AP can also be referred to as an AP STA, that is, in a certain sense, the AP is also a kind of STA. In some other scenarios, the STA can also be referred to as a non-AP STA.

[0071] In some scenarios, the above communication device can also be a multi-link device (multi-link device, MLD), that is, a device that can communicate through multiple communication links, where the multiple communication links can include communication links of different frequency bands, for example, can include millimeter wave frequency bands and / or low frequency frequency bands. Generally, if the multi-link device is an AP, the AP can also be referred to as a multi-link AP. If the multi-link device is a STA, the STA can also be referred to as a multi-link STA.

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, the AP can be a device in a wireless network. The AP can be a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, or the like communication entity, or the AP can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, and the like, and of course the AP can also be a chip or a circuit or a processing system in these various forms of devices, thereby implementing the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. The AP can be applied to various scenarios, such as a sensor node in a smart city (such as a smart water meter, a smart electricity meter, a smart air detection node), a smart device in a smart home (such as a smart camera, a projector, a display screen, a television, a sound box, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and the like), a node in the Internet of Things, an entertainment terminal (such as an AR, a VR, and the like wearable device), a smart device in a smart office (such as a printer, a projector, and the like), a vehicle networking device in vehicle networking, some infrastructure in daily life (such as a vending machine, a self-service navigation station of a supermarket, a self-service cash register device, and a self-service ordering machine), and the like.

[0073] In some implementations, the role of the STA in the communication system is not absolute, and in some scenarios, the STA can act as an AP. For example, in the scenario of a mobile phone connecting a router, the mobile phone can be a non-AP STA, and in the case of the mobile phone acting as a hotspot for other mobile phones, the mobile phone acts as an AP.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the STA in the embodiments of the present application can be a device with wireless transceiving functions, such as a device supporting 802.11 series protocols and capable of communicating with an AP or other STAs. For example, the STA is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and thus communicate with a WLAN. The STA is, for example, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device.

[0075] The STA in the embodiments of the present application can also be a device providing voice / data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0076] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the STA can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. For example, a smart watch or smart glasses, etc., and only focus on a certain type of application function, need to be used with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various types of smart wristbands, smart jewelry, etc.

[0077] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the STA can also be a terminal device in an internet of things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection. In the embodiments of the present application, the IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage and terminal power saving through, for example, narrow band (NB) technology.

[0078] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the STA can be a device in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system. The communication mode in the V2X system is collectively referred to as V2X (X represents anything). For example, the V2X communication includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0079] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the STA can also include a smart printer, a train detector, a gas station sensor, and the like. The main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal device), receiving control information and downlink data of the AP, and transmitting electromagnetic waves to transmit data to the AP.

[0080] In addition, the AP in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with the STA. The AP can be a network device in a wireless local area network, and the AP can be used for communicating with the STA through the wireless local area network.

[0081] From the perspective of the communication mode supported by the AP, in some implementation manners, the AP can be a device supporting the 802.11be mode. The AP can also be a device supporting multiple current and future WLAN modes of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0082] From the perspective of the communication mode supported by the STA, in some implementation manners, the non-AP STA can support the 802.11be mode. The non-AP STA can also support multiple current and future WLAN modes of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0083] In this application embodiment, the frequency bands supported by WLAN technology are not limited. In some implementations, the frequency bands supported by WLAN technology may include, but are not limited to: low frequency bands (e.g., 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) and high frequency bands (e.g., 45GHz, 60GHz).

[0084] It should be understood that the specific forms of STA and AP are not specifically limited in the embodiments of this application, and are merely illustrative examples.

[0085] M-AP Collaboration

[0086] In environments with dense BSS deployments, M-AP cooperation technology can significantly improve network throughput, increase spectrum resource utilization, and reduce mutual interference between devices. M-AP cooperation can include techniques such as M-AP cooperative transmission or M-AP cooperative measurement. The following explains some of the terminology related to M-AP cooperation.

[0087] A candidate set of multiple APs can refer to the set of APs that can initiate or participate in M-AP collaboration.

[0088] A multi-AP collaboration set can refer to the set of APs participating in multi-AP collaboration. A multi-AP collaboration set can be a subset of a multi-AP candidate set.

[0089] A sharing AP can refer to an AP that obtains a TXOP and initiates M-AP collaboration. At least one AP in a multi-AP candidate set can become a sharing AP.

[0090] A shared AP can participate in M-AP collaboration initiated by a shared AP in the same multi-AP candidate set.

[0091] It should be noted that the role of an AP participating in the collaboration can be either a sharing AP or a shared AP, and role assignment can be dynamic. For example, the AP that acquires the TXOP can be a sharing AP, while other APs participating in the collaboration can be shared APs.

[0092] Figure 2A shows an example of an M-AP cooperative network topology. The network topology shown in Figure 2A includes three APs. Each of the three APs establishes its own BSS. AP1 is associated with STA1, AP2 with STA2, and AP3 with STA3. The APs can hear each other. These APs compete for the channel equally, and any AP that wins the TXOP can become a shared AP.

[0093] FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C are both examples of M-AP cooperation scenarios. As shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, any AP in the OBSS can probe any other node in the OBSS.

[0094] The modes or schemes of M-AP cooperation can include: coordinated UL MU-MIMO, coordinated beamforming (C-BF), coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR), joint transmission (J-TX), C-TDMA, C-OFDMA, etc. FIG. 2B can be a scenario diagram of C-BF and J-TX. FIG. 2C can be a scenario diagram of C-TDMA or C-OFDMA.

[0095] For ease of understanding, the framework of M-AP cooperation is illustrated by way of example in connection with FIG. 2D. As shown in FIG. 2D, the framework of M-AP cooperation can include one or more of the following stages: M-AP discovery stage, coordinated TX agreement stage, pre-TX stage, M-AP coordinated transmission stage. The M-AP discovery stage and the coordinated TX agreement stage are independent of each other and are stages necessary for most M-AP coordinated transmission schemes.

[0096] In the M-AP discovery stage, an AP can declare support for M-AP cooperation capability. Before acquiring a TXOP, each AP can probe a multi-AP candidate set. The coordinated TX agreement stage can be performed in the TXOP. In the coordinated TX agreement stage, the sharing AP that obtains the TXOP establishes a true multi-AP cooperation set with the shared APs in its candidate set. The multiple APs in this multi-AP cooperation set will participate in cooperation. The pre-TX is an optional stage. For some M-AP schemes, preliminary preparation work is needed before data transmission. For example: for C-OFDMA, the primary channel may need to be switched; for C-BF or C-SR, channel probing may be needed. Therefore, C-OFDMA, C-BF or C-SR need to perform the pre-TX stage. The M-AP coordinated transmission stage can be triggered by the sharing AP. The trigger frame carries resource information allocated to one or more shared APs in the TXOP. The receiver of the trigger frame is determined in the coordinated TX agreement stage, i.e., the APs belonging to the multi-AP cooperation set.

[0097] The M-AP cooperation is illustrated in detail below in connection with different modes of M-AP cooperation.

[0098] C-OFDMA

[0099] In C-OFDMA transmission, the sharing AP and / or one or more shared APs can transmit respective downlink multi-user (DL MU) PPDUs or TB PPDUs requesting uplink data to respective associated STAs in different frequency parts of the coordinated bandwidth.

[0100] FIG. 3A is an example diagram of a coordinated bandwidth in a C-OFDMA transmission. As shown in FIG. 3, the coordinated bandwidth is 40MHz. In a 20MHz part of the 40MHz, one AP participating in the multi-AP transmission can interact data with associated STA1, STA2 or STA3. In another 20MHz part of the 40MHz, another AP participating in the multi-AP transmission can interact data with associated STA4 or STA5.

[0101] FIG. 3B is an example flowchart of a C-OFDMA transmission. As shown in FIG. 3B, the flow can include a C-OFDMA preparation phase and a C-OFDMA TXOP sharing SP phase.

[0102] In the C-OFDMA TXOP sharing SP phase, the sharing AP transmits a trigger frame (e.g., a basic trigger frame) triggering simultaneous transmission by the shared APs (including the shared AP1 and the shared AP2 shown in FIG. 3B). The trigger frame can carry allocation information needed for the TXOP sharing. In the following data transmission, the shared APs can transmit their own data using the pre-allocated frequency resources.

[0103] It is noted that before the coordinated transmission phase shown in FIG. 3B, the APs can perform the M-AP discovery phase and / or the coordinated transmission negotiation phase in FIG. 2D.

[0104] Coordinated UL MU-MIMO

[0105] In M-AP coordinated UL MU-MIMO transmission, the sharing AP and / or one or more shared APs can transmit TB PPDUs requesting uplink data over the entire coordinated bandwidth, each non-AP STA being allocated a different spatial stream. For example, one or more APs participating in the M-AP coordination can transmit a coordinated UL trigger frame to respective associated STAs, in response to which the STAs can transmit uplink data frames. The uplink data frames transmitted by the respective STAs can be fully aligned.

[0106] Figure 4 is an example diagram of cooperative UL MU-MIMO transmission. As shown in Figure 4, a shared AP1 (AP1 for short) is associated with STA1, and a shared AP2 (AP2 for short) is associated with STA2. The shared APs transmit a multi-AP trigger frame (M-AP TF). AP1 transmits a cooperative UL trigger frame to STA1. AP2 transmits a cooperative UL trigger frame to STA2. STA1 and STA2 both transmit UL PPDUs including data frames. The UL PPDUs transmitted by STA1 and STA2 are completely aligned. After receiving the UL PPDU transmitted by STA1, AP1 transmits a block acknowledge (BA) frame to STA1. After receiving the UL PPDU transmitted by STA2, AP2 transmits a BA frame to STA2.

[0107] Cooperative beamforming

[0108] Cooperative beamforming is similar in principle to null steering, and can achieve interference suppression. For example, when performing data transmission / reception, an AP can enhance the beam towards a target STA. For another example, when performing data transmission / reception, an AP can radiate null towards the space of a non-target STA.

[0109] Figure 5A is an example diagram of cooperative beamforming / null steering. As shown in Figure 5A, AP1, STA1 and STA2 belong to a basic service set (BSS) 1, and AP2, STA3 and STA4 belong to a BSS 2. AP1 and AP2 null steer the STAs in each other's BSS. That is, AP1 null steers the space of STA3 and STA4, and AP2 null steers the space of STA1 and STA2.

[0110] The cooperative beamforming process can include the following 4 stages:

[0111] Stage 0, establishment of inter-AP cooperation in a semi-static manner;

[0112] Stage 1, enhanced spatial reuse opportunity (eSRO) cooperation;

[0113] Stage 2, CSI acquisition procedure;

[0114] Stage 3, inter-AP data transmission and acknowledgement with nulls (zeros).

[0115] Phase 0 builds a multi-AP cooperation set. In phase 1, a donor AP can actively broadcast its eSRO with "nulling" function. Through this eSRO, the donor AP expects the APs that are expected to mitigate interference to respond and report their IDs. Phase 2 is the CSI collection process. Once the donor AP decides that a node needs to be served / nulling in inter-AP cooperation, the APs involved need the relevant CSI to set up the corresponding beam / nulling. In phase 3, the data transmission and acknowledgement are carried out among the cooperating APs with nulling.

[0116] FIG. 5B is an example diagram of an explicit CSI collection process.

[0117] Cooperative spatial reuse

[0118] Cooperative spatial reuse can refer to: reducing interference between APs through joint power control, so that multiple APs can transmit in parallel and maximize the sum of throughput.

[0119] Because it does not need to consider synchronization and channel state information (CSI) collection, does not need to make physical layer (PHY) changes, and STA does not need protocol updates, cooperative spatial reuse can be implemented with relatively low complexity. In other words, compared with other M-AP cooperation schemes, cooperative spatial reuse can achieve low complexity and high performance (throughput and delay) gain.

[0120] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of cooperative spatial reuse. As shown in FIG. 6, AP1 and STA1 belong to BSS1; AP2 and STA2 belong to BSS2. AP1 and AP2 can transmit control information between each other. Based on the control information, AP1 and AP2 can perform interference control on the STAs in the other's BSS. That is, AP1 can perform interference control on STA2; AP2 can perform interference control on STA1.

[0121] Multi-AP joint transmission

[0122] Multi-AP joint transmission (referred to as joint transmission) refers to at least two APs simultaneously sending data to a target user (i.e., a target STA). The data sent by multiple APs occupies exactly the same frequency domain resources (cooperative bandwidth) and is distinguished by different spatial streams. For the target STA receiving the data, joint transmission is transparent. That is, the target STA cannot distinguish whether the received data is through multi-AP joint transmission. Before joint transmission, the APs can transmit data facing the same target STA through a backhaul link. The APs can transmit backhaul messages through wired or wireless connection.

[0123] FIG. 7 is an example diagram of multi-AP joint transmission. As shown in FIG. 7, AP1 and AP2 can implement multi-AP joint transmission. AP1 and AP2 can simultaneously transmit data to one or more of STA1, STA2, STA3 and STA4. Among them, STA1 and STA2 can belong to BSS1. STA3 and STA4 can belong to BSS2. AP1 and AP2 can transmit data to the same STA through a backhaul link.

[0124] Compared with single-AP, multi-AP joint transmission can increase the number of antennas, thereby increasing the total number of spatial streams. And multi-AP joint transmission can simultaneously serve multiple STAs, thereby improving system throughput. In addition, multi-AP joint transmission can make the channel received by the target STA come from multiple locations, thereby enhancing transmission reliability.

[0125] C-TDMA

[0126] C-TDMA can refer to: a sharing AP allocating a certain time period in the TXOP obtained by the sharing AP to a shared AP. In the time period allocated to the shared AP, the shared AP can perform any PPDU transmission, including sending a DL PPDU or requesting a UL PPDU.

[0127] FIG. 8A is an example diagram of C-TDMA. As shown in FIG. 8, the TXOP gained by the sharing AP can be allocated to the shared AP1 and the shared AP2. In the time allocation given to the shared AP1, the shared AP1 can send a DL PPDU and receive a corresponding BA frame, or in the time allocation given to the shared AP, the shared AP1 can send a trigger frame to request an uplink trigger based (TB) PPDU.

[0128] FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C are both example diagrams of a C-TDMA process.

[0129] FIG. 8B shows an example diagram of C-TDMA procedure in case of a shared AP. The shared AP (i.e., TXOP owner, AP1 in FIG. 8B) sends a schedule announcement frame to broadcast the information that the shared AP will share the TXOP to the shared APs (i.e., APs of the shared TXOP) and STAs in the corresponding BSSs. The main role of this frame is to manage the medium and the shared APs and STAs in the corresponding BSSs can prepare in advance. The schedule announcement frame can be a multi-user request to send (MU-RTS) frame. In addition, the schedule announcement frame can also provide the length of the TXOP. Then, the frame exchange between AP1 and STAs of AP1 can be performed. AP1 can send a TXOP allocation frame to a designated shared AP (e.g., AP2 in FIG. 8B) to inform the allocation information of the shared TXOP time, etc. The shared AP can return the remaining TXOP to the shared AP by a CF-End frame.

[0130] FIG. 8C shows an example diagram of C-TDMA procedure in case of multiple shared APs. The communication procedure of FIG. 8C is similar to that of FIG. 8B and will not be repeated.

[0131] Dynamic energy saving

[0132] To reduce the power consumption of devices, the related art has studied energy saving. Some communication technologies have proposed a dynamic energy saving technical solution to further reduce the power consumption of devices. The dynamic energy saving technology can be applicable to both AP and non-AP STA ends. After starting the dynamic energy saving, a STA (including an AP or a non-AP STA) can be in a lower capability mode by default. In the lower capability mode, the transmission parameters (or capabilities) of the STA will be limited and cannot reach the highest transmission parameters that can be achieved by the capabilities. For example, in the lower capability mode, the bandwidth (BW) and / or the number of spatial streams (NSS) will be limited (for example: 20MHz, 1 spatial stream (SS)). Due to the limitation of the transmission parameters, in the lower capability mode, the STA can only receive specific PPDU (i.e., cannot receive some PPDU). When the STA in the lower capability mode receives a switching request, the STA can switch from the lower capability mode to a higher capability mode. In the higher capability mode, the transmission parameters of the STA will not be limited, or the transmission parameters of the STA can be higher than those in the lower capability mode. For example, in the higher capability mode, the bandwidth and / or the number of spatial streams can be greater than those in the lower capability mode (for example: 160MHz, 2SS).

[0133] The switching request sent by the sender STA can be used to request the responder STA (or the receiver STA) to switch to a higher capability mode. The switching request can be, for example, an initial control frame (ICF) with padding.

[0134] The sender of the switching request can be an AP or a STA. The responder STA can switch to a specified wake-up state and reply to the sender STA with a response frame. The response frame can be, for example, an initial control response (ICR) frame. This set of interactions completes the wake-up (i.e., switching to a higher capability mode) of the energy saving device. In the following frame interaction process, the sender STA and the receiver STA can send data frames in the wake-up state.

[0135] Optionally, the ICF frame described above can be an MU-RTS trigger frame or a block Ack response (BAR) frame. In these two frames, padding needs to be performed in front of the FCS field, so that the responder STA has enough time to switch to the specified wake-up state.

[0136] The BW / NSS information corresponding to the higher capability mode (or wake-up state) can be obtained from the latest Caps / OMN / OM control (applicable to AM and PS modes).

[0137] FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram of a dynamic energy saving operation flow. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the lower capability mode, the STA uses 20MHz / 1SS transmission. The first ICF frame indicates the STA to switch to the first higher capability mode. In the first higher capability mode, the STA uses 80MHz / 1SS transmission. The second ICF frame indicates the STA to switch to the second higher capability mode, in which the STA uses 160MHz / 2SS transmission.

[0138] FIG. 9B is a specific embodiment of FIG. 9A. In FIG. 9B, the MU-RTS frame is the first ICF frame. The BAR frame is the second ICF frame.

[0139] The inventors of the present application have found that in M-AP cooperation, in the case that the communication device is in certain state, the M-AP cooperation mechanism can not achieve the expected working goal. For example, if one or more APs turn on the dynamic energy saving mode, the APs can enter the lower capability mode. Some of the associated STAs can also turn on the dynamic energy saving mode, and thus these STAs can also enter the lower capability mode. The sharing AP can request the APs in the lower capability mode to join the multi-AP cooperation set and allocate cooperation transmission resources for the APs. However, since the APs are in the lower capability mode, they can not be able to fully use the resources allocated by the sharing AP (including frequency domain and / or time domain resources), resulting in waste of resources. For another example, if one or more APs turn on the dynamic energy saving mode, the states of the multiple APs participating in the M-AP cooperation can be different, some in the higher capability mode and some in the lower capability mode. The different states of the APs can cause the M-AP cooperation transmission to fail, and the real M-AP cooperation can not be achieved.

[0140] FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application to solve the above problems.

[0141] FIG. 10 can be performed by a first device and a first AP. The first device can include a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP. The first AP and the second AP can be different APs.

[0142] In some embodiments, the first AP can include a sharing AP. The second AP can include an AP shared by the sharing AP.

[0143] It should be noted that the sharing AP and one or more shared APs can participate in M-AP cooperation. Alternatively, the sharing AP can not participate in M-AP cooperation; two or more shared APs can participate in M-AP cooperation.

[0144] The method shown in FIG. 10 can include step S1010.

[0145] In step S1010, the first AP receives first information. The first information can be sent by the first device.

[0146] The first information can be related to the first mode of the first device. The first mode may, for example, include a power saving mode. The power saving mode may, for example, be a dynamic power saving mode.

[0147] In the case where the first mode is enabled, the first device can be in a first state or a second state. In the case where the first mode includes a power saving mode, the first state can be a power saving state and the second state can be a non-power saving state; or, the first state can be a non-power saving state and the second state can be a power saving state. It should be noted that the power saving state and the non-power saving state can be relative. That is, for the same first state, in the case where the second state is more power saving than the first state, the first state can be referred to as a non-power saving state and the second state can be referred to as a power saving state; or, in the case where the first state is more power saving than the second state, the first state can be referred to as a power saving state and the second state can be referred to as a non-power saving state.

[0148] It should be noted that in the power saving state, the transmission parameters of the first device can be limited; or, the first device cannot actively send part or all signals; or, the first device cannot receive part or all signals. In the non-power saving mode, the transmission parameters of the first device are higher than the transmission parameters in the power saving mode; or, the transmission parameters of the first device are not limited; or, the first device can receive all signals supported by the receiver; or, the first device can send all signals it supports.

[0149] Exemplarily, the first mode can be a dynamic power saving mode. The first state can include a lower capability mode; the second state can include a higher capability mode. Alternatively, the second state can include a lower capability mode; the first state can include a higher capability mode. Alternatively, the first state can include a first higher capability mode and the second state can include a second higher capability mode. The second higher capability mode corresponds to a higher capability than the first higher capability mode.

[0150] The first state and the second state can be switched, i.e. state switching. The state switching can include switching from the first state to the second state or switching from the second state to the first state.

[0151] Optionally, in the first state, the capability that the first device can have can be a first capability. In the second state, the capability that the first device can have can be a second capability. The "capability that can be had" can be the upper limit of the capability of the first device. The first capability can be weaker than the full capability (e.g., the capability indicated by the capability element) that the first device has. The second capability can be stronger than the first capability. The second capability can be the full capability or a capability weaker than the full capability. The switching between the first state and the second state can be the switching between the first capability and the second capability. The switching between the first capability and the second capability can also be referred to as capability switching.

[0152] Based on the first information, one AP can obtain the first mode related information of another AP (i.e., a second AP) and / or a STA associated with the other AP, so as to perform the communication process in a targeted manner, thereby improving the communication efficiency and resource utilization. Exemplarily, when the scheme is applied in M-AP cooperation, the M-AP cooperation can be more reasonably arranged or scheduled based on the first information, so that the M-AP cooperation can achieve the expected effect. For example, in the case of a shared AP, the shared AP can reasonably perform resource scheduling based on the first information, thereby effectively avoiding resource waste caused by invalid resource allocation.

[0153] In some embodiments, the first information can include one or more of the following: enabling information, a state in which the first device is at a first time or a first time period, a first time length, a second time length. The following will be described respectively.

[0154] The enabling information can be used to indicate whether the first mode is turned on for the first device.

[0155] In the case where the first mode is turned on, the state in which the first device is can include the first state or the second state described above. That is, in the case where the first mode is turned on, there is a possibility that the first device is in the first state or the second state, or there is a possibility of state switching.

[0156] In the case where the first mode is not turned on, the state in which the first device is can only include one state (e.g., the second state). For example, in the case where the first mode is not turned on, the transmission parameter of the first device can not be limited. In the case where the first mode includes the power saving mode, in the case where the power saving mode is not started, the first device will not be in the power saving state.

[0157] Based on the obtained enabling information, the first AP can perform corresponding operations when establishing the multi-AP cooperation set. For example, if the second AP is enabled in the first mode, the multi-AP cooperation set established by the first AP can not include the second AP. Illustratively, in the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, the AP obtaining the TXOP can become a shared AP. The shared AP can send a cooperation transmission request frame to the APs in the multi-AP candidate set. The AP receiving the cooperation transmission request frame can send a response frame to indicate whether to participate in this M-AP cooperation. The response frame can contain information such as the allocation time expected by the shared AP, the status code (acceptance / rejection), etc. If the shared AP does not receive a reply from an AP in the multi-AP candidate set, it can be defaulted that the AP rejects to join the M-AP cooperation. The APs agreeing to join the cooperation transmission establish an M-AP cooperation transmission cooperation set with the shared AP sending the request, and this group of APs will participate in the subsequent cooperation transmission. The APs in the candidate set but not in the cooperation set will not participate in the subsequent cooperation transmission. The interaction information of the cooperation transmission request frame and the response frame can be different depending on the scheme of the M-AP cooperation.

[0158] For example, based on the enabling information, the first AP can determine which AP or which APs to send the cooperation transmission request frame to. The cooperation transmission request frame is used to request the opposite end AP to join the M-AP cooperation. The cooperation transmission request frame can include information such as the scheme of the M-AP cooperation transmission and the allocated time. For example, in the case that the first mode of the second AP is enabled, the first AP can not invite or allow the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation set.

[0159] The state of the first device at the first time or the first period of time can include the first state or the second state described above. The first time or the first period of time can include the current time. That is, through the first information, the first device can report to the first AP the state of the first device at the current time. For another example, the first time can include a future time. That is, through the first information, the first device can report to the first AP the state of the first device at the future time. For another example, the first time can belong to a first time period, and the first information can include the state of the first device at the first time period.

[0160] The first AP can determine the operation related to the M-AP cooperation according to the state of the first device at the first time or the first period of time.

[0161] Optionally, if the second AP is in the first state, the first AP can not invite or reject the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation. For example, the first AP can not send the cooperation transmission request frame to the second AP. That is, for the APs in the multi-AP cooperation set, the first AP can not send the cooperation transmission request frame to the AP in the first state.

[0162] Optionally, if the second AP is in the first state, the first AP can invite the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation. For example, the first AP can send a cooperative transmission request frame to the second AP, requesting the second AP to join the cooperative transmission. The second AP can send a response frame in response. The response frame can include the first duration and / or the second duration, etc. as described later.

[0163] Optionally, if the first device is in the first state, the first AP can instruct the first device to switch from the first state to the second state. For example, the first AP (e.g. in the case that the first AP is a sharing AP) can wake up a neighbor AP and / or a STA associated with the neighbor AP. For example, the first AP can send the second information or the third information as described later to instruct the first device to switch from the first state to the second state at a suitable time. For the case that the first device includes the second AP, the first AP can send a cooperative transmission request frame to the second AP, and can also send the second information or the third information.

[0164] It should be noted that after the M-AP cooperation ends, the first device can switch back from the second state to the first state. For example, the first device can switch back from the higher capability state to the lower capability state, thereby saving the energy consumption of the first device.

[0165] The first duration can be used to indicate the duration for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state. That is, through the first duration, the first device can indicate the duration for itself to switch from the first state to the second state. For example, in the case that the first mode includes the power saving mode, the first duration can be used to indicate the duration for the power saving state to switch to the non-power saving state, or the first duration can be used to indicate the duration for switching from the lower capability mode to the higher capability mode.

[0166] The second duration can be used to indicate the duration for the second device to switch from the first state to the second state. The second device can be a device within the BSS to which the first device belongs. That is, through the second duration, the first device can indicate the duration for other devices within the BSS to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0167] It can be understood that the duration for switching from the first state to the second state can be the switching delay caused by the state switching. Therefore, the first duration and the second duration can indicate the switching delays of different devices. Based on this, the first duration can belong to the switching delay information; and / or, the second duration can belong to the switching delay information.

[0168] In some embodiments, the second device can belong to a plurality of devices within the BSS to which the first device belongs. The second duration can be determined according to the durations for the plurality of devices to switch from the first state to the second state. For example, the second duration can be the maximum value of the durations for the plurality of devices to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0169] In the case that the second device enables the first mode, if the first device needs to communicate with the second device, the second device also needs to switch to the second state. Taking the first mode as a dynamic energy saving mode and the first device as a second AP for example, if the second AP needs to communicate with a STA (i.e., the second device) in the BSS of the second AP, the STA also needs to switch to a higher capability mode. Therefore, if the first AP hopes to perform M-AP cooperation with the second AP, the STA in the BSS of the second AP also needs to switch to a higher capability mode, so as to realize communication with the second AP. Therefore, the second time length reported by the first device can make the first AP comprehensively consider the state switching time length of other STAs in the BSS to which the first device belongs, thereby being beneficial to improving the communication efficiency of the second AP participating in M-AP cooperation and avoiding resource waste.

[0170] It should be noted that in the case that the first mode is enabled, the first information can include one or more of the following information: the state of the first device at the first time or the first period, the first time length, and the second time length. In the case that the first mode is not enabled, the first information can not include one or more of the following information: the state of the first device at the first time or the first period, the first time length, and the second time length.

[0171] The information in the first information can be contained in the same frame or different frames.

[0172] In some embodiments, in the case that the first device includes a second AP, the enabling information sent by the second AP and / or the indication of whether the second AP supports M-AP cooperation can be contained in a beacon frame or a multi-AP cooperation management (e.g., multi-AP probe management (M-AP probe management)) frame. The beacon frame or the M-AP cooperation management frame can carry an information element M-AP coordinated information element. The M-AP coordinated information element can include part or all of the parameters / functions supported by the AP for M-AP cooperation. Optionally, only the AP supporting M-AP cooperation can parse the M-AP coordinated information element. The beacon frame or the M-AP cooperation management frame can include an enabling field to indicate the enabling information.

[0173] In some embodiments, one or more of the state in which the first device is at the first time or the first time period, the first time duration, and the second time duration can be carried by a dynamic power save (DPS) frame. The DPS frame can be referred to as a DPS mode notification frame. Optionally, the first device can send the DPS frame in the case that the first mode is enabled. The first device can not send the DPS frame in the case that the first mode is not enabled.

[0174] In the case that the first AP receives the first information, the first AP can feed back a response to the first information to the first device to inform the first device that the first AP has received the first information. For example, in the case that the first information is carried in a DPS frame, the response to the first information can also be carried in a DPS frame.

[0175] The first information can be unsolicited or solicited. For example, the solicited can be requested by the first AP. The unsolicited can be sent through a beacon frame and / or an inter-AP dedicated coordination management frame.

[0176] In some embodiments, the first information can be unsolicited. For example, the first device can unsolicitedly send the first information in the M-AP discovery phase. For example, the first device can send the first information through sending a beacon frame in the M-AP discovery phase. The first device can unsolicitedly send the first information to all neighbor stations. For example, each AP can unsolicitedly send the first information before the multi-AP candidate set is established. Since the multi-AP candidate set is not established, the first information can be sent through broadcasting.

[0177] The following describes the sending of the first information with the first information carried in a DPS frame as an example in FIG. 11A. In FIG. 11A, the first AP is AP1 or AP3, and the first device is AP2 or STA2 of AP2. In the M-AP discovery phase, AP1, AP2, and AP3 establish a candidate set. AP2 indicates that the dynamic power save mode is started in a beacon frame, and AP1 and AP3 learn that AP2 starts the dynamic power save mode. After the multi-AP candidate set is established, AP2 sends a DPS frame to AP1 and AP3. The DPS frame can indicate one or more of the state in which AP2 is at the first time, the first time duration, and the second time duration. After AP1 and AP3 receive the DPS frame, the state of AP2 and the like can be recorded, and a DPS frame is sent to AP2 to respond.

[0178] In some embodiments, the sending of the first information can be triggered by a first frame sent by the first AP. Wherein, the first frame can be used to request sending the first information. In other words, the first information can be requested to be sent by the first AP. For example, after the multi-AP candidate set of the first AP is established, the first AP can send a first frame to the APs in the multi-AP candidate set to request the APs in the multi-AP candidate set to send the first information. In this case, the second AP belongs to the multi-AP candidate set of the first AP. Therefore, the first information triggered to be sent based on the first frame can be sent to the AP requesting the first information, avoiding resource waste caused by sending the first information to devices that do not need to know the first information.

[0179] In the case that the first information is carried in the DPS frame, the first frame can be the DPS frame. The following is described in combination with FIG. 11B.

[0180] In FIG. 11B, the first AP can be AP1, and the second AP can be AP2. As shown in FIG. 11B, in the cooperative transmission negotiation phase, AP1 obtains the TXOP and becomes the sharing AP. AP1 sends a DPS frame to AP2 to request AP2 to send the first information. After receiving the DPS sent by AP1, AP2 sends a DPS frame to AP1 to respond to the request of AP1. The DPS frame sent by AP2 can include the first information. Optionally, if AP2 does not send the first duration and / or the second duration to AP1 in the cooperative transmission negotiation phase and before, the first AP can actively request AP2 to send the first duration and / or the second duration in the cooperative transmission negotiation phase if AP2 is in the lower capability mode.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first AP can instruct the first device in the first state to switch to the second state. For example, in the case that the first AP initiates the M-AP cooperation, the first state can include the power saving state, and the second state can include the non-power saving state. That is, in the case that the first AP initiates the M-AP cooperation, the first AP can wake up the first device, so that the devices participating in the M-AP cooperation can make full use of the communication resources.

[0182] Exemplarily, the first AP can instruct the first device to switch from the first state to the second state. In the case that the first device completes the state switching (i.e., after the first duration), the first AP can perform further operations. For example, in the case that the second state is the non-power saving state, the first AP will start the M-AP cooperative transmission with the second AP only in the case that the second AP switches to the second state. Or, the first device needs to complete the switching to the second state before starting the M-AP cooperation. That is, the starting moment of the M-AP cooperative transmission can be equal to or later than the moment when the first device switches from the first state to the second state.

[0183] Exemplarily, the first AP can instruct the second device to switch from the first state to the second state. In a case that the second device completes the state switching (i.e. after the second time duration), the first AP can perform a further operation. For example, in a case that the second state is a non-power saving state, in a case that all STAs within the BSS of the second AP or all STAs associated with the second AP are switched to the second state, the first AP can start the M-AP coordinated transmission with the second AP.

[0184] In some embodiments, the first AP can send second information. The second information can be used to indicate a second time instant at which the first device is instructed to switch from the first state to the second state. The second time instant can be a time instant at which the first device completes the state switching. According to the indication of the second information, the first device can complete the state switching from the first state to the second state at or before the second time instant, or in other words, no later than the second time instant. The first AP can instruct the first device to complete the state switching at an earlier time instant, so that the first device starts to perform the state switching in advance, thereby ensuring that the first device has completed the state switching from the first state to the second state before the subsequent operation.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first AP can send third information. The third information can be used to indicate a third time instant. The third time instant can be a starting time instant at which the first AP performs the first operation. For example, the third time instant can be a starting time instant of the multi-AP coordinated transmission initiated by the first AP. The first device can determine a time instant at which the first device switches from the first state to the second state according to the third information. For example, the time instant at which the first device switches from the first state to the second state can be earlier than or equal to the third time instant, or in other words, no later than the third time instant. It can be understood that the first AP can not directly indicate the second time instant (i.e. implicit indication), and the first device can calculate the second time instant according to the third information.

[0186] Exemplarily, in the multi-AP coordination set selection procedure, the first AP can inform the first device of an expected starting time instant of the M-AP coordinated transmission, thereby instructing the first device in the lower capability mode to switch to the higher capability mode, i.e. the waking up time instant, thereby saving the overhead required for explicit waking up.

[0187] In some embodiments, the second information or the third information can be carried in a first frame. The first frame can be transmitted in the pre-transmission phase; and / or the first frame can be transmitted in the M-AP coordinated transmission phase.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first AP can send a first frame. In response to the first device receiving the first frame, the first device can switch from the first state to the second state. That is, in a case that the first device receives a certain specific frame, the first device can immediately perform the state switching. The first frame is described in detail above, and will not be described here again.

[0189] Optionally, the first frame can be used to request the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation. For example, the first device can switch to the second state in response to the first AP requesting the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation set.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first frame can be used to request multiple APs to join the multi-AP cooperation set, and the multiple APs can include the second AP. As in FIG. 12A, the first frame is a trigger frame, the first AP is AP1, and the second AP is AP2. During the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, AP1 requests AP2 and AP3 to join the multi-AP cooperation set simultaneously. The trigger frame sent by AP1 to AP2 and AP3 can contain the third information, and AP2 switches to the second state before the third time indicated by the third information after receiving the trigger frame.

[0191] In some embodiments, the first frame can be used to request only one AP to join the multi-AP cooperation set, and the one AP can be the second AP. As in FIG. 12B, the first frame is a trigger frame, the first AP is AP1, and the second AP is AP2. During the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, AP1 requests AP2 to join the multi-AP cooperation set first. The trigger frame sent by AP1 to AP2 can contain the third information, and AP2 switches to the second state before the third time indicated by the third information after receiving the trigger frame. AP1 can request AP3 to join the multi-AP cooperation set again, and the trigger frame sent by AP1 to AP3 can not contain the third information in the case that the first mode of AP3 is not enabled or AP3 is in the second state.

[0192] Optionally, the first frame can be used to initiate the M-AP cooperation transmission. For example, the first device can switch to the second state in response to the first AP initiating the multi-AP cooperation transmission.

[0193] Optionally, the first frame can be used to initiate the M-AP cooperation measurement. For example, the first device can switch to the second state in response to the first AP initiating the multi-AP cooperation measurement.

[0194] Optionally, the first frame can be used to indicate the transmission parameters and / or transmission resources of the APs participating in the M-AP cooperation. That is, the first frame can be used to announce the resource allocation in the M-AP cooperation. For example, the first device can switch to the second state in response to the first AP indicating the transmission parameters and / or transmission resources of the APs participating in the M-AP cooperation.

[0195] In some embodiments, the first frame can include a padding field. The padding field can be located at the end of the first frame. For example, the padding field can be before the FCS field, or the padding field can be after the FCS field.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first duration described above can be used to determine a padding length of the first frame. For example, the padding length can be greater than or equal to the first duration. During the transmission period of the padding field, the first device can complete the switching from the first state to the second state.

[0197] In some embodiments, the second duration described above can be used to determine a padding length of the first frame. For example, the padding length can be greater than or equal to the second duration. During the transmission period of the padding field, the second device can complete the switching from the first state to the second state.

[0198] In some embodiments, the second duration described above can be used to determine a padding length of the first frame. For example, the padding length can be greater than or equal to the second duration. During the transmission period of the padding field, the second device can complete the switching from the first state to the second state.

[0199] In some embodiments, the padding length of the first frame can be determined based on the first duration and the second duration. For example, the padding length can be greater than or equal to the maximum of the first duration and the second duration. During the transmission of the padding, both the first device and the second device can complete the switching from the first state to the second state.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first device can send a second frame to the first AP. The second frame can be used to indicate that the first device has completed the switching from the first state to the second state. The second frame can be, for example, a clear to send (CTS) frame.

[0201] For ease of understanding, the following describes, by way of example, the first frame as a frame transmitted in a pre-transmission phase, in cooperation with different modes of M-AP. In the following embodiments, the first AP can be a shared AP, the second AP can be a shared AP, the first state can be a lower capability state, and the second state can be a higher capability state.

[0202] C-OFDMA

[0203] In the C-OFDMA scheme, if an AP in the cooperation set is turned on for dynamic energy saving, its associated STAs are also in the lower capability state. In the pre-transmission phase, the sharing AP can wake up the shared AP in the lower capability state when announcing the resource allocation. The sharing AP can send a C-MU-RTS frame (i.e., the first frame) with padding to the shared AP. The user Info field in the C-MU-RTS can carry the resource allocation information for the shared AP. The length of the padding in the C-MU-RTS frame is the value of the second duration sent by the AP2. The value of the second duration can be indicated by the DPS padding in the duration field.

[0204] After the shared AP in the lower capability state switches to the higher capability state, it can send a CTS frame as a response. Then, the shared AP can send a MU-RTS frame with padding to the associated STAs in the lower capability state. The STAs switch to the higher capability state and the channel specified in the MU-RTS frame, and send a CTS as a response.

[0205] FIG. 13 is an example diagram of a C-OFDMA procedure. As shown in FIG. 13, the C-MU-RTS frame sent by the AP1 includes a padding field (represented by AP2 padding in FIG. 13), and the length of the padding field is determined based on the duration for the AP2 to switch from the first state to the second state. The MU-RTS frame sent by the AP2 includes a padding field (represented by BSS2 maximum padding in FIG. 13), and the length of the padding field is determined based on the maximum value of the duration for the STAs in the BSS (labeled as BSS2) of the AP2 to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0206] It should be noted that before the start of the M-AP cooperation transmission phase, the APs in the multi-AP cooperation set and their associated STAs need to switch to the channel and capability indicated by the AP1. The AP1 can send a broadcast trigger frame to trigger all the APs to perform the cooperation transmission. After the cooperation transmission is completed, the AP2 can switch back to the lower capability state.

[0207] C-BF

[0208] All the STAs in the C-BF can listen to the APs participating in the cooperation transmission. Therefore, the STA2 associated with the AP2 can also listen to the AP1.

[0209] In the pre-transmission phase, all the APs participating in the cooperation transmission should perform channel sounding through the NDP to obtain the CSI information.

[0210] As shown in FIG. 14A, AP1 can send a MU-RTS frame with a padding field (FIG. 14A shows padding by BSS2 max) to wake up AP2 and STA2 in lower power state before channel sounding. The length of the padding field is the maximum of the time duration for all STAs in AP2's BSS (labeled BSS2) to switch from the first state to the second state, thus ensuring that all lower power state devices in BSS2 are woken up. After channel sounding is completed, AP1 sends a trigger frame to trigger all APs to perform C-BF transmission simultaneously. AP2 can switch back to lower power state after the transmission ends.

[0211] Optionally, AP1 can actively request AP2 to send switching delay information (including the first time duration and / or the second time duration) before sending the MU-RTS frame with the padding field.

[0212] As shown in FIG. 14B, AP1 can send a NDPA frame with a padding field (FIG. 14B shows padding by BSS2 max) to wake up AP2 and STA2 in lower power state. The length of the padding field is the maximum of the time duration for all STAs in AP2's BSS (labeled BSS2) to switch from the first state to the second state, thus ensuring that all lower power state devices in BSS2 are woken up. After channel sounding is completed, AP1 sends a trigger frame to trigger all APs to perform C-BF transmission simultaneously. AP2 can switch back to lower power state after the transmission ends.

[0213] Optionally, AP1 can actively request AP2 to send switching delay information (including the first time duration and / or the second time duration) before sending the NDPA frame with the padding field.

[0214] J-TX

[0215] Channel sounding is also needed before data transmission in J-TX, and all APs participating in cooperative transmission need to send full channel CSI feedback by STAs. The NDPA frame can be sent by the sharing AP to all shared APs in the cooperation set, triggering the shared AP to start the channel sounding process.

[0216] As shown in FIG. 15A, in the J-TX scheme, AP1 can send a MU-RTS frame with a padding field (FIG. 15A shows padding by AP2) to trigger AP2 in lower power state to switch to higher power state, and the length of the padding field can be the first time duration.

[0217] Optionally, AP1 can actively request AP2 to send switching delay information (including the first time duration and / or the second time duration) before sending the MU-RTS frame with the padding field.

[0218] As shown in FIG. 15B, in the J-TX scheme, the AP1 can send an NDPA frame with a padding field (indicated by AP2 padding in FIG. 15B) to trigger the AP2 in the lower capability state to switch to the higher capability state, and the length of the padding field can be the first time length.

[0219] Optionally, the AP1 can actively request the AP2 to send the switching delay information (including the first time length and / or the second time length) before sending the MU-RTS frame with the padding field.

[0220] For ease of understanding, the following describes the padding of the first frame and the implicit wake-up technical solution in the M-AP cooperation in different modes, taking the first frame as an example, which is a frame transmitted in the M-AP cooperation transmission phase. In the following embodiments, the first AP can be a shared AP, the second AP can be a shared AP, the first state can be a lower capability state, and the second state can be a higher capability state.

[0221] C-TDMA

[0222] In the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, in the C-TDMA technology, the shared AP can allocate time domain resources, and after the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, the APs in the multi-AP cooperation set can directly perform M-AP cooperation transmission.

[0223] The AP1 sends an initial trigger frame MU-RTS frame to all shared APs and STAs. The MU-RTS frame can carry the expected duration of the allocated TXOP. Among them, the MU-RTS / CTS is mainly to realize the NAV protection.

[0224] As shown in FIG. 16A, the AP1 sends a MU-RTS TXS frame with a padding field to the AP2. Among them, the MU-RTS TXS frame can indicate the time length of the TXOP shared with the AP2, the traffic priority and other information. The AP2 can independently wake up the associated STA within the TXOP duration allocated to itself. When the allocated time expires, the AP2 can send a CF-end frame to return the TXOP to the AP1, and at the same time, it can switch back to the lower capability state by itself. The AP1 continues to share the TXOP to the AP3 according to the above process.

[0225] Optionally, the AP1 can actively request the AP2 to send the switching delay information (including the first time length and / or the second time length) before sending the MU-RTS TXS frame with the padding.

[0226] As shown in FIG. 16B, in the cooperation transmission negotiation phase, the initial trigger frame MU-RTS sent by the AP1 can carry the expected M-AP cooperation transmission start time. The AP2 can switch to the higher capability state by itself before the expected M-AP cooperation transmission start time, and wait for the TXOP allocation sent by the AP1.

[0227] C-OFDMA

[0228] As shown in FIG. 17, if all STAs within the OBSS which are not associated with AP1 can receive the frame sent by AP1, the trigger frame with padding field sent by AP1 can wake up AP2 and STA2 in lower capability state at the same time. The trigger frame can carry allocation information of cooperative transmission. In order to wake up AP2 and STA2, the length of the padding field can be the maximum value of the time length for the STAs within BSS2 to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0229] Optionally, AP1 can actively request AP2 to send switching time delay information (including the first time length and / or the second time length) before sending the trigger frame with padding field.

[0230] It should be noted that in the C-OFDMA, C-BF and J-TX schemes, the data transmission stage is synchronous, that is, a trigger frame is sent by the sharing AP to the shared APs to trigger synchronous data transmission. If the shared AP needs to return to the initial state before cooperative transmission, time for medium synchronization needs to be reserved.

[0231] For the above technical solutions, the application proposes a corresponding frame modification scheme.

[0232] The M-AP cooperation capability information can be used to indicate whether the AP supports M-AP cooperation. The coordinated M-AP support field can occupy 1 bit. For example, the value of the coordinated M-AP support field is 0, which can represent that M-AP cooperation is supported; the value of the coordinated M-AP support field is 1, which can represent that M-AP cooperation is not supported. For another example, the value of the coordinated M-AP support field is 1, which can represent that M-AP cooperation is supported; the value of the coordinated M-AP support field is 0, which can represent that M-AP cooperation is not supported.

[0233] The M-AP cooperation capability information can be carried in the coordinated M-AP support field.

[0234] The coordinated M-AP support field can be included in the capabilities element. The capabilities element can be an EHT capabilities element. For example, the EHT MAC capabilities information field in the EHT capabilities element can include the coordinated M-AP support field. For example, the B14 reserved bit in the EHT MAC capabilities information field in the related art can be modified as the coordinated M-AP support field.

[0235] The cooperative M-AP support field can be carried in a beacon frame or an M-AP probe management frame. The M-AP probe management frame can multiplex a probe request frame in the related art.

[0236] FIG. 18 is a format example of an EHT MAC capability information field provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 18, the EHT MAC capability information field can include a cooperative M-AP support field. Optionally, the EHT MAC capability information field can also include one or more of the following fields: EPCS priority access support, EHT OM control support, triggered TXOP sharing mode 1 support, triggered TXOP sharing mode 2 support, restricted TWT support, SCS traffic description support, maximum MPDU length, maximum A-MPDU length exponent extension, EHT TRS support, TXOP return support in triggered TXOP sharing mode 2, two BQRs support, and EHT link adaptation support.

[0237] If the cooperative M-AP support field indicates that M-AP cooperation is supported, and the value of the triggered TXOP sharing mode 2 support field is 1, it can be indicated that the AP has the capability to allocate TXOP to other APs, or the AP has the capability to receive TXOP sharing of other APs.

[0238] The beacon frame or the M-AP probe management frame can include an M-AP coordinated information element. The M-AP coordinated information element can be used to indicate the M-AP cooperation parameters and capabilities supported by the AP.

[0239] FIG. 19 is an example diagram of a format of a M-AP coordination information element. As shown in FIG. 19, the M-AP coordination information element can include a coordinated M-AP type support field, and / or a coordinated M-AP parameter information field.

[0240] The M-AP type support field can indicate a supported M-AP coordination scheme. Table 1 is an example of values of the M-AP type support field and corresponding meanings.

[0241] Table 1

[0242] It should be noted that Table 1 is an example. Some entries in Table 1 can be implemented alone. The correspondence in Table 1 can be adjusted. Table 1 can delete or add entries.

[0243] The coordinated M-AP parameter information field can be used to indicate the capability information supported by the AP when M-AP coordination is used. The coordinated M-AP parameter information field can reuse the OM control field in related technologies.

[0244] FIG. 20 is an example diagram of a format of a coordinated M-AP parameter information field. As shown in FIG. 20, the M-AP parameter information field can include one or more of the following fields: channel width, 160 / 80+80 BW, no LDPC, receive NSS (Rx NSS), and Rx NSS type.

[0245] The operation element in the beacon frame or the M-AP probe management frame can carry a dynamic power save enable indication. As shown in FIG. 21, a dynamic power save enabled field can be added in the EHT operation parameters field in the EHT operation element.

[0246] The dynamic power save enabled field can occupy 1 bit. The 1 bit can be, for example, B6 of the EHT operation element. For example, a value of 0 of the dynamic power save enabled field can indicate that the device does not enable dynamic power saving; a value of 1 of the dynamic power save enabled field can indicate that the device enables dynamic power saving. For another example, a value of 1 of the dynamic power save enabled field can indicate that the device does not enable dynamic power saving; a value of 0 of the dynamic power save enabled field can indicate that the device enables dynamic power saving.

[0247] As shown in FIG. 21, the EHT operation element can further include one or more of the following fields: EHT operation information present, disabled subchannel bitmap present, EHT default PE duration, group addressed BU indication limit, group addressed BU indication exponent, reserved.

[0248] As described above, the first information can be carried in a DPS frame. The DPS frame is described below.

[0249] The DPS frame can include a DPS control field. The DPS control field can be used to indicate one or more of the following information: capability information of the first device in the first state, the first time length, the second time length, etc. For example, the DPS control field can indicate one or more of the following information: capability information of the first device in the lower capability state, state switching latency information of itself, maximum state switching latency information of devices within the BSS, etc.

[0250] As shown in FIG. 22, the DPS frame can include one or more of the following fields: category, protected EHT action, DPS control field, DPS switch information.

[0251] The DPS control field can be used to indicate capability information in the first state. For example, capability information in the lower capability mode. The DPS control field can multiplex an operating mode field. FIG. 23 is an example diagram of the format of the DPS control field. The DPS control field can include one or more of the following fields: channel bandwidth, 160 / 80+80 BW, no LDPC, receive NSS, receive NSS type.

[0252] The DPS switching information field can be used to indicate the switching delay information. FIG. 24 is an example diagram of the format of the DPS switching information field. As shown in FIG. 24, the DPS switching information field can include a DPS padding delay field and / or a max padding delay field. The DPS padding delay field can be used to indicate a first time length. The max padding delay field can be used to indicate a second time length. For example, the max padding delay field can indicate the maximum value of the padding time length required for the capability switching of all devices within the BSS.

[0253] The value of the DPS padding delay field can have a corresponding relationship with the value of the first time length. Table 2 is an example of the corresponding relationship.

[0254] Table 2

[0255] The third information can be carried in a pre TX start field or a TX start field. The value of the pre TX start field or the TX start field can be the value of the third time length. The unit can be microsecond (μs).

[0256] For example, the user Info field of the trigger frame can include the pre TX start field. FIG. 25 is a format diagram of the user Info field of the trigger frame provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 25, B40-B55 is the pre TX start field. As shown in FIG. 25, the user Info field of the trigger frame can also include one or more of the following fields: AID 12, RU allocation, UL FEC coding type, UL HE-MCS, UL DCM, SS allocation / RA-RU information, UL target receive power, trigger dependent user Info.

[0257] FIG. 26 is an example of a format of a common information field in a MU-RTS frame according to embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 26, the common information field of the MU-RTS frame can include a transmission start field. B22-B30 can be the transmission start field. As shown in FIG. 26, the common information field of the MU-RTS frame can also include one or more of the following fields: trigger type, reserved, more TF, CS required, UL BW, HE / EHT P160, special user Info field flag.

[0258] For another example, a C-MU-RTS frame can be newly defined. The C-MU-RTS frame can reuse the MU-RTS frame in related technologies. The format of the common information field of the C-MU-RTS frame can be as shown in FIG. 26.

[0259] In the C-MU-RTS frame, the value of the trigger type field at the common information field B0-B3 can be a first value. The first value can be 8, for example. The first value can indicate that the current frame type is C-MU-RTS. The encoding format of the trigger field can be as shown in Table 3.

[0260] Table 3

[0261] FIG. 27A is an example of a format of a user information field in a MU-RTS (or C-MU-RTS) frame according to embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 27A, B0-B47 bits are a BSSID field. The BSSID field can be used to indicate the BSS identification of the sharing AP. As shown in FIG. 27A, the user information field in the MU-RTS frame can also include one or more of the following information: RU allocation, allocation duration, reserved, PS160.

[0262] FIG. 27B is an example of a format of a MU-RTS (TXS) frame according to embodiments of the present application. The MU-RTS (TXS) frame can reuse the EHT MU-RTS (TXS) frame in related technologies.

[0263] FIG. 27C is an example of a format of a common information field of a MU-RTS (TXS) frame. As shown in FIG. 27C, the trigger TXOP sharing mode field at B20-B21 in the common information field of the MU-RTS (TXS) frame used in C-TDMA can be set to 2, indicating that the frame is a MU-RTS (TXS). And the shared AP can interact with the associated STA in the allocated TXOP.

[0264] FIG. 27D is an example diagram of a format of a user info field of a MU-RTS (TXS) frame. AID 12 at B0-B11 in the user info field can be a BSSID of the AP, identifying different APs. An allocation duration field at B20-B28 can indicate an allocated time. A RU allocation field at B12-B19 can indicate an allocated frequency resource.

[0265] The method embodiments of the present application are described in detail above, and the device embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the device embodiments, and therefore, the parts not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments.

[0266] FIG. 28 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2800 is a first AP. The communication device 2800 includes a receiving unit 2810.

[0267] The receiving unit 2810 is configured to receive first information. The first information is related to a first mode of a first device, and the first device includes a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP.

[0268] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device 2800 described above can be configured to perform part or all of the method steps performed by the first AP in the method embodiments described above. The method flow has been described in detail in the foregoing embodiments, and the modules in the present embodiment have the same functions or perform the same steps, which will not be described here again. However, as a person skilled in the art should know that the corresponding textual description of the foregoing method embodiments can be introduced into the present embodiment, and the modules in the communication device 2800 correspond thereto.

[0269] In optional embodiments, the receiving unit 2810 can be a transceiver 3030. The communication device 2800 can further include a processor 3010 and a memory 3020, as shown in FIG. 30.

[0270] FIG. 29 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2900 is a first device. The communication device 2900 includes a sending unit 2910.

[0271] The sending unit 2910 is configured to send first information to a first AP. The first information is related to a first mode of the first device, and the first device includes a second AP and / or a STA associated with the second AP.

[0272] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device 2900 can be used to perform part or all of the method steps performed by the first device in the method embodiments described above. The modules in the present embodiment have the same functions or perform the same steps as those described in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be described here again. However, as a person skilled in the art should know, the foregoing description of the method embodiments can be introduced into the present embodiment, and the modules in the communication device 2900 correspond to the foregoing description of the method embodiments.

[0273] In optional embodiments, the sending unit 2910 can be a transceiver 3030. The communication device 2900 can further include a processor 3010 and a memory 3020, as shown in FIG. 30.

[0274] FIG. 30 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for communication according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed line in FIG. 30 indicates that the unit or module is optional. The apparatus 3000 can be used to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The apparatus 3000 can be a chip or a communication device.

[0275] The apparatus 3000 can include one or more processors 3010. The processor 3010 can support the apparatus 3000 to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor 3010 can be a general purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor can also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, etc. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0276] The apparatus 3000 can further include one or more memories 3020. The memory 3020 stores a program, which can be executed by the processor 3010, so that the processor 3010 performs the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The memory 3020 can be independent of the processor 3010 or integrated in the processor 3010.

[0277] The apparatus 3000 can further include a transceiver 3030. The processor 3010 can communicate with other devices or chips through the transceiver 3030. For example, the processor 3010 can perform data transmission and reception with other devices or chips through the transceiver 3030.

[0278] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0279] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0280] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0281] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably in the present application. In addition, the terms used in the present application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are used to distinguish different objects, and are not used to describe a particular order. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0282] In the embodiments of the present application, a "field" can also be referred to as a "domain", a "subfield" or a "sub-domain". One field can occupy one or more bytes (octets), or one field can occupy one or more bits (bits).

[0283] In the embodiments of the present application, the "indication" mentioned can be direct indication, indirect indication, or can be an indication with an associated relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; or A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; or A and B have an associated relationship.

[0284] In the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean that B is determined only according to A, but B can also be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0285] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" can represent a direct or indirect corresponding relationship between the two, can also represent an associated relationship between the two, and can also indicate a relationship such as being indicated, configured, and the like.

[0286] In the embodiments of the present application, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other means for indicating related information in devices (for example, including AP and STA), and the specific implementation manner is not limited in the present application. For example, the predefinition can refer to the definition in the protocol.

[0287] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is only used to describe the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone. In addition, the character " / " in this paper generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it.

[0288] In the embodiments of the present application, "including" can mean direct or indirect including. Alternatively, "including" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by "indicating" or "used for determining". For example, A includes B can be replaced by A indicating B or A used for determining B.

[0289] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0290] In the embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, can include WiFi protocol and related protocols applied to future WiFi communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0291] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented by other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the shown or discussed mutual ones can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0292] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment of the present application according to actual needs.

[0293] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0294] In the above embodiments, all or part can be realized by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When realized by software, all or part can be realized in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium readable by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. containing one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical medium (for example, digital video disc (DVD)) or semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0295] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: The method comprises: a first access point (AP) receiving first information; wherein the first information is related to a first mode of the first device, the first device comprising a second AP and / or a station (STA) associated with the second AP.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information comprises one or more of: enabling information indicating whether the first device enables the first mode, wherein, in a case that the first device enables the first mode, a state of the first device comprises a first state or a second state; a state of the first device at a first time or a first time period; a first time duration indicating a time duration for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state; a second time duration indicating a time duration for a second device to switch from the first state to the second state, wherein the second device is a device within a BSS to which the first device belongs.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first time duration and / or the second time duration are used to determine a padding length of a first frame sent by the first AP.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The second device belongs to a plurality of devices within the BSS to which the first device belongs, and the second time duration is used to indicate a maximum value of time durations for the plurality of devices to switch from the first state to the second state.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The sending of the first information is triggered by a first frame sent by the first AP, and the first frame is used to request sending of the first information.

6. The method according to claim 3 or 5, characterized in that, The first frame is used to: request the second AP to join a multi-AP cooperation; or initiate a multi-AP cooperative transmission; or initiate a multi-AP cooperative measurement.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: the first AP sending second information; wherein the second information is used to indicate a second time for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The method further comprises: the first AP performing multi-AP cooperation according to the first information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, If the second AP is in the first state, the first AP does not invite or reject the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first mode is a power saving related mode.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first mode is a dynamic power saving mode, and, in a case that the dynamic first mode is enabled, the state of the first device comprises a lower capability mode or a higher capability mode.

12. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: The method comprises: a first device sending first information to a first access point (AP); wherein the first information is related to a first mode of the first device, the first device comprising a second AP and / or a station (STA) associated with the second AP.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first information comprises one or more of: enabling information indicating whether the first device enables the first mode, wherein, in a case that the first device enables the first mode, a state of the first device comprises a first state or a second state; a state of the first device at a first time or a first time period; a first time duration indicating a time duration for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state; a second time duration indicating a time duration for a second device to switch from the first state to the second state, wherein the second device is a device within a BSS to which the first device belongs.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first time duration and / or the second time duration are used to determine a padding length of a first frame sent by the first AP.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The second device belongs to a plurality of devices in a BSS to which the first device belongs, and the second time length is used to indicate a maximum value of a time length for the plurality of devices to switch from a first state to a second state.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12-15, characterized in that, The sending of the first information is triggered by a first frame sent by the first AP, and the first frame is used to request sending of the first information.

17. The method of claim 14 or 16, wherein, The first frame is used to: request the second AP to join multi-AP cooperation; or initiate multi-AP cooperative transmission; or initiate multi-AP cooperative measurement.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12-17, characterized by, The method further includes: The first device receives second information sent by the first AP; The second information is used to indicate a second time for the first device to switch from a first state to a second state.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12-17, characterized by, The method further includes: The first device receives third information sent by the first AP; The first device determines, according to the third information, a time for the first device to switch from a first state to a second state; The third information is used to indicate a third time, and the third time is a start time of multi-AP cooperative transmission initiated by the first AP.

20. The method of any one of claims 12-19, wherein, The first mode is a mode related to energy saving.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The first mode is a dynamic energy saving mode, and in a case where the dynamic first mode is turned on, a state in which the first device is located includes a lower capability mode or a higher capability mode.

22. A communications device, characterized by The communication device is a first access point (AP), and the communication device includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first information; The first information is related to a first mode of the first device, and the first device includes a second AP and / or a station (STA) associated with the second AP.

23. The communication device of claim 22, wherein, The first information includes one or more of the following: enabling information, used to indicate whether the first mode is turned on or not, and in a case where the first mode is turned on, a state in which the first device is located includes a first state or a second state; a state in which the first device is located at a first time or in a first time period; a first time length, used to indicate a time length for the first device to switch from a first state to a second state; a second time length, used to indicate a time length for a second device to switch from a first state to a second state, wherein the second device is a device in a BSS to which the first device belongs.

24. The communication device of claim 23, wherein, The first time length and / or the second time length are used to determine a padding length of a first frame sent by the first AP.

25. The communication device of claim 23 or 24, wherein, The second device belongs to a plurality of devices in a BSS to which the first device belongs, and the second time length is used to indicate a maximum value of a time length for the plurality of devices to switch from a first state to a second state.

26. The communication device of any of claims 22-25, wherein, The sending of the first information is triggered by a first frame sent by the first AP, and the first frame is used to request sending of the first information.

27. The communication device of claim 24 or 26, wherein, The first frame is used to: request the second AP to join multi-AP cooperation; or initiate multi-AP cooperative transmission; or initiate multi-AP cooperative measurement.

28. The communication device of any of claims 22-27, wherein, The communication device is further configured to: send second information; The second information is used to indicate a second time for the first device to switch from a first state to a second state.

29. The communication device of any of claims 22-28, wherein, The communication device is further configured to: perform multi-AP cooperation according to the first information.

30. The communication device of claim 29, wherein, If the second AP is in the first state, the first AP does not invite or reject the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation.

31. The communication device of any of claims 22-30, wherein, The first mode is a power saving related mode.

32. The communications device of claim 31, wherein The first mode is a dynamic power saving mode, and in a case that the dynamic first mode is enabled, the states that the first device is in include a lower capability mode or a higher capability mode.

33. A communications device, characterized by The communication device is a first device, and the communication device includes: a sending unit, configured to send first information to a first access point (AP); The first information is related to a first mode of the first device, and the first device includes a second AP and / or a station (STA) associated with the second AP.

34. The communication device of claim 33, wherein, The first information includes one or more of the following: enabling information, used to indicate whether the first mode is enabled for the first device, and in a case that the first mode is enabled, states that the first device is in include a first state or a second state; a state that the first device is in at a first time or a first time period; a first time length, used to indicate a time length for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state; a second time length, used to indicate a time length for a second device to switch from the first state to the second state, wherein the second device is a device in a basic service set (BSS) to which the first device belongs.

35. The communication device of claim 34, wherein, The first time length and / or the second time length are used to determine a padding length of a first frame sent by the first AP.

36. The communication device of claim 34 or 35, wherein, The second device belongs to a plurality of devices in the BSS to which the first device belongs, and the second time length is used to indicate a maximum value of time lengths for the plurality of devices to switch from the first state to the second state.

37. The communication device of any of claims 33-36, wherein, The sending of the first information is triggered by a first frame sent by the first AP, and the first frame is used to request sending of the first information.

38. The communication device of claim 35 or 37, wherein, The first frame is used to: invite the second AP to join the multi-AP cooperation; or initiate multi-AP cooperation transmission; or initiate multi-AP cooperation measurement.

39. The communication device of any of claims 33-38, wherein, The communication device is further configured to: receive second information sent by the first AP; The second information is used to indicate a second time for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state.

40. The communication device of any of claims 33-38, wherein, The communication device is further configured to: receive third information sent by the first AP; determine a time for the first device to switch from the first state to the second state according to the third information; The third information is used to indicate a third time, and the third time is a start time of multi-AP cooperation transmission initiated by the first AP.

41. The communication device of any of claims 33-40, wherein, The first mode is a power saving related mode.

42. The communications device of claim 41, wherein The first mode is a dynamic power saving mode, and in a case that the dynamic first mode is enabled, the states that the first device is in include a lower capability mode or a higher capability mode.

43. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes a transceiver, a memory and a processor, the memory is used to store a program, the processor is used to invoke the program in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send a signal, so that the communication device performs the method in any one of claims 1-21.

44. An apparatus comprising: The apparatus includes a processor, configured to invoke a program from a memory, so that the apparatus performs the method in any one of claims 1-21.

45. A chip, comprising: including a processor for calling a program from a memory, causing a device in which the chip is installed to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-21.

46. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, having a program stored thereon, the program causing a computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-21.

47. A computer program product, characterised in that, including a program that causes a computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-21.

48. A computer program characterised in that, The computer program causes a computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-21.

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