CN116916450A

CN116916450A - Control method and equipment for initial trigger frame in EMLSR

Info

Publication number: CN116916450A
Application number: CN202310418540.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 康皓华; 郭至钧
Original assignee: MediaTek Inc
Current assignee: MediaTek Inc
Priority date: 2022-04-19
Filing date: 2023-04-19
Publication date: 2023-10-20

Abstract

Control method and equipment for initial trigger frame in EMLSR. Techniques related to dynamic initial trigger frame control for enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) in wireless communications are described. A first multi-link device (MLD) performs frame exchange with a second MLD on a first link of a plurality of communication links without transmitting an initial control frame. The first MLD then enables transmission of the initial control frame on the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the second MLD.

Description

Control method and equipment for initial trigger frame in EMLSR

Cross-reference to related patent applications

The present invention is part of a non-provisional patent application claiming the priority benefits of U.S. provisional patent application No.63/332,289, filed on day 4 of 2022, and priority of U.S. patent application No.18/116,366 filed on day 3 of 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to dynamic initial trigger frame control in enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) in wireless communications.

Background

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In wireless communications according to the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE) standard, such as Wi-Fi 7, a Station (STA) may operate in EMLSR mode over a specified set of enabled links (EMLSR links) between the STA and an Access Point (AP) associated therewith. In Uplink (UL) frame exchanges between an AP and a STA on an EMLSR link, the STA can only start frame exchanges on only one ELMSR link of the multiple EMLSR links, and the AP cannot transmit frames to the STA on other EMLSR links during the frame exchanges. In Downlink (DL) frame exchanges between an AP and a STA, the AP may begin frame exchanges with the STA over an EMLSR link using an initial control frame. After receiving the initial control frame, the STA may receive a physical-layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted using more than one spatial stream over the EMLSR link. The AP cannot transmit to the STA over other EMLSR links until the frame exchange ends. Similarly, STAs cannot transmit or receive on other EMLSR links until the frame exchange ends.

The initial control frame is defined as a multi-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) frame or a buffer status report poll (buffer status report poll, BSRP) frame. The initial control frame is transmitted at a legacy rate (6/12/24 Mbps, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, OFDM) or non-high-throughput (non-HT) duplicate PPDUs). The initial control frame requires additional padding based on the antenna switching time of the STA. However, the initial control frame may cause serious performance overhead. Since the STA can switch a plurality of EMLSR links to the power save mode, if only one EMLSR link is in an active state and the STA stops listening to the EMLSR links in the power save mode, a way is required so that an initial control frame can be avoided in this case. In this case, it may not be desirable for the STA to leave the EMLSR mode because the STA is to apply multiple frame exchanges with the AP in order to leave and re-enter the EMLSR mode. Thus, a solution for dynamic initial trigger frame control in EMLSR in wireless communications is needed.

Disclosure of Invention

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. The selection implementation is further described in the detailed description below. Accordingly, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

It is an object of the present invention to provide schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods and devices related to dynamic initial trigger frame control in EMLSR in wireless communications. Accordingly, it is believed that the various approaches presented herein may solve or otherwise mitigate the aforementioned problems, such as reducing performance overhead.

In one aspect, a method is provided that may include: the first MLD performs frame exchange with the second MLD on a first link of the plurality of communication links without transmitting an initial control frame. The method may further comprise: the first MLD is enabled to transmit one or more initial control frames on the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the second MLD.

In another aspect, an apparatus capable of being implemented in a first MLD is provided, the apparatus may include: a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate, and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor may perform frame exchange with the second MLD on a first link of the plurality of communication links without transmitting the initial control frame. The processor may also enable transmission of one or more initial control frames over the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the second MLD.

In another aspect, a control method of an initial trigger frame is provided, the method including: transmitting a first media access control protocol data unit (MPDU) to a first multi-link device (MLD) requesting disabling of transmission of an initial control frame; no initial control frame is received in a frame exchange with the first MLD.

In another aspect, a control method of an initial trigger frame is provided, the method including: determining that a second Station (STA) affiliated with a second MLD enters a power save mode on a second link of the plurality of communication links; no initial control frame is received in a frame exchange with the first MLD.

Notably, while the description provided herein may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies (such as Wi-Fi), the proposed concepts, schemes, and any variations/derivatives thereof may be implemented in, for, and by other types of radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies such as (for example and without limitation): bluetooth, zigBee, fifth generation (5) ^th Generation, 5G)/New Radio (NR), long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced Pro, internet-of-Things (IoT), industrial IoT (IIoT), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited to the examples described herein.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The accompanying drawings illustrate the implementation of the invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. It will be appreciated that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, since some components may be shown out of scale from actual implementation to clearly illustrate the concepts of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example network environment in which various solutions and schemes according to the invention may be implemented.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary design under the proposed solution according to the invention.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of an example communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of an example process according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which may be embodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and/or techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

SUMMARY

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions related to dynamic initial trigger frame control in EMLSR in wireless communications. Many possible solutions according to the invention may be implemented separately or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example network environment 100 in which various solutions and schemes according to the invention may be implemented. Fig. 2-9 illustrate examples of implementations of various proposed schemes in a network environment 100 according to the present invention. The following description of various proposed schemes is provided with reference to fig. 1 to 9.

Referring to fig. 1, network environment 100 may include at least a first communication entity or STA110 in wireless communication with a second communication entity or STA 120. Each of STA110 and STA120 may be a multi-link device (MLD) capable of operating in EMLSR mode. Each of STA110 and STA120 may be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD, respectively (interchangeably referred to herein as "STA MLD"). In some cases, STA110 and STA120 may be associated with a basic service set (basic service set, BSS) according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11be and future development standards) such as Wi-Fi 7. Each of STA110 and STA120 may be configured to: communication with each other is by utilizing the various proposed schemes described herein in connection with dynamic initial trigger frame control in EMLSR in wireless communications. It is noted that while various of the proposed schemes may be described below separately or separately, in actual implementations, each of the proposed schemes may be utilized separately or separately. Alternatively, some or all of the proposed schemes may be utilized jointly.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example scenario 200 under a first proposed solution according to the invention. Under the proposed scheme, the STA may explicitly indicate to the AP to request that the AP enable or disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange on the unique EMLSR link in active mode. Referring to fig. 2, a first AP (AP 1) and a second AP (AP 2) affiliated to an AP MLD (e.g., STA 110) may perform a multi-link operation (MLO) with a first STA (STA 1) and with a second STA (STA 2) affiliated to an STA MLD (e.g., STA 120) on a first link (link 1) and a second link (link 2), respectively. The AP MLD may be in a simultaneous-transmission-and-reception (STR) mode, and the STA MLD may be in an EMLSR mode. Further, the first link between AP1 and STA1 and the second link between AP2 and STA2 may be EMLSR links. In scenario 200, both the first link and the second link may initially be in an active mode of an EMLSR. After STA2 sends a null frame on the second link (which may carry a Power Management (PM) field in the frame control field and the PM field is set to 1), STA2 may enter a power save mode, causing the second link to be in an inactive mode with respect to EMLSR and the first link to be the only EMLSR link in an active mode, until STA2 later sends another null frame on the second link (which may carry a PM field in the frame control field and the PM field is set to 0) to inform the AP that STA2 exits the power save mode. Under the proposed scheme, in case the first link is the only EMLSR link in active mode, STA1 may transmit a medium access control (medium access control, MAC) Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) on the first link to instruct AP1 (or request AP 1) to disable the application or transmission of initial control frames in frame exchanges with STA1, the MPDU being acknowledged by AP1 on the first link. As shown, the MPDU carries an indicator IND indicating whether to disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange with STA1, for example ind=1 indicates to disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange with STA 1. Optionally, the MPDU may also indicate one or more desired STA capabilities of STA1 on the first link. Thereafter, AP1 may initiate a frame exchange with STA1 over the first link without applying or transmitting the initial control frame. The frame exchange may end when STA1 sends another MPDU with another indication to AP1 over the first link requesting AP1 to enable application or transmission of the initial control frame and AP1 acknowledges the other MPDU. For example, ind=0 is carried in another MPDU. As shown, ack represents an acknowledgement. Under the proposed scheme, the AP1 may gain access to a channel after performing a backoff (backoff) procedure and then initiate one or more transmission opportunities (TXOPs) on the channel that do not require any initial control frames until the STA1 indicates that an initial control frame is required.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example scenario 300 under a second proposed solution according to the present invention. Under the proposed scheme, the AP may explicitly disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in frame switching for the indicated duration on the only EMLSR link in active mode. Referring to fig. 3, a first AP (AP 1) and a second AP (AP 2) affiliated to an AP MLD (e.g., STA 110) may perform MLO with a first STA (STA 1) and a second STA (STA 2) affiliated to an STA MLD (e.g., STA 120) on a first link (link 1) and a second link (link 2), respectively. The AP MLD may be in STR mode and the STA MLD may be in EMLSR mode. Further, the first link between AP1 and STA1 and the second link between AP2 and STA2 may be EMLSR links. In scenario 300, both the first link and the second link may initially be in an active mode of an EMLSR. After STA2 transmits a null frame (which may carry a Power Management (PM) field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 1) on the second link (which is acknowledged by AP 2), STA2 may enter a power save mode, causing the second link to be in an inactive mode with respect to EMLSR and the first link to be the only EMLSR link in an active mode until STA2 later transmits another null frame (which may carry a PM field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 0) on the second link to inform the AP that STA2 exits the power save mode. Under the proposed scheme, in case the first link is the only EMLSR link in active mode, STA1 may transmit an MPDU on the first link to instruct AP1 (requesting AP 1) to disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange, the MPDU being acknowledged by AP1 on the first link. The MPDU may also indicate that AP1 will disable the duration of the initial control frame for the frame exchange application or transmission. For example, as shown, duration = Nus. Thereafter, AP1 may initiate a frame exchange with STA1 over the first link without applying or transmitting the initial control frame. The frame exchange may end at the end of the duration indicated in the MPDU. Under the proposed scheme, AP1 may gain access to a channel after performing a backoff procedure and then initiate one or more TXOPs on the channel that do not require any initial control frames until STA1 indicates that an initial control frame is required.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example scenario 400 under a third proposed solution according to the present invention. Under the proposed scheme, once the STA has entered the power save mode in all other EMLSR links, the AP may implicitly disable the application or transmission of the initial control frames in the frame exchange on the only EMLSR link in the active mode. Referring to fig. 4, a first AP (AP 1) and a second AP (AP 2) affiliated to an AP MLD (e.g., STA 110) may perform MLO with a first STA (STA 1) and a second STA (STA 2) affiliated to an STA MLD (e.g., STA 120) on a first link (link 1) and a second link (link 2), respectively. The AP MLD may be in STR mode and the STA MLD may be in EMLSR mode. Further, the first link between AP1 and STA1 and the second link between AP2 and STA2 may be EMLSR links. In scenario 400, both the first link and the second link may initially be in an active mode of an EMLSR. After STA2 transmits a null frame (which may carry a Power Management (PM) field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 1) on the second link (which is acknowledged by AP 2), STA2 may enter a power save mode, causing the second link to be in an inactive mode with respect to EMLSR and the first link to be the only EMLSR link in an active mode until STA2 later transmits another null frame (which may carry a PM field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 0) on the second link to inform the AP that STA2 exits the power save mode. Under the proposed scheme, in case the first link is the only EMLSR link in active mode (when STA2 enters power save mode on the second link), AP1 may initiate a frame exchange with STA1 on the first link without applying or transmitting the initial control frame. The frame exchange may end when STA1 sends an MPDU with an indication to AP1 over the first link requesting AP1 to enable an application or transmit an initial control frame and AP1 acknowledges the MPDU. For example, ind=0 is carried in the MPDU. Under the proposed scheme, AP1 may gain access to a channel after performing a backoff (backoff) procedure and then initiate one or more TXOPs on the channel that do not require any initial control frames until STA1 indicates that an initial control frame is required.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example scenario 500 under a fourth proposed solution according to the present invention. Under the proposed scheme, once the STA has entered the power save mode in all other EMLSR links, the AP may implicitly disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange for a predefined duration on the only EMLSR link in the active mode. Referring to fig. 5, a first AP (AP 1) and a second AP (AP 2) affiliated to an AP MLD (e.g., STA 110) may perform MLO with a first STA (STA 1) and a second STA (STA 2) affiliated to an STA MLD (e.g., STA 120) on a first link (link 1) and a second link (link 2), respectively. The AP MLD may be in STR mode and the STA MLD may be in EMLSR mode. Further, the first link between AP1 and STA1 and the second link between AP2 and STA2 may be EMLSR links. In scenario 500, both the first link and the second link may initially be in an active mode of an EMLSR. After STA2 transmits a null frame (which may carry a Power Management (PM) field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 1) on the second link (which is acknowledged by AP 2), STA2 may enter a power save mode, causing the second link to be in an inactive mode with respect to EMLSR and the first link to be the only EMLSR link in an active mode until STA2 later transmits another null frame (which may carry a PM field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 0) on the second link to inform the AP that STA2 exits the power save mode. Under the proposed scheme, in case the first link is the only EMLSR link in active mode (when STA2 enters power save mode on the second link), AP1 may initiate a frame exchange with STA1 on the first link without applying or transmitting the initial control frame. The frame exchange may continue for a predefined duration once STA2 enters the power save mode on the second link. Thus, at the end of the predefined duration, the frame exchange may end, and AP1 may enable application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange with STA 1. Under the proposed scheme, AP1 may gain access to a channel after performing a backoff (backoff) procedure and then initiate one or more TXOPs on the channel that do not require any initial control frames until STA1 indicates that an initial control frame is required.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example scenario 600 under a fifth proposed solution according to the present invention. Under the proposed scheme, once a STA has entered a power save mode on all other EMLSR links, the AP may implicitly disable the application or transmission of initial control frames in frame switching on the only EMLSR link in active mode until any other EMLSR link leaves the power save mode. Referring to fig. 6, a first AP (AP 1) and a second AP (AP 2) affiliated to an AP MLD (e.g., STA 110) may perform MLO with a first STA (STA 1) and a second STA (STA 2) affiliated to an STA MLD (e.g., STA 120) on a first link (link 1) and a second link (link 2), respectively. The AP MLD may be in STR mode and the STA MLD may be in EMLSR mode. Further, the first link between AP1 and STA1 and the second link between AP2 and STA2 may be EMLSR links. In scenario 600, both the first link and the second link may initially be in an active mode of an EMLSR. After STA2 transmits a null frame (which may carry a Power Management (PM) field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 1) on the second link (which is acknowledged by AP 2), STA2 may enter a power save mode, causing the second link to be in an inactive mode with respect to EMLSR and the first link to be the only EMLSR link in an active mode until STA2 later transmits another null frame (which may carry a PM field in a frame control field and the PM field is set to 0) on the second link to inform AP2 that STA2 exits the power save mode. Under the proposed scheme, in case the first link is the only EMLSR link in active mode (when STA2 enters power save mode on the second link), AP1 may initiate a frame exchange with STA1 on the first link without applying or transmitting the initial control frame. This frame exchange may be effective until any other EMLSR link (e.g., the second link) leaves the power save mode. Thus, when STA2 leaves the power save mode and sends a second null frame that instructs (or requests AP 2) STA2 to exit the power save mode and after AP2 acknowledges the second null frame, the frame exchange on the first link may end and AP1 may enable application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange with STA 1. Under the proposed scheme, AP1 may gain access to a channel after performing a backoff (backoff) procedure and then initiate one or more TXOPs on the channel that do not require any initial control frames until STA1 indicates that an initial control frame is required.

The power saving mode in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a sleep (doze) mode.

Notably, in all of the proposed schemes described above, a request or indication of the application or transmission of an initial control frame from a STA to an associated AP for enabling or disabling the AP may be carried in an a-control (abbreviated a-ctrl) field. The a-Control field includes one or more Control subfields (Control subfields), each of which includes a Control ID (Control ID) subfield and a Control information (Control information) subfield, and the Control ID subfield may be 4 bits. The control ID subfield is used to indicate the type (type) of information carried in the following control information subfield. Fig. 7 illustrates an example design 700 of a Control subfield (Control subfield) under the proposed scheme. Referring to fig. 7, a control ID subfield is used to indicate that the information type of the following control information subfield is an initial control frame control, the control information subfield including: a subfield indicating whether to disable the initial control frame and a subfield indicating the duration of disabling the initial control frame, wherein a one-bit field may be utilized to indicate whether the AP is to disable application or transmission of the initial control frame in a frame exchange on a given link (e.g., "0" for no, "1" for yes, and vice versa). The subfield indicating the duration of disabling the initial control frame indicates the duration that the AP will disable the application or transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange on a given link.

Exemplary implementation

Fig. 8 illustrates an example system 800 having at least an example device 810 and an example device 820 according to an embodiment of the invention. Various ones of devices 810 and 820 may perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein in connection with dynamic initial trigger frame control in EMLSR in wireless communications, including the various schemes described above and the processes illustrated subsequently with reference to the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. For example, device 810 may be implemented in STA 110 and device 820 may be implemented in STA 120, or vice versa.

Each of devices 810 and 820 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a non-AP STA or an AP STA, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. When implemented in a STA, each of devices 810 and 820 may be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a notebook computer. Each of devices 810 and 820 may be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT device such as a stationary or fixed device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of devices 810 and 820 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network device, device 810 and/or device 820 may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN.

In some implementations, each of devices 810 and 820 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips, such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction-set-instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. In the various aspects described above, each of devices 810 and 820 may be implemented in or as a STA or AP. For example, each of devices 810 and 820 may include at least some of those components shown in fig. 8, such as processor 812 and processor 822, respectively. Each of the devices 810 and 820 may also include one or more other components (e.g., internal power supplies, display devices, and/or user interface devices) that are not relevant to the proposed solution of the present invention, and thus, such components of the devices 810 and 820 are neither shown in fig. 8 nor described below for simplicity and brevity.

In one aspect, each of processor 812 and processor 822 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, even though the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to the processor 812 and the processor 822, each of the processor 812 and the processor 822 may include multiple processors in some embodiments, and may include a single processor in other embodiments according to the invention. In another aspect, each of processors 812 and 822 may be implemented in hardware (and optionally firmware) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more registers, one or more inductors, one or more memristors (memristors), and/or one or more varactors configured and arranged to achieve particular objects in accordance with the present invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each of processor 812 and processor 822 is a special purpose machine specifically designed, set up, and configured to perform specific tasks, including those related to dynamic initial trigger frame control in an EMLSR in wireless communications according to various embodiments of the invention.

In some implementations, the device 810 may also include a transceiver 816 coupled to the processor 812. The transceiver 816 may include a transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting and a receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data. In some implementations, the device 820 may also include a transceiver 826 coupled to the processor 822. Transceiver 826 may include a transmitter capable of wireless transmission and a receiver capable of wireless reception of data. Notably, although transceiver 816 and transceiver 826 are illustrated as being external to and separate from processor 812 and processor 822, respectively, in some embodiments transceiver 816 may be part of processor 812 as a system on chip (SoC) and/or transceiver 826 may be part of processor 822 as a SoC.

In some implementations, the device 810 may also include a memory 814 coupled to the processor 812 and capable of being accessed by the processor 812 and storing data therein. In some implementations, the device 820 may also include a memory 824 coupled to the processor 822 and capable of being accessed by the processor 822 and storing data therein. Each of the memory 814 and the memory 824 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM) type, such as Dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively or additionally, each of memory 814 and memory 824 can include Read Only Memory (ROM) types, such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (erasable programmable ROM, EPROM), and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM, EEPROM). Alternatively or additionally, each of the memory 814 and the memory 824 may include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) type, such as flash memory (flash memory), solid-state memory (solid-state memory), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and/or phase change memory.

Each of device 810 and device 820 may be communication entities capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes according to the invention. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, a description of the capabilities of device 810 as STA 110 and device 820 as STA 120 is provided below. It is noted that while a detailed description of the capabilities, functions and/or technical features of device 820 is provided below, it is equally applicable to device 810, although a detailed description of device 810 is not provided separately for the sake of brevity. It is also worth noting that while the example embodiments described below are provided in the context of a WLAN, they may equally be implemented in other types of networks.

Under various proposed schemes in connection with dynamic initial trigger frame control in an EMLSR in wireless communications in accordance with the present invention, with a device 810 implemented in a STA 110 acting as a first MLD or as the STA 110 and a device 820 implemented in a STA 120 acting as a second MLD or as the STA 120 in the network environment 100, the processor 812 of the device 810 may perform frame exchanges with a second MLD (e.g., the device 820) on a first link of a plurality of communication links via the transceiver 816 without transmitting initial control frames. Further, the processor 812 can enable transmission of one or more initial control frames via the transceiver 816 over the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the second MLD.

In some implementations, when performing frame exchange without transmitting an initial control frame on the first link, the processor 812 may disable transmitting the initial control frame on the first link when the first link is an EMLSR link in an active mode and the remaining one or more other links of the plurality of communication links are not EMLSR links in an active mode (e.g., the first link is the only EMLSR link in an active mode).

In some implementations, the processor 812 may perform certain operations when performing frame exchanges without transmitting an initial control frame. For example, the processor 812 may receive a first MPDU requesting to disable transmission of an initial control frame from a STA affiliated with a second MLD. Further, the processor 812 may disable transmission of the initial control frame in a frame exchange with the STA on the first link in response to receiving the first MPDU. In such a case, the processor 812 may perform certain operations when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled. For example, the processor 812 may receive a request from the STA during the TXOP to enable transmission of a second MPDU of one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange. Also, the processor 812 may enable transmission of one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the STA over the first link in response to receiving the second MPDU.

Alternatively or additionally, the processor 812 may perform certain operations when performing frame exchanges without transmitting an initial control frame. For example, the processor 812 may receive MPDUs requesting to disable transmission of initial control frames from STAs affiliated with the second MLD. In addition, the processor 812 may disable transmission of the initial control frame in a frame exchange with the STA for a duration indicated in the MPDU on the first link in response to receiving the MPDU. In such a case, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, the processor 812 may enable transmission of the one or more initial control frames on the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the STA at the end of the duration.

Alternatively or additionally, the processor 812 may perform certain operations when performing frame exchanges without transmitting an initial control frame. For example, the processor 812 can determine that a second STA affiliated with the second MLD enters a power save mode on a second link of the plurality of communication links, causing the first link to be an EMLSR link in an active mode, while the remaining one or more other links of the plurality of communication links are not EMLSR links in an active mode (e.g., the first link is the only EMLSR link in an active mode). Further, the processor 812 may disable transmission of the initial control frame on the first link in a frame exchange with the first STA affiliated with the second MLD in response to determining that the second STA is entering a power save mode on the second link. In such a case, the processor 812 may take one of a variety of approaches when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled.

In a first method, upon enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames, the processor 812 may receive, from the first STA during the TXOP, an MPDU requesting enablement of transmission of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange. In addition, the processor 812 may enable transmission of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA over the first link in response to receiving the MPDU.

In a second method, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, the processor 812 may enable transmission of the one or more initial control frames on the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA after a predefined duration has elapsed since the remaining one or more other STAs affiliated with the second MLD other than the first STA entered the power save mode.

In a third method, upon enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames, the processor 812 may determine that the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode on the second link or another of the plurality of communication links, thereby rendering the first link not the only remaining EMLSR link in the active mode. Also, the processor 812 may enable transmission of the one or more initial control frames on the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA in response to determining that the second STA or other STA is exiting the power save mode.

Exemplary processing

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process 900 according to an embodiment of the invention. Process 900 may represent aspects of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More particularly, process 900 may represent aspects of the proposed concepts and schemes related to dynamic initial trigger frame control in an EMLSR in wireless communications in accordance with the present invention. Process 900 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 910 and 920. While illustrated as separate blocks, the various blocks of process 900 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks/sub-blocks of process 900 may be performed in the order shown in fig. 9, or alternatively, in a different order. Moreover, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 900 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 900 may be implemented by or in device 810 and device 820, and any variations thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 900 is described below in the context of a network environment 100 according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards, implemented in an STA 110 acting as a non-AP STA of a wireless network such as a WLAN, or implemented as a device 810 of the non-STA 110, and implemented in an STA 120 acting as an AP STA of the wireless network, or implemented as a device 820 of the STA 120. Process 900 may begin at block 910.

At 910, process 900 may include: the processor 812 of the device 810 as a first MLD (e.g., STA 110) performs frame exchanges with a second MLD (e.g., device 820) over a first link of the plurality of communication links via the transceiver 816 without transmitting an initial control frame. Process 900 proceeds from 910 to 920.

At 920, process 900 may include: the processor 812 enables transmission of one or more initial control frames over the first link in subsequent frame exchanges with the second MLD via the transceiver 816.

In some implementations, when performing frame exchange on the first link without transmitting an initial control frame, process 900 may include: the processor 812 disables transmission of the initial control frame on the first link when the first link is an EMLSR link in the active mode and the remaining one or more other links of the plurality of communication links are not EMLSR links in the active mode (e.g., the first link is the only EMLSR link in the active mode).

In some implementations, when performing frame exchange without transmitting an initial control frame, process 900 may include: the processor 812 performs certain operations. For example, process 900 may include: the processor 812 receives a first MPDU requesting to disable transmission of an initial control frame from a STA affiliated with a second MLD. Additionally, process 900 may include: the processor 812 disables transmission of the initial control frame in a frame exchange with the STA on the first link in response to receiving the first MPDU. In such a case, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: the processor 812 performs certain operations. For example, process 900 may include: the processor 812 receives a request from the STA to enable transmission of a second MPDU of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange during the TXOP. Further, process 900 may include: the processor 812 enables transmission of one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the STA over the first link in response to receiving the second MPDU.

Alternatively or additionally, when performing frame exchange without transmitting an initial control frame, process 900 may include: the processor 812 performs certain operations. For example, process 900 may include: the processor 812 receives MPDUs requesting to disable transmission of the initial control frame from STAs affiliated with the second MLD. Additionally, process 900 may include: the processor 812 disables transmission of the initial control frame in a frame exchange with the STA over the first link for a duration indicated in the MPDU in response to receiving the MPDU. In such a case, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: at the end of the duration, the processor 812 enables transmission of the one or more initial control frames over the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the STA.

Alternatively or additionally, when performing frame exchange without transmitting an initial control frame, process 900 may include: the processor 812 performs certain operations. For example, process 900 may include: the processor 812 determines that a second STA affiliated with the second MLD enters a power save mode on a second link of the plurality of communication links, causing the first link to be an EMLSR link in an active mode, while the remaining one or more other links of the plurality of communication links are not EMLSR links in an active mode (e.g., the first link is the only EMLSR link in an active mode). Additionally, process 900 may include: the processor 812 disables transmission of the initial control frame on the first link in a frame exchange with the first STA affiliated with the second MLD in response to determining that the second STA is entering a power save mode on the second link. In such a case, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: the processor 812 takes one of a variety of approaches.

In a first method, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: the processor 812 receives, from the first STA during the TXOP, an MPDU requesting to enable transmission of an initial control frame in a subsequent frame exchange. Additionally, process 900 may include: the processor 812 enables transmission of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA over the first link in response to receiving the MPDU.

In a second method, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: the processor 812 enables transmission of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA over the first link after a predefined duration has elapsed since the remaining one or more other STAs affiliated with the second MLD other than the first STA entered the power save mode.

In a third method, when transmission of the one or more initial control frames is enabled, process 900 may include: the processor 812 determines that the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode on the second link or another of the plurality of communication links, thereby rendering the first link not the only remaining EMLSR link in the active mode. Specifically, the processor 812 receiving a null frame (carrying pm=0) from the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD may indicate that the processor 812 determines that the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode. Alternatively, the processor 812 receiving a null frame (carrying pm=0) from the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD and replying to the Ack may indicate that the processor 812 determines that the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode. Moreover, process 900 may include: the processor 812 enables transmission of the one or more initial control frames in a subsequent frame exchange with the first STA over the first link in response to determining that the second STA or other STA is exiting the power save mode.

Additional notes

The subject matter described herein sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected," or "operably coupled," to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable," to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably coupled include, but are not limited to, components capable of physically mating and/or physically interacting and/or components capable of wirelessly interacting and/or components capable of logically interacting and/or logically interacting.

Furthermore, those of skill in the art may translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. For clarity, various singular/plural permutations may be explicitly set forth herein.

Furthermore, it will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms such as used herein, and especially those used in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). Those skilled in the art will also understand that if a specific number of a introduced claim is intended, such intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to refer to the claims. In addition, even if a specific number of a introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Moreover, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand that such a convention would work (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B and C" would include but not be limited to systems having a alone, B alone, C, A and B together alone, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand that such a convention is in the sense (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include but not be limited to systems having a alone a, B alone, C, A and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "a or B" should be understood to include the possibility of "a" or "B" or "a and B".

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the invention have been described for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the various embodiments described herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit is indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an initial trigger frame, the method comprising:

the processor of the first multi-link device MLD performing a frame exchange with the second MLD on a first link of the plurality of communication links without transmitting an initial control frame; and

the processor enables transmission of one or more initial control frames over the first link in a subsequent frame exchange with the second MLD.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises: the transmission of the initial control frame is disabled on the first link when the first link is an enhanced multi-link single radio EMLSR link in an active mode and one or more other links of the plurality of communication links other than the first link are not EMLSR links in an active mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

receiving a first media access control protocol data unit MPDU requesting disabling of transmission of the initial control frame from a station STA affiliated with the second MLD; and

in response to receiving the first MPDU, disabling transmission of the initial control frame on the first link in the frame exchange with the STA.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

receiving a second MPDU from the STA requesting to enable transmission of the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange; and

in response to receiving the second MPDU, transmitting the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange with the STA is enabled on the first link.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

receiving a medium access control protocol data unit MPDU requesting disabling of transmission of the initial control frame from a station STA affiliated with the second MLD; and

in response to receiving the MPDU, disabling transmission of the initial control frame in the frame exchange with the STA over the first link for a duration indicated by or determined from the MPDU.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

at the end of the duration, transmitting the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange with the STA is enabled on the first link.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

determining that a second station STA affiliated with the second MLD enters a power save mode on a second link of the plurality of communication links, thereby causing the first link to be an enhanced multi-link single radio EMLSR link in an active mode while one or more other links of the plurality of communication links other than the first link are not EMLSR links in an active mode; and

in response to determining that the second STA is entering the power save mode on the second link, transmitting the initial control frame in the frame exchange with the first STA affiliated with the second MLD is disabled on the first link.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

Receiving a media access control protocol data unit MPDU from the first STA requesting to enable transmission of the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange; and

in response to receiving the MPDU, transmitting the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange with the first STA is enabled on the first link.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

the initial control frame is transmitted in the subsequent frame exchange with the first STA on the first link after a predefined duration has elapsed since the remaining one or more other STAs affiliated with the second MLD other than the first STA entered the power save mode.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

determining that the second STA is exiting the power save mode on the second link or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode on another link of the plurality of communication links, thereby causing the first link to not be the only remaining EMLSR link in the active mode; and

In response to determining that the second STA or the other STA is exiting the power save mode, transmitting the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange with the first STA is enabled on the first link.

11. The method of claim 2 or 7, wherein one or more other links of the plurality of communication links other than the first link are EMLSR links that are not in an active mode are: all other links of the plurality of communication links except the first link are not EMLSR links in an active mode.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein enabling transmission of the initial control frame in the subsequent frame exchange with the first STA over the first link after a predefined duration since the remaining one or more other STAs affiliated with the second MLD other than the first STA entered the power save mode comprises:

the initial control frame is enabled to be transmitted in the subsequent frame exchange with the first STA on the first link after a predefined duration has elapsed since all other STAs affiliated to the second MLD except the first STA entered the power save mode.

13. An apparatus implementable in a first multi-link device, MLD, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to reduce power consumption while supporting a delay sensitive application by performing operations comprising;

performing, via the transceiver, a frame exchange with a second MLD on a first link of a plurality of communication links without transmitting an initial control frame; and

transmitting, via the transceiver, one or more initial control frames on the first link in subsequent frame exchanges with the second MLD.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein performing the frame exchange on the first link without transmitting the initial control frame comprises: the transmission of the initial control frame is disabled on the first link when the first link is an enhanced multi-link single radio EMLSR link in an active mode and one or more other links of the plurality of communication links other than the first link are not EMLSR links in an active mode.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

16. The device of claim 15, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

17. The device of claim 13, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

in response to receiving the MPDU, transmitting the initial control frame in the frame exchange with the STA over the first link for a duration indicated in the MPDU is disabled.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

19. The device of claim 13, wherein performing the frame exchange without transmitting the initial control frame comprises:

determining that a second station STA affiliated with the second MLD enters a power save mode on a second link of the plurality of communication links, thereby causing the first link to be an enhanced multi-link single radio EMLSR link in an active mode, while one or more other links of the plurality of communication links other than the first link are not EMLSR links in an active mode; and

20. The device of claim 19, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

21. The device of claim 19, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

22. The device of claim 19, wherein enabling transmission of the one or more initial control frames comprises:

determining that the second STA or one other STA affiliated with the second MLD is exiting the power save mode on the second link or another of the plurality of communication links, thereby rendering the first link not the only remaining EMLSR links in the active mode; and

23. A method for controlling an initial trigger frame, the method comprising:

transmitting a first medium access control protocol data unit MPDU requesting disabling of transmission of an initial control frame to a first multi-link device MLD;

no initial control frame is received in a frame exchange with the first MLD.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe is performed,

transmitting a second MPDU to the first MLD requesting initiation of transmission of an initial control frame in a subsequent frame exchange with the first MLD;

the initial control frame is received in a subsequent frame exchange with the first MLD.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the first MPDU instructs the first MLD to disable transmission of the duration of the initial control frame for the frame exchange.