Apparatus, system, and method of non-collocated multi-link device (MLD) indication

Abstract

For example, an access point (AP) may be configured to set multilink device (MLD) information to indicate that the AP is affiliated to a non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the non-collocated AP MLD includes at least one other AP that is not collocated in the same physical device as the AP. For example, the AP may be configured to transmit a frame including MLD information. For example, a non-AP wireless communication station (STA) may be configured to receive MLD information from the AP, and determine that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD based on the MLD information. For example, the STA may be configured to send a multilink (ML) probe request to the AP. For example, the ML probe request may be configured to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects described herein generally relate to non - collocated multi - link device (MLD) indication. Background Art

[0002] Some wireless communication networks can provide high - throughput data to users of wireless communication devices.

[0003] For example, devices in a wireless communication system can be configured to communicate according to a communication protocol that can be configured to support high - throughput data for users of wireless communication devices. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity of presentation. Additionally, reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements. The drawings are listed below.

[0005] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustration of a system according to some illustrative aspects.

[0006] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a multi - link communication scheme that can be implemented according to some illustrative aspects.

[0007] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a multi - link communication scheme that can be implemented according to some illustrative aspects.

[0008] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a non - collocated access point (AP) multi - link device (MLD) according to some illustrative aspects.

[0009] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart illustration of a non - collocated MLD indication method according to some illustrative aspects.

[0010] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart illustration of a non - collocated MLD indication method according to some illustrative aspects.

[0011] Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of an article of manufacture according to some illustrative aspects. Detailed Description

[0012] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of some aspects. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that some aspects may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well - known methods, procedures, components, units, and / or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the description.

[0013] Discussions in this document that utilize terms such as "process", "calculate", "compute", "determine", "establish", "analyze", "inspect" may refer to (one or more) operations and / or (one or more) processes of a computer, computing platform, computing system, or other electronic computing device, which manipulate and / or transform data represented as a physical (e.g., electronic) quantity in the registers and / or memory of the computer into other data similarly represented as a physical quantity in the registers and / or memory of the computer or in an information storage medium that can store instructions to perform the operations and / or processes.

[0014] As used in this document, the terms "plurality" and "a plurality of" include, for example, "multiple" or "two or more". For example, "a plurality of items" includes two or more items.

[0015] References to "an aspect", "aspects", "exemplary aspects", "various aspects", etc. indicate that the (one or more) aspects so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every aspect necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Additionally, repeated use of the phrase "in one aspect" does not necessarily refer to the same aspect, although it may.

[0016] As used in this document, unless otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc. to describe a common object merely indicates different instances of similar objects are being referenced, and is not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence in terms of time, space, ranking, or in any other way.

[0017] Some aspects can be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, such as, user equipment (UE), mobile device (MD), wireless station (STA), personal computer (PC), desktop computer, mobile computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet computer, server computer, handheld computer, handheld device, wearable device, sensor device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld PDA device, airborne device, non-airborne device, hybrid device, vehicle-mounted device, non-vehicle-mounted device, mobile or portable device, consumer device, non-mobile or non-portable device, wireless communication station, wireless communication device, wireless access point (AP), wired or wireless router, wired or wireless modem, video device, audio device, audio-video (A / V) device, wired or wireless network, wireless area network, wireless video area network (WVAN), local area network (LAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), personal area network (PAN), wireless PAN (WPAN), and so on.

[0018] Some aspects can be used in conjunction with the following devices and / or networks: devices and / or networks operating according to existing IEEE 802.11 standards (including IEEE 802.11-2020 (IEEE 802.11-2020, IEEE Information Technology Standard - Information Exchange and Telecommunications between System Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements; Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, December 2020) and / or IEEE 802.11be (IEEE P802.11be / D2.0 Draft Information Technology Standard - Information Exchange and Telecommunications between System Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements; Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications; Amendment 8: Enhanced Very High Throughput (EHT), May 2022)) and / or their future versions and / or derivatives; devices and / or networks operating according to existing cellular specifications and / or protocols and / or their future versions and / or derivatives; units and / or devices that are part of the above networks, and so on.

[0019] Some aspects can be used in conjunction with the following items: one-way and / or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radiotelephone communication systems, mobile phones, cellular phones, wireless phones, Personal Communication Systems (PCS) devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, devices incorporating GPS receivers or transceivers or chips, devices incorporating RFID elements or chips, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceivers or devices, Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceivers or devices, Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceivers or devices, devices having one or more internal antennas and / or external antennas, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, wired or wireless handheld devices, e.g., smart phones, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) devices, and so on.

[0020] Some aspects can be used in combination with one or more types of wireless communication signals and / or systems, e.g., Radio Frequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), FDM Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO), Spatial Division Multiple Acces (SDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, Single-Carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee TM , Ultra-Wideband (UWB), 4G, fifth-generation (5G), or sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and so on. Other aspects can be used in various other devices, systems, and / or networks.

[0021] As used herein, the term "wireless device" includes, for example, a device capable of wireless communication, a communication device capable of wireless communication, a communication station capable of wireless communication, a portable or non-portable device capable of wireless communication, and the like. In some illustrative aspects, the wireless device may be or may include a peripheral device that can be integrated with or attached to a computer. In some illustrative aspects, the term "wireless device" may optionally include a wireless service.

[0022] As used herein, the term "transmit" with respect to a communication signal includes sending the communication signal and / or receiving the communication signal. For example, a communication unit capable of transmitting a communication signal may include a transmitter that sends the communication signal to at least one other communication unit and / or a communication receiver that receives the communication signal from at least one other communication unit. The verb "transmit" can be used to refer to the action of sending or the action of receiving. In one example, the phrase "transmit a signal" may refer to the action of sending a signal by a first device and may not necessarily include the action of receiving the signal by a second device. In another example, the phrase "transmit a signal" may refer to the action of receiving a signal by a first device and may not necessarily include the action of sending the signal by a second device. The communication signal may be sent and / or received, for example, in the form of a radio frequency (RF) communication signal and / or any other type of signal.

[0023] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, be part of, or include the following: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an integrated circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or grouped) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or grouped) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some aspects, some of the functions associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, the circuit may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware.

[0024] The term "logic" can refer, for example, to computational logic embedded in the circuitry of a computing device and / or stored in the memory of a computing device. For example, the logic can be accessed by a processor of the computing device to execute the computational logic to perform computational functions and / or operations. In one example, the logic can be embedded in various types of memory and / or firmware, such as silicon blocks of various chips and / or processors. The logic can be included in and / or implemented as part of various circuits, which can be, for example, radio circuits, receiver circuits, control circuits, transmitter circuits, transceiver circuits, processor circuits, and so on. In one example, the logic can be embedded in volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory, including random access memory, read-only memory, programmable memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, persistent memory, and so on. The logic can be executed by one or more processors utilizing memory, such as registers, stuck storage, buffers, etc., which are coupled to one or more processors as needed to execute the logic.

[0025] Some illustrative aspects can be used in conjunction with a WLAN, such as, for example, a WiFi network. Other aspects can be used in conjunction with any other suitable wireless communication network, such as, for example, a wireless local area network, a "piconet", a WPAN, a WVAN, and so on.

[0026] Some illustrative aspects can be used with a wireless communication network that communicates in a sub-10 gigahertz (GHz) band (e.g., a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, a 6 GHz band, and / or any other sub-10 GHz band).

[0027] Some illustrative aspects can be used with a wireless communication network that communicates in the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (also referred to as the "millimeter wave (mmWave)" band) (e.g., a band within the band between 20 GHz and 300 GHz, such as, for example, a band above 45 GHz (e.g., a 60 GHz band) and / or any other mmWave band).

[0028] Some illustrative aspects can be used with a wireless communication network that communicates in a sub-10 GHz band and / or an mmWave band, as described below, for example. However, other aspects can be implemented using any other suitable wireless communication frequency band, such as, for example, a 5G band, a sub-20 GHz band, a sub-1 GHz (S1G) band, a WLAN band, a WPAN band, and so on.

[0029] Some illustrative aspects may be implemented by a mmWave STA (mSTA), which may include, for example, a STA having a radio transmitter capable of operating on channels within the mmWave band. In one example, mmWave communication may involve one or more directional links and communicate at rates of multiple gigabits per second, e.g., at least 1 gigabit per second (e.g., at least 7 gigabits per second, at least 30 gigabits per second, or any other rate).

[0030] In some illustrative aspects, the mmWave STA may include a Directional Multi-Gigabit (DMG) STA, which may be configured to communicate on the DMG band. For example, the DMG band may include a band with a channel start frequency higher than 45 GHz.

[0031] In some illustrative aspects, the mmWave STA may include an Enhanced DMG (EDMG) STA, which may be configured to implement one or more mechanisms that may be configured to enable single-user (SU) and / or multi-user (MU) communication of downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL) frames using a MIMO scheme. For example, the EDMG STA may be configured to implement one or more channel bonding mechanisms that may support communication on a channel bandwidth (BW) (also referred to as a “wide channel,” “EDMG channel,” or “bonded channel”) that includes two or more channels, e.g., two or more 2.16 GHz channels. For example, the channel bonding mechanism may include, for example, the following mechanisms and / or operations by which two or more channels (e.g., 2.16 GHz channels) may be combined together, e.g., for a higher packet transmission bandwidth as compared to transmission on a single channel, e.g., to achieve a higher data rate. Some illustrative aspects regarding communication on a channel BW that includes two or more 2.16 GHz channels are described herein, however other aspects may be implemented regarding communication on a channel bandwidth formed by any other number of two or more channels or (e.g., a “wide” channel) (e.g., an aggregated channel that aggregates two or more channels). For example, the EDMG STA may be configured to implement one or more channel bonding mechanisms that may support an increased channel bandwidth, e.g., a 4.32 GHz channel BW, a 6.48 GHz channel BW, an 8.64 GHz channel BW, and / or any other additional or alternative channel BW. The EDMG STA may perform other additional or alternative functions.

[0032] In other aspects, the mmWave STA can include any other type of STA and / or can perform other additional or alternative functions. The other aspects can be implemented by any other device, apparatus, and / or station.

[0033] As used herein, the term "antenna" can include any suitable configuration, structure, and / or arrangement of one or more antenna elements, components, units, assemblies, and / or arrays. In some aspects, the antenna can utilize separate transmit and receive antenna elements to perform the transmit and receive functions. In some aspects, the antenna can utilize common and / or integrated transmit / receive antenna elements to perform the transmit and receive functions. The antenna can include, for example, a phased array antenna, a single-element antenna, a set of switched beam antennas, and the like.

[0034] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 schematically illustrates a system 100 in accordance with some illustrative aspects.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, in some illustrative aspects, the system 100 can include one or more wireless communication devices. For example, the system 100 can include a wireless communication device 102, a wireless communication device 140, a wireless communication device 150, and / or one or more other devices.

[0036] In some illustrative aspects, the devices 102, 140, and / or 150 can include mobile devices or non-mobile (e.g., stationary) devices.

[0037] For example, the devices 102, 140, and / or 150 can include, for example, a UE, an MD, an STA, an AP, a PC, a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an Ultrabook TMComputers, notebook computers, tablet computers, server computers, handheld computers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensor devices, handheld devices, wearable devices, PDA devices, handheld PDA devices, airborne devices, non-airborne devices, hybrid devices (e.g., combining cellular phone functions with PDA device functions), consumer devices, in-vehicle devices, non-in-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, PCS devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable GPS devices, DVB devices, relatively small computing devices, non-desktop computers, "Carry Small Live Large" (CSLL) devices, Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs), Ultra Mobile Personal Computers (UMPCs), Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), "Origami" devices or computing devices, devices supporting Dynamically Composable Computing (DCC), context-aware devices, video devices, audio devices, A / V devices, set-top boxes (STBs), Blu-ray disc (BD) players, BD recorders, Digital Video Disc (DVD) players, High Definition (HD) DVD players, DVD recorders, HDDVD recorders, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), broadcast HD receivers, video sources, audio sources, video sinks, audio sinks, stereo tuners, broadcast radio receivers, flat panel displays, Personal Media Players (PMPs), digital video cameras (DVCs), digital audio players, speakers, audio receivers, audio amplifiers, gaming devices, data sources, data sinks, Digital Still cameras (DSCs), media players, smart phones, televisions, music players, and so on.

[0038] In some illustrative aspects, device 102 may include, for example, one or more of processor 191, input unit 192, output unit 193, memory unit 194, and / or storage unit 195; and / or device 140 may include, for example, one or more of processor 181, input unit 182, output unit 183, memory unit 184, and / or storage unit 185. Device 102 and / or device 140 may optionally include other suitable hardware components and / or software components. In some illustrative aspects, some or all components of one or more of device 102 and / or device 140 may be encapsulated in a common housing or package and may be interconnected or operatively associated using one or more wired or wireless links. In other aspects, the components of one or more of device 102 and / or device 140 may be distributed among multiple or separate devices.

[0039] In some illustrative aspects, processor 191 and / or processor 181 may include, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), one or more processor cores, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a multi-core processor, a microprocessor, a host processor, a controller, multiple processors or controllers, a chip, a microchip, one or more circuits, circuitry, a logic unit, an Integrated Circuit (IC), an Application-Specific IC (ASIC), or any other suitable general-purpose or special-purpose processor or controller. Processor 191 may execute, for example, the operating system (OS) of device 102 and / or instructions of one or more suitable applications. Processor 181 may execute, for example, the operating system (OS) of device 140 and / or instructions of one or more suitable applications.

[0040] In some illustrative aspects, input unit 192 and / or input unit 182 may include, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch screen, a touchpad, a trackball, a stylus, a microphone, or other suitable pointing or input devices. Output unit 193 and / or output unit 183 may include, for example, a monitor, a screen, a touch screen, a flat panel display, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display unit, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display unit, a plasma display unit, one or more audio speakers or headphones, or other suitable output devices.

[0041] In some illustrative aspects, memory unit 194 and / or memory unit 184 include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM), flash memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, cache memory, buffer, short-term memory unit, long-term memory unit, or other suitable memory units. Storage unit 195 and / or storage unit 185 can include, for example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, or other suitable removable or non-removable storage units. Memory unit 194 and / or storage unit 195 can store, for example, data processed by device 102. Memory unit 184 and / or storage unit 185 can store, for example, data processed by device 140.

[0042] In some illustrative aspects, wireless communication devices 102, 140, and / or 150 are capable of transmitting content, data, information, and / or signals via wireless medium (WM) 103. In some illustrative aspects, wireless medium 103 can include, for example, a wireless telecommunications channel, an RF channel, a WiFi channel, a cellular channel, a 5G channel, an IR channel, a Bluetooth (BT) channel, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) channel, and so on.

[0043] In some illustrative aspects, WM 103 can include one or more wireless communication bands and / or channels. For example, WM 103 can include one or more channels in a wireless communication band below 10 GHz, such as one or more channels in the 2.4 GHz wireless communication band, one or more channels in the 5 GHz wireless communication band, and / or one or more channels in the 6 GHz wireless communication band. In another example, WM 103 can additionally or alternatively include one or more channels in a mmWave wireless communication band.

[0044] In other aspects, WM 103 can include any other type of channel on any other frequency band.

[0045] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include one or more radio devices that include circuitry and / or logic to perform wireless communication between device 102, 140, 150, and / or one or more other wireless communication devices. For example, device 102 may include one or more radio devices 114, and / or device 140 may include one or more radio devices 144.

[0046] In some illustrative aspects, radio device 114 and / or radio device 144 may include one or more wireless receivers (Rx) that include circuitry and / or logic to receive wireless communication signals, RF signals, frames, blocks, transport streams, packets, messages, data items, and / or data. For example, radio device 114 may include at least one receiver 116, and / or radio device 144 may include at least one receiver 146.

[0047] In some illustrative aspects, radio device 114 and / or radio device 144 may include one or more wireless transmitters (Tx) that include circuitry and / or logic to transmit wireless communication signals, RF signals, frames, blocks, transport streams, packets, messages, data items, and / or data. For example, radio device 114 may include at least one transmitter 118, and / or radio device 144 may include at least one transmitter 148.

[0048] In some illustrative aspects, radio devices 114 and / or 144, transmitters 118 and / or 148, and / or receivers 116 and / or 146 may include: circuitry; logic; radio frequency (RF) elements, circuitry, and / or logic; baseband elements, circuitry, and / or logic; modulation elements, circuitry, and / or logic; demodulation elements, circuitry, and / or logic; amplifiers; analog-to-digital and / or digital-to-analog converters; filters; and so on. For example, radio devices 114 and / or 144 may include a wireless network interface card (NIC) and so on or may be implemented as part of a NIC and so on.

[0049] In some illustrative aspects, radio devices 114 and / or 144 may be configured to communicate in the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and / or any other band (e.g., a directional band, e.g., the mmWave band, 5G band, S1G band, and / or any other band).

[0050] In some illustrative aspects, radio devices 114 and / or 144 may include or may be associated with one or more (e.g., multiple) antennas.

[0051] In some illustrative aspects, device 102 may include one or more antennas 107 (e.g., a single antenna 107 or multiple antennas 107), and / or device 140 may include one or more antennas 147 (e.g., a single antenna 147 or multiple antennas 147).

[0052] Antenna 107 and / or 147 may include any type of antenna suitable for transmitting and / or receiving wireless communication signals, blocks, frames, transport streams, packets, messages, and / or data. For example, antenna 107 and / or 147 may include any suitable configuration, structure, and / or arrangement of one or more antenna elements, components, units, assemblies, and / or arrays. In some aspects, antenna 107 and / or 147 may utilize separate transmit and receive antenna elements to implement transmit and receive functions. In some aspects, antenna 107 and / or 147 may utilize common and / or integrated transmit / receive elements to implement transmit and receive functions.

[0053] In some illustrative aspects, device 102 may include controller 124, and / or device 140 may include controller 154. Controller 124 may be configured to perform and / or trigger, cause, direct, and / or control device 102 to perform one or more communications to generate and / or transmit one or more messages and / or transmissions, and / or perform one or more functions, operations, and / or processes between device 102, 140, 150, and / or one or more other devices; and / or controller 154 may be configured to perform and / or trigger, cause, direct, and / or control device 140 to perform one or more communications to generate and / or transmit one or more messages and / or transmissions, and / or perform one or more functions, operations, and / or processes between device 102, 140, 150, and / or one or more other devices, as described below for example.

[0054] In some illustrative aspects, controller 124 and / or 154 may include or may be implemented in whole or in part by circuitry and / or logic such as, for example, one or more processors including circuitry and / or logic, memory circuitry and / or logic, Media-Access Control (MAC) circuitry and / or logic, Physical Layer (PHY) circuitry and / or logic, baseband (BB) circuitry and / or logic, BB processor, BB memory, Application Processor (AP) circuitry and / or logic, AP processor, AP memory, and / or any other circuitry and / or logic configured to perform the functions of controller 124 and / or 154, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, one or more functions of controller 124 and / or 154 may be implemented by logic executable by a machine and / or one or more processors, as described below, for example.

[0055] In one example, controller 124 may include circuitry and / or logic such as, for example, one or more processors including circuitry and / or logic, to cause, trigger, and / or control a wireless device (e.g., device 102) and / or a wireless station (e.g., a wireless STA implemented by device 102) to perform one or more operations, communications, and / or functions as described herein, for example. In one example, controller 124 may include at least one memory, e.g., the at least one memory is coupled to one or more processors, e.g., the at least one memory may be configured to store (e.g., store at least temporarily) at least some of the information processed by one or more processors and / or circuitry, and / or the at least one memory may be configured to store the logic to be utilized by the processors and / or circuitry.

[0056] In one example, controller 154 may include circuitry and / or logic such as, for example, one or more processors including circuitry and / or logic, to cause, trigger, and / or control a wireless device (e.g., device 140) and / or a wireless station (e.g., a wireless STA implemented by device 140) to perform one or more operations, communications, and / or functions as described herein, for example. In one example, controller 154 may include at least one memory, e.g., the at least one memory is coupled to one or more processors, e.g., the at least one memory may be configured to store (e.g., store at least temporarily) at least some of the information processed by one or more processors and / or circuitry, and / or the at least one memory may be configured to store the logic to be utilized by the processors and / or circuitry.

[0057] In some illustrative aspects, at least some of the functionality of controller 124 may be implemented as part of one or more elements of radio device 114, and / or at least some of the functionality of controller 154 may be implemented as part of one or more elements of radio device 144.

[0058] In other aspects, the functionality of controller 124 may be implemented as part of any other element of device 102, and / or the functionality of controller 154 may be implemented as part of any other element of device 140.

[0059] In some illustrative aspects, device 102 may include a message processor 128 that is configured to generate, process, and / or access one or more messages transmitted by device 102.

[0060] In one example, message processor 128 may be configured to generate one or more messages to be sent by device 102, and / or message processor 128 may be configured to access and / or process one or more messages received by device 102, as described below, for example.

[0061] In one example, message processor 128 may include: at least one first component configured to generate messages (e.g., in the form of frames, fields, information elements, and / or protocol data units), such as MAC protocol data units (MPDUs); at least one second component configured to convert the messages into PHY protocol data units (PPDUs), e.g., by processing the messages generated by at least one first component, e.g., by encoding the messages, modulating the messages, and / or performing any other additional or alternative processing on the messages; and / or at least one third component configured to cause the messages to be transmitted over a wireless communication medium (e.g., over a wireless communication channel in a wireless communication band), e.g., by applying one or more transmit waveforms to one or more fields of the PPDU. In other aspects, message processor 128 may be configured to perform any other additional or alternative functions, and / or may include any other additional or alternative components to generate and / or process messages to be sent.

[0062] In some illustrative aspects, device 140 may include a message processor 158 that is configured to generate, process, and / or access one or more messages transmitted by device 140.

[0063] In one example, message processor 158 may be configured to generate one or more messages to be sent by device 140, and / or message processor 158 may be configured to access and / or process one or more messages received by device 140, as described below, for example.

[0064] In one example, the message processor 158 may include: at least one first component configured to generate a message (e.g., in the form of a frame, field, information element, and / or protocol data unit), such as an MPDU; at least one second component configured to convert the message into a PPDU, e.g., by processing the message generated by the at least one first component, such as by encoding the message, modulating the message, and / or performing any other additional or alternative processing on the message; and / or at least one third component configured to cause the message to be transmitted over a wireless communication medium (e.g., over a wireless communication channel in a wireless communication band), such as by applying one or more transmit waveforms to one or more fields of the PPDU. In other aspects, the message processor 158 may be configured to perform any other additional or alternative functions, and / or may include any other additional or alternative components to generate and / or process the message to be transmitted.

[0065] In some illustrative aspects, the message processor 128 and / or 158 may include or may be implemented in whole or in part by circuitry and / or logic such as one or more processors, memory circuitry and / or logic, MAC circuitry and / or logic, PHY circuitry and / or logic, BB circuitry and / or logic, BB processor, BB memory, AP circuitry and / or logic, AP processor, AP memory, and / or any other circuitry and / or logic configured to perform the functions of the message processor 128 and / or 158, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, one or more functions of the message processor 128 and / or 158 may be implemented by logic that may be executed by a machine and / or one or more processors, as described below.

[0066] In some illustrative aspects, at least a portion of the functions of the message processor 128 may be implemented as part of the radio device 114, and / or at least a portion of the functions of the message processor 158 may be implemented as part of the radio device 144.

[0067] In some illustrative aspects, at least a portion of the functions of the message processor 128 may be implemented as part of the controller 124, and / or at least a portion of the functions of the message processor 158 may be implemented as part of the controller 154.

[0068] In other aspects, the functions of the message processor 128 may be implemented as part of any other element of the device 102, and / or the functions of the message processor 158 may be implemented as part of any other element of the device 140.

[0069] In some illustrative aspects, at least some of the functionality of controller 124 and / or message processor 128 can be implemented by an integrated circuit, e.g., a chip, such as a system on a chip (SoC). In one example, the chip or SoC can be configured to perform one or more functions of one or more radio devices 114. For example, the chip or SoC can include one or more elements of controller 124, one or more elements of message processor 128, and / or one or more elements of one or more radio devices 114. In one example, controller 124, message processor 128, and one or more radio devices 114 can be implemented as part of a chip or SoC.

[0070] In other aspects, controller 124, message processor 128, and / or one or more radio devices 114 can be implemented by one or more additional or alternative elements of device 102.

[0071] In some illustrative aspects, at least some of the functionality of controller 154 and / or message processor 158 can be implemented by an integrated circuit, e.g., a chip, such as an SoC. In one example, the chip or SoC can be configured to perform one or more functions of one or more radio devices 144. For example, the chip or SoC can include one or more elements of controller 154, one or more elements of message processor 158, and / or one or more elements of one or more radio devices 144. In one example, controller 154, message processor 158, and one or more radio devices 144 can be implemented as part of a chip or SoC.

[0072] In other aspects, controller 154, message processor 158, and / or one or more radio devices 144 can be implemented by one or more additional or alternative elements of device 140.

[0073] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 can include one or more STAs, operate as one or more STAs, act as one or more STAs, and / or perform one or more functions of one or more STAs. For example, device 102 can include at least one STA, device 140 can include at least one STA, and / or device 150 can include at least one STA.

[0074] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include one or more extremely high throughput (EHT) STAs, operate as one or more EHT STAs, function as one or more EHT STAs, and / or perform one or more functions of one or more EHT STAs. For example, device 102 may include one or more EHT STAs, operate as one or more EHT STAs, function as one or more EHT STAs, and / or perform one or more functions of one or more EHT STAs, and / or device 140 may include one or more EHT STAs, operate as one or more EHT STAs, function as one or more EHT STAs, and / or perform one or more functions of one or more EHT STAs.

[0075] In some illustrative aspects, for example, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 may be configured to perform one or more operations and / or functions of a WiFi 8 STA.

[0076] In other aspects, for example, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 may be configured to perform one or more operations and / or functions of an ultra-high reliability (UHR) STA.

[0077] In other aspects, for example, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 may be configured to perform one or more operations and / or functions of any other additional or alternative type of STA.

[0078] In other aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include any other wireless device and / or station, operate as any other wireless device and / or station, function as any other wireless device and / or station, and / or perform one or more functions of any other wireless device and / or station, where any other wireless device and / or station is, for example, a WLAN STA, a WiFi STA, and so on.

[0079] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may be configured to operate as an Access Point (AP), function as an AP, and / or perform one or more functions of an AP, such as an EHT AP STA.

[0080] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may be configured to operate as a non-AP STA, function as a non-AP STA, and / or perform one or more functions of a non-AP STA, such as an EHT non-AP STA.

[0081] In other aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may operate as any other additional or alternative device and / or station, serve as any other additional or alternative device and / or station, and / or perform one or more functions of any other additional or alternative device and / or station.

[0082] In one example, a station (STA) may include a logical entity that is a singly addressable instance of a media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to a wireless medium (WM). The STA may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0083] In one example, an AP may include an entity that contains a station (STA) and provides access to a distribution service for associated STAs via a wireless medium (WM). The AP may include the STA and a distribution system access function (DSAF). The AP may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0084] In some illustrative aspects, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 may be configured to communicate in an EHT network and / or any other network.

[0085] In some illustrative aspects, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 may be configured to operate according to one or more specifications, such as including one or more IEEE 802.11 specifications, e.g., the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification, the IEEE802.11be specification, and / or any other specification and / or protocol.

[0086] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include one or more multi-link logical entities, operate as one or more multi-link logical entities, perform the role of one or more multi-link logical entities, and / or perform the functions of one or more multi-link logical entities, as described below, for example.

[0087] In other aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include any other entity, operate as any other entity, perform the role of any other entity, and / or perform the functions of any other entity, where the any other entity is not a multi-link logical entity, for example.

[0088] For example, a multi-link logical entity may include a logical entity that includes one or more STAs. The logical entity may have a single MAC data service interface and primitives for logical link control (LLC) and a single address associated with the interface, which can be used for communication on the distribution system medium (DSM). For example, the DSM may include a medium or set of media used by the distribution system (DS) for communication between an AP, a mesh gateway, and the portal of an extended service set (ESS). For example, the DS may include a system for interconnecting a set of basic service sets (BSSs) and an integrated local area network (LAN) to create an extended service set (ESS). In one example, the multi-link logical entity may allow STAs within the multi-link logical entity to have the same MAC address. The multi-link entity may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0089] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may include a multi-link device (MLD), operate as an MLD, perform the role of an MLD, and / or perform the functions of an MLD. For example, device 102 may include at least one MLD, operate as at least one MLD, perform the role of at least one MLD, and / or perform the functions of at least one MLD; device 150 may include at least one MLD, operate as at least one MLD, perform the role of at least one MLD, and / or perform the functions of at least one MLD; and / or device 140 may include at least one MLD, operate as at least one MLD, perform the role of at least one MLD, and / or perform the functions of at least one MLD, as described below, for example.

[0090] For example, an MLD may include a device that is a logical entity, has more than one subordinate STA, and has a single MAC service access point (SAP) to the LLC, and the logical entity includes a MAC data service. In one example, an MLD may include a logical entity that is capable of supporting more than one subordinate STA but may also operate using one or more subordinate STAs and has a MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer. The MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0091] In some illustrative aspects, for example, the infrastructure framework may include a multi-link AP logical entity and a multi-link non-AP logical entity, where the multi-link AP logical entity includes an AP (e.g., on one side), and the multi-link non-AP logical entity includes a non-AP (e.g., on the other side).

[0092] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may be configured to operate as an AP MLD, perform the role of an AP MLD, and / or perform one or more functions of an AP MLD.

[0093] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may be configured to operate as a non-AP MLD, perform the role of a non-AP MLD, and / or perform one or more functions of a non-AP MLD.

[0094] In other aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may operate as any other additional or alternative device and / or station, perform the role of any other additional or alternative device and / or station, and / or perform one or more functions of any other additional or alternative device and / or station.

[0095] For example, an AP MLD may include an MLD where each STA belonging to the MLD is an AP. In one example, an AP MLD may include a multi-link logical entity where each STA in the multi-link logical entity is an EHT AP. The AP MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0096] For example, a non-AP MLD may include an MLD where each STA belonging to the MLD is a non-AP STA. In one example, a non-AP MLD may include a multi-link logical entity where each STA in the multi-link logical entity is a non-AP EHT STA. The non-AP MLD may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0097] In one example, the multi-link infrastructure framework may be configured as an extension of the operation of a link between two STAs (e.g., an AP and a non-AP STA).

[0098] In some illustrative aspects, controller 124 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control device 102 to operate as an AP MLD 131, perform the role of an AP MLD 131, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an AP MLD 131, where the AP MLD 131 includes multiple AP STAs 133, such as including AP STA 135, AP STA 137, and / or AP STA 139. In some aspects, as Figure 1 shown, the AP MLD 131 may include three AP STAs. In other aspects, the AP MLD 131 may include any other number of AP STAs.

[0099] In one example, AP STA 135, AP STA 137, and / or AP STA 139 may operate as an EHT AP STA, perform the role of an EHT AP STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an EHT AP STA. In other aspects, AP STA 135, AP STA 137, and / or AP STA 139 may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0100] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 114 may include, for example, a radio device for communication by AP STA 135 via a first wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 2.4 GHz band), as described below.

[0101] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 114 may include, for example, a radio device for communication by AP STA 137 via a second wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band), as described below.

[0102] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 114 may include, for example, a radio device for communication by AP STA 139 via a third wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 6 GHz band), as described below.

[0103] In some illustrative aspects, the radio device 114 used by AP 133 may be implemented as a separate radio device. In other aspects, the radio device 114 used by AP 133 may be implemented via one or more shared and / or common radio devices and / or radio components.

[0104] In other aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control the device 102 to operate as any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, perform the role of any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, where the any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA may be, for example, a single STA, multiple STAs, and / or a non-MLD entity.

[0105] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control the device 140 to operate as an MLD 151, perform the role of an MLD 151, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an MLD 151, where the MLD 151 includes a plurality of STAs 153, such as including STA 155, STA 157, and / or STA 159. In some aspects, asFigure 1 As shown, the MLD 151 may include three STAs. In other aspects, the MLD 151 may include any other number of STAs.

[0106] In one example, the STA 155, STA 157, and / or STA 159 may operate as an EHT STA, perform the role of an EHT STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an EHT STA. In other aspects, the STA 155, STA 157, and / or STA 159 may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0107] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 144 may include, for example, radio devices for communication by the STA 155 via a first wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 2.4 GHz band), as described below.

[0108] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 144 may include, for example, radio devices for communication by the STA 157 via a second wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band), as described below.

[0109] In some illustrative aspects, for example, one or more radio devices 144 may include, for example, radio devices for communication by the STA 159 via a third wireless communication frequency channel and / or frequency band (e.g., the 6 GHz band), as described below.

[0110] In some illustrative aspects, the radio device 144 used by the STA 153 may be implemented as a separate radio device. In other aspects, the radio device 144 used by the STA 153 may be implemented via one or more shared and / or common radio devices and / or radio components.

[0111] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control the MLD 151 to operate as a non-AP MLD, perform the role of a non-AP MLD, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of a non-AP MLD. For example, the STA 155, STA 157, and / or STA 159 may operate as a non-AP EHT STA, perform the role of a non-AP EHT STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of a non-AP EHT STA.

[0112] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control the MLD 151 to operate as an AP MLD, perform the role of an AP MLD, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an AP MLD. For example, the STA 155, STA 157, and / or STA 159 may operate as an AP EHT STA, perform the role of an AP EHT STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an AP EHT STA.

[0113] In other aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to cause, trigger, indicate, and / or control the device 140 to operate as any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, perform the role of any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA, where the any other additional or alternative entity and / or STA may be, for example, a single STA, multiple STAs, and / or a non-MLD entity.

[0114] In some illustrative aspects, the device 150 may be configured to operate as one or more APs, perform the role of one or more APs, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of one or more APs, where the one or more APs include, for example, the AP STA 152.

[0115] In some illustrative aspects, the device 150 may be configured to operate as an AP MLD, perform the role of an AP MLD, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an AP MLD, where the AP MLD includes the AP STA 152.

[0116] In one example, the AP STA 152 may operate as an EHT AP STA, perform the role of an EHT AP STA, and / or perform one or more operations and / or functions of an EHT AP STA. In other aspects, the AP STA 152 may perform any other additional or alternative functions.

[0117] See Figure 2 , Figure 2 schematically shows a multi-link communication scheme 200 that may be implemented according to some illustrative aspects.

[0118] As Figure 2 shown, the first multi-link logical entity 202 (“multi-link logical entity 1”) (e.g., the first MLD) may include multiple STAs, such as STA 212, STA 214, and STA 216. In one example, the AP MLD 131 ( Figure 1)One or more operations, one or more functions, roles, and / or functions of the multi-link logical entity 202 can be performed.

[0119] As Figure 2 shown, the second multi-link logical entity 240 (“multi-link logical entity 2”) (e.g., the second MLD) can include multiple STAs, such as including STA 252, STA 254, and STA 256. In one example, the MLD 151 ( Figure 1 ) can perform one or more operations, one or more functions, roles, and / or functions of the multi-link logical entity 240.

[0120] As Figure 2 shown, the multi-link logical entity 202 and the multi-link logical entity 240 can be configured to form multiple links, set multiple links, and / or communicate through multiple links, and the multiple links can include, for example, the link 272 between the STA 212 and the STA 252, the link 274 between the STA 214 and the STA 254, and / or the link 276 between the STA 216 and the STA 256.

[0121] See Figure 3 , Figure 3 schematically shows a multi-link communication scheme 300 that can be implemented according to some illustrative aspects.

[0122] As Figure 3 shown, the multi-link AP logical entity 302 (e.g., the AP MLD) can include multiple AP STAs, such as including AP STA 312, AP STA 314, and AP STA 316. In one example, the AP MLD 131 ( Figure 1 ) can perform one or more operations, one or more functions, roles, and / or functions of the multi-link AP logical entity 302.

[0123] As Figure 3 shown, the multi-link non-AP logical entity 340 (e.g., the non-AP MLD) can include multiple non-AP STAs, such as including non-AP STA 352, non-AP STA 354, and non-AP STA 356. In one example, the MLD 151 ( Figure 1 ) can perform one or more operations, one or more functions, roles, and / or functions of the multi-link non-AP logical entity 340.

[0124] As Figure 3As shown, the multi-link AP logical entity 302 and the multi-link non-AP logical entity 340 can be configured to form multiple links, set multiple links, and / or communicate over multiple links, such as the link 372 between the AP STA 312 and the non-AP STA 352, the link 374 between the AP STA 314 and the non-AP STA 354, and / or the link 376 between the AP STA 316 and the non-AP STA 356.

[0125] For example, as Figure 3 shown, the multi-link AP logical entity 302 can include a multi-band AP MLD, which can be configured to communicate over multiple wireless communication bands. For example, as Figure 3 shown, the AP STA 312 can be configured to communicate over the 2.4 GHz band, the AP STA 314 can be configured to communicate over the 5 GHz band, and / or the AP STA 316 can be configured to communicate over the 6 GHz band. In other aspects, the AP STA 312, the AP STA 314, and / or the AP STA 316 can be configured to communicate over any other additional or alternative wireless communication bands.

[0126] Returning to Figure 1 , in some illustrative aspects, the devices 102, 140, and / or 150 can be configured to perform wireless communication according to a non-collocated MLD operation mechanism, as described below for example.

[0127] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated MLD operation mechanism can be configured to provide a technical solution to support smooth mobility, such as mobility with zero or low latency and / or zero or low packet loss between APs at different locations, as described below for example.

[0128] For example, the non-collocated MLD operation mechanism can be configured to provide a technical solution to support the affiliation of non-collocated APs to the same AP MLD.

[0129] For example, the non-collocated MLD operation mechanism can be configured to provide a technical solution to support the affiliation of non-collocated non-AP STAs to the same non-AP MLD.

[0130] In some illustrative aspects, the collocated AP MLD can include a set of collocated APs, which includes multiple collocated APs.

[0131] In some illustrative aspects, the collocated AP MLD can include an AP MLD as follows, which includes a set of two or more APs collocated in the same physical device.

[0132] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located AP MLD (also referred to as "multi - AP MLD") can include an AP MLD that includes a collection of two or more APs, where at least two APs are not co - located in the same physical device.

[0133] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located AP MLD can include a set of non - co - located APs that includes two or more non - co - located APs.

[0134] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located AP MLD can include one or more co - located AP MLDs.

[0135] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located AP MLD can be configured to have a single MAC SAP to the LLC layer and one MAC data service.

[0136] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located MLD can be defined as an MLD that can have multiple non - co - located subordinate APs.

[0137] In some illustrative aspects, a non - co - located MLD can be defined according to the following MLD definition: allowing all APs in an ESS to belong to the same AP MLD.

[0138] In some illustrative aspects, it can be defined that the same security key can be used for all APs belonging to the same AP MLD, e.g., even if these APs are not co - located.

[0139] In other aspects, the APs in an MLD can use different security keys. For example, the same key can be used within a set of co - located APs, while different keys can be used between different sets of APs.

[0140] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 schematically shows a non - co - located AP MLD 406 that can be implemented according to some illustrative aspects.

[0141] In some illustrative aspects, as Figure 4 shown, the non - co - located AP MLD 406 can include multiple co - located AP MLDs, e.g., including co - located AP MLD 402 and co - located AP MLD 404.

[0142] In one example, the co - located AP MLD 402 can include an AP MLD 131( Figure 1 ). In one example, the co - located AP MLD 404 can include the AP MLD of device 150( Figure 1 ).

[0143] In some illustrative aspects, as Figure 4As shown, the collocated AP MLD 402 may include multiple APs, such as a first AP (denoted as AP1), a second AP (denoted as AP2), and / or a third AP (denoted as AP3), which are collocated in the same physical device (e.g., the first physical device).

[0144] In some illustrative aspects, as Figure 4 shown, the collocated AP MLD 404 may include multiple APs, such as a first AP (denoted as AP4), a second AP (denoted as AP5), and / or a third AP (denoted as AP6), which are collocated in the same physical device (e.g., a second physical device separate from the first physical device).

[0145] In some illustrative aspects, as Figure 4 shown, the non - collocated AP MLD 406 may include the APs of the collocated AP MLD 402 and the APs of the collocated AP MLD 404. For example, the non - collocated AP MLD 406 may include a collocated set 403 (e.g., including AP1, AP2, and AP3) and / or a collocated set 405 (e.g., including AP4, AP5, and AP6).

[0146] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that: a collocated AP set (e.g., each collocated AP set) may have a dedicated AP MLD. For example, as Figure 4 shown, the collocated AP MLD 402 may include a collocated AP set (e.g., including AP1, AP2, and / or AP3); and / or the collocated AP MLD 404 may include a collocated AP set (e.g., including AP4, AP5, and / or AP6).

[0147] In some illustrative aspects, the non - collocated AP MLD (e.g., the non - collocated AP MLD 406) may be defined as a new type of AP MLD that is configured to overlap with one or more existing AP MLDs (e.g., collocated AP MLDs, such as APMLD 402 and AP MLD 404).

[0148] In some illustrative aspects, a non - AP MLD that supports non - collocated MLD operations (e.g., a UHR non - AP MLD) can be associated with a non - collocated AP MLD (e.g., the non - collocated AP MLD 406).

[0149] In some illustrative aspects, a non - AP MLD that does not support non - collocated MLD operations (e.g., an EHT non - AP MLD as a non - UHR non - AP MLD) can be associated with a collocated AP MLD (e.g., the collocated AP MLD 402 and / or the collocated AP MLD 404).

[0150] In some illustrative aspects, a STA that does not support non-collocated MLD operations (e.g., a non-UHR STA) may not be able to understand whether two AP MLDs have the same AP MLD MAC address.

[0151] In some illustrative aspects, a STA that does not support non-collocated MLD operations (e.g., a non-UHR STA) can transition between APs of AP MLD 402 and AP MLD 404, e.g., using the Fast Transition (FT) protocol for the transition.

[0152] In some illustrative aspects, non-collocated MLD operations can be configured to support backward compatibility, e.g., in the presence of one or more STAs (e.g., STAs compliant with the 802.11be specification) that may not support non-collocated MLD operations.

[0153] For example, non-collocated MLD operations can be implemented by a UHR STA. According to this example, non-collocated MLD operations can be configured to support backward compatibility, e.g., in the presence of non-UHR STAs.

[0154] Returning to Figure 1 , in some illustrative aspects, devices 102, 140, and / or 150 can be configured to implement a non-collocated MLD operation mechanism, which can be configured to use MLD information to discover / advertise non-collocated MLDs, e.g., as described below.

[0155] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 can be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or indicate the AP setup MLD information implemented by the device 102 to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, e.g., as described below.

[0156] In some illustrative aspects, a non-collocated AP MLD can include at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device 102, e.g., as described below.

[0157] In some illustrative aspects, a non-collocated AP MLD can have a single MAC SAP to the LLC layer and one MAC data service.

[0158] In some illustrative aspects, a non-collocated AP MLD can include one or more collocated AP MLDs, e.g., as described below.

[0159] In some illustrative aspects, a collocated AP MLD can include a set of collocated APs that includes multiple collocated APs, e.g., as described above.

[0160] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to transmit a frame including MLD information, as described below.

[0161] In some illustrative aspects, the frame may include a beacon frame.

[0162] In some illustrative aspects, the frame may include a probe response frame.

[0163] In other aspects, the frame may include any other type of frame.

[0164] In some illustrative aspects, the MLD information in the frame may be configured to indicate that the AP belongs to both a non-collocated AP MLD and a collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0165] For example, the MLD information transmitted by the AP implemented by the device 102 may indicate that the AP is part of the collocated AP MLD 131 and a non-collocated AP MLD, e.g., the non-collocated AP MLD includes the collocated AP MLD 131 and an AP that does not belong to the device 102 (e.g., AP 152).

[0166] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set the MLD information in the MLD parameter field of the frame, as described below.

[0167] In some illustrative aspects, the frame may include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element, as described below.

[0168] In some illustrative aspects, the RNR element may include a neighbor AP information field that includes a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field, as described below.

[0169] In some illustrative aspects, the TBTT information field may include an MLD parameter field, as described below.

[0170] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame, e.g., to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0171] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set an MLD identifier (ID) and a non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field of the frame, as described below.

[0172] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field can be configured to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD will be identified, for example, based on a combination of the MLD ID and the non-collocated AP MLD flag, as described below.

[0173] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 can be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set, in the MLD parameter field, the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD that belongs to the AP, as described below.

[0174] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 can be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set the non-collocated AP MLD flag to a predefined value, for example, to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD will be identified by the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0175] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 can be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set the non-collocated AP MLD flag to a flag value, for example, to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD will be identified by the non-collocated AP MLD ID, as described below.

[0176] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD ID can be based on, for example, the sum of the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and a gap value, as described below.

[0177] In some illustrative aspects, the gap value can be based on, for example, the flag value, as described below.

[0178] In other aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD ID can be determined based on any other calculations and / or definitions applied to the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and the flag value.

[0179] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 can be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set a first MLD parameter field and a second MLD parameter field in the frame, as described below.

[0180] In some illustrative aspects, the first MLD parameter field can be configured to include a first MLD ID to identify the collocated AP MLD that belongs to the AP, as described below.

[0181] In some illustrative aspects, the second MLD parameter field can be configured to include a second MLD ID to identify the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0182] For example, the first MLD parameter field may include a first MLD ID to identify the AP MLD 131, and the second MLD parameter field may include a second MLD ID to identify the non-collocated MLD to which the AP MLD 131 belongs.

[0183] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the multi-link element (MLE) of a frame, e.g., to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0184] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD in the MLE.

[0185] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set the AP MLD MAC address of the non-collocated AP MLD in the MLE, as described below.

[0186] In other aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set any other additional or alternative information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD in the MLE.

[0187] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set a non-collocated AP MLD information field in the common information field of the MLE, as described below.

[0188] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD information field in the common information field of the MLE may include the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD, the AP MLD MAC address of the non-collocated AP MLD, and / or any other additional or alternative information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0189] In some illustrative aspects, the MLE may include information about the collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP, as described below.

[0190] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set a first MLE and a second MLE in a frame, as described below.

[0191] In some illustrative aspects, the first MLE may include information about the collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP, as described below.

[0192] In some illustrative aspects, the second MLE may include information of a non - collocated AP MLD, as described below for example.

[0193] For example, the first MLE may include information of AP MLD 131, and the second MLE may include information of the non - collocated AP MLD to which AP MLD 131 belongs.

[0194] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to set an RNR element in a frame to announce all APs as follows: these APs belong to the same AP MLD and are part of the same collocated AP set in which the AP is located, as described below for example.

[0195] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to process a multi - link (ML) probe request from a non - AP STA, as described below for example.

[0196] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to identify that a non - collocated AP MLD is the target of an ML probe request, for example, based on the MLD ID in the ML probe request, as described below for example.

[0197] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to send an ML probe response to the non - AP STA, as described below for example.

[0198] In some illustrative aspects, the ML probe response may include information of one or more APs belonging to a non - collocated AP MLD, as described below for example.

[0199] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to identify the reported APs to be reported in the ML probe response, for example, based on the link ID field in the ML probe request, as described below for example.

[0200] For example, the AP implemented by the device 102 may identify that AP 152 is to be reported as a reported AP included in the ML probe response.

[0201] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, prompt, and / or instruct the AP implemented by the device 102 to include information corresponding to the reported APs in the ML probe response, as described below for example.

[0202] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 124 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the AP implemented by the device 102 to set fields in the ML probe response, for example, to indicate whether the ML probe response includes information of all APs affiliated with a non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0203] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to process MLD information in frames from the AP, as described below.

[0204] In some illustrative aspects, frames from the AP may include beacon frames.

[0205] In some illustrative aspects, frames from the AP may include probe response frames.

[0206] In other aspects, frames from the AP may include any other suitable type of frame.

[0207] In some illustrative aspects, the MLD information may include MLD information sent by the AP implemented by the device 102.

[0208] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, for example, based on the MLD information in the frame from the AP, as described below.

[0209] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD may include at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device, as described below.

[0210] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD may include one or more collocated AP MLDs, as described below.

[0211] In some illustrative aspects, the collocated AP MLD may include a set of collocated APs that includes multiple collocated APs, as described below.

[0212] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to send an ML probe request to the AP, as described below.

[0213] In some illustrative aspects, the ML probe request may be configured to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0214] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to identify that the AP belongs to both a non-collocated AP MLD and a collocated AP MLD, e.g., based on MLD information from the AP, as described below.

[0215] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, e.g., based on a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of a frame from the AP, as described below.

[0216] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to identify the MLD information in the MLD parameter field of a frame, as described below.

[0217] In some illustrative aspects, a frame received from an AP may include an RNR element, as described below.

[0218] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to process the RNR element in a frame to identify all APs that belong to the same AP MLD and are part of the same collocated AP set in which the AP is located, as described below.

[0219] In some illustrative aspects, the RNR element may include a neighbor AP information field that includes a TBTT information field that includes an MLD parameter field, as described below.

[0220] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to process the MLD parameter field of a frame to determine to identify a non-collocated AP MLD, e.g., based on a combination of the MLD ID and the non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field, as described below.

[0221] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to identify that the MLD parameter field includes an MLD ID belonging to the collocated AP MLD of the AP, as described below.

[0222] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct a non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine that a non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD, e.g., based on determining that the non-collocated AP MLD flag has a predefined value, as described below, for example.

[0223] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct a non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine that a non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by a non-collocated AP MLD ID, which may be based on the sum of the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and a gap value, as described below, for example.

[0224] In some illustrative aspects, the gap value may be based on the flag value of the non-collocated AP MLD flag, as described below, for example.

[0225] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct a non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to process a first MLD parameter field and a second MLD parameter field in a frame, as described below, for example.

[0226] In some illustrative aspects, the first MLD parameter field may include a first MLD ID for identifying a collocated AP MLD affiliated with an AP.

[0227] In some illustrative aspects, the second MLD parameter field may include a second MLD ID for identifying a non-collocated AP MLD.

[0228] For example, the first MLD parameter field may include an MLD ID for identifying AP MLD 131, and the second MLD parameter field may include an MLD ID for identifying the non-collocated AP MLD to which AP MLD 131 belongs.

[0229] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct a non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine that an AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, e.g., based on a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLE of a frame, as described below, for example.

[0230] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or direct a non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to process the MLE to identify the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD, the AP MLD MAC address of the non-collocated AP MLD, and / or any other additional or alternative information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below, for example.

[0231] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the non-collocated AP MLD information field in the common information field of the MLE implemented by the device 140 for non-AP STAs, as described below.

[0232] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD information field may include the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD, the AP MLD MAC address of the non-collocated AP MLD, and / or any other additional or alternative information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0233] In some illustrative aspects, the MLE of a frame from the AP may include information on the collocated AP MLD affiliated with the AP, as described below.

[0234] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the device 140 to implement the first MLE and the second MLE in a frame for non-AP STAs, as described below.

[0235] In some illustrative aspects, the first MLE may include information on the collocated AP MLD affiliated with the AP, as described below.

[0236] In some illustrative aspects, the second MLE may include information on the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0237] For example, the first MLE may include information on the AP MLD 131, and the second MLE may include information on the non-collocated AP MLD to which the AP MLD 131 belongs.

[0238] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the device 140 to implement a non-AP STA to set the MLD ID in the ML probe request to be sent to the AP, as described below.

[0239] In some illustrative aspects, the MLD ID may be configured to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is the target of the ML probe request, as described below.

[0240] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or indicate the device 140 to implement a non-AP STA to process the ML probe response from the AP, as described below.

[0241] In some illustrative aspects, the ML probe response from the AP may include information on one or more APs affiliated with the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below.

[0242] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to set the link ID field in the ML probe request to identify the reported AP to be reported in the ML probe response, as described below, for example.

[0243] In some illustrative aspects, the controller 154 may be configured to control, trigger, cause, and / or instruct the non-AP STA implemented by the device 140 to determine whether the ML probe response includes information about all APs belonging to the non-collocated AP MLD, for example, based on a field in the ML probe response, as described below, for example.

[0244] In some illustrative aspects, the device 102, the device 140, and / or the device 150 may be configured to implement a non-collocated MLD operation mechanism to coordinate the discovery / advertisement of the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below, for example.

[0245] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated MLD operation mechanism may define one or more discovery aspects to support the discovery of APs in the non-collocated AP MLD, as described below, for example.

[0246] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that an AP in the ESS (e.g., each AP) may belong to two AP MLDs (e.g., a collocated AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD).

[0247] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated AP MLD may be defined as a multi-AP MLD, and the multi-AP MLD may be defined to include a set of AP MLDs. For example, an AP MLD may belong to a non-collocated multi-AP MLD, and the APs belonging to the AP MLD may be defined (e.g., naturally defined) as part of the non-collocated multi-AP MLD.

[0248] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that an AP (e.g., each AP) may advertise the collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs and the non-collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs, for example, in a beacon / probe response frame sent by the AP. For example, the advertised collocated AP MLD may include different AP MLDs at different locations, and / or the non-collocated AP MLD may include the same AP MLD of all APs in the ESS.

[0249] In some illustrative aspects, the non-collocated MLD operation mechanism may define one or more advertisement rules, as described below, for example.

[0250] In some illustrative aspects, one or more advertisement rules can be configured to modify, add, and / or replace one or more advertisement rules defined for collocated AP MLD operations, as described below for example.

[0251] For example, the advertisement rule for collocated AP MLD (e.g., according to the 802.11be specification) can define that all APs belonging to the same AP MLD are advertised in the RNR in the beacon / probe response of each belonging AP. According to this definition, the beacon / probe response of each belonging AP can include an MLE to describe the AP MLD. For example, the MLE can include the MLD MAC address of the AP MLD and / or any other additional or alternative information used to describe the AP MLD.

[0252] In some illustrative aspects, in the case of non - collocated AP MLD, the non - collocated AP MLD can include a relatively large number (e.g., a large number) of APs.

[0253] Therefore, in some aspects, the advertisement rule for advertisement of non - collocated AP MLD can be relaxed, as described below for example.

[0254] In some illustrative aspects, the non - collocated MLD operation mechanism can define an advertisement rule that can define that all APs that belong to the same AP MLD and are part of the same collocated AP set where the reporting AP (e.g., the AP that sends the frame) is located can be (e.g., should be) advertised in the RNR element in the beacon and / or probe response frame sent by the reporting AP.

[0255] In some illustrative aspects, other APs belonging to the non - collocated AP MLD can be optionally and / or selectively (e.g., not mandatorily) included in the beacon and / or probe response frame of the reporting AP.

[0256] In some illustrative aspects, the advertisement rule can define that an AP belonging to a collocated AP MLD can belong to a non - collocated AP MLD.

[0257] In some illustrative aspects, it can be defined that for an AP belonging to a collocated AP MLD, it is preferably to include only one TBTT information field, for example instead of two information fields. For example, the TBTT information field can include one or more different MLD parameter fields.

[0258] In one example, the TBTT information field can be configured to include an MLD parameter field for a collocated AP MLD and an MLD parameter field for a non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the MLD parameter field for a collocated AP MLD can include the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD, a link ID, and / or any other additional information of the collocated AP MLD. For example, the MLD parameter field for a non-collocated AP MLD can include the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD (e.g., different from the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD), a link ID, and / or any other additional information of the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0259] In some illustrative aspects, the advertisement rule can define that the MLD parameter field is to include a non-collocated AP MLD flag field. For example, the non-collocated AP MLD flag field can be used in combination with, for example, the MLD ID, for example, to identify a non-collocated AP MLD or a collocated AP MLD. According to this example, both the non-collocated AP MLD and the collocated AP MLD can (e.g., will) have the same MLD ID.

[0260] In one example, the TBTT information field can be configured to include the MLD parameter field for a collocated AP MLD. For example, the MLD parameter field can include a non-collocated AP MLD flag, which indicates that the AP is part of a non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the same MLD ID and / or link ID can be used for both the non-collocated AP MLD and the collocated AP MLD. For example, an STA can include the MLD ID and the non-collocated AP MLD flag in an association request, for example, to distinguish between a collocated AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD.

[0261] In some illustrative aspects, the advertisement rule can define that a reserved bit in the MLD parameter field is to include a non-collocated MLD ID gap. For example, the MLD ID gap can correspond to the difference between the MLD ID of a non-collocated AP MLD and the MLD ID of a collocated AP MLD. For example, a non-zero value can be set to the non-collocated MLD ID gap, for example, to indicate that the AP belongs to both the collocated AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the non-zero value of the non-collocated MLD ID gap can, for example, indicate that the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD is the value indicated in the MLD ID field, and the MLD ID of the non-collocated AP MLD is the sum of the MLD ID field and the non-collocated MLD ID gap.

[0262] In one example, the TBTT information field may be configured to include an MLD parameter field that includes the MLD ID of the co-located AP MLD. For example, the MLD parameter field may include: a non-co-located AP MLD flag that indicates that the AP is part of a non-co-located AP MLD; and a non-co-located MLD ID gap that is set to indicate the non-co-located MLD ID relative to the MLD ID of the co-located AP MLD.

[0263] In some illustrative aspects, a co-located AP that is part of a co-located AP MLD may be advertised in an RNR element, e.g., according to one or more advertisement rules defined in the 802.11be specification.

[0264] In some illustrative aspects, the advertisement rules may require that any other information related to a non-co-located AP MLD not be advertised in the RNR element and that all information related to the non-co-located AP MLD be included in the ML element, as described below, for example. For example, a co-located AP that is part of a co-located AP MLD may be advertised according to the advertisement rules defined in the 802.11be specification.

[0265] In some illustrative aspects, device 102, device 140, and / or device 150 may be configured to implement an ML element advertisement mechanism, as described below, for example.

[0266] In some illustrative aspects, the ML element advertisement mechanism may define an ML element configuration to support non-co-located MLD operations, as described below, for example.

[0267] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that, for example, in addition to the ML element of the co-located AP MLD, the ML element of the non-co-located AP MLD is also to be included in the beacon and / or probe response frames sent by the AP belonging to the AP MLD (e.g., in each beacon and each probe response frame).

[0268] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that the ML element is to include an explicit indication (non-co-located AP MLD indication) that indicates that the AP MLD is a non-co-located AP MLD and that all AP MLDs are not advertised.

[0269] In some illustrative aspects, the explicit non-co-located AP MLD indication may be included in the ML element that describes the AP MLD.

[0270] In some illustrative aspects, the explicit non-co-located AP MLD indication may be included in the RNR.

[0271] In other aspects, the explicit indication may be included in any other additional or alternative type of element and / or field.

[0272] In some illustrative aspects, an explicit non - collocated AP MLD indication may be configured to indicate that all APs are advertised, for example, in cases where all APs are advertised via ML elements.

[0273] In some illustrative aspects, an explicit non - collocated AP MLD indication may include one or more fields.

[0274] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that ML elements describing non - collocated AP MLD are not included in beacons and / or probe response frames sent by APs belonging to non - collocated AP MLD.

[0275] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that ML elements describing collocated AP MLD are to include an explicit indication that is configured to indicate that there also exists non - collocated AP MLD that includes collocated AP MLD but is not advertised here. For example, this definition may be used, for example, based on the condition that all APs belonging to collocated AP MLD also belong to non - collocated AP MLD.

[0276] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that an ML element may (e.g., will) include the non - collocated AP MLD MAC address and / or MLD ID of non - collocated AP MLD, for example, if the MLD ID of non - collocated AP MLD is different from the MLD ID of collocated AP MLD.

[0277] For example, a new sub - field (e.g., "non - collocated MLD information" field) may be added, for example, to the common information field of the ML element. For example, the non - collocated MLD information field may be defined to contain one or more of the following items: non - collocated AP MLD MAC address field, MLD ID field, and / or any other additional or alternative information field corresponding to non - collocated AP MLD.

[0278] In some illustrative aspects, a STA that is not an AP MLD may receive a frame including a non - collocated MLD information field from an AP. For example, based on the information in the non - collocated MLD information field, a STA that is not an AP MLD may (e.g., will) be able to send an ML probe request frame to the AP to request complete information about non - collocated AP MLD.

[0279] In some illustrative aspects, a non - collocated MLD operation mechanism may define the communication of ML probe requests and / or ML probe responses, which may be configured to support non - collocated MLD operations, as described below, for example.

[0280] In some illustrative aspects, a STA that is not an AP MLD may send an ML probe request frame to an AP that is not a co-located AP MLD. For example, by leveraging one or more fields (e.g., the address field) and / or by leveraging the MLD ID of the non-co-located AP MLD to locate the non-co-located AP MLD, as described below, for example.

[0281] For example, the receiver address (RA) field and / or the destination address (DA) field in the ML probe request frame may be set to the basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the AP.

[0282] For example, the probe request frame may include the MLD ID of the non-co-located AP MLD. For example, a STA that is not an AP MLD may derive the MLD ID of the non-co-located AP MLD, for example, based on information in the RNR or ML element in the beacon and / or probe response frame from the AP of the non-co-located AP MLD.

[0283] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that if both the co-located AP MLD and the non-co-located AP MLD have the same MLD ID, then, for example, in addition to the MLD ID, the STA of the non-AP MLD also adds a non-co-located AP MLD flag to the ML probe request frame. For example, the non-co-located AP MLD flag may allow the AP of the non-co-located AP MLD to identify whether the ML probe request frame is for the non-co-located AP MLD or for the co-located AP MLD.

[0284] In some illustrative aspects, the STA of the non-AP MLD may request (e.g., in the ML probe request frame or any other type of frame) all APs to be reported.

[0285] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that the AP of the AP MLD may send only the complete profiles of some APs (e.g., at least the co-located APs), for example, when the STA of the non-AP MLD requests to report all APs.

[0286] In some illustrative aspects, it may be defined that the ML probe response from the AP of the non-co-located AP MLD may include a field (e.g., there may need to be a field) to indicate that not all APs are included in the ML probe response or that all APs are included in the ML probe response.

[0287] In some illustrative aspects, one or more enhancements may be defined to support the communication of the ML probe request frame, so as to request the AP MLD to provide at least those non-co-located APs in the AP MLD that are closest to the STA sending the ML probe request frame.

[0288] In some illustrative aspects, it can be defined that, for example, unless the ML probe request frame is requesting to report all subordinate APs in the ML probe response frame, the ML probe request frame must identify which AP is to report the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0289] In some illustrative aspects, the link ID field in each STA profile in the ML probe request frame of the ML element can be used, for example, for a STA of a non-AP MLD to identify the link.

[0290] In some illustrative aspects, the link ID advertised in the beacon and / or probe frame can be related to the collocated AP MLD. Thus, the ML probe request can be configured to identify the link, for example, by identifying the collocated AP MLD and the link ID of the collocated AP MLD. For example, the MLD MAC address and the link ID field of the collocated AP MLD can be used to identify the link.

[0291] For example, a STA of a non-AP MLD can use the link ID field in each STA profile of the ML probe request frame of the ML element. For example, a STA of a non-AP MLD can set the link ID field to the link ID corresponding to the respective collocated AP MLD and include the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD or the MLD MAC address of the collocated AP MLD in the same each STA profile.

[0292] In some illustrative aspects, for example, in addition to the link ID of the collocated AP MLD, a different link ID of the non-collocated AP MLD can also be advertised in the beacon and / or the ML probe response frame. For example, a STA of a non-AP MLD can use only the link ID field to identify the AP, for example, by setting the link ID field to the link ID of the non-collocated AP MLD instead of the link ID of the collocated AP MLD, because the link IDs of the non-collocated AP MLD and the collocated AP MLD may be different. For example, the link ID of the non-collocated AP MLD can be defined based on each non-AP MLD rather than based on each AP MLD.

[0293] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 5 schematically shows a non-collocated MLD indication method according to some illustrative aspects. For example, Figure 5 one or more operations of the method of can be performed by one or more elements of a system (e.g., system 100( Figure 1 )) and the one or more elements can be, for example, one or more wireless devices (e.g., device 102( Figure 1 ) and / or device 140( Figure 1 )); a controller (e.g., controller 124( Figure 1 ) and / or controller 154(Figure 1 )); a radio device (e.g., radio device 114( Figure 1 ) and / or radio device 144( Figure 1 )); and / or a message processor (e.g., message processor 128( Figure 1 ) and / or message processor 158( Figure 1 ))

[0294] As shown in block 502, the method may include: setting MLD information at an AP, the MLD information being configured to indicate that the AP belongs to a non - co - located AP MLD. For example, a non - co - located AP MLD may include at least one other AP that is not co - located with the AP in the same physical device. For example, the controller 124( Figure 1 ) may be configured to prompt, trigger, and / or control the device 102( Figure 1 ) to set the MLD information to indicate that the AP implemented by the device 102( Figure 1 ) belongs to a non - co - located AP MLD, as described above, for example.

[0295] As shown in block 504, the method may include: sending a frame including the MLD information. For example, the controller 124( Figure 1 ) may be configured to prompt, trigger, and / or control the device 102( Figure 1 ) to send a frame including the MLD information, as described above, for example.

[0296] Refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 schematically shows a non - co - located MLD indication method according to some illustrative aspects. For example, Figure 6 one or more operations of the method of Figure 1 may be performed by one or more elements of a system (e.g., system 100( Figure 1 ) and / or device 140( Figure 1 )); a controller (e.g., controller 124( Figure 1 ) and / or controller 154( Figure 1 )); a radio device (e.g., radio device 114( Figure 1 ) and / or radio device 144( Figure 1 )); and / or a message processor (e.g., message processor 128( Figure 1 ) and / or message processor 158( Figure 1 ))

[0297] As shown in block 602, the method may include: at a non-AP STA, determining that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, for example, based on MLD information in a frame from the AP. For example, a non-collocated AP MLD may include at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device. For example, the controller 154( Figure 1 ) may be configured to cause, trigger, and / or control the device 140( Figure 1 ) to determine that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD based on MLD information in a frame from the AP, such as described above.

[0298] As shown in block 604, the method may include: sending an ML probe request to the AP, the ML probe request being configured to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the controller 154( Figure 1 ) may be configured to cause, trigger, and / or control the device 140( Figure 1 ) to send an ML probe request to the AP to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs, such as described above.

[0299] Refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 which schematically illustrates an article of manufacture 700 according to some illustrative aspects. The product 700 may include one or more tangible computer-readable ("machine-readable") non-transitory storage media 702, which may include, for example, computer-executable instructions implemented by logic 704 that, when executed by at least one computer processor, are operable to cause the at least one computer processor to implement one or more operations at the device 102( Figure 1 ), the device 140( Figure 1 ), the MLD 131( Figure 1 ), the MLD 151( Figure 1 ), the radio device 114( Figure 1 ), the radio device 144( Figure 1 ), the transmitter 118( Figure 1 ), the transmitter 148( Figure 1 ), the receiver 116( Figure 1 ), the receiver 146( Figure 1 ), the message processor 128( Figure 1 ), the message processor 158( Figure 1 ), the controller 124( Figure 1 ), and / or the controller 154( Figure 1 ) such that one or more operations at the device 102( Figure 1 ), the device 140( Figure 1 ), the MLD 131( Figure 1 ), the MLD 151( Figure 1)), radio device 114( Figure 1 )), radio device 144( Figure 1 )), transmitter 118( Figure 1 )), transmitter 148( Figure 1 )), receiver 116( Figure 1 )), receiver 146( Figure 1 )), message processor 128( Figure 1 )), message processor 158( Figure 1 )), controller 124( Figure 1 )), and / or controller 154( Figure 1 ) performs, triggers, and / or implements one or more operations and / or functions, and / or performs, triggers, and / or implements the one or more operations and / or functions referenced Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、and / or Figure 6 described, and / or one or more operations described herein. The phrases "non-transitory machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable non-transitory storage medium" may refer to including all machine and / or computer-readable media, with the sole exception of transitory propagated signals.

[0300] In some illustrative aspects, product 700 and / or machine-readable storage medium 702 can include one or more types of computer-readable storage media capable of storing data, including volatile memory, non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writable or rewritable memory, and so on. For example, machine-readable storage medium 702 can include RAM, DRAM, Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDR-DRAM), SDRAM, static RAM (SRAM), ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory (e.g., NOR or NAND flash), content addressable memory (CAM), polymer memory, phase change memory, ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic disk, hard disk drive, and so on. A computer-readable storage medium can include any suitable medium that participates in downloading or transmitting a computer program carried by a data signal contained in a carrier wave or other propagated medium from a remote computer to a requesting computer via a communication link (e.g., a modem, radio, or network connection).

[0301] In some illustrative aspects, logic 704 can include instructions, data, and / or code that, when executed by a machine, can cause the machine to perform the methods, processes, and / or operations described herein. The machine can, for example, include any suitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device, processing device, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, and so on, and can be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware, software, firmware, and so on.

[0302] In some illustrative aspects, logic 704 can include or can be implemented as software, software modules, applications, programs, subroutines, instructions, instruction sets, computing code, words, values, symbols, and so on. The instructions can include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and so on. The instructions can be implemented according to a predefined computer language, manner, or syntax for instructing a processor to perform a specific function. The instructions can be implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled, and / or interpreted programming language, machine code, and so on.

[0303] Example

[0304] The following examples relate to other aspects.

[0305] Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising logic and circuitry configured to cause an access point (AP) to: set multi-link device (MLD) information to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, the non-collocated AP MLD including at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device; and transmit a frame including the MLD information.

[0306] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame to indicate that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0307] Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 1 or 2, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set an MLD identifier (ID) in the MLD parameter field of the frame and set a non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified based on a combination of the MLD ID and the non-collocated AP MLD flag.

[0308] Example 4 includes the subject matter of Example 3, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set the MLD ID of a collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP in the MLD parameter field and set the non-collocated AP MLD flag to a predefined value to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD.

[0309] Example 5 includes the subject matter of Example 3, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set the MLD ID of a collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP in the MLD parameter field and set the non-collocated AP MLD flag to a flag value to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by a non-collocated AP MLD ID, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD ID is based on the sum of the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and a gap value, and wherein the gap value is based on the flag value.

[0310] Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a first MLD parameter field and a second MLD parameter field in the frame, the first MLD parameter field including a first MLD identifier (ID) to identify a collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs, and the second MLD parameter field including a second MLD ID to identify the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0311] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 6, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the multi-link element (MLE) of the frame to indicate that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0312] Example 8 includes the subject matter of Example 7, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set at least one of the following in the MLE: an MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or an AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0313] Example 9 includes the subject matter of Example 8, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD information field in a common information field of the MLE, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD information field includes at least one of the following: an MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or an AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0314] Example 10 includes the subject matter of Example 8 or 9, and optionally, wherein the MLE includes information on a collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs.

[0315] Example 11 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 10, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a first MLE and a second MLE in the frame, wherein the first MLE includes information on a collocated AP MLD to which the AP belongs, and the second MLE includes information on the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0316] Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 11, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured to cause the AP to set a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element in the frame to announce all APs that belong to the same AP MLD and are part of the same collocated AP set in which the AP is located.

[0317] Example 13 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 12, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the AP processes a multi-link (ML) probe request from a non-AP STA and identifies, based on the ML identifier (ID) in the ML probe request, that the non-collocated AP MLD is the target of the ML probe request.

[0318] Example 14 includes the subject matter of Example 13, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the AP sends an ML probe response to the non-AP STA, the ML probe response including information about one or more APs affiliated with the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0319] Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the AP identifies, based on the link identifier (ID) field in the ML probe request, the reported APs to be reported in the ML probe response and includes information corresponding to the reported APs in the ML probe response.

[0320] Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 14 or 15, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the AP sets a field in the ML probe response to indicate whether the ML probe response includes information about all APs affiliated with the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0321] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 16, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the AP sets the MLD information in the MLD parameter field of the frame.

[0322] Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, and optionally, wherein the frame includes a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element, the RNR element including a neighbor AP information field, the neighbor AP information field including a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field, wherein the TBTT information field includes the MLD parameter field.

[0323] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 18, and optionally, wherein the MLD information is configured to indicate that the AP is affiliated with both the non-collocated AP MLD and the collocated AP MLD.

[0324] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 19, and optionally, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD includes one or more collocated AP MLDs, wherein the collocated AP MLD includes a set of collocated APs, the set of collocated APs including a plurality of collocated APs.

[0325] Example 21 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 20, and optionally, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD has a single media access control (MAC) service access point (SAP) to the logical link control (LLC) layer and one MAC data service.

[0326] Example 22 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 21, and optionally, wherein the frame includes a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0327] Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 22, and optionally includes a radio device for transmitting the frame.

[0328] Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 23, and optionally includes one or more antennas connected to the radio device and a processor for executing instructions of the operating system of the AP.

[0329] Example 25 includes a device including logic and circuitry configured to cause a non-access point (AP) station (STA) to: determine that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD based on multi-link device (MLD) information in a frame from the AP, the non-collocated AP MLD including at least one other AP not collocated with the AP in the same physical device; and send a multi-link (ML) probe request to the AP, the ML probe request being configured to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0330] Example 26 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally, wherein the device is configured to cause the non-AP STA to determine that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD based on a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame.

[0331] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 25 or 26, and optionally, wherein the device is configured to cause the non-AP STA to process the MLD parameter field of the frame to determine that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified based on a combination of an MLD identifier (ID) and a non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field.

[0332] Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and optionally, wherein the device is configured to cause the non-AP STA to identify that the MLD parameter field includes an MLD ID of a collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP, and based on determining that the non-collocated AP MLD flag has a predefined value, determine that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD.

[0333] Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA identifies that the MLD parameter field includes an MLD ID of a collocated AP MLD that belongs to the AP, and determines that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by a non-collocated AP MLD ID, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD ID is based on the sum of the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and a gap value, and wherein the gap value is based on a flag value of the non-collocated AP MLD flag.

[0334] Example 30 includes the subject matter of Example 25, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA processes a first MLD parameter field and a second MLD parameter field in the frame, the first MLD parameter field includes a first MLD identifier (ID) to identify a collocated AP MLD that belongs to the AP, and the second MLD parameter field includes a second MLD ID to identify the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0335] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25 to 30, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA determines that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD based on a non-collocated AP MLD indication in a multi-link element (MLE) of the frame.

[0336] Example 32 includes the subject matter of Example 31, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA processes the MLE to identify at least one of the following: an MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or an AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0337] Example 33 includes the subject matter of Example 32, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA processes a non-collocated AP MLD information field in a common information field of the MLE, and wherein the non-collocated AP MLD information field includes at least one of the following: an MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or an AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0338] Example 34 includes the subject matter of Example 32 or 33, and optionally, wherein the MLE includes information of a collocated AP MLD that belongs to the AP.

[0339] Example 35 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25 to 34, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA processes a first MLE and a second MLE in the frame, wherein the first MLE includes information of a co-located AP MLD affiliated with the AP, and the second MLE includes information of the non-co-located AP MLD.

[0340] Example 36 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25 to 35, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA processes a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element in the frame to identify all APs that are affiliated with the same AP MLD and are part of the same co-located AP set in which the AP is located.

[0341] Example 37 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 25 to 36, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA sets an MLD identifier (ID) in the ML probe request, and the MLD ID is configured to indicate that the non-co-located AP MLD is the target of the ML probe request.

[0342] Example 38 includes the subject matter of Example 37, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA processes an ML probe response from the AP, and the ML probe response includes information of one or more APs affiliated with the non-co-located AP MLD.

[0343] Example 39 includes the subject matter of Example 38, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA sets a link identifier (ID) field in the ML probe request to identify the reported APs to be reported in the ML probe response.

[0344] Example 40 includes the subject matter of Example 38 or 39, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA determines whether the ML probe response includes information of all APs affiliated with the non-co-located AP MLD based on a field in the ML probe response.

[0345] Example 41 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 40, and optionally, wherein the device is configured such that the non-AP STA identifies the MLD information in the MLD parameter field of the frame.

[0346] Example 42 includes the subject matter of Example 41, and optionally, wherein the frame includes a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element, the RNR element includes a neighbor AP information field, the neighbor AP information field includes a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field, and wherein the TBTT information field includes the MLD parameter field.

[0347] Example 43 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 42, and optionally, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the non-AP STA identifies that the AP belongs to both the non-collocated AP MLD and the collocated AP MLD based on the MLD information.

[0348] Example 44 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 43, and optionally, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD includes one or more collocated AP MLDs, and wherein the collocated AP MLD includes a set of collocated APs, and the set of collocated APs includes a plurality of collocated APs.

[0349] Example 45 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 44, and optionally, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD has a single media access control (MAC) service access point (SAP) to the logical link control (LLC) layer and one MAC data service.

[0350] Example 46 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 45, and optionally, wherein the frame includes a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0351] Example 47 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 24 to 46, and optionally includes a radio device for receiving the frame and transmitting the ML probe request.

[0352] Example 48 includes the subject matter of Example 47, and optionally includes one or more antennas connected to the radio device and a processor for executing instructions of the operating system of the non-AP STA.

[0353] Example 49 includes a wireless communication device, which includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 48.

[0354] Example 50 includes an apparatus, which includes components for performing any of the operations described in any one of Examples 1 to 48.

[0355] Example 51 includes a product, which includes one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media, and the media includes instructions that are operable, when executed by at least one processor, to cause the at least one processor to enable a wireless communication device to perform any of the operations described in any one of Examples 1 to 48.

[0356] Example 52 includes an apparatus that includes: a memory interface; and processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations described in any of Examples 1 to 48.

[0357] Example 53 includes a method that includes any of the operations described in any of Examples 1 to 48.

[0358] Functions, operations, components, and / or features described herein with reference to one or more aspects may be combined with and / or used in conjunction with one or more other functions, operations, components, and / or features described herein with reference to one or more other aspects, and vice versa.

[0359] Although certain features are illustrated and described herein, many modifications, alternatives, variations, and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it should be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all modifications and variations that fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A device, comprising logic and circuitry, the logic and circuitry being configured to cause an access point (AP) to: Set multi-link device (MLD) information to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, the non-collocated AP MLD including at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device; and Transmit a frame including the MLD information.

2. The device according to claim 1, configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame to indicate that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD.

3. The device according to claim 1, configured to cause the AP to set an MLD identifier (ID) in the MLD parameter field of the frame, and set a non-collocated AP MLD flag in the MLD parameter field to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified based on a combination of the MLD ID and the non-collocated AP MLD flag.

4. The device according to claim 3, configured to cause the AP to set the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP in the MLD parameter field, and set the non-collocated AP MLD flag to a predefined value to indicate that the non-collocated AP MLD is to be identified by the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, configured such that the AP sets, in the MLD parameter field, the MLD ID of the co-located AP MLD that belongs to the AP, and sets the non-co-located AP MLD flag to a flag value to indicate that the non-co-located AP MLD is to be identified by the non-co-located AP MLD ID, wherein, The non-collocated AP MLD ID is based on the sum of the MLD ID of the collocated AP MLD and a gap value, where the gap value is based on the flag value.

6. The device according to claim 1, configured to cause the AP to set a first MLD parameter field and a second MLD parameter field in the frame, the first MLD parameter field including a first MLD identifier (ID) to identify the collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP, and the second MLD parameter field including a second MLD ID to identify the non-collocated AP MLD.

7. The device according to claim 1, configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the multi-link element (MLE) of the frame to indicate that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD.

8. The device according to claim 7, configured to cause the AP to set at least one of the following in the MLE: the MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or the AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, configured to cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD information field in the common information field of the MLE, wherein, The non-collocated AP MLD information field includes at least one of the following: the MLD identifier (ID) of the non-collocated AP MLD, or the AP MLD media access control (MAC) address of the non-collocated AP MLD.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, configured to cause the AP to set a first MLE and a second MLE in the frame, wherein, The first MLE includes information on the collocated AP MLD belonging to the AP, and the second MLE includes information on the non-collocated AP MLD.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, configured such that the AP sets a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element in the frame to announce all APs that belong to the same AP MLD and are part of the same co-located AP set in which the AP is located.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, configured such that the AP processes a Multi-Link (ML) probe request from a non-AP STA and identifies, based on the MLD identifier (ID) in the ML probe request, that the non-co-located AP MLD is the target of the ML probe request.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, configured such that the AP sends an ML probe response to the non-AP STA, the ML probe response including information about one or more APs that belong to the non-co-located AP MLD.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, configured such that the AP identifies the reported APs to be reported in the ML probe response based on the link identifier (ID) field in the ML probe request and includes information corresponding to the reported APs in the ML probe response.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, configured such that the AP sets a field in the ML probe response to indicate whether the ML probe response includes information about all APs that belong to the non-co-located AP MLD.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, configured such that the AP sets the MLD information in the MLD parameter field of the frame.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, The frame includes a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element, the RNR element includes a neighbor AP information field, and the neighbor AP information field includes a Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) information field, wherein the TBTT information field includes the MLD parameter field.

18. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein, The MLD information is configured to indicate that the AP belongs to both the non-co-located AP MLD and the co-located AP MLD.

19. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The non-co-located AP MLD includes one or more co-located AP MLDs, wherein a co-located AP MLD includes a co-located AP set that includes a plurality of co-located APs.

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, including a radio device for transmitting the frame.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, including one or more antennas connected to the radio device and a processor for executing instructions of the operating system of the AP.

22. An apparatus, including logic and circuitry configured to cause a non-Access Point (AP) Station (STA) to: determine, based on Multi-Link Device (MLD) information in a frame from an AP, that the AP belongs to a non-co-located AP MLD, the non-co-located AP MLD including at least one other AP that is not co-located with the AP in the same physical device; and Send a multi-link (ML) probe request to the AP, the ML probe request being configured to request information corresponding to the non-collocated AP MLD.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, configured to cause the non-AP STA to determine that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD based on the non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame.

24. A product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media, the media including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to enable an access point (AP) to perform the following operations: Set multi-link device (MLD) information to indicate that the AP belongs to a non-collocated AP MLD, the non-collocated AP MLD including at least one other AP that is not collocated with the AP in the same physical device; and Send a frame including the MLD information.

25. The product according to claim 24, wherein The instructions, when executed, cause the AP to set a non-collocated AP MLD indication in the MLD parameter field of the frame to indicate that the AP belongs to the non-collocated AP MLD.

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