Method and apparatus for multi-link operation (MLO)

Abstract

Techniques for handling direct link communications in a multi-link system include transmitting (404), via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations affiliated with a multi-link device, MLD, a data frame including a transmitter address field set to an address of the MLD, the address of the MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the MLD and the second wireless stations affiliated with the MLD for multi-link operations. The method further includes communicating (406) with the first wireless station via the direct link.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 17 / 503,848, filed October 18, 2021, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 094,684, filed October 21, 2020, both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0003] open field

[0004] Certain aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communications, and more particularly to various techniques and apparatuses for handling direct link communications in multi-link systems.

[0005] Related technical descriptions

[0006] To address the growing bandwidth requirements of wireless communication systems, various solutions are being developed to allow multiple wireless stations to communicate with a single access point while simultaneously achieving high data throughput by sharing channel resources.

[0007] Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology represents one such approach and has emerged as a popular technique for communication systems. MIMO technology has been adopted in several wireless communication standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard (including its revisions, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, and 802.11be). Some wireless communication standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (including its revisions, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, and 802.11be), identify a set of wireless local area network (WLAN) air interface standards developed by the IEEE 802.11 committee for short-range communication (e.g., tens to hundreds of meters).

[0008] Some wireless networks (such as 802.11be networks, also known as Extremely High Throughput (EHT) networks) enable certain wireless communication devices (which may be referred to as multi-link devices (MLDs)) to communicate simultaneously across available frequency bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands) via two or more wireless communication links, for example, by using multi-link operation (MLO) and / or multi-link aggregation (MLA).

[0009] Overview

[0010] The systems, methods, and apparatus of this disclosure each have several aspects, and their desired properties are not solely the responsibility of any single aspect. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure as set forth in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. Upon consideration of this discussion, and especially after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," it will be understood how the features of this disclosure provide the advantages of desired latency and / or throughput due to multi-link operation.

[0011] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD). The method generally includes transmitting a data frame, comprising a transmitter address field set to an address of the MLD, to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the MLD. The address of the MLD is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the MLD for multi-link operation. The method also includes communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0012] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication via an MLD. The method generally includes: communicating with a first wireless station associated with the MLD via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating. The method further includes receiving a request to transmit (RTS) frame from an access point requesting data to be transmitted to the third wireless station associated with the MLD, and taking one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0013] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by an access point. The method generally includes receiving from an MLD a first indication to enable the transmission of an RTS frame prior to a transmission from the access point to the MLD. The method further includes transmitting an RTS frame to the MLD based on the first indication, requesting that data be transmitted to one or more wireless stations associated with the MLD. The method also includes transmitting data to the one or more wireless stations if the access point receives a Clear Transmission (CTS) frame from the MLD.

[0014] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by an MLD. The method generally includes transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode. The method further includes, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second and a third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0015] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by an MLD. The method generally includes transmitting to an access point an indication that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled. The method further includes, after the transmission of the indication, communicating with a second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0016] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a first MLD. The method generally includes communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including multiple links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD. The method further includes transmitting to one or more first access points a first indication to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more first access points and the one or more first radio stations. The method also includes, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0017] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a first MLD. The method generally includes receiving one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, relating to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multi-link operation. The method further includes relaying the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0018] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a first wireless station. The method generally includes transmitting a request via an access point to a second wireless station to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations. The method also includes communicating directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0019] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a first multi-link device (MLD). The MLD generally includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and the memory are configured to transmit data frames to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD. The data frames include a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation; and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0020] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD). The method generally includes transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD. The data frame includes a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0021] Some aspects of this disclosure provide a multi-link device (MLD). The MLD generally includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and the memory are configured to: establish a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD when a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0022] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide an access point. The access point generally includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and the memory are configured to: receive from a multi-link device (MLD) an indication of a status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD, and based on the status, transmit a first frame to the MLD requesting the transmission of data to the one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD; and if the access point receives from the MLD a second frame granting permission to transmit data, transmit the data to the one or more radio stations.

[0023] Some aspects of this disclosure provide a multi-link device (MLD). The MLD generally includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and the memory are configured to: transmit a first instruction associated with a first radio station belonging to the MLD to an access point (AP) MLD; and, after the transmission of the first instruction, communicate with a second radio station belonging to the MLD via a direct link between the second and third radio stations, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0024] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD). The method generally includes establishing a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD when a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0025] To achieve the foregoing and related objectives, these one or more aspects include the features fully described below and specifically pointed out in the claims. Certain illustrative features of these one or more aspects are set forth in detail in the following description and drawings. However, these features merely indicate a few of the various ways in which the principles of these various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0027] To gain a more detailed understanding of the manner in which the features described above are presented in this disclosure, reference can be made to various aspects of the above brief overview, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and should not be considered as limiting its scope, as other equivalent aspects are permissible in this description.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication network according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2 It is a block diagram that conceptually illustrates the design of an example access point (AP) and wireless station (STA) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of multi-link operation between multi-link devices (MLDs) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0031] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication via MLD according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0032] Figure 5AThis is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between an MLD and a legacy STA, and communication with the legacy STA via the direct link, according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0033] Figure 5B This is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between a legacy STA and an MLD, and communication with the MLD via the direct link, according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example link identifier information element format according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0035] Figure 7A This is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between a first MLD and a second MLD, and communication between the first MLD and the second MLD via the direct link, according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0036] Figure 7B This is a diagram illustrating how a second MLD initiates and establishes a direct link with a first MLD according to certain aspects of this disclosure, and communicates with the first MLD via the direct link.

[0037] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0038] Figure 9A This is a diagram illustrating how an AP MLD relays direct link messages from a non-AP MLD to a legacy STA, according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0039] Figure 9B This is a diagram illustrating how an AP MLD relays direct link messages from a legacy STA to a non-AP MLD, according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0040] Figure 10A and 10B This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0041] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0042] Figure 12 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for preparing to send / clear a send frame according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0043] Figure 13A and 13BThis is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0044] Figure 14 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for power-saving modes according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0045] Figure 15 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0046] Figure 16 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0047] Figure 17 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for disabling / removing a link according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0048] Figure 18 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for wireless communication by a wireless station according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0049] Figure 19 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a multi-link information element format according to certain aspects of this disclosure.

[0050] Figure 20 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling of the cross-signaling of discovery requests according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0051] Figure 21 The description includes various communication devices (e.g., non-AP MLDs or wireless stations) that may include components configured to perform operations for the various techniques disclosed herein, according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0052] Figure 22 The description includes various communication devices (e.g., AP MLD) that may include various components configured to perform operations for the various techniques disclosed herein, according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0053] To facilitate understanding, the same reference numerals are used wherever possible to designate common elements shared by all figures. Elements disclosed in one aspect are conceived to be usefully applied in other aspects without specific citation.

[0054] Detailed description

[0055] This disclosure provides apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for handling direct link communications in multi-link operation (MLO).

[0056] In some scenarios, radio stations (STAs) can communicate with each other via a direct radio link, such as a Tunneled Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) link. When establishing a direct link, STAs can exchange messages (e.g., TDLS frames) through an access point (AP). When an AP relays a frame to another associated STA on behalf of one associated STA, the AP can set the A3 field (e.g., the source address (SA) field) to the MAC address of the originating STA. In the case of a non-AP multi-link device (MLD), the AP sets the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. That is, in MLO, for frames relayed by the AP from a non-AP MLD, the SA field is the MLD MAC address. In TDLS, discovery and establishment frames can be sent through the AP, and after successful establishment and the establishment of a TDLS direct link, the sent frames are directly exchanged between STAs. The AP can treat TDLS discovery and establishment frames as data without assisting in establishing TDLS between STAs. For frames transmitted directly between STAs, the Receiver Address (RA) or Transmitter Address (TA) field in the frame can be set to the link address (e.g., the MAC address of the STA entity belonging to the MLD (e.g., STA entities 310, 312)). STAs that do not support MLO may be unable to associate the MLD MAC address with the link MAC address, leading to TDLS link failure. Furthermore, under some 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11be), the value of the TA field may be ambiguous when a non-AP MLD STA sends a TDLS discovery response frame.

[0057] This disclosure provides various techniques and apparatuses for handling direct link communications in MLOs. For example, for frames sent directly to a TDLS peer STA, a non-AP MLD STA participating in the TDLS connection can set the TA field to the MAC address of that non-AP MLD. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS initiating STA address to a non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier (IE) element of a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) request frame. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS responding STA address to a non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) response frame sent in response to a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) request frame received from a TDLS peer STA. A non-AP MLD STA may have the capability to process frames in which the RA field is set to the MLD MAC address. A non-AP MLD STA can use the MLD MAC address during the Tunneling Peer Key (TPK) handshake and encryption key generation of a TDLS session. In some situations, it may be prohibited for other STAs that are not AP MLDs to transmit frames to another STA that is not an AP MLD and has established a peer STA with which it has performed TDLS. As used herein, legacy STA or legacy station may refer to a radio station that does not support MLO or cannot perform MLO, such as a radio station that supports the 802.11 standard as defined prior to 802.11be.

[0058] Various technologies and apparatuses for handling direct link communication in an MLO can enable direct link communication between an MLD and a legacy STA or another MLD. For example, direct link communication can achieve the desired latency and / or throughput due to the absence of intermediate devices (e.g., access points).

[0059] The various aspects of this disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function given throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of this disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of this disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement an apparatus or method of practice. Furthermore, the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover such apparatus or methods practiced using additional structures, functionalities, or structures and functionalities that complement or supplement the various aspects of this disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of this disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the claims.

[0060] The word “exemplary” is used in this document to mean “serving as an example, instance, or explanation.” Any aspect described as “exemplary” in this document is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than the others.

[0061] While specific aspects are described herein, numerous variations and substitutions of these aspects fall within the scope of this disclosure. Although some benefits and advantages of preferred aspects are mentioned, the scope of this disclosure is not intended to be limited to specific benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of this disclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to various wireless technologies, system configurations, networks, and transport protocols, some of which are illustrated by example in the accompanying drawings and the following description of preferred aspects. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative and not limiting of this disclosure, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0062] The techniques described in this article can be used in various broadband wireless communication systems, including communication systems based on orthogonal multiplexing schemes. Examples of such communication systems include Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, and Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems. SDMA systems can utilize sufficiently different directions to simultaneously transmit data belonging to multiple user terminals. TDMA systems allow multiple user terminals to share the same frequency channel by dividing the transmission signal into different time slots, with each time slot assigned to a different user terminal. OFDMA systems utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), a modulation technique that divides the entire system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. These subcarriers can also be referred to as frequency modulation, frequency slots, etc. In OFDM, each subcarrier can be independently modulated with data. SC-FDMA systems can utilize interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) to transmit on subcarriers with distributed system bandwidth, localized FDMA (LFDMA) to transmit on blocks of adjacent subcarriers, or enhanced FDMA (EFDMA) to transmit on multiple blocks of adjacent subcarriers. Generally, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain under OFDM, while they are transmitted in the time domain under SC-FDMA. The techniques described in this paper can be used in any type of single-carrier (SC) and SC-Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) system.

[0063] The teachings of this paper can be incorporated into (e.g., implemented therein or performed by) a wide variety of wired or wireless devices (e.g., nodes). In some aspects, a wireless node implemented according to the teachings of this paper may include an access point or access terminal.

[0064] An access point (“AP”) may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a B-node, radio network controller (“RNC”), evolved B-node (eNB), base station controller (“BSC”), base transceiver station (“BTS”), base station (“BS”), transceiver function (“TF”), radio router, radio transceiver, basic service set (“BSS”), extended service set (“ESS”), radio base station (“RBS”), or any other term.

[0065] An access terminal (“AT”) may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, user terminal, user agent, user equipment, user gear, user station, or some other term. In some implementations, an access terminal may include a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) phone, Wireless Local Loop (“WLL”) station, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), handheld device with wireless connectivity, wireless station (“STA”), or some other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects of the teachings herein may be incorporated into a telephone (e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer), a portable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a GPS device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media. In some aspects, a node is a wireless node. Such wireless nodes can provide connectivity to or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via wired or wireless communication links, for example.

[0066] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system 100 with access points and wireless stations. For example... Figure 1 As shown, according to various aspects of the invention, Access Point (AP) 110 includes Link Manager 112, which can perform RTS / CTS switching and / or establish SA fields when relaying frames between legacy STAs and non-AP MLDs. According to various aspects of this disclosure, Radio Station (STA) 120a includes Link Manager 122, which sets TA fields to specific addresses to enable direct link communication between Radio Station 120a and legacy stations (e.g., Radio Station 120g) and takes various actions to prevent or mitigate simultaneous transmit / receive (STR) states of specific STA entities. In various aspects, Radio Station 120a may be a Multilink Device (MLD), as described herein. Figure 3 Further description.

[0067] For the sake of simplicity, Figure 1Only one access point 110 is shown. An access point is generally a fixed station that communicates with various wireless stations and may also be referred to as a base station or some other term. Wireless stations can be fixed or mobile and may also be referred to as mobile stations, wireless devices, or some other term. Access point 110 can communicate with one or more wireless stations 120 at any given time on both downlink and uplink. The downlink (i.e., the forward link) is the communication link from the access point to the wireless station, while the uplink (i.e., the reverse link) is the communication link from the wireless station to the access point. Wireless stations can also communicate peer-to-peer with other wireless stations, for example via a direct link, such as Tunneled Direct Link Establishment (TDLS). System controller 130 can communicate with and provide coordination and control for this access point.

[0068] While the following disclosures describe a wireless station 120 capable of communicating via Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), in some respects, wireless station 120 may also include wireless stations that do not support SDMA. Thus, in such respects, access point (AP) 110 can be configured to communicate with both SDMA and non-SDMA wireless stations. This approach facilitates the continued deployment of older versions of wireless stations (“legacy” stations) within the enterprise, extending their useful life, while allowing for the introduction of newer SDMA wireless stations where deemed appropriate.

[0069] System 100 employs multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for downlink and uplink data transmission. Access point 110 is equipped with N ap There are K antennas, and for downlink transmission, this represents multiple-input (MI) and for uplink transmission, multiple-output (MO). A set of K selected wireless stations 120 collectively represents multiple-output for downlink transmission and multiple-input for uplink transmission. For pure SDMA, if the data symbol streams to these K wireless stations are not multiplexed in terms of code, frequency, or time by some means, then it is desirable to have N antennas. ap ≥K≥1. If the data symbol stream can be multiplexed using TDMA technology, different code channels under CDMA, or disjoint subband sets under OFDM, then K can be greater than N. ap Each selected wireless station transmits user-specific data to and / or receives user-specific data from the access point. Generally, each selected wireless station may be equipped with one or more antennas (i.e., N). sta ≥1). These K selected wireless stations may have the same or different numbers of antennas.

[0070] System 100 can be a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system or a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system. In a TDD system, the downlink and uplink share the same frequency band. In an FDD system, the downlink and uplink use different frequency bands. MIMO system 100 can also utilize single-carrier or multi-carrier transmission. Each radio station can be equipped with a single antenna or multiple antennas. If the radio stations 120 share the same frequency channel by dividing transmission / reception into different time slots, with each time slot assigned to a different radio station 120, then system 100 can also be a TDMA system.

[0071] Figure 2 A block diagram of access point 110 and two radio stations 120m and 120x in a MIMO / MLO system 100 is provided. In some respects, access point 110 and / or radio stations 120m and 120x can implement various techniques for handling direct link communication between radio stations in an MLO system, such as those referenced herein. Figures 4-20 Further description. For example, access point 110 and / or wireless stations 120m and 120x may include as described herein. Figure 1 The corresponding link manager described.

[0072] Access point 110 is equipped with N ap Each antenna ranges from 224a to 224t. The 120m wireless station is equipped with N... sta,m Each antenna ranges from 252 mA to 252 mA, while the 120x wireless station is equipped with N... sta,x Each antenna ranges from 252xa to 252xu. Access point 110 is a transmitting entity for the downlink and a receiving entity for the uplink. Each radio station 120 is a transmitting entity for the uplink and a receiving entity for the downlink. As used herein, a "transmitting entity" is an independently operating device or apparatus capable of transmitting data via a radio channel, and a "receiving entity" is an independently operating device or apparatus capable of receiving data via a radio channel. The term communication generally refers to transmitting, receiving, or both. In the following description, the subscript "DL" indicates the downlink, the subscript "UL" indicates the uplink, and N... UL N wireless stations were selected to perform simultaneous uplink transmission. DL N wireless stations are selected to perform simultaneous downlink transmission. UL It can be equal to or not equal to N DL And N UL and N DL It can be a static value or it can change for each scheduling interval. Beam steering or some other spatial processing technique can be used at the access point and radio station.

[0073] On the uplink, at each radio station 120 selected for uplink transmission, the TX data processor 288 receives traffic data from the data source 286 and control data from the controller 280. The TX data processor 288 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the radio station's traffic data based on the coding and modulation scheme associated with the rate selected for that radio station and provides a data symbol stream. The TX spatial processor 290 performs spatial processing on the data symbol stream and outputs it to N... sta,m Each antenna provides N sta,m N transmit symbol streams. Each transceiver (TMTR) 254 receives and processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and up-converts) the corresponding transmit symbol stream to generate an uplink signal. sta,m Each transceiver 254 provides N sta,m One uplink signal is provided for N sta,m Each antenna 252 transmits to the access point.

[0074] N UL Several wireless stations can be scheduled for simultaneous transmission on the uplink. Each of these wireless stations performs spatial processing on its data symbol stream and transmits its transmitted symbol stream set to the access point on the uplink.

[0075] At access point 110, N ap Antennas 224a to 224ap transmit all N data from the uplink. UL Each wireless station receives uplink signals. Each antenna 224 provides the received signal to the corresponding transceiver (RCVR) 222. Each transceiver 222 performs processing complementary to the processing performed by transceiver 254 and provides the received symbol stream. The RX space processor 240 receives signals from N. ap N transceivers 222 ap Each received symbol stream performs receiver spatial processing and provides N. UL Each recovered uplink data symbol stream is an estimate of the data symbol stream transmitted by the corresponding radio station. RX data processor 242 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) this recovered uplink data symbol stream according to the rate used for each stream to obtain decoded data. The decoded data for each radio station can be provided to data trap 244 for storage and / or to controller 230 for further processing.

[0076] On the downlink, at access point 110, TX data processor 210 receives N data from data source 208, which is scheduled for downlink transmission. DL Traffic data from each wireless station, control data from controller 230, and possibly other data from scheduler 234. Various types of data can be transmitted on different transport channels. TX data processor 210 processes (e.g., encoding, interleaving, and modulation) the traffic data of each wireless station based on a rate selected for each station. TX data processor 210 is for N... DL One wireless station provides N DL One downlink data symbol stream. TX space processor 220 to N DL Each downlink data symbol stream undergoes spatial processing (such as precoding or beamforming, as described in this disclosure), and for N ap Each antenna provides N ap N transmit symbol streams. Each transceiver 222 receives and processes its respective transmit symbol stream to generate downlink signals. ap Each transceiver 222 provides N ap A downlink signal is provided from N ap Each antenna 224 transmits data to the wireless station.

[0077] At each of the 120 wireless stations, N sta,m Antenna 252 receives N from access point 110 ap Each transceiver 254 processes the received signal from its associated antenna 252 and provides the received symbol stream. The RX space processor 260 handles signals from N... sta,m N transceivers 254 sta,m The received symbol stream is processed by the receiver spatial processing unit, which provides the recovered downlink data symbol stream to the radio station. The receiver spatial processing is performed according to CCMI, MMSE, or some other technique. The RX data processor 270 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered downlink data symbol stream to obtain the decoded data to the radio station.

[0078] At each wireless station 120, channel estimator 278 estimates the downlink channel response and provides a downlink channel estimate, which may include channel gain estimation, SNR estimation, noise variance, etc. Similarly, channel estimator 228 estimates the uplink channel response and provides an uplink channel estimate. The controller 280 of each wireless station is typically based on the downlink channel response matrix H of that wireless station. dn,m To derive the spatial filter matrix of the wireless station. Controller 230 is based on the effective uplink channel response matrix H. up,effThe spatial filter matrix of the access point is derived. The controller 280 of each wireless station can send feedback information (e.g., downlink and / or uplink eigenvectors, eigenvalues, SNR estimates, etc.) to the access point. Controllers 230 and 280 also control the operation of the respective processing units at access point 110 and wireless station 120, respectively.

[0079] In some wireless communication networks (e.g., 802.11be networks), a multi-link device (MLD) can be a wireless communication device with multiple affiliated APs or STAs. An MLD can have a single Media Access Control (MAC) Service Access Point (SAP) to the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. An MLD can also have a MAC address that uniquely identifies the MLD management entity. An MLD can support various multi-link operations (MLOs). In various respects, an MLO can include multi-band aggregation, where two or more channels in different frequency bands (e.g., 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands) are combined to achieve higher transmission rates. In various respects, the 6 GHz band can include a frequency range of 5.925–7.125 GHz. For example, a single frame can be split and transmitted simultaneously through different channels in different frequency bands, thereby reducing frame transmission time or facilitating the transmission of larger aggregated frames. An MLO can include multi-band and multi-channel full-duplex communication, which is achieved by simultaneously transmitting and receiving on different channels (in the same or different frequency bands). An MLO can include data and control plane separation on different channels (in the same or different frequency bands). In some respects, MLO can be implemented using a multi-link single radio (MLSR) architecture, where multiple affiliated APs or STAs of the MLD can be logical devices under a single radio.

[0080] Figure 3This is a block diagram illustrating an example multi-link operation between MLDs according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, AP MLD 302 can communicate with non-AP MLD 304 via multi-link communication (such as multi-band aggregation). AP MLD 302 can also communicate with other systems (e.g., distributed systems (DS) such as LANs and / or WANs) via interface 318 (such as a backhaul interface). AP MLD 302 may include at least two STA entities 306, 308 (sometimes referred to as STA instances and also simply referred to as STAs herein), which can communicate with associated STA entities 310, 312 in non-AP MLD 304. The STA entity (or instance) of the AP MLD is generally an AP (which may be referred to as an AP-STA or an STA used as an AP), while the STA entity of the non-AP MLD is generally a non-AP STA (which may be simply referred to as an STA). MLD can use multi-link operations, such as multi-link aggregation (MLA) (which includes packet-level aggregation), where MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) from the same traffic ID (TID) can be sent via two or more links 314, 316.

[0081] In all respects, each of STA entities 306, 308 can communicate on a separate frequency band (e.g., 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands), and similarly, each of STA entities 310, 312 can communicate on a separate frequency band (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands). For example, STA entities 306, 310 can communicate with each other via a first frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz band) on a first link 314, and STA entities 308, 312 can communicate with each other via a second frequency band (e.g., 6 GHz band) on a second link 316. The desired throughput and latency between AP MLD 302 and non-AP MLD 304 can be achieved via aggregation links 314, 316. In all respects, the STA entities (306, 308 or 310, 312) of the MLD can be implemented as separate devices or RF transceiver chips for that MLD, or the STA entities can be integrated into the same device or RF transceiver chip. In some respects, a link can refer to a common physical path of wireless medium (WM) that can be used to transmit various packets, messages, or frames (such as MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs)) between two stations (STAs).

[0082] Example of direct link communication in multi-link operation

[0083] In some scenarios, STAs can communicate with each other via a direct radio link, such as a Tunneled Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) link. When establishing a direct link, STAs can exchange messages (e.g., TDLS frames) through an AP. When an AP relays a frame to another associated STA on behalf of one associated STA, the AP can set the A3 field (e.g., the Source Address (SA) field) to the MAC address of the initiating STA. In the case of a non-AP MLD, the AP sets the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. That is, in MLD, for frames relayed by the AP from a non-AP MLD, the SA field is the MLD MAC address. In TDLS, discovery and establishment frames can be sent through the AP, while frames sent after establishment are directly exchanged between STAs. For frames sent directly between STAs, the Receiver Address (RA) or Transmitter Address (TA) field in the frame can be set to the link address (e.g., the MAC address of the STA entity belonging to the MLD (e.g., STA entities 310, 312)). STAs that do not support MLO may be unable to associate the MLD MAC address with the link MAC address, leading to TDLS link failure. Furthermore, under some 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11be), the value of the TA field may be ambiguous when a non-AP MLD STA sends a TDLS discovery response frame.

[0084] This disclosure provides various techniques and apparatuses for handling direct link communications in MLOs. For example, for frames sent directly to a TDLS peer STA, a non-AP MLD STA participating in the TDLS connection can set the TA field to the MAC address of that non-AP MLD. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS initiating STA address to a non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier (IE) element of a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) request frame. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS responding STA address to a non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) response frame sent in response to a TDLS (Discovery / Establishment) request frame received from a TDLS peer STA. A non-AP MLD STA may have the capability to process frames in which the RA field is set to the MLD MAC address. A non-AP MLD STA can use the MLD MAC address during the Tunneling Peer Key (TPK) handshake and encryption key generation of a TDLS session. In some situations, it may be impossible for other STAs of a non-AP MLD to transmit frames to another STA of that non-AP MLD that has established a peer STA with which it is implementing TDLS. Various techniques and apparatuses for handling direct link communication in MLO can enable direct link communication between the MLD and STAs (which do not support MLO).

[0085] Figure 4 Example operation 400 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 400 can be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., STA 120a or non-AP MLD 304). Operation 400 can be implemented in one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 The software components that execute and run on the controller 280. In some aspects, the signal transmission and / or reception of the MLD can be realized via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller 280) that acquire and / or output signals. Furthermore, it can be achieved, for example, via one or more antennas and / or transceivers (e.g., Figure 2 The antenna 252 or transceiver 254 is used to realize the signal transmission and reception of MLD.

[0086] Operation 400 may begin at 402, where the first MLD and the first wireless station (e.g., STA 120g) perform TDLS setup, for example, as described herein. Figure 5A and 5BFurther described. At 404, the first MLD can transmit a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations (e.g., STA 310, 312) associated with (e.g., subordinate to) the first MLD. The data frame includes a transmitter address (TS) field set as an address of the first MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with (subordinate to) the first MLD for use in MLO. At 406, the first MLD can communicate with the wireless station via the direct link. As used herein, a wireless station associated with an MLD can refer to a wireless station subordinate to the MLD.

[0087] In some respects, the transmission at 404 may be a transmission sent directly to a TDLS peer STA (e.g., a first radio station) without requiring the AP to relay the data frame to the TDLS peer STA. At 404, the first MLD may have a TDLS link established with the first radio station, and the transmission at 404 may be via the TDLS link. In other words, the direct link may include a tunneled direct link such as a TDLS link. In various respects, the first MLD may communicate with the TDLS peer STA on the direct link via one or more STA entities (e.g., STA entities 310, 312). For example, the first MLD may communicate with the TDLS peer STA via a second radio station that may be subordinate to the first MLD. In various respects, the address of the first MLD may include a MAC address, such as a multi-link logical MAC address. The multi-link logical MAC address of the first MLD may be a MAC address that uniquely identifies the MLD entity (e.g., MLD 302) that manages these STA entities (e.g., STA entities 310, 312). In all respects, the multilink logical MAC address of the first MLD may be referred to as the MLD MAC address, which may be a non-AP MLD MAC address. The MLD MAC address may be a globally unique MAC address or the same as one of the per-link MAC addresses (e.g., per STA or per AP of the MLD). In other words, the TA field at 404 may be set to the multilink logical MAC address of the first MLD. The multiple addresses associated with the first MLD may include the multilink logical MAC address and the MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations (e.g., STA entities 310, 312), which are subordinate to the first MLD for multilink operation. For example, the second radio station may enable the first MLD to communicate simultaneously with another MLD (e.g., APMLD 302) via separate frequency bands (e.g., 5 and 6 GHz bands).

[0088] In some respects, the first MLD can set the initiator or responder address in the Link Identifier element of a specific TDLS frame (e.g., a TDLS discovery or setup frame) to the MLD MAC address. An example Link Identifier IE format is provided in this article regarding... Figure 6 Further description. At 402, performing TDLS establishment may include the first MLD exchanging TDLS discovery or establishment frames with the first radio station, for example, as described herein. Figure 5A and 5B Further description.

[0089] In various aspects, in TDLS request frames (such as TDLS discovery request frames and / or TDLS setup request frames from a TDLS initiator station), the initiator address of the Link Identifier (IE) may be set to the MLD MAC address. In some aspects, requests, request frames, or initiator frames associated with a direct link (e.g., TDLS) may include TDLS discovery request frames and / or TDLS setup request frames. For example, a first MLD may (at 402) transmit a request to a first radio station via an access point (e.g., AP 110 or AP MLD 302) to discover peer radio stations (such as the first radio station) for a direct link. In other words, the first MLD may transmit the request to an AP, which relays the request to the first radio station. This request may include a Link Identifier element having a direct link initiator address (e.g., the TDLS initiator STA address) set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In various aspects, this request may include a TDLS discovery request frame according to the 802.11 standard. As an example, the first MLD may (at 402) transmit a request to establish a direct link to the first radio station via the access point, and the request may include a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In various respects, the request may include a TDLS establishment request frame according to the 802.11 standard.

[0090] In various aspects, in TDLS response frames (such as TDLS discovery response frames and / or TDLS setup response frames from a TDLS responding station), the responding address of the Link Identifier (IE) may be set to the MLD MAC address. In some aspects, responses, response frames, or responding frames associated with a direct link may include TDLS discovery response frames and / or TDLS setup response frames. For example, a first MLD may transmit a response to a first wireless station (at 402) in response to a request to discover a peer wireless station (such as the first MLD) for a direct link, and this response may include a Link Identifier element having a direct link responding address set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In various aspects, the first MLD may transmit a response directly to the first wireless station. This response may include a TDLS discovery response frame according to the 802.11 standard. As an example, in response to a request to establish a direct link, the first MLD may (at 402) transmit a response to the first wireless station via an access point, and this response may include a Link Identifier element having a direct link responding address set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). The response may include a TDLS setup request frame in accordance with the 802.11 standard.

[0091] In some respects, in response to a discovery response sent to the first wireless station, the first MLD may set the TA field to its MLD MAC address. Performing TDLS setup at 402 may involve the first wireless station initiating the discovery of a peer wireless station (such as the first MLD), for example, where the first wireless station sends a TDLS discovery request frame to the first MLD via an AP. In this case, the first MLD may respond to the TDLS discovery request frame with a TDLS discovery response frame sent directly to the first wireless station. The first MLD may set the TA field to its MLD MAC address in the TDLS discovery response frame. For example, the first MLD may receive a request from the first wireless station via an access point to discover a peer wireless station (such as the first MLD) for a direct link. In various respects, this request may include a TDLS discovery request frame. The first MLD may (at 402) transmit a discovery response to the first wireless station, which includes a TA field set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address), wherein the transmission of this discovery response may be in response to the request.

[0092] At 406, the first MLD may support receiving frames directly from a TDLS peer STA in which the Receiver Address (RA) field is set to the MLD MAC address. For example, at 406, communication with the first radio station via a direct link may include the first MLD receiving frames from the first radio station via a direct link, the frames including a Receiver Address field set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address).

[0093] In some respects, the header of a frame may include a TA / RA field as described herein. For example, the MAC header of a data frame or a TDLS frame may include a TA / RA field. Regarding operation 400, a data frame may include a MAC header containing a TA field, and a data frame received at 406 may include a MAC header containing an RA field.

[0094] In various aspects, the STA entity of the first MLD can use the MLD MAC address during the TPK handshake (such as a 4-way handshake) and encryption key generation of the TDLS session. For example, the first MLD can use the MLD MAC address to generate a security key for the TDLS session. In 402, the first MLD can generate an encryption key and transmit an indication of the encryption key (e.g., parameters for generating the encryption key at the first radio station) to the first radio station, at least in part based on the address of the first MLD. In some aspects, encryption key generation can be further based on the AP MLD MAC address and / or the AP MAC address. In some cases, when the frames exchanged by the two radio stations involved in the TDLS setup phase include TDLS variable multilink elements carrying the AP MLD MAC address field, TDLS TPK generation may include the AP MLD MAC address and the MAC address of the affiliated AP establishing the TDLS direct link. When the MLD in the TDLS is a non-AP MLD used for single-link or multi-link TDLS between MLDs, the AP MLD MAC address can be used to generate the encryption key. Communication with the first wireless station at point 406 may include the first MLD transmitting encrypted frames to the first wireless station based on an encryption key.

[0095] In some respects, other STA entities of the first MLD may not be permitted to transmit frames directed to a TDLS peer STA. For example, one of the second radio stations of the first MLD (e.g., STA 310) may communicate with the TDLS peer STA via a direct link, and other second radio stations of the first MLD (e.g., STA 312) may transmit frames to the access point without directing the frames to that TDLS peer STA. After a TDLS direct link is successfully established between a TDLS STA belonging to a non-AP MLD and a TDLS peer STA at the other end of the TDLS direct link, the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD may cease transmitting packets to the other end of the TDLS peer via its associated AP, which belongs to the AP MLD with which the non-AP MLD has performed a multilink establishment. In some cases, based on the operability of the direct link, the first MLD may cease transmissions to the first radio station via a second radio station, except for one of the second radio stations associated with the direct link.

[0096] In various respects, the access point that assists in relaying TDLS discovery and setup frames can be an MLD. For example, in 402, the first MLD can exchange TDLS discovery and setup frames with an access point that is an MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302).

[0097] Figure 5A This diagram illustrates how an MLD (MLD_S) initiates a TDLS setup with a legacy STA (STA_3) and communicates with the legacy STA via a TDLS link, according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, STA1 of MLD_S can transmit a TDLS discovery request frame with its TA field set to the STA_1 MAC address to AP1 of MLD_A. AP1 relays the TDLS discovery request frame with its SA field set to the MLD_S MAC address (e.g., the MAC address of the MLD entity) to STA_3. From STA_3's perspective, STA_3 is unaware of the STA entities (STA_1 and STA_2) of MLD_S. Thus, STA_3 directly transmits a TDLS discovery response frame with its RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address to STA_1 of MLD_S. STA_1 of MLD_S can receive frames with its RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address.

[0098] MLD_S's STA_1 can send a TDLS setup request frame with the TA field set to STA_1's MAC address to AP1, and AP1 can relay a TDLS setup request frame with the SA field set to MLD_S's MAC address to STA_3. STA_3 can send a TDLS setup response frame with the Destination Address (DA) field set to MLD_S's MAC address to AP1, and AP1 can relay a TDLS setup response frame with the RA field set to STA_1's MAC address to MLD_S's STA_1. Upon completion of the TDLS process, MLD_S's STA_1 and STA_3 can communicate with each other via the TDLS link. MLD_S's STA_1 can directly send a data frame with the TA field set to MLD_S's MAC address to STA_3, allowing STA_3 to receive the data frame and communicate with STA_1, as STA_3 is unaware of STA_1's MAC address. STA_3 can also directly send a data frame with the RA field set to MLD_S's MAC address to MLD_S's STA_1. As mentioned earlier, STA_1 of MLD_S can receive frames with the RA field set to the MAC address of MLD_S. This allows STA_1 of MLD_S to receive TDLS data frames from STA_3, since STA_3 is unaware of the MAC address of STA_1.

[0099] Figure 5BThis is a diagram illustrating how a legacy STA (STA_3) initiates a TDLS setup with an MLD (MLD_S) according to certain aspects of this disclosure and communicates with the MLD via a TDLS link. As shown, the signaling exchange between STA_3 and MLD_S follows the procedures outlined herein. Figure 5A Similar signaling flows are described below. For example, a TDLS frame relayed from AP1 to STA_3 sets the SA field to the MLD_S MAC address, and a TDLS frame relayed from AP1 to STA_1 sets the RA field to the STA_1 MAC address. In this example, STA1 of MLD_S directly sends a TDLS discovery response frame to STA_3 with the TA field set to the MLD_S MAC address. This allows STA_3 to communicate with STA_1 because STA_3 is unaware of STA_1's MAC address. After the TDLS process is complete, STA_1 and STA_3 can transmit signals with the MAC address described in this document. Figure 5A The data frame for the RA / TA field as described.

[0100] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example Link Identifier (IE) format according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, the Link Identifier (IE) format may have an Element Identifier (ID) field (which identifies an element as a link identifier), a length field, a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, a TDLS Initiator STA Address field, and a TDLS Responder STA Address field. The Initiator STA may be the STA that sends the TDLS Discovery / Establishment Request frame, and the Responder STA may be the STA that is requested to respond to (or respond to) the TDLS Discovery / Establishment Request frame. As described herein with respect to Operation 400, a first MLD may set the TDLS Initiator STA Address field to the MLD MAC address for a TDLS Request frame (e.g., a TDLS Discovery / Establishment Request frame), and a first MLD may set the TDLS Responder STA Address field to the MLD MAC address for a TDLS Response frame (e.g., a TDLS Discovery / Establishment Response frame).

[0101] This disclosure provides various techniques for handling direct link communication between MLDs. In some cases, MLDs can establish separate TDLS sessions on multiple links via multiple STA entities and communicate with each other via these separate TDLS sessions. That is, a separate TDLS session can be established for each STA entity pair between TDLS MLO STA peers. In other aspects, MLDs can establish a single TDLS session on multiple links via multiple STA entities and communicate with each other via this single TDLS session. That is, a single TDLS session can be established between TDLS MLO STA peers, and TDLS MLO STA peers can communicate with each other via multiple STA entities at each TDLS peer. A single TDLS session can implement a shared block acknowledgment session, where packets can be sent on any link between STA entities, which can facilitate duplicate detection. To establish one or more multi-link TDLS sessions, multi-link support or a request for multi-link TDLS can be indicated by: setting the BSSID field in the Link Identifier element to a wildcard or specific value; including multi-link elements during TDLS discovery and / or setup switching; identifying the link associated with the STA entity via the Link Identifier (ID) field in the Per STA Profile subfield; providing MLD's multi-link capabilities and / or constraints (such as n-STR links / STAs) for each link associated with the STA entity. MLD can coordinate transports on n-STR links as part of a TDLS session.

[0102] Various techniques for handling direct link communication between MLDs can enable direct link communication with expected latency and data throughput, for example, due to multi-band aggregation and / or other characteristics of MLO.

[0103] In some respects, a TDLS peer STA operating a direct link in 400 can also be part of an MLD. For example, a first radio station can be associated with a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations associated with it for multi-link communication with the first MLD.

[0104] Regarding Operation 400, a direct link may include multiple tunneled direct link sessions, and each of these multiple tunneled direct link sessions is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations. In some aspects, a direct link may include a single tunneled direct link session, and multiple links between the second and third radio stations are associated with a single tunneled direct link session.

[0105] In some respects, the first MLD can instruct the establishment of a direct link with multi-link capabilities (such as MLO / MLA capabilities). In various respects, the first MLD can transmit an instruction to a legacy STA or another MLD for establishing a direct link with multi-link capabilities. For example, the first MLD can transmit an instruction to the first radio station for establishing the direct link as a multi-link direct link. Communication at 406 with the first radio station via the direct link can include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via one or more links of the multi-link direct link based on this instruction. This instruction can include at least one of the following: a BSSID field including a value indicating that the direct link is established as a multi-link direct link, or a multi-link element in a direct link discovery frame or direct link establishment frame. Example multi-link IE format is discussed in this document. Figure 19 Further description. This value can be set to a link identifier associated with the link. A multi-link element may include a first indication of a direct link identifier in a station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the second radio stations, or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second radio station associated with the link between the second and third radio stations. As an example, these capabilities may indicate whether the radio station is an STR or an n-STR. Capability information may include one or more fields as per STA profile element.

[0106] Figure 7A This is a diagram illustrating how MLD_S initiates a TDLS setup with MLD_R according to certain aspects of this disclosure and communicates with MLD_R via a TDLS link. As shown in the diagram, the signaling exchange between MLD_R and MLD_S follows the principles outlined herein. Figure 5A The signaling flow is similar to that described. In some respects, the RA, TA, SA, and DA fields can be set to the corresponding MLD MAC address (e.g., the MLD_S MAC address or the MLD_R MAC address). For example, after establishing one or more TDLS links, MLD_S can directly transmit data frames to MLD_R with the RA field set to the MLD_R MAC address and the TA field set to the MLD_S MAC address. In other respects, TDLS discovery response frames can also use MLD MAC addresses. For example, MLD_R can directly transmit TDLS discovery response frames to MLD_S with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address and the TA field set to the MLD_R MAC address.

[0107] Figure 7B This is a diagram illustrating how MLD_R initiates a TDLS setup with MLD_S according to certain aspects of this disclosure and communicates with MLD_S via a TDLS link. As shown in the diagram, the signaling exchange between MLD_R and MLD_S follows the principles outlined herein. Figure 5ASimilar signaling flows are described. In some respects, the RA, TA, SA, and DA fields can be set to the corresponding MLD MAC address (e.g., the MLD_S MAC address or the MLD_R MAC address), for example, as described in this article regarding... Figure 7A As described.

[0108] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide techniques for enabling an AP to map the address of a non-AP MLD when relaying messages between a legacy STA and a non-AP MLD. For example, when an AP MLD relays a frame initiated by any STA of a non-AP MLD to a legacy non-AP STA on a particular link, the AP can set the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP STA belonging to the non-AP MLD on that link, instead of the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. The MAC address of the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD allows the legacy STA to communicate with the non-AP MLD via a direct link. An advantage of this aspect is that no changes are required from the client (e.g., a non-AP wireless station) to allow multi-link TDLS switching to be handled at the AP to facilitate mapping the correct MAC address (e.g., the MAC address of the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD) to the legacy STA.

[0109] Figure 8 An example operation 800 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 800 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302). Operation 800 may be implemented in one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Software components that execute and run on the controller 230. In some aspects, signal transmission and / or reception by the MLD may be achieved via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller 230) to obtain and / or output signals. Furthermore, signal transmission and reception by the MLD may be, for example, by one or more antennas and / or transceivers (e.g., Figure 2 This is achieved using an antenna 224 or a transceiver 222.

[0110] Operation 800 can begin at 802, where the first MLD (e.g., Figure 3 AP MLD 302 or Figure 5A and 5B MLD_A in the first MLD is connected to the second MLD (e.g., AP 306) via a first access point (e.g., AP 306) associated with the first MLD. Figure 3 Non-APMLD 304 or Figure 5A and 5B The MLD_S in the middle receives data from the second MLD and the first wireless station (e.g., Figure 5A and 5BIn step 804, the first MLD may relay one or more first frames to the first radio station via the first access point, wherein the first frame includes a source address (SA) field set as the address of the second radio station associated with the second MLD. In step 806, the first MLD may receive one or more second frames from the first radio station via the access point related to the establishment of the direct link. In step 808, the first MLD may relay second frames to the second MLD, wherein the second frame includes a destination address (DA) field set as the address of the second radio station.

[0111] In various respects, frames related to establishing a direct link may include TDLS discovery / establishment frames. For example, a first MLD may receive a TDLS discovery request frame and / or a TDLS establishment request / response frame as a first frame. A first MLD may also receive a TDLS discovery request frame and / or a TDLS establishment request / response frame as a third frame. In 804 and 808, the first MLD may relay the first frame and / or the second frame to a first radio station or a second MLD. In other words, the relayed frame may be a copy or duplicate of the received frame, with altered MAC header fields, such as the RA field and / or the SA field.

[0112] In various respects, the first MLD can map the address of the second MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address of the second MLD) or the address of the STA entity of the second MLD to the address of the second wireless station, based on the fact that the first wireless station does not support MLO, for example, as described in this article regarding Figure 9A and 9B As described. For example, the first frame may include a TA field set to the address of the second radio station. Since the first MLD may default to setting the SA field to the MLD MAC address when relaying frames between radio stations, the first MLD may identify that the second MLD supports MLO while the first radio station does not, and in such cases, the first MLD may relay frames with the SA field set to the address of the second radio station instead of the address of the second MLD based on the mapping between the address of the second MLD and the address of the second radio station.

[0113] In some respects, the address of the second wireless station can be the MAC address of the second wireless station. The MAC address of the second wireless station can be a separate address from the address of the second MLD (such as the MLD MAC address of the second MLD), or the MAC address of the second wireless station can be the same as the MAC address of the second MLD.

[0114] Figure 9AThis is a diagram illustrating how an AP MLD (MLD_A) relays TDLS messages from a non-AP MLD (MLD_S) to a legacy STA (STA_3) according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, MLD_A can receive frames from STA entities of MLD_S (e.g., STA_1 and / or STA_2), where the TA field is set to the corresponding MAC address of the STA entity. MLD_A can relay these frames to STA_3, where instead of using the MLD MAC address as the SA field, MLD_A transmits relay frames with the SA field set to the STA_1 MAC address. With the SA field set to the STA_1 MAC address, STA_3 can communicate directly with STA_1 without the MLD MAC address of MLD_S.

[0115] Figure 9B This is a diagram illustrating how an AP MLD (MLD_A) relays TDLS messages from a legacy STA (STA_3) to a non-AP MLD (MLD_S) according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, MLD_A can receive frames from STA_3, where the DA field is set to the MAC address of one of the STA entities of MLD_S. MLD_A can then relay these frames to STA_1 or STA_2, where the RA field is set to the MAC address of STA_1 or STA_2.

[0116] In some cases, a non-AP MLD may not support simultaneous transmission and reception (SRT) via two or more STA entities. Such STAs of an MLD may be referred to as non-SRT (n-SRT) STAs or links. That is, a non-AP MLD may not be able to simultaneously transmit and receive on two or more links in a single frequency band (e.g., the 5 and 6 GHz bands). For example, non-AP MLD 304 may not support synchronous transmission via STA 310 while STA 312 is receiving data from AP MLD 302, and vice versa (e.g., STA 310 cannot receive while STA 312 is transmitting). A non-AP MLD may be able to simultaneously transmit (Tx / Tx) or receive (Rx / Rx) via STA entities in a single frequency band (e.g., the 5 and 6 GHz bands). In cases where a non-AP MLD has established TDLS on one of the n-STR links, the non-AP MLD may encounter interference with STR states occurring on the n-STR link. For example, when the TDLS link is busy, when the AP of the AP MLD transmits downlink data to the non-AP MLD on a TDLS link that is n-STR for the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD may encounter unwanted interference.

[0117] Various aspects of this disclosure provide various techniques for preventing or mitigating STR states between n-STR links of an MLD. In various aspects, the various techniques for preventing or mitigating STR states between n-STR links of an MLD can be specific to one or more links between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context (i.e., MLO / MLA). A non-AP MLD can instruct the temporary cessation of communication between STA entities and AP entities on links with TDLS links that are n-STR. In some aspects, transmissions on TDLS links can be considered factors leading to deafness on other links of a non-AP MLD. Various deafness recovery rules can be applied to receive frames from peer TDLS STAs. In some cases, DL transmissions can be permitted on TDLS links and any other links with non-AP MLDs that are STRs on TDLS links. Because the desired signal quality is achieved while preventing or mitigating STR states, the various techniques for preventing or mitigating STR states can enable communication at the MLD to have the desired latency and data throughput.

[0118] In some respects, APs and non-AP MLDs can exchange Request to Send (RTS) and Clear to Send (CTS) frames before any DL transmission on a TDLS link that is n-STR, to prevent or mitigate STR states. For example, an AP MLD may have two or more APs operating on separate channels / bands (e.g., in the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band). STAs of a non-AP MLD (e.g., STA1 and STA2) can form links with each AP belonging to the AP MLD. When STA1 of a non-AP MLD forms a TDLS connection with another radio station on the first link, the non-AP MLD can send a request to the AP MLD such that when the AP MLD transmits a frame to STA2 belonging to the non-AP MLD on the second link, the AP will send an RTS on the second link and will only send a DL frame if the AP MLD receives a CTS response from the non-AP MLD.

[0119] Figure 10A An example operation 1000A of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1000A may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0120] Operation 1000A may begin at 1002, where the MLD can communicate with the first wireless station (e.g., STA310) via a direct link between the first and second wireless stations (e.g., STA310). Figure 1 STA 120g Figure 5A and 5B STA_3, or Figure 7A and 7BThe MLD communicates with a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312) associated with it, where the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312) associated with the MLD is communicating, or another link associated with the third wireless station is inoperable while the second wireless station is communicating on the direct link. The inoperability of the direct link or another link can be referenced to the MLD's n-STR capabilities. In 1004, the MLD can communicate from an access point (e.g., ...). Figure 5A , 5B AP 110 (or MLD_A) in 7A or 7B receives an RTS frame requesting the transmission of data to a third wireless station. In 1006, the MLD can take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0121] In all respects, the second wireless station can communicate in a frequency band separate from the frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band) that communicates with the third wireless station (e.g., the 6 GHz band). In all respects, an inoperable direct link can refer to a situation where there is no communication between TDLS peers on the direct link or when a direct link is no longer established between TDLS peers (e.g., the TDLS teardown process has been completed).

[0122] At 1006, the MLD may respond to an RTS frame from the access point or not. For example, taking one or more actions at 1006 may include the MLD transmitting a CTS frame to the access point instructing the access point that it is free to transmit data to the MLD. The MLD may receive data from the access point via a third radio station based on the transmission of the CTS frame. In some cases, if a second radio station is communicating with a first radio station, the MLD may ignore the RTS frame.

[0123] In some respects, RTS / CTS switching can be specific to one or more links between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context. For example, RTS / CTS switching can be performed for a link that is an n-STR with a TDLS link. Regarding Operation 1000A, the third radio station can be an n-STR with the second radio station.

[0124] In various aspects, the MLD can transmit to the access point an indication to enable or disable RTS / CTS switching for the n-STR link. As an example, the indication to enable or disable RTS / CTS switching for the n-STR link can be indicated via a status associated with the MLD and / or the radio station at the MLD. In some cases, this status might include constraints imposed on the radio station by the MLD (e.g., the n-STR link), the radio station being temporarily unavailable for receiving frames, or the MLD having established a direct link with another radio station. For example, the MLD can transmit to the access point a first indication to enable the transmission of RTS frames prior to transmissions from the access point to the MLD. The MLD can transmit to the access point a second indication to disable the transmission of RTS frames prior to transmissions from the access point to the MLD (e.g., when the TDLS session is inactive). In various aspects, the second indication can be an update to the status associated with the radio station. For example, the updated status could include the radio station being able to receive frames or the direct link being disabled or torn down. The first or second indication may be transmitted via a control field in the MAC frame, such as the Aggregation Control Field (A-Control) as defined, for example, in the 802.11ax standard. This control field may be a separate control field (e.g., RTS-Required or RTS-Enablement) specifically used to enable or disable RTS / CTS exchange between the AP and MLD. One or more A-Control fields may be carried in the (High Throughput) Control Field (HE) control variable within the MAC header. In some respects, a MAC frame carrying the first or second indication may include a common action frame. The first or second indication may be transmitted via a control field in the MAC header of a frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0125] Figure 10B An example operation 1000B of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1000B may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0126] Operation 1000B can begin at 1008, where an MLD establishes a direct link between a first radio station and a second radio station belonging to that MLD, for example, as described in this document. Figure 4As described herein. At 1010, the MLD can communicate with a first radio station (which may belong to another MLD) via a direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third radio station belonging to the MLD is communicating. At 1012, the MLD can transmit an indication of the status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD to the AP MLD (or an access point belonging to the AP MLD) with which the MLD has performed an association, as described herein with respect to operation 1000A. In some aspects, operation 1000B can continue, wherein the MLD can, in response to the status indication, receive from the access point belonging to the AP MLD a first frame (e.g., an RTS frame) requesting the transmission of data to a third radio station belonging to the MLD, and in response to the first frame, take one or more actions, such as those described herein with respect to operation 1000A.

[0127] The MLD can receive the first frame via the third radio station on the channel through which the access point belonging to the AP MLD communicates with the third radio station. The MLD can transmit a second frame (e.g., a CTS frame) to the access point belonging to the AP MLD, indicating that the access point belonging to the AP MLD is free to transmit data to the MLD. Based on the transmission of the second frame, the MLD can receive data from the access point belonging to the AP MLD via the third radio station. The MLD can transmit an update on this status to the access point or the AP MLD, indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0128] Figure 11 An example operation 1100 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1100 can be performed, for example, by an access point (e.g., Figure 1 AP 110, AP 306 which belongs to AP MLD 302 or Figure 3 Operation 1100 can be performed by AP MLD 302. Operation 1100 can be complementary to operations 1000A and / or 1000B performed by non-AP MLD.

[0129] Operation 1100 can begin at 1102, where the access point can receive from an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304) a first indication to enable the transmission of RTS frames prior to a transmission from the access point to the MLD. For example, the first indication may include a status associated with the MLD and / or a radio station at the MLD, such as an indication that the MLD has established a direct link with another radio station. At 1104, the access point can transmit an RTS frame to the MLD based on the first indication, requesting the transmission of data to one or more radio stations (e.g., STAs 310, 312) associated with the MLD. At 1106, the access point can receive a CTS frame from the MLD in response to the RTS frame, indicating that the access point is free to transmit data to the MLD. At 1108, if the access point receives the CTS frame from the MLD, the access point can transmit data to the one or more radio stations.

[0130] In various respects, the access point can receive a second indication from the MLD to disable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD. For example, the second indication may include an update on the status associated with the radio station, such as whether the direct link at the MLD has been disabled or torn down. The first or second indication may be transmitted via the control field of a MAC frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000.

[0131] Figure 12 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for RTS / CTS frames used to prevent or mitigate STR states according to various aspects of this disclosure. As shown, at 1202, a first radio station 120a belonging to a non-AP MLD 304 can transmit a first indication to access point 110 to enable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from access point 110 to the first radio station 120a. At 1204, a second radio station 120b belonging to a non-AP MLD 304 can communicate with a third radio station 120c (which may belong to a non-AP MLD or an older STA) via a direct link (such as a TDLS link). At 1206, the first radio station 120a can receive RTS frames from access point 110. At 1208, if the direct link is inactive or inoperable, the first radio station 120a can transmit CTS frames to access point 110. At 1210, the first radio station 120a can receive DL data from access point 110 based on the CTS frame. In some respects, the direct link may be busy, and the non-AP MLD 304 may ignore RTS frames, and the second wireless station 120b may communicate with the third wireless station 120c via the direct link at 1212. At 1214, the first wireless station 120a may transmit a second instruction to the access point 110 to disable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from the access point 110 to the first wireless station 120a.

[0132] In some respects, when the TDLS session is active, the non-AP MLD can indicate to the AP MLD that the non-AP MLD has entered power saving (PS) mode on the n-STR link to prevent or mitigate STR conditions.

[0133] Figure 13A Example operation 1300A of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1300A may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0134] Operation 1300A can begin at 1302, where MLD can direct to the access point (e.g., Figure 5A , 5B AP 110 or MLD_A in 7A or 7B transmits a first indication that the first radio station (e.g., STA 310) belonging to the MLD is in power-saving mode. At 1304, the MLD can transmit the first indication via a second radio station (e.g., ...) after the transmission of the first indication. Figure 1 STA 120g Figure 5A and 5B STA_3, or Figure 7A and 7B A direct link between the MLD (MLD_R) and a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312) is used to communicate with the second wireless station, which is subordinate to the MLD. The direct link is inoperable for the MLD when the first wireless station is communicating, or the first wireless station is inoperable when the direct link is operational.

[0135] In various respects, the MLD can re-enable communication with the access point. For example, the MLD can send a second indication to the access point that the first wireless station is in active mode (e.g., out of power-saving mode and able to communicate) after ending communication with the second wireless station, and in some cases, the MLD can communicate with the access point via the first wireless station after the transmission of the second indication.

[0136] In some respects, power-saving modes can be specific to one or more links between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context. For example, in 1302, a power-saving mode indication can be associated with a link that is an n-STR with a TDLS link. Regarding operation 1300A, the first radio station can be an n-STR with a third radio station.

[0137] Communication between the third and second wireless stations can occur when the first wireless station is not communicating. Communication between the first and access points can occur when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0138] Figure 13BExample operation 1300B of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1300B may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0139] Operation 1300B can begin at 1306, where the MLD can transmit a first instruction associated with a first radio station belonging to the MLD to an access point or AP MLD. At 1308, the MLD can communicate with the second radio station (belonging to the MLD) via a direct link between the second and third radio stations after the transmission of the first instruction, wherein the direct link is not operational for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0140] The first indication may include at least one of the following: an indication that the first wireless station is in a power-saving mode, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1300A; an indication that a first link to the first wireless station is disabled, for example, as further described herein with respect to Operation 1500; or an indication that a second link to the first wireless station is removed from the dynamic link pool, for example, as further described herein with respect to Operation 1600. In the case where the first indication is used to indicate that the first wireless station is in a power-saving mode, after communication with the second wireless station is terminated, the MLD may transmit a second indication that the first wireless station is in an active mode to the access point or AP MLD, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1300A. The first indication may be transmitted via the control field of the MAC header of a frame, management frame, or control frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000A.

[0141] Figure 14 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for a power-saving mode used to prevent or mitigate STR states according to various aspects of this disclosure. As shown, at 1402, the first wireless station 120a may transmit a first indication to access point 110 that the first wireless station 120a is in power-saving mode. At 1404, the second wireless station 120b may communicate with the third wireless station 120c (which may belong to a non-AP MLD or a legacy STA) via a direct link. At 1406, the first wireless station 120a may transmit a second indication to access point 110 that the first wireless station is in active mode after terminating communication between the second wireless station 120b and the third wireless station 120c. At 1408, the first wireless station 120a may receive DL data from access point 110 after the transmission of the second indication.

[0142] In some respects, when TDLS is established on one of the n-STR links, a non-AP MLD can disable DL aggregation (synchronization-PPDU operation) on the n-STR link to prevent or mitigate STR status.

[0143] Figure 15 Example operation 1500 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1500 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0144] Operation 1500 can begin at 1502, where the MLD can be directed to the access point (e.g., Figure 5A , 5B The AP110 or MLD_A in 7A or 7B transmits an indication to disable the link to the first radio station (e.g., STA 310) associated with the MLD. In 1504, the MLD may transmit this indication via a second radio station (e.g., ...) after the transmission of the second radio station. Figure 1 STA 120g Figure 5A and 5B STA_3, or Figure 7A and 7B A direct link is established between the MLD (Mandala_R) and a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312) to communicate with the second wireless station, which is associated with the MLD. This direct link is inoperable for the MLD when the first wireless station is communicating, or the first wireless station is inoperable when the direct link is operational. Communication with the second wireless station via the third wireless station can occur when the first wireless station is not communicating.

[0145] In various respects, this instruction can be transmitted via the control field of a MAC frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000A. This control field can be a separate control field specifically for enabling or disabling links in a multi-link context between the AP and MLD.

[0146] In some respects, non-AP MLDs can remove dynamic link clusters and TDLS links that are n-STR links to prevent or mitigate STR status.

[0147] Figure 16 Example operation 1600 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1600 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0148] Operation 1600 may begin at 1602, where a first MLD (e.g., non-AP MLD 304) may communicate with a second MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302) via a dynamic link set, which includes multiple links between a first access point (e.g., AP 306, 308) associated with the second MLD and a first radio station (e.g., STA 310, 312) associated with the first MLD. At 1604, the first MLD may transmit a first indication to one or more first access points to remove a link in the dynamic link set between those one or more first access points and one or more first radio stations. At 1606, following the transmission of the first indication, the first MLD may communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0149] In various respects, when a direct link becomes inoperable, the first MLD can reactivate the link to the access point that was dropped from the dynamic link set. For example, when a direct link becomes inoperable, the first MLD can transmit a second instruction to the one or more first access points to add a link between the one or more first radio stations and the one or more second radio stations. After the transmission of the second instruction, the first MLD can communicate with the one or more first access points via the one or more first radio stations.

[0150] In some respects, when a direct link is operational, the first MLD can communicate with the second MLD via an updated dynamic link set. For example, the first MLD can communicate with a second access point associated with the second MLD via a fourth radio station associated with the first MLD on another link in the dynamic link set, while simultaneously communicating with the second radio station via a third radio station. The first access point may include the second access point, and the first radio station may include the fourth radio station.

[0151] Communication between a third wireless station and a second wireless station can occur when the first wireless station is not communicating. Communication between the one or more first wireless stations and the one or more first access points can occur when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0152] Figure 17This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling for disabling / removing links to prevent STR status according to various aspects of this disclosure. In various aspects, a dynamic link set can be formed between a first wireless station 120a (e.g., STA1, STA2) and first and second access points 110a, 110b belonging to AP MLD 302. STA1 of the first wireless station 120a can be an n-STR with the second wireless station 120b, and STA2 of the first wireless station 120a can be an STR with the second wireless station 120b.

[0153] At 1702, STA1 of the first wireless station 120a in the dynamic link set can transmit a first indication to disable or remove the link between STA1 of the first wireless station 120a and the first access point 110a. At 1704, the second wireless station 120b can communicate with the third wireless station 120c via a direct link. In some cases, at 1706, STA2 of the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the second access point 110b belonging to AP MLD 302 in the dynamic link set while the TDLS link is operational. In some cases, at 1708, the second wireless station 120b can transmit a TDLS teardown frame to the third wireless station 120c to make the direct link inoperable. At 1710, after the direct link becomes inoperable, STA1 of the first wireless station 120a (in the dynamic link set) can transmit a first indication to enable or add the link between STA1 of the first wireless station 120a and the first access point 110a. At 1712, STA1 of the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the first access point 110a, and at 1714, STA2 of the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the second access point 110b.

[0154] In some situations, during the TDLS discovery and setup process, when an intermediate AP is affiliated with an AP MLD, the receiving non-AP MLD may receive discovery request frames (relayed via the AP MLD) on the wrong link. For example, suppose a radio station (e.g., an older STA or a STA affiliated with an MLD) transmits discovery request frames in the 5 GHz band, and the AP MLD relays the discovery request frames to the non-AP MLD in the 2.4 GHz or 6 GHz band. This scenario can be referred to as a request / response crossover at the AP MLD. Similar to this crossover scenario, the initiating / responding non-AP MLD may transmit TDLS requests / responses on a link different from the expected link used for direct link communication. This scenario can be referred to as a link mismatch scenario. The non-AP MLD may not know which frequency band is intended for the TDLS link between the radio station and the non-AP MLD, resulting in the inability to establish a TDLS link between the initiating STA and the non-AP MLD.

[0155] Certain aspects of this disclosure provide techniques for identifying / selecting one or more links between TDLS peer STAs during the TDLS discovery and establishment process. The initiating MLD may include a multi-link IE in the discovery request frame to indicate that the MLD supports TDLS over multiple links and to identify specific links(s) used for the TDLS session. In various aspects, the multi-link IE in the discovery request frame, or its absence, may indicate whether the initiator is an MLD or a legacy STA. That is, the absence of a multi-link IE in the discovery request frame may indicate that the initiating STA is a legacy STA. If the receiving STA is a legacy STA, the legacy STA may ignore the multi-link IE, and the legacy STA may directly send a discovery response frame to the initiator on the same link on which the STA received the request.

[0156] If the TDLS initiator is a legacy STA, the legacy STA can identify the link used for direct link communication in the discovery request frame. For example, the BSSID field in the Link Identifier (IE) can identify the link, or the Link Identifier (IE) can include a separate field identifying the link used for direct link communication. The MLD STA can send a discovery response frame directly to the initiating STA on the requested link.

[0157] The techniques described herein for identifying / selecting TDLS links enable TDLS communication between MLDs and / or between MLDs and legacy STAs, for example, in cases where responses / requests are crossed at an AP MLD to a non-AP MLD, or in cases where responses / requests are transmitted by the initiating / responding peer STA on a link different from the requested / desired link.

[0158] Figure 18 Example operation 1800 of wireless communication according to certain aspects of this disclosure is explained. Operation 1800 may be performed, for example, by a wireless station (e.g., STA 120a or non-AP MLD 304).

[0159] Operation 1800 can begin at 1802, where the first wireless station (e.g., Figure 5B STA_3 in the middle can be accessed via an access point (e.g., Figure 5B MLD_A in the data is sent to the second wireless station (e.g., Figure 5B The STA_1 of MLD_S transmits a request to discover a peer wireless station (such as a second wireless station) for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations. At 1804, the first wireless station can communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0160] In some respects, the second wireless station may respond to the request via the link indicated in the request. For example, the first wireless station may receive a response to the request from the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request. The response may include a TDLS discovery request frame.

[0161] In various aspects, the response may include a TDLS discovery request frame. The request may indicate the link via a link identifier associated with that link. That is, a specific value that can represent the link as a link identifier may be associated with the link, and the request may include that link identifier. In various aspects, the request may include a link identifier (IE) (e.g., such as...). Figure 6 As depicted in [the document], it may include fields indicating the link. The BSSID field may include (or be set to) a value indicating the link, wherein the value may be different from or the same as one of the BSSIDs in the wireless network. For example, the BSSID field may be set to the BSSID of the corresponding affiliated AP of the AP MLD operating on the link establishing the TDLS direct link. In various respects, the link identifier IE may include a separate field indicating / identifying the link (as described in [the document]). Figure 6 (The fields described in the document are separated). For example, the Link Identifier (IE) may include a Link Identifier field, which provides a unique value associated with the link between each TDLS peer STA.

[0162] In some respects, the second wireless station can be connected to MLD (e.g., Figure 5B This is associated with the MLD_S in the request. That is, the second wireless station can be a STA entity belonging to the MLD. If the intermediate AP relays the request on a link different from the requested link, the indication of that link in the request can enable the second wireless station to establish a direct link on the requested link.

[0163] As discussed above, the various aspects used to identify / select TDLS links can be applied to MLD. The MLD initiating STA can include multi-link IEs (e.g., in the discovery request frame) in the discovery request frame. Figure 19 (As depicted in the text) to identify the requested link for direct link communication.

[0164] In some respects, if the initiator and responder in the TDLS discovery / establishment process are both MLDs and the discovery request includes a multi-link IE, the responder MLD can transmit a single discovery response frame. If the intermediate AP relays the request on a different link than the requested link, the multi-link IE in the request can enable the responder MLD to establish a direct link on the requested link. In various respects, the discovery response frame from the responder MLD can contain an indication of the requested link. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element identifies the requested link, or a separate field in the link identifier element can identify the requested link.

[0165] For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may receive, via an access point, a request to establish a direct link (e.g., the establishment request may include an establishment request frame) or a request to discover a peer wireless station (such as the first MLD) (e.g., the discovery request may include a discovery request frame) from a first wireless station (which may be a legacy STA or an STA belonging to the MLD), wherein the request may indicate a first link for communication between the first and second wireless stations. The request may indicate the first link via a link identifier associated with the first link. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the request may include (or may be set to) a value indicating the first link, wherein the value may be a link identifier. In some aspects, multi-link elements (e.g., in...) Figure 19 The indications (described herein) include one or more links of the first link in the request, such as a link ID field. The multi-link element may also indicate capability information associated with the first link. Examples of capability information could be that the link is an n-STR or a STR. Capability information may include one or more fields as sub-elements of each STA profile.

[0166] In various aspects, the initiating / responding MLD can send a TDLS setup request or discovery response frame on the requested link after receiving a discovery request / response frame. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD can transmit a response to the request to the first radio station via the first link indicated in the request. Communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the request. In some aspects, the response to the discovery / setup request may indicate a desired / requested link for direct link communication. The response may include an indication of a first link or a second link different from the first link. The BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response frame may identify the requested link or a different / separate link. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response may include (or be set to) a value indicating the first link or the second link. As an example, the BSSID field may be set to the MAC address of the AP on the channel or frequency band associated with the requested link. That is, a particular AP may be communicating on the same channel or frequency band as the requested / desired link used for direct link communication, and the MAC address of that particular AP may be used in the BSSID field of the link identifier element to indicate the desired / requested link.

[0167] In some cases, the MLD may receive the request from the access point via a link different from the link indicated in the request. For example, receiving the request may include receiving it from the access point on a second link, which may be different from or separate from the first link. For instance, the second link may be on a different channel or frequency band than the one associated with the first link, and the second link may be for an AP different from the AP from which the request is received from the initiating STA. In other words, the first link may be associated with a specific channel or frequency band in the frequency domain. The initiating STA may transmit the request to the first AP on a first channel / frequency band associated with the first link, and the second AP may relay the request on a second channel / frequency band associated with the second link. In some aspects, if the responding MLD is not operating on the requested link or receives the request on a link different from the requested link, the responding MLD may not respond to the discovery request frame. For example, the first MLD may ignore the request based on receiving it on a second link (e.g., a different link, a different channel, or a different frequency band than the requested first link).

[0168] In some respects, the initiating MLD may receive the establishment response on a link different from the requested link, and various indications of the requested link may enable the initiating MLD to complete the direct link establishment. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may receive a response (e.g., an establishment response frame) from the first radio station via an access point in response to a request to establish a direct link, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first radio station and the one or more second radio stations, and wherein the response is received via a second link, which may be different from the first link. The indication of the first link may include a BSSID field in a link identifier element or a link ID in a multi-link element. The first MLD may identify the first link in the response, and communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the response.

[0169] In some respects, the initiating / responding MLD can transmit a setup request / response on a link different from the desired / requested link, and various indications of the requested link can enable the receiving peer MLD to complete the direct link setup. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD can transmit a request (e.g., a setup request frame) or a response (e.g., a setup response frame) to the first radio station via an access point, wherein the request or response can indicate a first link for communication between the first radio station and the one or more second radio stations, and wherein the request or response can be transmitted via a second link. The indications in the response or request can enable the receiving peer MLD to identify the desired / requested link for direct link communication. The indication of the first link may include a BSSID field in a link identifier element or a link ID in a multi-link element. Communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the response or request.

[0170] In some respects, the initiating non-AP MLD can send more than one discovery request frame on each link with an operational link, wherein the BSSID field in the link identifier element is set to the BSSID of the AP. As an example, the initiating non-AP MLD can transmit more than one TDLS discovery request frame, wherein each request frame has a different BSSID value in the link identifier element of the BSSID field (e.g., corresponding to one of the BSSIDs of the AP used by the AP MLD to establish the link). Transmitting multiple discovery request frames to separate links allows the initiating non-AP MLD to find at least one link shared with the responding STA / MLD and establish a TDLS session with the shared link. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD can transmit a first request via an access point to a third radio station associated with the second MLD to discover a peer radio station for a direct link, wherein the first request indicates a first link for communication between this third radio station and a second radio station associated with the first MLD. After sending the first request, the first MLD can wait for a certain duration and determine that the duration has elapsed without receiving a response to the first request. The first MLD may transmit a second request via an access point to another third wireless station associated with the second MLD to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station and another second wireless station associated with the first MLD. At 406, communication with the first wireless station may include the first MLD communicating with the first wireless station via the second link.

[0171] In some respects, a responding MLD can send multiple discovery responses to a request for a single link. For example, if a responding MLD is operating on the requested link, it can send a discovery response frame on that link and unsolicited discovery responses on other links, which may or may not have been established for multi-link communication. Established links may be referred to as overlapping links. Suppose that MLD1 and MLD2 have performed multi-link (ML) establishment for different sets of links, such that MLD1 and MLD2 have performed ML establishment for the 5 and 6 GHz bands, and MLD2 has a 2.4 GHz band establishment for ML communication. In response to a discovery request frame on the 5 GHz band, MLD2 can send a discovery response frame on the 5 GHz band and unsolicited responses on the 2.4 and 6 GHz bands. An initiating STA / MLD (e.g., MLD1) can select one or more links (including overlapping links) based on some criterion and send a TDLS establishment frame with link selection. In the example above, MLD1 can select a link between the 5 and 6 GHz bands because MLD1 is inoperable in the 2.4 GHz band and does not receive that particular unsolicited discovery response frame. In various aspects, the criteria used for link selection can be based on the signal quality associated with the discovery response frame, which can include the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), signal-to-noise-plus-distortion ratio (SNDR), and / or received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the discovery response frame. The initiating STA can select more than one overlapping link to perform multi-link TDLS.

[0172] As an example of a responding MLD sending multiple discovery responses, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may directly transmit a first response to the request to a first radio station associated with the second MLD via a first link indicated in the request. The first MLD may directly transmit a second response to the request to one or more third radio stations associated with the second MLD via a second link. The first MLD may communicate with the one or more third radio stations via the second link indicated in the second response, and communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the first response.

[0173] As an example of an initiating MLD receiving multiple discovery responses, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may receive a discovery response frame from a third radio station via one or more of the multiple links. The first MLD may select one link among the multiple links between the second and third radio stations. This link selection may be based on the signal quality of the discovery response frame, where signal quality includes the SNR, SINR, SNDR, or RSSI of the discovery response frame. The first MLD may transmit a request to one or more third radio stations to establish a direct link on the selected link. In various respects, the selected link may include two or more of the multiple links.

[0174] Regarding operation 400, the various aspects of receiving or transmitting a discovery request / response frame or setting a request / response frame as described herein can be performed at 402.

[0175] Figure 19 This is a diagram illustrating an example multi-link information element format according to certain aspects of this disclosure. As shown, the multi-link information element may include a link identifier (ID) field associated with each STA profile sub-element. In various aspects, each STA sub-element may be populated for all or some STAs belonging to the MLD, and each of the STA sub-elements may identify the link used for communication (such as direct link communication) via the link identifier field, which may be set to a unique value for a particular link. The link ID field may be used in a discovery request frame to indicate one or more requested links for direct link communication.

[0176] Figure 20 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating example signaling of cross-signaling of discovery requests according to various aspects of this disclosure. In 2002, STA3 of a second MLD 304b (e.g., a non-AP MLD) may transmit a discovery request frame to AP 110a of AP MLD 302, wherein the discovery request frame indicates a link for communication between the second radio station 120b and STA3. For example, the discovery request frame may include a multi-link element or a link identifier element that identifies a link for direct link communication as described herein. In 2004, AP 110b may relay the discovery request frame to the first radio station 120a of the first MLD 304a. In 2006, the first MLD 304a may identify a requested link for direct link communication with one of the third radio stations 120c (e.g., STA3) in the discovery request frame, and the second radio station 120b of the first MLD 304a may transmit a discovery response frame to STA3 of the third radio station 120c via the requested link indicated in the discovery request. In 2008, the second wireless station 120b could communicate directly with STA3 via the requested link.

[0177] In some scenarios, at 2010, the first radio station 120a may also transmit a discovery response frame to STA4 of the third radio station 120c to indicate that multiple links can be established for a direct link. The unsolicited discovery response frame at 2010 can be transmitted via overlapping links established for multi-link communication. That is, when the first radio station 120a transmits the discovery response frame at 2010, multiple links may have already been established between the first radio station 120a and AP MLD 302. At 2012, the first radio station 120a can communicate directly with STA4 via the link indicated in the discovery response frame at 2010. In some scenarios, the communications at 2008 and 2012 may be concurrent and / or aggregated to achieve the desired throughput and latency between MLDs 304a and 304b.

[0178] although Figure 20 The examples depicted herein are described in connection with the establishment of a direct link and the crossover of discovery request frames between MLDs 304a and 304b to facilitate understanding, but aspects of this disclosure can also be applied to the establishment of a direct link between an MLD and a legacy station and the handling of crossovers of other TDLS frames (e.g., discovery response frames, setup request frames, or setup response frames) at the AP, or link mismatches between MLD peers. The aspects described herein regarding the handling of crossovers of discovery request frames can also be applied to crossovers / mismatches of discovery response frames, setup request frames, or setup response frames. For example, each of these frames may include an indication of a requested / desired link for direct link communication in case the frame is relayed to the MLD peer STA on a different link than the requested / desired link. This indication may include, for example, a BSSID field in a link identifier element or a link ID field in a multi-link element.

[0179] Although various aspects are described in relation to MLD communicating with STA / AP, transmitting frames to STA / AP, or receiving frames from STA / AP to facilitate understanding, such aspects of this disclosure may also include STA / AP entities belonging to MLD (e.g., STA 310, 312) communicating with STA / AP, transmitting frames to STA / AP, or receiving frames from STA / AP.

[0180] Figure 21 The description includes operations that may be configured to perform the techniques disclosed herein (such as, Figure 4The communication device (e.g., non-APMLD or STA) 2100 comprises various components (e.g., corresponding to device plus functional components) of the operations described in 10, 13, 15, 16, and 18. The communication device 2100 includes a processing system 2102 coupled to a transceiver 2108 (e.g., a transmitter and / or receiver). The transceiver 2108 is configured to transmit and receive signals (such as the various signals described herein) for the communication device 2100 via an antenna 2110. The processing system 2102 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 2100, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 2100.

[0181] Processing system 2102 includes processor 2104 coupled to computer-readable medium / memory 2112 via bus 2106. In some aspects, computer-readable medium / memory 2112 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by processor 2104, cause processor 2104 to perform... Figure 4 The operations described in 10, 13, 15, 16, and 18, or other operations used to perform the various techniques discussed herein for disposing of TDLS in an MLO. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 2112 stores code 2114 for output for transmission, code 2116 for acquisition, and / or code 2118 for communication. In some aspects, the processing system 2102 has a circuit system 2122 configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 2112. In some aspects, the circuit system 2122 is coupled to the processor 2104 and / or the computer-readable medium / memory 2112 via a bus 2106. For example, the circuit system 2122 includes a circuit system 2124 for output for transmission, a circuit system 2126 for acquisition, and / or a circuit system 2128 for communication.

[0182] Figure 22 The description includes operations that may be configured to perform the techniques disclosed herein (such as, Figure 8 and 11 The communication device 2200 comprises various components (e.g., corresponding to device plus functional components) of the communication device 2200 (the operation described herein). The communication device 2200 includes a processing system 2202 coupled to a transceiver 2208 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 2208 is configured to transmit and receive signals (such as the various signals described herein) for the communication device 2200 via an antenna 2210. The processing system 2202 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 2200, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 2200.

[0183] Processing system 2202 includes processor 2204 coupled to computer-readable medium / memory 2212 via bus 2206. In some aspects, computer-readable medium / memory 2212 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by processor 2204, cause processor 2204 to perform... Figure 8 and 11 The operations described herein or other operations used to perform the various techniques discussed herein for handling TDLS in an MLO. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 2212 stores code 2214 for acquisition, code 2216 for output for transmission, and / or code 2218 for relay. In some aspects, the processing system 2202 has a circuit system 2222 configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 2212. In some aspects, the circuit system 2222 is coupled to the processor 2204 and / or the computer-readable medium / memory 2212 via a bus 2206. For example, the circuit system 2222 includes a circuit system 2224 for acquisition, a circuit system 2226 for output for transmission, and / or a circuit system 2228 for relay.

[0184] Example

[0185] In addition to the aspects described above, aspects of specific combinations are also within the scope of this disclosure, some of which are described in detail below:

[0186] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0187] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multi-link logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses includes a multi-link logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with the second radio station.

[0188] Aspect 3: The method of any one of Aspects 1-2 further includes transmitting a request to the first wireless station via an access point to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link, wherein the request includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set to MLD.

[0189] Aspect 4: The method of any one of Aspects 1-3 further includes transmitting a request to establish a direct link to a first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set to an address of MLD.

[0190] Aspect 5: The method of any one of Aspects 1-4 further includes transmitting to the first wireless station a response to a request to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set to an address of MLD.

[0191] Aspect 6: The method of any one of Aspects 1-5 further includes transmitting a response to a request to establish a direct link to a first wireless station via an access point, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set to an address of MLD.

[0192] Aspect 7: The method of any one of Aspects 1-6 further includes: transmitting a discovery response to a first wireless station, the discovery response including a transmitter address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0193] Aspect 8: The method of aspect 7 further includes: receiving, via an access point, a request from a first wireless station to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link; and wherein the transmission of the discovery response is in response to the request.

[0194] Aspect 9: The method of any one of Aspects 1-8, wherein communication with the first wireless station via a direct link includes: receiving a frame from the first wireless station via a direct link, the frame including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0195] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of Aspects 1-9 further includes: transmitting a first frame to a wireless node via one of the second wireless stations in a direction away from the first wireless station, based on the fact that a direct link is operable; and wherein communication with the first wireless station includes transmitting a second frame to the first wireless station via another second wireless station in the direction toward the first wireless station.

[0196] Aspect 11: The method of any one of Aspects 1-10 further includes: generating an encryption key based at least in part on the address of the first MLD; transmitting an instruction of the encryption key to the first wireless station; and wherein communication with the first wireless station includes transmitting encrypted frames to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

[0197] Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, wherein the direct link is a tunneled direct link.

[0198] Aspect 13: The method of any one of Aspects 1-12, wherein the data frame includes a MAC header, the MAC header including a transmitter address field.

[0199] Aspect 14: The method of any one of Aspects 1-13, wherein the first wireless station is associated with a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which are associated with the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD.

[0200] Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, wherein: the direct link includes a plurality of tunneled direct link sessions; and each of the plurality of tunneled direct link sessions is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations.

[0201] Aspect 16: The method of aspect 14, wherein: the direct link includes a single tunneled direct link session; and multiple links between the second and third radio stations are associated with the single tunneled direct link session.

[0202] Aspect 17: The method of any one of Aspects 1-16 further includes: transmitting to the first wireless station an instruction to establish the direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein communication with the first wireless station via the direct link includes communication with the first wireless station via one or more links of the multi-link direct link based on the instruction.

[0203] Aspect 18: The method of aspect 17, wherein the indication includes at least one of the following: a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, which includes a value indicating that the direct link is set as a multi-link direct link; or a multi-link element in a direct link discovery frame or a direct link setup frame.

[0204] Aspect 19: The method of aspect 18, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

[0205] Aspect 20: The method of aspect 18, wherein the multi-link element includes: a first indication having an identifier of a direct link in a sub-element of a station profile associated with at least one of the second radio stations; or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second radio station associated with a link between the second and third radio stations.

[0206] Aspect 21: The method of any one of aspects 1-20 further includes: receiving, via an access point, a request from a first wireless station to establish a direct link or to discover peer wireless stations for a direct link, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations.

[0207] Aspect 22: The method of aspect 21, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier associated with the first link.

[0208] Aspect 23: The method of any of Aspects 21-22, wherein the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field in the Link Identifier element of the request includes a value indicating the first link.

[0209] Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 21-22, wherein the multi-link element indicates the first link in the request.

[0210] Aspect 25: The method of aspect 24, wherein the multi-link element further indicates capability information associated with the first link.

[0211] Aspect 26: The method of aspect 21 further includes: transmitting a response to the request to a first wireless station via a first link indicated in the request; and wherein communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0212] Aspect 27: The method of aspect 26, wherein the response includes an indication of the first link.

[0213] Aspect 28: The method of aspect 27, wherein the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response includes a value indicating the first link.

[0214] Aspect 29: The method of any one of Aspects 21-28, wherein receiving the request includes receiving the request from the access point on the second link.

[0215] Aspect 30: The method of aspect 29 further includes ignoring the request based on the fact that the first link is inoperable, or based on the fact that the request was received on the second link.

[0216] Aspect 31: The method of any one of aspects 1-30 further includes: receiving from a first wireless station via an access point a response to a request to establish a direct link, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations, wherein the response is received via a second link; and wherein communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the response.

[0217] Aspect 32: The method of any one of aspects 1-31 further includes: transmitting a request for establishing a direct link or a response to such request to a first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request or response indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations, wherein the request or response is transmitted via a second link; and wherein communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the response or request.

[0218] Aspect 33: The method of aspect 21 further includes: transmitting a first response to the request directly to a first wireless station associated with the second MLD via a first link indicated in the request; transmitting a second response to the request directly to one or more third wireless stations associated with the second MLD via a second link; communicating with the one or more third wireless stations via the second link; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0219] Aspect 34: The method of aspect 14 further includes: selecting at least one link among a plurality of links between a second radio station associated with the first MLD and a third radio station associated with the second MLD; and transmitting a request to one or more third radio stations associated with the second MLD to establish a direct link on the selected at least one link.

[0220] Aspect 35: The method of aspect 34 further includes: receiving a discovery response frame from a third radio station associated with the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links; and wherein the selection of the at least one link is based on the signal quality associated with the discovery response frame.

[0221] Aspect 36: The method of any one of Aspects 34-35, wherein the selected at least one link includes two or more of the plurality of links.

[0222] Aspect 37: The method of aspect 14 further includes: transmitting via an access point to a third wireless station associated with the second MLD a first request to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link, wherein the first request indicates a first link for communication between the third wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the first MLD; determining that a time has elapsed without a response to the first request; and based on the determination, transmitting via the access point to the other third wireless station associated with the second MLD a second request to discover a peer wireless station for a direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station and another second wireless station among the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD.

[0223] Aspect 38: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: communicating with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; receiving a request transmission (RTS) frame from an access point requesting the transmission of data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and taking one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0224] Aspect 39: The method of aspect 38, wherein taking one or more actions includes: transmitting a Clear Transmission (CTS) frame to the access point instructing the access point to freely transmit data to the MLD; and receiving data from the access point via a third radio station based on the transmission of the CTS frame.

[0225] Aspect 40: The method of aspect 38, wherein taking one or more actions includes: ignoring the RTS frame if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station.

[0226] Aspect 41: The method of any one of Aspects 39-40 further includes: transmitting to the access point a first indication to enable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0227] Aspect 42: The method of any one of aspects 38-41 further includes: transmitting to the access point a second indication to disable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0228] Aspect 43: The method of any of Aspects 41-42, wherein the first or second indication is transmitted via the control field of the MAC frame.

[0229] Aspect 44: The method of aspect 43, wherein the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0230] Aspect 45: A method of wireless communication by an access point, comprising: receiving from a multi-link device (MLD) a first indication of enabling transmission of a request-to-send (RTS) frame prior to transmission from the access point to the MLD; transmitting an RTS frame to the MLD requesting that data be transmitted to one or more wireless stations associated with the MLD based on the first indication; and transmitting data to the one or more wireless stations if the access point receives a clear-to-send (CTS) frame from the MLD.

[0231] Aspect 46: The method of aspect 45 further includes: receiving from the MLD a second instruction to disable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0232] Aspect 47: The method of any of Aspects 45-46, wherein the first or second indication is received via the control field of a MAC frame.

[0233] Aspect 48: The method of aspect 47, wherein the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0234] Aspect 49: A method of wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) comprising: transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0235] Aspect 50: The method of aspect 49 further includes: after terminating communication with the second wireless station, transmitting to the access point a second indication that the first wireless station is in active mode.

[0236] Aspect 51: The method of aspect 50 further includes: communicating with the access point via the first wireless station after the transmission of the second instruction.

[0237] Aspect 52: The method of any one of Aspects 49-51, wherein: communication between the second wireless station and the third wireless station occurs when the first wireless station is not communicating; or communication between the access point and the first wireless station occurs when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0238] Aspect 53: A method of wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) comprising: transmitting to an access point an indication to disable a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD; and, after the transmission of the indication, communicating with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0239] Aspect 54: The method of aspect 53, wherein: communication between the second wireless station and the third wireless station occurs when the first wireless station is not communicating.

[0240] Aspect 55: The method of any of Aspects 53-54, wherein the instruction is transmitted via the control field of a Media Access Control (MAC) frame.

[0241] Aspect 56: The method of aspect 55, wherein the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0242] Aspect 57: A method of wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising: communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including multiple links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; transmitting to one or more first access points a first indication to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more first access points and one or more first radio stations; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0243] Aspect 58: The method of aspect 57 further includes: when the direct link is inoperable, transmitting a second instruction to the one or more first access points to add a link between the one or more first wireless stations and the one or more second wireless stations.

[0244] Aspect 59: The method of aspect 58 further includes: after the transmission of the second indication, communicating with the one or more first access points via the one or more first wireless stations; and while communicating with the second wireless station, communicating with the second access point associated with the second MLD via a fourth wireless station associated with the first MLD on another link in the dynamic link set, wherein the first access point includes the second access point and the first wireless station includes the fourth wireless station.

[0245] Aspect 60: The method of any one of Aspects 57-59, wherein: communication between the second wireless station and the third wireless station occurs when the first wireless station is not communicating; or communication between the one or more first wireless stations and the one or more first access points occurs when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0246] Aspect 61: A method of wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising: receiving from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD one or more first frames relating to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and relaying the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0247] Aspect 62: The method of aspect 61 further includes: mapping the address of the second MLD to the address of the second wireless station based on the fact that the first wireless station does not support multi-link operation, wherein the transmission of the one or more first frames is based on the mapping between the address of the second MLD and the address of the second wireless station.

[0248] Aspect 63: The method of aspect 62 further includes: receiving one or more second frames relating to the establishment of a direct link from a first wireless station via an access point; and relaying the one or more second frames to a second MLD, wherein the one or more second frames include a destination address field set as an address of the second wireless station.

[0249] Aspect 64: The method of aspect 63 further includes: receiving, via a second access point associated with the first MLD, one or more third frames relating to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and the first wireless station from a third wireless station associated with the second MLD, wherein the one or more first frames include a transmitter address field set as an address of the third wireless station; relaying the one or more third frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more third frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station; and wherein receiving the one or more first frames includes receiving the one or more first frames from the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0250] Aspect 65: A wireless communication method performed by a first wireless station, comprising: transmitting a request to a second wireless station via an access point to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and communicating directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0251] Aspect 66: The method of aspect 65 further includes: receiving a response to the request from a second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0252] Aspect 67: The method of any one of Aspects 65-66, wherein the request includes a discovery request frame.

[0253] Aspect 68: The method of any one of Aspects 65-67, wherein the second wireless station is associated with a multilink device.

[0254] Aspect 69: The method of any of Aspects 65-68, wherein the request indicates the link via a link identifier associated with the link.

[0255] Aspect 70: The method of any one of Aspects 65-69, wherein the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field in the Link Identifier element of the request includes a value indicating the link.

[0256] Aspect 71: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit data frames to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frames including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0257] Aspect 72: A multilink device (MLD) comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; and receiving a request to send (RTS) frame from an access point requesting data to be sent to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and a processing system configured to take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0258] Aspect 73: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: a transceiver configured to: transmit to an access point a first indication that a first radio station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and, after the transmission of the first indication, to communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second and third radio stations, the third radio station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0259] Aspect 74: A multilink device (MLD) comprising: a transceiver configured to: transmit to an access point an indication to disable a link to a first radio station associated with the MLD; and, after transmission of the indication, communicate with a second radio station via a direct link between a second radio station and a third radio station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0260] Aspect 75: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: a transceiver configured to: communicate with a second MLD via a dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; transmit to one or more first access points a first indication to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more first access points and the one or more first radio stations; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0261] Aspect 76: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: a receiver configured to receive from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD one or more first frames relating to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first radio station, wherein the first radio station does not support multilink operation; and a processing system configured to: relay the one or more first frames to the first radio station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second radio station associated with the second MLD.

[0262] Aspect 77: A first wireless station includes a transceiver configured to: transmit via an access point to a second wireless station a request to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and to communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0263] Aspect 78: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: means for transmitting a data frame including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and means for communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0264] Aspect 79: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: means for communicating with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; means for receiving from an access point a request to send data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD via a request to send data; and means for taking one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0265] Aspect 80: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: means for transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first radio station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and means for communicating with a second radio station via a direct link between a second radio station and a third radio station, the third radio station being associated with the MLD, after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0266] Aspect 81: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: means for transmitting to an access point an indication that a link to a first radio station associated with the MLD is disabled; and means for communicating with a second radio station via a direct link between a second radio station and a third radio station associated with the MLD after the transmission of the indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0267] Aspect 82: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: means for communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; means for transmitting to one or more first access points a first instruction to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more first access points and the one or more first radio stations; and means for communicating with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD after the transmission of the first instruction, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0268] Aspect 83: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: means for receiving one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD in relation to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first radio station, wherein the first radio station does not support multilink operation; and means for relaying the one or more first frames to the first radio station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field configured as an address of the second radio station associated with the second MLD.

[0269] Aspect 84: A first wireless station, comprising: means for transmitting a request via an access point to a second wireless station to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and means for communicating directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0270] Aspect 85: An apparatus for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output a data frame, including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and a processing system configured to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0271] Aspect 86: An apparatus for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: a processing system configured to communicate with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; and an interface configured to receive from an access point a request transmission (RTS) frame requesting the transmission of data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the processing system is further configured to take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0272] Aspect 87: An apparatus for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and a processing system configured to: communicate with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0273] Aspect 88: An apparatus for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output an indication to an access point that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled; and a processing system configured to: after the transmission of the indication, communicate with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0274] Aspect 89: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: a processing system configured to communicate with a second MLD via a dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; and an interface configured to output to one or more first access points a first indication to remove a link between the one or more first access points and the one or more first radio stations in the dynamic link set, wherein the processing system is further configured to communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0275] Aspect 90: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: an interface configured to receive from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD one or more first frames relating to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first radio station, wherein the first radio station does not support multilink operation; and a processing system configured to: relay the one or more first frames to the first radio station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second radio station associated with the second MLD.

[0276] Aspect 91: A first wireless station includes an interface configured to output a request to a second wireless station via an access point to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and a processing system configured to communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0277] Aspect 92: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising code executable to: output a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0278] Aspect 93: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: communicate with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable to the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; obtain from an access point a request transmission (RTS) frame requesting the transmission of data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0279] Aspect 94: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: output a first indication to an access point that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, the third wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0280] Aspect 95: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: output an indication to an access point to disable a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD; and, after transmission of the indication, communicate with a second wireless station via a direct link between a second and a third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0281] Aspect 96: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising code executable to: communicate with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including multiple links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; output a first indication to one or more first access points to remove a link between the one or more first access points in the dynamic link set and one or more first radio stations; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more first radio stations are communicating.

[0282] Aspect 97: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising code executable to: receive one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD in relation to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and relay the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0283] Aspect 98: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first wireless station, comprising code executable to: output a request to a second wireless station via an access point to discover the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0284] Aspect 99: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: transmit a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multilink operation; and communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0285] Aspect 100: The first MLD as in aspect 99, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multilink logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses include a multilink logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations.

[0286] Aspect 101: A first MLD as in any of Aspects 99 or 100, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to transmit a request associated with a direct link to a first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0287] Aspect 102: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-101, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to transmit a response associated with a direct link to a first wireless station, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0288] Aspect 103: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-102, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to transmit a response associated with a direct link to a first wireless station, the response including a transmitter address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0289] Aspect 104: A first MLD as in any of Aspects 99-103, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to receive frames from a first wireless station via a direct link, the frames including a receiver address field set as an address of the first MLD.

[0290] Aspect 105: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-104, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: based on the direct link being operable, stop transmission to the first wireless station via the second wireless station, except for at least one of the second wireless stations.

[0291] Aspect 106: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-105, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to generate an encryption key based at least in part on the address of the first MLD; to transmit an instruction to the first wireless station on the encryption key; and to communicate an encryption frame to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

[0292] Aspect 107: The first MLD of aspect 106, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to generate an encryption key based on at least one of the address of the access point MLD or the address of the access point.

[0293] Aspect 108: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-107, wherein the direct link is a tunneled direct link; and the data frame includes a MAC header that includes a transmitter address field.

[0294] Aspect 109: The first MLD of aspect 108, wherein the first radio station is subordinate to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, which are subordinate to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD.

[0295] Aspect 110: The first MLD of aspect 109, wherein: the direct link includes a plurality of tunneled direct link sessions; and each of the plurality of tunneled direct link sessions is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations.

[0296] Aspect 111: The first MLD of aspect 109, wherein: the direct link includes a single tunneled direct link session; and multiple links between the second and third radio stations are associated with a single tunneled direct link session.

[0297] Aspect 112: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-111, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit to the first radio station an indication to establish a direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein the indication includes at least one of the following: a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, which includes a value indicating that the direct link is established as a multi-link direct link, or a multi-link element in a direct link discovery frame or a direct link establishment frame; and to communicate with the first radio station via one or more links in the multi-link direct link based on the indication.

[0298] Aspect 113: The first MLD as in aspect 112, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

[0299] Aspect 114: A first MLD as described in any of Aspects 112 or 113, wherein a first radio station is subordinate to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, which are subordinate to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and wherein the multi-link element includes: a first indication having an identifier for a direct link in a station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the second radio stations; or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second radio station associated with a link between the second and third radio stations.

[0300] Aspect 115: A first MLD as in any of Aspects 99-114, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: receive, via an access point, a request associated with a direct link from a first wireless station, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between at least one of the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier element having a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, the BSSID field including a value indicating the first link.

[0301] Aspect 116: The first MLD of any of Aspects 99-115, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to transmit from the first radio station a plurality of requests associated with a direct link, wherein each of these requests has a different value for the BSSID field in the link identifier element.

[0302] Aspect 117: As in the first MLD of aspect 115, wherein the multi-link element indicates one or more links including the first link in the request.

[0303] Aspect 118: As in the first MLD of aspect 117, wherein the multi-link element further indicates capability information associated with the first link.

[0304] Aspect 119: A first MLD as described in any of Aspects 115-118, wherein a first radio station is subordinate to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, which are subordinate to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and wherein the processor and memory are further configured to: transmit a first response to the request directly to the first radio station subordinate to the second MLD via a first link indicated in the request; transmit a second response to the request directly to one or more third radio stations subordinate to the second MLD via a second link; communicate with the one or more third radio stations via the second link; and communicate with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0305] Aspect 120: A first MLD as described in any of Aspects 99-119, wherein a first radio station is subordinate to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, subordinate to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and memory are further configured to: select at least one link among a plurality of links between the second radio station subordinate to the first MLD and the third radio stations subordinate to the second MLD; and transmit a request to the one or more third radio stations subordinate to the second MLD to establish a direct link on the selected at least one link.

[0306] Aspect 121: The first MLD of aspect 120, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to receive a discovery response frame from a third radio station belonging to the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links; and wherein the selection of the at least one link is based on the signal quality associated with the discovery response frame.

[0307] Aspect 122: The first MLD as in any of Aspects 120 or 121, wherein the selected at least one link includes two or more of the plurality of links.

[0308] Aspect 123: A first MLD as described in any of Aspects 99-122, wherein a first radio station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and memory are further configured to: transmit via an access point a first request to a third radio station belonging to the second MLD to discover a peer radio station for a direct link, wherein the first request indicates a first link for communication between this third radio station and a second radio station belonging to the first MLD; determine that time has elapsed without a response to the first request; and based on the determination, transmit via the access point a second request to another third radio station among the third radio stations belonging to the second MLD to discover a peer radio station for a direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between this other third radio station and another second radio station among the second radio stations belonging to the first MLD.

[0309] Aspect 124: A method of wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: transmitting a data frame to a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0310] Aspect 125: The method of aspect 124, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multilink logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses includes a multilink logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations.

[0311] Aspect 126: The method of any one of Aspects 124 or 125 further includes transmitting a request associated with a direct link to a first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as a first MLD.

[0312] Aspect 127: The method of any one of Aspects 124-126 further includes transmitting a response associated with a direct link to a first wireless station, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set as a first MLD.

[0313] Aspect 128: The method of any one of aspects 124-127 further includes, based on the fact that a direct link is operable, stopping transmissions to the first wireless station via the second wireless station, except for at least one of the second wireless stations.

[0314] Aspect 129: A multilink device (MLD) includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: establish a direct link between a first radio station and a second radio station belonging to the MLD; and communicate with the first radio station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD when a third radio station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0315] Aspect 130: The MLD as in aspect 129, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit to the access point (AP) MLD to which the MLD is associated an indication of the status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD.

[0316] Aspect 131: MLD as in any of Aspects 129 or 130, wherein the third wireless station is inoperable while the direct link is in communication.

[0317] Aspect 132: The MLD of any of Aspects 129-131, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: receive a first frame from an access point belonging to the AP MLD requesting the transmission of data to a third radio station belonging to the MLD in response to an indication of the state; and take one or more actions in response to the first frame.

[0318] Aspect 133: The MLD of any of Aspects 129-132, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit a second frame to an access point belonging to the AP MLD instructing the access point belonging to the AP MLD to freely transmit data to the MLD; and based on the transmission of the second frame, receive data from the access point belonging to the AP MLD via a third radio station.

[0319] Aspect 134: MLD as in either Aspect 132 or 133, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: receive a first frame via a third wireless station on a channel through which an access point belonging to the AP MLD communicates with a third wireless station; and transmit a second frame via the third wireless station on the same channel.

[0320] Aspect 135: The MLD of any of Aspects 132-134, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to ignore the first frame if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station.

[0321] Aspect 136: MLD as in any of Aspects 132-135, wherein the status indicates that transmission of the first frame is enabled prior to transmission from the AP MLD to a third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0322] Aspect 137: The MLD of any of Aspects 132-136, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit an update of the state to the access point or AP MLD, indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to a third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0323] Aspect 138: MLD as in any of Aspects 129-137, wherein the indication is transmitted via the control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of a frame, management frame or control frame.

[0324] Aspect 139: An access point comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being further configured to: receive from a multi-link device (MLD) an indication of a status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD, based on the status, transmit to the MLD a first frame requesting that data be transmitted to the one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD, and if the access point receives from the MLD a second frame granting permission to transmit data, transmit the data to the one or more radio stations.

[0325] Aspect 140: An access point as in aspect 139, wherein the MLD has performed association with the access point (AP) MLD to which the access point belongs, and the status indicates that the transmission of the first frame is enabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD.

[0326] Aspect 141: An access point as in any of Aspects 139 or 140, wherein the MLD has performed association with the AP MLD to which the access point belongs, and wherein the processor and memory are further configured to receive an update of the state from the MLD, the update indicating that transmission of the first frame is disabled prior to transmission from the AP MLD to one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD.

[0327] Aspect 142: An access point as in aspect 141, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: transmit a first frame to the one or more wireless stations on a channel in which the access point, belonging to the AP MLD, communicates with the one or more wireless stations; and receive a second frame from the one or more wireless stations on the same channel.

[0328] Aspect 143: An access point as in any of Aspects 139-142, wherein the indication is received via the control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of a frame, management frame or control frame.

[0329] Aspect 144: A multi-link device (MLD) includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: transmit to an access point (AP) MLD a first indication associated with a first radio station belonging to the MLD; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second and third radio stations, the third radio station belonging to the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0330] Aspect 145: The MLD of aspect 144, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to: after communication with the second wireless station is terminated, transmit a second indication to the access point or AP MLD that the first wireless station is in active mode.

[0331] Aspect 146: The MLD of aspect 145, wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to communicate with the access point via the first wireless station after the transmission of the second indication.

[0332] Aspect 147: MLD as in any of Aspects 144-146, wherein: communication between the second wireless station and the third wireless station occurs when the first wireless station is not communicating; or communication between the access point and the first wireless station occurs when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0333] Aspect 148: The MLD of any of Aspects 144-147, wherein the first indication includes at least one of the following: an indication that the first wireless station is in a power-saving mode; an indication that a first link to the first wireless station is disabled; or an indication that a second link to the first wireless station is removed from the dynamic link pool.

[0334] Aspect 149: MLD as in any of Aspects 144-148, wherein the first indication is transmitted via the control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of a frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0335] Aspect 150: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: establishing a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD when a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0336] Aspect 151: The method of aspect 150 further includes transmitting to an access point (AP) MLD to which the MLD is associated an indication of the status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD.

[0337] Aspect 152: The method of aspect 151, wherein the third wireless station is inoperable when the direct link is in communication.

[0338] Aspect 153: The method according to any one of aspects 151 or 152 further includes: receiving, in response to an indication of the state, a first frame from an access point belonging to the AP MLD requesting the transmission of data to a third radio station belonging to the MLD; and taking one or more actions in response to the first frame.

[0339] Aspect 154: The method of aspect 153 further includes: transmitting a second frame to an access point belonging to the MLD, instructing the access point to freely transmit data to the MLD; and receiving data from the access point belonging to the MLD via a third wireless station based on the transmission of the second frame.

[0340] Aspect 155: The method of aspect 154 further includes: receiving a first frame via a third wireless station on a channel through which an access point belonging to the AP MLD communicates with a third wireless station; and transmitting a second frame via the third wireless station on the same channel.

[0341] Aspect 156: The method of any of aspects 154-155 further includes ignoring the first frame if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station.

[0342] Aspect 157: The method of any one of Aspects 154-156, wherein the state indicates that the transmission of the first frame is enabled prior to the transmission from the AP MLD to a third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0343] Aspect 158: The method of any of Aspects 154-157 further includes transmitting an update of the state to an access point or AP MLD, indicating that transmission of the first frame is disabled prior to transmission from the AP MLD to a third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0344] Aspect 159: An apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of aspects 1-70, 124-128 or 150-158.

[0345] Aspect 160: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1-70, 124-128 or 150-158.

[0346] Aspect 161: A computer-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to any one of aspects 1-70, 124-128 or 150-158.

[0347] Aspect 162: A computer program product implemented on a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including code for performing a method according to any one of aspects 1-70, 124-128 or 150-158.

[0348] The techniques described in this paper offer various advantages for direct link communication in multi-link applications. For example, various techniques for handling TDLS with MLOs enable an MLD to establish a TDLS session with a legacy STA or another MLD, which can provide the desired latency and / or throughput between TDLS peer STAs.

[0349] The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will readily be understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be granted the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein references to the singular form of an element, unless specifically stated otherwise, are not intended to mean “one and only one,” but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some / a” refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the aspects described throughout this disclosure that are now or hereafter known to a person skilled in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be donated to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly stated in the claims. No element of a claim should be interpreted under the provisions of 35 U.S.SC §112, paragraph 6, unless the element is expressly stated using the phrase “means for…” or, in the case of a method claim, using the phrase “steps for…”.

[0350] The various operations of the methods described above can be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. These means may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. Generally, where the operations illustrated in the figures are present, these operations may have corresponding paired means plus functional components.

[0351] The receiving device may include Figure 2The transceiver, receiver, or at least one antenna and at least one receiving processor described herein. The means for transmitting, transmitting, or outputting may include... Figure 2 The transceiver, transmitter, or at least one antenna and at least one transmission processor described herein. The means for communication, the means for generation, the means for taking one or more actions, the means for selection, the means for determination, the means for ignoring, the means for mapping, and the means for relaying may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as... Figure 2 The processors 260m, 270m, 288m and / or 290m of the STA 120m shown, and / or the processors 210, 220, 240 and / or 242 of the AP 110.

[0352] In some cases, a device may not actually transmit frames, but may instead have an interface (means for outputting) for outputting frames for transmission. For example, a processor may output frames to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission via a bus interface. Similarly, a device may not actually receive frames, but may instead have an interface (means for acquiring) for acquiring frames received from another device. For example, a processor may acquire (or receive) frames from an RF front end for reception via a bus interface.

[0353] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determine" can include calculation, computation, processing, derivation, research, searching (e.g., looking in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Furthermore, "determine" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Moreover, "determine" can include parsing, selecting, choosing, building, and the like.

[0354] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of these items, including a single member. As an example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as combinations that include multiple members (aa, aabb, aabbcc, bb, bbcc, and / or cc).

[0355] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in this disclosure can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternatives, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0356] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in this disclosure can be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module can reside in any form of storage medium known in the art. Some examples of usable storage media include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, and so on. The software module may include a single instruction or many instructions, and may be distributed across several different code segments, across different programs, and across multiple storage media. The storage medium may be coupled to the processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor.

[0357] The methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or actions for achieving the described methods. These method steps and / or actions may be interchanged with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0358] The described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system can be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnect buses and bridges. The bus can link together various circuits, including a processor, machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface can be used to connect network adapters, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter can be used to implement signal processing functions at the PHY layer. In wireless station 120 (see...) Figure 1In such cases, user interfaces (e.g., keypads, displays, mice, joysticks, etc.) can also be connected to the bus. The bus can also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and similar circuits, which are well known in the art and will not be described further.

[0359] A processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software stored on a machine-readable medium. A processor may be implemented using one or more general-purpose and / or special-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuit systems capable of executing software. Software should be interpreted broadly as instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As examples, a machine-readable medium may include RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be implemented in a computer program product. This computer program product may include packaging materials.

[0360] In hardware implementations, machine-readable media can be a separate part of the processing system from the processor. However, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, machine-readable media or any portion thereof can be external to the processing system. As examples, machine-readable media may include transmission lines, data-modulated carrier waves, and / or computer products separated from wireless nodes, all accessible to the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, machine-readable media or any portion thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as caches and / or general-purpose register files.

[0361] The processing system can be configured as a general-purpose processing system having one or more microprocessors providing processor functionality, and external memory providing at least a portion of machine-readable medium, all linked to other supporting circuitry via an external bus architecture. Alternatively, the processing system can be implemented using an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) with a processor, bus interface, user interface (in the case of an access terminal), supporting circuitry, and at least a portion of machine-readable medium integrated on a single chip, or using one or more FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, or any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. Depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system, those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the functionality described regarding the processing system.

[0362] Machine-readable media may include several software modules. These software modules include instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the processing system to perform various functions. These software modules may include transfer modules and receive modules. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. As an example, when a trigger event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard drive into RAM. During the execution of a software module, the processor may load some instructions into a cache to improve access speed. One or more cache lines may subsequently be loaded into a general-purpose register file for processor execution. In the context of the functionality of the software module described below, it will be understood that such functionality is implemented by the processor when the processor executes the instructions from the software module.

[0363] If implemented in software, the functions can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on or through a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Similarly, any connection is also legitimately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave), then that coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) is included in the definition of medium. The disks and discs used in this article include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, DVDs, floppy disks, and... Disks, where disks often magnetically reproduce data, and discs optically reproduce data using lasers. Therefore, in some aspects, computer-readable media may include non-transient computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Additionally, in other aspects, computer-readable media may include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0364] Therefore, some aspects may include computer program products for performing the operations set forth herein. For example, such computer program products may include computer-readable media on which instructions are stored (and / or encoded) that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. In some aspects, computer program products may include packaging materials.

[0365] Furthermore, it should be understood that modules and / or other suitable means for performing the methods and techniques described herein may be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the wireless station and / or access point where applicable. For example, such devices may be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein may be provided via storage devices (e.g., RAM, ROM, physical storage media such as CDs or floppy disks, etc.) so that the device can acquire the various methods once the storage device is coupled to or provided to the wireless station and / or access point. Furthermore, any other suitable techniques appropriate for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device may be utilized.

[0366] It will be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configurations and components described above. Various modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to the layout, operation, and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: Memory; as well as One or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors and the memory being configured such that the first MLD: A data frame is transmitted to the first wireless station via a previously established direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD. The data frame includes a transmitter address field set to the address of the first MLD, wherein the direct link is between non-access point (AP) stations, the AP stations including the first wireless station and at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations, wherein the address of the first MLD is different from at least one address of the at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations. A frame is received from the first wireless station via the direct link after the transmission of the data frame, the frame including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

2. The first MLD as described in claim 1, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multi-link logical media access control (MAC) address.

3. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD transmits a request frame associated with the direct link to the first radio station via an access point and prior to the establishment of the direct link, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as the address of the first MLD.

4. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD transmits a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station and prior to the establishment of the direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set as the address of the first MLD.

5. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD transmits a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station, the response including the transmitter address field set as an address of the first MLD.

6. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: Based on the fact that the direct link is operational, stop the transmission to the first wireless station, the transmission being: Via links other than the direct link, and Via the plurality of second wireless stations other than the at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations.

7. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: The encryption key is generated at least in part based on the address of the first MLD; Instructions to transmit the encryption key to the first wireless station; and The encrypted frame is transmitted to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

8. The first MLD of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD further generates the encryption key based on at least one of the address of the access point MLD or the address of the access point.

9. The first MLD as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The direct link is a tunneled direct link; and The data frame includes a MAC header, which includes the transmitter address field.

10. The first MLD of claim 9, wherein the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD.

11. The first MLD as claimed in claim 10, wherein: The direct link includes multiple tunneled direct link sessions; and Each of the plurality of tunneled direct link sessions is associated with a separate link between one of the plurality of second radio stations and one of the two or more third radio stations.

12. The first MLD as claimed in claim 10, wherein: The direct link includes a single tunneled direct link session; and Multiple links between the plurality of second wireless stations and the two or more third wireless stations are associated with the single tunneled direct link session.

13. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: The first wireless station is informed, prior to the establishment of the direct link, to set up the direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein the instruction includes at least one of the following: The Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field includes a value indicating whether the direct link is set as the multi-link direct link, or Multi-link elements in a direct link discovery frame or direct link setup frame; and Based on the instructions, communicate with the first wireless station via one or more of the multi-link direct links.

14. The first MLD of claim 13, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

15. The first MLD as claimed in claim 13, wherein: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD. and The multi-link elements include: A first indication having the identifier of the direct link in the station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations; or A second indication of one or more capabilities of the plurality of second wireless stations associated with the links between the plurality of second wireless stations and the two or more third wireless stations.

16. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: A request associated with the direct link is received from the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier element having a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, the BSSID field including a value indicating the first link.

17. The first MLD of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: From at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations and prior to the establishment of the direct link, a plurality of requests associated with the direct link are transmitted, wherein each of the plurality of requests has a different value for the BSSID field in the link identifier element.

18. The first MLD of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: Transmitting or receiving a multilink element to or from the first wireless station, wherein the multilink element indicates one or more links including the first link in the request.

19. The first MLD of claim 18, wherein the multi-link element further indicates capability information associated with the first link.

20. The first MLD as claimed in claim 16, wherein: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD. and The one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: A first response to the request is transmitted directly to the first wireless station belonging to the second MLD via the first link indicated in the request; A second response to the request is transmitted directly via a second link to one or more of the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD. Communicating with one or more of the two or more third wireless stations via the second link; as well as Communicate with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

21. The first MLD as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD. and The one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD is established before the direct link is established: Select at least one link among the plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD and the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD; as well as A request is transmitted to one or more of the two or more third radio stations belonging to the second MLD to establish the direct link on at least one selected link.

22. The first MLD of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: Receive discovery response frames from the two or more third radio stations belonging to the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links and before the direct link is established; and The selection of the at least one link is based on the signal quality associated with the discovery response frame.

23. The first MLD of claim 21, wherein the selected at least one link comprises two or more of the plurality of links.

24. The first MLD as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD further has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD. and The one or more processors and the memory are further configured such that the first MLD: A first request for discovery of a peer radio station for the direct link is transmitted via an access point and to one of the two or more third radio stations belonging to the second MLD, prior to the establishment of the direct link. The first request indicates a first link for communication between the one of the two or more third radio stations and one of the plurality of second radio stations belonging to the first MLD. Based on the fact that no response to the first request has been received after a certain period of time has elapsed, a second request for the discovery of a peer wireless station for the direct link is transmitted via the access point to another third wireless station among the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station among the two or more third wireless stations and another second wireless station among the plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD.

25. A method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: A data frame is transmitted to the first wireless station via a previously established direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD. The data frame includes a transmitter address field set to the address of the first MLD, wherein the direct link is between non-access point (AP) stations, the AP stations including the first wireless station and at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations, wherein the address of the first MLD is different from at least one address of the at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations. A frame is received from the first wireless station via the direct link after the transmission of the data frame, the frame including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multi-link logical media access control (MAC) address.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising transmitting a request frame associated with the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point and prior to the establishment of the direct link, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set to the address of the first MLD.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising transmitting a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station and prior to the establishment of the direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link responder address set to the address of the first MLD.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising, based on the fact that the direct link is operable, stopping transmission to the first wireless station, the transmission being: Via links other than the direct link, and Via the plurality of second wireless stations other than the at least one of the plurality of second wireless stations.

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