Network Coding for Multi-Link Device Networks

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method of wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), the method generally including: establishing a plurality of links with at least one second MLD, obtaining a network-coded packet over at least one of the plurality of links, decoding the network-coded packet based on a network decoding algorithm to recover one or more uncoded packets, generating feedback based on the decoding, and outputting the feedback to the at least one second MLD for transmission.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17 / 713,183, filed April 4, 2022, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] FIELD OF THEINVENTION Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for utilizing network coding in wireless networks having multi-link devices (MLDs).

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0003] Wireless communication networks have been widely deployed to provide various communication services, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.

[0004]

[0004] To address the problem of increasing bandwidth requirements for wireless communication systems, different schemes have been developed to enable multiple user terminals to communicate with a single access point by sharing channel resources while achieving high data throughput. Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology represents one such approach that has emerged as a popular technology for communication systems. MIMO technology has been adopted in several wireless communication standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. IEEE 802.11 refers to a set of air interface standards for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) developed by the IEEE 802.11 committee for short-range communication (such as tens of meters to hundreds of meters). Summary of the Invention

[0005] One aspect provides a method of wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), the method including: establishing a plurality of links with at least one second MLD, obtaining a network-coded packet over at least one of the plurality of links, decoding the network-coded packet based on a network decoding algorithm to recover one or more uncoded packets, generating feedback based on the decoding, and outputting the feedback to the at least one second MLD for transmission.

[0006] Another aspect provides a method of wireless communication by a second MLD, the method including establishing at least one link with at least one first MLD, encoding one or more uncoded packets to generate network-coded packets based on a network coding algorithm, and outputting the network-coded packets over the at least one link for transmission.

[0007]

[0007] Other aspects provide an apparatus operable, configured or otherwise adapted to perform any one or more of the methods described above and / or elsewhere herein, a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the methods described above and elsewhere herein, and a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium comprising code for performing the methods described above and elsewhere herein, and / or a means for performing the methods described above and elsewhere herein. By way of example, the apparatus may comprise a processing system, a device having a processing system, or processing systems cooperating over one or more networks.

[0008]

[0008] The following description and the annexed drawings set forth certain features for purposes of illustration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009]

[0009] The accompanying drawings illustrate certain features of the various aspects described herein and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the disclosure. [Figure 1]

[0010] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network. [Diagram 2]

[0011] 1 illustrates an exemplary split base station architecture. [Figure 3A]

[0012] 1 illustrates an exemplary single-hop network coding example. [Figure 3B] 1 illustrates an exemplary single-hop network coding example. [Figure 4]

[0013] 1 illustrates an example of an exemplary multi-hop network coding example. [Diagram 5]

[0014] 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary Multi-Link Device (MLD) deployment. [Figure 6]

[0015] 1 illustrates an example network coding scenario, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0016] 1 illustrates an example signaling mechanism for providing feedback for network coding-based MLD transmissions, according to an aspect of the disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0017] 13 illustrates example values ​​for a reliability measurement metric, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A]

[0018] 1 illustrates an example MLD network utilizing network coding and example performance improvements according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] 1 illustrates an example MLD network utilizing network coding and example performance improvements according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]

[0019] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for wireless communication is disclosed. [Figure 11]

[0020] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for wireless communication is disclosed. [Figure 12]

[0021] 1 illustrates aspects of an exemplary communications device. [Figure 13]

[0022] 1 illustrates aspects of an exemplary communications device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010]

[0023] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for utilizing network coding in wireless networks having multi-link devices (MLDs).

[0011]

[0024] A multi-link device (MLD) generally refers to a single device or equipment that includes two or more station (STA) instances or entities implemented within the physical (PHY) layer and / or medium access control (MAC) layer and configured to communicate over multiple (separate) wireless links. A device that operates as an MLD is said to perform multi-link operation (MLO). In some examples, each MLD may include a single higher layer entity, such as a MAC Service Access Point (SAP), that may allocate MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) for transmission by the separate STA instances.

[0012]

[0025] MLO may be used in some applications, such as extended reality (XR) gaming, where traffic delivery may have relatively strict latency and reliability requirements. In some systems (e.g., 802.11 be), MLO may be introduced in which an MLD that does not act as an access point (non-AP MLD) can cooperate with an AP through multiple links. This scenario may be called collocated MLO. In another example of MLO deployment, next-generation Wi-Fi networks (e.g., Wi-Fi 8) may use multi-AP cooperation that allows multiple non-colocated APs to provide a single non-AP MLD service. This scenario may be called non-colocated MLO.

[0013]

[0026] In some cases, to increase the reliability of latency-sensitive traffic, a STA may send duplicate packets, such as Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs), over multiple links to ensure that a target reliability (e.g., 99.9%) is achieved for an intended delay budget. Unfortunately, simple duplication of MPDUs over multiple links can result in excessive network loading, reduced capacity, and may trigger many retransmissions in the event of poor link conditions.

[0014]

[0027] However, aspects of the present disclosure propose incorporating network coding into MLO scenarios to achieve stringent latency and reliability requirements. Network coding generally refers to a technique in which operations (e.g., algebraic algorithms) are performed on packets as they pass through nodes in the network. This is in contrast to traditional routing networks, where packets are simply cached and then forwarded to the next node downstream in the network. Network coding typically merges related messages at a node using a given coding and then forwards the accumulated results to the destination / receiver for decoding.

[0015]

[0028] With network coding, an AP or non-AP MLD STA may transmit network-coded MPDUs over multiple links (and may be applied in both co-located / non-co-located MLOs). By using network coding, redundant MPDUs may help improve reliable delivery of source packets and allow STAs to avoid unnecessary retransmissions that could significantly increase the delay of MPDU reception, especially when experiencing poor link conditions (e.g., caused by link outages or edge users).

[0016] Introduction to wireless communication networks

[0029] Various aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will understand that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to encompass any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, an apparatus can be implemented or a method can be practiced using any number of the aspects described herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to encompass such an apparatus or method that is practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or other than the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein. It will be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0017]

[0030] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

[0018]

[0031] Although specific aspects are described herein, numerous variations and permutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects are described, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular benefit, application, or purpose. Rather, the aspects of the present disclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wireless technologies, system configurations, networks, and transmission protocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in the figures and the following description of the preferred aspects. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present disclosure, rather than limiting, the scope of the present disclosure being defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0019]

[0032] The techniques described herein can be used for various broadband wireless communication systems, including communication systems based on orthogonal multiplexing schemes. Examples of such communication systems include Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, etc. SDMA systems may utilize sufficiently different directions to simultaneously transmit data belonging to multiple user terminals. TDMA systems allow multiple user terminals to share the same frequency channel by dividing the transmission signal into different time slots, each time slot being assigned to a different user terminal. OFDMA systems utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), a modulation technique that partitions the entire system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. These subcarriers may also be referred to as tones, bins, etc. In OFDM, each subcarrier can be independently modulated with data. An SC-FDMA system may utilize interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) to transmit on subcarriers distributed across the system bandwidth, localized FDMA (LFDMA) to transmit on blocks of adjacent subcarriers, or enhanced FDMA (EFDMA) to transmit on multiple blocks of adjacent subcarriers. In general, modulation symbols are sent with OFDM in the frequency domain and with SC-FDMA in the time domain.

[0020]

[0033] The teachings herein may be incorporated into (e.g., implemented within or performed by) a variety of wired or wireless devices (e.g., nodes). In some aspects a wireless node implemented in accordance with the teachings herein may comprise an access point or an access terminal.

[0021]

[0034] An access point ("AP") may comprise, be implemented as, or be known as a Node B, Radio Network Controller ("RNC"), evolved Node B (eNB), Base Station Controller ("BSC"), Base Transceiver Station ("BTS"), Base Station ("BS"), Transceiver Function ("TF"), wireless router, wireless transceiver, Basic Service Set ("BSS"), Extended Service Set ("ESS"), Radio Base Station ("RBS"), or some other terminology.

[0022]

[0035] An access terminal ("AT") may comprise, be implemented as, or be known as a subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, user terminal (UT), user agent, user device, user equipment (UE), user station, or some other terminology. In some implementations, an access terminal may comprise a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol ("SIP") telephone, a wireless local loop ("WLL") station, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a handheld device with wireless connectivity, a Station ("STA"), or some other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Thus, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone (such as a cell phone or smartphone), a computer (such as a laptop), a tablet, a portable communication device, a portable computing device (such as a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (such as a music or video device or satellite radio), a global positioning system (GPS) device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate wirelessly or via wired. In some aspects, the node is a wireless node. Such a wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (such as a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link.

[0023] Exemplary Wireless Communication System

[0036] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The system 100 may be a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) / multi-link operation (MLO) system 100.

[0024]

[0037] For simplicity, only one AP 110 is shown in FIG. 1. An AP is generally a fixed station that communicates with wireless STAs and may also be referred to as a base station (BS) or some other terminology. A wireless STA may be fixed or mobile and may also be referred to as a mobile STA, a wireless device, or some other terminology. An AP 110 may communicate with one or more wireless STAs 120 at any given moment on a downlink (DL) and / or an uplink (UL). The DL (i.e., forward link) is the communication link from the AP 110 to the wireless STAs 120, and the UL (i.e., reverse link) is the communication link from the wireless STAs 120 to the AP 110. A wireless STA 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer with another wireless STA 120 via a direct link, such as, for example, a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS). A system controller 130 may be in communication with the access points and may provide coordination and control for the access points.

[0025]

[0038] Although the following portions of the disclosure describe wireless STAs 120 capable of communicating via spatial division multiple access (SDMA), in some aspects the wireless STAs 120 may also include some wireless STAs 120 that do not support SDMA. Thus, in such aspects, the AP 110 may be configured to communicate with both SDMA and non-SDMA wireless STAs 120. This approach may advantageously allow older version wireless STAs 120 ("legacy" stations) to remain deployed in the enterprise, extending their useful life, while allowing newer SDMA wireless STAs 120 to be introduced accordingly.

[0026]

[0039] The system 100 employs multiple transmit and multiple receive antennas for data transmission on the DL and UL. The AP 110 is equipped with Nap antennas and represents multiple-input (MI) for DL ​​transmissions and multiple-output (MO) for UL transmissions. The set of K selected wireless stations 120 collectively represents multiple-output for DL ​​transmissions and multiple-input for UL transmissions. In pure SDMA, if the data symbol streams for the K wireless STAs are not multiplexed in code, frequency, or time by any means, then the N ap ≧K≧1. If the data symbol streams can be multiplexed using TDMA techniques, different code channels with CDMA, disjoint sets of subbands with OFDM, etc., K may be greater than or equal to N ap Each selected wireless STA may transmit user-specific data to the access point and / or receive user-specific data from the access point. In general, each selected wireless STA may be equipped with one or multiple antennas (i.e., Nsta≧1). The K selected wireless STAs may have the same number of antennas or different numbers of antennas.

[0027]

[0040] The system 100 may be a time division duplex (TDD) system or a frequency division duplex (FDD) system. For a TDD system, the DL and UL share the same frequency band. For an FDD system, the DL and UL use different frequency bands. The system 100 may also utilize a single carrier or multiple carriers for transmission. Each wireless STA may be equipped with a single antenna or multiple antennas. The system 100 may also be a TDMA system if the wireless STAs 120 share the same frequency channel by dividing transmission / reception into different time slots, with each time slot being assigned to a different wireless STA 120.

[0028]

[0041] 2 illustrates a block diagram of an AP 110 and two wireless STAs 120m and 120x in a MIMO / MLO system, such as system 100, according to some aspects of the disclosure. In some particular aspects, the AP 110 and / or the wireless STAs 120m and 120x may perform various techniques to ensure that non-AP MLDs can receive group-addressed frames. For example, the AP 110 and / or the wireless STAs 120m and 120x may include respective coordination managers as described herein with respect to FIG.

[0029]

[0042] The AP 110 is equipped with Nap antennas 224a-224t. The wireless STA 120m is equipped with Nsta,m antennas 252ma-252mu, and the wireless STA 120x is equipped with Nsta,x antennas 252xa-252xu. The AP 110 is a transmitting entity in the DL and a receiving entity in the UL. Each wireless STA 120 is a transmitting entity in the UL and a receiving entity in the DL. As used herein, a "transmitting entity" is an independently operating apparatus or device capable of transmitting data over a wireless channel, and a "receiving entity" is an independently operating apparatus or device capable of receiving data over a wireless channel. The term communication generally refers to transmitting, receiving, or both. In the following description, the subscript "DL" denotes the downlink and the subscript "UL" denotes the uplink, NUL wireless STAs are selected for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, NDL wireless STAs are selected for simultaneous transmission on the downlink, NUL may or may not be equal to NDL, and NUL and NDL may be static values ​​or may change for each scheduling interval. Beam steering or some other spatial processing technique may be used at the access point and the wireless station.

[0030]

[0043] On the UL, for each wireless STA 120 selected for UL transmission, a transmit (TX) data processor 288 receives traffic data from a data source 286 and control data from the controller 280. The TX data processor 288 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic data for the wireless station based on a coding and modulation scheme associated with a rate selected for the wireless STA and provides a data symbol stream. A TX spatial processor 290 performs spatial processing on the data symbol stream and provides Nsta,m transmit symbol streams for the Nsta,m antennas. Each transceiver (TMTR) 254 receives and processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency upconverts) a respective transmit symbol stream to generate an uplink signal. The Nsta,m transceivers 254 provide Nsta,m UL signals to the AP 110 for transmission from the Nsta,m antennas 252.

[0031]

[0044] N U L wireless STAs may be scheduled for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, each performing spatial processing on its data symbol stream and transmitting its set of transmit symbol streams on the UL to the AP 110.

[0032]

[0045] At the AP 110, Nap antennas 224a through 224ap receive UL signals from all NUL wireless STAs transmitting on the UL. Each antenna 224 provides a received signal to a respective transceiver (RCVR) 222. Each transceiver 222 performs processing complementary to that performed by transceiver 254 and provides a received symbol stream. A receive (RX) spatial processor 240 performs receiver spatial processing on the Nap received symbol streams from Nap transceivers 222 and provides NUL recovered UL data symbol streams. The receiver spatial processing is performed in accordance with channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI), minimum mean square error (MMSE), soft interference cancellation (SIC), or some other technique. Each recovered UL data symbol stream is an estimate of the data symbol stream transmitted by a respective wireless station. The Rx data processor 242 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) each recovered uplink data symbol stream in accordance with the rate used for that stream to obtain decoded data. The decoded data for each wireless STA may be provided to a data sink 244 for storage and / or to the controller 230 for further processing.

[0033]

[0046] On the DL, at the AP 110, a TX data processor 210 receives traffic data for N DL wireless stations scheduled for downlink transmission from a data source 208, control data from a controller 230, and possibly other data from a scheduler 234. Various types of data may be sent on different transport channels. The TX data processor 210 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the traffic data for each wireless station based on a rate selected for that wireless station. The TX data processor 210 provides N DL DL data symbol streams to the N DL wireless stations. A TX spatial processor 220 performs spatial processing (such as precoding or beamforming as described in this disclosure) on the N DL DL data symbol streams and provides Nap transmit symbol streams to the Nap antennas. Each transceiver 222 receives and processes a respective transmit symbol stream to generate a DL signal. The Nap transceivers 222 provide Nap DL signals for transmission from the Nap antennas 224 to wireless STAs.

[0034]

[0047] At each wireless STA 120, Nsta,m antennas 252 receive Nap DL signals from the access point 110. Each transceiver 254 processes the received signal from its associated antenna 252 and provides a received symbol stream. An RX spatial processor 260 performs receiver spatial processing on the Nsta,m received symbol streams from the Nsta,m transceivers 254 and provides a recovered DL data symbol stream to the wireless station. The receiver spatial processing is performed in accordance with CCMI, MMSE, or some other technique. An RX data processor 270 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered DL data symbol stream to obtain decoded data for the wireless station.

[0035]

[0048] In each wireless STA 120, a channel estimator 278 estimates the DL channel response and provides a DL channel estimate, which may include a channel gain estimate, an SNR estimate, a noise variance, etc. Similarly, a channel estimator 228 estimates the UL channel response and provides a UL channel estimate. A controller 280 for each wireless STA typically derives a spatial filter matrix for that wireless station based on a downlink channel response matrix Hdn,m for that wireless station. The controller 230 derives a spatial filter matrix for the AP based on an effective UL channel response matrix Hup,eff. The controller 280 for each wireless STA may send feedback information (e.g., downlink and / or uplink eigenvectors, eigenvalues, SNR estimates, etc.) to the AP. The controllers 230 and 280 also control the operation of various processing units in the AP 110 and the wireless STA 120, respectively.

[0036] Network Coding Overview

[0049] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for utilizing network coding for more efficient multicast transmissions. As described in more detail below, in some cases, radio link layer (RLC) network coding sublayers may be used to increase efficiency and reliability while meeting latency requirements.

[0037]

[0050] Network coding generally refers to a technique in which operations (e.g., algebraic algorithms) are performed on packets as they pass through nodes in the network. This is in contrast to traditional routing networks, where packets are simply cached and then forwarded downstream to the next node in the network. Network coding typically merges related messages at a node using a given coding and then forwards the accumulated results to the destination / receiver for decoding.

[0038]

[0051] 3A and 3B show a simple single-hop scenario utilizing NC. As shown in FIG. 3A, a transmitter device (Tx) generates and sends network-coded packets to a receiver device (Rx). The transmitter device Tx (also called a transmitter node, transmitter, encoder node, or encoder) and / or the receiver device Rx (also called a receiver node, receiver, decoder node, or decoder) can be any type of UE, base station, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) device, and / or the like.

[0039]

[0052] As shown in FIG. 3B, a transmitter device Tx may generate a network-coded packet from a set of original (or source) packets (e.g., packet 1 (p1), packet 2 (p2), and packet 3 (p3)). As shown, the network-coded packet may be the same as the source packets or may include some combination of the source packets (e.g., a linear combination of a subset of the source packets). The network coding may be performed using any type of network coding scheme, such as Fountain coding, linear network coding, random linear network coding, Luby transform (LT) network coding, Raptor network coding, and / or the like.

[0040]

[0053] The number of encoded packets is usually larger than the number of source packets, which provides redundancy and increases reliability. In the example shown in Figure 3B, the transmitter device Tx encodes K original packets (e.g., K = 3) into N network-coded packets (e.g., N = 4). As shown, three source packets (p1, p2, and p3) are encoded into four network-coded packets: p2, p1 + p2, p1 + p3, and p2 + p3.

[0041]

[0054] The redundant information carried in the encoded packets may help the receiver device Rx recover the source packets even if all of the network-encoded packets are not successfully decoded. For example, assuming that the receiver device Rx does not successfully decode the network-encoded packet p1+p2 (as indicated by X), the receiver device Rx may still be able to recover the source packets because there is enough information in the other network-encoded packets (p2, p1+p3, and p2+p3). For example, the receiver device Rx may first decode the network-encoded packet p2. Using the information for packet p2, the receiver may obtain packet p3 after decoding the network-encoded packet p2+p3 (e.g., because the receiver has already decoded p2 and can obtain p3 from p2+p3 using a combining technique). In a similar manner, the receiver device Rx can obtain packet p1 from the network-encoded packet p1+p3 (because the receiver device Rx has already decoded packet p3 and can obtain packet p1 from the network-encoded packet p1+p3 using a combining technique).

[0042]

[0055] As shown, in some cases, the receiver device Rx may provide feedback. In this example, the receiver device Rx indicates that three source packets (p1, p2, and p3) have been successfully decoded. As described in more detail below, such feedback may be used to update the network coding scheme.

[0043]

[0056] The network-coding coding scheme can be extended to multi-hop deployments, as shown in Figure 4. In such cases, intermediate nodes (denoted by NC in Figure 4) can relay packets or encode and relay network-coded packets.

[0044] Multilink Device Overview

[0057] As initially described above, a multi-link device (MLD) generally refers to a single device or equipment that includes two or more station (STA) instances or entities implemented within the physical (PHY) / medium access control (MAC) layer and configured to communicate over separate wireless links. In some examples, each MLD may include a single higher layer entity, such as a MAC service access point (SAP), that may allocate MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) for transmission by the separate STA instances.

[0045]

[0058] FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an exemplary MLD deployment. As shown in FIG. 5, an access point (AP) MLD may communicate with a non-AP MLD. Each of the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD may include at least two STA entities (hereinafter also simply referred to as "STA") that may communicate with associated STAs of another MLD. In an AP MLD, a STA may be an AP STA (a STA that plays the role of an AP, or simply "AP"). In a non-AP MLD, a STA may be a non-AP STA (a STA that does not play the role of an AP). As also described above, MLD may utilize multi-link aggregation (MLA) (including packet-level aggregation), in which MPDUs from the same traffic ID (TID) may be sent over two or more wireless links.

[0046]

[0059] Various communication modes may be employed in the implementation of the MLD, for example, the MLD may communicate in an Asynchronous (Async) mode or a Synchronous (Sync) mode.

[0047]

[0060] In Async mode, the STA / AP may count down (e.g., via random backoff (RBO)) on both wireless links. Physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) initiation / termination may occur independently on each of the wireless links. As a result, Async mode may potentially result in improved latency and aggregation. In some cases, relatively complex (and costly) filters may be required (e.g., in the case of 5GHz+6GHz aggregation).

[0048]

[0061] Even in Sync mode, the STA / AP may count down on both wireless links (e.g., assume link 1 and link 2). If the first link (e.g., link 1) acquires the medium, both links may transmit PPDUs simultaneously. Therefore, this mode may require some restriction to minimize in-device interference.

[0049]

[0062] Sync mode can function at 5GHz+6GHz aggregation and require relatively low filter performance while still providing latency and aggregation improvements that may be difficult to achieve due to its tiled architecture.

[0050]

[0063] Although not shown, a third communication mode may include a basic (e.g., multi-primary with single link transmission) mode. In the basic mode, the STA / AP may still count down on both wireless links. However, transmission may only occur on the wireless link that has acquired the medium. The other wireless link may be blocked by in-device interference greater than -62 decibels per milliwatt (dBm). In this mode, no aggregation improvements may be realized.

[0051] Aspects Related to Network Coding for Multi-Link Device Networks

[0064] Aspects of the present disclosure propose incorporating network coding into MLO scenarios. For example, with network coding, an AP or non-AP MLD STA may transmit network-coded MPDUs over multiple links (and may be applied in both co-located / non-co-located MLO). By using network coding, redundant MPDUs may help improve reliable delivery of source packets and allow STAs to avoid unnecessary retransmissions that could significantly increase the delay of MPDU reception, especially when experiencing poor link conditions.

[0052]

[0065] As shown in Figure 6, in what may be considered a baseline scenario, a Wi-Fi STA transmits K original MSDUs (using K MPDUs) to another Wi-Fi STA. If the transmission is not successful (e.g., as indicated by block acknowledgement BA feedback), the Wi-Fi STA retransmits the same MPDU until it is acknowledged by the receiver.

[0053]

[0066] As described above, however, in the case of network coding, the transmitting Wi-Fi STA may encode multiple MSDUs to generate a linearly coded MPDU.

[0054]

[0067] Depending on the redundancy required, a STA will transmit K+N linearly coded MPDUs along with the coding vector, as shown in Figure 6. As a result, to decode the coded packet and recover the original uncoded MSDU, the receiving STA will only need to receive N' MPDUs, where N' is greater than or equal to K.

[0055]

[0068] The value of N may be determined, for example, by a particular network coding function, a target error probability, and / or a channel condition. The size of the MSDU may be predefined, and in some cases, the value of K may be optimized using the SDU size and a generator matrix. In some cases, the values ​​of N and / or K may be optimized based on one or more of the following parameters: target error rate, channel conditions, network coding function, device computational resources, target reliability, and delay budget.

[0056]

[0069] The K+N MPDUs may be output for transmission over multiple links (e.g., different component carriers and / or different RATs). At the receiver side, a network decoding sublayer may process the network-coded packet, perform network decoding operations corresponding to the encoding operations described above, and generate feedback (acknowledgement or block acknowledgment) to the transmitter (or multiple transmitters).

[0057]

[0070] According to aspects of the present disclosure, various options exist for incorporating network coding into an MLD network.

[0058]

[0071] According to the first option, network coding may be used to provide dynamic redundancy without retransmission. According to this option, the transmitting STA may transmit a fixed number of MPDUs (K+N) without any retransmission. Potential benefits of this option include bounded delay and the ability to adapt the redundancy (e.g., by adjusting the value of N) based on link conditions.

[0059]

[0072] According to a second option, network coding may be used to perform retransmissions and provide dynamic redundancy. According to this second option, the transmitting STA may initially transmit K+N MDPUs. Based on feedback received from the receiving STA, the transmitting STA may then selectively retransmit certain MPDUs to help the receiving STA decode the original MPDU. Potential benefits of this option include potentially better reliability (e.g., a higher probability of recovering the original MPDU) and the ability to adapt the redundancy based on link conditions (e.g., by adjusting the value of N).

[0060]

[0073] This second option, option 2, which provides dynamic redundancy through retransmission, can be either transmitter-driven or receiver-driven.

[0061]

[0074] For example, a transmitter-driven approach for retransmission may rely on feedback provided by an existing Block Ack (BA) mechanism. Based on the indicated ACKed MPDUs, the transmitter may process the corresponding coding vectors and the receiver may determine whether additional redundant MDPUs are required. Potential benefits of this transmitter-driven approach include that the transmitter may retransmit fewer MPDUs or may not retransmit MPDUs at all, compared to the baseline mechanism described above, at the expense of additional processing at the transmitter. This approach may be suitable for downlink transmissions (e.g., where network coding is performed in the AP STA).

[0062]

[0075] In a receiver-driven approach for retransmission, in addition to transmitting MPDUs, the transmitter may also indicate sequence numbers of uncoded packets (e.g., of the K MSDUs). In this case, as feedback, the receiver may indicate correctly recovered uncoded packets (e.g., using an additional bitmap in which different bits map to different sequence numbers). Based on the feedback, the transmitting station may selectively retransmit certain MPDUs to help the receiver decode original MSDUs (that were not indicated as successfully ACKed). Potential benefits of this receiver-driven approach include less processing compared to the transmitter-driven option described above. Furthermore, this approach may be suitable for both downlink and uplink, albeit at the cost of additional signaling (e.g., for sequence numbers and feedback bitmaps).

[0063]

[0076] Due to the receiver-driven approach to retransmission, the receiver may forward MPDUs to upper layers even if there are holes (missing MPDU sequence numbers) in the receive reordering buffer. This may be done after successfully decoding the network-coded packet. The receiver may also acknowledge all corresponding MPDUs, allowing the transmitter to go ahead and not retransmit these MPDUs.

[0064]

[0077] Aspects of the present disclosure also provide various options for network coding activation and corresponding signaling that may enable one or more of the transmitter or receiver stations to dynamically activate / deactivate network coding. This signaling may include an AP requesting a STA, a STA requesting an AP, or an AP requesting another AP to activate network coding (e.g., with the clients they are serving if not colocated).

[0065]

[0078] For example, in some cases, an AP / non-AP STA may request to (de)activate network-coded transmissions based on link quality, e.g., the request may be based on various factors such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI), basic service set (BSS) load, signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) threshold, and traffic type (e.g., latency sensitive traffic, etc.).

[0066]

[0079] Network coding could be activated using various kinds of signaling mechanisms. For example, such signaling mechanisms may include (e.g., newly defined) action frames that include network coding parameters (e.g., coding scheme, Galois field, redundancy, matrix rank). The signaling mechanisms may also include modified Block Ack signaling, e.g., with modified add BA (ADDBA) and / or delete BA (DELBA) requests and responses, or BA requests (BAR), to include the network coding parameters. The signaling mechanisms may also include Stream Classification Service (SCS) request or response frames, and / or target wakeup time (TWT) configuration frames (request or response frames). The TWT configuration frames may be limited, broadcasted, or individual TWT configuration frames. In some cases, the TWT elements may also be included in the beacon frame.

[0067]

[0080] Aspects of the present disclosure also provide various options for non-AP STA feedback and scheduler calibration that may enable non-AP STAs to report certain delivery reliability metrics, such as measured MSDU delivery ratios.

[0068]

[0081] A multilink SCS mechanism has been introduced and may be used in some systems (e.g., 802.11be) where a non-AP STA informs the AP about its QoS requirements for a traffic flow. The quality of service (QoS) characteristics IE in the SCS request / response may include an MSDU delivery ratio field that indicates the target reliability (the percentage of MSDUs expected to be delivered within a delay bound). Unfortunately, current systems do not provide a mechanism for non-AP STAs to provide feedback to the AP about the achieved reliability during a session.

[0069]

[0082] Therefore, to support stringent reliability requirements, aspects of the present disclosure provide a signaling mechanism to allow non-AP STAs to report their actual achieved MSDU delivery ratio during a session.

[0070]

[0083] For example, Figure 7 shows an example reliability measurement report using a new A-control field in the MAC frame header to deliver the actual achieved MSDU delivery ratio during a session. As shown in Figure 7, such a new reliability measurement report may be delivered using a newly defined A-control field (e.g., defining a new control ID by utilizing a reservation ID value). Based on the reported MSDU delivery ratio, the AP may adjust its scheduling decisions to help non-AP STAs achieve their target reliability requirements.

[0071]

[0084] In general, the MSDU delivery ratio field indicates the percentage of MSDUs delivered within the delay bound specified in the delay bound field. The encoding of such a field may be defined as shown in the exemplary table of (MSDU Delivery Ratio Field Values) shown in FIG. 8. In some cases, the MSDU Number Exponent field contains an unsigned integer that specifies an exponent from which the number of incoming MSDUs used to calculate the MSDU delivery ratio is obtained. The number of incoming MSDUs is 10. MSDU数指数 is equal to.

[0072]

[0085] The potential benefits of network coding as proposed herein can be demonstrated by considering an exemplary non-collocated example scenario shown in Figure 9A. In the illustrated example, station STA1 has two links with AP1 (link 1) and AP2 (link 2). Depending on the link conditions, network coding could be activated on link 1, link 2, or both.

[0073]

[0086] As shown in the example results shown in FIG. 9B, when comparing the latency (at the 95% point of the cumulative distribution function CDF) with the scenario without network coding, network coding can significantly reduce the latency (e.g., from approximately 7.5 ms to 2 ms in the illustrated example). The illustrated example may assume a retry count for the baseline (without network coding) that allows 7 retransmissions. The network coding for the illustrated example may assume values ​​of (K=4, N=4). The baseline scenario may assume K MSDUs are transmitted as K MPDUs, while the network-coded scenario assumes K MSDUs are transmitted as N+K MDPUs. The example may assume independent random propagation loss per link (e.g., 30% loss per link), and an MSDU size of 1504 bytes. The network coding parameters may be assumed as random linear network coding (and network coding based on other types of codes, such as RaptorQ codes). PHY parameters of GF(256), one transmission with 100% redundancy and 20 MHz, and modulation and coding scheme MCS7.

[0074] Example Operation of MLD

[0087] FIG. 10 shows a method 1000 for wireless communication with a first MLD, such as the AP 110 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and / or the STA 120 of FIGS.

[0075]

[0088] Method 1000 begins with establishing multiple links with at least one second MLD, at 1005. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by link establishment circuitry and / or link establishment code as described with reference to FIG.

[0076]

[0089] Method 1000 then proceeds to step 1010, where network-encoded packets are acquired over at least one of the multiple links. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by acquisition circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG.

[0077]

[0090] Method 1000 then proceeds to step 1015, where the network-encoded packets are decoded based on a network decoding algorithm to recover one or more unencoded packets. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by decoding circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG.

[0078]

[0091] Method 1000 then proceeds to step 1020, generating feedback based on the decoding. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by feedback generation circuitry and / or feedback generation code as described with reference to FIG.

[0079]

[0092] Method 1000 then proceeds to step 1025, where the feedback is output for transmission to at least one second MLD. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or output code as described with reference to FIG.

[0080]

[0093] In some aspects, the at least one second MLD includes at least two co-located APs.

[0081]

[0094] In some aspects, the first MLD includes a non-AP station and the at least one second MLD includes at least one AP, or the first MLD includes at least one AP and the at least one second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

[0082]

[0095] In some aspects, the network packet is output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

[0083]

[0096] In some aspects, the method 1000 further includes obtaining an indication of the network coding redundancy parameter based on at least one of the feedback, or one or more conditions of one or more of the plurality of links. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by obtaining circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG.

[0084]

[0097] In some aspects, one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission from the at least one second MLD based on the feedback.

[0085]

[0098] In some aspects, the method 1000 further includes obtaining, from the at least one second MLD, an indication of sequence numbers of the uncoded packets and providing an indication of sequence numbers of the correctly recovered uncoded packets. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by obtaining circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 12. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by indication circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 12.

[0086]

[0099] In some aspects, the indication of the sequence number is provided via a bitmap.

[0087]

[0100] In some aspects, method 1000 further includes at least one of obtaining from at least one second MLD a request that network coding for the packet should be activated, the second MLD outputting a request to activate network coding for the packet to the at least one second MLD for transmission, and the third MLD outputting a request to activate network coding for the packet to the at least one third MLD for transmission. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by obtaining circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 12. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 12.

[0088]

[0101] In some aspects, the request is signaled via an action frame containing network coding parameters, a Modified Block Ack signaling, an SCS request or response frame, or a TWT request or response frame.

[0089]

[0102] In some aspects, the feedback includes a metric indicating reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed in the first MLD.

[0090]

[0103] In some aspects, the metric includes an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

[0091]

[0104] In some aspects, the metric is provided in a field of the MAC frame header, with different values ​​of the field mapping to different uncoded packet delivery ratio values.

[0092]

[0105] In one aspect, the method 1000, or any aspect related thereto, may be performed by an apparatus such as the communications device 1200 of Figure 12 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1000. The communications device 1200 is described in further detail below.

[0093]

[0106] It should be noted that FIG. 10 is merely one example of a method and that other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with this disclosure.

[0094]

[0107] FIG. 11 shows a method 1100 for wireless communication with a second MLD, such as the AP 110 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and / or the STA 120 of FIGS.

[0095]

[0108] Method 1100 begins with establishing at least one link with at least one first MLD, at 1105. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by link establishment circuitry and / or link establishment code as described with reference to FIG.

[0096]

[0109] The method 1100 then proceeds to step 1110, where the one or more uncoded packets are encoded to generate a network-coded packet based on a network-coding algorithm. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by encoding circuitry and / or encoding code as described with reference to FIG.

[0097]

[0110] The method 1100 then proceeds to step 1115, outputting the network-encoded packet for transmission over at least one link. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or output code as described with reference to FIG.

[0098]

[0111] In some aspects, the second MLD includes at least two co-located APs.

[0099]

[0112] In some aspects, at least one first MLD includes a non-AP station and the second MLD includes at least one AP, or at least one first MLD includes at least one AP and the second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

[0100]

[0113] In some aspects, the network-encoded packets are output for transmission as unicast or multicast frames.

[0101]

[0114] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes acquiring a network-encoded packet from the at least one third MLD device, decoding the network-encoded packet, and encoding the network packet before outputting the network-encoded packet for transmission over the at least one link. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by acquiring circuitry and / or acquiring code as described with reference to FIG. 13. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by decoding circuitry and / or decoding code as described with reference to FIG. 13. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by encoding circuitry and / or encoding code as described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0102]

[0115] In some aspects, the network packet is output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

[0103]

[0116] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes outputting an indication of the network coding redundancy parameter for transmission over the at least one link based on at least one of the feedback obtained from the at least one first MLD or the one or more conditions of the one or more of the plurality of links. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or output code as described with reference to FIG.

[0104]

[0117] In some aspects, one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission based on feedback obtained from the at least one first MLD.

[0105]

[0118] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes determining which of the network-coded packets to output for retransmission based on the feedback and the one or more coding vectors used in encoding the one or more uncoded packets to generate the network-coded packet. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by decision circuitry and / or decision code as described with reference to FIG.

[0106]

[0119] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes outputting an indication of the sequence numbers of the unencoded packets for transmission over the at least one link. Some examples further include obtaining an indication of the sequence numbers of the correctly recovered unencoded packets from the at least one first MLD. In some cases, the operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or output code as described with reference to FIG.

[0107]

[0120] In some aspects, the indication of the sequence number is obtained via a bitmap.

[0108]

[0121] In some aspects, method 1100 further includes at least one of obtaining a request from the at least one first MLD that network coding for the packet should be activated, the second MLD outputting a request to activate network coding for the packet to the at least one first MLD for transmission, and the third MLD outputting a request to activate network coding for the packet to the at least one third MLD for transmission. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by obtaining circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 13. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by output circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0109]

[0122] In some aspects, the request is signaled via an action frame containing network coding parameters, a Modified Block Ack signaling, an SCS request or response frame, or a TWT request or response frame.

[0110]

[0123] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes obtaining feedback from the at least one first MLD, the feedback including a metric indicating a reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed at the first MLD. In some cases, operations of this step may refer to or be performed by obtaining circuitry and / or code as described with reference to FIG.

[0111]

[0124] In some aspects, the metric includes an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

[0112]

[0125] In some aspects, the metric is obtained within a field of the MAC frame header, with different values ​​of the field mapping to different uncoded packet delivery ratio values.

[0113]

[0126] In one aspect, the method 1100, or any aspect related thereto, may be performed by an apparatus such as a communications device 1300 of Figure 13 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1100. Communications device 1300 is described in further detail below.

[0114]

[0127] It should be noted that FIG. 11 is merely one example of a method, and that other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with this disclosure.

[0115] Exemplary Communication Devices

[0128] 12 illustrates an aspect of an example communications device 1200. In some aspects, the communications device 1200 is a first MLD, such as the AP 110 and / or the STA 120 described above with respect to FIGS.

[0116]

[0129] Communications device 1200 includes a processing system 1205 coupled to a transceiver 1285 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1285 is configured to transmit and receive signals for communications device 1200, such as various signals as described herein, via an antenna 1290. The transceiver 1285 may be an example of an aspect of transceiver 254 described with reference to FIG. 2. The processing system 1205 may be configured to perform processing functions for communications device 1200, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by communications device 1200.

[0117]

[0130] The processing system 1205 includes one or more processors 1210. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1210 may represent one or more of the RX data processor 242, the TX data processor 210, the TX spatial processor 220, or the controller 230 of the AP 110, or the RX data processor 270, the TX data processor 288, the TX spatial processor 290, or the controller 280 of the STA 120 shown in FIG. 2. The one or more processors 1210 are coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1245 via a bus 1280. In some particular aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1245 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1210, cause the one or more processors 1210 to perform the method 1000 described with respect to FIG. 10, or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that reference to a processor performing a function of the communications device 1200 may include one or more processors 1210 performing that function of the communications device 1200 .

[0118]

[0131] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1245 stores code (e.g., executable instructions) such as link establishment code 1250, acquisition code 1255, decode code 1260, feedback generation code 1265, output code 1270, and instruction code 1275. Processing of link establishment code 1250, acquisition code 1255, decode code 1260, feedback generation code 1265, output code 1270, and instruction code 1275 may cause communications device 1200 to perform method 1000, or any aspect related thereto, as described with respect to FIG.

[0119]

[0132] The one or more processors 1210 include circuitry configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in a computer-readable medium / memory 1245, including circuitry such as link establishment circuitry 1215, acquisition circuitry 1220, decoding circuitry 1225, feedback generation circuitry 1230, output circuitry 1235, and indication circuitry 1240. Processing with the link establishment circuitry 1215, acquisition circuitry 1220, decoding circuitry 1225, feedback generation circuitry 1230, output circuitry 1235, and indication circuitry 1240 can cause the communications device 1200 to perform the method 1000 described with respect to FIG.

[0120]

[0133] Various components of the communication device 1200 may provide means for performing the method 1000 described with respect to Fig. 10 or any aspect related thereto. For example, the means for transmitting, sending, or outputting for transmission may include the transmitter unit 222 or antenna(s) 224 of the AP 110, or the transmitter unit 254 or antenna(s) 252 of the STA 120, as shown in Fig. 2, and / or the transceiver 1285 and antenna 1290 of the communication device 1200 in Fig. 12. The means for receiving or acquiring may include the receiver unit 222 or antenna(s) 224 of the AP 110, or the receiver unit 254 or antenna(s) 252 of the STA 120, as shown in Fig. 2, and / or the transceiver 1285 and antenna 1290 of the communication device 1200 in Fig. 12.

[0121]

[0134] 13 illustrates an aspect of an example communications device 1300. In some aspects, the communications device 1300 is a second MLD, such as the AP 110 and / or the STA 120 described above with respect to FIGS.

[0122]

[0135] The communications device 1300 includes a processing system 1305 coupled to a transceiver 1385 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1385 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communications device 1300, such as various signals as described herein, via an antenna 1390. The transceiver 1385 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 254 described with reference to FIG. 2. The processing system 1305 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communications device 1300, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by the communications device 1300.

[0123]

[0136] The processing system 1305 includes one or more processors 1310. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1310 may represent one or more of the RX data processor 242, the TX data processor 210, the TX spatial processor 220, or the controller 230 of the AP 110, or the RX data processor 270, the TX data processor 288, the TX spatial processor 290, or the controller 280 of the STA 120 shown in FIG. 2. The one or more processors 1310 are coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1345 via a bus 1380. In some particular aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1345 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1310, cause the one or more processors 1310 to perform the method 1100 described with respect to FIG. 11, or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that reference to a processor performing a function of the communications device 1300 may include one or more processors 1310 performing that function of the communications device 1300 .

[0124]

[0137] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1345 stores code (e.g., executable instructions), such as link establishment code 1350, encoding code 1355, output code 1360, acquisition code 1365, decoding code 1370, and decision code 1375. Processing of link establishment code 1350, encoding code 1355, output code 1360, acquisition code 1365, decoding code 1370, and decision code 1375 may cause communications device 1300 to perform method 1100, or any aspect related thereto, as described with respect to FIG.

[0125]

[0138] The one or more processors 1310 include circuitry configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in a computer-readable medium / memory 1345, including circuitry such as link establishment circuitry 1315, encoding circuitry 1320, output circuitry 1325, acquisition circuitry 1330, decoding circuitry 1335, and decision circuitry 1340. Processing with the link establishment circuitry 1315, encoding circuitry 1320, output circuitry 1325, acquisition circuitry 1330, decoding circuitry 1335, and decision circuitry 1340 can cause the communications device 1300 to perform the method 1100 described with respect to FIG.

[0126]

[0139] Various components of the communication device 1300 may provide means for performing the method 1100 described with respect to Fig. 11 or any aspect related thereto. For example, the means for transmitting, sending, or outputting for transmission may include the transmitter unit 222 or antenna(s) 224 of the AP 110, or the transmitter unit 254 or antenna(s) 252 of the STA 120, as shown in Fig. 2, and / or the transceiver 1385 and antenna 1390 of the communication device 1300 in Fig. 13. The means for receiving or acquiring may include the receiver unit 222 or antenna(s) 224 of the AP 110, or the receiver unit 254 or antenna(s) 252 of the STA 120, as shown in Fig. 2, and / or the transceiver 1385 and antenna 1390 of the communication device 1300 in Fig. 13.

[0127]

[0140] The means for establishing, means for decoding, means for generating, means for providing, and / or means for encoding may include any of the various processors and / or transceivers shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 12, or FIG. 13.

[0128] Example clauses

[0141] The following numbered clauses describe example implementations.

[0129]

[0142] Clause 1: A method of wireless communication by a first MLD, comprising: establishing a plurality of links with at least one second MLD; obtaining network-coded packets via at least one of the plurality of links; decoding the network-coded packets based on a network decoding algorithm to recover one or more uncoded packets; generating feedback based on the decoding; and outputting the feedback to the at least one second MLD for transmission.

[0130]

[0143] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, wherein the at least one second MLD includes at least two co-located APs.

[0131]

[0144] Clause 3: The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein the first MLD includes a non-AP station and at least one second MLD includes at least one AP, or the first MLD includes at least one AP and at least one second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

[0132]

[0145] Clause 4: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the network packets are output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

[0133]

[0146] Clause 5: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 4, further comprising obtaining an indication of a network coding redundancy parameter based on at least one of feedback or one or more states of one or more of the plurality of links.

[0134]

[0147] Clause 6: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission from at least one second MLD based on feedback.

[0135]

[0148] Clause 7: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 6, further comprising obtaining an indication of sequence numbers of uncoded packets from at least one second MLD; and providing an indication of sequence numbers of correctly recovered uncoded packets.

[0136]

[0149] Clause 8: The method of clause 7, wherein the indication of the sequence number is provided via a bitmap.

[0137]

[0150] Clause 9: The method of any one of clauses 1 to 8, further comprising at least one of: obtaining a request from at least one second MLD that network coding for the packet should be activated; the second MLD outputting a request for activating network coding for the packet to the at least one second MLD for transmission; or the third MLD outputting a request for activating network coding for the packet to the at least one third MLD for transmission.

[0138]

[0151] Clause 10: The method according to clause 9, wherein the request is signalled via an action frame including network coding parameters, a Modified Block Ack signalling, an SCS request frame or an SCS response frame, or a TWT request frame or a TWT response frame.

[0139]

[0152] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the feedback includes a metric indicating reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed in the first MLD.

[0140]

[0153] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, wherein the metric comprises an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

[0141]

[0154] Clause 13: The method of clause 11, wherein the metric is provided in a field of a MAC frame header, different values ​​of the field mapping to different uncoded packet delivery ratio values.

[0142]

[0155] Clause 14: A method of wireless communication by a second MLD, comprising: establishing at least one link with at least one first MLD; encoding one or more uncoded packets to generate a network-coded packet based on a network coding algorithm; and outputting the network-coded packet for transmission over the at least one link.

[0143]

[0156] Clause 15: The method of clause 14, wherein the second MLD includes at least two co-located APs.

[0144]

[0157] Clause 16: The method of clause 14 or 15, wherein at least one first MLD includes a non-AP station and the second MLD includes at least one AP, or at least one first MLD includes at least one AP and the second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

[0145]

[0158] Clause 17: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 16, wherein the network-encoded packets are output for transmission as unicast or multicast frames.

[0146]

[0159] Clause 18: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 17, further comprising obtaining network-coded packets from at least one third MLD device, decoding the network-coded packets, and encoding the network packets before outputting the network-coded packets for transmission over at least one link.

[0147]

[0160] Clause 19: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 18, wherein the network packet is output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

[0148]

[0161] Clause 20: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 19, further comprising outputting an indication of a network coding redundancy parameter for transmission over the at least one link based on at least one of feedback obtained from the at least one first MLD or one or more conditions of the one or more of the plurality of links.

[0149]

[0162] Clause 21: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 20, wherein one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission based on feedback obtained from at least one first MLD.

[0150]

[0163] Clause 22: The method of clause 21, further comprising determining which of the network-coded packets to output for retransmission based on the feedback and one or more coding vectors used in encoding the one or more uncoded packets to generate the network-coded packets.

[0151]

[0164] Clause 23: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 22, further comprising: outputting an indication of sequence numbers of uncoded packets for transmission over at least one link; and obtaining an indication of sequence numbers of correctly recovered uncoded packets from the at least one first MLD.

[0152]

[0165] Clause 24: The method of clause 23, wherein the indication of the sequence number is obtained via a bitmap.

[0153]

[0166] Clause 25: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 24, further comprising at least one of: obtaining a request from at least one first MLD that network coding for the packet should be activated; a second MLD outputting a request for activating network coding for the packet to the at least one first MLD for transmission; or a third MLD outputting a request for activating network coding for the packet to the at least one third MLD for transmission.

[0154]

[0167] Clause 26: The method according to clause 25, wherein the request is signalled via an action frame including network coding parameters, a Modified Block Ack signalling, an SCS request frame or an SCS response frame, or a TWT request frame or a TWT response frame.

[0155]

[0168] Clause 27: The method of any one of clauses 14 to 26, further comprising obtaining feedback from at least one first MLD, the feedback comprising a metric indicating reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed at the first MLD.

[0156]

[0169] Clause 28: The method of clause 27, wherein the metric comprises an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

[0157]

[0170] Clause 29: The method of clause 27, wherein the metric is obtained within a field of a MAC frame header, and different values ​​of the field map to different uncoded packet delivery ratio values.

[0158]

[0171] Clause 30: An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 29.

[0159]

[0172] Clause 31: A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 29.

[0160]

[0173] Clause 32: A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 29.

[0161]

[0174] Clause 33: An apparatus comprising: a memory containing executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13.

[0162]

[0175] Clause 34: An apparatus comprising a memory including executable instructions and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one transceiver configured to at least one of receive network coded packets or send feedback, and the apparatus is configured as an MLD.

[0163]

[0176] Clause 35: An apparatus comprising a memory comprising executable instructions and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of clauses 14 to 29.

[0164]

[0177] Clause 36: An apparatus comprising a memory including executable instructions and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of clauses 14 to 29, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one transceiver configured to at least one of transmit network coded packets or receive feedback, and wherein the apparatus is configured as an MLD.

[0165] Additional Considerations

[0178] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or aspects described in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. For example, changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various steps or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various actions may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to some embodiments may be combined in some other embodiments. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects described herein. Moreover, the scope of the disclosure is intended to encompass apparatuses or methods that are implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure described herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0166]

[0179] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with this disclosure may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system on a chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

[0167]

[0180] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. By way of example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination having multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other permutation of a, b, and c).

[0168]

[0181] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining / determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Also, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, electing, establishing, and the like.

[0169]

[0182] The methods disclosed herein include one or more actions for achieving the method. The actions of those methods may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, various operations of the methods described above may be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. Those means may include various hardware and / or software component(s) including, but not limited to, circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors, and / or various hardware and / or software module(s).

[0170]

[0183] The following claims are not intended to be limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Within the claims, reference to an element by the singular is not intended to mean "only one" unless expressly stated as such, but rather "one or more." The term "several" refers to one or more, unless expressly stated otherwise. Claim elements are not to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for." All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various embodiments described throughout this disclosure that are known or later become known to those skilled in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be made public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory containing instructions; One or more processors executing the instructions to cause the device to: Establishing, in a first multi-link device (MLD), a plurality of links with at least one second MLD; obtaining a network-encoded packet over at least one of the plurality of links; decoding the network-coded packets based on a network decoding algorithm to recover one or more uncoded packets; generating feedback based on said decoding; one or more processors configured to cause the feedback to be output to the at least one second MLD for transmission; An apparatus comprising:

2. The at least one second MLD comprises: The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising at least two co-located access points (APs).

3. the first MLD includes non-access point (non-AP) stations and the at least one second MLD includes at least one AP; or The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first MLD includes at least one AP and the at least one second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the network packets are output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

5. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising obtaining an indication of a network coding parameter based on at least one of the feedback or one or more conditions of one or more of the plurality of links.

6. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission from the at least one second MLD based on the feedback.

7. The apparatus comprises: obtaining an indication of a sequence number of the unencoded packet from the at least one second MLD; providing an indication of sequence numbers of correctly recovered unencoded packets; The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the indication of a sequence number is provided via a bitmap.

9. obtaining a request from the at least one second MLD that network coding for packets should be activated; outputting a request for activating network coding of packets by the second MLD for transmission to the at least one second MLD; or outputting a request by a third MLD to activate network coding of packets for transmission to the at least one third MLD; The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:

10. The request, an action frame including network coding parameters; Modified Block Acknowledgement (Block Ack) signaling; a stream classification service (SCS) request frame or an SCS response frame, or A target wake-up time (TWT) request frame or a TWT response frame; The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the signaling is via

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feedback comprises a metric indicating reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed in the first MLD.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the metric comprises an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

13. the metric is provided within a field of a media access control (MAC) frame header; The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein different values ​​of the field map to different unencoded packet delivery ratio values.

14. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one transceiver configured to at least one of receive the network-coded packets or transmit the feedback, the apparatus being configured as a MLD.

15. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory containing instructions; One or more processors executing the instructions to cause the device to: Establishing at least one link in a second multi-link device (MLD) with at least one first MLD; encoding the one or more uncoded packets to generate network-coded packets based on a network coding algorithm; one or more processors configured to cause the network-encoded packets to be output for transmission over the at least one link; An apparatus comprising:

16. The second MLD is The apparatus of claim 15 , comprising at least two co-located access points (APs).

17. The at least one first MLD includes non-access point (non-AP) stations and the second MLD includes at least one AP; or The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one first MLD includes at least one AP and the second MLD includes at least one non-AP station.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the network-encoded packets are output for transmission as unicast or multicast frames.

19. obtaining the network-encoded packets from at least one third MLD device; decoding the network-encoded packets; and encoding the network packets prior to outputting the network-encoded packets for transmission over the at least one link; The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:

20. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the network packets are output for transmission from the at least one second MLD without retransmission.

21. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: outputting an indication of a network coding redundancy parameter based on at least one of feedback obtained from the at least one first MLD or one or more conditions of one or more of the plurality of links for transmission over the at least one link.

22. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein one or more of the network-coded packets are network-coded packets output for retransmission based on feedback obtained from the at least one first MLD.

23. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: determining which of the network-coded packets to output for retransmission based on the feedback and one or more coding vectors used in encoding the one or more uncoded packets to generate the network-coded packet.

24. outputting an indication of a sequence number of the unencoded packet for transmission over the at least one link; obtaining from the at least one first MLD an indication of sequence numbers of correctly recovered unencoded packets; The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:

25. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the indication of a sequence number is obtained via a bitmap.

26. obtaining a request from the at least one first MLD that network coding for packets should be activated; the second MLD outputting a request to activate network coding of packets to the at least one first MLD for transmission; or outputting a request by a third MLD to activate network coding of packets for transmission to the at least one third MLD; The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising at least one of:

27. The request, an action frame including network coding parameters; Modified Block Acknowledgement (Block Ack) signaling; a stream classification service (SCS) request frame or an SCS response frame, or A target wake-up time (TWT) request frame or a TWT response frame; 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the signal is transmitted via

28. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising obtaining feedback from the at least one first MLD, the feedback including a metric indicating reliability of uncoded packet delivery observed at the first MLD.

29. 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the metric comprises an observed uncoded packet delivery ratio in the first MLD.

30. The metric is obtained within a field of a Media Access Control (MAC) frame header; 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein different values ​​of the field map to different unencoded packet delivery ratio values.

31. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising at least one transceiver configured to at least one of: transmit the network-coded packets, the apparatus configured as a MLD.

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