Early critical update indication for multi-link devices

Abstract

An AP of an access point (AP) multilink device (MLD) is associated with a first communication link, and one or more secondary APs of the AP MLD are associated with one or more respective secondary communication links of the AP MLD. A first AP of the AP MLD generates a frame including a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. The first change sequence field carries a value for the latest critical update of the first AP. The one or more secondary change sequence fields carry values for the most recent critical updates for one or more respective secondary APs. The key update flag subfield carries an indication of a change in a value of at least one of the secondary change sequence fields. The first AP transmits the frame on a first communication link of the AP MLD.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with an international application date of April 8, 2021, an international application number of PCT / US2021 / 026353, a Chinese national application date of April 8, 2021, an application number of 202180026674.7, and an invention name of “Early Critical Update Indication for Multi-Link Devices”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This patent application claims U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 051,375, filed on July 13, 2020, entitled “EARLY CRITICAL UPDATE INDICATIONS FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 007,299, filed on April 8, 2020, entitled “INDICATIONS OF CRITICAL UPDATES FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 075,816, filed on September 8, 2020, entitled “CONTEXT UPDATES FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 075,816, filed on September 8, 2020, entitled “CONTEXT UPDATES FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 081,816, filed on April 7, 2021, entitled “EARLY CRITICAL UPDATE INDICATIONS FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 081 ... The disclosures of all prior applications are considered part of and incorporated by reference into the present application. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to indication of critical updates regarding communication links associated with a multi-link device (MLD).

[0005] Related technical description

[0006] A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices, also referred to as stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a basic service set (BSS) managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) announced by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0007] To improve data throughput, the AP may communicate with one or more STAs over multiple concurrent communication links. Each of these communication links may have various bandwidths, for example, by bonding several 20 MHz wide channels together to form a 40 MHz wide channel, an 80 MHz wide channel, or a 160 MHz wide channel. The AP may establish a BSS over any of these different communication links, and thus expect to improve communication between the AP and the one or more STAs over each of these communication links.

[0008] Overview

[0009] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0010] An innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a method for wireless communication. The method may be performed by an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the AP MLD including a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD and including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the method may include generating a frame including a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. In some instances, the first change sequence field may carry the value of the latest critical update for the first AP of the APMLD, the one or more secondary change sequence fields may carry the value of the latest critical update for one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and the critical update flag subfield may carry an indication of a change in the value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields. The method may also include transmitting the frame on the first communication link of the AP MLD.

[0011] In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame. The latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP. The latest critical update of the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, the one or more operating parameters may include channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0012] In some implementations, the first change sequence field may be included in a multilink element (MLE) of the frame, and the one or more secondary change sequence fields may be included in one or more corresponding reduced neighbor report (RNR) elements of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may also include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a partial set of operating parameters or a complete set of operating parameters for a BSS associated with a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0013] The critical update flag subfield may be carried in each beacon frame or probe response frame transmitted by the first AP during a time period. In some instances, the critical update flag subfield may be carried in the capability information field of the beacon frame or probe response frame. The time period may be a DTIM period. In some implementations, the method may also include transmitting all beacon frames having the value carried in the critical update flag subfield within the DTIM period.

[0014] In some implementations, the method may further include receiving a notification of a critical update of a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. The method may further include incrementing a value carried in a secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP in response to the notification. The method may further include updating a critical update flag subfield in response to incrementing a value carried in a secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP.

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may be an AP MLD, the AP MLD including a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD and including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. The AP MLD may include at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The memory may store processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in combination with the at least one modem, causes the APMLD to perform operations including the following actions: generating a frame including a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. In some instances, the first change sequence field may carry a value of the latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD, the one or more secondary change sequence fields may carry a value of the latest critical update of one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and the critical update flag subfield may carry an indication of a change in the value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields. The operation may also include transmitting the frame on the first communication link of the AP MLD.

[0016] In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a FILS discovery frame. The latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the first AP. The latest critical update of the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, the one or more operating parameters may include channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0017] In some implementations, the first change sequence field may be included in a multilink element (MLE) of the frame, and the one or more secondary change sequence fields may be included in one or more corresponding reduced neighbor report (RNR) elements of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may also include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a partial set of operating parameters or a complete set of operating parameters for a BSS associated with a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0018] The critical update flag subfield may be carried in each beacon frame or probe response frame transmitted by the first AP during a time period. In some instances, the critical update flag subfield may be carried in a capability information field of the beacon frame or probe response frame. The time period may be a DTIM period. In some implementations, the operation may also include transmitting all beacon frames having the value carried in the critical update flag subfield within the DTIM period.

[0019] In some implementations, the operations may further include receiving a notification of a critical update for a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. The operations may further include incrementing a value carried in a secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP in response to the notification. The operations may further include updating a critical update flag subfield in response to incrementing a value carried in a secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP.

[0020] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a method for wireless communication. The method may be performed by a wireless STA of a station (STA) MLD, and the method may include associating with a first AP of an AP MLD, the AP MLD also including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. The method may also include receiving a frame from the first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link of the AP MLD. The frame may include a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. In some instances, the first change sequence field may carry the value of the latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD, the one or more secondary change sequence fields may carry the value of the latest critical update of one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and the critical update flag subfield may carry an indication of a change in the value of at least one of these secondary change sequence fields.

[0021] In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a FILS discovery frame. The latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the first AP. The latest critical update of the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, the one or more operating parameters may include channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0022] In some implementations, the first change sequence field may be included in a multilink element (MLE) of the frame, and the one or more secondary change sequence fields may be included in one or more corresponding reduced neighbor report (RNR) elements of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may also include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a partial set of operating parameters or a complete set of operating parameters for a BSS associated with a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0023] In some implementations, the STA MLD may receive the frame by waking up from a power saving mode, decoding multiple fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence, determining that a critical update flag subfield indicates a change in the value of at least one of a first change sequence field or one or more secondary change sequence fields, and continuing to decode multiple fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence at least until the first change sequence field is decoded, regardless of the information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0024] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may be a STA of a STA MLD. The STA MLD may include at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The memory may store processor-readable codes that, when executed by the at least one processor in combination with the at least one modem, cause the STA MLD to perform operations including the following actions: associating with a first AP of an AP MLD, the AP MLD also including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. The operation may also include receiving a frame from the first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link of the AP MLD. The frame may include a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. In some instances, the first change sequence field may carry a value of the latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD, the one or more secondary change sequence fields may carry a value of the latest critical update of one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and the critical update flag subfield may carry an indication of a change in the value of at least one of the secondary change sequence fields.

[0025] In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a FILS discovery frame. The latest critical update of the first AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the first AP. The latest critical update of the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, the one or more operating parameters may include channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0026] In some implementations, the first change sequence field may be included in a multilink element (MLE) of the frame, and the one or more secondary change sequence fields may be included in one or more corresponding reduced neighbor report (RNR) elements of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may also include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a partial set of operating parameters or a complete set of operating parameters for a BSS associated with a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0027] In some implementations, the STA MLD may receive the frame by waking up from a power saving mode, decoding multiple fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence, determining that a critical update flag subfield indicates a change in the value of at least one of a first change sequence field or one or more secondary change sequence fields, and continuing to decode multiple fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence at least until the first change sequence field is decoded, regardless of the information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0028] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative sizes of the following drawings may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0030] Figure 2A An example protocol data unit (PDU) that may be used for communications between an access point (AP) and a number of stations (STAs) is shown.

[0031] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A Example fields in a PDU.

[0032] Figure 3A Another example PDU that may be used for communication between an AP and one or more STAs is shown.

[0033] Figure 3B Another example PDU that may be used for communication between an AP and one or more STAs is shown.

[0034] Figure 4 An example physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) that may be used for communication between an AP and several STAs is shown.

[0035] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0036] Fig. 6A A block diagram of an example access point (AP) is shown.

[0037] Figure 6B A block diagram of an example station (STA) is shown.

[0038] Fig. 7A A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support communications between multi-link devices (MLDs) according to some implementations is shown.

[0039] Figure 7B A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support communications between MLDs according to some implementations is shown.

[0040] Fig. 8A A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support communications between MLDs according to some other implementations is shown.

[0041] Figure 8B A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support communications between MLDs according to some other implementations is shown.

[0042] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD according to some other implementations is shown.

[0043] Figures 10A-10H A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0044] Fig.11 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0045] Figures 12A-12G A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0046] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD according to some other implementations is shown.

[0047] Fig.14A A timing diagram depicting example multi-link communications according to some implementations is shown.

[0048] Fig. 14B A timing diagram depicting example multi-link communications according to some implementations is shown.

[0049] Fig.15An example frame including a link attribute element and a multi-link element (MLE) that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices is shown.

[0050] Fig.16A An example MLE that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices is shown.

[0051] Fig. 16B Shows Fig.16A Example data fields for the MLE.

[0052] Fig. 16C Shows Fig.16A Another example data field of MLE.

[0053] Fig.17A A sequence diagram depicting example multi-link communications according to some implementations is shown.

[0054] Fig. 17B A sequence diagram depicting another example multi-link communication according to some implementations is shown.

[0055] Fig.18 A timing diagram depicting example multi-link communications according to some implementations is shown.

[0056] Fig.19 An example MLE that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices is shown.

[0057] Fig. 20 An example Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices is shown.

[0058] Fig.21 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD according to some other implementations is shown.

[0059] Fig. 22 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0060] Fig.23 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0061] Fig.24 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0062] Fig.25 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0063] Fig.26 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0064] Fig. 27 A flow chart illustrating an example process for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates on an MLD in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0065] Fig.28 An example beacon frame that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices is shown.

[0066] Fig.29 Example capabilities information fields that may be used for communications between wireless communication devices are shown.

[0067] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. Detailed Description

[0068] The following description is directed to certain implementations in order to describe the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented in a manner that can be implemented in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) standard, or the like. The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with one or more of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards, or the like released by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals in accordance with one or more of the following technologies or techniques: code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), single user (SU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), or an Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0069] Various implementations generally relate to multi-link (ML) communications, and more particularly to establishing ML communication sessions between multi-link devices (MLDs), such as (but not limited to) AP MLDs and STA MLDs. Specifically, aspects of the present disclosure provide a single ML context that can be used to discover and associate MLDs with each other on multiple different wireless channels or communication links based on discovery and association information exchanged on a single channel or communication link. The single ML context may also allow the MLDs to establish a common block acknowledgment (BA) session on multiple communication links using a single BA setup operation, to dynamically change or remap traffic identifier (TID) values ​​and associations between certain communication links, and to dynamically switch communications from one communication link to another without disassociating or reassociating with each other. In some implementations, the communication links associated with the respective MLDs may be in different radio frequency spectrums, including (but not limited to) a 2.4 GHz spectrum, a 5 GHz spectrum, and a 6 GHz spectrum.

[0070] In some implementations, the AP MLD may include a first AP associated with a first communication link, and may include one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links. The AP MLD may generate a frame including a first change sequence field, one or more secondary change sequence fields, and a critical update flag subfield. The first change sequence field may carry a change sequence number (CSN) or value of a latest critical update for a first AP of the AP MLD. Each of the one or more secondary change sequence fields may carry a CSN or value of a latest critical update for a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. The critical update flag subfield may carry a critical update flag or sequence number change indicator indicating a change in the value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields. The first AP of the AP MLD may transmit the frame to one or more wireless communication devices (such as, but not limited to, a STA MLD) on the first communication link. In some instances, the latest critical update for the first AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP. The latest critical update for a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary AP. In some aspects, the one or more operating parameters include at least one of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0071] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. By transmitting an indication of a critical update to the BSS operating parameters for the first AP and each secondary AP of the AP MLD in a single frame on a first communication link, the AP MLD may allow an associated device (such as a STA MLD) to receive critical update information about each communication link of the AP MLD while camping on or operating on the first communication link. In this way, the STA MLD and other wireless communication devices associated with the AP MLD may be informed of changes in the operating parameters of one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD without leaving the first communication link. That is, the STA MLD and other wireless communication devices associated with the AP MLD may receive critical update information about one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD without probing or passively scanning any of the secondary communication links of the AP MLD. The ability of a wireless communication device operating on a first communication link of an AP MLD to receive critical update information about one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD without performing an off-channel scanning operation can reduce power consumption and also reduce the likelihood that the wireless communication device will switch to a secondary communication link with changed operating parameters that may no longer be compatible with the wireless communication device.

[0072] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices such as an access point (AP) 102 and a plurality of stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 may also include a plurality of APs 102.

[0073] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriber unit, among other possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen or other home appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0074] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102 . Figure 1 Additionally shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and may also be identified to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be a media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate” or reassociate with the AP 102 to establish a corresponding communication link 108 (also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link” hereinafter) or maintain a communication link 106 with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification of a primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide access to external networks to various STAs 104 in the WLAN via corresponding communication links 106 .

[0075] To establish a communication link 106 with the AP 102, each STA 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scanning") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz, 6.0 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, the STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals, referred to as target beacon transmission times (TBTTs), measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs). To perform an active scan, the STA 104 generates probe requests and transmits them sequentially on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from the AP 102. Each STA 104 may be configured to identify or select an AP 102 to associate with based on the scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 108 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 at the end of the association operation, and the AP 102 uses the AID to track the STA 104.

[0076] As wireless networks become more and more common, STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within the range of the STA or to select among multiple APs 102 that together form an extended service set (ESS) (including multiple connected BSSs). The extended network station associated with WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to be connected in such an ESS. In this way, STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may be associated with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with AP 102, STA 104 may also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more suitable network characteristics (such as a larger received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load).

[0077] In some cases, STA 104 may form a network without AP 102 or other equipment other than STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network (such as WLAN 100). In such an implementation, although STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other through AP 102 using a communication link 106, STA 104 may also communicate directly with each other via a direct wireless link 110. In addition, two STAs 104 may communicate via a direct communication link 110, regardless of whether the two STAs 104 are associated with the same AP 102 and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more STAs 104 may assume the role played by AP 102 in a BSS. Such STAs 104 may be referred to as group owners (GOs) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless link 110 include a Wi-Fi Direct connection, a connection established by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0078] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may operate and communicate (via corresponding communication links 108) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revisions, including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and media access control (MAC) layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi" communications) to and from each other in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs). The AP 102 and STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may transmit PPDUs on an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of a spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5.0 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some implementations of the AP 102 and STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6.0 GHz band, that may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The AP 102 and STA 104 may also be configured to communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping frequency bands.

[0079] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs that comply with the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standard amendments may be transmitted on the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequency bands, where each frequency band is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. In this way, these PPDUs are transmitted on a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be transmitted on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0080] Each PPDU is a composite structure including a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PLCP service data unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In an instance where the PPDU is transmitted over a bonded channel, the preamble field can be copied and transmitted in each of a plurality of component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). Legacy preambles can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, as well as other purposes. Legacy preambles can also generally be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, decoding, and information provided therein of the non-legacy portion of the preamble are based on the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used to transmit the payload.

[0081] Figure 2AAn example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs is shown. For example, the PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the PHY preamble 202 may include a legacy portion, which itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208, and a legacy signaling field (L-SIG) 210. The PHY preamble 202 may also include a non-legacy portion (not shown). The L-STF 206 generally enables a receiving device to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. The L-LTF 208 generally enables a receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and also estimates a wireless channel. The L-SIG 210 generally enables a receiving device to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmitting over the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210 may be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 may be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may generally carry higher layer data (e.g., in the form of a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU)).

[0082] Figure 2B Show Figure 2A 2. Example L-SIG field 220 in a PDU of FIG. L-SIG 220 includes a data rate field 222, reserved bits 224, a length field 226, parity bits 228, and a tail field 220. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 222 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the length of the packet, for example, in bytes. The parity bits 228 are used to detect bit errors. The tail field 220 includes tail bits that are used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of a decoder (e.g., a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device uses the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the packet duration, for example, in microseconds (μs). Figure 3AAnother example PDU 300 that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs is shown. The PDU 300 can be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmission. The PDU 300 can be formatted as a high-efficiency (HE) WLAN PPDU according to the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard. The PDU 300 includes a PHY preamble that includes a legacy portion 302 and a non-legacy portion 304. The PDU 300 may further include a PHY payload 306 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 324) after the preamble.

[0083] The legacy portion 302 of the preamble includes an L-STF 308, an L-LTF 310, and an L-SIG 312. The non-legacy portion 304 includes a repetition of the L-SIG (RL-SIG) 314, a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) 316, an HE short training field (HE-STF) 320, and one or more HE long training fields (or symbols) (HE-LTF) 322. For OFDMA or MU-MIMO communications, the second portion 304 further includes a second HE signal field (HE-SIG-B) 318 that is encoded separately from the HE-SIG-A 316. As with the L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in the RL-SIG 314 and HE-SIG-A 316 may be replicated and transmitted in each component 20 MHz channel. In contrast, the content in the HE-SIG-B 318 may be unique to each 20 MHz channel and targeted specific STA 104 .

[0084] The RL-SIG 314 may indicate to the HE-compatible STA 104 that the PDU 300 is a HE PPDU. The AP 102 may use the HE-SIG-A 316 to identify multiple STAs 104 and inform the multiple STAs 104 that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for them. For example, the HE-SIG-A 316 may include a resource allocation subfield indicating the resource allocation for the identified STA 104. The HE-SIG-A 316 may be decoded by each HE-compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102. For MU transmissions, the HE-SIG-A 316 further includes information that may be used by each identified STA 104 to decode the associated HE-SIG-B 318. For example, the HE-SIG-A 316 may indicate the frame format (including the location and length of the HE-SIG-B 318), the available channel bandwidth, and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), among other examples. The HE-SIG-A 316 may also include HE WLAN signaling information that may be used by STAs 104 other than the identified STA 104 .

[0085] HE-SIG-B 318 may carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, STA-specific (or "user-specific") MCS values ​​and STA-specific RU allocation information. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, such information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding resource unit (RU) in the associated data field 324. Each HE-SIG-B 318 includes a common field and at least one STA-specific field. The common field may indicate RU allocations (including RU assignments in the frequency domain) to multiple STAs 104, indicating which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, as well as the number of users in the allocation and other examples. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. User-specific fields are assigned to a specific STA 104 and may be used to schedule a specific RU and indicate the scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields. Each user block field may include two user fields containing information for two corresponding STAs to decode their corresponding RU payloads in the data field 324 .

[0086] Figure 3BAnother example PPDU 350 that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs is shown. PDU 350 can be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmission. PDU 350 can be formatted as an extremely high throughput (EHT) WLAN PPDU according to the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, or can be formatted as a PPDU that complies with any future (post-EHT) version of a new wireless communication protocol (complying with future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards or other wireless communication standards). PDU 350 includes a PHY preamble that includes a legacy portion 352 and a non-legacy portion 354. PDU 350 may further include a PHY payload 356 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 376) after the preamble.

[0087] The legacy portion 352 of the preamble includes an L-STF 358, an L-LTF 360, and an L-SIG 362. The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble includes an RL-SIG 364 and a plurality of wireless communication protocol version-related signal fields following the RL-SIG 364. For example, the non-legacy portion 354 may include a universal signal field 366 (referred to herein as “U-SIG 366”) and an EHT signal field 368 (referred to herein as “EHT-SIG 368”). One or both of the U-SIG 366 and the EHT-SIG 368 may be configured to be used for wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT and carry version-related information thereof. The non-legacy portion 354 further includes an additional short training field 372 (referred to herein as "EHT-STF 372", but may also be constructed to be used for and carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT) and one or more additional long training fields 374 (referred to herein as "EHT-LTF 374", but they may be constructed to be used for and carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT). As with the L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in the U-SIG 366 and the EHT-SIG 368 may be replicated and transmitted in each component 20 MHz channel. In some implementations, the EHT-SIG 368 may additionally or alternatively carry information in one or more non-primary 20 MHz channels that is different from the information carried in the primary 20 MHz channel.

[0088] The EHT-SIG 368 may include one or more jointly encoded symbols and may be encoded in a different block from the block in which the U-SIG 366 is encoded. The EHT-SIG 368 may be used by the AP to identify multiple STAs 104 and inform the multiple STAs 104 that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for them. The EHT-SIG 368 may be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102. The EHT-SIG 368 may generally be used by the receiving device to interpret the bits in the data field 376. For example, the EHT-SIG 368 may include RU allocation information, spatial stream configuration information, and per-user signaling information (such as MCS) and other examples. The EHT-SIG 368 may further include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) (e.g., 4 bits) and a tail (e.g., 6 bits) that may be used for a binary convolutional code (BCC). In some implementations, the EHT-SIG 368 may include one or more code blocks each including a CRC and a tail. In some aspects, each code block may be encoded separately.

[0089] The EHT-SIG 368 may carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, user-specific MCS values ​​and user-specific RU allocation information. The EHT-SIG 368 may generally be used by a receiving device to interpret bits in the data field 376. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, such information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 376. Each EHT-SIG 368 may include a common field and at least one user-specific field. The common field may indicate the RU distribution to multiple STAs 104, indicate the RU assignment in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmission and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmission, and the number of users in the allocation and other examples. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and may be used to schedule a specific RU and indicate the schedule to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields. Each user block field may include, for example, two user fields containing information for two corresponding STAs to decode their corresponding RU payloads.

[0090] The presence of the RL-SIG 364 and the U-SIG 366 may indicate to the EHT or future version compatible STA 104 that the PPDU 350 is an EHT PPDU or any future (post-EHT) version of a PPDU that complies with a new wireless communication protocol (complying with future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards). For example, the U-SIG 366 may be used by a receiving device to interpret bits in one or more of the EHT-SIG 368 or the data field 376.

[0091] Figure 4 An example PPDU 400 is shown that may be used for communication between an AP 102 and a number of STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 400 includes a PHY preamble 402 and a PSDU 404. Each PSDU 404 may carry one or more MAC protocol data units (MPDUs). For example, each PSDU 404 may carry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 408 that includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 406. Each A-MPDU subframe 406 may include a MAC delimiter 410 and a MAC header 412 preceding an accompanying MPDU 414 that includes a data portion (“payload” or “frame body”) of the A-MPDU subframe 406. The MPDU 414 may carry one or more MAC service data unit (MSDU) subframes 416. For example, the MPDU 414 may carry an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 418 that includes multiple MSDU subframes 416. Each MSDU subframe 416 includes a corresponding MSDU 420 followed by a subframe header 422 .

[0092] Referring back to the A-MPDU subframe 406, the MAC header 412 may include: several fields containing information defining or indicating characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated in the frame body 414. The MAC header 412 also includes several fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated in the frame body 414. For example, the MAC header 412 may include a combination of a source address, a transmitter address, a receiver address, or a destination address. The MAC header 412 may include: a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field specifies the frame type, for example, a data frame, a control frame, or a management frame. The MAC header 412 may further include a duration field, which indicates the duration from the end of the PPDU until the end of the acknowledgment (ACK) of the last PPDU to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (for example, a block ACK (BA) in the case of an A-MPDU). The use duration field is used to reserve the wireless medium for the indicated duration, thereby establishing a NAV. Each A-MPDU subframe 406 may also include a frame check sequence (FCS) field 424 for error detection. For example, the FCS field 416 may include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0093] As described above, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may support multi-user (MU) communications; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from the AP 102 to the corresponding STAs 104), or concurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions from the corresponding STAs 104 to the AP 102). To support MU transmissions, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may utilize multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) techniques.

[0094] In the MU-OFDMA scheme, the available spectrum of a wireless channel may be divided into multiple resource units (RUs), each of which includes several different frequency subcarriers ("tones"). Different RUs may be allocated or assigned to different STAs 104 by AP 102 at a specific time. The size and distribution of RUs may be referred to as RU allocation. In some implementations, RUs may be allocated in 2MHz intervals, and thus, the minimum RU may include 26 tones including 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Therefore, in a 20MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2MHz, 26 tones RU) may be allocated (because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160MHz channel, up to 74 RUs may be allocated. Larger RUs of 52 tones, 106 tones, 242 tones, 484 tones, and 996 tones may also be allocated. Adjacent RUs may be separated by a null subcarrier, such as a DC subcarrier, for example, to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid transmit center frequency leakage.

[0095] For UL MU transmissions, the AP 102 may transmit a trigger frame to initiate and synchronize UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs 104 to the AP 102. Such a trigger frame may thereby enable multiple STAs 104 to send UL traffic concurrently in time to the AP 102. The trigger frame may address one or more STAs 104 by a corresponding association identifier (AID), and may assign one or more RUs to each AID (and thus each STA 104) that may be used to send UL traffic to the AP 102. The AP may also specify one or more random access (RA) RUs that unscheduled STAs 104 may contend for.

[0096] Figure 5 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication device 500. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be a wireless communication device for a STA (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 1In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be an example of a device in an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 described above). Figure 1 The wireless communication device 500 is an example of a device in the described AP 102. The wireless communication device 500 is capable of transmitting (or outputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wireless communication device can be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and media access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) that comply with the IEEE 802.11 standard (such as the standard defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0097] The wireless communication device 500 may be or may include a chip, system on chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device including one or more modems 502 (e.g., Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modems). In some implementations, one or more modems 502 (collectively, "modems 502") additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 also includes one or more radios 504 (collectively, "radios 504"). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 506 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 506 (collectively, "processors 506") and one or more memory blocks or elements 508 (collectively, "memory 508").

[0098] Modem 502 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices (for example, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)). Modem 502 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, modem 502 is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to radio 504 for transmission on a wireless medium. Similarly, modem 502 is configured to obtain modulated packets received by radio 504 and demodulate these packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, modem 502 may further include digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), encoder, decoder, multiplexer, and demultiplexer. For example, when in the transmission mode, the data obtained from processor 506 is provided to a decoder, which encodes the data to provide coded bits. The coded bits are then mapped to points in the modulation constellation (using the selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Subsequently, the modulated symbols may be mapped to a number NSS of spatial streams or a number NSTS of space-time streams. The modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams or space-time streams may then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and then provided to the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal may then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal may then be provided to an upconverter and ultimately to the radio 504. In an implementation involving beamforming, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams are precoded via a steering matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0099] When in receive mode, a digital signal received from the radio 504 is provided to a DSP circuit system that is configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating the initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuit system is further configured to digitally condition the digital signal, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analog impairment conditioning (such as correcting I / Q imbalance), and applying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. Subsequently, the output of the DSP circuit system may be fed to an AGC that is configured to use information extracted from the digital signal (e.g., in one or more received training fields) to determine an appropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuit system is also coupled to a demodulator that is configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder that may be configured to process the LLRs to provide decoded bits. Subsequently, the decoded bits from all spatial streams are fed to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits may then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 506) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0100] The radio 504 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or "transmitter chain") and at least one RF receiver (or "receiver chain"), which can be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuit systems, including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low noise amplifier (LNA), respectively. The RF transmitter and receiver may in turn be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each having a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each having a corresponding receive chain). The codewords output from the modem 502 are provided to the radio 504, which then transmits the codewords via the coupled antenna. Similarly, the codewords received via the antenna are obtained by the radio 504, which then provides the codewords to the modem 502.

[0101] The processor 506 may include an intelligent hardware block or device designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor 506 processes information received through the radio 504 and the modem 502, and processes information to be output by the modem 502 and the radio 504 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, the processor 506 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer, which is configured to perform various operations related to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate the coding and decoding of frames, spatial multiplexing, space-time block coding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, and other operations or techniques. In some implementations, the processor 506 may generally control the modem 502 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0102] The memory 504 may include a tangible storage medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM) or a combination thereof. The memory 504 may also store non-transient processor or computer executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by the processor 506, cause the processor to perform various operations for wireless communication described herein, including generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the various components disclosed herein or the various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0103] Fig. 6A602 is a block diagram of an example AP 602. For example, the AP 602 may be a reference Figure 1 An example implementation of AP 102 is described. AP 602 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 610. For example, wireless communication device 610 may be a wireless communication device (WCD) 610. Figure 5 An example implementation of the wireless communication device 500 described. The AP 602 also includes a plurality of antennas 620 coupled to the wireless communication device 610 to transmit and receive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP 602 additionally includes an application processor 630 coupled to the wireless communication device 610, and a memory 640 coupled to the application processor 630. The AP 602 further includes at least one external network interface 650, which enables the AP 602 to communicate with a core network or a backhaul network to obtain access to an external network including the Internet. For example, the external network interface 650 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components of the aforementioned components may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. The AP 602 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 610, the application processor 630, the memory 640, and encloses at least a portion of the antenna 620 and the external network interface 650.

[0104] Figure 6B 604. For example, STA 604 may be a reference Figure 1 104. The STA 604 includes a wireless communication device 615. For example, the wireless communication device 615 may be a reference Figure 5 An example implementation of the wireless communication device 500 described. The STA 604 also includes one or more antennas 625 coupled to the wireless communication device 615 to transmit and receive wireless communications. The STA 604 additionally includes an application processor 635 coupled to the wireless communication device 615, and a memory 645 coupled to the application processor 635. In some implementations, the STA 604 further includes a user interface (UI) 655 (such as a touch screen or keyboard) and a display 665, which can be integrated with the UI 655 to form a touch screen display. In some implementations, the STA 604 may further include one or more sensors 675 (such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors, for example). Components of the aforementioned components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. The STA 604 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 615, the application processor 635, the memory 645, and at least portions of the antenna 625, the UI 655, and the display 665.

[0105] As described above, various implementations generally relate to ML communications, and more particularly to establishing ML communication sessions between wireless communication devices. Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a single MLA context for multiple links shared among multiple MLDs. Under certain conditions (such as when congestion on a first link is high), the MLD may switch from communicating on a first link to communicating on a second link. Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a single MLA context that may be shared between MAC-SAP endpoints of MLDs so that the MLDs may dynamically communicate on any link shared between these MLDs without disassociating or reassociating. Thus, in some implementations, associating on one link allows the MLD to use the same association configuration, encryption keys, and other ML communication parameters for communications on any of these links.

[0106] Some implementations more specifically relate to an AP MLD, which includes a first AP associated with a first communication link and one or more secondary APs associated with corresponding secondary communication links. The first AP of the AP MLD generates a frame, which includes one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, a first change sequence number (CSN) indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD, and one or more secondary CSNs each indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. The first AP transmits the frame to the STA of the STA MLD on the first communication link. The first CSN indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, and each secondary CSN indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link. In some implementations, each of the secondary CSNs may be carried in a corresponding per-link profile subelement of the MLE. In some other implementations, each of the secondary CSNs may be carried in a corresponding neighbor AP information field of a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. Alternatively, the first CSN and one or more secondary CSNs may be carried in a sequence counter field of a frame or in an information element of the frame.

[0107] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. By using a frame transmitted on a first communication link to announce one or more of the critical updates, DNT conditions, or operating parameters of one or more secondary communication links, a STA (such as a STA of a STA MLD) may receive one or more of the critical updates, DNT conditions, or operating parameters of each secondary communication link without having to monitor the secondary communication link, which may allow the STA to save power associated with performing scanning or listening operations on each of the secondary communication links.

[0108] Fig. 7A1 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 700 for wireless communication for supporting communication between MLDs according to some implementations. The process 700 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 5 In some implementations, process 700 may be performed by a STA (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B In other implementations, process 700 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the described APs 102 and 602.

[0109] In some implementations, the process 700 begins in block 702 by transmitting a first packet on a first communication link, the first packet including discovery information about at least the first communication link and a second communication link. In block 704, the process 700 proceeds to receiving an ML association request from a second wireless communication device on the first communication link based at least in part on the discovery information. In block 706, the process 700 proceeds to transmitting a second packet on the first communication link, the second packet including association information about at least the first communication link and the second communication link.

[0110] In block 708, the process 700 proceeds to associate with the second wireless communication device based at least in part on the association information. In some implementations, the association includes establishing at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with the second wireless communication device on the first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter can be the same for each of the first and second communication links. In some other implementations, the association includes establishing a shared security context between a first media access control service access point (MAC-SAP) endpoint of the first wireless communication device and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second wireless communication device. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints can be used to communicate on both the first and second communication links. In block 710, the process 700 proceeds to communicate with the second wireless communication device on the second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device on the first communication link.

[0111] Figure 7B 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 720 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations. The process 720 may be performed by a wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 720 may be performed by a STA (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B In other implementations, process 720 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the described APs 102 and 602.

[0112] Reference Fig. 7A , process 720 may be a more detailed implementation of the ML communication operations described in block 710 of process 700. For example, at block 722, process 720 may begin after associating with the second wireless communication device in block 708 of process 700.

[0113] In block 722, the process 720 proceeds to establish a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the second wireless communication device, the BA session associating at least one traffic identifier (TID) with a first subset of the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link. The BA session may be common to each of the first, second, and third communication links. In block 724, the process 720 proceeds to dynamically re-associating the at least one TID to a second subset of the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link. In block 726, the process 720 proceeds to indicate the re-associating in an add block acknowledgment (ADDBA) capability field of a third packet.

[0114] Fig. 8A 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 800 for wireless communication for supporting communication between MLDs according to some implementations. The process 800 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 5 In some implementations, process 800 may be performed by a STA (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B In other implementations, process 800 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the described APs 102 and 602.

[0115] In some implementations, process 800 begins in block 802 by receiving a first packet from a second wireless communication device on a first communication link, the first packet including discovery information about at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In block 804, process 800 proceeds to transmitting an ML association request on the first communication link based at least in part on the discovery information. In block 806, process 800 proceeds to receiving a second packet on the first communication link, the second packet including association information about at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, the first A-MPDU subframe may be aligned with a codeword boundary in a PSDU so that portions of the first A-MPDU subframe are not encapsulated within the same LDPC codeword as portions of another A-MPDU subframe in the PSDU.

[0116] In block 808, process 800 continues to associate with a second wireless communication device based at least in part on the association information. In some implementations, the association includes establishing at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with the second wireless communication device on the first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter may be the same for each of the first and second communication links. In some other implementations, the association includes establishing a shared security context between a first media access control service access point (MAC-SAP) endpoint of the first wireless communication device and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second wireless communication device. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate on the first and second communication links. In block 810, process 800 proceeds to communicating with the second wireless communication device on the second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device on the first communication link.

[0117] Figure 8B 8. A flow chart illustrating an example process 820 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 820 may be performed by a wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 820 may be performed by a STA (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B In other implementations, process 820 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the described APs 102 and 602.

[0118] Reference Fig. 8A, process 820 may be a more detailed implementation of the ML communication operation described in block 810 of process 800. For example, in block 822, process 820 may begin after associating with the second wireless communication device in block 808 of process 800.

[0119] In block 822, the process 820 proceeds to establish a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the second wireless communication device, the BA session associating at least one traffic identifier (TID) with a first subset of the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link. The BA session may be common to each of the first, second, and third communication links. In block 824, the process 820 proceeds to receive a third packet, the third packet indicating in an add block acknowledgment (ADDBA) capability field that the at least one TID is reassociated with a second subset of the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link.

[0120] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process 900 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 900 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device 500 as an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 9 In an example, process 900 is performed by an AP multi-link device (MLD) including a first access point (AP) and one or more secondary APs. The first AP can be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each secondary AP can be associated with a corresponding secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0121] At block 902, a first AP of the AP MLD generates a frame including one or more operating parameters for a first communication link, a first change sequence number (CSN) indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD, and one or more secondary CSNs each indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for a corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. At block 904, the first AP transmits the frame on the first communication link. The frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame.

[0122] In some implementations, the first CSN indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, and each secondary CSN indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the first CSN and the one or more secondary CSNs are carried in a sequence counter field of the frame. In some other instances, the first CSN and the one or more secondary CSNs are carried in an information element.

[0123] In some implementations, the frame includes a multilink element (MLE) element carrying the one or more secondary CSNs. In some instances, the MLE includes one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a corresponding secondary CSN in the one or more secondary communication links. In some other instances, the one or more per-link profile sub-elements include an information element (IE) including a corresponding secondary CSN of the one or more secondary CSNs. In some other instances, the MLE includes a common parameter field carrying the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0124] In some other implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame including one or more per-link profile elements, each of the one or more per-link profile elements carrying the secondary CSN and a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link in the one or more secondary communication links. In some instances, the beacon frame may include one or more per-link profile elements, each of which carries a secondary CSN and a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link. In some other implementations, each per-link profile sub-element may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0125] In some implementations, the frame includes a multilink element (MLE) carrying the one or more secondary CSNs. In some instances, the MLE may include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each per-link profile sub-element carrying a corresponding secondary CSN in the one or more secondary communication links. In some instances, each per-link profile sub-element may include an information element (IE) including the corresponding secondary CSN. In some other instances, the MLE may include a common parameter field carrying the secondary CSN.

[0126] In some implementations, the frame may include a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element carrying the one or more secondary CSNs. In some instances, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, wherein each neighbor AP information field carries a corresponding secondary CSN of the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0127] In some implementations, the critical update may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with at least one of the first communication link or the one or more secondary communication links.

[0128] In some implementations, the one or more operating parameters may include at least one of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0129] In some implementations, the frame may further include one or more do not transmit (DNT) indications, wherein each DNT indication is associated with a corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, the frame may further include a DNT indication for the first communication link. Each DNT indication may indicate whether the wireless communication device is to suppress transmission on the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, at least some of the wireless communication devices may monitor the first communication link without monitoring the one or more secondary communication links to find the DNT indication. In some implementations, the DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link may be based on one or more of the following: a channel switching announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, a silent time announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, or the unavailability of a secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0130] In some implementations, the DNT indication for the first communication link and the one or more DNT indications for the one or more corresponding secondary communication links may be carried in the bitmap of the frame. In some other implementations, the one or more DNT indications for the one or more corresponding secondary communication links may be carried in the multi-link attribute (MLA) element of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, wherein each per-link profile sub-element carries the DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link. In some other instances, each per-link profile sub-element may also carry a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0131] In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame including one or more per-link profile elements, wherein each per-link profile element carries a DNT indication to the corresponding secondary communication link. In some instances, each per-link profile element in the one or more per-link profile elements may be an information element (IE). In some other instances, the MLE may include a common parameter field that carries one or more DNT indications to one or more corresponding secondary communication links. In some other implementations, the beacon frame may carry one or more profiles, wherein each profile carries a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link of one or more secondary communication links.

[0132] In some implementations, the one or more DNT indications may be carried in a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element of the frame. In some instances, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which carries a DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0133] Fig. 10A A flow chart illustrating an example process 1000 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1000 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1000 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 10A For example, process 1000 is performed by referring to Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig. 10A The process 1000 can be found in Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0134] At block 1002, the first AP receives a notification of a critical update for a corresponding secondary communication link from a secondary AP associated with the corresponding secondary communication link among one or more secondary APs of the AP MLD. At block 1004, the first AP increments a secondary CSN corresponding to the corresponding secondary communication link based on the notification.

[0135] In some implementations, a critical update regarding the first communication link or at least one of the one or more secondary communication links may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first communication link or at least one of the one or more secondary communication links.

[0136] Fig. 10BA flow chart illustrating an example process 1010 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1010 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1010 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 10B Example, process 1010 by referring to Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig. 10B Process 1010 can be found at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0137] At block 1012, the first AP receives a notification of a do not transmit (DNT) condition of the corresponding secondary communication link from a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the corresponding secondary communication link. At block 1014, the first AP asserts a DNT indication corresponding to the corresponding secondary communication link. At block 1014, the first AP broadcasts the asserted DNT indication corresponding to the corresponding secondary communication link on the first communication link.

[0138] In some implementations, each DNT indication may indicate whether the wireless communication device is to refrain from transmitting on the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, at least some of the wireless communication devices may monitor the first communication link without monitoring the one or more secondary communication links to find the DNT indication. In some implementations, the DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link may be based on one or more of the following: a channel switch announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, a silent time announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, or unavailability of a secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0139] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0140] Fig. 10C A flow chart illustrating an example process 1020 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1020 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1020 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 10C Example, process 1020 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig. 10C Course 1020 is available at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0141] In box 1022, the first AP receives an indication of a critical update about the corresponding secondary communication link from a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the corresponding secondary communication link. In box 1024, the first AP transmits an unsolicited broadcast probe response frame, which carries a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for each of the one or more secondary communication links. In some other implementations, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0142] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0143] Fig. 10D A flow chart illustrating an example process 1030 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1030 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5In some implementations, process 1030 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 10D Example, process 1030 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig. 10D Process 1030 is available at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0144] At block 1032, the first AP receives a probe request frame from a wireless STA of a station (STA) MLD. At block 1034, the first AP transmits a response frame of the first AP from the AP MLD to the STA MLD over a first communication link.

[0145] In some implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link for which one or more operating parameters have been updated. In some implementations, the request frame may be received by one of the first APs of the AP MLD on the first communication link or by the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD on the corresponding secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for each of the one or more secondary communication links. In some instances, the request frame may be a broadcast probe request frame. In some other implementations, the response frame may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0146] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0147] Fig.10E A flow chart illustrating an example process 1040 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1040 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5In some implementations, process 1040 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig.10E Example, process 1040 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig.10E The 1040 process is available at Fig. 9 The AP MLD in block 904 is performed after transmitting the frame. In some implementations, the probe request frame may carry a CSN indicating a most recently received critical update for a designated secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0148] At block 1042, the first AP identifies one or more CSNs for the designated secondary communication link missed by the STAs of STA MLD based on the received CSNs. At block 1044, the first AP transmits a response frame having an indication of one or more secondary CSNs for the designated secondary communication link missed by the STAs of STA MLD.

[0149] In some implementations, the response frame may be a unicast probe response frame that carries one or more critical updates about the designated secondary communication link that the STA has missed. In some instances, the one or more critical updates that the STA has missed may be determined based on a comparison between the received CSN and the one or more secondary CSNs that the STA has missed.

[0150] In some implementations, the response frame may be one of a unicast probe response frame or a broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link. In some instances, the response frame may be a broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for each of the designated secondary communication link and other non-designated secondary communication links. In some other implementations, these frames may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0151] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0152] Fig.10F A flow chart illustrating an example process 1050 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1050 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1050 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig.10F Example, process 1050 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig.10F Process 1050 is available at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0153] At block 1052, the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may receive a probe request frame from a wireless STA of a station (STA) MLD on a designated secondary communication link. At block 1054, the corresponding secondary AP may transmit a response frame to the STA MLD on the designated secondary communication link. At block 1056, the first AP transmits the response frame to the STA MLD along with one or more updated operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link.

[0154] In some implementations, the probe request frame may carry a CSN indicating the most recently received critical update for the designated secondary communication link. In some implementations, the set of operating parameters may include one or more of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0155] Figure 10G A flow chart illustrating an example process 1060 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1060 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1060 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Figure 10G Example, process 1060 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Figure 10G The course 1060 is available at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0156] At block 1062, the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD may receive a probe request frame from a wireless STA of a station (STA) MLD on a designated secondary communication link. At block 1064, the corresponding secondary AP transmits a response frame to the STA MLD carrying a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link.

[0157] In some implementations, the response frame may be one of a unicast probe response frame or a beacon frame. In some implementations, the set of operating parameters may include one or more of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0158] Fig. 10H A flow chart illustrating an example process 1070 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1070 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1070 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 10H Example, process 1070 by reference Fig. 9 In some implementations, Fig. 10H Process 1070 is available at Fig. 9 Block 904 is performed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0159] At block 1072, the first AP receives an indication of one or more critical updates about the respective secondary communication link from a respective secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the respective secondary communication link. At block 1074, the first AP transmits an unsolicited broadcast probe response frame on the first communication link, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame carrying a complete set of operating parameters for the respective secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0160] In some implementations, the transmission of the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame occurs a period of time after the most recent beacon frame transmission from the first AP of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the most recent beacon frame transmission from the first AP of the AP MLD includes an indication of the transmission of the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame from the first AP of the AP MLD.

[0161] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0162] Fig.11 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1100 for wireless communication for supporting communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1100 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, the process 1100 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.11 In the example of , process 1100 is performed by a STA of a STA MLD.

[0163] At block 1102, a STA MLD is associated with a first AP of an access point (AP) MLD. The AP MLD includes one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. At block 1104, the STA MLD receives a frame from the first AP on the first communication link of the AP MLD. The frame may include one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, a first change sequence number (CSN) indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD, and one or more secondary CSNs, each of the one or more secondary CSNs indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for a corresponding secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0164] In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame. In some implementations, the critical update may correspond to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS), the critical update being associated with at least one of the first communication link or the one or more secondary communication links. In some implementations, the one or more operating parameters may include at least one of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0165] In some implementations, the first CSN may indicate the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, and each of the one or more secondary CSNs may indicate the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the first CSN and the one or more secondary CSNs may be carried in a sequence counter field of the frame. In some other instances, the first CSN and the one or more secondary CSNs may be carried in an information element.

[0166] In some implementations, the frame may include a multilink element (MLE) carrying the one or more secondary CSNs. In some instances, the MLE may include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each of the one or more per-link profile sub-elements carrying a corresponding secondary CSN in the one or more secondary communication links. In some other instances, the MLE may include a common parameter field carrying the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0167] In some other implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame including one or more per-link profile elements, each of the one or more per-link profile elements carrying the secondary CSN and a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link in the one or more secondary communication links. In some implementations, each of the one or more per-link profile elements may be an information element (IE) including a corresponding secondary CSN in the one or more secondary CSNs. In some other implementations, each per-link profile element may carry only portions of the operating parameters that have been updated or changed.

[0168] In some other implementations, the frame may include a multi-link attributes (MLA) element, the MLA element including one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each of the one or more per-link profile sub-elements carrying the secondary CSN and a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link in the one or more secondary communication links. In some instances, the frame may include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element carrying the one or more secondary CSNs. In some other instances, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields carrying a corresponding secondary CSN in the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0169] In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame carrying one or more profiles, each of which carries a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link in the one or more secondary communication links. In some other implementations, the frame may further include one or more do not transmit (DNT) indications, each of which is associated with a corresponding secondary communication link in one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD. In some instances, the frame may further include a DNT indication for the first communication link. Each DNT indication may indicate whether the wireless communication device is to suppress transmission on the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, at least some of the wireless communication devices may monitor the first communication link without monitoring the one or more secondary communication links to find the DNT indication. In some implementations, the DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link may be based on one or more of the following: a channel switching announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, a silent time announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, or the unavailability of the secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0170] Fig. 12A A flow chart illustrating an example process 1200 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1200 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1200 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig. 12A In some implementations, process 1200 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig. 12A The process 1200 can be found at Fig.11Block 1104 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0171] At block 1202, the STA MLD increments a first CSN counter in a STA of the STA MLD based on a first CSN indicating that there is a critical update for a first communication link of the AP MLD. At block 1204, the STA MLD increments one or more secondary CSN counters in the STA of the STA MLD based on one or more corresponding secondary CSNs indicating that there is a critical update for one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0172] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0173] Fig. 12B A flow chart illustrating an example process 1210 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1210 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1210 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig. 12B In some implementations, process 1210 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig. 12B The process 1210 can be Fig.11 The STA MLD in block 1104 is performed after receiving the frame. At block 1212, the STA MLD refrains from transmitting on each secondary communication link for which a corresponding DNT indicates a DNT condition.

[0174] In some implementations, the frame may further include a DNT indication for the first communication link. In some instances, the DNT indication for the first communication link and one or more DNT indications for the one or more corresponding secondary communication links may be carried in a bitmap of the frame.

[0175] In some implementations, the DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link may be based on one or more of: a channel switch announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, a quiet time announcement for the corresponding secondary communication link, or unavailability of a secondary AP associated with the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD.

[0176] In some implementations, each of the one or more DNT indications may indicate whether the wireless communication device is to refrain from transmitting on the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, the STA of the STA MLD may monitor the first communication link without monitoring the one or more secondary communication links to find the DNT indication.

[0177] In some implementations, one or more DNT indications for the one or more corresponding secondary communication links may be carried in a multilink element (MLE) of the frame. In some instances, the MLE may include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each of which carries a DNT indication for a corresponding secondary CSN in one or more secondary communication links. In some other instances, the one or more per-link profile sub-elements may be an information element (IE). In some instances, the MLE may include a common parameter field that carries one or more DNT indications for one or more corresponding secondary communication links.

[0178] In some implementations, the frame may include a multi-link element (MLE) including one or more per-link profile sub-elements, wherein each per-link profile sub-element carries the DNT indication and a complete set of operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link.

[0179] In some implementations, one or more DNT indications for the one or more corresponding secondary communication links may be carried in a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element of the frame. In some instances, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which carries a DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0180] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0181] Fig. 12C A flow chart illustrating an example process 1220 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1220 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1220 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig. 12C In some implementations, process 1220 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig. 12C The process 1220 can be found at Fig.11 Block 1104 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0182] At block 1222, the STA MLD receives an indication of a do not transmit (DNT) condition on a designated secondary communication link of one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD from the first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link. At block 1224, the STAMLD refrains from transmitting on the designated secondary communication link based on receiving the DNT indication.

[0183] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0184] Fig.12D A flow chart illustrating an example process 1230 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1230 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1230 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.12D In some implementations, process 1230 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig.12D Process 1230 can be found at Fig.11 Block 1104 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0185] At block 1232, the STA MLD receives an unsolicited broadcast probe response frame from a first AP of the AP MLD on a first communication link, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame carrying a complete set of operating parameters for a designated secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links.

[0186] In some implementations, the transmission of the autonomous broadcast probe response frame may occur a period of time after the most recent beacon frame transmission from the first AP of the AP MLD. In some instances, the most recent beacon frame transmission from the first AP of the AP MLD may include an indication of the transmission of the autonomous broadcast probe response frame from the first AP of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the autonomous broadcast probe response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for each of the one or more secondary communication links.

[0187] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0188] Fig.12E A flow chart illustrating an example process 1240 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. Process 1240 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1240 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.12E In some implementations, process 1240 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig.12E Process 1240 is available at Fig.11 Block 1104 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0189] At block 1242, the STA MLD receives, from a first AP of the AP MLD over a first communication link, an indication of a critical update regarding a designated secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0190] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0191] Fig.12F A flow chart illustrating an example process 1250 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1250 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1250 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.12F In some implementations, process 1250 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig.12F Process 1250 is available at Fig.12E Block 1242 of is executed after the STA MLD receives an indication of the critical update.

[0192] At block 1252, the STA MLD transmits a probe request frame on a first communication link. At block 1254, the STA MLD receives a response frame from a first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link.

[0193] In some implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link. In some implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for each of the one or more secondary communication links. In some implementations, the probe request frame may be a broadcast probe request frame.

[0194] In some implementations, the probe request frame may carry a CSN indicating the most recently received critical update for the designated secondary communication link, and the response frame may carry an indication of one or more secondary CSNs for the designated secondary communication link that the STA of the STA MLD missed. In some implementations, the response frame may be a unicast probe response frame that carries one or more critical updates for the designated secondary communication link that the STA missed.

[0195] In some implementations, the response frame may be one of a unicast probe response frame or a broadcast probe response frame, which carries a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link. In some implementations, the response frame may be a broadcast probe response frame, which carries a complete set of operating parameters for each of the designated secondary communication link and other non-designated secondary communication links.

[0196] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0197] Figure 12G A flow chart illustrating an example process 1260 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1260 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5 In some implementations, process 1260 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Figure 12G In some implementations, process 1260 is performed by a STA multi-link device (MLD). Fig.12F The process 1260 is available at Fig.12E Block 1242 of is executed after the STA MLD receives an indication of the critical update.

[0198] At block 1262, the STA MLD transmits a probe request frame on the designated secondary communication link. At block 1264, the STA MLD receives a response frame on the designated secondary communication link from a secondary AP of the AP MLD associated with the designated secondary communication link.

[0199] In some implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the response frame may carry a complete set of operating parameters for each of the one or more secondary communication links. In some instances, the probe request frame may be a broadcast probe request frame.

[0200] In some implementations, the probe request frame may carry a CSN indicating the most recently received critical update for the designated secondary communication link, and the response frame may carry an indication of one or more secondary CSNs for the designated secondary communication link that the STA of the STA MLD missed. In some instances, the response frame may be a unicast probe response frame that carries one or more critical updates for the designated secondary communication link that the STA missed.

[0201] In some implementations, the response frame may be one of a unicast probe response frame or a broadcast probe response frame, which carries a complete set of operating parameters for the designated secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the response frame may be a broadcast probe response frame, which carries a complete set of operating parameters for each of the designated secondary communication link and other non-designated secondary communication links.

[0202] In some implementations, the operating parameter set may include one or more of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0203] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1300 for wireless communication to support communication between MLDs according to some implementations is shown. The process 1300 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 5In some implementations, process 1300 may be performed by a wireless station (STA) (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.13 In an example, process 1300 is performed by a STA MLD including at least one first STA. The first STA may be associated with a first communication link of an AP MLD, and the AP MLD may include one or more secondary communication links different from the first communication link. In some implementations, the AP MLD includes a first AP associated with the first communication link, and includes one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0204] In block 1302, a first STA receives a frame on a first communication link, the frame including an indication of an update of at least one operating parameter of a designated secondary communication link of an AP MLD. In block 1304, the STA MLD determines that the first STA of the STA MLD cannot support the update of at least one operating parameter of the designated secondary communication link based on receiving the indication of the update. In block 1306, the STA MLD removes the designated secondary communication link from the multi-link (ML) context established between the STA MLD and the AP MLD.

[0205] In some implementations, the designated secondary communication link may be removed from the ML context by transmitting an action frame to the first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link, the action frame including a request to update the ML context by removing the designated secondary communication link from the ML context. In some instances, the action frame may be an ML setup update action frame. In some other instances, the action frame may further include an element including one or more updates to a traffic identifier (TID) mapping associated with the ML context. In some instances, the one or more updates to the traffic identifier (TID) mapping may include: remapping the TID from the designated secondary communication link to one or more of the other non-designated secondary communication links in the first communication link or one or more secondary communication links.

[0206] In some other implementations, the designated secondary communication link may be removed from the ML context by transmitting an action frame to the first AP of the AP MLD over the first communication link, the action frame including a request to disable the designated secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the designated secondary communication link is removed from the ML context without disassociating from the first AP of the AP MLD. In some instances, the designated secondary communication link is removed from the ML context without dismantling the ML context.

[0207] In some implementations, the designated secondary communication link may be removed from the ML context by remapping a traffic identifier (TID) from the designated secondary communication link to one or more of the first communication link or other undesignated secondary communication links of the one or more secondary communication links. In some other implementations, the designated secondary communication link may be removed from the ML context by maintaining a dormant or napping state of the STAMLD on the designated secondary communication link.

[0208] Fig.14A 1400 is shown depicting a timing diagram of an example multi-link communication according to some implementations. Fig.14A In the example of , ML communication may be performed between a first wireless communication device ("first device D1") and a second wireless communication device ("second device D2"). Each of devices D1 and D2 may be any suitable wireless communication device, such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B One of the STAs 104 and 604 described above or referenced above, respectively. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A One of the described APs 102 and 602. In the timing diagram 1400, the first device D1 may be a transmitting device, and the second device D2 may be a receiving device. Each of the first device D1 and the second device D2 may be an MLD. For example, the first device D1 may be an AP MLD, and the second device D2 may be a STA MLD.

[0209] At time t1, the first device D1 transmits a first packet 1401 on a first communication link (not shown for simplicity), the first packet 1401 including ML information (such as capabilities and parameters) about at least the first communication link and a second communication link (not shown for simplicity). Fig.14A The example of is described in the form of a first and a second communication link, but in some implementations, there may be any number of additional communication links, such as a third, fourth, or fifth communication link. The first communication link and the second communication link may operate on different frequency bands, or on different channels of the same frequency band. For example, the first communication link may operate on a 2.4 GHz frequency band, the second communication link may operate on a 5 GHz frequency band, and another link (not shown for simplicity) may operate on a 6 GHz frequency band. The first packet 1401 may be a beacon frame or any other frame that may be used to convey ML information.

[0210] In some implementations, the ML information may include one or more of the following: a first operational class of the first communication link; a first wireless channel of the first communication link; a first BSSID of the first communication link; a second operational class of the second communication link; a second wireless channel of the second communication link; or a second BSSID of the second communication link. In some implementations, some or all of the ML information may be included in the link attribute element of the first packet 1401 (e.g., see Fig. 14B and Fig.15 ), or included in the multilink element of the first packet 1401 (as further described in Fig. 14B , Fig.15 and Figures 16A-16C 10. In some aspects, at least one of these operating classes, wireless channels, or BSSIDs may be different. As a non-limiting example, a pair of AP entities with the same operating class may communicate on the same wireless channel. However, the pair of APs may be physically separated (not co-located) and may therefore have different MAC addresses (BSSIDs).

[0211] Between time t1 and t2, the second device D2 receives a first packet 1401 from the first device D1 on the first communication link. In some implementations, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on the first and second communication links, such as Fig. 14B In short, because the first packet 1401 includes ML information (such as ML capabilities, ML operating parameters and constraints, and other information) about all links on which the first device D1 is operating, aspects of the present disclosure enable a STA MLD (such as the second device D2) to discover the AP MLD (such as the first device D1) on any link for which the AP MLD has established a BSS.

[0212] At time t3, the second device D2 transmits an MLA request 1411 on the first communication link based at least in part on the ML information. The MLA request 1411 may be an association request frame. In some implementations, the MLA request 1411 may include a preference for designating one or more of the first communication link or the second communication link as an anchor link, such as with respect to Fig. 14B and Fig.15 In some aspects, a client device (such as the second device D2) can save power by waiting on the anchor link (eg, waiting for a beacon) when there is no other active traffic.

[0213] Between time t3 and t4, the first device D1 receives an MLA request 1411 from the second device D2 over the first communication link. In some aspects, the MLA request 1411 may indicate one or more capabilities or security parameters of the second device D2.

[0214] At time t4, the first device D1 transmits a second packet 1402 on the first communication link, and the second packet 1402 includes ML information about at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, the second packet 1402 can be an association response frame. In some other implementations, the second packet 1402 can be some other appropriate frame. In some aspects, the second packet 1402 can confirm or renegotiate one or more second device D2 capabilities for association on multiple links. Thus, the first device D1 and the second device D2 can establish a common security context that can be applied to multiple links. For example, the first device D1 and the second device D2 can establish a single encryption key that can be applied to each of the first communication link and the second communication link.

[0215] In some implementations, the first device D1 may assign a different AID for each link. For example, in the second packet 1402, the first device D1 may indicate that the AID for the first communication link is 25 and the AID for the second communication link is 26. In some other implementations, the first device D1 may assign a common AID across all links.

[0216] Between time t4 and t5, the second device D2 receives the second packet 1402 from the first device D1 on the first communication link. Subsequently, at time t6, the first device D1 associates with the second device D2 based at least in part on the ML information in the second packet 1402. In some implementations, between time t6 and t7, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish a BA session for at least one TID. Finally, at time t7, the first device D1 may communicate with the second device D2 on the first or second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device on the first communication link.

[0217] By exchanging the ML information included in the first packet 1401, the first device D1 and the second device D2 can implement various aspects of the present disclosure to provide faster discovery of links available for communication between the first device D1 and the second device D2. In addition, by exchanging the ML information included in the second packet 1422 or the MLA request 1431, the first device D1 or the second device D2 can also implement various aspects of the present disclosure to provide faster switching between links and more efficient communication on these links. For example, the first device D1 and the second device D2 can switch from communicating on the first communication link to communicating on the second communication link without disassociating or reassociating, thereby saving time and resources. Specifically, the second device D2 can receive ML information about the first communication link, the second communication link, or any link on which the first device D1 has established a BSS (such as in the first packet 1401). Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure enable the second device D2 to discover the first device D1 on any link on which the first device D1 has established a BSS.

[0218] Fig. 14B A timing diagram depicting an example multi-link communication 1420 according to some implementations is shown. Fig. 14B In the example of , communications may be exchanged between a first wireless communication device ("first device D1") and a second wireless communication device ("second device D2"). Each of devices D1 and D2 may be any suitable wireless communication device, such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B One of the STAs 104 and 604 described above or referenced above, respectively. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A One of the APs 102 and 602 described above. In the timing diagram 1420, the first device D1 can be a transmitting device and the second device D2 can be a receiving device. Each of the devices D1 and D2 can be an MLD. In some implementations, the multi-link communication 1420 can be Fig.14A A more detailed example of multi-link communication 1400 is shown in FIG.

[0219] At time t1, the first device D1 transmits a first packet 1421 on a first communication link (not shown for simplicity). Fig.14A As described, the first packet 1421 may include ML information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link (not shown for simplicity). Fig. 14BThe examples are described in the form of a first and a second communication link, but in some implementations, there may be any number of additional communication links, such as a third, fourth, or fifth communication link. For example, the first packet 1421 can uniquely identify each link based on a limited set of information (tuple). In some implementations, the tuple may include {operating class, channel, and BSSID}, which may be indicated in a field (such as a 6-octet field) of the first packet 1421, where the operating class indicates the operating class of the link, the channel indicates the channel of the link, and the BSSID indicates the BSSID of the link. An example operating class may be one of a 2.4 GHz spectrum, a 5 GHz spectrum, or a 6 GHz spectrum.

[0220] exist Fig. 14B In the example of , the first packet 1421 is shown as including a link attribute element. "Link attribute element" is an example name, and in some implementations, the link attribute element may have any other name. The link attribute element may include certain ML information about one or more links. In some instances, the link attribute element may include discovery information, such as a first operating category, a first wireless channel, and a first BSSID of a first communication link.

[0221] In this example, the link attributes element is also shown as including an anchor field. The anchor field may indicate that the first communication link is an anchor link. For example, if in the profile of the first communication link in the link attributes element, the anchor bit is set to 1 or some other appropriate value, the first communication link may be an anchor link. Additionally or alternatively, the anchor field may indicate that the first communication link is not an anchor link. For example, if in the profile of the first communication link in the link attributes element, the anchor bit is set to 0 or some other appropriate value, the first communication link may not be an anchor link. In some other implementations, setting the anchor bit of the anchor field to 0 may indicate that the first device D1 has not yet specified an anchor link.

[0222] The first group 1421 is also shown as including a multi-link element (MLE). "Multi-link element" is an example name, and in some implementations, MLE may have any other name. MLE may include certain ML information for one or more links other than the first or first communication link. As an example, MLE may include ML information about one or more secondary communication links (such as the second communication link and the third communication link). For the purpose of discussion, the first communication link may be referred to as the "first communication link", and each of the one or more other links (such as the second communication link) may be referred to as the "secondary communication link". MLE may include one or more per-link profile sub-elements, each of which may include ML information that varies due to different secondary communication links. As an example, one of the per-link profile sub-elements may include the second operation category, the second wireless channel, and the second BSSID of the second communication link. In some implementations, the per-link profile sub-element of the second communication link may indicate one or more link attributes that are different between the first communication link and the second communication link. Fig.15 and Figures 16A-16C An example implementation of MLE is shown.

[0223] Between time t1 and t2, the second device D2 receives a first packet 1421 from the first device D1 on the first communication link. In some implementations, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on the first and second communication links based on information included in the link attribute element. Some example ML communication parameters may include, but are not limited to: frequency band, high throughput (HT) capability, very high throughput (VHT) capability, high efficiency (HE) capability, or extremely high throughput (EHT) capability. In some implementations, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on different communication links based on information included in the MLE. For example, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on the second communication link based on information in a corresponding per-link profile sub-element for the second communication link included in the MLE. In some aspects, at least one of these ML communication parameters may be the same for each of the first and second communication links.

[0224] At time t3, the second device D2 transmits an MLA request 1431 on the first communication link based at least in part on the ML information included in the first packet 1421. In some implementations, such as when the anchor field of the first packet 1421 has not yet specified an anchor link, the MLA request 1431 may indicate a preference for designating one or more of the first communication link or the second communication link as an anchor link. For example, the second device D2 may indicate its preference for an anchor link by setting an anchor bit to 1 for a preferred anchor link in the MLA request 1431. In some aspects, the second device D2 may indicate more than one preferred anchor link by setting an anchor bit to 1 for each preferred anchor link in the MLA request 1431.

[0225] Between time t3 and t4, the first device D1 receives an MLA request 1431 from the second device D2 on the first communication link.

[0226] At time t4, the first device D1 transmits a second packet 1422 on the first communication link, the second packet 1422 including ML information about at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, if the second device D2 indicated a preference for anchor links in the MLA request 1431, the first device D1 may indicate the designated anchor link for the second device D2 by setting the anchor bit to 1 (or some other appropriate value) for one of the links in the second packet 1422. In some aspects, even though the second device D2 may indicate a preference for designating a particular link as an anchor link, the first device D1 may designate one or more different links as anchor links.

[0227] Between time t4 and t5, the second device D2 receives a second packet 1422 from the first device D1 on the first communication link. Using the ML information in the second packet 1402, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may then be associated, for example, between time t5 and t6. In some implementations, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may be associated by establishing a common security context between a first MAC-SAP endpoint of the first wireless communication device and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second wireless communication device. In some aspects, each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate on both the first and second communication links. In some aspects, the common security context may include a single encryption key shared by the first MAC-SAP endpoint and the second MAC-SAP endpoint.

[0228] Between time t6 and t7, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish a common BA session together for one or more TIDs. Thus, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may map the MSDU of the one or more TIDs to one or more of the first and second communication links. By establishing a common BA session and mapping one or more TIDs, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may implement various aspects of the present disclosure to map (or remap, contact, or recontact) the one or more TIDs to multiple links without dismantling the common BA session or establishing a new BA session. Subsequently, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may communicate on the first communication link or the second communication link according to their respective mapped TIDs. In some implementations, a BA session may be established during the "MLA Setup" between time t3 and t6.

[0229] After time t7, one or more link conditions (such as the amount of latency) may change, causing the first device D1 to remap one or more of these TIDs to one or more different links. As a non-limiting example, between time t6 and t7, the first device D1 may have initially mapped a first TID (such as TID=4) to the first communication link. Therefore, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may exchange packets with TID=4 on the first communication link before time t7. After time t7, the first device D1 may remap TID=4 to the second communication link. In some implementations, the first device D1 may indicate the remapping of TID=4 to the second device D2 in the third packet 1423. In some aspects, the first device D1 may indicate the remapping of TID=4 in the ADDBA capability field of the third packet 1423. In some implementations, the first device D1 may transmit one or more additional packets between time t7 and t8, as indicated by the Nth packet.

[0230] Between time t7 and t8, the first device D1 may remap one or more TIDs from one communication link to another communication link. The first device D1 may indicate the remapping to the second device D2 in the third packet 1423. For example, the first device D1 may remap a first TID (such as TID=4) from the first communication link to the second communication link and indicate the remapping in the third packet 1423. Upon receiving the third packet 1423, the second device D2 may switch from sending a packet with TID=4 on the first communication link to sending a packet with TID=4 on the second communication link. Since the second device D2 has received information about each of the first and second communication links from the first packet 1421 or the second packet 1422, the second device D2 may switch from communicating for TID=4 on the first communication link to communicating for TID=4 on the second communication link without disassociating or reassociating with the first device D1, thereby saving time and resources.

[0231] As another non-limiting example, the first device D1 and the second device D2 may establish a common BA session together. In some implementations, the first device D1 may indicate that one or more of the communication links are active or enabled (available for communication) or that one or more of the communication links are inactive or disabled (not available for communication). In this example, the first device D1 may indicate that each of the first and second communication links is active and the third communication link is inactive. For example, when establishing a common BA session, the first device D1 may set the first bit corresponding to the first communication link to 1, the second bit corresponding to the second communication link to 1, and the third bit corresponding to the third communication link to 0. Thus, the common BA session may map TID=4 to the first communication link and the second communication link, but not to the third communication link. Subsequently, the status of one or more of the links may change. For example, interference to the third communication link may decrease, and interference to the second communication link may increase. Thus, in this example, the first device D1 may transmit a single signal (such as the third packet 1423) to dynamically remap TID=4 to the first communication link and the third communication link. For example, the third data packet 1423 may indicate that the first bit is set to 1, the second bit is set to 0, and the third bit is set to 1. Since the second device D2 has received information about each communication link and established a common BA session with the first device D1, the second device D2 may dynamically switch from communication for TID=4 on the first and second communication links to communication for TID=4 on the first and third communication links without disassociating or reassociating with the first device D1 and without transmitting additional communications to the first device D1, thereby saving time and resources.

[0232] Additionally or alternatively, the first device D1 may use the third grouping 1423 to dynamically map one or more other TIDs to any subset of these communication links. As a non-limiting example, the third grouping 1423 may dynamically map TID=2 to the third communication link, dynamically map TID=5 to the first communication link and the second communication link, dynamically map TID=3 to the fourth communication link, and dynamically map TID=6 to all first, second, third, and fourth communication links. Additionally or alternatively, the client device may indicate to the first device D1 that the client device is capable of operating on a single link, even though more than one link is enabled. For example, the second device D2 may have one antenna and thus be capable of operating on a single link. In this example, the first device D1 may dynamically map each TID to a single communication link for communicating with the second device D2.

[0233] Fig.15 An example frame 1500 is shown including a link attribute element 1510 and a multi-link element (MLE) 1520 that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices. Frame 1500 can be a beacon frame, an association frame, or some other appropriate frame. In some aspects, frame 1500 can be a reference frame. Fig.14A Example implementations of the first packet 1401, MLA request 1411, or second packet 1402 described herein, or with reference to Fig. 14B 1421, MLA request 1431, second data packet 1422, or third data packet 1423 are described as example implementations. In some implementations, frame 1500 can be transmitted by first device D1 and received by second device D2, or vice versa. For ease of explanation, some information elements of frame 1500 may also be referred to as "fields", "subfields", "elements", or "sub-elements", which may be considered interchangeable terms for the purpose of discussion herein. In some implementations, information elements of frame 1500 may be referred to by any other appropriate terminology.

[0234] Link attribute element 1510 may include information about the reference Fig.14A and Fig. 14B In some implementations, the link attribute element 1510 may include discovery information of the first communication link for the MLD. In some other implementations, the link attribute element 1510 may include discovery information of one or more secondary communication links for the MLD.

[0235] The link attribute element 1510 is shown to include a plurality of fields, including an element ID field 1551, a length field 1552, an element ID extension field 1553, a control field 1554, an operation class field 1555, a channel number field 1556, a BSSID field 1557, a timing synchronization function (TSF) offset field 1558, and a beacon interval field 1559. In some implementations, the element ID field 1551 may be 1 octet long and include an identifier of the link attribute element 1510. In some aspects, the link attribute element 1510 may facilitate establishment of a shared BA session between the first device D1 and the second device D2, such as with respect to Fig. 14B 15. In some implementations, the length field 1552 may be 1 octet long and indicate the length of the link attribute element 1510. In some implementations, the element ID extension field 1553 may be 1 octet long. In some implementations, the operation class field 1555 may be 0 octets or 1 octet long and indicate the operation class of the first communication link. In some implementations, the channel number field 1556 may be 0 octets or 1 octet long and indicate the channel number of the first communication link.

[0236] In some implementations, the BSSID field 1557 may be 0 or 6 octets long and indicate the BSSID associated with the first communication link. In some implementations, the TSF offset field 1558 may be 0 or 2 octets long and indicate the TSF offset timing value of the packet transmitted on the first communication link. In some aspects, a value of 0 in the TSF offset field 1558 and the beacon interval field 1559 may indicate that the first device D1 is not transmitting a beacon on the first communication link. In some implementations, the beacon interval field 1559 may be 0 or 2 octets long and indicate the beacon interval of the beacon transmitted on the first communication link. In some aspects, the value in the TSF offset field 1558 or the beacon interval field 1559 may facilitate faster link switching for certain types of non-AP entities (such as STA MLDs with a single radio). In some implementations, the first device D1 may indicate that beacons will not be sent on one or more links. For example, the first device D1 may indicate that it is able to communicate on the second communication link and that the second communication link is dedicated as a data-only channel. In this way, the first device D1 may indicate that the second device D2 may utilize the second communication link, but the first device D1 will not broadcast a beacon on the second communication link.

[0237] In some implementations, the control field 1554 may be 1 octet long (8 bits) and include multiple sub-elements, or "sub-fields", "fields", or "control information". The multiple sub-elements may include a link ID sub-element 1561 (bits 1 and 2), an active link sub-element 1562 (bit 3), an independent MLA bit map sub-element 1563 (bits 4-7), and an anchor sub-element 1564 (bit 8). In some implementations, the link ID sub-element 1561 may include a unique identifier for the first communication link. In some aspects, the first device D1 may assign a unique identifier. In some implementations, the control field 1554 may not include the link ID sub-element 1561, or the link ID sub-element 1561 may be included in some other part of the frame 1500. In some implementations, the active link sub-element 1562 may indicate whether the first communication link is currently enabled. As a non-limiting example, the first device D1 may indicate that it is capable of operating on one or more links, and the first device D1 may provide a channel number and BSSID for each of the one or more links. In some implementations, the active links sub-element 1562 can indicate one or more links on which the first device D1 is not operating. As an example, the first device D1 can indicate that a particular link is disabled so that certain types of (such as non-EHT) devices do not attempt to communicate on the particular link.

[0238] In some aspects, this bit of the active link sub-element 1562 may be reserved for the first communication link. In some implementations, the independent MLA bitmap sub-element 1563 may be a bitmap indicating a specific (second) link with which the first communication link can perform an independent multi-link association (MLA). In some aspects, the bit positions of the independent MLA bitmap sub-element 1563 may correspond to the value of the link ID sub-element 1561. In some aspects, the bitmap may be a two-bit link identifier capable of indicating up to four combinations 0-3. For example, if the second bit for the second communication link is turned on (set to 1), the first communication link may be able to operate independently relative to the second communication link.

[0239] In some implementations, the anchor sub-element 1564 may indicate whether the first communication link is designated as an anchor link. In some aspects, for auxiliary links, if the active link sub-element 1562 is set to 0 for a particular link, the anchor sub-element 1564 may be retained and the particular link may not be used as an anchor link.

[0240] for Fig.15In some implementations, the link attribute element 1510 may include one or more of the fields 1551-1559 or the sub-elements 1561-1564. In some implementations, the link attribute element 1510 may include one or more different information elements. As a non-limiting example, the link attribute element 1510 may not include any one of the operation class field 1555, the channel number field 1556, the BSSID field 1557, the TSF offset field 1558, or the beacon interval field 1559. As another non-limiting example, the link attribute element 1510 may include each of the operation class field 1555, the channel number field 1556, the BSSID field 1557, the TSF offset field 1558, and the beacon interval field 1559.

[0241] The MLE 1520 is also shown as including a common attribute sub-element 1525 and one or more per-link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n). The common attribute sub-element 1525 may include attributes common to each of one or more communication links associated with the MLD (such as the first device D1 and the second device D2). In some instances, each of the per-link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n) may include a value for the latest critical update for the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. In other instances, each of the per-link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n) may indicate the presence or absence of a critical update associated with the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. In some other implementations (not shown for simplicity), each of the per-link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n) may include each of an operation class field 1555, a channel number field 1556, a BSSID field 1557, a TSF offset field 1558, and a beacon interval field 1559, as described with reference to FIG. Fig.11 And in some other implementations (not shown for simplicity), each of the link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n) may not include any of the operation class field 1555, the channel number field 1556, the BSSID field 1557, the TSF offset field 1558, or the beacon interval field 1559.

[0242] Fig.16A An example MLE 1600 that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. In some aspects, MLE 1600 can be a reference Fig.15An example implementation of the MLE 1520 described herein. In some implementations, the MLE 1520 may be included in a frame (such as frame 1500, a beacon frame, an association request frame, an association response frame, or any other appropriate frame) transmitted by the first device D1 and received by the second device D2 (or vice versa). For ease of explanation, some information elements of the MLE 1600 may be referred to as "fields", "subfields", "elements", or "sub-elements", which may be considered interchangeable terms for the purposes of discussion herein. In some implementations, the information elements of the MLE 1600 may be referred to by any other appropriate terminology.

[0243] MLE 1600 is shown as including a plurality of fields, including: element ID field 1601, length field 1602, element ID extension field 1603, common parameter field 1604 and one or more optional sub-element fields 1605. In some implementations, element ID field 1601 may be 1 octet long and include an identifier of MLE 1600. In some implementations, length field 1602 may be 1 octet long and indicate the length of MLE 1600. In some implementations, element ID extension field 1603 may be 1 octet long. In some implementations, common parameter field 1604 may be 1 octet long and include common information about each of a plurality of secondary communication links. Although only one optional sub-element field 1605 is shown for simplicity, MLE 1600 may include any suitable number of optional sub-element fields 1605.

[0244] In some implementations, each of the optional sub-element fields 1605 may correspond to one of the secondary communication links and may include ML information (or "ML attributes") about the corresponding secondary communication link that is different from the first communication link. To save bits, in some aspects, it may be assumed that the ML attributes not included in the corresponding MLE 1600 are inherited from the first communication link. As a non-limiting example, a link attribute element (such as Fig.15 1510) may include a beacon interval for the first communication link, and the optional sub-element field 1605 corresponding to the secondary communication link may not include the beacon interval for the secondary communication link. In this example, the beacon interval for the secondary communication link may be inherited from the beacon interval for the first communication link included in the link attribute element 1510. In this way, one or more information elements in the optional sub-element field 1605 corresponding to the secondary communication link may be excluded, or may include different information. In some other implementations, the MLE 1600 may include a single optional sub-element field 1605 that includes ML information about all or a subset of the secondary communication links.

[0245] Optional sub-element field 1605 is shown as including multiple fields, including: sub-element ID=0 field 1611, length field 1612, and data field 1613. In some implementations, sub-element ID=0 field 1611 can be 1 octet long and include an identifier (such as a value from 0-255) corresponding to optional sub-element field 1605. In some aspects, values ​​1-255 may be reserved.

[0246] In some implementations, the length field 1612 may be 1 octet long and indicate the length of the corresponding optional sub-element field 1605. In some implementations, the data field 1613 may be variable length and may include ML information for the corresponding secondary communication link. In some implementations, the data field 1613 may be a reference to Fig.15 An example implementation of one of the per-link profile sub-elements 1530(1)-1530(n) is described.

[0247] Fig. 16B An example data field 1620 is shown that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices. The data field 1620 can be Fig.16A 1613, and is shown as including a plurality of fields, the plurality of fields including an element ID field 1621, a length field 1622, an element ID extension field 1623, a control field 1624, an operation class field 1625, a channel number field 1626, a BSSID field 1627, a TSF offset field 1628, and a beacon interval field 1629, which may be respectively referred to as Fig.15 The described element ID field 1551, length field 1552, element ID extension field 1553, control field 1554, operation class field 1555, channel number field 1556, BSSID field 1557, TSF offset field 1058 and beacon interval field 1559 are the same or similar.

[0248] In some implementations, the control field 1624 may be 1 octet long (8 bits) and include a plurality of sub-elements, including a link ID sub-element 1641 (bits 1 and 2), an active link sub-element 1642 (bit 3), an independent MLA bitmap sub-element 1643 (bits 4-7), and an anchor sub-element 1644 (bit 8), which may be respectively associated with the reference Fig.15 The described link ID sub-element 1561, active link sub-element 1562, independent MLA bitmap sub-element 1563, and anchor sub-element 1564 are the same or similar, except for including information for corresponding to the secondary communication link instead of the first communication link.

[0249] In some implementations, one or more information elements may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified for MLE 1600. Furthermore, the names shown for the information elements associated with MLE 1600 are example names, and in some implementations, one or more of information elements 1601-1644 may have different names.

[0250] Fig. 16C An example data field 1630 that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. In some implementations, the data field 1630 can be Fig.16A 1600. The data field 1630 is shown as including an element ID field 1631, a length field 1632, and an element ID extension field 1633. The element ID field 1631, the length field 1632, and the element ID extension field 1633 may be the same or similar to the element ID field 1601, the length field 1602, and the element ID extension field 1603, respectively, except that the element ID field 1631, the length field 1632, and the element ID extension field 1633 may include information for the corresponding secondary communication link instead of the MLE 1600. In some aspects, the element ID extension field 1633 may be 0 octets or 1 octet long. The data field 1634 may have a variable length and may indicate HT capability, VHT capability, HE capability, EHT capability, MLD capability, and other capabilities.

[0251] Fig.17A A sequence diagram depicting an example multi-link (ML) communication 1700 according to some implementations is shown. Fig.17A In the example of FIG. 1700, ML communication 1700 may be performed between a STA of a STA MLD and an AP MLD including a first AP (AP1) and a second AP (AP2). AP1 may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and AP2 may be associated with a secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some implementations, AP1 and AP2 may be referenced to Figure 1 and Fig. 6A In the example implementation of one of the AP 102 and AP 602 described above, and the STA may be respectively referred to Figure 1 and Fig. 6A An example implementation of one of STA 104 and STA 604 described above.

[0252] AP1 generates a frame including one or more operating parameters for a first communication link, a first change sequence number (CSN) or value indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD, and one or more secondary CSNs or values ​​indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, the first CSN or value may be carried in a first change sequence field of the frame, and one or more secondary CSNs may be carried in one or more corresponding secondary change sequence fields of the frame. In one implementation, a critical update flag or CSN change indicator may be carried in a critical update flag subfield of the frame. AP1 transmits the frame to the STA on the first communication link. In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame including a first change sequence field carrying a first CSN, one or more secondary change sequence fields including a secondary CSN, one or more per-link profile sub-elements carrying one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, and a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link. The transmission of this beacon frame may reduce the power consumption of the STA (such as because the STA does not need to monitor the corresponding secondary communication link), may reduce frame exchange overhead, and may increase the size of the beacon frame.

[0253] The STA receives the frame and obtains the operating parameters for the first communication link, the CSN or value about the first communication link, and the CSN or value about the secondary communication link. In this way, the STA can determine the current operating parameters and whether there are critical updates about the first AP and the associated first communication link, and can also determine whether there are critical updates about the secondary AP and the associated secondary communication link without monitoring the secondary communication link.

[0254] AP1 receives a notification of a critical update about a secondary communication link and an associated secondary AP from AP2. AP1 increments the secondary CSN or value corresponding to the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP, and transmits a frame to the STA on the first communication link. In some implementations, the frame may include an updated CSN or value about the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP. In some other implementations, the frame may include a complete set of operating parameters for the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP. In some other implementations, the frame may include a complete set of operating parameters for each secondary communication link associated with the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0255] The STA may transmit a probe request frame on the first communication link to AP1. In some implementations, the probe request frame may include the most recently received CSN or value regarding the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP.

[0256] AP1 may identify the CSN of the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP that the STA missed (or was not correctly decoded for other reasons). AP1 may transmit a response frame to the STA on the first communication link. In some implementations, the response frame carries the CSN(s) of the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP that the STA missed. In some other implementations, the response frame carries a complete set of operating parameters for the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP for which one or more operating parameters have been updated. In some other implementations, the response frame carries a complete set of operating parameters for each secondary communication link associated with the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD.

[0257] In some implementations, the response frame may be a unicast probe response frame that carries one or more critical updates for the specified secondary communication link that the STA has missed. In some other implementations, the response frame may be a broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for each secondary communication link associated with the corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD. Transmitting a broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for all secondary communication links may reduce power consumption of the STA (such as because the STA does not need to monitor any of the secondary communication links), may reduce frame exchange overhead, and may increase the size of the broadcast probe response frame.

[0258] Additionally or alternatively, AP1 may transmit an unsolicited broadcast probe response frame to the STA on the first communication link, the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame carrying a complete set of operating parameters for the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP. Transmitting an unsolicited broadcast probe response frame carrying a complete set of operating parameters for the secondary communication link and the associated secondary AP may reduce power consumption of the STA (such as because the STA does not need to monitor the secondary communication link), may reduce frame exchange overhead, and may increase the size of the unsolicited broadcast probe response frame (but not as large as the aforementioned broadcast probe response frame).

[0259] Fig. 17B A sequence diagram depicting another example multi-link communication 1710 according to some implementations is shown. Fig. 17B In the example of FIG. 17, ML communication 1710 may be performed between a STA of a STA MLD and an AP MLD including a first AP (AP1) and a second AP (AP2). AP1 may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and AP2 may be associated with a secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some implementations, AP1 and AP2 may be referenced to Figure 1 and Fig. 6A In the example implementation of one of the AP 102 and AP 602 described above, and the STA may be respectively referred to Figure 1 and Fig. 6AAn example implementation of one of STA 104 and STA 604 described above.

[0260] AP1 generates a frame (the frame includes one or more operating parameters for the first communication link, a first change sequence number (CSN) or value indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD, and one or more secondary CSNs or values ​​each indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the corresponding secondary communication link of the AP MLD), and transmits the frame to the STA on the first communication link. In some implementations, the frame can be a beacon frame, which carries the first CSN in the first change sequence field, the secondary CSN in the corresponding secondary change sequence field, one or more operating parameters for the first communication link in the MLE, and a complete set of operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link in the corresponding per-link profile sub-element. The transmission of this beacon frame can reduce the power consumption of the STA (such as because the STA does not need to monitor the corresponding secondary communication link), can reduce frame exchange overhead, and can increase the size of the beacon frame.

[0261] The STA receives the frame and obtains the operating parameters for the first communication link, the CSN or value for the first communication link, and the CSN or value for the secondary communication link. In this way, the STA can determine the current operating parameters and whether there is a critical update for the first communication link, and can also determine whether there is a critical update link for the secondary communication link without monitoring the secondary communication link.

[0262] AP1 receives a do not transmit (DNT) indication regarding a secondary communication link from AP2. The AP1 asserts the DNT indication regarding the secondary communication link and transmits a frame on the first communication link. The frame (which may be a unicast frame, a broadcast frame, or an unsolicited probe response frame) includes an asserted DNT indication for the secondary communication link. In some implementations, the DNT indication may be based on one or more of: a channel switch announcement for the secondary communication link, a silent time announcement for the secondary communication link, or the unavailability of a secondary AP associated with the secondary communication link of the AP MLD, and may indicate whether the wireless communication device is to suppress transmission on the secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In some instances, at least some of the wireless communication devices may monitor the first communication link without monitoring the secondary communication link to look for the DNT indication.

[0263] In some implementations, the frame may be a unicast probe response frame that carries one or more critical updates about the specified secondary communication link that the STA has missed. The transmission of this unicast probe response frame may result in a minimum size for a unicast probe response frame and may increase frame exchange overhead (such as because an additional frame may be required to carry operating parameters for the specified secondary communication link). In some other implementations, the frame may be a broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for the specified secondary communication link. The transmission of this broadcast probe response frame may increase the frame size and may reduce frame exchange overhead. In some other implementations, the frame may be a spontaneous broadcast probe response frame that carries a complete set of operating parameters for all secondary communication links. The transmission of this spontaneous broadcast probe response frame may increase the frame size and may further reduce frame exchange overhead (such as compared to the aforementioned broadcast probe response frame).

[0264] In this way, the STA can determine that a DNT condition exists on the secondary communication link and refrain from transmitting on the secondary communication link without monitoring the secondary communication link. In this way, the STA can receive the DNT condition on the secondary communication link without consuming power associated with performing a scanning operation on the secondary communication link. The STA can communicate with AP1 on the first communication link.

[0265] Fig.18 A timing diagram depicting an example multi-link communication 1800 according to some implementations is shown. Fig.18 In the example of FIG. 1800 , ML communication 1800 may be performed between a STA MLD and an AP MLD. The AP MLD is shown to include a first AP (AP1) associated with a first communication link (Link 1) of the AP MLD, and a second AP (AP2) associated with a secondary communication link (Link 2) of the AP MLD. The STA MLD is shown to include a first station (STA1) and a second station (STA2). Fig.18 In the example of , STA1 is associated with the first communication link (link 1), and STA2 is associated with the secondary communication link (link 2). In some implementations, AP1 and AP2 may be respectively referred to as Figure 1 and Fig. 6A In the example implementation of one of the AP 102 and AP 602 described above, STA1 and STA2 may be referenced respectively. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A An example implementation of one of STA 104 and STA 604 described above.

[0266] Initially, the CSN of AP1 starts from 25, and the CSN of AP2 starts from 45. Fig.18In the example of , STA1 remains in doze state on link 1. At time t0, AP1 sends a beacon frame on link 1, which indicates CSN=25 for link 1. The beacon frame also includes MLE, which indicates CSN=45 and DNT=0 for link 2. Neither STA1 nor STA2 receives the beacon frame from AP1.

[0267] At time t1, AP2 sends a beacon frame on link 2, indicating CSN=45 for link 2. The beacon frame also includes an MLE indicating CSN=25 and DNT=0 for link 1. STA2 receives the beacon frame, obtains CSN=25 and DNT=0 for link 1, and obtains CSN=45 for link 2. Based on DNT=0, STA2 determines that transmission on link 1 is allowed.

[0268] At time t2, AP1 transmits a beacon frame including an ECSA IE with Mode=1 and indicating CSN=26 for Link 1. The beacon frame also includes an MLE indicating CSN=45 and DNT=0 for AP2. Neither STA1 nor STA2 receives the beacon frame from AP1.

[0269] At time t3 (which is time t1 past TBTT), AP2 sends a beacon frame on link 2, which indicates CSN=45 for link 2. The beacon frame also includes an MLE, which indicates CSN=26 and DNT=1 for link 1. STA2 receives the beacon frame, obtains CSN=26 and DNT=1 for link 1, and obtains CSN=45 for link 2. Based on DNT=1, STA2 refrains from transmitting on link 1. In some implementations, the beacon frame transmitted at time t3 may indicate that AP2 will transmit a probe response frame including a critical update on link 1.

[0270] At time t4, STA2 sends a probe request frame to AP2 on link 2. The probe request frame includes the last CSN received by the STA for link 1, which is CSN=25 (thereby indicating that STA2 missed a critical update on link 1).

[0271] At time t5, AP2 sends a probe response frame on link 2. The probe response frame includes an MLE indicating an ECSA for link 1 with mode=1. In some implementations, the probe response frame may be a broadcast probe response frame including a complete profile for link 2. STA2 receives the probe response frame, obtains an ECSA for link 1 with mode=1, and determines that transmission on link 1 is not permitted.

[0272] At time t6, AP1 sends a beacon frame on link 1, which indicates CSN=26 for link 1 and includes an MLE indicating CSN=45 for link 2 and DNT=0 for link 2. The beacon frame also indicates ECSA for link 1 with mode=1. Neither STA1 nor STA2 receives the beacon frame from AP1.

[0273] At time t7, AP2 sends a beacon frame on link 2, which indicates CSN=45 for link 2 and includes an MLE indicating CSN=26 for link 1 and DNT=1 for link 1. STA2 receives the beacon frame, obtains CSN=26 and DNT=1 for link 1, and obtains CSN=45 for link 2. Based on DNT=1, STA2 refrains from transmitting on link 1.

[0274] At time t8, AP1 sends a beacon frame on the new channel and on link 1, indicating CSN=26 for link 1 and including an MLE indicating CSN=45 and DNT=0 for link 2. STA2 receives the beacon frame, obtains CSN=26 and DNT=1 for link 0, and obtains CSN=45 for link 2. Based on DNT=0, STA2 can contend for medium access on link 1.

[0275] At time t9, AP2 sends a beacon frame on link 2, which indicates CSN=45 for link 2 and includes an MLE indicating CSN=26 for link 1 and DNT=0 for link 1. STA2 receives the beacon frame, obtains CSN=26 and DNT=1 for link 0, and obtains CSN=45 for link 2. Based on DNT=1, STA2 refrains from transmitting on link 1.

[0276] for Fig.18 In the example of , DNT for Link 1 is asserted at time t2 based on ECSA on L1. In other implementations, DNT for Link 1 may be asserted for other reasons or conditions, including (but not limited to) other critical updates to Link 1, operating radar signals, unavailability of AP1, or some other error associated with AP1 or Link 1).

[0277] Fig.19 An example MLE 1900 that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. In some aspects, MLE 1900 can be a reference Fig.15An example implementation of the MLE 1520 described herein. In some implementations, the MLE 1520 may be included in a frame (such as frame 1500, a beacon frame, an association request frame, an association response frame, or any other appropriate frame) transmitted by the first device D1 and received by the second device D2 (or vice versa). For ease of explanation, some information elements of the MLE 1900 may be referred to as "fields", "subfields", "elements", or "sub-elements", which may be considered interchangeable terms for the purposes of discussion herein. In some implementations, the information elements of the MLE 1900 may be referred to by any other appropriate terminology.

[0278] The MLE 1900 is shown as including a plurality of fields, including an element ID field 1902, a length field 1904, an element ID extension field 1906, a common parameters field 1908, and one or more per-link profile sub-element fields 1910(1)-1910(n). In some implementations, the element ID field 1902 may be 1 octet long and include an identifier of the MLE 1900. In some implementations, the length field 1904 may be 1 octet long and indicate the length of the MLE 1900. In some implementations, the element ID extension field 1906 may be 1 octet long. In some implementations, the common parameters field 1908 may be 1 octet long and include common information about each secondary communication link. Each link profile sub-element 1910(1)–1910(n) may have a different length and may carry information including, but not limited to, a CSN for the corresponding secondary communication link, critical updates about the corresponding secondary communication link, operating parameters for the corresponding secondary communication link, a partial profile for the corresponding secondary communication link, a DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link, discovery information for the corresponding secondary communication link, and capability information for the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0279] To save bits, in some aspects, it may be assumed that attributes, capabilities, operating parameters, or other values ​​not included in the corresponding per-link profile sub-element MLE 1910 are inherited from the first communication link. As a non-limiting example, a link attribute element such as Fig.151910(n) may include a CSN for the first communication link, and a per-link profile sub-element field 1910 corresponding to the secondary communication link may not include a CSN for the secondary communication link. In this example, the CSN for the secondary communication link may be inherited from the CSN for the first communication link included in the link attributes element 1510. In this way, one or more of the per-link profile sub-element fields 1910(1)-1910(n) may be excluded or may include different information. In some other implementations, the MLE 1900 may include a single per-link profile sub-element field 1910 that includes information about all or a subset of the secondary communication links.

[0280] In some implementations, the data field 1916 may include multiple sub-elements, including: a link ID sub-element 1932, a critical update field 1934, a DNT field 1936, and one or more elements 1938(1)-1938(n) carrying any suitable information about the corresponding secondary communication link.

[0281] In some implementations, one or more information elements or fields may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified for MLE 1900. Furthermore, the names shown for information elements or fields associated with MLE 1900 are example names, and in some implementations, one or more of the information elements or fields may have different names.

[0282] Fig. 20 An example Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element 2000 that may be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. The RNR element 2000 is shown to include an element ID field 2002, a length field 2004, and one or more neighbor AP information fields 2006 (only one neighbor AP information field is shown for simplicity).

[0283] In some implementations, each neighbor AP information field 2006 includes a TBTT information header 2011, an operation class field 2012, a channel number field 2013, a TBTT information set field 2014, a critical update field 2015, and a DNT field 2016. The update field 2015 may carry an indication of a critical update about the corresponding secondary communication link, and the DNT field 2016 may carry a DNT indication for the corresponding secondary communication link. In some other implementations, the RNR element 2000 may be extended to include a link ID field that stores one or more unique link IDs that may be used to map entries in the neighbor AP information field 2006 with information stored in each link profile sub-element in the MLE.

[0284] In some implementations, one or more information elements or fields may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified for an RNR element. In addition, the names shown for the information elements or fields associated with the RNR element 2000 are example names, and in some implementations, one or more of the information elements or fields may have different names.

[0285] Fig.21 A flow chart illustrating an example process 2100 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding an MLD according to some implementations is shown. The process 2100 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 5 In some implementations, process 2100 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig.21 In an example, process 2100 is performed by an AP MLD including a first AP and one or more secondary APs. The first AP can be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each secondary AP can be associated with a corresponding secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0286] In box 2102, a first AP of an AP MLD generates a frame, the frame including a first change sequence field carrying a CSN or value of a latest critical update for the first AP of the AP MLD, including one or more secondary fields carrying a CSN or value of a latest critical update for one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and including a critical update flag subfield carrying an indication of a change in the value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields. In box 2104, the first AP MLD transmits the frame on a first communication link. The frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame. In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame, and a critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in an initial portion of the beacon frame. In some instances, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a field or element before a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame. For example, in some aspects, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a critical update flag subfield of the beacon frame.

[0287] In some implementations, the latest critical update with respect to the first communication link and the first AP corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first communication link or the first AP, and the latest critical update with respect to the corresponding secondary communication link and the corresponding secondary AP corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of the BSS associated with the corresponding secondary communication link and the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, the first CSN or value carried in the first change sequence field indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first AP and the associated first communication link, and each secondary CSN or value carried in one or more secondary change sequence fields may indicate the latest critical update with respect to the corresponding secondary AP and the associated secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In other implementations, a flag or change indicator, which may be a single-bit indicator, carried in the critical update flag subfield may be used to indicate whether there has been a change in the value of any of the one or more secondary change sequence fields.

[0288] In some implementations, the critical update flag subfield will carry a specific value that is set to indicate that there is a change in the value of the first CSN carried in the first change sequence field or one or more secondary CSNs carried in one or more corresponding secondary change sequence fields. In implementations where the critical update flag subfield is one bit long, the value may be set to 1 to indicate a change in the value of the first CSN or one or more secondary CSNs. In some instances, the AP MLD may announce a flag or update indicator value = 1 in each of a plurality of beacon frames to increase the likelihood that nearby wireless communication devices (such as STAs) are able to receive a critical update indication. In some implementations, the AP may announce a flag or update indicator value = 1 for all beacon frames transmitted during the DTIM period. The power saving STA is expected to wake up during the transmission of the DTIM beacon and may therefore receive a critical update indication. In some implementations, the AP MLD may announce a flag or update indicator value = 1 in the change sequence field within a duration equal to the maximum listening interval among all associated STAs.

[0289] The one or more operating parameters may include at least one of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link setup (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0290] In some implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in the capability information field of the frame. In some instances, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame. In other implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a media access control (MAC) header of the frame. In other implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame. In some implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble. In some other implementations, the critical update flag subfield may also carry one or more secondary flags or change indicators, each of which may indicate the presence or absence of a corresponding secondary CSN or value change of the one or more secondary change sequence fields.

[0291] In some implementations, one or more secondary flags or change indicators may be carried in the capability information field of the frame. In some instances, one or more secondary flags or change indicators may be carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame. In other implementations, one or more secondary flags or change indicators may be carried in the MAC header of the frame. In some other implementations, one or more secondary flags or change indicators may be carried in the PHY preamble of the frame. In some instances, one or more secondary flags or change indicators may be carried in the signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0292] Fig. 22 A flow chart illustrating an example process 2200 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding an MLD according to some implementations is shown. The process 2200 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 5 In some implementations, process 2200 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 6AThe present invention is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within one of the APs 102 and 602 described above. Fig. 22 Example, process 2200 by reference Fig.21 In some implementations, Fig. 22 The process 2200 is available at Fig.21 Block 2104 is executed after the AP MLD transmits the frame.

[0293] At block 2202, a first AP receives a notification of a critical update for a corresponding secondary AP of an AP MLD. In some instances, the first AP may receive the notification from the corresponding secondary AP. At block 2204, the AP MLD increments a secondary CSN or value carried in a secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP in response to the notification. At block 2204, the AP MLD updates a flag or change indicator carried in a critical update flag subfield in response to incrementing the secondary CSN. In some instances, the AP MLD may update the flag or change indicator by converting a bit carried in the critical update flag subfield from a first logical state to a second logical state, for example, where the first logical state of the bit indicates that a critical update for the corresponding AP and an associated communication link has not changed, and the second logical state of the bit indicates that a change in a critical update for the corresponding AP and an associated communication link has occurred. In this manner, a wireless communication device (such as a STA MLD) that receives a frame carrying a critical update flag or indicator bit set to a second logical state may determine that one or more operating parameters of the corresponding AP and the associated communication link have changed.

[0294] Fig.23 A flow chart illustrating an example process 2300 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding an MLD according to some implementations is shown. The process 2300 may be performed by a first wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 5 In some implementations, the process 2300 may be performed by a STA (such as the wireless communication device 500 described above). Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.23 In the example of , process 2300 is performed by STA MLD.

[0295] In block 2302, a STA MLD is associated with a first AP of an AP MLD, the AP MLD also including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD. In block 2304, the STA MLD receives a frame from the first AP of the AP MLD on the first communication link of the AP MLD. The frame may include a first change sequence field carrying a CSN or value of a latest critical update for the first communication link or the first AP of the AP MLD, may include one or more secondary change sequence fields carrying a CSN or value of a latest critical update for one or more corresponding secondary communication links or corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD, and may include a critical update flag subfield carrying a critical update flag or a change indicator indicating a change in the value of at least one of the secondary change sequence fields. The frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a FILS discovery frame. In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame, and the critical update flag or the change indicator may be carried in an initial portion of the beacon frame. In some examples, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a field or element preceding a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0296] In some implementations, a critical update with respect to a first AP or a first communication link corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first communication link or the first AP, and a critical update with respect to a corresponding secondary AP or a corresponding secondary communication link corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a BSS associated with the corresponding secondary communication link and the corresponding secondary AP. In some instances, a CSN or value carried in a first change sequence field indicates the latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first AP or the communication link, and each secondary CSN or value carried in a corresponding secondary change sequence field may indicate the latest critical update with respect to a corresponding secondary AP or secondary communication link of the AP MLD. In other implementations, a flag or change indicator, which may be a single-bit indicator, carried in a critical update flag subfield may be used to indicate whether a change in the value or CSN of any of these secondary change sequence fields has occurred.

[0297] The one or more operating parameters may include at least one of: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link setup (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation, or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0298] In some implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in the capability information field of the frame. In some instances, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame. In other implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a media access control (MAC) header of the frame. In other implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame. In some implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble. In some other implementations, the critical update flag subfield may also carry one or more secondary critical update flags or change indicators, each of which may indicate the presence or absence of a corresponding secondary CSN or value change of the one or more secondary change sequence fields.

[0299] In some implementations, one or more secondary key update flags or CSN change indicators may be carried in the capability information field of the frame. In some instances, one or more secondary key update flags or change indicators may be carried in the reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame. In other implementations, one or more secondary key update flags or change indicators may be carried in the MAC header of the frame. In some other implementations, one or more secondary key update flags or change indicators may be carried in the PHY preamble of the frame. In some implementations, one or more secondary key update flags or change indicators may be carried in the signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0300] Fig.24 A flowchart illustrating an example process 2400 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding MLDs according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the process 2400 may be performed by a STA (such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6BThe wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.24 Example, process 2400 is referred to above Fig.23 In some implementations, Fig.24 The process 2400 is available at Fig.23 Block 2304 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0301] At block 2402, the STA MLD increments a first CSN counter in response to a first CSN or value carried in a first change sequence field indicating that there is a critical update to a first communication link of the AP MLD. At block 2404, the STA MLD increments one or more secondary CSN counters in STAs of the STA MLD in response to one or more corresponding secondary CSNs or values ​​carried in one or more corresponding secondary change sequence fields indicating that there is a critical update to one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0302] Fig.25 A flow chart illustrating an example process 2500 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding an MLD according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the process 2500 may be performed by a STA (such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.25 Example, process 2500 is referred to above Fig.23 In some implementations, Fig.25 The process 2500 is available at Fig.23 Block 2304 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0303] At block 2502, the STA MLD wakes up from a power save mode. At block 2504, the STA MLD sequentially decodes a plurality of fields or elements of a beacon frame. At block 2506, the STA MLD determines that a critical update flag or change indicator indicates a change in value of at least one of a first CSN or value carried in a first change sequence field or a secondary CSN or value carried in a corresponding secondary change sequence field. At block 2508, the STA MLD continues to sequentially decode a plurality of fields or elements of a beacon frame at least until the first CSN or value carried in the first change sequence field is decoded, regardless of information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0304] Fig.26A flowchart illustrating an example process 2600 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding MLDs according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the process 2600 may be performed by a STA (such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig.26 Example, process 2600 is referred to above Fig.23 In some implementations, Fig.26 The process 2600 is available at Fig.23 Block 2304 is executed after the STA MLD receives the frame.

[0305] At block 2602, the STA MLD wakes up from a power save mode. At block 2604, the STA MLD sequentially decodes a plurality of fields or elements of a beacon frame. At block 2606, the STA MLD determines that a critical update flag or change indicator does not indicate a change in value of a first CSN or value carried in a first change sequence field or one or more secondary CSNs or values ​​carried in a corresponding secondary change sequence field. At block 2608, the STA MLD continues to sequentially decode a plurality of fields or elements of a beacon frame until a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame is decoded, regardless of the change indicator.

[0306] Fig. 27 A flow chart illustrating an example process 2700 for supporting wireless communications indicating critical updates regarding MLDs according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the process 2700 may be performed by a STA (such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B The wireless communication device described in the embodiment of the present invention is operated by or within the STA 104 and 604. Fig. 27 Example, process 2700 by reference Fig.23 In some implementations, Fig. 27 The course 2700 is available at Fig.26 In block 2608 of the STA MLD, the STA MLD continues to decode the beacon frame in sequence. In block 2702, the STA MLD terminates in-sequence decoding of multiple fields or elements of the beacon frame based on the TIM element indicating that there is no queued downlink (DL) data for the STA MLD, regardless of whether the CSN or value carried in the corresponding change sequence field is decoded.

[0307] Fig.28An example beacon frame 2800 that can be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. The beacon frame 2800 is shown to include a frame control field 2801, a duration field 2802, an address 1 field 2803, an address 2 field 2804, a sequence control field 2805, an HT control field 2806, a frame body 2807, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field 2808. The frame control field 2801 may carry control information indicating certain parameters of the beacon frame 2800, such as a protocol version, type, and subtype. The duration field 2802 may carry information indicating the total length (in bytes) of the beacon frame 2800. The address 1 field 2803, the address 2 field 2804, and the address 3 field 2805 may include individual or group addresses for all or part of the beacon frame 2800, such as a basic service set identifier (BSSID), a source address (SA), a destination address (DA), a transmitting STA address (TA), or a receiving STA address (RA). The sequence control field 2806 may indicate a sequence number, a fragment number, or both corresponding to the beacon frame 2800. The HT control field 2807 may include control information for the beacon frame 2800. The FCS field 2809 may include information used to verify or interpret all or part of the beacon frame 2800.

[0308] The frame body 2808 may include any suitable number of fields or elements (such as information elements). In some implementations, the beacon frame 2800 may include one or more mandatory fields, such as, for example, a timestamp field, a beacon interval field, a capability information field, an SSID field, and a supported rate field, etc. The beacon frame 2800 may also include one or more information elements, such as, for example, a DSSS parameter element, a CF parameter set element, a traffic indication map (TIM) element, etc. The beacon frame 2800 is shown as including an information element 2810, which includes an element ID field 2811, a length field 2812, an element ID extension field 2813, and an information field 2814. The element ID field 2811 carries information indicating the type and format of the information element 2810. The length field 2812 carries information indicating the length or size of the information element 2810. The element ID extension field 2813 carries information indicating the type and / or content of the beacon frame 2800. Information field 2814 may carry any suitable type of data (such as discovery information about the AP MLD, operating parameters for one or more APs of the AP MLD, capability information about one or more APs of the AP MLD, etc.).

[0309] Fig.29An example capability information field 2900 that may be used for communication between wireless communication devices is shown. The capability information field 2900 is shown to include an ESS field 2901, an IBSS field 2902, two reserved fields 2903 and 2904, a privacy field 2905, a short preamble field 2906, two additional reserved fields 2907 and 2908, a spectrum management field 2909, a QoS field 2910, a short slot field 2911, an APSD field 2912, a radio measurement field 2913, an EPD field 2914, and two additional reserved fields 2915 and 2916.

[0310] In some implementations, the critical update flag or change indicator may be a single-bit indicator that may be carried in one of the reserved fields (or bits) 2903, 2904, 2907, 2908, 2915, or 2916. In some instances, the AP MLD may map the critical update flag or change indicator to one of the reserved fields 2903, 2904, 2907, 2908, 2915, or 2916 of the capability information field 2900 carried in the beacon frame 2800, and may indicate whether there has been a critical update or change in operating parameters for one or more of the first AP or the secondary AP by embedding the indicator bit in a selected field of the reserved fields 2903, 2904, 2907, 2908, 2915, or 2916.

[0311] In some other implementations, the critical update flag may be a multi-bit value that may be carried in multiple reserved fields 2903, 2904, 2907, 2908, 2915, or 2916 (rather than just one reserved field) of the capability information field 2900. Using a multi-bit change indicator rather than a single-bit change indicator may allow the AP MLD to use the beacon frame 2800 to identify which communication links of the AP MLD are associated with a critical update. For example, if four fields of the reserved fields 2903, 2904, 2907, 2908, 2915, or 2916 of the capability information field 2900 are available, the AP MLD may use a 4-bit critical update flag to uniquely identify four different communication links with the latest critical update (such as by using each bit of the critical update flag or change indicator to indicate the presence or absence of a critical update with respect to the corresponding communication link).

[0312] Various implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0313] 1. A method for performing wireless communication by an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

[0314] A frame is generated by a first AP of the AP MLD associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, the AP MLD further including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD, the frame comprising:

[0315] a first change sequence number (CSN), the first CSN indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for a first communication link of the AP MLD;

[0316] one or more secondary CSNs, each of the one or more secondary CSNs indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for a corresponding one of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD; and

[0317] a CSN update indicator field carrying a change indicator indicating the presence or absence of a change in the value of at least one of the first CSN or the one or more secondary CSNs;

[0318] The frame is transmitted on the first communication link of the AP MLD.

[0319] 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the most recent critical update with respect to the first communication link corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first communication link.

[0320] 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first CSN indicates a latest critical update to one or more operating parameters for the first communication link.

[0321] 4. The method of clause 2, wherein the critical update with respect to the respective secondary communication link corresponds to a change in the one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the respective secondary communication link.

[0322] 5. The method of clause 4, wherein each of the one or more secondary CSNs indicates a latest critical update to the one or more operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link of the APMLD.

[0323] 6. A method as described in any one or more of clauses 2-5, wherein the one or more operating parameters include at least one of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0324] 7. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-6, wherein the frame comprises one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame.

[0325] 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the change indicator is carried in each beacon frame transmitted during a time period.

[0326] 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the time period comprises a Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) period.

[0327] 10. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-9, wherein the change indicator is carried in an initial portion of a beacon frame.

[0328] 11. The method of clause 9, further comprising:

[0329] All beacon frames are transmitted within the Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) period.

[0330] 12. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-11, wherein the change indicator is carried in a capability information field of the frame.

[0331] 13. The method of clause 11, wherein the change indicator is carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame.

[0332] 14. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-11, wherein the change indicator is carried in a medium access control (MAC) header of the frame.

[0333] 15. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-11, wherein the change indicator is carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame.

[0334] 16. The method of clause 14, wherein the change indicator is carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0335] 17. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-16, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame and the change indicator is carried in a field or element preceding a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0336] 18. The method of any one or more of clauses 10-15, wherein the protection indicator is a single bit.

[0337] 19. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-18, wherein the CSN update indicator field further carries one or more secondary change indicators, each of the one or more secondary change indicators indicating the presence or absence of a change in the value of a corresponding secondary CSN of the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0338] 20. The method of clause 18, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a capability information field of the frame.

[0339] 21. The method of clause 18, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a reserved portion of a capability information field of the frame.

[0340] 22. The method of clause 18, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a medium access control (MAC) header of the frame.

[0341] 23. The method of clause 18, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame.

[0342] 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0343] 25. The method of clause 18, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame, and the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a field or element preceding a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0344] 26. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-25, further comprising:

[0345] receiving, by the first AP of the AP MLD, a notification of a critical update regarding a corresponding secondary communication link from a secondary AP of the one or more secondary APs of the AP MLD that is associated with a corresponding secondary communication link of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD;

[0346] incrementing a secondary CSN corresponding to the respective secondary communication link based on the notification; and

[0347] The change indicator carried in the CSN update indicator field is updated based on incrementing the secondary CSN.

[0348] 27. The method of clause 26, wherein the secondary CSN comprises a modulo of a maximum value representable in the CSN Update Indicator field.

[0349] 28. A wireless communication device, comprising:

[0350] at least one modem;

[0351] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0352] At least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to perform the method of any of clauses 1-27.

[0353] 29. A method for performing wireless communication by a wireless station (STA) of a multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

[0354] A frame is received from a first AP of an access point (AP) MLD on a first communication link of the AP MLD, the AP MLD further including one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD, the frame comprising:

[0355] a first change sequence number (CSN), the first CSN indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for the first communication link or the first AP of the AP MLD;

[0356] one or more secondary CSNs, each of the one or more secondary CSNs indicating the presence or absence of a critical update for a corresponding one of the one or more secondary communication links of the AP MLD; and

[0357] A CSN update indicator field carries a change indicator indicating the presence or absence of a change in value of at least one of the first CSN or the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0358] 30. The method of clause 29, wherein the most recent critical update regarding the first communication link corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first communication link or the first AP.

[0359] 31. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-30, wherein the first CSN indicates a latest critical update to the one or more operating parameters for the first communication link.

[0360] 32. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-30, wherein the critical update regarding the respective secondary communication link corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the respective secondary communication link.

[0361] 33. The method of clause 29, wherein each of the one or more secondary CSNs indicates a latest critical update to the one or more operating parameters for a corresponding secondary communication link of the APMLD.

[0362] 34. A method as described in any one or more of clauses 29-32, wherein the one or more operating parameters include at least one of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0363] 35. The method of clause 29, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame.

[0364] 36. The method of clause 29, wherein the change indicator is carried in an initial portion of a beacon frame.

[0365] 37. The method of clause 29, wherein the change indicator is carried in a capability information field of the frame.

[0366] 38. The method of clause 37, wherein the change indicator is carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame.

[0367] 39. The method of clause 29, wherein the change indicator is carried in a medium access control (MAC) header of the frame.

[0368] 40. The method of clause 29, wherein the change indicator is carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame.

[0369] 41. The method of clause 40, wherein the change indicator is carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0370] 42. The method of clause 29, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame, and the change indicator is carried in a field or element preceding a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0371] 43. The method of clause 29, wherein the CSN update indicator field further carries one or more secondary change indicators, each of the one or more secondary change indicators indicating the presence or absence of a change in a value of a corresponding secondary CSN of the one or more secondary CSNs.

[0372] 44. The method of clause 43, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a capability information field of the frame.

[0373] 45. The method of clause 43, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a reserved portion of the capability information field of the frame.

[0374] 46. ​​The method of clause 43, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a medium access control (MAC) header of the frame.

[0375] 47. The method of clause 43, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the frame.

[0376] 48. The method of clause 47, wherein the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a signaling field of the PHY preamble.

[0377] 49. The method of clause 48, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame, and the one or more secondary change indicators are carried in a field or element preceding a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0378] 50. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-49, further comprising:

[0379] incrementing a first CSN counter in the STA of the STAMLD based on the first CSN indicating that there is a critical update for the first communication link of the AP MLD; and

[0380] One or more secondary CSN counters in the STA of the STA MLD are incremented based on the one or more corresponding secondary CSNs indicating that there is a critical update with respect to one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD.

[0381] 51. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-50, wherein the secondary CSN comprises a modulo of a maximum value representable in the CSN Update Indicator field.

[0382] 52. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-50, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame, receiving the frame comprises:

[0383] Waking up from power saving mode;

[0384] Decoding a plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence;

[0385] determining that the change indicator indicates a change in value of at least one of the first CSN or the one or more secondary CSNs; and

[0386] The plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame continue to be decoded in sequence at least until a first CSN is decoded, regardless of information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0387] 53. The method of any one or more of clauses 29-50, wherein the frame comprises a beacon frame, receiving the frame comprises:

[0388] Waking up from power saving mode;

[0389] Decoding a plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence;

[0390] determining that the change indicator does not indicate a change in value of the first CSN or the one or more secondary CSNs; and

[0391] The plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame continue to be decoded in sequence until a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame is decoded regardless of the change indicator.

[0392] 54. The method of clause 53, further comprising:

[0393] In-sequence decoding of the plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame is terminated based on the TIM element indicating that there is no queued downlink (DL) data for the STA MLD, regardless of whether the CSN is decoded.

[0394] 55. A wireless communication device, comprising:

[0395] at least one modem;

[0396] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0397] At least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to perform the method of any of clauses 29-54.

[0398] 56. A method for performing wireless communications by an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the AP MLD comprising a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD and comprising one or more secondary APs associated with one or more respective secondary communication links of the AP MLD, the method comprising:

[0399] A frame is generated by the first AP of the AP MLD, and the frame includes:

[0400] The first change sequence field carries the value of the latest critical update for the first AP of the AP MLD.

[0401] one or more secondary change sequence fields, the one or more secondary change sequence fields carrying values ​​of the latest critical update for the one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD; and

[0402] a critical update flag subfield that carries an indication of a change in a value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields; and

[0403] The frame is transmitted on the first communication link of the AP MLD.

[0404] 57. The method of clause 56, wherein the most recent critical update to the first AP for the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP.

[0405] 58. The method of clause 57, wherein the most recent critical update for the respective secondary AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a BSS associated with the respective secondary AP.

[0406] 59. A method as described in any one or more of clauses 56-58, wherein the one or more operating parameters include at least one of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter sets, contention-free (CF) parameter sets, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0407] 60. The method of any one or more of clauses 56-59, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame.

[0408] 61. The method of any one or more of clauses 56-60, wherein the critical update flag subfield is carried in every beacon frame or probe response frame transmitted by the first AP during a time period.

[0409] 62. The method of clause 61, wherein the time period is a Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) period.

[0410] 63. The method of any one or more of clauses 56-62, further comprising:

[0411] All beacon frames with a value carried in the Critical Update Flag subfield are transmitted within a Delayed Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) period.

[0412] 64. The method of any one or more of clauses 56-63, wherein the critical update flag subfield is carried in a capability information field of a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0413] 65. The method of any one or more of clauses 56-65, further comprising:

[0414] Receiving, by a first AP of the AP MLD, a notification of a critical update of a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD;

[0415] In response to the notification, incrementing a value carried in the secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP; and

[0416] The critical update flag subfield is updated in response to incrementing a value carried in the secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP.

[0417] 66. A method for performing wireless communication by a wireless station (STA) of a multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

[0418] Associating with a first access point (AP) MLD, the AP MLD further comprising one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD; and

[0419] A frame is received from a first AP on a first communication link of the AP MLD, the frame comprising:

[0420] A first change sequence field, the first change sequence field carries a value of a latest critical update for a first AP of the AP MLD;

[0421] one or more secondary change sequence fields, the one or more secondary change sequence fields carrying values ​​of the latest critical update for the one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD; and

[0422] A critical update flag subfield carries an indication of a change to a value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields.

[0423] 67. The method of clause 66, wherein the most recent critical update to the first AP for the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP.

[0424] 68. The method of any one or more of clauses 66-67, wherein the most recent critical update for the respective secondary AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a BSS associated with the respective secondary AP.

[0425] 69. A method as described in any one or more of clauses 67-68, wherein the one or more operating parameters include at least one of the following: channel switch announcement (CSA), extended CSA, wide bandwidth CSA, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters, silent time elements, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set, contention-free (CF) parameter set, operation mode (OM) parameters, uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (UORA) parameters, target waiting time (TWT) parameters, basic service set (BSS) color change, fast initial link establishment (FILS) parameters, spatial reuse (SR) parameters, high throughput (HT) operation, very high throughput (VHT) operation, high efficiency (HE) operation or extremely high throughput (EHT) operation.

[0426] 70. The method of any one or more of claims 66-69, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame.

[0427] 71. The method of any one or more of clauses 66-70, wherein the critical update flag subfield is carried in a capability information field of a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0428] 72. The method of any one or more of clauses 66-71, wherein the frame is a beacon frame, and receiving the frame comprises:

[0429] Waking up from power saving mode;

[0430] Decoding a plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence;

[0431] determining that the critical update flag subfield indicates a change in a value of at least one of the first change sequence field or the one or more secondary change sequence fields; and

[0432] The plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame continue to be decoded in sequence at least until a first change sequence field is decoded, regardless of information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0433] 73. An access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the AP MLD comprising a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD and comprising one or more secondary APs associated with one or more respective secondary communication links of the AP MLD, the AP MLD comprising:

[0434] at least one modem;

[0435] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0436] at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, causes the AP MLD to perform operations comprising:

[0437] A frame is generated by the first AP of the AP MLD, and the frame includes:

[0438] The first change sequence field carries the value of the latest critical update for the first AP of the AP MLD.

[0439] one or more secondary change sequence fields, the one or more secondary change sequence fields carrying values ​​of the latest critical update for the one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD; and

[0440] a critical update flag subfield that carries an indication of a change in a value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields; and

[0441] The frame is transmitted on the first communication link of the AP MLD.

[0442] 74. The AP MLD of clause 73, wherein a most recent critical update for a first AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP.

[0443] 75. The AP MLD of any one or more of clauses 73-74, wherein a most recent critical update for a respective secondary AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a BSS associated with the respective secondary AP.

[0444] 76. The AP MLD of any one or more of claims 73-75, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame.

[0445] 77. The AP MLD of any one or more of clauses 73-76, wherein the critical update flag subfield is carried in every beacon frame or probe response frame transmitted by the first AP during a time period.

[0446] 78. The AP MLD of any one or more of clauses 73-77, wherein execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the AP MLD to perform operations further comprising:

[0447] All beacon frames with the value carried in the Critical Update Flag subfield are transmitted within a Delayed Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) period.

[0448] 79. The AP MLD of any one or more of clauses 73-78, wherein execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the AP MLD to perform operations further comprising:

[0449] Receiving, by a first AP of the AP MLD, a notification of a critical update of a corresponding secondary AP of the AP MLD;

[0450] In response to the notification, incrementing a value carried in the secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP; and

[0451] The critical update flag subfield is updated in response to incrementing a value carried in the secondary change sequence field associated with the corresponding secondary AP.

[0452] 80. The AP MLD of any one or more of clauses 73-79, wherein the Critical Update Flag subfield is carried in a Capability Information field of a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0453] 81. A wireless station (STA) multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

[0454] at least one modem;

[0455] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0456] at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, causes the STA MLD to perform operations comprising:

[0457] associated with a first access point (AP) MLD, the AP MLD further comprising one or more secondary APs associated with one or more corresponding secondary communication links of the AP MLD, and

[0458] A frame is received from a first AP on a first communication link of the AP MLD, the frame comprising:

[0459] A first change sequence field, the first change sequence field carries a value of a latest critical update for a first AP of the AP MLD;

[0460] one or more secondary change sequence fields, the one or more secondary change sequence fields carrying values ​​of the latest critical update for the one or more corresponding secondary APs of the AP MLD; and

[0461] A critical update flag subfield carries an indication of a change to a value of at least one of the one or more secondary change sequence fields.

[0462] 82. The STA MLD of clause 81, wherein the most recent critical update for the first AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a basic service set (BSS) associated with the first AP.

[0463] 83. The STA MLD of any one or more of clauses 81-82, wherein the most recent critical update for the respective secondary AP of the AP MLD corresponds to a change in one or more operating parameters of a BSS associated with the respective secondary AP.

[0464] 84. The STA MLD of any one or more of clauses 81-83, wherein the critical update flag subfield is carried in a capability information field of a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0465] 85. The STA MLD of any one or more of clauses 81-84, wherein the frame is a beacon frame, and receiving the frame comprises:

[0466] Waking up from power saving mode;

[0467] Decoding a plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame in sequence;

[0468] determining that the critical update flag subfield indicates a change in a value of at least one of the first change sequence field or the one or more secondary change sequence fields; and

[0469] The plurality of fields or elements of the beacon frame continue to be decoded in sequence at least until a first change sequence field is decoded, regardless of information carried in a traffic indication map (TIM) element of the beacon frame.

[0470] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" or "one or more of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover the following possibilities: only a, only b, only c, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a, b, and c.

[0471] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of their functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0472] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0473] In addition, various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Thus, while features may be described above as functioning in a particular combination and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be removed from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination, or a variation of a subcombination.

[0474] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all the illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart or a flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted may be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously or between any illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the implementation described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication corresponding to an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the AP MLD comprising a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, the apparatus comprising: processor; as well as A memory, the memory being coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: The first AP generates a frame, the frame including: A first change counter field, wherein the first change counter field carries information related to the an incremented counter value associated with the most recent critical update of the first AP; and a capability information field carrying a first bit associated with a first critical update indicating a first change in a value of the first change counter field with respect to the first AP and a second bit associated with a second critical update indicating a second change in a value of a second change counter field with respect to a second AP different from the first AP; and The frame is transmitted from the first AP via the first communication link.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first AP corresponds to a first basic service set identifier (BSSID) and the second AP corresponds to a second BSSID different from the first BSSID.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame further comprises a first set of operating parameters associated with the most recent critical update regarding the first AP.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame further comprises a compact neighbor report, the compact neighbor report comprising the second change counter field carrying a second increment counter value associated with a second most recent critical update for the second AP.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second change counter field indicates a change to a basic service set (BSS) parameter associated with the second AP.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the frame further comprises a second set of operating parameters associated with the second most recent critical update for the second AP.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second set of operating parameters comprises one or more of a channel switch announcement, an extended channel switch announcement, or a quiet time element.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame.

9. An apparatus for wireless communication corresponding to a wireless station (STA) of a multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising: processor; as well as A memory, the memory being coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the following operations: Associating with a first AP of an access point (AP) MLD; as well as receiving a frame from the first AP via a first communication link of the AP MLD, the frame comprising: A first change counter field, wherein the first change counter field carries information related to the an incremental counter value associated with the most recent critical update of the first AP; as well as A capability information field, the capability information field carrying a first bit associated with a first critical update and a second bit associated with a second critical update, wherein the first critical update indicates a first change in the value of the first change counter field with respect to the first AP, and the second critical update indicates a second change in the value of the second change counter field with respect to a second AP different from the first AP.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first AP corresponds to a first basic service set identifier (BSSID) and the second AP corresponds to a second BSSID different from the first BSSID.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the frame further comprises a first set of operating parameters associated with the most recent critical update regarding the first AP.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the frame further comprises a compact neighbor report, the compact neighbor report comprising the second change counter field carrying a second increment counter value associated with a second most recent critical update for the second AP.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second change counter field indicates a change to a basic service set (BSS) parameter associated with the second AP.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the frame further comprises a second set of operating parameters associated with the second most recent critical update for the second AP.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second set of operating parameters comprises one or more of a channel switch announcement, an extended channel switch announcement, or a quiet time element.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the frame is one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, a reassociation response frame, or a fast initial link setup (FILS) discovery frame.

17. A method for wireless communications performed by an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the AP MLD comprising a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, the method comprising: The first AP generates a frame, the frame including: a first change counter field carrying an incremental counter value associated with a most recent critical update for the first AP; and a capability information field carrying a first bit associated with a first critical update indicating a first change in a value of the first change counter field with respect to the first AP and a second bit associated with a second critical update indicating a second change in a value of a second change counter field with respect to a second AP different from the first AP; and The frame is transmitted from the first AP via the first communication link.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first AP corresponds to a first basic service set identifier (BSSID) and the second AP corresponds to a second BSSID different from the first BSSID.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the frame further comprises a first set of operating parameters associated with the most recent critical update regarding the first AP.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the frame further comprises a compact neighbor report, the compact neighbor report comprising the second change counter field carrying a second increment counter value associated with a second most recent critical update for the second AP.

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