Scanning and access point selection enhancements for wireless networking systems

Abstract

The invention relates to scanning and access point selection enhancements for wireless networking systems. Methods, systems, and apparatus for non-access point (non-AP) and access point (AP) multi-link devices (MLDs) are described. The non-AP MLD may send a query of information to the AP MLD, the information including at least one of one or more parameter sets or identification sets associated with the one or more target AP MLDs. The non-AP MLD may receive a message from the AP MLD that includes the information, and select a target AP MLD of the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the information. The non-AP MLD may send a roaming request to the target AP MLD and also receive a roaming response from the target AP MLD.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, including techniques for wireless communications between wireless stations and / or access points in a wireless networking system.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice communications only to also include the transmission of data (such as the Internet and multimedia content). A common short-range / medium-range wireless communication standard is the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Most modern WLANs are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard (and / or 802.11 for short) and are sold under the Wi-Fi brand name. A WLAN network links one or more devices to a wireless access point, which in turn provides connectivity to the wider area Internet.

[0004] In an 802.11 system, devices that are wirelessly connected to each other are referred to as "stations", "mobile stations", "user devices", "user equipment", or STA or UE for short. A wireless station may be a wireless access point or a wireless client (and / or a mobile station). An access point (AP), also known as a wireless router, acts as a base station for a wireless network. The AP sends and receives radio frequency signals for communicating with wireless client devices. The AP may also be coupled to the Internet by wire and / or wireless means. A wireless client operating on an 802.11 network may be any of a variety of devices, such as a laptop computer, a tablet device, a smart phone, a smart watch, or a fixed device (such as a desktop computer). Wireless client devices are referred to herein as user equipment (and / or UE for short). Some wireless client devices are also collectively referred to herein as mobile devices or mobile stations (but as mentioned above, wireless client devices as a whole may also be fixed devices).

[0005] Mobile electronic devices may take the form of smartphones or tablets that are commonly carried by users. Wearable devices (also called accessory devices) are a newer form of mobile electronic devices, one example being smart watches. Additionally, low-cost, low-complexity wireless devices intended for static or dynamic deployment are also increasing rapidly as part of the development of the "Internet of Things." In other words, the complexity, capabilities, business models, and other features of the devices required are becoming increasingly broad.

[0006] Some WLANs may utilize multi-link operation (MLO), for example, to use multiple channels (e.g., links) concurrently. APs and / or STAs with MLO capabilities may be referred to as multi-link devices (MLDs). For example, an AP with MLO capabilities may be referred to as an AP-MLD, and an MLO-capable STA that does not act as an AP may be referred to as a non-AP MLD. Improvements in the art are desired. Summary of the invention

[0007]

[0013] Embodiments described herein relate to systems, methods, apparatus, and mechanisms for enhanced scanning and access point selection by access point (AP) and non-access point (non-AP) MLDs in a wireless networking system.

[0008] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD may send a query for information to the AP MLD, the information including at least one of one or more parameter sets or identification sets associated with one or more target AP MLDs. The non-AP MLD may receive a message including the information from the AP MLD, and select a target AP MLD from the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the information. The non-AP MLD may send a roaming request to the target AP MLD, and also receive a roaming response from the target AP MLD.

[0009] According to some embodiments, the method may further include: scanning the one or more target AP MLDs for performance information; and determining to send the roaming request based at least on the performance information. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further include: sending a response message to the AP MLD, the response message indicating consent to receive notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the method may include: receiving one or more notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs from the AP MLD. According to some embodiments, the one or more notifications may be associated with trigger criteria. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the query may include a basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) query message.

[0010] In some embodiments, the query may include queries associated with: received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimates of the one or more target AP MLDs, whether one of the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable for the traffic of the non-AP MLD, which operating parameters the non-AP MLD should utilize, which of the one or more target AP MLDs is a preferred target AP MLD for roaming, latency and throughput information for the traffic of the non-AP MLD, or which of the one or more target AP MLDs is preferred based on security settings of the non-AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance estimation information based on at least one of link establishment parameters of a link corresponding to the non-AP MLD, explicitly provided link parameters, or parameters used by the AP MLD for one or more other links.

[0011] In some embodiments, the message (e.g., a request message) may include information corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs and indicate at least one of the following: whether the quality of service (QoS) of the flow classification service (SCS) flow for the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable, when the throughput for the one or more target AP MLDs is above a first threshold, when the latency for the one or more target AP MLDs is below a second threshold, or when the one or more target AP MLDs support security mode. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more target AP MLDs may be one or more neighboring AP MLDs, one or more explicitly requested AP MLDs, all AP MLDs within a 1-hop or 2-hop neighborhood, or all AP MLDs in a mobility domain.

[0012] According to another embodiment, a processor may be configured to cause an AP MLD to receive a query for information from a non-AP MLD, the information being associated with one or more parameters of one or more target AP MLDs. The processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to send the information to the non-AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs. The processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to receive an indication from the non-AP MLD to instruct a target AP MLD in the one or more target APs to transition to a maintenance mode.

[0013] According to some embodiments, the information may include at least one of throughput information, delay information, or information indicating whether the QoS SCS flow is maintained. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance measurement information to the non-AP MLD based on the one or more parameters. Therefore, the processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to perform throughput measurement and delay measurement associated with the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

[0014] In some embodiments, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine to prohibit sending the information to the non-AP MLD based on a BSS parameter change count (BPCC) value that has changed from a previous BPCC value. According to some embodiments, the maintenance mode may be one of a default mode, a link maintenance mode, in which the BSS parameter updates of the one or more target APs are sent from the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD, or a hot standby mode, in which the AP MLD forwards buffered frames to the target AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to receive a response message from the non-AP MLD, wherein the response message indicates consent to send a notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine whether one or more conditions are satisfied, and to send one or more notifications associated with the at least one target AP to the non-AP MLD based at least in part on the determination.

[0015] In some embodiments, a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD) may include a radio component and a processor, the processor being operably coupled to the radio component and configured to cause the non-AP MLD to establish one or more links with an AP MLD. Additionally, corresponding links of the one or more links may operate according to corresponding link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send a query to the AP MLD, the query requesting information associated with one or more target AP MLDs. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to receive the information from the AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with the link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs according to the link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send an indication to the AP MLD to direct a target AP of the one or more target APs to transition to a hot standby mode.

[0016] In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to adjust the corresponding link-specific operating parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the link-specific operating parameters may include at least one of a power management (PM) operating parameter, a target wake-up time (TWT) operating parameter, a transaction identifier (TID) to link mapping parameter, a subchannel selective transmission (SST) operating parameter, or an enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) operating parameter. In some embodiments, the query may include a common flow classification service (SCS) service setting, and the information may include one or more identifications of the target AP MLDs in the one or more target AP MLDs that meet the common SCS service setting.

[0017] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 2 An example simplified block diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3 An example WLAN communication system is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 4 An example simplified block diagram of a WLAN access point (AP) is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 5 An example simplified block diagram of a wireless station (STA) according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 6 An example simplified block diagram of a wireless node according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0025] Figures 7 and 8 An example of MLD according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0026] Fig. 9 Examples of AP selection associated with a roaming process according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0027] Fig.10 An example of an ultra-high reliability (UHR) STA communicating with an associated AP and querying a target AP in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated.

[0028] Fig.11 is a communication flow diagram illustrating an example method for enhanced AP selection according to some embodiments.

[0029] FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B Example aspects of improved scanning efficiency associated with enhanced AP selection according to some embodiments are illustrated.

[0030] Fig.13An example communication flow between a STA and an associated AP corresponding to a process for estimating throughput and latency and providing link maintenance rules according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0031] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Acronyms

[0033] Various acronyms are used throughout this patent application. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this patent application are as follows:

[0034] UE: User Equipment

[0035] AP: Access Point

[0036] STA: Wireless Station

[0037] TX: Send / Transmit

[0038] RX: Receive / Receive

[0039] DL: Downlink

[0040] UL: Uplink

[0041] MLD: Multi-Link Device

[0042] LAN: Local Area Network

[0043] WLAN: Wireless LAN

[0044] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0045] UHR: Ultra High Reliability

[0046] SCS: Stream Classification Service

[0047] CA: Carrier Aggregation

[0048] CSMA: Carrier Sense Multiple Access

[0049] OFDMA: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0050] C-OFDMA: Concurrent Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0051] C-TDMA: Concurrent Time Division Multiple Access

[0052] C-SR: Coordinated Spatial Reuse

[0053] TXOP: Transmit Opportunity

[0054] BSS: Basic Service Set

[0055] OBSS: Overlapping Basic Service Set

[0056] PHY: Physical layer

[0057] MLO: Multi-Link Operation

[0058] BW: Bandwidth

[0059] RNR: Reduced Neighbor Report

[0060] BTM: Basic Service Set Transition Management

[0061] BA: Block Acknowledgement

[0062] QoS: Quality of Service

[0063] PM: Power Management

[0064] TWT: Target Wake Time

[0065] SST: Subchannel Selective Send

[0066] EMLSR: Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio

[0067] TID: Traffic Identifier

[0068] AC: Access Category

[0069] TID: Traffic Identifier

[0070] TPUT: Throughput

[0071] TB: Transport Block

[0072] MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0073] EML: Enhanced Multilink

[0074] OMI: Operation Mode Indicator

[0075] RU: Resource Unit

[0076] SMPS: Spatial Multiplexing Power Savings

[0077] DL MU PPDU: Downlink Multi-User Physical Protocol Data Unit

[0078] UL EDCA AC: Access category for uplink enhanced distributed channel access

[0079] NSS: Number of spatial streams

[0080] EDCA: Enhanced Distributed Channel Access

[0081] STR: Send and receive simultaneously

[0082] the term

[0083] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0084] Memory medium—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape device; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system executing a program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network (such as the Internet). In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0085] Carrier Media—Memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0086] Computer System—Any of various types of computing systems or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device (and / or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0087] Mobile Device (and / or Mobile Station)—Any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications using WLAN communications. Examples of mobile devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), and tablets such as iPads TM 、Samsung Galaxy TM etc. Various other types of devices would fall into this category if they include Wi-Fi or both cellular and Wi-Fi communication capabilities, such as laptop computers (e.g., MacBooks TM ), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), portable Internet devices and other handheld devices, and wearable devices such as smart watches, smart glasses, headphones, pendants, earbuds, etc. In general, the term "mobile device" can be broadly defined to include any electronic device, computing device and / or communication device (and / or combination of devices) that a user can easily transport and that is capable of wireless communication using WLAN or Wi-Fi.

[0088] Wireless device (and / or wireless station)—Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications using WLAN communications. As used herein, the term "wireless device" may refer to a mobile device as defined above or a fixed device (such as a fixed wireless client or wireless base station). For example, a wireless device may be any type of wireless station for an 802.11 system, such as an access point (AP) or a client station (STA or UE). Other examples include televisions, media players (e.g., AppleTV TM ,Roku TM , Amazon FireTV TM , Google Chromecast TM etc.), refrigerators, washing machines, thermostats, etc.

[0089] WLAN—The term "WLAN" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by WLAN access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern WLANs are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". WLAN networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0090] Processing Element - refers to various specific implementations of digital circuitry that performs functions in a computer system. Additionally, a processing element may refer to various specific implementations of analog or mixed-signal (a combination of analog and digital) circuitry that performs a function (and / or multiple functions) in a computer or computer system. Processing elements include, for example, circuits (such as integrated circuits (ICs), ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), portions or circuits of individual processor cores), entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices (such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), and / or larger portions of a system that includes multiple processors.

[0091] Automatically—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit system, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the subsequent "automatically" performed actions are not specified by the user, such as not being performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0092] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, signaling, messages, or programs are executed in a manner that at least partially overlaps. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism", where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0093] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” can be a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Generally speaking, the circuit system that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits.

[0094] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component does not invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) of the interpretation.

[0095] Figure 1 to Figure 2 —Wireless communication system

[0096] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is illustrated in which various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0097] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a ("first") wireless device 102 communicating with another ("second") wireless device. The first wireless device 102 and the second wireless device 104 may communicate wirelessly using any of a variety of wireless communication technologies, including possibly ranging wireless communication technologies.

[0098] As one possibility, the first wireless device 102 and the second wireless device 104 may perform ranging using a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 / Wi-Fi based communication) and / or a technology based on WLAN wireless communication. One or both of the wireless device 102 and the wireless device 104 may also be able to communicate via one or more additional wireless communication protocols (such as any of Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), NR, Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.).

[0099] Wireless devices 102 and 104 may be any of various types of wireless devices. As one possibility, one or more of wireless devices 102 and / or 104 may be substantially portable wireless user equipment (UE) devices, such as a smartphone, a handheld device, a wearable device (such as a smart watch), a tablet, a motor vehicle, or virtually any type of wireless device. As another possibility, one or more of wireless devices 102 and / or 104 may be substantially stationary devices, such as a set-top box, a media player (e.g., an audio or audio-visual device), a game console, a desktop computer, an appliance, a door, an access point, a base station, or any of various other types of devices.

[0100] Each of the wireless devices 102 and 104 may include wireless communication circuitry configured to facilitate the performance of wireless communications, which may include any of various digital and / or analog radio frequency (RF) components, a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory, programmable hardware elements (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), and / or various other components. The wireless device 102 and / or the wireless device 104 may use any or all of such components to perform any method implementation described herein, or any portion of any method implementation described herein.

[0101] Each of the wireless devices 102 and 104 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols. In some cases, one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain may be shared between multiple wireless communication standards; for example, a device may be configured to communicate using either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi using a partially or fully shared wireless communication circuit system (e.g., using a shared radio component or at least a shared radio component component). The shared communication circuit system may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO). Alternatively, the device may include an independent transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including independent antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, the device may include one or more radio components or radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components or radio components used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, a device may include a shared radio component for communicating using one or more of LTE and / or 5G NR, and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0102] As mentioned above, it can be combined with Figure 1A wireless communication system of the present disclosure may be implemented to implement aspects of the present disclosure. For example, a wireless device (e.g., either of the wireless devices 102 or 104) may be configured to perform a method for performing robust discovery of new APs in an access point (AP) MLD, robust link addition to AP MLD association, AP beacon mode when adding an AP to or deleting an AP from an AP MLD, and robust BSS transition management (BTM) signaling for directing non-AP MLDs to the best AP MLD and to the most appropriate AP, and privacy improvement for associated non-AP MLDs.

[0103] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless device 100 (e.g., corresponding to wireless devices 102 and / or 104) that may be configured for use in conjunction with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Device 100 may be any of a variety of types of devices and may be configured to perform any of a variety of types of functionality. Device 100 may be a substantially portable device, or may be a substantially fixed device, possibly including any of a variety of types of devices. Device 100 may be configured to perform one or more ranging wireless communication techniques or features, such as any of the techniques or features subsequently illustrated and / or described herein with respect to any or all of the figures.

[0104] As shown, device 100 may include processing element 101. The processing element may include or be coupled to one or more memory elements. For example, device 100 may include one or more storage media (e.g., memory 105), which may include any of various types of memory and may be used for any of various functions. For example, memory 105 may be RAM used as system memory for processing element 101. Other types and functions are also possible.

[0105] Additionally, device 100 may include wireless communication circuitry 130. The wireless communication circuitry may include any of a variety of communication elements (e.g., an antenna for wireless communication, analog and / or digital communication circuitry / controllers, etc.), and may enable the device to communicate wirelessly using one or more wireless communication protocols.

[0106] Note that in some cases, for example, wireless communication circuitry 130 may include its own processing element (e.g., a baseband processor) in addition to processing element 101. For example, processing element 101 may be an "application processor" whose primary function may be to support application layer operations in device 100, while wireless communication circuitry 130 may be a "baseband processor" whose primary function may be to support baseband layer operations in device 100 (e.g., to facilitate wireless communications between device 100 and other devices). In other words, in some cases, device 100 may include multiple processing elements (e.g., may be a multi-processor device). Other configurations utilizing a multi-processor architecture (e.g., instead of or in addition to an application processor / baseband processor configuration) are also possible.

[0107] Depending on the intended functionality of device 100, device 100 may additionally include any of a variety of other components (not shown) for implementing device functionality, which may also include processing elements and / or memory elements (e.g., audio processing circuitry), one or more power elements (which may rely on battery power and / or an external power source), user interface elements (e.g., a display, a speaker, a microphone, a camera, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, etc.), and / or any of a variety of other components.

[0108] Components of device 100, such as processing element 101, memory 105, and wireless communication circuit system 130, can be operably coupled via one or more interconnect interfaces, which can include any of various types of interfaces, and may include a combination of multiple types of interfaces. As an example, a USB high-speed chip-to-chip (HSIC) interface can be provided for chip-to-chip communication between processing elements. Alternatively (and / or in addition), any of a universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) interface, a serial peripheral interface (SPI), an internal integrated circuit (I2C), a system management bus (SMBus), and / or various other communication interfaces can be used for communication between various device components. Other types of interfaces (e.g., an intra-chip interface for communication within processing element 101, a peripheral device interface for communicating with peripheral components inside or outside device 100, etc.) can also be provided as part of device 100.

[0109] Figure 3 —WLAN system

[0110] Figure 3An example WLAN system according to some embodiments is illustrated. As shown, the exemplary WLAN system includes multiple wireless client sites or devices (e.g., STA or user equipment (UE)) 106, which are configured to communicate with access point (AP) 112 via wireless communication channel 142. AP 112 can be a Wi-Fi access point. AP 112 can communicate with one or more other electronic devices (not shown) and / or another network 152 (such as the Internet) via wired and / or wireless communication channels 150. Additional electronic devices (such as remote devices 154) can communicate with components of the WLAN system via network 152. For example, remote device 154 can be another wireless client site, a server associated with an application executed on one of STAs in STA 106, etc. The WLAN system can be configured to operate according to any one of various communication standards (such as various IEEE 802.11 standards). In some embodiments, at least one wireless device 106 is configured to communicate directly with one or more adjacent mobile devices without using access point 112.

[0111] Additionally, in some embodiments, the wireless device 106 (which may be an exemplary implementation of the device 100) may be configured to perform methods for robust discovery of new access point (AP) MLDs, robust link addition to AP MLD associations, AP beacon mode when an AP is added to or deleted from an AP MLD, and robust BSS transition management (BTM) signaling for directing non-AP MLDs to the best AP MLD and to the most appropriate AP, as well as privacy improvements for associated non-AP MLDs.

[0112] Figure 4 —Access Point Block Diagram

[0113] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of an access point (AP) 112 is shown, which may be Figure 4 A possible exemplary implementation of the device 100 illustrated in FIG. Figure 4 The block diagram of the AP 112 is only one example of a possible system. As shown, the AP 112 may include one or more processors 204 that may execute program instructions for the AP 112. The processor 204 may also be coupled (directly or indirectly) to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 204 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0114] AP 112 may include at least one network port 270. Network port 270 may be configured to couple to a wired network and provide access to the Internet for multiple devices, such as mobile device 106. For example, network port 270 (and / or additional network ports) may be configured to couple to a local network, such as a home network or an enterprise network. For example, port 270 may be an Ethernet port. The local network may provide connectivity to additional networks, such as the Internet.

[0115] AP 112 may include at least one antenna 234, which may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with mobile device 106 via wireless communication circuit system 230. Antenna 234 communicates with wireless communication circuit system 230 via communication chain 232. Communication chain 232 may include one or more receive chains, one or more transmit chains, or both. Wireless communication circuit system 230 may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fi or WLAN (e.g., 802.11). For example, when the AP is co-located with the base station in the case of a small cell, or in other situations where it may be desirable for AP 112 to communicate via a variety of different wireless communication technologies, the wireless communication circuit system 230 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate via various other wireless communication technologies (including, but not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G NR, UWB, etc.).

[0116] Additionally, in some embodiments, as further described below, AP 112 may be configured to perform methods for robust discovery of new APs in an access point (AP) MLD, robust link addition to AP MLD associations, AP beacon mode when an AP is added to or deleted from an AP MLD, and robust BSS transition management (BTM) signaling for directing non-AP MLDs to the best APMLD and to the most appropriate AP, as well as privacy improvements for associated non-AP MLDs.

[0117] Figure 5 —Client site diagram

[0118] Figure 5 An example simplified block diagram of a client station 106 is illustrated, which may be Figure 4A possible exemplary implementation of the device 100 illustrated in . According to various embodiments, the client site 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station and / or a wireless device or wireless station. As shown, the client site 106 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include parts for various purposes. The SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the client site 106. For example, the client site 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface (I / F) (and / or docking station) 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, a cellular communication circuit system (e.g., a cellular radio component) 330 (such as for 5G NR, LTE, etc.), and a short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit system (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN radio components) 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM The client site 106 may also include one or more smart cards 315 incorporating SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICCs (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards). The cellular communication circuit system 330 may be coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit system 329 may also be coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, in addition to or in lieu of being coupled to antennas 337 and 338, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit system 329 may be coupled to antennas 335 and 336. The short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit system 329 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration. Some or all of the components of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit system 329 and / or the cellular communication circuit system 330 may be used for ranging communications, for example, using WLAN communications, Bluetooth communications, and / or cellular communications.

[0119] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the client station 106 and a display circuit system 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The SOC 300 may also include a motion sensing circuit system 370 that may detect motion of the client station 106, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of a variety of other motion sensing components. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 and / or other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit system 304, the cellular communication circuit system 330, the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329, the connector interface (I / F) 320, and / or the display 360), and the memory management unit (MMU) may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., the memory 306, the read-only memory (ROM) 350, the NAND flash memory 310). MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302.

[0120] As described above, the client station 106 may be configured to communicate directly with one or more neighboring client stations wirelessly. The client station 106 may be configured to communicate according to the WLAN RAT to enable communication in environments such as Figure 3 WLAN network communication as shown in Figure 1 The ranging shown in .

[0121] As described herein, the client site 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing the features described herein. For example, the processor 302 of the client site 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (and / or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (and / or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 315, 320, 329, 330, 335, 336, 337, 338, 340, 350, 360, 370, the processor 302 of the UE 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0122] Among other things, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Among other things, each integrated circuit may include a circuit system (e.g., a first circuit system, a second circuit system, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 204.

[0123] In addition, as described herein, both the cellular communication circuit system 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit system 330 and may also be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329. Therefore, each of the cellular communication circuit system 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit system 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329, respectively. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit system (e.g., a first circuit system, a second circuit system, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit system 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit system 329.

[0124] Figure 6 —Wireless Node Block Diagram

[0125] Figure 6 A possible block diagram of a wireless node 107 is illustrated, which may be Figure 6 . As shown, the wireless node 107 may include a system on chip (SOC) 400, which may include parts for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 400 may include one or more processors 402 that can execute program instructions for the wireless node 107 and a display circuit system 404 that can perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 460. The SOC 400 may also include a motion sensing circuit system 470, which may detect the motion of the wireless node 107, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of a variety of other motion sensing components. The one or more processors 402 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 402 and convert these addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 406 and a read-only memory (ROM) 450, a flash memory 410). The MMU 440 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 440 may be included as part of processor 402 .

[0126] As shown, SOC 400 may be coupled to various other circuits of wireless node 107. For example, wireless node 107 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 410), connector interface 420 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, docking station, charging station, etc.), display 460, and wireless communication circuitry 430 (e.g., for 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, UWB, GPS, etc.).

[0127] The wireless node 107 may include at least one antenna, and in some embodiments, may include multiple antennas 435 and 436 for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. For example, the wireless node 107 may perform wireless communications using antennas 435 and 436. As described above, the wireless node 107 may be configured in some embodiments to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards or radio access technologies (RATs).

[0128] Wireless communication circuit system 430 may include Wi-Fi logic component 432, cellular modem 434, and Bluetooth logic component 439. Wi-Fi logic component 432 is used to enable wireless node 107 to perform Wi-Fi communication, for example, on an 802.11 network. Bluetooth logic component 439 is used to enable wireless node 107 to perform Bluetooth communication. Cellular modem 434 may be capable of performing cellular communication according to one or more cellular communication technologies. Some or all components of wireless communication circuit system 430 may be used to perform ranging communication, for example, using WLAN communication, Bluetooth communication, and / or cellular communication.

[0129] As described herein, the wireless node 107 may include hardware components and software components for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, one or more components of the wireless communication circuit system 430 (e.g., Wi-Fi logic component 432) of the wireless node 107 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), a processor configured as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and / or using dedicated hardware components that may include an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[0130] Figures 7 and 8 —Multi-Link Device (MLD) Operation

[0131] One or more IEEE 802.11 standards (such as IEEE 802.11be) may include multi-link device (MLD) capabilities. In the current implementation, an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) node may manage its subordinate APs. Thus, an AP MLD node may modify, add, and / or remove subordinate APs to increase capacity, manage basic service set (BSS) interference and coverage (including switching APs to operate in channels with less interference), and / or direct associated non-AP MLD nodes to operate on better performing APs and / or AP MLD nodes.

[0132] Figure 7 An AP MLD 112 according to some embodiments is illustrated. The AP MLD may operate any number of subordinate APs, such as APs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d in the illustrated example. The subordinate APs may operate on any of a variety of frequency bands. The subordinate APs may operate on different frequency ranges (e.g., channels) of the same frequency band or on different frequency bands.

[0133] The AP MLD may provide accessory APs from a single physical device (e.g., a single shared housing, and potentially using the same antennas). In some embodiments, the AP MLD may provide APs from multiple different devices (e.g., a first device may provide one or more APs, a second device may provide a different one or more APs, etc.). In some embodiments, the various accessory APs may be spatially separated (e.g., using beams in different directions, using different antennas with a shared housing (e.g., antennas of the same physical device) and / or different antennas for different devices, etc.).

[0134] In some embodiments, spatially separated subordinate APs may operate on the same (or at least partially overlapping) channels.

[0135] Figure 8 The AP MLD 112 is illustrated in communication with the non-AP MLD 106 according to some embodiments.

[0136] As shown, AP MLD 112 can operate three subordinate APs. In the illustrated example, AP 812a can operate in the 2.4 GHz band, AP 812b can operate in the 5 GHz band, and AP 812c can operate in the 6 GHz band. It should be understood that any number of subordinate APs can be used in any combination of frequency bands. For example, the AP MLD can operate multiple subordinate APs in one frequency band and / or may not operate any subordinate AP in a frequency band. The subordinate APs can include various layers, such as a medium access control (MAC) layer and / or a physical (PHY) layer and various possibilities. The subordinate APs can use different basic service sets (BSSs) and / or different BSS identifiers (BSSIDs), such as BSSIDs 1-3.

[0137] As shown, the non-AP MLD 106 may operate, for example, three subordinate STAs corresponding to three subordinate APs. In the illustrated example, STA 806a may operate in the 2.4 GHz band, STA 806b may operate in the 5 GHz band, and STA 806c may operate in the 6 GHz band. The STA may communicate with the corresponding AP. It should be understood that any number of subordinate STAs may be used in any combination of frequency bands. For example, the non-AP MLD may operate multiple subordinate STAs in one frequency band and / or may not operate any subordinate STA in a frequency band. The non-AP MLD may operate STAs corresponding to some or all of the APs of the AP MLD or STAs that do not correspond to the AP MLD. The subordinate STA may include various layers, for example, a PHY layer and / or a MAC layer and various possibilities. The subordinate STA may use different addresses, for example, addresses 1-3.

[0138] The non-AP MLD may provide the attached STAs from a single physical device (e.g., a single shared housing, and potentially using the same antenna). In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD may provide STAs from multiple different devices (e.g., a first device may provide one or more STAs, a second device may provide a different one or more STAs, etc.). In some embodiments, the various attached STAs may be spatially separated (e.g., using beams in different directions, using different antennas with a shared housing (e.g., antennas of the same physical device) and / or different antennas of different devices, etc.).

[0139] Various affiliated STAs and APs may communicate concurrently / simultaneously. For example, STA 806a may exchange uplink and / or downlink data with AP 812a on a first link, while STA 806b may exchange uplink and / or downlink data with AP 812b on a second link, etc. It should be understood that such concurrent communications may include (e.g., different) data being exchanged on different links at the same time, at least partially overlapping times, and / or at different times. For example, data between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD may be routed via a first available link and / or a link selected based on other criteria (e.g., minimum energy usage, etc.). For example, a first data packet or portion may be transmitted via a first link, and concurrently, a second data packet or portion may be transmitted via a second link.

[0140] In some embodiments, the AP MLD and non-AP MLD may include a corresponding ML entity. The ML entity may provide upper layer MAC functionality to control individual APs and / or STAs, and may control the delivery of traffic over available links between, for example, various APs and STAs. The corresponding MLD (e.g., AP and non-AP) may have only one corresponding MAC SAP interface. The ML entity may manage the interface. The ML entity may manage transmit buffering (e.g., bookkeeping and link selection in the transmitter) and data reordering buffering in reception (e.g., combining of data sent in different links).

[0141] The AP MLD 112 and the non-AP MLD 106 may exchange information regarding their respective operations, operating parameters, and / or capabilities.

[0142] The non-AP MLD may have various capabilities for operating a STA in a specific frequency band. The capabilities may be different for different frequency bands. For example, the capabilities in a frequency band may describe the maximum (e.g., fastest, most flexible, most powerful, highest throughput, etc.) parameter values ​​that a STA of the non-AP MLD can use. Operations or operation parameters may describe parameter values ​​that are currently used or planned to be used at a future time.

[0143] For example, the parameter may include the applicable PHY version and its parameters. The parameter may describe the available supported services and transmission formats. The parameter may also describe the available resources, bandwidth, and number of spatial streams. The parameter may describe power saving support parameters that may enable low power transmission. For example, the AP may support target wake time (TWT) power saving.

[0144] In some embodiments, the links may be located so closely (e.g., spatially and / or in frequency) that a non-AP STA may not be able to operate the links independently (e.g., due to device limitations and / or due to management resources or performance). The AP may support STAs that cannot transmit and receive simultaneously on a link pair (e.g., non-AP MLDs).

[0145] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD can operate a STA that communicates with multiple AP-MLDs. For example, a first STA can communicate with a first AP MLD, and a second STA can communicate with a second AP MLD. Similarly, an AP MLD can communicate with multiple STAs. For example, an affiliated AP can communicate with multiple STAs.

[0146] In the illustrated example, the non-AP MLD operates a number of STAs equal to the number of APs provided by the AP MLD. However, different numbers are possible. For example, the AP MLD may provide more APs than the number of STAs operated by the non-AP MLD, or vice versa. The number of APs and / or the number of STAs may change over time.

[0147] According to some embodiments, it may be beneficial for a client privacy enhanced (CPE) station (STA) or client to change or adjust certain parameters used to perform communications with an AP. For example, an eavesdropper may attempt to intercept, extract, or listen to communications between certain CPE STAs and APs. Therefore, the client may attempt to use various techniques involving address changes or related parameter adjustments to perform more secure communications between the CPE STA and the AP.

[0148] For example, when reassociating from one CPE AP to another, it may be beneficial for the CPE client to change its own over-the-air (OTA) media access control (MAC) address used to communicate with the AP. Additionally or alternatively, it may be beneficial for the CPE client to initiate a change of its own OTA MAC address for use with a CPE AP in an associated state (e.g., STA state 4) without any loss of connection. In some embodiments, it may be beneficial for the CPE client to simultaneously initiate a change of the OTA MAC address of all associated CPE clients (e.g., those CPE clients in associated STA state 4) in a base station system (BSS) without any loss of connection. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, it may be beneficial for the CPE client and CPE AP to change the sent sequence number (SN), packet number (PN), and transaction identifier (TID) to unrelated new values ​​on the downlink and uplink, new values ​​in associated STA state 4 without any loss of connection. Additionally, it may be further beneficial for the CPE client and the CPE AP to change the association identifier (AID) of the CPE client to an unrelated new value in associated STA state 4 without any connection loss.

[0149] Fig. 9 —AP selection

[0150] Fig. 9 An example of AP selection associated with a roaming process according to some embodiments is illustrated. For example, when link performance degrades, the STA 106 may initiate a roaming process to associate with a new or target AP 114. In some cases, the STA 106 may have information related to physical (PHY) link performance, BSS load, and / or capabilities associated with the old associated AP 112. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 and the target AP 114 may have information including STA parameters used with the associated AP and the new AP load.

[0151] At 902, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may determine to scan APs in order to make a determination whether to roam or associate with a new or different target AP 114. In other words, the STA 106 may collect information of candidate APs to determine whether it roams. For example, the STA 106 may experience link performance degradation and then decide to perform a scanning process to find a more suitable AP to roam to. The STA 106 may continuously scan in the background (when associated with an AP (such as AP 112)) to determine whether the associated AP 112 has suitable performance or whether other neighboring APs have better performance (in which case the STA may roam to these better performing APs). Continuous scanning can reduce roaming delays by preparing for roaming in advance.

[0152] Thus, at 904, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may use Reduced Neighbor Reports (RNRs) to find one or more candidate or target APs 114 (e.g., target AP 114). In other words, the STA may query the associated AP 112 for candidate APs. In some cases, the RNR may allow the STA 106 to request information about neighboring or nearby APs from the associated AP (e.g., associated AP 112). The information may include the current load, signal strength, and available channels (among other information) of the candidate neighboring or nearby APs. Thus, by requesting and receiving this information from the associated AP, the STA 106 may make a more detailed decision to roam and / or reassociate to a preferred or ideal AP.

[0153] According to some embodiments, a neighboring AP may be characterized as an AP that is located in a nearby location and may further belong to an AP cluster. In addition, the neighboring AP may include a 1-hop neighbor AP and a 2-hop neighbor AP. For example, a 1-hop neighbor may be considered to be an AP that can be reached directly via a STA or an AP, and a 2-hop neighbor AP may be considered to be an AP that can be reached indirectly via a STA or an AP. For example, a 2-hop neighbor may correspond to a neighboring AP separated by two network devices. In other words, data transmitted from a source (e.g., a STA) must make two hops to reach its destination at a second network device. For example, the data may hop or be sent from the STA to a first AP, and then hop or be sent / forwarded from the first AP to a second AP.

[0154] Additionally, at 906, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may scan for target APs (such as the target AP 114) using active or passive scanning. For example, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may send a probe request to one or more target APs 114 as a way to scan for available APs. In some embodiments, the target AP 114 may send a probe response to the STA 106. According to some embodiments, using this additional information, the STA 106 may then select an AP (e.g., the target AP 114) for roaming at 908 and send an association request to the target AP 114 at 910. Additionally, as part of the association process and / or roaming process, the STA 106 may receive an association response from the target AP 114 at 912.

[0155] However, it may be beneficial for the STA to obtain additional information in addition to responses associated with the scanning process (e.g., beacons and probe responses) before initiating a roaming process. In addition, in some scenarios, target AP performance may be difficult to estimate because the achievable uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) latency and throughput may not be clear for STA traffic, and therefore appropriate parameters may not be established before roaming. Therefore, it may be beneficial to describe systems, methods, apparatus, and mechanisms for enhanced scanning and access point selection by AP MLD and non-AP MLD in a wireless networking system.

[0156] Scanning and access point selection enhancements in wireless networking systems

[0157] In some cases, it may be difficult to estimate the STA latency and throughput of the roaming target AP. For example, in Wi-Fi 6, triggered UL access throughput and transmit latency may depend on scheduling and resource unit (RU) allocation logic. For example, according to some embodiments, the associated APs may not share transmit resources evenly. The AP may share more transmit resources with the STA based on the application data flow requirements. In some embodiments, the STA may signal that it has buffered UL traffic in its transmit buffer in order to obtain more resources.

[0158] According to some embodiments, in order to improve triggered access, a wireless local area network (WLAN) may utilize a stream classification service (SCS), which may allow a STA to signal its associated AP the QoS characteristics of its UL and DL flows. Thus, the AP may schedule these flows to meet their QoS characteristics. In some embodiments, the SCS may utilize setup signaling in which the STA specifies the flows and their QoS characteristics, and the associated AP may accept or reject the SCS flow establishment. In some cases, if the flow is established, the AP may schedule the UL SCS flow and / or DL ​​SCS flow according to the QoS characteristics of the UL SCS flow and / or DL ​​SCS flow. Additionally, for the UL SCS flow, the STA may specify a trigger interval, a maximum transmission delay, average and peak traffic throughput, and a maximum tolerable frame loss (e.g., a packet erasure rate), as well as other parameters. In addition, the DL SCS flow may have similar information to the UL SCS flow, except that the trigger interval may not be specified.

[0159] Wi-Fi 6 APs typically trigger UL transmissions from multiple users and send DL transmissions to multiple users (MUs) simultaneously. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the throughput of a STA may depend on the allocated RU size and the transmission rate that may be used on the RU.

[0160] In addition, in Wi-Fi 7, multi-link operation performance may depend on the number of links operated, link-specific performance, and multi-link access mechanism (e.g., whether simultaneous transmission and reception (STR) or enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) is used between multi-link devices (MLDs). In a typical scenario, multi-link transmission maintains sufficient latency performance because a STA can obtain transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in multiple links. Therefore, if a single link is busy, the STA can obtain TXOPs in other links.

[0161] However, in Wi-Fi 8, low latency enhancements may allow the AP to support low latency services, and coordinated transmission schemes may enhance WLAN performance. For example, low latency service performance may not depend on AP congestion, and the STA and the AP may collaborate to obtain accurate delay estimation results and throughput estimation results. According to some embodiments, this may be beneficial before initiating a roaming process, because the UHR STA should have accurate throughput estimation results and delay estimation results for its services on the target AP MLD.

[0162] According to some embodiments, even when the STA is scanning or roaming, the STA can send the SCS stream without violating the QoS characteristics of the SCS stream. In other words, when the STA is scanning and roaming, the STA should keep its radio components available for data transmission and reception, and have minimal to no additional transmission delay and frame loss for the SCS stream.

[0163] Fig.10 —Associated UHR STA profile

[0164] Fig.10 An example of an ultra-high reliability (UHR) STA communicating with an associated AP and querying a target AP in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated. Fig.10 A first UHR AP multi-link device (MLD) (eg, UHR AP1) is illustrated, which includes subordinate AP1, AP2, and AP3 associated with STA1, STA2, and STA3 of UHR STAs via link 1, link 2, and link 3, respectively.

[0165] Additionally, the STA may establish links with other UHR APs. During link establishment, the UHR STA and the UHR AP may signal their capabilities and operating parameters for each link created. For example, the UHR STA may request to create links 4, 5, and 6 with UHRAP2. The link establishment may have "add link" request and "add link" response signaling. For example, in the add link request frame, the STA may provide capabilities and operating parameters for each created link (e.g., links associated with STA 4, 5, and 6). Therefore, if UHR AP2 accepts the link establishment, UHR AP2 may provide capabilities and operating parameters for AP 4-6 operating in links 4-6 in the add link response frame, respectively. In some embodiments, some operating parameters or settings may be common to all links. For example, block acknowledgement (BA) settings and / or SCS streams may be common to all links. However, some settings (such as target wake-up time (TWT) streams and multi-link operation (MLO) settings (e.g., STR or EMLSR)) may need to be set separately from each UHR AP. In some cases, a UHR STA may be restricted to sending traffic with only a single UHR AP at a time. However, during short periods of roaming, both the new UHR AP and the old UHR AP may send traffic.

[0166] According to some embodiments, the UHR STA may decide to scan to determine whether it should start roaming. The STA may query the target AP for its performance. In these queries, the established link may help estimate the throughput and latency that can be achieved in the link with the queried UHR AP. For example, the UHR STA may query the operating parameters and performance estimation results of UHR AP2 links 4-6 based on the link parameters of AP4, AP5 and AP6 via STA4, STA5 and STA6, respectively, including MLO and power saving settings (if applicable).

[0167] Therefore, according to some embodiments, it may be beneficial to accurately estimate the target UHR AP throughput and delay performance in order to select whether to roam. Additionally or alternatively, it may be further beneficial to consider the UHR STA capabilities and the ongoing service throughput estimation and delay estimation. In some embodiments, it may be further beneficial to obtain from the target AP an estimation result of whether it meets the QoS characteristics of the UL SCS flow and the DL SCS flow.

[0168] In addition, according to some embodiments, the UHR STA may combine UHR STA understanding and UHR AP performance estimation to obtain accurate throughput estimation results and delay estimation results. For example, the UHR AP1 may know its own capabilities and / or parameter settings, such as UHR coordination features, including concurrent orthogonal frequency division multiple access (C-OFDMA), concurrent time division multiple access (C-TDMA), coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR), transmit opportunity (TXOP) preemption and AP scheduling (as some non-limiting examples). In addition, the UHR AP1 may know or understand the service profile, including downlink (DL) frame arrival and uplink (UL) frame size and DL frame size. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the UHR AP1 may understand basic service set (BSS) congestion and / or overlapping basic service sets (OBSS) associated with the STA and / or transmission priority.

[0169] In some embodiments, the UHR AP (e.g., UHR AP1) may additionally have knowledge or data about SCS flows, including latency, UL frame transmission time, and throughput requirements of STA applications. Additionally or alternatively, the STA may know or have information about end-user activities related to the urgency of transmission (as an example). According to some embodiments, this information or data may be shared from the STA to the AP via a low-latency application.

[0170] In addition, according to some embodiments, the STA may understand the physical (PHY) link performance or DL ​​received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measured according to the AP transmission. In some cases, the queried AP may not receive any transmission from the STA, and therefore may not be able to estimate the STA RSSI. RSSI is a key parameter for estimating link performance. For example, RSSI can be used to estimate the achievable transmission rate and whether large bandwidth and high number of spatial streams can be transmitted in the link. For example, the data transmission rate may depend on the RSSI. According to some embodiments, the STA may signal the RSSI estimation result of the STA to the AP. This value can be used as the RSSI measured according to the STA transmission. Additionally or alternatively, the STA may signal the AP for the transmission rate estimated for UL and DL in the link. The estimate can also signal the transmission bandwidth and number of spatial streams that the STA can use for UL transmission and DL transmission. According to some embodiments, the STA may signal the AP signaling to indicate that the AP should use the RSSI value that the STA roaming from UHR AP1 to UHR AP2 usually has when it roams. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, AP2 may signal its learned RSSI value for link performance estimation. In some embodiments, the AP may signal the minimum RSSI that the STA should have in order to achieve throughput estimation and delay estimation.

[0171] In addition, the STA may be aware of its capabilities and / or current or preferred parameter settings. For example, the UHR STA may be aware of power saving and multi-link operation (MLO) capabilities and parameter settings related to bandwidth, number of spatial streams, triggered access, enhanced distributed carrier aggregation (EDCA), and UHR auxiliary channel transmission.

[0172] Fig.11 —Enhanced AP selection

[0173] Fig.11 is a communication flow diagram illustrating an example method for enhanced AP selection according to some embodiments. Fig.11Embodiments of systems, methods, and mechanisms for non-AP MLDs to query an AP-MLD for information that can be used to select a preferred roaming target AP are illustrated. For example, when link performance degrades, a STA 106 may determine to roam or associate with a new or target AP 114. In some cases, the STA 106 may already have information related to physical (PHY) link performance, BSS load, and / or capabilities associated with an associated AP 112. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 and the target AP 114 may have information including STA parameters used with the associated AP and the new AP load. However, the STA 106 may use the additional information about the candidate or target AP 114 shared by the associated AP 112 and the STA 106 to perform a more detailed and efficient roaming process.

[0174] Fig.11 Aspects of the method may be implemented by a non-AP MLD communicating with an AP MLD. The AP MLD and / or the non-AP MLD may be illustrated and described as illustrated and described with respect to the various figures of this document, or more generally, may be illustrated and described in conjunction with any of the computer circuit systems, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures as needed. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) (e.g., processors 101, 204, 302, 402, 432, 434, 439, baseband processors, processors associated with communication circuit systems such as 130, 230, 232, 329, 330, 430, and various possibilities) may cause a wireless device, STA, UE, non-AP MLD and / or AP MLD or other device to perform such method elements.

[0175] Note that although described in relation to the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with IEEE and / or 802.11 (e.g., 802.11bn) specification documents, Fig.11 but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.11 Various aspects of the method may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as desired. Similarly, although described in relation to non-AP MLDs, Fig.11 elements of the method, but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.11 Various aspects of the method may be used by STAs that are not MLDs as needed. Similarly, although described in relation to UHR STAs and UHR APs Fig.11 elements of the method, but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.11 Aspects of the method may be used by STAs that are not UHR STAs and APs that are not UHR APs as needed.

[0176] The method shown can be used together with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the drawings and other devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown in the method elements can be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0177] At 1102, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may determine to scan to determine whether it should roam or associate with a new AP (e.g., reassociate). For example, the STA may make the determination or decision to roam based on the link experiencing link quality degradation (among other factors) or in response to a trigger message received from the associated AP 112. In other words, the STA 106 may collect information of candidate APs to determine whether it roams. For example, the STA may scan one or more target AP MLDs for performance information and determine to send a roaming request based at least on the performance information.

[0178] At 1104, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may send a query to the associated AP 112. For example, the STA 106 may send a query message to the associated AP 112 requesting information about the capabilities and / or operating parameters of the candidate or target AP 114. According to some embodiments, this information may be used by the STA 106 to select an AP to roam to.

[0179] According to some embodiments, the query message may be a basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) query message sent from the STA 106 to the associated (e.g., first) AP 112. The BTM query message may be sent to the associated AP 112 to inquire whether one or more target APs 114 (e.g., the queried or second AP) are preferred for the STA's service, what operating parameters the STA 106 should use, which of the target APs 114 is the best target AP for roaming, information about latency and throughput of the STA's 106's service, and / or which of the target APs 114 is preferred for security settings of the STA 106. Although the query message according to some embodiments may be a BTM query message, the query message may not be limited to this format or type of message.

[0180] At 1106, the associated AP 112 may respond to the query message with a message (e.g., a request message) including information about the target (e.g., candidate) AP 114, so that the STA 106 can select a preferred AP for roaming. In other words, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may send a response to the query received from the STA 106. For example, the associated AP 112 may send a message to the STA 106, which may include information corresponding to one or more target APs 114. In addition, according to some embodiments, the message may include information indicating whether the QoS of the SCS flow is sufficient for the UL flow and the DL flow established by the STA, whether the throughput (TPUT) is above a TPUT threshold (e.g., TPUT>"X" Mbps), whether the access delay is below a delay threshold (e.g., delay<"Y" ms), and / or whether a security mode (e.g., WPA3) is supported. In addition, the message may include information known to the AP, including AP capabilities and / or parameter settings, including coordination features, including C-OFDMA, C-TDMA, C-SR, TXOP preemption, and AP scheduling (as some non-limiting examples). In addition, the message may include information corresponding to a service profile including DL frame arrival and UL frame size and DL frame size. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the message may include information corresponding to BSS congestion and / or OBSS and / or transmission priority associated with the STA.

[0181] In some embodiments, the requested target AP 114 information in 1106 may include information of APs that have not been queried. For example, a new AP may be added to the UHR AP, or a new UHR AP may begin operation. In such a scenario, the information of these APs may allow the STA to know them. In another example, the response 1106 may include information of APs or UHR APs whose performance has changed (e.g., degraded or improved). Thus, the STA may know the updated performance and / or general performance of APs in its vicinity. In some embodiments, the AP may transmit unsolicited target AP information if the previously sent AP information has changed.

[0182] In some embodiments, the message may be a BTM request message. However, the message may not be limited to this format or type of message. For example, according to some embodiments, the message may also be a neighbor AP information request frame associated with a neighbor AP information request frame format.

[0183] At 1108, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may select an AP for roaming. Based on the information received in the response to the query, the STA 106 may select a preferred AP among the candidate or target APs 114 to associate with. For example, according to some embodiments, the STA may select the target AP 114 based on the aforementioned information about the target AP's SCS flow QoS, TPUT, or support for security mode included in the message from the associated AP 112, as well as various other factors or information received from the AP and / or previously known by the STA 106. Thus, according to some embodiments, at 1110, the STA 106 may send a roaming request to the selected target AP 114, and at 1112, the STA 106 may receive a roaming response from the target AP 114.

[0184] FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B - Improved scanning efficiency

[0185] FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B Illustrated according to some embodiments Fig.11 Example aspects of scanning efficiency improvements associated with enhanced AP selection described. For example, one benefit of UHR roaming process preparations is that they can be performed continuously. In other words, a UHR STA can continuously check the latest (e.g., current) status of its environment and the performance associated with potential or target APs to which it can roam in the event of deteriorating link conditions. Thus, UHR roaming scans can provide current service performance information for SCS flows and best effort data.

[0186] According to some embodiments, a STA (e.g., STA 106) may obtain additional information about potential target APs for roaming. For example, in 1202A, the STA may send a query to the associated AP 112, which requests which UHR APs or AP MLDs the network considers to be most suitable for the STA. In other words, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may request the identification of the target AP 114 and its estimated throughput and delay performance. Additionally or alternatively, the query message may include a query or request for a complete or complete set of target AP parameters associated with the target AP 114. In some embodiments, the STA 106 may request target AP parameters associated with a specific AP in the explicitly requested candidate or target AP. In some embodiments, the STA 106 may query link capabilities and operating parameters, as well as other parameters that the network recommends that the STA use in its link with the target AP 114. The associated AP 112 may additionally provide conditional throughput estimates and delay estimates set for a specific STA. This may help the STA set its parameters for optimized throughput and delay performance in the link.

[0187] In other embodiments, the network may request the STA to create a link to the AP MLD to enable faster roaming to the AP MLD. For example, the link may be created and the STA may roam using only a single roaming request frame. According to some embodiments, the established link may help the target AP MLD know the STA link-specific parameters, and the AP MLD may allocate transmission resources for the STA service flow and SCS flow. For example, the network may determine the STA transmission bandwidth and the number of spatial streams, and allocate RUs that may be sent and received by the STA.

[0188] The parameters requested in the query (e.g., for AP performance estimation by the STA) may include SCS flows that may define or be used to estimate low-latency service performance. For example, these SCS flow QoS characteristic parameters may be inherited or explicitly signaled to define or estimate low-latency service performance. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the estimation may be based on an established link in which an SCS flow is maintained in a mobility domain.

[0189] Additionally, STA parameters that may define STA capabilities on the operated link may be used for performance estimation of the link that may be established for the target AP. According to some embodiments, the STA parameters may be signaled in the query message (e.g., a BTM query), and the AP may apply the currently advertised settings for the query. Alternatively, the STA parameters may be used to estimate performance based on link establishment of the queried link (e.g., corresponding to the target AP 114).

[0190] In some embodiments, according to some embodiments, an enhanced multi-link operation mode indication (EML OMI) parameter may also be signaled in the query message (e.g., BTM query), which may define whether the STA uses enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) or simultaneous transmission and reception (STR) for the link with the AP MLD, and the AP may apply the current advertised settings of the query. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the EML OMI parameter may be used to estimate performance based on the STA configuring the target AP MLD with a specific MLO setting.

[0191] Additionally or alternatively, a traffic identifier (TID) to link mapping parameter that may define whether the STA and the AP may negotiate which links are available in the AP MLD may also be used for performance estimation. For example, according to some embodiments, the TID to link mapping parameter may also be signaled in the query message (e.g., BTM query), and the AP may apply the currently advertised settings for the query. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the TID to link mapping parameter may be used to estimate performance based on the STA configuring the target AP MLD with a specific MLO setting.

[0192] In some embodiments, operation mode indication (OMI) parameters that define whether the STA can configure link-specific BW, NSS, and UL TB support, target wake-up time (TWT) power saving parameters that define when the STA can be used for link-specific scheduling, and sub-channel selective transmission (SST) or auxiliary main channel or anchor channel parameters that define whether the STA can be configured to operate on a specific channel can be used for performance estimation. For example, according to some embodiments, these parameters can also be signaled in the query message (e.g., BTM query), and the AP can apply the current advertising settings of the query. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, these parameters can be used to estimate performance based on the STA configuring the target AP MLD with specific MLO settings.

[0193] In addition, a PHY TX rate parameter that may define a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), number of spatial streams (NSS), or bandwidth (BW) that may be used for a link may be used for performance estimation. For example, according to some embodiments, the PHY TX rate parameter may also be signaled in the query message (e.g., a BTM query), and the AP may apply the currently advertised setting of the query. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the estimate based on the established link may be further based on signaling from the STA or an estimate made by the AP regarding the PHY TX rate.

[0194] In other words, according to some embodiments, the STA, EML OMI, TID to link mapping, OMI, TWT power saving, SST / auxiliary primary channel and PHY TX rate parameters (and other parameters) may be explicitly signaled as parameter values ​​in the query message.

[0195] In summary, at 1202A, according to some embodiments, the STA 106 may use a query frame or query message to query the associated AP for parameters of neighboring APs (e.g., 1-hop or 2-hop APs), explicitly requested APs (e.g., via explicit address or capability requests), all APs in the mobility domain, and / or APs based on security support (e.g., responses to the query may only come from WPA3 supporting APs or from APs that support STA privacy). In addition, the query frame or query message may be encrypted to allow the STA to request complex queries without privacy issues. In addition, the query may allow the STA 106 to receive information from each AP separately without switching to operate on different links.

[0196] Thus, in 1204A, the associated AP 112 may send a message (e.g., a request message) to the STA 106, the message including information associated with the queried AP parameters. For example, the associated AP 112 may provide the STA 106 with the identity of the queried AP MLD and the requested parameters and / or complete parameter set of the requested AP. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 112 may provide the STA 106 with the identities of all AP MLDs and their respective complete parameter sets. According to some embodiments, information including the aforementioned parameters and / or identity of the target AP 114 may be explicitly signaled as parameter values ​​in the request message. In addition, the associated AP 112 may apply settings related to the parameters indicated by the query from the STA 106.

[0197] In other words, the associated AP 112 may provide a complete set of APMLD information to the STA 106 in response to the query frame / query message. In some embodiments, some UHR and AP MLD parameters may be available only in a request frame sent from the associated AP 112 to the STA 114. Additionally, the responding AP (e.g., the associated AP 112) may not need to limit the AP parameters regarding beacons and probe responses (which may contain parameters associated only with the sender / associated AP 112). According to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may provide information only when the AP parameters have changed. In other words, the associated AP 112 may provide information to the STA 106 if a parameter change is detected. For example, if the BSS parameter change count (BPCC) value has changed, the associated AP 112 may provide a response to the query.

[0198] Fig. 12B is an example of a method according to some embodiments Fig. 12AA communication diagram of additional aspects of query and request communications between a described STA and an associated AP. For example, the associated AP may send a basic variant trigger message requesting a resource unit (RU) from the STA, and the STA may (in response to the trigger) send UL data and include a BTM query management frame (as an example) in the allocated RU sent to the associated AP via a link associated with a bandwidth of 80 MHz and a throughput of 500 Mbit / s. In addition to the DL data in the BTM request message, the associated AP may also respond with a block acknowledgment (BA) message. In some embodiments, according to some embodiments, due to the larger amount of data compared to the UL BTM query sent by the STA, the BTM request message may be sent via a larger 160 MHz bandwidth and at a throughput of 1000 Mbit / s. Additionally, although according to some embodiments, the query and the request may be a BTM query message and a BTM request message, respectively, these messages may not be limited to messages of this format or type.

[0199] Fig.13 —Throughput / delay estimation and link maintenance

[0200] Fig.13 An example communication flow between a STA and an associated AP corresponding to a process for estimating throughput and latency and providing link maintenance rules according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0201] Fig.13 Aspects of the method may be implemented by a non-AP MLD communicating with an AP MLD. The AP MLD and / or the non-AP MLD may be illustrated and described as illustrated and described with respect to the various figures of this document, or more generally, may be illustrated and described in conjunction with any of the computer circuit systems, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures as needed. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) (e.g., processors 101, 204, 302, 402, 432, 434, 439, baseband processors, processors associated with communication circuit systems such as 130, 230, 232, 329, 330, 430, and various possibilities) may cause a wireless device, STA, UE, non-AP MLD and / or AP MLD or other device to perform such method elements.

[0202] Note that although described in relation to the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with IEEE and / or 802.11 (e.g., 802.11bn) specification documents, Fig.13 but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.13Various aspects of the method may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as desired. Similarly, although described in relation to non-AP MLDs, Fig.13 elements of the method, but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.13 Various aspects of the method may be used by STAs that are not MLDs as needed. Similarly, although described in terms of UHR STAs and UHR APs Fig.13 elements of the method, but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Fig.13 Aspects of the method may be used by STAs that are not UHR STAs and APs that are not UHR APs as needed.

[0203] The method shown can be used together with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the drawings and other devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown in the method elements can be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0204] At 1302A, the STA 106 may query the associated AP 112 using explicit parameters. In other words, the STA 106 may query the AP 112 for information about the target AP 114 relative to the explicitly indicated parameters. For example, the STA 106 may explicitly request information about the target AP 114 and its low-latency service performance (as an example parameter used in performance estimation) from the AP 112 via SCS stream parameters. In some embodiments, the STA (e.g., STA 106) may explicitly signal all of its operating parameters to the queried AP (e.g., target AP 114) in the query message. According to some embodiments, this explicit parameter signaling may allow the STA to query an AP that does not have an established link.

[0205] According to some embodiments, the query message may include queries corresponding to: received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimates of the one or more target AP MLDs, whether one of the one or more target AP MLDs is receptive to the service of the non-AP MLD, which operating parameters the non-AP MLD should utilize, which of the one or more target AP MLDs is a preferred target AP MLD for roaming, latency and throughput information for the service of the non-AP MLD, or which of the one or more target AP MLDs is preferred based on security settings of the non-AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the query message may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance estimation information based on at least one of link establishment parameters of a link corresponding to the non-AP MLD, explicitly provided link parameters, or parameters used by the AP MLD for one or more other links.

[0206] Additionally or alternatively, at 1302B, the STA 106 may query the associated AP 112 based on the established link. In other words, since the SCS flow is maintained in the mobility domain, the STA 106 may alternatively estimate the low-latency service performance (associated with the SCS flow parameters) based on the established link. For example, the STA may create or add a link and set the MLO or link-specific operating parameters so that the SCS flow at the mobility domain level may be set by the STA for low-latency services (as an example). Therefore, the AP may estimate the performance based on the established link and the set operating parameters. In some embodiments, the STA may adjust link settings (such as power management (PM), target wake-up time (TWT), subchannel selective transmission (SST), and enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) and various other settings) to improve throughput estimation and delay estimation. In addition, for roaming, the AP may understand the link performance of the current settings.

[0207] In some embodiments, the information of the query message may include at least one of throughput information, delay information, or information indicating whether a quality of service (QoS) flow classification service (SCS) flow is maintained. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance measurement information based on the one or more parameters. Thus, the AP MLD may perform throughput measurement and delay measurement based at least in part on the one or more parameters. In some embodiments, the AP MLD determines to prohibit sending the information to the non-AP MLD based on a basic service set parameter change count (BPCC) value changed from a previous BPCC value. In some embodiments, the query message and the message (e.g., request message) may be received and sent, respectively, based on a bandwidth (BW), a number of spatial streams (NSS), and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) associated with the non-AP MLD.

[0208] According to some embodiments, the performance of the target AP may be estimated based on the STA 106 parameters and settings in its link with the associated AP 112. In other words, the network may assume that the STA 106 will have similar capabilities and operating parameters used on the queried (e.g., target) AP. For example, the network may assume that the STA 106 uses a band-specific (e.g., (2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz)) operating parameter setting, and therefore may apply the same STR and EMLSR settings between the target APs (e.g., as with the associated AP). Additionally or alternatively, the target AP performance estimate may depend on the STA capabilities and operating parameter settings, and the AP may signal these parameters to the STA in its response.

[0209] In some embodiments, according to some embodiments, STA 106 may use the established link parameters to estimate service or SCS flow delay and throughput. For example, according to some embodiments, STA 106 sends a message to the associated AP 112 to add one or more links with the target AP 114 including the preferred parameters of the STA. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may send a response about the added link and further include new AP parameters. Therefore, according to some embodiments, STA 106 may create a link using optimized and / or updated operation settings. According to some embodiments, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 and the target AP 114 may have information including STA parameters used with the associated AP 112 and new AP load. Additionally or alternatively, the associated AP 112 and the target AP 114 may have information including STA SCS flows, and further use the STA operation settings with the created links. In other words, before roaming and associating with the target AP 114, the STA 106 may add and establish a link with a candidate AP (eg, the target AP 114) and use preferred STA parameters and AP parameters and / or operational settings (eg, specifying how data transmission will be performed).

[0210] In other words, although the STA 106 may have information about the PHY link performance, BSS load, and / or AP capabilities of the associated AP 112, the target AP 114, the STA 106 may estimate the throughput and delay associated with the target AP 114. Therefore, the STA may select an AP for roaming (e.g., one of the target APs 114) based on the information it previously knew and then collected from the associated AP. In addition, the STA may then send a message to the selected AP as a link performance check. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the selected AP may send a response as part of the link performance check. Therefore, according to some embodiments, based on the above-mentioned known and received information and the link performance check, the STA may send a roaming request to the target AP and then receive a roaming response from the target AP.

[0211] In addition, at 1304, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may provide the target AP 114 parameters and link performance to the STA 106 based on the query in 1302A or 1302B. For example, the associated AP 112 may send a message (e.g., a request message) to the STA 106 to provide appropriate information about the target AP 114 and the parameters of the explicit query of the query. For example, the associated AP 112 may provide the STA 106 with information corresponding to the target AP 114 and its low-latency service performance associated with the SCS flow parameters (as an example).

[0212] In some embodiments, the message may include information corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs and indicate at least one of the following: whether the quality of service (QoS) of the flow classification service (SCS) flow for the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable, whether the throughput for the one or more target AP MLDs is above a first threshold, whether the latency for the one or more target AP MLDs is below a second threshold, or whether the one or more target AP MLDs support security mode. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more target AP MLDs may be one or more neighboring APs, one or more explicitly requested APs, all APs within a 1-hop or 2-hop neighborhood, or all APs in a mobility domain.

[0213] According to some embodiments, a UHR STA may associate with a UHR AP for an extended duration. In addition, during the association period, the UHR STA may maintain a list of APs or AP groups that it considers to be primary roaming candidates. The UHR STA may scan these primary roaming candidate APs more frequently to understand their throughput and delay performance in order to determine whether they are suitable for STA SCS flows. Although frequent scanning requests may result in additional signaling overhead, it may be beneficial for the STA to maintain updated information about whether these APs are available, whether their capabilities and operating parameters are the same as the currently associated APs, and whether these APs are capable of sending SCS flow services according to QoS characteristics.

[0214] After receiving the message from the associated AP 112 at 1304, according to some embodiments, at 1306A, the STA 106 may send a response message to the associated AP 112, the response message instructing the AP 112 to set the target AP 114 to maintain the STA parameters. In other words, the STA 106 may respond to the associated AP 112 to indicate that the target AP 114 should not change its STA parameters because the STA 106 may roam to one of the target APs. Therefore, although the STA 106 may not be associated with the target AP 114, if the STA 106 decides to roam to one of the target APs 114, the target AP 114 will be ready and have the preferred STA parameters of the STA 106. In other words, the message from the AP (e.g., the associated AP 112) may provide STA details for the queried AP. In other words, the STA 106 may send a response message to the associated AP 112 indicating that the associated AP 112 maintains the link as in the association between the STA 106 and the associated AP 112.

[0215] In some embodiments, as part of or in addition to the response of 1306A, STA 106 may subscribe to notifications from target AP 114. For example, STA 106 may send a response message to AP MLD indicating consent to receive notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs. Thus, the STA may subsequently receive one or more notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs from the AP MLD. According to some embodiments, the one or more notifications may be associated with trigger criteria. The notification may be subscribed to from a remote AP MLD to which the STA may (or may not) have a link established. The associated AP MLD 112 may notify STA 106 of changes in the subscribed remote AP MLD. The subscribed notification may reduce signaling overhead and allow STA 106 to quickly receive notifications through the associated AP 112 if the information of the subscribed AP (e.g., target AP 114) has changed. This fast information sharing may enable STA 106 to always have the latest information of the subscribed AP.

[0216] For example, the remote AP notification may be sent by the associated AP 112 to the STA 106. The remote AP notification may include a "notify AP does not accept roaming notification", which may be sent to the STA 106 if the remote AP is congested and has no capacity to accept a new roaming AP. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the remote AP (e.g., the target AP 114) may have a separate acceptance association for a new STA that transmits a request in an OTA manner. According to other embodiments, the remote AP notification may include a "TID-2-link mapping setting change", which may be sent (if requested by link management mode 2) if the remote AP organizes its links to different service types (e.g., because a specific link only allows specific services). Therefore, the STA may need to consider which links to use based on the service type. In addition, according to some embodiments, the remote AP notification may include a "AP cannot send STA SCS flow", which may be sent (if requested by link management mode 2) if the remote AP cannot provide the desired QoS for the STA flow.

[0217] According to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may send remote notifications to the STA 106 in an unsolicited manner for the target AP 114. For example, the associated AP 112 may transmit unsolicited notification reports to the STA 106 without receiving a request from the STA 106. According to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may determine to transmit these notifications based on the satisfaction of a condition or criteria or the occurrence of a specific event.

[0218] Alternatively, the associated AP 112 may request the STA 106 to receive notifications for the target AP 114. For example, as part of or in addition to 1306A, the associated AP 112 may send a subscription triggered notification request to the STA 106 at 1306A-1. The request may indicate or request that the STA 106 receive notifications for remote APs including one or more target APs 114. Therefore, at 1306A-2, the STA 106 may send a subscription triggered notification response to the associated AP 112, in which the remote notification is agreed to be received. In other words, at 1306A-2, the subscription triggered notification response may allow the STA 106 to subscribe to the target AP 114. In addition, the remote notification may be associated with a triggering criterion. Therefore, according to some embodiments, at 1306A-3, the associated AP 112 may determine whether the triggering criterion is met. If the trigger criteria are met for a target AP such as target AP1 (e.g., a first target AP), then at 1306A-4, the associated AP 112 may send a triggered notification regarding target AP1 to the STA 106. In addition, if it is determined that additional trigger criteria are met for target AP1, target AP2, and other target APs 114, then at 1306A-5, the associated AP 112 may send additional triggered notifications associated with the target APs (e.g., target AP1 and target AP2). According to some embodiments, the STA 106 may specify in the message in 1306A-1 a specific condition or criterion or event that, when met or when it occurs, should cause the associated AP 112 to send one or more notifications to the STA 106.

[0219] According to some embodiments, the network may consider the subscribed AP to be the primary candidate for roaming. For example, if the network considers that the STA has poor performance, it may recommend that the STA roam on an AP to which the STA has subscribed to receive information or notifications. Alternatively, the network may request the STA to roam to an AP MLD for which the STA has frequently requested information. In another embodiment, the network may request the STA to roam to an AP MLD to which the STA has established a link.

[0220] Some notifications may be automatically sent to all STAs that have subscribed to receive one or more notifications from the remote AP MLD or have established one or more links with the AP MLD. One such remote AP notification may be an AP MLD deletion notification, which is sent when the connection to the remote AP MLD device is lost, the remote AP MLD is powered off and / or suffers from a software problem. Therefore, it may be necessary to delete all links to the AP MLD. Another such remote AP notification may be an attached AP deletion notification, which is sent when the AP MLD reorganizes its AP. The available BSS may be changed to give the loaded BSS more resources or to achieve AP power saving. Therefore, it may be necessary to delete one or more links to the AP MLD. In addition, when the network believes that the STA is too far away from the remote AP MLD with the link and / or the STA is not interested in maintaining the link, a link deletion remote AP notification may be sent. Therefore, according to some embodiments, it may be necessary to delete one or more links to the AP MLD.

[0221] In some embodiments, if the STA has subscribed to receive notifications about events, some remote AP notifications may be sent. For example, the STA may subscribe to a remote AP notification that notifies an AP to be enabled or that notifies an AP to be disabled, which is sent when the remote AP is in power saving mode and cannot arrive over the air (OTA). For example, the STA may power on a disabled remote link through the associated AP. As another example, a remote AP notification may include a notification of a key parameter update notification, which may be sent when a key operating parameter of the remote AP has changed (if requested by link management mode 2). In this case, the STA should update the appropriate AP parameters in the link or AP MLD. In some embodiments, the notification of a key parameter update notification may include a change in the operating channel of the AP (e.g., if the primary channel of the AP changes from 5 GHz channel 36 to 5 GHz channel 141, as an example).

[0222] Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, at 1306B, the STA 106 may send a response message to the associated AP 112, the response message indicating that the target AP 114 is transitioned to hot standby mode. In other words, because the STA 106 may roam soon, the STA 106 may provide instructions to the associated AP 112 to prepare the target AP 114 (e.g., enter hot standby mode), so that it is easier and more efficient to receive and react to roaming signaling (e.g., roaming request). For example, the response from the AP to the STA may signal a standby link maintenance mode. For example, the response message may signal a first mode (e.g., mode 1) as a default mode associated with no link maintenance. Additionally or alternatively, the response may signal a second mode (e.g., mode 2) associated with the link being maintained. For example, a BSS parameter update may be transmitted to the STA in the associated AP, and the AP may use TID to link mapping or congestion control as if the STA were to be associated. A third mode (e.g., Mode 3) that may be signaled by the response may correspond to a hot standby condition or state in which the STA will soon be roaming. Thus, according to some embodiments, buffered DL frames and received UL frames that may await reordering before being forwarded to the Internet may be forwarded to the queried AP.

[0223] Additionally or alternatively, the network may consider that the STA 106 is experiencing a lower performance condition with respect to the currently associated AP MLD (e.g., the associated AP 112). Therefore, in some cases, the associated AP 112 may determine, based on establishing a link or query, that the target AP is a good candidate to which the STA will roam. The associated AP 112 may then proactively transition the candidate AP (e.g., the target AP 114) to hot standby mode, which may allow the STA 106 to quickly roam to the candidate AP. In some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may transmit a BTM request frame to the STA 106 to signal that the candidate AP MLD is in hot standby mode, and the STA 106 may roam to the candidate AP MLD without performing any other additional preparations. For example, the additional preparation may include forwarding the data to the target AP 114, verifying signaling indicating that the SCS flow QoS is met and the target AP 114 has acceptable available transmission capacity, and allocating transmission resources for UL trigger frame and DL MU PPDU transmission to the STA 106. According to some embodiments, the BTM request may include parameters for data transmission.

[0224] In some embodiments, the STA may transmit a roaming request to roam to a target AP 114 in hot standby mode. Additionally or alternatively, if the network has prepared the target AP 114 MLD to be in hot standby mode with which the STA 106 does not have a link, the STA 106 may establish one or more links to the target AP 114 MLD before roaming to it. In addition, the STA may expect that, by roaming, the DL data flow change to the roamed hot standby target AP 114 may be fast, and the SCS flows should meet their QoS requirements during roaming.

[0225] According to some embodiments, the network may set multiple candidate AP MLDs (e.g., multiple target APs 114) to hot standby mode. Therefore, the network may not know which target AP 114 will be the preferred roaming target. For example, according to some embodiments, the associated AP 112 may set all target APs 114 from which the STA 106 has subscribed to hot standby.

[0226] According to some embodiments, since STA 106 may not directly send the response in 1306A or 1306B to target AP 114, the associated AP 112 may forward or send appropriate signaling to target AP 114 to provide such instructions. Additionally, although according to some embodiments, the query message, request message, and response message in 1302A / 1302B, 1304, and 1306A / 1306B may be BTM query messages, BTM request messages, and BTM response messages, respectively, these messages may not be limited to messages of this format or type. For example, the query message, the request message, and the response message may also be a neighbor AP information frame associated with a neighbor AP information frame format. According to some embodiments, the message may also be a neighbor AP information request frame associated with a neighbor AP information request frame format. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the response message may be a neighbor AP information response frame associated with a neighbor AP information response frame format.

[0227] According to some embodiments, STA capabilities and operating parameters may help the AP estimate performance, and thus the AP may verify that ongoing UL triggered scheduling is acceptable for serving the SCS flow or SCS flows with strict performance requirements. For example, according to some embodiments, the AP may verify or validate the throughput and latency of the established link or setup of the STA.

[0228] According to further embodiments, the 6 GHz link may determine when the STA is roaming, and thus the situation where the STA is roaming may be more frequent. Therefore, when the STA is roaming, the target AP may use a PHY performance measurement scheme to determine acceptable performance on multiple links. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the performance estimation results should be within ±5% to ensure accurate link conditions in order to avoid roaming to a link with unknown or degraded performance.

[0229] In some embodiments, the query message from STA 106 may include a request for a list of queried AP MLDs from the associated AP 112. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the query message may include a request for STA parameters and link throughput for each target AP MLD and common SCS service settings for all AP MLDs. Thus, in response to the query, the associated AP 112 may send a message (e.g., a request message) to STA 106 indicating which APMLDs meet the SCS flow low latency requirements indicated in the query message.

[0230] According to some situations, there may be various link performance modes associated with how to provide link performance. For example, a conditional link performance mode may be associated with conditionally providing a throughput and delay result area based on the transmission rate of the link. Alternatively, a link performance mode estimated via typical roaming may be provided based on the AP estimating the throughput based on a typical roaming STA rate. As another alternative, a link performance mode in which the STA signals an estimated value may provide link performance for performance estimation. In other words, according to some embodiments, the STA may signal a general value for all links. Additionally, according to some embodiments, a link performance mode may be estimated via STA transmission, in which the STA and the AP measure link performance. However, these measurement results may not be private, and an eavesdropper may determine STA location information.

[0231] According to some embodiments, the information in the request message from the associated AP 112 may include information of a first AP (e.g., AP1) and a second AP (e.g., AP2) operating using a 5 GHz link and an 8 GHz link, respectively, and associated with a DL 95% access delay (AC), a UL EDCA 95% delay (AC), a maximum DL or UL throughput (AC), and a triggered transmit (TX) delay for the access category. In other words, the response message may indicate that the DL delay and the UL delay are in the top 95th percentile relative to a nominal value (e.g., 100%). Thus, according to some embodiments, the response message may indicate that the queried UHR AP and the associated SCS flow delay and throughput are acceptable.

[0232] Additional Information

[0233] According to some embodiments and in relation to the AP neighbor information request frame discussed above, according to some embodiments, the neighbor AP information request frame (corresponding to the AP neighbor information request frame format) may include a frame control field, which may include parameter settings such as "Type B3B2=00", "Subtype (B7-B4)=1101", "Protected Frame (B14)=1", and "Protected Action Frame". Additionally or alternatively, the neighbor AP information request frame may include a destination address (DA) field, which may include parameter settings, which include the BSSID of the currently associated AP and the transmitter address, which may include the MAC address of the STA. The neighbor AP information request frame may also include a category field, which may include parameter settings, such as a newly defined category corresponding to a value between 33 and 125. Additionally or alternatively, the neighbor AP information request frame may include an action field, which may include a parameter whose value is set to zero to indicate a "request" from the STA 106 to the AP 112 associated with the AP. Additionally, the neighbor AP information request frame may include duration, sequence control, dialog token, payload, message integrity code (MIC), and frame check sequence (FCS) fields.

[0234] In addition, the payload of the neighboring AP information request frame may include a payload field corresponding to the requested AP, the payload field including a "maximum hop count" field, an "SSID list exists" field, and a "BSSID list exists" field. For example, the "maximum hop count" field may specify the maximum hop count of neighboring APs from the currently associated AP. A maximum hop count of zero may correspond only to a co-located BSS, which corresponds to a physical AP device operating the network. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, maximum hop counts of one, two, and three may correspond to a 1-hop neighborhood, a 2-hop neighborhood, or a neighborhood that is not limited by the maximum hop count, respectively. In addition, the "BSSID list exists" field may indicate or include an SSID value that may allow STA 106 to request parameters of the network. Therefore and depending on the configuration of the AP, according to some embodiments, these parameters or values ​​may be provided to STA 106. In some embodiments, according to some embodiments, the SSID list and the BSSID list may be considered to be joint, so that all APs that meet specific criteria are reported.

[0235] In some embodiments, the payload of the neighbor AP information request frame may include payload fields corresponding to the requested parameters, and the requested parameters include "all capabilities / BPCC", "requested BSS load", "SCS flow QoS is possible", "throughput and latency", and "requested AP effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP)". For example, the "all capabilities / BPCC" field may include a value of one to request all capabilities and operating parameters present in the beacon or probe response sent by the neighboring AP. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the "all capabilities / BPCC" field may include a value of zero to request an update since the last request. In addition, according to some embodiments, the "SCS flow QoS is possible" field may include one or more parameters or values ​​that specify the BSS load for each reported AP. Additionally, the "throughput and latency" field may include values ​​for the requested throughput estimate and latency estimate.

[0236] According to some embodiments, the payload of the neighbor AP information request frame may include a payload field corresponding to the requested AP, the payload field including "STA parameters", "SSID list (optional)", "BSSID list (optional)", and "BPCC list (optional)". According to some embodiments, the "STA parameters" field may specify the EIRP in dBm for each reported AP. Additionally and related to the "BPCC list (optional)" field, according to some embodiments, if only a partial update set is requested, the BPCC may include the last known parameter value. Additionally, the neighbor AP information request frame may be characterized as or included as a MAC payload.

[0237] According to some embodiments and in relation to the AP neighbor information response frame discussed above, according to some embodiments, the neighbor information response frame (corresponding to the AP neighbor information response frame format) may include a frame control field, which may include parameter settings such as "Type B3B2=00", "Subtype (B7-B4)=1101", "Protected Frame (B14)=1", and "Protected Action Frame". Additionally or alternatively, the neighbor AP information response frame may include a destination address (DA) field, which may include parameter settings including the BSSID of the currently associated AP and a transmitter address which may include the MAC address of the STA. The neighbor AP information response frame may also include a category field, which may include parameter settings such as a newly defined category value (e.g., such as 34, as an example). Additionally or alternatively, the neighbor AP information response frame may include an action field, which may include a parameter whose value is set to zero to indicate a "response" from the associated AP 112 to the STA 106. Additionally, the neighbor AP information request frame may include duration, sequence control, dialog token, payload, message integrity code (MIC), and frame check sequence (FCS) fields.

[0238] In addition, the payload of the neighbor AP information may include information including the number of AP reports and variable AP information elements (IEs). In addition, the AP IE may include fields or parameters / values ​​including "element ID", "length", "BSSID", "SSID", "operation class", "channel number", and "hop count". Additionally, the AP IE may include fields, parameters, or values ​​that describe or contain information related to all elements included in the beacon and probe response from the neighboring AP. According to some embodiments, these elements corresponding to the beacon and the probe response may have the same order as the neighbor AP information response frame. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the AP IE may include fields, parameters, or values ​​that describe or contain information related to throughput and delay statistics, SCS IDs that do not meet or satisfy QoS, or recommended QoS characteristic elements for SCS IDs whose QoS is compromised. Additionally, the neighbor AP information response frame may be characterized as or included as a MAC payload.

[0239] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD may send a query message to the AP MLD, the query message requesting information including at least one of one or more parameter sets or identification sets associated with one or more target AP MLDs. The non-AP MLD may receive a request message including the information from the AP MLD, and select a target AP MLD from the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the information received from the AP MLD. The non-AP MLD may send a roaming request to the target AP MLD, and receive a roaming response from the target AP MLD.

[0240] According to some embodiments, the method may further include: scanning the one or more target AP MLDs for performance information; and determining to send the roaming request based at least on the performance information. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further include: sending a response message to the AP MLD, the response message indicating consent to receive notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the method may include: receiving one or more notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs from the AP MLD. According to some embodiments, the one or more notifications may be associated with a triggering criterion.

[0241] In some embodiments, the query message may include queries corresponding to: received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimates of the one or more target AP MLDs, whether one of the one or more target AP MLDs is receptive to the service of the non-AP MLD, which operating parameters the non-AP MLD should utilize, which of the one or more target AP MLDs is a preferred target AP MLD for roaming, latency and throughput information for the service of the non-AP MLD, or which of the one or more target AP MLDs is preferred based on security settings of the non-AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the query message may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance estimation information based on at least one of one or more link establishment parameters of a link corresponding to the non-AP MLD, one or more link parameters explicitly provided, or one or more parameters used by the AP MLD for one or more other links.

[0242] In some embodiments, the message (e.g., a request message) may include information corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs and indicate at least one of the following: whether the quality of service (QoS) of the flow classification service (SCS) flow for the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable, whether the throughput for the one or more target AP MLDs is higher than a first threshold, whether the latency for the one or more target AP MLDs is lower than a second threshold, or whether the one or more target AP MLDs support security mode. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more target AP MLDs may be one or more neighboring APs, one or more explicitly requested APs, all APs within a 1-hop or 2-hop neighborhood, or all APs in a mobility domain.

[0243] According to another embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor configured to cause an AP MLD to receive a query from a non-AP MLD, the query requesting information associated with one or more parameters of one or more target AP MLDs. The at least one processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to send the information to the non-AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs. The at least one processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to receive an indication from the non-AP MLD to direct a target AP MLD in the one or more target APs to transition to a maintenance mode.

[0244] According to some embodiments, the information may include at least one of throughput information, delay information, or information indicating whether a Quality of Service (QoS) flow classification service (SCS) flow is maintained. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the APMLD to provide performance measurement information based on the one or more parameters. Thus, the at least one processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to perform a throughput measurement or a delay measurement based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

[0245] In some embodiments, the at least one processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine to prohibit sending the information to the non-AP MLD based on a basic service set parameter change count (BPCC) value changed from a previous BPCC value. Additionally or alternatively, the query message and the message (e.g., request message) may be received and sent, respectively, according to a bandwidth (BW), a number of spatial streams (NSS), and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) associated with the non-AP MLD.

[0246] According to some embodiments, the maintenance mode may be one of a default mode, a link maintenance mode, or a hot standby mode, in which a basic service set (BSS) parameter update of the one or more target APs is sent from the APMLD to the non-AP MLD, and in which a buffered frame is forwarded to the target AP MLD by the AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to receive a response message from the non-AP MLD, wherein the response message indicates consent to send a notification corresponding to at least one target AP of the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the at least one processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine whether one or more conditions are satisfied, and to send one or more notifications associated with the at least one target AP to the non-AP MLD based at least in part on the determination.

[0247] In some embodiments, a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD) may include a radio component and a processor, the processor being operably coupled to the radio component and configured to cause the non-AP MLD to establish one or more links with an AP MLD. Additionally, corresponding links of the one or more links may operate according to corresponding link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send a query to the AP MLD, the query requesting information associated with one or more target AP MLDs. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to receive the information from the AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with the link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs according to the link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send an indication to the AP MLD to direct a target AP of the one or more target APs to transition to a hot standby mode.

[0248] In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to adjust the corresponding link-specific operating parameter. Additionally or alternatively, the link-specific operating parameter may include at least one of a power management (PM) operating parameter, a target wake-up time (TWT) operating parameter, a subchannel selective transmission (SST) operating parameter, or an enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) operating parameter. In some embodiments, the query may include a common flow classification service (SCS) service setting, and the information may include one or more identifications of the target AP MLDs in the one or more target AP MLDs that meet the common SCS service setting.

[0249] According to some scenarios, the Wi-Fi 6 STA roaming point may be close to the location where the 5GHz link is lost. Since the 6GHz radio component may not be common on Wi-Fi STA / AP, the STA may associate to a single 5GHz AP at a time.

[0250] Compared to Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7 non-AP MLDs may have multi-link associations. For example, a non-AP MLD may have a 6 GHz link, a 5 GHz link, and a 2.4 GHz link. However, the non-AP MLD roaming point depends on the availability and mobility of the 6 GHz link, for which the 6 GHz radio has a smaller coverage area. Therefore, a STA may have multiple target AP MLDs with 2.4 GHz links and 5 GHz links, but also have only a few target AP MLDs with 6 GHz links. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the AP may estimate that at least one neighbor AP MLD will have acceptable 6 GHz and 5 GHz link performance.

[0251] Since roaming is more frequent in 6 GHz coverage areas, this increase may complicate the association process of STAs. Therefore, it would be beneficial to make the roaming process more efficient by preparing links for roaming. However, in order to prepare the links for roaming, the delay and throughput performance of the target AP MLD needs to be known. Therefore, improvements are desired.

[0252] Regarding estimating transmit resource availability, the AP may estimate whether the SCS stream has transmit resources based on whether the STA operates on a large BW. For example, if the STA operates on a large bandwidth, this may be associated with high RU allocation flexibility (e.g., any RU on a large BW). In addition, according to some embodiments, if the STA operates on a large BW, the STA may have high power consumption, and EMLSR / dynamic SM PS may help reduce STA power consumption.

[0253] Alternatively, the AP may estimate whether the SCS stream has transmission resources based on whether the STA operates on a small BW. For example, if the STA operates on a small BW, the RU allocation may have only a few alternatives, which may complicate SCS reservation. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the smaller BW may result in a long transmission time.

[0254] Therefore, the STA may increase resource allocation flexibility. For example, if the SST STA operates on a dedicated BW and on an alternative primary channel (e.g., 20 MHz), the AP may send to the SST STA even if the primary 20 MHz channel is busy. Alternatively, the STA may provide resource allocation flexibility via a UHR STA that defines an alternative primary channel capability. For example, if the primary 20 MHz channel is busy, the UHR STA may switch to an alternative primary channel (which may or may not be associated with a large operating BW). In addition, according to some embodiments, scanning STA operation in SST mode or support for an alternative primary channel may be considered in throughput estimation and delay estimation.

[0255] According to some embodiments, with respect to delay estimation, the link delay estimation is based on access delay and scheduling delay. For example, the access delay may be associated with a transmit opportunity (TXOP) acquisition time, during which the AP measures the access delay of the trigger frame and the DL MU PPDU. Additionally, the UL triggered access delay may signal the extent to which the minimum trigger interval and the maximum trigger interval can be achieved. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the AP may request the STA to measure the delay, or the AP may estimate the UL EDCA AC specific access delay.

[0256] Additionally, the scheduling delay may be associated with the extent to which the trigger transmission time meets the scheduling requirements. For example, an SCS flow is established for a low-latency service, and the QoS characteristic element may signal or indicate the UL trigger time and delay requirements. In addition, the scanned UHR AP may verify whether the ongoing UL triggered scheduling has resources for the low-latency SCS flow. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the AP may send more UL trigger frames.

[0257] Example Implementation

[0258] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD may send a query for information to the AP MLD, the information including at least one of one or more parameter sets or identification sets associated with one or more target AP MLDs. The non-AP MLD may receive a message (e.g., a request message) including the information from the AP MLD, and select a target AP MLD from the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the information. The non-AP MLD may send a roaming request to the target AP MLD, and also receive a roaming response from the target AP MLD.

[0259] According to some embodiments, the method may further include: scanning the one or more target AP MLDs for performance information; and determining to send the roaming request based at least on the performance information. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further include: sending a response message to the AP MLD, the response message indicating consent to receive notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the method may include: receiving one or more notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs from the AP MLD. According to some embodiments, the one or more notifications may be associated with trigger criteria. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the query may include a basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) query message.

[0260] In some embodiments, the query may include queries associated with: received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimates of the one or more target AP MLDs, whether one of the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable for the traffic of the non-AP MLD, which operating parameters the non-AP MLD should utilize, which of the one or more target AP MLDs is a preferred target AP MLD for roaming, latency and throughput information for the traffic of the non-AP MLD, or which of the one or more target AP MLDs is preferred based on security settings of the non-AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance estimation information based on at least one of link establishment parameters of a link corresponding to the non-AP MLD, explicitly provided link parameters, or parameters used by the AP MLD for one or more other links.

[0261] In some embodiments, the message (e.g., a request message) may include information corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs and indicate at least one of the following: whether the quality of service (QoS) of the flow classification service (SCS) flow for the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable, when the throughput for the one or more target AP MLDs is above a first threshold, when the latency for the one or more target AP MLDs is below a second threshold, or when the one or more target AP MLDs support security mode. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more target AP MLDs may be one or more neighboring AP MLDs, one or more explicitly requested AP MLDs, all AP MLDs within a 1-hop or 2-hop neighborhood, or all AP MLDs in a mobility domain.

[0262] According to another embodiment, a processor may be configured to cause an AP MLD to receive a query for information from a non-AP MLD, the information being associated with one or more parameters of one or more target AP MLDs. The processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to send the information to the non-AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs. The processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to receive an indication from the non-AP MLD to instruct a target AP MLD in the one or more target APs to transition to a maintenance mode.

[0263] According to some embodiments, the information may include at least one of throughput information, delay information, or information indicating whether the QoS SCS flow is maintained. Additionally or alternatively, the query may instruct the AP MLD to provide performance measurement information to the non-AP MLD based on the one or more parameters. Therefore, the processor may also be configured to cause the AP MLD to perform throughput measurement and delay measurement associated with the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

[0264] In some embodiments, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine to prohibit sending the information to the non-AP MLD based on a BSS parameter change count (BPCC) value that has changed from a previous BPCC value. According to some embodiments, the maintenance mode may be one of a default mode, a link maintenance mode, in which the BSS parameter updates of the one or more target APs are sent from the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD, or a hot standby mode, in which the AP MLD forwards buffered frames to the target AP MLD. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to receive a response message from the non-AP MLD, wherein the response message indicates consent to send a notification corresponding to at least one of the one or more target AP MLDs. Furthermore, the processor may be further configured to cause the AP MLD to determine whether one or more conditions are satisfied, and to send one or more notifications associated with the at least one target AP to the non-AP MLD based at least in part on the determination.

[0265] In some embodiments, a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD) may include a radio component and a processor, the processor being operably coupled to the radio component and configured to cause the non-AP MLD to establish one or more links with an AP MLD. Additionally, corresponding links of the one or more links may operate according to corresponding link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send a query to the AP MLD, the query requesting information associated with one or more target AP MLDs. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to receive the information from the AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with the link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs according to the link-specific operating parameters. Furthermore, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to send an indication to the AP MLD to direct a target AP of the one or more target APs to transition to a hot standby mode.

[0266] In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to cause the non-AP MLD to adjust the corresponding link-specific operating parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the link-specific operating parameters may include at least one of a power management (PM) operating parameter, a target wake-up time (TWT) operating parameter, a transaction identifier (TID) to link mapping parameter, a subchannel selective transmission (SST) operating parameter, or an enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) operating parameter. In some embodiments, the query may include a common flow classification service (SCS) service setting, and the information may include one or more identifications of the target AP MLDs in the one or more target AP MLDs that meet the common SCS service setting.

[0267] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0268] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0269] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if executed by a computer system, the program instructions cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0270] In some embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to include a processor (and / or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to cause the wireless device to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0271] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: At a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD): sending a query to an access point (AP) MLD for information including at least one of one or more parameters or identifications associated with one or more target AP MLDs; receiving a message including the information from the AP MLD; selecting a target AP MLD of the one or more target AP MLDs based at least in part on the information; Sending a roaming request to the target AP MLD; and A roaming response is received from the target AP MLD.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Scanning the one or more target AP MLDs for performance information; as well as A determination is made to send the roaming request based at least on the performance information.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending a response message to the AP MLD, wherein the response message indicates consent to receive notifications corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs; as well as The notification corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs is received from the AP MLD, wherein the notification is associated with a triggering criterion.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the query comprises a Basic Service Set (BSS) Transition Management (BTM) query message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the query comprises at least one of the following: a query associated with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimate of the one or more target AP MLDs, a query associated with whether one of the one or more target AP MLDs can accept the service of the non-AP MLD, a query associated with which operating parameters the non-AP MLD should utilize, a query associated with which of the one or more target AP MLDs is a preferred target AP MLD for roaming, a query associated with latency and throughput information for traffic of the non-AP MLD, or A query associated with which of the one or more target AP MLDs to prefer based on the security settings of the non-AP MLD.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the query indicates to the AP MLD that performance estimation information is provided based on at least one of: one or more link establishment parameters corresponding to the link of the non-AP MLD, one or more link parameters provided explicitly, or One or more parameters used by the AP MLD for one or more other links.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes information corresponding to the one or more target AP MLDs and indicates at least one of the following: Whether the quality of service (QoS) of the flow classification service (SCS) flow for the one or more target AP MLDs is acceptable, when the throughput for the one or more target AP MLDs is above a first threshold, when the delay for the one or more target AP MLDs is below a second threshold, or When the one or more target AP MLDs support security mode.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more target AP MLDs include at least one of the following: One or more neighboring AP MLDs, One or more explicitly requested AP MLDs, All AP MLDs in a 1-hop or 2-hop neighborhood, or MLD of all APs in the mobility domain.

9. A processor configured to cause an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD): receiving a query for information from a non-access point (non-AP) MLD, the information being associated with one or more parameters of one or more target AP MLDs; sending the information to the non-AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs; as well as An indication is received from the non-AP MLD to direct a target AP MLD among the one or more target APs to transition to a maintenance mode.

10. The processor of claim 9, wherein the information comprises at least one of throughput information, delay information, or information indicating whether a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Classification Service (SCS) flow is maintained.

11. The processor of claim 9, wherein the query instructs the AP MLD to provide performance measurement information to the non-AP MLD based on the one or more parameters, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the AP MLD to: A throughput measurement or a latency measurement associated with the one or more target AP MLDs is performed based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

12. The processor of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the AP MLD to: It is determined that a basic service set (BSS) parameter change count (BPCC) value has changed from a previous BPCC value.

13. The processor of claim 9, wherein the query comprises a Basic Service Set (BSS) Transition Management (BTM) query message.

14. The processor of claim 9, wherein the maintenance mode is any one of: Default mode, a link maintenance mode in which a basic service set (BSS) parameter update of the one or more target APs is sent from the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD, or A hot standby mode in which the buffered frames are forwarded by the AP MLD to the target AP MLD.

15. The processor of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the AP MLD to: receiving a response message from the non-AP MLD, wherein the response message indicates consent to send a notification corresponding to at least one target AP of the one or more target AP MLDs; determining whether one or more conditions are satisfied; as well as A notification is sent to the non-AP MLD based at least in part on the determination, wherein the notification is associated with the at least one target AP.

16. A non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD), the non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD) comprising: Radio components; and a processor operably coupled to the radio and configured to cause the non-APMLD to: establishing one or more links with the AP MLD, wherein corresponding links of the one or more links operate according to corresponding link-specific operating parameters; sending a query to an access point (AP) MLD, the query requesting information associated with one or more target AP MLDs; receiving the information from the AP MLD, the information including additional information associated with link performance of the one or more target AP MLDs according to the link-specific operating parameters; as well as An indication is sent to the AP MLD to instruct a target AP among the one or more target APs to transition to a hot standby mode.

17. The non-AP MLD of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the non-AP MLD to: At least one of the corresponding link-specific operating parameters is adjusted.

18. The non-AP MLD of claim 16, wherein the link-specific operating parameters include at least one of the following: Power management (PM) operating parameters; Target wake time (TWT) operating parameters; Transaction identifier (TID) to link mapping parameters; Subchannel Selective Send (SST) operating parameters; or Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR) operating parameters.

19. The non-AP MLD of claim 16, wherein the query comprises a common flow classification service (SCS) traffic setting.

20. The non-AP MLD according to claim 19, wherein the information includes one or more identifiers of target AP MLDs among the one or more target AP MLDs that satisfy the common SCS service settings.

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