DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/30/2023 IDS Considered have been placed in record and considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1 , 4-14, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHAFIN et al. ( US 20240064836 A1 ; hereinafter as “ SHAFIN ” , which has priority date October 28, 2022 ) in view of LU et al. ( US 20250098000 A1 ; hereinafter as “ LU ” , which is priority date June 24, 2022 ). Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to SHAFIN unless otherwise mentioned. Regarding claim 1, SHAFIN teaches , A method for dynamic multi-link allocation with independent idle timeout timers (see fig. 3 D where AP MLD 101 are in connection with non AP MLD 111 using Link1, Link2, Link3 :: [0078], fig.4A-4B, Fig. 7, Fig. 11: Fig. 17: non AP MLD are in communication with AP MLD) , comprising: establishing, by a first access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) ( ==AP1 in AP MLD 101 ) , a first link between the first AP MLD and a non-AP MLD ( ==Non AP MLD 111 ) (AP1 in AP MLD has LINK1 connection with Non-AP MLD STA1 as shown in Fig. 3D: “ FIGS. 3 A- 3 D illustrate an example process for a non-AP MLD to request setup of a link with a newly added AP of an AP MLD according to embodiments of the present disclosure ”: [0018]; [0074]-[0078]) ; generating a first idle timeout timer for the first link ( aforesaid AP MLD affiliated AP generate /reconfigure Multi-Link Element including a Per-STA Profile sub-element which include, inter alia, a DELETE TIMER for any link including LINK 1 along with Link ID subfield identifying aforesaid AP of AP MLD: Initial Value of DELETE TIMER is MLD Maximum IDLE Period [0037] ) ; receiving, from the non-AP MLD (==Non AP MLD in Fig. 4) , an indication of one or more links between the non-AP MLD (==Non AP MLD in Fig. 4) and a second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD ) (see fig. 17: element 1705: “ n on-AP MLD generating a capability indication message that indicates that the first STA of the non-AP MLD is capable of automatically re-establishing previously established links upon addition of new APs (==second AP MLD in claim ) to the AP MLD ”: “ The non-AP MLD then transmits the capability indication message to the AP MLD (step 1710 ) ” . {0129]-[0130]) ; and in response to determining that one or more link termination criteria are satisfied with respect to the first link, terminating the first link ( aforesaid “ The Link ID subfield shall identify the AP, the Complete Profile subfield shall be set to 0, the Delete Timer Present subfield shall be set to 1, and the Delete Timer subfield shall be set to the number of target beacon transmission times (TBTTs) of that affiliated AP before it is removed. The initial value of the Delete Timer subfield shall be longer than the MLD max idle period. ” : [0037]; “ AP MLD removes the affiliated AP indicated by the Link ID subfield in the STA Control field of the Per-STA Profile sub-element that includes the Delete Timer subfield. Additionally, the AP MLD shall disassociate a non-AP MLD if the link corresponding to the removed AP is the only setup link between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. ”: [0038]; “ Also at the TBTT indicated by the value of the Delete Timer subfield in transmitted Reconfiguration Multi-Link elements, an associated non-AP MLD shall consider the link corresponding to the removed AP to be nonexistent, and the SME of the affiliated non-AP STA that is associated with the removed affiliated AP shall delete any information maintained for that link. After a non-AP MLD deletes any information maintained for the link corresponding to the removed AP, if there are no other setup links with the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD shall disassociate from the AP MLD ”: [0039] ; “ a non-AP MLD wants to remove or delete a link from the set of links within the setup links that it has established with the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD needs to disassociate with the AP MLD first and then send a new association request with the reduced set of links. ”: [0047] ) , wherein subsequent to terminating the first link, the non-AP MLD continues to exchange data with the second AP MLD using the one or more links ( “ The non-AP MLD then determines to establish a new link between the new AP and the transceiver of a first of the STAs (step 1720 ). The first STA is a STA that is not currently associated with any APs of the AP MLD . If the first message included an indication of a time at which the new AP will be added to the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD may determine to establish the new link at or after the indicated time (==Maximum DELETE TIME) . [0133] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD determines, based on the first message, that the first STA had previously established a link with the new AP (step 1725 ). In that case, the non-AP MLD automatically re-establishes the previously established link as the new link between the first STA and the new AP (step 1730 ). If a previous TID-to-link mapping was applied to the previously established link, then the previous TID-to-link mapping may be applied to the new link . ”: [0132-[0134] ). While SHAFIN teaches, “ receiving, from the non-AP MLD, an indication of one or more links between the non-AP MLD and a second AP MLD ” ; SHAFIN does not expressively disclose: transmitting, to the second AP MLD and from the first AP MLD, an indication of the first link. LU , in the same field of endeavor, discloses: transmitting, to the second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD in fig. 10 ) and from the first AP MLD ( AP1 in AP MLD in Fig. 10 ) , an indication of the first link (transmitted by an AP MLD to Delete an LINK (==an indication of the first link) and Add a NEW LINK: “ A format of a per-STA control field transmitted by the AP MLD is illustrated in FIG. 3 - 2 , which includes a link ID subfield, a complete profile subfield, a new link ID subfield, a delete imminent subfield, and a delete timer subfield. ”: [0058]; “ first MLD transmits a first request frame to the second MLD and/or receives a first response frame transmitted by the second MLD, if the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation. [0090] The first request frame is used for requesting to add the at least one requested link during multi-link reconfiguration, and the first response frame is used for adding the at least one requested link in multi-link reconfiguration. [0091] In embodiments of the disclosure, if the first MLD determines that the link capability of the at least one requested link which is requested for setup is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation of the setup link, in the scenario where the first MLD has completed multi-link setup with the second MLD, the first MLD performs multi-link setup with the second MLD for at least one requested link which passes compatibility authentication, that is, a requested link that is compatible with the link common capability and/or the link common operation of the setup link. [0092] Specifically, after it is determined that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0093] In a possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the link capability of the at least one requested link and the link common capability of the setup link, after determining that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0094] In another possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA and the link common operation, after determining that the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA associated with the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame . ”[0089]-[0094] ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of SHAFIN to include the above recited limitations as taught by LU . The suggestion/motivation would be to perform multi-link reconfiguration as needed to improve performance : ( LU ; [0003]) . Regarding claim 4 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, to the second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD in fig. 10 ) and from the first AP MLD ( AP1 in AP MLD in Fig. 10 ) , , an indication that the first link has been terminated ( “ Embodiments of the present disclosure recognize that the behavior of the non-AP MLD upon receiving the notification from the AP MLD that a new link has been added is not currently clear. Embodiments of the present disclosure further recognize that there is no procedure defined that would enable a non-AP MLD to automatically re-establish a link between a STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD and a newly added AP affiliated with the AP MLD when the link was previously set up between the AP and the non-AP STA before the AP MLD removed (==terminated link) the AP ”: [0040] ) . Regarding claim 5 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the first AP MLD and from the second AP MLD, an indication that the one or more links to the second AP MLD have been terminated ( “ Embodiments of the present disclosure recognize that the behavior of the non-AP MLD upon receiving the notification from the AP MLD that a new link has been added is not currently clear. Embodiments of the present disclosure further recognize that there is no procedure defined that would enable a non-AP MLD to automatically re- establish a link between a STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD and a newly added AP affiliated with the AP MLD when the link was previously set up between the AP and the non-AP STA before the AP MLD removed (==terminated link) the AP ”: [0040] ; “ Embodiments of the present disclosure further recognize that a non-AP MLD may want to disable or delete one or more of the links that the non-AP MLD has established with the AP MLD (e.g., for power saving or measurement purposes). Currently, a non-AP MLD cannot also request link deletion. Instead, if a non-AP MLD wants to remove or delete a link from the set of links within the setup links that it has established with the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD needs to disassociate with the AP MLD first and then send a new association request with the reduced set of links. This disassociation and association take a long time to be effective. ”: [0047] ). Regarding claim 6 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 1, wherein determining that one or more link termination criteria are satisfied with respect to the first link comprises determining that the first idle timeout timer has expired ( “ Also at the TBTT indicated by the value of the Delete Timer subfield in transmitted Reconfiguration Multi-Link elements, an associated non-AP MLD shall consider the link corresponding to the removed AP to be nonexistent, and the SME of the affiliated non-AP STA that is associated with the removed affiliated AP shall delete any information maintained for that link. After a non-AP MLD deletes any information maintained for the link corresponding to the removed AP, if there are no other setup links with the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD shall disassociate from the AP MLD. ”: [0039]) . Regarding claim 7 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 1, wherein determining that one or more link termination criteria are satisfied with respect to the first link comprises determining that the non-AP MLD has requested termination of the first link (“ Also at the TBTT indicated by the value of the Delete Timer subfield in transmitted Reconfiguration Multi-Link elements, an associated non-AP MLD shall consider the link corresponding to the removed AP to be nonexistent, and the SME of the affiliated non-AP STA that is associated with the removed affiliated AP shall delete any information maintained for that link. After a non-AP MLD deletes any information maintained for the link corresponding to the removed AP, if there are no other setup links with the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD shall disassociate from the AP MLD. ”: [0039]; “ a non-AP MLD to automatically re-establish a link between a STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD and a newly added AP affiliated with the AP MLD when the link was previously set up between the AP and the non-AP STA before the AP MLD removed the AP. Such a procedure would reduce the overhead in frame exchanges needed to re-setup links between the newly added AP and the corresponding STAs affiliated with non-AP MLDs. ”:[0040]) . Regarding claim 8 , SHAFIN teaches , A method for idle timeout coordination between wireless access points (see fig. 3 D where AP MLD 101 are in connection with non AP MLD 111 using Link1, Link2, Link3 :: [0078], fig.4A-4B, Fig. 7, Fig. 11: Fig. 17: non AP MLD are in communication with AP MLD) , comprising: establishing, by a first access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) ( ==AP1 in AP MLD 101 ) , a first link between the first AP MLD and a non-AP MLD ( ==Non AP MLD 111 ) (AP1 in AP MLD has LINK1 connection with Non-AP MLD STA1 as shown in Fig. 3D: “ FIGS. 3 A- 3 D illustrate an example process for a non-AP MLD to request setup of a link with a newly added AP of an AP MLD according to embodiments of the present disclosure ”: [0018]; [0074]-[0078]) ; generating a first idle timeout timer for the non-AP MLD with respect to the first AP MLD link ( aforesaid AP MLD affiliated AP generate /reconfigure Multi-Link Element including a Per-STA Profile sub-element which include, inter alia, a DELETE TIMER for any link including LINK 1 along with Link ID subfield identifying aforesaid AP of AP MLD: Initial Value of DELETE TIMER is MLD Maximum IDLE Period [0037] ) ; receiving, from the second AP MLD (==Non AP MLD in Fig. 4) , a second value of a second idle timeout timer associated with the non-AP MLD with respect to the second AP MLD MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD ) (see fig. 17: element 1705: “ n on-AP MLD generating a capability indication message that indicates that the first STA of the non-AP MLD is capable of automatically re-establishing previously established links upon addition of new APs (==second AP MLD in claim ) to the AP MLD ”: “ The non-AP MLD then transmits the capability indication message to the AP MLD (step 1710 ) ” . {0129]-[0130]) ; and in response to determining that the second value is greater than the first value, setting the first idle timeout timer to the second value ( “ The non-AP MLD then determines to establish a new link between the new AP and the transceiver of a first of the STAs (step 1720 ). The first STA is a STA that is not currently associated with any APs of the AP MLD . If the first message included an indication of a time at which the new AP will be added to the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD may determine to establish the new link at or after the indicated time (==Maximum DELETE TIME) . [0133] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD determines, based on the first message, that the first STA had previously established a link with the new AP (step 1725 ). In that case, the non-AP MLD automatically re-establishes the previously established link as the new link between the first STA and the new AP (step 1730 ). If a previous TID-to-link mapping was applied to the previously established link, then the previous TID-to-link mapping may be applied to the new link. ”: [0132-[0134] ). While SHAFIN teaches, “ generating a first idle timeout timer for the non-AP MLD with respect to the first AP MLD link ”; SHAFIN does not expressively disclose: transmitting, to a second AP MLD, a first value of the first idle timeout timer . LU, in the same field of endeavor, discloses: transmitting, to a second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD in fig. 10 ) , a first value of the first idle timeout timer ( “ With regard to removing the affiliated AP, the AP MLD can remove one or more of its affiliated APs. The AP MLD announces removal of any affiliated AP through a reconfiguration multi-link element transmitted in all beacon frames and/or probe response frames of all the affiliated APs, until the affiliated AP has been removed (==first idle timeout timer value ) . For each affiliated AP that the AP MLD intends to remove, the reconfiguration multi-link element includes a per-STA profile subelement , and the subfields of the per-STA control field are set as follows: a link identity (ID) subfield identifies the AP, a complete profile subfield is set to 0, a delete timer present subfield is set to 1, and a delete timer subfield is set to the number of TBTTs of the affiliated AP before the affiliated AP is removed . An initial value of the delete timer subfield shall be longer than an MLD max idle period. T he per-STA profile subelement shall not include an STA profile field. At a TBTT indicated by the delete timer subfield in a transmitted reconfiguration multi-link element, an associated non-AP MLD considers that a link corresponding to the removed AP is nonexistent, and a station management entity (SME) of an affiliated STA associated with the removed affiliated AP shall delete any information maintained for the link. ”: [0056]; transmitted by an AP MLD to Delete an LINK (==an indication of the first link) and Add a NEW LINK: “ A format of a per-STA control field transmitted by the AP MLD is illustrated in FIG. 3 - 2 , which includes a link ID subfield, a complete profile subfield, a new link ID subfield, a delete imminent subfield, and a delete timer subfield. ”: [0058]; “ first MLD transmits a first request frame to the second MLD and/or receives a first response frame transmitted by the second MLD, if the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation. [0090] The first request frame is used for requesting to add the at least one requested link during multi-link reconfiguration, and the first response frame is used for adding the at least one requested link in multi-link reconfiguration. [0091] In embodiments of the disclosure, if the first MLD determines that the link capability of the at least one requested link which is requested for setup is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation of the setup link, in the scenario where the first MLD has completed multi-link setup with the second MLD, the first MLD performs multi-link setup with the second MLD for at least one requested link which passes compatibility authentication, that is, a requested link that is compatible with the link common capability and/or the link common operation of the setup link. [0092] Specifically, after it is determined that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0093] In a possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the link capability of the at least one requested link and the link common capability of the setup link, after determining that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0094] In another possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA and the link common operation, after determining that the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA associated with the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame . ”[0089]-[0094] ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of SHAFIN to include the above recited limitations as taught by LU . The suggestion/motivation would be to perform multi-link reconfiguration as needed to improve performance : ( LU ; [0003]) . Regarding claim 9 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 8 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting, to the second AP MLD, a third value of the first idle timeout timer; receiving, from the second AP MLD, a fourth value of the second idle timeout timer; and in response to determining that the third value is greater than the fourth value, refraining from resetting the first idle timeout timer (“ For each affiliated AP that the AP MLD intends to remove, the Reconfiguration Multi-Link element includes a Per-STA Profile sub-element with the subfields of the Per-STA Control field set as follows : The Link ID subfield shall identify the AP , the Complete Profile subfield shall be set to 0, the Delete Timer Present subfield shall be set to 1 , and the Delete Timer subfield shall be set to the number of target beacon transmission times (TBTTs) (==second idle timeout timer ) of that affiliated AP before it is removed . The initial value of the Delete Timer subfield shall be longer than the MLD max idle period. The Per-STA Profile sub-element shall not include a STA Profile field. ”: [0037]) . Regarding claim 1 0 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 9 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 9, wherein, in response to receiving the third value of the first idle timeout timer and determining that the third value is greater than the fourth value, the second AP MLD sets the second idle timeout timer to the third value (Maximum IDLE period : [0037], ;0056]) . Regarding claim 1 1 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 8 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 8, wherein the first AP MLD periodically exchanges values of the first idle timeout timer with the second AP MLD (All AP in MLD get timeout timer values before removing a LINK: [0037], [0056]) . Regarding claim 1 2 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 8 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting the first value of the first idle timeout timer is performed in response to determining that the first idle timeout timer is within a threshold time from expiring (Maximum IDLE Period has reached: [0037], [0056]; “ According to one embodiment, an AP MLD, before adding a new AP, can announce ahead of time when the new AP is expected to be added. The APs affiliated with the AP MLD can announce the time of new AP addition (e.g., in terms of TBTT) in the Beacons and Probe Response frames the APs transmit. According to one embodiment, the APs affiliated with the AP MLD can start announcing the new AP addition time at least a threshold amount of time before the AP MLD adds the new AP. This may help the non-AP MLDs that intend to establish links with the new AP to better manage traffic. ”:[0088]) . Regarding claim 1 3 , SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 8 as set forth above. Further, SHAFIN teaches , , The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting the first value of the first idle timeout timer is performed in response to receiving the second value of the second idle timeout timer (ADD TIMER and DELETE TIMER: “ ] FIG. 6 illustrates an example format of a Per-STA Profile sub-element 600 of the Basic Multi-Link element for STA-level automatic link re-establishment capability indication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, if the Automatic Link Addition Supported subfield 602 in the STA Control field 604 of a Per-STA Profile sub-element of a Basic Multi-Link element is set to 1, it would indicate that the STA affiliated with the MLD and corresponding to the Per-STA Profile supports automatic link establishment. Otherwise, the STA does not support this feature. [0088] According to one embodiment, an AP MLD, before adding a new AP, can announce ahead of time when the new AP is expected to be added. The APs affiliated with the AP MLD can announce the time of new AP addition (e.g., in terms of TBTT) in the Beacons and Probe Response frames the APs transmit. According to one embodiment, the APs affiliated with the AP MLD can start announcing the new AP addition time at least a threshold amount of time before the AP MLD adds the new AP. This may help the non-AP MLDs that intend to establish links with the new AP to better manage traffic. [0089] According to one embodiment, the APs affiliated with the AP MLD can indicate the time of new AP addition in the Reconfiguration Multi-Link element that the APs transmit in the Beacons and Probe Response frames. For example, the AP addition time can be indicated by introducing an Add Timer subfield in the Reconfiguration Multi-Link element. ”: [0086]-[0088]) . Regarding claim 1 4 , SHAFIN teaches , A system (see fig. 3 D where AP MLD 101 are in connection with non AP MLD 111 using Link1, Link2, Link3 : : [0078], fig.4A-4B, Fig. 7, Fig. 11: Fig. 17: non AP MLD are in communication with AP MLD ) , comprising: one or more computer processors ( see fig. 2A: AP MLD with processors: 0056]-[0056] ) ; and a memory containing a program which when executed by the one or more computer processors performs an operation ( see fig. 2A: AP MLD with memory which in connected to Processors and running programs; : [0054]-0058] ) , the operation comprising: establishing, by a first access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) ( ==AP1 in AP MLD 101 ) , a first link between the first AP MLD and a non-AP MLD ( ==Non AP MLD 111 ) (AP1 in AP MLD has LINK1 connection with Non-AP MLD STA1 as shown in Fig. 3D: “ FIGS. 3 A- 3 D illustrate an example process for a non-AP MLD to request setup of a link with a newly added AP of an AP MLD according to embodiments of the present disclosure ”: [0018]; [0074]-[0078] ) ; generating a first idle timeout timer for the first link ( aforesaid AP MLD affiliated AP generate /reconfigure Multi-Link Element including a Per-STA Profile sub-element which include, inter alia, a DELETE TIMER for any link including LINK 1 along with Link ID subfield identifying aforesaid AP of AP MLD: Initial Value of DELETE TIMER is MLD Maximum IDLE Period [0037] ) ; receiving, from the non-AP MLD (==Non AP MLD in Fig. 4) , an indication of one or more links between the non-AP MLD (==Non AP MLD in Fig. 4) and a second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD ) ( see fig. 17: element 1705: “ n on-AP MLD generating a capability indication message that indicates that the first STA of the non-AP MLD is capable of automatically re-establishing previously established links upon addition of new APs (==second AP MLD in claim ) to the AP MLD ”: “ The non-AP MLD then transmits the capability indication message to the AP MLD (step 1710 ) ” . {0129]-[0130] ) ; and in response to determining that one or more link termination criteria are satisfied with respect to the first link, terminating the first link, wherein subsequent to terminating the first link, the non-AP MLD continues to exchange data with the second AP MLD using the one or more links ( “ The non-AP MLD then determines to establish a new link between the new AP and the transceiver of a first of the STAs (step 1720 ). The first STA is a STA that is not currently associated with any APs of the AP MLD . If the first message included an indication of a time at which the new AP will be added to the AP MLD, then the non-AP MLD may determine to establish the new link at or after the indicated time (==Maximum DELETE TIME) . [0133] In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD determines, based on the first message, that the first STA had previously established a link with the new AP (step 1725 ). In that case, the non-AP MLD automatically re-establishes the previously established link as the new link between the first STA and the new AP (step 1730 ). If a previous TID-to-link mapping was applied to the previously established link, then the previous TID-to-link mapping may be applied to the new link. ”: [0132-[0134] ) . While SHAFIN teaches, “ receiving, from the non-AP MLD, an indication of one or more links between the non-AP MLD and a second AP MLD ” ; SHAFIN does not expressively disclose: transmitting, to the second AP MLD and from the first AP MLD , an indication of the first link. LU , in the same field of endeavor, discloses: transmitting, to the second AP MLD ( ==AP2 in AP MLD in fig. 10 ) and from the first AP MLD ( AP1 in AP MLD in Fig. 10 ) , an indication of the first link (transmitted by an AP MLD to Delete an LINK (==an indication of the first link) and Add a NEW LINK: “ A format of a per-STA control field transmitted by the AP MLD is illustrated in FIG. 3 - 2 , which includes a link ID subfield, a complete profile subfield, a new link ID subfield, a delete imminent subfield, and a delete timer subfield. ”: [0058]; “ first MLD transmits a first request frame to the second MLD and/or receives a first response frame transmitted by the second MLD, if the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation. [0090] The first request frame is used for requesting to add the at least one requested link during multi-link reconfiguration, and the first response frame is used for adding the at least one requested link in multi-link reconfiguration. [0091] In embodiments of the disclosure, if the first MLD determines that the link capability of the at least one requested link which is requested for setup is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation of the setup link, in the scenario where the first MLD has completed multi-link setup with the second MLD, the first MLD performs multi-link setup with the second MLD for at least one requested link which passes compatibility authentication, that is, a requested link that is compatible with the link common capability and/or the link common operation of the setup link. [0092] Specifically, after it is determined that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability and/or the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0093] In a possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the link capability of the at least one requested link and the link common capability of the setup link, after determining that the link capability of the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common capability of the setup link, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame. [0094] In another possible implementation, if the first MLD only needs to authenticate compatibility between the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA and the link common operation, after determining that the operational requirement of the at least one first affiliated STA associated with the at least one requested link is compatible with the link common operation, the first MLD can negotiate with the second MLD to set up the at least one requested link through exchange of the first request frame and the first response frame . ”[0089]-[0094] ) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of SHAFIN to include the above recited limitations as taught by LU . The suggestion/motivation would be to perform multi-link reconfiguration as needed to improve performance : ( LU ; [ 0003 ]) . Regarding claim 17 , the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 4 . Regarding claim 18 , the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 5 . Regarding claim 19 , the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 6 . Regarding claim 20 , the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 7 . Claims 2-3 , 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHAFIN et al. ( US 20240064836 A1 ; hereinafter as “ SHAFIN ”) in view of LU et al. ( US 20250098000 A1 ; hereinafter as “ LU ” , which is priority date June 24, 2022 ) and further in view of KIM et al. ( US 20240422658 A1 ; hereinafter as “ KIM ”) . Regarding claim 2, SHAFIN in view of LU teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. SHAFIN in view of LU do not expressively disclose: The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishing, by the first AP MLD, a second link between the first do AP MLD and the non-AP MLD; and generating a second idle timeout timer for the second link. KIM , in the same field of endeavor, discloses: The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishing, by the first AP MLD, a second link between the first do AP MLD and the non-AP MLD ; and generating a second idle timeout timer for the second link (see fig. 25: “ Referring to FIG. 25 , a non-AP STA included in a non-AP MLD may receive a frame for channel switching from a first access point (AP) of an AP MLD including at least one AP in operation S 25010 . ”: [0482]; first AP MLD switches from first channel to second AP; maximum time duration for this channel switch: [0482]-[0487] ; “ Given that the STAs of the non-AP MLD perform a power save operation (specifically, maintaining a doze state) for non-AP STAs operated in the non-primary link, the NSTR soft AP MLD may transmit an assistance frame in the non-primary link when channel switching of the primary link/quiet interval is terminated (completed). In this instance, the assistance frame may be transmitted in order to induce (assist) releasing (reset) of a NAVSyncDelay timer that starts after the non-AP STAs of the non-primary link are switched to an awake state. In this instance, the assistance frame may be transmitted at a basic rate. In this instance, the assistance frame may be a frame transmitted simultaneously when a beacon frame of the primary link is transmitted. In this instance, the NAVSyncDelay timer may be a timer related to a time at which an STA that is switched from a doze state to an awake state needs to perform CCA for configuring a NAV. [0320] The non-AP STA MLD having received the first and/or the second beacon frame through the primary link may identify the quiet element included in the per-STA profile (corresponding to AP 2 ) of the beacon frame, and may recognize that a quiet interval is configured (announced by the AP MLD) in the non-primary link and the quiet interval (quiet interval # 1 of FIG. 18 ) starts from a time point after “x” TUs from a TBTT corresponding to a third beacon frame. ”: [0316]-[0320] ) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of SHAFIN , LU to include the above recited limitations as taught by KIM . The suggestion/motivation would be to i ncrease spatial stream, multi-AP cooperation, and the like in a 2.4/5/6 GHz band : ( KIM ; [ 0007 ]) . Regarding claim 3, SHAFIN in view of LU , KIM teaches the invention of claim 2 as set forth above. Further, KIM teaches, The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting, to the second AP MLD and from the first AP MLD, an indication of the second link (see fig. 22 where channel switching from L1 to L2 “ r eferring to FIG. 22 , a non-AP MLD that performs multi-link setup with an AP MLD may be switched to an EMLSR mode in order to eliminate an NSTR link pair generated as a result of channel switching.”: [0366] -[0368 ) . Regarding claim s 15-16 , the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 2-3 . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT M MOSTAZIR RAHMAN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-4785 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 8:30am-5:00pm PST . 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Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /M Mostazir Rahman/ Examiner, Art Unit 2411 /DERRICK W FERRIS/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411