Smart antenna control method and device, network equipment and computer program product

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent antenna control method and device, network equipment and a computer program product. The method is applied to a network device provided with an intelligent antenna, the intelligent antenna comprises M links, and each link comprises N antenna units; the method comprises the steps that under the condition that communication with an associated terminal has improvement requirements, an intelligent antenna is controlled to be trained in N training antenna modes in sequence to obtain an M * N signal receiving strength indication (RSSI) matrix, in one training antenna mode, each link starts an antenna unit, and in the other training antenna mode, each link starts an antenna unit; the antenna units started by any link in different training antenna modes are different; and determining a target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and controlling the intelligent antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal by adopting the target downlink mode. According to the scheme provided by the invention, a good training effect can be ensured while the training overhead is greatly reduced, and the optimal downlink antenna mode for the terminal can be found.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of communication technologies, and particularly relates to an intelligent antenna control method, an intelligent antenna control device, a network device, and a computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Currently, a variety of intelligent antennas, including electrically tunable intelligent antennas, have emerged on the market. For an electrically tunable intelligent antenna, there are multiple hardware antenna radiators, and an electrical switch is used to achieve microsecond-level switching. The intelligent antenna algorithm can be used to intelligently select antenna units for signal transmission and reception. On this basis, different combinations of antenna units can form different signal radiation directions, so that the best transceiver antennas can be selected for stations (STAs) at different positions.

[0003] However, since there are multiple enabled antenna units on each link, the training overhead of the intelligent antenna will increase exponentially with the number of antennas to cover all combination items. In this regard, for antenna selection in the downlink direction, in order to avoid this problem, general intelligent antenna algorithms all adopt a compromise training method, that is, pruning traversal is performed according to actual measurement results. Although this method reduces some overhead, it will inevitably affect the training effect due to incomplete training, resulting in difficulty in finding the best downlink antenna mode. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides an intelligent antenna control method, an intelligent antenna control device, a network device, and a computer program product, which can significantly reduce the training overhead while ensuring a good training effect, and is helpful for finding the best downlink antenna mode for the terminal.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides an intelligent antenna control method, which is applied to a network device. The network device is provided with an intelligent antenna, and the intelligent antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units; the intelligent antenna control method includes:

[0006] When there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, controlling the intelligent antenna to train in N training antenna modes in sequence to obtain an M*N received signal strength indicator (RSSI) matrix, where in one training antenna mode, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different, and the RSSI matrix is used to represent the RSSI of each link when communicating with the terminal when enabling each antenna unit;

[0007] Determine a target downlink mode for a terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0008] In a second aspect, the present application provides a smart antenna control device, which is applied to a network device. The network device is provided with a smart antenna, and the smart antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units; the smart antenna control device includes:

[0009] A first control module, configured to, when there is a need to improve communication with an associated terminal, control the smart antenna to perform training in N training antenna modes in sequence to obtain an RSSI matrix of M*N, where, in one training antenna mode, each link enables one antenna unit respectively, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different, and the RSSI matrix is used to represent the RSSI of each link when communicating with the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled;

[0010] A second control module, configured to determine a target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0011] In a third aspect, the present application provides a network device. The above network device includes a smart antenna, a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the above memory and executable on the above processor. The smart antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units. When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method in the first aspect as described above are implemented.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. The above computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the above computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method in the first aspect as described above are implemented.

[0013] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. The above computer program product includes a computer program, and when the above computer program is executed by one or more processors, the steps of the method in the first aspect as described above are implemented.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present application compared with the prior art are as follows: In the present application, when there is a need to improve the communication between the network device and the associated terminal, the network device only needs to control the smart antenna to sequentially perform training using N training antenna patterns. Among them, in one training antenna pattern, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna patterns are different. Based on the independence of RSSI measurement of each link, by traversing the above-mentioned N training antenna patterns, an RSSI matrix of M*N can be obtained. This RSSI matrix can be used to represent the RSSI between each link and the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled. Finally, the network device can determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to this RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the target downlink mode. The above process only needs to traverse N training patterns during training to obtain the RSSI matrix of M*N without omission, so as to know the communication performance between each antenna unit and the terminal after being enabled, which can not only greatly reduce the training overhead, but also ensure good training effects; with the help of this RSSI matrix, it is helpful for the network device to quickly and accurately find the best downlink antenna mode for the terminal.

[0015] It can be understood that the beneficial effects of the second to fifth aspects above can refer to the relevant descriptions in the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions. Obviously, the drawings in the following descriptions are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic flowchart of the implementation of the smart antenna control method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the smart antenna control device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the network device provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0020] To make the objectives, features, and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0021] It should be understood that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of the described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or their combinations.

[0022] It should also be understood that the terms used in this specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in this specification of the present application and the appended claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms.

[0023] It should be further understood that the term "and / or" used in this specification of the present application and the appended claims refers to any combination and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0024] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term "if" can be interpreted as "when", "once", "in response to determining", or "in response to detecting" according to the context. Similarly, the phrase "if determined" or "if [the described condition or event] is detected" can be interpreted as meaning "once determined", "in response to determining", "once [the described condition or event] is detected", or "in response to detecting [the described condition or event]" according to the context.

[0025] In addition, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0026] The following describes the intelligent antenna control method provided by the embodiments of the present application. Among them, the execution subject of the intelligent antenna control method is a network device, and the network device is provided with an intelligent antenna. In a general communication environment, the network device can be regarded as a wireless access point (Access Point, AP), which will not be elaborated here.

[0027] To facilitate the understanding of the intelligent antenna control method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following first introduces the intelligent antenna in the network device:

[0028] The smart antenna is an antenna array, which includes M links, and each link includes N antenna elements. It can be understood that for any one link, usually only one antenna element needs to be enabled, and the radiation of this antenna element can generate a corresponding beam, that is, the enabling of the antenna element is equivalent to the beam it generates; thus, each link can have N possible beam selections.

[0029] On this basis, when actually transmitting and receiving signals, one antenna element needs to be enabled for each link, that is, these M links all need to select one beam from the N possible beams corresponding to them. In this regard, the embodiment of the present application refers to the combination formed by the beams respectively selected by these M links as a beam combination. Since the enabling of the antenna element is equivalent to the beam it generates, the beam combination can also be referred to as an antenna pattern; that is, the combination of the antenna elements respectively enabled by each link is referred to as an antenna pattern. Since the smart antenna includes M links and each link includes N antenna elements, the smart antenna actually has N M possible antenna patterns (that is, N M possible beam combinations). The purpose of the embodiment of the present application is to find the optimal antenna pattern in the N M possible antenna patterns for the downlink communication scenario of the terminal.

[0030] Based on the above description of the related concepts of the smart antenna, please refer to Figure 1 , the smart antenna control method proposed by the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0031] Step 101, when there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, control the smart antenna to train in N training antenna patterns in sequence to obtain an RSSI matrix of M*N.

[0032] The network device can monitor the associated terminal, so as to timely detect the situation where there may be a need to improve the communication and handle this situation in a timely manner. Only as an example, the situation where there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal may include, but is not limited to, the following several types: the communication with the terminal is abnormal; the terminal is newly associated with the network device; the time since the last training of the terminal has exceeded the preset cycle duration, etc., which is not limited here.

[0033] Specifically, the network device can specifically monitor the real-time communication quality with the terminal, and determine that its communication with the terminal is abnormal when the real-time communication quality does not meet the preset quality condition. Only as an example, the real-time communication quality can be real-time RSSI or real-time packet loss rate, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Taking the real-time communication quality as real-time RSSI as an example, the quality condition can be: the difference between the real-time RSSI and the historical RSSI is greater than the preset difference threshold, and the historical RSSI can be obtained through statistical analysis within a specified historical time period, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this quality condition.

[0034] When it is determined that there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, it can be known that the antenna mode adopted by the smart antenna of the current network device can no longer meet the communication requirements of the terminal, which is likely because the position of the terminal has changed. In this regard, the network device can trigger its smart antenna to enter the training state, specifically: control the smart antenna to train in turn using N training antenna modes, so as to obtain an RSSI matrix of M * N.

[0035] On the one hand, in the above training method proposed by the embodiments of the present application, RSSI is used as the performance evaluation index for the training antenna mode. The reason is that: RSSI has the characteristics of being easy to obtain and having a high correlation with throughput. Specifically, the measurement method of this RSSI is briefly described as follows: in a given antenna mode, a downlink data frame is sent to the terminal, and the data frame can be QoSData or QoS Null; then, the acknowledgment information replied by the terminal is received in this antenna mode, and the acknowledgment information can be Ack or BA frame, and the signal strength of the received acknowledgment information for each link is measured. Thus, each link can obtain an RSSI value, that is, a total of M RSSI values are obtained, and these M RSSI values can be used as the performance evaluation index of this antenna mode.

[0036] On the other hand, in the above training method proposed by the embodiments of the present application, based on the independence of measuring RSSI for each link, there are the following special requirements for N training antenna modes: the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different; in other words, for any link, by traversing these N training antenna modes, the smart antenna can respectively enable each antenna unit in this link, so as to obtain the RSSI of the communication with the terminal when each antenna unit in this link is enabled, that is, N RSSI values. Since there are M links in total, after traversing N training antenna modes, the network device can finally obtain M * N RSSI values, thereby obtaining an RSSI matrix, which is used to represent the RSSI of the communication between each link and the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled.

[0037] For easy understanding, the following gives an example of the simplest possible N training antenna modes:

[0038] Training antenna pattern 1: {1, 1, 1…, 1}

[0039] Training antenna pattern 2: {2, 2, 2…, 2}

[0040] …

[0041] Training antenna pattern N: {N, N, N…, N}

[0042] Among them, "Training antenna pattern 1: {1, 1, 1…, 1}" means that in training antenna pattern 1, link 1 enables its first antenna unit, link 2 also enables its first antenna unit, and so on until link M also enables its first antenna unit; "Training antenna pattern 2: {2, 2, 2…, 2}" means that in training antenna pattern 2, link 1 enables its second antenna unit, link 2 also enables its second antenna unit, and so on until link M also enables its second antenna unit; and so on, "Training antenna pattern N: {N, N, N…, N}" means that in training antenna pattern N, link 1 enables its Nth antenna unit, link 2 also enables its Nth antenna unit, and so on until link M also enables its Nth antenna unit.

[0043] From the examples of the N training antenna patterns proposed above, it can be seen that for link 1, after traversing training antenna patterns 1 to N, all the antenna units in this link are also traversed and enabled, so as to obtain the RSSI values when link 1 enables its first, second, up to the Nth antenna unit respectively when communicating with the terminal, and the number of these RSSI values is N; for link 2, after traversing training antenna patterns 1 to N, all the antenna units in this link are also traversed and enabled, so as to obtain the RSSI values when link 2 enables its first, second, up to the Nth antenna unit respectively when communicating with the terminal, and the number of these RSSI values is N; and so on, finally M * N RSSI values are obtained.

[0044] Of course, in the embodiments of this application, the N training modes adopted by the network device are not unique. The following gives an example of another possible N training antenna patterns:

[0045] Training antenna pattern 1: {1, 2, 3…, N}

[0046] Training antenna pattern 2: {2, 3, 4…, 1}

[0047] …

[0048] Training antenna pattern N: {N, 1, 2…, N - 1}

[0049] In fact, as long as these N training modes satisfy the condition that "for any link, the antenna units enabled by the link in these N training antenna modes are all different".

[0050] As previously described, after controlling the smart antenna to train successively using N training antenna modes, M*N RSSI values can be finally obtained, thus forming an M*N RSSI matrix. For ease of description, embodiments of the present application use RSSI mn to represent the elements in the RSSI matrix, where 1≤m≤M, 1≤n≤N, and both m and n are integers. It can be understood that the specific meaning of RSSI mn is: the RSSI when the m-th link enables its n-th antenna unit to communicate with the terminal.

[0051] Step 102: Determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0052] Through the RSSI matrix, the network device can restore the RSSI when communicating with the terminal using various possible antenna modes. The specific implementation process of this restoration operation is briefly described as follows: Define any antenna mode as {x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , … x M}, where x m represents the antenna unit enabled by the m-th link, and the value of x m is between 1 and N; correspondingly, its performance evaluation index can be expressed as {RSSI 1x1 , RSSI 2x2 , RSSI 3x3 , … RSSI MxM}. Since any RSSI mn can be obtained from the RSSI matrix, by looking up this RSSI matrix, the performance evaluation indexes corresponding to all possible antenna modes when communicating with the terminal can be obtained, so as to find the most suitable antenna mode for the terminal. Since embodiments of the present application focus on the downlink communication with the terminal using this antenna mode, this antenna mode can be denoted as the target downlink mode. The network device can thus control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0053] It can be understood that regardless of the total number of antenna units in the smart antenna, through embodiments of the present application, only by traversing N training antenna modes, the RSSI matrix can be obtained, so as to restore the performance evaluation indexes corresponding to all possible antenna modes; thus, the number of antenna modes to be traversed during training can be greatly reduced, while reducing the training overhead of the network device, and obtaining the effect equivalent to traversing all possible antenna modes.

[0054] In some embodiments, since the position of the terminal is unknown, in order to ensure that the smart antenna can receive the reply from the terminal when using N training antenna patterns for training as much as possible, the embodiments of the present application can further limit the N training antenna patterns as follows: each training antenna pattern is an omnidirectional antenna pattern; among them, the omnidirectional antenna pattern means that the directions covered by the beams generated by the antenna units enabled on M links cover a specified number of directions.

[0055] Taking M as 4 and N as 4 as an example, assuming that for each link, the directions of the beams generated by the four antenna units on this link when enabled are forward, backward, left, and right respectively, and the enabled antenna units are represented by the directions of the beams. In the case where the training antenna pattern is not limited to the omnidirectional antenna pattern, one possible set of 4 training antenna patterns can be as follows:

[0056] Training antenna pattern 1: {forward, forward, forward, forward}

[0057] Training antenna pattern 2: {right, right, right, right}

[0058] Training antenna pattern 3: {backward, backward, backward, backward}

[0059] Training antenna pattern 4: {left, left, left, left}

[0060] Theoretically speaking, when using the above 4 training antenna patterns, an RSSI matrix of M*N can be obtained. However, if the position of the terminal is behind the smart antenna, when controlling the smart antenna to use the training antenna pattern {forward, forward, forward, forward} for training, it may not receive the reply from the terminal, resulting in incomplete training results.

[0061] In the case where the training antenna pattern is limited to the omnidirectional antenna pattern, one possible set of 4 training antenna patterns can be as follows:

[0062] Training antenna pattern 1: {forward, right, backward, left}

[0063] Training antenna pattern 2: {right, backward, left, forward}

[0064] Training antenna pattern 3: {backward, left, forward, right}

[0065] Training antenna pattern 4: {left, forward, right, backward}

[0066] When using the above 4 training antenna patterns, within the communication range of the smart antenna, no matter where the terminal is located, the reply from the terminal can be received, thus ensuring the integrity of the training structure, that is, ensuring the integrity of the RSSI matrix.

[0067] In some embodiments, the network device may obtain an M*N RSSI matrix in the following manner:

[0068] Step A1: Determine the current training antenna pattern among N training antenna patterns.

[0069] The network device may traverse the N training antenna patterns and record the currently traversed training antenna pattern as the current training antenna pattern. In some examples, the network device may traverse in a specified order; alternatively, the network device may also traverse randomly. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the traversal method.

[0070] Step A2: Control the smart antenna to send a training message to the terminal in the current training antenna pattern to receive the confirmation information fed back by the terminal.

[0071] After determining the current training antenna pattern, the network device can control the smart antenna to send a training message to the terminal in the current training antenna pattern; that is, send a training message to the terminal through the antenna unit enabled by the current training antenna pattern. As described above, the training message may specifically be a downlink data frame, such as QoSData or QoS Null, etc. After receiving the training message, the terminal can feed back confirmation information to the network device based on the training message. As described above, the confirmation information may be an Ack or a BA frame, etc. Thus, the network device can receive the confirmation information through the antenna unit enabled by the current training antenna pattern, so as to obtain the instantaneous RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal.

[0072] To ensure that the smart antenna can receive the confirmation information fed back by the terminal as much as possible, the embodiments of the present application may also limit the sending rate of the training message. For example, the sending rate is limited to a preset base rate. The base rate may be a fixed value; or the preset base rate may also be the lowest rate in the current training antenna pattern. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the base rate.

[0073] Step A3: When the sending quantity of the training message reaches a preset quantity threshold, based on the confirmation information, count the RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal when the smart antenna is in the current training antenna pattern, and return to execute Step A1 and subsequent steps until the traversal of the N training antenna patterns is completed.

[0074] During the training process using the current training antenna mode, the network device can continuously and periodically send training messages to the terminal until the number of sent training messages reaches a preset threshold, that is, the training using the current training antenna mode is completed. It can be understood that at this time, the network device has received multiple acknowledgment messages in the current training antenna mode, so that the average RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal when the smart antenna uses the current training antenna mode can be statistically obtained. Thus, M RSSI values can be obtained as the training results obtained by training using the current training antenna mode. After that, the network device can switch to the next training antenna mode, that is, return to execute step A1, update the current training antenna mode, and continue to execute subsequent other steps, so as to obtain M RSSI values in the next training antenna mode. And so on, in each training antenna mode, the network device can obtain the corresponding M RSSI values; after completing the traversal of N training antenna modes, the network device can obtain M * N RSSI values, forming the RSSI matrix corresponding to the terminal.

[0075] In some embodiments, the network device can specifically determine the target downlink mode in the following manner:

[0076] Step B1, according to the RSSI matrix, determine the optimal RSSI of each link.

[0077] The relevant definition of RSSI mn has been given above, and any RSSI mn can find the corresponding value from this RSSI matrix. Thus, for each link, the network device can determine the optimal RSSI under it from this RSSI matrix. For example, let m be 1 and let n be from 1 to N, then the RSSIs corresponding to the first link when enabling its respective antenna units can be traversed, which are RSSI 11 , RSSI 12 until RSSI 1N ; among RSSI 11 , RSSI 12 until RSSI 1N , find the maximum RSSI value, which is the optimal RSSI of the first link. The determination methods of the optimal RSSIs of other links are similar and will not be elaborated here.

[0078] Step B2, determine the antenna units enabled corresponding to the optimal RSSI of each link as the target antenna units.

[0079] Still taking the first link as an example, if its optimal RSSI is RSSI 1x1 , it can be known that the antenna unit enabled corresponding to the optimal RSSI of the first link is the xth 1antenna units, that is, the xth antenna unit of the first link 1 antenna unit is the target antenna unit. By analogy, the target antenna units under each link can be determined. Finally, the network device can determine M target antenna units.

[0080] Step B3: Determine the target downlink mode for the terminal based on the target antenna units.

[0081] Through Step B2, the network device can already determine M target antenna units based on the RSSI matrix corresponding to the terminal. These M target antenna units together constitute the target downlink mode for this terminal. The network device can thus perform downlink communication with this terminal through this target downlink mode.

[0082] To facilitate understanding of the intelligent antenna control method proposed in the embodiments of this application, the following introduces this intelligent antenna control method through specific examples:

[0083] After the terminal is associated with the network device, the network device first adopts the default omnidirectional antenna mode. Among them, the default omnidirectional antenna mode is the omnidirectional antenna mode with the best communication performance among all omnidirectional antenna modes. In practical applications, the default omnidirectional antenna mode can be determined in advance according to the hardware structure of the intelligent antenna; if the hardware implementation methods of each omnidirectional antenna mode are relatively similar, the default omnidirectional antenna mode can be determined through pre-tests. The embodiments of this application do not limit the determination method of this default omnidirectional antenna mode.

[0084] If, in this default omnidirectional antenna mode, the RSSI of the communication between the terminal and the network device is very high, for example, higher than the preset RSSI threshold, it indicates that this default omnidirectional antenna mode has good performance for the terminal; at this time, even if it is switched to other antenna modes, it cannot bring obvious gain to the communication with the terminal. Therefore, the intelligent antenna can maintain the use of this default omnidirectional antenna mode.

[0085] On the contrary, if, in this default omnidirectional antenna mode, the RSSI of the communication with the network device significantly drops due to the movement of the terminal, for example, is lower than this RSSI threshold, it indicates that this default omnidirectional antenna mode cannot currently provide services for the terminal, or can only provide low-quality services; at this time, Steps 101 to 103 can be triggered to execute, so as to determine the target downlink mode for this terminal based on the training operation proposed in the embodiments of this application, and use this target downlink mode to perform downlink communication with the terminal.

[0086] It should be noted that even when switching to the target downlink mode for downlink communication with the terminal, the network device can still monitor the real-time RSSI of the communication with the terminal. Once it is detected that the real-time RSSI is lower than the RSSI threshold, it can be known that the wireless environment has changed significantly again, and steps 101 to 103 can be triggered and executed again, so as to update the target downlink mode and ensure the stability of downlink communication between the terminal and the network device.

[0087] In an actual application scenario, the network device may be associated with multiple terminals at the same time. It can be understood that for each terminal, the network device can independently execute the intelligent antenna control method proposed in the embodiments of the present application, so as to determine the corresponding target downlink mode for the terminal. Also, since the positions of different terminals are usually different, the target downlink modes corresponding to each terminal may also be different. In the embodiments of the present application, for each associated terminal, the network device can correspondingly store the relevant information of the terminal, including but not limited to: parameters such as the RSSI matrix of the terminal obtained by training, the number of training messages, the training period, and the training opportunity, which will not be elaborated here.

[0088] As can be seen from the above, in the embodiments of the present application, when there is a need to improve the communication between the network device and the associated terminal, the network device only needs to control the intelligent antenna to train in N training antenna modes in sequence. Among them, in one training antenna mode, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different. Based on the independence of measuring RSSI for each link, by traversing the above-mentioned N training antenna modes, an RSSI matrix of M*N can be obtained. This RSSI matrix can be used to represent the RSSI between each link and the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled. Finally, the network device can determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to this RSSI matrix, and control the intelligent antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the target downlink mode. The above process only needs to traverse N training modes during training to obtain the RSSI matrix of M*N without omission, so as to know the communication performance between each antenna unit and the terminal after being enabled, which can not only greatly reduce the training overhead, but also ensure a good training effect; with the help of this RSSI matrix, it is helpful for the network device to quickly and accurately find the best downlink antenna mode for the terminal.

[0089] Corresponding to the intelligent antenna control method provided above, the embodiments of the present application also provide an intelligent antenna control device. This intelligent antenna control device can be integrated into the network device, which includes an intelligent antenna. The intelligent antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units, which will not be elaborated here. Please refer to Figure 2 , this intelligent antenna control device 2 includes:

[0090] The first control module 201 is configured to, when there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, control the smart antenna to train in N training antenna patterns in sequence to obtain an M*N received signal strength indication (RSSI) matrix. In one training antenna pattern, one antenna unit is enabled for each link, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna patterns are different. The RSSI matrix is used to represent the RSSI of each link when communicating with the terminal while enabling each antenna unit.

[0091] The second control module 202 is configured to determine a target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0092] In some embodiments, all N training antenna patterns are omnidirectional antenna patterns. The omnidirectional antenna pattern means that the beams generated by the antenna units enabled by M links cover a specified number of directions.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first control module 201 includes:

[0094] The first determination unit is configured to determine the current training antenna pattern among the N training antenna patterns.

[0095] The control unit is configured to control the smart antenna to send a training message to the terminal using the current training antenna pattern to receive the confirmation information fed back by the terminal.

[0096] The statistics unit is configured to, when the number of sent training messages reaches a preset quantity threshold, based on the confirmation information, statistically calculate the RSSI of each link when the smart antenna uses the current training antenna pattern to communicate with the terminal, and return to execute the step of determining the current training antenna pattern among the N training antenna patterns and subsequent steps until the traversal of the N training antenna patterns is completed.

[0097] In some embodiments, the sending rate of the training message is a preset basic rate.

[0098] In some embodiments, the second control module 202 includes:

[0099] The second determination unit is configured to determine the optimal RSSI of each link according to the RSSI matrix.

[0100] The third determination unit is configured to determine the antenna unit corresponding to the optimal RSSI of each link as the target antenna unit.

[0101] The fourth determination unit is configured to determine the target downlink mode for the terminal based on the target antenna unit.

[0102] In some embodiments, the intelligent antenna control device 2 further includes:

[0103] A monitoring module, configured to monitor the real-time RSSI of the communication with the terminal;

[0104] A determination module, configured to determine that there is a need to improve the communication with the terminal when the real-time RSSI does not meet the preset quality condition.

[0105] In some embodiments, the intelligent antenna control device 2 further includes:

[0106] A third control module, configured to control the intelligent antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the default omnidirectional antenna mode in response to the association with the terminal.

[0107] As can be seen from the above, in the embodiments of the present application, when there is a need to improve the communication between the network device and the associated terminal, the network device only needs to control the intelligent antenna to sequentially perform training using N training antenna modes. Among them, in one training antenna mode, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different. Based on the independence of RSSI measurement of each link, by traversing the above-mentioned N training antenna modes, an RSSI matrix of M * N can be obtained. This RSSI matrix can be used to represent the RSSI between each link and the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled. Finally, the network device can determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to this RSSI matrix, and control the intelligent antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the target downlink mode. The above process only needs to traverse N training modes during training to obtain the RSSI matrix of M * N without omission, so as to know the communication performance between each antenna unit and the terminal after being enabled, which can not only greatly reduce the training overhead, but also ensure good training effects; with the help of this RSSI matrix, it is helpful for the network device to quickly and accurately find the best downlink antenna mode for the terminal.

[0108] Corresponding to the intelligent antenna control method provided above, the embodiments of the present application further provide a network device. Please refer to Figure 3 , the network device 3 in the embodiments of the present application includes: a memory 301, one or more processors 302 ( Figure 3 only one is shown in the figure) and a computer program stored on the memory 301 and executable on the processor. It should be noted that the network device further includes an intelligent antenna, which is not shown in Figure 3 . Among them, the intelligent antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units; the memory 301 is used to store software programs and units, and the processor 302 executes various functional applications and controls by running the software programs and units stored in the memory 301 to obtain the resources corresponding to the above preset events.

[0109] Specifically, when the processor 302 runs the computer program stored in the memory 301, the following steps are implemented:

[0110] When there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, control the smart antenna to sequentially train using N training antenna patterns to obtain an M*N signal strength indication (RSSI) matrix. Among them, in one training antenna pattern, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna patterns are different. The RSSI matrix is used to represent the RSSI of each link when communicating with the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled.

[0111] Determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

[0112] Assume the above is the first possible implementation manner. Then, in the second possible implementation manner provided based on the first possible implementation manner, the N training antenna patterns are all omnidirectional antenna patterns. The omnidirectional antenna pattern means that the beams generated by the antenna units enabled by the M links cover a specified number of directions.

[0113] In the third possible implementation manner provided based on the first possible implementation manner above, controlling the smart antenna to sequentially train using N training antenna patterns to obtain an M*N signal strength indication (RSSI) matrix includes:

[0114] Among the N training antenna patterns, determine the current training antenna pattern;

[0115] Control the smart antenna to send a training message to the terminal using the current training antenna pattern to receive the confirmation information feedback by the terminal;

[0116] When the number of sent training messages reaches the preset number threshold, based on the confirmation information, statistically calculate the RSSI of each link when the smart antenna uses the current training antenna pattern to communicate with the terminal, and return to execute the step of determining the current training antenna pattern among the N training antenna patterns and subsequent steps until the traversal of the N training antenna patterns is completed.

[0117] In the fourth possible implementation manner provided based on the third possible implementation manner above, the sending rate of the training message is the preset basic rate.

[0118] In the fifth possible implementation manner provided based on the first possible implementation manner above, determining the target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix includes:

[0119] According to the RSSI matrix, determine the optimal RSSI of each link;

[0120] Determine the antenna unit enabled corresponding to the optimal RSSI of each link as the target antenna unit;

[0121] Determine the target downlink mode for the terminal based on the target antenna unit.

[0122] In the sixth possible implementation manner provided on the basis of the first possible implementation manner above, or the second possible implementation manner above, or the third possible implementation manner above, or the fourth possible implementation manner above, or the fifth possible implementation manner above, when the processor 302 runs the computer program stored in the memory 301, the following steps are further implemented:

[0123] Monitor the real-time RSSI of the communication with the terminal;

[0124] When the real-time RSSI does not meet the preset quality condition, determine that there is a need to improve the communication with the terminal.

[0125] In the seventh possible implementation manner provided on the basis of the first possible implementation manner above, or the second possible implementation manner above, or the third possible implementation manner above, or the fourth possible implementation manner above, or the fifth possible implementation manner above, when the processor 302 runs the computer program stored in the memory 301, the following steps are further implemented:

[0126] In response to the association with the terminal, control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the default omnidirectional antenna mode.

[0127] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor 302 may be a central processing unit (CPU), and this processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), off-the-shelf programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or this processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0128] The memory 301 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor 302. A part or all of the memory 301 may also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory 301 may also store information about the device category.

[0129] As can be seen from the above, in the embodiment of the present application, when there is a need to improve the communication between the network device and the associated terminal, the network device only needs to control the smart antenna to sequentially perform training using N training antenna patterns. Among them, in one training antenna pattern, each link enables one antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna patterns are different. Based on the independence of RSSI measurement of each link, by traversing the above-mentioned N training antenna patterns, an RSSI matrix of M*N can be obtained. This RSSI matrix can be used to represent the RSSI between each link and the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled. Finally, the network device can determine the target downlink mode for the terminal according to this RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on the target downlink mode. The above process only needs to traverse N training modes during training to obtain the RSSI matrix of M*N without omission, so as to know the communication performance between each antenna unit and the terminal after being enabled. This can not only greatly reduce the training overhead, but also ensure good training results; with the help of this RSSI matrix, it helps the network device to quickly and accurately find the best downlink antenna mode for the terminal.

[0130] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the above-mentioned division of each functional unit and module is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be allocated to different functional units and modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the above device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. Each functional unit and module in the embodiment can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. In addition, the specific names of each functional unit and module are only for the convenience of mutual distinction and do not limit the protection scope of the present application. The specific working process of the units and modules in the above system can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0131] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have their own emphases. For parts not detailed or recorded in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0132] If the above integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, to implement all or part of the processes in the above method embodiments of this application, it can also be completed by a computer program instructing the associated hardware. The above computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above method embodiments can be implemented. Among them, the above computer program includes computer program code, and the above computer program code can be in the form of source code, object code, executable file or some intermediate form, etc. The above computer-readable storage medium can include: any entity or device that can carry the above computer program code, recording medium, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, magnetic disk, optical disc, computer-readable memory, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), electrical carrier signal, telecommunication signal, and software distribution medium, etc. It should be noted that the content included in the above computer-readable storage medium can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the requirements of legislation and patent practice in the jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, according to legislation and patent practice, the computer-readable storage medium does not include electrical carrier signals and telecommunication signals.

[0133] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, rather than to limit it; although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included in the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A smart antenna control method, characterized in that: The smart antenna control method is applied to a network device, wherein the network device is provided with a smart antenna, wherein the smart antenna includes M links, and each link includes N antenna units; The smart antenna control method comprises: When there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, control the smart antenna to use N training antenna modes for training in sequence to obtain an M*N signal receiving strength indication RSSI matrix, wherein in one training antenna mode, each link respectively enables an antenna unit, and the antenna units enabled by any link in different training antenna modes are different, and the RSSI matrix is ​​used to represent the RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled; A target downlink mode for the terminal is determined according to the RSSI matrix, and the smart antenna is controlled to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

2. The smart antenna control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The N training antenna modes are all omnidirectional antenna modes, and the omnidirectional antenna mode means that the directions of the beams generated by the antenna units enabled by the M links cover multiple specified directions.

3. The smart antenna control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the smart antenna to sequentially use N training antenna modes for training to obtain an M*N signal receiving strength indication RSSI matrix includes: Determining a current training antenna mode among the N training antenna modes; Controlling the smart antenna to use the current training antenna mode to send a training message to the terminal, so as to receive confirmation information fed back by the terminal; When the number of training messages sent reaches a preset threshold, based on the confirmation information, the RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal when the smart antenna adopts the current training antenna mode is counted, and the step of determining the current training antenna mode among the N training antenna modes and subsequent steps are returned to execute until the traversal of the N training antenna modes is completed.

4. The smart antenna control method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sending rate of the training message is a preset basic rate.

5. The smart antenna control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining a target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix includes: Determine the optimal RSSI of each link according to the RSSI matrix; Determine the enabled antenna unit corresponding to the optimal RSSI of each link as the target antenna unit; A target downlink mode for the terminal is determined based on the target antenna unit.

6. The smart antenna control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The smart antenna control method further includes: Monitoring the real-time RSSI of the communication with the terminal; When the real-time RSSI does not meet a preset quality condition, it is determined that there is a need to improve communication with the terminal.

7. The smart antenna control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The smart antenna control method further includes: In response to the association with the terminal, the smart antenna is controlled to perform downlink communication with the terminal based on a default omnidirectional antenna mode.

8. An intelligent antenna control device, characterized in that: The smart antenna control device is applied to a network device, the network device is provided with a smart antenna, the smart antenna includes M links, each of the links includes N antenna units; The smart antenna control device comprises: A first control module is used to control the smart antenna to use N training antenna modes for training in sequence when there is a need to improve the communication with the associated terminal, so as to obtain an M*N signal receiving strength indication RSSI matrix, wherein in one training antenna mode, each link respectively enables an antenna unit, and any link enables different antenna units in different training antenna modes, and the RSSI matrix is ​​used to represent the RSSI of each link communicating with the terminal when each antenna unit is enabled; The second control module is used to determine a target downlink mode for the terminal according to the RSSI matrix, and control the smart antenna to perform downlink communication with the terminal using the target downlink mode.

9. A network device comprising a smart antenna, a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that: The smart antenna comprises M links, each link comprises N antenna units, and the processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executing the computer program.

10. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by one or more processors, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

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