Communication apparatus, control method, and program

Abstract

A communication device that performs wireless communication includes transmission control means for controlling transmission of a frame to another communication device, the frame including an information element that stores information indicating whether or not a second listening mode is supported, the second listening mode being a listening mode for suppressing power consumption in a case where a listening operation is performed as an operation of waiting for communication in a first listening mode, the second listening mode enabling the listening operation to be performed in a situation where at least one of a number of communication links, a bandwidth, a spatial stream, and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), expected power consumption is less than in the first listening mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a communication device for performing data communication. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, the increasing amount of data to be transmitted via communication has spurred the development of communication technologies such as wireless LANs (Local Area Networks). The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard series is known as the main wireless LAN communication standard. The IEEE 802.11 standard series includes standards such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax.

[0003] Techniques for reducing the power consumption of communication devices by utilizing sleep mode operation or intermittent operation have also been studied. For example, Patent Document 1 illustrates a process for achieving power savings by having the AP (Access Point) and STA (Station) pre-configure their device wake-up times and suppress power consumption during other times while communicating during the wake-up time.

[0004] The IEEE 802.11be standard, which is to be developed as the successor to IEEE 802.11ax, is under development. The specifications for the IEEE 802.11bn standard, which is to be the successor to IEEE 802.11be, are also being studied by the UHR (Ultra-Reliability) task force. Existing technical documents Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-511600 Summary of the Invention The problem the invention aims to solve

[0006] The 802.11be standard has attempted to increase communication rates compared to previous standards. It has also sought to provide a multi-link operation function, which uses multiple communication links for high-speed or redundant data transmission. Communication devices using new features such as multi-link operation can receive data on multiple links in multiple spatial streams, with wide bandwidth and high MCS (modulation and scheme). Therefore, even in idle states where waiting to receive data is required, it is often necessary to control the signal receiving circuitry and antenna to enable reception of signals of any mode. These new features, which constitute the main characteristics of these standards, are certainly useful in terms of higher speed and more reliable communication, and contribute to improved user experience. However, a problem exists: the power required for proper operation of communication devices increases not only during communication but also in standby mode. Therefore, in recent communication devices, even when such devices are in standby mode for communication (such as for receiving), standby power consumption has reached a non-negligible level.

[0007] In view of at least one of the aforementioned problems, this disclosure has been made. According to one aspect of this disclosure, an object is to provide a specific mechanism for more proactively reducing power consumption during standby. Specifically, a new function is provided to proactively reduce power consumption during standby by selectively using a normal operating mode and an operating mode employing multiple communication conditions tailored for power saving (such as low link, low flow, and low MCS). For ease of description, this new function is also referred to hereinafter as a low-power listening function. According to another aspect of this disclosure, an object is to provide a mechanism that allows for advance indication of whether the low-power listening function, as a new function, is supported, thereby allowing for the appropriate use of this function. Solution for solving the problem

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a communication device is a communication device for performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series of standards. The communication device includes a transmission control component for controlling the transmission of frames to other communication devices. The frames include information elements storing information indicating whether a second listening mode is supported. The second listening mode is a listening mode designed to suppress power consumption when performing a listening operation as a waiting communication operation in a first listening mode. The second listening mode enables the listening operation to be performed with a lower expected power consumption than the first listening mode for at least one of the following: the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Advantages of the invention

[0009] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a mechanism for more proactively reducing power consumption during standby can be provided. According to another aspect of this disclosure, it is possible to support the appropriate use of a pre-indication permission function for the aforementioned mechanism. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a communication system. Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a communication device (AP / STA). Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a communication device (AP / STA). Figure 4 This is a sequence diagram illustrating the process of LPL (Low Power Listening) function. Figure 5A An example of an information element used to provide a notification of whether LPL is supported is shown. Figure 5B An example of an information element used to provide a notification of whether LPL is supported is shown. Figure 6 An example of an information element used to provide notifications about LPL operation is shown. Figure 7 An example of a frame used to provide notifications via action frames is shown. Figure 8 An example of ICF is shown. Figure 9 An example of a response to ICF is shown. Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of control performed by the STA. Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of control performed by the AP. Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of control performed by the STA. Figure 13 It is a diagram used to describe the transitions between the operating modes and operating states of LPL functions. Detailed Implementation

[0011] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined by the claims. Although the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and these multiple features can be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, in the drawings, the same or similar components are indicated by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0012] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 An example configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment is shown. The communication system according to this embodiment is configured to include an access point device (hereinafter also referred to as AP, AP STA, or access point) and a station device (hereinafter referred to as STA, non-AP STA, or station).

[0013] AP 101 and STA 102 are configured to communicate in wireless frames compliant with the IEEE 802.11bn standard, which is the successor to the IEEE 802.11be standard, which aims for a maximum transmission rate of 46.08 Gbps.

[0014] IEEE stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE 802.11bn, the successor to IEEE 802.11be, is primarily characterized by high-reliability communication, low-latency communication, and improved throughput during congestion. Furthermore, one of the goals of IEEE 802.11bn is to reduce power consumption in access points (APs). The radio frames transmitted via communication under the successor standard are also known as UHR (Ultra-Reliable Frame Data Units). PPDU is an abbreviation for Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit.

[0015] The name "UHR" is provided for convenience, taking into account the goals to be achieved by the successor standard and the key functions of the standard, and may be replaced by another name when standardization is complete. The name "IEEE 802.11bn" may also be replaced by another name when standardization is complete. However, it should be noted that this specification and the appended claims apply substantially to any successor standard to the 802.11be standard. AP 101 and STA 102 may also transmit radio frames conforming to legacy standards, where legacy standards are those preceding the IEEE 802.11bn standard. Examples of legacy standards include the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be standards.

[0016] AP 101 and STA 102 exchange wireless signals and communicate in frequency bands such as the 2.4 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and millimeter-wave bands (such as the 45 GHz band and 60 GHz band). The frequency bands used by AP 101 and STA 102 are not limited to these bands and can be, for example, the Sub-1 GHz band. AP 101 and STA 102 can use bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 540 MHz, 640 MHz, 1080 MHz, and 2160 MHz for communication. The bandwidth used by communication device 100 is not limited to these bandwidths and can be, for example, 240 MHz and 4 MHz. In the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, a frequency channel using a 20 MHz bandwidth is defined as a basic channel in frequency bands such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. In the standard, multiple available channels are defined in each of the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. Furthermore, in the standard, a channel can be used in combination with another adjacent channel. In this embodiment, combining a channel with another adjacent channel is called channel bonding. A channel bundle formed by one channel or two or more adjacent channels is called a communication link (link). That is, a link formed by combining two channels, each with a bandwidth of 20MHz, uses a bandwidth of 40MHz. AP 101 is an access point that supports multi-band functionality for providing network access on multiple different frequency channels. In this embodiment, the following case is illustrated: AP 101 is a dual-band access point used to provide network access in both the 2.4GHz band and the 5GHz band as an example.

[0017] STA 102 establishes one or more links with AP 101 for data communication with AP 101 or other communication devices. For example, to establish a link with AP 101, STA 102 initiates a connection process with AP 101. During the connection process between STA 102 and AP 101, a link is established. The establishment of the link allows communication device 100 to access the wireless medium and perform data communication with other communication devices.

[0018] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, AP 101 and STA 102 can establish multiple links between them and perform multi-link communication for communication. The communication links are also simply referred to as links below. AP 101, which performs multi-link communication, is also referred to as APMLD (AP Multi-Link Device) 101, and STA 102, which performs multi-link communication, is also referred to as non-AP MLD 102. For example, AP 101 can establish a link with STA 102 in a 2.4 GHz band network and communicate. In parallel, AP 101 and STA 102 can also establish a second link, for example, in a 5 GHz band and communicate. In this case, STA 102 performs multi-link communication, where two links are used to perform communication. STA 102 can perform STR (Simultaneous Transmit and Receive) operation, which enables simultaneous reception on link 1 and transmission on link 2 between STA 102 and AP 101. That is, STA 102 can perform STR communication. STA 102 can also perform NSTR operations, which are constrained to simultaneously use all links for transmission to or reception from AP 101. NSTR stands for Non-Simultaneous Transmission and Reception. NSTR operations are used when the frequency distance between links is short and mutual interference occurs.

[0019] For example, when establishing link 1 with a bandwidth of 160MHz and link 2 with a bandwidth of 80MHz between devices, communication device 100 communicates using the channels constituting the links. The link using 160MHz bandwidth is configured by bundling eight channels, each with a bandwidth of 20MHz. The link using 80MHz bandwidth is configured by bundling four channels, each with a bandwidth of 20MHz.

[0020] Furthermore, to communicate more efficiently with other communication devices, AP 101 and STA 102 can use multiple spatial streams for communication. That is, SU-MIMO (Single-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) communication using 2SS and 4SS can be performed. Additionally, MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) communication using 2SS to 16SS can be performed. In SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO communication, the actual communication rate can be increased proportionally to the number of streams. Multiple spatial streams can be used for higher reliability. Furthermore, for modulation, BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, 1024QAM, 4096QAM, etc., can be used for communication to provide information notification with higher density. MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) is an indicator used to indicate the combination of modulation method with modulation schemes such as coding rate, and communication device 100 can select any MCS from MCS 0 to MCS 15 for communication.

[0021] As described above, communication devices (such as STA 102) use the aforementioned MLO function to communicate via multiple links or to receive data with multiple spatial streams, wide bandwidth, and high MCS. Therefore, it is typically necessary to control the signal receiving circuitry and antenna even in the idle state while waiting to receive, so that signals of any mode can be received. The use of these functions is certainly useful in terms of higher speed and more reliable communication, and helps improve the user experience. However, there is also a problem: the power required to properly operate the communication device increases not only during communication but also in the idle state while waiting for communication to begin. Therefore, in recent communication devices, even during the standby period for receiving, the standby power consumption has reached a non-negligible level.

[0022] Therefore, this embodiment provides a specific mechanism for more proactively reducing power consumption during standby. Specifically, a new LPL function is provided to communicate using communication parameters tailored for multiple communication conditions defined as power saving, such as supporting only a small number of links, a small number of flows, and low MCS. LPL is an abbreviation for Low Power Listening. In the LPL function, the LPL enabled mode and the active mode, which is the normal operating mode, are selectively used to proactively reduce power consumption during standby. For ease of explanation, this new function is also referred to as the Low Power Listening function below. A mechanism is also provided that allows for pre-indication of whether the Low Power Listening function is supported, thereby enabling the appropriate use of this function.

[0023] First, refer to Figure 13 Describe the concept of LPL functionality. Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating the transition of operating modes for communication devices that utilize the LPL function. Communication devices such as AP 101 and STA 102 support an active mode corresponding to normal operation and an LPL-enabled mode that enables the LPL function to proactively reduce power consumption during standby. Communication devices such as AP 101 and STA 102 operate in any of a plurality of operating modes, including at least the two operating modes described above. In this embodiment, the active mode is also referred to as the LPL-disabled mode or LPL-disabled state. The active mode can also be considered as the normal mode for communication under the normal communication conditions agreed upon between the AP and STA. Communication devices such as STA 102 operating in the active mode can perform multi-link communication with AP 101, communication using a large number of streams, communication using wide bandwidth (such as 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz), and communication using a high MCS. Before switching operating modes, communication devices such as STA 102 notify the other device, such as AP 101, of the mode switch. This notification can be made using an action frame.

[0024] After switching to LPL enabled mode, communication devices such as the STA 102 operate in either NPCS or LPCS state. NPCS is an abbreviation for Normal Power Communication State, and LPCS is an abbreviation for Low Power Listening Communication State.

[0025] Similar to the active mode, communication devices operating in NPCS operation mode (such as STA 102) can perform high-speed and / or high-reliability communication under normal communication conditions agreed upon between the AP and STA. STA 102 transitions to LPCS operation mode in response to a predetermined time elapsed after the end of external data communication or in response to a frame indicating the intention to terminate communication (such as a CF end frame indicating the end of a transmission opportunity). LPCS is an operation mode where reduced power consumption is expected. When transitioning to LPCS, communication devices such as STA 102 switch their operation settings to communication conditions customized to reduce power consumption associated with waiting for communication (such as single link, single spatial stream, 20MHz bandwidth, and low MCS). In this embodiment, based on the characteristic that a state capable of bidirectional communication can be maintained with low power consumption, the state of bidirectional communication in progress / available in LPCS is also referred to as the low-power wake-up state. In other words, the low-power wake-up state can also be considered as a state that allows operation with lower power consumption than the state of bidirectional communication in progress / available in active mode or NPCS operation mode. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the communication condition constrained by the operation in the LPCS is also referred to as the low-capability condition. The normal communication condition used for operation in the NPCS in active mode or LPL enabled mode is also referred to as the high-capability condition.

[0026] A communication device operating in LPCS mode (such as STA 102) changes its operating mode to NPCS based on its own request or in response to receiving a frame from an AP (such as AP 101) acting as a peer communication device, indicating a request to communicate in the normal state.

[0027] Therefore, communication devices operating in LPL-enabled mode (such as STA 102) selectively use NPCS and LPCS as their operating states. For example, a communication device transitions to NPCS in normal operation to enable high-speed communication and to LPCS during standby to reduce power consumption. STAs operating in LPL-enabled mode can achieve both convenience and power savings by selectively using these operating states.

[0028] exist Figure 13In this document, two modes (i.e., active mode and LPL enabled mode) are exemplified as multiple operating modes; however, multiple operating modes are not limited to this. Communication devices such as STA 102 can also support operation in other operating modes known in the existing art, such as scheduled PS mode and unscheduled PS mode. Communication devices operating in scheduled PS mode or unscheduled PS mode (such as STA 102) have long doze state periods and only enter the wake state during the period of transmitting DTIM (Delivery Service Indication Message) for monitoring the presence of uplink data. Communication devices such as STA 102 essentially maintain the doze state during the period when the communication device operates in PS mode (except for a very short wake state period). During the doze state period, communication devices such as STA 102 stop supplying power to the circuitry used for communication. These controls enable the reduction of the average power consumption of the communication device during the period when it operates in PS mode. Communication devices can be configured to operate in the wake state in these PS (Power Saving) modes using a low-power wake state. Communication devices operating in these PS modes (such as STA 102) switch their operating mode to LPL enabled or active mode based on their own request or the reception status of DTIM. The operating mode to which the communication device switches can be determined based on past communication history, etc. Appropriately switching between multiple operating modes according to communication conditions, etc., in this manner reduces power consumption. Other operating modes may include EMLSR (Enhanced Multilink Single Radio) mode, etc.

[0029] In summary, the LPL-enabled mode, which enables the LPL function according to this embodiment, can be considered a mode with lower average power consumption than the active mode. The LPL-enabled mode can also be considered a highly convenient communication mode, where, although the average power consumption is higher than that in the scheduled / unscheduled PS mode, this mode allows for small amounts of data communication at any time.

[0030] Reference Figure 2 The specific mechanisms used for switching between the above modes are described in detail in the accompanying figures. Figure 1 The example shown illustrates a communication system consisting of a single AP 101 and a single STA 102. However, the number of STAs constituting a communication system can be greater than the illustrated number. STAs that only support the aforementioned conventional standards and do not support LPL functionality can also connect to the network of AP101 to form a communication system.

[0031] AP 101 and STA 102 can also be configured to support wireless communication based on other communication standards, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC, and Bluetooth LE (registered trademark) Low Energy. NFC is an abbreviation for Near Field Communication. AP 101 and STA 102 can also be configured to support wired communication using Ethernet cables and wired communication using fiber optics. Specific examples of AP 101 include, but are not limited to, wireless LAN routers and personal computers (PCs). Furthermore, AP 101 and STA 102 can each be information processing devices such as wireless chips that support UHR PPDU transmission and reception. In this case, the hardware circuitry within the wireless chip can be configured to perform various controls. The processor, memory, and hardware circuitry within the wireless chip, such as ASIP (Application-Specific Instruction Set Processor), can also be configured to cooperate with each other to perform various processes.

[0032] Specific examples of STA 102 include cameras, printers, tablets, smartphones, projectors, PCs, gaming devices, camcorders, smart glasses, and wearable devices such as head-mounted displays. Examples also include, but are not limited to, IoT devices such as sensor nodes and webcams.

[0033] <Hardware Configuration of Communication Equipment> Figure 2 An example of the hardware configuration of a communication device (AP 101 and STA 102) is illustrated. The communication device includes a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a function unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207, as an example of its hardware configuration.

[0034] Storage unit 201 includes both ROM and RAM or either of them, and stores programs for performing the various operations described below, as well as various information such as communication parameters for wireless communication. RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory, and ROM is an abbreviation for Read-Only Memory. In addition to memory such as ROM or RAM, storage media such as non-volatile storage devices (such as hard disks or SSDs (Solid State Drives)) may be used as storage unit 201.

[0035] The control unit 202 may include, for example, a processor (such as a CPU or MPU), an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit, and MPU is an abbreviation for Microprocessor Unit. The control unit 202 executes the program stored in the storage unit 201 and operates hardware circuitry such as an ASIC to control the entire device. The control unit 202 can control the entire device through cooperation between the OS (Operating System) and the program stored in the storage unit 201.

[0036] Furthermore, the control unit 202 controls the functional unit 203 to perform predetermined processes such as imaging, printing, and projection. The functional unit 203 is hardware for the device to perform predetermined processes. For example, in the case where the communication device is a camera such as a digital still camera or a smartphone with a camera, the functional unit 203 is an imaging unit to perform imaging processing on surrounding images via a camera unit (not shown) included in the communication device. For example, in the case where the communication device is a printer, the functional unit 203 is a printing unit to perform printing processing on sheets (such as paper) based on printing data obtained from the outside via wireless communication. For example, in the case where the communication device is a projector or smart glasses, the functional unit 203 is a projection unit to perform projection processing on image data or video data obtained from the outside via wireless communication. In the case of smart glasses, the projection surface is, for example, the end user's retina. The data processed by the functional unit 203 may be data stored in the storage unit 201, or data communicated with other APs or STAs via the communication unit 206 described below. Communication devices such as AP 101 may also provide network storage functions such as NAS (Network Attached Storage). This functionality is provided to other communication devices as a web service (such as a network storage service). For example, a communication device such as a STA connects to a network storage service provided by an AP 102 using a protocol such as SMB over QUIC. The communication device, such as the STA, then uploads or downloads files to or from the storage service. Data communication for uploading or downloading is also achieved through communication of UHR PPDUs between devices. SMB is an abbreviation for Server Message Block, and QUIC is an abbreviation for Fast UDP Internet Connection.

[0037] Input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. Output unit 205 provides various outputs to the user. Outputs from output unit 205 include, for example, at least one of on-screen display, audio output via speaker, and vibration output. Both input unit 204 and output unit 205 can be implemented as a single module, such as a touch panel. Output unit 205 serves as a display component for presenting information to the user. Input unit serves as a receiving component for receiving user operations.

[0038] Communication unit 206 performs control of wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series or IP communication. In this embodiment, communication unit 206 can cooperate with antenna 207 to perform communication control for transmitting and receiving UHR PPDUs and PPDUs supporting standards prior to the UHR standard, where UHR PPDUs are radio frames of the UHR standard. Multiple antennas 207 are antennas capable of transmitting and receiving signals in at least one frequency band, such as sub-GHz, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, and millimeter-wave bands. Figure 2 The example shown illustrates AP 101 and STA 102 according to this embodiment having three antennas; however, the number of antennas is not limited to this and can be larger or smaller.

[0039] When the communication device supports the aforementioned NFC, Bluetooth, and wired communication standards, the communication unit 206 can be configured to control wireless or wired communication conforming to these standards. The communication units 206 of both AP 101 and STA 102 also have hardware circuitry for decoding or encoding signals communicated on each link. Each antenna and each hardware circuit is configured to implement individual power control. The communication device can also be configured to individually include a communication unit corresponding to each link.

[0040] Next, we will refer to Figure 3 Describe the functional configuration of AP 101 and STA 102. Communication devices such as AP 101 and STA 102 each include functional units such as frame processing unit 301, mode control unit 302, RXTX control unit 303, frame transmission and reception unit 304, and UI control unit 305.

[0041] The mode control unit 302 collaborates with various functional units and hardware components to control the aforementioned operating modes and the connection with the other device. During connection processing, specifically, authentication, association, and a four-way handshake are performed to establish a communication link with the other device. In the case of AP 101, the other device is a STA such as STA 102. In the case of STA 102, the other device is an AP such as AP 101. Furthermore, the control unit 302 manages communication parameters to be used in each operating mode. Before switching operating modes, the control unit 302 requests the RXTX control unit 303 to switch the communication status using the managed communication parameters. Upon receiving the switching request, the control units 303 and 304 control the communication unit 206 and multiple antennas 207 to switch the communication status required for transmission or reception.

[0042] Frame processing unit 301 performs processing for generating and analyzing signals (frames) used in communication with the other party's communication device. Frame processing unit 301 generates management frames used by the communication device to perform the connection process and control frames used to control communication. Management frames generated or analyzed by the processing unit include beacons, probe requests, probe responses, association requests, association responses, F1S (Fast Initial Link Setup) discovery, and actions. Management frames also include authentication request frames and authentication response frames, etc. Management frames also include reassociation requests and reassociation responses. Although processing unit 301 also appropriately generates or analyzes other management frames from the IEEE 802.11 standard family, their description is omitted for brevity.

[0043] Control frames generated or analyzed by the processing unit include frames that cause a change in the operating state of the LPL function when the LPL function is enabled. Control frames also include, for example, frames that prompt a peer device in the LPCS operating state to change its operating state to NPCS. For ease of description, this frame is referred to as an ICF (Initial Communication Frame). Frames generated or analyzed by the processing unit also include ICF responses as a response to the ICF. Management frames generated by the frame processing unit 301 are not limited to the frames described above. The frame processing unit 301 also generates data frames or QoS (Quality of Service) data frames based on instructions from upper-level applications (not illustrated). The frame processing unit 301 generates information elements specified in the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, such as UHR capability elements and UHR operation elements. The frame processing unit 301 can also generate protected UHR action frames related to the LPL function.

[0044] The UHR capability element may include an information element for indicating whether the communication apparatus 100 has the capability to execute the LPL function. The elements in the protected UHR action frame may further include an information element for negotiating whether to enable the LPL function, for example. Details of these elements will be described below.

[0045] The frame transmission and reception unit 304 performs processing for transmitting the wireless frame generated by the frame processing unit 301 and processing for receiving a wireless frame from a counterpart apparatus. Received digital data obtained through the reception processing is transferred to the processing unit 301. The processing unit 301 analyzes the received digital data transferred from the transmission and reception unit 304, and performs processing for generating an appropriate response frame or notifying an upper layer (not illustrated) of analysis data such as IP data included in a payload, based on an analysis result. The frame transmission and reception unit 304 cooperates with each unit to perform transmission control of a transmission frame or reception control of a reception frame.

[0046] A UI (User Interface) control unit 305 provides a setting screen as a UI for a user to input communication-related settings. Further, the UI control unit 305 receives a user operation on the setting screen via the input unit 204, and stores the settings as settings for the operation of the communication apparatus in the storage unit 201. The UI control unit 305 receives a setting change operation for enabling or disabling the LPL function via a setting screen (not illustrated). Further, the UI control unit 305 stores, in the storage unit 201, a user setting regarding whether to enable or disable the LPL function corresponding to the setting change operation. Reference to the operation setting is appropriately made in flowcharts described below.

[0047] <LPL Execution Procedure> Next, reference will be made to Figure 4 a procedure in which the AP 101 and the STA 102 use the LPL function will be described. Figure 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an LPL function execution procedure performed between the AP 101 and the STA 102.

[0048] First, STA 102 performs the connection process (F401) for connecting to AP 101. The connection process will be described. AP 101 periodically broadcasts information required for other communication devices (such as STA 102) to connect to AP 101 using beacon frames or FILS discovery frames. Upon receiving a beacon or FILS discovery, STA 102 identifies a nearby AP (such as AP 101) and initiates the wireless connection process. For example, if AP 101 does not transmit a beacon or if STA 102 fails to properly receive a beacon transmitted from AP 101, STA 102 can initiate the wireless connection process without receiving a beacon. For example, STA 102 can initiate the wireless connection process using user-pre-registered connection information (such as SSID (Service Set Identifier) ​​or passphrase). To connect to AP 101, STA 102 first transmits a probe request frame to AP 101. Upon receiving the probe request, AP 101 transmits a probe response frame addressed to STA 102. In a multi-link connection, ML probe requests and ML probe responses can be transmitted and received separately from probe requests and responses. Upon receiving a probe response, STA 102 transmits an authentication request frame to AP 101. Upon receiving an authentication request frame, AP 101 transmits an authentication response frame to STA 102. Each authentication frame can be transmitted and received twice. Upon receiving an authentication response frame, STA 102 transmits an association request frame. Upon receiving an association request frame, AP 101 transmits an association response frame. Through these processes, a connection process is initiated between AP 101 and STA 102, establishing a link using the wireless medium between them. After the above connection process, AP 101 and STA 102 can perform a four-way handshake or similar process to exchange security information. AP 101 and STA 102 can also use methods other than those described above to perform the wireless connection process.

[0049] AP 101 and STA 102 exchange capability information via at least one frame used during wireless connection and including information elements for indicating capability information, which indicates whether AP 101 and STA 102 themselves support low-power listening mode.

[0050] Specifically, during the wireless connection process, AP 101 and STA 102 each share capability information with their respective communication devices to indicate whether they support low-power eavesdropping mode. AP 101 and STA 102 also share information with their respective communication devices that can identify the link, bandwidth, spatial stream, and MCS (Multi-Channel System) to be used for performing low-power eavesdropping. In this embodiment, the information used to identify the optional functions supported by the communication devices in wireless communication is referred to as capability information.

[0051] Reference Figure 5A and Figure 5B Describe a specific example of capability information exchanged during wireless connection. As an example, by using... Figure 5A The UHR capability element illustrated in the figure transmits capability information to the other device. Figure 5A An example of a UHR capability element included in a frame used for a wireless connection process is shown.

[0052] UHR capability elements are included in the aforementioned beacons, probe requests, probe responses, association requests, and association responses. In other words, UHR capability elements are information elements used to transmit capability information indicating whether optional functions of the 802.11bn standard are supported.

[0053] The UHR capability element includes an element ID field 501, a length field 502, and an extended element ID field 503. The UHR capability element also includes an LPL (Low Power Sense) support field 504. The UHR capability element also includes fields indicating whether other optional capability information is supported. For example, it may include a field indicating whether low-latency channel access based on UORA (Uplink OFDMA-based Random Access) is supported.

[0054] The combination of the element ID field 501 and the extended element ID field 503 indicates the type of the element. In this embodiment, as an example, an element whose field 501 specifies 255 and field 503 specifies 138 is defined as a UHR capability element. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. Another combination can be defined as a UHR capability element. The length field 502 indicates... Figure 5A The length of the element is shown in the example. The LPL (Low Power Sense) support field 504 stores a value indicating whether the communication device transmitting the frame supports low power sense functionality. A "1" in the field indicates that the communication device transmitting the frame supports low power sense functionality. A "0" in the field indicates that the communication device transmitting the frame does not support low power sense functionality. In a variation, "0" can indicate that low power sense functionality is not supported or that the functionality is disabled. That is, in a variation, "0" can indicate a disabled state.

[0055] Field 504 may be included in a subfield included in a UHR capability element. For example, field 504 may be included in a UHR MAC capability information field. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and field 504 may be included in an EHT PHY capability information field. Alternatively, field 504 may be defined as a field within another field that conveys another group of capability information.

[0056] Figure 5B This example illustrates a variation of the UHR capability field. (Compared to...) Figure 5AThe difference lies in that the LPL capability information is subdivided into an LPL Tx support field 514 indicating transmission capability and an LPL Rx support field 515 indicating reception capability. The AP needs to be able to transmit the ICF to the STA in the LPCS for STA operational state transition. Therefore, AP 101 needs to set the LPL Tx support field 514 to 1. Setting the field to 1 indicates that the AP supports control for transmitting the ICF using the number of flows, MCS, and links that allow the STA in the LPCS operational state to receive appropriately. STAs such as STA 102 can set the LPL Tx support field 514 to 1. STAs such as STA 102 need to set the LPL Rx support field 515 to 1. APs such as AP 101 can set the LPL Rx support field 515 to 1.

[0057] In other words, in the variant, field 514 indicates whether the ability to transmit frames exists or not while maintaining the LPCS operating state, and field 515 indicates whether the ability to receive data exists or not while maintaining the LPCS operating state.

[0058] Including with Figure 5A or Figure 5B Elements of fields 504, 514, and 515 or similar fields can also be configured to be included in frames different from those used in the aforementioned wireless connection process.

[0059] AP 101 and STA 102 enable or disable the LPL function based on transmitted or acquired capability information indicating whether AP 101 and STA 102 themselves support the LPL function, or based on communication conditions. In other words, refer to... Figure 13 As described above, AP101 and STA 102 each switch their operating modes to active mode or LPL enabled mode.

[0060] In this embodiment, when a STA, such as STA 102, operates in the LPCS operating state in LPL enabled mode, a single specific link is designed to listen for frames from the AP. However, this disclosure is not limited to this, and multiple links can be used during operation in LPCS. For example, if the number of links used during operation in NPCS is 3, it is sufficient to reduce the number of links used during operation in LPCS compared to the number of links used during operation in NPCS, such as reducing the number of links used during operation in LPCS to 2. That is, in this embodiment, the number of communication links in LPCS is designed to be reduced compared to NPCS or active mode. Alternatively, the number of links can be the same in both LPCS and NPCS operating states. In this case, two or more other communication states (such as the number of MCS and spatial streams) are customized for power saving to suppress power consumption during standby before transitioning to LPCS.

[0061] APs such as AP 101 can be used Figure 6 The illustrated UHR operation element transmits detailed information to the STA in advance regarding the operation parameters to be used by the STA operating in LPL enabled mode.

[0062] Figure 6 An example of a UHR operation element included in a frame used by AP 101 for the wireless connection process is shown.

[0063] Figure 6 The illustrated elements are included in a frame used for the wireless connection process. Accordingly, via this frame, AP 101 transmits two or more communication states to a peer device, such as STA 102, for operation in an operational state (such as LPCS). Specifically, in the case of a subordinate STA operating in LPCS with LPL functionality, AP 101 appropriately determines the link to be monitored and the communication parameters to be used in LPCS. AP 101 then transmits a beacon, probe response, and association response frame including a UHR operation element comprising the determined communication parameters. The UHR operation element may be included in only one of the listed frames. The UHR operation element may be included in other frames.

[0064] Figure 6An example of a UHR operation element is shown. A UHR operation element includes an element ID field 601, a length field 602, and an extended element ID field 603. A UHR operation element also includes a padding delay field 604, an MCS field 605, and a listening link field 606. A UHR operation element also includes a listening interval field 607, a listening duration field 608, and a listening offset field 609. The element ID field 601 and the extended element ID field 603 are fields used to uniquely identify the element. Therefore, storage and... Figure 5A and Figure 5B The values ​​in the above combinations of fields 501 and 503 are different.

[0065] The length field 602 stores the length of the element.

[0066] The Fill Delay field 604 stores the minimum MAC fill period to be included in the ICF by AP 101. The MCS field 605 stores the upper limit of the MCS to be supported when the STA operates in the LPCS. For example, it stores an upper limit value indicating that only MCSs with a QAM lower than the QAM available for operation in the NPCS (e.g., 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, etc.) are supported. More specifically, this field stores an index value corresponding to the upper limit of UHR-MCS expected to be used for operation in the LPCS. As an example, storing "7" indicates that the MCS that can be used with 64-QAM and a coding rate of 5 / 6 as the upper limit is 64-QAM. In other words, with "7" stored, the UHR-MCS available for operation in the LPCS is limited to the MCS indicated by any index value from 0 to 6.

[0067] The Listen Link field 606 is a field that stores the link ID, which indicates which link will be used to wait for reception in the context of operations in the LPCS.

[0068] The listening interval field 607, duration field 608, and listening offset field 609 are optionally provided fields. These fields store parameters used to enable receive waiting at lower power consumption. Fields are provided from the AP to the STA for optional control, in which states such as low-power wake-up state and dozing state are provided in the LPCS operating state to achieve further power-saving effects. The listening interval field 607 indicates the interval at which the low-power wake-up state, which allows communication at low power, is entered during operation in the LPCS. For example, setting 100 indicates a transition to the low-power wake-up state every 100 ms. The listening duration field 608 indicates how long the low-power wake-up state is maintained. For example, setting 15 indicates that the low-power wake-up state is maintained for 15 ms. The listening offset field 609 indicates the time interval from beacon transmission to the low-power wake-up state. For example, setting 20 indicates that the initial time for entering the low-power wake-up state cycle after beacon transmission is 20 ms. STAs such as STA 102 identify the times when the STA will enter wake-up and sleep states based on parameters, and control the switching between sleep state and wake-up operations for waiting and low-capacity communication based on the identified times. Therefore, even in NPCS operation state, sleep operations can be performed for a portion of the time, and further power-saving control can be achieved. Other communication parameters can be included. For example, parameters such as the amount of space stream used in LPCS and the bandwidth to be used can be included.

[0069] Return to Figure 4 The description will describe the sequence used to enable the LPL function. STA 102 transmits a frame for enabling LPL to AP 101. Upon receiving this frame, AP 101 transmits a response frame. Upon receiving the response frame, STA 102 transitions its operating mode to LPL-enabled mode. In this embodiment, the transition to the above-described LPCS operating state in response to receiving a response frame is illustrated; however, this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0070] Reference Figure 7 Describes the frame used to enable LPL. Figure 7An example of an action field for an action frame used to provide a notification to enable / disable low-power listening is illustrated. In this embodiment, this field is referred to as the Low-Power Listening Mode Notification Frame Action Field. However, the field is not limited to this and may be referred to by different names. The field includes a category field 701, a protected UHR action field 702, a dialogue token field 703, and a low-power listening control field 704. The Low-Power Listening Mode Notification Frame Action Field may also include a low-power listening parameter update field 705. The category field 701 indicates the category of the action field. For example, the category field 701 stores an identification number corresponding to a protected UHR action. The protected UHR action field 702 indicates the identifier of the action field within the protected UHR action category. For example, the protected UHR action field 702 stores an identification number used to indicate the low-power listening mode notification frame action field. The dialogue token field 703 indicates an identifier used to perform a series of information exchanges between AP 101 and STA 102. For example, the dialogue token field 703 stores an identifier assigned by the communication device on the requesting side. The communication device on the responding side transmits a response frame, wherein the dialogue token field 703 of the response frame stores the value included in the received dialogue token field 703. Figure 7 The MAC frame containing the action field is called the LPL operation mode notification frame.

[0071] The Low Power Listen Control field 704 includes an LPL Mode field 711 and a Low Power Listen Parameter Update Control field 712. The LPL Mode field 711 indicates whether the LPL function is used. For example, STA 102 stores a 1 in the field to request initiating its use of the Low Power Listen function. On the other hand, STA 102 stores a 0 in the field to request disabling the use of the LPL function. The LPL Mode field 711 can be configured to have two bits, each indicating whether the LPL function is used for the corresponding transmission or reception. For example, if STA 102 specifies a 0 for the first bit and a 1 for the second bit, STA 102 requests the use of receive processing during the LPCS and not the use of transmit processing during the LPCS.

[0072] The low-power listening parameter update control field 712 indicates the presence or absence of the low-power listening parameter update field 705. For example, if the low-power listening mode notification frame action field includes the low-power listening parameter update field 705, this field stores 1. Conversely, if the low-power listening mode notification frame action field does not include the low-power listening parameter update field 705, this field stores 0. The low-power listening parameter update field 705 includes a padding delay field 604, an MCS field 605, a listening link field 606, a listening interval field 607, a listening duration field 608, and a listening offset field 609. Because these fields are related to the reference... Figure 6Fields with the same name described have the same role, therefore their descriptions are omitted. Similar to... Figure 6 This can include parameters such as the number of spatial streams used in the LPCS and the bandwidth to be used. To customize the communication parameters of the LPCS, STA transmissions such as STA 102 add an action frame with a low-power listening parameter update field 705.

[0073] AP 101 determines whether to use the LPL function based on the frames received from STA 102. Specifically, AP 101 obtains the value of the LPL mode field 711 included in the protected UHR action frame received from STA 102, and determines the intention of the other STA, such as STA 102, based on the value.

[0074] Besides reference Figure 7 In addition to the fields described, AP 101 also sends a response frame with an added status code to STA 102. STA 102 analyzes the value of the status code in the response frame and determines whether AP 101 accepts the request regarding whether to use the LPL function. If AP 101 accepts the request, STA 102 changes its operating mode to the mode corresponding to the request. Figure 4 The example illustrates a scenario where STA 102 requests the use of the LPL function and AP 101 accepts the request. STA 102 updates its communication parameters to correspond to the LPCS. Specifically, when communicating the update information via an enable sequence frame indicated by F402 as an example, STA 102 sets the communication parameters. On the other hand, when not communicating the update information via an enable sequence, STA 102 uses a UHR operation element to set the communication parameters for the LPCS in STA 102, which are pre-shared from AP 101. Subsequently, STA 102 begins frame waiting for processing in the LPCS.

[0075] Next, the state transition from LPCS to NPCS will be described. When it is determined at least that data to be transmitted to STA 102 has occurred, AP 101 transmits an ICF to STA 102 to trigger control (F403) for changing the STA's operating state from LPCS to NPCS.

[0076] Upon receiving the ICF transmitted in F403, STA 102 transmits a response signal (F404) to the ICF. (Refer to...) Figure 8 and Figure 9Specific examples describing ICF and response signals to ICF are provided. An ICF frame is a type of control frame and includes a frame control field 801, a duration field 802, an RA field 803, a TA field 804, and a link information list field 805. The frame control field 801 is used to identify the type of frame and contains a value indicating that the frame is an ICF frame with LPL functionality. The duration field 802 indicates the maximum duration of the NPCS initialized by the ICF frame. Upon receiving an ICF frame, the STA transitions to a state in which, during the time period specified in the current field, the STA can receive frames using the parameters specified in the link information list field while waiting to receive them. The RA field 803 stores the MAC address of STA 102, indicating the receiver of the frame. MAC is an abbreviation for Media Access Control. The TA field 804 stores the MAC address of AP 101, indicating the transmitter of the frame. The link information list field 805 stores one or more association information entries, each representing a combination of information used to identify the link used in the NPCS state and the communication parameters of that link. When operating a STA in NPCS operation mode, if multiple links are to be enabled, AP 101 stores multiple association information in list field 805. Each association information consists of fields 811 to 815. The association information will be described in detail. The association information includes the link ID field 811, BW field 812, NSS field 813, MCS field 814, and delay field 815. The link information list field 805 is used to identify the links used in the NPCS. Fields 812 to 815 indicate the communication parameters to be used for communication on the links identified by field 805. Fields 812 to 815 will be described in detail. The BW field 812 indicates the bandwidth to be used for communication. For example, values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 indicate that frames should be listened to or transmitted at 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 320MHz, respectively. The NSS field 813 indicates the number of spatial streams. For example, it indicates the number of spatial streams to be listened to or transmitted using, obtained by adding 1 to the value indicated by the field. NSS is an abbreviation for the number of spatial streams. MCS field 814 indicates the maximum MCS used for communication. Delay field 815 specifies the grace period from the start of ICF frame transmission until frame transmission is performed according to specified parameters. Instead of field 815, a padding field can be added to the end of the ICF frame for time adjustment. ICF frames are transmitted across links and bandwidths, where STA102 in the LPCS operating state awaits communication. Simultaneously, for the same purpose of ensuring transmission rights on different links, ICF frames can also be intended for transmission on different links for communication after transitioning to NPCS.

[0077] Next, we will refer to Figure 9 Describes the response frame to ICF. Figure 9An example of an ICF response frame is shown. An ICF response frame may include a frame control field 801, a duration field 802, an RA field 803, a TA field 804, a status code field 901, and a link information list field 805. Figure 8 Common fields are indicated by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted. Status code field 901 indicates whether communication is possible using the value specified by the ICF. The transmission of the ICF response frame may be omitted. Instead... Figure 9 The ICF response frame illustrated can return a CTS (Clear Send) frame. In this case, a CTS frame can be returned every 20 MHz on all links and bandwidths specified by the ICF.

[0078] Subsequently, STA 102 begins frame waiting processing in NPCS. Specifically, STA 102 updates its communication parameters using the communication parameters included in ICF and begins waiting for frames using the communication parameters corresponding to hissu. In other words, STA 102 switches to a high-capacity communication mode for high-speed or high-reliability communication.

[0079] After waiting for the grace period, AP 101 transmits a data frame (F405) to STA 102. AP 101 uses transmission parameters corresponding to the high capability status notified in F403 to transmit the data frame.

[0080] Upon receiving a data frame, STA 102 returns an Ack frame as a response frame (F406) to the received data frame. During the grace period indicated by the duration field of the ICF, STA 102 and AP 101 repeat the sequence indicated in F405 and F406 to enable downlink data transmission.

[0081] Upon determining that a series of data transmissions to STA 102 is complete, AP 101 transmits a CF end frame or a QoS empty frame (F407). This frame serves as a signal to terminate the NPCS operating state and indicate a transition to the LPCS state. The frame indicating the transition to LPCS is not limited to this and can be another frame. For example, the frame could be a newly defined control frame for the LPL function. Upon receiving the CF end frame or QoS empty frame, STA 102 again changes its operating state to LPCS. That is, STA 102 switches to a low-capacity communication state intended to limit power consumption.

[0082] exist Figure 4The example illustrates the use of an ICF (Initial Communication Frame) issued by AP 101 as a trigger for downlink communication. However, when STA 102 determines that it is spontaneously engaging in high-speed and / or high-reliability communication (such as when uplink data occurs in STA 102), STA 102 itself determines the communication state corresponding to NPCS (Non-Standardized Communication State) and transitions to NPCS. Upon transitioning to NPCS, STA 102 performs CCS (Clear Channel Assessment) using transmission parameters corresponding to the updated communication state and transmits a CTS (Clear Channel Request) frame based on the determination that channel access has been obtained. STA 102 can then be configured to transmit data frames if STA 102 has successfully received an RTS (Request to Send) frame from AP 101 in response to a CTS frame. When it is determined that the operating mode should be switched to LPCS after a series of data transmissions are completed, STA 102 transmits a CF (Clear Frame) end frame. Instead of the CF end frame, a QoS empty frame or a QoS data frame with the RDG / More PPDU subfield of the CAS control field set to 0 can be transmitted. In response to a transmission frame, STA 102 transitions its operating state to LPCS. That is, STA 102 switches to a low-capability communication state with intent-limited functionality.

[0083] Although for the sake of brevity... Figure 4 The details are omitted, but when it is determined, based on communication conditions, that the operating mode will be changed to active mode, STA 102 transmits a request to AP 101 to disable LPL. Upon receiving the request, AP 101 transmits a response frame indicating that the disabling of LPL is accepted. In the above LPL disabling sequence, it is only necessary to use the reference... Figure 7 The LPL operation mode notification frame is described to request disabling. In the case of requesting disabling, STA 102 stores 0 in the LPL mode field included in the frame to request disabling.

[0084] <Communication Control Using LPL Function> Next, we will refer to Figures 10 to 12 The flowchart describes the communication control using the LPL function according to this embodiment.

[0085] Figure 10 and Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of communication control performed by STA 102, and Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of communication control performed by AP 101.

[0086] Figure 10 and Figure 12The processes illustrated in the flowchart are executed by the processor of the control unit 202 of STA 102, which executes a computer program stored in the storage unit 201. Some processes, such as transmission and modulation, are implemented through the cooperation of the processor of control unit 202, various processors included in communication unit 206, ASICs, DSPs, FPGAs, and antennas, as well as the cooperation of the ASICs, DSPs, FPGAs, etc., included in control unit 202. This disclosure is not limited thereto, and communication unit 206 and antenna can be configured to cooperate with each other to execute the various processes illustrated in the flowchart. For clear indication of the entities performing the processes, refer to... Figure 3 The described functional unit is used as the subject of the description. The controls indicated by the dashed lines are optional and do not necessarily need to be executed.

[0087] Figure 11 The processes illustrated in the flowchart are executed by the processor of the control unit 202 of AP 101, which executes the computer program stored in the storage unit 201. Some processes, such as transmission and modulation, are implemented through the collaboration of the processor of the control unit 202, various processors included in the communication unit 206, ASICs, DSPs, and FPGAs, and the ASICs, DSPs, and FPGAs included in the control unit 202. This disclosure is not limited thereto, and the communication unit 206 and the antenna can be configured to cooperate with each other to execute the various processes illustrated in the flowchart. For clear indication of the entities performing the processes, refer to... Figure 3 The described functional unit is used as the subject of the description. The controls indicated by the dashed lines are optional and do not necessarily need to be executed.

[0088] First, refer to Figure 10 Describes the control performed by STA 102. Figure 10 The various processes illustrated herein are excerpts of a series of procedures performed by STA102 before it detects an AP such as AP 101 and determines whether to use LPL mode. Figure 12 An excerpt illustrates the specific processing involved when the LPL function is determined to be used.

[0089] In S1000, the control unit 202 of STA 102 determines whether to initiate a connection with an AP, such as AP 101. If the control unit 202 determines that a connection should be initiated, the control unit 202 proceeds to S1001. If the control unit 202 determines that a connection should not be initiated, the control unit 202 waits until the conditions for initiating a connection with the AP are met.

[0090] In S1001, the control unit 202 makes a reference. Figure 4The described connection processing involves obtaining AP capability information, such as AP 101, from frames received from the AP for connection processing. Specifically, the control unit 202 obtains the capability information included in the aforementioned UHR capability elements. Furthermore, STA 102 performs... Figure 4 The connection process illustrated herein completes the connection with a destination AP such as AP101. Upon connection completion, the LPL function is disabled, and STA 102 operates in active mode as its operating mode. That is, STA 102 begins operating with communication parameters that enable high-speed and / or high-reliability communication and correspond to the high-capacity conditions negotiated with the AP during the connection process.

[0091] In S1002, the mode control unit 302 refers to the user settings related to enabling or disabling the LPL function stored in the storage unit 201. Then, the control unit 302 determines whether the LPL function has already been disabled as a user setting. If the control unit 302 determines that the LPL function has already been disabled as a user setting, the control unit 302 proceeds to S1009. On the other hand, if the control unit 302 determines that the LPL function has not yet been disabled as a user setting, the control unit 302 proceeds to S1003.

[0092] In S1003, the mode control unit 302 determines whether the destination AP to which the STA 102 is connected supports the LPL function. Specifically, if the LPL support field 504 of the capability information obtained from the destination AP in S1001 specifies 1, the mode control unit 302 determines that the destination AP supports the LPL function. As another example, if the LPL Tx support field 514 of the obtained capability information specifies 1, the mode control unit 302 determines that the destination AP supports the LPL function. If the mode control unit 302 determines that the destination AP supports the LPL function, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1005. If the mode control unit 302 determines that the destination AP does not support the LPL function, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1009.

[0093] In S1005, the mode control unit 302 determines whether an NSTR link for multi-link communication has been established with the destination AP. If the mode control unit 302 determines that an NSTR link has been established, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1009. If the mode control unit 302 determines that an NSTR link has not been established, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1006. More specifically, if an STR link for multi-link communication has been established, or if a single link has been established, the control unit 302 determines that an NSTR has not been established. In this embodiment, in the case of an NSTR link, it is determined that the LPL function will not be used because the control of transitioning to NPCS is complex due to link synchronization control, etc.

[0094] In S1006, the control unit 302 obtains the current remaining battery level and a charging status indicating whether charging is in progress from the OS (not shown) that centrally manages the operation of STA 102. If the obtained remaining battery level is less than or equal to a threshold and the charging status indicates that charging is not in progress, the control unit 302 determines that the battery is in a low state and proceeds to S1010. On the other hand, if the obtained remaining battery level is greater than the threshold, or if the obtained remaining battery level is less than or equal to the threshold but the charging status indicates that charging is in progress, the control unit 302 determines that the battery is not in a low state and proceeds to S1007. The battery threshold used for determination can be set to, for example, 20%.

[0095] In S1007, the control unit 302 determines whether the communication quality with AP 101 is less than or equal to a threshold. If the control unit 302 determines that the communication quality with AP 101 is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the control unit 302 proceeds to S1009. If the control unit 302 determines that the communication quality with AP 101 is higher than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 302 proceeds to S1008.

[0096] In S1008, control unit 302 determines whether a low-latency communication application is running. If control unit 302 determines that a low-latency communication application is running, control unit 302 proceeds to S1009. If control unit 302 determines that a low-latency communication application is not running, control unit 302 proceeds to S1010. This determination is performed in cooperation with the OS managing the application (processing) in progress. As another example, instead of this determination, the determination regarding whether low-latency communication is needed can be made based on QoS parameters of IP packets received from the destination AP or IP packets to be transmitted to the destination AP. In this case, if it is determined that low-latency communication is needed, control unit 303 proceeds to S1009.

[0097] In S1009, control unit 303 determines that the LPL function is not used and maintains operation in the active mode. On the other hand, in S1010, control unit 303 determines that the LPL function is used and changes the operating mode of STA 102 to LPL enabled mode. (Refer to the following...) Figure 12 Describes the specific controls implemented when switching to LPL-enabled mode.

[0098] Next, we will refer to Figure 11 Describes the control performed by AP 101. Figure 11 The various control processes illustrated herein indicate the processes performed after power is supplied to AP 101, the startup sequence is completed, and normal operation of the AP begins.

[0099] In S1100, the frame processing unit 301 of AP 101 determines whether data transmission to a STA in the NPCS is required. If the frame processing unit 301 determines that data transmission to a STA in the NPCS is required, the frame processing unit 301 proceeds the processing to S1101. If the frame processing unit 301 determines that data transmission to a STA in the NPCS is not required, the frame processing unit 301 proceeds the processing to S1107.

[0100] In S1101, frame processing unit 301 identifies the service type required for data transmission to a destination STA and estimates the service volume, where data transmission to that destination STA was determined to be required in S1100. For example, processing unit 301 identifies the service type to which the data is classified based on the data's QoS information. For example, processing unit 301 stores past communication history and estimates the service volume as a characteristic of the generated service based on a comparison between the communication history and the characteristics of the data to be transmitted (e.g., source / destination information of the data). The estimation method is not limited to this.

[0101] In S1002, processing unit 301 determines whether to perform estimated service communication while keeping the destination STA in the LPCS. If processing unit 301 determines that estimated service communication should be performed while keeping the destination STA in the LPCS, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1103. On the other hand, if processing unit 301 determines that estimated service communication should not be performed while keeping the destination STA in the LPCS (i.e., if processing unit 301 determines to switch to NPCS), processing unit 301 proceeds to S1104. For example, processing unit 301 determines whether the transmission time falls within a predetermined time when transmitting the estimated service volume at the communication rate while maintaining communication in the LPCS. If processing unit 301 determines that the transmission time falls within the predetermined time, processing unit 301 determines that estimated service communication should be performed while keeping the destination STA in the LPCS.

[0102] In S1103, processing unit 301 cooperates with RXTX control unit 303 and sets communication parameters for LPCS corresponding to the destination STA as transmission parameters for communication unit 206 and antenna 207. Subsequently, processing unit 301 cooperates with transmission and reception unit 304, communication unit 206, and antenna 207 to perform data transmission using the communication parameters for LPCS. Upon completion of data transmission, processing unit 301 updates the communication parameters to normal communication parameters and proceeds to S1100.

[0103] On the other hand, in S1104, the processing unit 301 cooperates with each unit to transfer the reference... Figure 8 The described ICF is transmitted to the destination STA. At this time, processing unit 301 collaborates with mode control unit 302 and determines the communication parameters to be used for the destination STA to transition to NPCS based on the service characteristics (service type and volume) identified and estimated in S1101. Furthermore, mode control unit 302 manages the determined communication parameters and operating status as current status information associated with the destination STA. In other words, control unit 302 updates the operating status from LPCS to NPCS, including the status information corresponding to the destination STA, and stores the communication parameters used in NPCS as status information. Then, processing unit 301 transmits the ICF, which includes the communication conditions corresponding to the determined communication parameters in field 805.

[0104] In S1105, processing unit 301 cooperates with control units 302 and 303, transmission and reception unit 304, communication unit 206, and antenna 207 to transmit data to the destination STA using communication parameters indicated by ICF after waiting for the transition to NPCS. If processing unit 301 determines, based on the data accumulation status in the transmission buffer, etc., that a series of transmissions of service data to the destination STA have been completed, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1106.

[0105] In S1106, processing unit 301 transmits a CF end frame or a QoS empty frame in response to the completion of a series of service transmissions. Then, processing unit 301 instructs mode control unit 302 to update the operating status of the destination STA to LPCS. Upon receiving the instruction, control unit 302 updates the operating status included in the status information corresponding to the destination STA from NPCS to LPCS.

[0106] In S1107, the mode control unit 302 determines whether LPL needs to be enabled / disabled for the STA. Specifically, when the control unit 302 receives an LPL operation mode notification frame in cooperation with each unit, the control unit 302 determines that LPL needs to be enabled / disabled. Furthermore, the control unit 302 determines whether LPL needs to be enabled / disabled for a specific STA based on the communication state. For example, the control unit 302 may determine that LPL needs to be enabled for STAs in an active mode where data transmission frequency is reduced. For example, the control unit 302 may determine that LPL needs to be disabled for STAs in an LPL-enabled mode where a large amount of downlink data or low-latency data has already occurred. This means that, based on the communication state identified by the AP, the AP determines that the operation mode of a specific STA needs to be changed if it is unsuitable or estimated to become unsuitable for the current operation mode.

[0107] If control unit 302 determines that LPL needs to be enabled / disabled, control unit 302 will proceed to S1108. If control unit 302 determines that LPL does not need to be enabled / disabled, control unit 302 will proceed to S1109.

[0108] In S1108, the control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to perform the LPL enable / disable procedure. Specifically, when the control unit 302 receives an LPL operation mode notification frame in cooperation with each unit, the control unit 302 transmits a response frame. Furthermore, the mode control unit 302 updates the information in the response frame indicating the operation mode of the destination STA to the new operation mode.

[0109] If the AP determines that a specific STA's operating mode needs to be changed, the AP transmits an LPL operating mode notification frame corresponding to the determination result, requesting the specific STA to change its operating mode. Upon receiving a response frame, the mode control unit 302 updates the information indicating the source STA's operating mode in the response frame to the new operating mode.

[0110] On the other hand, in S1109, the control unit 202 determines whether to stop the AP operation. If the control unit 202 determines to stop the AP operation, the series of processes ends. If the control unit 202 determines not to stop the AP operation, the control unit 202 advances the process to S1110. For example, the control unit 202 may determine to stop the AP operation when it receives a user operation to press the off button or the power button (not shown).

[0111] In S1110, control unit 202 performs other communication control. Specifically, control unit 202 performs reference... Figure 4 The description includes connection control and communication control with STAs in either the LPCS or NPCS operating states during the active mode. As mentioned above, in some cases, a STA in the LPCS operating state spontaneously transitions to the NPCS operating state and communicates data to the AP using communication parameters corresponding to the high-capacity state. When the control unit 302 indicates from the currently managed status information that the STA in the LPCS has received data using the communication parameters corresponding to the high-capacity state, the control unit 302 updates the operating state of the STA that serves as the data transmission source. That is, the control unit 302 updates the operating state included in the currently managed status information of the source STA from LPCS to NPCS.

[0112] Finally, refer to Figure 12 This describes the communication control performed by STAs (such as STA 102) that have been switched to LPL-enabled mode.

[0113] In S1200, the mode control unit 302 of STA 102 cooperates with the processing unit 301 and the frame transmission and reception unit 304 to perform the LPL enable procedure. Specifically, the mode control unit 302 transmits an LPL operation mode notification frame in which the LPL mode is stored as "1". Upon receiving a normal response to this frame, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with the RXTX control unit 303, the communication unit 206, and the antenna 207 to change the transmission and reception parameters to those used for LPCS. If the LPL operation mode notification frame includes field 705, the mode control unit 302 changes the transmission and reception parameters to those corresponding to the parameters indicated in field 705. If the LPL operation mode notification frame does not include field 705, the mode control unit 302 changes the transmission and reception parameters to those previously shared from the destination AP (such as AP 101) using the UHR operation element.

[0114] In S1201, processing unit 301 collaborates with other units to determine whether a frame addressed to STA 102 has been received. If processing unit 301 determines that a frame addressed to STA 102 has been received, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1202. If processing unit 301 determines that no frame addressed to STA 102 has been received, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1203.

[0115] In S1202, processing unit 301 determines whether the received frame is an LPL ICF. If processing unit 301 determines that the received frame is an LPL ICF, then processing unit 301 proceeds to S1207. If processing unit 301 determines that the received frame is not an LPL ICF, then processing unit 301 proceeds to S1206. An LPL ICF is, for example, a reference... Figure 8 The frame being described.

[0116] In S1203, processing unit 301 determines whether data transmission to the AP is required. If processing unit 301 determines that data transmission to the AP is required, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1204. If processing unit 301 determines that data transmission to the AP is not required, processing unit 301 proceeds to S1210.

[0117] In S1204, processing unit 301 identifies and estimates service characteristics. The specific processing is similar to that in S1101 described in the control performed by the AP, therefore its description is omitted.

[0118] In S1205, the mode control unit 302 determines whether to conduct communication of the service identified and estimated in S1204 while maintaining the LPCS. If the mode control unit 302 determines that service communication is to be conducted while maintaining the LPCS, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1206. If the mode control unit 302 determines that service communication is not to be conducted while maintaining the LPCS, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1207. For example, the processing unit 301 determines whether the transmission time falls within a predetermined time when transmitting the estimated service volume at the communication rate while maintaining the LPCS. If the processing unit 301 determines that the transmission time falls within the predetermined time, the processing unit 301 determines that communication of the estimated service is to be conducted while keeping the destination STA in the LPCS.

[0119] In S1206, the control unit 202 cooperates with each unit to perform data communication using communication parameters for the LPCS. In the case of data reception processing, the control unit 202 uses the set reception parameters for the LPCS to receive frames, appropriately analyzes the payload of the received frames, and processes the payload. In the case of data transmission processing, the control unit 202 uses the set reception parameters for the LPCS to generate a frame including the data to be transmitted and transmits the frame. Upon completion of data communication in the LPCS, the control unit 202 proceeds to S1210.

[0120] In S1207, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to change the communication parameters to those used for the high-capacity state of the NPCS. If no ICF is received, the communication parameters are set to those used in the active mode and agreed upon during connection processing. If an ICF is received, the communication parameters are changed to those stored in the ICF.

[0121] In S1208, control unit 202 uses modified communication parameters to perform data communication. For data transmission, control unit 202 uses modified transmission parameters for NPCS to perform data transmission. For data reception, control unit 202 uses modified reception parameters to perform data reception. Upon completion of a series of data communications, control unit 202 advances processing to S1209.

[0122] In S1209, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to perform CF end / QoS empty frame communication. After frame communication, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to change the communication parameters to the communication parameters corresponding to the low-capability condition for LPCS.

[0123] In S1210, the mode control unit 302 determines whether the LPL function needs to be disabled. Specifically, the mode control unit 302 determines whether to disable the function based on a determination similar to that described above with reference to S1005 to S1008. That is, the mode control unit 302 determines that the function needs to be disabled if any of the following conditions are met: the remaining battery power is reduced to less than or equal to a threshold; the communication link is reset to an NSTR link pair; and the communication quality is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold. The mode control unit 302 also determines that the function needs to be disabled if a low-latency communication application is running. The mode control unit 302 also determines that the function needs to be disabled based on a determination similar to that described with reference to S1002 (i.e., if the user settings are changed and changed to disable the LPL function during operation in LPL-enabled mode). If the mode control unit 302 determines that the LPL function needs to be disabled, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1211. If the mode control unit 302 determines that the LPL function does not need to be disabled, the mode control unit 302 proceeds to S1201.

[0124] In S1211, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to perform the LPL disable procedure. Subsequently, the mode control unit 302 cooperates with each unit to change the communication parameters used for transmission and reception to communication parameters corresponding to the high-capacity state for the active mode. The parameters to be changed are the communication parameters pre-negotiated during the connection process for the active mode.

[0125] <Variation Example 1> In the above embodiments, an example is illustrated of using an LPL operation mode notification frame or a frame including UHR operation elements to provide notification of the MCS and number of spatial streams used in the LPCS operation state. However, this disclosure is not limited to this. Notifications can also be provided only for information used to identify the link corresponding to field 606, and default communication parameters can be used as other communication parameters. As predetermined communication parameters, for example, communication parameters such as a single spatial stream, a minimum MCS for receiving control frames such as ICF, and a primary 20MHz bandwidth can be used. Specific examples will be described. STA 102 operates as a non-AP MLD. In active mode, STA 102 performs multi-link communication established with AP 101. MIMO communication can also be used on one of the links, and communication utilizing a high MCS and 160MHz bandwidth is also possible. In this state, upon receiving an LPL operation mode notification, STA 102 transitions to a state where it can communicate on a single link specified by the link ID with a bandwidth of 20MHz. Alternatively, STA 102 transitions to a situation where communication is achieved using a single spatial stream without the use of MIMO or similar methods.

[0126] <Variation Example 2> In the above embodiments, the case where communication parameters to be used after the transition to NPCS are included in the ICF frame is illustrated; however, this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the transmission of communication parameters may be omitted. In this case, only the default communication parameters in the case of returning to NPCS need to be used. As predetermined communication parameters, for example, communication parameters negotiated during connection processing for operation in active mode can be used.

[0127] <Variation Example 3> Figure 5A and Figure 5B The information included in the UHR capability element shown, indicating whether LPL functionality is supported, can alternatively be configured to be included in the multilink element. For example, a new field called Extended MLD Capability is set in the common information field of the basic multilink element. This field can be configured to include information corresponding to field 504 or information corresponding to fields 514 and 515. This element can be included in MAC frames such as ML probe requests, ML probe responses, or beacon frames.

[0128] <Other Embodiment 1> The disclosure in this embodiment includes the following configuration.

[0129] (Configuration 1) A communication device for performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, the communication device comprising: A transmission control component for controlling the transmission of frames to other communication devices, the frames including information elements storing information indicating whether a second mode is supported, the second mode being a mode of waiting for communication in a state in which at least two or more of the following conditions are changed to conditions estimated to consume less power than a first mode, so as to suppress power consumption in the waiting for communication condition compared with the power consumption in the first mode.

[0130] (Configuration 2) According to the communication device of configuration 1, the transmission control component transmits the information to the other communication device by transmitting a beacon frame or an associated response frame, wherein the beacon frame or the associated response frame includes the information element.

[0131] (Configuration 3) According to the communication device described in configuration 1 or 2, the transmission control component transmits the information to the other communication device by transmitting at least an association request frame including the information element.

[0132] (Configuration 4) According to any one of configurations 1 to 3, the communication device wherein... The transmission control component transmits the frame including the information element storing information indicating support for the second mode, and The communication device includes: A switching component is configured to, after establishing a link for communication with the other communication device, and in the case that the other communication device is operating in the first mode, after transmitting information related to enabling the second mode to the other communication device, change the two or more states to states estimated to consume less power than the first mode and switch the operating mode of the communication device to the second mode.

[0133] (Configuration 5) According to the communication device described in configuration 4, wherein... When the communication device is a non-AP (Access Point) MLD (Multi-Link Device) and operates in the first mode, the communication device is capable of establishing multiple links with the other communication devices and performing STR communication. The switching component changes to a state where it can communicate with the other communication devices on a single link with a bandwidth of 20MHz and use a single spatial stream to communicate with the other communication devices, and changes the operating mode to the second mode.

[0134] (Configuration 6) According to any one of configurations 1 to 5, the information element is an information element included in the UHR MAC capability element or the UHR PHY capability element.

[0135] (Configuration 7) According to any one of configurations 1 to 6, the communication device is capable of storing 1 or 0, wherein 1 indicates support for the second mode, and 0 indicates that the second mode is not supported or that the second mode is disabled.

[0136] (Configuration 8) According to any one of configurations 1 to 7, the communication device storing the information element is at least one of a beacon frame, a probe request frame, a probe response frame, an association request frame, an association response frame, a reassociation request frame, a reassociation response frame, and an action frame.

[0137] (Configuration 9) A communication device for performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, the communication device comprising: A transmission control unit is configured to transmit frames to other communication devices operating in a second mode, the frames causing a transition to a first mode. The second mode is a mode in which communication is awaited under conditions where at least two or more of the following conditions—the number of communication links, bandwidth, and spatial flow—are changed to conditions estimated to consume less power than in the first mode, thereby suppressing power consumption while waiting for communication compared to the power consumption while waiting for communication in the first mode. The transmission control component further transmits information to the other communication devices for identifying the link to be used in the second mode.

[0138] (Configuration 10) According to the communication device described in configuration 9, the transmission control component transmits the frame including information for indicating the two or more conditions.

[0139] (Configuration 11) According to the communication equipment configured 10, it also includes: A determining component is configured to determine, based on the communication status with the other communication device, two or more conditions for enabling the other communication device to operate in the second mode. The transmission control component transmits two or more determined conditions to the other communication devices.

[0140] (Configuration 12) A control method for a communication device, the communication device being used for wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series, the control method comprising: A transmission control step for controlling the transmission of a frame to other communication devices, the frame including an information element storing information indicating whether a second mode is supported, the second mode being a mode of waiting for communication in a state in which at least two or more of the following conditions are changed to conditions estimated to consume less power than in the first mode, so as to suppress the power consumption in the waiting for communication condition compared with the power consumption in the first mode.

[0141] (Configuration 13) A control method for a communication device, the communication device being used for wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series, the control method comprising: A first transmission control step is used to transmit information leading to a transition to the second mode and information for identifying links to be used in the second mode to other communication devices operating in the second mode. The second mode is a mode waiting for communication in a state in which at least two or more of the following conditions are changed to conditions estimated to consume less power than in the first mode, so as to suppress the power consumption in the waiting for communication condition compared with the power consumption in the first mode.

[0142] (Configuration 14) A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for a communication device according to configuration 12 or 13.

[0143] <Other Embodiment 2> The present invention can also be implemented by supplying a program for implementing one or more functions of the above embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be implemented by a circuit system (e.g., an ASIC) for implementing one or more functions.

[0144] This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes and modifications can be made to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, the appended claims are made to inform the public of the scope of this invention.

[0145] This application is based on and claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application 2024-057554, filed on March 29, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0146] 101 AP MLD 102 Non-AP MLD 206 Communication Units

Claims

1. A communication device for performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, the communication device comprising: A transmission control component for controlling the transmission of frames to other communication devices, the frames including information elements storing information indicating whether a second listening mode is supported, the second listening mode being a listening mode for suppressing power consumption when performing the listening operation as a waiting communication operation in a first listening mode, the second listening mode enabling the listening operation to be performed with less expected power consumption than the first listening mode for at least one of the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and MCS, where MCS represents modulation and coding scheme.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The transmission control component transmits the information to the other communication devices by transmitting beacon frames or associated response frames, wherein the beacon frames or associated response frames include the information elements.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The transmission control component transmits the information to the other communication devices by transmitting at least an association request frame that includes the information element.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The transmission control component transmits the frame including the information element storing information indicating support for the second listening mode, and The communication device includes: A switching component, after establishing a link for communication with the other communication device, and in the case where the other communication device is operating in the first monitoring mode, after transmitting information related to enabling the second monitoring mode to the other communication device, changes the condition of at least one of the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial flow, and MCS to a condition estimated to have less power consumption than the first monitoring mode, and switches the operating mode of the communication device to the second monitoring mode.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein, When the communication device is a non-AP MLD and operates in the first monitoring mode, the communication device can establish multiple links with the other communication devices and perform STR communication, where AP represents an access point, MLD represents a multi-link device, and... The switching component changes to a state where it can communicate with the other communication devices on a single link with a bandwidth of 20MHz and use a single spatial stream to communicate with the other communication devices, and changes the operating mode to the second listening mode.

6. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The information element is an information element included in the UHR MAC capability element or the UHR PHY capability element.

7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The information element can store 1 or 0, where 1 indicates support for the second listening mode and 0 indicates that the second listening mode is not supported or that the second listening mode is disabled.

8. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, The frame storing the information element is at least one of a beacon frame, a probe request frame, a probe response frame, an association request frame, an association response frame, a reassociation request frame, a reassociation response frame, and an action frame.

9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The second listening mode enables the listening operation to be performed with less power consumption than the first listening mode, considering the number of links, bandwidth, number of spatial streams, and at least two or more of the MCS.

10. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The listening operation includes a carrier sensing operation used to check the availability of the wireless channel to which communication is to be attempted.

11. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The status of the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and at least two or more items in the MCS during the monitoring operation is set based on notifications from other devices.

12. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The first monitoring mode is a mode in which the monitoring operation is performed under the conditions of the number of all communication links that the communication device can communicate with, the bandwidth, the number of spatial streams, and the communication status of the MCS.

13. A wireless communication device, comprising: A transmission control component for controlling the transmission of frames to other communication devices, the frames including information elements indicating whether a second mode is supported, the second mode being a mode for suppressing power consumption in a communication standby state compared to power consumption in a communication standby state in a first mode, the second mode enabling communication standby to be performed with less power consumption in the expected MCS than in the first mode, where MCS represents a modulation and coding scheme.

14. A communication device for performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series of standards, the communication device comprising: A transmission control unit is configured to transmit frames to other communication devices operating in a second mode, the frames causing a transition to a first listening mode. The second mode is a listening mode designed to suppress power consumption when performing a listening operation as a waiting-for-communication operation, compared to the power consumption in the first listening mode. The second mode enables the listening operation to be performed while changing at least one of the following: the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) to a condition where the expected power consumption is lower than in the first listening mode. The transmission control component further transmits information to the other communication devices for identifying the link to be used in the second monitoring mode.

15. The communication device according to claim 14, wherein, The transmission control component transmits frames including information indicating the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial flow, and two or more conditions in the MCS.

16. The communication device according to claim 15, further comprising: A determining component is configured to determine, based on the communication status with the other communication device, two or more conditions for enabling the other communication device to operate in the second monitoring mode. The transmission control component transmits two or more determined conditions to the other communication devices.

17. A control method for a communication device, the communication device being used for wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series, the control method comprising: A transmission control step for controlling the transmission of a frame to other communication devices, the frame including an information element storing information indicating whether a second listening mode is supported, the second listening mode being a listening mode for suppressing power consumption when performing the listening operation as a waiting communication operation in the first listening mode, the second listening mode enabling the listening operation to be performed with less expected power consumption than the first listening mode for at least one of the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and MCS, where MCS represents modulation and coding scheme.

18. A control method for a communication device, the communication device being used for wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series, the control method comprising: A first transmission control step is used to transmit information to other communication devices operating in a second mode, the information causing a switch to a first listening mode, the second mode being a listening mode for suppressing power consumption when performing the listening operation as a waiting communication operation compared to the power consumption in the first listening mode, the second mode enabling the listening operation to be performed with at least one of the number of communication links, bandwidth, spatial stream, and MCS being changed to a condition where the expected power consumption is less than that in the first listening mode; where MCS represents modulation and coding scheme. as well as The second transmission control step is used to transmit information for identifying the link to be used in the second monitoring mode.

19. A program for causing a computer to perform a control method for a communication device according to claim 17 or 18.

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