Power state determination method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a power state determination method and apparatus for determining the power state of a first access point in a power-saving mode in order to reduce power consumption on the transmission side and the reception side and improve communication accuracy. In the method, an access point multi-link device determines the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, and determines the power state of the first access point. These operations include one or more of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up. The present application is applicable to a wireless local area network system supporting the IEEE 802.11ax next-generation Wi-Fi (registered trademark) protocol, for example, 802.11be, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) 7, or EHT, and in another example, the 802.11 series protocol, for example, the next-generation version of 802.11be, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) 8, or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) AI, and can further be applied to an ultra-wideband UWB-based wireless personal area network system and a sensing system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202210724843.0, titled "Power State Determination Method and Device", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 23, 2022, and the entire content of the Chinese patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Cross-reference to Related Applications]

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a power state determination method and device.

Background Art

[0003] With the continuous development of wireless technologies, an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) can continue to be in a power-saving operating state. For example, an access point can set one or more (but not all) of its series access points to the power save (PS) mode based on load conditions. In the PS mode, the AP can switch between the Awake state and the Doze state. In the Doze state, the AP is deactivated and cannot receive / transmit any frames. In the Awake state, the AP can perform reception / transmission.

[0004] When the AP is in the power-saving mode, multiple operations can be executed on the AP simultaneously, and these multiple operations may conflict with each other or may not match. The way for the AP and the station to communicate accurately is a subject that needs to be studied.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a power state determination method and device for determining the power state of a first access point in a power-saving mode in different operation cases, so as to reduce the power consumption of the transmitting side and the receiving side and improve the communication accuracy.

[0006] According to a first aspect, there is provided a power state determination method including the following processes, that is, a process in which an access point multi-link device determines that a first access point (AP) is in a power saving mode; and a process in which the access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0007] The power state of the first access point may include an Awake state and a Doze state. In the Awake state, the first access point is permitted to perform reception / transmission. Specifically, the first access point may receive / transmit message packets in the Awake state. In other words, the access point multi-link device may receive / transmit message packets through the first access point in the Awake state. In the Doze state, the first access point is not permitted to perform reception / transmission. Specifically, the first access point cannot receive / transmit message packets in the Doze state. In other words, the access point multi-link device cannot receive / transmit message packets through the first access point in the Doze state.

[0008] Normally, when the first access point is in the power saving mode, it is defaulted that the first access point is in the Doze state. Specifically, the power state of the first access point is the Doze state, and also, the first station (i.e., the associated station (STA) on the corresponding link) is in the power saving mode, and the default state is the Doze state. In another implementation, it is specified in the protocol that the first access point is permitted to enter the power saving mode only when all associated non-access point multi-link devices support the power saving operation of the first access point and all stations associated with the first access point are in the power saving mode.

[0009] In the power saving mode, the power states of the first access point and the first station can be adjusted through different operations. These operations include, but are not limited to, one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up. Optionally, link inactivation may further include periodic link inactivation and / or aperiodic link inactivation.

[0010] For example, when the first access point is in the power saving mode and there is an operation of link inactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state within the active period (i.e., from the start time to the end time of the link inactivation operation) and is not permitted to switch to the awake state.

[0011] For example, when the first access point is in the power-saving mode and receives an aperiodic wake-up request (i.e., there is an operation of an aperiodic wake-up request), the first access point responds to the received wake-up request, switches from the doze state to the awake state, and then, after the station that sends the aperiodic wake-up request sets the fifth indication information (e.g., More Data) to 0, or after the station that sends the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state, or after the first channel has been in the idle state for a period of time (e.g., the idle duration of the first channel exceeds the first duration), it switches from the awake state to the doze state. In other words, the first access point switches to the awake state within the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request (e.g., from the time of responding to the aperiodic wake-up request to the time when the condition that the fifth indication information is set to 0 is satisfied, or in another example, from the time of responding to the aperiodic wake-up request to the time when the condition that the station that sends the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state is satisfied, or in yet another example, from the time of responding to the aperiodic wake-up request to the time when the condition that the idle duration of the first channel exceeds the first duration is satisfied), and the first access point is in the doze state for the remaining time. Optionally, when receiving a wake-up request, the first access point may switch from the doze state to the awake state in response to the wake-up request; or the first access point may switch from the doze state to the awake state in response to the wake-up request within a certain period after receiving the wake-up request.

[0012] For example, when the first access point is in the power-saving mode and a target wake-up agreement (e.g., the Target Wake Time (TWT) protocol) is set up, the first access point maintains an awake state within the effective period of the periodic target wake-up (i.e., the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up). Specifically, the first access point switches from the doze state to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up (the start time of the service period), switches from the awake state to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up (the end time of the service period or the start time of the non-service period), or switches to the doze state when a specific condition (e.g., the second condition) is met. The second condition here mainly includes one or more of factors such as whether the AP side and the STA side have transmission target cache data, whether the STA is a TWT member (or whether the STA has joined the target wake-up agreement), the type of TWT, and whether the TWT service period (SP) is permitted to be extended. For example, if either the first station does not set the fifth indication information (e.g., More Data) to 1 or the first AP does not set the fifth indication information (e.g., More Data) to 1, the first access point switches from the awake state to the doze state. In another example, if it is determined that all associated stations are in the doze state, the first AP switches from the awake state to the doze state.In another example, when the periodic target wake-up is a Restricted TWT (rTWT), either the associated station does not set the More Data of the last transmitted media protocol data unit (MPDU) to 1, or the first access point does not set the More Data of the last transmitted MPDU to 1 (in other words, neither the first AP side nor the first STA side needs to transmit the data to be transmitted). When this is the case, the first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up; or when the associated station sets the More Data to 1, or the first access point sets the More Data to 1, the first access point and the corresponding station maintain the awake state until there is no data to be transmitted between the first station and the station.

[0013] When multiple operations exist simultaneously, it can be seen that different operations may conflict or may not match. As a result, the first access point cannot determine whether the power state is in the awake state or the doze state, and communication cannot be accurately executed. However, in this method, when the first access point of the access point multi-link device is in the power-saving mode and different operations exist in the power-saving mode, the access point multi-link device can determine the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations, reduce the power consumption of the transmission side and the reception side, and improve the communication accuracy.

[0014] An access point multi-link device includes a plurality of access points. Usually, at least one of the plurality of access points is configured to receive / transmit message packets (e.g., control frames and / or data frames). For example, the access point multi-link device includes a first access point and a second access point, and there may be one or more first access points. For example, the first access point is in a doze state and the second access point is in an awake state.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in the power-saving mode. In this implementation, in order to improve the flexibility of controlling the power state of the first access point, the operation of the periodic target wake-up can be executed in the power-saving mode.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request; and / or the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; and / or the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; and / or the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request, and / or the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation; and / or the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up, and / or the priority of a periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation.

[0017] For example, when multiple operations coexist within a period, the power state of the first access point is determined based on the operation with the highest priority among these multiple operations. For example, when multiple operations among link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up coexist within a period, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the operation with the highest priority. In another example, when multiple operations among aperiodic link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, periodic target wake-up, and periodic link deactivation coexist within a period, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the operation with the highest priority.

[0018] For example, when there is one operation within a period, the power state of the first access point is determined based on this operation.

[0019] Optionally, when there is no operation within a period, the power state of the first access point can be in the doze state in the power-saving mode.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0021] When the access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, and when operations of link deactivation and aperiodic wake-up request exist, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the access point multi-link device can determine the power state of the first access point based on the power state of link deactivation. The power state of the first access point is in the doze state during the active period of link deactivation.

[0022] For example, when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request within the valid period of link inactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state within the valid period of link inactivation and switches to the awake state after the end time of link inactivation. If the first access point is in the awake state before the start time of link inactivation, the first access point switches to the doze state at the start time of link inactivation and switches to the awake state after the end time of link inactivation.

[0023] Optionally, the aperiodic wake-up request may be a wake-up request sent by a station.

[0024] In a possible scenario 1, the start time of link inactivation is earlier than or equal to the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request (for example, the time to respond to the aperiodic wake-up request). Specifically, even if the aperiodic wake-up request is received within the valid period, the aperiodic wake-up request is received within the valid period of link inactivation, link inactivation starts before the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first access point is in the doze state within the valid period of link inactivation. Optionally, if the aperiodic wake-up request is not received before link inactivation, the first access point may also maintain the doze state before link inactivation (that is, the doze state is the default in the power-saving mode). Optionally, if the aperiodic wake-up request does not end after link inactivation (the fifth indication information is not set to 0, or the station sending the aperiodic wake-up request does not switch to the doze state, or the idle duration of the first channel does not exceed the first duration), the end time of link inactivation is earlier than the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first access point may switch from the doze state to the awake state after the end time of link inactivation. Optionally, if the end time of link inactivation is earlier than the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request, the first access point maintains the doze state within the valid period of link inactivation and maintains the awake state within the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0025] If an aperiodic wake-up request is not received before link deactivation, this indicates that there is no operation during the period before the start time of link deactivation. Therefore, the power state of the first access point may be the doze state. If the operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists during the active period of link deactivation, this indicates that one or more operations exist during the period. However, regardless of whether one or more operations exist, the priority of link deactivation is the highest. Therefore, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the power state corresponding to link deactivation, that is, the doze state. If the operation of the aperiodic wake-up request does not end after link deactivation, this indicates that the operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists during the period after the end time of link deactivation. Therefore, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the power state corresponding to the aperiodic wake-up request, that is, the awake state.

[0026] In a possible scenario 2, the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the start time of link deactivation, and the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request is later than the end time of link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request and maintains the awake state before the start time of link deactivation. The first access point switches to the doze state at the start time of link deactivation and maintains the doze state before the end time of link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the end time of link deactivation and maintains the awake state before the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. The first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0027] The operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists within the period from the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request to the start time of link deactivation. Therefore, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the power state corresponding to the aperiodic wake-up request, that is, it is the awake state. If the operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists within the active period of link deactivation, this indicates that multiple operations exist within the period. The priority of link deactivation is the highest. Therefore, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the power state corresponding to link deactivation, that is, it is the doze state. The operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists within the period from the end time of link deactivation to the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. Therefore, the power state of the first access point can be determined based on the power state corresponding to the aperiodic wake-up request, that is, it is the awake state.

[0028] In a possible implementation, regarding the transmission in the case of an aperiodic wake-up request, if the transmission is interrupted due to link deactivation, the interrupted transmission needs to continue after the link deactivation ends.

[0029] It can be understood that the above scenario is described by taking only one operation of link deactivation and one operation of the aperiodic wake-up request as an example. The process of determining the power states of multiple operations of link deactivation and / or multiple aperiodic wake-up requests is similar, and will not be described one by one here.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up.

[0031] When an access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, and when there are operations of link deactivation and periodic target wake-up, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the access point multi-link device may determine the power state of the first access point based on the power state of link deactivation. The power state of the first access point is in the doze state during the effective period of link deactivation.

[0032] For example, when the first access point executes an operation of periodic target wake-up during the effective period of link deactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state during the effective period of link deactivation. When the first access point is in the awake state before the start time of link deactivation, the first access point switches to the doze state at the start time of link deactivation and maintains the doze state after the end time of link deactivation.

[0033] For example, the operation of periodic target wake-up may be understood as entering the service period of periodic target wake-up scheduled periodically, and the effective period of the operation of periodic target wake-up may be the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up.

[0034] In a possible scenario 1, the start time of link deactivation is earlier than or equal to the start time of periodic target wake-up (for example, the start time of the service period), and the end time of link deactivation is later than or equal to the end time of periodic target wake-up (for example, the end time of the service period), and the first access point is in the doze state during the effective period of link deactivation. Optionally, when there is no periodic target wake-up before link deactivation, the first access point may also maintain the doze state before link deactivation. When there is no periodic target wake-up after link deactivation, the first access point may also maintain the doze state after link deactivation.

[0035] In a possible scenario 2, the start time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the start time of the link deactivation of the access point, and the end time of the periodic target wake-up is later than the end time of the link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and maintains the awake state before the start time of the link deactivation. The first access point switches to the doze state at the start time of the link deactivation and maintains the doze state before the end time of the link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the end time of the link deactivation and maintains the awake state before the end time of the periodic target wake-up. The first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0036] In a possible scenario 3, the start time of the link deactivation is earlier than the start time of the periodic target wake-up, and the end time of the link deactivation is earlier than the end time of the periodic target wake-up. In other words, the link deactivation starts before the periodic target wake-up and ends before the periodic target wake-up. The first access point is in the doze state during the active period of the link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the end time of the link deactivation and maintains the awake state before the end time of the periodic target wake-up. The first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0037] In a possible scenario 4, the start time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the start time of link deactivation, and the end time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the end time of link deactivation. In other words, the periodic target wake-up starts before link deactivation and ends before link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and maintains the awake state before the start time of link deactivation. The first access point switches to the doze state at the start time of link deactivation and maintains the doze state before the end time of link deactivation.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up.

[0039] When the access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, and when there are operations of aperiodic wake-up requests and periodic target wake-up, since the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is high, the access point multi-link device can determine the power state of the first access point based on the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0040] For example, when an aperiodic wake-up is received during the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point maintains the awake state without changing it. Optionally, the first access point maintains the awake state before the first condition is satisfied.

[0041] In another example, when an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. Optionally, the first access point switches to the awake state when receiving the aperiodic wake-up request or after receiving the aperiodic wake-up request (after a certain period), and maintains the awake state until the first condition is satisfied.

[0042] For example, the first condition may include, but is not limited to, the first station of the non-access point multi-link device that sends the aperiodic wake-up request sets the fifth indication information to 0, the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, and / or the station that sends the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state and the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, and / or the idle duration of the first channel exceeds the first duration and the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up. The fifth indication information may indicate whether there is still data to be transmitted, and setting the fifth indication information to 0 indicates that there is no data to be transmitted. The first duration is a positive number. The value of the first duration is not limited here.

[0043] Optionally, the first access point may switch back to the doze state when the first condition is satisfied. When the first condition is satisfied, the first access point switches from the awake state to the doze state during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, for example, during a non-service period. When the first condition is satisfied, the first access point may continue to maintain the awake state during the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up.

[0044] In a possible scenario 1, the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than or equal to the start time of the periodic target wake-up, the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request is later than or equal to the end time of the periodic target wake-up, and the first access point is in the awake state during the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request. Optionally, if the periodic target wake-up does not exist before the aperiodic wake-up request, the first access point may be in the doze state before the aperiodic wake-up request; and if the periodic target wake-up does not exist after the aperiodic wake-up request, the first access point may be in the doze state after the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0045] In a possible scenario 2, the start time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request, the end time of the periodic target wake-up is later than the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first access point is in the awake state during the valid period of the periodic target wake-up. Optionally, the first access point maintains the doze state before the start time of the periodic target wake-up and / or after the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0046] In a possible scenario 3, the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the start time of the periodic target wake-up, and the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the end time of the periodic target wake-up. In other words, the aperiodic wake-up request starts before the periodic target wake-up and ends before the periodic target wake-up. The first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request and maintains the awake state before the end time of the periodic target wake-up. The first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0047] In a possible scenario 4, the start time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the end time of the periodic target wake-up is earlier than the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. In other words, the periodic target wake-up starts before the aperiodic wake-up request and ends before the aperiodic wake-up request. The first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and maintains the awake state until before the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. The first access point switches to the doze state at the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up.

[0049] When the operations of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the operation of link deactivation has the highest priority, the first access point may be in the doze state during the active period of the deactivated link of the access point. For example, when the access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, and when the operations of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the first access point maintains the doze state during the active period of link deactivation. In this implementation, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the access point multi-link device can determine the power state of the first access point based on the power state of link deactivation.

[0050] If the operations of link deactivation and aperiodic wake-up request (or periodic target wake-up) exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the operation of link deactivation has the highest priority, the first access point is in a doze state during the active period of the deactivated link of the access point.

[0051] If the operations of aperiodic wake-up request and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the operation of aperiodic wake-up request has the highest priority, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of the operation of aperiodic wake-up request. For example, if there is no link deactivation and an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request.

[0052] If the operation of link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of link deactivation.

[0053] If the operation of aperiodic wake-up request exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of aperiodic wake-up request.

[0054] If the operation of periodic target wake-up exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of periodic target wake-up.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0056] If the operations of aperiodic link deactivation and aperiodic wake-up request exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic link deactivation has the highest priority, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation. For example, when an access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in a power-saving mode, and when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0057] If the operations of an aperiodic wake-up request and a periodic link deactivation exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic wake-up request has the highest priority, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request. For example, when an access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in a power-saving mode, and when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the active period of the periodic link deactivation, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the reception of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0058] If the operation of aperiodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0059] If the operation of an aperiodic wake-up request exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0060] If the operation of periodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of the periodic link deactivation.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up, and the priority of periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0062] If the operations of aperiodic link deactivation and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic link deactivation has the highest priority, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation. For example, when an access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in a power-saving mode, and when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0063] If the operations of periodic target wake-up and periodic link deactivation exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the periodic target wake-up has the highest priority, the first access point may be in an awake state during the active period of the operation of the periodic target wake-up. For example, when an access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in a power-saving mode, and when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the active period of the periodic link deactivation, the first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0064] If the operation of aperiodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in a doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0065] If the operation of periodic target wake-up exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in the awake state during the valid period of the periodic target wake-up.

[0066] If the operation of periodic link inactivation exists within a certain period, the first access point may be in the doze state during the valid period of the periodic link inactivation.

[0067] If the operations of aperiodic link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic link inactivation has the highest priority, the first access point is in the doze state during the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation.

[0068] In a possible implementation, the first access point in the power-saving mode is not permitted to transmit one or more of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame. In this implementation, one or more of the beacon frame, the probe response frame, and the association response frame are not permitted to be transmitted, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a legacy station from being associated, and the multicast data frame and / or the multicast management frame are not permitted to be transmitted, and as a result, the power consumption of the first access point can be reduced.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device transmits a shortened neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, such that legacy stations ignore the first access point. In this implementation, when the first access point is in the power saving mode, the shortened neighbor report element enables legacy stations to ignore the first access point, such that it can be prevented that legacy stations discover the first access point, probe the first access point, and become associated with the first access point.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device receives an aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up a first access point in the power saving mode. The access point multi-link device switches the first access point from the doze state to the awake state. In this implementation, in order to implement the switch from the doze state to the awake state, the first access point can be woken up based on the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0071] In a possible implementation, when entering the service period, the access point multi-link device switches the first access point from the doze state to the awake state. In this implementation, in order to implement the switch between the doze state and the awake state and reduce the power consumption of the first access point, the first access point can wake up and doze periodically.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device transmits a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the power management mode of the first access point, where the power mode includes a power saving mode and / or an active mode. In this implementation, to further improve communication accuracy, the power management mode of the first access point can be notified to another access point or station.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0074] For example, when 1 bit is set to 1 (or 0), this indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode; and when 1 bit is set to 0 (or 1), this indicates that the first access point is in the active mode.

[0075] In a possible implementation, when the first access point is in the power saving mode, the access point multi-link device transmits a second PPDU. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, where the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode. In this implementation, to further improve communication accuracy, the power management mode of the first access point can be notified to another access point or station.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device transmits a power-saving multi-link element. The power-saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power-saving mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power-saving mode. In this implementation, in order to further improve communication accuracy, information about when the first access point enters the power-saving mode is notified to another access point or station.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device receives a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point supports the power-saving operation of the first access point, or the fourth indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point does not support the power-saving operation of the first access point.

[0078] When the first station or the second access point supports the power-saving operation of the first access point, in order to further improve communication accuracy, the first access point and the first station or the second access point can choose whether to communicate based on the awake state or the doze state in the power-saving mode.

[0079] Optionally, when the first station or the second access point does not support the power-saving operation of the first access point, the first access point may transmit a shortened neighbor report element, and as a result, the first station or the second access point ignores the first access point.

[0080] In a possible implementation, when the first access point is not in the link inactivation mode, the access point multi-link device transmits a traffic identifier-link mapping element. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel. In this implementation, the second station performs transmission in different channel access manners to facilitate the transmission of low-latency services.

[0081] According to a second aspect, there is provided a power state determination method including the following processes, that is, a process in which a non-access point multi-link device determines that the first access point of the access point multi-link device is in the power saving mode; and a process in which the non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode. These operations include one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up, and periodic target wake-up.

[0082] For example, the non-access point multi-link device may determine the power state of the first station associated with the first access point in the non-access point multi-link device based on the power state of the first access point. For example, when the power state of the first access point is the awake state, in order to improve the communication accuracy of the transmission side and the reception side, the power state of the first station is also the awake state. In another example, when the power state of the first access point is the doze state, in order to reduce the power consumption of the transmission side and the reception side, the power state of the first station is also the doze state.

[0083] The process by which a non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point is the same as the process by which an access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point in a first manner. Details will not be described here again.

[0084] In a possible implementation, the periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in a power-saving mode.

[0085] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request; and / or, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; and / or, the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; and / or, the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation; and / or, the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up, and the priority of a periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request.

[0087] When a non - access - point multi - link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power - saving mode, if the first access point is within the active period of link invalidation and the non - access - point multi - link device sends an aperiodic wake - up request to the first access point, the first access point maintains the doze state within the active period of link invalidation and switches to the awake state after the end time of link invalidation. The doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the priority of link invalidation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake - up.

[0089] When an access - point multi - link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power - saving mode, and when the first access point performs the operation of periodic target wake - up within the active period of aperiodic link invalidation, the first access point maintains the doze state within the active period of aperiodic link invalidation.

[0090] In a possible implementation, the priority of the aperiodic wake - up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake - up.

[0091] When a non - access - point multi - link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power - saving mode, and when the non - access - point multi - link device sends an aperiodic wake - up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake - up, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake - up request.

[0092] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up.

[0093] When a non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, when the operations of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the first access point maintains the doze state within the active period of link deactivation; or, when there is no link deactivation, and when the non-access point multi-link device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0095] When a non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode, when the first access point is within the active period of aperiodic link deactivation and the non-access point multi-link device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point maintains the doze state within the active period of aperiodic link deactivation; or, when the first access point is within the active period of periodic link deactivation and the non-access point multi-link device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0096] In a possible implementation, the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wakeup, and the priority of periodic target wakeup is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0097] When a non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of a first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode, when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wakeup during the active period of aperiodic link deactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state during the active period of aperiodic link deactivation; or, when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wakeup during the active period of periodic link deactivation, the first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wakeup and switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wakeup.

[0098] In a possible implementation, the non-access point multi-link device receives a shortened neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value. As a result, the legacy station ignores the first access point.

[0099] In a possible implementation, the non-access point multi-link device transmits an aperiodic wakeup request. The aperiodic wakeup request is used to wake up a first access point in the power saving mode.

[0100] In a possible implementation, the non-access point multi-link device receives a first PPDU. The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes the power saving mode.

[0101] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0102] In a possible implementation, the non-access point multi-link device receives a second PPDU. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in a power saving mode.

[0103] In a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device receives a power saving multi-link element. The power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode.

[0104] In a possible implementation, the non-access point multi-link device transmits a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station of the non-access point multi-link device supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station does not support the power saving operation of the first access point.

[0105] In a possible implementation, a non-access point multi-link device receives a traffic identifier-link mapping element. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station of the non-access point multi-link device is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel. The first station and the second station may be the same or different.

[0106] According to a third aspect, a power state determination device is provided. The power state determination device may be the aforementioned access point multi-link device, or may be a chip disposed within the access point multi-link device. The power state determination device may implement the method in the first aspect.

[0107] The power state determination device includes a mode determination unit and a power state determination unit.

[0108] For example, the mode determination unit is configured to determine that the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0109] The power state determination unit is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0110] In a possible implementation, for transmission in the case of an aperiodic wake-up request, if the transmission is interrupted due to link inactivation, the interrupted transmission needs to continue after the link inactivation ends.

[0111] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests; or the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation; or the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up, and the priority of periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0112] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the active period of link deactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state during the active period of link deactivation and switch to the awake state after the end time of link deactivation. The doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission.

[0113] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the active period of link deactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state during the active period of link deactivation.

[0114] In a possible implementation, specifically, when an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to periodic target wake-up, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request.

[0115] In a possible implementation, specifically when the operations of link invalidation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to maintain the doze state during the valid period of link invalidation; or when there is no link invalidation and an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request.

[0116] In a possible implementation, specifically when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to maintain the doze state during the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation; or when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the valid period of periodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request.

[0117] In a possible implementation, specifically when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to maintain the doze state during the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation; or when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the valid period of periodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0118] In a possible implementation, a first access point in a power-saving mode is not permitted to transmit one or more of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a shortened neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, such that as a result, legacy stations ignore the first access point.

[0120] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive an aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up a first access point in a doze state. The first access point can be switched from the doze state to the awake state.

[0121] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state when entering a service period.

[0122] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a first PPDU. The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes a power-saving mode.

[0123] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a second PPDU when the first access point is in the power saving mode. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0125] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a power saving multi-link element. The power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode, and the wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode.

[0126] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point does not support the power saving operation of the first access point.

[0127] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a traffic identifier-link mapping element when the first access point is not in the link inactivation mode. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel.

[0128] According to a fourth aspect, a power state determination device is provided. The power state determination device may be the aforementioned non-access point multi-link device, or may be a chip disposed within the non-access point multi-link device. The power state determination device may implement the method in the second aspect.

[0129] The power state determination device includes a mode determination unit and a power state determination unit.

[0130] For example, the mode determination unit is configured to determine that the first access point of the access point multi-link device is in the power saving mode.

[0131] The power state determination unit is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0132] In a possible implementation, the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request; or the priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; or the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up; or the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation; or the priority of an aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of a periodic target wake-up, and the priority of a periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of a periodic link deactivation.

[0133] Specifically, when the first access point is within the valid period of link invalidation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the power state determination unit is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state within the valid period of link invalidation and switches to the awake state after the end time of link invalidation. The doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission.

[0134] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point performs the operation of periodic target wake-up within the valid period of link invalidation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of link invalidation.

[0135] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0136] In a possible implementation, specifically, when link invalidation, an aperiodic wake-up request, and the operation of periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of link invalidation; or when link invalidation does not exist and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0137] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point is within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point is within the active period of the periodic link inactivation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0138] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up within the active period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0139] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a shortened neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value. As a result, the legacy station ignores the first access point.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to send an aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode.

[0141] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a first PPDU. The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes a power saving mode.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a second PPDU. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0144] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a power saving multi-link element. The power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode.

[0145] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station of the non-access point multi-link device supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station does not support the power saving operation of the first access point.

[0146] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a traffic identifier-link mapping element. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station of a non-access point multi-link device is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel.

[0147] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a processor configured to execute the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0148] Optionally, the device further includes a memory that stores instructions, and the processor executes the instructions in the memory, as a result of which the method in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0149] Optionally, the memory is located inside or outside the device.

[0150] Optionally, the device further includes an interface circuit, and the processor is coupled to the interface circuit.

[0151] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0152] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor are separately arranged.

[0153] In a specific implementation process, the memory may be non-transitory memory such as read-only memory (ROM). The memory and the processor may be integrated into one chip or separately arranged in different chips. The type of memory and the way the memory and the processor are arranged are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0154] The communication device may be a chip. The processor may be implemented by hardware or software. When the processor is implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When the processor is implemented by software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor and is implemented by reading software code stored in the memory. The memory may be integrated into the processor, located outside the processor, and exist independently.

[0155] According to a sixth aspect, a processor including an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit is provided. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit the signal through the output circuit. As a result, the processor executes the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0156] In a specific implementation process, the processor may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by a receiver, for example, but not limited thereto, and the signal output by the output circuit may be output by a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, for example, but not limited thereto. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit. The circuit is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The specific implementation of the processor and various circuits is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0157] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions), and when the computer program is executed, the computer becomes capable of executing the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0158] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer becomes capable of executing the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0159] According to a ninth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes a processor and an interface, and is configured to support a communication device in implementing the functions in the first aspect or the second aspect. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store the necessary information and data of the communication device. This chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0160] According to a tenth aspect, a functional entity is provided. The functional entity is configured to implement the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0161] According to an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided that includes an access point multi-link device for implementing the method in the first aspect and a non-access point multi-link device for implementing the method in the second aspect. For the technical effects brought about by any one of the implementations from the second aspect to the eleventh aspect, reference may be made to the technical effects brought about by the first aspect. Details will not be described again.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0186] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the technical solution of the present application will be described.

[0187] The technical solution in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems and LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fifth generation (5 th generation, 5G) systems, new radio (NR) and future sixth generation (6 th generation, 6G) systems, etc.

[0188] For example, embodiments of the present application may be applied to a WLAN system, and embodiments of the present application may be applied to any protocol among the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series protocols used by WLAN, such as 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and future 802.11 protocols. The method provided in the present application may be implemented by a communication device in a wireless communication system, or a chip or a processor in the communication device. Accordingly, the communication device supports communication via the IEEE 802.11 series protocol. Although embodiments of the present application are described by taking as an example a network mainly deployed with IEEE 802.11, those skilled in the art can easily understand that the aspects in the present application can be applied to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), High Performance Radio Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard mainly used in Europe), Wide Area Network (WAN), WLAN, Personal Area Network (PAN), or another network that is known or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage used and the wireless access protocol used, various aspects provided in the present application are applicable to any suitable wireless network.

[0189] WLAN can operate in both low-frequency bands and high-frequency bands. The low-frequency bands include sub-1 gigahertz (GHz), 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, etc., and the high-frequency bands include 60 GHz, etc. 802.11ax (Wi-Fi (registered trademark) 6) and earlier multi-band wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) are composed of multiple links, but each multi-link usually sets up different basic service sets (BSSs), and communication can be performed only on one link at a certain point in time, and this link belongs to the stations within the BSS. There is a lack of sufficient coordination in the operation on this link.

[0190] In the IEEE 802.11 next-generation Wi-Fi (registered trademark) extremely high throughput (EHT) protocol, the new extremely high bandwidth on the 6 GHz frequency band is used to transmit information packets, and multiple discontinuous links can be aggregated to form extremely high bandwidth by using multi-link cooperation technology. A device capable of implementing multi-link cooperation technology is called a multi-link device (MLD). MLDs include AP MLDs and / or non-access point (non-AP) MLDs. For example, a non-AP MLD may be a STA MLD. An MLD may have multiple radio frequency modules operating on different frequency bands, channels or links. For example, the frequency bands on which the MLD operates may be all or part of sub-1 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz and high-frequency 60 GHz. This is not limited in this specification. An MLD includes one or more affiliated stations. These stations may be APs or STAs. Each affiliated station has its own media access control (MAC) address. As shown in FIG. 1, STA1 has its own low MAC address, i.e., link address 1, and STA2 has its own low MAC address, i.e., link address 2. The MLD further has a high MAC address, i.e., the MLD MAC address.

[0191] An MLD may aggregate a larger bandwidth and further flexibly transmit message packets by using multi-link cooperation technology, such as sharing of the MAC layer on multiple links, or may simultaneously transmit message packets of the same service to the same station. An AP MLD may set up an association with a non-AP MLD on one link to quickly implement association setup on multiple links.

[0192] FIG. 2 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system includes one or more AP MLDS and one or more non-AP MLDS. The AP MLDS include AP1 and AP2, and the non-AP MLDS include STA1 and STA2. Optionally, the communication system may further include one or more legacy STAs. The communication system shown in the embodiments of the present application is merely an example for explanation, and the communication systems to which the present application is applicable are not limited thereto. This will be uniformly explained here and will not be elaborated again below.

[0193] As shown in FIG. 3, the AP MLDS include AP1 and AP2. AP1 includes an AP1 PHY, an AP1 low MAC, and a high MAC. AP2 includes an AP2 PHY, an AP2 low MAC, and a high MAC. AP1 and AP2 share the high MAC. The non-AP MLDS include STA1 and STA2. STA1 includes an STA1 PHY, an STA1 low MAC, and a high MAC. STA2 includes an STA2 PHY, an STA2 low MAC, and a high MAC. STA1 and STA2 share the high MAC, and AP1 and STA1 are connected through Link 1, and AP2 and STA2 are connected through Link 2.

[0194] When multiple links are set up, the non-AP MLD transmits an Association Request frame on Link 1, and the Association Request frame carries the STA-side information of Link 1 and the STA-side information of Link 2. The Association Request frame may carry a Multi-link Element, and the Multi-link Element is used to carry information about the MLD and information about each station within the MLD. The AP MLD transmits an Association Response frame on Link 1, and the Association Response frame carries the AP-side information of Link 1 and the AP-side information of Link 2. In this way, STA1 and STA2 of the non-AP MLD respectively set up an association with AP1 and AP2 of the AP MLD. The link used for exchanging the Association Request / Response frames (e.g., Link 1) is referred to as the Transmitted Link, and another link (e.g., Link 2) is referred to as the Non-transmitted Link.

[0195] Before multiple links are set up, the STA can discover the presence of the AP in a scan mode such as active scan or passive scan to set up an association with the AP and establish a connection in order to implement the setup of multiple links. It is simply understood that the purpose of associating the STA with the AP and establishing a connection is to set up one or more links (e.g., Link 1 and Link 2 in FIG. 3) used for communication between the STA and the AP.

[0196] In the passive scan process, the STA can receive management frames (e.g., Beacon frames or broadcast Probe Response frames) transmitted on the channel by the AP. For example, the STA can search for Beacon frames transmitted by the AP through jumps on different channels. Once the STA obtains the management information of the AP through the Beacon frame, the STA can further communicate with the AP through Probe Request frames or Probe Response frames to obtain other information from the AP.

[0197] In the active scan process, if no Beacon frame is detected through listening, the STA can actively broadcast Probe Request frames. After receiving the Probe Request frame, if certain conditions (which are not limited in the embodiments of this application) are met, the AP can start random channel access and reply with a Probe Response frame.

[0198] To assist the STA in fast scanning, the AP can carry a Reduced Neighbor Report Element (RNR element) using a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame to report the relevant information of the corresponding AP. In this way, the STA can obtain information about neighboring APs during the scan and select an appropriate AP for association. As a result, the STA may not continuously scan the channel to reduce the scan time of the STA. According to the provisions of 802.11be, the Affiliated AP needs to carry information about another Affiliated AP belonging to the same AP MLD as the Affiliated AP in the Reduced Neighbor Report Element. For the STA, the neighboring AP is the neighboring AP of the STA, and for the AP, the neighboring AP is the neighboring AP of the AP.

[0199] Two MLDs (e.g., AP MLD and non-AP MLD) can communicate with each other on established links (e.g., Link 1 and Link 2). If the channel spacing between two radio frequency modules within an MLD is large enough, the links corresponding to these two radio frequency modules may operate independently and do not interfere with each other. If data can be transmitted on one of the two links within an MLD and received on the other link, these two links can support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR). Otherwise, non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) is performed on these two links.

[0200] One implementation of the AP MLD is the NSTR mobile AP MLD. According to the provisions of the 802.11be protocol, the NSTR mobile AP MLD does not support STR (i.e., usually supports NSTR), while another type of AP MLD supports STR. The NSTR mobile AP MLD can implement the functions of the AP MLD in the non-AP MLD by using software. In a certain scenario, a mobile phone can be set as the NSTR mobile AP MLD to permit association with other devices. For the NSTR link pair within the NSTR mobile AP MLD, one link may be defined as the Primary Link, and the other link may be defined as the Non-primary Link. The AP corresponding to the Primary Link is called the Primary AP, and the AP corresponding to the Non-primary Link is called the Non-primary AP. The Non-primary AP is not permitted to send beacon frames and reply with probe response frames, and as a result, it can be prevented that the Legacy STA is associated with the Non-primary AP. The non-AP MLD can carry the association information of the Non-primary Link on the Primary Link to implement operations using the Non-primary Link.

[0201] In some possible scenarios, the AP may be in a power-saving mode. In the power-saving mode, the AP can switch between the awake state and the doze state when certain conditions are met. In the power-saving mode, if multiple operations conflict or do not match, the power state of the AP cannot be determined, and correct operations and data transmission cannot be implemented.

[0202] Therefore, one embodiment of the present application provides a power state determination method to determine the power state of the AP and implement correct operations and data transmission.

[0203] FIG. 4 shows a power state determination method according to an embodiment of the present application. This method includes the following steps.

[0204] S401: An access point multi-link device (hereinafter referred to as an AP MLD) sets a first access point (hereinafter referred to as an AP) to a power-saving mode or an active mode.

[0205] S402: When the first AP is in the active mode, the first AP is in the awake state.

[0206] S403: When the first AP is in the power-saving mode, the AP MLD determines the power state of the first AP based on the priority order of different operations when the first AP is in the power-saving mode.

[0207] These operations include one or more of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up. For the related content of link deactivation, refer to the following description of "Method 1"; for the related content of aperiodic wake-up requests, refer to the following description of "Method 2"; for the related content of periodic target wake-up, refer to the following description of "Method 3".

[0208] Generally, the power state of the AP includes an Awake state or a Doze state. In the Awake state, the first AP is permitted to perform reception / transmission, and in the Doze state, the first AP is not permitted to perform reception / transmission.

[0209] In S402, in an optional example, if the first AP is in the active mode and there is an operation to invalidate the link, the first AP may switch from the Awake state to the Doze state at the start time of link invalidation and switch from the Doze state to the Awake state at the end time of link invalidation. That is, the first access point maintains the Doze state during the valid period of link invalidation.

[0210] In another example, when the first AP is in the active mode, the first AP is in the Awake state both during the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up and during the period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up (non-service period). That is, when the first AP is in the active mode, even when the first AP is in the non-service period of the periodic target wake-up, the power state of the first AP is in the Awake state.

[0211] In S403, for example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode, the first AP is in the Doze state by default.

[0212] In another example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode, the first AP may switch between the Awake state and the Doze state, and the power state of the first AP is the Awake state or the Doze state.

[0213] In another example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode and receives one or more aperiodic wake-up requests, the first AP switches from the doze state to the awake state when receiving the aperiodic wake-up request, or after receiving the aperiodic wake-up request, or after receiving a wake-up delay or wake-up delay + short inter-frame space (SIFS). The first AP sets More Data to 0 in the corresponding Affiliated STA (e.g., the first STA) that transmits the aperiodic wake-up request. After the frame sequence exchange is completed normally, or when the station that transmits the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state or the channel is idle for more than a specific duration, the first AP switches back from the awake state to the doze state. In this example, the first AP switches from the doze state to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. The first AP may respond to the aperiodic wake-up request when receiving the aperiodic wake-up request, or the first AP may respond to the aperiodic wake-up request when receiving the wake-up delay after receiving the aperiodic wake-up request, or the first AP may respond to the aperiodic wake-up request when receiving (wake-up delay + SIFS) after the aperiodic wake-up request. In addition, in this example, the first condition that is satisfied when the first AP switches from the awake state to the doze state is that the Affiliated STA sets More Data to 0 and after the frame sequence exchange is completed normally, or the Affiliated STA that transmits the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state, or the channel is idle for more than a first duration. The first duration is a positive number.

[0214] In another example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode and there is an operation of periodic target wake-up, the first AP switches from the doze state to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switches from the awake state to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up. In a possible implementation, when the first AP sets up a Target Wake-up Agreement (TWT Agreement), the operation of periodic target wake-up may exist in the power-saving mode. In TWT, the start time of the periodic target wake-up may be the start time of the TWT SP, and the end time of the periodic target wake-up may be the end time of the TWP SP, or the time when the TWT SP ends and specific conditions are met.

[0215] In another example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode and multiple operations among link deactivation, periodic target wake-up, or aperiodic wake-up operations exist simultaneously, that is, when the times of multiple operations overlap, the first AP maintains the doze state within the active period of link deactivation, that is, the link deactivation operation has the highest priority. If the first AP is in the awake state before the start time of link deactivation, the first AP switches to the doze state at the start time of link deactivation. After the end time of the link deactivation operation, the first AP may switch to the awake state in response to a periodic target wake-up or an aperiodic wake-up request.

[0216] For example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode, other different operations may be executed. For example, link deactivation may further include periodic link deactivation and aperiodic link deactivation, and periodic link deactivation and aperiodic link deactivation have different priorities. For example, the priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation.

[0217] In yet another example, the priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link deactivation.

[0218] In yet another example, the priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0219] The AP MLD can determine the power state of the first AP based on the priority order of one or more operations when the first AP is in the power-saving mode. Accordingly, a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) communicating with the AP MLD also determines the power state of the first AP based on the priority order of one or more operations when the first AP is in the power-saving mode. The non-AP MLD and the AP MLD determine the same power state of the first AP, thereby avoiding unnecessary wake-up of the STAs of the non-AP MLD and avoiding power waste to implement power saving and normal communication. The process by which the non-AP MLD determines the power state of the first AP is the same as the process by which the AP MLD executes S401 to S403, and the same content will not be described again. Optionally, the non-AP MLD can determine the power state of the first STA associated with the first AP in the non-AP MLD based on the power state of the first AP. For example, in order to implement power saving and normal communication, the power state of the first STA is the same as the power state of the first AP.

[0220] In one implementation, the AP MLD or the non-AP MLD can determine the operation corresponding to the first AP in the following manner.

[0221] [Method 1]

[0222] When a non-AP MLD is associated with an AP MLD, there are multiple links between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. The non-AP MLD and the AP MLD can negotiate with each other to map data services with different TIDs to different links, and can provide differentiated quality of service (QoS). If a TID is not mapped to a link of the non-AP MLD, this link is disabled, and the non-AP MLD is not permitted to transmit any frames on this link. When the AP MLD broadcasts a TID-to-link mapping element and disables a link, all non-AP MLDs and AP MLDs that established this link do not permit any frames to be transmitted on this link. For ease of explanation, this case can be referred to as link disablement or access point link disablement.

[0223] For example, when a link of a non-AP MLD does not have a mapped TID, the first AP is not in a link disabled state. When the AP MLD broadcasts a TID-to-link mapping element and disables a link, the first AP is in a link disabled state.

[0224] The frame structure of the TID-to-link mapping element is shown in FIG. 5 and includes an Element ID field (occupying 1 octet), a Length field (occupying 1 octet), an Element ID Extension field (occupying 1 octet), a TID-to-link Mapping Control field (occupying 3 octets), a Start Time field, a Duration field, an Interval field, an optional Link Mapping of TID 0 field (occupying 0 or 2 octets),... an optional Link Mapping of TID 7 field (occupying 0 or 2 octets). The TID-to-link Mapping Control field includes a Direction field (occupying 2 bits), a Default Link Mapping field (occupying 1 bit), a Start Time Presence field (occupying 1 bit), a Duration Presence field (occupying 1 bit), an Interval Presence field (occupying 1 bit), a Reserved field (occupying 10 bits), and a Link Mapping Present Indicator field (occupying 8 bits).

[0225] For example, the Direction field is set to 0 to indicate the downlink, 1 to indicate the uplink, 2 to indicate both the uplink and downlink, and 3 to indicate a reserved value; the Default Link Mapping field is set to 1 to indicate the default mapping, that is, all TIDs are mapped to all links; the Start Time Presence field indicates whether the Start Time field exists; the Duration Presence field indicates whether the Duration field exists; the Interval Presence field indicates whether the Interval field exists; and the Start Time field indicates the active time of the TID-to-link Mapping; and the Duration field indicates the duration of the TID-to-link Mapping; and the Interval field indicates the interval between two consecutive durations of the TID-to-link Mapping. If the Interval is 0, this indicates that the TID-to-link Mapping is an aperiodic link deactivation. If the Interval is not 0, this indicates that the TID-to-link Mapping is a periodic link deactivation. The nth bit in the Link Mapping Present Indicator field indicates whether the link mapping of the TID #n field for the corresponding TID #n (e.g., TID0, ... TID7, that is, n is 0, ... 7) exists. The link Mapping of the TID #n field indicates whether to map the TID #n to the corresponding link. If the bit corresponding to TID #n is set to 1, this indicates that the TID #n is mapped to the corresponding link.

[0226] [Method 2]

[0227] The AP MLD can adjust the power management mode of the first AP, that is, it can determine whether the first AP is in the power-saving mode or the active mode. In the power-saving mode, the first AP and the first STA (associated with the first AP within the non-AP MLD) may switch between the awake state and the doze state, and are permitted to wake up the peer end based on aperiodic wake-up requests. For example, when the first AP is in the power-saving mode and downlink data is being transmitted and the first link (between the first AP and the first STA) needs to be used for transmission, the first AP can autonomously switch to the awake state and send an aperiodic wake-up request to wake up the first STA. Similarly, the first STA can also autonomously switch to the awake state and send an aperiodic wake-up request to wake up the first AP. The first AP and the first STA can determine when to switch back to the doze state based on the setting of the More Data field of the MPDU transmitted by the peer end and whether the first AP and the first STA have the data to be transmitted to the peer end. For example, the first AP and the first STA switch back to the doze state only when they set the More Data fields of two adjacent MPDUs to 0.

[0228] Optionally, there are further possible implementations as follows.

[0229] Option 1: Only the AP (e.g., the first AP) is permitted to send a wake-up request to wake up non-TWT member stations, but the AP is not permitted to send an aperiodic wake-up request to wake up TWT member stations.

[0230] Option 2: The AP is permitted to send wake-up requests to wake up non-TWT member stations and rTWT member stations, but is not permitted to send periodic wake-up requests to wake up non-rTWT TWT member stations (i.e., individual TWT member stations and non-rTWT broadcast TWT member stations).

[0231] Option 3: AP MLD wakes up STAs on different links based on the traffic indication map (TIM) element and the Multi-link Traffic Indication element in the beacon frame on the active link (i.e., the AP is in the active state). When the AP MLD needs to wake up an STA on a link, the AP in the power-saving mode on the corresponding link needs to wake up until the transmitted data no longer exists on the AP side and all associated STA sides, i.e., until More Data is set to 1, or until the channel has been idle for a preset time (e.g., the first duration). The AP based on the power-saving mode can switch back to the doze state. In Option 3, multiple STAs on different links can be required to wake up at once. When an STA requests the wake-up of the AP, the AP needs to wake up. However, when the AP requests the wake-up of an STA, the STA may or may not wake up. This is determined by the STA. Optionally, when the AP MLD requests the wake-up of one or more STAs of the non-AP MLD, new WakeUp Request and new WakeUp Response frames can be defined to notify the AP side whether the stations on the corresponding link agree to the wake-up. This can avoid unnecessary wake-up of the AP. For example, AP1 and STA1 on Link 1 are in the doze state, and AP2 and STA2 on Link 2 are in the awake state. AP2 can send a newly defined wake-up request to STA1 through Link 2 to request it to wake up and / or notify AP1 that STA1 wakes up. In response, STA2 can send a newly defined WakeUp Response through Link 2 to notify whether STA1 agrees to the wake-up.When STA1 agrees to wake up, AP1 can also wake up and implement communication between AP1 and STA1. When STA1 does not agree to wake up, AP1 can maintain the sleep state and implement power saving for both AP1 and STA1.

[0232] [Method 3]

[0233] When the first AP is in the power-saving mode, a TWT agreement can be set up to control the first AP to wake up periodically by setting a periodic wake-up period. The AP is in the awake state within the wake-up period (the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, e.g., TWT SP), and is in the sleep state within the doze period (the period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, e.g., non-TWT SP).

[0234] TWT includes individual TWT, broadcast TWT, and rTWT. For example, when the first AP is within the TWT SP, there is an operation of periodic target wake-up, and the first AP is within the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up. Conversely, when the first AP is not within the TWT SP, there is no operation of periodic target wake-up, and the first AP is within the period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up.

[0235] In individual TWT, each STA may separately set up a TWT agreement with the AP, and each STA may have a corresponding active period and a corresponding doze period.

[0236] As shown in FIG. 6, the STA is used as a TWT requesting STA for transmitting a TWT request frame to the AP to request the setting of the wake-up time; and the AP is used as a TWT responding STA for transmitting a TWT response frame to the TWT requesting STA. The TWT agreement is set up between the TWT requesting STA and the TWT responding STA. The TWT agreement may include one or more TWT SPs.

[0237] After reaching the TWT agreement, the TWT requesting STA and the TWT responding STA maintain the wake-up state within the negotiated TWT SP and execute data reception / transmission. In addition to the TWT SP, the TWT requesting STA and / or the TWT responding STA can achieve power saving by being in the doze state.

[0238] It can be understood that the TWT requesting STA may alternatively be the AP, and the TWT responding STA is the STA.

[0239] In broadcast TWT, a group of STAs can set up a TWT agreement with the AP. The group of STAs can correspond to the same wake-up period and the same doze period.

[0240] The AP may carry information about one or more broadcast TWTs in the beacon frame, and each broadcast TWT is represented by the AP's broadcast TWT identifier (ID) and MAC address. After receiving the beacon frame, if the STA intends to participate in the broadcast TWT, the STA may send a broadcast TWT setup request message to the AP to be able to participate in the broadcast TWT. During the broadcast TWT setup, the STA needs to specify the broadcast TWT ID to request to participate in a specific broadcast TWT. After the STA participates in the broadcast TWT, it can wake up based on the SP indicated by the TWT parameter set and communicate with the AP. Note that if the STA supports the broadcast TWT but has not explicitly joined the broadcast TWT ID, the STA will participate in the broadcast TWT with a default broadcast TWT ID = 0.

[0241] The TWT parameter set may indicate the occurrence period of the TWT SP and the duration of each TWT SP, and may further indicate the life cycle of the broadcast TWT. The life cycle of the broadcast TWT is in units of beacon frame intervals and indicates the duration of the setup broadcast TWT.

[0242] Figure 7 shows the format of a broadcast TWT element that includes an element ID field, a Length field, a control field, and a TWT Parameter Information field. The control field includes a neighbor discovery protocol (NDP) paging indicator field, a responder PM mode field, a negotiation type field, a TWT information frame disable field, a wake duration unit field, and a Reserved field. The TWT parameter information field includes a request type field, a target wake time field, a nominal minimum TWT wake duration field, a TWT wake interval mantissa field, and a broadcast TWT info field. The request type field includes a TWT request field, a TWT setup command field, a trigger field, a last broadcast parameter set field, a flow type field, a broadcast TWT recommendation field, a TWT wake interval exponent field, and a Reserved field. The broadcast TWT info field includes a Reserved field, a broadcast TWT ID field, and a broadcast TWT persistence field.

[0243] rTWT is the broadcast TWT defined in 802.11be for the transmission of low-latency services. However, the main purpose of the current protocol's TWT is to save power on the station side. Therefore, the 802.11ax protocol stipulates that the AP is not permitted to transmit data outside the TWT SP to the TWT member stations. However, considering that rTWT is used for low-latency transmission, in the present embodiment of the present application, the AP may be permitted to set More Data to 1, and as a result, this station maintains an awake state when the TWT SP ends, preventing this station from switching back to the doze state, which is not preferable for the transmission of low-latency services, when the rTWT SP ends. Similarly, the STA may also set More Data to 1, enabling the AP in the power-saving mode to remain in the awake state when the TWT SP ends, thereby preventing the AP in the power-saving mode from switching back to the doze state, which is not preferable for the transmission of low-latency services, when the rTWT SP ends. When the AP is in the power-saving mode, the AP sets the responder power-saving mode field to 1. Optionally, 1 bit is added to the TWT element to indicate whether the member STA exchanges data outside the rTWT SP. When the member STA receives an MPDU containing More Data set to 1 and is permitted to exchange data outside the rTWT SP, the member STA needs to remain in the awake state even when the TWT SP ends and can switch back to the doze state only when More Data is set to 0.

[0244] In one implementation, in S403, the AP MLD and / or non-AP MLD may determine the power state of the first AP based on the priority order of different operations of the power-saving mode (where there is a first AP). When multiple operations conflict or do not match, the power state of the first AP may be determined based on the priority order.

[0245] Example 1.1: The priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request.

[0246] In S403, when both a link deactivation request and an aperiodic wake-up request exist, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the first AP is in a doze state during the active period of link deactivation. In other words, since the priority of link deactivation is high, even when an aperiodic wake-up request is received, the first AP still maintains the doze state during link deactivation.

[0247] Optionally, for the transmission in the case of an aperiodic wake-up request, if the transmission is interrupted due to link deactivation, the interrupted transmission needs to continue after the link deactivation ends.

[0248] In possible scenario 1, as shown in (a) of FIG. 8A, the start time t11 of link deactivation is earlier than or equal to the start time t12 of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first access point is in a doze state during the active period (the period from t11 to t13) of link deactivation. The start time of the aperiodic wake-up request is the time to respond to the aperiodic wake-up request. For AP MLD, the time to respond to the aperiodic wake-up request may be the time when the aperiodic wake-up request is received, or a period after the aperiodic wake-up request is received (e.g., Wakeup Delay or (Wakeup Delay + SIFS)). This is only an example and does not constitute a limitation. For non-AP MLD, the time to respond to the aperiodic wake-up request may be the time when the aperiodic wake-up request is transmitted, or a period after the aperiodic wake-up request is transmitted (e.g., Wakeup Delay or (Wakeup Delay + SIFS)). This is only an example and does not constitute a limitation.

[0249] Optionally, in FIG. 8A(a), the end time t13 of link deactivation is after or equal to the start time t12 of the aperiodic wake-up request, that is, the link deactivation is earlier than the aperiodic wake-up request. When the first AP receives an aperiodic wake-up request at t12 within the active period of link deactivation, the first AP maintains the sleep state within the active period of link deactivation.

[0250] If the first condition is not satisfied after link deactivation, the first access point switches from the sleep state to the awake state after the end time t13 of link deactivation until the first condition is satisfied at t14, and the first access point switches from the awake state to the sleep state at t14. It is simply understood that the time t14 when the first condition is satisfied is the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. Of course, t14 here is only an example of the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request may also be a period after the first condition is satisfied (for example, the second duration, the second duration is a positive number, and the value of the second duration is not limited in this specification).

[0251] For example, the first condition, although not limited to, may include the following: that is, after the frame sequence exchange is successfully completed, the fifth indication information (e.g., More Data) is set to 0, the station that transmits the aperiodic wake-up request is switched to the doze state, all associated stations of the first AP are in the doze state, the duration that the first channel is in the idle state exceeds the first duration, after the frame sequence exchange is successfully completed, the fifth indication information is set to 0, and the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up. The station that transmits the aperiodic wake-up request switches to the doze state, the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, all associated stations of the first AP are in the doze state, the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, or the duration that the first channel is in the idle state exceeds the first duration, and the period is not the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, etc.

[0252] Optionally, if no operation is performed before t11, the first AP may be in the default doze state in the power-saving mode (not shown in this figure).

[0253] It can be understood that after t14, corresponding responses can be made based on different operations to determine the power state of the first AP. If there are multiple operations at t14, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be described again here.

[0254] In a possible scenario 2, as shown in Fig. 8A (b), the start time t21 of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the start time t22 of link deactivation. That is, the first access point switches to the awake state at the start time t21 of the aperiodic wake-up request, maintains the awake state before the start time t22 of link deactivation, the first access point switches to the doze state at the start time t22 of link deactivation, and maintains the doze state before the end time t23 of link deactivation. The first access point switches to the awake state at the end time t23 of link deactivation.

[0255] If the end time t24 of the aperiodic wake-up request (for example, the time when the first condition is satisfied) is after the end time t23 of link deactivation, the first access point maintains the awake state before the end time t24 of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first access point switches to the doze state at the end time t24 of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0256] Optionally, if the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the start time of link deactivation, the first access point maintains the awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request and maintains the doze state during the active period of link deactivation.

[0257] After t24, it can be understood that corresponding responses can be made based on different operations to determine the power state of the first AP. If there are multiple operations at t24, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0258] Example 1.2: The priority of link deactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up.

[0259] In S403, when the priority of link deactivation and the priority of periodic target wake-up coexist, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the first AP is in the doze state within the active period of link deactivation. In other words, since the priority of link deactivation is high, even when entering (or about to enter) the service period corresponding to periodic target wake-up (described herein by using TWT SP), the first AP still maintains the doze state.

[0260] Optionally, rTWT SP is permitted to be extended. Regarding the transmission in the case of rTWT SP, when the transmission is interrupted due to link deactivation, the interrupted transmission can resume after the link deactivation ends. For example, when there is still data to be transmitted between the first AP and the first STA, rTWT SP can be extended to ensure accurate communication between the transmitter and the receiver.

[0261] In a possible scenario 1, as shown in FIG. 8B (a), the start time t11 of link deactivation is earlier than or equal to the start time t12 of TWT SP, and the end time t13 of the link deactivation operation is later than or equal to the end time t14 of TWT SP (for example, the end time of the service period), and the first AP is in the doze state within the active period of link deactivation (the period from t11 to t14). Optionally, when there is no TWT SP before link deactivation, the first AP can also maintain the doze state before link deactivation (that is, in a period other than TWT SP or non-TWT SP) (not shown in this figure). When there is no TWT SP after link deactivation, the first AP can still maintain the doze state after link deactivation (that is, in a period other than TWT SP or non-TWT SP) (not shown in this figure).

[0262] After t14, it can be understood that in order to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be made based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t14, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0263] In possible scenario 2, as shown in (b) of FIG. 8B, the start time t21 of the TWT SP is earlier than the start time t22 of link deactivation, and the end time t23 of the TWT SP is later than the end time t24 of link deactivation. The first AP switches to the awake state at the start time t21 of the TWT SP and maintains the awake state before the start time t22 of link deactivation. The first AP switches to the doze state at the start time t22 of link deactivation. In addition, the first AP maintains the doze state before the end time t23 of link deactivation, switches to the awake state at the end time t23 of link deactivation, and maintains the awake state before the end time t24 of the TWT SP. The first AP switches to the doze state at the end time t24 of the TWT SP.

[0264] After t24, it can be understood that in order to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be made based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t24, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0265] In possible scenario 3, as shown in (c) of FIG. 8B, the start time t31 of link deactivation is earlier than the start time t32 of the TWT SP, and the end time t33 of link deactivation is earlier than the end time t34 of the TWT SP, that is, link deactivation is earlier than the start time of the TWT SP and earlier than the end time of the TWT SP. The first AP is in the doze state during the active period of link deactivation. The first AP switches to the awake state at the end time t33 of link deactivation and maintains the awake state before the end time t34 of the TWT SP. The first AP switches to the doze state at the end time t34 of the TWT SP.

[0266] After t34, it can be understood that in order to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be made based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t34, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0267] In a possible scenario 4, as shown in FIG. 8B(d), the start time t41 of the TWT SP is earlier than the start time t42 of link invalidation, and the end time t43 of the TWT SP is earlier than the end time t44 of link invalidation, that is, the TWT SP is earlier than the link invalidation start time and earlier than the link invalidation end time. The first AP switches to the awake state at the start time t41 of the TWT SP. In addition, the first AP maintains the awake state before the start time t42 of link invalidation, switches to the doze state at the start time t42 of link invalidation, and maintains the doze state before the end time t44 of link invalidation.

[0268] After t44, it can be understood that in order to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be made based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t44, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0269] Example 1.3: The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up.

[0270] In S403, when both the aperiodic wake-up request and the periodic target wake-up exist, since the aperiodic wake-up request has a high priority, the first AP is in the awake state within the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0271] For example, in a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic wake-up request, when the AP MLD receives an aperiodic wake-up request or the non-AP MLD sends an aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. Optionally, the first AP maintains the awake state until the first condition is satisfied and can switch back to the doze state when the first condition is satisfied.

[0272] In a possible scenario 1, as shown in Fig. 8C (a), the start time t11 of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than or equal to the start time t12 of the TWT SP, and the end time t13 of the aperiodic wake-up request is later than or equal to the end time t14 of the TWT SP. The first AP is in the awake state within the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request. Optionally, if there is no TWT SP before the aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP may be in the doze state before the start time t11 of the aperiodic wake-up request (not shown in this figure). If there is no TWT SP after the aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP may be in the doze state after the end time t14 of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0273] It can be understood that after t14, to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be made based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t14, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0274] In a possible scenario 2, as shown in Fig. 8C (b), the start time t21 of the TWT SP is earlier than the start time t22 of the aperiodic wake-up, and the end time t23 of the TWT SP is later than the end time t24 of the aperiodic wake-up. The first AP is in the awake state within the TWT SP. Optionally, the first AP maintains the doze state before the start time of the TWT SP and / or after the end time of the TWT SP.

[0275] After t24, it can be understood that corresponding responses can be made based on different operations to determine the power state of the first AP. If there are multiple operations at t24, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0276] In a possible scenario 3, as shown in (c) of FIG. 8C, the start time t31 of the aperiodic wake-up request is earlier than the start time t32 of the TWT SP, and the end time t33 of the aperiodic wake-up is earlier than the end time t34 of the TWT SP. That is, the aperiodic wake-up request starts earlier than the TWT SP and ends earlier than the TWT SP. The first AP switches to the awake state at the start time t31 of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the first AP maintains the awake state before the end time of the TWT SP and switches to the doze state at the end time t34 of the TWT SP.

[0277] After t34, it can be understood that corresponding responses can be made based on different operations to determine the power state of the first AP. If there are multiple operations at t34, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0278] In a possible scenario 4, as shown in (c) of FIG. 8C, the start time t41 of the TWT SP is earlier than the start time t42 of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the end time t43 of the TWT SP is earlier than the end time t44 of the aperiodic wake-up request. That is, the TWT SP starts earlier than the start time of the aperiodic wake-up request and ends earlier than the end time of the aperiodic wake-up request. The first AP switches to the awake state at the start time t41 of the TWT SP, and in addition, the first AP maintains the awake state before the end time t44 of the aperiodic wake-up request and switches to the doze state at the end time t44 of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0279] After t44, it can be understood that in order to determine the power state of the first AP, the corresponding response can be performed based on different operations. If there are multiple operations at t44, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0280] Example 1.4: The priority of link deactivation is higher than that of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than that of the periodic target wake-up.

[0281] In S403, when the operations of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, since the priority of link deactivation is high, the first AP is in the doze state within the active period of link deactivation.

[0282] When the operations of link deactivation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the operation of link deactivation has the highest priority, the first access point is in the doze state within the active period of the deactivated link of the access point. For example, as shown in FIG. 8D, the TWT SP starts at t11 and ends at t14, the link deactivation starts at t12 and ends at t14, the aperiodic wake-up request starts at t13 and ends at t15, and the first AP switches to the awake state at the start time t11 of the TWT SP, switches to the doze state at the start time t12 of the link deactivation, and switches to the awake state at the end time t14 of the link deactivation. The first AP maintains the awake state before the end time t15 of the aperiodic wake-up request and switches to the doze state at t15, that is, at the end time t15 of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0283] After t15, it can be understood that corresponding responses can be made based on different operations to determine the power state of the first AP. If there are multiple operations at t15, the power state of the first AP can be determined based on the priority order of these multiple operations. Similar parts will not be explained again here.

[0284] If the operations of link deactivation and aperiodic wake-up request (or periodic target wake-up) exist simultaneously within a certain period, since link deactivation has the highest priority, the first AP is in the doze state during the active period of the deactivated link of the access point.

[0285] If the operations of aperiodic wake-up request and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic wake-up request has the highest priority, the first AP is in the awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request. For example, when there is no link deactivation, during the period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, when the AP MLD receives an aperiodic wake-up request or the non-AP MLD sends an aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0286] If the operation of link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the doze state during the active period of the link deactivation.

[0287] If the operation of aperiodic wake-up request exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0288] If the operation of periodic target wake-up exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the awake state during the active period of the periodic target wake-up.

[0289] Example 1.5: The priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than that of an aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of an aperiodic wake-up request is higher than that of periodic link deactivation. For Example 1.5, refer to Example 1.1. Similar parts will not be explained again.

[0290] In S403, when there are operations for both aperiodic link deactivation and an aperiodic wake-up request, for example, when the first AP is within the active period of aperiodic link deactivation, the AP MLD receives an aperiodic wake-up request, or the non-AP MLD transmits an aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP maintains the doze state during the active period of aperiodic link deactivation; and / or, In S403, when there are operations for both an aperiodic wake-up request and periodic link deactivation, for example, when the first AP is within the active period of periodic link deactivation, the AP MLD receives an aperiodic wake-up request, or the non-AP MLD transmits an aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP switches to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. Optionally, the first AP switches back to the doze state when the first condition is met.

[0291] When the operations of aperiodic link deactivation and an aperiodic wake-up request exist simultaneously within a certain period, since aperiodic link deactivation has the highest priority, the first AP may be in the doze state during the active period of aperiodic link deactivation.

[0292] When the operations of an aperiodic wake-up request and periodic link deactivation exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic wake-up request has the highest priority, the first AP may be in the awake state during the active period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0293] When the operation of aperiodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the doze state during the active period of aperiodic link deactivation.

[0294] If the operation of the aperiodic wake-up request exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the awake state during the valid period of the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0295] If the operation of the periodic link inactivation exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the doze state during the valid period of the periodic link inactivation.

[0296] Example 1.6: The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than that of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than that of the periodic link inactivation. For Example 1.5, please refer to Example 1.2. Similar parts will not be explained again.

[0297] In S403, if both the operations of the aperiodic link inactivation and the periodic target wake-up exist, for example, if the operation of the periodic target wake-up exists for the first AP within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first AP maintains the doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; and / or, In S403, if both the operations of the periodic target wake-up and the periodic link inactivation exist, for example, if the first AP executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation, the first AP switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0298] If the operations of the aperiodic link inactivation and the periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the aperiodic link inactivation has the highest priority, the first AP is in the doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation.

[0299] If the operations of periodic target wake-up and periodic link deactivation exist simultaneously within a certain period, since the periodic target wake-up has the highest priority, the first AP is in the awake state during the active period of the periodic target wake-up.

[0300] If the operation of aperiodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the doze state during the active period of the aperiodic link deactivation.

[0301] If the operation of periodic target wake-up exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the awake state during the active period of the periodic target wake-up.

[0302] If the operation of periodic link deactivation exists within a certain period, the first AP is in the doze state during the active period of the periodic link deactivation.

[0303] Example 1.7: The priority of aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up, and the priority of periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of periodic link deactivation. For Example 1.7, refer to Examples 1.1 to 1.6. Similar parts will not be explained again.

[0304] It can be understood that in cases without conflicts, the above examples can be combined and used.

[0305] Figure 8E is used as an example for explanation. The Affiliated AP is in the power-saving mode. STA1 and STA2 each belong to different non-AP MLDs, and STA1 is a member STA of the TWT. In Figure 8E, AP link deactivation has the highest priority. At time t1, the Affiliated AP is in the power-saving mode. The Affiliated AP sets the power management (PM) to 1 and notifies all associated STAs through a broadcast. That is, the Affiliated AP is in the power-saving mode. During the period from t1 to t2, the Affiliated AP is in the doze state. When a TWT agreement is set up, the Affiliated AP and the corresponding member STA wake up when the TWT SP starts (e.g., t2) and stay awake until the TWT SP ends (e.g., t3). The Affiliated AP switches back to the doze state at time t3. The non-member STA (e.g., STA2) may wake up during the TWT SP or may maintain the doze state during the TWT SP. From t4 until t5 when the AP link deactivation ends, the AP link deactivation has the highest priority. Therefore, the Affiliated AP maintains the doze state during this period. When one or more wake-up requests are received, the Affiliated AP also wakes up until all non-AP MLDs that send the wake-up requests set the More Data bit in the MAC header of the frames transmitted on the link to 0, and then switches back to the doze state again. Alternatively, if the channel is continuously idle for a specific value (e.g., the first duration), the Affiliated AP switches back to the doze state. For example, at time t5, the Affiliated AP switches back to the awake state. Since the wake-up request sent by STA1 is received during the TWT SP (before time t6), the Affiliated AP maintains the awake state at time t6. At t7, the AP MLD receives a wake-up request transmitted on the other link.The indication information with More Data = 0 transmitted by STA2 is received at time t8, and the indication information with More Data = 0 transmitted by STA1 is received at time t9. The Affiliated AP determines the STA that has previously sent a wake-up request. That is, neither STA1 nor STA2 has data to be transmitted. After completing the frame sequence exchange at time t9, the Affiliated AP switches to the doze state from t10 until it enters the TWT SP at t11. The Affiliated AP switches back from the doze state to the awake state and maintains the awake state until t11. At time t11, the Affiliated AP switches back to the doze state. At t12, the Affiliated AP sets the power management (PM) to 1 and notifies all associated STAs through broadcast. That is, the Affiliated AP is in the active mode. At time t13, STA2 notifies the Affiliated AP to switch to the active mode. The dashed line indicates that the corresponding frame is transmitted on another link. That is, at time t7, STA2 transmits the corresponding frame on another link in the active mode.

[0306] In one implementation, the AP MLD may transmit the first PPDU after adjusting the power management mode of the first AP. The first PPDU carries the first indication information. The first indication information indicates that the first AP is in a certain power management mode. Accordingly, the non-AP MLD may receive the first PPDU and determine that the first AP is in a certain power management mode based on the first indication information carried in the first PPDU.

[0307] Optionally, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit. If the power management field is a third value (e.g., this 1 bit is 1 or 0), the power management field indicates that the first AP is in a power saving mode. If the power management field is a fourth value (e.g., this 1 bit is 0 or 1), the power management field indicates that the first AP is in an active mode.

[0308] For example, the AP MLD may indicate the power management mode of the corresponding Affiliated AP by using a 1-bit Power Management field within the Multi-Link Device Parameters (MLD parameters) field in the RNR element within the beacon frame transmitted by each Affiliated AP. The format of the MLD Parameters field may be as shown in FIG. 9 and includes an MLD ID field (occupying 8 bits), a Link ID field (occupying 4 bits), a BSS Parameters Change Count field (occupying 8 bits), a Power Management field (occupying 1 bit), and a Reserved field (occupying 3 bits). If the Power Management field is set to 1 (or 0), this indicates that the corresponding AP is in a power saving mode. If the Power Management field is set to 0 (or 1), this indicates that the corresponding AP is in an active mode.

[0309] Optionally, the first indication information is a power management mode field, and the power management mode field occupies 2 bits. When the power management mode field is the fifth value (for example, the 2 bits are 00), the power management mode field indicates that the first AP is in the active mode. When the power management mode field is the sixth value (for example, the 2 bits are 10), the power management mode field indicates that the first AP is in the power saving mode. When the power management mode field is the seventh value (for example, the 2 bits are 11), the power management mode field indicates that the first AP is in the sleep mode. When the power management mode field is the eighth value (for example, the 2 bits are 01), there is a reserved value.

[0310] For example, the AP MLD may indicate the power management mode in which the corresponding Affiliated AP is using a 2-bit Power Management Mode field within the MLD Parameters field in the RNR element. The format of the MLD Parameters field may be as shown in FIG. 10 and includes an MLD ID field (occupying 8 bits), a Link ID field (occupying 4 bits), a BSS Parameters Change Count field (occupying 8 bits), a Power Management Mode field (occupying 2 bits), and a Reserved field (occupying 2 bits). When the Power Management Mode field is set to 00, this indicates that the corresponding AP is in the active mode; when the Power Management Mode field is set to 10, this indicates the power saving mode; and when the Power Management Mode field is set to 11, this indicates the sleep mode. In the sleep mode, the first AP is in a sleep state and is not permitted to wake up based on an aperiodic wake-up request. The power states of the first AP in the sleep mode and link inactivation are similar.

[0311] In one implementation, the AP MLD may further send a power save multi-link element. The power save multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power save mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first AP from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first AP enters the power save mode. Here, the AP MLD can notify another AP or non-AP of information about when the first AP enters the power save mode by using the power save multi-link element. Accordingly, the non-AP MLD can receive the power save multi-link element and determine when the first AP enters the power save mode based on the wake-up delay field and / or the start time field included in the power save multi-link element.

[0312] The power save multi-link element (Power Save Multi-link element) may be used as a multi-link element (Multi-link element), and the Multi-link element conveys MLD device information and information about STAs / APs within the MLD device. Optionally, the Power Save Multi-link element may be conveyed in a Beacon frame.

[0313] In the related art, the frame structure of a multi-link element is shown in FIG. 11 and includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a Multi-Link Control field, a Common Info field, and a Link Info field. The Common Info field conveys common information of multiple stations within the MLD and information of the MLD. The Link Info field conveys information about stations on each link within the MLD and includes one or more Per-STA Profile fields. The Per-STA Profile field includes a Subelement ID field, a length field, and a Data field. The Data field includes a STA Control field, a STA Info field, and a STA Profile field. The STA Profile field includes one or more fields, one or more elements, and a Non-Inheritance Element field. The Multi-Link Control field conveys the type of the multi-link element (e.g., two variants: the Basic variant and the Probe Request variant defined in the current protocol, or another type), and a Presence Bitmap field indicating which fields are absent.The format of the Presence Bitmap field may be shown in FIG. 12 and includes an MLD MAC Address Present field (occupying 1 bit), a Link ID Info Present field (occupying 1 bit), a BSS Parameters Change Count Present field (occupying 1 bit), a Medium Synchronization Delay Information Present field (occupying 1 bit), an enhance multi-link (EML) Capabilities Present field (occupying 1 bit), an MLD Capabilities Present field (occupying 1 bit), and a Reserved field (occupying 6 bits).

[0314] Figure 13 is a diagram of the frame structure of the Power Save Multi-link element. This frame structure includes an Element ID field, a Length field, an Element ID Extension field, a Multi-link Control field, a Common Info field, and a Link Info field. The Multi-link Control field includes a Type field, a Power Management field, a Wakeup Delay Present field, and a Start Time Present field. The Type field indicates that the Multi-link element is a Power Save Multi-link element. When the Power Management field is set to 1, this indicates that the current AP is entering or is in the power save mode. When the Power Management field is set to 0, this indicates that the current AP is in the active mode. The Wakeup Delay Present field indicates whether the Wakeup Delay field exists, and the Start Time Present field indicates whether the Start Time field exists. The Common Info field includes an AP MLD MAC Address field, a Wakeup Delay field, and a Start Time field. The AP MLD MAC Address field indicates the MAC address of the AP MLD. The Wakeup Delay field indicates the time required to switch the AP from the doze state to the awake state. The Start Time field may indicate the start time of entering the power save mode, or the remaining time to enter the power save mode, or, in units of the Target beacon transmission Time (TBTT), the number of TBTTs after which the AP will enter the power save mode.The Link Info field carries information about the stations on each link within the MLD and includes one or more Per-STA Profile fields. The Per-STA Profile field includes a Subelement ID field, a Length field, and a Data field. The Data field includes a STA Control field, a STA Info field, and a STA Profile field. The STA Control field of the Per-STA Profile field includes a Link ID field, a Power Management field, and a Start Time Present field. The STA Info field of the Per-STA Profile field may include a Start Time field.

[0315] In one implementation, when the first AP is in the power saving mode, the AP MLD may further transmit a second PPDU. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first AP is in the power saving mode. Accordingly, the non-AP MLD may receive the second PPDU and determine, based on the second indication information carried in the media access control header, that the first AP is in the power saving mode. For example, the second indication information is a Power Management field, and the bits of the Power Management field are set to 1 to indicate that the first AP is in the power saving mode. In this implementation, when the Affiliated AP is in the power saving mode, optionally, the bits of the Power Management field in the media access control header (MAC Header) of the frame transmitted by the AP may be set to 1 to notify the receiver (another AP or non-AP) that receives this frame or the first AP that this frame is in the power saving mode. The frame type is not limited herein.

[0316] In one implementation, a non-AP MLD or another AP MLD may further transmit a third PPDU. Accordingly, the AP MLD may further receive the third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first STA (e.g., the first STA of the non-AP MLD) or the second AP (e.g., the second AP of another AP MLD) supports the power saving operation of the first AP, or the third indication information indicates that the first STA or the second AP does not support the power saving operation of the first AP. For example, capability indication information indicating whether the AP MLD supports the execution of power saving is added to the Basic Multi-link element. For example, an AP MLD power save support bit is added. When the bit of AP MLD power save support is set to 1, this indicates that the non-AP MLD supports the AP MLD to execute the power saving operation, that is, the Affiliated AP supports the entry into the power saving mode; and when the bit of AP MLD power save support is set to 0, this indicates that the non-AP MLD does not support the AP MLD to execute the power saving operation. Refer to FIG. 12 for the Basic Multi-link element. Similar parts will not be described again.

[0317] In one implementation, a first AP in the power saving mode is not permitted to transmit one or more of a Beacon frame, a Probe Response frame, a (re)association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame.

[0318] The first AP is not permitted to send Beacon frames and may not be permitted to reply with Probe Response frames and (re)association response frames, and as a result, association of a Legacy STA may be prevented. A Legacy STA is a STA for which the Affiliated AP of the AP MLD (i.e., the first AP) operates in a power saving mode or does not support non-AP MLDs.

[0319] Optionally, to assist a STA in a fast scan, the AP may carry a short neighbor report element using a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame to report the relevant information of the corresponding AP. In this way, during the scan, the STA can obtain information about neighboring APs and select an appropriate AP for association. Therefore, when the first AP is in a power saving mode, the AP MLD may further send a short neighbor report element to enable the Legacy STA to ignore the first AP. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first AP in the short neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, so that the Legacy STA ignores the first AP. Optionally, the non-AP MLD may receive the short neighbor report element. If there is a Legacy STA in the non-AP MLD, the transmitting station may ignore the first AP. For example, in the RNR element, by setting the target beacon transmission time information field (TBTT Info Field) corresponding to the first AP to 1 and the target beacon transmission time information length (TBTT Info Length) field to 3, the Legacy STA discovers the first AP by using the RNR, then probes the first AP, and is prevented from associating with the first AP.

[0320] The link corresponding to the first AP does not permit the transmission of multicast data frames and / or multicast management frames because, when the STA is in the power-saving mode, the AP usually continues to transmit multicast frames (multicast data frames and / or multicast management frames) after transmitting the Beacon frame, and when the AP does not permit the transmission of the Beacon frame, the AP may not be permitted to transmit management multicast frames and / or multicast data frames.

[0321] The format of the RNR element can be shown in FIG. 14. The RNR element includes an Element ID field, a Length field, and one or more Neighbor AP info fields. The Neighbor AP info field includes a TBTT info Header field, an Operating Class field, a Channel Number field, and one or more TBTT info set fields. The TBTT info Header field includes a TBTT info Field Type field, a Filtered neighbor AP field, a Reserved field, a TBTT info count field, and a TBTT info Length field. The TBTT info set field includes one or more TBTT info fields.

[0322] The Operating Class field indicates the operating class of the operating channel of the reporting destination AP. Here, 0 is a reserved value of the Operating Class field.

[0323] The Channel Number field indicates the channel number corresponding to the operating channel of the destination AP. 0 is a reserved value of the Channel Number field. The STA can determine the specific position of the AP's channel on the frequency band based on the Operating Class field and the Channel Number field.

[0324] The TBTT info Field Type field indicates the TBTT info type. Both this field and the TBTT info Length field indicate the format of the TBTT info Field. Here, 1, 2, and 3 are reserved values of the TBTT info Field Type field.

[0325] The Filtered neighbor AP field indicates whether the service set identifiers (SSIDs) of all basic service sets (BSSs) carried in the Neighbor AP info field match the SSID in the Probe Request frame.

[0326] The Reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0327] The TBTT info count field indicates the number of TBTT info fields included in the TBTT info set field.

[0328] The TBTT info Length field indicates the length of each TBTT info field. The format of the information carried in TBTT info fields of different lengths can be shown in Table 1. [Table 1]

Table 1

[0329] Possible formats of the TBTT info field are shown in Figure 15 and include the Neighbor AP TBTT offset field, BSSID field, Short SSID field, BSS Parameter field, 20MHz PSD field, and MLD Parameters field.

[0330] The Neighbor AP TBTT offset field occupies 0 or 1 octet and indicates the offset between the beacon frame transmission times of the reporting destination BSS and the BSS that transmits the report. The unit is the time unit (TU), i.e., 1024 microseconds or 1 millisecond. A field with a value of 254 indicates that the offset is 254 TU or higher, and a field with a value of 255 indicates that the specific offset is unknown.

[0331] The BSSID field is an optional field. It occupies 0 or 6 octets and indicates the BSSID corresponding to the reporting destination BSS.

[0332] The Short SSID field is an optional field. It occupies 0 or 4 octets and indicates the SSID of the BSS.

[0333] The BSS Parameter field is an optional field that occupies 0 or 1 octet and indicates the relevant parameters of the BSS. As shown in Figure 16, the BSS Parameter field may include an On-channel Tunneling (OCT) recommended field, a Same SSID field, a Multiple BSSID field, a Transmitted BSSID field, a Member Of ESS With 2.4 / 5 GHz Co-Located AP field, an Unsolicited Probe Response Active field, a Co-located AP field, and a Reserved field. The OCT recommended field is located at the position of Bit0 and indicates that the reporting BSS expects to exchange media protocol data units (MPDUs) with the reporting AP through the OCT mechanism. The Same SSID field is located at the position of BIT1 and indicates whether the reporting AP and the AP transmitting the element have the Same SSID. The Multiple BSSID field is located at the position of BIT2 and indicates whether the reporting AP is part of a Multiple BSSID set. The Transmitted BSSID field is located at the position of BIT3. If the reporting AP is part of a Multiple BSSID set, this further indicates whether the reporting AP is a Transmitted BSSID or a non-transmitted BSSID. The Member Of ESS With 2.4 / 5GHz Co-Located AP field is located at the position of BIT4 and indicates whether the reporting AP is located at the same position as the 2.4 / 5GHz AP (i.e., whether the reporting AP is a 6GHz only AP) and is a member of the extended service set.The Unsolicited Probe Response Active field is located at the position of BIT5 and indicates whether the reporting destination AP enables active probe responses. The Co-located AP field is located at the position of BIT6 and indicates whether the reporting destination AP and the AP transmitting the Report are co-located. The Reserved field is located at the position of BIT7.

[0334] The 20MHz PSD field is an optional field that occupies 0 or 1 octet and indicates the maximum transmission power spectral density.

[0335] The MLD Parameters field occupies 0 or 3 octets and indicates the relevant MLD parameters. This field may include the following sub-fields, namely, the Multi-MLD ID field, the Link ID field, the BSS Parameters Change Count field, and the Reserved field. The MLD ID field occupies 8 bits and indicates the identifier of the AP MLD. The Link ID field occupies 4 bits and indicates the link identifier corresponding to the reporting destination AP. The BSS Parameters Change Count field occupies 8 bits. When an important update occurs to the reporting destination AP, the value of this field increases. Otherwise, the value of this field remains unchanged. The Reserved field occupies 4 bits.

[0336] In another implementation, a first AP in a power-saving mode wakes up periodically to transmit a Beacon frame and is permitted to maintain an awake state for a certain period. During this period, the AP may transmit one or more of multicast data frames or multicast management frames. Therefore, all associated STAs also need to wake up to receive the Beacon and multicast frames. A third duration corresponding to the period for maintaining the awake state is determined by the AP and carried in the Beacon, for example, carried in the Power Save Multi-link element. Note that the third duration can be extended until the AP switches back to the doze state when the AP determines that all associated STAs are in the doze state. The AP MLD can adjust the first AP to switch between the doze state and the awake state.

[0337] For example, the non-AP MLD may send an aperiodic wake-up request. In response, the AP MLD may receive the aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first AP in the doze state, and the AP MLD switches the first AP from the doze state to the awake state. The AP MLD can switch the first AP from the awake state to the doze state when it determines that there is no data to be transmitted (e.g., More Data = 0).

[0338] When the AP MLD receives an aperiodic wake-up request, the first AP may wake up after a Wakeup Delay or wake up after a short inter-frame space (SIFS) + Wakeup Delay.

[0339] When an aperiodic wake-up request is sent by the non-AP MLD, the STA of the non-AP MLD is also in the wake state on the corresponding link; otherwise, the STA may be in the doze state in the power-saving mode.

[0340] It should be noted that in the solution means of the present invention, the More Data field can also be implemented by using another field, for example, the end of service period (EOSP).

[0341] In a cellular network scenario, 3G base stations are deployed in this scenario, and 4G and 5G base stations are also deployed. The power consumption of 5G base stations is high. Therefore, in a low-load case, the 5G base station can be shut down or in the doze state. When a multi-mode terminal (for example, a mobile phone that supports 3G and also supports 4G and 5G) desires to transmit services using the 5G network, the multi-mode terminal can send a wake-up request by using the 3G or 4G network. The wake-up request can carry location information and QoS requirements (for example, transmission speed and delay requirements). In this way, the network side can determine to wake up the 5G base station close to the terminal. In addition, the corresponding indication information may further be carried in the 3G and 4G networks to notify the terminal that the 5G base station that can be woken up exists around the terminal, and if it is necessary to wake up the 5G base station, the wake-up request can be sent.

[0342] In another example, when the AP MLD enters the service period, the first AP switches from the doze state to the wake state. When the AP enters the non-service period, the first AP can be switched from the wake state to the doze state.

[0343] When TWT is set up on the link corresponding to the first AP, the first AP and the member STA can wake up when the TWT SP starts.

[0344] When the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD set up a TWT agreement on the link where the first AP is located, the STAs corresponding to the first AP and the non-AP MLD wake up when the TWT SP starts; otherwise, the STAs are in the doze state. In addition, unless the STA sends a corresponding aperiodic wake-up request, the STA is not permitted to send management frames and / or data frames to the first AP outside the TWT SP.

[0345] In one implementation, when the first AP is not in the link inactivation mode, the AP MLD may further send a traffic identifier-link mapping element. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second STA is permitted to perform transmission by using the extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second STA is not permitted to perform transmission by using the extended distributed channel. Accordingly, the non-AP MLD may receive the TID-to-link mapping element and determine the channel access method of the second STA. This implementation is beneficial for the transmission of low-latency services by using different channel access methods.

[0346] For example, to indicate the channel access method of the STA, 1 bit is added to the TID-to-link mapping element. When this 1 bit is set to 1, this indicates that Trigger-only is permitted. That is, only the AP is permitted to trigger uplink transmission, and the STA is not permitted to perform transmission through the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) channel. That is, when this 1 bit is set to 1, this indicates that the AP transmits at least one Trigger frame in the TID-to-link mapping SP. When this 1 bit is set to 0, this indicates that the EDCA and Trigger hybrid method is used. That is, the STA is permitted to perform EDCA access channel transmission.

[0347] Optionally, when the AP MLD broadcasts the TID-to-link mapping for a certain period, outside this TID-to-link mapping period, the default mapping is used by default. That is, all TIDs are mapped to all links. That is, all links can transmit service data of any TID.

[0348] The foregoing implementations can be used separately or in combination.

[0349] In the embodiments of the present application, it can be understood that an access point multi-link device (or a component of an access point multi-link device (e.g., a chip or a circuit)) and / or a station multi-link device (or a component of a station multi-link device) can execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples. Other operations, or variations of various operations, can be further executed in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, these steps may be executed in an order different from the order presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is not necessary to execute all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application.

[0350] It should be noted that in the following embodiments of the present application, the name of a device message or the name of a parameter in a message is merely an example, and the message or parameter may have other names in a specific implementation. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the sequence, name, value, information carried, meaning, or octets / bits occupied by this frame structure represented by the fields in the frame structure are merely examples. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0351] In the foregoing embodiments provided in the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are separately described from the perspective of the interaction between an access point link device and a station multi-link device. To implement the functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, an access point link device or a station multi-link device includes a hardware structure and / or a software module, and can implement these functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Which of the foregoing functions is executed by using any of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module is determined by the specific application of the technical solution and the design constraints.

[0352] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application configured to implement the foregoing method will be described. Therefore, all of the foregoing content can be used in the following embodiments. For repeated content, it will not be described again.

[0353] FIG. 17 shows a possible representation of a power state determination device according to an embodiment of the present application. The power state determination device 1700 may be configured to implement the functions or steps implemented by the access point link device in the foregoing method embodiments. The power state determination device may include a mode determination unit 1701 and a power state determination unit 1702. Optionally, the power state determination device may further include a transceiver unit, a switching unit, and / or a storage unit. The transceiver unit may be configured to perform all reception / transmission operations performed by the access point link device in the foregoing embodiments. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The mode determination unit 1701 and the power state determination unit 1702 may be coupled to the storage unit. For example, the mode determination unit 1701 and the power state determination unit 1702 may read instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage unit and implement the corresponding method. The foregoing units may be arranged independently or may be partially or fully integrated.

[0354] In some possible implementations, the power state determination device 1700 can accordingly implement the behavior and functions of the access point link device in the foregoing method embodiments. For example, the power state determination device 1700 may be an AP MLD or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) applied to the AP MLD.

[0355] For example, the mode determination unit 1701 is configured to determine that the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0356] The power state determination unit 1702 is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode. These operations include one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up.

[0357] In a possible implementation, the priority of link inactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests; or the priority of link inactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic link inactivation; or the priority of aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up, and the priority of periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of periodic link inactivation.

[0358] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the power state determination unit 1702 receives an aperiodic wake-up request from the first access point during the active period of link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state during the active period of link inactivation and switch to the awake state after the end time of link inactivation. The doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission.

[0359] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the power state determination unit 1702 executes the operation of periodic target wake-up from the first access point during the active period of link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state during the active period of link inactivation.

[0360] In a possible implementation, specifically when an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request by the first access point.

[0361] In a possible implementation, specifically when link invalidation, an aperiodic wake-up request, and a periodic target wake-up operation coexist, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured to maintain the sleep state during the active period of link invalidation by the first access point; or when there is no link invalidation and an aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request by the first access point.

[0362] In a possible implementation, specifically when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the active period of aperiodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured to maintain the sleep state during the active period of aperiodic link invalidation by the first access point; or when the first access point receives an aperiodic wake-up request during the active period of periodic link invalidation, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request by the first access point.

[0363] In a possible implementation, specifically when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the active period of aperiodic link inactivation, the power state determination unit 1702 is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state during the active period of aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up during the active period of periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0364] In a possible implementation, the first access point in the power saving mode is not permitted to transmit one or more of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame.

[0365] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to transmit a short neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the short neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, so that the legacy station ignores the first access point.

[0366] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to receive an aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the doze state. The first access point can be switched from the doze state to the awake state.

[0367] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state when entering the service period.

[0368] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to transmit a first PPDU. The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes a power saving mode.

[0369] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0370] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to transmit a second PPDU when the first access point is in the power saving mode. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode.

[0371] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to transmit a power saving multi-link element. The power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode.

[0372] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to receive a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point does not support the power saving operation of the first access point.

[0373] In a possible implementation, when the first access point is not in the link deactivation mode, the power state determination unit 1702 is further configured to send a traffic identifier - link mapping element. The traffic identifier - link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel.

[0374] It should be noted that the power state determination device 1700 may be configured to execute the implementation form of the foregoing method. For specific steps, descriptions, and corresponding beneficial effects, please refer to the implementation form of the foregoing method. Details will not be described again here.

[0375] In the present implementation form of the present application, the mode determination unit 1701 and some functions of the power state determination unit 1702 may be implemented by a processor / processing circuit, or circuit components related to the processor / processing circuit, and it should be understood that some functions of the power state determination unit 1702 may be implemented by a transceiver / transceiver interface, circuit components related to the transceiver / transceiver interface, or a communication interface.

[0376] FIG. 18 shows a possible expression form of the power state determination device according to an embodiment of the present application. The power state determination device 1800 may be configured to implement the functions or steps implemented by the non-access point multi-link device in the embodiment of the foregoing method. The power state determination device may include a mode determination unit 1801 and a power state determination unit 1802. Optionally, the power state determination device may further include a transceiver unit and / or a storage unit. The transceiver unit may be configured to execute all reception / transmission operations executed by the access point link device in the foregoing embodiment. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The mode determination unit 1801 and the power state determination unit 1802 may be coupled to the storage unit. For example, the mode determination unit 1801 and the power state determination unit 1802 may read instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage unit and implement the corresponding method. The foregoing units may be arranged independently, or may be partially or fully integrated.

[0377] In some possible implementations, the power state determination device 1800 can accordingly implement the behavior and functions of the non-access point multi-link device in the embodiment of the foregoing method. For example, the power state determination device 1800 may be a non-AP MLD, or may be a component (eg, a chip or a circuit) applied to the non-AP MLD.

[0378] For example, the mode determination unit 1801 is configured to determine that the first access point of the access point multi-link device is in the power saving mode.

[0379] The power state determination unit 1802 is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode. These operations include one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up requests, and periodic target wake-up.

[0380] In a possible implementation, the priority of link inactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests; or the priority of link inactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up; or the priority of aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests, and the priority of aperiodic wake-up requests is higher than the priority of periodic link inactivation; or the priority of aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of periodic target wake-up, and the priority of periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of periodic link inactivation.

[0381] Specifically, when the first access point is within the valid period of link inactivation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state during the valid period of link inactivation and switches to the awake state after the end time of link inactivation. The doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission.

[0382] In a possible implementation, specifically, when the first access point performs the operation of periodic target wake-up within the valid period of link inactivation, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state during the valid period of link inactivation.

[0383] In a possible implementation, specifically when the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0384] In a possible implementation, specifically when the operations of link invalidation, aperiodic wake-up request, and periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured by the first access point to maintain the doze state during the valid period of link invalidation; or when there is no link invalidation and when the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0385] In a possible implementation, specifically when the first access point is within the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured by the first access point to maintain the doze state during the valid period of aperiodic link invalidation; or when the first access point is within the valid period of periodic link invalidation and the power state determination device sends an aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the power state determination unit 1802 is configured by the first access point to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request.

[0386] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is specifically configured such that when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state within the active period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point executes the operation of periodic target wake-up within the active period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up.

[0387] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to receive a shortened neighbor report element. The target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, as a result, the legacy station ignores the first access point.

[0388] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to transmit an aperiodic wake-up request. The aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode.

[0389] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to receive a first PPDU. The first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the power management mode of the first access point, and the power mode includes the power saving mode.

[0390] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit.

[0391] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to receive a second PPDU. The second PPDU carries a media access control header field, the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in a power saving mode.

[0392] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to receive a power saving multi-link element. The power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode. The wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode.

[0393] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to transmit a third PPDU. The third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the first station of the non-access point multi-link device supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station does not support the power saving operation of the first access point.

[0394] In a possible implementation, the power state determination unit 1802 is further configured to receive a traffic identifier-link mapping element. The traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second station of the non-access point multi-link device is permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel.

[0395] It should be noted that the power state determination device 1800 can be configured to execute the embodiments of the foregoing method. For specific steps, descriptions, and corresponding beneficial effects, reference may be made to the embodiments of the foregoing method. Details will not be described again here.

[0396] In the present embodiment of the present application, the mode determination unit 1801 and some functions of the power state determination unit 1802 may be implemented by a processor / processing circuit or circuit components related to the processor / processing circuit, and some functions of the power state determination unit 1802 may be implemented by a transceiver / transceiver interface, circuit components related to the transceiver / transceiver interface, or a communication interface.

[0397] FIG. 19 shows a possible representation form of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1900 may include a processor 1901 and a transceiver 1905, and optionally further includes a memory 1902. The communication device may be used as a PPDU generation and transmission device in the present application, or may be used as a PPDU reception device in the present application.

[0398] The transceiver 1905 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver machine, or transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 1905 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver machine or receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement receiving functions. The transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter machine or transmitter circuit, etc., and is configured to implement transmitting functions.

[0399] Memory 1902 may store a computer program, software code, or instructions 1904. The computer program, software code, or instructions 1904 may also be referred to as firmware. Processor 1901 may execute a computer program, software code, or instructions 1903 or call the computer program, software code, or instructions 1904 stored in memory 1902 to control the MAC layer and the PHY layer in order to implement the power state determination method provided in the following embodiments of the present application. Processor 1901 may be a central processing unit (CPU), and memory 1902 may be, for example, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).

[0400] The processor 1901 and the transceiver 1905 described in the present application may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed-signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), or an electronic device, etc.

[0401] The communication device 1900 may further include an antenna 1906, and the modules / units included in the communication device 1900 are only an example for illustration. This is not limited in the present application.

[0402] As described above, the communication device 1900 described in the foregoing embodiments may be an AP MLD or a STA MLD. However, the scope of the communication device described in the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited by FIG. 19. The AP MLD includes one or more APs, and the STA MLD includes one or more STAs.

[0403] The AP may be a multi - antenna / multi - radio - frequency AP or a single - antenna / single - radio - frequency AP. The antenna / radio - frequency AP is configured to transmit / receive data packets. In one implementation, the antenna part or the radio - frequency part of the AP may be separated from the main body part of the AP and be within a remote layout structure. In one implementation, the STA may be a single - antenna / single - radio - frequency STA or a multi - antenna / multi - radio - frequency STA, and may be a device having more than two antennas. The antenna / radio - frequency STA is configured to transmit / receive data packets. In one implementation, the antenna part or the radio - frequency part of the STA may be separated from the main body part of the STA and be within a remote layout structure.

[0404] The communication device in this application may alternatively be an independent device or a part of a larger device. For example, one implementation form of the communication device may be as follows.

[0405] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), chip, chip system or chip subsystem; (2) A set including one or more ICs, where optionally this IC set may also include a storage component configured to store data or instructions; (3) A module that can be embedded in another device; (4) A receiver, intelligent terminal, wireless device, handset, mobile unit, in - vehicle device, cloud device or artificial intelligence device, etc.; or (5) Others, etc.

[0406] For cases where the implementation form of the communication device is a chip or a chip system, refer to the schematic diagram of the chip structure shown in FIG. 20. The chip shown in FIG. 20 includes a processor 2001 and an interface 2002. One or more processors 2001 may exist, and a plurality of interfaces 2002 may exist. The interface 2002 is configured to receive and transmit signals. Optionally, the chip or chip system may include a memory 2003. The memory 2003 is configured to store program instructions and data necessary for the chip or chip system.

[0407] In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the protection scope and applicability of the claims. A person skilled in the art can make adaptive changes to the functions and arrangements of the elements in the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application, or can appropriately omit, replace, or add various processes or components.

[0408] One embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program; when the computer-readable storage medium is executed by a computer, the functions of the embodiments of the foregoing method are implemented.

[0409] One embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the functions of the embodiments of the foregoing method are implemented.

[0410] One embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor and an interface, and is configured to support a communication transmission device when implementing functions related to an access point or a station in the embodiment of the above method, for example, to determine or process at least one of data and information in the above method. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store necessary information and data of the communication device. This chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete component.

[0411] One embodiment of the present application provides a functional entity, and this functional entity is configured to implement the above communication method.

[0412] One embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system. The communication system includes an access point multi-link device and a non-access point multi-link device that implement the above power state determination method.

[0413] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution order in various embodiments of the present application. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the functions and internal logics of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0414] Those skilled in the art can recognize that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the units and algorithm steps can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical implementation. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0415] For the purpose of a simple and concise description, for the detailed operation processes of the above-mentioned system, device and unit, those skilled in the art can clearly understand by referring to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the above-mentioned method. Details will not be described again here.

[0416] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described embodiments of the device are only examples. For example, the division into multiple units is only a logical function division, and in actual implementation, it may be other divisions. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some functions may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communication connection shown or described can be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units can be implemented in electronic, mechanical or other forms.

[0417] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts shown as units may or may not be physical units. In other words, they may be located in one position or may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of these units can be selected based on the actual requirements for realizing the purpose of the implementation of the embodiment.

[0418] In addition, multiple functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, and each of these units may physically exist alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0419] When the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical implementation of the present application, in essence, or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical implementations, can be implemented in the form of software products. The computer software products are stored in a storage medium and include some instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to execute all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0420] A series of steps of the methods in the embodiments of the present application can be adjusted, combined, or removed based on actual requirements.

[0421] The modules / units in the devices in the embodiments of the present application can be combined, divided, or deleted based on actual requirements.

[0422] The term "and / or" in this application describes the corresponding relationship for explaining related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. The character " / " usually indicates the "or" relationship between related objects. In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. In addition, in the description of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are only used for distinction and explanation, and should not be understood as indicating or suggesting relative importance, or indicating or suggesting an order.

[0423] In addition, in this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts in the embodiments should be referred to each other. In the embodiments of this application and the implementation / implementation method in the embodiments, unless otherwise specified or there is no logical contradiction, the terms and / or descriptions are consistent, and mutual reference may be made between different embodiments and between the implementation / implementation method in the embodiments. Technical features in different embodiments and the implementation / implementation method in the embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments, implementations or implementation methods based on their internal logical relationships.

[0424] The foregoing embodiments are not intended to limit this application, but are only intended to explain the technical implementation of this application. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that without departing from the scope of the technical implementation of the embodiments of this application, they can still make modifications to the technical implementation described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of their technical features.

Claims

1. A method for determining a power state, comprising: determining, by an access point multi-link device, that a first access point is in a power saving mode; determining, by the access point multi-link device, a power state of the first access point based on a priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode, where the operations include one or more of link deactivation, an aperiodic wake-up request, and a periodic target wake-up; A method comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in the power saving mode.

3. The priority of the link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; or The priority of the link deactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link deactivation; or The priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link deactivation. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The priority of the link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request. When determining the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the steps are as follows: When the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request within the valid period of the link deactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state during the valid period of the link deactivation and switches to an awake state after the end time of the link deactivation. Here, the doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission. having The method according to claim 3.

5. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the link inactivation, the step of maintaining the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation by the first access point having The method according to claim 3.

6. The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the step of switching to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request by the first access point having The method according to claim 3.

7. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the operations of the link inactivation, the aperiodic wake-up request, and the periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the step of maintaining the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation by the first access point; or When there is no such link deactivation and when the aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. having The method according to claim 3.

8. The priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link deactivation. Based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request during the valid period of the aperiodic link deactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state during the valid period of the aperiodic link deactivation; or When the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request during the valid period of the periodic link deactivation, the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. having The method according to claim 3.

9. The priority of the aperiodic link deactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link deactivation. Based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode by the access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up during the valid period of the aperiodic link deactivation, the first access point maintains the doze state during the valid period of the aperiodic link deactivation; or When the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the periodic link invalidation, the first access point switches to the awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switches to the doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up having the method according to claim 3

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first access point is not permitted to transmit one or more of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame

11. The step of transmitting a shortened neighbor report element by the access point multi-link device, wherein a target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and a target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, so that a legacy station ignores the first access point further comprising the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10

12. The step of receiving the aperiodic wake-up request by the access point multi-link device, wherein the aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode; and the step of switching the first access point from the doze state to the awake state by the access point multi-link device; or The step of switching the first access point from the doze state to the awake state when entering the service period by the access point multi-link device further comprising the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11

13. The step of transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU by the access point multi-link device, wherein the first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes the power saving mode further comprising the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12

14. The first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit, the method according to claim 13.

15. Transmitting, by the access point multi-link device, a second PPDU, wherein the second PPDU carries a media access control header field, the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising.

16. Transmitting, by the access point multi-link device, a power saving multi-link element, wherein the power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode, the wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising.

17. Receiving, by the access point multi-link device, a third PPDU, wherein the third PPDU carries third indication information, the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station or the second access point does not support the power saving operation of the first access point The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising.

18. When the first access point is not in the link inactivation mode, the access point multi-link device transmits a traffic identifier-link mapping element, where the traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, further comprising **Claim 19** A power state determination method, comprising determining, by a non-access point multi-link device, that a first access point of an access point multi-link device is in a power saving mode; and determining, by the non-access point multi-link device, a power state of the first access point based on a priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode, where the operations include one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up, and periodic target wake-up A method comprising **Claim 20** The method according to claim 19, where the periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in the power saving mode **Claim 21** The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; or The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation The method according to claim 19 or 20 **Claim 22** The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the non-access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point is within the valid period of the link inactivation and the non-access point multi-link device sends the aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point maintains a doze state during the valid period of the link inactivation and switches to an awake state after the end time of the link inactivation. Here, the doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission having The method according to claim 21.

23. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the non-access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point performs the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the link inactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state during the valid period of the link inactivation having The method according to claim 21.

24. The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode by the non-access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the non-access point multi-link device sends the aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to an awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request having The method according to claim 21.

25. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode. The step of doing so is When the operations of the link inactivation, the aperiodic wake-up request, and the periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the step of maintaining a doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation by the first access point; or When there is no link inactivation and the non-access point multi-link device sends the aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the step of switching to an awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request by the first access point having The method according to claim 21.

26. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation, and the non-access point multi-link device determines the power state of the first access point based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power-saving mode. The step of doing so is When the non-access point multi-link device sends the aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation of the first access point, the step of maintaining a doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation by the first access point; or When the first access point is within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation and the non-access point multi-link device transmits the aperiodic wake-up request to the first access point, the first access point switches to a wake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. having The method according to claim 21.

27. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation. Based on the priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode by the non-access point multi-link device, the step of determining the power state of the first access point is When the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or When the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point switches to a wake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switches to a doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up. having The method according to claim 21.

28. The step of receiving a shortened neighbor report element by the non-access point multi-link device, where the target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, as a result, the legacy station ignores the first access point The method according to any one of claims 19 to 27, further comprising

29. The step of transmitting the aperiodic wake-up request by the non-access point multi-link device, where the aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 19 to 28, further comprising [

30. ] Receiving, by the non-access point multi-link device, a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is present, and the power mode includes the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 19 to 29, further comprising [

31. ] The method according to claim 30, wherein the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit [

32. ] Receiving, by the non-access point multi-link device, a second PPDU, wherein the second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 19 to 31, further comprising [

33. ] Receiving, by the access point multi-link device, a power saving multi-link element, wherein the power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode, the wake-up delay field indicates a time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates a time when the first access point enters the power saving mode The method according to any one of claims 19 to 32, further comprising [

34. ] Transmitting, by the non-access point multi-link device, a third PPDU, wherein the third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that a first station of the non-access point multi-link device supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station does not support the power saving operation of the first access point The method according to any one of claims 19 to 33, further comprising

35. receiving, by the non-access point multi-link device, a traffic identifier-link mapping element, wherein the traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station of the non-access point multi-link device is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel The method according to any one of claims 19 to 34, further comprising the above.

36. A power state determination device comprising a mode determination unit and a power state determination unit, wherein the mode determination unit is configured to determine that a first access point is in a power saving mode; and the power state determination unit is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on a priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode, wherein the operations include one or more of link inactivation, an aperiodic wake-up request, and a periodic target wake-up device.

37. The device according to claim 36, wherein the periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in the power saving mode.

38. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; or The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation The device according to claim 36 or 37.

39. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; and Specifically, when the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request within the valid period of the link inactivation, the power state determination unit is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation and switches to the awake state after the end time of the link inactivation. Here, in the doze state, the first access point is not permitted to perform reception / transmission, and in the awake state, the first access point is permitted to perform reception / transmission. The apparatus according to claim 38.

40. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, when the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the link inactivation, the power state determination unit is configured such that the first access point maintains the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation. The apparatus according to claim 38.

41. The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, when the aperiodic wake-up request is received during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the power state determination unit is configured such that the first access point switches to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. The apparatus according to claim 38.

42. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, when the operations of the link inactivation, the aperiodic wake-up request, and the periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation; or, when the link inactivation does not exist and the aperiodic wake-up request is received within a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. The device according to claim 38.

43. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; and Specifically, when the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or, when the first access point receives the aperiodic wake-up request within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the received aperiodic wake-up request. The device according to claim 38.

44. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; and Specifically, when the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain a doze state during the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to an awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to a doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up. The apparatus according to claim 38.

45. The first access point is not permitted to transmit one or more of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a multicast data frame, or a multicast management frame. The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 44.

46. The power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a shortened neighbor report element. Here, the target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and the target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value. As a result, legacy stations ignore the first access point. The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 45.

47. The power state determination unit is further configured to receive the aperiodic wake-up request. Here, the aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode; and to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state; or to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state when entering the service period. The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 46.

48. The power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), where the first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes the power saving mode. The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 47. **Claim 49** The apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit. **Claim 50** The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 49, wherein the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a second PPDU, where the second PPDU carries a media access control header field, and the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode. **Claim 51** The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 50, wherein the power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a power saving multi-link element, where the power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode, the wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode. **Claim 52** The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 51, wherein the power state determination unit is further configured to receive a third PPDU, where the third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that a first station or a second access point supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that a first station or a second access point does not support the power saving operation of the first access point. **Claim 53** The power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a traffic identifier-link mapping element when the first access point is not in the link inactivation mode, wherein the traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through the extended distributed channel. The apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 52.

54. A power state determination apparatus including a mode determination unit and a power state determination unit, the mode determination unit is configured to determine that a first access point of an access point multi-link device is in a power saving mode; and the power state determination unit is configured to determine the power state of the first access point based on a priority order of different operations when the first access point is in the power saving mode, where the operations include one or more of link inactivation, aperiodic wake-up, and periodic target wake-up apparatus.

55. The periodic target wake-up is a periodic target wake-up in the power saving mode. The apparatus according to claim 54.

56. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; or The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; or The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation The apparatus according to claim 54 or 55.

57. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request; and Specifically, the power state determination unit is configured such that when the first access point is within the valid period of the link inactivation and the aperiodic wake-up request is sent to the first access point, the first access point maintains a doze state during the valid period of the link inactivation and switches to an awake state after the end time of the link inactivation. Here, the doze state does not permit the first access point to perform reception / transmission, and the awake state permits the first access point to perform reception / transmission The apparatus according to claim 56

58. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, the power state determination unit is configured such that when the first access point performs the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the link inactivation, the first access point maintains a doze state during the valid period of the link inactivation The apparatus according to claim 56

59. The priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, the power state determination unit is configured such that when the aperiodic wake-up request is sent to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point switches to an awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request The apparatus according to claim 56

60. The priority of the link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up; and Specifically, when the operations of the link inactivation, the aperiodic wake-up request, and the periodic target wake-up exist simultaneously, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of the link inactivation; or, when the link inactivation does not exist and the aperiodic wake-up request is transmitted to the first access point during a period other than the service period corresponding to the periodic target wake-up, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. The apparatus according to claim 56.

61. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request, and the priority of the aperiodic wake-up request is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; and Specifically, when the aperiodic wake-up request is transmitted to the first access point within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation of the first access point, the first access point is configured to maintain the doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or, when the first access point is within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation and the aperiodic wake-up request is transmitted to the first access point, the first access point is configured to switch to the awake state in response to the aperiodic wake-up request. The apparatus according to claim 56.

62. The priority of the aperiodic link inactivation is higher than the priority of the periodic target wake-up, and the priority of the periodic target wake-up is higher than the priority of the periodic link inactivation; and Specifically, when the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to maintain a doze state within the valid period of the aperiodic link inactivation; or when the first access point executes the operation of the periodic target wake-up within the valid period of the periodic link inactivation, the first access point is configured to switch to an awake state at the start time of the periodic target wake-up and switch to a doze state at the end time of the periodic target wake-up. The apparatus according to claim 56. **Claim 63** The power state determination unit is further configured to receive a shortened neighbor report element, where a target beacon transmission time information field corresponding to the first access point in the shortened neighbor report element is set to a first value, and a target beacon transmission time information length is set to a second value, so that as a result, a legacy station ignores the first access point. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 62. **Claim 64** The power state determination unit is further configured to transmit the aperiodic wake-up request, where the aperiodic wake-up request is used to wake up the first access point in the power saving mode. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 63. **Claim 65** The power state determination unit is further configured to receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), where the first PPDU carries first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a power management mode in which the first access point is located, and the power mode includes the power saving mode. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 64. **Claim 66** The first indication information is a power management field, and the power management field occupies 1 bit. The apparatus according to claim 65. **Claim 67** The power state determination unit is further configured to receive a second PPDU, where the second PPDU carries a media access control header field, the media access control header field carries second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that the first access point is in the power saving mode. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 66.

68. The power state determination unit is further configured to receive a power saving multi-link element, where the power saving multi-link element includes a wake-up delay field and / or a start time field for entering the power saving mode, the wake-up delay field indicates the time required to switch the first access point from the doze state to the awake state, and the start time field indicates the time when the first access point enters the power saving mode. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 67.

69. The power state determination unit is further configured to transmit a third PPDU, where the third PPDU carries third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that a first station of a non-access point multi-link device supports the power saving operation of the first access point, or the third indication information indicates that the first station does not support the power saving operation of the first access point. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 68.

70. The power state determination unit is further configured to receive a traffic identifier-link mapping element, where the traffic identifier-link mapping element includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates that a second station of the non-access point multi-link device is permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel, or the fourth indication information indicates that the second station is not permitted to perform transmission through an extended distributed channel. The apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 69.

71. A communication device comprising a processor, where the processor is coupled to a memory; The memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, and as a result, the apparatus executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35, a communication apparatus.

72. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program or instructions, wherein when the computer program or the instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35 is executed, a computer-readable storage medium.

73. A communication system comprising an access point multi-link device that executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18 and a non-access point multi-link device that executes the method according to any one of claims 19 to 35.

74. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions, wherein when the computer program or the instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35 is executed, a computer program product.

75. A chip system comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is coupled to the memory, the memory is configured to store a program or instructions, and when the program or the instructions are executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35 is implemented a chip system.

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