IP Library Granted Patent US 12,520,221
Granted Patent B2
US 12,520,221 · App. 18/332,372 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Signaling for link aggregation setup and reconfiguration

Inventors: Yan Zhou (San Diego, CA); Abhishek Pramod Patil (San Diego, CA); Alfred Asterjadhi (San Diego, CA); Venkata Ramanan Venkatachalam Jayaraman (San Diego, CA); George Cherian (San Diego, CA); Simone Merlin (San Diego, CA)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04W40/02H04B1/0483H04B1/1615H04L1/1621H04L1/1628H04L5/0053H04L45/245H04L65/70H04L67/14H04W28/0215H04W28/0221H04W28/06H04W48/16H04W52/0216H04W52/0229H04W72/542H04W76/14H04W76/15H04L5/0055H04L47/34H04L47/41H04L2101/622H04W8/22H04W84/12H04W88/10Y02D30/70
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,520,221
App. No.
18/332,372
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A wireless device may identify an aggregation capability to communicate in parallel over a plurality of wireless links. The wireless device may in some cases broadcast this aggregation capability (e.g., periodically). Additionally or alternatively, the wireless device may transmit the aggregation capability in response to a request received from another wireless device. In some cases, the first wireless device may transmit a request to a second wireless device inquiring about aggregation capabilities of the second wireless device. The second wireless device may respond with its aggregation capabilities (e.g., or may broadcast its aggregation capabilities independently of receiving the response). The wireless devices may establish a multi-link session based at least in part on the indicated aggregation capabilities.

Claims (82)

1 . An apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory in electronic communication with the processor, the at least one memory storing instructions operable, when executed by the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to:

identify first aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the first wireless device to communicate in parallel over a plurality of wireless links and a first operating mode indicating an association between a first set of one or more traffic identifiers and a first set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

receive second aggregation capability information from a second wireless device, the second aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the second wireless device to communicate in parallel over the plurality of wireless links and a second operating mode indicating an association between a second set of one or more traffic identifiers and a second set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

establish a multi-link session between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based at least in part on the identified first aggregation capability information and the received second aggregation capability information;

communicate, in accordance with the multi-link session, one or more packets with the second wireless device over one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links, the one or more packets associated with the first set of one or more traffic identifiers, the second set of one or more traffic identifiers, or both based at least in part on the first operating mode and the second operating mode.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more packets are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmit a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with the first traffic identifier.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more packets are further-executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmit a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with a second traffic identifier.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify a transmission type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the transmission type comprising broadcast, multicast, or unicast; and

transmit the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as broadcast, or multicast, or a combination thereof, or

transmit the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as unicast.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify a frame type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the frame type comprising data, control, or management; and

transmit the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as data, or

transmit the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as control, or management, or a combination thereof.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless links comprises a channel in a shared radio frequency spectrum band.

7 . A method for wireless communication at a first wireless device, comprising:

identifying first aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the first wireless device to communicate in parallel over a plurality of wireless links and a first operating mode indicating an association between a first set of one or more traffic identifiers and a first set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

receiving second aggregation capability information from a second wireless device, the second aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the second wireless device to communicate in parallel over the plurality of wireless links and a second operating mode indicating an association between a second set of one or more traffic identifiers and a second set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

establishing a multi-link session between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based at least in part on the identified first aggregation capability information and the received second aggregation capability information; and

communicating, in accordance with the multi-link session, one or more packets with the second wireless device over one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links, the one or more packets associated with the first set of one or more traffic identifiers, the second set of one or more traffic identifiers, or both based at least in part on the first operating mode and the second operating mode.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein communicating the one or more packets further comprises:

transmitting a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmitting a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with the first traffic identifier.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein communicating the one or more packets further comprises:

transmitting a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmitting a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with a second traffic identifier.

10 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

identifying a transmission type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the transmission type comprising broadcast, multicast, or unicast; and

transmitting the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as broadcast, or multicast, or a combination thereof, or

transmitting the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as unicast.

11 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

identifying a frame type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the frame type comprising data, control, or management; and

transmitting the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as data, or

transmitting the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as control, or management, or a combination thereof.

12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless links comprises a channel in a shared radio frequency spectrum band.

13 . An apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless device, comprising:

means for identifying first aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the first wireless device to communicate in parallel over a plurality of wireless links and a first operating mode indicating an association between a first set of one or more traffic identifiers and a first set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

means for receiving second aggregation capability information from a second wireless device, the second aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the second wireless device to communicate in parallel over the plurality of wireless links and a second operating mode indicating an association between a second set of one or more traffic identifiers and a second set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

means for establishing a multi-link session between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based at least in part on the identified first aggregation capability information and the received second aggregation capability information; and

means for communicating, in accordance with the multi-link session, one or more packets with the second wireless device over one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links, the one or more packets associated with the first set of one or more traffic identifiers, the second set of one or more traffic identifiers, or both based at least in part on the first operating mode and the second operating mode.

14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the means for communicating the one or more packets further comprise:

means for transmitting a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

means for transmitting a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with the first traffic identifier.

15 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the means for communicating the one or more packets further comprise:

means for transmitting a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

means for transmitting a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with a second traffic identifier.

16 . The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising:

means for identifying a transmission type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the transmission type comprising broadcast, multicast, or unicast; and

means for transmitting the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as broadcast, or multicast, or a combination thereof, or

means for transmitting the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as unicast.

17 . The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising:

means for identifying a frame type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the frame type comprising data, control, or management; and

means for transmitting the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as data, or

means for transmitting the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as control, or management, or a combination thereof.

18 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless links comprises a channel in a shared radio frequency spectrum band.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first wireless device, the code comprising instructions executable by at least one processor to:

identify first aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the first wireless device to communicate in parallel over a plurality of wireless links and a first operating mode indicating an association between a first set of one or more traffic identifiers and a first set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

receive second aggregation capability information from a second wireless device, the second aggregation capability information indicating a capability of the second wireless device to communicate in parallel over the plurality of wireless links and a second operating mode indicating an association between a second set of one or more traffic identifiers and a second set of one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links;

establish a multi-link session between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based at least in part on the identified first aggregation capability information and the received second aggregation capability information;

communicate, in accordance with the multi-link session, one or more packets with the second wireless device over one or more wireless links of the plurality of wireless links, the one or more packets associated with the first set of one or more traffic identifiers, the second set of one or more traffic identifiers, or both based at least in part on the first operating mode and the second operating mode.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more packets are further executable by the at least one processor to:

transmit a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmit a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with the first traffic identifier.

21 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more packets are further executable by the at least one processor to:

transmit a first set of packets to the second wireless device via a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the first set of packets associated with a first traffic identifier; and

transmit a second set of packets to the second wireless device via a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links, the second set of packets associated with a second traffic identifier.

22 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to:

identify a transmission type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the transmission type comprising broadcast, multicast, or unicast; and

transmit the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as broadcast, or multicast, or a combination thereof, or

transmit the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the transmission type for the set of packets as unicast.

23 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to:

identify a frame type for a set of packets to be transmitted to the second wireless device, the frame type comprising data, control, or management; and

transmit the set of packets over a first wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as data, or

transmit the set of packets over a second wireless link of the plurality of wireless links based at least in part on identifying the frame type for the set of packets as control, or management, or a combination thereof.

24 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless links comprises a channel in a shared radio frequency spectrum band.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 9, 2023
From: ZHOU, YAN; PATIL, ABHISHEK PRAMOD; ASTERJADHI, ALFRED; VENKATACHALAM JAYARAMAN, VENKATA RAMANAN; CHERIAN, GEORGE; MERLIN, SIMONE
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 063913/0241 →
Continuity (4)
Division 17072795 · Oct 16, 2020
Division 15870606 · Jan 12, 2018
Provisional Application 62448326 · Jan 19, 2017
Related Publication 20230319676A1 · Oct 5, 2023
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