Direct link communications in multi-link operations

Abstract

Certain aspects of this application provide techniques for handling direct link communications in a multi-link system. Exemplary methods typically include the following steps: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations belonging to a multi-link device (MLD). The data frame includes a transmitter address field set as an address of the MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the MLD for multi-link operation. The method also includes the step of communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 094,684, filed October 21, 2020, the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Certain aspects of this case pertain to wireless communications in general, and more specifically to various technologies and apparatuses used for handling direct link communications in multi-link systems. Prior Technology

[0003] To address the ever-increasing bandwidth requirements of wireless communication systems, various solutions are being developed to allow multiple wireless stations to communicate with a single access point via shared channel resources, while simultaneously achieving high data throughput.

[0004] Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology represents one such method, which has emerged as a popular technology in communication systems. MIMO technology has been adopted in several wireless communication standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard (including its revisions, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, and 802.11be). Some wireless communication standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (including its revisions, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, and 802.11be), represent a set of wireless local area network (WLAN) spatial interface standards developed by the IEEE 802.11 committee for short-range communication (e.g., tens to hundreds of meters).

[0005] Some wireless networks, such as 802.11be (also known as Very High Transmission (EHT) networks), enable certain wireless communication devices (which may be called multi-link devices (MLDs)) to communicate simultaneously across available frequency bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands) via two or more wireless communication links, for example, using multi-link operation (MLO) and / or multi-link aggregation (MLA). Summary of the Invention

[0006] The systems, methods, and apparatus of this invention each have several states, and no single state is solely responsible for its desired properties. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and especially after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," we will understand how the features of this invention provide advantages, thereby providing the desired latency and / or throughput due to multi-link operation.

[0007] Some embodiments of this application provide a method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD). This method typically includes the steps of: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the MLD. The data frame includes a transmit address field set as an address of the MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the MLD for multi-link operation. The method also includes the step of: communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0008] This application provides a method for wireless communication via an MLD. The method typically includes the following steps: communicating with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating. The method also includes the steps of: receiving a Request to Send (RTS) frame from an access point requesting the transmission of data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD, and responding to the RTS frame by taking one or more actions.

[0009] This application provides a method for wireless communication from an access point. The method typically includes the following steps: receiving from an MLD a first indication to enable the transmission of an RTS frame prior to a transmission from the access point to the MLD. The method also includes the following steps: based on the first indication, transmitting to the MLD an RTS frame requesting the transmission of data to one or more wireless stations associated with the MLD. The method further includes the following steps: if the access point receives an idle transmit (CTS) frame from the MLD, transmitting data to one or more wireless stations.

[0010] This invention provides a method for wireless communication via an MLD. The method typically includes the following steps: transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode. The method also includes the following steps: after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with a second wireless station, associated with the MLD, via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0011] This application provides a method for wireless communication via an MLD. The method typically includes the following steps: transmitting to an access point an indication that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled. The method also includes the following steps: following the transmission of the indication, communicating with a second wireless station (associated with the MLD) via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0012] This invention provides a method for wireless communication by a first MLD. The method typically includes the steps of: communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set comprising a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD. The method also includes the step of: transmitting to one or more of the first access points a first indication to remove a link from the dynamic link set between one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first radio stations. The method further includes the step of: after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while one or more of the first radio stations are communicating.

[0013] Some embodiments of this application provide a method for wireless communication by a first MLD. This method typically includes the steps of: receiving one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, related to establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multi-link operation. The method also includes the step of: relaying one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0014] Some versions of this application provide a method for wireless communication by a first wireless station. This method typically includes the following steps: transmitting a request via an access point to a second wireless station to explore the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations. The method also includes the step of directly communicating with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0015] Some embodiments of this application provide a first multi-link device (MLD). The MLD typically includes memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and memory are configured to: transmit data frames to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD; the data frames include a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0016] Some embodiments of this invention provide a method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD). This method typically includes the steps of: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0017] Some embodiments of this application provide a multi-link device (MLD). The MLD typically includes memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and memory are configured to establish a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0018] This application provides an access point in certain configurations. The access point typically includes memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and memory are configured to receive, from a multi-link device (MLD), an indication of a status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD; based on the status, transmit a first frame to the MLD requesting the transmission of data to one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD; and if the access point receives a second frame from the MLD granting permission to transmit data, transmit the data to one or more radio stations.

[0019] Some embodiments of this application provide a multi-link device (MLD). The MLD typically includes memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor and memory are configured to transmit a first instruction associated with a first radio station belonging to the MLD to an access point or access point (AP) MLD, and, after the transmission of the first instruction, to communicate with a second radio station belonging to the MLD via a direct link between the second and third radio stations, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0020] Some versions of this application provide a method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD). This method typically includes the following steps: establishing a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0021] To achieve the foregoing and related objectives, one or more patterns include the features fully described below and specifically pointed out in the claims. The following description and figures illustrate certain illustrative features of one or more patterns in detail. However, these features indicate only a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various patterns can be adopted, and this description is intended to include all such patterns and their equivalents. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0022] To gain a more detailed understanding of the aforementioned features of this case, a more specific description of the above-briefly summarized aspects can be provided by referring to various variants, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings only illustrate certain typical variants of this case and should therefore not be considered as limiting its scope, as this description may allow for other equally valid variants.

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless communication network according to certain aspects of this case.

[0024] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating the design of an exemplary access point (AP) and wireless station (STA) according to certain aspects of this case.

[0025] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of multi-link operation between multi-link devices (MLDs) according to certain conditions of this case.

[0026] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation for wireless communication performed by MLD according to certain aspects of this case.

[0027] Figure 5A is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between the MLD startup and the traditional STA, and communication with the traditional STA via the direct link, according to certain states of this case.

[0028] Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between the conventional STA startup and the MLD, and communication with the MLD via the direct link, according to certain states of this case.

[0029] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary link identifier information element format according to certain states of this case.

[0030] Figure 7A is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between the first MLD and the second MLD according to certain states of this case, and communication between the first MLD and the second MLD via the direct link.

[0031] Figure 7B is a diagram illustrating the establishment of a direct link between the second MLD and the first MLD according to certain states of this case, and communication between the second MLD and the first MLD via the direct link.

[0032] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0033] Figure 9A is a diagram illustrating how a certain type of AP MLD relays direct link messages from a non-AP MLD to a traditional STA.

[0034] Figure 9B is a diagram illustrating how a certain type of AP MLD relays direct link messages from a traditional STA to a non-AP MLD according to this case.

[0035] Figures 10A and 10B are flowcharts illustrating exemplary operations of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0036] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0037] Figure 12 is a signal transmission flowchart illustrating an exemplary signal transmission of Ready-To-Send / Clear-To-Send frames according to certain states of this case.

[0038] Figures 13A and 13B are flowcharts illustrating exemplary operations of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0039] Figure 14 is a signal transmission flowchart illustrating an exemplary signal transmission of a power-saving mode according to certain states of this case.

[0040] Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0041] Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of wireless communication performed by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD) according to certain states of this case.

[0042] Figure 17 is a signaling flowchart illustrating exemplary signaling for disabling / removing a link according to certain states of this case.

[0043] Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of wireless communication performed by a wireless station according to certain aspects of this case.

[0044] Figure 19 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multi-link information element format according to certain aspects of this case.

[0045] Figure 20 is a signaling flowchart illustrating an exemplary signaling process for the crossover of exploration requests according to certain states of this case.

[0046] Figure 21 illustrates a communication device (e.g., a non-AP MLD or a wireless station) that, according to certain aspects of this case, may include various elements configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein.

[0047] Figure 22 illustrates a communication device (e.g., AP MLD) that, according to certain aspects of this case, may include various elements configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein.

[0048] To facilitate understanding, the same element symbols are used where possible to denote common elements shared by the figures. It can be anticipated that elements disclosed in one pattern can be usefully applied to other patterns without specific description. Implementation

[0049] Certain aspects of this application provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for processing direct link communications in multi-link operation (MLO).

[0050] In some cases, radio stations (STAs) can communicate with each other via direct radio links, such as Tunneled Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) links. When establishing a direct link, STAs can exchange messages (e.g., TDLS frames) via access points (APs). When an AP relays a frame to another associated STA on behalf of one associated STA, the AP can set the A3 field (e.g., the source address (SA) field) to the MAC address of the initiating STA. In the case of a non-AP multi-link device (MLD), the AP sets the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. That is, in MLO, the SA field is the MLD MAC address of the frame relayed by the AP from the non-AP MLD. In TDLS, explore and establish frames can be sent via the AP, and after successful establishment and the TDLS direct link being established, the sent frames are exchanged directly between STAs. The AP can treat TDLS explore and establish frames as data without assisting in establishing TDLS between STAs. For frames transmitted directly between STAs, the Receiver Address (RA) or Transmitter Address (TA) field in the frame can be set to a link address (e.g., the MAC address of a STA entity belonging to an MLD (e.g., STA entities 310, 312)). STAs that do not support MLO may be unable to associate the MLD MAC address with the link MAC address, leading to TDLS link failure. Furthermore, under some 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11be), the value of the TA field may be ambiguous when a non-AP MLD STA sends a TDLS explore response frame.

[0051] This application provides various technologies and apparatuses for handling direct link communications in MLOs. For example, a non-AP MLD STA participating in a TDLS connection can set the TA field to the non-AP MLD MAC address of a frame sent directly to a TDLS peer STA. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS initiating STA address to the non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of a TDLS (Explore / Establish) Request frame. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS responding STA address to the non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of a TDLS (Explore / Establish) Response frame sent in response to a TDLS (Explore / Establish) Request frame received from a TDLS peer STA. A non-AP MLD STA can have the capability to handle frames with the RA field set to the MLD MAC address. A non-AP MLD STA can use the MLD MAC address during Tunnel Peer Key (TPK) handshake and encryption key generation during TDLS communication. In some cases, it may be prohibited for other STAs that are not in the AP MLD to transmit frames to another STA that is not in the AP MLD and has established a peer STA with which it is performing TDLS. As used herein, a legacy STA or legacy station can refer to a radio station that does not support MLO or is unable to perform MLO, such as a radio station that supports the 802.11 standard defined prior to 802.11be.

[0052] Various technologies and apparatuses for handling direct link communication in MLOs enable direct link communication between an MLD and a traditional STA or another MLD. For example, direct link communication can achieve desired delays and / or throughput due to the absence of intermediate devices (e.g., access points).

[0053] The various forms of this application are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any particular structure or function presented herein. Rather, providing such forms makes this application thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this application to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of this application is intended to cover any form of this application disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other form of this application. For example, an apparatus can be implemented using any number of forms set forth herein, or a method can be practiced using any number of forms set forth herein. Furthermore, the scope of this application is intended to cover an apparatus or method that can be practiced using structures, functions, or structures and functions other than those set forth herein. It should be understood that any form of this application disclosed herein can be embodied by one or more elements of the claim.

[0054] The word "exemplary" is used in this document to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any state described as "exemplary" in this document is not necessarily to be construed as having priority over or being superior to other states.

[0055] Although a particular mode is described herein, many variations and arrangements of that mode fall within the scope of this application. While some benefits and advantages of the preferred mode are mentioned, the scope of this application is not intended to be limited to a particular benefit, use, or objective. Rather, certain modes of this application are intended to be broadly applicable to different wireless technologies, system configurations, networks, and transport protocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and the following description of the preferred mode. The detailed description and accompanying drawings are illustrative only and not limiting, and the scope of this application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0056] The techniques described in this paper can be used in various broadband wireless communication systems, including communication systems based on orthogonal multiplexing schemes. Examples of such communication systems include Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems. SDMA systems can utilize sufficiently different directions to simultaneously transmit data belonging to multiple user terminals. TDMA systems can allow multiple user terminals to share the same frequency channel by dividing the transmission signal into different time slots, with each time slot allocated to a different user terminal. OFDMA systems utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), a modulation technique that divides the overall system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. These subcarriers can also be referred to as tones, frequency bands, etc. Using OFDM, each subcarrier can be modulated independently with data. SC-FDMA systems can utilize interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) for transmission on subcarriers distributed across the system bandwidth, local FDMA (LFDMA) for transmission on adjacent subcarrier blocks, or enhanced FDMA (EFDMA) for transmission on multiple adjacent subcarrier blocks. Typically, modulation symbols are transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDMA in the time domain. The techniques described herein can be applied to any type of single-carrier (SC) and SC multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems.

[0057] The teachings herein can be incorporated into (e.g., implemented therein or performed by) various wired or wireless devices (e.g., nodes). In some cases, a wireless node implemented according to the teachings herein may include an access point or access terminal.

[0058] Access points (“APs”) may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as Node B, Radio Network Controller (“RNC”), Evolved Node B (eNB), Base Station Controller (“BSC”), Base Station Transceiver (“BTS”), Base Station (“BS”), Transceiver Function (“TF”), Radio Router, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (“BSS”), Extended Service Set (“ESS”), Radio Base Station (“RBS”), or some other term.

[0059] An access terminal (“AT”) may include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a user station, user unit, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, user equipment, or some other term. In some implementations, an access terminal may include a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Communication Startup Protocol (“SIP”) telephone, a Wireless Local Loop (“WLL”) station, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a handheld device with wireless connectivity, a wireless station (“STA”), or some other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Therefore, one or more of the embodiments taught herein may be incorporated into a telephone (e.g., a cellular telephone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer), a portable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a GPS device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media. In some embodiments, the node is a wireless node. For example, such wireless nodes can provide connectivity to or from networks (e.g., wide area networks such as the Internet or cellular networks) via wired or wireless communication links.

[0060] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system 100 with an access point and a wireless station. As shown in Figure 1, according to some embodiments of the invention, the access point (AP) 110 includes a link manager 112, which can perform RTS / CTS switching and / or set SA fields when relaying frames between a legacy STA and a non-AP MLD. According to some embodiments of the invention, the wireless station (STA) 120a includes a link manager 122, which sets a TA field to a specific address to enable direct link communication between the wireless station 120a and a legacy station (e.g., wireless station 120g), and the link manager 122 takes various actions to prevent or mitigate simultaneous transmit / receive (STR) states of a particular STA entity. In some embodiments, the wireless station 120a may be a multilink device (MLD), as further described herein with respect to Figure 3.

[0061] For simplicity, only one access point 110 is illustrated in Figure 1. An access point is typically a fixed station communicating with a wireless station and may also be referred to as a base station or some other term. A wireless station can be fixed or mobile and may also be referred to as a mobile station, a wireless device, or some other term. Access point 110 can communicate with one or more wireless stations 120 on both downlink and uplink at any given time. The downlink (i.e., the forward link) is the communication link from the access point to the wireless station, while the uplink (i.e., the reverse link) is the communication link from the wireless station to the access point. A wireless station can also communicate with another wireless station peer-to-peer, for example, via a direct link such as Tunnel Direct Link Establishment (TDLS). System controller 130 can communicate with the access point and provide coordination and control for the access point.

[0062] Although the following description will depict a wireless station 120 capable of communication via Spatial Multiplexing Access (SDMA), for some configurations, wireless station 120 may also include wireless stations that do not support SDMA. Therefore, for such configurations, access point (AP) 110 can be configured to communicate with both SDMA and non-SDMA wireless stations. This approach conveniently allows older versions of wireless stations ("legacy" stations) to continue to be deployed in the enterprise to extend their lifespan, while allowing for the introduction of newer SDMA wireless stations where deemed appropriate.

[0063] System 100 employs multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for data transmission on the downlink and uplink. Access point 110 is equipped with Nap antennas and represents multiple-input (MI) for downlink transmission and multiple-output (MO) for uplink transmission. A group of K selected radio stations 120 collectively represent multiple-output for downlink transmission and multiple-input for uplink transmission. For pure SDMA, if the data symbol streams of the K radio stations are not multiplexed in some way in terms of code, frequency, or time, then... If the data symbol stream can be multiplexed using TDMA technology, different code channels of CDMA, or disjoint subband sets of OFDM, then K can be greater than Naap. Each selected radio station transmits user-specific data to and / or receives user-specific data from the access point. Typically, each selected radio station can be equipped with one or more antennas (i.e., The K selected wireless stations can have the same or different numbers of antennas.

[0064] System 100 can be a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system or a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system. In a TDD system, the downlink and uplink share the same frequency band. In an FDD system, the downlink and uplink use different frequency bands. MIMO system 100 can also utilize single-carrier or multi-carrier transmission. Each wireless station can be equipped with a single antenna or multiple antennas. If wireless stations 120 share the same frequency channel by dividing transmission / reception into different time slots, where each time slot is allocated to a different wireless station 120, then system 100 can also be a TDMA system.

[0065] Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of access point 110 and two radio stations 120m and 120x in a MIMO / MLO system 100. In some cases, access point 110 and / or radio stations 120m and 120x may implement various techniques for handling direct link communication between radio stations in an MLO system, for example, as further described herein with respect to Figures 4-20. For example, access point 110 and / or radio stations 120m and 120x may include a corresponding link manager as described herein with respect to Figure 1.

[0066] Access point 110 is equipped with Nap antennas 224a to 224t. Wireless station 120m is equipped with Nsta,m antennas 252ma to 252mu, and wireless station 120x is equipped with Nsta,x antennas 252xa to 252xu. Access point 110 is the downlink transmitting entity and the uplink receiving entity. Each wireless station 120 is the uplink transmitting entity and the downlink receiving entity. As used herein, a "transmitting entity" is an independently operating device or apparatus capable of transmitting data via a wireless channel, and a "receiving entity" is an independently operating device or apparatus capable of receiving data via a wireless channel. The term "communication" generally refers to transmission, reception, or both. In the following description, the subscript "DL" indicates the downlink and the subscript "UL" indicates the uplink. N UL radio stations are selected for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, and N DL radio stations are selected for simultaneous transmission on the downlink. N UL may or may not be equal to N DL, and N UL and N DL can be static values ​​or can be changed within each scheduling interval. Beam control or some other spatial processing technique may be used at access points and radio stations.

[0067] On the uplink, at each radio station 120 selected for uplink transmission, the TX data processor 288 receives traffic data from data source 286 and control data from controller 280. The TX data processor 288 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and modulates) the radio station's traffic data based on a decoding and modulation scheme associated with the rate selected for the radio station and provides a data symbol stream. The TX spatial processor 290 performs spatial processing on the data symbol stream and provides N sta,m transmission symbol streams for N sta,m antennas. Each transceiver (TMTR) 254 receives and processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the corresponding transmission symbol stream to generate an uplink signal. The N sta,m transceivers 254 provide N sta,m uplink signals for transmission from the N sta,m antennas 252 to the access point.

[0068] N UL wireless stations can be scheduled for simultaneous transmission on the uplink. Each of these wireless stations performs spatial processing on its data symbol stream and transmits a set of transmission symbol streams to the access point on the uplink.

[0069] At access point 110, Nap antennas 224a to 224ap receive uplink signals from all NUL radio stations transmitting on the uplink. Each antenna 224 provides the received signal to the corresponding transceiver (RCVR) 222. Each transceiver 222 performs processing complementary to the processing performed by transceiver 254 and provides a received symbol stream. RX space processor 240 performs receiver-side space processing on the Nap received symbol streams from the Nap transceivers 222 and provides NUL recovered uplink data symbol streams. Receiver-side space processing is performed according to Channel Correlation Matrix Inversion (CCMI), Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), Soft Interference Cancellation (SIC), or some other technique. Each recovered uplink data symbol stream is an estimate of the data symbol stream transmitted by the corresponding radio station. RX data processor 242 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) each recovered uplink data symbol stream according to the rate used for that stream to obtain decoded data. Decoded data from each wireless station can be provided to data slot 244 for storage and / or provided to controller 230 for further processing.

[0070] On the downlink, at access point 110, TX data processor 210 receives traffic data from data source 208 for N DL radio stations scheduled for downlink transmission, receives control data from controller 230, and may receive other data from scheduler 234. Various types of data can be transmitted on different transmission channels. TX data processor 210 processes (e.g., encoding, interleaving, and modulation) the traffic data for each radio station based on a rate selected for each station. TX data processor 210 provides N DL downlink data symbol streams for N DL radio stations. TX spatial processor 220 performs spatial processing (such as precoding or beamforming as described herein) on the N DL downlink data symbol streams and provides N a ap transmission symbol streams for N a ap antennas. Each transceiver 222 receives and processes the corresponding transmission symbol stream to generate a downlink signal. N a ap transceivers 222 provide N a ap downlink signals for transmissions from N a ap antennas 224 to the radio stations.

[0071] At each wireless station 120, N sta,m antennas 252 receive N ap downlink signals from access point 110. Each transceiver 254 processes the received signals from the associated antenna 252 and provides a received symbol stream. RX space processor 260 performs receiver-side space processing on the N sta,m received symbol streams from the N sta,m transceivers 254 and provides the wireless station with a recovered downlink data symbol stream. Receiver-side space processing is performed according to CCMI, MMSE, or some other technique. RX data processor 270 processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered downlink data symbol stream to obtain the decoded data for the wireless station.

[0072] At each wireless station 120, channel estimator 278 estimates the downlink channel response and provides a downlink channel estimate, which may include channel gain estimation, SNR estimation, noise variance, etc. Similarly, channel estimator 228 estimates the uplink channel response and provides an uplink channel estimate. The controller 280 of each wireless station typically derives the spatial filter matrix of that wireless station based on its downlink channel response matrix Hdn,m. Controller 230 derives the spatial filter matrix of the access point based on the effective uplink channel response matrix Hup,eff. Controller 280 of each wireless station may send feedback information (e.g., downlink and / or uplink eigenvectors, eigenvalues, SNR estimates, etc.) to the access point. Controllers 230 and 280 also control the operation of various processing units at access point 110 and wireless station 120, respectively.

[0073] In some wireless communication networks (e.g., 802.11be networks), a multi-link device (MLD) can be a wireless communication device with multiple affiliated APs or STAs. An MLD can have a single Media Access Control (MAC) Service Access Point (SAP) leading to the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. An MLD can also have a MAC address that uniquely identifies the MLD management entity. An MLD can support various multi-link operations (MLOs). In some cases, an MLO can include multi-band aggregation, where two or more channels from different frequency bands (e.g., 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands) are combined to achieve higher transmission rates. In some cases, the 6 GHz band can include a frequency range of 5.925–7.125 GHz. For example, a single frame can be separated and transmitted simultaneously via different channels in different frequency bands, thereby reducing frame transmission time or facilitating the transmission of larger aggregated frames. An MLO can include multi-band and multi-channel full-duplex communication, which is achieved by simultaneously transmitting and receiving on different channels (in the same or different frequency bands). MLO can include separation of data and control planes on different channels (in the same or different frequency bands). In some cases, MLO can be implemented using a multi-link single radio (MLSR) architecture, where multiple affiliated APs or STAs of the MLD can be logical devices under a single radio.

[0074] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary multi-link operation between MLDs according to certain configurations of this invention. As shown, AP MLD 302 can communicate with non-AP MLD 304 via multi-link communication (such as multi-band aggregation). AP MLD 302 can also communicate with other systems (e.g., distribution systems (DS) such as local area networks and / or wide area networks) via an interface 318 such as a backload interface. AP MLD 302 may include at least two STA entities 306, 308 (sometimes referred to as STA examples and simply referred to as STAs herein) that can communicate with associated STA entities 310, 312 of non-AP MLD 304. The STA entities (or examples) of AP MLD are typically APs (which may be referred to as AP-STAs or STAs used as APs), and the STA entities of non-AP MLDs are typically non-AP STAs (which may simply be referred to as STAs). MLD can use multi-link operations, such as multi-link aggregation (MLA) (including packet-level aggregation), where MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) from the same traffic ID (TID) can be sent via two or more links 314, 316.

[0075] In some configurations, each of STA entities 306 and 308 can communicate on separate frequency bands (e.g., 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands), and similarly, each of STA entities 310 and 312 can communicate on separate frequency bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands). For example, STA entities 306 and 310 can communicate with each other via a first frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz band) on a first link 314, and STA entities 308 and 312 can communicate with each other via a second frequency band (e.g., 6 GHz band) on a second link 316. Aggregated links 314 and 316 can enable desired throughput and latency between AP MLD 302 and non-AP MLD 304. In some configurations, the STA entities of the MLD (306, 308 or 310, 312) can be implemented as separate devices or RF transceiver chips of the MLD, or the STA entities can be integrated into the same device or RF transceiver chip. In some cases, a link can refer to a physical path that traverses a wireless medium (WM) and can be used to transmit various packets, messages, or frames (such as MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs)) between two stations (STAs). Exemplary direct link communication in multi-link operation

[0076] In some cases, STAs can communicate with each other via direct radio links such as Tunnel Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) links. When establishing a direct link, STAs can exchange messages via an AP (e.g., TDLS frames). When an AP relays a frame to another associated STA on behalf of one associated STA, the AP can set the A3 field (e.g., the Source Address (SA) field) to the MAC address of the initiating STA. In the case of a non-AP MLD, the AP sets the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. That is, in MLD, the SA field is the MLD MAC address of the frame relayed by the AP from the non-AP MLD. In TDLS, explore and establish frames can be sent via the AP, and the sent frames are exchanged directly between STAs after establishment. For frames sent directly between STAs, the Receiver Address (RA) or Transmitter Address (TA) field in the frame can be set to the link address (e.g., the MAC address of the STA entity belonging to the MLD (e.g., STA entities 310, 312)). STAs that do not support MLO may be unable to associate the MLD MAC address with the link MAC address, leading to TDLS link failure. Furthermore, under some 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11be), the value of the TA field may be ambiguous when a non-AP MLD STA sends a TDLS explore response frame.

[0077] This application provides various technologies and apparatuses for handling direct link communications in MLOs. For example, a non-AP MLD STA participating in a TDLS connection can set the TA field to the MAC address of the non-AP MLD in frames directly sent to TDLS peer STAs. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS initiating STA address to the non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of the TDLS (Explore / Establish) Request frame. A non-AP MLD STA can set the TDLS responding STA address to the non-AP MLD MAC address in the Link Identifier Information Element (IE) of the TDLS (Explore / Establish) Response frame transmitted in response to a TDLS (Explore / Establish) Request frame received from a TDLS peer STA. A non-AP MLD STA can have the capability to handle frames with the RA field set to the MLD MAC address. A non-AP MLD STA can use the MLD MAC address during Tunnel Peer Key (TPK) handshake and encryption key generation during TDLS communication. In some cases, it may be impossible for other STAs outside the AP MLD to transmit frames to another STA outside the AP MLD that has already established a peer STA with which it is performing TDLS. Various technologies and devices for handling direct link communication in MLO can enable direct link communication between the MLD and STAs that do not support MLO.

[0078] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary operation 400 of wireless communication according to certain states of this invention. Operation 400 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., STA 120a or non-AP MLD 304). Operation 400 may be implemented as a software element that executes and runs on one or more processors (e.g., controller 280 of Figure 2). In some states, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the MLD may be achieved via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller 280) that acquires and / or outputs signals. Furthermore, the transmission and reception of signals by the MLD may be enabled, for example, via one or more antennas and / or transceivers (e.g., antenna(s) 252 or transceiver(s) 254 of Figure 2).

[0079] Operation 400 may begin at 402, where the first MLD performs a TDLS establishment with the first radio station (e.g., STA 120g), as further described herein with reference to Figures 5A and 5B. At 404, the first MLD may transmit a data frame to the first radio station via a direct link between the first radio station and at least one of a plurality of second radio stations (e.g., STAs 310, 312) associated with (e.g., belonging to) the first MLD, including a Transport Direction Address (TS) field set to the address of the first MLD, which is one of a plurality of addresses for MLO associated with the first MLD and the second radio stations associated with (belonging to) the first MLD. At 406, the first MLD may communicate with the radio station via the direct link. As used herein, a radio station associated with an MLD may refer to a radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0080] In some configurations, the transmission at 404 can be a direct transmission to a TDLS peer STA (e.g., the first radio station) without any AP relaying the data frame to the TDLS peer STA. At 404, the first MLD may have a TDLS link established with the first radio station, and the transmission at 404 can be via the TDLS link. In other words, the direct link can include a tunneled direct link, such as a TDLS link. In some configurations, the first MLD can communicate with a TDLS peer STA via one or more STA entities (e.g., STA entities 310, 312) on a direct link. For example, the first MLD can communicate with a TDLS peer STA via (multiple) second radio stations that may be subordinate to the first MLD. In some configurations, the address of the first MLD can include a MAC address, such as a multi-link logical MAC address. The multi-link logical MAC address of the first MLD can be a MAC address that uniquely identifies the MLD entity (e.g., MLD 302) that manages the STA entities (e.g., STA entities 310, 312). In some cases, the multilink logical MAC address of the first MLD can be referred to as the MLD MAC address, which can be a non-AP MLD MAC address. The MLD MAC address can be a globally unique MAC address or the same MAC address as one of the per-link MAC addresses (e.g., per STA or per AP of the MLD). In other words, the TA field at 404 can be set to the multilink logical MAC address of the first MLD. The plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD can include the multilink logical MAC address and the MAC address associated with a second radio station (e.g., STA entities 310, 312) (each of which), wherein the second radio station belongs to the first MLD used for multilink operation. For example, the second radio station can enable the first MLD to communicate simultaneously with another MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302) via separate frequency bands (e.g., 5 and 6 GHz bands).

[0081] In some configurations, the first MLD can set the initiator or responder address in the Link Identifier element of a specific TDLS frame (e.g., a TDLS explore or establish frame) to the MLD MAC address. An exemplary Link Identifier IE format is further described herein with reference to Figure 6. At 402, performing a TDLS establishment may include the first MLD exchanging TDLS explore or establish frames with the first radio station, for example, as further described herein with reference to Figures 5A and 5B.

[0082] In some configurations, the initiator address of the Link Identifier (IE) can be set to the MLD MAC address in a TDLS request frame (such as a TDLS explore request frame and / or TDLS establish request frame from a TDLS initiator station). In some configurations, requests, request frames, or initiator frames associated with a direct link (e.g., TDLS) can include TDLS explore request frames and / or TDLS establish request frames. For example, a first MLD can transmit (in 402) a request to a first radio station via an access point (e.g., AP 110 or AP MLD 302) to explore a peer radio station (such as the first radio station) on a direct link. In other words, the first MLD can transmit the request to an AP, which relays the request to the first radio station. This request can include a Link Identifier element having a direct link initiator address (e.g., a TDLS initiator STA address) set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In some configurations, the request can include a TDLS explore request frame conforming to the 802.11 standard. For example, the first MLD may transmit a request to establish a direct link to the first radio station via the access point (at 402), and the request may include a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In some cases, the request may include a TDLS establishment request frame conforming to the 802.11 standard.

[0083] In some configurations, the responding address of the Link Identifier (IE) can be set to the MLD MAC address in a TDLS response frame (such as a TDLS explore response frame and / or TDLS establish response frame from a TDLS responding station). In some configurations, responses, response frames, or responding frames associated with a direct link can include TDLS explore response frames and / or TDLS establish response frames. For example, a first MLD can respond to a request from a peer radio station (e.g., the first MLD) exploring a direct link by transmitting a response to a first radio station (in 402), and this response can include a Link Identifier element having a direct link responding address set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). In some configurations, the first MLD can transmit a response directly to the first radio station. This response can include a TDLS explore response frame conforming to the 802.11 standard. For example, the first MLD may respond to a request to establish a direct link by transmitting a response via the access point (at 402) to the first radio station, and this response may include a link identifier element having a direct link response address set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address). The response may include a TDLS establishment request frame conforming to the 802.11 standard.

[0084] In some configurations, in response to an explore response sent to the first radio station, the first MLD may set the TA field to its MLD MAC address. Performing TDLS establishment at 402 may involve the first radio station initiating an explore by a peer radio station (such as the first MLD), for example, where the first radio station sends a TDLS explore request frame to the first MLD via an AP. In this case, the first MLD may respond to the TDLS explore request frame with a TDLS explore response frame sent directly to the first radio station. The first MLD may set the TA field to its MLD MAC address in the TDLS explore response frame. For example, the first MLD may receive a request from the first radio station via an access point to explore a peer radio station (such as the first MLD) with a direct link. In some configurations, this request may include a TDLS explore request frame. The first MLD may transmit an explore response to the first radio station (at 402) including the TA field set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address), where the transmission of an explore response may be in response to this request.

[0085] At 406, the first MLD can support receiving frames from a TDLS peer STA directly from the Receiver Address (RA) field, which is set to the MLD MAC address. For example, at 406, communication with the first radio station via a direct link may include the first MLD receiving frames from the first radio station via the direct link, including frames from the first radio station that include the Receiver Address field set to the address of the first MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address).

[0086] In some cases, the frame header may include the TA / RA field as described herein. For example, the MAC header of a data frame or TDLS frame may include the TA / RA field. Regarding operation 400, a data frame may include a MAC header with the TA field, and a data frame received at 406 may include a MAC header with the RA field.

[0087] In some configurations, the STA entity of the first MLD can use the MLD MAC address during the TPK handshake (such as a 4-way handshake) and encryption key generation during TDLS communication. For example, the first MLD can use the MLD MAC address to generate a security key for TDLS communication. In 402, the first MLD can generate an encryption key based at least in part on the address of the first MLD and transmit an indication of the encryption key (e.g., parameters for generating the encryption key at the first radio station) to the first radio station. For some configurations, encryption key generation can also be based on the AP MLD MAC address and / or the AP MAC address. In some cases, when the two radio stations involved in TDLS establishment include a TDLS variant multilink element carrying an AP MLD MAC address field in the frames exchanged during the TDLS establishment phase, TDLS TPK generation can include the AP MLD MAC address and the MAC address of the affiliated AP in which the TDLS direct link is being established. When the MLD in TDLS is a non-AP MLD used for single-link or multi-link TDLS between MLDs, the AP MLD MAC address can be used to generate the encryption key. Communication with the first wireless station at point 406 may include the first MLD transmitting encrypted frames to the first wireless station based on an encryption key.

[0088] In some cases, other STA entities of the first MLD may not be allowed to transmit frames directed to TDLS peer STAs. For example, one of the second radio stations of the first MLD (e.g., STA 310) may communicate with a TDLS peer STA via a direct link, and other second radio stations of the first MLD (e.g., STA 312) may transmit frames to an access point instead of directing frames to a TDLS peer STA. Once a TDLS direct link is successfully established between a TDLS STA belonging to a non-AP MLD and a TDLS peer STA at the other end of the TDLS direct link, the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD may stop transmitting packets via its associated AP to the TDLS peer point at the other end, which belongs to the AP MLD with which the non-AP MLD has performed a multilink establishment. In some cases, based on the operability of the direct link, the first MLD may stop transmissions via second radio stations to the first radio station, except for one of the second radio stations associated with the direct link.

[0089] In some cases, the access point for assisting relay TDLS exploration and frame establishment can be an MLD. For example, in 402, the first MLD can exchange TDLS exploration and frame establishment with an access point that is an MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302).

[0090] Figure 5A illustrates the establishment of TDLS between an MLD (MLD_S) and a traditional STA (STA_3) according to certain configurations of this case, and their communication via the TDLS link. As shown, STA1 of MLD_S can transmit a TDLS explore request frame with the TA field set to the STA_1 MAC address to AP1 of MLD_A. AP1 relays the TDLS explore request frame with the SA field set to the MLD_S MAC address (e.g., the MAC address of the MLD entity) to STA_3. From STA_3's perspective, STA_3 is unaware of the STA entities (STA_1 and STA_2) of MLD_S. Therefore, STA_3 directly transmits a TDLS explore response frame with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address to STA_1 of MLD_S. STA_1 of MLD_S can receive frames with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address.

[0091] MLD_S's STA_1 can transmit a TDLS establishment request frame with the TA field set to STA_1's MAC address to AP1, and AP1 can relay a TDLS establishment request frame with the SA field set to MLD_S's MAC address to STA_3. STA_3 can transmit a TDLS establishment response frame with the Destination Address (DA) field set to MLD_S's MAC address to AP1, and AP1 can relay a TDLS establishment response frame with the RA field set to STA_1's MAC address to STA_1 in MLD_S. After the TDLS procedure is completed, MLD_S's STA_1 and STA_3 can communicate with each other via the TDLS link. MLD_S's STA_1 can directly transmit a data frame with the TA field set to MLD_S's MAC address to STA_3. This will allow STA_3 to receive the data frame and communicate with STA_1, because STA_3 does not know STA_1's MAC address. STA_3 can directly transmit data frames with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address to STA_1 of MLD_S. As mentioned above, STA_1 of MLD_S can support receiving frames with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address. This allows STA_1 of MLD_S to receive TDLS data frames from STA_3, since STA_3 does not know the MAC address of STA_1.

[0092] Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating the initiation of a TDLS establishment between a conventional STA (STA_3) and an MLD (MLD_S) according to certain configurations of this case, and communication with the MLD via the TDLS link. As shown, the signaling exchange between STA_3 and MLD_S follows a similar signaling flow as described herein with respect to Figure 5A. For example, multiple TDLS frames relayed from AP1 to STA_3 have an SA field set to the MLD_S MAC address, and multiple TDLS frames relayed from AP1 to STA_1 have an RA field set to the STA_1 MAC address. In this example, STA1 of MLD_S directly transmits a TDLS explore response frame with the TA field set to the MLD_S MAC address to STA_3, which allows STA_3 to communicate with STA_1 since STA_3 does not know the STA_1 MAC address. After the TDLS procedure is completed, STA_1 and STA_3 can transmit data frames with the RA / TA fields set as described herein with respect to Figure 5A.

[0093] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary Link Identifier IE format according to certain forms of this case. As shown, the Link Identifier IE format may have an Element Identifier (ID) field (identifying the element as a link identifier), a length field, a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, a TDLS Initiator STA Address field, and a TDLS Responder STA Address field. The Initiator STA may be the STA that sends the TDLS Explore / Establish Request frame, and the Responder STA may be the STA that is requested to respond to (or responds to) the TDLS Explore / Establish Request frame. As described herein with respect to Operation 400, the first MLD may set the TDLS Initiator STA Address field to the MLD MAC address of the TDLS Request frame (e.g., the TDLS Explore / Establish Request frame), and the first MLD may set the TDLS Responder STA Address field to the MLD MAC address of the TDLS Response frame (e.g., the TDLS Explore / Establish Response frame).

[0094] This document provides various techniques for handling direct link communication between MLDs. In some cases, MLDs can be established and communicate with each other via separate TDLS communication periods on multiple links through multiple STA entities. That is, a separate TDLS communication period can be established for each STA entity pair between TDLS MLO STA peers. In other cases, MLDs can be established and communicate with each other via a single TDLS communication period on multiple links through multiple STA entities. That is, a single TDLS communication period can be established between TDLS MLO STA peers, and TDLS MLO STA peers can communicate with each other via multiple STA entities at each TDLS peer. A single TDLS communication period can enable a shared block acknowledgment communication period, where packets can be sent on any link between STA entities, which can facilitate duplicate detection. To establish one or more multi-link TDLS communication periods, multi-link support or a request for multi-link TDLS can be indicated by: setting the BSSID field in the link identifier element to a wildcard value or a specific value; including multi-link elements during TDLS exploration and / or exchange establishment; identifying the link associated with the STA entity via the link identifier (ID) field in the per STA profile subfield; and providing the multi-link capability and / or constraints (such as n-STR link / STA) of the MLD for each link associated with the STA entity. The MLD can coordinate transmissions on the n-STR link as part of the TDLS communication period.

[0095] For example, due to multi-band aggregation and / or other features of MLO, various techniques for handling direct link communication between MLDs can enable direct link communication with desired latency and data throughput.

[0096] In some configurations, a direct link TDLS peer STA in Operation 400 can also be part of an MLD. For example, a first radio station can be associated with a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third radio stations associated with it for multi-link communication with the first MLD.

[0097] Regarding operation 400, a direct link may include a plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods, and each of the plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations. Alternatively, a direct link may include a single tunnel direct link communication period, and the plurality of links between the second and third radio stations are associated with a single tunnel direct link communication period.

[0098] In some configurations, the first MLD may instruct the establishment of a direct link with multi-link capabilities (such as MLO / MLA capabilities). In some configurations, the first MLD may transmit an instruction to a legacy STA or another MLD to establish a direct link with multi-link capabilities. For example, the first MLD may transmit an instruction to a first radio station to establish the direct link as a multi-link direct link. Communication with the first radio station via the direct link at 406 may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via one or more of the multi-link direct links based on this instruction. The instruction may include at least one of the following: a BSSID field including a value indicating that the direct link is established as a multi-link direct link; or a multi-link element in a direct link exploration frame or a direct link establishment frame. An exemplary multi-link IE format is further described herein with reference to Figure 19. The value may be set to a link identifier associated with the link(s). The multi-link element may include a first instruction having a direct link identifier in a station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the second radio stations, or a second instruction of one or more capabilities of the second radio station associated with the link between the second and third radio stations. For example, a capability can indicate whether a wireless station is a STR or an n-STR. Capability information can be included as one or more fields in the sub-element of each STA profile.

[0099] Figure 7A illustrates the establishment of TDLS between MLD_S and MLD_R according to certain configurations of this invention, and their communication via the TDLS link. As shown, the signaling exchange between MLD_R and MLD_S follows a similar signaling flow as described herein with respect to Figure 5A. In some configurations, the RA, TA, SA, and DA fields can be set to the corresponding MLD MAC addresses (e.g., MLD_S MAC addresses or MLD_R MAC addresses). For example, after establishing one or more TDLS links, MLD_S can directly transmit a data frame to MLD_R with the RA field set to the MLD_R MAC address and the TA field set to the MLD_S MAC address. In some configurations, TDLS probe response frames can also use MLD MAC addresses. For example, MLD_R can directly transmit a TDLS probe response frame with the RA field set to the MLD_S MAC address and the TA field set to the MLD_R MAC address to MLD_S.

[0100] Figure 7B illustrates the initiation of TDLS between MLD_R and MLD_S according to certain configurations of this invention, and their communication via the TDLS link. As shown, the signal exchange between MLD_R and MLD_S follows a similar signal exchange flow as described herein with respect to Figure 5A. In certain configurations, the RA, TA, SA, and DA fields can be set to the corresponding MLD MAC addresses (e.g., MLD_S MAC addresses or MLD_R MAC addresses), for example, as described herein with respect to Figure 7A.

[0101] Certain configurations of this application provide techniques for enabling an AP to map addresses of a non-AP MLD when relaying messages between a legacy STA and a non-AP MLD. For example, when an AP of an AP MLD frames a message initiated by any STA of a non-AP MLD to a legacy non-AP STA on a particular link, the AP can set the SA field to the MAC address of the non-AP STA belonging to the non-AP MLD on that link, instead of the MAC address of the non-AP MLD. The MAC address of the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD allows the legacy STA to communicate with the non-AP MLD via a direct link. An advantage of certain configurations is that no changes are required on the client side (e.g., the non-AP radio station), allowing multi-link TDLS switching to be handled at the AP to facilitate mapping the correct MAC address (e.g., the MAC address of the STA belonging to the non-AP MLD) to the legacy STA.

[0102] Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary operation 800 of wireless communication according to certain states of this invention. Operation 800 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302). Operation 800 may be implemented as a software element that executes and runs on one or more processors (e.g., controller 230 of Figure 2). In some states, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the MLD may be achieved via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller 230) that acquires and / or outputs signals. Furthermore, the transmission and reception of signals by the MLD may be enabled, for example, via one or more antennas and / or transceivers (e.g., antenna(s) 224 or transceivers(s) 222 of Figure 2).

[0103] Operation 800 may begin at 802, where a first MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302 in Figure 3 or MLD_A in Figures 5A and 5B) receives one or more first frames from a second MLD (e.g., non-AP MLD 304 in Figure 3 or MLD_S in Figures 5A and 5B) via a first access point (e.g., AP 306) associated with the first MLD, related to the establishment of a direct link between the second MLD and a first radio station (e.g., STA3 in Figures 5A and 5B), wherein the first radio station does not support multilink operation. At 804, the first MLD may relay one or more first frames to the first radio station via the first access point, wherein the first frame includes a source address (SA) field set as the address of the second radio station associated with the second MLD. At 806, the first MLD may receive one or more second frames from the first radio station via the access point related to the establishment of the direct link. In 808, the first MLD can relay a second frame to the second MLD, wherein the second frame includes a destination address (DA) field set as the address of the second radio station.

[0104] In some configurations, frames associated with establishing a direct link may include TDLS explore / establish frames. For example, a first MLD may receive TDLS explore request frames and / or TDLS establish request / response frames as a first frame. A first MLD may also receive TDLS explore request frames and / or TDLS establish request / response frames as a third frame. In 804 and 808, the first MLD may relay the first frame and / or the second frame to a first radio station or a second MLD. In other words, the relayed frame may be a copy or replica of a received frame, where MAC header fields (such as the RA field and / or SA field) have changed.

[0105] In some cases, the first MLD can map the address of the second MLD (e.g., the MLD MAC address of the second MLD) or the address of the STA entity of the second MLD to the address of the second radio station based on the fact that the first radio station does not support MLO, for example, as described herein with respect to Figures 9A and 9B. For example, the first frame may include a TA field set to the address of the second radio station. Since the first MLD can be preset to set the SA field to the MLD MAC address when relaying frames between radio stations, the first MLD can identify that the second MLD supports MLO while the first radio station does not, and in this case, the first MLD can relay frames where the SA field is set to the address of the second radio station instead of the address of the second MLD based on the mapping between the address of the second MLD and the address of the second radio station.

[0106] In some cases, the address of the second wireless station can be the MAC address of the second wireless station. The MAC address of the second wireless station can be a separate address from the address of the second MLD, such as the MLD MAC address of the second MLD, or the MAC address of the second wireless station can be the same as the MAC address of the second MLD.

[0107] Figure 9A illustrates how an AP MLD (MLD_A) relays TDLS messages from a non-AP MLD (MLD_S) to a traditional STA (STA_3) according to certain configurations of this case. As shown, MLD_A can receive (multiple) frames from the STA entities of MLD_S (e.g., STA_1 and / or STA_2), where the TA field is set to the corresponding MAC address of the STA entity. MLD_A can relay these frames to STA_3, where instead of using the MLD MAC address as the SA field, MLD_A transmits the relay frames with the SA field set to the STA_1 MAC address. With the SA field set to the STA_1 MAC address, STA_3 can communicate directly with STA_1 without the MLD MAC address of MLD_S.

[0108] Figure 9B illustrates how an AP MLD (MLD_A) relays TDLS messages from a traditional STA (STA_3) to a non-AP MLD (MLD_S) according to certain configurations of this case. As shown, MLD_A can receive (multiple) frames from STA_3, where the DA field is set to the MAC address of one of the STA entities in the STA entity of MLD_S. MLD_A can then relay these frames to STA_1 or STA_2, where the RA field is set to the MAC address of STA_1 or STA_2.

[0109] In some cases, a non-AP MLD may not support simultaneous transmission and reception (SRT) via two or more STA entities. Such STAs of the MLD can be referred to as non-SRT (n-SRT) STAs or links. That is, a non-AP MLD may not be able to simultaneously transmit and receive on two or more links in a separate frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands). For example, while STA 312 is receiving data from AP MLD 302, non-AP MLD 304 may not support simultaneous transmission via STA 310, and vice versa (e.g., STA 310 cannot receive while STA 312 is transmitting). A non-AP MLD may be able to transmit simultaneously via STA entities (Tx / Tx) or receive simultaneously via STA entities in a separate frequency band (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands) (Rx / Rx). Where a non-AP MLD has already established TDLS on one of the n-STR links, the non-AP MLD may encounter interference with STR states occurring on the n-STR link. For example, when the TDLS link is busy, when the AP of the AP MLD transmits downlink data to the non-AP MLD on a TDLS link that is n-STR for the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD may encounter unwanted interference.

[0110] This document provides various techniques for preventing or mitigating STR states between n-STR links of an MLD. In some embodiments, these techniques can be specific to one or more links (i.e., MLO / MLA) between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context. A non-AP MLD can instruct a temporary halt to communication between STA entities and AP entities on links that are n-STRs for TDLS links. In some embodiments, transmissions on TDLS links can be considered factors leading to deafness on other links of a non-AP MLD. Various deafness recovery rules can be applied to receive frames from peer TDLS STAs. In some cases, DL transmissions can be permitted on TDLS links and on any other links of a non-AP MLD whose STR is also a TDLS link. Due to the desired signal quality achieved while preventing or mitigating STR states, these techniques can result in desired latency and data throughput in communication at the MLD.

[0111] In some configurations, APs and non-AP MLDs can exchange Request to Send (RTS) and Quiet to Send (CTS) frames before any DL transmission on (multiple) links with n-STR TDLS links to prevent or mitigate STR states. For example, an AP MLD can have two or more APs operating on separate channels / bands (e.g., in the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band). STAs of a non-AP MLD (e.g., STA1 and STA2) can form links with each AP belonging to the AP MLD. When STA1 of a non-AP MLD forms a TDLS connection with another radio station on the first link, the non-AP MLD can send a request to the AP MLD. When the AP MLD transmits a frame to STA2 belonging to the non-AP MLD on the second link, the AP sends an RTS on the second link, and the AP only sends a DL frame after the AP MLD receives a CTS response from the non-AP MLD.

[0112] Figure 10A illustrates an exemplary operation 1000A of wireless communication according to certain states of this case. Operation 1000A may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0113] Operation 1000A can begin at 1002, where the MLD can communicate with a first wireless station (e.g., STA 120g of Figure 1, STA_3 of Figures 5A and 5B, or MLD_R of Figures 7A and 7B) via a direct link to a second wireless station (e.g., STA 310), which is associated with the MLD. The direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312) associated with the MLD is communicating, or another link associated with the third wireless station is inoperable while the second wireless station is communicating via the direct link. The inoperability of the direct link or the other link can be referenced to the MLD's n-STR capability. At 1004, the MLD can receive an RTS frame requesting data transmission to the third wireless station from an access point (e.g., AP 110 or MLD_A in Figures 5A, 5B, 7A, or 7B). At 1006, the MLD can respond to the RTS frame by taking one or more actions.

[0114] In some configurations, the second wireless station can communicate in a frequency band separate from the frequency band on which the third wireless station communicates (e.g., the 6 GHz band). In some configurations, an inoperable direct link can refer to a situation where there is no communication between TDLS peers on the direct link or when a direct link is no longer established between TDLS peers (e.g., the TDLS teardown procedure has been completed).

[0115] At 1006, the MLD may respond to an RTS frame from the access point or not. For example, taking one or more actions at 1006 may include the MLD transmitting a CTS frame to the access point indicating that the access point is idle and can transmit data to the MLD. The MLD may receive data from the access point via a third radio station based on the transmission of the CTS frame. In some cases, if a second radio station is communicating with a first radio station, the MLD may ignore the RTS frame.

[0116] In some cases, RTS / CTS switching can be dedicated to one or more links between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context. For example, RTS / CTS switching can be performed for a TDLS link that is an n-STR. Regarding Operation 1000A, the third radio station can be an n-STR with the second radio station.

[0117] In some cases, the MLD may transmit to the access point an indication to enable or disable RTS / CTS switching on the n-STR link. For example, the indication to enable or disable RTS / CTS switching on the n-STR link may be indicated via a status associated with the MLD and / or the radio station at the MLD. In some cases, this status may include: the MLD has constraints on the radio station (e.g., multiple n-STR links), the radio station is temporarily unable to receive frames, or the MLD has established a direct link with another radio station. For example, the MLD may transmit to the access point a first indication to enable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD. The MLD may transmit to the access point a second indication to disable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD (e.g., when TDLS communication is inactive). In some cases, the second indication may be an update to the status associated with the radio station. For example, an updated status may include that the radio station can receive frames or that the direct link has been disabled or torn down. The first or second indication can be transmitted via a control field in a MAC frame, such as the Aggregate Control (A-Control) field defined in the 802.11ax standard. The control field can be a separate control field dedicated to enabling or disabling RTS / CTS exchange between the AP and MLD (e.g., RTS-Required or RTS-Enablement). One or more A-Control fields can be carried in a (High Efficiency) (HE) control variant of the High Transport Volume (HT) control field in the MAC header. In some cases, the MAC frame carrying the first or second indication may include a common action frame. The first or second indication can be transmitted via a control field in the MAC header of a frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0118] Figure 10B illustrates an exemplary operation 1000B of wireless communication according to certain states of this case. Operation 1000B can be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0119] Operation 1000B can begin at 1008, where the MLD establishes a direct link between a first radio station and a second radio station belonging to the MLD, for example, as described herein with respect to Figure 4. At 1010, the MLD can communicate with the first radio station (which may belong to another MLD) via the direct link, where the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third radio station belonging to the MLD is communicating. At 1012, the MLD can transmit an indication of the status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD to the AP MLD (or an access point belonging to the AP MLD) with which the MLD has performed an association, for example, as described herein with respect to operation 1000A. In some cases, operation 1000B can continue, where the MLD can, in response to the status indication, receive a first frame (e.g., an RTS frame) from an access point belonging to the AP MLD requesting the transmission of data to the third radio station belonging to the MLD, and in response to the first frame, take one or more actions, for example, as described herein with respect to operation 1000A.

[0120] The MLD can receive a first frame via a third radio station on a channel where an access point belonging to the AP MLD is communicating with a third radio station. The MLD can transmit a second frame (e.g., a CTS frame) to the access point belonging to the AP MLD, indicating that the access point is idle and can transmit data to the MLD. Based on the transmission of the second frame, the MLD can receive data from the access point belonging to the AP MLD via the third radio station. The MLD can transmit a status update to the access point or AP MLD indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0121] Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary operation 1100 of wireless communication according to certain forms of this invention. Operation 1100 may be performed, for example, by an access point (e.g., AP 110 in Figure 1, AP 306 belonging to AP MLD 302, or AP MLD 302 in Figure 3). Operation 1100 may be complementary to operations 1000A and / or 1000B performed by non-AP MLDs.

[0122] Operation 1100 may begin at 1102, where the access point may receive from the MLD (e.g., non-AP MLD 304) a first indication to enable the transmission of an RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD. For example, the first indication may include a status associated with the MLD and / or a radio station at the MLD, such as an indication that the MLD has established a direct link with another radio station. At 1104, the access point may transmit an RTS frame to the MLD based on the first indication, requesting the transmission of data to one or more radio stations (e.g., STAs 310, 312) associated with the MLD. At 1106, the access point may respond to the RTS frame by receiving a CTS frame from the MLD indicating that the access point is idle and can transmit data to the MLD. At 1108, if the access point receives the CTS frame from the MLD, the access point may transmit data to one or more radio stations.

[0123] In some cases, the access point may receive a second indication from the MLD to disable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD. For example, the second indication may include an update on the status associated with the wireless station, such as whether the direct link at the MLD has been disabled or torn down. The first or second indication may be transmitted via control fields of the MAC frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000.

[0124] Figure 12 is a signal transmission flowchart illustrating exemplary signal transmission of RTS / CTS frames for preventing or mitigating STR states according to certain aspects of this case. As shown, at 1202, a first wireless station 120a belonging to a non-AP MLD 304 can transmit a first instruction to access point 110 to enable the transmission of RTS frames prior to the transmission from access point 110 to the first wireless station 120a. At 1204, a second wireless station 120b belonging to a non-AP MLD 304 can communicate with a third wireless station 120c (which may belong to a non-AP MLD or a traditional STA) via a direct link such as a TDLS link. At 1206, the first wireless station 120a can receive RTS frames from access point 110. At 1208, if the direct link is inactive or inoperable, the first wireless station 120a can transmit CTS frames to access point 110. At 1210, the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from access point 110 based on the CTS frame. In some cases, the direct link can be busy, and the non-AP MLD 304 can ignore the RTS frame, and the second wireless station 120b can communicate with the third wireless station 120c via the direct link at 1212. At 1214, the first wireless station 120a can transmit a second instruction to access point 110 to disable the transmission of the RTS frame before the transmission from access point 110 to the first wireless station 120a.

[0125] In some cases, when TDLS communication is active, a non-AP MLD can indicate to the AP MLD on the n-STR link that the non-AP MLD has entered power saving (PS) mode to prevent or mitigate STR conditions.

[0126] Figure 13A illustrates an exemplary operation 1300A of wireless communication according to certain forms of this case. Operation 1300A can be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0127] Operation 1300A can begin at 1302, where the MLD can transmit a first indication to an access point (e.g., AP 110 or MLD_A in Figures 5A, 5B, 7A, or 7B) that a first wireless station (e.g., STA 310) belonging to the MLD is in power-saving mode. At 1304, after the transmission of the first indication, the MLD can communicate with a second wireless station (e.g., STA 120g in Figure 1, STA_3 in Figures 5A and 5B, or MLD_R in Figures 7A and 7B) via a direct link to a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312), which belongs to the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating, or the first wireless station is inoperable while the direct link is operational.

[0128] In some cases, the MLD can re-enable communication with the access point. For example, the MLD can transmit a second indication to the access point after ending communication with the second wireless station that the first wireless station is in an active mode (e.g., out of power-saving mode and able to communicate), and in some cases, the MLD can communicate with the access point via the first wireless station after transmitting the second indication.

[0129] In some cases, power-saving modes can be specific to one or more links between one or more STA entities and one or more AP entities in a multi-link context. For example, in 1302, a power-saving mode indication can be associated with a link that is an n-STR for a TDLS link. Regarding operation 1300A, the first radio station can be an n-STR with a third radio station.

[0130] Communication between the third and second wireless stations can occur even when the first wireless station is not communicating. Communication between the first and access points can occur even when the third wireless station is not communicating.

[0131] Figure 13B illustrates an exemplary operation 1300B of wireless communication according to certain states of this case. Operation 1300B can be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0132] Operation 1300B can begin at 1306, where the MLD can transmit a first instruction associated with a first radio station belonging to the MLD to the access point or AP MLD. At 1308, the MLD can communicate with the second radio station (belonging to the MLD) via a direct link between the second and third radio stations after the transmission of the first instruction, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first radio station is communicating.

[0133] The first indication may include at least one of the following: an indication that the first wireless station is in a power-saving mode, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1300A; an indication to disable a first link to the first wireless station, for example, as further described herein with respect to Operation 1500; or an indication to remove a second link that dynamically links to the first wireless station, for example, as further described herein with respect to Operation 1600. If the first indication indicates that the first wireless station is in a power-saving mode, after terminating communication with the second wireless station, the MLD may transmit a second indication to the access point or AP MLD that the first wireless station is in an active mode, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1300A. The first indication may be transmitted via a control field in the MAC header of a frame, management frame, or control frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000A.

[0134] Figure 14 is a signal transmission flowchart illustrating exemplary signal transmission for a power-saving mode used to prevent or mitigate STR states according to certain aspects of this invention. As shown, at 1402, the first wireless station 120a can transmit a first indication to the access point 110 regarding that the first wireless station 120a is in power-saving mode. At 1404, the second wireless station 120b can communicate with the third wireless station 120c (which may belong to a non-AP MLD or a traditional STA) via a direct link. At 1406, the first wireless station 120a can transmit a second indication to the access point 110 regarding that the first wireless station is in active mode after terminating communication between the second wireless station 120b and the third wireless station 120c. At 1408, the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the access point 110 after the transmission of the second indication.

[0135] In certain scenarios, when TDLS is established on one of the n-STR links, a non-AP MLD can disable DL aggregation (synchronous PPDU operation) on (multiple) n-STR links to prevent or mitigate STR conditions.

[0136] Figure 15 illustrates an exemplary operation 1500 of wireless communication according to certain forms of this case. Operation 1500 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0137] Operation 1500 can begin at 1502, where the MLD can transmit an indication to an access point (e.g., AP 110 or MLD_A in Figures 5A, 5B, 7A, or 7B) to disable the link to the first wireless station (e.g., STA 310) associated with the MLD. At 1504, the MLD can, after transmitting this indication, communicate with the second wireless station (e.g., STA 120g in Figure 1, STA_3 in Figures 5A and 5B, or MLD_R in Figures 7A and 7B) via a direct link to a third wireless station (e.g., STA 312), associated with the MLD, where the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating, or the first wireless station is inoperable while the direct link is operational. Communication with the second wireless station via the third wireless station can occur when the first wireless station is not communicating.

[0138] In some cases, this instruction can be transmitted via a control field in the MAC frame, for example, as described herein with respect to Operation 1000A. The control field can be a separate control field dedicated to enabling or disabling links in a multi-link context between the AP and the MLD.

[0139] In certain scenarios, non-AP MLDs can remove (multiple) links in the dynamic link set and TDLS link set as n-STRs to prevent or mitigate STR status.

[0140] Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary operation 1600 of wireless communication according to certain forms of this case. Operation 1600 may be performed, for example, by an MLD (e.g., a non-AP MLD 304).

[0141] Operation 1600 may begin at 1602, wherein the first MLD (e.g., non-AP MLD 304) may communicate with the second MLD via a dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point (e.g., AP 306, 308) associated with the second MLD (e.g., AP MLD 302) and a first radio station (e.g., STA 310, 312) associated with the first MLD. At 1604, the first MLD may transmit a first indication to one or more of the first access points to remove the link between one or more of the first access points in the dynamic link set and one or more of the first radio stations. At 1606, the first MLD may, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while one or more of the first radio stations are communicating.

[0142] In some cases, when a direct link becomes inoperable, the first MLD can reactivate the link with the access point that was dropped from the dynamic link set. For example, when a direct link becomes inoperable, the first MLD can transmit a second instruction to one or more first access points to add a link between one or more first wireless stations and one or more second wireless stations. After the transmission of the second instruction, the first MLD can communicate with one or more first access points via one or more first wireless stations.

[0143] In some configurations, when a direct link is operational, the first MLD can communicate with the second MLD via an updated dynamic link set. For example, the first MLD can communicate with a second access point associated with the second MLD via a fourth radio station associated with the first MLD on another link in the dynamic link set, while simultaneously communicating with the second radio station via a third radio station. The first access point may include the second access point, and the first radio station may include the fourth radio station.

[0144] Communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station can occur even when there is no communication between the first wireless station and the first access point. Communication between one or more of the first wireless stations and one or more of the first access points can occur even when there is no communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station.

[0145] Figure 17 is a signaling flowchart illustrating exemplary signal transmission for disabling / removing links to prevent STR states according to certain states of this case. In some states, a dynamic link set can be formed between a first wireless station 120a (e.g., STA1, STA2) and a first access point 110a and a second access point 110b belonging to AP MLD 302. STA1 of the first wireless station 120a can be an n-STR with the second wireless station 120b, and STA2 of the first wireless station 120a can be an STR with the second wireless station 120b.

[0146] At 1702, STA1 of the first radio station 120a in the dynamic link set can transmit a first indication to disable or remove the link between STA1 of the first radio station 120a and the first access point 110a. At 1704, the second radio station 120b can communicate with the third radio station 120c via a direct link. In some cases, at 1706, STA2 of the first radio station 120a can receive DL data from the second access point 110b belonging to AP MLD 302 in the dynamic link set while the TDLS link is operational. In some cases, at 1708, the second radio station 120b can transmit a TDLS teardown frame to the third radio station 120c to render the direct link inoperable. At 1710, STA1 of the first radio station 120a (in the dynamic link set) can transmit a first indication to enable or add the link between STA1 of the first radio station 120a and the first access point 110a after the direct link becomes inoperable. At 1712, STA1 of the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the first access point 110a, and at 1714, STA2 of the first wireless station 120a can receive DL data from the second access point 110b.

[0147] In some cases during TDLS exploration and establishment procedures, when an intermediate AP belongs to an AP MLD, a receiver that is not an AP MLD may receive exploration request frames (relayed via the AP MLD) on the wrong link. For example, suppose a radio station (e.g., a traditional STA or a STA belonging to an MLD) transmits exploration request frames in the 5 GHz band, and the AP MLD relays the exploration request frames to the non-AP MLD in the 2.4 GHz or 6 GHz band. This scenario can be called a request / response crossover at the AP MLD. Similar to the crossover scenario, the initiating / responding non-AP MLD may transmit TDLS requests / responses on a link different from the expected link used for direct link communication. This scenario can be called a link mismatch scenario. The non-AP MLD may not know which frequency band is used for the TDLS link between the radio station and the non-AP MLD, causing the TDLS link establishment between the initiating STA and the non-AP MLD to fail.

[0148] Certain forms of this application provide techniques for identifying / selecting one or more links between TDLS peer STAs during TDLS exploration and establishment procedures. Initiating an MLD may include a multi-link IE in the exploration request frame to indicate that the MLD supports TDLS on multiple links and to identify the specific links(s) used for TDLS communication. In some forms, the multi-link IE in the exploration request frame, or its absence, may indicate whether the initiator is an MLD or a traditional STA. That is, the absence of a multi-link IE in the exploration request frame may indicate that the initiating STA is a traditional STA. If the receiver is a traditional STA, the traditional STA may ignore the multi-link IE, and the traditional STA may send an exploration response frame directly to the initiator on the same link on which the STA received the request.

[0149] If the TDLS initiator is a traditional STA, the traditional STA can identify the link for direct link communication in the explore request frame. For example, the BSSID field in the Link Identifier IE can identify the link, or the Link Identifier IE can include a separate field identifying the link for direct link communication. The MLD STA can send an explore response frame directly to the initiating STA on the requested link.

[0150] The techniques described herein for identifying / selecting TDLS links can enable TDLS communication between MLDs and / or between an MLD and a traditional STA, for example, when a response / request is crossed at an AP MLD to a non-AP MLD, or when a response / request is transmitted by a peer STA of the initiator / responder on a link different from the request / desire link.

[0151] Figure 18 illustrates an exemplary operation 1800 of wireless communication according to certain forms of this invention. Operation 1800 may be performed, for example, by a wireless station (e.g., STA 120a or non-AP MLD 304).

[0152] Operation 1800 can begin at 1802, where a first wireless station (e.g., STA_3 in FIG. 5B) can transmit a request via an access point (e.g., MLD_A in FIG. 5B) to a second wireless station (e.g., STA_1 of MLD_S in FIG. 5B) to explore a peer wireless station (such as the second wireless station) for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations. At 1804, the first wireless station can communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0153] In some cases, the second radio station may respond to the request via the link indicated in the request. For example, the first radio station may respond to the request by receiving a response from the second radio station via the link indicated in the request. This response may include a TDLS explore request frame.

[0154] In some configurations, the request may include a TDLS explore request frame. The request may indicate the link via a link identifier associated with the link. That is, a specific value that can represent the link as a link identifier may be associated with the link, and the request may include the link identifier. In some configurations, the request may include a link identifier IE (e.g., illustrated in Figure 6), which may include a field indicating the link. The BSSID field may include (or be set to) a value indicating the link, where the value may be different from or the same as one of the BSSIDs in the wireless network. For example, the BSSID field may be set to the BSSID of the corresponding affiliated AP of the AP MLD operating on the link establishing the TDLS direct link. In some configurations, the link identifier IE may include a separate field indicating / identifying the link (separate from the field illustrated in Figure 6). For example, the link identifier IE may include a link identifier field that provides a unique value associated with a link between TDLS peer STAs.

[0155] In some cases, the second wireless station can be associated with an MLD (e.g., MLD_S in Figure 5B). That is, the second wireless station can be a STA entity belonging to an MLD. If the intermediate AP relays the request on a link different from the requested link, the indication of the link in the request can enable the second wireless station to establish a direct link on the requested link.

[0156] As mentioned above, the various states used to identify / select TDLS links can be applied to MLD. The MLD initiator STA can include multiple link IEs (e.g., illustrated in Figure 19) in the exploration request frame to identify the requested links(s) for direct link communication.

[0157] In some cases, if the initiator and responder in the TDLS explore / establish procedure are both MLDs and the explore request includes a multi-link IE, the responder MLD can transmit a single explore response frame. If an intermediate AP relays the request on a link different from the requested link, the multi-link IE in the request allows the responder MLD to establish a direct link on the requested link. In some cases, the explore response frame from the responder MLD can have an indication of the requested link. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element identifies the requested link, or a separate field in the link identifier element can identify the requested link.

[0158] For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may receive, via an access point, a request to establish a direct link (e.g., the establishment request may include an establishment request frame) or a request to explore peer radio stations (such as the first MLD) (e.g., the exploration request may include an exploration request frame) from a first radio station (which may be a traditional STA or a STA belonging to the MLD). The request may indicate a first link for communication between the first and second radio stations. This request may indicate the first link via a link identifier associated with it. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the request may include (or may be set to) a value indicating the first link, which may be a link identifier. In some cases, a multi-link element (e.g., illustrated in Figure 19) indicates one or more links that include the first link in the request, such as a link ID field. The multi-link element may also indicate capability information associated with the first link. Instances of capability information may be that the link is an n-STR or STR. Capability information may include one or more fields as a per-STA profile sub-element.

[0159] In some configurations, the initiating / responding MLD may send a TDLS establish request or explore response frame on the requested link after receiving an explore request / respondence frame. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may respond to the request by transmitting a response to the first radio station via the first link indicated in the request. Communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the request. In some configurations, the response to the explore / establish request may indicate a desired / requested link for direct link communication. The response may include an indication of the first link or a second link different from the first link. The BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response frame may identify the requested link or a different / separate link. For example, the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response may include (or be set to) a value indicating the first link or the second link. For example, the BSSID field may be set to the MAC address of the AP on the channel or frequency band associated with the requested link. That is, a particular AP can communicate on the same channel or frequency band as the requested / desired link used for direct link communication, and the MAC address of that particular AP can be used in the BSSID field of the link identifier element to indicate the desired / requested link.

[0160] In some cases, an MLD may receive a request from an access point via a link different from the link indicated in the request. For example, receiving a request may include receiving the request from the access point on a second link, which may be different from or separate from the first link. For example, the second link may be on a different channel or frequency band than the one associated with the first link, and the second link may be different from the AP receiving the request from the initiating STA. In other words, the first link may be associated with a specific channel or frequency band in the frequency domain. The initiating STA may transmit the request to the first AP on a first channel / frequency band associated with the first link, and the second AP may relay the request on a second channel / frequency band associated with the second link. In some cases, if the responding MLD is not operating on the requested link or receives the request on a link different from the requested link, the responding MLD may not respond to the explore request frame. For example, the first MLD may ignore the request based on a request received on a second link (e.g., a different link, a different channel, or a different frequency band than the requested first link).

[0161] In some configurations, the initiating MLD may receive an establishment response on a different link than the requested one, and various indications of the requested link may enable the initiating MLD to complete the direct link establishment. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may respond to a request to establish a direct link by receiving a response (e.g., an establishment response frame) from the first radio station via an access point, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first radio station and one or more second radio stations, and wherein the response is received via a second link, which may be different from the first link. The indication of the first link may include a BSSID field in a link identifier element or a link ID in a multi-link element. The first MLD may identify the first link in the response, and communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the response.

[0162] In some configurations, the initiating / responding MLD can transmit a link establishment request / response on a different link than the desired / requested link, and various indications of the requested link can enable the receiving peer MLD to complete the direct link establishment. For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD can transmit a request to establish a direct link (e.g., a link establishment request frame) or a response to such a request (e.g., a link establishment response frame) to the first radio station via an access point, wherein the request or response can indicate a first link for communication between the first radio station and one or more second radio stations, and wherein the request or response can be transmitted via a second link. Indications in the response or request can enable the receiving peer MLD to identify the desired / requested link for direct link communication. The indication of the first link may include the BSSID field in the link identifier element or the link ID in the multi-link element. Communication with the first radio station may include the first MLD communicating with the first radio station via the first link indicated in the response or request.

[0163] In some configurations, the initiating non-AP MLD can send more than one explore request frame with the BSSID field in the Link Identifier element set to the BSSID of the AP on each link having the operational link. For example, the initiating non-AP MLD can transmit more than one TDLS explore request frame, where each request frame has a different BSSID value in the Link Identifier element in the BSSID field (e.g., one of the BSSIDs corresponding to the AP of the AP MLD used to establish the link). Transmitting multiple explore request frames to separate links allows the initiating non-AP MLD to find at least one shared link with the responding STA / MLD and establish TDLS communication with the shared link(s). For example, regarding operation 400, the first MLD can transmit a first request via an access point to one of the third radio stations associated with the second MLD to explore a peer radio station for a direct link, where the first request indicates a first link for communication between one of the third radio stations and one of the second radio stations associated with the first MLD. After sending the first request, the first MLD may wait for a certain period of time and determine that the period has elapsed if no response to the first request is received. The first MLD may transmit a second request via the access point to another third wireless station in the third wireless station associated with the second MLD to explore a peer wireless station with a direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station in the third wireless station and another second wireless station in the second wireless station associated with the first MLD. At 406, communication with the first wireless station may include the first MLD communicating with the first wireless station via the second link.

[0164] In some cases, the responding MLD can send multiple explore responses to a request for a single link. For example, if the responding MLD is operating on the requested link, it can send an explore response frame on the requested link and unrequested explore responses on other links, which may or may not have been configured for multilink communication. Established links can be referred to as overlapping links. Assume that MLD1 and MLD2 have performed multilink (ML) establishment for different sets of links, such that MLD1 and MLD2 have performed ML establishment for the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, and MLD2 has established the 2.4 GHz band for ML communication. In response to an explore request frame on the 5 GHz band, MLD2 can send an explore response frame on the 5 GHz band and active responses on the 2.4 and 6 GHz bands. The initiating STA / MLD (e.g., MLD1) can select one or more links (including overlapping links) based on a specific criterion and send a TDLS establishment frame with link selection. In the example above, MLD1 can select a link between the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands because MLD1 is inoperable in the 2.4 GHz band and has not received that particular unsolicited probe response frame. In some cases, link selection criteria can be based on the signal quality associated with the probe response frame, where signal quality may include the probe response frame's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio (SINR), signal-to-noise ratio plus distortion ratio (SNDR), and / or received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The initiating STA can select more than one overlapping link to perform multi-link TDLS.

[0165] In an instance where the responding MLD sends multiple exploratory responses, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may respond to the request by transmitting a first response directly to a first radio station associated with the second MLD via a first link indicated in the request. The first MLD may respond to the request by transmitting a second response directly to one or more third radio stations associated with the second MLD via a second link. The first MLD may communicate with one or more third radio stations via the second link indicated in the second response, and communication with the first radio station may include communication between the first MLD and the first radio station via the first link indicated in the first response.

[0166] As an example of an initiating MLD receiving multiple exploration responses, regarding operation 400, the first MLD may receive exploration response frames from a third radio station via one or more of a plurality of links. The first MLD may select a link from the plurality of links between the second and third radio stations. The link selection may be based on the signal quality of the exploration response frames, where signal quality includes the SNR, SINR, SNDR, or RSSI of the exploration response frames. The first MLD may transmit a request to one or more third radio stations to establish a direct link on the selected link. In some cases, the selected link may include two or more of a plurality of links.

[0167] Regarding operation 400, the various states described herein for receiving or transmitting explore request / response frames or establish request / response frames of the first MLD can be performed at 402.

[0168] Figure 19 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multi-link information element format according to certain states of this case. As shown, the multi-link information element may include a link identifier (ID) field associated with each STA profile sub-element. In some states, each STA sub-element may be populated for all or some STAs belonging to the MLD, and each of each STA sub-element may identify the link used for communication (such as direct link communication) via the link identifier field, which may be set to a unique value for a specific link. The link ID field can be used in an explore request message to indicate one or more requested links for direct link communication.

[0169] Figure 20 is a signaling flowchart illustrating exemplary signaling of cross-tracing of exploration requests according to certain states of this case. In 2002, STA3 of a second MLD 304b (e.g., a non-AP MLD) can transmit an exploration request frame to AP 110a of AP MLD 302, wherein the exploration request frame indicates a link for communication between the second wireless station 120b and STA3. For example, the exploration request frame may include a multi-link element or a link identifier element identifying a link for direct link communication, as described herein. In 2004, AP 110b may relay the exploration request frame to the first wireless station 120a of the first MLD 304a. In 2006, the first MLD 304a may identify a requested link for direct link communication with one of the third wireless stations 120c (e.g., STA3) in the exploration request frame, and the second wireless station 120b of the first MLD 304a may transmit an exploration response frame to STA3 of the third wireless station 120c via the requested link indicated in the exploration request. In 2008, the second wireless station 120b could communicate directly with STA3 via the requested link.

[0170] In some cases, at 2010, the first radio station 120a may also transmit a probe response frame to STA4 of the third radio station 120c to indicate that multiple links can be established for a direct link. Unsolicited probe response frames at 2010 can be transmitted via overlapping links established for multi-link communication. That is, when the first radio station 120a transmits a probe response frame at 2010, multiple links may already be established between the first radio station 120a and AP MLD 302. In 2012, the first radio station 120a can communicate directly with STA4 via the link indicated in the probe response frame at 2010. In some cases, communications at 2008 and 2012 can be concurrent and / or aggregated to facilitate desired throughput and latency between MLDs 304a and 304b.

[0171] Although the examples illustrated in Figure 20 are described herein with regard to the crossover of establishing a direct link and explore request frames between MLDs 304a and 304b to facilitate understanding, certain patterns of this application can also be applied to the crossover of establishing a direct link between an MLD and a legacy station and handling other TDLS frames at the AP (e.g., explore response frames, establish request frames, or establish response frames) or link mismatches between MLD peers. The various patterns described herein with regard to handling the crossover of explore request frames can also be applied to the crossover / mismatch of explore response frames, establish request frames, or establish response frames. For example, each of these frames may include an indication of a request / desired link for direct link communication in case the frame is relayed to a peer STA of the MLD on a link different from the requested / desired link. This indication may include, for example, a BSSID field in a link identifier element or a link ID field in a multi-link element.

[0172] Although various patterns have been described regarding communication between the MLD and the STA / AP, transmission of frames to the STA / AP, or reception of frames from the STA / AP to facilitate understanding, such patterns in this case may include STA / AP entities belonging to the MLD (e.g., STA 310, 312) communicating with the STA / AP, transmitting frames to the STA / AP, or receiving frames from the STA / AP.

[0173] Figure 21 illustrates a communication device (e.g., a non-AP MLD or STA) 2100. The communication device 2100 may include various elements (e.g., corresponding component functional elements) configured to perform operations using the techniques disclosed herein, such as those shown in Figures 4, 10, 13, 15, 16, and 18. The communication device 2100 includes a processing system 2102 coupled to a transceiver 2108 (e.g., a transmitter and / or receiver). The transceiver 2108 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 2100 via an antenna 2110, such as the various signals described herein. The processing system 2102 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 2100, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 2100.

[0174] Processing system 2102 includes processor 2104 coupled to computer-readable media / memory 2112 via bus 2106. In some embodiments, computer-readable media / memory 2112 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by processor 2104, cause processor 2104 to perform the operations shown in Figures 4, 10, 13, 15, 16, and 18, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for processing TDLS in MLO. In some embodiments, computer-readable media / memory 2112 stores code 2114 for output, code 2116 for acquisition, and / or code 2118 for communication. In some embodiments, processing system 2102 has a circuit system 2122 configured to implement the code stored in computer-readable media / memory 2112. In some configurations, circuit system 2122 is coupled to processor 2104 and / or computer-readable media / memory 2112 via bus 2106. For example, circuit system 2122 includes circuit system 2124 for output, circuit system 2126 for acquisition, and / or circuit system 2128 for communication.

[0175] Figure 22 illustrates a communication device (e.g., an AP MLD or AP) 2200. The communication device 2200 may include various elements (e.g., corresponding component functional elements) configured to perform operations using the techniques disclosed herein, such as those shown in Figures 8 and 11. The communication device 2200 includes a processing system 2202 coupled to a transceiver 2208 (e.g., a transmitter and / or receiver). The transceiver 2208 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 2200 via an antenna 2210, such as the various signals described herein. The processing system 2202 may be configured to perform processing functions of the communication device 2200, including processing signals received by and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 2200.

[0176] Processing system 2202 includes processor 2204 coupled to computer-readable media / memory 2212 via bus 2206. In some configurations, computer-readable media / memory 2212 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by processor 2204, cause processor 2204 to perform the operations shown in Figures 8 and 11, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for processing TDLS in MLO. In some configurations, computer-readable media / memory 2212 stores code 2214 for retrieval, code 2216 for output, code 2218 for transmission, and / or code 2218 for relay. In some configurations, processing system 2202 has circuitry 2222 configured to implement the code stored in computer-readable media / memory 2212. In some configurations, circuitry 2222 is coupled to processor 2204 and / or computer-readable media / memory 2212 via bus 2206. For example, circuit system 2222 includes circuit system 2224 for acquisition, circuit system 2226 for output, circuit system 2228 for transmission, and / or circuit system 2228 for relay. Exemplary state

[0177] In addition to the various states described above, specific combinations of states also fall within the scope of this case, some of which are detailed below:

[0178] Sample 1: A method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising the steps of: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0179] State 2: According to the method of State 1, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multi-link logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses includes the multi-link logical MAC address and the MAC address associated with the second radio stations.

[0180] State 3: The method according to any one of States 1 to 2 also includes the following steps: transmitting a request to the first wireless station via an access point to explore the peer wireless station of the direct link, wherein the request includes a link identifier element having the direct link initiator address set as the address of the MLD.

[0181] State 4: The method according to any one of States 1 to 3 also includes the following steps: transmitting a request to establish the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiation address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0182] State 5: The method according to any one of States 1 to 4 also includes the following steps: transmitting to the first wireless station a response to a request from a peer wireless station to explore the direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having the direct link response address set to the address of the MLD.

[0183] State 6: The method according to any one of States 1 to 5 also includes the following steps: transmitting a response to the request to establish the direct link to the first wireless station via the access point, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having the direct link response address set as the address of the MLD.

[0184] State 7: The method according to any one of States 1 to 6 also includes the step of: transmitting an exploration response to the first wireless station including the transmission address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0185] Version 8: The method according to Version 7 also includes the following steps: receiving a request from the first radio station via an access point to explore the direct link from a peer radio station; and wherein the transmission of the exploration response responds to the request.

[0186] State 9: According to any one of States 1 to 8, the communication with the first wireless station via the direct link includes: receiving a frame from the first wireless station via the direct link, including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0187] Sample 10: The method according to any one of Samples 1 to 9 also includes the following steps: based on the operability of the direct link, transmitting a first frame to the wireless node via one of the second wireless stations in a direction away from the first wireless station; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes transmitting a second frame to the first wireless station via another of the second wireless stations in a direction toward the first wireless station.

[0188] Version 11: The method according to any one of versions 1 to 10 also includes the following steps: generating an encryption key at least in part based on the address of the first MLD; transmitting an instruction of the encryption key to the first wireless station; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes transmitting an encryption frame to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

[0189] State 12: According to any one of the states 1 to 11, wherein the direct link is a tunnel direct link.

[0190] State 13: According to any one of states 1 to 12, wherein the data frame includes a MAC header, the MAC header including the transmission address field.

[0191] Version 14: The method according to any one of Versions 1 to 13, wherein the first wireless station is associated with a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations being associated with the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD.

[0192] Version 15: According to the method of Version 14, wherein: the direct link includes a plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods; and each of the plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations.

[0193] Version 16: According to the method of Version 14, wherein: the direct link includes a single tunnel direct link communication period; and a plurality of links between the second wireless stations and the third wireless stations are associated with the single tunnel direct link communication period.

[0194] Version 17: The method according to any one of versions 1 to 16 also includes the following steps: transmitting to the first wireless station an instruction to establish the direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein the communication with the first wireless station via the direct link includes: communicating with the first wireless station via one or more of the multi-link direct links based on the instruction.

[0195] Version 18: According to the method of Version 17, wherein the indication includes at least one of the following: a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, including a value indicating that the direct link is established as the multi-link direct link; or a multi-link element in a direct link exploration frame or a direct link establishment frame.

[0196] State 19: According to the method of State 18, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

[0197] Version 20: According to the method of Version 18, wherein the multi-link element includes: a first indication having an identifier of the direct link in a station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the second wireless stations; or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second wireless stations associated with the link between the second wireless stations and the third wireless stations.

[0198] Version 21: The method according to any one of versions 1 to 20 also includes the following steps: receiving, via an access point, a request from the first wireless station to establish the direct link or to explore the direct link from a peer wireless station, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations.

[0199] State 22: According to the method of State 21, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier associated with the first link.

[0200] State 23: According to the method of any one of states 21 to 22, wherein the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field in the Link Identifier element of the request includes a value indicating the first link.

[0201] State 24: According to the method of any one of states 21 to 22, wherein the multi-link element indicates the first link in the request.

[0202] State 25: According to the method of State 24, the multi-link element also indicates capability information associated with the first link.

[0203] Version 26: The method according to Version 21 also includes the steps of: transmitting a response to the request to the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0204] State 27: According to the method of State 26, wherein the response includes an indication of the first link.

[0205] State 28: According to the method of State 27, wherein the BSSID field in the link identifier element of the response includes a value indicating the first link.

[0206] State 29: The method according to any one of states 21 to 28, wherein receiving the request includes receiving the request from the access point on the second link.

[0207] State 30: According to the method of State 29, it also includes the following steps: ignoring the request based on the inoperability of the first link and based on the fact that the request was received on the second link.

[0208] Version 31: The method according to any one of versions 1 to 30 also includes the following steps: receiving from the first wireless station via an access point a response to a request to establish the direct link, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations, wherein the response is received via a second link; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes communication with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the response.

[0209] Version 32: The method according to any one of versions 1 to 31 also includes the following steps: transmitting a request to establish the direct link or a response to the request to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request or the response indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and the one or more second wireless stations, wherein the request or the response is transmitted via a second link; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes communication with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the response or the request.

[0210] Version 33: The method according to Version 21 also includes the following steps: transmitting a first response to the request directly to the first wireless station associated with the second MLD via the first link indicated in the request; transmitting a second response to the request directly to one or more of the third wireless stations associated with the second MLD via a second link; communicating with the one or more third wireless stations via the second link; and wherein the communication with the first wireless station includes communicating with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0211] Version 34: The method according to Version 14 also includes the following steps: selecting at least one link among a plurality of links between the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD and the third wireless stations associated with the second MLD; and transmitting a request to one or more of the third wireless stations associated with the second MLD to establish the direct link on the selected at least one link.

[0212] Version 35: The method according to Version 34 also includes the following steps: receiving explore response frames from the third radio stations associated with the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links; and wherein the selection of the at least one link is based on the signal quality associated with the explore response frames.

[0213] Version 36: According to the method of any one of versions 34 to 35, wherein the selected at least one link includes two or more links from the plurality of links.

[0214] Version 37: The method according to Version 14 also includes the following steps: transmitting a first request via an access point to one of the third wireless stations associated with the second MLD to explore a peer wireless station of the direct link, wherein the first request indicates a first link for communication between the third wireless station and one of the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD; determining that a timeout has elapsed without a response to the first request; and transmitting via the access point to another of the third wireless stations associated with the second MLD to explore a peer wireless station of the direct link based on the determination, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station and another of the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD.

[0215] Sample 38: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) includes the following steps: communicating with the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and the second wireless station, the second wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; receiving a request to send (RTS) frame from an access point requesting to send data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and responding to the RTS frame by taking one or more actions.

[0216] Version 39: According to the method of Version 38, one or more actions include: transmitting an idle transmission (CTS) frame to the access point indicating that the access point is idle and can transmit data to the MLD; and receiving data from the access point via the third radio station based on the transmission of the CTS frame.

[0217] State 40: According to the method of State 38, one or more actions include: ignoring the RTS frame if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station.

[0218] Version 41: The method according to any one of versions 39 to 40 also includes the step of: transmitting to the access point a first instruction to enable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0219] Version 42: The method according to any one of versions 38 to 41 also includes the step of: transmitting to the access point a second instruction to disable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0220] State 43: According to any one of states 41 to 42, wherein the first instruction or the second instruction is transmitted via the control field of the MAC frame.

[0221] State 44: According to the method of State 43, the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0222] Sample 45: A method for wireless communication from an access point, comprising the steps of: receiving from a multi-link device (MLD) a first indication of enabling a request to transmit (RTS) frame before a transmission from the access point to the MLD; based on the first indication, transmitting to the MLD the RTS frame requesting the transmission of data to one or more wireless stations associated with the MLD; and if the access point receives an idle transmit (CTS) frame from the MLD, transmitting the data to the one or more wireless stations.

[0223] Version 46: The method according to version 45 also includes the following steps: receiving from the MLD a second instruction to disable the transmission of the RTS frame prior to the transmission from the access point to the MLD.

[0224] State 47: According to any one of states 45 to 46, wherein the first instruction or the second instruction is received via a control field of the MAC frame.

[0225] State 48: According to the method of State 47, the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0226] Sample 49: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) includes the steps of: transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, the third wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0227] Version 50: The method according to version 49 also includes the following steps: transmitting to the access point a second indication that the first wireless station is in an active mode after the communication with the second wireless station has ended.

[0228] Version 51: The method according to version 50 also includes the following steps: communicating with the access point via the first wireless station after the transmission indicated by the second instruction.

[0229] State 52: The method according to any one of states 49 to 51, wherein: communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station occurs when there is no communication between the first wireless station; or communication between the first wireless station and the access point occurs when there is no communication between the third wireless station.

[0230] Sample 53: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) includes the steps of: transmitting to an access point an indication to disable a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD; and, after the transmission of the indication, communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0231] State 54: According to the method of State 53, wherein: communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station occurs when the first wireless station is not communicating.

[0232] Mode 55: According to any one of modes 53 to 54, wherein the instruction is transmitted via a control field of a Media Access Control (MAC) frame.

[0233] State 56: According to the method of State 55, the MAC frame includes a common action frame.

[0234] Sample 57: A method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising the steps of: communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first wireless station associated with the first MLD; transmitting to one or more of the first access points a first indication to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first wireless stations; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more of the first wireless stations are communicating.

[0235] Version 58: The method according to Version 57 also includes the following steps: transmitting to the one or more first access points a second indication to add the link between the one or more first wireless stations and the one or more second wireless stations when the direct link is inoperable.

[0236] Version 59: The method according to Version 58 also includes the following steps: after the transmission of the second instruction, communicating with one or more of the first access points via one or more of the first wireless stations; and while communicating with the second wireless station, communicating with a second access point associated with the second MLD via a fourth wireless station associated with the first MLD on another link in the dynamic link set, wherein the first access points include the second access point, and the first wireless stations include the fourth wireless station.

[0237] Sample 60: The method according to any one of Samples 57 to 59, wherein: the communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station occurs when there is no communication at the first wireless station; or the communication between the one or more first wireless stations and the one or more first access points occurs when there is no communication at the third wireless station.

[0238] Sample 61: A method for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising the steps of: receiving one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more first frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and relaying the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0239] Version 62: The method according to Version 61 also includes the following steps: based on the fact that the first wireless station does not support multi-link operation, mapping the address of the second MLD to the address of the second wireless station, wherein the transmission of the one or more first frames is based on the mapping between the address of the second MLD and the address of the second wireless station.

[0240] Version 63: The method according to Version 62 also includes the following steps: receiving one or more second frames related to the establishment of the direct link from the first wireless station via the access point; and relaying the one or more second frames to the second MLD, wherein the one or more second frames include a destination address field set as the address of the second wireless station.

[0241] Version 64: The method according to Version 63 also includes the following steps: receiving one or more third frames from a third wireless station associated with the second MLD via a second access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more third frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and the first wireless station, wherein the one or more first frames include a transmit address field set as an address of the third wireless station; relaying the one or more third frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more third frames include a source address field set as the address of the second wireless station; and wherein receiving the one or more first frames includes receiving the one or more first frames from the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0242] Sample 65: A method for wireless communication by a first wireless station, comprising the steps of: transmitting a request to a second wireless station via an access point to explore the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station; and directly communicating with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0243] Version 66: The method according to version 65 also includes the following steps: receiving a response to the request from the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0244] Format 67: The method according to any one of formats 65 to 66, wherein the request includes an exploration request message box.

[0245] Sample 68: The method according to any one of samples 65 to 67, wherein the second wireless station is associated with a multi-link device.

[0246] State 69: The method according to any one of states 65 to 68, wherein the request indicates the link via a link identifier associated with the link.

[0247] State 70: According to any one of states 65 to 69, wherein the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field in the Link Identifier element of the request includes a value indicating the link.

[0248] Sample 71: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: a transceiver configured to transmit a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0249] Sample 72: A multi-link device (MLD) includes: a transceiver configured to communicate with the first wireless station via a direct link between the first and second wireless stations, the second wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating, and to receive from an access point a request transmission (RTS) frame requesting the transmission of data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and a processing system configured to take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0250] Sample 73: A multi-link device (MLD) includes: a transceiver configured to: transmit to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, the third wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0251] Sample 74: A multi-link device (MLD) includes a transceiver configured to: transmit to an access point an indication that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled; and after the transmission of the indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0252] Sample 75: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: a transceiver configured to: communicate with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; transmit to one or more of the first access points a first indication to remove a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first radio stations; and after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more of the first radio stations are communicating.

[0253] Sample 76: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: a receiver configured to receive one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more first frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and a processing system configured to relay the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0254] Sample 77: A first wireless station, including a transceiver, configured to: transmit via an access point to a second wireless station a request for the second wireless station to explore a link for direct link communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station; and to communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0255] Sample 78: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: means for transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multilink operation; and means for communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0256] Sample 79: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: means for communicating with the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and the second wireless station, the second wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; means for receiving a request to send data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD from an access point; and means for taking one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0257] Sample 80: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising: means for transmitting to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and means for communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0258] Sample 81: A multi-link device (MLD) includes: means for transmitting to an access point an indication that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled; and means for communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD after the transmission of the indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0259] Sample 82: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: means for communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; means for transmitting to one or more of the first access points a first indication of removing a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first radio stations; and means for communicating with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more of the first radio stations are communicating.

[0260] Sample 83: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: means for receiving one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more first frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and means for relaying the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field configured as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0261] Sample 84: A first wireless station, comprising: means for transmitting a request via an access point to a second wireless station to explore the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first wireless station and the second wireless station; and means for directly communicating with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0262] Sample 85: An apparatus for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multi-link operation; and a processing system configured to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0263] Sample 86: An apparatus for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: a processing system configured to communicate with the first wireless station via a direct link between the first and second wireless stations, the second wireless station being associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; and an interface configured to receive from an access point a request to send (RTS) frame for data to be sent to the third wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the processing system is also configured to take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0264] Sample 87: An apparatus for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output to an access point a first indication that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and a processing system configured to communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0265] Sample 88: An apparatus for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: an interface configured to output an indication to an access point that a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD is disabled; and a processing system configured to communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD after the transmission of the indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0266] Sample 89: A first multi-link device (MLD) includes: a processing system configured to communicate with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first radio station associated with the first MLD; and an interface configured to output a first indication to one or more of the first access points to transmit a transmission of removing a link from the dynamic link set between the one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first radio stations, wherein the processing system is also configured to communicate with the second radio station via a direct link between the second radio station and a third radio station associated with the first MLD after the transmission of the first indication, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more of the first radio stations are communicating.

[0267] Sample 90: A first multilink device (MLD) comprising: an interface configured to acquire one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more first frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and a processing system configured to relay the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0268] Format 91: A first wireless station, comprising: an interface configured to output via an access point to a second wireless station a request to explore the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and a processing system configured to communicate directly with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0269] Sample 92: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to perform the following operations: outputting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and one or more second wireless stations associated with the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations associated with the first MLD for multi-link operation; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0270] Sample 93: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: communicate with a first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station associated with the MLD is communicating; obtain from an access point a request to send (RTS) frame for sending data to the third wireless station associated with the MLD; and take one or more actions in response to the RTS frame.

[0271] Sample 94: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: output a first indication to an access point that a first wireless station associated with the MLD is in a power-saving mode; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0272] Sample 95: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication via a multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to: output an indication to an access point to disable a link to a first wireless station associated with the MLD; and, after the transmission of the indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations associated with the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0273] Sample 96: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising code executable to perform the following operations: communicating with a second MLD via a dynamic link set, the dynamic link set including a plurality of links between a first access point associated with the second MLD and a first wireless station associated with the first MLD; outputting to one or more of the first access points a first indication to transmit the removal of a link in the dynamic link set between the one or more of the first access points and one or more of the first wireless stations; and, after the transmission of the first indication, communicating with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second wireless station and a third wireless station associated with the first MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the first MLD while the one or more of the first wireless stations are communicating.

[0274] Sample 97: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first multilink device (MLD), comprising code executable to: acquire one or more first frames from a second MLD via a first access point associated with the first MLD, the one or more first frames being associated with establishing a direct link between the second MLD and a first wireless station, wherein the first wireless station does not support multilink operation; and relay the one or more first frames to the first wireless station via the first access point, wherein the one or more first frames include a source address field set as an address of the second wireless station associated with the second MLD.

[0275] Sample 98: A computer-readable medium for wireless communication by a first wireless station, comprising code executable to perform: outputting via an access point a request to a second wireless station to explore the second wireless station for direct link communication between the first and second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates a link for communication between the first and second wireless stations; and directly communicating with the second wireless station via the link indicated in the request.

[0276] Sample 99: A first multilink device (MLD) includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: transmit data frames to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frames including data frames with a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multilink operation, and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0277] Sample 100: According to the first MLD of Sample 99, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multilink logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses include the multilink logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations.

[0278] State 101: According to the first MLD of any one of State 99 or 100, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit a request associated with the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiation address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0279] State 102: According to any one of states 99 to 101, a first MLD is configured to transmit a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having the address of the direct link response location set as the address of the first MLD.

[0280] State 103: According to any one of states 99 to 102, the first MLD, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station, the response including the transmission address field set to the address of the first MLD.

[0281] Mode 104: According to any one of modes 99 to 103, the first MLD, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to receive a frame from the first wireless station via the direct link, including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

[0282] State 105: According to any one of states 99 to 104, the processor and the memory are also configured to: based on the direct link operable, stop transmission to the first wireless station via the second wireless stations, except for the at least one of the second wireless stations.

[0283] State 106: According to any one of states 99 to 105, the first MLD, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: generate an encryption key at least partially based on the address of the first MLD; transmit an instruction to the first wireless station to the encryption key; and transmit an encryption frame to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

[0284] State 107: According to the first MLD of State 106, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: generate the encryption key based on at least one of the address of the access point MLD or the address of the access point.

[0285] State 108: According to the first MLD of any one of states 99 to 107, wherein: the direct link is a tunneled direct link; and the data frame includes a MAC header, the MAC header including the transmission address field.

[0286] State 109: According to the first MLD of State 108, wherein the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD.

[0287] State 110: According to the first MLD of State 109, wherein: the direct link includes a plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods; and each of the plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations.

[0288] State 111: According to the first MLD of State 109, wherein: the direct link includes a single tunnel direct link communication period; and a plurality of links between the second and third wireless stations are associated with the single tunnel direct link communication period.

[0289] State 112: According to any one of states 99 to 111, the first MLD, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit to the first wireless station an indication to establish the direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein the indication includes at least one of the following: a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, including a value indicating that the direct link is established as the multi-link direct link, or a multi-link element in a direct link exploration frame or a direct link establishment frame; and to communicate with the first wireless station via one or more links of the multi-link direct link based on the indication.

[0290] Status 113: According to the first MLD of status 112, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

[0291] Type 114: A first MLD according to any one of Types 112 or 113, wherein the first radio station belongs to a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third radio stations, including the first radio station, the two or more third radio stations belonging to the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD; and wherein the multilink element includes: a first indication having an identifier of the direct link in a station profile sub-element associated with at least one of the second radio stations; or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second radio stations associated with the link between the second radio stations and the third radio stations.

[0292] Sample 115: According to a first MLD of any of Samples 99 to 114, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive a request associated with the direct link from the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and at least one of the second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier element having a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, the BSSID field including a value indicating the first link.

[0293] Sample 116: According to the first MLD of any one of Samples 99 to 115, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit from the first wireless station a plurality of requests associated with the direct link, wherein each of the requests requests a different value for the BSSID field in the link identifier element.

[0294] Status 117: According to the first MLD of status 115, wherein the multi-link element indicates one or more links in the request that include the first link.

[0295] Status 118: According to the first MLD of status 117, the multi-link element also indicates capability information associated with the first link.

[0296] Version 119: A first MLD according to any one of versions 115 to 118, wherein the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD; and wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a first response to the request directly to the first wireless station belonging to the second MLD via the first link indicated in the request; transmit a second response to the request directly to one or more of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD via a second link; communicate with the one or more third wireless stations via the second link; and communicate with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

[0297] State 120: A first MLD according to any one of states 99 to 119, wherein: the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and the memory are also configured to: select at least one link among a plurality of links between the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD and the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD, and transmit a request to one or more of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD to establish the direct link on the selected at least one link.

[0298] Mode 121: According to the first MLD of mode 120, the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive explore response frames from the third radio stations belonging to the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links; and the selection of the at least one link is based on the signal quality associated with the explore response frames.

[0299] State 122: According to the first MLD of any one of State 120 or 121, wherein the selected at least one link includes two or more links of the plurality of links.

[0300] State 123: A first MLD according to any one of States 99 to 122, wherein: the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a first request via an access point to one of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD to explore peer wireless stations for the direct link, wherein the first request indicates using The first link of communication between one of the third wireless stations and one of the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD determines that the duration has elapsed without a response to the first request, and based on the determination, transmits a second request via the access point to another third wireless station belonging to the second MLD to explore peer wireless stations for the direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station and another second wireless station belonging to the first MLD.

[0301] Sample 124: A method for wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD) includes the following steps: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between the first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation, and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

[0302] Version 125: According to the method of Version 124, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multilink logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses includes the multilink logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second wireless stations.

[0303] Version 126: The method according to any one of versions 124 or 125 also includes the step of: transmitting a request associated with the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having the direct link initiation address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0304] Sample 127: The method according to any one of Samples 124 to 126 also includes the step of: transmitting to the first wireless station a response associated with the direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having the direct link response address set as the address of the first MLD.

[0305] Sample 128: The method according to any one of Samples 124 to 127 also includes the following steps: based on the operability of the direct link, stopping the transmission to the first wireless station via the second wireless stations, except for the at least one of the second wireless stations.

[0306] Sample 129: A multi-link device (MLD) comprising the following steps: a memory; a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: establish a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0307] State 130: According to the MLD of State 129, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit an indication of the state associated with the MLD or one or more wireless stations belonging to the MLD to the access point (AP) MLD that the MLD has been associated with in its execution.

[0308] State 131: According to the MLD of either State 129 or 130, the third wireless station is inoperable while the direct link is communicating.

[0309] State 132: MLD according to any one of states 129 to 131, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive a first frame from an access point belonging to the AP MLD requesting the transmission of data to the third radio station belonging to the MLD in response to the indication of the state; and take one or more actions in response to the first frame.

[0310] State 133: MLD according to any one of states 129 to 132, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a second frame to the access point belonging to the AP MLD indicating that the access point belonging to the AP MLD is idle and can transmit data to the MLD; and receive data from the access point belonging to the AP MLD via the third radio station based on the transmission of the second frame.

[0311] Mode 134: According to any one of modes 132 or 133, the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive the first frame via the third wireless station on a channel in which the access point belonging to the AP MLD is communicating with the third wireless station; and transmit the second frame via the third wireless station on the channel.

[0312] Mode 135: MLD according to any one of modes 132 to 134, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to ignore the first frame if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station.

[0313] State 136: MLD according to any one of states 132 to 135, wherein the state indicates that the transmission of the first frame is enabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0314] State 137: MLD according to any one of states 132 to 136, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit an update of the state to: the access point or the AP MLD, the update indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third wireless station belonging to the MLD.

[0315] Mode 138: MLD according to any one of modes 129 to 137, wherein the instruction is transmitted via the control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of the frame, management frame or control frame.

[0316] Sample 139: An access point includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory also being configured to: receive from a multi-link device (MLD) an indication of a status associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD; transmit a first frame to the MLD requesting the transmission of data to the one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD based on the status; and transmit the data to the one or more radio stations if the access point receives from the MLD a second frame granting permission to transmit the data.

[0317] State 140: According to the access point of State 139, wherein the MLD has been associated with the access point (AP) MLD to which the access point belongs, and the state indicates that the transmission of the first frame is enabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the one or more wireless stations belonging to the MLD.

[0318] State 141: According to any one of states 139 or 140, the MLD has been associated with the AP MLD to which the access point belongs, and the processor and the memory are also configured to receive an update on the state from the MLD, the update indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the one or more wireless stations belonging to the MLD.

[0319] Mode 142: According to the access point of mode 141, the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit the first frame to the one or more wireless stations on a channel in which the access point belonging to the AP MLD is communicating with the one or more wireless stations; and receive a second frame from the one or more wireless stations on the channel.

[0320] Mode 143: Access point according to any one of modes 139 to 142, wherein the instruction is received via a control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of a frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0321] Sample 144: A multi-link device (MLD) includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: transmit a first indication associated with a first wireless station belonging to the MLD to an access point or access point (AP) MLD, and after the transmission of the first indication, communicate with the second wireless station via a direct link between the second and third wireless stations, the third wireless station belonging to the MLD, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while the first wireless station is communicating.

[0322] State 145: According to the MLD of State 144, the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit to the access point or the AP MLD a second indication that the first wireless station is in active mode after the communication with the second wireless station is terminated.

[0323] Mode 146: According to the MLD of mode 145, the processor and the memory are also configured to communicate with the access point via the first wireless station after the transmission of the second instruction.

[0324] State 147: Based on any one of states 144 to 146, the MLD, where:

[0325] The communication between the third wireless station and the second wireless station occurs when there is no communication at the first wireless station; or the communication between the first wireless station and the access point occurs when there is no communication at the third wireless station.

[0326] State 148: MLD according to any one of states 144 to 147, wherein the first indication includes at least one of the following: an indication that the first wireless station is in power saving mode; an indication that the first link to the first wireless station is disabled; or an indication that the second link to the first wireless station is removed from the dynamic link centralized to the first wireless station.

[0327] Mode 149: MLD according to any one of modes 144 to 148, wherein the first instruction is transmitted via a control field of the Media Access Control (MAC) header of a frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0328] Sample 150: A method for wireless communication by a multi-link device (MLD) includes the following steps: establishing a direct link between a first wireless station and a second wireless station belonging to the MLD; and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link, wherein the direct link is inoperable for the MLD while a third wireless station belonging to the MLD is communicating.

[0329] Sample 151: The method according to sample 150 also includes the following steps: sending an indication to the MLD that it has transmitted a status to the access point (AP) MLD associated with it, the status being associated with the MLD or one or more radio stations belonging to the MLD.

[0330] State 152: According to the method of State 151, the third wireless station is inoperable while the direct link is communicating.

[0331] State 153: The method according to any one of State 151 or 152 also includes the following steps: in response to the indication of the state, receiving a first frame from an access point belonging to the AP MLD requesting the transmission of data to the third radio station belonging to the MLD; and in response to the first frame taking one or more actions.

[0332] Version 154: The method according to Version 153 also includes the following steps: transmitting a second frame to the access point belonging to the MLD, indicating that the access point is idle and can transmit data to the MLD; and receiving data from the access point belonging to the MLD via the third radio station based on the transmission of the second frame.

[0333] Version 155: The method according to Version 154 also includes the following steps: receiving the first frame via the third wireless station on a channel in which the access point belonging to the AP MLD is communicating with the third wireless station; and transmitting the second frame via the third wireless station on the channel.

[0334] Format 156: The method according to any one of Formats 154 to 155 also includes the following steps: if the second wireless station is communicating with the first wireless station, then ignore the first frame.

[0335] State 157: According to any one of states 154 to 156, wherein the state indicates that the transmission of the first frame is enabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third radio station belonging to the MLD.

[0336] State 158: The method according to any one of states 154 to 157 also includes the step of: transmitting an update of the state to the access point or the AP MLD, the update indicating that the transmission of the first frame is disabled before the transmission from the AP MLD to the third wireless station belonging to the MLD.

[0337] State 159: An apparatus comprising: a memory containing executable instructions; one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of states 1 to 70, 124 to 128 or 150 to 158.

[0338] Sample 160: An apparatus comprising a component for performing the method according to any one of Samples 1 to 70, 124 to 128 or 150 to 158.

[0339] Sample 161: A computer-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to any one of Samples 1 to 70, 124 to 128 or 150 to 158.

[0340] Sample 162: A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, including code for performing a method according to any one of samples 1 to 70, 124 to 128 or 150 to 158.

[0341] The techniques described in this paper offer various advantages for direct link communication in multi-link applications. For example, various techniques for handling TDLS with MLO can enable an MLD to establish TDLS communication with a traditional STA or another MLD, which can provide the desired latency and / or throughput between TDLS peer STAs.

[0342] The preceding description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various forms described herein. Various modifications to these forms will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other forms. Therefore, the claim is not intended to be limited to the forms shown herein, but rather to encompass the entire scope consistent with the language of the claim, wherein, unless otherwise specified, references to singular elements are not intended to mean "one and only one," but rather "one or more." Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various forms described herein, known to the general art or subsequently known to them, are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be covered by the claim. Furthermore, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly referenced in the claim, nothing disclosed herein is intended for public use only. No element of a claim may be interpreted in accordance with Article 18, Paragraph 8 of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law unless the element is interpreted using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the phrase "step for".

[0343] The various operations described above can be performed via any suitable component capable of performing the corresponding function. This component may include various hardware and / or software elements and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. Typically, where the operations shown in the figures are performed, these operations may include corresponding component functional elements.

[0344] Components for receiving may include a transceiver, a receiver, or at least one antenna and at least one receiving processor, as shown in FIG2. Components for transmitting, sending, or outputting may include the transceiver, transmitter, or at least one antenna and at least one transmission processor shown in FIG2. Components for communication, generation, taking one or more actions, selection, decision, ignoring, mapping, and relaying may include a processing system that may include one or more processors, such as processors 260m, 270m, 288m and / or 290m of STA 120m and / or processors 210, 220, 240 and / or 242 of AP 110 shown in FIG2.

[0345] In some cases, a device may have an interface (a component for outputting frames) for transmission, rather than an actual transmitted frame. For example, a processor may output frames to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission via a bus interface. Similarly, a device may have an interface (a component for acquiring frames) for acquiring frames received from another device, rather than an actual received frame. For example, a processor may acquire (or receive) frames from an RF front end for reception via a bus interface.

[0346] As used herein, the term "decision" encompasses a variety of actions. For example, "decision" can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, examining (e.g., examining in a table, database, or other data structure), confirming, etc. Furthermore, "decision" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), etc. Additionally, "decision" can include parsing, selecting, choosing, building, etc.

[0347] As used herein, the phrase “at least one” in the list of items refers to any combination of such items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as combinations that include more than one of the members (aa, aabb, aabbcc, bb, bbcc, and / or cc).

[0348] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with this case may be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), individual gate or transistor logic, individual hardware element, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0349] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in this case can be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module can reside in any form of storage medium known in the art. Some examples of storage media that can be used include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, etc. The software module can include a single instruction or multiple instructions and can be distributed across several different code segments, different programs, and across multiple storage media. The storage medium can be coupled to the processor, allowing the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integrated with the processor.

[0350] The methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or actions for implementing the methods. The method steps and / or actions may be interchanged without departing from the scope of the claim. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of a particular step and / or action may be modified without departing from the scope of the claim.

[0351] The described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in hardware, an exemplary hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system can be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus can connect various circuits, including processors, machine-readable media, and bus interfaces. The bus interface can be used to connect network adapters, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter can be used to implement signal processing functions at the PHY layer. In the case of wireless station 120 (see Figure 1), user interfaces (e.g., keyboard, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) can also be connected to the bus. The bus can also connect various other circuits well known in the art and therefore will not be described further, such as timing sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc.

[0352] A processor can be responsible for managing buses and general processing, including the execution of software stored on machine-readable media. A processor can be implemented using one or more general-purpose and / or special-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuit systems capable of executing software. Software should be interpreted broadly as instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referring to software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or others. Machine-readable media can include, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electronic Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disk drives, or any other suitable storage media, or any combination thereof. Machine-readable media can be embodied in computer program products. Computer program products may include packaging materials.

[0353] In hardware implementation, machine-readable media can be part of a processing system separate from the processor. However, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, machine-readable media, or any part thereof, can be external to the processing system. For example, machine-readable media may include transmission lines, data-modulated carrier waves, and / or computer products separate from wireless nodes, all of which can be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, machine-readable media, or any part thereof, may be integrated into the processor, such as in cases where it may have cache memory and / or general-purpose temporary files.

[0354] The processing system can be configured as a general-purpose processing system having one or more microprocessors providing processor functionality and external memory providing at least a portion of machine-readable medium, all interconnected with other supporting circuitry via an external bus architecture. Alternatively, the processing system can be implemented using an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) with a processor, bus interface, user interface (in the case of an access terminal), supporting circuitry, and at least a portion of machine-readable medium integrated into a single chip, or using one or more FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), controllers, state machines, gate logic, individual hardware components, or any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described throughout this document. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functions for the processing system according to the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0355] Machine-readable media may include multiple software modules. Software modules include instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processing system to perform various functions. Software modules may include transmission modules and reception modules. Each software module may reside on a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. For example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a hard disk drive when a trigger event occurs. During the execution of a software module, the processor may load portions of the instructions into cache memory to improve access speed. Subsequently, one or more cache entries may be loaded into a general-purpose temporary register file for processor execution. When the functionality of a software module is referred to below, it should be understood that this functionality is implemented by the processor when executing instructions from that software module.

[0356] If implemented in software, such functionality can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that a computer can access. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is properly referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (e.g., infrared (IR), radio, and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave) are all included in the definition of media. As used herein, magnetic disks and optical disks include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, DVDs, floppy disks, and Blu-ray® discs, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Therefore, in some cases, computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., physical media). Furthermore, in other cases, computer-readable media may include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0357] Therefore, certain types may include computer program products for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such computer program products may include computer-readable media on which instructions are stored (and / or encoded) that are executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. For some types, computer program products may include packaging materials.

[0358] Furthermore, it should be understood that modules and / or other suitable components for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the wireless station and / or access point where applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of components for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via storage components (e.g., RAM, ROM, or physical storage media such as CDs or floppy disks), so that the wireless station and / or access point can obtain the various methods after the storage components are coupled to or provided to the device. Furthermore, any other suitable techniques for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device can be utilized.

[0359] It should be understood that the requested items are not limited to the precise configuration and components described above. Various modifications, alterations, and changes may be made to the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the requested items.

[0360] 100: Wireless Communication System 110: Access Point (AP) 110a: First access point 110b: Second Access Point 112: Link Manager 120a: First Wireless Station 120b: Second wireless station 120c: Third Wireless Station 120d: Wireless Station 120e: Wireless Station 120f: Wireless Station 120g: Wireless Station 120h: Wireless Station 120i: Wireless Station 120m: Wireless station 120x: Wireless Station 122: Link Manager 130: System Controller 208: Source 210:TX Data Processor 220:TX Space Processor 222a: Transceiver 222ap: Transceiver 224a: Antenna 224ap: Antenna 228: Channel Estimator 230: Controller 234: Scheduler 240:RX Space Processor 242:RX Data Processor 244: Data Slot 252mA: Antenna 252mu: Antenna 252xa: Antenna 252xu: Antenna 254m: Transceiver 254mu: Transceiver 254xa: Transceiver 254xu: Transceiver 260m:RX Space Processor 260x:RX Space Processor 270m:RX Data Processor 270x:RX Data Processor 278m: Channel Estimator 278x: Channel Estimator 280m: Controller 280x: Controller 286m: Data source 286x: Source 288m:TX data processor 288x:TX Data Processor 290m:TX Space Processor 290x:TX Space Processor 302:AP MLD 304: Non-AP MLD 304a: First MLD 304b: Second MLD 306:STA entity 308:STA entity 310: Related STA entities 312: Associated STA entity 314: Link 316: Link 318: Interface 400: Operation 402: Steps 404: Steps 406: Steps 800: Operation 802: Steps 804: Steps 806: Steps 808: Steps 1000A: Operation 1000B: Operation 1002: Steps 1004: Steps 1006: Steps 1008: Steps 1010: Steps 1012: Steps 1100: Operation 1102: Steps 1104: Steps 1106: Steps 1108: Steps 1202: Steps 1204: Steps 1206: Steps 1208: Steps 1210: Steps 1212: Steps 1214: Steps 1300A: Operation 1300B: Operation 1302: Steps 1304: Steps 1306: Steps 1308: Steps 1402: Steps 1404: Steps 1406: Steps 1408: Steps 1500: Operation 1502: Steps 1504: Steps 1600: Operation 1602: Steps 1604: Steps 1606: Steps 1702: Steps 1704: Steps 1706: Steps 1708: Steps 1710: Steps 1712: Steps 1714: Steps 1800: Operation 1802: Steps 1804: Steps 2002: Steps 2004: Steps 2006: Steps 2008: Steps 2010: Steps 2012: Steps 2100: Communication equipment 2102: Processing System 2104: Processor 2106: Busbar 2108: Transceiver 2110: Antenna 2112: Computer-readable media / memory 2114: Code used for output and transmission 2116: Code used for retrieval 2118: Code used for communication 2122: Circuit System 2124: Circuit system used for output and transmission 2126: Circuit system used for acquisition 2128: Circuit system used for communication 2200: Communication equipment 2202: Processing System 2204: Processor 2206: Busbar 2208: Transceiver 2210: Antenna 2212: Computer-readable media / memory 2214: Code used for retrieval 2216: Code used for output and transmission 2218: Code used for relaying 2222: Circuit System 2224: Circuit system used for acquisition 2226: Circuit system for output and transmission 2228: Circuit system for relaying MLD_A:AP MLD MLD_S: Non-AP MLD STA_1: STA entity STA_2: STA entity STA_3: STA entity STA_4: STA entity

[0361] Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date, and number) none Overseas storage information (please note in the order of storage country, institution, date, and number) none

Claims

1. A first multi-link device (MLD), comprising: One memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory being configured to: transmit a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmit address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses for multi-link operation associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, and to communicate with the first wireless station via the direct link.

2. The first MLD according to claim 1, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multi-link logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses include the multi-link logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations.

3. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit a request associated with the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as the address of the first MLD.

4. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link response address set as the address of the first MLD.

5. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to transmit a response associated with the direct link to the first wireless station, the response including the transmission address field set to the address of the first MLD.

6. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to receive, via the direct link, a frame from the first wireless station including a receiver address field set as the address of the first MLD.

7. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: based on the direct link operable, stop transmission to the first wireless station via the second wireless stations, except for the at least one of the second wireless stations.

8. The first MLD according to claim 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: generate an encryption key at least in part based on the address of the first MLD; transmit an instruction of the encryption key to the first wireless station; and transmit an encrypted frame to the first wireless station based on the encryption key.

9. According to the first MLD of request item 8, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: further generate the encryption key based on at least one of an address of an access point MLD or an address of an access point.

10. According to the first MLD of request item 1, where: The direct link is a tunneled direct link; and the data frame includes a MAC header that includes the transmission address field.

11. The first MLD according to claim 10, wherein the first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, the two or more third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD.

12. According to the first MLD of request item 11, where: The direct link includes a plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods; and each of the plurality of tunnel direct link communication periods is associated with a separate link between one of the second radio stations and one of the third radio stations.

13. According to the first MLD of request item 11, where: The direct link includes a single tunnel direct link communication period; and a plurality of links between the second and third wireless stations are associated with the single tunnel direct link communication period.

14. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit to the first wireless station an indication to establish the direct link as a multi-link direct link, wherein the indication includes at least one of the following: a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field including a value indicating that the direct link is established as the multi-link direct link, or a multi-link element in a direct link exploration frame or a direct link establishment frame; and to communicate with the first wireless station via one or more links in the multi-link direct link based on the indication.

15. According to the first MLD of request item 14, wherein the value includes a link identifier associated with the one or more links.

16. According to the first MLD of request item 14, where: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD. The multi-link element includes: a first indication having an identifier of the direct link in a station profile sub-element associated with the at least one of the second radio stations; or a second indication of one or more capabilities of the second radio stations associated with the link between the second radio stations and the third radio stations.

17. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive a request associated with the direct link from the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request indicates a first link for communication between the first wireless station and at least one of the second wireless stations, wherein the request indicates the first link via a link identifier element having a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) field, the BSSID field including a value indicating the first link.

18. According to the first MLD of request item 1, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit from the first wireless station a plurality of requests associated with the direct link, wherein each of the requests requests a different value for a BSSID field in a link identifier element.

19. According to the first MLD of request item 17, a multi-link element in the request indicates one or more links including the first link.

20. According to the first MLD of request item 19, wherein the multi-link element also indicates capability information associated with the first link.

21. According to the first MLD of request item 17, where: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multilink communication with the first MLD; and the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a first response to the request directly to the first wireless station belonging to the second MLD via the first link indicated in the request; transmit a second response to the request directly to one or more of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD via a second link; communicate with the one or more third wireless stations via the second link; and communicate with the first wireless station via the first link indicated in the request.

22. According to the first MLD of request item 1, where: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and the memory are also configured to: select at least one link among a plurality of links between the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD and the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD, and transmit a request to one or more of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD to establish the direct link on the selected at least one link.

23. The first MLD according to claim 22, wherein the processor and the memory are also configured to: receive explore response frames from the third radio stations belonging to the second MLD via one or more of the plurality of links; and wherein the selection of the at least one link is based on a signal quality associated with the explore response frames.

24. According to the first MLD of request item 22, wherein the selected at least one link includes two or more of the plurality of links.

25. According to the first MLD of request item 1, where: The first wireless station belongs to a second MLD used for multi-link communication with the first MLD, and the second MLD also has two or more third wireless stations, including the first wireless station, which belong to the second MLD for multi-link communication with the first MLD; and the processor and the memory are also configured to: transmit a first request, via an access point, to one of the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD to explore a peer wireless station for the direct link, wherein the first request indicates a first link for communication between the one of the third wireless stations and one of the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD. The system determines that a duration has elapsed without a response to the first request, and based on that determination, transmits a second request via the access point to another third wireless station among the third wireless stations belonging to the second MLD to explore a peer wireless station for the direct link, wherein the second request indicates a second link for communication between the other third wireless station among the third wireless stations and another second wireless station among the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD.

26. A method of wireless communication by a first multi-link device (MLD), comprising the steps of: transmitting a data frame to the first wireless station via a direct link between a first wireless station and at least one of a plurality of second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD, the data frame including a transmission address field set as an address of the first MLD, the address of the first MLD being one of a plurality of addresses associated with the first MLD and the second wireless stations belonging to the first MLD for multi-link operation, and communicating with the first wireless station via the direct link.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the address of the first MLD includes a multilink logical media access control (MAC) address, and the plurality of addresses include the multilink logical MAC address and a MAC address associated with each of the second radio stations.

28. The method according to request item 26 also includes the following steps: transmitting a request associated with the direct link to the first wireless station via an access point, wherein the request frame includes a link identifier element having a direct link initiator address set as the address of the first MLD.

29. The method according to claim 26 also includes the step of: transmitting to the first wireless station a response associated with the direct link, wherein the response includes a link identifier element having a direct link response address set as the address of the first MLD.

30. The method according to claim 26 also includes the following steps: based on the operability of the direct link, stopping transmission to the first wireless station via the second wireless stations, except for the at least one of the second wireless stations.

Images