Multi-link traffic indication for buffered traffic
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsVishnu Vardhan Ratnam, Rubayet Shafin, Boon Loong Ng, Peshal Nayak
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wireless communication network includes an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) and a non-AP MLD. An AP of the AP MLD indicates to a STA of a non-AP MLD, which is involved in active frame exchanges, whether there is pending buffered traffic for the non-AP MLD on another link, whether the AP MLD intends to recommend the non-AP MLD to use another link to fetch buffered traffic, and/or whether there is a critical update to the BSS on another link.
Claims18
An access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) associated with a wireless network, the AP MLD comprising:
- a first AP and one or more second APs affiliated with the AP MLD;
- and
- a processor coupled to the first AP and the one or more second APs, the processor configured to:
- perform individually addressed frame exchanges between a first station (STA) affiliated with a non-AP MLD and the first AP affiliated via a first link,
- transmit, to the first STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD via the first link, an individually addressed downlink frame including an indication of a presence of buffered traffic to the non-AP MLD on one or more second links or a link recommendation for the one or more second links to retrieve the buffered traffic, wherein each of the one or more second links is set up between one of the one or more second APs and a corresponding second STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD, wherein the individually addressed downlink frame further includes information indicating an absence of buffered traffic to the non-AP MLD on a third link or information indicating a third STA recommended to not transition to an awake state,
- receive, from a second STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD via a second link, a frame to request transmission of the buffered traffic via the second link, and
- transmit, to the second STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD via the second link, the buffered traffic in response to the frame.
A non-access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) associated with a wireless network, the non-AP MLD comprising:
- a first STA and one or more second STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD;
- and
- a processor coupled to the first STA and the one or more second STAs, the processor configured to:
- perform individually addressed frame exchanges between a first AP affiliated with an AP MLD and the first STA via a first link,
- receive, from the first AP affiliated with the AP MLD via the first link, a individually addressed downlink frame including an indication of a presence of buffered traffic to the non-AP MLD on one or more second links or a link recommendation for the one or more second links to retrieve the buffered traffic, wherein each of the one or more second links is set up between one of the one or more second STAs a corresponding second AP affiliated with the AP MLD, wherein the individually addressed downlink frame further includes information indicating an absence of buffered traffic to the non-AP MLD on a third link or information indicating a third STA recommended to not transition to an awake state,
- transmit, to a second AP affiliated with the AP MLD via a second STA on a second link, a frame to request transmission of the buffered traffic via the second link, and
- receive, from the second AP affiliated with the AP MLD via the second link, the buffered traffic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.