Apparatus, system, and method of multi-link traffic indication map (TIM)
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsMinyoung Park, Laurent Cariou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
For example, a beacon, e.g., which may be communicated from an Access point (AP) Multi-Link Device (MLD) to a non-AP MLD, may be configured according to a multi-link Traffic Indication Map (TIM) mechanism. For example, the beacon may include a TIM bitmap including a bit set to “1” to indicate buffered traffic for the non-AP MLD. For example, the beacon may include a link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD. For example, the link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD may include a plurality of bits corresponding to a respective plurality of links for the non-AP MLD. For example, a bit in the link bitmap may be set to “1” to indicate a link for retrieving one or more buffered Bufferable Units (BUs) for the non-AP MLD.
Claims16
An apparatus comprising:
- a processor configured to cause an Access Point (AP) Multi-Link Device (MLD) to:
- set to “1” a bit in a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) bitmap to indicate buffered traffic for a non-AP MLD;
- set a link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD, the link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD comprising a plurality of bits corresponding to a respective plurality of links for the non-AP MLD, wherein a bit in the link bitmap is set to “1” to indicate a link corresponding to the bit for retrieving one or more buffered Bufferable Units (BUs) for the non-AP MLD, wherein the processor is configured to cause the AP MLD to set the bit in the link bitmap to “1” to provide a first indication in case of making a first determination and to provide a second indication in case of making a second determination, wherein the first determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD has negotiated a Traffic Identifier (TID) to link (TID-to-link) mapping, and the first indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the one or more buffered BUs have a TID mapped to the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap, wherein the second determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD is at a default TID-to-link mapping, and the second indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap is recommended for retrieving the one or more buffered BUs for the non-AP MLD;
- and
- transmit a beacon comprising the TIM bitmap and the link bitmap;
- and
- a memory to store information processed by the processor.
A product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprising instructions operable to, when executed by at least one processor, enable the at least one processor to cause an Access Point (AP) Multi-Link Device (MLD) to:
- set to “1” a bit in a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) bitmap to indicate buffered traffic for a non-AP MLD;
- set a link bitmap corresponding to the non-APMLD, the link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD comprising a plurality of bits corresponding to a respective plurality of links for the non-AP MLD, wherein a bit in the link bitmap is set to “1” to indicate a link corresponding to the bit for retrieving one or more buffered Bufferable Units (BUs) for the non-AP MLD, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the AP MLD to set the bit in the link bitmap to “1” to provide a first indication in case of making a first determination and to provide a second indication in case of making a second determination, wherein the first determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD has negotiated a Traffic Identifier (TID) to link (TID-to-link) mapping, and the first indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the one or more buffered BUs have a TID mapped to the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap, wherein the second determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD is at a default TID-to-link mapping, and the second indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap is recommended for retrieving the one or more buffered BUs for the non-AP MLD;
- and
- transmit a beacon comprising the TIM bitmap and the link bitmap.
An apparatus for an Access Point (AP) Multi-Link Device (MLD), the apparatus comprising:
- means for setting to “1” a bit in a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) bitmap to indicate buffered traffic for a non-AP MLD;
- means for setting a link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD, the link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD comprising a plurality of bits corresponding to a respective plurality of links for the non-AP MLD, wherein a bit in the link bitmap is set to “1” to indicate a link corresponding to the bit for retrieving one or more buffered Bufferable Units (BUs) for the non-AP MLD, wherein the means for setting the link bitmap corresponding to the non-AP MLD is configured to set the bit in the link bitmap to “1” to provide a first indication in case of making a first determination and to provide a second indication in case of making a second determination, wherein the first determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD has negotiated a Traffic Identifier (TID) to link (TID-to-link) mapping and the first indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the one or more buffered BUs have a TID mapped to the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap, wherein the second determination comprises a determination that the non-AP MLD is at a default TID-to-link mapping, and the second indication is to indicate to the non-AP MLD that the link corresponding to the bit in the link bitmap is recommended for retrieving the one or more buffered BUs for the non-AP MLD;
- and
- means for causing the AP MLD to transmit a beacon comprising the TIM bitmap and the link bitmap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.