CN108260189B

CN108260189B - Method for sending wake-up frame, access point and station

Info

Publication number: CN108260189B
Application number: CN201611239452.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 贾嘉; 淦明; 吴涛
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-28
Filing date: 2016-12-28
Publication date: 2021-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-28
Also published as: CN108260189A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for sending an awakening frame, an access point and a station, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the access point AP generates a first wake-up frame, and sends the first wake-up frame to the station STA, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state; when the STA keeps a full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps a half awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state. Thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

Description

Method for sending wake-up frame, access point and station

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a method for sending an awakening frame, an access point and a station.

Background

The feature of low power consumption has gradually led to extensive discussion in the industry in short-range wireless communication networks. Especially, the feature of low power consumption is important for the development requirement of the Internet of Things (IoT) based on short-range wireless communication technology.

When a Main Radio (MR) in a Station (STA) sleeps, its power consumption is significantly reduced, but at this time, the MR communication connection is interrupted. The longer the MR sleep time, the lower the overall power consumption. Only when the MR remains in the fully awake state can its belonging communication function be completed. Therefore, lower power consumption will result in longer communication delay. A Wake Up Receiver (WUR) in a Station (Station) is generated to solve the contradiction between power consumption and time delay. The WUR is used to listen and receive an Access Point (AP) wakeup frame (Wake Up Packet, WUP for short) when the MR having a strong communication function is sleeping, and the WUP is used to Wake Up the MR in a sleep state. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a prior art AP sending a wakeup frame to a WUR, which is an MR-independent component, as shown in fig. 1. When an MR is off (sleeping), the WUR remains on or turns on for a specified period of time so that WUPs for waking up its associated MR can be listened to and received. When a WUP received by a WUR is a MR that wakes up its association, the WUR finds that the destination identification in this WUP matches itself, and thus starts waking up its associated MR so that the MR can start its normal communication function.

On the one hand, a Transmission Link (Tx) in the MR of the STA consumes a large part of the overall average MR power consumption. In Tx, the Power Amplifier (PA) occupies a significant part of the Power consumption, and the PA occupies about two thirds of the total Power consumption of the STA. Specifically, the a-type PA and the B-type PA have good linear amplification characteristics, and are widely used in networks with high requirements for data accuracy, such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). However, both a-type PA and B-type PA cause large quiescent current consumption, that is, unnecessary power consumption of the STA when the STA remains in a fully awake state and in an idle state when no data is transmitted. On the other hand, at the STA end, there is a case where a Phase Lock Loop (PLL) and components related to the generation of the crystal frequency require approximately 3-5 ms from the open state to the fully awake state of the crystal frequency, and other components such as the mixer, the baseband amplifier, and the digital processing chip of the STA require only 500-600 ms to enter the fully awake state. There is therefore an unnecessary power consumption caused by the other components, e.g. the PA consumes a lot of energy, before waiting for the crystal frequency dependent component to enter the fully awake state.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a sending method of an awakening frame, an access point and a station, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of an STA.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an awake frame, including: an Access Point (AP) generates a first wake-up frame; the access point AP sends a first wake-up frame to the station STA, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

when the STA keeps a full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps a half awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state.

Since the first wake-up frame sent by the AP to the STA includes: when the field is half-awakened, when the STA is in a half-awakened state, the STA only needs to start part of functions, and therefore unnecessary power consumption of the STA is reduced.

In an optional manner, when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state until the STA receives a second wakeup frame, where the second wakeup frame is configured to indicate that the STA maintains a full-wakeup state;

or, when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the sleep state after the half-wakeup duration if the STA does not receive the second wakeup frame within the half-wakeup duration.

Optionally, the half wake-up field includes: a half wake-up indication subfield and a half wake-up duration subfield;

the semi-awake indication subfield is used for indicating the STA to keep a full awake state or a semi-awake state;

the half wake up duration subfield is used to indicate a half wake up duration to maintain a half wake up state.

Alternatively, when the semi-awake field indicates that the STA remains in the semi-awake state, the semi-awake field is further used to indicate a semi-awake duration.

In the two options, the first wakeup frame sent by the AP to the STA includes: and the half wake-up field ensures that when the STA is in a half wake-up state, the STA only needs to start part of functions, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

The following describes a method for sending an awake frame executed by an STA side, where the content and effect of the awake frame correspond to those of an AP side, and the corresponding technical effect will not be described in detail below.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an awake frame, including:

a station STA receives a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

Optionally, when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state until the STA receives a second wakeup frame, where the second wakeup frame is used to indicate that the STA maintains the full-wakeup state;

Optionally, when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further used to indicate a half-wakeup duration.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an awake frame, including:

the access point AP generates M awakening subframes;

an Access Point (AP) sends M awakening subframes to a Station (STA), wherein M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

wherein, every awakening sub-frame in the first N awakening sub-frames comprises: the sleep indication field and the sleep duration field, wherein each wake-up subframe from the (N + 1) th wake-up subframe to the (N + P) th wake-up subframe comprises: the system comprises a semi-awakening indication field and a semi-awakening duration field, wherein each of the (N + P + 1) th awakening sub-frame to the Mth awakening sub-frame comprises: a complete awakening indication field and a complete awakening duration field, wherein N is a positive integer which is greater than or equal to 1 and less than M, and N + P is a positive integer less than M;

the sleep indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a sleep state, the sleep duration field is used for indicating the sleep duration of the sleep state, the semi-awakening indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a semi-awakening state, the semi-awakening duration field is used for indicating the semi-awakening duration of the semi-awakening state, the complete-awakening indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a complete-awakening state, and the complete-awakening duration field is used for indicating the complete-awakening duration of the complete-awakening state;

when the STA keeps the sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps a semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps a complete awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

Considering the case that the AP sends M awake subframes to the STA, letting each awake subframe of the first N awake subframes include: a sleep indication field, each wake-up subframe of the (N + 1) th wake-up subframe to the (N + P) th wake-up subframe including: the system comprises a semi-awakening indication field and a semi-awakening duration field, wherein each of the (N + P + 1) th awakening sub-frame to the Mth awakening sub-frame comprises: a full wake indication field. Thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an awake frame, including:

a station STA receives M awakening subframes sent by an access point AP, wherein M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

when the STA keeps a sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps a semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps a full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access point AP, including:

a processor configured to generate a first wake-up frame;

a transmitter, configured to transmit a first wakeup frame to a station STA, where the first wakeup frame includes: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a station STA, including:

a receiver, configured to receive a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

when the STA keeps a full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps the half awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in the opening state.

Optionally, when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state until the STA receives a second wakeup frame, where the second wakeup frame is used to indicate that the STA maintains a full-wakeup state;

Optionally, when the semi-awake field indicates that the STA maintains the semi-awake state, the semi-awake field is further used to indicate a semi-awake duration.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access point AP, including:

a processor configured to generate M wake-up subframes;

a transmitter, configured to transmit M wake-up subframes to a station STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a station STA, including:

the access point AP comprises a receiver and a control unit, wherein the receiver is used for receiving M awakening subframes sent by the access point AP, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access point AP, including:

the processing module is used for generating a first wake-up frame;

a sending module, configured to send a first wakeup frame to a station STA, where the first wakeup frame includes: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a station STA, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake-up field to indicate the STA to remain in a fully wake-up state or a half wake-up state;

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access point AP, including:

the processing module is used for generating M awakening subframes;

a sending module, configured to send M wake-up subframes to a station STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

when the STA keeps a sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps a semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps the fully awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a station STA, including:

the access point comprises a receiving module, a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving M awakening subframes sent by an access point AP, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

when the STA keeps the sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps the complete awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for sending an awakening frame, an access point and a station, wherein the method comprises the following steps: an Access Point (AP) generates a first wake-up frame, and sends the first wake-up frame to a Station (STA), wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state; when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state. Since the first wake-up frame sent by the AP to the STA includes: when the field is half-awakened, when the STA is in a half-awakened state, the STA only needs to start part of functions, and therefore unnecessary power consumption of the STA is reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an AP sending a wakeup frame to a WUR according to the prior art;

fig. 2 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a second schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a third schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a fourth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending a wake-up frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of a WUP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a format of a half wake-up field according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a fifth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a sixth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a seventh schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is an eighth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a ninth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram ten illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is an eleventh schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending a wake-up frame according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a twelfth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a format of a half wake-up field according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the invention is mainly provided for the following three scenes.

The first scenario is: the AP typically sends a WUP to the WUR of the STA to enable the WUR to wake up the MR of the STA. After waiting for the MR of the STA to be awakened, the AP replies an Acknowledgement Frame (ACK) or Power save-Poll Frame (PS-Poll) to the STA. Thereby starting a subsequent uplink/downlink data communication process. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wake-up STA from an AP to an STA according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, after receiving the WUP sent by the AP, the STA needs a long warm-up time (4-6 ms) to complete entering a full wake-up state of its MR. The AP waits for the STA to reply with an ACK/PS-Poll during the warm-up time. Two previously unpredictable situations arise at this time. In the first situation, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the AP may desire to interrupt subsequent communications with STA1, instead communicate with STA2 with emergency traffic, or instead wake up other STA2 with emergency traffic, as there may be other emergency uplink/downlink traffic. For example, the AP needs to send emergency data to STA 2. In a second situation, fig. 4 is a third schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, when the AP waits for a warm-up time for STA1 to reply an ACK/PS-Poll, a channel is idle for a long time and is occupied by other STAs 2, and STA2 sends a non-schedule-based (non-trigger-based) uplink frame, so that STA1 cannot reply the AP ACK/PS-Poll when being fully awakened. In summary, due to the long warm-up time of the wake-up procedure of the MR of the STA1, it may happen that normal communication with the AP is not possible when the MR of the STA1 has been fully woken up. In this case, the turning on of the Tx of STA1 may cause unnecessary power consumption by the PA.

The second scenario is: fig. 5 is a fourth schematic diagram of a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 5, after the AP wakes up the STA, the AP directly sends downlink data to the STA after sending the WUP without the STA replying an ACK/PS-Poll to the STA. Therefore, in this case, if the STA opens the Tx link during the time when the AP performs downlink data transmission on the STA, the STA will unnecessarily consume power.

In summary, in both scenarios, when STA1 has kept awake (including warm-up time and time in full awake state), STA1 may consume unnecessary power when STA1 is not required to transmit uplink data to AP but STA turns on Tx, or when AP and STA1 are unable to normally transmit data.

The third scenario is: the PLL and components associated with the generation of the crystal frequency in the STA may take approximately 3-5 milliseconds from turn-on to enter the full wake-up state of the crystal frequency, while the other components of the STA may only take 500-600 microseconds to fully enter the full wake-up state. There is therefore an unnecessary power consumption by other components before waiting for the crystal frequency dependent component to enter the fully awake state, so that the PA consumes a large amount of energy.

Based on the above three scenarios, the present invention is directed to adding a half wake field in the WUP to indicate whether the STA remains in a fully awake state or a half awake state. The full wake-up state is as follows: when the STA maintains the fully awake state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an on state. The semi-awake-loaded state means: when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of a main circuit of the STA are in an opening state. For example: in a semi-awake state: 1) the MR of the STA can keep its Tx still in the off state, and particularly its PA in the off state, thereby reducing power consumption. 2) Components related to the generation of the crystal frequency may be turned on, e.g., PLLs, clocks, etc., since these components require longer warm-up time and consume less power than PAs; 3) other Tx components may be turned on because of their lower power consumption.

Specifically, fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for sending an awake frame according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, the method includes the following steps:

step S601: an Access Point (AP) generates a first wake-up frame;

step S602: the AP sends a first wake-up frame to the STA, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake field.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of a WUP according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 7, when an AP transmits a WUP, the AP may transmit an 802.11 legacy Preamble (L-Preamble) in advance to enable other 802.11 devices to back off, so as to avoid wireless channel occupation collision. The legacy Preamble is followed by a WUP Preamble (WUR-Preamble) that is used by the WUR to complete the synchronization process of WUP reception. The WUR signaling portion (WUR-SIG) thereafter may be used to indicate the length of the subsequent WUR information Payload portion (WUR-Payload). WUR-Payload includes: a semi-awake field (PWF) for indicating that the STA maintains a fully awake state or a semi-awake state, and the WUR-Payload part may further include a subsequent behavior indication for indicating that the STA is awake, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first wakeup frame sent by the AP to the STA includes: the half wake field, so that when the STA is in the half wake state, the STA only needs to turn on part of the functions, for example: the MR of the STA may keep its Tx still in off state, in particular its PA may be in off state, components related to crystal frequency generation may be turned on, e.g. PLL, clock, etc. may be turned on; other Tx components may be turned on, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption by the STA.

Optionally, the method further comprises: when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA keeps a half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is also used for indicating that the STA keeps the half-wakeup state until the STA receives a second wakeup frame, and the second wakeup frame is used for indicating that the STA keeps the complete-wakeup state;

or,

and when the semi-wakeup field indicates that the STA keeps the semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup field is further used for indicating that the STA keeps the sleep state when the semi-wakeup time length is over if the STA does not receive the second wakeup frame in the semi-wakeup time length. For example: when STA1 is in the semi-awake state, if the AP is ready to perform data transmission with STA1, but the AP performs uplink or downlink data transmission with STA2 in a burst manner, in this case, STA1 does not receive the WUP with PWI of 0 sent by another AP, and at this time STA1 keeps the sleep state again, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption in the idle state caused by STA1 being interrupted by the AP from subsequent communication after being awake by the AP.

In the prior art, after the STA receives the WUP sent by the AP, the STA keeps a fully awake state, and in fact, on one hand, after the STA is awake, the STA may not normally communicate with the AP. On the other hand, it takes about 3-5 ms for the components related to the crystal frequency in the STA to maintain the fully awake state, while it only takes 500-600 ms for the other components of the STA to maintain the fully awake state. There is therefore an unnecessary power consumption caused by other components before waiting for the crystal frequency dependent component to remain in the fully awake state. In summary, the two aspects cause unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the STA keeps a half-awakening state, the half-awakening field is also used for indicating the STA to keep the half-awakening state until the STA receives a second awakening frame, and the second awakening frame is used for indicating the STA to keep the complete awakening state; or, when the semi-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the sleep state after the semi-wakeup duration ends if the STA does not receive the second wakeup frame within the semi-wakeup duration. Thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

The half-wakeup field may adopt the following two optional modes:

the first alternative is: fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a format of a half wake-up field according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 8, the half wake-up field includes: a Pre-wake Indication (PWI) subfield and a Pre-wake Duration (PWD) subfield; wherein a half wake indication subfield is used to indicate that the STA maintains the fully awake state or the half awake state. The half wake-up duration subfield is used to indicate a half wake-up duration for maintaining the half wake-up state. In the embodiment of the invention, the half-wakeup field occupies 8 bits, the half-wakeup indication subfield occupies 1 bit, and the half-wakeup duration subfield occupies 7 bits.

Wherein, the indication of PWI is shown in table I

Watch 1

Of course, it is also possible to let PWI equal to 1 indicate that the main circuit of the awakened STA can be fully turned on without maintaining the semi-awake state proposed in the embodiment of the present invention, and PWI equal to 0 indicate that the main circuit of the awakened STA can maintain the semi-awake state proposed in the embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The PWD is indicated in Table two

Watch two

Fig. 9 is a fifth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 9, when a PWI is equal to 0, after the STA receives the WUP, the STA starts all functions of its host, that is, maintains a fully awake state, so that an ACK/PS-Poll response frame can be replied to the AP. Optionally, the method further comprises: a response behavior field for responding to a behavior field that may exist in the WUP.

When PWI is 1, there are two cases for the STA after receiving the WUP. Specifically, fig. 10 is a sixth schematic diagram of a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 10, in a half wakeup duration, if an STA receives another WUP to which the STA sends a PWI equal to 0, the STA exits the half wakeup state and completely turns on all functions of its MR, that is, the STA maintains the full wakeup state, and after x microseconds, the STA replies an ACK/PS-Poll to the AP, and optionally, after the STA replies the ACK/PS-Poll to the AP, the STA sends a response message to the AP to respond to a behavior field. Fig. 11 is a seventh schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 11, if no WUP to which PWI is equal to 0 is received within a half wakeup duration, the STA exits the half wakeup state and resumes the sleep state at the end of the half wakeup duration.

The second alternative is: when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA remains in the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is also used to indicate the half-wakeup duration.

In particular, the second alternative differs from the first mainly in the change to the PWF format. In a second alternative, the PWF is no longer divided into two subfields from the first alternative: the PWI is associated with the PWD, but the PWF as a whole, and specifically, the PWF is indicated in table three.

Watch III

Fig. 12 is a diagram eight illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 12, when PWF is 00000000, a WUR of the STA receives the WUP and then maintains a fully awake state to communicate with the AP.

Fig. 13 is a ninth schematic diagram illustrating a procedure of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 13, when a PWF is 11111111, the AP instructs the STA to keep a half-wakeup state and keep the state until another PWF is 00000000 of the WUP is received, the AP exits from the half-wakeup state and keeps a full-wakeup state according to an instruction that the PWF value is 00000000.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 14, when a PWF takes a value between 00000000 and 11111111111, the PWF indicates that the STA maintains a semi-awake state. Within the half wake-up duration indicated by the PWF, if a WUP with a PWF value of 00000000 is received, the half wake-up state is exited and the full wake-up state is maintained as indicated by the PWF value of 00000000.

Fig. 15 is an eleventh schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wakeup STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where as shown in fig. 15, when a PWF takes a value between 00000000 and 11111111111, the PWF indicates that the STA maintains a semi-awake state. If no WUP with PWF value of 00000000 is received within the half wake-up duration, the STA re-stays in sleep mode.

In summary, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first wakeup frame sent by the AP to the STA includes: and the half wake-up field ensures that when the STA is in a half wake-up state, the STA only needs to start part of functions, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

Considering that some WUPs are long in length, these WUPs need to be sent in slices in order to increase the success rate of WUP transmission. For convenience, the fragmented WUP is referred to as a wake-up subframe.

In a transmission scenario where there are multiple wake-up subframes, it usually takes a long time to complete the transmission of the multiple wake-up subframes. Therefore, the embodiment of the invention considers that the WUP of the first wake-up sub-frame or the first wake-up sub-frames is not needed to be used for waking up the STA to keep a full wake-up state or a half wake-up state.

Specifically, fig. 16 is a schematic flow chart of a method for sending an awake frame according to another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 16, the method includes the following steps:

step S1601: the access point AP generates M awakening subframes;

step S1602: an Access Point (AP) sends M awakening subframes to a Station (STA);

fig. 17 is a twelfth schematic diagram illustrating a process of sending a WUP wake-up STA to an STA by an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where, as shown in fig. 17, each wake-up subframe in the first N wake-up subframes includes: the sleep indication field and the sleep duration field, wherein each wake-up subframe from the (N + 1) th wake-up subframe to the (N + P) th wake-up subframe comprises: the system comprises a semi-awakening indication field and a semi-awakening duration field, wherein each of the (N + P + 1) th awakening sub-frame to the Mth awakening sub-frame comprises: a complete wake-up indication field and a complete wake-up duration field, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than M, and N + P is a positive integer less than M; the sleep indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a sleep state, the sleep duration field is used for indicating the sleep duration for keeping the sleep state, the semi-wakeup indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup duration field is used for indicating the semi-wakeup duration for keeping the semi-wakeup state, and the full wakeup indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a full wakeup state; the full wake-up duration field is used to indicate a full wake-up duration for maintaining the full wake-up state. When the STA keeps the sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of the functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all the functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram of a format of a half wake-up field according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 18, when a wake-up subframe includes: when the sleep indication field, the sleep indication field includes: the first Indication information may be 1, the PSI is 0, and when the first Indication information is 1 and the PSI is 0, the STA does not enter the semi-awake state, that is, the STA remains in the sleep state. Optionally, the first indication information occupies 1 bit, the PSI occupies 1 bit, and the sleep duration field occupies 6 bits.

When the wake-up sub-frame includes: when the indication field of the half wake-up is included, the indication field of the half wake-up includes: the first indication information may be 1, the PSI is 1, and when the first indication information is 1 and the PSI is 1, the entry into the semi-awake state is indicated, that is, the STA maintains the semi-awake state. Optionally, the first indication information occupies 1 bit, the PSI occupies 1 bit, and the half wake-up duration field occupies 6 bits.

When the wake-up sub-frame includes: when the full wake up indication field is used, the full wake up indication field includes: the second indication information may be 0, and the PSI may be 0 or 1, and when the second indication information is 0 and the PSI is 0 or 1, it indicates that the STA maintains the fully awake state. Optionally, the second indication information occupies 1 bit, the PSI occupies 1 bit, and the full wake-up duration field occupies 6 bits.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in consideration of the situation that the AP sends M wake-up subframes to the STA, each wake-up subframe of the first N wake-up subframes includes: a sleep indication field, each wake-up subframe of the (N + 1) th wake-up subframe to the (N + P) th wake-up subframe including: the system comprises a semi-awakening indication field and a semi-awakening duration field, wherein each of the (N + P + 1) th awakening sub-frame to the Mth awakening sub-frame comprises: a full wake indication field. Thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption of the STA.

Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 19, the access point includes:

a transmitter 1901, configured to transmit a first wakeup frame to a station STA, where the first wakeup frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state.

Optionally, the access point further comprises a processor 1902, and the processor 1902 is configured to generate the first wake-up frame and control the transmitter 1901 to transmit the first wake-up frame to the station STA.

Optionally, the access point further includes a memory 1903, and the memory 1903 is configured to store instructions to enable the processor 1902 to generate the first wake-up frame by executing the instructions, and control the transmitter 1901 to transmit the first wake-up frame to the station STA.

or,

and when the semi-wakeup field indicates that the STA keeps the semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup field is further used for indicating that the STA keeps the sleep state at the end of the semi-wakeup time length if the STA does not receive the second wakeup frame in the semi-wakeup time length.

the half wake-up indication subfield is used to indicate that the STA maintains the full wake-up state or the half wake-up state;

the half wake-up duration subfield is used to indicate a half wake-up duration for maintaining the half wake-up state.

Optionally, when the semi-awake field indicates that the STA maintains the semi-awake state, the semi-awake field is further configured to indicate the semi-awake duration.

The access point provided in this embodiment may be configured to execute the method implementation technical solution on the AP side corresponding to fig. 6, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, where the storage medium is configured to store an instruction, so that a processor generates the first wakeup frame by executing the instruction, and controls the transmitter to transmit the first wakeup frame to a station STA.

Fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 20, the station includes:

a receiver 2001, configured to receive a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

Optionally, the station further includes a processor 2002, and the processor 2002 is configured to turn on all or part of the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

Optionally, the station further comprises a memory 2003, and the memory 2003 is configured to store instructions to enable the processor 2002 to turn on all or part of the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame by executing the instructions.

or,

The station provided in this embodiment may be configured to execute the method implementation technical solution on the STA side corresponding to fig. 6, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, where the storage medium is configured to store an instruction, so that a processor starts all or part of functions of a main circuit according to the first wake-up frame by executing the instruction.

Fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 21, the access point includes:

a transmitter 2101 configured to transmit M wake-up subframes to a STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

wherein, every awakening sub-frame in the first N awakening sub-frames comprises: the sleep indication field and the sleep duration field, wherein each wake-up subframe from the (N + 1) th wake-up subframe to the (N + P) th wake-up subframe comprises: the system comprises a semi-awakening indication field and a semi-awakening duration field, wherein each of the (N + P + 1) th awakening sub-frame to the Mth awakening sub-frame comprises: a complete wake-up indication field and a complete wake-up duration field, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than M, and N + P is a positive integer less than M;

the sleep indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a sleep state, the sleep duration field is used for indicating the sleep duration for keeping the sleep state, the semi-wakeup indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup duration field is used for indicating the semi-wakeup duration for keeping the semi-wakeup state, the full wakeup indication field is used for indicating the STA to keep a full wakeup state, and the full wakeup duration field is used for indicating the full wakeup duration for keeping the full wakeup state;

when the STA keeps the sleep state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of the functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all the functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

Optionally, the access point further comprises a processor 2102, the processor 2102 configured to generate the M wake-up subframes, and control the transmitter 2101 to transmit the M wake-up subframes to the station STA

Optionally, the access point further comprises a memory 2103, the memory 2103 being configured to store instructions to cause the processor 2102 to generate the M wake-up subframes by executing the instructions, and to control the transmitter 2101 to transmit the M wake-up subframes to the station STA.

The access point provided in this embodiment may be configured to execute the method implementation technical solution on the AP side corresponding to fig. 16, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, where the storage medium is configured to store an instruction, so that a processor generates the M wake-up subframes by executing the instruction, and controls a transmitter to transmit the M wake-up subframes to a station STA.

Fig. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 22, the station includes:

a receiver 2201, configured to receive M wake-up subframes sent by an access point AP, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

Optionally, the station further comprises a processor 2202, and the processor 2202 is configured to turn on all or part of the functions of the main circuit or turn off all the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

Optionally, the station further comprises a memory 2203, the memory 2203 being configured to store instructions for causing the processor 2202 to turn on all or part of the main circuit or turn off all the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame by executing the instructions.

The access point provided in this embodiment may be configured to execute the method implementation technical solution on the STA side corresponding to fig. 16, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium, where the storage medium is configured to store an instruction, so that a processor starts all or part of the functions of the main circuit or closes all the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame by executing the instruction.

Fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 23, the access point includes:

a sending module 2301, configured to send a first wakeup frame to a station STA, where the first wakeup frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

Optionally, the access point further includes a processing module 2302, where the processing module 2302 is configured to generate the first wake-up frame and control the transmitting module 2301 to transmit the first wake-up frame to the station STA.

Optionally, the access point further includes a storage module 2303, and the storage module 2303 is configured to store an instruction, so that the processing module 2302 generates the first wake-up frame by executing the instruction, and controls the transmitting module 2301 to transmit the first wake-up frame to the station STA.

or,

Fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 24, the station includes:

a receiving module 2401, configured to receive a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

Optionally, the station further includes a processing module 2402, where the processing module 2402 is configured to turn on all or part of functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

Optionally, the station further includes a storage module 2403, where the storage module 2403 is configured to store an instruction, so that the processing module 2402, by executing the instruction, turns on all or part of the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

or,

Fig. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point AP according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 25, the access point includes:

a sending module 2501, configured to send M wake-up subframes to a station STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

Optionally, the access point further includes a processing module 2502, where the processing module 2502 is configured to generate the M wake-up subframes, and control the transmitting module 2501 to transmit the M wake-up subframes to the STA

Optionally, the access point further includes a storage module 2503, where the storage module 2503 is configured to store instructions, so that the processing module 2502 generates the M wake-up subframes by executing the instructions, and controls the transmitting module 2501 to transmit the M wake-up subframes to the station STA.

Fig. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of a station STA according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 26, the station includes:

a receiving module 2601, configured to receive M wake-up subframes sent by an access point AP, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

Optionally, the station further includes a processing module 2602, where the processing module 2602 is configured to turn on all or part of the functions of the main circuit or turn off all the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

Optionally, the station further includes a storage module 2603, and the storage module 2603 is configured to store an instruction, so that the processing module 2602, by executing the instruction, turns on all or part of the functions of the main circuit or turns off all the functions of the main circuit according to the first wake-up frame.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Claims

1. A method for sending a wakeup frame, comprising:

an Access Point (AP) generates a first wake-up frame;

the access point AP sends the first wake-up frame to a WUR of a station STA, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all functions of a main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in the opening state;

the half wake-up field includes: a half wake-up indication subfield and a half wake-up duration subfield;

the half wake-up duration subfield is used for indicating a half wake-up duration for maintaining the half wake-up state;

part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an opening state, and the method comprises the following steps: the transmission link in the main circuit of the STA is in a closed state or the PA in the transmission link is in a closed state, and the components related to the generation of the crystal oscillator frequency in the main circuit of the STA are in an open state.

2. The method of claim 1,

when the half-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state, the half-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the half-wakeup state until the STA receives a second wakeup frame, where the second wakeup frame is configured to indicate that the STA maintains the full-wakeup state;

or, when the semi-wakeup field indicates that the STA maintains the semi-wakeup state, the semi-wakeup field is further configured to indicate that the STA maintains the sleep state after the semi-wakeup duration ends if the STA does not receive the second wakeup frame within the semi-wakeup duration.

3. A method for sending a wakeup frame, comprising:

a WUR of a station STA receives a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, wherein the first wake-up frame comprises: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

4. The method of claim 3,

5. A method for sending a wakeup frame, comprising:

the access point AP generates M awakening subframes;

the access point AP sends the M awakening subframes to a WUR of the station STA, wherein M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

when the STA keeps the sleep state, all functions of a main circuit of the STA are in a closed state, when the STA keeps the semi-awakening state, part of functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state, and when the STA keeps the full awakening state, all functions of the main circuit of the STA are in an open state;

6. A method for sending a wakeup frame, comprising:

a WUR of a station STA receives M awakening subframes sent by an access point AP, wherein M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

7. An access point, AP, comprising:

a processor configured to generate a first wake-up frame;

a transmitter, configured to transmit the first wake-up frame to a WUR of a station STA, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

8. The access point of claim 7,

9. A Station (STA), comprising:

a receiver WUR configured to receive a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

10. The station of claim 9,

11. An access point, AP, comprising:

a processor configured to generate M wake-up subframes;

a transmitter, configured to send the M wake-up subframes to a WUR of a station STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

12. A Station (STA), comprising:

the receiver WUR is used for receiving M awakening subframes sent by the access point AP, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

13. An access point, AP, comprising:

the processing module is used for generating a first wake-up frame;

a sending module, configured to send the first wake-up frame to a WUR of a station STA, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

14. A Station (STA), comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive, through the WUR, a first wake-up frame sent by an access point AP, where the first wake-up frame includes: a half wake field to indicate that the STA remains in a fully wake state or a half wake state;

15. An access point, AP, comprising:

the processing module is used for generating M awakening subframes;

a sending module, configured to send the M wake-up subframes to a WUR of a station STA, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

16. A Station (STA), comprising:

the device comprises a receiving module, a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving M awakening subframes sent by an Access Point (AP) through a WUR, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;