Communication apparatus and communication method for extended proxy sensing

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication device and a communication method for extended proxy sensing, the communication device comprising: a receiver that receives a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating a condition for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links is attached to one or more third communication devices; circuitry configured to select a fourth communication device and generate a second request to perform measurements on the one or more links by the fourth communication device; and a transmitter that transmits a first report frame to a second communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication devices and methods for sensing, and more particularly to extended proxy sensing. Background Art

[0002] Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) sensing is being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11bf task group. In the task group, proxy sensing (SBP) is proposed, which enables the client to obtain sensing measurements using multiple radio links, but the details of the protocol / process for selecting the best link / STA for the SBP process have not yet been discussed in the task group. At the same time, the IEEE 802.11be task group is still developing the multi-link operation (MLO) / multi-link device (MLD) specifications, where multiple stations can be attached to an MLD, allowing seamless communication between two MLDs over multiple radio links.

[0003] With the current SBP procedure, a STA can only request sensing measurements for links that are directly accessible via the AP receiving the SBP request (ie, the sensing responder).

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a communication device and method for extended proxy sensing, which provides a feasible technical solution to these problems, and more specifically, extends the SBP process to APs that the STA (SBP initiator) cannot directly access (except the AP that receives the SBP request) for sensing measurements.

[0005] Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure. Summary of the invention

[0006] Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments facilitate providing a communication apparatus and a communication method for extended proxy sensing in the context of a WLAN.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a first communication device, comprising: a receiver, which receives a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and a circuit, which is configured to select a fourth communication device and generate a second request for measurements on the one or more links to be performed by the fourth communication device; and a transmitter, which sends a first report frame to the second communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

[0008] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a second communication device: a circuit that generates a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links; a transmitter that sends the first request frame to the first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and a receiver that receives a first report frame from the first communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by a fourth communication device.

[0009] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication method implemented by a first communication device, comprising: receiving a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; selecting a fourth communication device, generating a second request for measurements on the one or more links to be performed by the fourth communication device; and sending a first report frame to the second communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication method implemented by a second communication device, comprising: generating a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links; sending the first request frame to the first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and receiving a first report frame from the first communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by a fourth communication device.

[0011] It should be noted that the general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

[0012] Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the description and drawings. Benefits and / or advantages may be obtained individually from the various embodiments and features of the description and drawings, and these embodiments and features do not need to be provided in full in order to obtain one or more such benefits and / or advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Through the following written description, which is taken as an example only and is combined with the accompanying drawings, a person of ordinary skill in the art will better understand the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure will be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating single user (SU) communication between an access point (AP) and a station (STA) in a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) wireless network.

[0015] Figure 2 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating downlink multi-user (MU) communications between an AP and multiple STAs in a MIMO wireless network.

[0016] Figure 3 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating trigger-based (TB) uplink MU communication between an AP and multiple STAs in a MIMO wireless network.

[0017] Figure 4 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication between a STA (Client 0) and an AP for a basic SBP procedure.

[0018] Figure 5 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating three wireless links between an AP MLD and non-AP MLDs.

[0019] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating a floor plan and the equipment located therein is shown.

[0020] Figure 7 Depicted is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional communication method for an SBP initiator to set up an SBP process with multiple APs for sensing measurements on multiple links.

[0021] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating a communication method implemented by a first communication device (such as an AP) acting as an SBP responder according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Fig.10 A flow chart illustrating a communication method implemented by a second communication device (such as a STA) acting as an SBP initiator according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Fig.11 Shown is a schematic diagram illustrating communications in an exemplary extended SBP process according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.12 A schematic diagram illustrating communications in an extended SBP process according to an example of the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Fig.13 An exemplary flow chart illustrating an overview of an extended SBP process between two APs and three non-AP STAs is shown.

[0027] Fig.14 An exemplary flow chart illustrating the detailed process flow of an exemplary extended SBP process is shown.

[0028] Fig.15 An example format of an extended capabilities element for basic discovery according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Fig.16A An example format of an SBP request frame according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Fig. 16B An example format of a protected SBP request frame according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Fig.17A An example format of an SBP response frame according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Fig. 17B An example format of a protected response frame according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] Fig.18 An example format of an SBP parameter element field in an SBP request / response frame according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] Fig.19 An example format of the SBP link information element field in the SBP response frame according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0035] Fig. 20 A flow chart illustrating communication between an SBP initiator (non-AP STA) and an SBP responder (AP) for proxy sensing according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] Fig.21 An example format of a protected SBP report frame according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Fig. 22 A schematic diagram illustrating communications in an extended SBP procedure according to a first example of the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Fig.23 A flow chart illustrating an overview of the extended SBP process between two APs, a non-AP MLD, and three STAs is shown.

[0039] Fig.24 A flow chart illustrating the detailed process flow of an exemplary extended SBP process is shown.

[0040] Fig.25A schematic diagram illustrating communications in an extended SBP procedure according to a second example of the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Fig.26 A flow chart illustrating an overview of an exemplary extended SBP process between two APs, a non-AP MLD, and three STAs is shown.

[0042] Fig. 27 A flow chart illustrating the detailed process flow of an exemplary extended SBP process is shown.

[0043] Fig.28 An example format of an SBP parameter element field in an SBP request / response frame according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0044] Fig.29A An example format of an SBP response frame according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0045] Fig.29B An example format of a protected response frame according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0046] Fig.30 An example format of the SBP Link Information Element field in the SBP response frame according to the second embodiment is shown.

[0047] Fig.31 A schematic diagram illustrating communications in an extended SBP process according to an example of a third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] Fig.32 A flow chart illustrating an overview of an exemplary extended SBP process between three APs and six STAs is shown.

[0049] Fig.33 A flow chart illustrating the detailed process flow of an exemplary extended agent sensing process is shown.

[0050] Fig.34 An example format of the SBP parameter element field in the SBP request / response frame according to the third embodiment is shown.

[0051] Fig.35 An example format of the SBP Link Information Element field in the SBP response frame according to the third embodiment is shown.

[0052] Fig.36 An example format of a 1905.1 message for extending the SBP procedure according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0053] Fig.37 A schematic diagram illustrating communications in an extended SBP process according to an example of a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0054] Fig.38 A flow chart illustrating the detailed process flow of an exemplary extended SBP process is shown.

[0055] Fig.39 An example format of an extended capability element for basic discovery according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0056] Fig.40 Depicted are example formats of an SBP request frame, an SBP response frame, a protected SBP report frame, and an SBP termination frame according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] Fig.41 An example configuration of a communication device is shown.

[0058] Fig.42 Another example configuration of a communication device is shown.

[0059] Fig.43 Yet another example configuration of a communication device is shown.

[0060] Fig.44 Another example configuration of a communication device is shown.

[0061] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the elements in the drawings are shown for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily depicted to scale. For example, the size of some elements in the diagram, block diagram or flow chart may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help accurately understand the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals and characters in the drawings represent like elements or equivalents.

[0063] In the following paragraphs, certain exemplary embodiments are explained with reference to access points (APs) and stations (STAs) for proxy sensing, particularly in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless network.

[0064] In the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology, a station, interchangeably referred to as a STA, is a communication device capable of using the 802.11 protocol. Based on the IEEE 802.11-2016 definition, a STA can be any device that includes an IEEE 802.11-compliant medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to a wireless medium (WM).

[0065] For example, a STA can be a laptop, desktop personal computer (PC), personal digital assistant (PDA), access point, or Wi-Fi phone in a wireless local area network (WLAN) environment. A STA can be fixed or mobile. In a WLAN environment, the terms "STA", "wireless client", "user", "user equipment", and "node" are often used interchangeably.

[0066] Likewise, an AP (which may be interchangeably referred to as a wireless access point (WAP) in the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology) is a communication device that allows STAs in a WLAN to connect to a wired network. An AP is typically connected to a router (via a wired network) as a standalone device, but it may also be integrated with or used in a router.

[0067] As described above, a STA in a WLAN can be used as an AP at different times, and vice versa. This is because a communication device in the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology can include both STA hardware components and AP hardware components. In this way, the communication device can switch between STA mode and AP mode based on actual WLAN conditions and / or requirements.

[0068] In a MIMO wireless network, "multiple" refers to multiple antennas used for transmission simultaneously and multiple antennas used for reception simultaneously on a radio channel. In this regard, "multiple input" refers to multiple transmitter antennas that input radio signals into a channel, and "multiple output" refers to multiple receiver antennas that receive radio signals from a channel and enter a receiver. For example, in an N×M MIMO network system, N is the number of transmitter antennas, M is the number of receiver antennas, and N may or may not be equal to M. For simplicity, the respective numbers of transmitter antennas and receiver antennas are not further discussed in this disclosure.

[0069] In a MIMO wireless network, single-user (SU) communication and multi-user (MU) communication may be deployed for communication between communication devices such as APs and STAs. MIMO wireless networks have benefits such as spatial multiplexing and spatial diversity, which achieve higher data rates and robustness by using multiple spatial streams. According to various embodiments, the term "spatial stream" may be used interchangeably with the term "space-time stream" (or STS).

[0070] Figure 1A schematic diagram illustrating SU communication 100 between an AP 102 and a STA 104 in a MIMO wireless network is depicted. As shown, the MIMO wireless network may include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 104, STA 106, etc.). If the SU communication 100 in a channel is performed over the entire channel bandwidth, it is referred to as full-bandwidth SU communication. If the SU communication 100 in a channel is performed over a portion of the channel bandwidth (e.g., one or more 20 MHz sub-channels within the channel are punctured), it is referred to as punctured SU communication. In the SU communication 100, the AP 102 uses multiple antennas (e.g., Figure 1 ) to transmit multiple space-time streams, where all space-time streams are directed to a single communication device (ie, STA 104). For simplicity, multiple space-time streams directed to STA 104 are shown as grouped data transmission arrows 108 directed to STA 104.

[0071] SU communication 100 may be configured for bidirectional transmission. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , in SU communication 100 , STA 104 may use multiple antennas (e.g., Figure 1 1) to transmit multiple space-time streams, where all space-time streams are directed to AP 102. For simplicity, the multiple space-time streams directed to AP 102 are shown as grouped data transmission arrows 110 directed to AP 102.

[0072] therefore, Figure 1 The SU communication 100 depicted in FIG. 1 implements both uplink SU transmissions and downlink SU transmissions in a MIMO wireless network.

[0073] Figure 2A schematic diagram illustrating downlink MU (multi-user) communication 200 between an AP 202 and multiple STAs 204, 206, 208 in a MIMO wireless network is depicted. The MIMO wireless network may include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 204, STA 206, STA 208, etc.). The MU communication 200 may be an OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) communication or a MU-MIMO communication. For OFDMA communication in a channel, the AP 202 simultaneously sends multiple streams to the STAs 204, 206, 208 in the network at different resource units (RUs) within the channel bandwidth. For MU-MIMO communication in a channel, the AP 202 simultaneously sends multiple streams to the STAs 204, 206, 208 at the same RU within the channel bandwidth using multiple antennas via spatial mapping or precoding techniques. If the (multiple) RUs used for OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication occupy the entire channel bandwidth, the OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication is referred to as full-bandwidth OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication. If the (multiple) RUs used for OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication occupy a portion of the channel bandwidth (e.g., one or more 20MHz subchannels within the channel are punctured), then OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication is referred to as punctured OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication. For example, two space-time streams may be directed to STA 206, another space-time stream may be directed to STA 204, and yet another space-time stream may be directed to STA 208. For simplicity, the two space-time streams directed to STA 206 are shown as grouped data transmission arrows 212, the space-time stream directed to STA 204 is shown as data transmission arrows 210, and the space-time stream directed to STA 208 is shown as data transmission arrows 214.

[0074] To achieve uplink MU transmission, trigger-based communication is provided to the MIMO wireless network. In this regard, Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating trigger-based (TB) uplink MU communication 300 between an AP 302 and a plurality of STAs 304, 306, 308 in a MIMO wireless network is depicted.

[0075] Since there are multiple STAs 304 , 306 , 308 that respectively participate in the triggered uplink MU communication, the AP 302 needs to coordinate simultaneous transmissions of the multiple STAs 304 , 306 , 308 .

[0076] For this reason, Figure 3As shown in FIG, AP 302 simultaneously sends trigger frames 310, 314, 318 to STAs 304, 306, 308, respectively, to indicate user-specific resource allocation information (e.g., the number of space-time streams, the starting STS number, and the allocated RUs) that each STA can use. In response to the trigger frames, STAs 304, 306, 308 can then simultaneously send their respective space-time streams to AP 302 according to the user-specific resource allocation information indicated in the trigger frames 310, 314, 318. For example, two space-time streams can be directed from STA 306 to AP 302, another space-time stream can be directed from STA 304 to AP 302, and yet another space-time stream can be directed from STA 308 to AP 302. For simplicity, the two space-time streams directed from STA 306 to AP 302 are shown as grouped data transmission arrows 316, the space-time stream directed from STA 304 to AP 302 is shown as data transmission arrow 312, and the space-time stream directed from STA 308 to AP 302 is shown as data transmission arrow 320.

[0077] Due to the packet / PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit) based transmission and distributed MAC (medium access control) scheme in 802.11 WLAN, there is no time scheduling (e.g., TDMA (time division multiple access) type periodic time slot allocation for data transmission) in 802.11 WLAN. Frequency and space resource scheduling is performed on a packet basis. In other words, resource allocation information is based on PPDU.

[0078] According to various embodiments, WLAN supports Figure 1 and Figure 2 The non-trigger based communication shown and Figure 3 In non-trigger-based communication, a communication device sends a PPDU to one or more other communication devices in an unsolicited manner. In trigger-based communication, a communication device sends a PPDU to one or more other communication devices only after receiving a soliciting trigger frame.

[0079] According to the present disclosure, the term "sensing initiator" refers to a device that initiates a sensing session with a STA (referred to herein as a "client") and requests sensing results from the STA. The term "sensing responder" is a STA that responds to the sensing initiator and participates in the sensing session. In the various embodiments below, unless otherwise specified, the terms "initiator" and "responder" are referred to as "sensing initiator" and "sensing responder", respectively. Typically (for example, in trigger-based (TB) sensing measurements), the initiator is the AP and the responder is a non-AP STA; however, this need not always be the case, and sometimes a non-AP STA may also be the initiator, and the AP may be the responder (for example, in non-TB sensing measurements or fine timing measurements (FTM) / ranging).

[0080] Compared with "sensing initiator" and "sensing responder", the term "proxy sensing (SBP) initiator" refers to a STA that initiates the SBP process and requests a device (e.g., an AP or a sensing initiator) to initiate a sensing session as a proxy sensing initiator and request sensing results from another STA (e.g., a client of a device) on its behalf. The term "SBP responder" refers to a device that responds to the SBP initiator and agrees to participate in the SBP process to become a proxy sensing initiator. Note that the SBP initiator can be a sensing responder or one of multiple sensing responders of an SBP responder (sensing initiator).

[0081] As mentioned previously, SBP was introduced in IEEE 802.11bf, which enables a client to obtain sensing measurements using multiple radio links. Figure 4 A schematic diagram 400 is depicted illustrating the communication between a STA (Client 0) and an AP for a basic SBP process. According to the basic concept, the proxy sensing process includes SBP process setup, sensing measurements, SBP process reporting, and SBP process termination. During the SBP process setup, a client (e.g., Client 0) requests the AP to obtain sensing measurements with other clients (e.g., Clients 1 and 2). The AP is configured to act as a proxy initiator for the requesting client. In the various embodiments shown in the present disclosure, such a requesting client is referred to as an SBP requesting STA or an SBP initiator, and the AP is referred to as a proxy AP or an SBP responder. The proxy is established by exchanging SBP request / response frames 412 between the SBP initiator and the SBP responder. The AP then performs sensing measurements with one or more clients (e.g., Clients 1 and 2), for example, by exchanging measurement setup request / response frames for establishing a session and / or measurement report frames 414a, 414b during (multiple) measurement instances. In Figure 4In the example of , the SBP initiator is one of the clients, and the AP may also perform sensing measurements with the SBP initiator by exchanging related frames 414c. During the SBP process report, the AP that obtains the measurement reports of the clients then reports them to the SBP initiator, for example, by sending an SBP report frame 416. After the SBP process report, the SBP process may be terminated at any time by the SBP initiator or the SBP responder by sending an SBP terminate frame (not shown).

[0082] Figure 5 A schematic diagram 500 illustrating three wireless links between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD is depicted. In particular, three APs (AP1, AP2, AP3) operating at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequencies, respectively, are attached to the AP MLD, and three non-AP STAs (non-AP STA1, non-AP STA2, non-AP STA3) operating at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequencies, respectively, are attached to the non-AP MLD. AP1 and non-AP STA1 operating at 2.4 GHz communicate with each other through link 1; AP2 and non-AP STA2 operating at 5 GHz communicate with each other through link 2; and AP3 and non-AP STA3 operating at 6 GHz communicate with each other through link 3.

[0083] As previously mentioned, with the current SBP procedure, a STA can only request sensing measurements for links that are directly accessible via the AP that receives the SBP request (i.e., the sensing responder), and there is no discussion of extending the SBP procedure to enable the SBP initiator to request APs that are not directly accessible to the SBP initiator (other than the AP that receives the SBP request) for sensing measurements.

[0084] Figure 6 A schematic diagram 600 illustrating a floor plan and the devices located therein is shown. In the figure, STA-5 is an SBP initiator that is configured to perform people tracking for people entering a floor from door 604. There may be 17 possible links between devices that can be used for sensing measurements, as shown using lines between the devices, but only a few links (such as links 606, 607, 609, 611, 612) are accessible by the SBP initiator via AP-1 of AP-MLD-1 (between non-AP MLD-1, STA8) for a people tracking sensing application responsible for people tracking near door 604. For example, links 608, 610 of AP-2 via AP-MLD1 cannot be accessed by STA-5 for sensing measurements. Similarly, links provided by APs outside of STA-5's wireless range cannot be accessed.

[0085] Therefore, there is a need for a communication apparatus and method for extended proxy sensing that enables an SBP initiator to request APs that are not directly accessible to the SBP initiator (other than the AP that receives the SBP request) to perform sensing measurements.

[0086] The present disclosure shows an extended proxy sensing process, which enables a non-AP STA as an SBP initiator to request the following APs that are not directly accessible to the SBP initiator to perform sensing measurements: (i) an AP that is a member of a co-hosted, co-located, or multiple BSSID set (e.g., a virtual AP (VAP)) that is an AP that is directly accessible to the SBP initiator and receives SBP requests from the SBP initiator (hereinafter may be referred to as an "SBP responder" or "primary sensing proxy initiator"); (ii) an AP that is an SBP responder and is affiliated with the same AP MLD; and (iii) an AP that is part of a multi-AP network (e.g.,) or connected to an SBP responder. The present disclosure also seeks to propose related signaling and frame formats for the proxy sensing process.

[0087] Figure 7 A schematic diagram 700 illustrating a conventional communication method for an SBP initiator to establish an SBP process with multiple APs to perform sensing measurements on multiple links is depicted. Conventionally, when an SBP initiator (e.g., STA-5) cannot access two APs (e.g., AP-1, AP-2) (e.g., AP-1 and AP-2 operate at different channels) or the SBP initiator wants to perform sensing measurements on links that different APs can exclusively access, the SBP initiator must establish multiple SBP processes with the APs, each of which acts as a proxy to perform sensing measurements on its links on behalf of STA-5, respectively. In this case, STA-5 is associated with AP-1 and is not associated with AP-1. STA-5 first requests its associated AP-1 to perform a first SBP process for one link, and then requests unassociated AP-2 to perform a second SBP process for one link. AP-1 and AP-2 select STA-8 and STA-7 as sensing responders, respectively. Sensing measurements for STA-8 and STA-7 are performed by AP-1 and AP-2, respectively, and the measurement results are forwarded to STA-5.

[0088] In addition to requiring multiple SBP processes, conventional communication methods do not allow for the establishment of an SBP process with an AP that is inaccessible to the SBP initiator. However, in this case, if STA-5 is out of range of AP-2 or AP-2 operates on a channel in a frequency band that STA-5 does not support, it will be impossible for STA-5 to obtain the results of sensing measurements on the link that is part of the BSS of AP-2.

[0089] Figure 8Schematic diagram of a communication device 800 according to the present disclosure is shown. The communication device 800 may also be implemented as a sensing initiator, a sensing responder, an SBP initiator or an SBP responder.

[0090] like Figure 8 As shown, the communication device 800 may include a circuit 814, at least one radio transmitter 802, at least one radio receiver 804, and at least one antenna 812 (for simplicity, for the purpose of illustration, Figure 8Only one antenna is depicted in FIG. 1 ). The circuit 814 may include at least one controller 806 for performing, with software and hardware assistance, the tasks that the at least one controller 806 is designed to perform, including controlling communications with one or more other communication devices in a MIMO wireless network. The circuit 814 may also include at least one transmit signal generator 808 and at least one receive signal processor 810. At least one controller 806 can control at least one transmission signal generator 808 to generate MAC frames and PPDUs to be sent to one or more other communication devices through at least one radio transmitter 802, wherein the MAC frame can be, for example, a client discovery query / request / response frame, a sensing measurement setup request / response frame, an SBP request / response frame, an SBP report frame, a sensing measurement report frame, a polling trigger frame, a detection trigger frame, an NFRP trigger frame, a sensing trigger frame, a sensing NDPA; and the PPDU can be, for example, a PPDU for non-trigger-based communication, a PPDU for a triggered-based detection / sensing measurement process, a PPDU based on a non-trigger-based detection / sensing measurement process, a PPDU for a triggered downlink transmission (if the communication device 800 is an AP), or a PPDU for a triggered uplink transmission (if the communication device 800 is a STA). At least one controller 806 can control at least one receive signal processor 810 to process MAC frames and PPDUs received from one or more other communication devices through at least one radio receiver 804 under the control of at least one controller 806, wherein the MAC frame can be, for example, a client discovery query / request / response frame, a sensing measurement setup request / response frame, an SBP request / response frame, an SBP report frame, a sensing measurement report frame, a polling trigger frame, a detection trigger frame, an NFRP trigger frame, a sensing trigger frame, a sensing NDPA; and the PPDU can be, for example, a PPDU for non-trigger-based communication, a PPDU for a triggered detection / sensing measurement process, a PPDU based on a non-trigger detection / sensing measurement process, (if the communication device 800 is an AP) a PPDU for a triggered uplink transmission, or (if the communication device 800 is a STA) a PPDU for a triggered downlink transmission. At least one transmit signal generator 808 and at least one receive signal processor 810 can be independent modules of the communication device 800, which communicate with at least one controller 806 to implement the above functions, such as Figure 8As shown. Alternatively, at least one transmit signal generator 808 and at least one receive signal processor 810 may be included in at least one controller 806. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the arrangement of these functional modules is flexible and may vary according to actual needs and / or requirements. Data processing, storage and other related control devices may be provided on appropriate circuit boards and / or in chipsets. In various embodiments, when in operation, at least one radio transmitter 802, at least one radio receiver 804 and at least one antenna 812 may be controlled by at least one controller 806.

[0091] The communication device 800 provides the functions required for extended proxy sensing. For example, the communication device 800 may be an AP acting as an SBP responder (or a master proxy sensing initiator), and at least one radio receiver 804 receives a first request frame from a STA acting as an SBP initiator, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more sensing responders.

[0092] The circuit 814 (e.g., at least one receive signal processor 810 and at least one transmit signal generator 808 of the circuit 814, respectively) can be configured to process the first request frame, select another AP and generate a second request frame, the second request frame indicating conditions for another AP to act as a (secondary) proxy sensing initiator to perform measurements on one or more links. If the communication device 800 and the other AP communicate by external means (e.g., wired or wireless communication), the at least one radio transmitter 802 can then send the second request to the other AP in a frame. The circuit 814 (e.g., at least one transmit signal generator 808 of the circuit 814) can be configured to generate a first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links. The at least one radio transmitter 802 can then send the first report frame back to the STA (SBP initiator).

[0093] In one embodiment, circuit 814 (e.g., at least one receive signal processor 810) receives a second report carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to one or more links from another AP (if communication with another AP is conducted internally via primitives), and circuit 814 (e.g., at least one transmit signal generator 808 of circuit 814, respectively) is configured to generate a first report frame when at least one radio receiver 804 receives the second report. In an alternative embodiment, if communication with another AP is conducted via external means, at least one radio receiver 804 receives the second report in the form of a report frame from another AP. In the various embodiments below, for simplicity, the term "second request" generated and sent between two communicating devices (e.g., APs) via internal means (e.g., via primitives) may also be referred to as a "second request frame."

[0094] In another embodiment, the circuit 814 may be configured to assign an identifier to the measurement on one or more links, and the second request generated by the circuit 814 (eg, the at least one transmit signal generator 808 of the circuit 814, respectively) includes the identifier.

[0095] In yet another embodiment, where the first request frame carries an identifier or MAC address of another AP (secondary agent sensing initiator) and the second report carries an identifier or MAC address of the communication device 800, at least one transmitter 802 forwards the received first request frame to the other AP and forwards the second report to the STA.

[0096] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the slave agent sensing initiator is a member of a co-managed, co-located or multi-BSSID set (e.g., a virtual AP (VAP)) as an SBP responder (master agent sensing initiator), and therefore they are connected to a common physical device or connected through a common physical device. In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the master agent sensing initiator and the slave agent sensing initiator are attached to the AP MLD. In another alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the master agent sensing initiator and the slave agent sensing initiator are both part of a multi-AP network (e.g., EasyMesh) or connected to each other.

[0097] The communication device 800 may be a STA acting as an SBP initiator, and the circuit 814 (e.g., at least one transmit signal generator 808 of the circuit 814) may be configured to generate a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links. The at least one radio transmitter 802 may then send the first request frame to an AP acting as an SBP responder (master agent sensing initiator), each of the one or more links being attached to one or more sensing responders. The at least one radio receiver 804 receives a first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links from the AP.

[0098] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the measurement is performed by another AP acting as a secondary agent sensing initiator. In one embodiment, the first request frame generated by circuit 814 (e.g., at least one transmit signal generator 808 of circuit 814) includes an identifier or MAC address of such an AP (secondary agent sensing initiator), and the condition indicated in the first request frame is sent to the other AP. In an alternative embodiment, the first request frame generated by circuit 814 (e.g., at least one transmit signal generator 808 of circuit 814) includes an identifier or MAC address of an AP (SBP responder or primary agent sensing initiator), and the measurement on one or more links is performed by the SBP responder.

[0099] Fig. 9 A flowchart 900 illustrating a communication method implemented by a first communication device (such as an AP acting as an SBP responder) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In step 902, a step of receiving a first request frame from a second communication device (such as a STA acting as an SBP initiator) is performed, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices (such as STAs or sensing responders). In step 904, a step of selecting a fourth communication device is performed. In step 906, a step of generating a second request for the fourth communication device to act as a secondary agent sensing initiator and perform measurements on the one or more links is performed. In step 908, a step of sending a first report frame to the second communication device is performed, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

[0100] Fig.10A flowchart 1000 illustrating a communication method implemented by a second communication device (such as a STA acting as an SBP initiator) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In step 1002, a step of generating a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links is performed. In step 1004, a step of sending the first request frame to a first communication device (such as an AP acting as an SBP responder (master proxy sensing initiator)) is performed, each link of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices (such as STAs or sensing responders). In step 1006, a step of receiving a first report frame from the first communication device is performed, the report frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by a fourth communication device (e.g., another AP).

[0101] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth communication device is an AP different from the AP or SBP responder (primary proxy sensing initiator) to which the first request frame is sent, and its task is to act as a secondary proxy sensing initiator. In one embodiment, the first request frame generated in step 1002 includes an identifier of such an AP (secondary proxy sensing initiator), and the steps of selecting such an AP based on the identifier and sending conditions to such an AP (e.g., in a second request) are performed. In an alternative embodiment, the first request frame generated in step 1002 includes an identifier of the first communication device (SBP responder or primary proxy sensing initiator), and in this case, the measurements corresponding to the one or more links are performed by the SBP responder.

[0102] According to the present disclosure, an SBP initiator is enabled to obtain sensing measurements from an AP that does not have a direct wireless medium (WM) connection, and to obtain sensing measurements from multiple APs that act as agents of the SBP initiator in a single SBP process. In order to set up such an SBP process, the SBP initiator (non-AP STA) specifies (multiple) sensing operation conditions and (multiple) attributes, such as sampling rate, report type, number of links, etc., in an SBP request to help the SBP responder (AP) select (multiple) links for the SBP process. Upon receiving an SBP request that specifies (multiple) conditions, the SBP responder (AP) then decides / selects (multiple) STAs / (multiple) links in its own basic service set (BSS) to be used for sensing measurements based on (multiple) conditions / (multiple) attributes provided in the SBP request. In addition, the SBP responder (AP) can request (multiple) other APs to act as auxiliary agent sensing initiators and perform WLAN sensing for the SBP process. Then, (multiple) other APs also decide / select (multiple) STA / (multiple) links in their own BSS to be used for sensing measurements based on (multiple) conditions / (multiple) attributes. Then, the SBP responder collects sensing reports from the selected (multiple) STA / (multiple) links and from (multiple) other APs, and sends the sensing reports to the SBP initiator.

[0103] Fig.11 Shown is a diagram 1100 illustrating communications in an exemplary extended SBP process according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig.11 Only the general and simplified concept of extending SBP is shown. The communication specific to each different embodiment can be explained using the different figures with their own descriptions below. STA-5 is the SBP initiator and requests AP-1 to perform the SBP process for two links. The SBP responder (AP-1) selects STA-8 as the sensing responder and performs sensing measurements on the link attached to STA-8 on behalf of STA-5. Since STA-5 declares that the SBP process is to be performed on two links and AP-1 has only one link, AP-1 also requests AP-2 to perform sensing measurements on behalf of STA5. AP-2 then selects STA-7 as the sensing responder and performs sensing measurements on the link attached to STA-7. The sensing measurement results on STA-7 performed by AP-2 are forwarded to AP-1, and AP-1 forwards the sensing measurement results on STA-8 and STA-7 to STA-5.

[0104] As previously described, with the conventional SBP procedure, if STA-5 is out of range of AP-2, it is not possible for STA-5 to obtain the results of sensing measurements on the links that are part of the BSS of AP-2. Such an SBP request sent to AP-1 to perform sensing measurements on both links is also not possible because there is no mechanism for AP-1 to request AP-2 to perform sensing measurements on behalf of STA-5.

[0105] In the following paragraphs, a first embodiment of the present disclosure is described, wherein the APs are members of a co-managed, co-located or multi-BSSID set and are typically housed in the same physical device through an extended SBP procedure of the APs.

[0106] Fig.12 A schematic diagram 1200 illustrating communications in an extended SBP process according to an example of a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In the first embodiment, both AP-1 and AP-2 are members of a co-located BSSID set housed in the same physical device 1202. Fig.13 The diagram shows Fig.12 An exemplary flow chart 1300 of an overview of an extended SBP process between two APs (AP-1, AP-2) and three non-AP STAs (STA-5, STA-7, STA-8) in FIG. Fig.14 The figure shows Fig.12 FIG1400 is an exemplary flow chart of the detailed process flow of the extended proxy sensing process between two APs and three non-AP STAs in FIG1401. In this example, AP-1 and AP-2 are co-located and housed in the same physical device.

[0107] First, the APs (e.g., AP-1 and AP-2) use beacon / probe response frames to advertise their ability to support enhanced client discovery and basic information about associated non-AP STAs (e.g., count / number of associated STAs, etc.). STA-5 can perform a basic SBP discovery process and discover AP-1's support for SBP functionality. STA-5 can then select AP-1 as its SBP responder.

[0108] Secondly, STA-5 can then initiate an enhanced client discovery process by sending a protected client discovery query frame to request AP-1 to provide a list of non-AP STAs (associated non-AP STAs and optionally non-associated non-AP STAs). AP-1 then sends a protected client discovery response frame with the requested list of non-AP STAs and optionally their respective neighboring STAs, and the enhanced client discovery process ends. In this enhanced client discovery process, the SBP initiator discovers information of AP-1 and potential sensing responders. In particular, AP-1 already has basic information about its associated STAs, such as their (multiple) operating channels, sensing capabilities, and responder to responder (R2R) sensing capabilities, etc., and the SBP initiator (STA-5) can obtain such information from AP-1 using a level 1 client discovery query. Although not shown in the figure, upon receiving a request from the SBP initiator (or even its own requirement), the AP may collect other relevant information from its associated STAs, such as the location / position of their STAs, RSSI (or propagation loss) to / from the STA (to indicate the distance between the STA and AP-1), and information about the STA's neighboring STAs, including link metrics, etc. Thus, the SBP initiator may obtain such relevant information about the AP's associated STAs (and their neighboring STAs) from the AP using a level 2 client discovery query. Based on the above information, the SBP initiator may select one or more APs as (multiple) SBP responders and one or more non-AP STAs as target sensing responders for the SBP process. Alternatively, if, for example, the AP does not support enhanced client discovery, or in addition to the information collected via enhanced client discovery, the SBP initiator may also use information received via other means (e.g., IP / MAC addresses provided by upper layer applications, etc.) to select SBP responders and sensing responders for the SBP process.

[0109] Alternatively, it is also possible that the SBP initiator initially requests measurements from "all / many" available links, but then selects a subset of links that are most suitable for the sensing application in subsequent (multiple) SBP requests. Link selection may be based on a statistical analysis of the sensing measurement reports of the links; for example, links where CSI feedback is not sensitive to the needs of the sensing application may be omitted in later SBP requests.

[0110] Note that the SBP initiator (STA-5) may be associated with AP-1 (SBP responder), in which case it is assumed that it has completed the usual authentication / association process and establishment of a security association (SA) with AP-1, for example, through a 4-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request; or, the SBP initiator (STA-5) may not be associated with AP-1, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the establishment of security associated with AP-1, for example, through a pre-association security negotiation (PASN) of a 3-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request.

[0111] STA-5 discovers AP-1 through the client discovery process and selects it as the SBP responder. Then, it initiates the SBP process and requests AP-1 to become the SBP responder (i.e., the proxy sensing initiator on behalf of STA-5) by sending a protected SBP request frame (addressed to AP-1), which specifies the operating parameters and measurement attributes related to the SBP link, such as the minimum received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or the received channel power indicator (RCPI) and the number of measurement links, as conditions for selecting one or more links to perform sensing measurements.

[0112] In this case, STA-5 may specify the number of links as 2. Based on the operating parameters, AP-1 then decides one STA / link that is more relevant for the sensing measurement (in this case, the initiator to responder (I2R) link attached to STA-8), and sends a sensing request (or forwards an SBP request frame) to another co-located AP (AP-2) operating in a different channel, requesting AP-2 to act as a secondary proxy sensing initiator for the SBP process to select one other link and perform WLAN sensing to meet the conditions specified by STA-5. Alternatively or additionally, the SBP initiator may explicitly indicate one or more STA / links during the SBP request phase. (For example, the SBP initiator includes the address / ID, and / or link ID / band information of the candidate sensing responders in the request frame of the SBP request). Note that although in Fig.13 and Fig.14 , the communication between AP-1 and AP-2 is depicted over the air (wireless), but the communication of the sensing request between APs (AP-1 and AP-2) can be performed internally or through cables within the device. AP-1 can indicate in the sensing request the link and STA (i.e., STA-7) on which AP-2 is to perform WLAN sensing.

[0113] Each AP (AP-1, AP-2) initiates sensing session setup and sensing measurement setup with the selected STA or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-7) by sending a protected sensing measurement setup request frame to it, respectively. In this embodiment, different measurement setup identifiers (IDs) can be assigned to different measurement links by each AP (or in some embodiments, AP-1 (SBP responder)) for the SBP process. The measurement setup ID to be used by AP-2 is sent in the sensing request. In this case, measurement setup ID 1 is assigned and will be used by AP-1 for its sensing measurement with STA-8, and measurement setup ID 2 is assigned and will be used by AP-2 for its sensing measurement with STA-7.

[0114] Each STA or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-7) that receives the protected sensing measurement setup request frame then sends a protected sensing measurement setup response frame indicating successful sensing measurement setup back to its corresponding AP (AP-1, AP-2), respectively. AP-2 (secondary proxy sensing initiator) sends a sensing response and passes the sensing measurement setup result back to AP-1 (SBP responder or primary proxy sensing initiator). Similarly, although Fig.13 and Fig.14 , the communication between AP-1 and AP-2 is depicted over the air (wireless), but the communication between APs can be performed internally in the device.

[0115] AP-1 consolidates the sensing responses received from AP-2 and sends a protected SBP response frame to indicate the successful establishment of the (link) with the sensing responder to complete the SBP establishment. AP-1 also selects a measurement establishment ID (in this case, ID "1") to represent the SBP procedure. Note that if necessary, AP-1 can perform a translation or conversion between two measurement establishment IDs (e.g., for SBP reporting, SBP termination, etc.), that is, if the measurement establishment (MS) ID assigned by (multiple) other APs (such as AP-2) is different from the MSID assigned by AP-1 for the SBP procedure, AP-1 replaces the (multiple) MSIDs of the applicable sensing measurement report with the MSID representing the SBP procedure. This selected measurement establishment ID representing the SBP procedure is included in the SBP response frame. In addition, link information (such as STA ID or other ID that can be used to identify the measurement link) is included in the response frame.

[0116] Subsequently, AP-1 and AP-2 each perform a sensing measurement instance with their selected STAs (STA-8, STA-7) by sending an I2R measurement PPDU (e.g., sensing NDP). In response, STA-8, STA-7 measure their respective channels upon receiving the I2R measurement PPDU and send their measurement reports if requested. The measurement reports include their respective assigned measurement setup IDs. AP-2 forwards the sensing measurement report of its I2R link with STA-7 to AP-1.

[0117] AP-1 collects and merges the (multiple) measurement reports on the I2R link with STA-8, and sends a protected SBP report frame including the measurement report to STA-5. The measurement report ID (ID "1") and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the STA-8 measurement link. AP-1 also collects and merges the (multiple) measurement reports on the I2R link with STA-7 received from AP-2, and sends a separate protected SBP report frame including the measurement report to STA-5. The SBP report frame for links of other APs has the same format as the report for the responder to responder (R2R) link. Similarly, the measurement report ID (ID "2"), AP ID and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the STA-7 measurement link. In an alternative embodiment, AP- 1 may merge the measurement reports on the AP- 1 - STA- 8 link and the AP- 2 - STA- 7 link and send a single protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to STA- 5 .

[0118] Finally, after the SBP process, STA-5 can terminate the SBP process by sending an SBP termination frame to AP-1 (only if Fig.13 AP-1 then performs sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-8 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "1") corresponding to the SBP procedure. AP-1 also sends a termination request to request AP-2 to perform sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-7 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "2") corresponding to the SBP procedure.

[0119] Fig.15An example format of an extended capability element 1500 for basic discovery according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The extended capability element 1500 is used to indicate the capabilities of a STA or AP and support for certain services and communication features in an applicable frame (such as a beacon / probe response frame) (in the frame body itself or in an unsent BSSID profile subelement). It includes an element ID field, a length field, and an extended capability field. The extended capability field includes a WLAN sensing subfield, an SBP subfield, an SBP R2R subfield, and an extended SBP subfield. The SBP subfield indicates that the AP is capable of providing a proxy sensing service to its associated STA. The SBP R2R subfield indicates that the AP is capable of providing a proxy sensing service for an R2R link to its associated STA. The extended SBP subfield indicates that the AP is capable of providing an extended SBP service. A requesting AP that receives information in an extended SBP subfield sent by another AP will understand that the other AP is capable of accepting a request from the requesting AP to collect sensing measurements on behalf of the requesting AP.

[0120] According to the present disclosure, if there is no security association (SA) between the SBP initiator and the SBP responder, the SBP initiator and the SBP responder exchange SBP request / response / terminate frames to set up the SBP procedure; otherwise, they exchange protected SBP request / response frames. Fig.16A and Fig. 16B Example formats of an SBP request frame 1600 and a protected SBP request frame 1610 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown, respectively. The SBP request frame 1600 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, receiver address (RA) field, and transmitter address (TA) field), a category field set to "public", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is an SBP request frame, a dialog token field, an SBP parameter element, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field. The SBP protected frame 1610 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "Protected Dual of Public Action", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is a protected SBP request frame, a dialog token field, an SBP parameter element field, and an FCS field.

[0121] Fig.17A and Fig. 17BThe example formats of the SBP response frame 1700 and the protected response frame 1710 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure are respectively shown. The SBP response frame 1700 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "public", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is an SBP response frame, a dialog token field, a status code field, a measurement setup ID field, an SBP parameter element field, an SBP link information element field, and an FCS field. The protected SBP response frame 1710 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "protected dual public action", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is a protected SBP response frame, a dialog token field, a status code field, a measurement setup ID field, an SBP parameter element field, an SBP link information element field, and an FCS field.

[0122] The Measurement Setup ID field is set to a Measurement Setup ID value uniquely representing the SBP process selected by the AP accepting the corresponding SBP request. The Measurement Setup ID field is present in the SBP response frame 1700, 1710 only when the Status Code field indicates "Success".

[0123] Fig.18 The first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. FIG. 16A to FIG. 17B FIG. 10 is an example format of an SBP parameter element field 1800 in the SBP request / response frames 1600, 1610, 1700, 1710 in FIG. 10. The SBP parameter element field 1800 includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP parameter field. The SBP parameter field includes a link parameter subfield, a measurement parameter subfield, and a report parameter subfield, which specify attributes related to the link to be measured, the measurement PPDU, and the SBP report, respectively.

[0124] The Link Parameters subfield includes the Include SBP Initiator bit, the Include R2R bit, the Minimum RSSI / RCPI subfield, and the Number of Measured Links subfield. The Include SBP Initiator bit is set to 1, indicating a request to include the SBP initiator as one of the sensing responders, so the measurement report on the link to which the SBP initiator is attached will also be measured and included in the SBP report frame. The Include R2R bit is set to 1, indicating that the R2R link can also be considered. The Minimum RSSI / RCPI subfield indicates that the average RSSI or RCPI observed for frames sent on the selected link is expected to be higher than the indicated level. The Number of Links subfield indicates the number of links to be used for sensing measurements.

[0125] The measurement parameter subfield includes an NDP type subfield, an NDP bandwidth subfield, and a sampling rate subfield. The NDP type subfield indicates the NDP type or format to be used to measure the channel (e.g., high efficiency (HE), extremely high throughput (EHT), or ranging, etc.). The NDP bandwidth subfield indicates the channel bandwidth of the NDP to be used to measure the channel. The sampling rate subfield indicates the frequency of performing the measurement, that is, how often the sensing measurement is performed, in Hz or the number of measurements per second.

[0126] The Report Parameters subfield includes a Measurement Report Type subfield, a Report Frequency subfield, and a Channel State Information (CSI) Change Threshold subfield. The Measurement Report Type subfield indicates the type of sensing measurement report to be used during the SBP reporting process. The Report Frequency subfield indicates the frequency with which the SBP report is sent, i.e., how often the SBP report is sent, in Hz or times per second. The CSI Change Threshold subfield indicates a number between 0 and 1, which corresponds to a threshold for determining whether the change in the measured CSI is significant enough for the AP to generate an SBP report.

[0127] Fig.19 The first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig.17A and Fig. 17B1700 , 1710 in the SBP response frame 1700 , 1710 in the SBP link information element field 1900 . The SBP link information element field includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP link information field. The SBP link information field includes a link information count (N) subfield and one or more link information fields corresponding to one or more links. The link information count (N) subfield indicates the number of links (link information subfields) present in the SBP link information field. Each link information subfield includes a STA2 presence subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, and a STA2 ID subfield (if the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1). For an initiator to responder (I2R) or responder to initiator (R2I) link to which the SBP responder itself is attached, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 0, and the STA1 ID subfield indicates the STA ID (e.g., MAC address or association identifier (AID)) of the STA attached to the other end of the link. Although not shown in the figure, a bit in the Link Information field may indicate whether the link is I2R or R2I, e.g., I2R if the bit is set to 0, and R2I if the bit is set to 1. For an R2R link or a link of other APs, the STA2 Presence subfield is set to 1, and the STA1 and STA2 ID subfields indicate the STA IDs (e.g., MAC addresses or AIDs) of the two STAs attached to both ends of the link. Alternatively, instead of the STA ID, a unique link ID (assigned during the sensing measurement setup of the SBP process) for each measured link may be included in the Link Information subfield(s). The SBP initiator will use the link ID(s) to identify the measured link in subsequent frames.

[0128] Regarding SBP reporting, the SBP responder reports the sensing measurement results obtained during the WLAN sensing process generated by the SBP request to the SBP initiator in a protected SBP report frame, which is constructed by the SBP responder (AP) itself (if the AP is also a sensing receiver) or by adding a link information field (such as Fig.19 As shown) and updating the report length field in each sensing measurement report field obtained in the sensing measurement report frame sent by the sensing responder on the link.

[0129] According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, selection of (multiple) other APs and sensing measurements in (multiple) other BSSs may be implemented. Fig.12, when STA-5 (SBP initiator) requests AP-1 (SBP responder) to perform the SBP process for 2 links, while AP-1 and AP-2 are members of a multi-BSSID set, AP-2 corresponds to a transmitting BSSID (i.e., it transmits beacon frames) and AP-2 corresponds to a non-transmitting BSSID, in addition to selecting (multiple) STAs / (multiple) links (e.g., STA-8) to be used for SBP sensing measurements in its own BSS based on (multiple) conditions / (multiple) attributes indicated in the SBP request, the SBP responder (e.g., AP-1) may also request another co-located AP (e.g., AP-2) to select one or more STAs / links to perform sensing measurements in the BSS of another AP on behalf of the SBP initiator (STA-5). If AP-2 accepts the request, it proceeds to set up sensing measurements of (multiple) non-AP STAs associated with it. If the sensing measurement setup is successful, AP-2 proceeds to perform sensing measurement instances on the selected link(s) (e.g., STA-7) based on the attributes indicated in the SBP request, and collects sensing measurement reports from the sensing responders (if applicable). Finally, AP-2 merges the sensing measurement report(s) and forwards it(them) to the SBP responder (AP-1), which in turn forwards the sensing measurement report(s) to the SBP initiator in an SBP report frame.

[0130] Fig. 20 A flowchart 2000 is shown illustrating the communication between an SBP initiator (non-APSTA) and an SBP responder (AP) for proxy sensing (such as the communication between the station management entity (SME) and the MAC sublayer management entity (MLME) of the SBP initiator and the SBP responder) according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0131] The SME of a non-AP STA (SBP initiator) (such as STA-5) issues a MLME-SBP.request primitive to the MAC sublayer to request that an SBP request frame be sent to a peer STA (SBP responder) (such as AP-1). Upon receiving the primitive, the MLME of the SBP initiator constructs an SBP request frame and sends it to the MAC address of the SBP responder. The MLME-SBP.request primitive and its primitive parameters are shown below.

[0132] MLME-SBP.request(

[0133] PeerSTAAddress,

[0134] SBPParameters )

[0136] Table 1 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBP.request primitive.

[0137]

[0138] Table 1

[0139] The MLME-SBP.indication primitive is sent by the MAC sublayer to the SME of AP-1 to notify the receipt of the SBP request frame from the peer STA (SBP initiator). Upon receiving this primitive, the SME initiates the SBP process on behalf of the peer STA (e.g., performs sensing measurements with STA-8). The MLME-SBP.indication primitive and its primitive parameters are shown below.

[0140] MLME-SBP.indication(

[0141] PeerSTAAddress,

[0142] SBPParameters )

[0144] Table 2 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBP.indication primitive.

[0145]

[0146] Table 2

[0147] When APs (e.g., AP-1 and AP-2) are co-located in the same physical device (e.g., if the APs are members of a multi-BSSID set), they may share a common station management entity (SME), and the SME may perform selection of (multiple) APs for the SBP procedure. Since the information included in the SBP request (e.g., link / measurement information, etc.) is passed up to the SME, the SME may use the information to decide on additional APs to act as sensing initiators and STAs / links to be selected for sensing measurements of the SBP procedure. For example, upon receiving the MLME-SBP.indication primitive (triggered by reception of an SBP request frame) from the MLE of AP-1, the SME may select AP-2 (a co-located AP) to act as an additional sensing initiator (in addition to AP-1) for the SBP procedure based on the (multiple) conditions / (multiple) attributes specified in the SBP request frame, and issue a MLME-SENSMSMTSETUP.request primitive to AP-2 to instruct AP-2 to perform a sensing measurement setup with one of its non-AP STAs (e.g., STA-7). The MLME-SENMSMTSETUP.request primitive is shown below.

[0148] MLME-SENSMSMTSETUP.request(

[0149] PeerSTAAddress,

[0150] SensingMeasurementParameters )

[0152] Table 3 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBP.indication primitive.

[0153]

[0154] Table 3

[0155] Upon receiving the MLME-SENMSMTSETUP.confirm primitive indicating successful sensing measurement setup from AP-2, the SME issues a MLME-SBP.response primitive to the MLME of AP-1.

[0156] In response to the MLME-SENMSMTSETUP.confirm primitive and the request to send an SBP response frame to the peer STA (SBP initiator), the SME of the SBP responder sends the MLME-SBP.response primitive to the MAC sublayer. Upon receiving the primitive, the MLME of AP-1 constructs an SBP response frame and sends it to the MAC address of the SBP initiator. The MLME-SBP.response primitive and its primitive parameters are shown below.

[0157] MLME-SBP.response(

[0158] PeerSTAAddress,

[0159] StatusCode,

[0160] SBPParameters,

[0161] MeasurementSetupID,

[0162] SBPLinkInfo )

[0164] Table 4 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME_SBP_response primitive.

[0165]

[0166]

[0167] Table 4

[0168] When receiving the SBP response from the peer STA (SBP responder), the MAC sublayer sends the MLME-SBP.confirm primitive to the SME of the SBP initiator to notify the result of the SBP request. The MLME-SBP.confirm primitive and its primitive parameters are as follows.

[0169] MLME-SBP.confirm(

[0170] PeerSTAAddress,

[0171] StatusCode,

[0172] SBPParameters,

[0173] MeasurementSetupID,

[0174] SBPLinkInfo )

[0176] Table 5 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBP.confirm primitive.

[0177]

[0178]

[0179] Table 5

[0180] Subsequently, upon receiving the MLME-SENSMSMTRQ.confirm primitive indicating reception of the sensing measurement report for the link with STA-7, the SME issues an MLME-SBPREPORT.request primitive to the MLME of AP-1 to enable it to send an SBP report frame carrying the sensing measurement report to the SBP initiator.

[0181] The SME of the SBP responder sends the MLME-SBPREPORT.request primitive to the MAC sublayer to request that the SBP report frame be sent to the peer STA (SBP initiator). Upon receiving the primitive, the MLME of the SBP responder constructs the SBP report frame and sends it to the MAC address of the SBP initiator. The MLME-SBPREPORT.request primitive and its primitive parameters are shown below.

[0182] MLME-SBPREPORT.request(

[0183] PeerSTAAddress,

[0184] SensingMeasurementReportList )

[0186] Table 6 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBPREPORT.request primitive.

[0187]

[0188] Table 6

[0189] The MAC sublayer sends the MLME-SBRREPORT.indication primitive to the SME of the SBP initiator to notify the receipt of the SBP report frame from the peer STA (SBP responder). The MLME-SBRREPORT.indication primitive and its primitive parameters are as follows.

[0190] MLME-SBPREPORT.indication(

[0191] PeerSTAAddress,

[0192] SensingMeasurementReportList )

[0194] Table 7 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBPREPORT.request primitive.

[0195]

[0196] Table 7

[0197] The MAC sublayer sends the MLME-SBPREPORT.confirm primitive to the SME of the SBP responder to notify the result of the request to send the SBP report frame. The MLME-SBPREPORT.confirm primitive and its primitive parameters are as follows.

[0198] MLME-SBPREPORT.confirm(

[0199] PeerSTAAddress,

[0200] StatusCode, )

[0202] Table 8 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBPREPORT.confirm primitive.

[0203]

[0204] Table 8

[0205] Note that if the co-managed AP does not share the same SME with the AP acting as the SBP responder receiving the SBP request frame, a similar setup or information exchange may be performed by an upper layer application that performs a similar role as a common SME for multiple BSSID sets.

[0206] According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensing measurement results obtained in the WLAN sensing process generated by the SBP request are reported to the SBP initiator (by the SBP responder) in a protected SBP report frame, which is constructed by the AP itself (if the AP is also a sensing receiver), or by adding a link information field to each sensing measurement report field obtained in the sensing measurement report frame sent by the sensing responder in its own BSS and the sensing measurement report frame received from other APs. If the measurement setup (MS) ID allocated by (multiple) other APs is different from the MSID allocated by the SBP responder for the SBP process, the SBP responder also replaces the (multiple) MSIDs of the applicable sensing measurement report with the MSID representing the SBP process.

[0207] Fig.21 An example format of a protected SBP report frame 2100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The SBP report frame 2100 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "protected sensing", an action field set to "protected SBP report", a dialog token field, a sensing measurement report list field, and an FCS field. The sensing measurement report list field includes one or more sensing measurement report fields corresponding to one or more links. Each sensing measurement report field includes a report length field, a measurement setup ID field, a measurement instance ID field, a sensing measurement time field, a sensing measurement report type field, a sensing measurement control field, a sensing measurement feedback field, and a link information field. The report length field indicates the length of the sensing measurement report field. If the link information field is added, the report length field should also be updated accordingly. The measurement setup ID field indicates the measurement setup ID value corresponding to the SBP process. The measurement instance ID field identifies the measurement instance in which the sensing measurement is performed. The sensing measurement time field indicates the measurement timestamp at which the measurement is performed by the sensing receiver (responder). The sensing measurement control field may include an Nc index subfield, an Nr index subfield, a bandwidth (BW) subfield, an NG (number of groups) subfield, a remaining feedback segment subfield, and a first feedback segment subfield. The sensing measurement feedback includes sensing measurement results, such as CSI or partial CSI, etc. Fig.19 The link information described in the STA2 presence subfield includes a STA2 ID subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, and a STA2 ID subfield (the STA2 ID subfield is present only when the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1 to indicate an R2R link or a link of another BSS). The STA1 and STA2 ID subfields carry the ID (e.g., MAC address or AID) of the sensing responder to identify the link corresponding to the sensing measurement report. Alternatively, instead of the STA ID, a unique link ID for each measured link can be assigned and included in the link information subfield (multiple).

[0208] In the following paragraphs, a second embodiment of the present disclosure of an extended SBP process by an AP affiliated / attached to the same AP MLD is described. Two examples of the second embodiment are shown. In the first example, an extended SBP process initiated by a non-AP STA as a non-MLD STA is shown; and in the second example, an extended SBP process initiated by a non-AP MLD is shown.

[0209] Fig. 22 A schematic diagram 2200 illustrating communication in an extended SBP process according to a first example of a second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this example of the second embodiment, the SBP initiator is a non-MLD STA, and the SBP responder AP and another AP selected by the SBP responder are affiliated with the AP MLD. Fig.23 The diagram shows Fig. 22 Flowchart 2300 of an overview of the extended SBP process between two APs (AP-1, AP-2), a non-AP MLD (non-AP MLD-1), and STA-8. Fig.24 The diagram shows Fig. 22 2400 of the detailed process flow of the extended proxy sensing process between two APs, non-AP MLD and STA-8 in FIG. In this example, AP-1 and AP-2 are affiliated with AP MLD, while STA-1 and STA-2 are affiliated with non-AP MLD-1.

[0210] First, AP MLD (or AP-1 or AP-2 individually) uses beacon / probe response frames to advertise its ability to support enhanced client discovery and basic information about associated non-AP STAs (e.g., count / number of associated STAs, etc.). STA-5 can perform a basic SBP discovery process and discover AP-1's support for SBP functionality. STA-5 can then select AP-1 as its SBP responder.

[0211] Secondly, STA-5 can then initiate an enhanced client discovery process by sending a protected client discovery query frame to request AP-1 to provide a list of non-AP STAs (AP-1's associated non-AP STAs and optionally non-associated non-AP STAs, AP-2's associated non-AP STAs and non-associated non-AP STAs). In this case, AP MLD then sends a protected client discovery response frame through AP-1, which has the requested list of non-AP STAs and optionally their respective neighboring STAs, and the enhanced client discovery process ends. In this enhanced client discovery process, the SBP initiator discovers information about AP-1 and potential sensing responders. In particular, AP-1 already has basic information about the associated STAs, such as their (multiple) operating channels, sensing capabilities, and R2R sensing capabilities, etc., and the SBP initiator (STA-5) can obtain such information from AP-1 using a level 1 client discovery query. Although not shown in the figure, upon receiving a request from the SBP initiator (or even its own requirement), AP-1 can collect other relevant information from its associated STAs, such as the location / positioning of their STAs, RSSI (or propagation loss) to / from the STAs (to indicate the distance between the STAs and AP-1), and information about the STAs' neighboring STAs, including link metrics, etc. Thus, the SBP initiator can obtain such relevant information about the AP-1's associated STAs (and their neighboring STAs) from AP-1 using a level 2 client discovery query. Based on the above information, the SBP initiator can select one or more APs as (multiple) SBP responders and one or more non-AP STAs as target sensing responders for the SBP process. Alternatively, if, for example, AP-1 does not support enhanced client discovery, or in addition to the information collected via enhanced client discovery, the SBP initiator can also use information received via other means (e.g., IP / MAC addresses provided by upper layer applications, etc.) to select SBP responders and sensing responders for the SBP process.

[0212] Alternatively, it is also possible that the SBP initiator initially requests measurements from "all / many" available links, but then selects a subset of links that are most suitable for the sensing application in subsequent (multiple) SBP requests. Link selection may be based on a statistical analysis of the sensing measurement reports of the links; for example, links where CSI feedback is not sensitive to the needs of the sensing application may be omitted in later SBP requests.

[0213] Note that the SBP initiator (STA-5) may be associated with AP-1, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the usual authentication / association process and establishment of a security association (SA) with AP-1, for example, through a 4-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request; or it may be unassociated with AP-1, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the establishment of security associated with AP-1, for example, through a pre-association security negotiation (PASN) of a 3-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request.

[0214] STA-5 discovers AP-1 through the client discovery process and selects it as the SBP responder. It then initiates the SBP process and requests AP-1 to become the SBP responder (i.e., the proxy sensing initiator on behalf of STA-5) by sending a protected SBP request frame (addressed to AP-1), which specifies the operating parameters and measurement attributes related to the SBP link, such as a specific target STA / link, a minimum received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a received channel power indicator (RCPI), and the number of measurement links as conditions for selecting one or more links to perform sensing measurements. In this case, STA-5 includes information about two target STA / links related to STA-8 and STA-2 as operating parameters of the SBP process.

[0215] Based on the operating parameters, AP-1 selects one STA / link (the I2R link attached to STA-8) and also forwards the SBP request frame to the AP MLD. The AP MLD then assigns AP-2 as an additional AP to act as a secondary proxy sensing initiator, for example, by forwarding the sensing request (e.g., with the SBP request frame) to AP-2 to select another STA / link under AP-2 (the I2R link attached to STA-2) to perform WLAN sensing to meet the conditions specified by STA-5. Alternatively or additionally, the SBP initiator may explicitly indicate one or more STA / links during the SBP request phase. (For example, the SBP initiator includes the address / ID and / or link ID / band information of the candidate sensing responder in the request frame of the SBP request).

[0216] Each AP (AP-1, AP-2) initiates a sensing session setup (not shown in the figure) and a sensing measurement setup with the selected STA or sensing responder (STA-8, non-AP MLD-1 to STA-2) by sending a protected sensing measurement setup request frame to it, respectively. In this example, the same measurement setup ID (ID "1") is assigned by the SBP responder to different measurement links for the SBP process. The measurement setup ID to be used by AP-2 is sent in the sensing request.

[0217] Each STA or sensing responder (STA-8, non-AP MLD-1 through STA-2) that receives the protected sensing measurement setup request frame then sends a protected sensing measurement setup response frame indicating a successful sensing measurement setup back to its corresponding AP (AP-1, AP-2), respectively. AP-2 (secondary proxy sensing initiator) sends a sensing response and passes the sensing measurement setup result back to AP-1 (SBP responder).

[0218] AP-1 incorporates the sensing responses received from AP-2 and sends a protected SBP response frame to indicate the successful establishment (link) with the sensing responder to complete the SBP establishment.

[0219] Subsequently, AP-1 and AP-2 each perform a sensing measurement instance (in this case, under the same measurement instance ID "1") with their selected STAs (STA-8, STA-2, respectively) by sending an I2R measurement PPDU (e.g., sensing NDP). In response, STA-8, STA-2 measure their respective channels upon receiving the I2R measurement PPDU and send their measurement reports if requested. The measurement reports include their respective assigned measurement setup IDs. AP-2 forwards the sensing measurement report of its I2R link with STA-2 to AP-1.

[0220] AP-1 collects and merges the measurement report (s) on the I2R link with STA-8 and the measurement report (s) on the I2R link with STA-2 received from AP-2, and sends a protected SBP report frame (aggregated measurement report) including the measurement report back to STA-5. The measurement report ID (ID "1") and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) is included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the STA-8 measurement link and the AP-2-STA-2 measurement link.

[0221] Finally, after the SBP process, STA-5 can terminate the SBP process by sending an SBP termination frame to AP-1 (only if Fig.23 AP-1 then performs sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-7 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "1") corresponding to the SBP procedure. AP-1 also sends a termination frame to AP MLD, which in turn forwards it to AP-2 to perform sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-2 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "1") corresponding to the SBP procedure.

[0222] Fig.25A schematic diagram 2500 illustrating communication in an extended SBP process according to a second example of the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this example of the second embodiment, the SBP initiator is a STA affiliated with a non-AP MLD, and the SBP responder AP and another AP selected by the SBP responder are affiliated with an AP MLD. Fig.26 The diagram shows Fig.25 Flowchart 2600 of an overview of an extended SBP process between two APs (AP-1, AP-2), a non-AP MLD (non-AP MLD-1), and two STAs (STA-6, STA-8). Fig. 27 The diagram shows Fig.25 FIG2700 is a flowchart of a detailed process flow of an extended proxy sensing process between two APs, a non-AP MLD, and two STAs in FIG2701 . In this example, AP-1 and AP-2 are attached to the AP MLD, and STA-1 and STA-2 are attached to the non-AP MLD-1. According to the present disclosure, in the case of MLD, SBP frames (such as SBP request frames, SBP response frames, SBP report frames) are considered to be MLD-level frames and can be sent on any available link between MLDs (in this example, between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD-1).

[0223] First, the AP MLD (or AP-1 or AP-2 individually) uses the beacon / probe response frame to advertise its ability to support enhanced client discovery and basic information about associated non-AP STAs (e.g., count / number of associated STAs, etc.). The non-AP MLD (non-AP MLD-1) can perform the basic SBP discovery process and discover AP-1's support for the SBP function. The non-AP MLD can then select the AP MLD as its SBP responder.

[0224] Secondly, the non-AP MLD can then initiate an enhanced client discovery process through STA-1 by sending a protected client discovery query frame to request the AP-MLD to provide a list of non-AP STAs (AP-1's associated non-AP STAs and optionally non-associated non-AP STAs, AP-2's associated non-AP STAs and non-associated non-AP STAs). In this case, the APMLD then sends a protected client discovery response frame through AP-1 with the requested list of non-AP STAs and optionally their respective neighboring STAs, and the enhanced client discovery process ends. In this enhanced client discovery process, the SBP initiator discovers information of the AP MLD and potential sensing responders. In particular, the AP-MLD already has basic information about the associated STAs, such as their (multiple) operating channels, sensing capabilities and R2R sensing capabilities, etc., and the SBP initiator (non-AP MLD) can obtain such information from the AP-MLD using the level 1 client discovery query. Although not shown in the figure, upon receiving a request from the SBP initiator (or even its own requirement), the AP MLD may collect other relevant information from its associated STAs, such as the location / positioning of their STAs, RSSI (or propagation loss) to / from the STAs (to indicate the distance between the STAs and AP-1), and information about the STAs' neighboring STAs, including link metrics, etc. Thus, the SBP initiator may use a level 2 client discovery query to obtain such relevant information about the AP-MLD's associated STAs (and their neighboring STAs). Based on the above information, the SBP initiator may select one or more APs (e.g., AP-1 and AP-2) of the AP-MLD as (multiple) SBP responders and one or more non-AP STAs as target sensing responders for the SBP process. Alternatively, if, for example, AP-1 does not support enhanced client discovery, or in addition to the information collected via enhanced client discovery, the SBP initiator may also use information received via other means (e.g., IP / MAC addresses provided by upper layer applications, etc.) to select SBP responders and sensing responders for the SBP process.

[0225] Alternatively, it is also possible that the SBP initiator initially requests measurements from "all / many" available links, but then selects a subset of links that are most suitable for the sensing application in subsequent (multiple) SBP requests. Link selection may be based on a statistical analysis of the sensing measurement reports of the links; for example, links where CSI feedback is not sensitive to the needs of the sensing application may be omitted in later SBP requests.

[0226] Note that the SBP initiator can be associated with the AP MLD, in which case it is assumed that the usual authentication / association process and establishment of a security association (SA) with the AP or APMLD has been completed, for example, through a 4-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request; or it can be not associated with the AP MLD, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the establishment of security associated with the AP or AP MLD, for example, through a pre-association security negotiation (PASN) of a 3-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request.

[0227] The non-AP MLD discovers the AP MLD through the client discovery process and selects it as the SBP responder. Then, it initiates the SBP process, for example, through the AP-1 and STA-1 links, and requests the AP MLD to become the SBP responder (i.e., the proxy sensing initiator on behalf of the non-AP MLD) by sending a protected SBP request frame on any available link (in this case, on the AP-1 to STA-1 link and on the request frame address to AP-1), the protected SBP request frame specifies the operating parameters and measurement attributes related to the SBP link, such as a specific target STA / link, a minimum received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a received channel power indicator (RCPI), and the number of measurement links, as conditions for selecting one or more links to perform sensing measurements. In this case, the non-AP MLD includes information on two target STA / links related to STA-6 and STA-8 as operating parameters of the SBP process.

[0228] AP-1 forwards the SBP request frame to AP MLD. Based on the operational parameters, AP MLD selects one STA / link through AP-1 (the I2R link attached to STA-8) and another STA / link through AP-2 (the I2R link attached to STA-6), assigning the subordinate AP to act as the sensing initiator to perform WLAN sensing to meet the conditions specified by the non-AP MLD. The sensing request (e.g., with the SBP request frame) may be forwarded to AP-2, notifying the assignment and WLAN sensing role.

[0229] Each AP (AP-1, AP-2) initiates sensing session establishment and sensing measurement establishment with the selected STA or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-6) by sending a protected sensing measurement establishment request frame to it, respectively. In this example, the APMLD assigns a different MSID to each measurement link used for the SBP process. In this example, the I2R link between AP-2 and STA-8 is assigned to MSID "1", and the I2R link between AP-1 and STA-6 is assigned to MSID "2". The MSID to be used by AP-2 is sent to AP-2 by AP-1 in the sensing request.

[0230] Each STA or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-6) that receives the protected sensing measurement setup request frame then sends a protected sensing measurement setup response frame indicating a successful sensing measurement setup back to its corresponding AP (AP-1, AP-2), respectively. AP-2 sends a sensing response and passes the sensing measurement setup result back to AP-1.

[0231] AP-MLD combines the sensing responses received from AP-1 and AP-2 and sends a protected SBP response frame on any available link (in this case, on the AP-1 to STA-1 link) to indicate the successful establishment with the sensing responders (links) to complete the SBP establishment.

[0232] Subsequently, AP-1 and AP-2 each perform a sensing measurement instance (in this case, under the same measurement instance ID "1") with their selected STAs (STA-8, STA-6, respectively) by sending an I2R measurement PPDU (e.g., sensing NDP). In response, STA-8, STA-6 measure their respective channels upon receiving the I2R measurement PPDU and send their measurement reports if requested. The measurement reports include their respective assigned measurement setup IDs. AP-2 forwards the sensing measurement report of its I2R link with STA-6 to AP-1.

[0233] The AP MLD collects and merges the measurement reports on the I2R link with STA-8 through AP-1 and the measurement reports on the I2R link with STA-6 through AP-2, and sends a protected SBP report frame (aggregated measurement report) including the measurement reports back to the non-APMLD on any available link (in this case, on the AP-2 to STA-2 link). The measurement report ID and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) is included in the report frame for identifying the measurement link by the non-APMLD.

[0234] Finally, after the SBP process, the non-AP MLD can terminate the AP MLD by sending an SBP termination frame (only on the AP-1 to STA-1 link) to the AP MLD on any available link (in this case, on the AP-1 to STA-1 link). Fig.26 AP-1 and AP-2 then perform sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-8 and STA-6 for sensing measurement setup IDs "1" and "2" corresponding to the SBP procedure, respectively.

[0235] According to the second embodiment, APs (AP-1 and AP-2) attached to the AP MLD are connected via the MLD upper MAC sublayer (see Fig.42 ), wherein the MLD upper MAC sublayer includes an MLD sensing module configured to coordinate information exchange between subordinate APs for SBP setup and SBP reporting. In this case, since the information included in the SBP request (e.g., link / measurement, target STA information, etc.) is passed up to the MLD sensing module, the AP MLD uses the information to decide the additional subordinate AP to act as the sensing initiator and the STA / link to be selected for the sensing measurement of the SBP process, and accordingly (e.g., by issuing the MLME-SENSMSMTSETUP.request primitive) passes instructions to the selected additional subordinate AP to set up the sensing measurement setup derived from the attributes specified in the SBP request frame.

[0236] Alternatively, coordination between subordinate APs may also occur via the SME, except that if all APs are to use the same MSID for sensing measurement setup corresponding to a single SBP setup, the MLME-SENSMSTSETUP.request primitive also includes the MSID to be used. The AP MDL also needs to ensure that the allocated MSID is not already in use by any subordinate AP.

[0237] The MLME-SENSMSMTSETUP.request primitive is issued by the SME to the MAC sublayer to request that a sensing measurement setup request frame be sent to the peer STA. Upon receiving this primitive, the MLME constructs a sensing measurement setup request frame with the measurement setup ID set to MeasurementSetupID and sends it to the peer MAC address. The MLME-SBP.SENMSMTSETUP.request primitive and its primitive parameters are shown below.

[0238] MLME-SENSMSMTSETUP.request(

[0239] PeerSTAAddress,

[0240] SensingMeasurementParameters,

[0241] MeasurementSetupID )

[0243] Table 9 shows details of primitive parameters included in the MLME-SBP.indication primitive.

[0244]

[0245] Table 9

[0246] Fig.28 The second embodiment according to the present disclosure is shown. FIG. 16A to FIG. 17B The SBP parameter element field 2800 in the SBP request / response frames 1600, 1610, 1700, 1710 in the embodiment of the present invention includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP parameter field. Fig.18 The SBP parameter element field described in the specification is different from the SBP parameter element field described in the specification, the SBP parameter field includes additional target device parameter subfields, link parameter subfields, measurement parameter subfields, and report parameter subfields, which respectively specify attributes related to the target STA / link, the link to be measured, the measurement PPDU, and the SBP report.

[0247] The Link Parameters subfield, the Measurement Parameters subfield, and the Report Parameters subfield may be used with Fig.15 The target device parameter subfield includes a target device control field, a device location information field, a coverage information field, and one or more target device information fields. The target device control field includes a device type subfield, a device location information presence subfield, a coverage information presence subfield, and a target device count (N) subfield. The device type subfield specifies the device type restrictions of the sensing responder.

[0248] Table 10 shows various device types corresponding to the device type subfield values.

[0249]

[0250]

[0251] Table 10

[0252] The Device Location Information Presence and Coverage Information Presence subfields indicate the presence of corresponding fields in the Target Device Parameters subfield. The Target Device Count (N) subfield indicates the number of target device information fields in the Target Device Parameters subfield.

[0253] The device location information field specifies the location of the device, which is then used as the center to determine the coverage area or radio range extending from that location. The coverage information field includes a coverage radius subfield and a coverage sector bitmap subfield. The coverage radius subfield specifies the radius (e.g., represented by RSSI / RCPI level (dBm) or distance (m)) of the coverage area with the device location specified in the device location information field. The coverage sector bitmap subfield indicates a segment or area relative to the location of the device.

[0254] The device location information field carries information about the location where the target STA should be located. For example, this field may carry the device location information body field as described in 9.4.1.56 of 802.11-2020. The device location information body field includes location configuration information (LCI), which contains latitude, longitude, and altitude information. Together with the coverage information field, the SBP initiator can specify the coverage area (with the location indicated in the device location information field) for its requesting AP (SBP responder) to select the target sensing responder. If the device location information field does not exist, but the coverage information field exists, the location of the SBP responder (AP) will be considered to be the center of the target coverage area.

[0255] Table 11 shows the various sectors indicated by the coverage sector bitmap bits.

[0256] Coverage Sector Bitmap Bit The indicated sector 0 north 1 south 2 East 3 West

[0257] Table 11

[0258] Each target device information field in the target device parameter subfield specifies the target link and includes a STA2 presence subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, and a STA2 ID subfield. For an I2R or R2I link, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 0, and the STA1 ID subfield indicates the STA ID (e.g., MAC address, association identifier (AID), or unassociated ID (UID)) of the STA attached to the link, while the SBP responder is understood to be attached to the other end of the link. For an R2R link, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1, and the STA1 and STA2 ID subfields indicate the STAIDs (e.g., MAC addresses or AIDs) of the two STAs attached to the R2R link. Alternatively, instead of a STAID, a unique link ID for each measured link may be assigned and included in the (multiple) link information subfields.

[0259] Although not shown in the figure, other information about the target device may also be included in the target device parameter field, such as device name, PHY version (HT / VHT / HE / EHT, etc.), supported capabilities (support for WLAN sensing, support for fine time measurement (FTM)), etc.).

[0260] According to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the link / measurement parameters of the SBP parameter element field in the SBP request, the SBP initiator also provides the target device parameters specified in the target device parameter subfield frame to the SBP responder (AP), and the SBP responder (AP) uses the provided target device parameters and link parameters to select the STA / link to be used for SBP sensing measurement. For example, if the device location information field and the coverage information field are included, the AP can select a STA that is located within a specified sector of the coverage area and satisfies the link parameters (e.g., minimum RSSI / RCPI). Additionally or alternatively, if the target device information field is included, the AP directly selects the indicated STA that satisfies other parameters (such as link parameters). Then, the SBP responder (AP) continues to act as a sensing initiator and uses the unique measurement setup ID for each measurement link to perform sensing session setup and sensing measurement setup with the selected STA (sensing responder).

[0261] Fig.29A and Fig.29B The example formats of the SBP response frame 2900 and the protected response frame 2910 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure are respectively shown. The SBP response frame 2900 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "public", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is an SBP response frame, a dialog token field, a status code field, an SBP parameter element field, an SBP link information element field, and an FCS field. The protected SBP response frame 2910 includes a MAC header (frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field), a category field set to "protected dual public action", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is a protected SBP response frame, a dialog token field, a status code field, an SBP parameter element field, an SBP link information element field, and an FCS field. Note that since different measurement links are assigned to different measurement setup IDs for the SBP process according to the second embodiment, the measurement setup ID may be included in the SBP link element field of the SBP response frames 2400 and 2410. This is similar to Fig.17A and Fig. 17B The SBP response frames 1700 and 1710 described in the embodiment are different. Alternatively, the measurement setup ID field may also be carried in the SBP response frame itself, and a unique measurement setup ID may be allocated to indicate the SBP process.

[0262] Fig.30 The second embodiment of the present invention is shown Fig.29A and Fig.29B2900, 2910 in the SBP response frame 2900, 2910. The SBP link information element field 3000 includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP link information field. The SBP link information field includes a link information count (N) subfield and one or more link information fields corresponding to one or more links. The link information count (N) subfield indicates the number of links present in the SBP link information field (link information subfield). Fig.19 Unlike the SBP link information element fields described in , each link information subfield includes a STA2 presence subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, a STA2 ID subfield (if the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1), and an additional measurement setup ID subfield. Although not shown in the figure, the bits in the link information field can indicate whether the link is I2R or R2I, for example, if the bit is set to 0, it is I2R, and if the bit is set to 1, it is R2I. Links for R2R links or other APs. For an initiator to responder (I2R) or responder to initiator (R2I) link to which the SBP responder itself is attached, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 0, and the STA1 ID subfield indicates the STAID (e.g., MAC address, AID, or UID) of the STA attached to the link. For an R2R link, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1, and the STA1 and STA2 ID subfields indicate the STAIDs (e.g., MAC addresses, AIDs, or UIDs) of the two STAs attached to the R2R link. A unique link ID for each measurement link is assigned and included in the Measurement Setup ID subfield of the Link Information subfield.

[0263] If the setup is successful, the AP proceeds to perform sensing measurement instances on the selected link based on the attributes indicated in the SBP request and collects sensing measurement reports from the sensing responders if applicable.

[0264] Regarding SBP reporting, the SBP responder reports the sensing measurement results obtained during the WLAN sensing process generated by the SBP request to the SBP initiator in a protected SBP report frame, which is constructed by the SBP responder (AP) itself (if the AP is also a sensing receiver) or by adding a link information field (such as Fig.30The SBP report frame is constructed by updating the report length field in each sensing measurement report field obtained in the sensing measurement report frame sent by the sensing responder on the link (as shown in the figure). Once a sensing measurement report is received or generated from a link, or by aggregating several sensing measurement reports received / generated within a certain time window in the same SBP report frame, the SBP report frame is constructed and sent to the SBP initiator. If different measurement setup IDs are used for different measurement links, the measurement setup ID value in each report uniquely identifies the measurement link, otherwise the link information field identifies the link.

[0265] In particular, refer to Fig.21 In each sensing measurement report field, the measurement setup ID field indicates a measurement setup ID value that uniquely identifies and corresponds to the link in which the sensing measurement is performed, especially when different measurement setup IDs are used for different measurement links. The link information carries an ID (e.g., including a STA2 presence subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, and a STA2 ID subfield (the STA2 ID subfield only exists when the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1 to indicate an R2R link or a link of another BSS)). The STA1 subfield of the link information field is always present, and the STA2 ID subfield of the link information field only exists for an R2R link. The STA1 and STA2 ID subfields carry the ID of the sensing responder (e.g., a MAC address or AID) to identify the link corresponding to the sensing measurement report. In this embodiment, if there is a measurement setup ID subfield indicating a measurement setup ID value that uniquely identifies the link, the link information field can be omitted.

[0266] In the following paragraphs, a third embodiment of the present disclosure is described of an extended SBP procedure over APs that are not co-located but interconnected by wired or wireless backhaul (by one or more hops).

[0267] According to a third embodiment, the SBP initiator includes the information of (multiple) target APs as operation parameters in the SBP request. The AP receiving the SBP request will act as the primary SBP responder, and then it will act as the AP SBP initiator and request (for example, one or more APs in the target AP list) to act as secondary (or extended) SBP responders and perform WLAN sensing on behalf of the SBP initiator. The secondary SBP responder (target AP) will perform the role of the SBP responder of the SBP process, for example, perform SBP establishment / report, select STA / link and allocate the MSID to be used in the link of the SBP process, while the primary SBP responder, in addition to its own role, can also help exchange frames and information between the SBP initiator and the secondary SBP responder. For example, the primary SBP responder merges the results of the SBP establishment performed by the (multiple) secondary SBP responders in its corresponding BSS, and reports to the SBP initiator in the SBP response frame, and collects SBP reports from the (multiple) secondary SBP responders and forwards them to the SBP initiator.

[0268] Fig.31 A schematic diagram 3100 illustrating communications in an extended SBP process according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this embodiment, there are a primary proxy sensing responder and a secondary proxy sensing responder, and the APs are interconnected through a backhaul link (wired or wireless). Fig.32 The diagram shows Fig.31 Flowchart 3200 outlining the extended SBP process between three APs (AP-1, AP-2, AP-3) and six STAs (STA-3, STA-4, STA-5, STA-6, STA-7, STA-8). Fig.33 The diagram shows Fig.31 FIG33 is a flowchart 3300 of the detailed process flow of the extended proxy sensing process between three APs and six STAs in FIG33. In this case, AP-1, AP-2, and AP-3 are interconnected by backhaul links.

[0269] First, the AP (e.g., AP-1, AP-2, AP-3) uses beacon / probe response frames to advertise its ability to support enhanced client discovery and basic information about associated non-AP STAs (e.g., count / number of associated STAs, etc.). STA-5 can perform a basic SBP discovery process and discover support for the SBP function of AP-1 and AP-3. STA-5 can then select AP-1 as its SBP responder.

[0270] Secondly, STA-5 can then initiate an enhanced client discovery process by sending a protected client discovery query frame to request AP-1 to provide a list of non-AP STAs (associated non-AP STAs and optionally non-associated non-AP STAs). AP-1 then sends a protected client discovery response frame with the requested list of non-AP STAs and optionally their respective neighboring STAs, and the enhanced client discovery process ends. In this enhanced client discovery process, the SBP initiator discovers information about AP-1 and potential sensing responders. In particular, AP-1 already has basic information about the associated STAs, such as their (multiple) operating channels, sensing capabilities, and R2R sensing capabilities, etc., and the SBP initiator (STA-5) can obtain such information from AP-1 using a level 1 client discovery query. Although not shown in the figure, upon receiving a request from the SBP initiator (or even its own request), the AP can collect other relevant information from its associated STAs, such as the location / positioning of their STAs, RSSI (or propagation loss) to / from the STA (to represent the distance between the STA and AP-1), and information about the STA's neighboring STAs, including link metrics, etc. Thus, the SBP initiator can obtain such relevant information about the AP's associated STAs (and their neighboring STAs) from the AP using the level 2 client discovery query. Based on the above information, the SBP initiator can select one or more APs as (multiple) SBP responders and select one or more non-AP STAs as target sensing responders for the SBP process. Alternatively, if, for example, the AP does not support enhanced client discovery, or in addition to the information collected via enhanced client discovery, the SBP initiator can also use information received via other means (e.g., IP / MAC addresses provided by upper layer applications, etc.) to select SBP responders and sensing responders for the SBP process.

[0271] Alternatively, it is also possible that the SBP initiator initially requests measurements from "all / many" available links, but then selects a subset of links that are most suitable for the sensing application in subsequent (multiple) SBP requests. Link selection may be based on a statistical analysis of the sensing measurement reports of the links; for example, links where CSI feedback is not sensitive to the needs of the sensing application may be omitted in later SBP requests.

[0272] Note that the SBP initiator (STA-5) can be associated with AP-1 (SBP responder), in which case it is assumed that it has completed the usual authentication / association process and establishment of a security association (SA) with AP-1, for example, through a 4-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request; or it can be unassociated with AP-1, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the establishment of security associated with AP-1, for example, through a pre-association security negotiation (PASN) of a 3-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request.

[0273] STA-5 discovers AP-1 through the client discovery process and selects it as the SBP responder. It then initiates the SBP process and requests AP-1 to become the SBP responder (i.e., the proxy sensing initiator on behalf of STA-5) by sending a protected SBP request frame (addressed to AP-1), which specifies the operating parameters and measurement attributes related to the SBP link, such as the minimum received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or received channel power indicator (RCPI) and the number of measurement links, as conditions for selecting one or more links to perform sensing measurements.

[0274] In this case, STA-5 can specify the information of the target AP (AP-1, AP-2, and AP-3). Based on the operating parameters, AP-1 then decides 1 STA / link for sensing measurement (in this case, the I2R link attached to STA-8), and sends a sensing request (or forwards an SBP request frame) to AP-2 and AP-3 (through AP-2) via the backhaul link, requesting AP-2 and AP-3 to act as secondary SBP responders for the SBP process. AP-2 and AP-3 each select a link and perform WLAN sensing based on the (multiple) conditions specified by STA-5. In this case, AP-3 selects the R2R link between STA-3 and STA-4 to perform the measurement. The link selected by AP-2 is not shown in the figure. In this example, AP-1 acts as the primary SBP responder (and secondary SBP initiator), and each of AP-2 and AP-3 acts as a secondary SBP responder (for AP-1).

[0275] Each AP (AP-1, AP-2, AP-3) initiates sensing session setup and sensing measurement setup with the selected STA / link or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-3 / STA-4) by sending a protected sensing measurement setup request frame to it, respectively. In this embodiment, different measurement setup identifiers (IDs) can be assigned to different measurement links for the SBP process. The measurement setup ID to be used by AP-3 is sent in the sensing request. In this case, measurement setup ID 1 is assigned and will be used by AP-1 for its sensing measurement with STA-8, and measurement setup ID 3 is assigned and will be used by AP-3 for its R2R link sensing measurement.

[0276] Each STA or sensing responder (STA-8, STA-3) that receives the protected sensing measurement setup request frame then sends a protected sensing measurement setup response frame indicating a successful sensing measurement setup back to its corresponding AP (AP-1, AP-3), respectively. AP-3 (secondary SBP responder) sends a sensing response and passes the sensing measurement setup result back to AP-1 (primary SBP responder) through AP-2 on the backhaul link.

[0277] AP-1 combines the sensing responses received from AP-3 through AP-2 and sends a protected SBP response frame to indicate the successful establishment with the sensing responder (link) to complete the SBP establishment. AP-1 also selects one of the measurement establishment IDs (in this case, ID "1") to represent the SBP process.

[0278] Subsequently, AP-1 performs a sensing measurement instance with its selected STA (STA-8) by sending an I2R measurement PPDU (e.g., sensing NDP) to STA-8, while AP-3 requests STA-3 (the sensing initiator of the R2R measurement) to send an R2R measurement PPDU to STA-4. In response, STA-8 and STA-4 measure their respective channels upon receiving the I2R measurement PPDU and the R2R measurement PPDU, and if requested, send their measurement reports back to AP-1 and STA-3, respectively. The measurement reports include their respective assigned measurement setup IDs. STA-3 forwards the sensing measurement report back to AP-3, and AP-3 forwards the sensing measurement report of its R2R link to AP-1 through AP-2 on the backhaul link.

[0279] AP-1 collects and consolidates the measurement reports and sends a protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to STA-5. The measurement report ID (ID "1") and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the STA-8 measurement link. AP-1 also collects and consolidates the (multiple) measurement reports on the I2R link with STA-7 received from AP-2, and sends a separate protected SBP report frame including the measurement report to STA-5. The SBP report frame for links of other APs has the same format as the report for the responder to responder (R2R) link. Similarly, the measurement report ID (ID "3"), AP ID and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the R2R measurement link between STA-3 and STA-4. Note that the SBP initiator can perform a transition or conversion between two measurement setup IDs and add link information to the (multiple) measurement reports. In an alternative embodiment, AP-1 may merge the measurement reports on the STA-8 link and the STA-3-STA-4 link and send a single protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to STA-5.

[0280] Finally, after the SBP process, STA-5 can terminate the SBP process by sending an SBP termination frame to AP-1 (only if Fig.32 ) to initiate SBP process termination. AP-1 then performs sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-8 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "1") corresponding to the SBP process. AP-1 also sends a termination request to AP-2, and sends a termination request on the backhaul link through AP-2 to request AP-3 to perform sensing measurement termination and sensing session termination with STA-3 and STA-4 for sensing measurement setup ID (ID "3") corresponding to the SBP process.

[0281] Fig.34 The third embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figures 16A-17B The SBP parameter element field 3400 in the SBP request / response frames 1600, 1610, 1700, 1710 in the embodiment of the present invention includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP parameter field. Fig.18 and according to the second embodiment Fig.28The SBP parameter element field described in the specification is different from that of the SBP parameter element field, the SBP parameter field includes an additional presence bitmap subfield, a target device parameter subfield, a link parameter subfield, a measurement parameter subfield, an additional target AP information subfield and a report parameter subfield, which respectively specify the attributes related to the existence of each parameter subfield, the target STA / link, the link to be measured, the measurement PPDU, the target AP and the SBP report.

[0282] The presence bitmap subfield includes a target device parameter presence subfield, a link parameter presence subfield, a measurement parameter presence subfield, a target AP information presence subfield, and a reporting parameter presence subfield, each of which indicates the presence of a corresponding appending field used as a criterion for selecting an AP / STA / link. The target AP information subfield carries information of the target AP(s) to be used as the sensing initiator(s). The target AP information subfield includes an AP information number subfield, which indicates the number of AP information fields in the target AP information subfield, and each AP information field carries an AP ID (e.g., a MAC address).

[0283] Fig.35 The third embodiment of the present invention is shown. Fig.29A and Fig.29B 2900, 2910 in the SBP response frame 2900, 2910. The SBP link information element field 3500 includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and an SBP link information field. The SBP link information field includes a link information count (N) subfield and one or more link information fields corresponding to one or more links. The link information count (N) subfield indicates the number of links present in the SBP link information field (link information subfield). Fig.19Unlike the SBP link information element field described in , each link information subfield includes a STA2 presence subfield, an additional BSSID presence subfield, a STA1 ID subfield, a STA2 ID subfield (if the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1), and an additional BSSID subfield. Although not shown in the figure, the bits in the link information field can indicate whether the link is I2R or R2I, for example, if the bit is set to 0, it is I2R, and if the bit is set to 1, it is R2I. For R2R links or links of other APs. For I2R or R2I links, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 0, and the STA1 ID subfield indicates the STA ID (e.g., MAC address, AID, or UID) of the STA attached to the link. For R2R links, the STA2 presence subfield is set to 1, and the STA1 and STA2 ID subfields indicate the STA IDs (e.g., MAC addresses, AIDs, or UIDs) of the two STAs attached to the R2R link. If the link belongs to a different BSSID (other than the BSSID of the SBP responder), the BSSID is included in the BSSID subfield of the Link Information field. The BSSID Exists subfield indicates whether the BSSID subfield exists in the Link Information field.

[0284] If the setup is successful, the AP proceeds to perform sensing measurement instances on the selected link based on the attributes indicated in the SBP request and collects sensing measurement reports from the sensing responders if applicable.

[0285] For interconnected APs that may communicate over wired or wireless backhaul links, the 1905.1 message type (SBP) may be used to communicate SBP-related messages. Fig.36 An example format of a 1905.1 message 3600 for extending the SBP process according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The 1905.1 message 3600 includes a destination address (DA) field, a source address (SA) field, an Ethernet type field, a payload field, and an FCS field. The payload field includes a message version field, a message type field, a message identifier (MID) field, a fragment identifier (FID) field, a last fragment indicator field, a last fragment indicator field, a relay indicator field, a 1905.1 protocol TLV (type, length, value) field, and a message TLV end field.

[0286] Table 12 shows the message types corresponding to the message type field values.

[0287]

[0288] Table 12

[0289] The 1905.1 Protocol TLV field carries one or more 1905.1 TLVs defined to carry the contents of the corresponding SBP message. In particular, the 1905 SBP Request message carries the link / measurement / target STA information present in the original SBP request received from the non-AP STA SBP initiator, but does not include the target AP information. The secondary SBP responders use the link / measurement / target STA information to select the STA / link for their respective sensing measurements.

[0290] In the following paragraphs, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure of an extended SBP procedure with an AP that does not have a direct wireless medium (WM) connection to act as an SBP responder is described.

[0291] Fig.37 A schematic diagram 3700 illustrating communication in an extended SBP process according to an example of a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this embodiment, STA-5 as an SBP responder and AP-2 as a target SBP responder do not have a direct WM connection between them. Fig.38 The diagram shows Fig.31 Flowchart 3800 of the detailed process flow of the extended proxy sensing process between three APs (AP-1, AP-2, AP-3) and six STAs (STA-1, STA-2, STA-3, STA-4, STA-5, STA-6) in FIG. In this case, AP-1, AP-2, and AP-3 are interconnected by a backhaul link.

[0292] First, an AP (e.g., AP-1, AP-2, AP-3) uses a beacon / probe response frame to advertise its ability to support enhanced client discovery and basic information about associated non-AP STAs (e.g., count / number of associated STAs, etc.). In addition, AP-2 may also advertise its ability to support extended SBP features in a beacon / probe response frame. This means that AP-2 is able to accept a request from another AP (requesting AP) to collect sensing measurements on behalf of the requesting AP. The AP is also able to accept an SBP request from a non-AP STA (SBP initiator) that is not directly connected to it through a wired medium (e.g., routed via another AP (e.g., requesting AP) or through a wired backhaul, etc.).

[0293] Fig.39 FIG. 3 shows an example format of an extended capability element 3900 for basic discovery according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The extended capability element 3900 includes an element ID field, a length field, an extended capability field, and an extended SBP field. The extended capability field, the SBP subfield, and the SBP R2R subfield include Fig.15The additional extended SBP field indicates that the AP is capable of providing SBP services to another AP or non-AP STA. This extended capability element 3700 is included in the beacon / probe response frame sent by the AP to which the SBP initiator is directly connected through the WM, such as Fig.37 and other APs on the route to the SBP responder. Note that AP-1 or the AP that sends such an extended capabilities element 3900 in its beacon / probe response frame to indicate that it supports the extended SBP feature does not even need to have SBP capability.

[0294] return Fig.38 , after the basic client discovery process, STA-5 can then initiate an enhanced client discovery process by sending a protected client discovery query frame to request AP-1 (which has a direct WM connection with STA-5) to provide a list of non-AP STAs (associated non-AP STAs and optionally non-associated non-AP STAs). AP-1 then sends a protected client discovery response frame with the requested list of non-AP STAs and optionally their respective neighboring STAs, and the enhanced client discovery process ends. In this enhanced client discovery process, the SBP initiator discovers information of AP-1 and potential sensing responders. In particular, AP-1 already has basic information about the associated STAs, such as their (multiple) operating channels, sensing capabilities and R2R sensing capabilities, etc., and the SBP initiator (STA-5) can obtain such information from AP-1 using the level 1 client discovery query. Although not shown in the figure, upon receiving a request from the SBP initiator (or even its own requirement), the AP can collect other relevant information from its associated STAs, such as the location / positioning of their STAs, RSSI (or propagation loss) to / from the STA (to indicate the distance between the STA and AP-1), and information about the STA's neighboring STAs, including link metrics, etc. Thus, the SBP initiator can obtain such relevant information about the AP's associated STAs (and their neighboring STAs) from the AP using a level 2 client discovery query. Based on the above information, the SBP initiator can select one or more APs as (multiple) SBP responders and one or more non-AP STAs as target sensing responders for the SBP process. Alternatively, if, for example, the AP does not support enhanced client discovery, or in addition to the information collected via enhanced client discovery, the SBP initiator can also use information received via other means (e.g., IP / MAC addresses provided by upper layer applications, etc.) to select SBP responders and sensing responders for the SBP process.

[0295] Alternatively, it is also possible that the SBP initiator initially requests measurements from "all / many" available links, but then selects a subset of links that are most suitable for the sensing application in subsequent (multiple) SBP requests. Link selection may be based on a statistical analysis of the sensing measurement reports of the links; for example, links where CSI feedback is not sensitive to the needs of the sensing application may be omitted in later SBP requests.

[0296] Note that the SBP initiator (STA-5) can be associated with AP-1 (SBP responder), in which case it is assumed that it has completed the usual authentication / association process and establishment of a security association (SA) with AP-1, for example, through a 4-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request; or it can be unassociated with AP-1, in which case it is assumed that it has completed the establishment of security associated with AP-1, for example, through a pre-association security negotiation (PASN) of a 3-way handshake prior to the initiation of the SBP request.

[0297] STA-5 discovers AP-2 through the client discovery process and selects it as the SBP responder. It then initiates the SBP process by sending a protected SBP request frame (indicating AP-2 as the SBP responder) to AP-1 and requests AP-2 to become the SBP responder (i.e., the proxy sensing initiator on behalf of STA-5). The request frame specifies operating parameters such as AP-2 and AP-3 as target APs to perform the SBP process. In this case, although the initial SBP request frame (from STA-5) is addressed to AP-1, since a different AP is indicated as the SBP responder and AP-1 is not listed as a target AP, AP-1 does not need to perform sensing measurements, and AP-1 only needs to support extended SBP by exchanging information and frames between the SBP responder (AP-2) and the SBP initiator (STA-5).

[0298] AP-1, which receives the SBP request frame, forwards the SBP request frame to AP-2. AP-2 then decides one STA / link for sensing measurement (in this case, the I2R link attached to STA-7), and sends a sensing request (or forwards the SBP request frame) to AP-3 over the backhaul link, which requests AP-3 to act as a secondary SBP responder for the SBP process, select one or more links and perform WLAN sensing to meet the conditions specified by STA-5. In this case, AP-3 selects the R2R link between STA-3 and STA-4 to perform the measurement.

[0299] Each proxy SBP AP (AP-2, AP-3) initiates sensing session setup and sensing measurement setup with the selected STA / link or sensing responder (STA-7, STA-3 / STA-4) by sending a protected sensing measurement setup request frame to it, respectively. In this embodiment, different measurement setup identifiers (IDs) can be assigned to different measurement links for the SBP process. The measurement setup ID to be used by AP-3 is sent in the sensing request. In this case, measurement setup ID 1 is assigned and will be used by AP-2 for its sensing measurement with STA-8, and measurement setup ID 3 is assigned and will be used by AP-3 for its R2R link sensing measurement.

[0300] Each STA or sensing responder (STA-7, STA-3) that receives the protected sensing measurement setup request frame then sends a protected sensing measurement setup response frame indicating a successful sensing measurement setup back to its corresponding AP (AP-2, AP-3), respectively. AP-3 (secondary SBP responder) sends a sensing response and passes the sensing measurement setup result back to AP-2 (primary SBP responder) via a backhaul link.

[0301] AP-2 combines the sensing responses received from AP-3 and sends a protected SBP response frame to indicate the successful establishment with the sensing responder (link) to complete the SBP establishment to AP-1. AP-2 also selects one of the measurement establishment IDs (in this case, ID "1") to represent the SBP process. AP-1 then forwards the response frame to STA-5.

[0302] Subsequently, AP-2 performs a sensing measurement instance with its selected STA (STA-7) by sending an I2R measurement PPDU (e.g., sensing NDP) to STA-7, while STA-3 (the sensing initiator of the R2R measurement when it receives the sensing request frame) sends an R2R measurement PPDU to STA-4. In response, STA-7 and STA-4 measure their respective channels upon receiving the I2R measurement PPDU and the R2R measurement PPDU, and if requested, send their measurement reports back to AP-2 and STA-3, respectively. The measurement reports include their respective assigned measurement setup IDs. STA-3 forwards the sensing measurement report back to AP-3, and AP-3 forwards the sensing measurement report of its R2R link to AP-2 via the backhaul link.

[0303] AP-2 collects and consolidates the measurement reports and sends a protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to AP-1, and AP-1 forwards the report frame to STA-5. The measurement report ID (ID "1") and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the I2R measurement link with STA-7.

[0304] AP-2 also collects and consolidates the measurement reports (multiple) on the R2R link received from AP-3, and sends a separate protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to AP-1, and AP-1 forwards the report frame to STA-5. Similarly, the measurement report ID (ID "3") and / or link information (such as STA ID or other ID) are included in the report frame for STA-5 to identify the R2R measurement link between STA-3 and STA-4. Note that the SBP responder can perform a transition or conversion between the two measurement setup IDs and add the link information to the measurement report (multiple). In an alternative embodiment, AP-2 can consolidate the measurement reports on the STA-7 link and the STA-3–STA-4 link, and send a single protected SBP report frame including the measurement reports to AP-1, and AP-1 forwards the single report frame to STA-5.

[0305] Fig.40 Depicted are example formats of an SBP request frame 4000 , an SBP response frame 4010 , a protected SBP report frame 4020 , and an SBP termination frame 4030 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0306] The SBP request frame 4000 includes a MAC header 4050 (a frame control field, a duration field, an address 1 field, an address 2 field, an address 3 field, a sequence control field, and a high throughput (HT) control field), a category field set to "public", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is an SBP request frame, a dialog token field, an SBP responder address field, an SBP parameter element, and an FCS field. The SBP responder address field indicates the address (e.g., a MAC address or ID) of the intended SBP responder.

[0307] The Address 1, Address 2, and Address 3 fields are set according to the baseline rule. The Address 1 field is set to RA, which is also the Destination Address (DA), e.g. Fig.37 and Fig.38 The MAC address of AP-1 in the SBP request frame in . The Address 2 field is set to TA, which is also the Source Address (SA), for example, Fig.37 and Fig.38 The MAC address of STA-5 in the SBP request frame. The Address 3 field indicates the Fig.37 and Fig.38The BSSID of the receiving AP (e.g., AP-1) in the SBP request frame in the SBP request. The AP addressed in the SBP responder address field in the SBP request acts as the sole SBP responder for the SBP procedure instead of the AP addressed in the RA field of the SBP request frame. All subsequent SBP frames are transmitted between the SBP initiator and the SBP responder. The AP addressed in the RA field can also participate in the SBP procedure, but not as an SBP responder.

[0308] An AP (e.g., AP-1) receiving a frame (addressed to AP-2) will forward the frame to the intended SBP responder (AP-2) or intended SBP initiator (STA-5) depending on the address, and also update the Address 1, Address 2, Address 3 fields as needed.

[0309] The SBP response frame 4010 includes a MAC header 4050 (with an updated address field), a category field set to "public", a public action field set to a value indicating that the frame is an SBP response frame, a dialog token field, a status code field, a measurement setup ID field, an SBP initiator address field, an SBP parameter element field, an SBP link information element field, and an FCS field. Fig.17A Unlike the SBP response frame 1700 in FIG. 4 , the SBP response frame 4010 includes an additional SBP initiator address field indicating the address (e.g., MAC address or ID) of the intended SBP initiator. An AP (e.g., AP-1) receiving an SBP response frame from another AP (e.g., AP-2) will use this field to correctly forward the SBP response frame.

[0310] The protected SBP report frame 4020 includes a MAC header 405 (with an updated address field), a category field set to "protected sensing", an action field set to "protected SBP reporting", a dialog token field, an SBP initiator address, a sensing measurement report list field, and an FCS field. The protected SBP report frame 4020 also has an additional SBP initiator address field, which indicates the address (e.g., MAC address or ID) of the intended SBP initiator. An AP (e.g., AP-1) that receives a protected SBP report frame from another AP (e.g., AP-2) will use this field to correctly forward the protected SBP report frame.

[0311] SBP termination frame 4030 (used to terminate the SBP process) Fig.384000, SBP response frame 4010, and SBP termination frame 4030 have the same frame body format.

[0312] Fig.41 4 shows an example configuration of a communication device 4100. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication device 4100 is implemented as a STA for extended proxy sensing. The communication device may include at least one radio transmitter 4103 and at least one radio receiver 4102 (for simplicity, Fig.41 Only one radio transmitter, radio receiver and antenna are shown in the figure), which are used for sending and receiving signals respectively. The communication device 4100 also includes a circuit 4104 (802.11MAC / PHY sublayer 4104) that implements 802.11MAC / PHY sublayer functions, which includes a sensing module 4106 for channel measurement; layer management service interfaces (such as MLME SAP 4108 and MAC SAP 4110), through which defined primitives are exchanged to transfer information and layer management functions (such as WLAN sensing) can be called; and higher layer applications (e.g., WLAN sensing abstraction layer 4114) that communicate with 802.11MAC / PHY4104 through MLME SAP 4108.

[0313] In addition, the 802.11 MAC / PHY sublayer 4104 can communicate with a WLAN data application (not shown) via a MAC SAP 4110. In this example, the sensing module 4106 performs channel measurements and provides raw results to the WLAN sensing abstraction layer 4114 via a WLAN sensing API. The WLAN abstraction layer 4114 collects and merges channel measurement results from 802.11 devices, and can process the results (e.g., smooth compression, etc.), and then pass the processed results to WLAN sensing client applications, such as WLAN sensing client application 1 (vital sign detection) 4116 and WLAN sensing client application 2 (motion detection) 4118. The WLAN sensing client applications (such as 4116, 4118) can perform WLAN sensing based on the channel measurements (e.g., using application-specific machine learning algorithms, etc.) and provide results of the WLAN sensing, in this case, providing presence / absence of human detection and human motion detection.

[0314] The communication device also includes a layer-related entity Station Management Entity (SME) (not shown), which performs functions on behalf of the general system management entity and will implement standard management protocols, such as to ensure correct MAC operation. The layer-related entities provide interfaces such as MLME SAP 4108 and PLME SAP (not shown) for exchanging primitives and communicating with MLME and PLME respectively.

[0315] In one embodiment, the communication device may be an SBP initiator, and a higher layer application may generate an MLME primitive (not shown), for example, an MLME-SBP.request primitive, to initiate the SBP process.

[0316] The MAC / PHY sublayer 4104 may be configured to receive information or WLAN sensing related MAC / PHY parameters to form an SBP request frame. The trigger frame or PPDU is then sent to one or more communication devices (e.g., AP or SBP responder) via at least one radio transmitter 4103 via antennas 4222, 4252.

[0317] The MAC / PHY sublayer 4104 may also be configured to unpack a response or measurement PPDU (eg, an SBP response frame and an SBP report frame received from another communication device) and pass information related to the received PPDU to the sensing module 4106 .

[0318] The sensing module 4106 also includes a CSI feedback encoding / decoding module, which is configured to decode and encode CSI information (e.g., information of CSI subcomponents (e.g., amplitude, phase, I, and Q) indicated by a reporting type indicator) according to the above various embodiments in the present disclosure.

[0319] Fig.42 Another example configuration of a communication device 4200 is shown. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication device 4200 is implemented as an AP MLD for extended proxy sensing. The communication device may include two devices (AP-1 4201 and AP-2 4251), each device including at least one radio transmitter 4203, 4253 cooperating with at least one antenna 4122, 4272 and at least one radio receiver 4202, 4252 (for simplicity, the communication device 4200 is implemented as an AP MLD for extended proxy sensing). Fig.42Only one radio transmitter, radio receiver and antenna are shown in each device in the figure) for sending and receiving signals respectively. Each device 4201, 4251 also includes a circuit 4204, 4254 that implements 802.11MAC / PHY sublayer functions (802.11MAC / PHY sublayer 4204, 4254), which includes a measurement module 4206, 4256 for channel measurement; a layer management service interface (such as MLME SAP 4208, 4258), through which defined primitives are exchanged to transfer information and layer management functions (such as WLAN sensing) can be called. The two devices 4201, 4251 share the MLD upper layer MAC sublayer 4214, which communicates with the 802.11MAC / PHY 4204, 4254 of each device 4201, 4251 through the MLME SAP 4208, 4258.

[0320] The MLD upper MAC sublayer includes an MLD sensing module 4216 that coordinates channel measurements between devices; layer management service interfaces (such as MLD MLME SAP 4212 and MAC SAP 4210), through which defined primitives are exchanged to transfer information and layer management functions (such as WLAN sensing) can be invoked; and higher layer applications (e.g., WLAN sensing abstraction layer (not shown)) that communicate with MLD through MLD MLME SAP 4212.

[0321] In addition, the 802.11 MAC / PHY sublayers 4204, 4254 can communicate with a WLAN data application (not shown) via the MAC SAP 4210. In this example, the measurement module 4206 performs channel measurements and provides raw results to the MLD sensing module 4216, which is then provided to the WLAN sensing abstraction layer via the WLAN sensing API. The WLAN abstraction layer collects and merges channel measurement results from 802.11 devices, and can process the results (e.g., smooth compression, etc.) before passing the processed results to the WLAN sensing client application. The WLAN sensing client application can perform WLAN sensing based on the channel measurements (e.g., using an application-specific machine learning algorithm, etc.) and provide results of the WLAN sensing, in this case, presence / absence of human detection and human motion detection.

[0322] The communication device also includes a layer-related entity Station Management Entity (SME) (not shown), which performs functions on behalf of the general system management entity and will implement standard management protocols, such as to ensure correct MAC operation. The layer-related entities provide interfaces such as MLD MLME SAP 4212 and PLME SAP (not shown) for exchanging primitives and communicating with MLME and PLME respectively.

[0323] In one embodiment, the communication apparatus 4200 or one of its devices may be an SBP responder, and a higher layer application may receive a MLME primitive (not shown), for example, a MLME-SBP.request primitive, to initiate the SBP process.

[0324] The MAC / PHY sublayer 4204 , 4254 may also be configured to unpack an SBP request frame or a measurement PPDU received from another communication device and pass information related to the received PPDU to the measurement module 4206 , 4256 and the MLD sensing module 4216 .

[0325] The MAC / PHY sublayer 4204, 4254 can be configured to receive information or WLAN sensing-related MAC / PHY parameters to form an SBP response frame or an SBP report frame, and the SBP response frame or the SBP report frame is sent to one or more communication devices (e.g., non-AP or SBP initiator) via the antenna 4222, 4252 via at least one radio transmitter 4203, 4253.

[0326] The measurement module 4206, 4256 and / or the sensing module 4216 also includes a CSI feedback encoding / decoding module, which is configured to decode and encode CSI information (e.g., information of CSI subcomponents (e.g., amplitude, phase, I, and Q) indicated by a report type indicator) according to the above various embodiments in the present disclosure.

[0327] Fig.43 Another example configuration of a communication device 4300 is shown. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication device 4300 is implemented as a non-AP STA for extended proxy sensing. The communication device 4300 includes a power supply 4302, a memory 4304, a central processing unit (CPU) 4306 including at least one processor, an auxiliary storage device 4308, a wired interface (I / F) 4310, and a wireless I / F 4312. The memory 4304 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having data stored therein, which represents instructions that can be executed by at least one processor of the CPU 4306 to communicate with the wireless I / F 4312 to perform the enhanced client discovery process according to various embodiments described in the present disclosure. The wireless I / F 4312 includes a MAC layer 4314 and a PHY layer 4316. The PHY layer 4316 is connected to a radio transmitter (not shown), a radio receiver (not shown), and an antenna 4322 for sending / receiving signals to / from other communication devices (e.g., STAs). Alternatively, the communication device 4300 may transmit / receive signals to / from other communication devices (eg, STA) via the wired I / F 4310. The auxiliary storage device 4308 may be configured to store the AID of the associated communication device.

[0328] The MAC layer 4314 also includes a sensing module 4318. The sensing module 4318 is configured to generate and process frames (e.g., client discovery query / response frames, authorization verification request / response frames, report frames) according to the various embodiments described above to perform an extended SBP process (e.g., as an SBP initiator). The sensing module 4318 includes a link / STA / AP selection module 4320, which is configured to select one or more links, STAs, and / or APs to participate in the SBP process. The selection can be included in the frame, for example, as target STA / link or target AP information.

[0329] Fig.44 Another example configuration of a communication device 4400 is shown. According to the present disclosure, the communication device 4400 is implemented as an AP for extending proxy sensing. The communication device 4400 includes a power supply 4402, a memory 4404, a central processing unit (CPU) 4406 including at least one processor, an auxiliary storage device 4408, a wired I / F 4410, and a wireless I / F 4412. The memory 4404 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having data stored therein, which represents instructions that can be executed by at least one processor of the CPU 4406 to communicate with the wireless I / F 4412 to perform multiple generations of random access according to various embodiments in the present disclosure. The wireless I / F 4412 includes a MAC layer 4414 and a PHY layer 4416. The PHY layer 4416 is connected to a radio transmitter (not shown), a radio receiver (not shown), and an antenna 4424 for sending / receiving signals to / from other (base station) communication devices. Alternatively, the communication device 4400 may transmit / receive signals to / from other communication devices via the wired I / F 4410 .

[0330] The MAC layer 4414 also includes a sensing module 4418. According to the various embodiments described above, the sensing module 4418 is configured to generate and process frames (e.g., client discovery query / response frames, authorization verification request / response frames, report frames) to perform an extended SBP process (e.g., as an SBP responder, a secondary proxy sensing initiator, or a secondary SBP responder). The sensing module 4418 includes a link / STA / AP selection module 4420, which is configured to select one or more links, STAs, and / or other APs to participate in the SBP process. The selection can be included in the frame, for example, as target STA / link or target AP information in a sensing request sent to another AP.

[0331] The AP-to-AP communication module 4422 facilitates communication between the wired I / F 4410 and the wireless I / F 4412. For example, multiple APs may be connected via a wired backhaul in the wired I / F 4410, and the APs communicate with other STAs via the wireless I / F 4412. When a frame (e.g., an SBP request frame) is received from a non-AP STA via the wireless I / F 4412, the AP-to-AP communication module 4422 may be configured to forward the frame (or generate another frame with information) to other co-located APs or other APs within the same MLD, or APs interconnected via a wired backhaul link in the wired I / F 4410. Similarly, when a frame (e.g., an SBP request frame) is received from another AP via the wired I / F 4410, the AP-to-AP communication module 4422 may be configured to forward the frame to a STA wirelessly connected to the communication device 4400 via the wireless IF 4412 (or generate another frame with the information).

[0332] As described above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an advanced communication system, communication method, and communication device for an extended proxy sensing process in a MIMO WLAN network. Embodiments shown in the present disclosure include:

[0333] 1. A first communication device, comprising:

[0334] a receiver that receives a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices;

[0335] circuitry configured to select a fourth communication device and generate a second request for the fourth communication device to perform measurements on the one or more links; and

[0336] A transmitter transmits a first reporting frame to a second communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to one or more links.

[0337] 2. The first communications device of embodiment 1, wherein the transmitter sends the first reporting frame upon receiving a second report carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links from a fourth communications device.

[0338] 3. The first communications apparatus of embodiment 2, wherein either or both of the second request and the second report include a 1905 message.

[0339] 4. A first communication device according to embodiment 2, wherein the first request frame carries an identifier or a media access control (MAC) address of a fourth communication device, and the second report is a report frame carrying an identifier or a MAC address of the second communication device, wherein the transmitter sends the first request frame to the fourth communication device and sends the second report to the second communication device.

[0340] 5. A first communication device according to any one of embodiments 1-4, wherein the condition relates to at least one of the following: link-related parameters, device-related parameters, the number of links to be selected, a condition on whether a responder-to-responder (R2R) link can be selected, and a condition on whether a link associated with the first or fourth communication device can be selected.

[0341] 6. The first communication device according to embodiment 5, wherein the link-related parameter is at least one of a received signal strength indicator and a received channel power indicator received on the link, and the device-related parameter is at least one of a device type, a device location, a device identifier, and a device address.

[0342] 7. The first communication device according to any one of embodiments 1-6, further comprising:

[0343] Circuitry is configured to assign an identifier to measurements on one or more links and to generate a second request, the second request carrying the identifier.

[0344] 8. The first communication device according to any one of embodiments 1-7, wherein the first communication device and the fourth communication device are connected to a common physical device or connected through a common physical device.

[0345] 9. The first communication device of any one of embodiments 1-8, wherein the first communication device and the fourth communication device are access points (APs) and the second communication device and the third communication device are non-access point stations (non-AP STAs).

[0346] 10. The first communication device of embodiment 9, wherein the first communication device and the fourth communication device are both attached to a common AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0347] 11. The first communication device of embodiment 10, wherein the second communication device is attached to a non-AP MLD; the first request frame is received on a first link between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD; and the first report frame is exchanged on a second available link between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD.

[0348] 12. The first communication device of any one of embodiments 1-11, wherein the first request frame is a proxy sensing (SBP) request frame and the first report frame is a SBP report frame.

[0349] 13. The first communication device of embodiment 12, wherein the first communication device is an SBP responder and the second communication device is an SBP initiator.

[0350] 14. A second communication device, comprising:

[0351] circuitry configured to generate a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links;

[0352] a transmitter that transmits a first request frame to the first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and

[0353] A receiver receives a first reporting frame from a first communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to one or more links performed by a fourth communication device.

[0354] 15. A second communication device according to embodiment 14, wherein the condition involves at least one of the following: link-related parameters, device-related parameters, the number of links to be selected, a condition on whether a responder-to-responder (R2R) link can be selected, and a condition on whether a link associated with the first or fourth communication device can be selected.

[0355] 16. The second communication apparatus of embodiment 15, wherein the link-related parameter is at least one of a received signal strength indicator and a received channel power indicator received on the link, and the device-related parameter is at least one of a device type, a device location, a device identifier, and a device address.

[0356] 17. The second communication device of any one of embodiments 14-16, wherein the first request frame includes an identifier or a MAC address of the fourth communication device.

[0357] 18. The second communication device of any one of embodiments 14-16, wherein the first request includes an identifier or a MAC address of the first communication device, and the measurements on the one or more links are performed by the first communication device.

[0358] 19. The second communication device of any one of embodiments 14-18, wherein the first communication device and the fourth communication device are access points (APs), and the second communication device and the third communication device are non-access point stations (non-AP STAs).

[0359] 20. The second communication apparatus of embodiment 17 or 18, wherein the first request frame is a proxy sensing (SBP) request frame and the first report frame is a SBP report frame.

[0360] 21. The second communication device of embodiment 19, wherein either or both of the first communication device and the fourth communication device are SBP responders, and the second device is an SBP initiator.

[0361] 22. A communication method implemented by a first communication device, comprising:

[0362] receiving a first request frame from the second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and

[0363] selecting a fourth communication device;

[0364] generating a second request for a fourth communication device to perform measurements on the one or more links; and

[0365] A first reporting frame is sent to a second communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

[0366] 23. A communication method implemented by a second communication device, comprising:

[0367] generating a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links;

[0368] sending a first request frame to the first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; and

[0369] A first reporting frame is received from the first communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by the fourth communication device.

[0370] The present disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware or software and hardware cooperation. Each functional block used in the description of each of the above embodiments can be implemented in part or in whole by LSI such as integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be controlled in part or in whole by the same LSI or LSI combination. LSI can be formed as a chip alone, or a chip can be formed to include some or all functional blocks. LSI can include data input and data output terminals coupled thereto. Depending on the difference in integration, the LSI here can be referred to as IC (integrated circuit), system LSI, super LSI or ultra LSI. However, the technology for implementing integrated circuits is not limited to LSI, and can be implemented by using a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. In addition, an FPGA (field programmable gate array) that can be programmed after manufacturing LSI or a reconfigurable processor in which the connection and setting of the circuit unit inside the LSI can be reconfigured can be used. The present disclosure can be implemented as digital processing or analog processing. If the future integrated circuit technology replaces LSI due to the progress of semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, the future integrated circuit technology can be used to integrate the functional blocks. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0371] The present disclosure may be implemented by any kind of device, apparatus, or system having a communication function, which is referred to as a communication device.

[0372] Some non-limiting examples of such communication devices include phones (e.g., cellular phones, smart phones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, netbooks), cameras (e.g., digital cameras / camcorders), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine (remote health and medicine) devices, and vehicles that provide communication capabilities (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and various combinations thereof.

[0373] Communication devices are not limited to portable or movable, and may also include any kind of non-portable or fixed device, equipment, or system, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "things" in an "Internet of Things (IoT)" network.

[0374] Communications may include exchanging data via, for example, cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, etc., and various combinations thereof.

[0375] The communication apparatus may include a device such as a controller or a sensor coupled to a communication device that performs the communication functions described in the present disclosure. For example, the communication apparatus may include a controller or a sensor that generates a control signal or a data signal used by the communication device that performs the communication functions of the communication apparatus.

[0376] The communication device may also include infrastructure such as base stations, access points, and any other device, equipment, or system that communicates with or controls devices such as the non-limiting examples above.

[0377] It shall be understood that, although some properties of the various embodiments have been described with reference to an apparatus, corresponding properties also apply to the method of the various embodiments, and vice versa.

[0378] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many changes and / or modifications may be made to the disclosure shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure as broadly described. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A first communication device, comprising: a receiver that receives a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; circuitry configured to select a fourth communication device and generate a second request for the fourth communication device to perform measurements on the one or more links; and A transmitter transmits a first report frame to the second communication device, the first report frame carrying one or more reports of the measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

2. The first communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The transmitter transmits the first reporting frame upon receiving a second report from the fourth communications device carrying the one or more reports of the measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

3. The first communication device according to claim 2, wherein: Either or both of the second request and the second report include a 1905 message.

4. The first communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The first request frame carries an identifier or a media access control MAC address of the fourth communication device, and the second report is a report frame carrying an identifier or a MAC address of the second communication device, wherein the transmitter sends the first request frame to the fourth communication device and sends the second report to the second communication device.

5. The first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The condition relates to at least one of: link-related parameters, device-related parameters, the number of links to be selected, conditions on whether a responder-to-responder R2R link can be selected, and conditions on whether a link associated with the first communication device or the fourth communication device can be selected.

6. The first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Circuitry is configured to assign an identifier to the measurement on the one or more links and to generate the second request, the second request carrying the identifier.

7. The first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The first communication means and the fourth communication means are connected to or through a common physical device.

8. The first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The first communication device and the fourth communication device are access points AP, and the second communication device and the third communication device are non-access point stations, ie, non-AP STAs.

9. The first communication device according to claim 9, wherein: The first communication device and the fourth communication device are both attached to a common AP multi-link device MLD.

10. The first communication device according to claim 10, wherein: The second communication device is attached to a non-AP MLD; the first request frame is received on a first link between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD; and the first report frame is exchanged on a second available link between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD.

11. The first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The first request frame is a proxy sensing SBP request frame, and the first report frame is a SBP report frame.

12. The first communication device according to claim 11, wherein: The first communication device is an SBP responder, and the second communication device is an SBP initiator.

13. A second communication device, comprising: circuitry configured to generate a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links; a transmitter that transmits the first request frame to the first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; as well as A receiver receives a first reporting frame from the first communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of the measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by a fourth communication device.

14. The second communication device according to claim 13, wherein: The condition relates to at least one of: link-related parameters, device-related parameters, the number of links to be selected, conditions on whether a responder-to-responder R2R link can be selected, and conditions on whether a link associated with the first communication device or the fourth communication device can be selected.

15. The second communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The link-related parameter is at least one of a received signal strength indicator and a received channel power indicator received on the link, and the device-related parameter is at least one of a device type, a device location, a device identifier, and a device address.

16. The second communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein: The first request frame includes an identifier or a MAC address of the fourth communication device.

17. The second communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein: The first request includes an identifier or a MAC address of the first communication device, and the measurements on the one or more links are performed by the first communication device.

18. The second communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein: The first communication device and the fourth communication device are access points AP, and the second communication device and the third communication device are non-access point stations, ie, non-AP STAs.

19. A communication method implemented by a first communication device, comprising: receiving a first request frame from a second communication device, the first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; as well as selecting a fourth communication device; generating a second request for the fourth communication device to perform measurements on the one or more links; as well as A first reporting frame is sent to the second communication device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of the measurements corresponding to the one or more links.

20. A communication method implemented by a second communication device, comprising: generating a first request frame indicating conditions for selecting one or more links and requesting measurements on the one or more links; sending the first request frame to a first communication device, each of the one or more links being attached to one or more third communication devices; as well as A first reporting frame is received from the first communications device, the first reporting frame carrying one or more reports of the measurements corresponding to the one or more links performed by a fourth communications device.

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