Non-co-located AP MLD translation

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer readable medium for non-co-located AP multi-link device (MLD) conversion wherein the non-co-located AP MLD apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to encode a management frame including a neighbor reporting element including a recommended AP field and a multi-link element, the neighbor reporting element including a recommended AP field and a multi-link element, the processing circuitry comprises a recommended AP field indicating an identification of the recommended AP, the multi-link element comprising a co-located AP MLD field indicating an identification of the co-located AP MLD, where the recommended AP is affiliated to the co-located AP MLD, and where the processing circuitry is further configured to: configure the non-co-located AP MLD to send a management frame to the non-AP MLD.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments are directed to non-co-located access point (AP) multi-link devices (MLDs) for wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks, including networks operating according to different versions or generations of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Background Art

[0002] Efficient use of wireless local area network (WLAN) resources is very important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response time to WLAN users. However, there are often many devices trying to share the same resources, and some devices may be limited by the communication protocol they use or their hardware bandwidth. In addition, wireless devices may need to use both newer protocols and legacy device protocols. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

[0004] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture according to some embodiments;

[0005] Figure 2 According to some embodiments, Figure 1 A front-end module circuit system used in a radio architecture;

[0006] Figure 3 According to some embodiments, Figure 1 A radio IC circuit system used in a radio architecture;

[0007] Figure 4 According to some embodiments, Figure 1 Baseband processing circuitry used in a radio architecture;

[0008] Figure 5 illustrates a WLAN according to some embodiments;

[0009] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example machine is shown on which any one or more of the techniques (eg, methodologies) discussed herein may be performed;

[0010] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example wireless device is shown on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods or operations) discussed herein may be performed;

[0011] Figure 8A multi-link device (MLD) is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] Fig. 9 Co-located and non-co-located MLDs are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Fig.10 Non-co-located MLDs with signal reach are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Fig.11 A BSS transition management frame 1102 is shown for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some examples.

[0015] Fig.12 A BSS transition management frame 1202 is shown for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some examples.

[0016] Fig.13 A BSS transition management frame 1302 is shown for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some examples.

[0017] Fig.14 A method for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some embodiments is shown.

[0018] Fig.15 A method for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following description and the accompanying drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in portions and features of other embodiments, or replace portions and features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0020] Some embodiments relate to methods, computer readable media, and apparatus for adjusting a duration field on a CTS frame. Some embodiments relate to methods, computer readable media, and apparatus for adjusting in response to an adjustment to a duration field of a CTS frame.

[0021] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture 100 according to some embodiments. The radio architecture 100 may include a radio front end module (FEM) circuit system 104, a radio IC circuit system 106, and a baseband processing circuit system 108. The radio architecture 100 as shown includes wireless local area network (WLAN) functions and (BT) functionality, although embodiments are not limited thereto. In this disclosure, "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi" may be used interchangeably.

[0022] FEM circuitry 104 may include WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuitry 104A and (BT) FEM circuitry 104B. WLAN FEM circuitry 104A may include a receive signal path including circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to WLAN radio IC circuitry 106A for additional processing. BT FEM circuitry 104B may include a receive signal path including circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to BT radio IC circuitry 106B for additional processing. FEM circuitry 104A may also include a transmit signal path including circuitry configured to amplify WLAN signals provided by radio IC circuitry 106A for wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. Additionally, FEM circuitry 104B may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify BT signals provided by radio IC circuitry 106B for wireless transmission by one or more antennas. Figure 1 In the embodiments, although FEM circuit system 104A and FEM circuit system 104B are shown as being different from each other, the embodiments are not limited to this and include within their scope the use of a FEM (not shown) that includes a transmit path and / or receive path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuit systems, at least some of which share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0023] The illustrated radio IC circuitry 106 may include a WLAN radio IC circuitry 106A and a BT radio IC circuitry 106B. The WLAN radio IC circuitry 106A may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry that down-converts a WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 104A and provides a baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A. The BT radio IC circuitry 106B may in turn include a receive signal path that may include circuitry that down-converts a BT RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 104B and provides a baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuitry 108B. The WLAN radio IC circuitry 106A may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry that up-converts a WLAN baseband signal provided by the WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A and provides a WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 104A for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. BT radio IC circuitry 106B may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry that up-converts the BT baseband signal provided by BT baseband processing circuitry 108B and provides a BT RF output signal to FEM circuitry 104B for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. Figure 1 In the embodiments, although the radio IC circuit systems 106A and 106B are shown as being different from each other, the embodiments are not limited to this and include within their scope the use of a radio IC circuit system (not shown) that includes a transmit signal path and / or receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuit systems, at least some of which share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0024] Baseband processing circuitry 108 may include WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A and BT baseband processing circuitry 108B. WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A may include memory, such as a set of RAM arrays in a fast Fourier transform or inverse fast Fourier transform block (not shown) of WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A. Each of WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A and BT baseband processing circuitry 108B may additionally include one or more processors and control logic to process signals received from a corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of radio IC circuitry 106, and also generate corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for a transmit signal path of radio IC circuitry 106. Each of baseband processing circuitry 108A and 108B may additionally include physical layer (PHY) and medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may additionally interface with application processor 111 for baseband signal generation and processing and for controlling the operation of radio IC circuitry 106.

[0025] Still reference Figure 1 According to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT coexistence circuitry 113 may include logic for providing an interface between the WLAN baseband processing circuitry 108A and the BT baseband processing circuitry 108B to enable use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. In addition, a switch 103 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuitry 104A and the BT FEM circuitry 104B to allow switching between the WLAN and BT radios as required by the application. Furthermore, while the antennas 101 are depicted as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuitry 104A and the BT FEM circuitry 104B, respectively, embodiments include within their scope sharing one or more antennas between the WLAN and BT FEMs, or providing more than one antenna connected to each of the FEM circuitry 104A or the FEM circuitry 104B.

[0026] In some embodiments, front end module circuitry 104, radio IC circuitry 106, and baseband processing circuitry 108 may be provided on a single radio circuit card, such as radio circuit card 102. In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 101, FEM circuitry 104, and radio IC circuitry 106 may be provided on a single radio circuit card. In some other embodiments, radio IC circuitry 106 and baseband processing circuitry 108 may be provided on a single chip or IC, such as IC 112.

[0027] In some embodiments, wireless circuit card 102 may include a WLAN wireless circuit card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments, radio architecture 100 may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel. OFDM or OFDMA signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0028] In some of these multi-carrier embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA), such as a wireless access point (AP), a base station, or a mobile device including a Wi-Fi device. In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to send and receive signals according to a specific communication standard and / or protocol, such as any one of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards, including IEEE 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, IEEE 802.11ac, and / or IEEE 802.11ax standards and / or specifications proposed for WLANs, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The radio architecture 100 may also be adapted to transmit and / or receive communications according to other technologies and standards.

[0029] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured for high-efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) communications in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to communicate in accordance with OFDMA techniques, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0030] In some other embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to transmit and receive signals transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques, such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and / or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) modulation, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0031] In some embodiments, Figure 1 As further shown in FIG. 1 , the BT baseband processing circuit system 108B may comply with (BT) connection standards such as 4.0 or 5.0, or Any other iteration of the standard. In the examples including Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment of BT functionality, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to establish a BT synchronous connection-oriented (SCO) link and / or a BT low energy (BT LE) link. In some embodiments including functionality, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to establish an extended SCO (eSCO) link for BT communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments including BT functionality, the radio architecture may be configured to participate in BT asynchronous connectionless (ACL) communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the functionality of a BT radio circuit card and a WLAN radio circuit card may be combined on a single radio circuit card, such as a single radio circuit card 102, although embodiments are not so limited and include separate WLAN and BT radio circuit cards within their scope.

[0032] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may include other radio circuit cards, such as cellular radio circuit cards configured for cellular (e.g., 3GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G communications).

[0033] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to communicate over a variety of channel bandwidths, including bandwidths having center frequencies of approximately 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and bandwidths of approximately 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (with continuous bandwidth), or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (with non-contiguous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a channel bandwidth of 320 MHz may be used. However, the scope of the embodiments is not limited to the above center frequencies.

[0034] Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a FEM circuit system 200 according to some embodiments. The FEM circuit system 200 is suitable for use as a WLAN and / or BT FEM circuit system 104A / 104B ( Figure 1 ) is an example of a circuit system, although other circuit system configurations may also be suitable.

[0035] In some embodiments, FEM circuit system 200 may include TX / RX switch 202 for switching between transmit mode and receive mode operation. FEM circuit system 200 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit system 200 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) 206 to amplify received RF signal 203 and provide an amplified received RF signal 207 as an output (e.g., provided to radio IC circuit system 106 ( Figure 1)). The transmit signal path of circuit system 200 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal 209 (e.g., provided by radio IC circuit system 106), and one or more filters 212, such as a bandpass filter (BPF), a lowpass filter (LPF), or other type of filter, to generate a signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more of antennas 101 ( Figure 1 ))'s RF signal 215.

[0036] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communications, the FEM circuit system 200 may be configured to operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum or the 5 GHz spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit system 200 may include a receive signal path duplexer 204 to separate the signals from each spectrum and provide a separate LNA 206 for each spectrum, as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit system 200 may also include a power amplifier 210 and a filter 212, such as a BPF, LPF, or another type of filter for each spectrum, and a transmit signal path duplexer 214 to provide a signal from one of the different spectrums onto a single transmit path for reception by one or more antennas 101 ( Figure 1 ) for subsequent transmission. In some embodiments, BT communications may utilize a 2.4 GHZ signal path and may utilize the same FEM circuitry 200 as used for WLAN communications.

[0037] Figure 3 1 shows a radio integrated circuit (IC) circuit system 300 according to some embodiments. The radio IC circuit system 300 is a radio IC circuit system that may be suitable for use as a WLAN or BT radio IC circuit system 106A / 106B ( Figure 1 ) is an example of a circuit system, although other circuit system configurations may also be suitable.

[0038] In some embodiments, radio IC circuit system 300 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of radio IC circuit system 300 may include at least mixer circuit system 302, such as down-conversion mixer circuit system, amplifier circuit system 306, and filter circuit system 308. The transmit signal path of radio IC circuit system 300 may include at least filter circuit system 312 and mixer circuit system 314, such as up-conversion mixer circuit system. Radio IC circuit system 300 may also include synthesizer circuit system 304 for synthesizing frequency 305 used by mixer circuit system 302 and mixer circuit system 314. According to some embodiments, mixer circuit system 302 and / or 314 may each be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. Compared with standard superheterodyne mixer circuit system, the latter type of circuit system presents a much simpler architecture, and any flicker noise caused by the circuit system can be mitigated, for example, by using OFDM modulation. Figure 3 Only a simplified version of the radio IC circuitry is shown, and although not shown, embodiments may be included in which each of the shown circuitry may include more than one component. For example, mixer circuitry 302 and / or 314 may each include one or more mixers, and filter circuitry 308 and / or 312 may each include one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and / or LPFs, as required by the application. For example, when the mixer circuitry is of the direct conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0039] In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 may be configured to generate a synthesized frequency 305 from FEM circuitry 104 based on the synthesized frequency 305 provided by synthesizer circuitry 304. Figure 1 ) down-converts the received RF signal 207. Amplifier circuitry 306 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuitry 308 may include an LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate output baseband signal 307. Output baseband signal 307 may be provided to baseband processing circuitry 108 ( Figure 1 ) for further processing. In some embodiments, output baseband signal 307 may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0040] In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 314 may be configured to up-convert input baseband signal 311 based on synthesized frequency 305 provided by synthesizer circuitry 304 to generate RF output signal 209 for FEM circuitry 104. Baseband signal 311 may be provided by baseband processing circuitry 108 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 312. Filter circuitry 312 may include an LPF or a BPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0041] In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 and mixer circuitry 314 may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and / or up-conversion, respectively, with the aid of synthesizer circuitry 304. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 and mixer circuitry 314 may each include two or more mixers, each mixer being configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 and mixer circuitry 314 may each be arranged for direct down-conversion and / or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 302 and mixer circuitry 314 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, although this is not required.

[0042] According to one embodiment, mixer circuitry 302 may include: quadrature passive mixers (eg, for in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) paths). In such embodiments, Figure 3 The RF input signal 207 may be downconverted to provide I and Q baseband output signals which will be sent to the baseband processor

[0043] The quadrature passive mixers may be driven by 0 and 90 degree time varying LO switching signals provided by quadrature circuitry, which may be configured to receive LO frequencies (f LO ), such as LO frequency 305 of synthesizer circuit system 304 ( Figure 3 ). In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero-degree and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by a synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0044] In some embodiments, the LO signal may differ in duty cycle (the percentage of a period that the LO signal is high) and / or offset (the difference between the start points of the periods). In some embodiments, the LO signal may have a 25% duty cycle and a 50% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuitry (e.g., the in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) paths) may operate at a 25% duty cycle, which may result in a significant reduction in power consumption.

[0045] RF input signal 207 ( Figure 2 ) may include balanced signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The I and Q baseband output signals may be provided to a low noise amplifier, such as amplifier circuitry 306 ( Figure 3 ) or filter circuit system 308 ( Figure 3 ).

[0046] In some embodiments, output baseband signal 307 and input baseband signal 311 may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, output baseband signal 307 and input baseband signal 311 may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the radio IC circuitry may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry.

[0047] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum or other spectrums not mentioned herein, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0048] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 304 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 304 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 304 may include digital synthesizer circuitry. One advantage of using digital synthesizer circuitry is that while it may still include some analog components, its size may be much smaller than that of analog synthesizer circuitry. In some embodiments, the frequency input to synthesizer circuitry 304 may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. Depending on the desired output frequency 305, the divider control input may additionally be provided by baseband processing circuitry 108 ( Figure 1 ) or application processor 111 ( Figure 1) is provided. In some embodiments, the divider control input (eg, N) may be determined from a lookup table (eg, within a Wi-Fi card) based on the channel number and channel center frequency determined or indicated by the application processor 111.

[0049] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 304 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as output frequency 305, while in other embodiments, output frequency 305 may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., half the carrier frequency, one third of the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, output frequency 305 may be the LO frequency (f LO ).

[0050] Figure 4 4 is a functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit system 400 according to some embodiments. The baseband processing circuit system 400 is a block diagram of a baseband processing circuit system 108 ( Figure 1 ) is an example of a circuit system, although other circuit system configurations may also be suitable. Baseband processing circuit system 400 may include a circuit system for processing the baseband processing circuit system 400 generated by radio IC circuit system 106 ( Figure 1 ) and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 404 for generating a transmit baseband signal 311 for the radio IC circuit system 106. The baseband processing circuit system 400 may also include control logic 406 for coordinating the operation of the baseband processing circuit system 400.

[0051] In some embodiments (e.g., when analog baseband signals are switched between baseband processing circuitry 400 and radio IC circuitry 106), baseband processing circuitry 400 may include ADC 410 to convert analog baseband signals received from radio IC circuitry 106 into digital baseband signals for processing by RX BBP 402. In these embodiments, baseband processing circuitry 400 may also include DAC 412 to convert digital baseband signals from TX BBP 404 into analog baseband signals.

[0052] In some embodiments, such as transmitting an OFDM signal or an OFDMA signal via baseband processing circuit system 108A, transmit baseband processor 404 may be configured to generate an OFDM or OFDMA signal suitable for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to process the received OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to detect the presence of an OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing an autocorrelation to detect a preamble such as a short preamble and by performing a cross-correlation to detect a long preamble. The preamble may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communications.

[0053] refer to Figure 1 In some embodiments, antenna 101 ( Figure 1 ) may each include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result. Antennas 101 may each include a set of phased array antennas, although embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0054] Although the radio architecture 100 is shown as having several independent functional elements, one or more functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-configured elements, such as a processing element including a digital signal processor (DSP) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuit systems for performing at least the functionality described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0055] Figure 5A WLAN 500 is shown according to some embodiments. The WLAN 500 may include a basic service set (BSS), which may include an access point (AP) AP 502, a plurality of stations (STA) STA 504, and a plurality of legacy devices 506. In some embodiments, the STA 504 and / or the AP 502 are configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT), WiFi 8, and / or High Efficiency (HE) IEEE 802.11ax. In some embodiments, the STA 504 and / or the AP 502 are configured to operate in accordance with IEEE802.11az. In some embodiments, the STA 504 and / or the AP 502 are configured to operate in accordance with IEEEP802.11be TM / D3.2 (May 2023) and / or IEEE P802.11-REVme TM / D2.0 (October 2022), the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0056] AP 502 may be an AP that uses IEEE 802.11 for transmission and reception. AP 502 may be a base station. AP 502 may use other communication protocols as well as IEEE 802.11 protocols. According to some embodiments, the EHT protocol may be referred to as a different name. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include the use of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and / or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include multiple access technologies. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol may include space division multiple access (SDMA) and / or multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO). There may be more than one EHT AP 502 as part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not shown) may store information common to more than one AP 502, and may control more than one BSS, for example, assigning a primary channel, color, etc. AP 502 may be connected to the Internet.

[0057] The legacy device 506 may operate according to one or more of IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ad / af / ah / aj / ay / ax or another legacy wireless communication standard. The legacy device 506 may be a STA or an IEEE STA. The STA 504 may be a wireless transmitting and receiving device such as a cellular phone, a portable electronic wireless communication device, a smart phone, a handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, a wireless watch, a wireless personal device, a tablet computer, or another device that can transmit and receive using an IEEE 802.11 protocol (such as IEEE802.11be) or another wireless protocol.

[0058] The AP 502 may communicate with the legacy device 506 according to conventional IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In an example embodiment, the AP 502 may also be configured to communicate with the STA 504 according to conventional IEEE 802.11 communication techniques.

[0059] In some embodiments, the HE or EHT frame may be configured to have the same bandwidth as the channel. The HE or EHT frame may be a physical layer convergence process (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, PPDU may be an abbreviation of a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, there may be different types of PPDUs, which may have different fields and different physical layers and / or different medium access control (MAC) layers. For example, a single user (SU) PPDU, a multi-user (MU) PPDU, an extended-range (ER) SU PPDU, and / or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU. In some embodiments, the EHT may be the same or similar to the HE PPDU.

[0060] The bandwidth of the channel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz or 80 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 160 + 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 320 + 320 MHz, 640 MHz bandwidth. In some embodiments, the channel bandwidth less than 20 MHz may be 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4.06 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz, or a combination thereof, or another bandwidth less than or equal to the available bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel may be based on the number of active data subcarriers. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is based on 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996 or 2 × 996 active data subcarriers or tones spaced 20 MHz apart. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is 256 tones spaced 20 MHz apart. In some embodiments, the channel is a multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz. In some embodiments, a 20 MHz channel may include 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which may determine the size of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).According to some embodiments, the allocation of bandwidth or number of tones or subcarriers may be referred to as a Resource Unit (RU) allocation.

[0061] In some embodiments, 26 subcarrier RU and 52 subcarrier RU are used for 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 106 subcarrier RU are used for 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 242 subcarrier RU are used for 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 484 subcarrier RU are used for 80MHz, 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 996 subcarrier RU are used for 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats.

[0062] HE or EHT frames may be configured to transmit multiple spatial streams, which may be based on MU-MIMO and may be based on OFDMA. In other embodiments, the AP 502, STA 504, and / or legacy device 506 may also implement different technologies, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 IX, CDMA 2000 Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Specification 856 (IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), Low power consumption or other techniques.

[0063] According to some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, such as IEEE 802.11 EHT / ax / be embodiments, HE AP 502 may operate as a master station, which may be arranged to contend for the wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for a transmission opportunity (TXOP). AP 502 may transmit an EHT / HE trigger frame transmission, which may include a schedule of simultaneous UL / DL transmissions from STA 504. AP 502 may send the duration and subchannel information of the TXOP. During the TXOP, STA 504 may communicate with AP 502 based on a non-contention-based multiple access technology such as OFDMA or MU-MIMO. This is different from conventional WLAN communications, in which devices communicate based on contention-based communication technologies rather than multiple access technologies. During the HE or EHT control period, AP 502 may communicate with STA 504 using one or more HE or EHT frames. During the TXOP, HE STA 504 may operate on a subchannel that is smaller than the operating range of AP 502. During the TXOP, legacy stations refrain from communicating. Legacy stations may need to receive communications from HE AP 502 to defer communications.

[0064] According to some embodiments, during the TXOP, the STA 504 may contend for the wireless medium with the legacy device 506, which is excluded from contending for the wireless medium during the primary synchronization transmission. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate a UL MU-MIMO and / or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may include a DL UL-MU-MIMO and / or DL ​​OFDMA with a schedule indicated in the preamble of the trigger frame.

[0065] In some embodiments, the multiple access technology used during the HE or EHT TXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technology, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a time division multiple access (TDMA) technology or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a space division multiple access (SDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0066] The AP 502 may also communicate according to conventional IEEE 802.11 communication techniques with the legacy devices 506 and / or STAs 504. In some embodiments, the AP 502 may also be configured to communicate according to conventional IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.11 EHT / ax communication techniques with STAs 504 outside the TXOP, although this is not required.

[0067] In some embodiments, STA 504 may be a "group owner" (GO) of peer-to-peer operation mode. The wireless device may be STA 504 or HE AP 502. STA 504 may be referred to as a non-access point (AP) (non-AP) STA 504 according to some embodiments.

[0068] In some embodiments, STA 504 and / or AP 502 may be configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11mc. Figure 1 The radio architecture of is configured to implement STA 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 2 The front-end module circuit system is configured to implement STA 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit system is configured to implement HE STA 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit system is configured to implement STA 504 and / or AP 502.

[0069] In an example embodiment, the STA 504, the AP 502, the apparatus of the STA 504, and / or the apparatus of the AP 502 may include one or more of the following: Figure 1 The radio architecture Figure 2 Front-end module circuit system, Figure 3 Radio IC circuit systems and / or Figure 4 Baseband processing circuit system.

[0070] In an example embodiment, Figure 1 The radio architecture Figure 2 Front-end module circuit system, Figure 3 Radio IC circuit systems and / or Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit system may be configured to perform the present invention in conjunction with Figure 1-15 Describes the method and operation / function.

[0071] In an example embodiment, STA 504 and / or AP 502 are configured to perform the Figure 1-15 In an example embodiment, the apparatus of STA 504 and / or the apparatus of AP 502 are configured to perform the methods and operations / functions described herein. Figure 1-15 The term Wi-Fi may refer to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 communication standards. AP and STA may refer to EHT / HE access points and / or EHT / HE stations as well as legacy devices 506.

[0072] In some embodiments, HE AP STA may refer to AP 502 and / or STA 504 operating as EHT AP 502. In some embodiments, when STA 504 does not operate as an AP, it may be referred to as a non-AP STA or a non-AP. In some embodiments, STA 504 may be referred to as an AP STA or a non-AP. AP 502 may be part of a non-collocated AP MLD, such as non-collocated AP MLD3 912, collocated AP MLD1 904, or collocated AP MLD2 908. STA 504 may be part of a non-AP MLD 809, which may be referred to as an ML non-AP logical entity. A BSS may be part of an extended service set (ESS), which may include multiple APs and may include one or more management devices.

[0073] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example machine 600 is shown on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein may be performed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 600 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 600 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, the machine 600 may function as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine 600 may be a HE AP 502, an EVT STA 504, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable communication device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a network appliance, a network router, a switch or a bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) specifying actions to be taken by the machine. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0074] The machine (e.g., a computer system) 600 may include a hardware processor 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 604, and a static memory 606, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnect (e.g., a bus) 608.

[0075] Specific examples of main memory 604 include random access memory (RAM) and semiconductor memory devices, which in some embodiments may include storage locations in a semiconductor, such as registers. Specific examples of static memory 606 include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM disks.

[0076] The machine 600 may further include a display device 610, an input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 614 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display device 610, the input device 612, and the UI navigation device 614 may be a touch screen display. The machine 600 may further include a mass storage (e.g., a drive unit) 616, a signal generating device 618 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 620, and one or more sensors 621, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. The machine 600 may include an output controller 628, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB)), parallel or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., printers, card readers, etc.). In some embodiments, the processor 602 and / or the instructions 624 may include a processing circuit system and / or a transceiver circuit system.

[0077] The mass storage 616 may include a machine-readable medium 622 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 624 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functionality described herein. The instructions 624 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604, within the static memory 606, or within the hardware processor 602 during execution of the instructions 624 by the machine 600. In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 602, the main memory 604, the static memory 606, or the mass storage 616 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0078] Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: nonvolatile memory, such as semiconductor storage devices (e.g., EPROM or EEPROM) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0079] Although machine-readable medium 622 is illustrated as a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (eg, a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 624 .

[0080] The apparatus of the machine 600 may be one or more hardware processors 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, a sensor 621, a network interface device 620, an antenna 660, a display device 610, an input device 612, a UI navigation device 614, a mass storage 616, instructions 624, a signal generation device 618, and an output controller 628. The apparatus may be configured to perform one or more of the methods and / or operations disclosed herein. The apparatus may be a component of the machine 600 to perform one or more of the methods and / or operations disclosed herein, and / or a portion of performing one or more of the methods and / or operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include pins or other equipment to receive power. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include power regulation hardware.

[0081] The term "machine readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executed by the machine 600 and causing the machine 600 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with these instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the machine-readable medium may include non-temporary machine-readable media. In some examples, the machine-readable medium may include machine-readable media that is not a transient propagating signal.

[0082] The instructions 624 may additionally be transmitted or received via the network interface device 620 using a transmission medium over a communication network 626 that uses a variety of transmission protocols (e.g., frame relay, Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a plain old telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network (e.g., a wireless network known as a wireless network). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards and the IEEE 802.16 family of standards are called ), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, etc.

[0083] In one example, the network interface device 620 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 626. In one example, the network interface device 620 may include one or more antennas 660 to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 620 may use multi-user MIMO technology for wireless communication. The term "transmission medium" should be understood to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executed by the machine 600, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to facilitate the communication of such software.

[0084] As described herein, examples may include or may operate on logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that is capable of performing a specified operation and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In one example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a specified manner (e.g., internally or relative to an external entity such as other circuits). In one example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., independent, client or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications) as a module for performing a specified operation. In one example, the software may reside on a machine-readable medium. In one example, when implemented by the underlying hardware of the module, the software causes the hardware to perform the specified operation.

[0085] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, i.e., an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., temporarily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a particular manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering an example where a module is temporarily configured, each module need not be instantiated at any time. For example, where a module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured into corresponding different modules at different times. The software may configure the hardware processor accordingly, for example, to constitute a specific module at one time and to constitute different modules at different times.

[0086] Some embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in software and / or firmware. The software and / or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. These instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to achieve the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such computer-readable media may include any tangible, non-transitory media for storing information in one or more computer-readable forms, such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc.

[0087] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example wireless device 700 is shown on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods or operations) discussed herein may be performed. The wireless device 700 may be a HE device or a HE wireless device. The wireless device 700 may be a HE STA 504, a HE AP 502, and / or a HE STA or HE AP. The HE STA 504, the HE AP 502, and / or the HE AP or HE STA may include Figure 1-7 Some or all of the components shown. The wireless device 700 may be a combination of Figure 6 An example machine 600 is disclosed.

[0088] The wireless device 700 may include a processing circuit system 708. The processing circuit system 708 may include a transceiver 702, a physical layer circuit system (PHY circuit system) 704, and a MAC layer circuit system (MAC circuit system) 706, one or more of which may use one or more antennas 712 to implement sending and receiving signals to other wireless devices 700 (e.g., HE AP 502, HE STA 504, and / or legacy device 506). For example, the PHY circuit system 704 may perform various encoding and decoding functions, which may include forming baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver 702 may perform various transmission and reception functions, such as signal conversion between a baseband range and a radio frequency (RF) range.

[0089] Thus, the PHY circuit system 704 and the transceiver 702 may be separate components, or may be part of a combined component, such as the processing circuit system 708. In addition, some of the functionality described in connection with the transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any, or all of the PHY circuit system 704, the transceiver 702, the MAC circuit system 706, the memory 710, and other components or layers. The MAC circuit system 706 may control access to the wireless medium. The wireless device 700 may also include a memory 710 that is arranged to perform the operations described herein, for example, some of the operations described herein may be performed by instructions stored in the memory 710.

[0090] Antenna 712 (some embodiments may include only one antenna) may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas 712 may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

[0091] One or more of the memory 710, the transceiver 702, the PHY circuit system 704, the MAC circuit system 706, the antenna 712, and / or the processing circuit system 708 may be coupled to each other. In addition, although the memory 710, the transceiver 702, the PHY circuit system 704, the MAC circuit system 706, the antenna 712 are shown as separate components, one or more of the memory 710, the transceiver 702, the PHY circuit system 704, the MAC circuit system 706, the antenna 712 may be integrated in an electronic package or chip.

[0092] In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 may be a combination of Figure 6In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 may be configured to communicate with the user in accordance with one or more wireless communication standards described herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 1-6 In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 may include a Figure 6 The wireless device 700 may be a combination of one or more components described herein (e.g., display device 610, input device 612, etc.). Although the wireless device 700 is shown as having several independent functional elements, one or more functional elements may be combined and implemented by a combination of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including a digital signal processor (DSP) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuit systems for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0093] In some embodiments, the apparatus of the wireless device 700 or the apparatus used by the wireless device 700 may include Figure 7 The various components of the wireless device 700 are shown and / or may be Figure 1-6 Thus, in some embodiments, the techniques and operations described herein relating to the wireless device 700 may be applicable to apparatus (e.g., HE AP 502 and / or HE STA 504) of the wireless device 700. In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 is configured to decode and / or encode signals, packets, and / or frames, such as PPDUs, as described herein.

[0094] In some embodiments, the MAC circuitry 706 may be arranged to contend for the wireless medium during a contention period to receive control of the medium for the HE TXOP and to encode or decode the HE PPDU. In some embodiments, the MAC circuitry 706 may be arranged to contend for the wireless medium based on a channel contention setting, a transmit power level, and a clear channel assessment level (e.g., an energy detection level).

[0095] The PHY circuit system 704 may be used to transmit signals according to one or more communication standards described herein. For example, the PHY circuit system 704 may be configured to transmit HE PPDU. The PHY circuit system 704 may include circuit systems for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 708 may include one or more processors. The processing circuit system 708 may be configured to perform functions based on instructions stored in RAM or ROM or based on a dedicated circuit system. The processing circuit system 708 may include a processor, such as a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. The processing circuit system 708 may implement one or more functions associated with the antenna 712, the transceiver 702, the PHY circuit system 704, the MAC circuit system 706, and / or the memory 710. In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 708 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions / operations and / or methods described herein.

[0096] In mmWave technology, stations (e.g. Figure 5 HE STA 504 or wireless device 700) and access point (e.g., Figure 5 Communications between HE AP 502 or wireless device 700) can use an associated effective wireless channel that is highly directionally dependent. To accommodate the directionality, beamforming techniques can be used to radiate energy in a specific direction with a specific beam width to communicate between the two devices. Directional propagation focuses the transmission energy to the target device to compensate for the significant energy loss in the channel between the two communicating devices. Using directional transmission can extend the range of millimeter wave communications compared to using the same transmission energy in omnidirectional propagation.

[0097] One technical issue is how to communicate with STAs and other devices that can only listen to one frequency band at a time but are associated with more than one frequency band. Some embodiments enable the MLD to ensure that STAs and other wireless devices communicating with the MLD do not miss important fields or elements. Some STAs or other wireless devices communicating with the MLD may be associated with the MLD on several different frequency bands, but only receive or listen to one frequency band. However, the MLD and the STAs or other wireless devices may need to follow the process transmitted on other frequency bands of the MLD. An embodiment includes a field or element transmitted by a first AP of the MLD operating on a first frequency band being sent by other APs operating on different frequency bands. In this case, the STAs and other wireless devices may follow the process (if any) as if the STA or other wireless device received the field or element from the first AP.

[0098] Figure 8 A multi-link device (MLD) 800 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 8ML logical entity 1 806, ML logical entity 2 807, ML AP logical entity 808 and non-AP MLD 809 are shown. ML logical entity 1 806 includes three STAs, STA1.1 814.1, STA1.2 814.2 and STA1.3 814.3, which operate according to link 1 802.1, link 2 802.2 and link 3 802.3 respectively.

[0099] The links are different frequency bands, such as 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, etc. ML logic entity 2 807 includes STA2.1 816.1, STA2.2 816.2, and STA2.3 816.3 operating according to link 1 802.1, link 2 802.2, and link 3 802.3, respectively. In some embodiments, ML logic entity 1 806 and ML logic entity 2 807 operate according to a mesh network. Using three links enables ML logic entity 1 806 and ML logic entity 2 807 to use a larger bandwidth and operate more reliably because they can switch to using a different link if there is interference or if one link is better due to operating conditions.

[0100] Distribution system (DS) 810 indicates how communications are distributed, and DS medium (DSM) 812 indicates the medium used for DS 810, in this case the wireless spectrum.

[0101] ML AP logical entity 808 includes AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 operating on link 1 804.1, link 2 804.2, and link 3 804.3, respectively. ML AP logical entity 808 includes MAC ADDR 854, which can be used by applications to send and receive data through one or more of AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834. Each link can have an associated link ID. For example, as shown, link 3 804.3 has link ID 870.

[0102] AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 include frequency bands, which are 2.4 GHz band 836, 5 GHz band 838, and 6 GHz band 840, respectively. AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 include different BSSIDs, which are BSSID 842, BSSID 844, and BSSID 846, respectively. AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 include different media access control (MAC) addresses (addr), which are MAC address (addr) 848, MAC address (addr) 850, and MAC address (addr) 852, respectively. According to some embodiments, AP 502 is an ML AP logical entity 808. According to some embodiments, STA 504 is a non-AP MLD 809.

[0103] The non-AP MLD 809 includes non-AP STA1 818, non-AP STA2 820, and non-AP STA3 822. Each non-AP STA may have a MAC address, and the non-AP MLD 809 may have a different MAC address used by an application program, wherein data traffic is divided between non-AP STA1 818, non-AP STA2 820, and non-AP STA3 822.

[0104] According to some embodiments, STA 504 is non-AP STA1 818, non-AP STA2 820, or non-AP STA3 822. Non-AP STA1 818, non-AP STA2 820, and non-AP STA3 822 may operate as if they were associated with the BSS of AP1 830, AP2 832, or AP3 834 through link 1 804.1, link 2 804.2, and link 3 804.3, respectively.

[0105] A multi-link device such as ML logical entity 1 806 or ML logical entity 2 807 is a logical entity containing one or more STAs 814, 816. ML logical entity 1 806 and ML logical entity 2 807 each have a MAC data service interface and primitives to logical link control (LLC) and a single address associated with the interface, which can be used to communicate on the DSM 812. The multi-link logical entity allows STAs 814, 816 within the multi-link logical entity to have the same MAC address. In some embodiments, the same MAC address is used for the application layer, while a different MAC address is used for each link.

[0106] In an infrastructure framework, the ML AP logical entity 808 includes APs 830, 832, 834 on one side and non-AP MLD 809 including non-AP STAs 818, 820, 822 on the other side.

[0107] According to some embodiments, ML AP device (AP MLD): is a ML logical entity, where each STA within the multi-link logical entity is an EHT AP 502. ML non-AP device (non-AP MLD) is a multi-link logical entity, where each STA within the multi-link logical entity is a non-AP EHT STA 504. AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 may operate on different frequency bands, and there may be fewer or more APs. As part of the non-AP MLD 809, there may be fewer or more STAs.

[0108] In some embodiments, the ML AP logical entity 808 is referred to as an AP MLD or MLD. In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD 809 is referred to as an MLD or a non-AP MLD. Each AP of the MLD (e.g., AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834) sends a beacon frame that includes: a description of its capabilities, an operational element, a basic description of other APs of the same MLD co-located, which can be a simplified neighbor report element or a report in another element such as the basic multilink element 1600. The AP1 830, AP2 832, and AP3 834 send information about other APs in the beacon and probe response frames so that STAs of non-AP MLDs can discover APs in the AP MLD.

[0109] Fig. 9 Co-located and non-co-located MLDs are shown in accordance with some embodiments. Co-located AP MLD1 904 includes a co-located AP set 902, which are AP1, AP2, and AP3. Co-located AP MLD2 908 includes a co-located AP set 906, which are AP4, AP5, and AP6. Co-located AP MLD1 904 and co-located AP MLD1 908 are in conjunction with IEEE P802.11be January 2023 in accordance with some embodiments. TM .AP 502. The co-located set 902 may have an ID 905 and the co-located set 906 may have an ID 907. The IDs 905 and 907 may be used as part of the identification of the AP in the configured set ID or co-located AP MLD 1110 field.

[0110] The non-co-located AP MLD3 912 includes AP MLD1 916 including the co-located set 914 and AP MLDD2 918 including the co-located set 914. According to some embodiments, the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may be a WLAN AP in conjunction with IEEE P802.11be January 2023. TM / D3.0 ("IEEE 802.11be") or Wi-Fi 8. For example, AP MLD1 916 and AP MLD2 918 may be implemented on separate electronic devices and may be physically separated from each other. Non-co-located AP MLD3 may include hundreds or more AP MLDs. If APs 502 such as AP1, AP2, ..., AP6 are associated with the same MLD, they may be referred to as being subordinate.

[0111] Fig.10 Non-co-located MLDs with signal reach 1002, 1008 are shown in accordance with some embodiments. Signal reach 1008 is the signal reach or signal coverage of AP MLD2 918, while signal reach 1002 is the signal reach of AP MLD1 916. For non-co-located MLDs AP MLD1 916 and AP MLD2 918, signal reach 1002 and signal reach 1008 may or may not overlap. If signal reach 1008 and signal reach 1002 overlap, then the co-located set 914 and the co-located set 910 are said to overlap.

[0112] In some embodiments, non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may include many non-co-located MLDs. In some embodiments, non-co-located AP MLD3 912 provides greater mobility for STA 504, with low or near zero latency, and near lossless packet switching between APs 502 at different locations. AP 502 and / or STA 504 may be part of an MLD. For example, there may be many access points 502 in an office building. Non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may include APs 502 from around the building, so that STA 504 can switch between APs 502 with less switching transmissions. ID 1010 and ID 1012 may be identifiers of co-located set 910 and co-located set 914, respectively. In some embodiments, ID 1010 and ID 1012 clearly or uniquely identify co-located set 910 and co-located set 914, respectively, in the co-located set of non-co-located AP MLD3 912.

[0113] In some embodiments, a non-co-located MLD, such as non-co-located AP MLD3 912, may include many or even all APs 502 that belong to the same ESS. In some embodiments, the devices or apparatus described herein are configured in accordance with IEEE P802.11be May 2023 TM / D3.2 and / or IEEE P802.11-REVme in October 2022 TM The non-co-located AP MLD3 912, the co-located AP MLD1 904, the co-located AP MLD2 908, the non-AP MLD 809, and / or the ML AP logical entity 808 may be configured to operate in accordance with Wi-Fi 8.

[0114] A technical problem is to enable the non-AP MLD 809 to add and remove links for different co-located sets. For example, if the non-AP MLD 809 is associated with the co-located set 910 including AP1, AP2, and AP3, and the non-AP MLD 809 moves to an area within the signal reach range 1008 of the co-located set 914 including AP4, AP5, and AP6, it is advantageous to enable smooth roaming of the non-AP MLD 809 by adding links to its ML setup to include AP4, AP5, and / or AP6, and optionally removing links from the ML setup of the non-AP MLD 809 of AP1, AP2, and / or AP3. The technical problem is solved by using BSS transition management to add and remove links of the non-AP MLD 809 to enable smooth roaming between the co-located sets 914, 910 of the subordinate APs, while maintaining the association with the non-co-located AP MLD3 912.

[0115] Fig.11 A BSS transition management frame 1102 for non-co-located AP MLD transition is shown according to some examples. For example, when non-AP MLD 809 is associated with non-co-located AP MLD3 912 and an AP of co-located set 910, BSS transition management frames 1102, 1202, 1302 (which may be referred to as BTM frames) are used to recommend or impose transitions to the AP of co-located set 914. Non-AP MLD 809 may move from signal reach 1002 to an area overlapping with signal reach 1008. Non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may send BSS transition management frame 1102 in response to the movement of non-AP MLD 809 or for other reasons such as traffic management. Non-AP MLD 809 continues to be associated with non-co-located AP MLD3 912 because it is associated with an AP of co-located set 914 from APs of co-located set 916.

[0116] According to some embodiments, the BSS transition management frame 1102 may be a BSS transition management request frame, a BSS transition management query frame, or a transition management response frame.

[0117] In some examples, the BSS transition management frame 1102 includes a neighbor report element 1104, which includes a recommended AP 1108 field. The recommended AP 1108 field indicates an AP (such as AP4, AP5, AP6) that is part of a non-co-located AP MLD3 912 and a recommended co-located set (such as co-located set 914). The neighbor report element 1104 includes a multilink element 1106, which has an AP MLD MAC address of the co-located AP MLD or an ID of the co-located set. For example, the APMLD MAC address (such as MAC ADDR 854) and ID 1012 of AP MLD2 918 are used as the ID of the co-located set 914.

[0118] In addition, the multi-link element 1106 (or the neighbor report element 1104 or another element included in the BSS switch management frame 1102) includes an indication of whether the AP MLD 1112 is non-co-located.

[0119] An indication of whether it is a non-co-located AP MLD 1112, which may be a simple flag, indicates whether the recommended AP 1108 is an AP that is part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912. The recommended AP 1108 may be indicated in the link information field.

[0120] An indication of whether it is a non-co-located AP MLD 1112, an indication that the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 recommends the recommended AP 1108 or will disassociate with the non-AP MLD 809 after the duration indicated in this field. Alternatively or additionally, a MAC address of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may be included, which the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may use to determine whether the recommended AP 1108 belongs to the co-located set 914 that is part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912. The co-located AP MLD 1110 field indicates the MAC address of the co-located AP of the recommended AP 1108. For example, the recommended AP 1108 may indicate AP4 (such as a link ID), and the co-located AP MLD 1110 field may be the MAC ADDR of AP MLD2 918. The indication of whether it is a non-co-located AP MLD 1112 provides information that the non-AP MLD 809 can use to determine whether the co-located set 914 or AP MLD2 918 is part of the same non-co-located AP MLD3 912 to which the non-AP MLD 809 is associated. The indication of whether it is a non-co-located AP MLD 1112 may be a flag indicating whether the recommended AP 1108 is part of the same non-co-located AP MLD3 912. The BSS transition management frame 1102 may indicate that the non-AP MLD 809 is to associate with all APs to which the co-located AP MLD 1110 belongs.

[0121] Fig.12 A BSS transition management frame 1202 is shown for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some examples. According to some embodiments, the BSS transition management frame 1202 may be a BSS transition management request frame, a BSS transition management query frame, or a transition management response frame.

[0122] In some examples, the BSS transition management frame 1202 includes a neighbor report element 1204, which includes a recommended AP 1206 field. The recommended AP 1108 field indicates an AP (such as AP4, AP5, AP6) that is part of a non-co-located AP MLD3 912 and a recommended co-located set (such as a co-located set 914). The neighbor report element 1204 includes a multilink element 1208, which has an AP MLD MAC address of the co-located AP MLD or an ID of the co-located set. For example, the APMLD MAC address (such as MAC ADDR 854) and ID 1012 of AP MLD2 918 are used as the ID of the co-located set 914.

[0123] In addition, the multi-link element 1208 (or neighbor report element 1104 or another element included in the BSS transition management frame 1102) includes an indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1212. Whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1212 indicates (which may be a simple flag) whether the recommended AP 1206 is an AP that is part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912. The recommended AP 1206 may be indicated in the link information field.

[0124] The indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1212 may indicate that the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 recommends the recommended AP 1206, or that the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 will be disassociated from the non-AP MLD 809 after the duration indicated in this field. Alternatively or additionally, a MAC address of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may be included, which the non-AP MLD 809 may use to determine whether the recommended AP 1206 belongs to the co-located set 914 that is part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912. The co-located AP MLD 1210 field indicates the MAC address of the co-located AP of the recommended AP 1206. For example, the recommended AP 1206 may indicate AP4 (such as a link ID), and the co-located AP MLD 1210 field may be the MACADDDR of AP MLD2 918. Indicates whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1212 provides information used by the non-AP MLD 809 to determine whether the co-located set 914 or AP MLD2 918 is part of the same non-co-located AP MLD3 912 associated with the non-AP MLD 809. Indicates whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1212 may be a flag indicating whether the recommended AP 1206 is part of the same non-co-located AP MLD3 912.

[0125] The multilink element 1208 may include per-STA profile sub-element 1 1214 to per-STA profile sub-element N 1216. The per-STA profile sub-element indicates an additional AP to which the non-AP MLD 809 is to be associated. When the recommended AP 1206 is AP4, the indication of subordinate AP 1 1218 indicates APs such as AP5 and AP6 through the indication of subordinate AP N 1220. The AP may be represented by a link ID. The AP may be co-located with the recommended AP 1206. In addition, the per-STA profile sub-element 1 1214 to per-STA profile sub-element N 1216 may each include a co-located AP MLD 1210 field to clearly identify the APs with the co-located set 914 and / or the AP MLD2 918 as part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912. Each of the per-STA profile sub-element 1 1214 to the per-STA profile sub-element N 1216 may include a link ID (e.g., link ID 870) for identification. In some examples, a per-STA profile sub-element for each recommended subordinate AP is included in the multi-link element 1208 with the link ID (linkID) of the overlapping co-located AP MLD to clearly or uniquely identify the correct AP.

[0126] Fig.13 A BSS transition management frame 1302 is shown for non-co-located AP MLD transition according to some examples. According to some embodiments, the BSS transition management frame 1302 may be a BSS transition management request frame, a BSS transition management query frame, or a transition management response frame.

[0127] In some examples, the BSS transition management frame 1302 includes a neighbor report element 1304. The neighbor report element 1304 includes a multilink element 1 1308 through a multilink element N 1310, one for each co-located AP MLD, such as AP MLD1 916 or AP MLD2 918. The co-located AP MLD may or may not be part of the same non-co-located AP MLD3 912 that sent the BSS transition management frame 1302 and is associated with the non-AP MLD 809.

[0128] Each multilink element, such as multilink element 1 1308, multilink element 1 1310, includes a co-located AP MLD1 1312, which is a co-located set ID of the co-located AP MLD or an AP MLD MAC address (such as the MACADDDR of AP MLD2 918). Another indication of the co-located AP MLD may be used. According to some embodiments, an indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1 1318 is a recommended transition remains associated with the current non-co-located AP MLD. According to some examples, an indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD 1 1318 is a flag or whether the non-co-located AP MLD MAC address field may be included.

[0129] Multilink element N 1310 includes multilink element N 1324 and an indication of a non-co-located AP MLD 11326 .

[0130] The per-STA profile sub-element 1 1314 to the per-STA profile sub-element N 1316 are lists of recommended APs that are subordinate to the co-located AP MLD indicated in the co-located AP MLD 1 1312 field. In some examples, the indication 1320 of subordinate AP 1 to the indication 1322 of subordinate AP N are link IDs (linkIDs) of the corresponding APs. The APs may be identified differently, such as by different identifiers. Although not shown, the multilink element N 1310 includes a list of recommended APs. The recommended AP list may be part of the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 (such as AP MLD1 916), or may be in a different AP MLD.

[0131] In some examples, multiple co-located set IDs are included, which also correspond to, for example, overlapping co-located AP MLD MAC addresses. In addition, a field is included indicating that the recommended conversion remains associated with the non-co-located AP MLD, and a recommended AP list is included for each co-located AP MLD. For example, a neighbor report element of a recommended AP associated with a non-co-located AP MLD and a portion of the recommended co-located set is encoded. And for each co-located set: a multi-link element with the AP MLD MAC address of the co-located AP MLD (or co-located set) is included in the neighbor report element; an indication of whether it is at the non-co-located AP MLD level is included in the multi-link element (this can be a simple flag, or this can include a non-co-located APMLD MAC address field); and a sub-element of each recommended subordinate AP with the link ID of the overlapping co-located APMLD is included in the sub-element of the multi-link element profile for each STA to uniquely identify the correct AP.

[0132] In response to a co-located AP MLD affiliated with the recommended AP detecting that a signal transmitted by a non-AP MLD is above a threshold, the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may encode a management frame.

[0133] Fig.14 A method 1400 for non-co-located AP MLD conversion according to some embodiments is shown. The method 1400 begins at operation 1402 by encoding a management frame, the management frame including a neighbor report element, the neighbor report element including a recommended AP field and a multilink element, the recommended AP field indicating an identity of a recommended AP, the multilink element including a co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD field indicating an identity of a co-located AP MLD, wherein the recommended AP belongs to the co-located AP MLD.

[0134] For example, the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may encode the BSS transition management frame 1102, the BSS transition management frame 1202, or the BSS transition management frame 1302 to include the neighbor report element 1104, the neighbor report element 1204, or the neighbor report element 1304, respectively.

[0135] The non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may encode the neighbor report element 1104, the neighbor report element 1204, or the neighbor report element 1304 to include the multilink element 1106, the multilink element 1208, or the multilink element 1308, respectively. The non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may encode the multilink element 1106, the multilink element 1208, or the multilink element 1308 to include the co-located AP MLD 1110 field, the co-located AP MLD 1210 field, or the co-located AP MLD 1312, respectively.

[0136] The method 1400 continues at operation 1404 by configuring the non-co-located AP MLD to send management frames to the non-AP MLD. For example, the non-co-located AP MLD3 912 may use one of AP1 to AP6 to send the management frame 1102, the management frame 1202, or the management frame 1302.

[0137] The method 1400 may be performed by an apparatus for non-co-located AP MLD or another device or apparatus disclosed herein. The method 1400 may include one or more additional instructions. The method 1400 may be performed in a different order. One or more operations of the method 1400 may be optional.

[0138] Fig.15A method 1500 for non-co-located AP MLD conversion according to some embodiments is shown. The method 1500 begins at operation 1502, decoding a management frame from a non-co-located AP MLD, the management frame comprising a neighbor report element, the neighbor report element comprising a recommended AP field and a multilink element, the recommended AP field indicating an identity of a recommended AP, the multilink element comprising a co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD field indicating an identity of a co-located AP MLD, wherein the recommended AP is subordinate to the co-located AP MLD.

[0139] For example, non-AP MLD 809 may decode BSS transition management frame 1102, BSS transition management frame 1202, or BSS transition management frame 1302 from non-co-located AP MLD3 912, which may include neighbor report element 1104, neighbor report element 1204, or neighbor report element 1304, respectively.

[0140] The non-AP MLD 809 may decode the multilink element 1106, the multilink element 1208, or the multilink element 1308 from the neighbor report element 1104, the neighbor report element 1204, or the neighbor report element 1304, respectively.

[0141] The non-AP MLD 809 may decode the co-located AP MLD 1110 field, the co-located AP MLD 1210 field, or the co-located AP MLD 1312 from the multilink element 1106, the multilink element 1208, or the multilink element 1308, respectively.

[0142] The method 1500 continues with encoding to transmit an association request frame to the recommended AP at operation 1504. For example, the non-APMLD 809 may respond to the BSS transition management frame 1102, the BSS transition management frame 1202, or the BSS transition management frame 1302 by sending an association request to the AP indicated in the recommended AP 1108 field, the recommended AP 1206, or the per-STA profile sub-element 1 1314.

[0143] The method 1500 may be performed by an apparatus for non-AP MLD or another device or apparatus disclosed herein. The method 1500 may include one or more additional instructions. The method 1500 may be performed in a different order. One or more operations of the method 1500 may be optional.

[0144] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 CFR Section 1.72(b), which requires an abstract that allows the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. This document is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a non-co-located AP multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising a memory and a processing circuit system coupled to the memory, the processing circuit system being configured to: encoding a management frame, the management frame comprising a neighbor report element, the neighbor report element comprising a recommended AP field and a multilink element, the recommended AP field indicating an identifier of a recommended AP, the multilink element comprising a co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD field indicating an identifier of a co-located AP MLD, wherein the recommended AP belongs to the co-located AP MLD; and The non-co-located AP MLD is configured to send the management frame to the non-AP MLD. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the non-co-located AP MLD comprises the co-located AP MLD.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the multi-link element further comprises: Whether the non-co-located AP MLD includes an indication of the co-located AP MLD. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-co-located AP MLD.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the management frame is a basic service set (BSS) switch management request frame, a BSS switch management query frame, or a BSS switch management response frame.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the recommended AP is a first recommended AP, and wherein the processing circuit system is further configured to: The multi-link element is encoded to further include a per-station (STA) profile sub-element including a link identification of a second recommended AP.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the identifier of the recommended AP is a link identifier of the recommended AP.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the identifier of the co-located AP MLD is a media access control (MAC) address of the co-located AP MLD.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the co-located AP MLD field is a first co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD is a first co-located AP MLD, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: encoding the multi-link element to further include a second co-located AP MLD field, the second co-located AP MLD field indicating an identification of a second co-located AP MLD; and The multi-link element is encoded to further include a per-station (per-STA) profile sub-element, the per-STA profile element including an indication of an AP affiliated with the second co-located AP MLD.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second co-located AP is affiliated to the non-co-located AP MLD, or the second co-located AP is affiliated to another non-co-located AP MLD.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the identifier of the recommended AP is a different non-co-located link identifier (ID).

12. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processing circuit system is further configured to: The management frame is encoded in response to a co-located AP MLD affiliated with the recommended AP detecting that a signal transmitted by the non-AP MLD is above a threshold.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 1-5, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry, the transceiver circuitry coupled to two or more microstrip antennas for receiving signaling in accordance with a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 1-5, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry, the transceiver circuitry coupled to two or more patch antennas for receiving signaling in accordance with a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a non-co-located AP multi-link device (MLD), the instructions configuring the one or more processors to: encoding a management frame, the management frame comprising a neighbor report element, the neighbor report element comprising a recommended AP field and a multilink element, the recommended AP field indicating an identifier of a recommended AP, the multilink element comprising a co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD field indicating an identifier of a co-located AP MLD, wherein the recommended AP belongs to the co-located AP MLD; and The non-co-located AP MLD is configured to send the management frame to the non-AP MLD.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the non-co-located AP MLD comprises a co-located AP MLD, and wherein the multilink element further comprises an indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD comprises the co-located AP MLD.

17. An apparatus for a non-access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising a memory and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: decoding a management frame from a non-co-located AP MLD, the management frame comprising a neighbor report element, the neighbor report element comprising a recommended AP field and a multilink element, the recommended AP field indicating an identifier of a recommended AP, the multilink element comprising a co-located AP MLD field, the co-located AP MLD field indicating an identifier of a co-located AP MLD, wherein the recommended AP is subordinate to the co-located AP MLD; and An association request frame is encoded for transmission to the recommended AP.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the non-co-located AP MLD comprises the co-located AP MLD.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the multilink element further comprises an indication of whether the non-co-located AP MLD includes the co-located AP MLD.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-co-located AP MLD.

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