Multi-link communication

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for associating a wireless communication device, such as a wireless STA of a station (STA) multi-link device (MLD), with an access point (AP) MLD, wherein the AP MLD comprises a first AP associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD and one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. The first AP comprises one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSID) associated with the first communication link. The AP MLD transmits a frame comprising a first element carrying discovery information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of BSSIDs and a second element carrying discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to ML (multi-link) communication. Background Technology

[0002] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by multiple client devices, also referred to as stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN compliant with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard family is the Basic Service Set (BSS) managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Service Set Identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames, enabling any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0003] To improve data throughput, the AP can communicate with one or more STAs through multiple simultaneous communication links. Each of the communication links can have various bandwidths, for example, by combining multiple 20 MHz-wide channels to form 40 MHz-wide channels, 80 MHz-wide channels, or 160 MHz-wide channels. The AP can establish a BSS on any of the different communication links, and thus it is desirable to improve communication between the AP and one or more STAs through each of the communication links.

[0004] Each of the systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure has several innovative aspects, and no single aspect among these aspects alone possesses the preferred attributes disclosed herein.

[0005] One innovative aspect of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented as a method for wireless communication. In some implementations, the method may be performed by a first AP (access point) multi-link device (MLD) comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs may be associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP may also include one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP may belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSID) associated with the first communication link. The method may include the step of generating a frame, wherein the frame comprises a first element carrying discovery information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of BSSIDs and a second element carrying discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the method may also include the step of transmitting a frame over a first communication link.

[0006] In some implementations, the method may also include receiving a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request from a first radio STA of a station (STA) MLD, and transmitting one or both of association information or discovery information regarding a first AP and one or more second APs of a first AP MLD to the first STA of the STA MLD based on the request. In some cases, the method may also include associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on the request, and communicating with the STA MLD over one or more of a first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association. In some aspects, the ML association request or ML probe request may include a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0007] In some implementations, the frame may also include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD of the one or more virtual APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier that identifies the second AP associated with the first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. Each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying the second AP associated with the second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying the second AP MLD.

[0008] In some implementations, each of the one or more second APs may belong to an individual second multiple BSSID set of one or more second multiple BSSID sets. In some other implementations, the first AP may be associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs may be associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). In some cases, the first element may include a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles includes an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual AP of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLD of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0009] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. In some other cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities.

[0010] In some other cases, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual APs, and the individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0011] In some implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may further include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element may also include a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field.

[0012] Other innovative aspects of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may be a first AP (access point) multi-link device (MLD) comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs may be associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP may also include one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP may belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSID) associated with the first communication link. The first AP MLD may include at least one modem, at least one processor coupled to communicate with at least one modem, and at least one memory coupled to communicate with at least one processor. The at least one memory stores instructions, and the instructions, when executed by at least one processor together with at least one modem, cause the first AP MLD to perform operations. Operations may include an operation to generate a frame, and the frame includes a first element that returns discovery information for a first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to a first multi-BSSID set, and a second element that returns discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD.

[0013] In some implementations, the method may also include receiving a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request from a first radio STA of a station (STA) MLD, and transmitting one or both of association information or discovery information regarding a first AP and one or more second APs of a first AP MLD to the first STA of the STA MLD based on the request. In some cases, the method may also include associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on the request, and communicating with the STA MLD over one or more of a first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association. In some aspects, the ML association request or ML probe request may include a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0014] In some implementations, the frame may also include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD of the one or more virtual APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier that identifies the second AP associated with the first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. Each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0015] In some implementations, each of the one or more second APs may belong to an individual second multiple BSSID set of one or more second multiple BSSID sets. In some other implementations, the first AP may be associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs may be associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). In some cases, the first element may include a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles includes an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual AP of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLD of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0016] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. In some other cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities.

[0017] In some other cases, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual APs, and the individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0018] In some implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may further include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element may also include a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field.

[0019] Other innovative aspects of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented as a method for wireless communication. In some implementations, the method may be performed by an STA MLD to associate with an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The AP MLD may include a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs may be associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP may also include one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP may belong to a first multiple set of basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) associated with the first communication link. The method may include the step of receiving a frame from a first AP MLD on a first communication link of a first AP MLD, and the frame includes a first element that returns discovery information for a first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to a first multiple BSSID set, and a second element that returns discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD.

[0020] In some implementations, the method may also include the step of transmitting a multi-link (ML) association request to a first AP MLD on a first communication link by a first STA of the STA MLD, and receiving association information for a first AP and one or more second APs of the first AP MLD based on the ML association request. In some cases, the method may also include the step of associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD at least partially based on the association information, and communicating with the first AP MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association. In some other cases, the ML association or probe request may include a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0021] In some implementations, the frame may also include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD of the one or more virtual APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier that identifies the second AP associated with the first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. Each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0022] In some implementations, each of the one or more second APs may belong to an individual second multiple BSSID set of one or more second multiple BSSID sets. In some other implementations, the first AP may be associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs may be associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). In some cases, the first element may include a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles includes an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual AP of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLD of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0023] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. In some other cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities.

[0024] In some other cases, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual APs, and the individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0025] In some implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may further include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element may also include a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field.

[0026] Other innovative aspects of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may be a wireless station (STA) multi-link device (MLD), and the wireless STA MLD comprises at least one modem, at least one processor coupled to communicate with at least one modem, and at least one memory coupled to communicate with at least one processor. At least one modem stores commands, and when the commands are executed by at least one processor together with at least one modem, the STA MLD causes the STA MLD to perform operations to associate with an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The AP MLD may include a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP may be associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs may be associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP may also include one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP may belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) associated with a first communication link. Operations may include receiving a frame from the first AP MLD on a first communication link of the first AP MLD, and the frame includes a first element that returns discovery information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of BSSIDs, and a second element that returns discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD.

[0027] In some implementations, the operations may also include the operation of transmitting a multi-link (ML) association request to a first AP MLD on a first communication link by the first STA of the STA MLD, and the operation of receiving association information for the first AP and one or more second APs of the first AP MLD based on the ML association request. In some cases, the operations may also include the operation of associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on the association information, and the operation of communicating with the first AP MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association. In some other cases, the ML association or probe request may include a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0028] In some implementations, the frame may also include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD of the one or more virtual APs associated with the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier that identifies the second AP associated with the first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. Each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0029] In some implementations, each of the one or more second APs may belong to an individual second multiple BSSID set of one or more second multiple BSSID sets. In some other implementations, the first AP may be associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs may be associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). In some cases, the first element may include a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles includes an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual AP of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLD of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0030] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. In some other cases, each link-specific profile subelement may carry capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities.

[0031] In some other cases, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual APs, and the individual APs and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0032] In some implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may further include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element may also include a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0033] Details of one or more embodiments of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure are described in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative dimensions in the following drawings may not be drawn to actual scale.

[0034] Figure 1 illustrates a pictorial diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network.

[0035] FIG. 2a illustrates an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU) that can be used for communications between an access point (AP) and multiple stations (STA).

[0036] Figure 2b illustrates an exemplary field of the PDU of Figure 2a.

[0037] FIG. 3a illustrates another exemplary PDU that can be used for communications between an AP and one or more STAs.

[0038] FIG. 3b illustrates another exemplary PDU that can be used for communications between an AP and one or more STAs.

[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary PPDU (physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit) that can be used for communications between an AP and multiple STAs.

[0040] Figure 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device.

[0041] Figure 6a illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary access point (AP).

[0042] FIG. 6b illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary STA (station).

[0043] FIG. 7a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0044] FIG. 7b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0045] FIG. 8a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for wireless communication according to some different implementations.

[0046] FIG. 8b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for wireless communication according to some different implementations.

[0047] FIG. 9a illustrates a timing diagram depicting exemplary multi-link communication according to some implementations.

[0048] FIG. 9b illustrates a timing diagram depicting exemplary multi-link communication according to some implementations.

[0049] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0050] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary Multiple Link Attribute (MLA) element that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0051] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary extension element available for use in communications between wireless communication devices.

[0052] FIGS. 13a through 13g illustrate flowcharts illustrating exemplary processes for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0053] FIGS. 14a through 14g illustrate flowcharts illustrating exemplary processes for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0054] FIG. 15 illustrates a sequence diagram depicting exemplary multi-link communication according to some implementations.

[0055] FIG. 16a illustrates an exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0056] FIG. 16b illustrates another exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0057] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary multi-link attribute element available for use in communications between wireless communication devices.

[0058] FIG. 18 illustrates another exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0059] FIGS. 19a through 19c illustrate flowcharts illustrating exemplary processes for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0060] FIGS. 20a through 20c illustrate flowcharts illustrating exemplary processes for wireless communication according to some implementations.

[0061] FIG. 21 illustrates a sequence diagram depicting exemplary multi-link communication according to some implementations.

[0062] FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0063] FIG. 23 illustrates exemplary multiple BSSID elements that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0064] FIG. 24 illustrates other exemplary multi-link attribute elements available for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0065] FIG. 25 illustrates another exemplary frame that can be used for communications between wireless communication devices.

[0066] FIG. 26 illustrates an example depicting an exemplary process for associating various wireless communication devices with an AP MLD.

[0067] In various drawings, the same reference numbers and designations indicate the same elements. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0068] The following description relates to specific embodiments for illustrating innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings of the present invention may be applied in a number of different ways. The described embodiments may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF (radio frequency) signals according to one or more of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standards, IEEE 802.15 standards, Bluetooth® standards defined by the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), or LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3G, 4G, or 5G (NR (New Radio)) standards published by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following techniques or technologies: CDMA (code division multiple access), TDMA (time division multiple access), FDMA (frequency division multiple access), OFDMA (orthogonal FDMA), SC-FDMA (single-carrier FDMA), SU (single-user) MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output), and MU (multi-user) MIMO.The described implementations may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of a WPAN (wireless personal area network), WLAN (wireless local area network), WWAN (wireless wide area network), or IoT (internet of things) network.

[0069] Various implementations generally relate to multi-link (ML) communications, specifically to establishing ML communication sessions between wireless communication devices. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a single ML association context for multiple communication links shared among multiple devices forming a multi-link device (MLD). Each MLD may have a unique medium access control (MAC) address, which is also referred to as a MAC-SAP (MAC service access point) endpoint. One example of an MLD device is an AP MLD comprising multiple APs, each of which may communicate over multiple communication links and establish a BSS over multiple communication links. Another example of an MLD device is an STA MLD device comprising multiple STAs capable of communicating with other devices (e.g., AP MLD devices) over multiple communication links. An STA MLD device may have a single MAC-PHY (medium access control physical layer) instance for each of a plurality of communication links, and the MAC address of each MAC-PHY instance may be the same or different. Under certain conditions, such as when congestion on a first communication link is higher than a certain level, MLD devices may switch from communication on the first communication link to communication on a second communication link. By providing a single ML association context that can be shared among the MAC-SAP endpoints of the MLD devices, aspects of the present disclosure allow MLD devices to dynamically switch their communications between different communication links or groups of communication links without being disassociated or reassociated with one another.In some implementations, associating with each other over a single communication link allows MLD devices to use the same association configuration, cryptographic keys, and other ML communication parameters when communicating over one or more of the other communication links associated with the MLDs.

[0070] Some implementations are more specifically related to a first wireless communication device (e.g., an AP MLD device) that transmits a first packet over a first communication link (also referred to as the “first communication link”). The first packet contains discovery information for at least the first communication link and a second communication link (also referred to as the “second communication link”). A second wireless communication device (e.g., an STA MLD device) transmits an MLA request to the AP MLD device over the first communication link based at least partially on the discovery information. In some implementations, the AP MLD then transmits a second packet over the first communication link. The second packet contains association information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, the AP MLD is associated with the STA MLD based at least partially on the association information. In some implementations, associating includes setting at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with the STA MLD over the first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter may be the same for each of the first and second communication links.

[0071] In some other implementations, associating involves establishing a common security context between a first MAC-SAP endpoint of the STA MLD and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of the AP MLD. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate over both the first and second communication links. The STA MLD and the AP MLD may communicate over the second communication link based on the association with the first communication link without being unassociated or reassociated. Some other implementations relate to the AP MLD establishing a common block acknowledgment (BA) session with the STA MLD for at least one traffic identifier (TID).

[0072] Specific implementations of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. By using a first communication link to exchange one or more of performance information or operational parameter information and discovery information regarding other communication links, wireless communication devices implementing various aspects of this disclosure may allow wireless communication devices to be associated with each other by exchanging communications over a single communication link. The exchanged ML information may also allow wireless communication devices to rapidly switch communications between different communication links and dynamically change TID values ​​and mappings between multiple communication links. Specifically, an STA MLD may receive a single packet from an AP MLD containing ML information for all links on which MLDs are operating. Thus, aspects of this disclosure enable an STA MLD to discover an AP MLD on any link where an AP MLD device has established a BSS. Additionally, aspects of the present disclosure may allow an AP MLD device and an STA MLD to establish a common BA session with each other for MAC service data units (MSDUs) corresponding to one or more TIDs and to associate (or “map”) each of the one or more TIDs with a corresponding group of communication links. The common BA session established between the AP MLD and the STA MLD, along with mappings between each TID and a corresponding group of communication links, may allow the AP MLD and the STA MLD to remap each of the one or more TIDs to a different group of communication links without releasing the common BA session or establishing a new BA session.

[0073] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network (100). Depending on some aspects, the wireless communication network (100) may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (and will hereinafter be referred to as WLAN (100)). For example, the WLAN (100) may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 standard family (e.g., the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard or its revisions including (but not limited to) 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). The WLAN (100) may include many wireless communication devices, such as an access point (AP) (102) and a number of stations (STA) (104). Although only one AP (102) is shown, the WLAN network (100) may also include multiple APs (102).

[0074] Each STA (104) may also be referred to, among other possibilities, as an MS (mobile station), mobile device, mobile handset, wireless handset, AT (access terminal), UE (user equipment), SS (subscriber station), or subscriber unit. Among other possibilities, the STAs (104) may represent various devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen or other home appliances, and key fobs (e.g., for PKES (passive keyless entry and start) systems).

[0075] A single AP (102) and an associated set of STAs (104) may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS) managed by individual APs (102). FIG. 1 additionally illustrates an exemplary coverage area (106) of an AP (102) that may represent a basic service area (BSA) of a WLAN (100). The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID) as well as to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be the medium access control (MAC) address of the AP (102). The AP (102) periodically broadcasts beacon frames ("beacons") containing a BSSID to enable any STA (104) within the wireless range of the AP (102) to "associate" or re-associate with the AP (102) to establish an individual communication link (108) (hereinafter also referred to as a "Wi-Fi link") or to maintain a communication link (108) with the AP (102). For example, the beacon may include a timing synchronization function to establish or maintain timing synchronization with the AP (102), as well as an identification of the primary channel used by the individual AP (102). The AP (102) may provide access to an external network to various STAs (104) of the WLAN through the individual communication links (108).

[0076] To establish a communication link (108) with an AP (102), each STA (104) is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scans”) on frequency channels within one or more frequency bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz, 6.0 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform passive scanning, the STA (104) listens to beacons transmitted by individual APs (102) at periodic time intervals referred to as TBTT (target beacon transmission time) (measured in TUs (time units), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning, the STA (104) generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from the APs (102). Each STA (104) may be configured to perform authentication and association operations to identify or select an AP (102) to be associated based on discovery information obtained through a passive or active scan, and to establish a communication link (108) with the selected AP (102). After authentication, the AP (102) may assign an association identifier (AID) to each associated STA (104).

[0077] As a result of the increasing ubiquity of wireless networks, the STA (104) may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within the STA's range or to select among multiple APs (102) that together form an extended service set (ESS) containing multiple connected BSSs. An extended network station associated with a WLAN (100) may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs (102) to be connected to this ESS. Thus, the STA (104) may be covered by more than one AP (102) and may be associated with different APs (102) at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with an AP (102), the STA (104) may also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP (102) to be associated with. For example, a STA (104) moving toward its associated AP (102) can perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP (102) with more desirable network characteristics, such as a larger RSSI (received signal strength indicator) or reduced traffic load.

[0078] In some cases, STAs (104) can form networks without any equipment other than APs (102) or the STAs (104) themselves. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). Ad hoc networks may alternatively be referred to as mesh networks or peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In some cases, ad hoc networks may be implemented within a larger wireless network such as a WLAN (100). In such implementations, STAs (104) may be able to communicate with each other via APs (102) using communication links (108), but STAs (104) may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless communication links (110). Additionally, two STAs (104) can communicate via a direct communication link (110) regardless of whether both STAs (104) are associated with and served by the same AP (102). In this ad hoc system, one or more of the STAs (104) may assume the role performed by the AP (102) in the BSS. Such STA (104) may be referred to as the GO (group owner) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless links (110) include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connections established using Wi-Fi TDLS (Tunneled Direct Link Setup) links, and other P2P group connections.

[0079] APs (102) and STAs (104) can function and communicate (through individual communication links (108)) according to the IEEE 802.11 standard family (e.g., IEEE 802.11-2016 standards or its revisions including (but not limited to) 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and MAC (medium access control) layers. APs (102) and STAs (104) transmit and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as “Wi-Fi communications”) to and from each other in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs). APs (102) and STAs (104) of the WLAN (100) may transmit PPDUs over unlicensed spectrum, which may be part of a spectrum that includes frequency bands commonly used by Wi-Fi techniques, such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5.0 GHz band, 60 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, and 900 MHz band. Some implementations of the APs (102) and STAs (104) described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6.0 GHz band, which may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The APs (102) and STAs (104) may also be configured to communicate through other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in the same or overlapping frequency bands or bands.

[0080] Each of the frequency bands may include multiple subbands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standard revisions may be transmitted through 2.4 and 5.0 GHz bands, and each of these bands is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are transmitted through physical channels having a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel combining. For example, PPDUs may be transmitted through physical channels having bandwidths of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by combining multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0081] Each PPDU is a composite structure containing a payload in the form of a PSDU (PLCP service data unit) and a PHY preamble. The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In cases where PPDUs are transmitted over a combined channel, the preamble fields may be duplicated and transmitted on each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). Among other uses, the legacy preamble may be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation. The legacy preamble may also generally be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, coding, and information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are based on a specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used to transmit the payload.

[0082] FIG. 2a illustrates an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU) (200) usable for communications between an AP and multiple STAs. For example, the PDU (200) may be configured as a PPDU. As illustrated, the PDU (200) includes a PHY preamble (202) and a PHY payload (204). For example, the PHY preamble (202) may include a legacy portion that includes itself an L-STF (legacy short training field) (206), an L-LTF (legacy long training field) (208), and an L-SIG (legacy signaling field) (210). The PHY preamble (202) may also include a non-legacy portion (not illustrated). The L-STF (206) generally enables the receiving device to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and approximate timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF (208) generally enables the receiving device to perform precise timing and frequency estimation and also to estimate the wireless channel. L-SIG (210) generally enables the receiving device to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to prevent transmission outside the PDU. For example, L-STF (206), L-LTF (208), and L-SIG (210) may be modulated according to the binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. The payload (204) may be modulated according to the BPSK modulation scheme, the quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, the quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or other suitable modulation scheme. The payload (204) may generally carry upper-layer data in the form of, for example, MPDUs (medium access control (MAC) protocol data units) or A-MPDUs (aggregated MPDUs).

[0083] FIG. 2b illustrates an exemplary L-SIG field (210) of the PDU of FIG. 2a. The L-SIG (210) includes a data rate field (212), a spare bit (214), a length field (216), a parity bit (218), and a tail field (220). The data rate field (212) indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field (212) may not be the actual data rate of the data returned in the payload (204)). The length field (216) indicates the length of the packet, for example, in bytes. The parity bit (218) is used to detect bit errors. The tail field (220) includes tail bits used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of the decoder (e.g., a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device determines the duration of the packet in units of, for example, microseconds (μs) by utilizing the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field (212) and the length field (216). FIG. 3a illustrates another exemplary PDU (300) available for use in wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs. The PDU (300) may be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. The PDU (300) may be formatted as a High Efficiency (HE) WLAN PPDU in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax revision to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard. The PDU (300) includes a PHY preamble containing a legacy portion (302) and a non-legacy portion (304). The PDU (300) may further include a PHY payload (306) after the preamble, for example, in the form of a PSDU containing a data field (324).

[0084] The legacy portion (302) of the preamble includes L-STF (308), L-LTF (310), and L-SIG (312). The non-legacy portion (304) includes RL-SIG (repetition of L-SIG) (314), a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) (316), HE-STF (HE short training field) (320), and one or more HE-LTF (HE long training field (or symbol)) (322). For OFDMA or MU-MIMO communications, the second portion (304) further includes a second HE-SIG-B (HE signal field) (318) encoded separately from HE-SIG-A (316). As with L-STF (308), L-LTF (310) and L-SIG (312), the information of RL-SIG (314) and HE-SIG-A (316) may be duplicated and transmitted on each of the component 20 MHz channels in cases involving the use of combined channels. In contrast, the content of HE-SIG-B (318) may be unique to each 20 MHz channel and target-specific STA (104).

[0085] RL-SIG (314) can indicate to HE-compatible STAs (104) that the PDU (300) is a HE PPDU. AP (102) may use HE-SIG-A (316) to identify multiple STAs (104) and to inform the STAs (104) that AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for those STAs (104). For example, HE-SIG-A (316) may include a resource allocation subfield indicating resource allocations for the identified STAs (104). HE-SIG-A (316) can be decoded by each HE-compatible STA (104) served by AP (102). In the case of MU transmission, HE-SIG-A (316) further includes information available to each identified STA (104) for decoding the associated HE-SIG-B (318). For example, HE-SIG-A (316) may indicate a frame format including, among other examples, the locations and lengths of the HE-SIG-Bs (318), available channel bandwidths, and modulation and coding schemes (MCS). HE-SIG-A (316) may also include HE WLAN signaling information available to STAs (104) other than the identified STAs (104).

[0086] HE-SIG-B (318) may return STA-specific scheduling information, such as STA-specific (or "user-specific") MCS values ​​and STA-specific RU assignment information. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, this information enables individual STAs (104) to identify and decode corresponding resource units (RUs) in the associated data field (324). Each HE-SIG-B (318) includes a common field and at least one STA-specific field. The common field may, among other examples, indicate RU assignments for multiple STAs (104), including RU assignments in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are assigned for MU-MIMO transmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, and indicate the number of users in the assignments. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. User-specific fields are assigned to specific STAs (104) and can be used to schedule specific RUs and to indicate scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields. Each user block field may include two user fields containing information about the STAs to decode the individual RU payloads of the two individual STAs in the data field (324).

[0087] FIG. 3b illustrates another exemplary PPDU (350) available for wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs. The PDU (350) may be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. The PDU (350) may be formatted as an Extreme High Throughput (EHT) WLAN PPDU in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be revision to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, or as a PPDU compliant with any later (post-EHT) version of a new wireless communication protocol compliant with a future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard or other wireless communication standards. The PDU (350) includes a PHY preamble containing a legacy portion (352) and a non-legacy portion (354). The PDU (350) may further include a PHY payload (356) after the preamble, for example, in the form of a PSDU containing a data field (376).

[0088] The legacy portion (352) of the preamble includes L-STF (358), L-LTF (360), and L-SIG (362). The non-legacy portion (354) of the preamble includes RL-SIG (364) and a number of wireless communication protocol version-dependent signal fields following RL-SIG (364). For example, the non-legacy portion (354) may include a universal signal field (366) (referred to herein as "U-SIG (366)") and an EHT signal field (368) (referred to herein as "EHT-SIG (368)"). One or both of U-SIG (366) and EHT-SIG (368) may be configured as other wireless communication protocol versions beyond EHT and may return version-dependent information for them. The non-legacy portion (354) further comprises an additional short training field (372) (which may be configured as other wireless communication protocol versions beyond EHT and may carry version-dependent information for them, but referred herein as “EHT-STF (372)”) and one or more additional long training fields (374) (which may be configured as other wireless communication protocol versions beyond EHT and may carry version-dependent information for them, but referred herein as “EHT-LTFs (374)”). As with L-STF (358), L-LTF (360) and L-SIG (362), information of U-SIG (366) and HE-SIG (368) may be duplicated and transmitted on each of the component 20 MHz channels in cases involving the use of combined channels. In some implementations, EHT-SIG (368) may additionally or alternatively transmit information on one or more non-primary 20 MHz channels that are different from the information transmitted on the primary 20 MHz channel.

[0089] The EHT-SIG (368) may contain one or more co-encoded symbols and may be encoded in a different block from the block in which the U-SIG (366) is encoded. The EHT-SIG (368) may be used by the AP to identify multiple STAs (104) and to inform the STAs (104) that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for those STAs (104). The EHT-SIG (368) may be decoded by each compatible STA (104) served by the AP (102). The EHT-SIG (368) may generally be used by a receiving device to interpret bits of the data field (376). For example, the EHT-SIG (368) may include user-specific signaling information, such as RU assignment information, spatial stream configuration information, and MCSs, among other examples. EHT-SIG (368) may further include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) (e.g., 4 bits) and a tail (e.g., 6 bits) that can be used for a binary convolutional code (BCC). In some implementations, EHT-SIG (368) may include one or more code blocks, each containing a CRC and a tail. In some aspects, each of the code blocks may be encoded individually.

[0090] HE-SIG (368) can return STA-specific scheduling information, such as user-specific MCS values ​​and user-specific RU assignment information. EHT-SIG (368) can generally be used by a receiving device to interpret bits of a data field (376). In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, this information enables individual STAs (104) to identify and decode corresponding RUs in the associated data field (376). Each EHT-SIG (318) may include a common field and at least one user-specific field. The common field may, among other examples, indicate RU distributions for multiple STAs (104), indicate RU assignments in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are assigned for MU-MIMO transmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, and indicate the number of users in the assignments. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. User-specific fields are assigned to specific STAs (104) and may be used to schedule specific RUs and to indicate scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include a plurality of user block fields. Each user block field may include two user fields containing information about the STAs to decode the individual RU payloads of two individual STAs.

[0091] The presence of RL-SIG (364) and U-SIG (366) may indicate to EHT- or later-version-compliant STAs (104) that the PPDU (350) is an EHT PPDU or PPDU compliant with any later (post-EHT) version of a new wireless communication protocol compliant with future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards. For example, U-SIG (366) may be used by a receiving device to interpret one or more bits of the EHT-SIG (368) or data field (376).

[0092] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary PPDU (400) available for use in communications between an AP (102) and a plurality of STAs (104). As described above, each PPDU (400) includes a PHY preamble (402) and a PSDU (404). Each PSDU (404) may carry one or more MPDUs (MAC protocol data units). For example, each PSDU (404) may carry an A-MPDU (aggregated MPDU) (408) containing an aggregation of a plurality of A-MPDU subframes (406). Each A-MPDU subframe (406) may include a MAC separator character (410) and a MAC header (412) prior to the accompanying MPDU (414), and the accompanying MPDU (414) contains the data portion ("payload" or "frame body") of the A-MPDU subframe (406). The MPDU (414) may carry one or more MSDU (MAC service data unit) subframes (416). For example, the MPDU (414) may carry an A-MSDU (aggregated MSDU) (418) containing multiple MSDU subframes (416). Each MSDU subframe (416) contains a corresponding MSDU (420) preceded by a subframe header (422).

[0093] Referring again to the A-MPDU subframe (406), the MAC header (412) may include a plurality of fields containing information that defines or indicates the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within the frame body (414). The MAC header (412) may also include a plurality of fields indicating addresses for the data encapsulated within the frame body (414). For example, the MAC header (412) may include a combination of a source address, a transmitter address, a receiver address, or a destination address. The MAC header (412) may include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field specifies the frame type, e.g., a data frame, a control frame, or a management frame. The MAC header (412) may further include a duration field indicating a duration extending from the end of the PPDU to the end of the ACK (acknowledgement) of the last PPDU to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (e.g., a BA (block ACK) in the case of an A-MPDU). The use of the duration field serves to set the NAV by reserving the wireless medium for the indicated duration. Each A-MPDU subframe (406) may also include a frame check sequence (FCS) field (424) for error detection. For example, the FCS field (416) may include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0094] As described above, the AP (102) and STAs (104) can support multi-user (MU) communications; that is, they can support simultaneous transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from the AP (102) to the corresponding STAs (104)) or simultaneous transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions from the corresponding STAs (104) to the AP (102). To support MU transmissions, the APs (102) and STAs (104) can utilize multi-user multiple-input, multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) technologies.

[0095] In MU-OFDMA schemes, the available frequency spectrum of a wireless channel can be divided into multiple resource units (RUs), each containing multiple different frequency subcarriers ("tones"). Different RUs can be assigned or allocated to different STAs (104) at specific times by the AP (102). The sizes and distributions of the RUs may be referred to as RU assignments. In some implementations, RUs can be assigned at 2 MHz intervals, so that the smallest RU can contain 26 tones consisting of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Consequently, in a 20 MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (e.g., 2 MHz, 26-tone RUs) can be assigned (since some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160 MHz channel, up to 74 RUs can be assigned. Larger 52-ton, 106-ton, 242-ton, 484-ton, and 996-ton RUs may also be assigned. Adjacent RUs may be separated by a null subcarrier (e.g., a DC subcarrier) to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid transmit center frequency leakage.

[0096] In the case of UL MU transmissions, the AP (102) may transmit a trigger frame to initiate and synchronize UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs (104) to the AP (102). Thus, such trigger frames may enable multiple STAs (104) to transmit UL traffic to the AP (102) simultaneously in time. The trigger frame may address one or more STAs (104) through individual association identifiers (AIDs) and may assign one or more RUs to each AID (and accordingly each STA (104)) that can be used to transmit UL traffic to the AP (102). The AP may also designate one or more random access (RA) RUs that unscheduled STAs (104) may compete for.

[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device (500). In some implementations, the wireless communication device (500) may be an example of a device for use in a STA, such as one of the STAs (104) described above with reference to FIG. 1. In some implementations, the wireless communication device (500) may be an example of a device for use in an AP, such as the AP (102) described above with reference to FIG. 1. The wireless communication device (500) may transmit (or output for transmission) and receive wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, a wireless communication device may be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of PPDU (physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit) and MPDU (medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit) that comply with the IEEE 802.11 standard, such as the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revisions including (but not limited to) 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be.

[0098] The wireless communication device (500) may be a device comprising a chip, a system on chip (SoC), a chipset, a package, or one or more modems (502), such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modem. In some implementations, one or more modems (502) (collectively “modem (502)”) additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device (500) also includes one or more radios (504) (collectively “radio (504)”). In some implementations, the wireless communication device (506) further includes one or more processors, processing blocks or processing elements (506) (collectively “processor (506)”), and one or more memory blocks or elements (508) (collectively “memory (508)”).

[0099] The modem (502) may include, among other possibilities, intelligent hardware blocks or devices such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The modem (502) is generally configured to implement a PHY layer. For example, the modem (502) is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to the radio (504) for transmission over a wireless medium. The modem (502) is similarly configured to acquire the modulated packets received by the radio (504) and to demodulate the packets to provide the demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, the modem (502) may further include a digital signal processing (DSP) circuit, an automatic gain control (AGC), a coder, a decoder, a multiplexer, and a demultiplexer. For example, while in transmission mode, data acquired from the processor (506) is provided to the coder, and the coder encodes the data to provide the encoded bits. Then, the encoded bits are mapped to points on the modulation constellation (using a selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Then, the modulated symbols are a plurality (N SS ) spatial streams or multiple (N STS It can be mapped to the spatiotemporal streams of ). Then, the modulated symbols of individual spatial or spatiotemporal streams can be multiplexed, transformed through an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently provided to a DSP circuit for Tx windowing and filtering. Then, the digital signals can be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Then, the resulting analog signals can be provided to a frequency upconverter and ultimately to a radio (504). In implementations involving beamforming, the modulated symbols of individual spatial streams are pre-coded through a modulation matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0100] While in receiving mode, digital signals received from the radio (504) are provided to a DSP circuit, and the DSP circuit is configured to acquire the received signals, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating initial timing and frequency offsets. The DSP circuit is further configured to digitally condition the digital signals using, for example, channel (narrowband) filtering, analog disturbance conditioning (e.g., I / Q imbalance correction), and the application of digital gain to ultimately acquire the narrowband signal. Then, the output of the DSP circuit may be provided to an AGC, and the AGC is configured to determine an appropriate gain using information extracted from, for example, one or more received training fields' digital signals. The output of the DSP circuit is also coupled to a demodulator, and the demodulator is configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and to compute, for example, logarithm likelihood ratios (LLRs) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator may be coupled to a decoder, and the decoder may be configured to process the LLRs to provide decoded bits. Then, the decoded bits from all spatial streams are provided to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. Then, the demultiplexed bits are descrambled and can be provided to a MAC layer (processor (506)) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0101] The radio (504) generally comprises at least one RF (radio frequency) transmitter (or "transmitter chain") and at least one RF receiver (or "receiver chain"), and the transmitter and receiver may be coupled to one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitters and receivers may each comprise various DSP circuits including at least one PA (power amplifier) ​​and at least one LNA (low-noise amplifier). The RF transmitters and receivers may be coupled to one or more antennas in turn. For example, in some embodiments, the wireless communication device (500) may comprise or be coupled to a plurality of transmitting antennas (each having a corresponding transmitting chain) and a plurality of receiving antennas (each having a corresponding receiving chain). Symbols output from the modem (502) are provided to the radio (504), and the radio (504) then transmits the symbols through the coupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received through the antennas are acquired by the radio (504), and then the radio (504) provides the symbols to the modem (502).

[0102] The processor (506) may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices, such as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a CPU (central processing unit), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a DSP (digital signal processor), an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), a PLD (programmable logic device), for example, a FPGA (field programmable gate array), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processor (506) processes information received through the radio (504) and the modem (502) and processes information to be output through the modem (502) and the radio (504) for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, the processor (506) may implement a control plane and a MAC layer configured to perform various operations related to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate, among other operations or techniques, coding and decoding of frames, spatial multiplexing, space-time block coding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation. In some implementations, the processor (506) can generally control the modem (502) to enable the modem (502) to perform the various operations described above.

[0103] Memory (504) may include tangible storage media such as RAM (random-access memory) or ROM (read-only memory), or a combination thereof. Memory (504) may also store non-transient processor- or computer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions, which, when executed by a processor (506), cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, various functions of the components disclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0104] FIG. 6a illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary AP (602). For example, the AP (602) may be an exemplary implementation of the AP (102) described with reference to FIG. 1. The AP (602) includes a wireless communication device (WCD) (610). For example, the wireless communication device (610) may be an exemplary implementation of the wireless communication device (500) described with reference to FIG. 5. The AP (602) also includes a plurality of antennas (620) coupled to the wireless communication device (610) to transmit and receive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP (602) additionally includes an application processor (630) coupled to the wireless communication device (610) and a memory (640) coupled to the application processor (630). The AP (602) further includes at least one external network interface (650) that enables the AP (602) to communicate with a core network or backhaul network to obtain access to external networks, including the Internet. For example, the external network interface (650) may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (e.g., WWAN interface). The components among the aforementioned components may communicate indirectly or directly with other components among the components through at least one bus. The AP (602) further includes a housing comprising a wireless communication device (610), an application processor (630), memory (640), and at least parts of antennas (620) and the external network interface (650).

[0105] FIG. 6b illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary STA (604). For example, the STA (604) may be an exemplary implementation of the STA (104) described with reference to FIG. 1. The STA (604) includes a wireless communication device (615). For example, the wireless communication device (615) may be an exemplary implementation of the wireless communication device (500) described with reference to FIG. 5. The STA (604) also includes one or more antennas (625) coupled to the wireless communication device (615) to transmit and receive wireless communications. The STA (604) additionally includes an application processor (635) coupled to the wireless communication device (615) and a memory (645) coupled to the application processor (635). In some implementations, the STA (604) further includes a UI (user interface) (655) (e.g., a touchscreen or keypad) and a display (665) that can be integrated with the UI (655) to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, the STA (604) may further include one or more sensors (675), such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors. Among the aforementioned components, the components may communicate indirectly or directly with other components through at least one bus. The STA (604) further includes a housing comprising a wireless communication device (615), an application processor (635), memory (645), and antennas (625), at least parts of the UI (655) and the display (665).

[0106] As described above, various implementations generally relate to ML communications, specifically to establishing ML communication sessions between wireless communication devices. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a single MLA context for multiple links shared among multiple MLD devices. Under certain conditions, such as when there is high congestion on a first link, MLD devices may switch from communication on the first link to communication on a second communication link. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a single MLA context that can be shared among MAC-SAP endpoints of MLD devices so that MLD devices can communicate dynamically through any link shared among MLD devices without being unassociated or re-associated. Thus, in some implementations, associating on one link allows MLD devices to use the same association configuration and encryption keys among other ML communication parameters for communication on any of the links.

[0107] Some implementations relate more specifically to a first wireless communication device that transmits a first packet over a first communication link. The first packet contains discovery information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. An AP entity receives an ML association request from an STA MLD device over the first communication link based at least partially on the discovery information. In some implementations, the AP entity then transmits a second packet over the first communication link. The second packet contains association information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, the AP entity associates with the STA MLD device based at least partially on the association information. In some implementations, associating includes setting at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with the STA MLD device over the first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter may be the same for each of the first and second communication links.

[0108] In some other implementations, associating involves establishing a common security context between a first MAC-SAP endpoint of a first wireless communication device and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of a second wireless communication device. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate over both the first and second communication links. The AP MLD and STA MLD may communicate with each other over the second communication link based on associating operations performed over the first communication link without being unassociated or reassociated. Some other implementations relate to an AP entity establishing a common BA session with an STA MLD for at least one TID.

[0109] Specific implementations of the claimed subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. By exchanging ML information, MLDs may implement aspects of this disclosure to provide faster discovery of links available for communication between MLDs. Additionally, by exchanging ML information, MLDs may also implement aspects of this disclosure to provide relatively fast switching between links and more efficient communication through the links. For example, MLDs may save time and resources by switching from communication through a first communication link to communication through a second communication link without being disassociated or reassociated. For example, an STA MLD device may receive a single packet containing ML information for all links on which MLDs are operating from an AP MLD device. Thus, aspects of this disclosure enable an STA MLD to discover an AP MLD on any link where the AP MLD device has established a BSS.

[0110] Additionally, aspects of the present disclosure may allow an AP MLD device and an STA MLD to establish a common BA session with each other for MAC service data units (MSDUs) corresponding to one or more TIDs and to associate (or “map”) each of the one or more TIDs with a corresponding group of communication links. The common BA session established between the AP MLD and the STA MLD, along with mappings between each TID and a corresponding group of communication links, may allow the AP MLD and the STA MLD to remap each of the one or more TIDs to a different group of communication links without releasing the common BA session or establishing a new BA session.

[0111] FIG. 7a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (700) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (700) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (700) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA or within a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively. In other implementations, the process (700) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP or within an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively.

[0112] In block (702), the AP transmits a first packet over a first communication link, and the first packet includes discovery information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In block (704), the AP receives an ML association request from a second wireless communication device over the first communication link based at least partially on the discovery information. In block (706), the AP transmits a second packet over the first communication link, and the second packet includes association information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link.

[0113] In block (708), the AP is associated with the second wireless communication device based at least partially on association information. In some implementations, the association includes setting at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with the second wireless communication device over the first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter may be the same for each of the first and second communication links. In some other implementations, the association includes setting a common security context between the first MAC-SAP (medium access control service access point) endpoint of the first wireless communication device and the second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second wireless communication device. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate over both the first and second communication links. In block (710), the process (700) proceeds to communicate with the second wireless communication device over the second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device over the first communication link.

[0114] FIG. 7b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (720) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (720) may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (720) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA or within a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively. In other implementations, the process (720) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP or within an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively.

[0115] Referring to FIG. 7a, process (720) may be a more detailed implementation of the ML communication operation described in block (710) of process (700). For example, in block (722), the AP establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with a second wireless communication device that associates at least one traffic identifier (TID) with a first communication link, a second communication link, and a third communication link of a first subset. The BA session may be common to each of the first, second, and third communication links. In block (724), the AP dynamically re-associates at least one TID with a first communication link, a second communication link, and a third communication link of a second subset. In block (726), the AP indicates the re-association in the add Block Acknowledgement (ADDBA) capability field of the third packet.

[0116] FIG. 8a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (800) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (800) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (800) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA or within a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively. In other implementations, the process (800) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP or within an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively.

[0117] In block (802), the first wireless communication device receives a first packet from the second wireless communication device on the first communication link, and the first packet includes discovery information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In block (804), the AP transmits an ML association request on the first communication link based at least partially on the discovery information. In block (806), the AP receives a second packet on the first communication link, and the second packet includes association information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In block (808), the AP is associated with the second wireless communication device based at least partially on the association information. In block (810), the AP, which is the first wireless communication device, communicates with the second wireless communication device on the second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device on the first communication link.

[0118] In some implementations, the first A-MPDU subframe can be aligned with codeword boundaries within the PSDU, so that parts of the first A-MPDU subframe are not encapsulated within the same LDPC codeword as parts of other A-MPDU subframes within the PSDU.

[0119] In some implementations, associating includes establishing at least one ML communication parameter for communicating with a second wireless communication device over first and second communication links. The at least one ML communication parameter may be the same for each of the first and second communication links. In some other implementations, associating includes establishing a common security context between a first MAC-SAP (medium access control service access point) endpoint of the first wireless communication device and a second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second wireless communication device. Each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate over both the first and second communication links.

[0120] FIG. 8b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (820) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (820) may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (820) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA or within a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively. In other implementations, the process (820) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP or within an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively.

[0121] Referring to FIG. 8a, process (820) may be a more detailed implementation of the ML communication operation described in block (810) of process (800). For example, in block (822), the first wireless communication device establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the second wireless communication device that associates at least one traffic identifier (TID) with the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link of the first subset. In block (824), the first wireless communication device receives a third packet in the add Block Acknowledgment (ADDBA) capability field indicating that at least one TID is re-associated with the first communication link, the second communication link, and the third communication link of the second subset. The BA session may be common to each of the first, second, and third communication links.

[0122] FIG. 9a illustrates a timing diagram depicting exemplary multi-link communication (900) according to some implementations. In the example of FIG. 9a, ML communication may be performed between a first wireless communication device ("first device (D1)") and a second wireless communication device ("second device (D2)"). Each of the devices (D1 and D2) may be any suitable wireless communication device, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, or one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a. In the timing diagram (900), the first device (D1) may be a transmitting device and the second device (D2) may be a receiving device. Each of the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may be an MLO entity. For example, the first device (D1) may be an AP entity, and the second device (D2) may be an STA MLD device.

[0123] At time t1, the first device (D1) transmits a first packet (901) over a first communication link (not shown for the sake of simplification), and the first packet (901) contains ML information (e.g., capabilities and parameters) for at least the first communication link and a second communication link (not shown for the sake of simplification). Although the example of FIG. 9a is described in relation to the first and second communication links, in some implementations there may be any number of additional communication links, such as a third, fourth, or fifth communication link. The first communication link and the second communication link may operate on different frequency bands or on different channels on the same frequency band. For example, the first communication link may operate on a 2.4 GHz frequency band, the second communication link may operate on a 5.0 GHz frequency band, and the other link (not shown for the sake of simplification) may operate on a 6.0 GHz frequency band. The first packet (901) may be a beacon frame, or any other frame that can be used to communicate ML information.

[0124] In some implementations, ML information may include one or more of the following: a first operation class for a first communication link; a first radio channel for a first communication link; a first BSSID for a first communication link; a second operation class for a second communication link; a second radio channel for a second communication link; or a second BSSID for a second communication link. In some implementations, some or all of the ML information may be included in the link attribute element of the first packet (901) as further described with reference to FIG. 9b and FIG. 10, or in the multi-link element of the first packet (901) as further described with reference to FIG. 9B, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. In some aspects, at least one of the operation classes, radio channels, or BSSIDs may be different. As one non-limiting example, a pair of AP entities having the same operation class may communicate over the same radio channel. However, a pair of APs can be physically separated (non-co-located) and therefore can have different MAC addresses (BSSIDs).

[0125] Between times t1 and t2, the second device (D2) receives a first packet (901) from the first device (D1) on a first communication link. In some implementations, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may set at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on the first and second communication links, as further described with respect to FIG. 9b. In short, since the first packet (901) contains ML information (e.g., among other information, ML capabilities, ML operation parameters, and constraints) for all links on which the first device (D1) is operating, aspects of the present disclosure enable the STA MLD device (e.g., the second device (D2)) to discover the AP entity on any link where the AP entity (e.g., the first device (D1)) has set a BSS.

[0126] At time t3, the second device (D2) transmits an MLA request (911) on the first communication link based at least partially on ML information. The MLA request (911) may be an associated request frame. In some implementations, the MLA request (911) may include a preference for one or more of the first communication link or the second communication link to be designated as an anchor link, as further described with respect to FIG. 9b and FIG. 11. In some aspects, the client device (e.g., the second device (D2)) may save power by waiting on the anchor link (e.g., for a beacon) while there is otherwise no active traffic.

[0127] Between times t3 and t4, the first device (D1) receives an MLA request (911) from the second device (D2) over the first communication link. In some aspects, the MLA request (911) may indicate one or more capabilities or security parameters of the second device (D2).

[0128] At time t4, the first device (D1) transmits a second packet (902) over the first communication link, and the second packet (902) contains ML information for at least the first communication link and the second communication link. In some implementations, the second packet (902) may be an association response frame. In some other implementations, the second packet (902) may be some other appropriate frame. In some aspects, the second packet (902) may confirm or renegotiate one or more of the capabilities of the second device (D2) regarding associations for multiple links. Thus, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish a common security context applicable to multiple links. For example, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish a single encryption key applicable to the first communication link and the second communication link, respectively.

[0129] In some implementations, the first device (D1) may assign different AIDs for each link. For example, in the second packet (902), the first device (D1) may indicate that the AID for the first communication link is 25 and the AID for the second communication link is 26. In some other implementations, the first device (D1) may assign a common AID across all links.

[0130] Between times t4 and t5, the second device (D2) receives a second packet (902) from the first device (D1) on the first communication link. Then, at time t6, the first device (D1) associates with the second device (D2) based at least partially on the ML information of the second packet (902). In some implementations, between times t6 and t7, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish a BA session for at least one TID. Finally, at time t7, the first device (D1) may communicate with the second device (D2) on the first or second communication link based on the association with the second wireless communication device on the first communication link.

[0131] By exchanging ML information contained in the first packet (901), the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may implement aspects of the present disclosure to provide faster discovery of links available for communication between the first device (D1) and the second device (D2). Additionally, by exchanging ML information contained in the second packet (922) or the MLA request (931), the first device (D1) or the second device (D2) may also implement aspects of the present disclosure to provide faster switching between links and more efficient communication through the links. For example, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may switch from communication through the first communication link to communication through the second communication link without being disassociated or reassociated, thereby saving time and resources. Specifically, the second device (D2) can receive ML information (e.g., of the first packet (901)) for the first communication link, the second communication link, or any link for which the first device (D1) has established a BSS. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure enable the second device (D2) to discover the first device (D1) on any link for which the first device (D1) has established a BSS.

[0132] FIG. 9b illustrates a timing diagram depicting an exemplary multi-link communication (920) according to some implementations. The multi-link communication (920) may be a more detailed example of the multi-link communication (900) of FIG. 9a. Each of the devices (D1 and D2) may be or may include any suitable wireless communication device, such as one or more of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, or one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a. In some implementations, the first device (D1) may be an AP MLD, and the second device (D2) may be a STA. In some cases, the AP MLD may include a first AP associated with a first communication link, and one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links (communication links are not shown for simplification). In some other implementations, the second device (D2) may be an STA MLD. In some cases, the STA MLD may include a first STA associated with a first communication link and additional STAs associated with one or more of the second communication links of the AP MLD.

[0133] At time t1, the first device (D1) transmits a first packet (921) to the second device (D2) over the first communication link. The first packet (921) may contain ML information for the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some implementations, the first packet (921) may uniquely identify each link of the first communication link and one or more second communication links based on a limited set of information (tuples), such as {operation class, channel, and BSSID}, wherein the operation class indicates the operation class for the link, the channel indicates the channel for the link, and the BSSID indicates the BSSID for the link. Exemplary operation classes may include a 2.4 GHz operation class, a 5.0 GHz operation class, and a 6 GHz operation class. The tuple may be returned in any suitable field of the first packet (921) (such as a 6-octet field).

[0134] The first packet (921) is illustrated as including a link attribute element and a multiple link attribute element, which may be referred to by other suitable names in some other implementations. The Link Attribute (LA) element may return discovery information for the first communication link, and the Multiple Link Attribute (MLA) element may return discovery information for one or more second communication links. The discovery information may include an operation class, a radio channel, a BSSID, and other suitable information for each communication link. In some implementations, the LA element may also return operation parameters and capability information corresponding to the first communication link, and the MLA element may include one or more link-specific profile sub-elements that return operation parameters and capability information corresponding to each of the one or more second communication links. In some cases, each of the link-specific profile sub-elements may also return discovery information for each second communication link.

[0135] In some implementations, capability information may indicate one or more of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities, and operation parameters may indicate one or more of HT operation parameters, VHT operation parameters, HE operation parameters, EHT operation parameters, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0136] The LA element may also include an anchor field that returns information indicating whether the first communication link is an anchor link or performs at least the minimum role of an anchor link. In some cases, the anchor field returns an anchor bit that can be set to a first logical state to indicate that the first communication link is an anchor link and can be set to a second logical state to indicate that the first communication link is not an anchor link.

[0137] The second device (D2) receives a first packet (921) from the first device (D1) on a first communication link and may use discovery information returned in the first packet (921) to set one or more ML parameters for communicating with each other on the first communication link. Some exemplary ML communication parameters may include, but are not limited to, frequency bands, HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high-efficiency) capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities. In some implementations, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may also set at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on one or more second communication links based on discovery information contained in one or more corresponding link-specific profile sub-elements returned from a multi-link element. For example, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may set at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on a second communication link based on discovery information returned from a first link-specific profile sub-element of a multi-link element, and may set at least one ML communication parameter for communicating on a third communication link based on discovery information returned from a second link-specific profile sub-element of a multi-link element. In some aspects, at least one of the ML communication parameters may be the same for each of the first and second communication links.

[0138] At time t3, the second device (D2) transmits an ML association request (931) on the first communication link based at least partially on the ML information contained in the first packet (921). In some implementations, such as when the anchor field of the first packet (921) does not specify an anchor link, the ML association request (931) may indicate a preference for either the first communication link or the second communication link to be designated as an anchor link. For example, the second device (D2) may indicate its preference for an anchor link by setting the anchor bit to 1 for the preferred anchor link in the ML association request (931). In some aspects, the second device (D2) may indicate more than one preferred anchor link by setting the anchor bit to 1 for each of the preferred anchor links in the ML association request (931).

[0139] The first device (D1) receives an ML association request (931) from the second device (D2) on the first communication link and, at time t4, transmits a second packet (922) to the first device (D1) on the first communication link. In some implementations, the second packet (922) may return additional discovery information regarding the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some implementations, if the second device (D2) has indicated a preference for an anchor link in the ML association request (931), the first device (D1) may indicate an assigned anchor link for the second device (D2) by setting an anchor bit to a first logical state for one of the links in the second packet (922). In some aspects, the second device (D2) may indicate a preference for a specific link to be designated as an anchor link, but the first device (D1) may designate one or more different links as anchor links.

[0140] The second device (D2) receives the second packet (922) and can use the discovery information to perform an association operation with the second device (D2) between times t5 and t6. In some implementations, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may be associated by establishing a common security context between the first MAC-SAP endpoint of the first device (D1) and the second MAC-SAP endpoint of the second device (D2). In some aspects, each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints may be used to communicate through any one or more of the first communication link and the second communication link. In some aspects, the common security context may include a single encryption key shared by the first MAC-SAP endpoint and the second MAC-SAP endpoint.

[0141] Between times t6 and t7, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish a common BA session with each other for one or more TIDs. Thus, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may map MSDUs for one or more TIDs to one or more of the first and second communication links. By establishing a common BA session and mapping one or more TIDs, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may implement aspects of the present disclosure to map (or remap, associate, or re-associate) one or more TIDs to a number of links without releasing the common BA session or establishing a new BA session. Then, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may communicate on one or more of the first communication link and the second communication link according to their respective mapped TIDs.

[0142] After time t7, one or more link conditions (e.g., amount of latency) may change, causing the first device (D1) to remap one or more of the TIDs to one or more different links. As a non-limiting example, between times t6 and t7, the first device (D1) may initially map a first TID (e.g., TID=4) to a first communication link so that the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may exchange packets associated with TID=4 on the first communication link before time t7. After time t7, the first device (D1) may remap TID=4 to a second communication link. In some implementations, the first device (D1) may indicate the remapping of TID=4 to the second device (D2) in a third packet (923). In some aspects, the first device (D1) may indicate a remapping of TID=4 in the ADDBA capability field of the third packet (923). In some implementations, the first device (D1) may transmit one or more additional packets between times t7 and t8, as indicated by the Nth packet.

[0143] Between times t7 and t8, the first device (D1) may remap one or more TIDs from one communication link to another communication link. The first device (D1) may indicate the remapping to the second device (D2) in the third packet (923). For example, the first device (D1) may remap the first TID (e.g., TID=4) from the first communication link to the second communication link and indicate the remapping in the third packet (923). Upon receiving the third packet (923), the second device (D2) may switch from transmitting packets having TID=4 over the first communication link to transmitting packets having TID=4 over the second communication link. Since the second device (D2) has already received information regarding the first and second communication links, respectively, from the first packet (921) or the second packet (922), the second device (D2) can switch from communication via the first communication link for TID=4 to communication via the second communication link for TID=4 without being unassociated or re-associated from the first device (D1), thereby saving time and resources.

[0144] As another non-limiting example, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish a common BA session together. In some implementations, the first device (D1) may indicate that one or more of the communication links are enabled or enabled (available for communication) or that one or more of the communication links are disabled or disabled (not available for communication). In this example, the first device (D1) may indicate that each of the first and second communication links is enabled and the third communication link is disabled. For example, while establishing the common BA session, the first device (D1) may set a first bit corresponding to the first communication link to 1, set a second bit corresponding to the second communication link to 1, and set a third bit corresponding to the third communication link to 0. Thus, the common BA session may map TID=4 to the first communication link and the second communication link, rather than the third communication link.

[0145] In some cases, conditions for one or more of the communication links may be changed. For example, interference on the second communication link may be increased and interference on the third communication link may be decreased, so that the third communication link provides higher throughput or lower latency than the second communication link. Accordingly, in this example, the first device (D1) may transmit a single signal (e.g., the third packet (923)) to dynamically remap TID=4 to the first communication link and the third communication link. For example, the third packet (923) may change the anchor bit for the second communication link from logic high to logic low and the anchor bit for the third communication link from logic low to logic high. Since the second device (D2) has already received information for each of the communication links and established a common BA session with the first device (D1), the second device (D2) can dynamically switch from communication through the first and second communication links for TID=4 to communication through the first and third communication links for TID=4 without being unassociated from the first device (D1), being reassociated with the first device (D1), or exchanging additional information with the first device (D1), thereby saving time, conserving device resources, and reducing overhead on the communication links (compared to conventional mechanisms in which wireless communication devices are unassociated and / or reassociated with each other when changing mappings between TIDs and communication links).

[0146] Additionally or alternatively, the first device (D1) may use the third packet (923) to dynamically map one or more other TIDs to any subset of communication links. As a non-limiting example, the third packet (923) may dynamically map TID=2 to the third communication link, map TID=5 to the first and second communication links, map TID=3 to the fourth communication link, and map TID=6 to all of the first, second, third, and fourth communication links. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device may indicate to the first device (D1) that the wireless communication device can operate on a single link, even if multiple links are enabled or available. For example, the second device (D2) may be able to operate on a single link because it has a single antenna. In this example, the first device (D1) can dynamically map TIDs to a single communication link for communication with the second device (D2).

[0147] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary frame (1000) comprising a link attribute element (1010) and a multiple link attribute element (1020) available for communication between wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the frame (1000) may be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or some other suitable frame. In some cases, the frame (1000) may be an exemplary implementation of the first packet (901), ML association request (911), or second packet (902) described with reference to FIG. 9a. In some other cases, the frame (1000) may be an exemplary implementation of the first packet (921), MLA request (931), second packet (922), or third packet (923) described with reference to FIG. 9b. For convenience of explanation, some information elements of the frame (1000) may also be referred to as "field," "subfield," "element," or "subelement," and these may be considered interchangeable terms for the purposes of discussion herein.

[0148] The frame (1000) is also illustrated as including a link attribute element (1010) which may be an exemplary implementation of the link attribute element described for FIG. 9b. In some implementations, the link attribute element (1010) includes information about a communication link. For the discussion of this non-limiting example, the link attribute element (1010) may include information about a first communication link described for FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b. In some other implementations, the link attribute element (1010) may include information about some other communication link.

[0149] The link attribute element (1010) is illustrated as comprising a plurality of fields including an element ID field (1051), a length field (1052), an element ID extension field (1053), a control field (1054), an action class field (1055), a channel number field (1056), a BSSID field (1057), a TSF (Timing Synchronization Function) offset field (1058), and a beacon interval field (1059). In some implementations, the element ID field (1051) is one octet long and may contain an identifier for the link attribute element (1010). In some aspects, the link attribute element (1010) may facilitate the establishment of a common BA session between the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) as described for FIG. 9b. In some implementations, the length field (1052) is one octet long and may indicate the length of the link attribute element (1010). In some implementations, the element ID extension field (1053) may be 1 octet long.

[0150] In some implementations, the action class field (1055) is 0 octet or 1 octet long and may indicate an action class for the first communication link. In some implementations, the channel number field (1056) is 0 octet or 1 octet long and may indicate a channel number for the first communication link. In some implementations, the BSSID field (1057) is 0 or 6 octet long and may indicate a BSSID associated with the first communication link. In some implementations, the TSF offset field (1058) is 0 octet or 2 octet long and may indicate a TSF offset timing value for packets transmitted over the first communication link. In some aspects, a value of 0 in the TSF offset field (1058) and the beacon interval field (1059) may indicate that the first device (D1) is not transmitting beacons on the first communication link.

[0151] In some implementations, the beacon interval field (1059) is of 0 or 2 octet length and may indicate the beacon interval for beacons transmitted over the first communication link. In some aspects, values ​​in the TSF offset field (1058) or the beacon interval field (1059) may facilitate faster link switching for certain types of non-AP entities, such as STA MLD devices having a single radio. In some other implementations, the first device (D1) may indicate that beacons will not be transmitted over one or more links. For example, the first device (D1) may indicate that it can communicate over the second communication link and that the second communication link is dedicated as a data-only channel. In this way, the first device (D1) may indicate that the second device (D2) can utilize the second communication link, but the first device (D1) will not broadcast beacons over the second communication link.

[0152] The control field (1054) may include a plurality of subelements (which may also be referred to as fields or subfields), and in some cases, may include one octet (8 bits). In some implementations, the plurality of subelements may include a link ID subelement (1061), an active link subelement (1062), an independent MLA bitmap subelement (1063), and an anchor subelement (1064). In some other implementations, the control field (1054) may not include the link ID subelement (1061), or the link ID subelement (1061) may be included in some other part of the frame (1000). In some implementations, the link ID subelement (1061) may include a unique identifier for the first communication link. In some aspects, the first device (D1) may assign a unique identifier.

[0153] In some implementations, the active link subelement (1062) may indicate whether the first communication link is currently enabled. As a non-limiting example, the first device (D1) may indicate that it can operate on one or more links, and the first device (D1) may provide channel numbers and BSSIDs for each of the one or more links. In some other implementations, the active link subelement (1062) may indicate one or more links on which the first device (D1) is not operating. For example, the first device (D1) may indicate that certain types of devices (such as non-EHT) do not attempt to communicate through a certain link because a certain link is disabled. In some aspects, the active link subelement (1062) may be reserved for the main (first) communication link.

[0154] In some implementations, the independent MLA bitmap subelement (1063) may be a bitmap indicating a specific (second) link to which the first communication link can perform independent ML association. In some aspects, the bit position of the independent ML association bitmap subelement (1063) may correspond to the value of the link ID subelement (1061). In some aspects, the bitmap may be a 2-bit link identifier capable of indicating up to four combinations 0 to 3. For example, if the second bit is asserted (set to 1) for the second communication link, the first communication link may be able to operate independently for the second communication link.

[0155] In some implementations, the anchor subelement (1064) may indicate whether the first communication link is designated as an anchor link. In some aspects, for an auxiliary link, if the active link subelement (1062) is set to 0 for a specific link, the anchor subelement (1064) may be reserved and the specific link may not be available as an anchor link.

[0156] In the example of FIG. 10, fields (1051 to 1059) are included in the link attribute element (1010). In some implementations, the link attribute element (1010) may not include one or more of the fields (1051 to 1059) or sub-elements (1061 to 1064). In some implementations, the link attribute element (1010) may include one or more different information elements. As one non-limiting example, the link attribute element (1010) may not include any of the operation class field (1055), channel number field (1056), BSSID field (1057), TSF offset field (1058), or beacon interval field (1059). In some other implementations (not shown for simplification), each of the link attribute elements (1040A to 1040C) may include a behavior class field (1055), a channel number field (1056), a BSSID field (1057), a TSF offset field (1058), and a beacon interval field (1059), respectively.

[0157] As another non-limiting example, the link attribute element (1010) may include each of the operation class field (1055), channel number field (1056), BSSID field (1057), TSF offset field (1058), and beacon interval field (1059). And, in some other implementations (not shown for the sake of simplification), each of the link attribute elements (1040A to 1040C) may not include any of the operation class field (1055), channel number field (1056), BSSID field (1057), TSF offset field (1058), or beacon interval field (1059). Exemplary implementations of the link attribute element (1010) and the link attribute elements (1040A to 1040C) are described with respect to FIG. 11.

[0158] In some implementations, one or more information elements, including information elements (1051 to 1059), may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified with respect to the frame (1000). Furthermore, the names described for the information elements (1051 to 1059) are exemplary names, and in some implementations, one or more of the information elements (1010 to 1059) may have different names.

[0159] A multi-link attribute element (1020), which may be an exemplary implementation of the multi-link attribute element described with reference to FIG. 9b, may include a first link-specific profile sub-element (1030A), a second link-specific profile sub-element (1030B), and a third link-specific profile sub-element (1030C), each of which may be an exemplary implementation of the link-specific profile sub-element described with reference to FIG. 9b. Each link profile sub-element (1030A to 1030C) may include individual link attribute elements (1040A to 1040C).

[0160] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary multi-link attribute element (1100) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. In some aspects, the multi-link element (1100) may be an exemplary implementation of the multi-link attribute element (1020) described in FIG. 10. In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1020) may be included in a frame (e.g., frame (1000), beacon frame, associated request frame, associated response frame, or any other suitable frame) which is transmitted by a first device (D1) ("transmitting device," "AP," or "AP entity") and received by a second device (D2) ("receiving device," "non-AP," "STA MLD device," "STA," "non-AP STA," or "non-AP STA entity") or vice versa. For the purposes of discussion of FIG. 11, the first communication link may be the “main link,” and the second communication link may be one of the multiple auxiliary links, the “auxiliary link.” For convenience of explanation, some information elements of the multi-link attribute element (1100) may be referred to as “field,” “subfield,” “element,” or “subelement,” and these may be considered interchangeable terms for the purposes of discussion herein. In some implementations, the information elements of the multi-link attribute element (1100) may be referred to by any other appropriate term.

[0161] A multi-link attribute element (1100) is illustrated as comprising a plurality of fields including an element ID field (1101), a length field (1102), an element ID extension field (1103), a common parameter field (1104), and an optional sub-element field (1105). In some implementations, the element ID field (1101) is one octet long and may contain an identifier for the multi-link attribute element (1100). In some implementations, the length field (1102) is one octet long and may indicate the length of the multi-link attribute element (1100). In some implementations, the element ID extension field (1103) may be one octet long. An exemplary implementation of the element ID extension field (1103) is described with respect to FIG. 12. In some implementations, the common parameter field (1104) is one octet long and may contain common information for each of the multiple auxiliary links. In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1100) may include one or more optional sub-element fields (1105). For simplification, only one optional sub-element field (1105) is shown, but the multi-link attribute element (1100) may include one optional sub-element field (1105) of variable length for each of a plurality of auxiliary links. In some aspects, the multi-link attribute element (1100) may include up to four optional sub-element fields (1105), one for each of up to four auxiliary links (not shown for simplification).

[0162] In some implementations, an optional sub-element field (1105) for each of the multiple auxiliary links may contain ML information (or "ML attributes") for the corresponding auxiliary link that is different from the main link. To save bits, in some aspects, ML attributes not included in the corresponding multi-link attribute element (1100) may be assumed to be inherited from the main link. As one non-limiting example, a link attribute element such as the link attribute element (1010) of FIG. 10 may include a beacon interval for the first (main) communication link, and an optional sub-element field (1105) corresponding to the second communication link may not include a beacon interval for the second communication link. In this example, the beacon interval for the second communication link may be inherited from the beacon interval for the first communication link included in the link attribute element (1010). In this way, one or more information elements of the optional sub-element field (1105) corresponding to the second communication link may be excluded or may include other information. In some other implementations, the multi-link element (1100) may include a single optional sub-element field (1105) containing ML information for all or a subset of auxiliary links.

[0163] The optional subelement field (1105) is illustrated as comprising a plurality of fields including a subelement ID=0 field (1111), a length field (1112), and a data field (1113). In some implementations, the subelement ID=0 field (1111) is one octet long and may include an identifier of the corresponding optional subelement field (1105) (e.g., a value from 0 to 255). In some aspects, values ​​from 1 to 255 may be provided.

[0164] In some implementations, the length field (1112) is one octet long and may indicate the length of the corresponding optional subelement field (1105). In some implementations, the data field (1113) is variable in length and may contain ML information for the corresponding communication link. Each of the data fields (1113) may be an exemplary implementation of one of the link attribute elements (1040A to 1040C) described for FIG. 10. In some implementations, one or more of the data fields (1113) may include fields identical or similar to the link attribute element (1010) described for FIG. 10.

[0165] One exemplary implementation of the data field (1113) is illustrated as including an element ID field (1131), a length field (1132), and an element ID extension field (1133). Except that the element ID field (1131), the length field (1132), and the element ID extension field (1133) may contain information about a corresponding auxiliary link rather than a multi-link element (1100), the element ID field (1131), the length field (1132), and the element ID extension field (1133) may be identical or similar to the element ID field (1101), the length field (1102), and the element ID extension field (1103), respectively. In some aspects, the element ID extension field (1133) may be 0 octets or 1 octet long. In some implementations, one or more of the data fields (1113) may also include a variable-length data field (1134). In some aspects, one or more of the data fields (1113) may represent HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, EHT capabilities, and MLD capabilities among other capabilities.

[0166] Another exemplary implementation of the data field (1113) is illustrated as comprising a plurality of fields including an element ID field (1121), length field (1122), element ID extension field (1123), control field (1124), operation class field (1125), channel number field (1126), BSSID field (1127), TSF offset field (1128), and beacon interval field (1129), which may be identical or similar to the element ID field (1051), length field (1052), element ID extension field (1053), control field (1054), operation class field (1055), channel number field (1056), BSSID field (1057), TSF offset field (1058), and beacon interval field (1059) described for FIG. 10, respectively.

[0167] In some implementations, the optional subelement field (1105) or data field (1113) may contain additional ML information.

[0168] The control field (1124) may include a plurality of subelements and, in some cases, may include one octet (8 bits). In some implementations, the control field (1124) may include a link ID subelement (1141), an active link subelement (1142), an independent MLA bitmap subelement (1143), and an anchor subelement (1144) that may each be identical or similar in format to the link ID subelement (1061), active link subelement (1062), independent MLA bitmap subelement (1063), and anchor subelement (1064) of FIG. 10 (except that the subelements (1141 to 1144) of the multiple link element (1100) return information for a corresponding second communication link other than the main link).

[0169] In some implementations, one or more of the various elements, sub-elements, fields, and sub-fields of the multi-link element (1100) may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified. Furthermore, the names shown for the various elements, sub-elements, fields, and sub-fields of the multi-link element (1100) are exemplary names, and some other implementations may have different or alternative names.

[0170] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary extension element (1200) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. In some aspects, the extension element (1200) may be an exemplary implementation of the element ID extension field (1053) described in FIG. 10, the element ID extension field (1103) described in FIG. 11, the element ID extension field (1123) described in FIG. 11, or the element ID extension field (1133) described in FIG. 11. In some implementations, the extension element (1200) may be included in a frame (e.g., frame (1000)) which is transmitted by a first device (D1) ("transmitting device," "AP," or "AP entity") and received by a second device (D2) ("receiving device," "non-AP," "STA MLD device," "STA," "non-AP STA," or "non-AP STA entity") or vice versa. For the purposes of discussion of FIG. 12, the first communication link may be the “main link” and the second communication link may be one of the multiple auxiliary links, the “auxiliary link”. For convenience of explanation, some information elements of the extension element (1200) may be referred to as “field”, “subfield”, “element”, or “subelement”, which may be considered interchangeable terms for the purposes of discussion herein. In some implementations, the information elements of the extension element (1200) may be referred to by any other appropriate term.

[0171] In some implementations, the extension element (1200) may be one octet (8 bits) long. The extension element (1200) is illustrated as comprising a plurality of fields (or "information elements") including a non-fragmentation field (1201) (bit 1), a HE fragmentation operation field (1202) (bits 2 and 3), a link ID bitmap field (1203) (bits 4 through 7), and a reserve field (1204) (bit 8). In some implementations, the extension element (1200) may be an ADDBA capability field as described for FIG. 9b. In some aspects, the extension element (1200) may be extended to include a link ID bitmap field (1203) for indicating which links are associated with a specific TID. In this way, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) can establish a common BA session for each TID for each of the links identified in the link ID bitmap field (1203). In some implementations, one or more information elements, including information elements (1201 to 1204), may be combined, added, moved (to one or more other information elements), removed, or otherwise modified for the extension element (1200). Furthermore, “extension element” is an exemplary name, and in some implementations, the extension element (1200) may have any other name. The names shown for the information elements (1201 to 1204) are also exemplary names, and in some implementations, one or more of the information elements (1201 to 1204) may have different names.

[0172] As a non-limiting example, the first device (D1) and the second device (D2) may establish separate BA sessions for each of a number of communication links, such as a primary (first) communication link and two auxiliary (second and third) communication links. To facilitate the setup, the first device (D1) or the second device (D2) may set specific bits (e.g., 0 and 2) in the link ID bitmap field (1203) to indicate that a specific TID (e.g., TID=4) is mapped to a BA session for each of the links. In this way, TID=4 can be remapped to a specific link without either the first device (D1) or the second device (D2) establishing another BA session. In some aspects, a specific TID (e.g., for voice) may be indicated as always being mapped to a specific link. In some other aspects, a specific communication type of TID (e.g., HT) can be mapped to a specific link, so that only a specific link can be used for a specific communication type of TID. In another example, a specific TID (e.g., low-latency voice) can be mapped to all links, so that packets corresponding to a specific TID can be transmitted over any available link.

[0173] In some implementations, in a packet-level aggregation MLO system, a first MAC-SAP endpoint and a second MAC-SAP endpoint may each support multiple links, and MLDs may aggregate data through a pair of MAC-SAP endpoints. In some other implementations, in a flow-level aggregation MLD system, each of the first pair of MAC-SAP endpoints may support a first communication link, while each of the second pair of MAC-SAP endpoints may support a different second communication link. In some aspects, flow-level aggregation may also be referred to as dynamic TID transmission. Aspects of the present disclosure save time and resources by enabling MLD devices of both packet-level aggregation and flow-level aggregation MLD system types to switch from communication through a first communication link to communication through a second communication link without disassociation or reassociation. In some implementations, in a packet-level aggregation MLD system, the first device (D1) can enable more than one bit of the link ID bitmap field (1203), whereas for a flow-level aggregation MLD system, the first device (D1) can enable a single bit of the link ID bitmap field (1203) at any given time.

[0174] FIG. 13a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1300) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1300) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1300) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13a, the process (1300) is performed by an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP is associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs is associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. In block (1302), the first AP of the AP MLD generates a frame comprising an advertisement information element, a first part, and a second part. The advertisement information element returns discovery information for the first AP of the AP MLD, the first part returns discovery information for each of the second APs of one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the second part returns common attributes of one or more second APs of the AP MLD. In block (1304), the AP MLD transmits the frame over the first communication link. In some implementations, the frame may be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a re-association response frame.

[0175] In some implementations, the first part may include one or more link-specific profile subelements, and each link-specific profile subelement may display discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs (or their individual second communication links). In some cases, the discovery information may include one or more of the operation class of the corresponding second AP, the radio channel of the corresponding second AP, or the basic service set Identifier (BSSID) of the corresponding AP. In some cases, the frame may also include a field that indicates whether each link-specific profile subelement returns all of the discovery information for the corresponding second AP or only a portion of the discovery information for the corresponding second AP.

[0176] Each of the link-specific profile subelements may also include at least one capability information or operational parameter information of a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs. The capability information may indicate one or more of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities. The operational parameter information may indicate one or more of HT operational parameters, VHT operational parameters, HE operational parameters, EHT operational parameters, EDCA parameters, MU EDCA parameters, UORA parameters, TWT parameters, FILS parameters, or SR parameters.

[0177] In some other implementations, the first part may include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. The RNR element may indicate one or more of an applicable revision, a significant update, or a transmit power level for the IEEE 802.11 family of standards for each of the first AP and one or more second APs. In some cases, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields includes a unique link ID (identifier) ​​that identifies a corresponding communication link among the first communication link or one or more second communication links associated with the first AP or each of the one or more second APs.

[0178] In some implementations, the second part may include an MLD common element or field indicating one or more common attributes shared by one or more second APs (or their individual second communication links). The one or more common attributes indicated in the MLD common element may include at least one of an authentication method, an address of the AP MLD, or a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include a bitmap indicating the presence or absence of each of the one or more common attributes indicated in the MLD common element. For example, a first logical state of each bit in the bitmap may indicate the presence of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD, respectively, in the MLD common element, and a second logical state of each bit in the bitmap may indicate the absence of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD, respectively, from the MLD common element. In some other cases, the absence of a specific attribute in an MLD common element may indicate that a specific attribute of the corresponding second AP is identical to a specific attribute of the first AP (and thus can be "inherited" from the first AP).

[0179] In some other implementations, the second part may include a multi-link attribute element. In some cases, the multi-link attribute element may include one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements includes one or more capabilities or operational parameters for each individual AP of the one or more second APs corresponding to one unique link ID.

[0180] In some implementations, the frame may also include an indication of whether the AP MLD supports simultaneous transmit-and-receive (STR) operations across a number of links among the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the frame may also include an indication of whether the AP MLD is an STR device or a non-STR device. Additionally or alternatively, the frame may also include a first identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies the AP MLD associated with the first AP or one or both of the individual second APs of one or more second APs. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second ID fields, each of which returns at least one of a link identifier identifying an individual second AP of one or more second APs or an MLD identifier identifying the first AP MLD. Each link identifier of the first link identifier and one or more second link identifiers can associate one or more TIDs (traffic identifiers) with individual communication links of the first communication link and one or more second communication links for a block acknowledgment (BA) session between the AP MLD and the STA MLD.

[0181] In some implementations, the frame may also include indications of significant updates corresponding to one or more of a first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, at least one significant update corresponds to one or more second communication links but not to the first communication link. In some other cases, at least one significant update corresponds to at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some other implementations, the significant updates include changes in operating channels or changes in basic service set (BSS) parameters for the first communication link or at least one of the one or more second communication links. In some cases, the significant updates may be returned in a link-specific profile (as a sub-element or as an element within a multi-link attribute element). Additionally, or alternatively, there may be a bit to indicate when the reported link is in silent mode (e.g., when transmissions are not allowed on the link).

[0182] FIG. 13b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1310) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1310) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1310) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13b, the process (1310) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1310) is performed after the frame is transmitted in block (1304) of FIG. 13a. In block (1312), the AP MLD receives a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request from the wireless STA of the STA (station) MLD based on the transmitted frame. In block (1314), the first AP transmits one or both of association information or discovery information for the first AP and one or more second APs of the AP MLD based on the request.

[0183] FIG. 13c illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1320) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1320) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1320) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13c, the process (1320) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1320) is performed after transmitting association information in block (1314) of FIG. 13b. In block (1322), the AP MLD is associated with the STA MLD on the first communication link. In block (1324), the AP MLD communicates with the STA MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on association.

[0184] FIG. 13d illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1330) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1330) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1330) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13d, the process (1330) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1330) is performed after associating the STA MLD with the AP MLD in block (1324) of FIG. 13c. In block (1332), the AP MLD establishes a common security context between the AP MLD's first MAC-SAP (medium access control service access point) endpoint and the STA MLD's second MAC-SAP endpoint, wherein each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints is used to communicate through a first communication link and one or more second communication links.

[0185] FIG. 13e illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1340) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1340) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1340) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13e, the process (1340) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1340) is performed after the associated information is transmitted in block (1314) of FIG. 13b. In block (1342), the AP MLD establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the STA MLD, and the BA session is based on the association of at least one traffic identifier (TID) with a first group of communication links including one or more of a first communication link or one or more second communication links.

[0186] FIG. 13f illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1350) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1350) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1350) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13f, the process (1350) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1350) is performed after the BA session is established in block (1342) of FIG. 13e. In block (1352), the AP MLD dynamically re-associates at least one TID with a second group of communication links, which includes one or more of the first communication link or one or more of the second communication links, and the first group of communication links is different from the second group of communication links. In block (1354), the AP MLD transmits an ADDBA (Add Block Acknowledgement) frame containing a field that returns an indication of re-association.

[0187] FIG. 13g illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1360) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1360) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1360) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 13g, the process (1360) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 13a. In some implementations, the process (1360) is performed after the frame is transmitted in block (1304) of FIG. 13a. In block (1362), the AP MLD receives a directional probe request from the STA MLD over a first communication link, and the directional probe request requests one or more of discovery information, operation parameters, capabilities, or operation classes for each AP of the AP MLD. In block (1364), the AP MLD transmits a frame as a multi-link (ML) probe response frame based on receiving the directional probe request from the STA MLD. In some implementations, the directional probe request may indicate one or more of the capabilities, operation parameters, operation classes, or identification information of each STA of the STA MLD.

[0188] FIG. 14a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1400) for wireless communication according to some other implementations. The process (1400) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1400) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14a, the process (1400) is performed by a wireless STA (station) MLD (multi-link device) to associate with an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP is associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs is associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links.

[0189] In block (1402), the STA MLD receives a frame from the first AP of the AP MLD, and the frame includes an ad information element, a first part, and a second part. The ad information element returns discovery information for the first AP of the AP MLD, the first part returns discovery information for each of the second APs of one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the second part returns common attributes of one or more second APs of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the frame may be one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a re-association response frame.

[0190] In some implementations, the first part may include one or more link-specific profile subelements, and each link-specific profile subelement may display discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs (or their individual second communication links). In some cases, the discovery information may include one or more of the operation class of the corresponding second AP, the radio channel of the corresponding second AP, or the basic service set Identifier (BSSID) of the corresponding AP. In some cases, the frame may also include a field that indicates whether each link-specific profile subelement returns all of the discovery information for the corresponding second AP or only a portion of the discovery information for the corresponding second AP.

[0191] Each of the link-specific profile subelements may also include at least one capability information or operational parameter information of a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs. The capability information may indicate one or more of HT capabilities, VHT capabilities, HE capabilities, HE 6GHz band capabilities, or EHT capabilities. The operational parameter information may indicate one or more of HT operational parameters, VHT operational parameters, HE operational parameters, EHT operational parameters, EDCA parameters, MU EDCA parameters, UORA parameters, TWT parameters, FILS parameters, or SR parameters.

[0192] In some other implementations, the first part may include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. The RNR element may indicate one or more of an applicable revision, a significant update, or a transmit power level for the IEEE 802.11 family of standards for each of the first AP and one or more second APs. In some cases, the RNR element may include one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields includes a unique link ID (identifier) ​​that identifies a corresponding communication link among the first communication link or one or more second communication links associated with the first AP or each of the one or more second APs.

[0193] In some implementations, the second part may include an MLD common element or field indicating one or more common attributes shared by one or more second APs (or their individual second communication links). The one or more common attributes indicated in the MLD common element may include at least one of an authentication method, an address of the AP MLD, or a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include a bitmap indicating the presence or absence of each of the one or more common attributes indicated in the MLD common element. For example, a first logical state of each bit in the bitmap may indicate the presence of each of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD in the MLD common element, and a second logical state of each bit in the bitmap may indicate the absence of each of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD from the MLD common element. In some other cases, the absence of a specific attribute in an MLD common element may indicate that a specific attribute of the corresponding second AP is identical to a specific attribute of the first AP (and thus can be "inherited" from the first AP).

[0194] In some other implementations, the second part may include a multi-link attribute element. In some cases, the multi-link attribute element may include one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements includes one or more capabilities or operational parameters for each individual AP of the one or more second APs corresponding to one unique link ID.

[0195] In some implementations, the frame may also include an indication of whether the AP MLD supports simultaneous transmit-and-receive (STR) operations across a number of links among the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the frame may also include an indication of whether the AP MLD is an STR device or a non-STR device. Additionally or alternatively, the frame may also include a first identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies the AP MLD associated with the first AP or one or both of the individual second APs of one or more second APs. In some cases, the frame may also include one or more second ID fields, each of which returns at least one of a link identifier identifying an individual second AP of one or more second APs or an MLD identifier identifying the first AP MLD. Each link identifier of the first link identifier and one or more second link identifiers can associate one or more TIDs (traffic identifiers) with individual communication links of the first communication link and one or more second communication links for a block acknowledgment (BA) session between the AP MLD and the STA MLD.

[0196] In some implementations, the frame may also include indications of significant updates corresponding to one or more of a first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, at least one significant update corresponds to one or more second communication links but not to the first communication link. In some other cases, at least one significant update corresponds to at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some other implementations, the significant updates include changes in operating channels or changes in basic service set (BSS) parameters for the first communication link or at least one of the one or more second communication links. In some cases, the significant updates may be returned in a link-specific profile (as a sub-element or as an element within a multi-link attribute element). Additionally, or alternatively, there may be a bit to indicate when the reported link is in silent mode (e.g., when transmissions are not allowed on the link).

[0197] FIG. 14b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1410) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1410) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1410) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14b, the process (1410) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1410) is performed after receiving a frame in block (1402) of FIG. 14a. In block (1412), the STA MLD transmits a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request to the AP MLD, and the ML association request indicates one or more of the capabilities, operation parameters, operation classes, or identification information of each STA of the STA MLD. In block (1414), the STA MLD receives one or both of the association information or discovery information for the first AP and one or more second APs of the AP MLD based on the ML association request.

[0198] FIG. 14c illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1420) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1420) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1420) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14c, the process (1420) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1420) is performed after receiving association information in block (1414) of FIG. 14b. In block (1422), the STA MLD is associated with the AP MLD at least partially based on a request. In block (1424), the STA MLD communicates with the AP MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on association.

[0199] FIG. 14d illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1430) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1430) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1430) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14d, the process (1430) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1430) is performed after associating the STA MLD with the AP MLD in block (1424) of FIG. 14c. In block (1432), the STA MLD establishes a common security context between the first MAC-SAP (medium access control service access point) endpoint of the AP MLD and the second MAC-SAP endpoint of the STA MLD, wherein each of the first and second MAC-SAP endpoints is used to communicate through a first communication link and one or more second communication links.

[0200] FIG. 14e illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1440) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1440) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1440) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14e, the process (1440) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1440) is performed after the associated information is transmitted in block (1414) of FIG. 14b. In block (1442), the STA MLD establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the AP MLD, and the BA session is based on the association of at least one traffic identifier (TID) with a first group of communication links including one or more of a first communication link or one or more second communication links.

[0201] FIG. 14f illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1450) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1450) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1450) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14f, the process (1450) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1450) is performed after the BA session is established in block (1442) of FIG. 14e. In block (1452), the STA MLD dynamically re-links at least one TID with a second group of communication links, which includes one or more of a first communication link or one or more second communication links, and the first group of communication links is different from the second group of communication links. In block (1454), the STA MLD transmits an ADDBA frame containing a field that returns an indication of re-linking.

[0202] FIG. 14g illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1460) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1460) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1460) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 14e, the process (1460) is performed by the STA MLD of FIG. 14a. In some implementations, the process (1460) is performed after the frame is transmitted in block (1404) of FIG. 14a. In block (1462), the STA MLD transmits a directional probe request to the first AP of the AP MLD, and the directional probe request requests one or more of discovery information, operation parameters, capabilities, or operation classes for each AP of the AP MLD. In block (1464), the STA MLD receives a frame based at least partially on the transmission of the directional probe request to the first AP of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the directional probe request may indicate one or more of the capabilities, operation parameters, operation classes, or identification information of each STA of the STA MLD.

[0203] FIG. 15 illustrates a sequence diagram depicting an exemplary multi-link (ML) communication (1500) according to some implementations. In the example of FIG. 15, the ML communication (1500) may be performed between a first wireless communication device (1502) and a second wireless communication device (1504). In some implementations, the first device (1502) may be one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, and may be the first AP of the AP MLD associated with the first communication link of the AP MLD. Although not illustrated for simplification, the AP MLD includes one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the AP MLD. The second device (1504) may be one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, and may be part of the STA MLD.

[0204] The first device (1502) generates a frame comprising one or more link-specific profile elements each displaying discovery information for a first communication link and discovery information for a corresponding second communication link, and an MLD common element displaying common attributes of one or more second communication links. The first device (1502) transmits the frame to the second device (1504) on the first communication link.

[0205] The second device (1504) receives a frame and transmits an ML association request to the first device (1502). The first device (1502) receives the ML association request and transmits association information for the first communication link and one or more second communication links based on the ML association request.

[0206] The first device (1502) associates the second device (1504) with the AP MLD based at least partially on the association information, and then communicates with the second device (1504) on one or more of the first communication links or one or more of the second communication links based on the association.

[0207] FIG. 16a illustrates an exemplary frame (1600) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. Frame (1600) may be an example of a frame in the sequence diagram of FIG. 15. In some implementations, frame (1600) may be a beacon frame. In some other implementations, frame (1600) may be a probe response or an association response. Frame (1600) is illustrated as comprising a discovery element (1602), an MLD common information element (1604), and one or more link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)). In some implementations, the link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)) may be structured into sub-elements. In some other implementations, the link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)) and the MLD common element (1604) may be sub-elements included in the multi-link attribute element.

[0208] Although not illustrated for the sake of simplification, the frame (1600) may also include a link attribute element containing at least some of the discovery information for the first communication link. The link attribute element may return a link ID field indicating a unique identifier for the first communication link. In some implementations, the unique identifier is configured to identify the first communication link for a specific traffic identifier (TID) during block acknowledgment (BA) setup.

[0209] The advertisement element (1602) may return discovery information for a first communication link of the AP MLD (e.g., the first device (1502) of FIG. 15). The MLD common information element (1604) may return common attributes of one or more second communication links. In some implementations, the common attributes displayed in the MLD common element (1604) may include at least one of an authentication method, an address of the AP MLD, or a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the AP MLD.

[0210] Each of the link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)) may display discovery information for a corresponding second communication link of the AP MLD. In some implementations, the discovery information contained in each of the link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)) includes one or more of the operation class of the corresponding second communication link, the radio channel of the corresponding second communication link, or the basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the corresponding second communication link. In some cases, at least one link-specific profile element (1606) includes only a portion of the discovery information for the corresponding second communication link. In some cases, at least one link-specific profile element (1606) includes an indication of whether the at least one link-specific profile element returns all of the discovery information for the corresponding second communication link or a portion of the discovery information for the corresponding second communication link.

[0211] In some implementations, each link-specific profile element (1606) further includes one or more capabilities of a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the AP MLD. One or more capabilities may include at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities.

[0212] In some implementations, each link-specific profile element (1606) further includes one or more operation parameters of a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the AP MLD. The one or more operation parameters may include at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0213] The frame (1600) may also include a first ID (identifier) ​​field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the AP MLD to which the first AP is associated or of the individual second APs of one or more second APs. The frame (1600) may also include one or more second ID fields, and each of the one or more second ID fields returns at least one of a link identifier identifying an individual second AP of one or more second APs or an MLD identifier identifying the first AP MLD. In some cases, each of the first link identifier and one or more second link identifiers associates one or more TIDs (traffic identifiers) with individual communication links of the first communication link and one or more second communication links for a block acknowledgment (BA) session between the AP MLD and the STA MLD.

[0214] FIG. 16b illustrates another exemplary frame (1610) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. Frame (1610) may be an example of a frame in the sequence diagram of FIG. 15. In some implementations, frame (1610) may be a beacon frame. In some other implementations, frame (1610) may be a probe response or an association response. Frame (1610) is similar to frame (1600) of FIG. 16a and also includes a bitmap (1612) capable of indicating the presence or absence of each of one or more common attributes indicated in the MLD common element (1604). In some implementations, the absence of a specific common attribute from the MLD common element (1604) indicates that the specific common attribute is also common to the first communication link.

[0215] In some implementations, each bit of the bitmap (1612) indicates the presence or absence of an authentication method in the MLD common element (1604), the address of the AP MLD, and the BSSID of the AP MLD, respectively. In some cases, a first logical state of an individual bit in the bitmap (1612) indicates the presence of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD, respectively, in the MLD common element (1604), and a second logical state of an individual bit in the bitmap (1612) may indicate the absence of the authentication method, the address of the AP MLD, or the BSSID of the AP MLD, respectively, from the MLD common element (1604).

[0216] The frame (1610) may also include a first identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the AP MLD to which the first AP is associated or of the individual second APs of one or more second APs. The frame (1610) may also include one or more second identifier fields, and each of the one or more second identifier fields returns at least one of a link identifier that identifies the individual second APs of one or more second APs or an MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. In some cases, each of the first link identifier and one or more second link identifiers associates one or more traffic identifiers with the individual communication links of the first communication link and one or more second communication links for a block acknowledgment (BA) session between the AP MLD and the STA MLD.

[0217] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary multi-link attribute element (1700) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1700) may be used to carry an MLD common element (1604) described with reference to FIG. 16a and FIG. 16b and one or more link-specific profile elements (1606(1) to 1606(n)).

[0218] FIG. 18 illustrates another exemplary frame (1800) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. As illustrated, the frame (1800) may include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) (1810) and multiple link attribute elements (1820). In some implementations, the RNR element (1810) includes one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields includes a unique link ID and one or more of the operation class, channel number, basic service set identifier (BSSID), or basic service set (BSS) parameters for each of the one or more second APs.

[0219] A multi-link attribute element (1820) may include one or more link-specific profile elements, wherein each link-specific profile sub-element may include a corresponding unique link ID and one or more capabilities or operational parameters for each individual AP of one or more second APs. Capabilities may include at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities. In some cases, operational parameters may include at least one of an operation class, a wireless channel, or a BSSID. In some cases, the operation parameters may include at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0220] In some implementations, the link IDs returned from neighbor AP information fields (1812(1) to 1812(n)) are each identical to the link IDs returned from link-specific profile subelements (1822(1) to 1822(n)). That is, the link ID returned from the first neighbor AP information field (1812(1)) is identical to the link ID returned from the first link-specific profile subelement (1822(1)), the link ID returned from the second neighbor AP information field (1812(2)) is identical to the link ID returned from the second link-specific profile subelement (1822(2)), and the link ID returned from the nth neighbor AP information field (1812(n)) is identical to the link ID returned from the nth link-specific profile subelement (1822(n)). In this way, information returned from the information fields (1812(1) to 1812(n)) can be mapped to information returned from the individual link-specific profile subelements (1822(1) to 1822(n)).

[0221] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1820) may include an indication (1830) of whether the transmitting device supports simultaneous transmit-and-receive (STR) operations across a plurality of links among a first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the STR indication (1830) may indicate whether the transmitting device is an STR device or a non-STR device.

[0222] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1820) may include indications (1840) of important updates corresponding to at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the important updates may include changes in operation channels or changes in basic service set (BSS) parameters for at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links.

[0223] In some implementations, the RNR element (1810) is extended to include a link ID field that stores one or more unique link IDs that can be used to map the AP entries of the RNR element (1810) to the corresponding link-specific profile elements of the multi-link attribute element (1820). In such implementations, the multi-link attribute element (1820) also includes a link ID field that stores one or more unique link IDs.

[0224] FIG. 19a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1900) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1900) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1900) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 19a, the process (1900) is performed by an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP is associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs is associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP also includes one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of multiple BSSIDs (basic service set identifiers) associated with the first communication link.

[0225] In block (1902), the first AP of the AP MLD generates a frame comprising a first element and a second element. The first element carries discovery information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to the first multi-BSSID set, and the second element carries discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. In block (1904), the AP MLD transmits the frame over the first communication link. The frame may be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a re-association response frame. In some implementations, each of the one or more second APs belongs to an individual second multi-BSSID set of one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0226] In some implementations, the frame may further include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. The frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second AP MLDs associated with the one or more virtual APs or the individual second APs of the one or more second AP MLDs associated with the second AP MLD. In some cases, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier identifying a first AP MLD, and each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0227] In some implementations, the first AP is associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each virtual AP of one or more virtual APs is associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs. In some cases, the first element comprises a multiple BSSID element containing one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles comprises an identifier field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual APs of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLDs of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0228] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID (identifier) ​​field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement carries the operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. Each link-specific profile subelement can also return capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities.

[0229] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of an individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual AP, and the individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0230] In some other implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element further includes a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field.

[0231] FIG. 19b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1910) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1910) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1910) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 19b, the process (1910) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 19a.

[0232] In some implementations, process (1910) is performed after transmitting a frame in block (1904) of FIG. 19a. In block (1912), the first AP receives a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request from the first radio STA of the station (STA) MLD. In block (1914), the first AP transmits one or both of association information or discovery information regarding the first AP of the first AP MLD and one or more second APs to the first STA of the STA MLD based on the request. In some implementations, the ML association or probe request includes a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0233] FIG. 19c illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (1920) for wireless communication according to some implementations. The process (1920) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (1920) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as an AP, such as one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, or within an AP. For the example of FIG. 19c, the process (1920) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 19a.

[0234] In some implementations, the process (1920) is performed after transmitting either or both of the association information or the discovery information in block (1914) of FIG. 19b. In block (1922), the first AP associates the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on a request. In block (1924), the first AP communicates with the STA MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association.

[0235] FIG. 20a illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (2000) for wireless communication according to some other implementations. The process (2000) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (2000) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 20a, the process (2000) is performed by a STA MLD to associate with an AP MLD comprising a first AP and one or more second APs. The AP MLD comprises a first AP and one or more second APs. The first AP is associated with a first communication link of the AP MLD, and each of the one or more second APs is associated with an individual second communication link of one or more second communication links of the AP MLD. The first AP also includes one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of multiple BSSIDs (basic service set identifiers) associated with a first communication link. In block (2002), the STA MLD receives a frame from the AP MLD, and the frame includes a first element that returns discovery information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of multiple BSSIDs, and a second element that returns discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD.

[0236] In some implementations, the frame may further include an identifier field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. The frame may also include one or more second identifier fields, each of which returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLD of the one or more second AP MLDs associated with the one or more virtual APs or the individual second APs of the one or more second AP MLDs associated with the second AP MLD. In some cases, the first identifier may include one or more of a first link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier identifying a first AP MLD, and each of the one or more second identifiers may include one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0237] In some implementations, the first AP is associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each virtual AP of one or more virtual APs is associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs. In some cases, the first element comprises a multiple BSSID element containing one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles comprises an identifier field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual APs of the first AP and one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLDs of the first AP MLD and one or more second AP MLDs.

[0238] In some implementations, the second element may include a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an ID (identifier) ​​field that returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among one or more second communication links. In some cases, each link-specific profile subelement carries the operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. Each link-specific profile subelement can also return capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities.

[0239] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element may also indicate the operation parameters of an individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual AP, and the individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets.

[0240] In some other implementations, the frame may also include a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, each of which returns the unique link ID of the corresponding second AP among one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. In some cases, the frame may also include an MLD common element or field that returns common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element further includes a control field indicating the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field.

[0241] FIG. 20b illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (2010) for wireless communication according to some other implementations. The process (2010) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (2010) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 20b, the process (2010) is performed by the STA MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 20a. In some implementations, the process (2010) is performed after receiving a frame in block (2002) of FIG. 20a. In block (2012), the STA MLD transmits an ML association request or an ML probe request to the first AP MLD over the first communication link. In block (2014), the STA MLD receives one or both of association information or discovery information for the first AP and one or more second APs of the first AP MLD based on a request. In some implementations, the ML association or probe request includes a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD.

[0242] FIG. 20c illustrates a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process (2020) for wireless communication according to some other implementations. The process (2020) may be performed by a first wireless communication device, such as the wireless communication device (500) described above with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the process (2020) may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA, such as one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, respectively, or within a STA. For the example of FIG. 20c, the process (2020) is performed by the AP MLD discussed with reference to FIG. 20a. In some implementations, the process (2020) is performed after receiving either or both of the association information or discovery information in block (2014) of FIG. 20b.

[0243] In some implementations, the process (2020) is performed after transmitting the frame in block (2014) of FIG. 20b. In block (2022), the STA MLD is associated with the first AP MLD based at least partially on association information. In block (2024), the STA MLD communicates with the first AP MLD on one or more of the first communication link or one or more second communication links based on the association.

[0244] FIG. 21 illustrates a sequence diagram depicting an exemplary multi-link (ML) communication (2100) according to some implementations. In the example of FIG. 21, the ML communication (2100) may be performed between a first wireless communication device (2102) and a second wireless communication device (2104). In some implementations, the first device (2102) may be one of the APs (102 and 602) described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6a, respectively, and may be the first AP of the first AP MLD associated with the first communication link of the first AP MLD. Although not illustrated for simplification, the AP MLD includes one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD, and the first AP belongs to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSID) associated with the first communication link and includes one or more virtual APs corresponding to one or more different BSSIDs. The second device (2104) may be one of the STAs (104 and 604) described above, respectively, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6b, and may be part of the STA MLD.

[0245] The first device (2102) generates a frame that includes discovery information for a first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to a first multi-BSSID set, and discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. The first device (2102) transmits the frame to the second device (2104) over the first communication link.

[0246] The second device (2104) receives a frame and transmits an ML association request to the first device (2102). The first device (2102) receives the ML association request and transmits association information for the first communication link and one or more second communication links based on the ML association request.

[0247] The first device (2102) associates the second device (2104) with the AP MLD based at least partially on the association information, and then communicates with the second device (2104) on one or more of the first communication links or one or more of the second communication links based on the association.

[0248] FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary frame (2200) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. The frame (2200) may be an example of a frame in the sequence diagram of FIG. 21. In some implementations, the frame (2200) may be a beacon frame. In some other implementations, the frame (2200) may be a probe response or an association response. The frame (2200) is illustrated as including multiple BSSID elements (2202) and multiple link attribute elements (2204).

[0249] A multiple BSSID element (2202) may include discovery information for a first AP and one or more virtual APs belonging to a first multiple BSSID set. The discovery information may include the operation class of the first communication link, the wireless channel of the first communication link, and the BSSID (basic service set identifier) ​​of the first communication link. In some implementations, the multiple BSSID element (2202) may also include capability information for the first AP and one or more virtual APs. The capability information includes at least one of high-throughput (HT) capabilities, very high-throughput (VHT) capabilities, high efficiency (HE) capabilities, high efficiency (HE) 6 GHz band capabilities, or extremely high-throughput (EHT) capabilities.

[0250] In some implementations, each link-specific profile element (2202) further includes one or more operation parameters of the first AP and one or more virtual APs. The operation parameters include at least one of an HT (high-throughput) operation element, a VHT (very high-throughput) operation element, a HE (high efficiency) operation element, an EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation element, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0251] The multi-link attribute element (2204) may include discovery information for one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. In some implementations, the multi-BSSID element (2202) returns a link ID subelement indicating a unique identifier for the first communication link. The discovery information contained in the multi-link attribute element (2204) may include an operation class, a radio channel, and the BSSID of each of one or more other multi-BSSID sets. In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (2204) also includes capability information for one or more APs belonging to each of one or more other multi-BSSID sets. Capabilities may include at least one of the HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities of the transmitting device.

[0252] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (2204) also includes operational parameters of one or more APs belonging to each of one or more different multi-BSSID sets. The operational parameters may include at least one of an HT (high-throughput) operational element, a VHT (very high-throughput) operational element, a HE (high efficiency) operational element, an EHT (extremely high-throughput) operational element, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0253] The frame (2200) may also include a link ID field (2206). The link ID field (2206) may return a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD, or the AP MLD to which the first AP is associated. In some implementations, the link ID field (2206) may also return one or more second ID fields, and each of the one or more second ID fields returns a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the second AP MLDs of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD, or the second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD. In some cases, the first identifier includes one or more of a first link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier identifying a first AP MLD, and each of the one or more second identifiers includes one or more of a second link identifier identifying a second AP associated with a second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying a second AP MLD.

[0254] FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary multiple BSSID element (2300) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. The multiple BSSID element (2300), which can be used by an AP associated with a Tx BSSID to advertise the presence of a multiple BSSID set, includes an element ID field (2302), a length field (2304), a maximum BSSID indicator field (2306), and an optional sub-element field (2308). The element ID field (2302) may store a value indicating an element type (e.g., multiple BSSID element). The length field (2304) may store a value indicating the length of the multiple BSSID element (2300). The Max BSSID indicator field (2306) may store a value indicating the maximum possible number of BSSIDs in a multiple BSSID set.

[0255] The optional subelement field (2308) may store zero or more additional subelements. For the example of FIG. 23, the subelement field (2308) is illustrated as containing a non-Tx BSSID profile (2310). The non-Tx BSSID profile (2310) may contain a list of elements for one or more APs (or virtual APs) associated with non-Tx BSSIDs. In some implementations, the non-Tx BSSID profile (2310) may include. In some other implementations, the non-Tx BSSID profile (2310) may also include a non-Tx BSSID capability element, an SSID and BSSID-index element, and an FMS descriptor element (not illustrated for simplification).

[0256] FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary multi-link attribute element (2400) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (2400) may be used to carry an MLD common element (2204) and one or more link-specific profile elements (2206(1) to 2206(n)) described with reference to FIG. 22a and FIG. 22b.

[0257] FIG. 25 illustrates another exemplary frame (2500) available for use in communications between wireless communication devices. The frame (2500) is illustrated as including a reduced neighbor report (RNR) (2510), multiple link attribute elements (2520), and multiple BSSID elements (2530). In some implementations, the RNR element (2510) includes one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields includes a unique link ID, and one or more of the operation class of the first communication link, the wireless channel of the first communication link, and the basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the first communication link. In some implementations, the RNR element (2510) includes capability information of the first AP and one or more virtual APs. The capability information may include at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities.

[0258] In some implementations, the RNR element (2510) also includes one or more operation parameters of the first AP and one or more virtual APs. The one or more operation parameters include at least one of an HT (high-throughput) operation element, a VHT (very high-throughput) operation element, a HE (high efficiency) operation element, an EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation element, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0259] The multi-link attribute element (2520) may include one or more link-specific profile elements, and each link-specific profile element of the one or more link-specific profile elements includes corresponding unique link IDs and capability information of one or more APs belonging to each of the one or more different multi-BSSID sets. The multi-link attribute element (2520) may also include operation parameters of one or more APs belonging to each of the one or more different multi-BSSID sets. The operation parameters include at least one of an HT (high-throughput) operation element, a VHT (very high-throughput) operation element, a HE (high efficiency) operation element, an EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation element, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters.

[0260] In some implementations, the link IDs returned from neighbor AP information fields are identical to the link IDs returned from individual link-specific profile sub-elements of, for example, an MLA element (2520), so that the information returned from neighbor AP information fields can be mapped to the information returned from the link-specific profile sub-elements of the MLA element. In some cases, an RNR element may include a first ID (identifier) ​​field that returns a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the AP MLD associated with the first AP or one or more second APs, and may include one or more second ID fields, each of the one or more second ID fields that returns at least one of a link identifier that identifies the individual second APs of the one or more second APs or an MLD identifier that identifies the first AP MLD. In some cases, each link identifier of the first link identifier and one or more second link identifiers associates one or more TIDs (traffic identifiers) with individual communication links of the first communication link and one or more second communication links for a block acknowledgment (BA) session between the AP MLD and the STA MLD.

[0261] The multi-link attribute element (2520) may also include an indication (2530) of whether the transmitting device supports simultaneous transmit-and-receive (STR) operations across a plurality of links among the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the STR indication (2530) may indicate whether the transmitting device is an STR device or a non-STR device.

[0262] In some implementations, the multi-link attribute element (2520) may include an indication (2540) of important updates corresponding to at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links. In some cases, the important updates may include changes in operation channels or changes in basic service set (BSS) parameters for at least one of the first communication link and one or more second communication links.

[0263] In some implementations, the RNR element (2510) is extended to include a link ID field that stores one or more unique link IDs that can be used to map the AP entries of the RNR element (2510) to the corresponding link-specific profile elements of the multi-link attribute element (2520). In such implementations, the multi-link attribute element (2520) also includes a link ID field that stores one or more unique link IDs.

[0264] FIG. 26 illustrates an example depicting an exemplary process for associating various wireless communication devices with an AP MLD.

[0265] As used herein, the phrase referring to “at least one of” or “one or more of” items in a list refers to any combination of such items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover the possibilities of only a, only b, only c, combinations of a and b, combinations of a and c, combinations of b and c, and combinations of a, b, and c.

[0266] The various exemplary components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures and structural equivalents disclosed herein. The interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software is generally described in terms of function and is exemplified by the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such function is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the design constraints imposed on the specific application and the overall system.

[0267] Various modifications to the embodiments described herein may be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the claims are not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but will be consistent with the broadest scope consistent with the present disclosure, principles, and novel features disclosed herein.

[0268] Additionally, various features described herein in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately or in any suitable subcombination in multiple implementations. Thus, although features are described above as operating in specific combinations and may even be claimed as such initially, one or more features from the claimed combination may be omitted from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may relate to a subcombination or a modification of a subcombination.

[0269] Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a specific order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order or sequential order depicted, or that all illustrated operations be performed, in order to achieve desired results. Additionally, the drawings may schematically depict one or more exemplary processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other unillustrated operations may be incorporated into the schematically illustrated exemplary processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Furthermore, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems may generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

Claim 1 A method for wireless communication performed by a first AP (access point) MLD (multi-link device), comprising: generating a frame by a first AP of the first AP MLD associated with a first communication link of the first AP MLD — wherein the first AP MLD further comprises one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD, and the first AP comprises one or more virtual APs, wherein the first AP and the one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) associated with the first communication link —; and transmitting the frame over the first communication link, wherein the frame comprises: a first element that returns discovery information for the first AP and the one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of basic service set identifiers; A method for wireless communication comprising a second element that returns discovery information for the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. Claim 2 A method for wireless communication according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request from a first wireless STA of a station (STA) MLD; and transmitting one or both of association information or discovery information regarding the first AP of the first AP MLD and the one or more second APs to the first wireless STA of the STA MLD based on the request. Claim 3 A method for wireless communication according to claim 2, further comprising: associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on the request; and communicating with the STA MLD on one or more of the first communication link or the one or more second communication links based on the association. Claim 4 A method for wireless communication according to claim 2, wherein the ML association request or ML probe request comprises a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD. Claim 5 A method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein the frame further comprises an ID (identifier) ​​field that carries a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. Claim 6 A method for wireless communication according to claim 5, wherein the frame further comprises one or more second ID fields, and each field of the one or more second ID fields carries a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the two second AP MLDs among the one or more second AP MLDs to which the individual virtual AP of the one or more virtual APs is associated, or the two second APs among the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD. Claim 7 A method for wireless communication according to claim 6, wherein the first identifier comprises one or more of a first link identifier identifying the second AP associated with the first AP MLD or a first MLD identifier identifying the first AP MLD; and each of the one or more second identifiers comprises one or more of a second link identifier identifying the second AP associated with the second AP MLD or a second MLD identifier identifying the second AP MLD. Claim 8 A method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein each of the one or more second APs is a second AP belonging to an individual second multiple BSSID set of one or more second multiple BSSID sets. Claim 9 A method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein the first AP is associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs is associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). Claim 10 A method for wireless communication according to claim 9, wherein the first element comprises a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles comprises an ID (identifier) ​​field that carries an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual APs of the first AP and the one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLDs of the first AP MLD and the one or more second AP MLDs. Claim 11 A method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein the second element comprises a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements carries discovery information for a corresponding second AP among the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD, and carries an ID (identifier) ​​field that carries an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among the one or more second communication links. Claim 12 A method for wireless communication according to claim 11, wherein each link-specific profile subelement carries operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters indicate at least one of HT (high-throughput) operation, VHT (very high-throughput) operation, HE (high efficiency) operation, EHT (extremely high-throughput) operation, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. Claim 13 A method for wireless communication according to claim 11, wherein each of the link-specific profile subelements carries capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities. Claim 14 A method for wireless communication according to claim 11, wherein the multi-link attribute element further indicates operation parameters of an individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual AP, and the individual AP and the one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets. Claim 15 A method for wireless communication according to claim 11, wherein the frame further comprises a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that returns one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields returns a unique link ID of a corresponding second AP among the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. Claim 16 A method for wireless communication according to claim 15, wherein the frame further comprises an MLD common element or field that carries common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element further comprises a control field that indicates the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field. Claim 17 A first AP (access point) MLD (multi-link device) comprises: at least one modem; at least one processor coupled communically to the at least one modem; and at least one memory coupled communically to the at least one processor and storing a processor-readable code, wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor together with the at least one modem, causes the first AP MLD to perform operations, the operations being: generating a frame by the first AP of the first AP MLD associated with a first communication link of the first AP MLD — the first AP MLD further comprises one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD, and the first AP comprises one or more virtual APs, wherein the first AP and the one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first multiple BSSID (service set identifier) ​​set associated with the first communication link —; A first AP MLD comprising the operation of transmitting the frame over the first communication link, wherein the frame comprises: a first element carrying discovery information for the first AP and the one or more virtual APs belonging to the first multiple BSSID set; and a second element carrying discovery information for the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. Claim 18 A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless STA (station) MLD (multi-link device), comprising the step of receiving a frame from a first AP of a first AP MLD on a first communication link of a first AP (access point) MLD, wherein the first AP MLD further comprises one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD, and the first AP comprises one or more virtual APs, wherein the first AP and the one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSID) associated with the first communication link, and the frame comprises: a first element carrying discovery information for the first AP and the one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of BSSIDs; and a second element carrying discovery information for the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. Claim 19 A method for wireless communication according to claim 18, further comprising: transmitting a multi-link (ML) association request or an ML probe request on the first communication link to the first AP MLD by the first STA of the STA MLD; and receiving one or both of association information or discovery information regarding the first AP and the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD based on the ML association request. Claim 20 A method for wireless communication according to claim 19, further comprising: associating the STA MLD with the first AP MLD based at least partially on the request; and communicating with the first AP MLD on one or more of the first communication link or the one or more second communication links based on the association. Claim 21 A method for wireless communication according to claim 19, wherein the ML association request or probe request comprises a multi-link attribute element that returns capability information of one or more second STAs of the STA MLD. Claim 22 A method for wireless communication according to claim 18, wherein the frame further comprises an ID (identifier) ​​field that carries a first identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual second APs of the one or more second APs associated with the first AP MLD. Claim 23 A method for wireless communication, wherein, in claim 22, the frame further comprises one or more second ID fields, and each of the one or more second ID fields carries a corresponding second identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the two second AP MLDs among the one or more second AP MLDs to which the individual virtual AP of the one or more virtual APs is associated, or the two APs among the one or more second APs associated with the second AP MLD. Claim 24 A method for wireless communication according to claim 18, wherein the first AP is associated with a Tx BSSID (transmitted BSSID), and each of the one or more virtual APs is associated with a corresponding non-Tx BSSID among one or more non-Tx BSSIDs (non-transmitted BSSIDs). Claim 25 A method for wireless communication according to claim 24, wherein the first element comprises a multiple BSSID element comprising one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles, and each profile of the one or more non-Tx BSSID profiles comprises an ID (identifier) ​​field that carries an identifier that uniquely identifies one or both of the individual APs of the first AP and the one or more virtual APs, or the individual AP MLDs of the first AP MLD and the one or more second AP MLDs. Claim 26 A method for wireless communication according to claim 18, wherein the second element comprises a multi-link attribute element comprising one or more link-specific profile sub-elements, and each link-specific profile sub-element of the one or more link-specific profile sub-elements comprises an ID (identifier) ​​field that returns discovery information for a corresponding second AP among the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD and returns an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding second communication link among the one or more second communication links. Claim 27 A method for wireless communication according to claim 26, wherein each of the link-specific profile subelements carries operation parameters of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the operation parameters represent at least one of EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access) parameters, MU (multi-user) EDCA parameters, UORA (uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access) parameters, TWT (target wait time) parameters, FILS (fast initial link setup) parameters, or SR (spatial reuse) parameters. Claim 28 A method for wireless communication according to claim 26, wherein each of the link-specific profile subelements carries capability information of the corresponding second AP of the first AP MLD, and the capability information indicates at least one of HT (high-throughput) capabilities, VHT (very high-throughput) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) capabilities, HE (high efficiency) 6 GHz band capabilities, or EHT (extremely high-throughput) capabilities. Claim 29 A method for wireless communication according to claim 26, wherein the multi-link attribute element further indicates operation parameters of an individual AP and one or more corresponding virtual APs included in the individual AP, and the individual AP and the one or more corresponding virtual APs belong to a corresponding second multi-BSSID set among one or more second multi-BSSID sets. Claim 30 A method for wireless communication according to claim 26, wherein the frame further comprises a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element comprising one or more neighbor AP information fields, and each of the one or more neighbor AP information fields carries a unique link ID of a corresponding second AP among the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD. Claim 31 A method for wireless communication according to claim 30, wherein the frame further comprises an MLD common element or field that carries common attributes shared by each of the one or more second APs of the AP MLD, and the RNR element further comprises a control field that indicates the presence or absence of one or more of the common attributes in the MLD common element or field. Claim 32 As a wireless STA (station) MLD (multi-link device), at least one modem; and at least one processor coupled to communicate with the at least one modem; and includes at least one memory coupled to communicate with the at least one processor and storing a processor-readable code, wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor together with the at least one modem, causes the STA MLD to perform operations, the operations include receiving a frame from a first AP of the first AP MLD on a first communication link of the first AP (access point) MLD, the first AP MLD further includes one or more second APs associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD, the first AP includes one or more virtual APs, and the first AP and the one or more virtual APs of the first AP belong to a first set of basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) associated with the first communication link, and the frame comprises: a first element that returns discovery information for the first AP and the one or more virtual APs belonging to the first set of BSSIDs; A wireless STA MLD comprising a second element that returns discovery information for the one or more second APs of the first AP MLD associated with one or more individual second communication links of the first AP MLD. Claim 33 A non-transient computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors of an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) base station, cause the AP MLD to perform the operations of any one of claims 1 through 16. Claim 34 A wireless communication device comprising means for performing the operations of any one of claims 1 to 16. Claim 35 A non-transient computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a wireless STA (station) MLD (multi-link device), cause the STA MLD to perform the operations of any one of claims 18 to 31. Claim 36 A wireless communication device comprising means for performing the operations of any one of claims 18 to 31.

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