Cross-link signaling for multi-link devices

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, devices, and systems for communicating cross-link multilink signaling (MLS) control signaling in a wireless local area network (WLAN). In various aspects, an apparatus may generate a frame that includes a header that includes an MLS subfield that includes a set of bits associated with a respective one of a set of links between a first MLD and a second MLD. The apparatus may configure, to a signaling type (s type) of the MLS subfield, a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield, and may configure, to each bit in a first subset of bits of the MLS subfield, a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the respective link associated with the bit. Further, the apparatus may output the first frame for transmission on a first link of the set of links to the second MLD.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application serial number 17 / 821,452, entitled “CROSS-LINK SIGNALING FOR MULTI-LINK DEVICES” and filed on August 22, 2022, which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to cross-link signaling for multi-link devices in wireless networks. Background Art

[0005] 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.

[0006] The established and widely adopted WLAN communication protocol is designed for wireless communication between two devices on a single link. However, multi-link operation is being developed for the IEEE 802.11 standard. Specifically, multi-link operation can be a feature in the IEEE 802.11be related to extremely high throughput (EHT). In the case of single-link operation, the WLAN node may include a STA or AP having a radio interface that utilizes it to convey the data of a traffic stream. In the case of multi-link operation, the WLAN node may include multiple radio interfaces through which the data of a traffic stream is concurrently sent and / or received. Each of the multiple radio interfaces can operate in a separate frequency band (such as a carrier frequency lower than seven (7) thousand megahertz (GHz)), which may include a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band.

[0007] New WLAN communication protocols are being developed to enable enhanced WLAN communication features (such as higher throughput and wider bandwidth) in even higher carrier frequencies (such as in the 45 GHz or 60 GHz bands), which may further increase the functionality and versatility of multi-link operation to an even greater extent. However, multi-link operation may add overhead and complexity commensurate with WLAN signaling. Therefore, as multi-link operation becomes more widely adopted, some enhancements to signaling between WLAN devices may be beneficial to enable and support services on multiple different links. Summary of the invention

[0008] 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.

[0009] An innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a first multi-link device (MLD) and may include: generating a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multi-link signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a bit set, each bit in the bit set being associated with a corresponding link in a link set between the first MLD and a second MLD; configuring a signaling type (s-type) of the MLS subfield with a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield; configuring each bit in a first bit subset of the bit set of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit; and sending the first frame to the second MLD on a first link in the link set.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method can be performed by a first MLD and can include: receiving a first frame including a header from a second MLD on a first link in a link set between the first MLD and the second MLD, the header including a first field, the first field including an MLS subfield, the MLS subfield including a bit set, each bit in the bit set being associated with a corresponding link in the link set; identifying an s-type of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield; and applying the MLS control signaling to each link in a first link subset in the link set, the first link subset being respectively associated with a first bit subset in the bit set, the first bit subset being configured with a value indicating that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Details of one or more specific 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 specification, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative sizes of the following drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0012] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0013] Figure 2A Example protocol data units (PDUs) that may be used for communications between an access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STAs) are shown.

[0014] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A Example fields in a PDU.

[0015] Figure 3 Example physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) that may be used for communications between an AP and one or more STAs are shown.

[0016] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0017] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0018] Figure 5B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0019] Figure 6 An example communication system including an AP multi-link device (MLD) and a non-AP MLD is shown according to some implementations.

[0020] Figure 7 An example medium access control (MAC) header that may be included in a frame is shown according to some implementations.

[0021] Figure 8 An example control subfield of an Aggregation Control (A Control) subfield of a MAC header is shown according to some implementations.

[0022] Fig. 9 A sequence diagram depicting an example of wireless communications of cross-link multi-link signaling (MLS) control signaling between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD in a wireless local area network (WLAN) according to some implementations is shown.

[0023] Fig.10 Shown is a sequence diagram depicting another example of wireless communications of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD in a WLAN according to some implementations.

[0024] Fig.11 Shown is a sequence diagram depicting yet another example of wireless communications of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD in a WLAN according to some implementations.

[0025] Fig.12 A sequence diagram is shown depicting yet another example of wireless communications of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD in a WLAN according to some implementations.

[0026] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating an example process for cross-link wireless communications for MLS control signaling in a WLAN according to some implementations is shown.

[0027] Fig.14 A flow chart illustrating another example process for cross-link wireless communications for MLS control signaling in a WLAN according to some implementations is shown.

[0028] Fig.15 A block diagram of an example MLD is shown according to some implementations.

[0029] Fig.16 A block diagram of another example MLD is shown according to some implementations.

[0030] The same reference numbers and names in different drawings indicate the same elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following description is directed to certain specific 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 a variety of different ways. The specific implementations described may 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.

[0032] As described above, the established and widely adopted WLAN communication protocols are designed for wireless communication between two devices on a single link. However, multi-link operation is being developed for the IEEE 802.11 standard. Specifically, multi-link operation may be a feature in IEEE 802.11be related to extremely high throughput (EHT) communication. A WLAN node capable of multi-link operation (MLO), such as a station (STA) supporting MLO or an access point (AP) supporting MLO, may operate as a multi-link device (MLD) that includes multiple radio interfaces (e.g., STA radio interfaces or AP radio interfaces) through which the WLAN node may concurrently send and / or receive data associated with one traffic flow. Each of the multiple radio interfaces may operate in a corresponding frequency band (e.g., one of the carrier frequencies below seven (7) thousand megahertz (GHz)), which may include a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band.

[0033] New WLAN communication protocols are being developed to enable enhanced WLAN communication features (such as higher throughput and wider bandwidth) in even higher carrier frequencies (such as in the 45 GHz or 60 GHz bands), which may further increase the functionality and versatility of MLO to an even greater extent. However, MLO may introduce or exacerbate overhead and complexity comparable to WLAN signaling. For example, the increase in wireless signaling associated with MLO may result in a proportional increase in interference. In addition, having multiple radio interfaces physically housed within an AP or STA (and having antennas in relatively close proximity to each other) may involve more complex coordination and synchronization schemes than those for a single radio interface. In addition to such wireless signaling issues, MLO may place more burdens on devices, such as in terms of power consumption, processor load, and memory utilization, compared to conventional single-link operation. Therefore, as MLO becomes more widely adopted, some enhancements to signaling between WLAN devices may be beneficial in enabling and supporting one or more traffic flows on multiple different links.

[0034] In some WLANs, wireless communication is implemented via frames. A frame includes at least a header and a frame body. For example, the header of a frame may include a medium access control (MAC) header including multiple fields, some of which may carry control information related to wireless communication in the WLAN. One such field of the MAC header is a high throughput (HT) control field defined by an earlier and existing version of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, the HT control field is carried in the MAC header of a quality of service (QoS) data (and null data) frame and a management frame. As the IEEE 802.11 standard evolves and related technologies develop, the HT control field is extended to include some variants, one of which is a high efficiency (HE) variant called aggregation control (A control). The HE A control variant of the HT control field is designed to be a flexible and dynamic carrier of control information for various features of the IEEE 802.11 standard, because the original definition of the HT control field may be inappropriate or inefficient for such features (e.g., features of 802.11ax).

[0035] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to conveying MLO-related control signaling, and more specifically, to adaptation of a control subfield of an A control variant of a control field. In some examples, a control subfield of an A control variant may be adapted to carry multiple types of multilink signaling (MLS) control signaling that may be dynamically selected to suit various scenarios. The control subfield of the A control variant includes a control information subfield paired with a control identifier (ID) subfield, which may be configured with a value indicating the type of control information carried in the control information subfield. Thus, by configuring a control ID value of the control ID subfield with a value mapped to an "MLS" type of control information, and further by configuring the corresponding control information subfield as an MLS subfield, the control subfield may be adapted to carry MLS control signaling. For example, a control ID value mapped to an AP Assistance Request (AAR) (or mapped to a reserved value) may be redefined to instead map to an "MLS" type of control information, and the corresponding control information subfield may be configured with MLS control signaling.

[0036] Similar to the manner in which the aforementioned control subfield can be configured, the MLS subfield may include an MLS control information subfield that may be configured with MLS control signaling and a corresponding S-type subfield that may be configured with an s-type value indicating the type of MLS control signaling carried in the MLS control information subfield. Thus, a receiver of a frame including a header in which a control subfield is suitable for carrying MLS control signaling may be configured to interpret, decode, parse, read, or otherwise use or process the MLS control signaling configured to the MLS control information subfield based on the s-type value configured to the corresponding S-type subfield.

[0037] Certain implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. The techniques described herein may enable efficient dynamic signaling of MLO-related control information with little or minimal increase in signaling overhead. For example, aspects of the present disclosure may utilize header definitions to enable headers to convey larger amounts of information without increasing the size of subfields and without increasing frame size. In addition, by avoiding statically assigning control ID values ​​to a single type of control signaling, aspects of the present disclosure provide approaches for conveying MLO-related control information that are flexible and extensible to account for future enhancements to the 802.11 standard or other wireless technologies.

[0038] Still other potential advantages of the subject matter described herein are increased reliability and throughput. Specifically, aspects of the present disclosure describe various techniques and approaches for cross-link control information signaling. That is, MLO-related control information applicable to one or more links can be communicated via another link and potentially another link to which the control information is not applicable. Such cross-link control information signaling can increase one or both of reliability and throughput of control information transmission by enabling control information applicable to at least one link to be communicated via another link.

[0039] Yet another potential advantage of the subject matter described herein is increased power savings. By adapting cross-link control information to convey power management (PM) or end of service period (EOSP) information, PM or EOSP configurations may be applied more quickly than by transmitting those configurations over separate links to which the corresponding PM or EOSP configurations apply. Faster application of PM or EOSP configurations may enable non-STA APs to put some radio interfaces into a sleep state at an earlier time, which may result in reduced power consumption.

[0040] 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 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 wireless communication protocol standards (such as the standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or its revisions, 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 AP 102 and a plurality of STAs 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 may also include a plurality of APs 102.

[0041] Each of the STAs 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, etc. The STAs 104 may represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, 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), etc.

[0042] 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 the 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 re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 106 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”) 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 various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via respective communication links 106 .

[0043] To establish a communication link 106 with AP 102, each of STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 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 sequentially transmits them 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 perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 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 association identifier (AID) to track the STA 104.

[0044] As wireless networks become more and more common, a 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). An extended network station associated with a WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to be connected in such an ESS. Therefore, a 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 an AP 102, the STA 104 may also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more appropriate 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 a more desirable network characteristic (such as a larger received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load).

[0045] 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 a specific implementation, although STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other through AP 102 using communication link 106, STA 104 may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless link 110. Additionally, two STAs 104 may communicate via direct communication link 110, regardless of whether the two STAs 104 are associated with the same AP 102 and served by the same AP. In such an ad hoc system, one or more STAs in STA 104 may assume the role played by AP 102 in the BSS. Such STA 104 may be referred to as a group owner (GO) and may coordinate transmission within the ad hoc network. Examples of the direct wireless link 110 include a Wi-Fi direct connection, a connection established by using a Wi-Fi Tunnel Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0046] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may function and communicate (via corresponding communication links 106) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol 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 medium access control (MAC) layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 send 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 send 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 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 700 MHz band. Some implementations of the AP 102 and STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6 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.

[0047] Each frequency band in the frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs that comply with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard revisions may be sent on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands, where each frequency band is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Therefore, these PPDUs are sent on a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed by channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be sent on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0048] Each PPDU is a composite structure including a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY 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 sent on a bound channel, the preamble field can be copied and sent in each component channel of a plurality of component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy part (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy part (or "non-legacy preamble"). Legacy preambles can be used for other purposes such as packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation. Legacy preambles can also be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, decoding, and information provided therein of the non-legacy part of the preamble are based on the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used to send the payload.

[0049] Figure 2A An example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 that may be used for wireless communication between an AP 102 and one or more STAs 104 is shown. For example, the PDU 200 may be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 may include a legacy portion that itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 that may consist of two BPSK symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 that may consist of two BPSK symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 that may consist of two BPSK symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 may be configured in accordance with the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. The preamble 202 may also include a non-legacy portion including one or more non-legacy fields 212 that comply with, for example, an IEEE wireless communication protocol such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, or a later wireless communication protocol.

[0050] L-STF 206 generally enables the receiving device to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and can also perform initial estimation of the wireless channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiving device to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid sending over the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208 and L-SIG 210 can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, an orthogonal BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, an orthogonal amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU including a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry, for example, higher layer data in the form of a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0051] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A 2. Example L-SIG 210 in PDU 200 of FIG. L-SIG 210 includes a data rate field 222, a reserved bit 224, a length field 226, a parity bit 228, and a tail field 230. Data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in data rate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in payload 204). Length field 226 indicates the length of the packet in, for example, symbols or bytes. Parity bit 228 can be used to detect bit errors. Tail field 230 includes tail bits that can be used by a receiving device to terminate the operation of a decoder (e.g., a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device can use the data rate and length indicated in data rate field 222 and length field 226 to determine the duration of the packet in, for example, microseconds (μs) or other time units.

[0052] Figure 3An example PPDU 300 is shown that may be used for communication between an AP 102 and one or more STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 300 includes a PHY preamble 302 and a PSDU 304. Each PSDU 304 may represent (or "carry") one or more MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) 316. For example, each PSDU 304 may carry an aggregate MPDU (A-MPDU) 306 that includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 308. Each A-MPDU subframe 306 may include an MPDU frame 310 that includes a MAC delimiter 312 and a MAC header 314 preceding an accompanying MPDU 316 that includes a data portion ("payload" or "frame body") of the MPDU frame 310. Each MPDU frame 310 may also include a frame check sequence (FCS) field 318 for error detection (e.g., the FCS field may include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)) and padding bits 320. The MPDU 316 may carry one or more MAC service data units (MSDUs) 326. For example, the MPDU 316 may carry an aggregate MSDU (A-MSDU) 322 that includes multiple A-MSDU subframes 324. Each A-MSDU subframe 324 includes a corresponding MSDU 330 preceded by a subframe header 328 and, in some cases, followed by padding bits 332.

[0053] Referring back to the MPDU frame 310, the MAC delimiter 312 may be used as a marker for the start of the associated MPDU 316 and indicates the length of the associated MPDU 316. The MAC header 314 may include a plurality of fields containing information defining or indicating the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within the MPDU 316. The MAC header 314 includes a duration field indicating a duration from the end of the PPDU to at least the end of the ACK (ACK) or block ACK (BA) to be sent by the receiving wireless communication device for the PPDU. The use of the duration field is used to reserve the wireless medium for the indicated duration and enable the receiving device to establish its network allocation vector (NAV). The MAC header 314 also includes one or more fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within the MPDU 316. For example, the MAC header 314 may include a combination of a source address, a transmitter address, a receiver address, or a destination address. The MAC header 314 may also include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field may specify a frame type, such as a data frame, a control frame, or a management frame.

[0054] Figure 4 4 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication device 400. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be a STA (such as a reference Figure 1 In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be an example of a device in an AP (such as a STA in the reference STA 104). Figure 1 The wireless communication device 400 is an example of a device in the AP 102 described above. The wireless communication device 400 is capable of sending (or outputting for sending) and receiving wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wireless communication device 400 can be configured to send and receive packets in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and medium access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) that comply with IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol 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).

[0055] The wireless communication device 400 may be or may include a chip, system on chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device that includes one or more modems 402 (e.g., Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compatible) modems). In some implementations, one or more modems 402 (collectively, “modems 402”) additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 also includes one or more radio components 404 (collectively, “radio components 404”). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 406 also includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 406 (collectively, “processors 406”) and one or more memory blocks or elements 408 (collectively, “memory 408”).

[0056] The modem 402 may include an intelligent hardware block or device, such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or the like. The modem 402 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, the modem 402 is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to the radio component 404 for transmission over a wireless medium. Similarly, the modem 402 is configured to obtain the modulated packets received by the radio component 404 and demodulate the packets to provide the demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, the modem 402 may also include a digital signal processing (DSP) circuit, an automatic gain control (AGC), a decoder, a decoder, a multiplexer, and a demultiplexer. For example, when in a transmit mode, the data obtained from the processor 406 is provided to a decoder, which encodes the data to provide the encoded bits. The encoded bits are then mapped to points in the modulation constellation (using the selected MCS) to provide the modulated symbols. The modulated symbols can then be mapped to a number N SS spatial streams or the number N STS The modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial stream or space-time stream may then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and then provided to the DSP circuit 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 a frequency upconverter and ultimately to the radio component 404. In a specific implementation involving beamforming, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial stream are pre-decoded via a steering matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0057] When in receive mode, a digital signal received from the radio component 404 is provided to a DSP circuit configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of a signal and estimating initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuit is also 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. The output of the DSP circuit may then be fed to an AGC 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 is also coupled to a demodulator configured to extract the 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, which 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 406) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0058] The radio 404 typically includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or "transmitter chain") and at least one RF receiver (or "receiver chain"), which may be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuits, 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 400 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). The symbols output from the modem 402 are provided to the radio 404, which then transmits the symbols via the coupled antennas. Similarly, the symbols received via the antennas are obtained by the radio 404, which then provides the symbols to the modem 402.

[0059] The processor 406 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)), a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor 406 processes information received through the radio component 404 and the modem 402, and processes information to be output by the modem 402 and the radio component 404 to be sent through the wireless medium. For example, the processor 406 can 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 specific implementations, the processor 406 can generally control the modem 402 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0060] The memory 408 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 408 may also store non-transitory processor or computer executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by the processor 406, cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MDPUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the components disclosed herein or the various boxes 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.

[0061] Figure 5A 5 shows a block diagram of an example AP 502. For example, AP 502 may be a reference Figure 1 The AP 102 is described in detail with reference to an example implementation. The AP 502 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 510 (although the AP 502 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, the wireless communication device 510 may be a wireless communication device. Figure 4 The example implementation of the wireless communication device 400 described above. The AP 502 also includes a plurality of antennas 520 coupled to the wireless communication device 510 to send and receive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP 502 additionally includes an application processor 530 coupled to the wireless communication device 510 and a memory 540 coupled to the application processor 530. The AP 502 also includes at least one external network interface 550, which enables the AP 502 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 550 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Some of the above components may communicate directly or indirectly with other of the components via at least one bus. The AP 502 also includes a housing that contains the wireless communication device 510, the application processor 530, the memory 540, and at least a portion of the antenna 520 and the external network interface 550.

[0062] Figure 5B 5 shows a block diagram of an example STA 504. For example, STA 504 may be a reference Figure 1 STA 504 includes a wireless communication device 515 (although STA 504 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 515 may be a reference Figure 4The example implementation of the wireless communication device 400 described above. STA 504 also includes one or more antennas 525 coupled to the wireless communication device 515 to send and receive wireless communications. STA 504 additionally includes an application processor 535 coupled to the wireless communication device 515 and a memory 545 coupled to the application processor 535. In some implementations, STA 504 also includes a user interface (UI) 555 (such as a touch screen or keyboard) and a display 565, which can be integrated with UI555 to form a touch screen display. In some implementations, STA 504 may also include one or more sensors 575, such as, for example, one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors. Some of the above components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components through at least one bus. STA 504 also includes a housing that contains the wireless communication device 515, the application processor 535, the memory 545, and at least a portion of the antenna 525, the UI 555, and the display 565.

[0063] Various aspects described herein relate generally to MLO control signaling in WLANs, and more particularly to a lightweight, efficient, flexible, and scalable mechanism for wireless communications of cross-link MLO control signaling in a MAC header. In some aspects, MLD may utilize one wireless communication link to transmit control signaling applicable to multiple wireless communication links or different wireless communication links. More specifically, MLD may convey power saving or link recommendation information applicable to or identifying multiple wireless communication links in one MAC header of one frame.

[0064] In some specific implementations, the MLD may configure a control ID subfield of an A control variant in a MAC header with a value indicating that the corresponding control information subfield carries an MLS subfield. For example, a control ID value such as "9" assigned to an AAR may be repurposed to indicate that a control information subfield corresponding to the control ID subfield carries MLS control signaling, which control information subfield may include an AAR in addition to other types of MLS control signaling. In such specific implementations, the MLD may also configure an MLS signaling type (S type) subfield of a multi-link signaling (MLS) subfield with a value indicating the type of MLS control signaling carried in the MLS information subfield. For example, the MLD may configure an MLS S type subfield with a value indicating that the corresponding MLS information subfield carries an AAR or a value indicating that the corresponding MLS information subfield carries multi-link power saving (MLPS) control information. Therefore, the MLD may configure a link ID bitmap that identifies one or more links to which the MLS control signaling applies to the corresponding MLS information subfield. The MLD may output a frame with the configured MAC header for sending to another MLD, eg, so that the MLS control signaling may be applied by the other MLD or acknowledged by the other MLD before being applied by the other MLD.

[0065] Figure 6 An example communication system 600 is shown including an AP MLD 610 and a non-AP MLD 620 according to some implementations. In some implementations, the AP MLD 610 may be Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may be an example of an AP 502. Figure 1 Any STA in STA 104 or Figure 5B An example of STA 504.

[0066] AP MLD 610 includes a plurality of APs 612, 614, and 616 associated with (or operating on) communication links 602, 604, and 606, respectively. Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 6 , the AP MLD 610 is shown as including three APs. However, in some implementations, the AP MLD 610 may include more than Figure 6The APs 612, 614, and 616 may be less or more than those depicted. In some aspects, the APs 612, 614, and 616 may share a common association context (via the AP MLD 610). The APs 612, 614, and 616 may also establish their respective communication links 602, 604, and 606 on different frequency bands. In some implementations, one or more of the APs 612, 614, and 616 may operate at a carrier frequency below 7 GHz, such as in any of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands. For example, in the illustrated aspect, the AP 612 may operate at a carrier frequency in the 2.4 GHz band, the AP 614 may operate at a carrier frequency in the 5 GHz band, and the AP 616 may operate at a carrier frequency of 6 GHz. In some other implementations, one or more of the APs 612, 614, and 616 may operate at a carrier frequency above 7 GHz, such as in the 60 GHz or 45 GHz bands.

[0067] The non-AP MLD 620 includes a plurality of STAs 622, 624, and 626 that may be configured to communicate on communication links 602, 604, and 606, respectively. In some implementations, one or more of the STAs 622, 624, and 626 may operate at a carrier frequency below 7 GHz, such as in any of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands. For example, in the illustrated aspect, the STA 622 may operate at a carrier frequency in the 2.4 GHz band, the STA 624 may operate at a carrier frequency in the 5 GHz band, and the STA 626 may operate at a carrier frequency of 6 GHz. In some other implementations, one or more of the STAs 622, 624, and 626 may operate at a carrier frequency above 7 GHz, such as in the 60 GHz or 45 GHz bands. Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 6 , the non-AP MLD 620 is shown as including three STAs. However, in some implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may include more than Figure 6 The depicted STAs may have fewer or more STAs. Existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard define several modes in which non-AP MLDs may operate. The various modes of operation depend on the number of wireless radio components associated with the non-AP MLD and the ability of the non-AP MLD to communicate concurrently on multiple communication links (such as by sending or receiving).

[0068] In some implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may include a single radio or may otherwise be capable of communicating on only one link at a time. In such implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may operate in a multi-link single radio (MLSR) mode or an enhanced MLSR (eMLSR) mode. A non-AP MLD operating in the eMLSR mode may concurrently listen for packets of a particular type, such as a buffer status report poll (BSRP) frame or a multi-user (MU) request to transmit (RTS) (MU-RTS) on multiple links; however, a non-AP MLD operating in the eMLSR mode may only transmit or receive on one of the links at any given time. For example, STAs 622, 624, and 626 may concurrently listen to their respective links 602, 604, and 606 during the listening interval. However, if any of the STAs 622, 624, or 626 detects a BSRP frame on its respective link, the non-AP MLD 620 then tunes all of its antennas to the link on which the BSRP frame was detected. In contrast, a non-AP MLD operating in MLSR mode can only listen to one communication link and can only transmit or receive on one communication link at any given time. For example, at any time when one of STAs 622, 624, or 626 is active, both STAs in STAs 622, 624, or 626 are in power saving mode.

[0069] In some other implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may include multiple radio components and may be capable of concurrent communication on each of the links 602, 604, and 606. In such implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may operate in a multi-link multi-radio component (MLMR) simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) mode or a multi-link multi-radio component non-STR (NSTR) mode. A non-AP MLD operating in the MLMR STR mode may transmit and receive on multiple links simultaneously. For example, STA 622 may transmit or receive on link 602 while STA 624 concurrently transmits or receives on link 604. More specifically, such communications may be asynchronous. In other words, STA 622 may be transmitting on link 602 while STA 624 is receiving on link 604. In contrast, a non-AP MLD operating in the MLMR NSTR mode may transmit and receive on multiple links simultaneously, provided that such communications are synchronous. For example, STAs 622, 624, and 626 may transmit concurrently on links 602, 604, and 606, and may also receive concurrently on links 602, 604, and 606. However, STA 622 may not transmit on link 602 while STA 624 is receiving on link 604.

[0070] Still further, in some implementations, the non-AP MLD may include multiple radio components, but may only be able to communicate concurrently on a subset of links. In such implementations, the non-AP MLD 620 may operate in an enhanced MLMR (eMLMR) mode or a hybrid eMLMR mode. A non-AP MLD operating in eMLMR mode only supports MLMRSTR operations between some link pairs. For example, STAs 622 and 624 may communicate concurrently on their respective links 602 and 604 according to the MLMR STR operation mode, while STA 626 may not transmit or receive concurrently on its respective link 606 (referred to herein as an "eMLMR link"). In aspects where the non-AP MLD 620 includes four or more STAs, STAs associated with the eMLMR links (such as STA 626 and another similar STA) may "pool" their antennas so that each of these STAs may utilize the antennas of other STAs when transmitting or receiving on one of the eMLMR links. On the other hand, a non-AP MLD operating in hybrid eMLSR mode supports MLMR STR operations between some link pairs and eMLSR operations between some other link pairs.

[0071] In some aspects, the AP MLD 610 and the non-AP MLD 620 may communicate cross-link MLS control signaling over one or more of the links 602, 604, and 606. For example, the AP MLD 610 and the non-AP MLD 620 may communicate MLS control signaling applicable to two of the links 602 and 604 over another link 606. In some implementations, the MLS control signaling may include a configuration common to all links indicated in the MAC header. For example, the AP MLD 610 or the non-AP MLD 620 may transmit a frame with a MAC header including a field (or subfield) configured with a value that is universally applicable to each link in the link ID bitmap included in the MAC header. In some other implementations, the MLS control signaling may individually configure communications on the links indicated in the MAC header. For example, the AP MLD 610 or the non-AP MLD 620 may transmit a frame with a MAC header indicating that communications on each of the links should be configured according to a corresponding value that is individually applicable to each of the links identified in the link ID bitmap included in the MAC header. In some aspects, each of the corresponding values ​​may be carried in another MAC header of another frame, such as the most recently received corresponding frame on each of the identified links. Thus, the concepts and aspects described herein enable a wide range of flexible and scalable options without incurring additional overhead in terms of frame or header size.

[0072] Figure 7 An example frame 700 is shown including a MAC header 702 having an A control variant 780 with an HT control field 738 according to some implementations. In some aspects, the frame 700 may be an implementation of the MPDU frame 310, and the MAC header 702 may be Figure 3 Specific implementations of the MAC header 314 shown and described. In some specific implementations, the frame 700 can be a data frame or a management frame. For example, the frame 700 can be a QoS null data frame. In some other specific implementations, the frame 700 can be a control frame or an extended frame. For example, the frame 700 can be a trigger frame.

[0073] Frame 700 includes MAC header 702, frame body 740, and FCS 742. MAC header 702 may include frame control field 722, duration / ID field 724, address 1 field 726, address 2 field 728, address 3 field 730, sequence control field 732, address 4 field 734, QoS control field 736, and HT control field 738.

[0074] The frame control field 722 includes basic control information such as protocol version, frame type, frame sender, intended receiver, etc. More specifically, the frame control field 722 includes a protocol version subfield 742, a type subfield 744, a subtype subfield 746, a to distribution system (DS) subfield 748, a from DS subfield 750, a more fragments subfield 752, a retry subfield 754, a power management (Mgmt) subfield 756, a more data subfield 758, a protected frame subfield 760, and a + high throughput control (HTC) / command subfield 762.

[0075] As described above, the HT control field 738 may be configured as the HE A control variant 780. For example, by setting each of the super HT (VHT) subfield 782 and the HT subfield 784 to a specific value such as "1", the HT control field 738 may be configured as the A control variant 780. The A control variant 780 includes an A control subfield 786, which itself includes one or more control subfields 792, 794, and 796 (note that although three control subfields are illustrated, more or fewer control subfields may be configured). For example, when the amount of control signaling configured to the control subfield is less than the size of the A control subfield, the A control subfield 786 may be configured with padding 798 (such as a set of zero bits).

[0076] Each control subfield in the control subfields 792, 794, and 796 may consist of one or more sets of control ID subfields paired with a control information subfield. Each control ID subfield includes a value indicating the type of control information carried in the corresponding control information subfield. The existing IEEE 802.11 standard statically defines the types of control information that may be carried by the A control variant, as shown in Table 1 below:

[0077]

[0078]

[0079] Table 1 - Control ID subfield values

[0080] In the illustrative example shown in Table 1, the control ID value "3" is mapped to the BSR control content, which means that the corresponding control information should be interpreted as the BSR from the transmitter. Illustratively, the STA that transmits a frame in which the control ID subfield is configured with a value of "3" indicates that the corresponding control information subfield is configured with the BSR. Therefore, the AP that receives the frame from the STA can find the control ID value "3" and can interpret the control information configured to the corresponding control information subfield as the BSR from the STA.

[0081] Figure 8An example control subfield 802 of the A control subfield 800 of the MAC header according to some implementations is shown. The control subfield 802 includes two subfields: a control ID subfield 810 and a control information subfield 812. The control ID subfield 810 may be configured with a value that defines the type of control information configured to the control information subfield 812, as described above with respect to Figure 7 and as described in Table 1.

[0082] As illustrated in Table 1, each of the supported control ID values ​​is statically mapped to one type of control information, which is neither flexible nor extensible. Specifically, the control ID subfield 810 may be set to a value "9" corresponding to the AAR. Therefore, upon receiving a frame having a MAC header in which the HT control field is an A control variant, the STA (or AP) may know that the A control subfield variant includes control information associated with an AP assistance request, and may interpret the control information of the AAR control information subfield 814 as a set of link IDs of auxiliary APs attached to the AP MLD, which are requested to assist non-AP STAs belonging to the NSTR link pair attached to the non-AP MLD to restore their medium synchronization. For example, the AAR control information subfield 814 may include an auxiliary AP link ID bitmap indicating link IDs associated with links of auxiliary APs attached to the AP MLD, wherein each auxiliary AP is requested to send a trigger frame to its associated non-AP STA, which belongs to the same NSTR link pair as the non-AP STA that transmits the AAR control information subfield 814. In the auxiliary AP link ID bitmap, a value (such as "1") in bit position i indicates that link ID i is a link ID of an auxiliary AP attached to the AP MLD, and another value (such as "0") in bit position i indicates that link ID i is not a link ID of an auxiliary AP attached to the AP MLD. The bit in the auxiliary AP link ID bitmap corresponding to the AP to which the AAR control subfield is addressed is set to "0".

[0083] While AAR is applicable to MLO, AAR is a rather specific use case, and the number of values ​​that the Control ID subfield can convey (the Control ID subfield can carry four bits) is limited. Therefore, static assignment of control ID values ​​to AARs alone may be inefficient and may prohibit (or contribute to prohibiting) A control variants from carrying other MLO-related control information that may be used more frequently or may have relatively greater importance, criticality, or urgency.

[0084] Furthermore, the remaining control ID values ​​(that is, "10" through "14") may not be sufficient to convey every different type of MLO-related control signaling that may be communicated. Even if the remaining reserved control ID values ​​were sufficient to convey the currently defined types of MLO-related control signaling, such a static definition is inflexible and fails to anticipate future MLO extensions to the 802.11 standard.

[0085] Instead of following the static control ID assignments specified by the existing IEEE 802.11 standard, the control subfield 802 of the A control variant may be adapted to carry multiple types of MLS control signaling that may be dynamically indicated based on the use case. For example, the control ID values ​​supported for the control ID subfield 810 may be used to indicate that the corresponding control information subfield 812 includes the MLS subfield 806.

[0086] In some implementations, a control ID value that has been assigned to a particular type of control information may be reassigned to indicate that the contents of the control information subfield 812 are configured with an s-type value that indicates how to interpret, decode, parse, read, process, use, etc. the corresponding MLS control information carried in the MLS subfield 806. The type of control information previously associated with the reassigned control ID value may be used as one of the types of MLS control information that can be conveyed via the MLS subfield 806. Depending on different implementations, the structure of subfields such as the AAR control subfield 804 that are replaced by or absorbed into the MLS subfield 806 may be repurposed or redefined.

[0087] Since the AAR control subfield 804 has been defined to carry AAR control information related to MLO, the AAR control information logically recommends itself to be carried in the MLS subfield 806. Therefore, the control ID value "9" mapped to the AAR control information may be remapped to the MLS subfield 806. In some aspects, the AAR subfield 804 may be deprecated by being absorbed into the MLS subfield 806.

[0088] In some implementations, a reserved or unused control ID value, such as one of control IDs 10-14, may be assigned to indicate that the contents of control information subfield 812 include MLS subfield 806, thereby effectively redefining a previously reserved or unused control ID value as used for MLS control information. For example, a reserved control ID value of "10" may be mapped to MLS subfield 806.

[0089] Similar to the control subfield 802, the MLS subfield 806 itself can be composed of the following two subfields: an MLS control information subfield 816 and an S type subfield 818. In some implementations, the S type subfield 818 can span two to four bits, for example, starting at one of bit positions B16, B17, or B18 of the control information of the control information subfield 812 and ending at bit position B19 of the control information of the control information subfield 812.

[0090] The S type subfield 818 may correspond to the MLS control information subfield 816 with which it is paired in the control information subfield 812 of one control subfield 802. That is, the S type subfield 818 may be configured with an s type value indicating the type of signaling carried in the MLS control information subfield 816.

[0091] In this manner, the MLS subfield 806 can be constructed similarly to the control subfield 802 in that one subfield can be configured with a value that indicates the manner in which the control information configured to the corresponding subfield is to be interpreted, decoded, parsed, read, or otherwise used or processed. Thus, in some implementations, the s-type configured to the S-type subfield 818 in the MLS subfield 806 can indicate the manner in which the MLS control information configured to the MLS control information subfield 816 is to be interpreted, decoded, parsed, read, or otherwise used or processed. This relationship between the S-type subfield 818 and the MLS control information subfield 816 can be similar to that included in the HT control field (such as with respect to Figure 7 The relationship between the control ID subfield 810 and the control information subfield 812 in the control subfield 802 of the A control variant 800 of the HT control field 738 shown and described.

[0092] In some implementations, the supported s-type values ​​that can be configured to the S-type subfield 818 may include a set of numbers, such as four, eight, or sixteen integers that are each mapped to a corresponding type of MLS control signaling. Table 2 below illustrates examples of types of MLS control signaling that the MLS subfield may be able to convey. Table 2 provides an example of potential mappings of s-type values ​​that can be configured to the S-type subfield 818. In some other examples, more or fewer s-type values ​​can be mapped to different types of MLS control signaling, different s-type values ​​can be used, or different types of MLS control signaling can be carried.

[0093]

[0094]

[0095] Table 2 - S type subfield values

[0096] Since the MLS subfield 806 includes two subfields 816 and 818, the subfield structure of the AAR subfield 804 can be converted to a subfield structure having sufficient size to convey the S-type subfield 818 and the MLS control information subfield 816. For example, since the AAR subfield 804 may include a set of four bits at bit positions B16-B19, the set is reserved according to the AAR control information subfield definition. Although the four bit positions B16-B19 may be otherwise reserved or unused for the AAR subfield 804, the bits at the set of four bit positions B16-B19 or a subset of the set may be configured with an s-type value indicating or conveying the MLS content carried or conveyed at the (previous) bits at bit positions B0-B15 of the control information subfield 812. For example, a set of four bits may be carried at bit positions B16-B19 instead of being marked as reserved, which can expand the amount of information being conveyed without expanding the size of the control information subfield 812. In some implementations, the S-type subfield 818 may include more or fewer bit positions. For example, the S-type subfield 818 may include two bits at bit positions B18-B19 or three bits at bit positions B17-B19 to convey four or eight different types of MLS control signaling.

[0097] The S-type subfield 818 may correspond to the MLS control information subfield 816, which may carry information identifying one or more links in a link set (such as a link set between an MLD and another MLD) to which the s-type of MLS control signaling applies and one or more other links in the link set to which the s-type of MLS control signaling does not apply. In some implementations, the MLS control information subfield 816 may begin at bit location B0 of the MLS subfield 806 (when the control information subfield 812 is indicated as carrying the MLS subfield 806). The MLS control information subfield 816 may span multiple bit locations. For example, depending on whether the S-type subfield 818 spans two, three, or four bit locations, the MLS control information subfield 816 may be sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen bits wide, and thus may span bit locations B0-B15, B0-B16, or B0-B17, respectively.

[0098] In some example implementations, the MLPS control signaling may include a link bitmap or link ID bitmap 820 carried in the MLS control information subfield 816. The link ID bitmap 820 may include a set of bits located at a set of bit locations of the link ID bitmap 820, respectively. Each bit location in the bit location in the link ID bitmap 820 may correspond to a corresponding link in a set of links between one MLD and another MLD (such as an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD). The bit at the bit location in the link ID bitmap 820 is applicable to the link to which the bit location corresponds, and therefore, the bit location indicates an association between the bit at the bit location and the corresponding link. In other words, the nth bit in the link ID bitmap 820 represents link n. For example, the bit location 822 of B0 may be mapped to link ID 0 (but other mappings are possible). Therefore, the value 824 "1" configured to the bit at the bit location 822 may be associated with a link with link ID 0.

[0099] The value configured to the bit at the bit location may indicate whether the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link having the link ID mapped to the bit location. Illustratively, the bit configured with the value "1" at the bit location may indicate that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link having the link ID mapped to the bit location. Correspondingly, the bit configured with the value "0" at the bit location may indicate that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is not applicable to the link having the link ID mapped to the bit location. As illustrated in the link ID bitmap 820, the s-type of the MLS control signaling conveyed by the S-type subfield 818 may be applicable to the link having the link ID mapped to the bit location [B0, B2, ..., B16, B17], while the s-type of the MLS control signaling may not be applicable to the link having the link ID mapped to the bit location [B1, ..., B15].

[0100] The types of MLS control signaling that may be applicable to links between MLDs may include power conservation and management, link recommendations, link enablement / disablement, data rates on links, data or information redundancy on links (such as data or information duplication), multi-link control responses on links, multi-link mode transitions on links, multi-link RTS / CTS for frame exchange on links, and other control signaling that may benefit from, or be compatible with, a lightweight, scalable, and flexible mechanism for conveying the types and applicability of control signaling for multiple links between MLDs.

[0101] As an illustrative example, a control ID value x may be mapped to MLS control content (e.g., x may be 9 or 10 or another integer similar to the control ID values ​​0-9 that are mapped to the corresponding content of the control information subfield 812). In the case where the control ID value x is mapped to the MLS control content, configuring the control ID value x to the control ID subfield 810 indicates that the control information subfield 812 carries the MLS subfield 806. Thus, the MLD that identifies the frame as having the control ID subfield 810 configured with the control ID x may determine that the MLS subfield 806 is carried in the control information subfield 812 corresponding to the control ID subfield 810.

[0102] The MLD may interpret, decode, read, or parse the control information of the control information subfield 812 so that the MLD identifies the two subfields of the MLS subfield 806. In some implementations, the MLD may read the bits at bit positions B16-B19 of the MLS subfield 806 to identify the s-type indicated in the S-type subfield 818, which may indicate the type of MLS control signaling carried in the MLS control information subfield 816. For example, consistent with Table 2 above, the MLD may read bits "0001" at bit positions B16-B19 of the MLS subfield 806, and based on the mapping of the s-type value "1" shown in Table 2 above, the MLD may identify the s-type of the MLS control signaling as the MLPS control signaling in which the PM bit of the same MAC header carrying the MLS subfield 806 is to be applied.

[0103] The MLD may read the bits at bit locations B0-B15 to identify the links to which the s-type of MLS control signaling applies. For example, a value of "1" may indicate that the s-type of MLS control signaling applies to the link corresponding to the bit location where the bit at the bit location is configured with a value of "1". Complementarily, a value of "0" may indicate that the s-type of MLS control signaling does not apply to the link corresponding to the bit location where the bit at the bit location is configured with a value of "0". For example, in the illustrated aspect, the link ID bitmap 820 includes bits at bit locations 0 and 3 that are configured with a value of "1"; therefore, the s-type of MLS control signaling may apply to links corresponding to bit locations 0 and 3, such as links with link IDs 0 and 3. Complementarily, the s-type of MLS control signaling may not apply to links corresponding to bit locations 1 and 2, such as links with link IDs 1 and 2.

[0104] In some implementations, the s-type of the MLS control signaling may include, for example, MLPS control signaling initiated by a non-AP MLD in order to save power of the non-AP MLD. For example, the s-type may be configured with a value "0001" equal to the decimal number one. Following Table 2 above, in this example, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type one is MLPS control signaling, in which the PM bit of the same frame carrying the MLS subfield will be applied to each link in the link set corresponding to the corresponding bit position in the bit position set in the MLS subfield whose bit is configured with a value of "1". Figure 7 In the context of , the value of the power management subfield 756 of the MAC header 702 will apply to the links corresponding to bit positions B0 and B3 of the link ID bitmap 820, regardless of the link over which the MAC header 702 is transmitted.

[0105] In another example, s-type may be configured with a value "00 10" equal to decimal number two. Following Table 2 above, in such an example, MLS control signaling mapped to s-type two indicates that the MLPS control signaling relates to each link corresponding to the corresponding bit position in the bit position set in the MLS subfield whose position is configured with a value of "1" and applies the corresponding PM bit of the most recently received frame on the same link. Figure 7 In the context of , the non-AP MLD may apply the value of the power management subfield 756 of the most recently received MAC header 702 on the link to the same link, where the link corresponds to one of the bit positions B0 and B3 of the link ID bitmap 820 in which the bit is configured with a "1" (in this other example, the MAC header 702 may be located in a different frame than the MAC header that includes the link ID bitmap 820).

[0106] In some other specific implementations, the s-type of the MLS control signaling may include, for example, MLPS control signaling initiated by an AP MLD in order to save power of a non-AP MLD. For example, the s-type may be configured with a value "0011" equal to the decimal number three. Following Table 2 above, in such an example, the MLS control signaling may be MLPS control signaling in which the EOSP bit of the same frame carrying the MLS subfield is applied to each link in the link set corresponding to the corresponding bit position in the bit position set in the MLS subfield whose bit is configured to a value of "1". Figure 7 In the context of , the values ​​of the bits in the EOSP bit position of the QoS control field 736 of the MAC header 702 will apply to the links corresponding to bit positions B0 and B3 of the link ID bitmap 820, regardless of the link over which the MAC header 702 is transmitted.

[0107] In another example of such other specific implementations, the s-type may be configured with a value equal to decimal number four, "0100". Following Table 2 above, in such an example, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type four indicates that the MLPS control signaling involves each link corresponding to the corresponding bit position in the set of bit positions in the MLS subfield whose bits are configured with a value of "1" having the corresponding EOSP bit of the most recently received frame on the same link applied. Figure 7 In the context of , the non-AP MLD may apply the value of the bit in the EOSP bit location of the QoS control field 736 of the most recently received MAC header 702 on the same link, where the link corresponds to one of the bit locations B0 and B3 of the link ID bitmap 820 in which the bit is configured with a "1" (in such another example, the MAC header 702 may be located in a different frame from the MAC header that includes the link ID bitmap 820).

[0108] In some further implementations, the s-type of the MLS control signaling may include that the s-type may be configured with a value "0101" equal to the decimal number five. Following Table 2 above, in some examples of such further implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type five includes an MLS link recommendation. In some aspects, when the s-type of the MLS control signaling is mapped to the MLS link recommendation, the link ID bitmap 820 may include a bit set in which the nth bit represents a link n in a set of links between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. The nth bit set to "1" in the link ID bitmap 820 may indicate that the link n is recommended for frame transmission between senders in the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, and the nth bit set to "0" in the link ID bitmap 820 may indicate that the link n is not recommended for frame transmission between senders in the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. In some aspects, the link recommendation may be applied to a data frame scheduled to be transmitted by a STA of the non-AP MLD, where the STA is an intended recipient of the MLS subfield 806. For example, the link recommendation may be limited to data from a particular flow, such as data frames having a traffic ID (TID) that matches the value carried in the TID subfield of the QoS frame that includes the MLS subfield 806. However, MLS control signaling of link recommendations may apply to any type of frame, such as a management frame.

[0109] In another example, the MLS control signaling may indicate whether a link is enabled or disabled, rather than indicating whether a link is recommended or not recommended. In other words, the MLS control signaling may indicate a usage instruction that allows the use of a link or prohibits the use of a link. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate that link n is enabled for frame transmission between senders in the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, and the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may indicate that link n is disabled for frame transmission between senders in the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD.

[0110] In some additional implementations, the s-type of MLS control signaling may include the s-type may be configured with a value "0 110" equal to the decimal number six. Following Table 2 above, in some examples of such further implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type six includes MLS link data rate adjustment (or fast multi-link adaptation). In some aspects, when the s-type of MLS control signaling is mapped to MLS link data rate adjustment, the link ID bitmap 820 may include a set of bits in which the nth bit represents link n in the set of links between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate that the data rate of link n will be increased (or decreased, depending on the implementation), while the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may indicate that the data rate of link n will not be increased (or decreased, depending on the implementation).

[0111] In still other specific implementations, the s-type of MLS control signaling may include the s-type may be configured with a value "0 111" equal to the decimal number seven. Following Table 2 above, in some examples of such further specific implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type seven includes reliable MLO / redundancy control. In some aspects, when the s-type of MLS control signaling is mapped to reliable MLO / redundancy control, the link ID bitmap 820 may include a bit set in which the nth bit represents link n in the set of links between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate that data redundancy should be enabled on link n, while the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may indicate that data redundancy on link n should not be enabled (or should be disabled).

[0112] In yet other specific implementations, the s-type of MLS control signaling may include the s-type may be configured with a value "1000" equal to decimal number eight. Following Table 2 above, in some examples of such further specific implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type eight includes an MLS control response. In some aspects, when the s-type of MLS control signaling is mapped to an MLS control response, the link ID bitmap 820 may include a set of bits in which the nth bit represents link n in a set of links between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate that an immediate control response should be transmitted on link n, while the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may indicate that an immediate control response is not configured on link n or may remain unchanged.

[0113] In still further implementations, the s-type of MLS control signaling may include the s-type may be configured with a value "1001" equal to the decimal number nine. Following Table 2 above, in some examples of such further implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to the s-type nine includes an MLS mode transition. In some aspects, when the s-type of MLS control signaling is mapped to the MLS mode transition, then the link ID bitmap 820 may include a bit set in which the nth bit represents a link n in a set of links between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate a mode to be set on link n, such as eMLSR, eMLMR, or NSTR, depending on the implementation. Illustratively, in the case where the mode on each link in the set of links is set to MLMR, the bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate that each of the corresponding links should set its mode to eMLMR. Conversely, the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may indicate that the mode on link n should remain unchanged.

[0114] In a further specific implementation, the s-type of MLS control signaling may include the s-type may be configured with a value equal to decimal tens "1010". Following the above Table 2, in some examples of such further specific implementations, the MLS control signaling mapped to s-type tens includes MLS RTS / CTS. In some aspects, when the s-type of MLS control signaling is mapped to MLS RTS / CTS, the link ID bitmap 820 may include a bit set in which the nth bit represents link n in a set of links between AP MLD and non-AP MLD. The nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "1" may indicate RTS / CTS on link n, while the nth bit of the link ID bitmap 820 set to "0" may not indicate RTS / CTS on link n.

[0115] refer to Figures 9 to 12 , the non-AP MLD may include multiple STAs, each of which may be configured to communicate with a corresponding AP of the AP MLD through a link. Each of the STAs may be able to operate in one of the following at least two PM modes: an active mode or a PS mode. In the active mode, the STA of the non-AP MLD is in an awake power state, in which the STA radio component is continuously powered so that the STA can transmit and receive. However, in the PS mode, the STA of the non-AP MLD 920 mainly operates in a sleep power state, in which the STA radio component is not able to transmit or receive and the power consumption is very low, but the STA occasionally transitions to a wake-up power state to receive frames that can be buffered at the AP MLD.

[0116] The AP MLD may instruct the non-AP MLD STAs to operate in one of the PM modes via the MAC header of the frame. For example, the QoS control field of the MAC header may be used to indicate the PM mode to one or more of the STAs. The specific implementation of the QoS control field is described in Figure 7 736. The QoS Control field may include at least one bit dedicated to conveying an EOSP indication. For example, a bit position in the QoS Control field may be dedicated to conveying an EOSP indication such that when a non-AP MLD reads the bit at that bit position in the QoS Control field, the non-AP MLD will be informed of the PM mode to operate in.

[0117] When one of the APs in the AP MLD has a frame to send to a corresponding one of the STAs, the AP may keep the STA in an active mode in which the STA radio component remains awake on the corresponding one of the links while the AP sends frames to the STA through the corresponding link. During the frame transmission and while the AP still has frames to send to the STA, the AP may set the EOSP bit in the QoS Control field to a value indicating that the STA should remain in the active PM mode so that the STA radio component is awake on the corresponding link. For example, the AP may set the EOSP bit to "0" to indicate to the STA that the end of the service period for the STA has not yet been reached.

[0118] Once the AP has completed sending frames to the STA, the AP may allow the STA to put the STA radio component to sleep on the corresponding link. For example, in the last frame or the most recent frame with the QoS control field (such as the last frame in a sequence of frames sent by the AP to the STA), the AP may configure the EOSP bit at the EOSP bit position in the QoS control field to indicate the value of EOSP. For example, the AP may set the EOSP bit to "1". When the STA receives the EOSP bit indicating EOSP, the STA may be allowed to put the STA radio component to sleep on the corresponding link again, and thus, the STA may enter the PS mode. The AP may record and track the PM mode of the corresponding STA so that the AP knows whether the STA is awake on the link (when the STA is in active mode) or whether the STA is awake or asleep on the link (when the STA is in PS mode).

[0119] Fig. 9 A sequence diagram depicting an example of wireless communication of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD 910 and a non-AP MLD 920 in a WLAN 900 according to some implementations is shown. The non-AP MLD 920 may include a plurality of STAs 922, 924, and 926, each of which may be configured to communicate with a corresponding one of the APs 912, 914, and 916 of the AP MLD 910 over a corresponding one of the links 902, 904, and 906.

[0120] In some implementations, the AP MLD 910 may be Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, the AP MLD 910 may be Figure 6 610, and thus, APs 912, 914, and 916 may be examples of APs 612, 614, and 616, respectively. In some implementations, non-AP MLD 920 may be Figure 1 Any STA in STA 104 or Figure 5B In some other implementations, the non-APMLD 920 may be an example of a STA 504. Figure 6 620, and thus, STAs 922, 924, and 926 may be examples of STAs 622, 624, and 626, respectively.

[0121] The STA of the non-AP MLD 920 may request to transition from one PM mode to another PM mode. To this end, the STA of the non-AP MLD 920 informs the corresponding AP of the AP MLD 910 via a successful frame exchange in which the STA of the non-AP MLD 920 sends a frame indicating the STA's intention to transition to another PM mode to the AP of the AP MLD 910, and the AP of the AP MLD 910 confirms the successful reception of the frame. In other words, the STA of the non-AP MLD 920 may avoid transitioning to another PM mode such as the PS mode, and may avoid sleeping on the link until the PM mode request conveyed by the PM bit in the MAC header has been confirmed (implicitly or explicitly) by the corresponding AP of the AP MLD 910. Upon receiving the confirmation, the STA of the non-AP MLD 920 may transition from one PM mode to another PM mode, which may allow the non-AP MLD 920 to put its radio components to sleep on the corresponding link.

[0122] Information indicating transition to another PM mode is transmitted via the PM subfield of the frame control field of the MAC header (such as Figure 7 The AP MLD 910 may maintain a record of which STAs are active on which links and whether the STAs are in an active power state or a dormant power state on the corresponding links.

[0123] Illustratively, the non-AP MLD 920 may tend to put its radio components to sleep on two links 902, 906 with link IDs 0 and 2, respectively. To this end, the non-AP MLD 920 may generate a frame 942 including a MAC header including an MLS subfield. The MAC header may also include a PM subfield. In some examples, the non-AP MLD 920 may configure the PM bit in the PM subfield to a value of "1" to indicate a request to place at least one of the STAs 922, 924, and 926 in PS mode, in which at least one of the STAs 922, 924, and 926 may sleep on at least one of the links 902, 904, and 906, respectively. In some other examples, the non-AP MLD 920 may configure the PM bit in the PM subfield to a value of "0" to indicate a request to place at least one of STAs 922, 924, and 926 into an active mode, in which at least one of STAs 922, 924, and 926 wakes up on at least one of links 902, 904, and 906, respectively.

[0124] The non-AP MLD 920 may indicate to the s-type configuration of the s-type subfield of the MLS subfield that the MLS subfield included in the frame 942 includes a value (such as "0001" or "1" according to Table 2 above) of MLPS control signaling in which the PM bit carried in the PM subfield is applicable to each of the links indicated in the link ID bitmap carried in the MLS control information subfield of the MLS subfield. Fig. 9 As illustrated, for example, the non-AP MLD 920 may request that the PM bit in the MAC header of the frame 942 be applied to STAs 922 and 926 on links 902 and 906 having IDs 0 and 2, respectively, and therefore, the non-AP MLD 920 may configure the first bit (such as the bit at bit position B0) and the third bit (such as the bit at bit position B2) to a value of "1". Since the non-AP MLD 920 is not requesting that the PM bit be applied to STA 924, the non-AP MLD 920 may configure a "0" to the bit at bit position B1 corresponding to the link 904.

[0125] In some aspects, the non-AP MLD 920 may also configure "0" to bits at bit locations that do not correspond to any link. For example, the non-AP MLD 920 may configure "0" to bits at bit locations B3 to B15 because only three links 902, 904, and 906 corresponding to bit locations B0, B1, and B2 have been established with the AP MLD 910.

[0126] The non-AP MLD 920 may transmit a frame 942 including a header including a PM bit (such as a PM bit configured with a "1" or a "0") and including an MLS subfield to the AP MLD 910 via a corresponding STA among the STAs 922, 924, or 926 (such as the STA 926) on one of the links 902, 904, or 906 (such as the link 906). Correspondingly, the AP MLD 910 may receive a frame 942 including a header including an MLS subfield from the non-AP MLD 920 via a corresponding AP among the APs 912, 914, or 916 (such as the AP 916) on one of the links 902, 904, or 906 (such as the link 906). In some implementations, the frame 942 may be transmitted and received on any of the links 902, 904, and 906 because the MLS control information subfield may carry cross-link information. Thus, even if one of the links 902, 904, or 906 is unavailable, MLS control signaling may be communicated for that link on another of the links 902, 904, or 906 via the MLS subfield.

[0127] Based on the frame 942, the AP MLD 910 may identify the STAs 922 and 926 on the links 902 and 906 to which the non-AP MLD 920 is requesting that the PM bit be applied. For example, the AP MLD 910 may read the bits of the link ID bitmap carried in the MLS control information subfield to find the first and third bits at bit locations B0 and B2, respectively, configured with a value of “1” indicating that the MLS control signaling (here, the PM bit) is applicable to the first link 902 and the third link 906 having link IDs 0 and 2. The AP MLD 910 may ignore the bits at the bit locations that do not correspond to any link—for example, the AP MLD 910 may ignore the bits at bit locations B3 to B15 because the AP MLD 910 has not set any links other than the three links 902, 904, and 906 corresponding to the bit locations B0, B1, and B2, respectively.

[0128] The AP MLD 910 may identify the STAs 922 and 926 operating on the links 902 and 906, respectively, and corresponding to the APs 912 and 916, based on the bits configured with the value "1" at the first bit position and the third bit position of the link ID bitmap. The AP MLD 910 may record information indicating the PM mode of the identified STAs 922 and 926 according to the value configured to the PM bit of the frame 942. For example, the AP MLD 910 may signal the value of the PM bit of the frame 942 to the APs 912 and 916 operating on the links 902 and 906, respectively. Each of the APs 912 and 916 may update the PM mode of the corresponding STA of the STAs 922 and 926 according to the PM bit signaled to the AP.

[0129] The AP MLD 910 may send an acknowledgement 946 to the non-AP MLD 920 on one of the links 902, 904, or 906. In some aspects, the AP MLD 910 may send the acknowledgement 946 via the same AP of the APs 912, 914, or 916 that received the frame 942 on the corresponding one of the links 902, 904, or 906. For example, the AP MLD 910 may send the acknowledgement 946 via the AP 916 that received the frame 942 on the link 906. The acknowledgement 946 itself may be a frame carrying information indicating that the AP MLD 910 (or the APs 912 and 916) acknowledges that the non-AP MLD 920 (or the STAs 922 and 926) is applying the PM bit of the frame 942 to the STAs 922 and 926 on the corresponding links 902 and 906, respectively.

[0130] The non-AP MLD 920 may receive an acknowledgment from the non-AP MLD 920 on one of the links 902, 904, or 906. In some aspects, the non-AP MLD 920 may receive the acknowledgment 946 via the same STA 922, 924, or 926 that sent the frame 942 on the corresponding one of the links 902, 904, or 906. For example, the non-AP MLD 920 may receive the acknowledgment 946 via the STA 926 that received the frame 942 on the link 906.

[0131] Based on the acknowledgement 946, the non-AP MLD 920 may apply the PM bit of the frame 942 to each of the STAs 922 and 926 operating on the links 902 and 906, respectively, corresponding to the bit positions in the link ID bitmap of the MLS subfield having the bits configured with the value "1". For example, the non-AP MLD 920 may apply the PM bit to the STAs 922 and 926, such as by placing the STAs 922 and 926 in the PS mode when the non-AP MLD 920 configures "1" to the PM bit of the frame 942. When placed in the PS mode, the STAs 922 and 926 may enter a sleep state on the links 902 and 906, respectively.

[0132] Fig.10 A sequence diagram depicting another example of wireless communication of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD 1010 and a non-AP MLD 1020 in a WLAN 1000 according to some implementations is shown. The non-AP MLD 1020 may include a plurality of STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026, each of which may be configured to communicate with a corresponding one of the APs 1012, 1014, and 1016 of the AP MLD 1010 over a corresponding one of the links 1002, 1004, and 1006.

[0133] In some implementations, the AP MLD 1010 may be Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, the AP MLD 1010 may be Figure 6 1010 is an example of AP MLD 610, and thus, APs 1012, 1014, and 1016 may be examples of APs 612, 614, and 616, respectively. In still further specific implementations, AP MLD 1010 may be Fig. 9 910, and thus, APs 1012, 1014, and 1016 may be examples of APs 912, 914, and 916, respectively.

[0134] In some implementations, the non-AP MLD 1020 may be Figure 1 Any STA in STA 104 or Figure 5B In some other implementations, the non-AP MLD 1020 may be an example of a STA 504. Figure 6 1020 may be an example of a non-AP MLD 620, and thus, STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026 may be examples of STAs 622, 624, and 626, respectively. In yet further specific implementations, non-AP MLD 1020 may be Fig. 9 920, and thus, STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026 may be examples of STAs 922, 924, and 926, respectively.

[0135] Each of STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026 may operate in a corresponding PM mode independent of other STAs. For example, STAs 1022 and 1024 may be operating in active mode and thus may remain awake on links 1002 and 1004, respectively, while STA 1026 may be operating in PS mode and thus may sleep on link 1006. In some aspects, non-AP MLD 1020 may send a separate request for a specific PM mode for each of STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026. In some such aspects, the STA sends a frame including a header on an associated link, the header including a frame control field, the frame control field including a PM subfield. The PM subfield may include a bit that may be configured with a value indicating a PM mode requested for the STA. For example, a PM bit configured with a value of "1" may indicate a request for the STA to operate in PS mode, while a PM bit configured with a value of "0" may indicate a request for the STA to operate in active mode.

[0136] In the illustrated example, the STA 1022 may send a frame 1032a including a PM bit 1034a to the AP 1012 on the link 1002, which may be set to "1" to indicate a request to operate in PS mode on the link 1002. The AP 1012 may receive the frame 1032a, and assuming that the AP MLD 1010 accepts the requested mode, the AP MLD 1010 may update the mode of the STA 1022 from the active mode to the PS mode requested via the PM bit 1034a. The AP 1012 may send an acknowledgment 1036a to the STA 1022 on the link 1002 indicating that the requested mode of operation is confirmed and accepted. When the STA 1022 receives the acknowledgment 1036a, the non-AP MLD 1020 may place the STA 1022 in the PS mode. In the PS mode, the STA 1022 may sleep on the link 1002. For example, non-AP MLD 1020 may transmit a signal to a radio of STA 1022 communicating over link 1002, and the signal may indicate that the radio is to enter a lower power state in which STA 1022 does not listen on link 1002 or only listens at certain intervals.

[0137] Similarly, STA 1024 may send frame 1032b including PM bit 1034b to AP 1014 on link 1004, which PM bit may be set to "0" to indicate a request to operate in active mode on link 1004. AP 1014 may receive frame 1032b, and assuming that AP MLD 1010 accepts the requested mode, AP MLD 1010 may retain the active mode of STA 1024 as requested via PM bit 1034a. AP 1014 may send confirmation 1036b to STA 1024 on link 1004 indicating that the requested mode of operation is confirmed and accepted. Thus, when STA 1024 receives confirmation 1036b, non-AP MLD 1020 may signal STA 1024 to remain in active mode. For example, non-AP MLD 1020 may transmit a signal to a radio of STA 1024 communicating over link 1004 , and the signal may indicate that the radio is to remain in a higher power state in which STA 1024 is awake and listening on link 1004 .

[0138] Similarly, STA 1026 may send a frame 1032c including a PM bit 1034c to AP 1016 on link 1006, which may be set to "1" to indicate a request to operate in active mode on link 1006. AP 1016 may receive frame 1032c, and assuming that AP MLD 1010 accepts the requested mode, AP MLD 1010 may update the mode of STA 1026 to reflect the active mode requested via PM bit 1034c. AP 1016 may send an acknowledgment 1036c to STA 1026 on link 1006 indicating that the requested mode of operation is confirmed and accepted. When STA 1026 receives acknowledgment 1036c, non-AP MLD 1020 may maintain STA 1026 in active mode, in which STA 1026 remains active on link 1006. For example, the non-AP MLD 1020 may transmit a signal to the radio component of the STA 1026 used to communicate via the link 1006, and the signal may indicate that the radio component is to transition from a lower power mode (PS mode) to a higher power state (active mode), so that the radio component of the STA 1026 remains in an awake state on the link 1006.

[0139] The non-AP MLD 1020 may be configured to request changes to the PM mode on multiple links at an individual link granularity level via the MLS subfield. Fig. 9 Compared to the described aspects and examples, in which the non-AP MLD 920 requests to change the PM mode on multiple links at a multi-link level (that is, one value of one PM bit applies to all links in the multiple links). For example, the non-AP MLD 1020 may generate a frame 1042 including a header, the header including the MLS subfield (e.g., as described with respect to Figure 8 Non-AP MLD 1020 may send frame 1042 to AP MLD 1010 via one of STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026 on one of respective links 1002, 1004, and 1006.

[0140] The non-AP MLD 1020 may configure the s-type of the S-type subfield of the MLS subfield to indicate that the MLS control signaling includes the value of the MLPS control information from the non-AP MLD 1020 and to be acknowledged by the AP MLD 1010, the MLPS control information requesting, for each link in the link corresponding to the bit position of the bit configured with a specific value (such as "1") in the link ID bitmap, that the PM bit of the corresponding frame received on the link be applied to the STA operating on the link. For example, the corresponding frame may be a frame most recently transmitted by the STA on the link (with the PM bit configured with a value) or a frame most recently acknowledged by the AP on the link.

[0141] Illustratively, the non-AP MLD 1020 may configure the s type of the S type subfield with a value of "0010" (or "2"), which corresponds to MLPS control information from the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD according to Table 2 above, the MLPS control information indicating a request to apply the PM bit from the corresponding frame most recently received on the link on each of the links corresponding to the bit position of the bit in the link ID bitmap having the bit configured with a specific value. The STA 1022 may be operating in PS mode and sleeping on the link 1002 in accordance with the confirmed PM bit 1034a of the frame 1032a, but the STA 1022 may have subsequently transitioned back to active mode at a later time (e.g., based on receiving a beacon frame from the AP 1012 on the link 1002 indicating that the AP 1012 has data to transmit to the STA 1022). In the event that the non-AP MLD 1020 is to again request that the STA 1022 be placed in PS mode, the non-AP MLD 1020 may indicate such a request via a reference to the frame 1032a, which may be the most recently acknowledged frame having the PM bit 1034a configured with a value. Thus, the non-AP MLD 1020 may configure the s-type of the S-type subfield with a value of "0010" and may configure the bit at the bit position corresponding to the link 1002 in the link ID bitmap (such as the bit position B0 corresponding to ID 0 of the link 1002) with a value indicating that the MLPS control information of the s-type is applicable to the link (such as "1").

[0142] Conversely, the non-AP MLD 1020 may refrain from requesting a change in the PM mode of the STA 1024. Therefore, the non-AP MLD 1020 may configure a bit at a bit position corresponding to the link 1004 (such as bit position B1 corresponding to ID 1 of the link 1004) in the link ID bitmap with a value (such as “0”) indicating that MLPS control information of type s is not applicable to the link.

[0143] STA 1026 may be operating in active mode and waking up on link 1006 in accordance with the asserted PM bit 1034c of frame 1032c, but STA 1026 may have subsequently transitioned back to PS mode at a later time (e.g., based on the EOSP bit of a frame received from AP 1012 on link 1002). In the event that non-AP MLD 1020 is to again request to keep STA 1026 in active mode, non-AP MLD 1020 may indicate such a request via a reference to frame 1032c, which may be the most recently asserted frame with PM bit 1034c configured with a value. Thus, non-AP MLD 1020 may configure a value (such as "1") indicating that type s MLPS control information applies to the link to a bit position in the link ID bitmap corresponding to link 1006 (such as bit position B2 corresponding to ID 2 of link 1006).

[0144] The AP MLD 1010 may receive a frame 1042 having a header including an MLS subfield, and based on information configured to the MLS subfield, may identify an s-type of MLS control signaling. For example, the AP MLD 1010 may access information indicating at least a portion of Table 2 stored in a memory of the AP MLD 1010 to find an s-type of MLS control signaling mapped to a value of "0010". The AP MLD 1010 may determine that the s-type corresponds to MLPS control information from the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD, the MLPS control information indicating a request to apply a PM bit from a corresponding frame most recently received on each of the links corresponding to a bit position having a bit configured with a specific value in the link ID bitmap.

[0145] For example, the AP MLD 1010 may identify the links 1002 and 1006 as having MLPS control information applicable thereto based on the link ID bitmap bit locations corresponding to the links 1002 and 1006 having bits configured with a value of “1”. The AP MLD 1010 may further determine the PM bits 1034a and 1034c included in the most recently received frames 1032a and 1032c on the links 1002 and 1006, respectively. The AP MLD 1010 may update the PM mode of the STA 1022 on the link 1002 to the PS mode based on the PM bit 1034a of the frame 1032a being configured with a value of “1”, and may update the PM mode of the STA 1026 on the link 1006 to reflect the active mode based on the PM bit 1034c of the frame 1032c being configured with a value of “0”. AP MLD 1010 may signal AP 1012 on link 1002 that STA 1022 is transitioning to PS mode on link 1002, and may signal AP 1016 on link 1006 that STA 1026 is remaining in active mode on link 1006. One of APs 1012, 1014, and 1016, such as AP 1016 that receives frame 1042, may send an acknowledgment 1046 associated with frame 1042 to non-AP MLD 1020.

[0146] STA 1026 may receive an acknowledgement 1046 that may indicate to non-AP MLD 1020 that PM bits 1034a and 1034c from respective most recently transmitted frames 1032a and 1032c may be applied to each link associated with a bit in the link ID bitmap that is configured with a value indicating that the MPLS control information is applicable to that link. Thus, non-AP MLD 1020 may apply PM bits 1034a and 1034c on links 1002 and 1006, respectively. For example, non-AP MLD 1020 may signal STA 1022 to transition to a PS mode in which STA 1022 may sleep on link 1002, but may signal STA 1026 to remain in an active mode in which STA 1026 remains awake on link 1006.

[0147] Fig.11 1 is a sequence diagram depicting yet another example of wireless communication of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD 1110 and a non-AP MLD 1120 in a WLAN 1100 according to some implementations. In some implementations, the APMLD 1110 may be Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, the AP MLD 1110 may be Figure 61110 is an example of AP MLD 610, and thus, APs 1112, 1114, and 1116 may be examples of APs 612, 614, and 616, respectively. In still further specific implementations, AP MLD 1110 may be respectively Fig. 9 and Fig.10 1010 or AP MLD 1010, and thus, APs 1112, 1114, and 1116 may be examples of APs 912, 914, and 916 or APs 1012, 1014, and 1016, respectively.

[0148] In some implementations, the non-AP MLD 1120 may be Figure 1 Any STA in STA 104 or Figure 5B In some other implementations, the non-AP MLD 1120 may be an example of a STA 504. Figure 6 1120 is an example of non-AP MLD 620, and thus, STAs 1122, 1124, and 1126 may be examples of STAs 622, 624, and 626, respectively. In still further specific implementations, non-AP MLD 1120 may be respectively Fig. 9 and Fig.10 1020 or 1020, and thus, STAs 1122, 1124, and 1126 may be examples of STAs 922, 924, and 926 or STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026, respectively.

[0149] As described above, each of the STAs 1122, 1124, and 1126 may be capable of operating in one of at least two PM modes: active mode or PS mode. Unless the AP MLD requests a change to the PM mode, the AP MLD may send an indication to the non-AP MLD of the PM mode that the AP MLD is instructing the STA of the non-AP MLD to follow. Such an indication may be an EOSP bit carried in the QoS control field of the header of the frame (e.g., as described with respect to Figure 71124 and 1126 to operate in a specific PM mode. In the event that the AP MLD 1110 is instructing one of the STAs 1122, 1124, and 1126 to operate in a specific PM mode, the AP MLD 1110 may configure the value of the EOSP bit and send a frame having a header with the EOSP bit configured with the value to the STA on the link via the AP. For example, an EOSP bit configured with a value of "1" may instruct the non-AP MLD 1120 to place the STA operating on the link through which the EOSP bit is received into PS mode, while an EOSP bit configured with a value of "0" may instruct the non-AP MLD 1120 to keep the STA operating on the link through which the EOSP bit is received in an active mode. The non-AP MLD 1120 may receive a frame with the EOSP bit, and the non-AP MLD 1120 may apply the value of the EOSP bit to the STA operating on the link through which the frame is received.

[0150] In some aspects, not all non-AP MLDs may support the MLS subfield, and thus, an AP MLD communicating with a non-AP MLD that fails to support the MLS subfield may disable the MLS subfield. To let the AP MLD 1110 know that the non-AP MLD 1120 supports the MLS subfield, the non-AP MLD 1120 may send a frame 1140 with information indicating support for the MLS subfield.

[0151] The AP MLD 1110 may receive the frame 1140, and based on the information indicating support for the MLS subfield, the AP MLD 1110 may use one EOSP bit of one frame to configure the PM mode of the STAs on multiple links. For example, the AP MLD 1110 may indicate to the s-type configuration of the S-type subfield of the MLS subfield that the MLS subfield included in the frame 1142 includes a value (such as "0011" or "3" according to the above Table 2) of the MLPS control signaling, in which the EOSP bit carried in the QoS control field is applicable to each link in the link ID bitmap carried in the MLS control information subfield of the MLS subfield. Fig.11 As illustrated, for example, AP MLD 1110 may instruct non-AP MLD 1120 to apply the EOSP bit in the MAC header of frame 1142 to STAs 1122 and 1126 on links 1102 and 1106 with IDs 0 and 2, respectively.

[0152] Non-AP MLD 1120 may receive frame 1142 on link 1106 via STA 1126. Based on the s-type configured to the S-type subfield of the MLS subfield, non-AP MLD 1120 may determine that AP MLD 1110 is instructing non-AP MLD 1120 to apply the EOSP bit of frame 1142 to links associated with bits having a particular value (such as "1") in the link ID bitmap. Non-AP MLD 1120 may determine that links 1102 and 1106 are associated with bits having values ​​indicating that the EOSP bit of frame 1142 is applicable. In response, non-AP MLD 1120 may place STAs 1122 and 1126 in PS mode, and STAs 1122 and 1126 may sleep on links 1102 and 1106, respectively.

[0153] Fig.12 1 is a sequence diagram depicting yet another example of wireless communication of cross-link MLS control signaling between an AP MLD 1210 and a non-AP MLD 1220 in a WLAN 1200 according to some implementations. In some implementations, the APMLD 1210 may be Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, the AP MLD 1210 may be Figure 6 1210 is an example of AP MLD 610, and thus, APs 1212, 1214, and 1216 may be examples of APs 612, 614, and 616, respectively. In still further specific implementations, AP MLD 1210 may be respectively Fig. 9 , Fig.10 and Fig.11 1014 and 1016, or AP 1112, 1114 and 1116, respectively.

[0154] In some implementations, the non-AP MLD 1220 may be Figure 1 Any of the STAs 104 or Figure 5B In some other implementations, the non-AP MLD 1220 may be Figure 6 1220 is an example of a non-AP MLD 620, and thus, STAs 1222, 1224, and 1226 may be examples of STAs 622, 624, and 626, respectively. In still further specific implementations, non-AP MLDs 1220 may be examples of STAs 622, 624, and 626, respectively. Fig. 9 , Fig.10 and Fig.11 1024 and 1026, or STAs 1122, 1124 and 1126 may be examples of non-AP 920, non-AP MLD 1020, or non-AP MLD 1120, and thus, STAs 1222, 1224, and 1226 may be examples of STAs 922, 924, and 926, STAs 1022, 1024, and 1026, or STAs 1122, 1124, and 1126, respectively.

[0155] Each of STAs 1222, 1224, and 1226 may operate in a respective PM mode independent of the other STAs. For example, STAs 1222 and 1224 may be operating in active mode and thus may remain awake on links 1202 and 1204, respectively, while STA 1226 may be operating in PS mode and thus may sleep on link 1206. In some aspects, non-AP MLD 1120 may transmit frame 1240 with information indicating support for the MLS subfield.

[0156] The AP MLD 1210 may receive the frame 1240, and based on the information indicating support for the MLS subfield, the AP MLD 1210 may configure the PM mode of the STAs on the multiple links using one EOSP bit of one frame. For example, the AP MLD 1210 may indicate to the s-type configuration of the S-type subfield of the MLS subfield that the MLS subfield included in the frame 1242 includes a value (such as "0100" or "4" according to the above Table 2) of the MLPS control signaling, in which the EOSP bit carried in the QoS control header field of the corresponding frame is applicable to each link in the link ID bitmap carried in the MLS control information subfield of the MLS subfield.

[0157] In the illustrated example, the AP 1212 may send a frame 1232a including an EOSP bit 1234a to the STA 1222 on the link 1202, which may be set to "1" to instruct the non-AP MLD 1220 to place the STA 1222 operating on the link 1202 into a PS mode. The non-AP MLD 1220 may receive the frame 1232a and, based thereon, may place the STA 1222 into a PS mode in which the STA 1222 may sleep on the link 1202.

[0158] In addition, the AP 1214 may send a frame 1232b including an EOSP bit 1234b to the STA 1224 on the link 1204, which may be set to "0" to instruct the non-AP MLD 1220 to maintain the STA 1224 operating on the link 1204 in an active mode. The non-AP MLD 1220 may receive the frame 1232b and, based thereon, may maintain the STA 1224 in an active mode in which the STA 1224 may remain awake on the link 1204.

[0159] Still further, the AP 1216 may send a frame 1232c including an EOSP bit 1234c to the STA 1226 on the link 1206, which EOSP bit may be set to “0” to instruct the non-AP MLD 1220 to maintain the STA 1226 operating on the link 1206 in an active mode. The non-AP MLD 1220 may receive the frame 1232c and, based thereon, may maintain the STA 1226 in an active mode in which the STA 1226 may remain awake on the link 1206.

[0160] AP MLD 1210 may be configured to request changes to the PM mode on multiple links at an individual link granularity level via the MLS subfield. Fig.11 Compared to the described aspects and examples, in which the AP MLD 1120 configures the PM mode on the multiple links at a multi-link level (that is, one value of one EOSP bit applies to all links in the multiple links). For example, the AP MLD 1210 may generate a frame 1242 including a header, the header including the MLS subfield (e.g., as described with respect to Figure 8 1204, and 1206). AP MLD 1210 may send frame 1242 to AP MLD 1220 via one of APs 1212, 1214, and 1216 on one of respective links 1202, 1204, and 1206.

[0161] The AP MLD 1210 may configure the s-type of the S-type subfield of the MLS subfield to indicate that the MLS control signaling includes a value of MLPS control information from the AP MLD 1210 to the non-AP MLD 1220, the MLPS control information instructing, for each link in the links corresponding to the bit position of the bit configured with a specific value (such as "1") in the link ID bitmap, to apply the EOSP bit of the corresponding frame received on the link to the STA operating on the link. For example, the corresponding frame may be a frame (with the EOSP bit configured with a value) most recently transmitted by the AP on the link.

[0162] Illustratively, the AP MLD 1210 may configure the s type of the S type subfield with a value of "0100" (or "4"), which corresponds to MLPS control information from the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD according to Table 2 above, the MLPS control information indicating that an instruction from the EOSP bit of the corresponding frame most recently received on the link is applied on each of the links corresponding to the bit position of the bit in the link ID bitmap having the bit configured with a specific value. The STA 1222 may be operating in PS mode and sleeping on the link 1202 in accordance with the EOSP bit 1234a of the frame 1232a, but the STA 1222 may have subsequently transitioned back to active mode at a later time (e.g., based on receiving a beacon frame from the AP 1212 on the link 1202 indicating that the AP 1212 has data to transmit to the STA 1222). The AP MLD 1210 may instruct the STA 1222 to return to PS mode via a reference to the frame 1232a, which may be the most recently transmitted frame having the EOSP bit 1234a configured with a value. Thus, the AP MLD 1210 may configure the s-type of the S-type subfield with a value of "0100" and may configure the bit at the bit position corresponding to the link 1202 (such as the bit position B0 corresponding to the ID 0 of the link 1202) in the link ID bitmap with a value indicating that the MLPS control information of the s-type is applicable to the link (such as "1").

[0163] Conversely, the AP MLD 1210 may avoid instructing a change in the PM mode of the STA 1224. Therefore, the AP MLD 1210 may configure a bit at a bit position corresponding to the link 1204 (such as bit position B1 corresponding to ID 1 of the link 1204) in the link ID bitmap with a value (such as "0") indicating that the MLPS control information of type s is not applicable to the link.

[0164] STA 1226 may be operating in active mode in accordance with EOSP bit 1234c of frame 1232c and waking up on link 1202. In the event that AP MLD 1210 instructs STA 1226 to remain in active mode, AP MLD 1210 may indicate such instruction via a reference to frame 1232c, which may be the most recently transmitted frame having EOSP bit 1234c configured with a value. Accordingly, AP MLD 1210 may configure a bit at a bit position in the link ID bitmap corresponding to link 1206 (such as bit position B2 corresponding to ID 2 of link 1206) with a value (such as "1") indicating that type s MLPS control information applies to the link.

[0165] The AP MLD 1220 may receive a frame 1242 having a header including an MLS subfield, and based on information configured to the MLS subfield, may identify an s-type of MLS control signaling. For example, the non-AP MLD 1220 may access information indicating at least a portion of Table 2 stored in a memory of the AP MLD 1220 to find an s-type of MLS control signaling mapped to a value of "0100". The non-AP MLD 1220 may determine that the s-type corresponds to MLPS control information from the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD, the MLPS control information indicating an instruction to apply an EOSP bit from a corresponding frame most recently received on each of the links corresponding to a bit position having a bit configured with a specific value in the link ID bitmap.

[0166] Therefore, the non-AP MLD 1220 may apply the EOSP bits 1234a and 1234c on the links 1202 and 1206, respectively. For example, the AP MLD 1220 may identify the links 1202 and 1206 as having MLPS control information applicable thereto based on the link ID bitmap bit locations corresponding to the links 1202 and 1206 having bits configured with a value of "1". The non-AP MLD 1220 may further determine the values ​​of the EOSP bits 1234a and 1234c included in the most recently received frames 1232a and 1232c on the links 1202 and 1206, respectively. The AP MLD 1210 may update the EOSP mode of the STA 1222 on the link 1202 to the PS mode based on the PM bit 1234a of the frame 1232a being configured with a value of "1", and may update the PM mode of the STA 1226 on the link 1206 to the active mode based on the EOSP bit 1234c of the frame 1232c being configured with a value of "0". For example, the non-AP MLD 1220 may signal the STA 1222 to transition to the PS mode in which the STA 1222 may sleep on the link 1202, but may signal the STA 1226 to transition to the active mode in which the STA 1226 remains awake on the link 1206.

[0167] Fig.13 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1300 for cross-link wireless communication for MLS control signaling in a WLAN according to some implementations. In some implementations, the process 1300 can be performed by an AP such as Figure 1 AP 102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, process 1300 may be performed by a STA (such as Figure 1 STA104 or Figure 5BIn yet other specific implementations, process 1300 may be performed by an MLD (such as, for example, Figure 6 One of the AP MLD 610 or the non-AP MLD 620, or Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 or Fig.12 The AP MLD 910, 1010, 1110 or 1210 or one of the non-AP MLDs 920, 1020, 1120 or 1220) or is executed at the MLD.

[0168] In some implementations, process 1300 begins in block 1302 by generating a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including an MLS subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in a set of links between a first MLD and a second MLD. In some aspects, the first field also includes a control subfield, and process 1300 may include an operation for configuring a control ID of the control subfield with a value indicating that the control subfield includes the MLS subfield. In some aspects, the value configured to the control ID is associated with an AAR subfield.

[0169] Process 1300 may include block 1304, which includes configuring an s-type of an MLS subfield with a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield.

[0170] Process 1300 may include block 1306, which includes configuring each bit in a first subset of a set of bits in the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to a corresponding link associated with the bit. In some aspects, the MLS subfield includes a link ID bitmap, the link ID bitmap including a set of bits, and each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in a set of bit positions, and each bit position in the set of bit positions in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the set of bits at the bit position and the corresponding link.

[0171] Process 1300 may include block 1308, which includes sending a first frame to a second MLD on a first link in the set of links.

[0172] In some aspects, process 1300 may also include a block for configuring each bit in a second subset of bits in the set of bits of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is not applicable to a corresponding link associated with the bit.

[0173] In some aspects, the header of the first frame also includes a second field having power management bits configured with values ​​associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and the value of the s type indicates that the power management bits apply to the link associated with the first bit subset.

[0174] In some aspects, the header of the first frame also includes a second field having a service period end bit configured with a value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and the value of the s type indicates that the service period end bit applies to the link associated with the first bit subset.

[0175] In some aspects, process 1300 may also include blocks for: generating a set of second frames, each of the second frames including a respective header having one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit; configuring one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit in the respective header of each second frame with a respective value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode; and sending each second frame in the set of second frames to a second MLD on a respective link in the set of links. In some such aspects, the value of the s-type indicates that one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit included in the respective header is applicable to the respective link on which each second frame is sent.

[0176] In some aspects, each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit for a respective link over which the second frame was sent.

[0177] In some aspects, the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

[0178] In some aspects, the value of the s type further indicates whether the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

[0179] In some aspects, the value of the s type further indicates a change in at least one of the data rate of communications, a redundancy scheme for communications, an expectation of immediacy of a multilink control response, or a multilink mode for the link associated with the first subset.

[0180] In some aspects, the value of the s type also indicates a request to perform an RTS / clear-to-send CTS procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset.

[0181] In some aspects, process 1300 may also include blocks for: receiving a second frame from a second MLD. The second frame may include an acknowledgment associated with the first frame; and configuring a power management state associated with each of the links associated with the first subset in response to the acknowledgment.

[0182] Fig.14 FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating another example process 1400 for cross-link wireless communication for MLS control signaling in a WLAN according to some implementations. In some implementations, the process 1400 can be performed by an AP such as Figure 1 AP102 or Figure 5A In some other implementations, process 1400 may be performed by a STA (such as Figure 1 STA 104 or Figure 5B In yet other specific implementations, process 1400 may be performed by an MLD (such as, respectively, Figure 6 One of the AP MLD 610 or the non-AP MLD 620, or Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 or Fig.12 The AP MLD 910, 1010, 1110 or 1210 or one of the non-AP MLDs 920, 1020, 1120 or 1220) or is executed at the MLD.

[0183] In some aspects, process 1400 begins in block 1402 by receiving a first frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including an MLS subfield, the first frame being received from a second MLD on a first link in a set of links between the first MLD and the second MLD. The MLS subfield may include a set of bits, and each bit in the set of bits may be associated with a corresponding link in the set of links.

[0184] Process 1400 may continue at block 1404 by identifying an s-type of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield.

[0185] Process 1400 may continue at block 1406 by applying MLS control signaling to each link in a first subset of links in the set of links that are respectively associated with a first subset of bits in the set of bits, the first subset of bits being configured with a value indicating that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link. In some aspects, block 1406 may include configuring a respective mode for each link in the first subset of links based on the MLS control signaling. In some aspects, block 1406 may include entering one of a dormant state or an awake state on each link in the links associated with the first subset of bits, and wherein the MLS control signaling includes a value configured to a service period end bit in a QoS control field.

[0186] In some aspects, process 1400 may also include a block for interpreting control information configured to a control information subfield of the control subfield of the first field as MLS control information configured to an MLS subfield based on a control ID of the control subfield.

[0187] In some aspects, the value configured to the control ID is associated with the AAR subfield.

[0188] In some aspects, process 1400 may also include a block for sending a second frame to a second MLD. The second frame may include an acknowledgment associated with the first frame, and the s-type of MLS control signaling is associated with a power management mode of the second MLD.

[0189] In some aspects, the MLS subfield includes a link ID bitmap that includes a set of bits, and each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in the set of bit positions, and each bit position in the set of bit positions in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the bit set at that bit position and the corresponding link.

[0190] In some aspects, process 1400 may also include a box for avoiding applying MLS control signaling to each link in a second subset of links in the link set, the second link subset being associated with a second subset of bits in the bit set at a second bit location subset in the bit location set, the second bit location subset being different from the first bit location subset at which the first bit subset in the bit location set is configured, and the second bit subset being configured with a value indicating that MLS control signaling is not applicable to the second link subset.

[0191] In some aspects, the header of the first frame also includes a second field having a power management bit or a service cycle end bit configured with a value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and the value of the s type indicates that the value of one of the power management bit or the service cycle end bit applies to the corresponding link associated with each bit in the first subset.

[0192] In some aspects, the process 1400 may also include a block for receiving a set of second frames received on the first subset of links, respectively, and each second frame in the set of second frames includes one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit configured with a corresponding value, and the value of the s-type indicates that the corresponding value of the one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit is applicable to the link in the first subset of links over which the second frame is received. In some aspects, each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit for the corresponding link over which the second frame is received.

[0193] In some aspects, the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

[0194] In some aspects, the value of the s type further indicates whether the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

[0195] In some aspects, the value of the s type further indicates a change in at least one of the data rate of communications, a redundancy scheme for communications, an expectation of immediacy of a multilink control response, or a multilink mode for the link associated with the first subset.

[0196] In some aspects, the value of the s type also indicates a request to perform an RTS / CTS procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset of bits.

[0197] Fig.15 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example MLD 1500 according to some implementations. In some implementations, the MLD 1500 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.13 The process 1300 is described. In some implementations, the MLD 1500 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, circuit, device, or system that includes at least one processor and at least one modem, such as a Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 compatible modem or a cellular modem.

[0198] In some aspects, MLD 1500 may be an example implementation of an AP or AP MLD, such as described above with reference to Figure 1 The AP 102, as mentioned above Figure 5A The AP 502 or WCD 510, as described above Figure 6 The AP MLD 610 or the above referenced Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 One of the AP MLDs 910, 1010, 1110, or 1210 described above. In some other aspects, the MLD 1500 may be an example implementation of a STA or non-AP MLD, such as the one described above with reference to Figure 1 One of the STA104 described above, Figure 5B The STA 504 or WCD 515, as described above Figure 6 The non-AP MLD 620 or the above referenced Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 One of the non-AP MLDs 920, 1020, 1120 or 1220.

[0199] MLD 1500 includes a receiving component 1510, a communication manager 1520, and a sending component 1530. Communication manager 1520 also includes a frame generation component 1522, an S type configuration component 1524, a bitmap configuration component 1526, and a frame output component 1528. In some aspects, portions of one or more of components 1522, 1524, 1526, and 1528 may be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least one of components 1522, 1524, 1526, or 1528 is implemented at least in part as a memory device stored in a memory such as a Figure 4 Memory 408, Figure 5A Memory 540 or Figure 5B For example, portions of one or more of components 1522, 1524, 1526, and 1528 may be implemented as software that can be executed by a processor such as Figure 4 processor 406, Figure 5A The application processor 530 or Figure 5B Instructions or computer executable code (which may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium) executed by the application processor 535 to perform the functions or operations of a corresponding one of the components 1522, 1524, 1526 or 1528.

[0200] The receiving component 1510 is configured to receive an RX signal from at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD) through a wireless channel. The transmitting component 1530 is configured to transmit a TX signal to at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD) through a wireless channel. The communication manager 1520 is configured to control or manage communication with at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD).

[0201] In some specific implementations, the frame generation component 1522 may generate a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including an MLS subfield. The MLS subfield may include a bit set, and each bit in the bit set may be associated with a corresponding link in a link set between a first MLD and a second MLD. The S type configuration component 1524 may configure the s type of the MLS subfield with a value indicating the type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield. The bitmap configuration component 1526 may configure each bit in the first bit subset of the bit set of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit. The frame output component 1528 may output the first frame for transmission to the second MLD on the first link in the link set. In some aspects, the frame output component 1528 may include an interface, such as an interface of a processor, a protocol interface, or another interface that enables a frame with a header to be output for wireless transmission (such as by packetizing, encoding, or modulating the frame with a header for wireless transmission via an antenna of the MLD 1500).

[0202] In some aspects, bitmap configuring component 1526 can also configure each bit in a second subset of bits in the set of bits of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is not applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit.

[0203] In some aspects, the frame generation component 1522 may also be configured to generate a set of second frames, each of which includes a corresponding header having one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit. The communication manager 1520 may also include a header configuration component that may configure one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit in the corresponding header of each second frame with a corresponding value associated with one of a power saving mode or an active mode. The frame output component 1528 may also be configured to output each second frame in the set of second frames for transmission to the second MLD on a corresponding link in the link set, and the value of the s type indicates that one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit included in the corresponding header is applicable to the corresponding link on which each second frame is transmitted.

[0204] In some aspects, the communication manager 1520 may further include a frame acquisition component that may obtain a second frame from the second MLD, and the second frame may include an acknowledgment associated with the first frame. In some aspects, the communication manager 1520 may further include a power state configuration component that may configure a power management state associated with each of the links associated with the first subset in response to the acknowledgment.

[0205] Fig.16FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example MLD 1600 according to some implementations. In some implementations, the MLD 1600 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.14 The process 1400 is described. In some implementations, the MLD 1600 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, circuit, device, or system that includes at least one processor and at least one modem, such as a Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 compatible modem or a cellular modem.

[0206] In some aspects, MLD 1600 may be an example implementation of an AP or AP MLD, such as described above with reference to Figure 1 The AP 102, as mentioned above Figure 5A The AP 502 or WCD 510, as described above Figure 6 The AP MLD 610 or the above referenced Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 One of the AP MLDs 910, 1010, 1110, or 1210 described above. In some other aspects, the MLD 1600 may be an example implementation of a STA or non-AP MLD, such as the one described above with reference to Figure 1 One of the STA104 described above, Figure 5B The STA 504 or WCD 515, as described above Figure 6 The non-AP MLD 620 or the above referenced Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 One of the non-AP MLDs 920, 1020, 1120 or 1220.

[0207] MLD 1600 includes a receiving component 1610, a communication manager 1620, and a transmitting component 1630. Communication manager 1620 also includes a frame acquisition component 1622, an S type identification component 1624, and a link application component 1626. In some aspects, portions of one or more of components 1622, 1624, and 1626 may be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least one of components 1622, 1624, or 1626 is implemented at least in part as a memory device stored in a memory such as a Figure 4 Memory 408, Figure 5A Memory 540 or Figure 5B For example, portions of one or more of components 1622, 1624, or 1626 may be implemented as software that can be executed by a processor such as Figure 4processor 406, Figure 5A The application processor 530 or Figure 5B Instructions or computer executable code (which may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium) executed by the application processor 535 to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding components in components 1622, 1624 or 1626.

[0208] The receiving component 1610 is configured to receive an RX signal from at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD) through a wireless channel. The transmitting component 1630 is configured to send a TX signal to at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD) through a wireless channel. The communication manager 1620 is configured to control or manage communication with at least one of an AP, a STA, or an MLD (such as a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD).

[0209] In some specific implementations, the frame acquisition component 1622 may obtain a first frame including a header received from a second MLD on a first link in a link set between the first MLD and the second MLD, the header including a first field, the first field including an MLS subfield. The MLS subfield may include a bit set, and each bit in the bit set may be associated with a corresponding link in the link set. In some aspects, the frame acquisition component 1622 may include an interface, such as an interface of a processor, a protocol interface, or another interface that enables processing of a frame with a header wirelessly received at an antenna of the MLD 1600 (such as by decoding, parsing, or extracting information carried in the header of the frame). The S type identification component 1624 may identify the S type of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield. The link application component 1626 may apply the MLS control signaling to each link in a first link subset in the link set, the first link subset being respectively associated with a first bit subset in the bit set, the first bit subset being configured with a value indicating that the S type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the link.

[0210] In some aspects, the communication manager 1620 may further include an interpretation component that may interpret control information configured to a control information subfield of the control subfield of the first field as MLS control information configured to an MLS subfield based on a control ID of the control subfield.

[0211] In some aspects, the link application component 1626 can be further configured to configure a respective mode of each link in the first subset of links based on the MLS control signaling. In some aspects, the link application component 1626 can be further configured to enter one of a dormant state or an awake state on each link in the first subset of links associated with the first bit, and wherein the MLS control signaling includes a value configured for a service period end bit in the QoS control field.

[0212] In some aspects, the communication manager 1620 may also include a frame output component that may output a second frame for transmission to a second MLD, and the second frame may include an acknowledgment associated with the first frame, and the s-type of MLS control signaling is associated with a power management mode of the second MLD.

[0213] In some aspects, the communication manager 1620 may also include an application avoidance component that may avoid applying MLS control signaling to each link in a second subset of links in the link set, the second link subset being associated with a second subset of bits in the bit set at a second bit location subset in the bit location set, the second bit location subset being different from the first bit location subset at which the first bit subset in the bit location set is configured, and the second bit subset being configured with a value indicating that MLS control signaling is not applicable to the second link subset.

[0214] In some aspects, the frame obtaining component 1622 may also be configured to obtain a set of second frames respectively received on the first link subset. Each second frame in the set of second frames may include one of a power management bit or a service period end bit configured with a corresponding value, and the value of the s type indicates that the corresponding value of one of the power management bit or the service period end bit is applicable to the link in the first link subset over which the second frame is received.

[0215] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0216] A method for wireless communication at a first multi-link device (MLD), the method comprising:

[0217] generating a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in a set of links between the first MLD and the second MLD;

[0218] configuring a signaling type (s-type) of the MLS subfield with a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield;

[0219] configuring each bit in a first subset of the set of bits of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit; and

[0220] The first frame is sent to the second MLD on a first link in the set of links.

[0221] 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first field further comprises a control subfield, and wherein the processing system is further configured to: configure a control ID of the control subfield to indicate that the control subfield comprises a value of the MLS subfield.

[0222] 3. A method as described in clause 1 or 2, wherein the value configured to the control ID is associated with an access point (AP) assistance request (AAR) subfield.

[0223] 4. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the MLS subfield includes a link ID bitmap, the link ID bitmap includes the bit set, wherein each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in the bit position set, and wherein each bit position in the bit position set in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the bit set at the bit position and the corresponding link.

[0224] 5. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, further comprising:

[0225] Each bit in a second subset of bits in the set of bits of the MLS subfield is configured with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is not applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit.

[0226] 6. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the header of the first frame also includes a second field, the second field having a power management bit configured with a value associated with one of a power saving mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the power management bit is applicable to the link associated with the first bit subset.

[0227] 7. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the header of the first frame also includes a second field, the second field having a service period end bit configured with a value associated with one of a power saving mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the service period end bit is applicable to the link associated with the first bit subset.

[0228] 8. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, further comprising:

[0229] generating a set of second frames, each of the second frames comprising a respective header having one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit;

[0230] configuring said one of said power management bit or said end of service period bit in said respective header of each second frame with a respective value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode; and

[0231] Each second frame in the set of second frames is sent to the second MLD on a corresponding link in the set of links, wherein the value of the s-type indicates that the one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit included in the corresponding header is applicable to the corresponding link on which each second frame is sent.

[0232] 9. The method of clause 8, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates, for the respective link over which the second frame was sent, said one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit.

[0233] 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

[0234] 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

[0235] 12. A method according to any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the value of the s type further indicates a change of the link associated with the first subset of bits to at least one of:

[0236] The data rate of communication,

[0237] Redundancy schemes for communication,

[0238] The expectation of immediacy of multi-link control responses, or

[0239] Multi-link mode.

[0240] 13. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the value of the s type also indicates a request to perform a request to send (RTS) / clear to send (CTS) procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset of bits.

[0241] 14. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, further comprising:

[0242] receiving a second frame from the second MLD, the second frame comprising an acknowledgment associated with the first frame; and

[0243] A power management state associated with each of the links associated with the first subset of bits is configured in response to the acknowledgement.

[0244] 15. A method for wireless communication at a first multi-link device, the method comprising:

[0245] receiving, from the second MLD on a first link in a set of links between the first and second MLDs, a first frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in the set of links;

[0246] Identifying a signaling type (s-type) of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield; and

[0247] The MLS control signaling is applied to each link in a first subset of links in the set of links, the first subset of links being respectively associated with a first subset of the set of bits, the first subset of bits being configured with a value indicating that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link.

[0248] 16. The method according to clause 15, further comprising:

[0249] The control information configured to the control information subfield of the control subfield of the first field is interpreted as the MLS control information configured to the MLS subfield based on a control identifier (ID) of the control subfield.

[0250] 17. A method as described in clause 15 or 16, wherein the value configured to the control ID is associated with an access point (AP) assistance request (AAR) subfield.

[0251] 18. A method according to any of clauses 15 to 17, wherein applying the MLS control signalling to each link in the first subset of links comprises configuring a respective mode of each link in the first subset of links based on the MLS control signalling.

[0252] 19. The method according to clause 18, further comprising:

[0253] sending a second frame to the second MLD, the second frame including an acknowledgment associated with the first frame,

[0254] The s type of the MLS control signaling is associated with a power management mode of the second MLD.

[0255] 20. A method according to clause 18, wherein configuring the corresponding mode of each link in the first link subset based on the MLS control signaling includes: entering one of a sleep state or a wake-up state on each of the links associated with the first bit subset, and wherein the MLS control signaling includes a value configured for a service period end bit in a quality of service (QoS) control field.

[0256] 21. A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 20, wherein the MLS subfield includes a link ID bitmap, the link ID bitmap includes the bit set, wherein each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in the bit position set, and wherein each bit position in the bit position set in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the bit set at the bit position and the corresponding link.

[0257] 22. The method according to clause 21, further comprising:

[0258] Avoid applying the MLS control signaling to each link in a second subset of links in the set of links, the second subset of links being associated with a second subset of bits in the bit set at a second subset of bit positions in the set of bit positions, the second subset of bit positions being different from a first subset of bit positions in the set of bit positions at which the first subset of bits in the set of bit positions is configured, wherein the second subset of bits is configured with a value indicating that the MLS control signaling is not applicable to the second subset of links.

[0259] 23. A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 22, wherein the header of the first frame also includes a second field, the second field having a power management bit or a service cycle end bit configured with a value associated with one of a power saving mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the value of the power management bit or the service cycle end bit applies to the corresponding link associated with each bit in the first bit subset.

[0260] 24. The method according to any one of clauses 15 to 22, further comprising:

[0261] A set of second frames is received on the first link subset, respectively, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames includes one of a power management bit or a service period end bit configured with a corresponding value, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the corresponding value of the one of the power management bit or the service period end bit is applicable to the link in the first link subset through which the second frame is received.

[0262] 25. The method of clause 24, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates, for the respective link over which the second frame was received, said one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit.

[0263] 26. The method of any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

[0264] 27. The method of any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

[0265] 28. A method according to any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the value of the s type further indicates a change of the link associated with the first subset of bits to at least one of:

[0266] The data rate of communication,

[0267] Redundancy schemes for communication,

[0268] The expectation of immediacy of multi-link control responses, or

[0269] Multi-link mode.

[0270] 29. A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the value of the s type also indicates a request to perform a request to send (RTS) / clear to send (CTS) procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset of bits.

[0271] 30. A first multi-link device, the first multi-link device comprising:

[0272] at least one memory; and

[0273] at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to cause the first MLD to:

[0274] generating a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in a set of links between the first MLD and the second MLD;

[0275] configuring a signaling type (s-type) of the MLS subfield with a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield;

[0276] configuring each bit in a first subset of the set of bits of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit; and

[0277] The first frame is sent to the second MLD on a first link in the set of links.

[0278] 31. A first multi-link device, the first multi-link device comprising:

[0279] at least one memory; and

[0280] at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to cause the first MLD to:

[0281] receiving, from the second MLD on a first link in a set of links between the first and second MLDs, a first frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in the set of links;

[0282] Identifying a signaling type (s-type) of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield; and

[0283] The MLS control signaling is applied to each link in a first subset of links in the set of links, the first subset of links being respectively associated with a first subset of the set of bits, the first subset of bits being configured with a value indicating that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link.

[0284] As used herein, phrases referring to "at least one of" or "one or more of" a list of items refer 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. As used herein, "based on" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense, unless otherwise expressly indicated. For example, "based on" may be used interchangeably with "based at least in part on," unless otherwise expressly indicated. Specifically, unless a phrase in the context refers to "based only on 'one'" or the equivalent, whether it is "based on 'one'" or "based at least in part on 'one'" may be based on "one" alone or on a combination of "one" and one or more other factors, conditions, or information.

[0285] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the specific 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 exemplified 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.

[0286] Various modifications to the specific implementations described in this disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other specific implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific implementations shown herein, but are to be consistent with the broadest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0287] Additionally, various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, individual features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple implementations individually or in any suitable subcombination. Thus, although 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 deleted from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variation of a subcombination.

[0288] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all 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 operations in the illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the specific implementation described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all specific implementations, but it should be understood as described program components and systems can usually be integrated together in a single software product, or be packaged in multiple software products.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured for wireless communication at a first multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising: Memory; a processing system coupled to the memory and configured to cause the first MLD to: generating a frame including a header, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in a set of links between the first MLD and the second MLD; configuring a signaling type (s-type) of the MLS subfield with a value indicating a type of MLS control signaling associated with the MLS subfield; and configuring each bit in a first subset of the set of bits of the MLS subfield with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit; and A first interface configured to output a first frame for sending to the second MLD on a first link in the set of links.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first field further comprises a control subfield, and wherein the processing system is further configured to: configure a control ID of the control subfield to indicate that the control subfield comprises a value of the MLS subfield.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the value configured to the control ID is associated with an access point (AP) assistance request (AAR) subfield.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the MLS subfield comprises a link ID bitmap, the link ID bitmap comprising the bit set, wherein each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in a bit position set, and wherein each bit position in the bit position set in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the bit set at the bit position and the corresponding link.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing system is further configured to: Each bit in a second subset of bits in the set of bits of the MLS subfield is configured with a value indicating that the type of MLS control signaling is not applicable to the corresponding link associated with the bit.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the header of the first frame further comprises a second field having a power management bit configured with a value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the power management bit is applicable to the link associated with the first subset of bits.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the header of the first frame further comprises a second field having an end of service period bit configured with a value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the end of service period bit is applicable to the link associated with the first subset of bits.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to: generating a set of second frames, each of the second frames comprising a respective header having one of a power management bit or an end of service period bit; configuring said one of said power management bit or said end of service period bit in said respective header of each second frame with a respective value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode; and wherein The first interface is also configured to output each second frame in the set of second frames for sending to the second MLD on a corresponding link in the link set, wherein the value of the s type indicates that one of the power management bit or the service period end bit included in the corresponding header is applicable to the corresponding link on which each second frame is sent.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates said one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit for the respective link over which the second frame was sent.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates a change in the link associated with the first subset of bits to at least one of: The data rate of communication, Redundancy schemes for communication, The expectation of immediacy of multi-link control responses, or Multi-link mode.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates a request to perform a request to send (RTS) / clear to send (CTS) procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset of bits.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second interface configured to obtain a second frame from the second MLD, the second frame comprising an acknowledgment associated with the first frame, Wherein the processing system is further configured to configure a power management state associated with each of the links associated with the first subset of bits in response to the acknowledgement.

15. An apparatus configured for wireless communication at a first multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising: Memory; a first interface configured to obtain a first frame including a header received from the second MLD on a first link in a set of links between the first and second MLDs, the header including a first field, the first field including a multilink signaling (MLS) subfield, the MLS subfield including a set of bits, each bit in the set of bits being associated with a corresponding link in the set of links; and a processing system coupled to the memory and configured to cause the first MLD to: Identifying a signaling type (s-type) of MLS control signaling based on a value configured to the MLS subfield; as well as The MLS control signaling is applied to each link in a first subset of links in the set of links, the first subset of links being respectively associated with a first subset of the set of bits, the first subset of bits being configured with a value indicating that the s-type of the MLS control signaling is applicable to the link.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing system is further configured to: The control information configured to the control information subfield of the control subfield of the first field is interpreted as the MLS control information configured to the MLS subfield based on a control identifier (ID) of the control subfield.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the value configured to the control ID is associated with an access point (AP) assistance request (AAR) subfield.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein in order to apply the MLS control signaling to each link in the first link subset, the processing system is further configured to: configure a corresponding mode of each link in the first link subset based on the MLS control signaling.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising: a second interface configured to output a second frame for transmission to the second MLD, the second frame comprising an acknowledgment associated with the first frame, The s type of the MLS control signaling is associated with a power management mode of the second MLD.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein in order to configure the corresponding mode of each link in the first link subset based on the MLS control signaling, the processing system is also configured to: enter one of a sleep state or a wake-up state on each of the links associated with the first bit subset, and wherein the MLS control signaling includes a value configured for a service period end bit in a quality of service (QoS) control field.

21. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the MLS subfield includes a link ID bitmap, the link ID bitmap includes the bit set, wherein each bit is configured at a corresponding bit position in the bit position set, and wherein each bit position in the bit position set in the link ID bitmap indicates a corresponding association between the bit in the bit set at the bit position and the corresponding link.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing system is further configured to: Avoid applying the MLS control signaling to each link in a second subset of links in the set of links, the second subset of links being associated with a second subset of bits in the bit set at a second subset of bit positions in the set of bit positions, the second subset of bit positions being different from a first subset of bit positions in the set of bit positions at which the first subset of bits in the set of bit positions is configured, wherein the second subset of bits is configured with a value indicating that the MLS control signaling is not applicable to the second subset of links.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the header of the first frame further comprises a second field having a power management bit or an end of service period bit configured with a value associated with one of a power save mode or an active mode, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the value of the one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit is applicable to the corresponding link associated with each bit in the first subset of bits.

24. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first interface is further configured to obtain a set of second frames received respectively on the first link subset, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames includes one of a power management bit or a service cycle end bit configured with a corresponding value, and wherein the value of the s type indicates that the corresponding value of the one of the power management bit or the service cycle end bit is applicable to the link in the first link subset through which the second frame is received.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein each second frame in the set of second frames most recently indicates said one of the power management bit or the end of service period bit for the respective link over which the second frame was received.

26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is recommended for communication between the first MLD and the second MLD.

27. The device of claim 15, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates that the link associated with the first subset of bits is one of enabled or disabled.

28. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates a change in the link associated with the first subset of bits to at least one of: The data rate of communication, Redundancy schemes for communication, The expectation of immediacy of multi-link control responses, or Multi-link mode.

29. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the value of the s-type further indicates a request to perform a request to send (RTS) / clear to send (CTS) procedure for frame exchanges on each of the links associated with the first subset of bits.

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