US 12,439,470 B2
Signaling multi-link device capabilities
Binita Gupta, San Diego, CA (US); and Brian D. Hart, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 31, 2025, as Appl. No. 19/043,172.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/549,267, filed on Feb. 2, 2024.
Prior Publication US 2025/0254751 A1, Aug. 7, 2025
Int. Cl. H04W 76/25 (2018.01); H04W 8/22 (2009.01); H04W 76/15 (2018.01)
CPC H04W 76/25 (2018.02) [H04W 8/22 (2013.01); H04W 76/15 (2018.02)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
maintaining, by a non-access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), an association with an AP MLD, the association comprising one or more setup links between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD, each setup link established between an affiliated non-AP station (STA) of the non-AP MLD and an affiliated AP of the AP MLD;
responsive at least to an indication to add a first link to the one or more setup links of the association:
generating, by the non-AP MLD, a link reconfiguration request frame,
wherein the link reconfiguration request frame comprises a reconfiguration multi-link element, the reconfiguration multi-link element including a per-STA profile subelement including data for a first affiliated non-AP STA corresponding to the first link that the non-AP MLD is requesting to add to the one or more setup links;
wherein the reconfiguration multi-link element further comprises a MLD Capabilities and Operations subfield comprising data indicating a first set of capabilities of the non-AP MLD, and an Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations subfield comprising data indicating a second set of capabilities of the non-AP MLD;
transmitting, by the non-AP MLD, the link reconfiguration request frame to the AP MLD using a link of the one or more setup links;
receiving a link reconfiguration response frame from the AP MLD; and
responsive to the link reconfiguration response frame indicating a success, adding the first link to the one or more setup links of the association between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD.