Mode switching indication method and apparatus, device, medium, and program product

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of WiFi, and discloses a mode switching indication method and apparatus, a device, a medium, and a program product. The method is executed by a first station. The method comprises: sending a first frame to a second station, the first frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from a first mode to a second mode. The first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding, and a duration corresponding to the padding is less than a first padding delay, or the first frame carries padding, and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is a delay required by the second station to complete switching. The present method, by means of a first frame not carrying padding, or carrying padding having a corresponding duration which is less than a first padding delay, can reduce impact of a duration corresponding to padding on data transmission time, increasing data transmission efficiency.

Description

Mode switching indication methods, devices, equipment, media and program products Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and in particular to a method, apparatus, device, medium, and program product for indicating mode switching. Background Technology

[0002] During data transmission, access points or stations mostly operate in a low-power transmit / receive state (also known as a lower capability mode), meaning they can only receive small amounts of data or transmit and receive data under low bandwidth conditions. They only switch to a higher capability state for transmission and reception upon receiving a specified initial control frame, such as a Block Acknowledgment Request (BAR) frame. To provide the access point or station with switching time, the initial control frame needs to carry sufficient padding.

[0003] However, excessive padding time can lead to a waste of transmission resources and affect transmission efficiency.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a mode switching indication method, apparatus, device, medium, and program product, the technical solution of which includes at least:

[0006] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a mode switching indication method is provided, the method being executed by a first station, the method comprising:

[0007] Send a first frame to the second station, the first frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode;

[0008] The first frame may be either without padding, or with padding and the padding duration is less than the first padding delay, or with padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0009] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a mode switching indication method is provided, the method being executed by a second station, the method comprising:

[0010] Receive the first frame sent by the first station, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode;

[0011] The first frame may be either without padding, or with padding and the padding duration is less than the first padding delay, or with padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0012] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a first device is provided, the first device comprising:

[0013] The transmitting module is used to send a first frame to the second device, the first frame being used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode;

[0014] The first frame may be either without padding, or with padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or with padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second device to complete the handover.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a second apparatus is provided, the second apparatus comprising:

[0016] A receiving module is used to receive a first frame sent by the first device, the first frame being used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode;

[0017] The first frame may be either without padding, or with padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or with padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second device to complete the handover.

[0018] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a first site is provided, the first site comprising:

[0019] Processor; transceiver connected to the processor; memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement mode switching as described above.

[0020] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a second site is provided, the second site comprising:

[0021] Processor; transceiver connected to the processor; memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement mode switching as described above.

[0022] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores at least one program that is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the mode switching indication method as described in the above aspects.

[0023] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a chip is provided, the chip including programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on a first site, are used to implement the mode switching indication method for the above-mentioned aspects; and when the chip is running on a second site, are used to implement the mode switching indication method for the above-mentioned aspects.

[0024] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer program product or computer program is provided, the computer program product or computer program including computer instructions, the computer instructions being stored in a computer-readable storage medium, a processor retrieving the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executing the computer instructions to implement the mode switching indication method as described in the various aspects above.

[0025] The technical solutions provided in this application embodiment may include the following beneficial effects:

[0026] This method involves sending a first frame to the second station. This first frame instructs the second station to switch from a first mode to a second mode. The first frame may or may not carry padding, and the duration of the padding may be less than or equal to a first padding delay, which is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover. By using a first frame without padding or with padding of a duration shorter than the first padding delay, the impact of the padding duration on data transmission time can be reduced, thus improving data transmission efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the resource unit adaptive method provided by related technologies;

[0030] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the bandwidth extension method provided by the related technology;

[0031] Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing method provided by related technologies;

[0032] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a mode switching indication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an immediate switching provided by an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of delay switching provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of delay switching provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of a delay switching provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of the frame format of a multi-user request sending trigger frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the frame format of a cache status report polling trigger frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a basic trigger frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 13 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a multi-user block confirmation request triggering frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the frame format of a Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 15 shows a schematic diagram of the frame format of a block confirmation frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of the frame format of a confirmation frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of the format of an extremely reliable capability element provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 18 illustrates a schematic diagram of a downlink multi-user transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 19 illustrates a schematic diagram of a downlink multi-user transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 20 illustrates a schematic diagram of an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 21 illustrates a schematic diagram of an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 22 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 23 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 24 shows a flowchart of a mode switching indication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 25 shows a block diagram of a first apparatus provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 26 shows a block diagram of a second apparatus provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 27 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a second site provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 28 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first site provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0056] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0057] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0058] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to determination."

[0059] It should be understood that in the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" may indicate that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or that there is an association between the two, or that there is a relationship of instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0060] In this embodiment of the application, "predefined" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0061] In this application embodiment, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as IEEE 802.11ax protocol, IEEE 802.11be protocol, IEEE 802.11bn protocol, and related protocols applied in future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0062] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 10 provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The communication system 10 includes terminals with terminals, terminals with network devices, or access points (APs) with stations (STAs), and this application does not limit the specific examples. This application uses an example where the communication system 10 includes AP 110 and STA 120 for illustration.

[0063] In some scenarios, an AP can also be called an AP STA, meaning that in a sense, an AP is also a type of STA. In other scenarios, a STA can also be called a non-AP STA.

[0064] In some embodiments, a STA may include an AP STA and a non-AP STA. Communication in the communication system can be between an AP and a non-AP STA, between two non-AP STAs, or between a STA and a peer STA. A peer STA can refer to a device communicating with the STA from the other end; for example, a peer STA may be an AP or a non-AP STA. Exemplarily, there are two communication scenarios between a STA and an AP: uplink communication and downlink communication. Uplink communication involves the STA sending signals to the AP; downlink communication involves the AP sending signals to the STA. An AP acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, primarily connecting various wireless network clients together and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. An AP device can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) with a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) chip.

[0065] In this application's embodiments, the STA can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as a device supporting the 802.11 series of protocols, capable of communicating with an AP or other STAs. For example, an STA is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and subsequently with a WLAN. STAs can be, for example, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc.

[0066] In this application embodiment, the STA can also be a device that provides voice / data / image connectivity to a user. For example, it can be a handheld device, in-vehicle device, home device, home appliance, gaming device, etc., that has wireless connectivity or is equipped with a wireless communication module. Examples include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, drones or aerial photography equipment, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future evolved Public Land Mobile networks. Terminal devices in a network (PLMN) can also be televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen appliances, door locks, fish tanks, robot vacuum cleaners, game consoles, cameras / camcorders, etc. with wireless connectivity, but this application embodiment is not limited to these.

[0067] By way of example and not limitation, in this embodiment, the STA can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Examples include smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as devices that focus on a specific type of application function and require cooperation with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the STA can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection. In this embodiment, IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low terminal power consumption through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, STA can also be an in-vehicle communication device in the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system or the vehicle itself. The communication methods in the V2X system are collectively referred to as V2X (where X represents anything). For example, V2X communication includes: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0070] It should be understood that the role of a STA in a communication system is not absolute. For example, in some scenarios, when a mobile phone connects to a router, it acts as a non-AP STA; when the phone serves as a hotspot for other mobile phones, it acts as an AP. APs and non-AP STAs can be devices used in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0071] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA may support, but is not limited to, the 802.11be standard. The non-AP STA may also support various current and future 802.11 family of wireless LAN standards, such as 802.11bn, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0072] In some embodiments, the AP can be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The AP can also be a device that supports various current and future 802.11 family WLAN standards such as 802.11bn, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0073] In this embodiment, the STA can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer, virtual reality device, augmented reality device, communication device in industrial control, set-top box, communication device in autonomous driving, vehicle communication device, communication device in telemedicine, communication device in smart grid, communication device in transportation safety, communication device in smart city, or communication device in smart home, or wireless communication chip, etc., that supports WLAN / Wi-Fi technology. WLAN technology can support frequency bands including but not limited to: low frequency bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) and high frequency bands (45GHz, 60GHz).

[0074] One or more links exist between a site and an access point. In some embodiments, the site and access point support multi-band communication, for example, simultaneously communicating on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, and 60 GHz bands, or simultaneously communicating on different channels within the same (or different) bands, improving communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such devices are commonly referred to as multi-band devices, and may also be called multi-link devices (MLDs), sometimes also called multi-link entities or multi-band entities. A multi-link device can be an access point device or a site device. If the multi-link device is an access point device, it includes one or more access points (APs); if the multi-link device is a site device, it includes one or more non-AP STAs. A multi-link device including one or more APs can also be called an AP, and a multi-link device including one or more non-AP STAs can also be called a Non-AP. In this embodiment, a Non-AP can be called a STA.

[0075] In this embodiment of the application, an AP may include multiple APs, and a Non-AP may include multiple STAs. Multiple links may be formed between the multiple APs in the AP and the multiple STAs in the Non-AP. Data communication may be performed between the corresponding APs in the AP and the corresponding STAs in the Non-AP through the corresponding links.

[0076] An AP MLD can include one or more APs; that is, an AP MLD's associated STAs include one or more APs. A non-AP MLD can include one or more non-AP STAs; that is, a non-AP MLD's associated STAs include one or more non-AP STAs. One or more links can be formed between AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs, allowing communication between APs associated with an AP MLD and between non-AP STAs associated with a non-AP MLD. One or more peer-to-peer (P2P) links can also be formed between non-AP MLDs, allowing communication between non-AP STAs associated with two different non-AP MLDs. Similarly, one or more P2P links can be formed between AP MLDs, allowing communication between APs associated with two different AP MLDs.

[0077] A Basic Service Set (BSS) is the fundamental topology in WLAN / Wi-Fi communication. The communication devices constituting a BSS include one Access Point (AP) and several non-AP STAs (Standard Target Units). After joining the AP's radio domain, each non-AP STA establishes an association with the AP. Associated non-AP STAs and the AP can transmit data, and non-AP STAs within the same BSS can exchange data through the AP.

[0078] In the embodiments of this application, both STA and AP support the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, but are not limited to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0079] The following section describes the relevant technologies involved in the embodiments of this application:

[0080] • Resource Unit (RU) Adaptation:

[0081] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the resource element adaptive method provided by related technologies. In related standards, "x-tone" refers to grouping subcarriers in the channel bandwidth, with each group containing multiple subcarriers. For example, a 484-tone RU and a 996-tone RU refer to an RU containing 484 subcarriers and an RU containing 996 subcarriers, respectively. These subcarriers can be allocated to different sites to allow the access point to serve multiple sites simultaneously during uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0082] In uplink transmission based on trigger frames, if a 484-tone RU is busy, then the 996+484tone Multi-RU (MRU) allocated to station 1 (STA 1) will be wasted, as shown in Figure 2. If the 484-tone RU allocated to station 1 (STA 1) is busy, then even if the 996-tone RU allocated to station 1 (STA 1) is idle, the 996-tone RU will not be used to transmit data.

[0083] To avoid this problem, stations can be allowed to transmit Trigger-Based Physical Layer Protocol Data Units (TBPPDUs) on idle sub-channels within the allocated RUs or MRUs. This means that only a portion of the frequency domain resources of the allocated RUs or MRUs are used for transmission, such as only using idle 996-tone RUs.

[0084] • Bandwidth (BW) expansion:

[0085] Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of the bandwidth extension method provided by the related technology. As shown in Figure 3, the AP transmits a short PPDU 1 on the 40MHz bandwidth of the main channel, and receives a response frame 1 after a short interframe space (SIFS). Within the XIFS (interframe space of undetermined duration) after receiving the response frame 1, the AP performs a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) on the secondary channel to detect whether the secondary channel is busy or idle. At this time, the secondary channel is busy.

[0086] The AP continues to transmit short PPDU 2 on the 40MHz bandwidth of the primary channel. After SIFS, it receives response frame 2. Within XIFS after receiving response frame 2, it performs CCA on the secondary channel, at which time the secondary channel is idle. Since the secondary channel is idle, the station can perform a backoff procedure or use Priority InterFrame Space (PIFS) access or Distributed Coordination Function InterFrame Space (DIFS) access operation to transmit initial frames on both the primary and secondary channels, such as Multi User-Request-To-Send (MU-RTS) frames, thereby expanding the transmission bandwidth, as shown in Figure 3, where the transmission bandwidth is expanded from 40MHz on the primary channel to 80MHz on both the primary and secondary channels.

[0087] • Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) sharing:

[0088] Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing method provided by related technologies. In this method, the non-AP STA indicates the duration of the remaining TXOP to be shared, the STA's queueing status, and trigger-based PPDU parameters in an initial control frame, such as a TXOP sharing request frame. The AP indicates whether to accept or reject the sharing of transmission opportunities through response frames. For example, it uses a Clear To Send to self (CTS-to-self) frame response with the receiving device address as its own address to indicate acceptance of the sharing of transmission opportunities, and a Clear To Send (CTS) frame response to indicate rejection of the sharing of transmission opportunities.

[0089] In a shared transmission opportunity, the AP can perform multi-user transmission or multi-access point operation until the transmission opportunity expires. The AP can also increase bandwidth by performing a fallback procedure, for example, increasing it to 320MHz. The AP can also return the TXOP to a non-AP STA by re-sharing it.

[0090] During data transmission, access points or stations mostly operate in a low-power transmit / receive state (also known as a lower-capacity mode), meaning they can only receive small amounts of data or transmit and receive data under limited bandwidth. Only upon receiving a specified initial control frame, such as a Block Acknowledgment Request (BAR) frame, will they switch to a higher-capacity state for transmission and reception. To provide the access point or station with switching time, the initial control frame needs to carry sufficient padding. However, excessive padding can lead to wasted transmission resources and reduced transmission efficiency.

[0091] To address the aforementioned problems, embodiments of this application provide a method for indicating mode switching. Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a mode switching indication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is executed by a first site and includes:

[0092] Step 510: Send the first frame to the second station.

[0093] The first frame is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode. The first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the switch.

[0094] Padding refers to the extra bits added to a frame, typically used to ensure the frame length meets communication protocol requirements. In this embodiment, the padding carried in the first frame is used to provide time for handover to the second station.

[0095] The padding duration can be understood as the time spent transmitting the padding. For example, if the padding occupies 10 bits, then the padding duration refers to the time spent transmitting those 10 bits. This time corresponds to different values ​​at different bitrates. Optionally, the first station first determines the padding duration, and then determines the number of bits required for padding based on the current bitrate.

[0096] Optionally, the padding mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to MAC padding, or padding implemented at the MAC layer.

[0097] Optionally, the first frame carries padding, and the duration of the padding is greater than the maximum value among the first padding delays, which is the maximum value among multiple first padding delays.

[0098] Optionally, the first frame carries padding, and the duration of the padding is less than the maximum value among the first padding delays, which is the maximum value among multiple first padding delays.

[0099] Optionally, the first frame carries padding, and the duration of the padding is less than the minimum value among the first padding delays, which is the minimum value among multiple first padding delays.

[0100] Optionally, the first frame carries padding, and the duration of the padding is greater than the minimum of the first padding delays, which is the minimum of a plurality of first padding delays.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0102] The data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; and the power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

[0103] The first mode can also be called the lower capability mode. For example, the data transmission capability of the first mode is lower, including data transmission rate and data transmission reliability. Another example is that the first mode has a smaller operating bandwidth, such as 20MHz; or, the first mode only supports one spatial stream (SS); or, the first mode only supports sending and receiving non-high-throughput PPDUs (non-HT PPDUs) or non-HT duplicate PPDUs.

[0104] The second mode can also be called a higher capability mode. For example, the second mode has a higher data transmission capability. Another example is that the second mode has a larger operating bandwidth, such as 80MHz; or, the second mode supports multiple spatial streams; or, the second mode supports sending and receiving non-high-throughput PPDUs (non-HT PPDUs) or non-HT duplicate PPDUs, and supports sending and receiving at least one of the following: HT PPDUs, Very High Throughput PPDUs (VHT PPDUs), High Efficiency PPDUs (HE PPDUs), Extremely High Throughput PPDUs (EHT PPDUs), and Ultra High Reliability PPDUs (UHR PPDUs).

[0105] By defining the first and second modes under different conditions, the relative relationship between the first and second modes can be determined from different dimensions.

[0106] In some embodiments, the second site is a site that supports and / or enables the first mode.

[0107] The second site can be a site that supports the first mode, a site that has enabled the first mode, or a site that supports and has enabled the first mode. If the second site supports the first mode, the second site can choose whether or not to enable the first mode.

[0108] In some embodiments, the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

[0109] The second site needs a certain delay to switch from the first mode to the second mode. This delay is called the first switching delay, or the Dynamic Power Save (DPS) switching delay.

[0110] The value of the first switching delay is determined based on the specific implementation. For example, it can be any value between 8 microseconds and 1024 microseconds, or any value between 8 microseconds and 256 microseconds, or even 8 microseconds, 16 microseconds, 32 microseconds, 64 microseconds, 128 microseconds, 256 microseconds, or 512 microseconds.

[0111] Correspondingly, the second station can request and / or inform the first station in advance to carry padding in the first frame to provide enough time for the second station to complete the handover. The delay required for the second station to complete the handover is called the first padding delay, which can also be called the dynamic power saving padding delay (DPS Padding Delay).

[0112] In some embodiments, the first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0113] When the first handover delay is the same as the first padding delay, it means that the delay required for the second station to complete the handover is the same as the time required for the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode. When the first handover delay is different from the first padding delay, the first handover delay is usually less than the first padding delay, meaning that the second station needs a longer first padding delay than the first handover delay to ensure the handover is completed. However, if the first frame includes some other bits after padding, the first padding delay can also be less than the first handover delay, and this application does not limit this.

[0114] In some embodiments, the first filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the first handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

[0115] In some embodiments, the first filling delay (or first handover delay) corresponding to different second sites may be the same, which makes it easier to uniformly arrange the delay required for different second sites to complete the handover; in other embodiments, the first filling delay (or first handover delay) corresponding to different second sites may be different, so that the corresponding first filling delay (or first handover delay) can be set according to the situation of each second site, which can more accurately set the first filling delay (or first handover delay) that conforms to the situation of each second site.

[0116] In some embodiments, the first station simultaneously schedules multiple second stations for handover. In this case, the padding duration carried in the first frame is a first value, which is the maximum value among the multiple first padding delays (or first handover delays) corresponding to the multiple second stations.

[0117] In some embodiments, the first site is an access point (AP), and the second site is a non-AP STA associated with the AP, and / or a non-AP STA not associated with the AP; or, the first site is a non-AP STA, and the second site is a non-AP STA that has established a point-to-point link with the first site; or, the first site is an AP, and the second site is an AP that has established a multi-access point cooperation protocol with the AP.

[0118] For example, in the case where the first site is a non-AP STA and the second site is a non-AP STA that has established a point-to-point link with the first site, the second site can be a non-AP STA that has established a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) with the first site.

[0119] In some embodiments, the first site is an access point device and the second site is a non-access point site device; or, the first site is an access point attached to an access point multi-link device and the second site is a non-access point site attached to a non-access point multi-link device; or, the first site is a non-access point site device and the second site is an access point device; or, the first site is a non-access point site attached to a non-access point multi-link device and the second site is an access point attached to an access point multi-link device.

[0120] Immediate switching and delayed switching:

[0121] In some embodiments, the switching of the second site from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0122] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used in response to the first frame; at least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover. Optionally, the second frame is optional to send and is not required to send.

[0123] The scenarios are as follows: Immediate switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the start time of filling and the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

[0124] Switch immediately:

[0125] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; when the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, or when the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end of the first PPDU.

[0126] Figure 6 illustrates an immediate switching provided by an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU. The first frame includes bit A, padding, and other fields, which are not specifically described in this example. There may also be other fields between the bit A field and the padding field.

[0127] Wherein, bit A is at least one bit associated with the second station performing a handover, including: at least one bit for instructing the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode, and / or at least one bit for instructing the second station to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0128] Optionally, bit A represents a single bit, or bit A represents multiple consecutive bits, or bit A represents multiple non-consecutive bits. For example, one of the multiple consecutive bits is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode, and another bit is used to indicate that the second station performs an immediate switch. In this embodiment, bit A is only an abstract example bit, and the number of bits A and the distribution of bits A are not limited.

[0129] For example, the filling duration is t, which is equal to or greater than the first filling delay. The end time of the first PPDU is T2. Bit A is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode before T2, for example, the switch starts at time T0 and is completed at time T1. The duration of the switch process is the switch period △T.

[0130] Delayed switching:

[0131] (1) A second frame needs to be sent from a second station:

[0132] In some embodiments, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second station needs to send a second frame.

[0133] In some embodiments, the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame; if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0134] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of delayed handover provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU. The first frame includes bit A, padding, and other fields, which are not specifically described in this example. There may also be other fields between the bit A field and the padding field. For a description of bit A, please refer to immediate handover; it will not be repeated here.

[0135] For example, the padding duration is t, which is less than the first padding delay. The end time of the second PPDU is T0. Bit A is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after T0. For example, the switching process starts at time T0 and ends at time T1, and the duration of the switching process is the first time period.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0137] Because the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second station cannot complete the handover at the end time of the first PPDU. The handover can only be completed after a certain period of time (e.g., the first time period) after the second PPDU is sent. This handover situation is called delayed handover.

[0138] (2) No second station is required to send a second frame:

[0139] In some embodiments, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second station does not need to send a second frame.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, which is used to indicate that the second station does not send the second frame.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame does not carry padding, the first frame is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode during a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or,

[0142] If the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start of padding; or,

[0143] If the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding and the end time of the fourth time period. The start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU, or the fourth time period is located after the end time of the first PPDU.

[0144] Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of delayed handover provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 8, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU. The first frame includes bit A and other fields, which are not specifically described in this example. There may also be other fields between the bit A field and the padding field. For a description of bit A, please refer to immediate handover, which will not be repeated here.

[0145] For example, the first frame does not carry padding, the end time of the first PPDU is T0, and bit A is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after T0. For example, the handover starts at time T0 and is completed at time T1, and the duration of the handover process is the second time period.

[0146] Figure 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of delayed handover provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figures 9(a) and (b), the first frame is carried in the first PPDU. The first frame includes bit A, padding, and other fields, which are not specifically described in this example. There may also be other fields between the bit A field and the padding field. For a description of bit A, please refer to immediate handover, which will not be repeated here.

[0147] For example, in Figure 9(a), the padding duration is t, which is less than the first padding delay. The start time of receiving the padding is T0. Bit A is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within three time periods after T0. For example, the switching process starts at time T0 and is completed at time T1, and the duration corresponding to the switching process is the third time period.

[0148] For example, in Figure 9(b), the padding duration is t, which is less than the first padding delay. The start time of receiving the padding is T0. Bit A is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding and the end time of the fourth time period. The start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU, i.e., T2.

[0149] In some embodiments, the second time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay.

[0150] When the second or third time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, it can ensure that the second station completes the handover within the second or third time period, providing the second station with sufficient time to perform the handover; when the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, it can minimize the duration of the fourth time period, reduce the impact on transmission time, and improve the efficiency of data transmission.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

[0152] The first frame is also used to indicate the expected handover completion time of the second site, i.e., the expected completion time. For example, the third time period in the aforementioned delayed handover is equal to the first handover delay of the second site, and the duration of the third time period is used to indicate the expected handover completion time. For example, the duration corresponding to the start time of the padding to the end time of the fourth time period in the aforementioned delayed handover is equal to the first handover delay of the second site, and the duration corresponding to the start time of the padding to the end time of the fourth time period is used to indicate the expected handover completion time.

[0153] The first and third stations perform frame interaction:

[0154] In some embodiments, the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay are greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the first frame does not carry padding. The method further includes: performing frame interaction with the third station within the duration corresponding to the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0155] Within the duration represented by the first threshold, there is sufficient time for the first station to perform at least one frame interaction with at least one third station. Therefore, the first station may not carry padding in the first frame, but instead provide switching time to the second station by performing frame interactions with the third station.

[0156] Optionally, the first threshold is determined based on the communication protocol, or based on the expected time for the first station and the third station to perform frame interaction.

[0157] For example, the first threshold is 88 microseconds, or 128 microseconds, or 144 microseconds, or 200 microseconds, or 256 microseconds.

[0158] For example, when the first station sends a downlink data frame to the third station, the first threshold is no greater than SIFS+D1+SIFS+D2.

[0159] Wherein, SIFS is 16 microseconds, D1 is the duration of the PPDU carrying downlink data frames sent by the first station (e.g., 128 microseconds), and D2 is the duration of the PPDU carrying block acknowledgment frames sent by the third station (e.g., 72 microseconds).

[0160] For example, when the first station schedules the third station to send uplink data frames, the first threshold is no greater than SIFS+D3+SIFS+D4+SIFS+D5.

[0161] Wherein, SIFS is 16 microseconds, D3 is the duration of the PPDU carrying the trigger frame sent by the first station (e.g., 72 microseconds), D4 is the duration of the PPDU carrying the uplink data frame sent by the third station (e.g., 128 microseconds), and D5 is the duration of the PPDU carrying the block acknowledgment frame sent by the first station (e.g., 72 microseconds).

[0162] In some embodiments, the first station sends a first frame to a plurality of second stations;

[0163] Among them, the first handover delay and / or first filling delay of a portion of the second sites is less than the first threshold, while the first handover delay and / or first filling delay of another portion of the second sites is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0164] The first station can carry padding with a duration less than the first threshold in the first frame to trigger immediate handover of some second stations and delayed handover of others.

[0165] In some embodiments, the method further includes: not performing frame interaction with the second station during the second station's switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0166] During the handover process at the second site, no frame exchange is performed between the first and second sites to avoid transmission failures and reduce data transmission problems.

[0167] Switching conditions:

[0168] In some embodiments, sending a first frame to a second station includes: sending a first frame to a second station when the data to be processed meets the switching conditions;

[0169] The data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached at the first site and the data to be sent cached at the second site.

[0170] In some embodiments, the switching conditions include at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

[0171] The first station will send the first frame to the second station, instructing it to switch modes, only if the data to be processed meets the switching conditions. For example, if the first station has buffered a lot of data to be sent (the data volume already exceeds the data threshold), the second station needs to switch to the second mode to process this data as quickly as possible. If the data to be processed does not meet the switching conditions, the first station does not need to send the first frame to the second station, and the second station remains in the first mode.

[0172] First frame:

[0173] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Frame (ICF); or a data frame carrying an Aggregate Control (A-Control) field.

[0174] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) trigger frame; Null Data Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit Feedback Report Poll (NFRP) trigger frame; Bandwidth Query Report Poll (BQRP) trigger frame; Basic Trigger frame; Multi-User Block Acknowledgment Request (MU BlockAckReq) trigger frame; GroupCast with Retries Multi-User Block Acknowledgment Request (GCR MU-BAR) trigger frame; Block Acknowledgment Request (BAR) frame; Block Acknowledgment (BlockAck, BA) frame; and newly defined trigger frames.

[0175] (1) MU-RTS trigger frame:

[0176] In some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0177] Figure 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a MU-RTS trigger frame (TF) provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0178] The MU-RTS trigger frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control field, Duration field, Receiver Address (RA) field, Transmitter Address (TA) field, Common Info field, User Info List field, Padding field, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0179] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, the TA field occupies 6 bytes, the public information field occupies 8 bytes, the user information list field occupies a variable number of bytes, the padding field occupies a variable number of bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0180] The common information field can be an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Variant Common Info field, an Ultra High Reliability (UHR) Variant Common Info field, or other variant common information.

[0181] Taking the EHT variant public information field as an example, the public information field includes at least one of the following subfields: Trigger Type, Uplink Length, More Trigger Frames (TF), Channel Sounding Required (CS Required), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), Guard Interval (GI) and High Efficiency Long Training Field (HE-LTF) type or Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode, Reserved, Number of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, Low-Density Parity-check Code (LDPC) Extra Symbol Segment, and AP Transmit Power (AP Tx). The fields include: Power, Pre-Forward Error Correction (Pre-FEC) Padding Factor, Packet Extension (PE) Disambiguity, UL Spatial Reuse, HE / EHT P160, Special User Info Field Flag, and EHT Reserved. In this embodiment, subfields can be simply referred to as fields.

[0182] In this context, a trigger frame subtype field value of 3 indicates that the trigger frame is a MU-RTS trigger frame. The trigger frame subtype field occupies 4 bits, the uplink length field occupies 12 bits, the more trigger frames field occupies 1 bit, the channel detection required field occupies 1 bit, the UL BW field occupies 2 bits, the GI and HE-LTF type or the trigger TXOP shared mode field occupies 2 bits, the first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE-LTF or EHT-LTF symbol digital segment occupies 3 bits, the second reserved field occupies 1 bit, the LDPC extra symbol segmentation field occupies 1 bit, the AP transmit power field occupies 6 bits, the Pre-FEC fill factor field occupies 2 bits, the PE disambiguation field occupies 1 bit, the uplink space multiplexing field occupies 16 bits, the third reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE / EHT P160 field occupies 1 bit, the special user information field identifier field occupies 1 bit, the EHT reserved field occupies 7 bits, and the fourth reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0183] The user information list fields include: zero or one or more Special User Info fields, and one or more User Info fields. The size of the Special User Info fields and the User Info fields is variable in bytes.

[0184] The special user information field (one of the first user information fields) can be the EHT Variant Special Info field, the UHR Variant Special Info field, or other variant special user information.

[0185] Taking the EHT variant special user information field as an example, the special user information field includes at least one of the following subfields: Association IDentifier (AID)12 field, PHY Version Identifier field, UL Bandwidth Extension field, EHT Spatial Reuse 1 field, EHT Spatial Reuse 2 field, Universal Signal (U-SIG) Disregard And Validate field, and reserved field.

[0186] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the physical layer version flag field occupies 3 bits, the uplink bandwidth extension field occupies 2 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 1 field occupies 4 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 2 field occupies 4 bits, the U-SIG ignore and check field occupies 12 bits, and the reserved field occupies 3 bits.

[0187] The AID12 field value of 2007 indicates that this user information field is a special user information field. The physical layer version flag field is set to 0, indicating that this user information field is an EHT variant special user information field. In the trigger frame, the EHT variant special user information field immediately follows the common information field.

[0188] The user information field can be the HE Variant User Info field, or the EHT Variant User Info field, or the UHR Variant User Info field, or other variant user information.

[0189] Taking the EHT variant user information field as an example, the user information field includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, Resource Unit (RU) Allocation field, Uplink FEC Coding Type field, Uplink EHT Modulation and Demodulation Code Category (UL EHT-MCS) field, Reserved field, Spatial Stream Allocation field, Uplink Target Receive Power field, and Primary / Secondary 160 (PS160) field. The AID12 field indicates the associated identifier value of the peer site.

[0190] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the RU allocation field occupies 8 bits, the uplink FEC coding type field occupies 1 bit, the UL EHT-MCS field occupies 4 bits, the reserved field occupies 1 bit, the spatial stream allocation field occupies 6 bits, the uplink target received power field occupies 7 bits, and the primary / secondary 160 field occupies 3 bits.

[0191] In some embodiments, one or more fields from the EHT variant common information field, including the uplink length field, HE-LTF or EHT-LTF symbol number field, LDPC extra symbol segment field, AP transmit power field, Pre-FEC fill factor field, PE disambiguation field, and uplink space multiplexing field, are set as reserved fields. If all these fields are set as reserved fields, there are a total of 41 reserved bits. Including the existing reserved fields and the EHT reserved fields, the EHT variant common information field can have a maximum of 52 reserved bits.

[0192] In some embodiments, one or more fields from the Uplink FEC coding type field, the Uplink EHT modulation / demodulation and coding category field, the spatial stream allocation field, and the Uplink target received power field in the EHT variant user information field are set as reserved fields. If all these fields are set as reserved fields, there are a total of 18 reserved bits. Including the existing reserved fields, the EHT variant user information field can have a maximum of 19 reserved bits.

[0193] In some embodiments, at least one bit (reserved bit) in the public information field and / or the special user information field (first user information field) is used as the immediate DPS switch field to instruct all sites that support and / or have enabled dynamic power saving function in the triggered site (i.e., each site corresponding to each user information field in the user information list) to perform immediate dynamic power saving switch or delayed dynamic power saving switch.

[0194] For example, a value of 0 for the "immediate switch" field indicates immediate dynamic power-saving switching, while a value of 1 indicates delayed dynamic power-saving switching; or a value of 1 for the "immediate switch" field indicates immediate dynamic power-saving switching, while a value of 0 indicates delayed dynamic power-saving switching.

[0195] Alternatively, two bits can be used to indicate the switching: one bit is the immediate dynamic power saving switching field, with a value of 0 indicating no dynamic power saving indication and a value of 1 indicating immediate dynamic power saving switching; the other bit is the delayed dynamic power saving switching field, with a value of 0 indicating no dynamic power saving indication and a value of 1 indicating delayed dynamic power saving switching.

[0196] It can also be indicated by two bits: a value of 0 (00 in binary) indicates no dynamic power saving indication, a value of 1 (01 in binary) indicates immediate dynamic power saving switching, a value of 2 (10 in binary) indicates delayed dynamic power saving switching, and a value of 3 (11 in binary) is a reserved value.

[0197] In some embodiments, at least one bit (reserved bit) in the user information field (one of the first user information fields) is used as an immediate dynamic power-saving switching field to instruct the site corresponding to the user information field to perform immediate dynamic power-saving switching or delayed dynamic power-saving switching. Specific instruction methods are described above for common information fields and / or special user information fields, and will not be repeated here.

[0198] The frame format of the MU-RTS trigger frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0199] (2) BSRP trigger frame:

[0200] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0201] Figure 11 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a BSRP trigger frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0202] A BSRP trigger frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, RA, TA, Common Info, User Info List, Padding, and FCS.

[0203] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, the TA field occupies 6 bytes, the public information field occupies 8 bytes, the user information list field occupies a variable number of bytes, the padding field occupies a variable number of bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0204] The public information fields include at least one of the following subfields: Trigger Type, Uplink Length, More Triggered Frames (TF), Channel Detection Required (CS), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), GI and HE-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode, Reserved, Number of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx Power, Pre-FEC Padding Factor, PE Disambiguity, Uplink Spatial Reuse, HE / EHT P160, and Special User Info Field. The Flag field and the EHT Reserved field. In this embodiment, subfields can be simply referred to as fields.

[0205] In this context, a trigger frame subtype field value of 4 indicates that the trigger frame is a BSRP trigger frame. The trigger frame subtype field occupies 4 bits, the uplink length field occupies 12 bits, the more trigger frames field occupies 1 bit, the channel detection required field occupies 1 bit, the UL BW field occupies 2 bits, the GI and HE-LTF type or the triggered TXOP shared mode field occupies 2 bits, the first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE-LTF or EHT-LTF symbol digital segment occupies 3 bits, the second reserved field occupies 1 bit, the LDPC extra symbol segmentation field occupies 1 bit, the AP transmit power field occupies 6 bits, the Pre-FEC fill factor field occupies 2 bits, the PE disambiguation field occupies 1 bit, the uplink space multiplexing field occupies 16 bits, the third reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE / EHT P160 field occupies 1 bit, the special user information field identifier field occupies 1 bit, the EHT reserved field occupies 7 bits, and the fourth reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0206] The user information list fields include: zero or one or more Special User Info fields, and one or more User Info fields. The size of the Special User Info fields and the User Info fields is variable in bytes.

[0207] The special user information field (one of the second user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, PHY Version Identifier field, UL Bandwidth Extension field, EHT Spatial Reuse 1 field, EHT Spatial Reuse 2 field, U-SIG Disregard And Validate field, and reserved field.

[0208] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the physical layer version flag field occupies 3 bits, the uplink bandwidth extension field occupies 2 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 1 field occupies 4 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 2 field occupies 4 bits, the U-SIG ignore and check field occupies 12 bits, and the reserved field occupies 3 bits.

[0209] The user information field (one of the second user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, RU Allocation field, UL FEC Coding Type field, UL EHT-MCS field, Reserved field, SS Allocation field, UL Target Receive Power field, and PS160 field. The AID12 field indicates the associated identifier value of the peer site.

[0210] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the RU allocation field occupies 8 bits, the uplink FEC coding type field occupies 1 bit, the UL EHT-MCS field occupies 4 bits, the reserved field occupies 1 bit, the spatial stream allocation field occupies 6 bits, the uplink target received power field occupies 7 bits, and the primary / secondary 160 field occupies 3 bits.

[0211] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame has 11 reserved bits in the common information field, 3 reserved bits in the special user information field, and 1 reserved bit in the user information field. Similarly, these reserved bits are used as the immediate dynamic power saving switching field and / or the delayed dynamic power saving switching field. Specific indication methods are described in the MU-RTS trigger frame and will not be repeated here.

[0212] The frame format of the BSRP trigger frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0213] (3) Basic trigger frame:

[0214] In some embodiments, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0215] Figure 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a basic trigger frame (TF) provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0216] The basic trigger frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, RA, TA, Common Info, User Info List, Padding, and FCS.

[0217] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, the TA field occupies 6 bytes, the public information field occupies 8 bytes, the user information list field occupies a variable number of bytes, the padding field occupies a variable number of bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0218] The public information fields include at least one of the following subfields: Trigger Type, Uplink Length, More Triggered Frames (TF), Channel Detection Required (CS), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), GI and HE-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode, Reserved, Number of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx Power, Pre-FEC Padding Factor, PE Disambiguity, Uplink Spatial Reuse, HE / EHT P160, and Special User Info Field. The Flag field and the EHT Reserved field. In this embodiment, subfields can be simply referred to as fields.

[0219] In this context, a trigger frame subtype field value of 0 indicates that the trigger frame is a basic trigger frame. The trigger frame subtype field occupies 4 bits, the uplink length field occupies 12 bits, the more trigger frames field occupies 1 bit, the channel detection required field occupies 1 bit, the UL BW field occupies 2 bits, the GI and HE-LTF type or the triggered TXOP shared mode field occupies 2 bits, the first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE-LTF or EHT-LTF symbol digital segment occupies 3 bits, the second reserved field occupies 1 bit, the LDPC extra symbol segmentation field occupies 1 bit, the AP transmit power field occupies 6 bits, the Pre-FEC fill factor field occupies 2 bits, the PE disambiguation field occupies 1 bit, the uplink spatial multiplexing field occupies 16 bits, the third reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE / EHT P160 field occupies 1 bit, the special user information field identifier field occupies 1 bit, the EHT reserved field occupies 7 bits, and the fourth reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0220] The user information list fields include: zero or one or more Special User Info fields, and one or more User Info fields. The size of the Special User Info fields and the User Info fields is variable in bytes.

[0221] The special user information field (one of the third user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, PHY Version Identifier field, UL Bandwidth Extension field, EHT Spatial Reuse 1 field, EHT Spatial Reuse 2 field, U-SIG Disregard And Validate field, reserved field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0222] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the physical layer version flag field occupies 3 bits, the uplink bandwidth extension field occupies 2 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 1 field occupies 4 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 2 field occupies 4 bits, the U-SIG ignore and check field occupies 12 bits, the reserved field occupies 3 bits, and the user information field related to the trigger frame subclass occupies 8 bits.

[0223] The user information field (one of the third user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, RU Allocation field, UL FEC Coding Type field, UL EHT-MCS field, Reserved field, SS Allocation field, UL Target Receive Power field, PS160 field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field. The AID12 field indicates the associated identifier value of the peer site.

[0224] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the RU allocation field occupies 8 bits, the uplink FEC coding type field occupies 1 bit, the UL EHT-MCS field occupies 4 bits, the reserved field occupies 1 bit, the spatial stream allocation field occupies 6 bits, the uplink target received power field occupies 7 bits, the primary / secondary 160 field occupies 3 bits, and the user information field related to the trigger frame subclass occupies 8 bits.

[0225] The user information fields related to the trigger frame subclass include at least one of the following subfields: MPDU MU Spacing Factor, Traffic ID (TID) Aggregation Limit, Reserved Field, and Preferred Access Category (Preferred AC) Field.

[0226] Among them, the MPDU MU slot factor field occupies 2 bits, the TID aggregation restriction field occupies 3 bits, the reserved field occupies 1 bit, and the preferred access category field occupies 2 bits.

[0227] In some embodiments, the base trigger frame has 11 reserved bits in the public information field, 11 reserved bits in the special user information field, and 2 reserved bits in the user information field. Similarly, these reserved bits are used as the immediate dynamic power-saving switching field and / or the delayed dynamic power-saving switching field. Specific indication methods are described in the MU-RTS trigger frame and will not be repeated here.

[0228] The frame format of the basic trigger frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0229] (4) MU-BAR trigger frame:

[0230] In some embodiments, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0231] Figure 13 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a multi-user BAR trigger frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0232] A multi-user BAR trigger frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control field, Duration field, RA field, TA field, Common Info field, User Info List field, Padding field, and FCS field.

[0233] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, the TA field occupies 6 bytes, the public information field occupies 8 bytes, the user information list field occupies a variable number of bytes, the padding field occupies a variable number of bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0234] The public information fields include at least one of the following subfields: Trigger Type, Uplink Length, More Triggered Frames (TF), Channel Detection Required (CS), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), GI and HE-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode, Reserved, Number of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx Power, Pre-FEC Padding Factor, PE Disambiguity, Uplink Spatial Reuse, HE / EHT P160, and Special User Info Field. The Flag field and the EHT Reserved field. In this embodiment, subfields can be simply referred to as fields.

[0235] In this context, a trigger frame subtype field value of 2 indicates that the trigger frame is a multi-user BAR trigger frame. The trigger frame subtype field occupies 4 bits, the uplink length field occupies 12 bits, the more trigger frames field occupies 1 bit, the channel detection required field occupies 1 bit, the UL BW field occupies 2 bits, the GI and HE-LTF type or the triggered TXOP shared mode field occupies 2 bits, the first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE-LTF or EHT-LTF symbol digital segment occupies 3 bits, the second reserved field occupies 1 bit, the LDPC extra symbol segmentation field occupies 1 bit, the AP transmit power field occupies 6 bits, the Pre-FEC fill factor field occupies 2 bits, the PE disambiguation field occupies 1 bit, the uplink spatial multiplexing field occupies 16 bits, the third reserved field occupies 1 bit, the HE / EHT P160 field occupies 1 bit, the special user information field identifier field occupies 1 bit, the EHT reserved field occupies 7 bits, and the fourth reserved field occupies 1 bit.

[0236] The user information list fields include: zero or one or more Special User Info fields, and one or more User Info fields. The size of the Special User Info fields and the User Info fields is variable in bytes.

[0237] The special user information field (one of the fourth user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, PHY Version Identifier field, UL Bandwidth Extension field, EHT Spatial Reuse 1 field, EHT Spatial Reuse 2 field, U-SIG Disregard And Validate field, reserved field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0238] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the physical layer version flag field occupies 3 bits, the uplink bandwidth extension field occupies 2 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 1 field occupies 4 bits, the EHT space multiplexing 2 field occupies 4 bits, the U-SIG ignore and check field occupies 12 bits, the reserved field occupies 3 bits, and the user information field related to the trigger frame subclass occupies 32 bits.

[0239] The user information fields related to the trigger frame subclass include at least one of the following subfields: reserved field, BAR type field.

[0240] The first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the BAR type field occupies 4 bits, the second reserved field occupies 7 bits, the third reserved field occupies 4 bits, and the fourth reserved field occupies 16 bits.

[0241] In some embodiments, the BAR type field value is 2, indicating a compressed block acknowledgment request (Compressed BAR).

[0242] The user information field (one of the fourth user information fields) includes at least one of the following subfields: AID12 field, RU Allocation field, UL FEC Coding Type field, UL EHT-MCS field, Reserved field, SS Allocation field, UL Target Receive Power field, PS160 field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field. The AID12 field indicates the associated identifier value of the peer site.

[0243] The AID12 field occupies 12 bits, the RU allocation field occupies 8 bits, the uplink FEC coding type field occupies 1 bit, the UL EHT-MCS field occupies 4 bits, the reserved field occupies 1 bit, the spatial stream allocation field occupies 6 bits, the uplink target received power field occupies 7 bits, the primary / secondary 160 field occupies 3 bits, and the number of bits occupied by the user information field related to the trigger frame subclass is variable.

[0244] The user information fields related to the trigger frame subclass include at least one of the following subfields: BAR Control field and BAR Information field.

[0245] The BAR control field occupies 2 bits, while the number of bits occupied by the BAR information field is variable.

[0246] The BAR control fields include at least one of the following subfields: reserved field, BAR type field, and TID information field (TID_INFO).

[0247] The first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the BAR type field occupies 4 bits, the second reserved field occupies 7 bits, and the TID information field occupies 4 bits.

[0248] In some embodiments, a BAR type field value of 2 indicates a compressed block acknowledgment request (Compressed BAR); a BAR type field value of 3 indicates a multi-TID block acknowledgment request (Multi-TID BlockAckReq).

[0249] In some embodiments, the multi-user BAR trigger frame has 11 reserved bits in the common information field, 11 reserved bits in the special user information field, and 2 reserved bits in the user information field. Similarly, these reserved bits are used as the immediate dynamic power-saving switching field and / or the delayed dynamic power-saving switching field. Specific indication methods are described in the MU-RTS trigger frame and will not be repeated here.

[0250] The frame format of the multi-user BAR trigger frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0251] Second frame:

[0252] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a second frame sent by a second station, the second frame being used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0253] The second frame is used in response to the first frame. The first station uses the second frame to determine whether the second station accepts or rejects the switch from the first mode to the second mode, thus deciding on subsequent steps. For example, if the second station accepts the switch, the first station can send the data to be processed to the second station using larger bandwidth and / or more spatial streams and / or higher transmission rates and / or higher version protocol format PPDUs; or, if the second station rejects the switch, the first station can temporarily refrain from sending the data to be processed, or send the data to the second station using smaller bandwidth and / or less spatial streams and / or lower transmission rates and / or lower version protocol format PPDUs.

[0254] In some embodiments, the control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0255] By way of example and not limitation, the control fields include at least one of the following fields: Command and Status (CAS) field; Operating Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput (EHT) OM field; and Ultra High Reliability (UHR) OM field.

[0256] The second frame can indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to perform the switch in an explicit way, that is, by instructing the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode through a reserved field included in a control field (such as an aggregate control field).

[0257] In some embodiments, the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or...

[0258] The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode. The second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0259] The second frame can indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to perform the handover implicitly. If the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is accepted. If the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is refused, and vice versa.

[0260] For example, the first frame is a BSRP trigger frame, and the corresponding response is a Buffer Status Report (BSR) message. Then, if the second frame carries BSR information, it indicates acceptance of switching from the first mode to the second mode; if the second frame does not carry BSR information, it indicates rejection of switching from the first mode to the second mode. Alternatively, if the second frame carries BSR information, it indicates rejection of switching from the first mode to the second mode; if the second frame does not carry BSR information, it indicates acceptance of switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0261] In some embodiments, the second frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregated control field.

[0262] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0263] (1) Service quality empty frame carrying aggregation control field:

[0264] In some embodiments, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether a second site accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0265] Figure 14 illustrates a frame format diagram of a Quality of Service Null (Qos Null) frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0266] A QoS Null frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, Sequence Control, Address 4, QoS Control, High Throughput Control, and FCS.

[0267] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the address 1 field occupies 6 bytes, the address 2 field occupies 6 bytes, the address 3 field occupies 6 bytes, the sequence control field occupies 0 or 2 bytes, the address 4 field occupies 0 or 6 bytes, the quality of service control field occupies 0 or 2 bytes, the high throughput control field occupies 0 or 4 bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0268] The High Throughput Control field includes at least one of the following subfields: Very High Throughput (VHT) field, High Efficiency (HE) field, and Aggregate Control (A-Control) field.

[0269] The VHT field occupies 1 bit, the HE field occupies 1 bit, and the aggregation control field occupies 30 bits.

[0270] The aggregate control field includes at least one of the following subfields: control list field and padding field.

[0271] The number of bits used in the control list field is variable, while the padding field uses 0 or more bits.

[0272] The control list fields include at least one of the following subfields: Control ID field and Control Information field.

[0273] The control ID field occupies 4 bits, and the control information field occupies 26 bits.

[0274] The control information field includes at least one of the following subfields: AC Constraint field, Reverse Direction Grant (RDG) or more PPDU (RDG / more PPDU) field, Parameterized Spatial Reuse Transmission PPDU (PSRT PPDU) field, Dynamic Power Saving (DPS) field, and reserved field.

[0275] The AC limit field occupies 1 bit, the RDG or more PPDU fields occupy 1 bit, the PSRT PPDU field occupies 1 bit, the DPS field occupies 1 bit, and the reserved field occupies 4 bits.

[0276] Taking a Command and Status (CAS) type control message with a control ID field value of 6 as an example, there are 5 reserved bits. At least one of these reserved bits can be used as a Dynamic Power Saving (DPS) field to indicate whether the station accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode. For example, one reserved bit can be used for indication, with a value of 1 indicating acceptance and a value of 0 indicating rejection; or a value of 1 indicating rejection and a value of 0 indicating acceptance. Another example is using two reserved bits for indication: a value of 0 (binary representation 00) indicates no dynamic power saving indication, a value of 1 (binary representation 01) indicates acceptance, a value of 2 (binary representation 10) indicates rejection, and a value of 3 (binary representation 11) is a reserved value.

[0277] The frame format of the above-mentioned quality of service empty frame is an exemplary possible case. In different embodiments or different designs, it is not excluded that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above field in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0278] (2)BA frame:

[0279] In some embodiments, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0280] Figure 15 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of a BA frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0281] A BA frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control field, Duration field, RA field, TA field, BA Control field, BA Information field, and FCS field.

[0282] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, the TA field occupies 6 bytes, the BA control field occupies 2 bytes, the BA information field occupies a variable number of bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0283] The BA control fields include at least one of the following subfields: reservation field, BA type field, no memory kept field, memory configuration tag field, management acknowledgment field, and TID information field.

[0284] The first reserved field occupies 1 bit, the BA type field occupies 4 bits, the second reserved field occupies 4 bits, the no-reserved storage field occupies 1 bit, the storage configuration flag field occupies 1 bit, the management frame confirmation field occupies 1 bit, and the TID information field occupies 4 bits.

[0285] The BA information field includes at least one of the following subfields: BA Starting Sequence Control field and BA Bitmap field.

[0286] The BA start sequence control field occupies 2 bytes, and the BA bitmap field occupies 8, 32, 64, or 128 bytes.

[0287] Optionally, at least one of the five reserved bits is used as the Dynamic Power Saving (DPS) field to indicate whether the site accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode. For specific indication methods, refer to the Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame; details will not be repeated here.

[0288] Optionally, the BA bitmap field serves as a dynamic power-saving field, indicating whether the site accepts or rejects switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0289] The frame format of the BA frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0290] (3) Ack frame:

[0291] In some embodiments, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0292] Figure 16 illustrates a schematic diagram of the frame format of an Ack frame provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0293] An Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, RA, and FCS. The Frame Control, Duration, and RA fields together form the MAC frame header.

[0294] The frame control field occupies 2 bytes, the duration field occupies 2 bytes, the RA field occupies 6 bytes, and the FCS field occupies 4 bytes.

[0295] The frame control field includes at least one of the following subfields: Protocol Version, Type, Subtype, To Distribution System (To DS), From DS, More Fragment, Retry, Power Management, More Data, Protected Frame, and High Throughput Control (HTC).

[0296] The protocol version field occupies 2 bits, the type field occupies 2 bits, the subtype field occupies 4 bits, the field sent to the distribution system occupies 1 bit, the field from the distribution system occupies 1 bit, the more fragments field occupies 1 bit, the retry field occupies 1 bit, the power saving management field occupies 1 bit, the more data field occupies 1 bit, the protected frame field occupies 1 bit, and the +HTC field occupies 1 bit.

[0297] The retry field and / or more fragment fields and / or protected frame fields in the Ack frame can be reused as dynamic power-saving fields to indicate whether the second site accepts or refuses to perform the handover.

[0298] For example, setting the retry field value to 1 indicates that the second site accepts the handover, and setting it to 0 indicates that the second site refuses the handover; or, setting the retry field value to 0 indicates that the second site accepts the handover, and setting it to 1 indicates that the second site refuses the handover.

[0299] Setting the More Shards field value to 1 indicates that the second site accepts the handover, and setting it to 0 indicates that the second site refuses the handover; or, setting the More Shards field value to 0 indicates that the second site accepts the handover, and setting it to 1 indicates that the second site refuses the handover.

[0300] Setting the protected frame field value to 1 indicates that the second station accepts the handover, and setting it to 0 indicates that the second station refuses the handover; or, setting the protected frame field value to 0 indicates that the second station accepts the handover, and setting it to 1 indicates that the second station refuses the handover.

[0301] The frame format of the Ack frame described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above fields in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0302] Third frame:

[0303] In some embodiments, the first frame does not carry padding, and the method further includes: sending a third frame after receiving a second frame, the third frame being used to occupy transmission resources and to provide handover time for a second station.

[0304] By way of example and not limitation, the third frame includes at least one of the following: a beacon frame, a management frame from another broadcast, or a CTS-to-self frame.

[0305] Since the first frame does not carry padding, the data transmission time is not affected by the duration corresponding to the padding, and the third frame provides handover time for the second station.

[0306] UHR Capability Elements:

[0307] In some embodiments, the first switching delay and / or the first filling delay are sent to the first station in advance by the second station.

[0308] For example, the second station may use a management frame to inform the first station of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay in advance; or, during the association process, the second station may inform the first station of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0309] Optionally, the first site and the second site are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0310] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0311] In some embodiments, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a first padding delay field; and a first switching delay field.

[0312] Among them, the support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the second mode; the first fill delay field is used to indicate the first fill delay of the second site; the first handover delay field is used to indicate the first handover delay of the second site, and the first handover delay is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0313] Figure 17 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of a UHR capability element provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bytes or bits it may occupy.

[0314] The UHR Capabilities (DPS Capabilities) element includes at least one of the following fields: Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, UHR MAC Capabilities Information, UHR PHY Capabilities Information, Supported UHR-MCS and NSS Set, and Dynamic Power Saving Capabilities (DPS Capabilities).

[0315] The element identifier field occupies 1 byte, the length field occupies 1 byte, the element identifier extension field occupies 1 byte, the UHR MAC capability information field occupies 2 bytes, the UHR PHY capability information field occupies 2 bytes, the number of bytes occupied by the supported UHR-MCS and NSS collection segment is variable, and the dynamic power saving capability field occupies 1 byte.

[0316] The UHR MAC capability information field includes at least one of the following subfields: TXS Mode 3 Support, UHR Link Adaptation Support, Coordinated Spatial Reuse Support (C-SR Support), Coordinated Beamforming Support (C-BF Support), Coordinated Restricted Target Wake Time Support (C-rTWT Support), Coordinated Time Division Multiple Access Support (C-TDMA Support), Non-Primary Channel Access Support (NPCA Support), Dynamic Sub-band Operation Support (DSO Support), Enhanced Roaming Support, and a reserved field.

[0317] Among them, the fields supporting Transmission Opportunity Sharing Mode 3 occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting UHR Link Adaptive occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting C-SR occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting C-BF occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting C-rTWT occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting C-TDMA occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting NPCA occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting DSO occupy 1 bit, the fields supporting enhanced roaming occupy 1 bit, and the reserved fields occupy 7 bits.

[0318] The Dynamic Power Saving Capability field includes at least one of the following subfields: Dynamic Power Saving (DPS Support) field (Support field), Dynamic Power Saving Padding Delay (DPS Padding Delay) field (First Padding Delay field), and Dynamic Power Saving Transition Delay (DPS Transition Delay) field (First Transition Delay field).

[0319] Among them, the DPS field occupies 1 bit, the DPS filling delay field occupies 3 bits, and the DPS switching delay field occupies 4 bits.

[0320] Non-access point sites and access point sites can carry their respective dynamic power saving capability fields, including handover mode latency information, in the UHR capability element. The UHR capability element can be carried in beacon frames, probe request frames, probe response frames, association request frames, association response frames, reassociation request frames, reassociation response frames, and other management frames.

[0321] For multi-link devices, the latency information for dynamic power saving on different links may be the same or different. Therefore, the dynamic power saving capability field can also be carried in each per-STA profile subelement in the Probe Request Multi-Link element and / or Basic Multi-Link element and / or Reconfiguration Multi-Link element.

[0322] The Supported DPS field (Supported field) indicates whether the site supports dynamic power saving functionality. Optionally, a value of 1 for the Supported DPS field indicates that dynamic power saving functionality is supported, and a value of 0 indicates that dynamic power saving functionality is not supported; or a value of 1 for the Supported DPS field indicates that dynamic power saving functionality is not supported, and a value of 0 indicates that dynamic power saving functionality is supported.

[0323] The DPS padding delay field (first padding delay field) indicates the minimum MAC padding duration of the initial control frame requested by the STA. The settings for the DPS padding delay field are shown in Table 1.

[0324] Table 1

[0325] The DPS handover delay field (first handover delay field) indicates the transition delay time required for a station to switch from a lower capability mode (first mode) to a higher capability mode (second mode). The settings for the DPS handover delay field are shown in Table 2.

[0326] Table 2

[0327] The format of the UHR capability element described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the field in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0328] Fourth frame:

[0329] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a fourth frame to a second station, the fourth frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from a second mode to a first mode;

[0330] The fourth frame either does not carry padding, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the second padding delay, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay. The second padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0331] Switching from the second station to the first station (from a higher capability mode to a lower capability mode) also requires a certain delay and will require the fourth frame sent by the first station to carry a certain amount of padding. Therefore, the relevant content of the first frame can be referenced to make the fourth frame not carry padding or reduce padding, thereby reducing the impact of padding on data transmission and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0332] In some embodiments, the second padding delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0333] The second padding delay corresponding to switching from the second mode to the first mode (switching from a higher capability mode to a lower capability mode) and the first padding delay corresponding to switching from the first mode to the second mode (switching from a lower capability mode to a higher capability mode) may be the same or different, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0334] In some embodiments, the time required for the second site to switch from the second mode to the first mode is the second switching delay.

[0335] The value of the second switching delay is determined based on the specific implementation. For example, it can be any value between 8 microseconds and 1024 microseconds, or any value between 8 microseconds and 256 microseconds, or even 8 microseconds, 16 microseconds, 32 microseconds, 64 microseconds, 128 microseconds, 256 microseconds, or 512 microseconds.

[0336] In some embodiments, the second switching delay may be the same as or different from the second padding delay.

[0337] In some embodiments, the second filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the second handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

[0338] In some embodiments, the switching of the second site from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0339] In some embodiments, the fourth frame is carried in the fourth PPDU, and the fifth frame sent by the second station is carried in the fifth PPDU. The fifth frame is used to respond to the fourth frame; at least one bit in the fourth frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover.

[0340] Specifically, an immediate switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode before the end time of the fourth PPDU; a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the fifth time period after the end time of the fifth PPDU; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the sixth time period after the end time of the fourth PPDU; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the seventh time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the filling and the end time of the eighth time period, where the start time of the eighth time period is the end time of the fourth PPDU.

[0341] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switchover and delayed switchover methods described above; they will not be repeated here.

[0342] In some embodiments, the second handover delay and / or the second padding delay are greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the fourth frame does not carry padding. The method further includes: performing frame interaction with the third station within the duration corresponding to the second handover delay and / or the second padding delay.

[0343] For specific implementation details, please refer to the above-mentioned interaction between the first and third stations to execute frames, which will not be repeated here.

[0344] In some embodiments, sending a fourth frame to the second station includes: sending a fourth frame to the second station when the data to be processed meets the switching conditions;

[0345] The data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached at the first site and the data to be sent cached at the second site.

[0346] In some embodiments, the switching conditions include at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is less than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is higher than the latency threshold.

[0347] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an ICF; a data frame carrying an aggregation control field.

[0348] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; basic trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0349] In some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0350] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0351] In some embodiments, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0352] In some embodiments, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0353] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the first frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0354] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fifth frame sent by a second station, the fifth frame being used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from a second mode to a first mode.

[0355] In some embodiments, the control field in the fifth frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0356] By way of example and not limitation, control fields include at least one of the following fields: Command and Status (CAS) field; OM field; EHT OM field; UHR OM field.

[0357] In some embodiments, the fifth frame includes at least one of the following: an ICR frame; a data frame carrying an aggregation control field.

[0358] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0359] In some embodiments, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second site accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0360] In some embodiments, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0361] In some embodiments, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0362] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the second frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0363] In some embodiments, the fourth frame does not carry padding, and the method further includes: broadcasting a sixth frame after receiving a fifth frame, the sixth frame being used to occupy transmission resources and to provide handover time for the second station.

[0364] By way of example and not limitation, the sixth frame includes at least one of the following: a beacon frame, or a management frame from another broadcast.

[0365] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the third frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0366] In some embodiments, the second switching delay and / or the second padding delay are sent to the first station in advance by the second station.

[0367] Optionally, the first site and the second site are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0368] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0369] In some embodiments, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a second fill delay field; and a second handover delay field.

[0370] Among them, the support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the first mode; the second fill delay field is used to indicate the second fill delay of the second site; the second handover delay field is used to indicate the second handover delay of the second site, which is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0371] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content of the UHR capability elements mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0372] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment sends a first frame to the second station. This first frame instructs the second station to switch from a first mode to a second mode. The first frame may or may not carry padding, and the duration of the padding is either less than or equal to a first padding delay, which is the delay required for the second station to complete the switch. By using a first frame without padding or with padding of a duration less than the first padding delay, the impact of the padding duration on data transmission time can be reduced, thus improving data transmission efficiency.

[0373] The method provided in this embodiment also expands the applicability of the mode switching indication method by listing different types of first and second frames, allowing for flexible selection of suitable first and second frames based on different scenario requirements.

[0374] The method provided in this embodiment also avoids transmission failures between the first and second stations and reduces data transmission problems by not performing frame interaction between the first and second stations during the handover process at the second station.

[0375] The following example illustrates the mode switching indication method using the first site as the access point (AP) and the second site as a non-AP STA, executing a downlink multi-user (DL MU) transmission process and an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (UL OFDMA) transmission process. In this example, the second site includes site 1 and site 2.

[0376] Optionally, in a single transmission opportunity, only the downlink multi-user transmission process can be executed, or only the uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access transmission process can be executed, or a hybrid process of the two can be executed. This application does not limit this.

[0377] (1) Downlink multi-user transmission process:

[0378] Figure 18 illustrates a schematic diagram of a downlink multi-user transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0379] As shown in Figure 18, when competing for a channel, STA 1 (site 1) operates in the first mode (lower capability mode), and STA 2 (site 2) operates in the second mode (higher capability mode) or STA 2 does not support dynamic power saving function.

[0380] When an Access Point (AP) wins a transmission opportunity, it determines whether to trigger STA 1 to switch to the second mode based on the amount of buffered data waiting for downlink transmission to STA 1 and the data latency requirements. If the AP has a significant amount of buffered data waiting for downlink transmission to STA 1, it instructs STA 1 to switch from the first mode to the second mode in the first frame (using a BSRP frame as an example), with a delayed handover. If the AP still has buffered data waiting for downlink transmission to STA 2, the first frame does not include padding to allow time for STA 1's handover. STA 2 responds to the first frame with a buffer status report in its QoS Null frame.

[0381] After the AP sends the BSRP frame and the SIFS duration has elapsed, if STA 1 accepts the handover, STA 1 sends a second frame (taking the QoS Null frame as an example) in the first mode to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses to perform the handover, STA 1 sends a second frame in the first mode to indicate refusal of the handover, or does not send a second frame.

[0382] Alternatively, if STA 1 accepts the handover, it remains in the first mode and sends a second frame (for example, a QoS Null frame) to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses the handover, it remains in the first mode and does not send a second frame.

[0383] If STA 1 indicates acceptance of the handover, the AP will not interact with STA 1's handover frame during the handover period. That is, the AP will not provide downlink transmissions to STA 1 nor schedule uplink transmissions for STA 1. At this time, the AP can interact with STA 2's handover frame, for example, sending downlink data 1 to STA 2.

[0384] The STA 1 handover period begins at the end of the time when STA 1 sends a PPDU carrying the second frame (taking a QoS Null frame as an example), and lasts for a duration greater than or equal to the first handover delay of STA 1. After the SIFS duration following the STA 1 handover period, the AP can perform frame interaction with STA 1, such as sending downlink data 2 to STA 1.

[0385] Figure 19 illustrates a schematic diagram of a downlink multi-user transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0386] As shown in Figure 19, during channel contention, both STA 1 (site 1) and STA 2 (site 2) operate in the first mode (lower capability mode). The first handover delay and / or first padding delay of STA 1 is greater than or equal to the first threshold, while the first handover delay and / or first padding delay of STA 2 is less than the first threshold.

[0387] When an access point (AP) wins a transmission opportunity, and the AP has buffered data waiting for downlink transmission to STA 1 and STA 2, the first frame (taking MU-RTS as an example) is used to instruct STA 1 to perform a delayed handover and instruct STA 2 to perform an immediate handover. The padding duration carried in the first frame is less than the first padding delay of STA 1 and greater than or equal to the first padding delay of STA 2.

[0388] If STA 2 accepts the handover, it completes the handover before the end of the first frame and sends a second frame (taking CTS as an example) in response after SIFS following the end of the first frame. If STA 2 refuses to perform the handover, it remains in the first mode and sends a second frame in response after SIFS following the end of the first frame, or it does not send a second frame.

[0389] If STA 1 accepts the handover, it remains in the first mode and sends a second frame (CTS frame for example) to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses the handover, it remains in the first mode and does not send a second frame.

[0390] If STA 1 indicates acceptance of the handover, the AP will not interact with STA 1's handover frame during the handover period. That is, the AP will not provide downlink transmissions to STA 1 nor schedule uplink transmissions for STA 1. At this time, the AP can interact with STA 2's handover frame, for example, sending downlink data 1 to STA 2.

[0391] The STA 1 handover period begins at the end of the time when STA 1 sends a PPDU carrying the second frame (taking a CTS frame as an example), and lasts for a duration greater than or equal to the first handover delay of STA 1. After the SIFS duration following the STA 1 handover period, the AP can perform frame interaction with STA 1, such as sending downlink data 2 to STA 1.

[0392] In some embodiments, the PPDU carrying the second frame includes an identification identifier used to distinguish different second sites.

[0393] In order for the AP to identify which second stations sent the second frame (taking the CTS frame as an example), STA 1 and STA 2 attach an identification mark to the end of their respective PPDUs carrying the CTS frame. The identification mark is used to distinguish between STA 1 and STA 2.

[0394] (2) Uplink Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmission process:

[0395] Figure 20 shows a schematic diagram of an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0396] As shown in Figure 20, when competing for a channel, STA 1 (site 1) operates in the first mode (lower capability mode), and STA 2 (site 2) operates in the second mode (higher capability mode) or STA 2 does not support dynamic power saving function.

[0397] When an Access Point (AP) wins a transmission opportunity, it determines whether to trigger STA 1 to switch to the second mode based on the buffer status report carried in the QoS Null frame from STA 1. If STA 1 has a significant amount of buffered data waiting to be sent uplink to the AP, the AP instructs STA 1 to switch from the first mode to the second mode in the first frame (taking the basic trigger frame as an example), using a delayed handover. If the AP still has buffered data waiting to be sent downlink to STA 2, the first frame does not include padding to allow time for STA 1's handover.

[0398] After the AP sends the basic trigger frame and the SIFS duration has elapsed, if STA 1 accepts the handover, STA 1 sends a second frame (taking the CTS frame as an example) in the first mode to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses to perform the handover, STA 1 sends a second frame in the first mode to indicate refusal of the handover, or may not send a second frame.

[0399] Alternatively, if STA 1 accepts the handover, it remains in the first mode and sends a second frame (using a CTS frame as an example) to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses the handover, it remains in the first mode and does not send a second frame.

[0400] If STA 1 indicates acceptance of the handover, the AP will not exchange frames with STA 1 during the handover period. That is, the AP will not provide downlink transmissions to STA 1 nor schedule uplink transmissions for STA 1. At this time, the AP can exchange frames with STA 2, for example, receiving uplink data 2 sent by STA 2.

[0401] The handover period of STA 1 begins at the end of the time when STA 1 sends the PPDU carrying the second frame, and lasts for a duration greater than or equal to the first handover delay of STA 1. After the PIFS duration following the handover period of STA 1, AP can perform frame interaction with STA 1. For example, AP sends a basic trigger frame, and STA 1 sends uplink data 3 to AP after SIFS.

[0402] Optionally, in order to reduce the problem of channel transmission conflict caused by hidden nodes, when the AP first triggers STA1 to perform uplink transmission after STA1 completes the handover, a resource unit (RU) or multiple resource unit (MRU) is allocated in the basic trigger frame according to the working bandwidth of STA1 in the second mode.

[0403] For example, if STA 1 operates with a bandwidth of 80MHz in the second mode, then STA 1 is allocated a 996-tone RU corresponding to the primary 80MHz, and STA 1 is instructed to use resource element adaptation in the triggered uplink transmission. The interval between the basic trigger frame and the BA frame sent by the AP is not less than PIFS, which is used by STA 1 to determine the channel state of all sub-channels.

[0404] Figure 21 shows a schematic diagram of an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access transmission process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0405] As shown in Figure 21, during channel contention, both STA 1 (site 1) and STA 2 (site 2) operate in the first mode (lower capability mode). The first handover delay and / or first padding delay of STA 1 is greater than or equal to the first threshold, while the first handover delay and / or first padding delay of STA 2 is less than the first threshold.

[0406] When an AP (Access Point) wins a transmission opportunity, the first frame (taking a BSRP trigger frame as an example) is used to instruct STA 1 to perform a delayed handover and instruct STA 2 to perform an immediate handover. The padding duration carried in the first frame is less than the first padding delay of STA 1 and greater than or equal to the first padding delay of STA 2.

[0407] If STA 2 accepts the handover, it completes the handover before the end of the first frame and sends a second frame (taking a QoS Null frame carrying a BSR as an example) in response after SIFS following the end of the first frame. If STA 2 refuses the handover, it remains in the first mode and does not send a second frame. Alternatively, if the resource element allocated to STA 2 by the BRSP trigger frame is within STA 2's current operating channel, STA 2 can also send a second frame to indicate its refusal to perform the handover.

[0408] If STA 1 accepts the handover, it sends a second frame (taking QoS Null as an example) in a lower capability mode to indicate acceptance of the handover; if STA 1 refuses the handover, it sends a second frame in a lower capability mode to indicate refusal of the handover, or does not send a second frame.

[0409] If STA 1 indicates acceptance of the handover, the AP will not exchange frames with STA 1 during the handover period. That is, the AP will not provide downlink transmissions to STA 1 nor schedule uplink transmissions for STA 1. At this time, the AP can exchange frames with STA 2, for example, receiving uplink data 1 sent by STA 2.

[0410] The handover period for STA 1 begins at the end of the PPDU transmission carrying the second frame, and lasts for a duration greater than or equal to the first handover delay of STA 1. After the SIFS duration following the handover period of STA 1, the AP can perform frame interactions with STA 1. For example, the AP sends a basic trigger frame, and after the SIFS, STA 1 sends uplink data 3 to the AP.

[0411] Optionally, when the AP first triggers STA 1 to perform uplink transmission, it can instruct STA 1 to use the resource unit adaptive function, as shown in the embodiment of Figure 20, which will not be repeated here.

[0412] In some embodiments, the Dynamic Power Saving (DPS) function is implemented in combination with the transmission opportunity sharing process. The following example illustrates this method using a first site as an access point (AP) and a second site as a non-AP STA. In this example, the second site includes site 1 (STA 1) and site 2 (STA 2).

[0413] Figure 22 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 22, when competing for a channel, STA 1 operates in a first mode (lower capability mode), STA 2 operates in a second mode (higher capability mode), or STA 2 does not support dynamic power saving functionality.

[0414] After STA 1 competes for a transmission opportunity, it transmits data with the AP in the first mode, for example, STA 1 sends uplink data 1 to the AP. These transmissions occupy a small channel bandwidth, for example, only occupying the main 20MHz channel.

[0415] During transmission, a large amount of bursty data (such as latency-sensitive data) may occur within STA 1 and needs to be transmitted. At this time, in order to improve transmission efficiency, STA 1 needs to switch to a second mode, for example, by increasing the transmission bandwidth, adding spatial streams, and increasing the data transmission rate.

[0416] STA 1 cannot send or receive data during handover. If the handover delay is significant, it may result in the loss of transmission medium. To address this, STA 1 can indicate in its uplink data 2 sent to the AP that it will share the transmission opportunity with the AP, and / or indicate that STA 1 has buffered a large amount of delay-sensitive data, and / or indicate that STA 1 will switch to the second mode. The AP can indicate in the corresponding downlink transmission, such as in the acknowledgment frame (Ack2 frame) and / or block acknowledgment frame, whether it accepts or rejects the sharing of the transmission opportunity.

[0417] If the AP refuses to share the transmission opportunity, STA 1 remains in the first mode and continues to transmit with the AP.

[0418] If the AP accepts the sharing of transmission opportunities, STA 1 begins the handover at the end of receiving the Ack 2 frame. The AP begins performing Net Channel Assessment (CCA) at the end of receiving the Ack 2 frame. To maximize transmission bandwidth, the duration of the AP's CCA execution needs to be longer than SIFS.

[0419] If the AP detects that multiple 20MHz sub-channels, including the primary 20MHz channel, are idle within the first duration, the AP transmits the first frame, such as a MU-RTS frame, on the corresponding idle sub-channel to trigger other stations in the system to perform transmission. The first duration can be PIFS, DIFS, or Arbitration InterFrame Space (AIFS) [AC], where AC represents the access class used by STA 1 when competing for the current transmission opportunity or a predefined access class, and AIFS [AC] is the AP's AIFS corresponding to that access class.

[0420] If the primary 20MHz channel is detected to be busy, the AP needs to perform a backoff procedure to compete for a transmission opportunity again.

[0421] After STA 1 completes the handover, when the AP triggers STA 1 to perform uplink transmission for the first time, it can allocate a Resource Unit (RU) or Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) to STA 1 in the basic trigger frame based on STA 1's operating bandwidth in second mode. For example, if STA 1's operating bandwidth in second mode is 80MHz, then STA 1 can be allocated a 484+242-tone MRU, a 484-tone RU, or a 242-tone MRU, excluding the primary 20MHz bandwidth.

[0422] Optionally, in order to reduce the working channel transmission conflict problem of STA 1 caused by hidden nodes, the interval between the basic trigger frame and the CTS frame of STA 2 is not less than PIFS, and STA 1 is instructed to use resource unit adaptation in the triggered uplink transmission.

[0423] In some embodiments, STA 2 is a station operating in a first mode, where the first frame does not carry padding.

[0424] In some embodiments, STA 2 is a station operating in the first mode, where the duration of the padding carried in the first frame is less than the first padding delay of STA 1 and not less than the first padding delay of STA 2. Specific implementation details are given in the embodiments of Figure 19 or Figure 21, and will not be repeated here.

[0425] The transmission opportunity sharing process shown in the embodiment of Figure 22 can also be used to expand the transmission bandwidth when the working bandwidth of STA 1 is small, or when STA 2 does not support dynamic power saving function.

[0426] Figure 23 illustrates a schematic diagram of a transmission opportunity sharing process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 23, after STA 1 competes for and obtains a transmission opportunity, it transmits data with AP, for example, STA 1 sends uplink data 1 to AP. These transmissions occupy a small channel bandwidth, for example, only occupying the primary 20MHz channel.

[0427] In some embodiments, STA 1 instructs the AP to share transmission opportunities in uplink data 2 sent to the AP.

[0428] The AP can indicate whether to accept or reject the sharing of transmission opportunities in the corresponding downlink transmission, such as in the acknowledgment frame (Ack 2 frame) and / or block acknowledgment frame. Specific implementation details are given in the embodiment shown in Figure 22, and will not be repeated here.

[0429] Optionally, when the AP first triggers STA 2 to transmit, in order to reduce the problem of transmission conflicts on the working channel of STA 2 caused by hidden nodes, the AP instructs STA 2 to use resource unit adaptation in the triggered uplink transmission.

[0430] Figure 24 illustrates a flowchart of a mode switching indication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, the method being performed by a second site, the method comprising:

[0431] Step 2410: Receive the first frame sent by the first station.

[0432] The first frame is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode. The first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the switch.

[0433] In some embodiments, padding refers to additional bits added to a frame, typically used to ensure the frame length meets communication protocol requirements. In this embodiment, the padding carried in the first frame provides time for handover to the second station.

[0434] In some embodiments, the first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0435] The data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; and the power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

[0436] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first and second modes of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0437] In some embodiments, the second site is a site that supports and / or enables the first mode.

[0438] The second site can be a site that supports the first mode, a site that has enabled the first mode, or a site that supports and has enabled the first mode. If the second site supports the first mode, the second site can choose whether or not to enable the first mode.

[0439] In some embodiments, the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

[0440] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first switching delay in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0441] In some embodiments, the first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0442] In some embodiments, the first filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the first handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

[0443] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first switching delay and the first filling delay in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0444] In some embodiments, the first site is an access point (AP), and the second site is a non-AP STA associated with the AP, and / or a non-AP STA not associated with the AP; or, the first site is a non-AP STA, and the second site is a non-AP STA that has established a point-to-point link with the first site; or, the first site is an AP, and the second site is an AP that has established a multi-access point cooperation protocol with the AP.

[0445] In some embodiments, the first site is an access point device and the second site is a non-access point site device; or, the first site is an access point attached to an access point multi-link device and the second site is a non-access point site attached to a non-access point multi-link device; or, the first site is a non-access point site device and the second site is an access point device; or, the first site is a non-access point site attached to a non-access point multi-link device and the second site is an access point attached to an access point multi-link device.

[0446] Immediate switching and delayed switching:

[0447] In some embodiments, the switching of the second site from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0448] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used in response to the first frame; at least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover. Optionally, the second frame is optional to send and is not required to send.

[0449] The scenarios are as follows: Immediate switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, Delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the start time of filling and the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

[0450] Switch immediately:

[0451] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; when the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, or when the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end of the first PPDU.

[0452] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switching in the first site embodiment; these details will not be repeated here.

[0453] Delayed switching:

[0454] (1) A second frame needs to be sent from a second station:

[0455] In some embodiments, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second station needs to send a second frame.

[0456] In some embodiments, the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame; if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0457] In some embodiments, the first time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0458] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed handover requires the second site to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0459] (2) No second station is required to send a second frame:

[0460] In some embodiments, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second station does not need to send a second frame.

[0461] In some embodiments, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, which is used to indicate that the second station does not send the second frame.

[0462] In some embodiments, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame does not carry padding, the first frame is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode during a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or,

[0463] If the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start of padding; or,

[0464] If the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding and the end time of the fourth time period. The start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU, or the fourth time period is located after the end time of the first PPDU.

[0465] In some embodiments, the second time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay.

[0466] In some embodiments, the first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

[0467] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed handover does not require the second site to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0468] In some embodiments, a first station sends a first frame to a plurality of second stations; wherein, a portion of the second stations have a first handover delay and / or a first padding delay that is less than a first threshold, and another portion of the second stations have a first handover delay and / or a first padding delay that is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0469] The first station can carry padding with a duration less than the first threshold in the first frame to trigger immediate handover of some second stations and delayed handover of others.

[0470] In some embodiments, during the transition from the first mode to the second mode at the second station, the first station does not perform frame interactions with the second station.

[0471] Switching conditions:

[0472] In some embodiments, receiving a first frame sent by a first station includes: receiving a first frame sent by a first station;

[0473] Wherein, the pending data associated with the first site and / or the second site meets the switching conditions, and the pending data includes at least one of the pending data cached by the first site and the pending data cached by the second site.

[0474] In some embodiments, the switching conditions include at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

[0475] For specific implementation details, please refer to the switching conditions in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0476] First frame:

[0477] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an initial control frame (ICF); or a data frame carrying an aggregate control (A-Control) field.

[0478] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; Basic Trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0479] (1) MU-RTS trigger frame:

[0480] In some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0481] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-RTS trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0482] (2) BSRP trigger frame:

[0483] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0484] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BSRP trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0485] (3) Basic trigger frame:

[0486] In some embodiments, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0487] For specific implementation details, please refer to the basic trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0488] (4) MU-BAR trigger frame:

[0489] In some embodiments, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0490] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-BAR trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0491] Second frame:

[0492] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending a second frame to a first station, the second frame being used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0493] In some embodiments, the control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0494] By way of example and not limitation, the control field includes at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput Operation Mode (EHT OM) field; Extremely High Reliability Operation Mode (UHR OM) field.

[0495] The second frame can indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to perform the switch in an explicit way, that is, by instructing the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode through a reserved field included in a control field (such as an aggregate control field).

[0496] In some embodiments, the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or...

[0497] The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode. The second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0498] The second frame can indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to perform the handover implicitly. If the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is accepted. If the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is refused, and vice versa.

[0499] In some embodiments, the second frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregate control field.

[0500] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0501] For specific implementation details, please refer to the second frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0502] (1) Service quality empty frame carrying aggregation control field:

[0503] In some embodiments, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate to the second site whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0504] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame carrying the aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0505] (2)BA frame:

[0506] In some embodiments, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0507] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BA frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0508] (3) Ack frame:

[0509] In some embodiments, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0510] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Ack frame in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0511] UHR Capability Elements:

[0512] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the second station sending a first handover delay and / or a first padding delay to the first station in advance.

[0513] For example, the second station may use a management frame to inform the first station of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay in advance; or, during the association process, the second station may inform the first station of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0514] Optionally, the first site and the second site are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0515] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0516] In some embodiments, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a first padding delay field; and a first switching delay field.

[0517] Among them, the support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the second mode; the first fill delay field is used to indicate the first fill delay of the second site; the first handover delay field is used to indicate the first handover delay of the second site, and the first handover delay is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0518] For specific implementation details, please refer to the UHR capability elements in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0519] Fourth frame:

[0520] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fourth frame sent by a first station, the fourth frame being used to instruct a second station to switch from a second mode to a first mode;

[0521] The fourth frame either does not carry padding, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the second padding delay, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay. The second padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0522] In some embodiments, the second padding delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0523] The second padding delay corresponding to switching from the second mode to the first mode (switching from a higher capability mode to a lower capability mode) and the first padding delay corresponding to switching from the first mode to the second mode (switching from a lower capability mode to a higher capability mode) may be the same or different, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0524] In some embodiments, the time required for the second site to switch from the second mode to the first mode is the second switching delay.

[0525] In some embodiments, the second switching delay may be the same as or different from the second padding delay.

[0526] In some embodiments, the second filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the second handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

[0527] In some embodiments, the switching of the second site from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0528] In some embodiments, the fourth frame is carried in the fourth PPDU, and the fifth frame sent by the second station is carried in the fifth PPDU. The fifth frame is used to respond to the fourth frame; at least one bit in the fourth frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover.

[0529] Specifically, an immediate switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode before the end time of the fourth PPDU; a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the fifth time period after the end time of the fifth PPDU; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the sixth time period after the end time of the fourth PPDU; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the seventh time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, a delayed switch corresponds to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the filling and the end time of the eighth time period, where the start time of the eighth time period is the end time of the fourth PPDU.

[0530] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switchover and delayed switchover methods described above; they will not be repeated here.

[0531] In some embodiments, receiving a fourth frame sent by a first station includes: receiving a fourth frame sent by a first station; wherein the data to be processed associated with the first station and / or the second station meets the switching conditions, and the data to be processed includes data to be sent cached by the first station and at least one of the data to be sent cached by the second station.

[0532] In some embodiments, the switching conditions include at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is less than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is higher than the latency threshold.

[0533] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an ICF; a data frame carrying an aggregation control field.

[0534] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; basic trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0535] In some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0536] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0537] In some embodiments, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second site switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0538] In some embodiments, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0539] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the first frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0540] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending a fifth frame to a first station, the fifth frame being used to instruct a second station to accept or refuse to switch from a second mode to a first mode.

[0541] In some embodiments, the control field in the fifth frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0542] By way of example and not limitation, control fields include at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; OM field; EHT OM field; UHR OM field.

[0543] In some embodiments, the fifth frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregate control field.

[0544] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0545] In some embodiments, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second site accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0546] In some embodiments, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0547] In some embodiments, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0548] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the second frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0549] In some embodiments, the method further includes: the second station sending a second handover delay and / or a second padding delay to the first station in advance.

[0550] Optionally, the first site and the second site are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0551] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0552] In some embodiments, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a second fill delay field; and a second handover delay field.

[0553] Among them, the support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the first mode; the second fill delay field is used to indicate the second fill delay of the second site; the second handover delay field is used to indicate the second handover delay of the second site, which is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0554] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content of the UHR capability elements mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0555] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment receives a first frame sent by a first station. This first frame instructs a second station to switch from a first mode to a second mode. The first frame may or may not carry padding, and the duration corresponding to the padding is either less than or not less than a first padding delay, which is the delay required for the second station to complete the switch. By ensuring that the first frame does not carry padding or carries padding with a duration less than the first padding delay, the impact of the padding duration on data transmission time can be reduced, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0556] The method provided in this embodiment also expands the applicability of the mode switching indication method by listing different types of first and second frames, allowing for flexible selection of suitable first and second frames based on different scenario requirements.

[0557] The method provided in this embodiment also avoids transmission failures between the first and second stations and reduces data transmission problems by not performing frame interaction between the first and second stations during the handover process at the second station.

[0558] In the above embodiments, the embodiments corresponding to FIG5 and FIG24 can be implemented individually or in combination, and this application does not limit them.

[0559] Figure 25 shows a block diagram of a first device provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The device can be implemented as a first site, or as part of a first site, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0560] Transceiver module 2510 is used to send the first frame to the second device;

[0561] The first frame is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode. The first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second device to complete the switch.

[0562] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0563] The data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; and the power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

[0564] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first and second modes of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0565] In one possible design of this embodiment, the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

[0566] The second device needs a certain delay to switch from the first mode to the second mode. This delay is called the first switching delay, or the dynamic power saving switching delay (DPS Transition Delay).

[0567] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0568] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first filling delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different; and / or, the first switching delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different.

[0569] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first switching delay and the first filling delay in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0570] Immediate switching and delayed switching:

[0571] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0572] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second device is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame; at least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second device to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover. Optionally, the second frame is optional to send and is not required to send.

[0573] The scenarios are as follows: immediate switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the start time of filling to the end time of a fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

[0574] Switch immediately:

[0575] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end of the first PPDU.

[0576] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switching in the first site embodiment; these details will not be repeated here.

[0577] Delayed switching:

[0578] (1) The second device needs to send the second frame:

[0579] In one possible design of this embodiment, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second device needs to send the second frame.

[0580] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame sent by the second device is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame; if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end of the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to instruct the second device to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0581] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0582] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed switching requires the second device to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0583] (2) No second device is required to send the second frame:

[0584] In one possible design of this embodiment, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, then the second device does not need to send the second frame.

[0585] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, which is used to indicate that the second device does not send the second frame.

[0586] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame does not carry padding, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or, if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of padding; or, if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding to the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU, or the fourth time period is located after the end time of the first PPDU.

[0587] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay.

[0588] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

[0589] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed handover does not require the second site to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0590] The first device and the third device perform frame interaction:

[0591] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the first frame does not carry padding, and the transceiver module 2510 is further configured to perform frame interaction with the third device within the duration corresponding to the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0592] Within the duration represented by the first threshold, there is sufficient time for the first device to perform at least one frame interaction with at least one third device, so that the first device can provide the second device with switching time by performing frame interaction with the third device instead of carrying padding in the first frame.

[0593] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first device sends a first frame to a plurality of second devices;

[0594] In one part of the second devices, the first switching delay and / or the first filling delay is less than the first threshold, while in another part of the second devices, the first switching delay and / or the first filling delay is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0595] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is further configured not to perform frame interaction with the second device during the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0596] For specific implementation details, please refer to the interaction between the first and third stations in the first station embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0597] In some embodiments, during the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the second station does not perform frame interactions with the first station.

[0598] Switching conditions:

[0599] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is used to send a first frame to the second device when the data to be processed meets the switching conditions.

[0600] The data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached in the first device and the data to be sent cached in the second device.

[0601] In one possible design of this embodiment, the switching condition includes at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

[0602] For specific implementation details, please refer to the switching conditions in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0603] First frame:

[0604] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an initial control frame (ICF); or a data frame carrying an aggregate control (A-Control) field.

[0605] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; Basic Trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0606] (1) MU-RTS trigger frame:

[0607] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0608] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-RTS trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0609] (2) BSRP trigger frame:

[0610] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BSRP trigger frame includes a common information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the common information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0611] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BSRP trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0612] (3) Basic trigger frame:

[0613] In one possible design of this embodiment, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0614] For specific implementation details, please refer to the basic trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0615] (4) MU-BAR trigger frame:

[0616] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0617] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-BAR trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0618] Second frame:

[0619] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is further configured to receive a second frame sent by the second device, the second frame being used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0620] In one possible design of this embodiment, the control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0621] By way of example and not limitation, the control field includes at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput Operation Mode (EHT OM) field; Extremely High Reliability Operation Mode (UHR OM) field.

[0622] The second frame can indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to perform a switch in an explicit manner, i.e., by indicating whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode through a reserved field included in a control field (e.g., an aggregate control field).

[0623] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second device to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second device to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or,

[0624] The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to indicate that the second device refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode, and the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to indicate that the second device accepts to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0625] The second frame can indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to perform the switch implicitly. When the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is accepted. When the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is refused, and vice versa.

[0626] For specific implementation details, please refer to the second frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0627] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregated control field.

[0628] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0629] (1) Service quality empty frame carrying aggregation control field:

[0630] In one possible design of this embodiment, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0631] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame carrying the aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0632] (2)BA frame:

[0633] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0634] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BA frame carrying the aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0635] (3) Ack frame:

[0636] In one possible design of this embodiment, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0637] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Ack frame carrying the aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0638] Third frame:

[0639] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame does not carry padding. The transceiver module 2510 is also used to send a third frame after receiving the second frame. The third frame is used to occupy transmission resources and provide switching time for the second device.

[0640] By way of example and not limitation, the third frame includes at least one of the following: a beacon frame, a management frame from another broadcast, or a CTS-to-self frame.

[0641] Since the first frame does not carry padding, the data transmission time is not affected by the duration of the padding, and the third frame provides switching time for the second device.

[0642] UHR Capability Elements:

[0643] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay are sent to the first device in advance by the second device.

[0644] For example, the second device may use a management frame to inform the first device of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay in advance; or, during the association process, the second device may inform the first device of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0645] Optionally, the first device and the second device are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second device during the association process include the latency information of the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0646] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0647] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a first padding delay field; and a first handover delay field.

[0648] The support field indicates whether the second device supports the second mode; the first fill delay field indicates the first fill delay of the second device; and the first switching delay field indicates the first switching delay of the second device, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0649] For specific implementation details, please refer to the UHR capability element with aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0650] Fourth frame:

[0651] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is further configured to send a fourth frame to the second device, the fourth frame being used to instruct the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0652] The fourth frame either does not carry padding, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the second padding delay, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay. The second padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0653] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second padding delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0654] The second padding delay corresponding to switching from the second mode to the first mode (switching from a higher capability mode to a lower capability mode) and the first padding delay corresponding to switching from the first mode to the second mode (switching from a lower capability mode to a higher capability mode) may be the same or different, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0655] In one possible design of this embodiment, the time required for the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode is the second switching delay.

[0656] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second switching delay may be the same as or different from the second padding delay.

[0657] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second filling delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different; and / or, the second switching delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different.

[0658] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0659] In one possible design of this embodiment, the fourth frame is carried in the fourth PPDU, and the fifth frame sent by the second device is carried in the fifth PPDU. The fifth frame is used to respond to the fourth frame; at least one bit in the fourth frame is used to instruct the second device to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover.

[0660] The scenarios are as follows: immediate switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode before the end time of the fourth PPDU; delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the fifth time period after the end time of the fifth PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the sixth time period after the end time of the fourth PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the seventh time period after the start time of receiving the fill; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the fill and the end time of the eighth time period, where the start time of the eighth time period is the end time of the fourth PPDU.

[0661] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switchover and delayed switchover methods described above; they will not be repeated here.

[0662] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second switching delay and / or the second padding delay is greater than or equal to the second threshold, the fourth frame does not carry padding, and the transceiver module 2510 is further configured to interact with the third device to execute frames within the duration corresponding to the second switching delay and / or the second padding delay.

[0663] For specific implementation details, please refer to the above-mentioned interaction between the first and third devices in executing frames, which will not be repeated here.

[0664] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is used to send a fourth frame to the second device when the data to be processed meets the switching conditions.

[0665] The data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached in the first device and the data to be sent cached in the second device.

[0666] In one possible design of this embodiment, the switching condition includes at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is less than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is higher than the latency threshold.

[0667] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an ICF; a data frame carrying an aggregation control field.

[0668] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; basic trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0669] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0670] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0671] In one possible design of this embodiment, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0672] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0673] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the first frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0674] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 is further configured to receive a fifth frame sent by the second device, the fifth frame being used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0675] In one possible design of this embodiment, the control field in the fifth frame is used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0676] By way of example and not limitation, control fields include at least one of the following fields: Command and Status (CAS) field; OM field; EHT OM field; UHR OM field.

[0677] In one possible design of this embodiment, the fifth frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregated control field.

[0678] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0679] In one possible design of this embodiment, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0680] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0681] In one possible design of this embodiment, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0682] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the second frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0683] In one possible design of this embodiment, the fourth frame does not carry padding. The transceiver module 2510 is also used to send a sixth frame after receiving the fifth frame. The sixth frame is used to occupy transmission resources and provide switching time for the second device.

[0684] By way of example and not limitation, the sixth frame includes at least one of the following: a beacon frame, a management frame from another broadcast, or a CTS-to-self frame.

[0685] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the third frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0686] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second switching delay and / or the second padding delay are sent to the first device in advance by the second device.

[0687] Optionally, the first device and the second device are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second device during the association process include the latency information of the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0688] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0689] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a second fill delay field; and a second handover delay field.

[0690] The support field indicates whether the second device supports the first mode; the second fill delay field indicates the second fill delay of the second device; and the second switching delay field indicates the second switching delay of the second device, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0691] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content of the UHR capability elements mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0692] For specific implementation details, please refer to the fourth frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0693] In this embodiment, the transceiver module 2510 can be divided into at least one transceiver submodule. Each transceiver submodule is used to perform at least one of the above-described transceiver steps, such as a first transceiver submodule, a second transceiver submodule, and a third transceiver submodule. The first transceiver submodule is used to send a first frame to the second device, the second transceiver submodule is used to receive a second frame sent by the second device, and the third transceiver submodule is used to send a third frame after receiving the second frame; or the first transceiver submodule is used to receive the second frame sent by the second device, the second transceiver submodule is used to send a third frame after receiving the second frame, and the third transceiver submodule is used to send the first frame to the second device; or the first transceiver submodule is used to send the third frame after receiving the second frame, the second transceiver submodule is used to send the first frame to the second device, and the third transceiver submodule is used to receive the second frame sent by the second device. This embodiment does not limit the functions of the different transceiver submodules.

[0694] This embodiment uses one transceiver module 2510 as an example, and the number of transceiver modules 2510 is not limited.

[0695] For a description of the functions of the transceiver module 2510, please refer to step 510 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0696] Figure 26 shows a block diagram of a second device provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. This device can be implemented as a second site, or as part of a second site, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0697] The transceiver module 2610 is used to receive the first frame sent by the first device.

[0698] The first frame is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode. The first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay. The first padding delay is the delay required for the second device to complete the switch.

[0699] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0700] The data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the first mode is lower than that supported by the second mode; and the power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

[0701] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first and second modes of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0702] In one possible design of this embodiment, the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

[0703] The second device needs a certain delay to switch from the first mode to the second mode. This delay is called the first switching delay, or the dynamic power saving switching delay (DPS Transition Delay).

[0704] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0705] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first filling delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different; and / or, the first switching delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different.

[0706] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first switching delay and the first filling delay in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0707] Immediate switching and delayed switching:

[0708] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0709] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second device is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame; at least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second device to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover. Optionally, the second frame is optional to send and is not required to send.

[0710] The scenarios are as follows: immediate switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of filling; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the start time of filling to the end time of a fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

[0711] Switch immediately:

[0712] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end of the first PPDU.

[0713] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switching in the first site embodiment; these details will not be repeated here.

[0714] Delayed switching:

[0715] (1) The second device needs to send the second frame:

[0716] In one possible design of this embodiment, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the second device needs to send the second frame.

[0717] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame sent by the second device is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame; if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the padding duration is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end of the second PPDU, and the second frame is used to instruct the second device to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0718] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0719] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed handover requires the second site to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0720] (2) No second device is required to send the second frame:

[0721] In one possible design of this embodiment, if the first frame does not carry padding, or if the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, then the second device does not need to send the second frame.

[0722] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the duration corresponding to the start time of padding to the end time of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, which is used to indicate that the second device does not send the second frame.

[0723] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is carried in the first PPDU; if the first frame does not carry padding, the first frame is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode during a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or,

[0724] If the first frame carries padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or if the duration from the start of padding to the end of the first PPDU is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start of padding; or,

[0725] If the first frame carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding to the end time of the fourth time period. The start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU, or the fourth time period is located after the end time of the first PPDU.

[0726] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first switching delay.

[0727] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

[0728] For specific implementation details, please refer to the first site embodiment where delayed handover does not require the second site to send a second frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0729] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first device sends a first frame to a plurality of second devices;

[0730] In one part of the second devices, the first switching delay and / or the first filling delay is less than the first threshold, while in another part of the second devices, the first switching delay and / or the first filling delay is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0731] The first device can carry a corresponding padding with a duration less than the first threshold in the first frame to trigger an immediate switch of some second devices and a delayed switch of others.

[0732] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first device does not perform frame interaction with the second device during the transition from the first mode to the second mode.

[0733] Switching conditions:

[0734] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to receive the first frame sent by the first device;

[0735] Wherein, the data to be processed associated with the first device and / or the second device meets the switching conditions, and the data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached by the first device and the data to be sent cached by the second device.

[0736] In one possible design of this embodiment, the switching condition includes at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

[0737] For specific implementation details, please refer to the switching conditions in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0738] First frame:

[0739] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an initial control frame (ICF); or a data frame carrying an aggregate control (A-Control) field.

[0740] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; basic trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0741] (1) MU-RTS trigger frame:

[0742] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0743] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-RTS trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0744] (2) BSRP trigger frame:

[0745] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BSRP trigger frame includes a common information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the common information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0746] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BSRP trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0747] (3) Basic trigger frame:

[0748] In one possible design of this embodiment, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0749] For specific implementation details, please refer to the basic trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0750] (4) MU-BAR trigger frame:

[0751] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the first mode to the second mode.

[0752] For specific implementation details, please refer to the MU-BAR trigger frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0753] Second frame:

[0754] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to send a second frame to the first device, the second frame being used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0755] In one possible design of this embodiment, the control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0756] By way of example and not limitation, the control field includes at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput Operation Mode (EHT OM) field; Extremely High Reliability Operation Mode (UHR OM) field.

[0757] The second frame can indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to perform a switch in an explicit manner, i.e., by indicating whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode through a reserved field included in a control field (e.g., an aggregate control field).

[0758] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second device to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second device to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or,

[0759] The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to indicate that the second device refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode, and the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to indicate that the second device accepts to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0760] The second frame can indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to perform the switch implicitly. When the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is accepted. When the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame, it means that the switch from the first mode to the second mode is refused, and vice versa.

[0761] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregated control field.

[0762] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0763] For specific implementation details, please refer to the second frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0764] (1) Service quality empty frame carrying aggregation control field:

[0765] In one possible design of this embodiment, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0766] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame carrying the aggregation control field in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0767] (2)BA frame:

[0768] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0769] For specific implementation details, please refer to the BA frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0770] (3) Ack frame:

[0771] In one possible design of this embodiment, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0772] For specific implementation details, please refer to the Ack frame in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0773] UHR Capability Elements:

[0774] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to send the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay to the first device in advance.

[0775] For example, the second device may use a management frame to inform the first device of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay in advance; or, during the association process, the second device may inform the first device of the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay.

[0776] Optionally, the first device and the second device are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second device during the association process include the latency information of the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode.

[0777] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0778] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a first padding delay field; and a first handover delay field.

[0779] The support field indicates whether the second device supports the second mode; the first fill delay field indicates the first fill delay of the second device; and the first switching delay field indicates the first switching delay of the second device, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0780] For specific implementation details, please refer to the UHR capability elements in the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0781] Fourth frame:

[0782] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to receive a fourth frame sent by the first device, the fourth frame being used to instruct the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0783] The fourth frame either does not carry padding, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is less than the second padding delay, or carries padding and the duration of the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay. The second padding delay is the delay required for the second station to complete the handover.

[0784] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second padding delay may be the same as or different from the first padding delay.

[0785] In one possible design of this embodiment, the time required for the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode is the second switching delay.

[0786] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second switching delay may be the same as or different from the second padding delay.

[0787] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second filling delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different; and / or, the second switching delays corresponding to different second devices may be the same or different.

[0788] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device switching from the first mode to the second mode includes two cases: immediate switching and delayed switching.

[0789] In one possible design of this embodiment, the fourth frame is carried in the fourth PPDU, and the fifth frame sent by the second device is carried in the fifth PPDU. The fifth frame is used to respond to the fourth frame; at least one bit in the fourth frame is used to instruct the second device to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover.

[0790] The scenarios are as follows: immediate switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode before the end time of the fourth PPDU; delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the fifth time period after the end time of the fifth PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the sixth time period after the end time of the fourth PPDU; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the seventh time period after the start time of receiving the fill; and / or, delayed switching corresponds to the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode within the duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the fill and the end time of the eighth time period, where the start time of the eighth time period is the end time of the fourth PPDU.

[0791] For specific implementation details, please refer to the immediate switchover and delayed switchover methods described above; they will not be repeated here.

[0792] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to receive a fourth frame sent by the first device; wherein the data to be processed associated with the first device and / or the second device satisfies the switching condition, and the data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached by the first device and the data to be sent cached by the second device.

[0793] In one possible design of this embodiment, the switching condition includes at least one of the following: the amount of data to be processed is less than the data threshold; the latency requirement of the data to be processed is higher than the latency threshold.

[0794] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes at least one of the following: an ICF; a data frame carrying an aggregation control field.

[0795] By way of example and not limitation, ICF includes at least one of the following: MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; basic trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BAR frame; BA frame; newly defined trigger frame.

[0796] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0797] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0798] In one possible design of this embodiment, the base trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0799] In one possible design of this embodiment, the MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0800] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the first frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0801] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to send a fifth frame to the first device, the fifth frame being used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0802] In one possible design of this embodiment, the control field in the fifth frame is used to instruct the second device to accept or refuse to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0803] By way of example and not limitation, control fields include at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; OM field; EHT OM field; UHR OM field.

[0804] In one possible design of this embodiment, the fifth frame includes at least one of the following: an Initial Control Response (ICR) frame; or a data frame carrying an aggregate control field.

[0805] By way of example and not limitation, an ICR frame includes at least one of the following: a CTS frame; a QoS empty frame carrying an aggregation control field; a BA frame; a BAR frame; or a newly defined control frame.

[0806] In one possible design of this embodiment, the QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0807] In one possible design of this embodiment, the BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0808] In one possible design of this embodiment, the Ack frame includes at least one of the following fields: a retry field, a more fragment field, and a protected frame field, which are used to indicate whether the second device accepts or refuses to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0809] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content in the second frame above, which will not be repeated here.

[0810] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 is used to send the second switching delay and / or the second padding delay to the first device in advance.

[0811] Optionally, the first device and the second device are associated, and the UHR capability elements used by the second device during the association process include the latency information of the second device switching from the second mode to the first mode.

[0812] By way of example and not limitation, UHR capability elements are carried in at least one of the following management frames: beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

[0813] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: a support field; a second fill delay field; and a second handover delay field.

[0814] The support field indicates whether the second device supports the first mode; the second fill delay field indicates the second fill delay of the second device; and the second switching delay field indicates the second switching delay of the second device, which is the time required for the second device to switch from the second mode to the first mode.

[0815] For specific implementation details, please refer to the relevant content of the UHR capability elements mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0816] For specific implementation details, please refer to the fourth frame of the first site embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0817] In this embodiment, the transceiver module 2610 can be divided into at least one transceiver submodule. Each transceiver submodule is used to perform at least one of the above-described transceiver steps, such as a first transceiver submodule, a second transceiver submodule, and a third transceiver submodule. The first transceiver submodule is used to receive a first frame sent by the first device, the second transceiver submodule is used to send a first switching delay and / or a first padding delay to the first device in advance, and the third transceiver submodule is used to send a second frame to the first device; or the first transceiver submodule is used to send the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay to the first device in advance, the second transceiver submodule is used to send a second frame to the first device, and the third transceiver submodule is used to receive the first frame sent by the first device; or the first transceiver submodule is used to send a second frame to the first device, the second transceiver submodule is used to receive the first frame sent by the first device, and the third transceiver submodule is used to send the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay to the first device in advance. This embodiment does not limit the functions of different transceiver submodules.

[0818] This embodiment uses one transceiver module 2610 as an example, and the number of transceiver modules 2610 is not limited.

[0819] For a description of the functions of the transceiver module 2610, please refer to step 2410 in the embodiment shown in Figure 24.

[0820] Figure 27 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a second station provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. This second station 2700 can be used to execute the method steps performed by the second station in the above embodiments. The second station 2700 may include a processor 2701, a transceiver 2702, and a memory 2703. The processor 2701 can be used to control transmission and / or reception. The transceiver 2702 can be used to implement transmission and / or reception functions, such as implementing the functions of the transceiver module 2610 described above.

[0821] The processor 2701 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 2701 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0822] Transceiver 2702 may include a receiver and a transmitter, for example, the receiver and transmitter may be implemented as the same wireless communication component, which may include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0823] The memory 2703 can be connected to the processor 2701 and the transceiver 2702.

[0824] The memory 2703 can be used to store a computer program executed by the processor, and the processor 2701 is used to execute the computer program to implement the various steps in the above method embodiments.

[0825] Furthermore, the memory 2703 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static on-demand memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0826] For details not described in this embodiment, please refer to the method-side embodiment above, which will not be repeated here.

[0827] Figure 28 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first station provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The first station 2800 can be used to execute the method steps performed by the first station in the above embodiments. The first station 2800 may include a processor 2801, a transceiver 2802, and a memory 2803. The processor 2801 can be used to control transmission and / or reception. The transceiver 2802 can be used to implement transmission and / or reception functions, such as implementing the functions of the transceiver module 2510 described above.

[0828] The processor 2801 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 2801 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0829] Transceiver 2802 may include a receiver and a transmitter. For example, transceiver 2802 may include a wired communication component, which may include a wired communication chip and a wired interface (such as a fiber optic interface). Optionally, transceiver 2802 may also include a wireless communication component, which may include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0830] The memory 2803 can be connected to the processor 2801 and the transceiver 2802.

[0831] The memory 2803 can be used to store a computer program executed by the processor, and the processor 2801 is used to execute the computer program to implement the various steps in the above method embodiments.

[0832] Furthermore, the memory 2803 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static on-demand memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0833] For details not described in this embodiment, please refer to the method-side embodiment above, which will not be repeated here.

[0834] This application embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for execution by a processor to implement the aforementioned mode switching indication method at the second site side, or the aforementioned mode switching indication method at the first site side. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may include ROM (Read-Only Memory), RAM (Random-Access Memory), SSD (Solid State Drives), or optical disc, etc. The random access memory may include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0835] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, it is used to implement the above-mentioned mode switching indication method on the first site side or the mode switching indication method on the second site side.

[0836] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor reads from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer program to implement the above-described mode switching indication method on the first site side or the mode switching indication method on the second site side.

[0837] It should be understood that the term "instruction" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0838] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" may indicate that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or that there is an association between two things, or that there is a relationship of instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0839] In some embodiments of this application, "predefined" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including a first site and a second site). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0840] In some embodiments of this application, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, such as LTE protocol, NR protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, and this application does not limit it.

[0841] In this article, "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0842] In this article, "greater than or equal to" can mean greater than or equal to, and "less than or equal to" can mean less than or equal to.

[0843] Furthermore, the step numbers described herein are merely illustrative of one possible execution order between steps. In some other embodiments, the steps may not be executed in the order of their numbers, such as two steps with different numbers being executed simultaneously, or two steps with different numbers being executed in the reverse order of the illustration. This application does not limit this.

[0844] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0845] The above are merely exemplary embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application shall be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A method for indicating mode switching, characterized in that, The method is performed by a first site, and the method includes: Send a first frame to the second station, the first frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode; Wherein, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than the data transmission rate of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is less than the operating bandwidth of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is less than the number of spatial streams supported by the second mode. The highest protocol version of the Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) supported by the first mode is lower than the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the second mode. The power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The time required for the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first switching delay and / or the first filling delay are sent to the first station in advance by the second station.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first filling delay.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the first handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); If the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used in response to the first frame; If the first frame does not carry the padding, or if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first PPDU; If the first frame does not carry the padding, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or, if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after the start time of receiving the padding; or, if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding and the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, where the first handover delay is the time required for the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first frame does not carry the padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, to indicate that the second station does not send the second frame.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame. At least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover; Wherein, the immediate switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after receiving the start time of the filling. In some cases, and / or, the delayed switching corresponds to the second station switching from the first mode to the second mode within the time period corresponding to the start time of receiving the filling to the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

15. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that, The first switching delay and / or the first padding delay are greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first frame does not carry the padding, and the method further includes: Within the duration corresponding to the first switching delay and / or the first padding delay, perform frame interaction with the third station.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: During the transition from the first mode to the second mode at the second station, no frame interaction is performed with the second station.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, Sending the first frame to the second station includes: If the data to be processed meets the switching conditions, the first frame is sent to the second station; The data to be processed includes at least one of the data to be sent cached by the first site and the data to be sent cached by the second site.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The switching conditions include at least one of the following: The amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement for the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that, The first frame includes at least one of the following: Initial control frame (ICF); a data frame carrying aggregate control fields.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The ICF includes at least one of the following: Multi-user request to send MU-RTS trigger frame; Buffer status report polling BSRP trigger frame; Empty data physical layer protocol data unit feedback report polling NFRP trigger frame; Bandwidth query report polling BQRP trigger frame; Basic trigger frame; Multi-user block acknowledgment request MU-BAR trigger frame; Multicast multi-user block acknowledgment request with retries GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; Block acknowledgment request BAR frame; Block acknowledgment BA frame; Newly defined trigger frame.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

23. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The basic trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

24. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second frame sent by the second station, the second frame being used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The control field includes at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Reliability (UHR) Operation Mode (OM) field.

28. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode, and the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

29. The method according to any one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that, The second frame includes at least one of the following: Initial control response (ICR) frame; data frame carrying aggregate control fields.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The ICR frame includes at least one of the following: Allow sending CTS frames; QoS empty frames carrying aggregation control fields; BA frames; BAR frames; newly defined control frames.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control field, at least one bit in which the block acknowledgment control field is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

33. The method according to any one of claims 25 to 32, characterized in that, The first frame does not carry the padding, and the method further includes: sending a third frame after receiving the second frame, the third frame being used to occupy transmission resources and provide handover time for the second station.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The third frame includes at least one of the following: a beacon frame, a management frame from another broadcast, or a CTS-to-self frame.

35. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 34, characterized in that, The first site and the second site are associated, and the extremely reliable UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that, The UHR capability element is carried in at least one of the following management frames: Beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

37. The method according to claim 35 or 36, characterized in that, The UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: Supported fields; First fill delay field; First switch delay field; The support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the second mode; the first fill delay field is used to indicate the first fill delay of the second site; the first switch delay field is used to indicate the first switch delay of the second site, and the first switch delay is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

38. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 37, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth frame to the second station, the fourth frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from the second mode to the first mode; Wherein, the fourth frame does not carry the padding, or the fourth frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the second padding delay, or the fourth frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that, The second fill delay may be the same as or different from the first fill delay.

40. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 39, characterized in that, The second site is a site that supports and / or has enabled the first mode.

41. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 40, characterized in that, The first site is an access point (AP), and the second site is a non-AP STA associated with the AP; or, the first site is a non-AP STA, and the second site is a non-AP STA that has established a point-to-point link with the first site; or, the first site is the AP, and the second site is an AP that has established a multi-access point cooperation protocol with the AP.

42. A method for indicating mode switching, characterized in that, The method is performed by a second site, and the method includes: Receive a first frame sent by the first station, the first frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode; Wherein, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, The first mode and the second mode satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the data transmission rate of the first mode is lower than the data transmission rate of the second mode; the operating bandwidth of the first mode is less than the operating bandwidth of the second mode; the number of spatial streams supported by the first mode is less than the number of spatial streams supported by the second mode. The highest protocol version of the Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) supported by the first mode is lower than the highest protocol version of the PPDU supported by the second mode. The power consumption of the first mode is lower than that of the second mode.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, The time required for the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode is the first switching delay.

45. The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second station sends the first handover delay and / or the first padding delay to the first station in advance.

46. ​​The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The first switching delay may be the same as or different from the first filling delay.

47. The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The first filling delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different; and / or, the first handover delays corresponding to different second stations may be the same or different.

48. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 47, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); If the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU.

49. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 47, characterized in that, The second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU, and the second frame is used in response to the first frame; If the first frame does not carry the padding, or if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU.

50. The method according to claim 49, characterized in that, The first time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, which is the time required for the second site to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

51. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 47, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first PPDU; If the first frame does not carry the padding, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; or, if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a third time period after the start time of receiving the padding; or, if the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, the first frame is used to instruct the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the start time of receiving the padding and the end time of the fourth time period, where the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

52. The method according to claim 51, characterized in that, The second time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay, where the first handover delay is the time required for the second station to switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the third time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay; or, the duration corresponding to the start time of the filling to the end time of the fourth time period is greater than or equal to the first handover delay.

53. The method according to claim 52, characterized in that, The first frame does not carry the padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, to indicate that the second station does not send the second frame.

54. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 53, characterized in that, The first frame is carried in the first PPDU, and the second frame sent by the second station is carried in the second PPDU. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame. At least one bit in the first frame is used to instruct the second station to perform an immediate handover or a delayed handover; Wherein, the immediate switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode before the end time of the first PPDU; the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a first time period after the end time of the second PPDU; and / or, the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a second time period after the end time of the first PPDU; and / or, the delayed switch corresponds to the case where the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode within a duration corresponding to the time from the start time of receiving the filling to the end time of a fourth time period, wherein the start time of the fourth time period is the end time of the first PPDU.

55. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 54, characterized in that, The first frame is also used to indicate the expected completion time of the switch.

56. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 55, characterized in that, During the transition from the first mode to the second mode at the second station, the second station does not perform frame interactions with the first station.

57. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 56, characterized in that, The receipt of the first frame sent by the first station includes: Receive the first frame sent by the first station; Wherein, the pending data associated with the first site and / or the second site meets the switching conditions, and the pending data includes at least one of the pending data cached by the first site and the pending data cached by the second site.

58. The method according to claim 57, characterized in that, The switching conditions include at least one of the following: The amount of data to be processed is greater than the data threshold; the latency requirement for the data to be processed is lower than the latency threshold.

59. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 58, characterized in that, The first frame includes at least one of the following: Initial control frame (ICF); a data frame carrying aggregate control fields.

60. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that, The ICF includes at least one of the following: Multi-user request to send MU-RTS trigger frame; Buffer status report polling BSRP trigger frame; Empty data physical layer protocol data unit feedback report polling NFRP trigger frame; Bandwidth query report polling BQRP trigger frame; Basic trigger frame; Multi-user block acknowledgment request MU-BAR trigger frame; Multicast multi-user block acknowledgment request with retries GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; Block acknowledgment request BAR frame; Block acknowledgment BA frame; Newly determined The trigger frame for meaning.

61. The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, The MU-RTS trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a first user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the first user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

62. The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, The BSRP trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a second user information field, and at least one bit in the public information field and / or the second user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

63. The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, The basic trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a third user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the third user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

64. The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, The MU-BAR trigger frame includes a public information field and / or a fourth user information field, wherein at least one bit in the public information field and / or the fourth user information field is used to indicate that the second station switches from the first mode to the second mode.

65. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 64, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second frame is sent to the first station, the second frame being used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

66. The method according to claim 65, characterized in that, The control field in the second frame is used to instruct the second station to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

67. The method according to claim 66, characterized in that, The control field includes at least one of the following fields: Command and Status Extension (CAS) field; Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Operation Mode (OM) field; Extremely High Reliability (UHR) Operation Mode (OM) field.

68. The method according to claim 65, characterized in that, The second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; or, the second frame carries the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to refuse the switch from the first mode to the second mode; the second frame does not carry the response corresponding to the first frame to instruct the second station to accept the switch from the first mode to the second mode.

69. The method according to any one of claims 65 to 68, characterized in that, The second frame includes at least one of the following: Initial control response (ICR) frame; data frame carrying aggregate control fields.

70. The method according to claim 69, characterized in that, The ICR frame includes at least one of the following: Allow sending CTS frames; QoS empty frames carrying aggregation control fields; BA frames; BAR frames; newly defined control frames.

71. The method according to claim 70, characterized in that, The QoS empty frame carrying the aggregation control field includes a control information field, where at least one bit is used to indicate whether the second station accepts or refuses to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

72. The method according to claim 71, characterized in that, The BA frame includes a block acknowledgment control field, at least one bit in which the block acknowledgment control field is used to indicate to the second station whether to accept or refuse to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

73. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 72, characterized in that, The first site and the second site are associated, and the extremely reliable UHR capability elements used by the second site during the association process include the latency information of the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

74. The method according to claim 73, characterized in that, The UHR capability element is carried in at least one of the following management frames: Beacon frame; probe request frame; probe response frame; association request frame; association response frame; reassociation request frame; reassociation response frame; other management frames.

75. The method according to claim 73 or 74, characterized in that, The UHR capability element includes at least one of the following fields: Supported fields; First fill delay field; First switch delay field; The support field is used to indicate whether the second site supports the second mode; the first fill delay field is used to indicate the first fill delay of the second site; the first switch delay field is used to indicate the first switch delay of the second site, and the first switch delay is the time corresponding to the second site switching from the first mode to the second mode.

76. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 75, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a fourth frame sent by the first station, the fourth frame being used to instruct the second station to switch from the second mode to the first mode; Wherein, the fourth frame does not carry the padding, or the fourth frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the second padding delay, or the fourth frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the second padding delay.

77. The method according to claim 76, characterized in that, The second fill delay may be the same as or different from the first fill delay.

78. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 77, characterized in that, The second site is a site that supports and / or has enabled the first mode.

79. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 78, characterized in that, The first site is an access point (AP), and the second site is a non-AP STA associated with the AP; or, the first site is a non-AP STA, and the second site is a non-AP STA that has established a point-to-point link with the first site; or, the first site is the AP, and the second site is an AP that has established a multi-access point cooperation protocol with the AP.

80. A first device, characterized in that, The first device includes: A sending module is used to send a first frame to a second device, the first frame being used to instruct the second device to switch from a first mode to a second mode; Wherein, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay.

81. A second device, characterized in that, The second device includes: The receiving module is configured to receive a first frame sent by the first device, wherein the first frame is used to instruct the second device to switch from a first mode to a second mode; Wherein, the first frame does not carry padding, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is less than the first padding delay, or the first frame carries the padding and the duration corresponding to the padding is equal to or greater than the first padding delay.

82. A first station, characterized in that, The first site includes: A processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 41.

83. A second station, characterized in that, The second site includes: A processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 42 to 79.

84. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores at least one program, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 41, or the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 42 to 79.

85. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running at a first site, it is used to implement the mode switching indication method according to any one of claims 1 to 41. When the chip is running at a second site, it is used to implement the mode switching indication method according to any one of claims 42 to 79.

86. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, a processor retrieving the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executing the computer instructions to implement the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 41, or the mode switching indication method as described in any one of claims 42 to 79.

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