Method and apparatus for sounding interval adaptation

Abstract

A method for using link quality to adapt probe interval is provided for use in a device. The device comprises a probe transceiver. The method comprises the following steps: periodically sending a probe packet to a beamforming object through a downlink channel from the device to the beamforming object using a first probe interval; obtaining a current first channel estimation content from a channel report packet in response to the probe packet, and calculating a first link quality (LQ) value of the beamforming object and a previous first channel estimation content using the current first channel estimation content in response to the probe transceiver successfully receiving the channel report packet from the beamforming object; searching an LQ-mapping table using the first LQ value to obtain a second probe interval; adaptively adjusting the first probe interval using the second probe interval in response to a comparison result of the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content.

Description

[0001] Related references

[0002] This application claims priority to application No. 63 / 003,357, filed April 1, 2020. The entire contents of the above-referenced U.S. provisional application are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and multiple-input single output (MISO) systems, and in particular to a device and method for detecting interval adaptation. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems that involve using transmitters and receivers with multiple antennas are called Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. They provide higher peak data rates, spectral efficiency, and quality of service by using multiple parallel data streams.

[0005] Compared with other wireless technologies, MIMO can achieve substantial benefits in system capacity and transmission reliability without increasing spectrum resources.

[0006] Due to the complexity associated with providing multiple transmission streams with adjusted phases and amplitudes, MIMO systems rely on having accurate current channel state information (CSI) or beamforming feedback information. In a beamforming system, the channel can be estimated using a sounding protocol. By sending a known information pattern, the signal characteristics appearing at the receiver can be used to determine the CSI or beamforming feedback information, which is then fed back to the transmitter (e.g., an access point or beamformer). However, due to the motion of the receiver (e.g., a station or beamforming object) or surrounding objects in the environment, the CSI or beamforming feedback information of the channel may change rapidly, and the Doppler effect can affect the performance of the beamforming. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to adaptively adjust the sounding interval to help with Doppler compensation, thereby improving the performance of the beamforming. Summary of the Invention

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for adaptive sounding intervals. The apparatus includes a mobility processor, a sounding transceiver, a sounding-control circuit, and a mobility-calculation circuit. The sounding transceiver is configured to periodically send sounding packets to a beamforming object via a downlink channel from the apparatus to the beamforming object using a first sounding interval. The sounding-control circuit is configured to control the first sounding interval in response to a control signal from the mobility processor. In response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving a channel report packet in response to a sounding packet from the beamforming object, the mobility-calculation circuit obtains a current first channel estimation from the channel report packet and calculates a first link quality (LQ) value of the beamforming object using the current first channel estimation and a previous first channel estimation. The mobility processor uses the first LQ value to search an LQ-mapping table to obtain a second sounding interval, and adaptively adjusts the first sounding interval using the second sounding interval based on a comparison result of the current first channel estimation with the previous first channel estimation.

[0008] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sounding interval adaptation for use in an apparatus. The apparatus includes a sounding transceiver. The method includes the following steps: using a first sounding interval, periodically sending a sounding packet to the beamforming object via a downlink channel from the apparatus to the beamforming object; in response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving a channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object, obtaining a current first channel estimation content from the channel report packet, and calculating a first LQ value of the beamforming object using the first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content; using the first LQ value to search an LQ-mapping table to obtain a second sounding interval; and in response to a comparison result of the current first channel estimation content with the previous first channel estimation content, adaptively adjusting the first sounding interval. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The present invention may be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description and examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a wireless local area network (WLAN) according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0011] Figure 2A Show the basis Figure 1 A block diagram of a beamformer of an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2B A histogram showing LQ values ​​and moving speeds of beamforming objects according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2C Show the basis Figure 1 1. Block diagram of mobility-computing circuit 140 of an embodiment of FIG.

[0014] Figure 2D Shown in accordance with Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram of a ping-pong scheme used in a mobility-computing circuit of an embodiment of FIG.

[0015] Figure 3A A schematic diagram illustrating the correlation between LQ and estimated content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3B A diagram showing the relationship between mobility and LQ in an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0017] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for sounding interval adaptation using LQ according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and is not to be construed in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

[0019] The following description is intended to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the embodiments and general principles and features described herein will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a wireless local area network (WLAN) according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0021] The WLAN 100 may include a beamformer 102 and one or more beamforming objects 104, wherein the beamforming objects 104 may be all or some of the beamforming objects within range of the beamformer 102. In one embodiment, the beamformer 102 may be a central wireless router, and the beamforming objects 104 may include laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, etc. Although Figure 1 While one beamformer 102 and two beamforming objects 104 are shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there can be any number of beamformers and any number of beamforming objects and that such numbers would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0022] In some embodiments, beamformer 102 maintains WLAN 100 by associating and authenticating new WLAN devices, such as beamforming subjects 104, and by coordinating transmissions based on the time and bandwidth required by beamforming subjects 104. In one embodiment, beamforming subjects 104 improve network efficiency by enabling beamformer 102 to transmit data to multiple beamforming subjects 104 simultaneously using advanced SU beamforming and multi-user (MU) MIMO techniques.

[0023] Figure 2A Show the basis Figure 1 Please also refer to the block diagram of the beamformer 102 of the embodiment of FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 2A .

[0024] For ease of description, Figure 2A A beamforming object 104 is shown. The beamformer 102 may include a mobility processor 110, a sounding transceiver 120, a sounding-control circuit 130, a mobility-computation circuit 140, and a receiver 150. The mobility processor 110 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), or a microcontroller, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0025] The sounding transceiver 120 may include multiple antennas (not shown) capable of transmitting wireless signals to and receiving wireless signals from the beamforming object 104. The sounding-control circuit 130 may control the sounding interval used by the sounding transceiver 120 to periodically sound the channel. The mobility-calculation circuit 140 may be configured to calculate link quality (LQ) based on the CSI received at different times, where the calculated LQ may be considered as a mobility indicator of the beamforming object 104. The receiver 150 may include one or more antennas capable of receiving uplink data packets from the beamforming object 104, and the receiver 150 may estimate channel state information of the uplink channel from the beamforming object 104 to the beamformer 102. In some embodiments, the receiver 150 may be referred to as an implicit beamformee.

[0026] In one embodiment, it is assumed that a connection between the beamformer 102 and one of the plurality of beamforming objects 104 has been established, such as Figure 2AAs shown. The beamformer 102 may periodically sound the channel (i.e., send a sounding packet) using a sounding interval Δt. The sounding operation may be performed in the form of a null data packet announcement (NDPA) and a null data packet. For example, if the beamforming object 104 supports beamforming or MUMIMO, the beamformer 102 may perform a sounding operation by triggering sounding. If the beamformer 102 does not receive a channel report packet at time t+Δt, the sounding operation may be performed by the beamformer 102 without receiving a sounding channel report packet.

[0027] Beamformer 102 may request downlink (DL) channel state information (CSI) from beamforming object 104 by sending a sounding packet to beamforming object 104. In response to receiving the sounding packet from beamformer 102 at time t, beamforming object 104 may send a channel report packet back to beamformer 102, which includes the CSI at time t. Similarly, beamformer 102 may sound the channel between beamformer 102 and beamforming object 104 at time t+Δt. In response to the sounding from beamformer 102 at time t+Δt, beamforming object 104 may send another channel report packet back to beamformer 102, which includes the CSI at time t+Δt, and so on.

[0028] Specifically, the CSI in the channel report packet at time t may include, for example, φ i (t), ψ i (t), SNR avg (t), ΔSNR i (t) and other channel parameters, which are defined in 802.11 and are well known to those skilled in the art. Similarly, the CSI in the channel report packet at time t+Δt may include φ i (t+Δt), ψ i (t+Δt), SNR avg (t+Δt), ΔSNR i (t+Δt) and other channel parameters. It should be noted that the above CSI at time t and t+Δt is specific to the channel between the beamforming object 104 (i.e., a single user) and the beamformer 102. In some embodiments, the CSI obtained by the beamformer 102 from each beamforming object 104 can be referred to as the "channel estimate content" of the single user.

[0029] In one embodiment, the mobility-calculation circuit 140 can use the CSI reported from the beamforming object 104 to calculate the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the channel between the beamforming object 104 and the beamformer 102. For example, the SINR of the channel can be expressed as equation (1):

[0030]

[0031] Where S represents the power of the input signal of interest (e.g., a probe packet); I represents the estimation content correlation between the current channel estimation content and the previous channel estimation content; and N represents some noise terms.

[0032] In addition, LQ can be expressed as a function of SINR, such as Assuming that the parameters S and N are known from CSI, the higher the estimated content relevance, the smaller the LQ. Figure 3A As shown, the lower the estimated content relevance, the greater the LQ.

[0033] In addition, if the LQ value is smaller, it may indicate that the channel state remains unchanged and the corresponding beamforming object 104 has lower mobility. If the LQ value is larger, it may indicate that the channel state changes more and the corresponding beamforming object 104 has higher mobility, such as Figure 3B shown.

[0034] Figure 2B A histogram showing LQ values ​​and moving speeds of beamforming objects according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Since the relationship between LQ value and mobility is Figure 3B It is known that Figure 2B As shown, through multiple tests, a histogram of the relationship between the LQ value, the moving speed of the beamforming object, and the corresponding detection interval can be obtained. For example, when the moving speed (i.e., Doppler velocity) of the beamforming object 104 is 0.05 km / h, the LQ value is approximately close to 0 when the detection interval is 100 ms, and the LQ value is approximately in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 when the detection interval is 50 milliseconds. When the moving speed of the beamforming object 104 is 0.15 km / h, the LQ value is approximately in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 when the detection interval is 25 ms. When the moving speed of the beamforming object 104 is 0.3 km / h, the LQ value is approximately in the range of 0.6 to 1 when the detection interval is 10 ms. Please note that the moving speed of the beamforming object 104 can also be regarded as the relative moving speed of some objects in the environment, and the corresponding scenario is similar or equivalent to the above description.

[0036] Therefore, based on Figure 2B The relationship between the LQ value, the sounding interval of the beamformer 102, and the moving speed of the beamformed object 104 is shown in FIG. 1 . The LQ value can be used as a mobility indicator to adaptively adjust the sounding interval used by the beamformer 102. The details of obtaining the LQ value can be referred to as follows: Figure 2C and 2D Example of .

[0037] Figure 2C Show the basis Figure 2A 1. Block diagram of mobility-computing circuit 140 of an embodiment of FIG. Figure 2D Shown in accordance with Figure 2C FIGURE 1 shows a diagram of a ping-pong scheme used in the mobility-computation circuit 140 of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A and Figures 2C-2D .

[0038] In one embodiment, the mobility-calculation circuit 140 may include volatile memories 141 and 142, an SINR calculator 143, and an LQ calculator 144. The volatile memories 141 and 142 may be implemented by static random access memory (SRAM) or register files, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The volatile memories 141 and 142 may be configured to store data at different times (e.g., two consecutive sounding times), such as time t1 and t2, time t3 and t2, and so on. The SINR calculator 143 may be configured to calculate the SINR of the downlink channel from the beamformer 102 to the beamforming target 104 based on the CSI at different times stored in the volatile memories 141 and 142.

[0039] It is assumed that the volatile memories 141 and 142 are empty before the beamformer 102 performs the sounding operation. As described in the above embodiment, the CSI (ie, channel estimation content) in the channel report packet at time t1 may include, for example, φ i (t1),ψ i (t1), SNR avg (t1), ΔSNR i (t1) and other channel parameters. These channel parameters of the downlink channel at time t1 are stored in the volatile memory 141, as shown in FIG. Figure 2D Similarly, the CSI in the channel report packet at time t2 after time t1 may include, for example, φ i (t2), ψ i (t2), SNR avg (t2), SNR iSince the volatile memory 142 is empty at this time, these channel parameters of the downlink channel at time t2 are stored in the volatile memory 142. The CSI in the channel report packet at time t3 after time t2 may include, for example, φ i (t3), ψ i (t3), SNR avg (t3), ΔSNR i (t3) etc. The contents stored in the volatile memory 141 are overwritten with these channel parameters of the downlink channel at time t3 because the volatile memory 141 previously stored the most outdated channel estimation contents at time t1.

[0040] Specifically, the memory overwrite operation may follow a ping-pong scheme, wherein the volatile memory (i.e., volatile memory 141 or 142) storing the most outdated channel estimation content is overwritten by the channel estimation content received in another manner. Therefore, based on the channel estimation content stored in volatile memories 141 and 142, SINR calculator 143 may calculate the SINR of the downlink channel, and LQ calculator 144 may map the calculated SINR to the LQ using a prebuilt mapping table stored in non-volatile memory, which records the mapping relationship between SINR and LQ. LQ calculator 144 may send the LQ to mobility processor 110.

[0041] For example, singular value decomposition (SVD) can be applied to a dataset of size N r ×N t The estimated channel matrix H i (t), where N r N represents the number of receiving antennas of the beamforming object 104. t represents the number of transmit antennas of the sounding transceiver 120. Therefore, the estimated channel matrix H i (t) can be expressed by equation (2):

[0042] H i (t)=Σ i (t)V i (t) H (2)

[0043] Where V i (t) H It means that the channel parameter φ i (t) and ψ i (t) the derived right singular matrix; and Σ i(t) represents the sum of the singular values. Similarly, the estimated channel matrix H i (t+Δt) can be expressed by equation (3):

[0044] H i (t+Δt)=Σ i (t+Δt)V i (t+Δt) H (3)

[0045] If time t represents time t1, time t+Δt may represent time t2. If time t represents time t2, time t+Δt may represent time t3. Therefore, the SINR calculator 143 may use the channel matrix H estimated at time t1. i ( t1 ) (ie, the channel estimation content 1411 stored in the volatile memory 141 ) to calculate SINR1, and the LQ calculator 144 may map SINR1 to LQ1 using a pre-built mapping table.

[0046] Similarly, at time t2, the SINR calculator 143 may use the estimated channel matrix H at time t1. i (t1) (i.e., the channel estimation content 1411 stored in the volatile memory 141) and the estimated channel matrix H at time t2 i (t2) (i.e., the channel estimation content 1421 stored in the volatile memory 142) calculates SINR2, and the LQ calculator 144 can map SINR2 to LQ2 using a pre-built mapping table. At time t3, the SINR calculator 143 can use the estimated channel matrix H at time t2 i (t2) (i.e., the channel estimation content 1421 stored in the volatile memory 142) and the estimated channel matrix H at time t3 i (t3) (ie, the channel estimation content 1411 stored in the volatile memory 141) calculates SINR3, and the LQ calculator 144 may map SINR3 to LQ3 using a pre-built mapping table.

[0047] The mobility processor 110 may obtain the LQ value generated by the mobility calculation circuit 140 and determine whether to adjust the current sounding interval based on the obtained LQ value. For example, the mobility processor 110 may search an LQ-mapping table that records the relationship between LQ values ​​and sounding intervals and use the obtained LQ value to obtain the most appropriate sounding interval for the current time. If the obtained sounding interval is shorter than the current sounding interval by more than a predetermined ratio (e.g., but not limited to, half (50%)), the mobility processor 110 may control the sounding transceiver 120 to immediately perform a sounding operation because the estimated mobility of the beamforming object 104 at the current time may have become much higher than the previously estimated mobility. If the obtained sounding interval is shorter than the current sounding interval by no more than a predetermined ratio (e.g., but not limited to, half (50%)), the mobility processor 110 may notify the sounding-control circuit 130 to update the current sounding interval using the obtained sounding interval. In one embodiment, if the obtained probing interval is 10% of the current probing interval (i.e., the obtained probing interval is 90% shorter than the current interval), the mobility processor 110 may control the probing transceiver 120 to immediately perform a probing operation. If the obtained probing interval is 60% of the current probing interval (i.e., the obtained probing interval is 40% shorter than the current interval), the mobility processor 110 may notify the probing-control circuit 130 to update the current probing interval using the obtained probing interval. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the above values ​​of 10%, 90%, and 50% are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting in any way.

[0048] Now follow Figure 2A Receiver 150 may include one or more antennas capable of receiving uplink data packets from beamforming object 104, and receiver 150 may estimate channel state information (e.g., channel estimation content) of the uplink channel from beamforming object 104 to beamformer 102. Assuming that the channel states of the uplink channel and the downlink channel are reciprocal, the estimated CSI of the uplink channel may be used as the estimated CSI of the downlink channel in some cases.

[0049] For example, if the beamformed object 104 does not respond to the beamformer 102 with a channel report packet after the beamformer 102 performs the sounding operation, the sounding transceiver 120 cannot obtain CSI regarding the downlink channel. In this case, the estimated CSI of the uplink channel will be used by the mobility-calculation circuit 140 to generate the LQ. In addition, if the beamformer 102 does not receive the channel report packet at time t+Δt, it means that the beamformer 102 performed the sounding operation without receiving the channel report packet. In this case, the estimated CSI of the estimated uplink channel at time t and time t+Δt is also used by the mobility-calculation circuit 140 to generate the LQ. In the aforementioned ping-pong scheme, the estimated CSI of the uplink channel at the current time is written to the volatile memory 141 or the volatile memory 142, where the volatile memory storing the most outdated channel estimate content is overwritten with the estimated CSI of the uplink channel at the current time (i.e., the current second channel estimate content).

[0050] It should be noted that the CSI estimation of the uplink channel by the receiver 150 and the CSI estimation of the downlink channel by the beamforming object 104 can be performed simultaneously and in parallel. When the sounding transceiver 120 and the receiver 150 obtain estimated CSI for the downlink channel and the uplink channel, respectively, the estimated CSI for the downlink channel has a higher priority than the estimated CSI for the uplink channel for use by the mobility-calculation circuit 140. If the estimated CSI for the downlink channel is not available, the estimated CSI for the uplink channel will be used by the mobility-calculation circuit 140.

[0051] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a method for detecting interval adaptation using LQ according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A and Figure 4 .

[0052] In step S402, after beamformer 102 has performed a sounding operation, mobility processor 110 determines whether beamformer 102 has received a channel report packet from beamformer 104 (e.g., within a predetermined time period). If it is determined that a channel report packet has been received, step S406 is performed. If it is determined that a channel report packet has not been received, step S404 is performed. For example, sounding-control circuit 130 may perform a sounding operation using a first sounding interval.

[0053] In step S404, the mobility processor 110 determines whether the beamformer 102 receives an uplink data packet from the beamforming target 104. If it is determined that the uplink data packet is received, step S408 is executed. If it is determined that the uplink data packet is not received, step S402 is restarted.

[0054] In step S406, the current first channel estimation content is obtained from the received channel report packet. For example, when the sounding packet is transmitted by the sounding transceiver 120, the channel report packet from the beamforming object 104 may include the channel parameters of the downlink channel at time (e.g., time t as the current time). The channel parameters may include φ i (t), ψ i (t), SNRavg(t), ΔSNR i (t), can be collectively referred to as channel estimation content.

[0055] In step S408, the receiver (i.e., implicit beamforming object) 150 estimates the current second channel estimate content of the uplink channel. Assuming that the channel states of the uplink channel and the downlink channel are reciprocal, the estimated CSI of the uplink channel can be used as the estimated CSI of the downlink channel in some cases, such as when the beamforming object 104 does not respond to the channel report packet to the beamformer 102. It should be noted that if the judgment result of step S402 is "yes", step S404 is also performed to determine whether the beamformer 102 has received an uplink data packet from the beamformer 104. If the judgment result of step S404 is still "yes", the receiver 150 will estimate the second estimate content of the uplink channel. In other words, steps S406 and S408 can be performed in parallel.

[0056] In step S410, the mobility-calculation circuit 140 calculates a first LQ value based on the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content. For example, in a ping-pong scheme, the current first channel estimation content (e.g., at time t) and the previous first channel file (e.g., at time t-Δt) will be stored in the volatile memories 141 and 142, as shown in FIG. Figures 2C-2D As described in the embodiments.

[0057] In step S412, the mobility-calculation circuit 140 calculates the second LQ value based on the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content. For example, in a ping-pong scheme, the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content will be stored in the volatile memories 141 and 142, such as Figures 2C-2DAs described in the embodiment of . In addition, the first channel estimation content of the downlink channel has a higher priority than the second channel estimation content of the uplink channel. For example, in response to the sounding transceiver 120 successfully receiving a channel report packet from the beamforming object 104 at time t+Δt (i.e., within a predetermined time period after the sounding packet is sent), the mobility-calculation circuit 140 will use the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content to calculate the first LQ value. In response to the sounding transceiver 120 failing to receive a channel report packet from the beamforming object 104 at time t+Δt (i.e., within a predetermined time period after the sounding packet is sent), the mobility-calculation circuit 140 will use the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content to calculate the second LQ value.

[0058] In step S414, the mobility processor 110 uses the first LQ value or the second LQ value to search the LQ-mapping table to obtain the second probing interval. For example, the LQ-mapping table records the relationship between the LQ value and the probing interval, such as Figure 2B As described in the embodiment. If the LQ value becomes higher, it indicates that the corresponding mobility of the beamforming object 104 may become higher. Therefore, the beamformer 102 may shorten the sounding interval to match the moving speed (i.e., Doppler speed) of the beamforming object 104. Conversely, if the LQ value becomes lower, it indicates that the corresponding mobility of the beamformer may become lower. Therefore, the beamformer 102 may increase or maintain the sounding interval to match the moving speed of the beamforming object 104.

[0059] In step S416, the mobility processor 110 determines whether the ratio by which the second probing interval is shorter than the first probing interval exceeds a predetermined ratio. If it is determined that the ratio by which the second probing interval is shorter than the first probing interval exceeds a predetermined ratio (e.g., but not limited to, half (50%)), step S418 is executed. If it is determined that the ratio by which the second probing interval is shorter than the first probing interval does not exceed the predetermined ratio, step S420 is executed.

[0060] In step S418, mobility processor 110 controls sounding transceiver 120 to immediately perform a sounding operation. For example, if the ratio by which the second sounding interval is shorter than the first sounding interval exceeds a predetermined ratio, this may indicate that the estimated mobility of beamforming target 104 at the current time may be significantly higher than the previously estimated mobility. Therefore, mobility processor 110 may control sounding transceiver 120 to immediately perform a sounding operation to update the channel state information.

[0061] In step S420, the mobility processor 110 controls the probing-control circuit 130 (e.g., via a control signal) to update the first probing interval with the second probing interval. For example, the probing transceiver 120 may wait until the current probing interval (i.e., the first probing interval) ends and perform a probing operation in the next probing interval using the updated probing interval (i.e., the second probing interval).

[0062] In one embodiment, if the second probing interval is 10% of the first probing interval (i.e., the second probing interval is 90% shorter than the first interval), the mobility processor 110 may control the probing transceiver 120 to immediately perform a probing operation. If the second probing interval is 60% of the first probing interval (i.e., the second probing interval is 40% shorter than the first interval), the mobility processor 110 may notify the probing-control circuit 130 to update the first probing interval with the second probing interval. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the above values ​​of 10%, 90%, and 50% are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting in any way.

[0063] In view of the above, an apparatus and method for link quality-based sounding interval adaptation are disclosed. The apparatus and method can rapidly determine the mobility of a beamforming target using a channel report packet or an LQ value of an uplink data packet from the beamforming target, thereby adaptively adjusting the sounding interval to match the moving speed of the beamforming target, thereby facilitating Doppler compensation.

[0064] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in the form of a fully hardware implementation, a fully software implementation, or an implementation containing hardware and software elements. The embodiments may be implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to application software, firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.

[0065] The steps described herein may be implemented using any suitable controller or processor and a software application, which may be stored on any suitable storage location or computer-readable medium. The software application provides instructions that enable the processor to cause the receiver to perform the functions described herein.

[0066] Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium that provides program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0067] The medium can be electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, a semiconductor system (or apparatus or device), or a propagation medium. Examples of computer-readable media include semiconductor or solid-state memory, magnetic tape, removable computer diskettes, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disks, and optical disks. Current examples of optical disks include DVDs, compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM), and compact disk-read / write (CD-R / W).

[0068] Although the present invention has been described by way of examples and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (which are obvious to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation so as to cover all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims

1. A device for detecting interval adaptation, comprising: Mobility processor; a sounding transceiver configured to periodically transmit a sounding packet to the beamforming object via a downlink channel from the apparatus to the beamforming object using a first sounding interval; a probing-control circuit configured to control a first probing interval in response to a control signal from the mobility processor; as well as Mobility-computing circuits; In response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving a channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object, the mobility-calculation circuit obtains a current first channel estimation content from the channel report packet, and calculates a first link quality value of the channel report packet using the current first channel estimation content and a previous first channel estimation content. The mobility processor uses the first link quality value to search a link quality-mapping table to obtain a second probing interval, and adaptively adjusts the first probing interval using the second probing interval in response to a comparison result of the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content.

2. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 1, wherein: The device further comprises: The receiver is configured to receive an uplink data packet from a beamforming object to a device through an uplink channel and estimate a current second channel estimation content of the uplink channel.

3. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 2, wherein: In response to the sounding transceiver failing to receive the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object within a predetermined time period after sending the sounding packet, the mobility-calculation circuit obtains the current second channel estimation content from the receiver, and calculates a second link quality value of the beamforming object using the current second channel estimation content and a previous second channel estimation content. The mobility processor searches the link quality-mapping table using the second link quality value to obtain the second probing interval, and adaptively adjusts the first probing interval using the second probing interval in response to another comparison result of the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content.

4. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 3, wherein: The mobility-computing circuit includes: a first volatile memory and a second volatile memory; a signal to interference plus noise ratio calculator configured to calculate a signal to interference plus noise ratio of a downlink channel based on a plurality of channel estimation contents stored in the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory; and a link quality calculator configured to map the calculated signal to interference plus noise ratio to the first link quality value or the second link quality value using a pre-built mapping table, wherein in response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming target, the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory store the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content, In response to the sounding transceiver failing to receive the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object within a predetermined time period after sending the sounding packet, the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory store the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content.

5. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 4, wherein: The first volatile memory or the second volatile memory storing the most outdated first channel estimation content or the second channel estimation content is overwritten by the current first channel estimation content or the current second channel estimation content.

6. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 3, wherein: The mobility processor compares the first probing interval with the second probing interval, In response to the second sounding interval being shorter than the first sounding interval by a ratio exceeding a predetermined ratio, the mobility processor controls the sounding transceiver to immediately send another sounding packet to the beamforming object. In response to the ratio by which the second probing interval is shorter than the first probing interval not exceeding the predetermined ratio, the mobility processor controls the probing-control circuit to update the first probing interval using the second probing interval.

7. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 6, wherein: The predetermined ratio is 50%.

8. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 1, wherein: The link quality-mapping table records the relationship between the link quality value and the detection interval, and the link quality value is a normalized value between 0 and 1.

9. The device for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 7, wherein: The moving speed of the beamforming object is approximately proportional to the first link quality value or the second link quality value.

10. A method for sounding interval adaptation, for use in an apparatus comprising a sounding transceiver, characterized in that: The method comprises: periodically sending a sounding packet to the beamformed object over a downlink channel from the apparatus to the beamformed object using a first sounding interval; In response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving a channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object, obtaining a current first channel estimation content from the channel report packet, and calculating a first link quality value of the channel report packet using the current first channel estimation content and a previous first channel estimation content; Searching a link quality-mapping table using the first link quality value to obtain a second probing interval; and The first probing interval is adaptively adjusted using the second probing interval in response to a comparison result of the current first channel estimate content and the previous first channel estimate content.

11. The method for detecting interval adaptation according to claim 10, wherein: The apparatus further comprises a receiver, and the method further comprises: An uplink data packet is received from a beamforming subject to a device via an uplink channel, and a current second channel estimation content of the uplink channel is estimated using the receiver.

12. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 11, wherein: The method further comprises: In response to the sounding transceiver failing to receive the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming object within a predetermined time period after sending the sounding packet, obtaining the current second channel estimation content from the receiver, and calculating a second link quality value of the beamforming object using the current second channel estimation content and a previous second channel estimation content; and The link quality-mapping table is searched using the second link quality value to obtain the second probing interval, and the first probing interval is adaptively adjusted using the second probing interval in response to another comparison result of the current second channel estimate and the previous second channel estimate.

13. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 12, wherein: The apparatus further comprises a first volatile memory and a second volatile memory, In response to the sounding transceiver successfully receiving the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming target, the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory store the current first channel estimation content and the previous first channel estimation content, In response to the sounding transceiver failing to receive the channel report packet in response to the sounding packet from the beamforming target within a predetermined time period after the sounding packet is transmitted, the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory storing the current second channel estimation content and the previous second channel estimation content; The method further comprises: Calculating a signal to interference and noise ratio of a downlink channel based on a plurality of channel estimation contents stored in the first volatile memory and the second volatile memory; and The calculated signal to interference plus noise ratio is mapped to the first link quality value or the second link quality value using a pre-built mapping table.

14. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 13, wherein: The first volatile memory or the second volatile memory storing the most outdated first channel estimation content or the second channel estimation content is overwritten by the current first channel estimation content or the current second channel estimation content.

15. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 12, wherein: The method further comprises: comparing the first probing interval with the second probing interval, In response to the second sounding interval being shorter than the first sounding interval by a ratio exceeding a predetermined ratio, controlling the sounding transceiver to immediately send another sounding packet to the beamforming object; In response to the ratio value by which the second detection interval is not shorter than the first detection interval not exceeding the predetermined ratio, the first detection interval is updated using the second detection interval.

16. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 15, wherein: The predetermined ratio is 50%.

17. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 10, wherein: The link quality-mapping table records the relationship between the link quality value and the detection interval, and the link quality value is a normalized value between 0 and 1.

18. The method for detection interval adaptation according to claim 17, wherein: The moving speed of the beamforming object is approximately proportional to the first link quality value or the second link quality value.

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