Multi-access point AP collaborative AP selection method, device and equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a multi-access point (AP) cooperative AP selection method, apparatus and device, the method comprising: a station (STA) receiving first information sent by at least one AP, the first information comprising candidate antenna information; the STA determines a channel measurement result corresponding to an antenna of each AP according to the candidate antenna information of each AP; the channel measurement result is used for selecting a multi-AP collaborative target AP; and the STA sends second information to each AP, the second information comprising the channel measurement result, thereby solving the problem of how to select an appropriate AP in an AP cooperation scene, and achieving the technical effects of selecting a target AP suitable for participating in multi-AP cooperation transmission, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of the STA and improving the throughput of the system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method, device and equipment for selecting an AP in collaboration with multiple access points (APs). Background Art

[0002] Currently, in 802.11 mode, access points (APs) do not collaborate with each other. Some vendor-defined collaboration only optimizes channel selection to avoid conflicts between APs. The greatest benefit of AP collaboration is distributed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) between APs. Two different APs can provide MIMO transmission capabilities to a single node, significantly improving spatial multiplexing efficiency.

[0003] In a scenario that supports multi-AP coordination technology, when a station (STA) needs to establish or update its own multi-AP coordinated transmission in a working state, how to select the most suitable APs to participate in multi-AP coordinated transmission from the many potential available APs around it is a problem that technicians in this field need to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a method, apparatus and device for selecting an AP in collaboration with multiple access points (APs).

[0005] The present invention provides an AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, comprising:

[0006] The station STA receives first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes: candidate antenna information;

[0007] The STA determines, based on the candidate antenna information of each of the APs, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each of the APs; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0008] The STA sends second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

[0009] According to the present invention, a method for selecting an AP in collaboration with multiple access points (APs) is provided, wherein before the STA sends the second information to each of the APs, the method further includes:

[0010] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result.

[0011] According to the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration provided by the present invention, the first information further includes: indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0012] According to the present invention, a multi-access point AP collaboration AP selection method is provided, wherein the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result, including:

[0013] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the indication information and the channel measurement result, where the target AP is an AP that supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0014] According to the present invention, a multi-access point AP collaboration AP selection method is provided, wherein the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result, including:

[0015] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0016] The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas;

[0017] The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0018] The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold;

[0019] The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold;

[0020] The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

[0021] According to the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration provided by the present invention, the target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0022] According to the present invention, a multi-access point AP collaboration AP selection method is provided, wherein the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result, including:

[0023] The STA determines, based on the channel measurement results, channel capacities of multiple antenna combinations;

[0024] The STA determines, based on the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations, a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to a target antenna in the target antenna combination.

[0025] According to the present invention, a multi-access point AP collaboration AP selection method is provided, wherein the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result, including:

[0026] For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

[0027] According to the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration provided by the present invention, the second information further includes at least one of the following: a selected target antenna and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0028] According to the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration provided by the present invention, the second information is carried by the MIMO control field in the beamforming report.

[0029] According to a method for selecting an AP in collaboration with multiple access points (APs) provided by the present invention, the first information is carried by a null data packet (NDP) frame, the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield;

[0030] The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled;

[0031] The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

[0032] According to the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration provided by the present invention, the channel measurement result is the channel measurement result obtained by compressing the channel measurement result matrix.

[0033] The present invention also provides an AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, comprising:

[0034] The AP sends first information to the station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0035] The AP receives second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, where the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0036] The present invention also provides an AP selection device for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, comprising:

[0037] A receiving module, configured for a station STA to receive first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes: candidate antenna information;

[0038] A processing module, configured to determine, based on candidate antenna information of each AP, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each AP; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0039] The sending module is configured to send second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

[0040] The present invention also provides an AP selection device for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, comprising:

[0041] A sending module, configured to send first information to a station STA, wherein the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0042] The receiving module is configured to receive second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, and the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0043] The present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, the steps of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration as described above are implemented.

[0044] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration as described above are implemented.

[0045] The AP selection method, device and equipment for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention receive first information sent by at least one AP through a station STA, wherein the first information includes: candidate antenna information; the STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the candidate antenna information of each AP; the channel measurement results are used to select the target AP for multi-AP collaboration; the STA sends second information to each AP, wherein the second information includes: the channel measurement results, and the candidate antenna information is sent to the STA through the AP, and then the STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the candidate antenna information. Finally, the target AP can be determined based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP, so that the target AP suitable for participating in multi-AP collaborative transmission can be selected, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of the STA and improving the system throughput. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0047] Figure 1 This is one of the application scenario diagrams of multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0048] Figure 2 This is the second schematic diagram of the application scenario of multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0049] Figure 3 This is one of the flow charts of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0050] Figure 4 This is one of the channel detection schematic diagrams of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0051] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the channel detection of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0052] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the channel detection of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 3 ;

[0053] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the MIMO control field format of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0054] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the NDP frame format of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0055] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the format of the antenna selection information subfield of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0056] Figure 10 This is the second flow chart of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0057] Figure 11 This is one of the structural diagrams of the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0058] Figure 12 This is the second structural diagram of the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention;

[0059] Figure 13 It is a structural diagram of the STA provided by the present invention;

[0060] Figure 14 It is a structural diagram of the AP provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0062] First, the relevant knowledge and application scenarios involved in this invention are introduced:

[0063] 1. AP selection technology in 802.11ax

[0064] In 802.11ax, STA selection and association with an AP typically requires the following steps:

[0065] (1) Passive scanning:

[0066] The AP sends a beacon frame to the STA.

[0067] Function: APs periodically broadcast beacon frames containing network information such as Service Set Identifier (SSID), supported data rates, encryption type, etc. STAs listen to these beacon frames to discover available APs.

[0068] Active Scan:

[0069] The STA sends a probe request frame to the AP.

[0070] Function: STA sends a probe request to the surrounding area to inquire about the existence of any AP.

[0071] The AP sends a Probe Response Frame to the STA.

[0072] Function: The AP responds to the probe request and provides network detailed information similar to the beacon frame.

[0073] (2) Evaluate signal quality and network load:

[0074] By listening to beacon frames and probe response frames, STAs evaluate the signal quality (Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)) and network congestion (through Basic Service Set (BSS) color) of each AP.

[0075] (3) AP selection: Based on signal quality, network load, supported services and capabilities, the STA selects a most suitable AP.

[0076] Specifically, the STA first identifies the authenticated AP: the STA checks its stored configuration and authentication history to identify the AP that has been authenticated before.

[0077] Then the STA selects the AP:

[0078] If there are authenticated APs, STAs tend to choose these APs for connection because this allows them to skip the authentication step and speed up the connection process.

[0079] When selecting from multiple authenticated APs, the STA typically selects an AP based on the following criteria:

[0080] a1. Signal strength: Select the AP with the strongest signal.

[0081] a2. Network performance: factors such as network congestion and data transmission rate may be considered.

[0082] a3. Historical connection quality: Select AP based on past connection experience.

[0083] a4. User configuration and preferences: Specific configurations or user-set preferences will also affect the selection.

[0084] If the STA does not have local authentication records for the APs scanned this time, it will select the most suitable AP based on signal quality, network load, supported services and capabilities.

[0085] (4) Authentication and association:

[0086] The STA sends an Authentication Request Frame to the AP.

[0087] Function: STA requests authentication with AP.

[0088] The AP sends an Authentication Response Frame to the STA.

[0089] Function: The AP confirms the STA's authentication request.

[0090] The STA sends an Association Request Frame to the AP.

[0091] Function: After authentication, the STA requests to establish an association with the AP.

[0092] The AP sends an Association Response Frame to the STA.

[0093] Function: The AP responds to the association request and confirms that the STA has successfully associated.

[0094] Through the above steps (1) to (4), the STA selects an AP from the surrounding APs and associates with it.

[0095] 2. Currently, in 802.11 operating modes, there is no collaboration between APs. Some manufacturers define collaboration as simply optimizing channel selection to avoid conflicts between APs. The greatest benefit of AP collaboration is distributed MIMO between APs. Two different APs can provide MIMO transmission capabilities for a single node, significantly improving spatial multiplexing efficiency.

[0096] 3. Application scenarios

[0097] In scenarios supporting multi-AP collaboration, when a STA needs to establish or update its own multi-AP collaborative transmission during operation, it faces the problem of selecting several APs suitable for participating in multi-AP collaborative transmission from the many potential available APs around the STA.

[0098] Application Scenario A: A STA may be associated with a single AP. Due to transmission requirements or roaming, it may need to form a multi-AP coordinated transmission network with surrounding APs. In this case, the system faces the problem of selecting the appropriate APs from the surrounding APs based on certain criteria.

[0099] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, STA1 was originally associated with AP1 (single AP association). As the STA moves, it comes to the edge of AP1's service range, and the transmission quality decreases. AP4 and AP5 become STA1's potential APs that can participate in STA1's multi-AP coordinated transmission. In order to meet STA1's transmission needs, multi-AP coordinated transmission needs to be established.

[0100] Specifically, AP1 through AP5 belong to the same multi-AP candidate set (a set of potential APs for coordinated multi-AP transmission). Initially, due to STA1's location and channel conditions, AP4 and AP5 are merely APs in the candidate set (compared to STA1) and do not actually participate in STA1's coordinated multi-AP transmission. However, STA1 and AP4 and AP5 become aware of each other through AP1 through AP1-3. As STA1 moves, AP4 and AP5 become suitable for participating in STA1's coordinated transmission ("becoming suitable" is a qualitative analysis; actual participation occurs only after algorithm selection).

[0101] Application Scenario B: A STA may be associated with multiple APs (i.e., in multi-AP coordinated transmission). Due to transmission requirements or roaming, the transmission performance of some APs currently participating in the STA's multi-AP coordinated transmission may degrade, making the multi-AP coordinated transmission unable to meet the STA's transmission requirements. In this case, surrounding APs must form a new multi-AP coordinated transmission for the STA. The system then faces the challenge of selecting appropriate APs from the surrounding APs based on certain criteria.

[0102] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, STA1 was originally in the multi-AP coordinated transmission state composed of AP1, AP2 and AP3. As STA1 moved, it came to the edge of the service range of AP2 and AP3, and the transmission quality decreased. AP4 and AP5 became STA1's potential APs that can participate in STA1's multi-AP coordinated transmission.

[0103] Due to various reasons (including but not limited to STA startup, roaming, and changes in transmission requirements), the relationship between the STA and surrounding APs changes (generally speaking, some APs become "unsuitable for STA service" while others become "suitable for STA service"). The STA needs to establish or update its multi-link connection and is faced with the problem of selecting or discarding some of the surrounding APs.

[0104] The above-mentioned "suitability / ineligibility for STA service" is determined based on the aforementioned "certain criteria." Optionally, the criteria may include optimizing objectives such as maximizing STA channel capacity / throughput, maximizing AP signal strength, optimizing QoS, and minimizing latency. In this embodiment of the present invention, "suitable APs" are selected for STAs based on maximizing channel capacity or ensuring that channel quality (such as signal strength RSRP, RSSI, etc.) meets requirements.

[0105] To address the AP selection problem in the above scenario, the present invention provides an AP selection method that enables the system to select an AP combination suitable for participating in multi-AP collaborative transmission based on certain criteria, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of STAs and improving system throughput.

[0106] The following combination Figures 1-14 The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with specific embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0107] Figure 3 This is one of the flow charts of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, the method provided in this embodiment includes:

[0108] Step 301: A station STA receives first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes candidate antenna information.

[0109] Specifically, the station STA receives first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information sent by the AP includes candidate antenna information of the AP, for example, the candidate antennas of the AP are part or all of the antennas of the AP.

[0110] Optionally, the first information is sent via NDP, and a trigger frame may be sent via NDPA before sending the NDP.

[0111] Step 302: The STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the candidate antenna information of each AP. The channel measurement results are used to select the target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0112] Specifically, the STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the first information of each AP, and then selects the target AP based on the channel measurement results. Optionally, the decision to select the AP can be completed on the STA side or on the AP side.

[0113] Optionally, the STA decision can select the antenna based on the channel measurement results and complete the AP selection, that is, map the selected target antenna to the corresponding AP to complete the AP selection; or, the AP decision can select the antenna based on the channel measurement results and complete the AP selection.

[0114] Step 303: The STA sends second information to each AP, where the second information includes: channel measurement results.

[0115] Specifically, the STA sends the second information to each AP. If the STA makes the decision, the second information at least includes: an antenna selection result; or, if the AP makes the decision, the second information at least includes: a channel measurement result.

[0116] The method of this embodiment receives first information sent by at least one AP through the station STA, where the first information includes: candidate antenna information; the STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the candidate antenna information of each AP; the channel measurement results are used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration; the STA sends second information to each AP, where the second information includes: the channel measurement results, and the AP sends candidate antenna information to the STA, and then the STA determines the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP based on the candidate antenna information. Finally, the target AP can be determined based on the channel measurement results corresponding to the antennas of each AP, so that a target AP suitable for participating in multi-AP collaborative transmission can be selected, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of the STA and improving the system throughput.

[0117] Optionally, before step 103, the method further includes:

[0118] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result.

[0119] Specifically, when selecting an AP, a target antenna may be determined first according to the channel measurement result, and then a target AP corresponding to the target antenna may be determined.

[0120] For example, the target antenna may be selected based on the following strategies, such as maximizing channel capacity, channel quality meeting a preset threshold, or the top n antennas with the best channel quality, where n is a preset value.

[0121] The channel capacity can be obtained based on the channel measurement result, and the channel quality corresponding to the antenna can also be obtained through the channel measurement result.

[0122] Channel quality is represented by, for example, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and the like.

[0123] Alternatively, the channel capacity can be determined by the following formula (1):

[0124]

[0125] Among them, the size of the total channel information H is N r ×N s , N r is the number of STA receiving antennas, N s is the number of transmit antennas of all APs, denoted by N r ×N r The identity matrix, H represents the channel matrix, H H That is, the Hermitian transpose of the channel matrix H, ρ is the average SNR, and det[·] represents the determinant operation on ·.

[0126] For example, Figure 4 As shown in the figure, when the STA selects the AP:

[0127] 1. The AP sends a combined NDPA and NDP for STAs to perform channel measurements.

[0128] 2. After receiving the NDP, the STA can obtain the channel measurement results of all or some antennas of all APs. Before sending the feedback FB, the STA will select the antenna based on the channel measurement results and then select the target AP based on the ownership of the selected target antenna.

[0129] 3. The STA sends the target antenna selected in Step 2 and its channel measurement results back to the AP associated with the STA at the FB. The AP then learns the STA's antenna selection and AP selection results, completing the entire process.

[0130] Alternatively, as Figure 5 As shown, the sharing AP initiates a channel detection (trigger) frame (similar to NDPA), and then each shared AP sends a joint channel detection packet (similar to NDP), which is fed back by the STA.

[0131] like Figure 6 As shown, multiple APs send NDPA-NDP in a certain order. For example, the main AP1 sends NDPA1 and NDP1 and then receives feedback from the STA. Then, the main AP2 sends NDPA2 and NDP2, and so on.

[0132] Optionally, the first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0133] Optionally, the indication information may also be referred to as capability information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0134] Optionally, the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result, which may be specifically implemented in the following manner:

[0135] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the indication information and the channel measurement result, where the target AP is an AP that supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0136] Specifically, if the AP supports multi-AP collaboration, the STA can select a target antenna from the AP's candidate antennas when selecting a target antenna. If the AP does not support multi-AP collaboration, the STA does not consider the AP's candidate antennas when selecting a target antenna.

[0137] For example, the STA determines a second AP that supports multi-AP collaboration; and determines the target antenna and the target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the second AP.

[0138] Optionally, the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result, which may be specifically implemented in the following manner:

[0139] The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0140] (1) The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas;

[0141] (2) The system throughput is greater than or equal to the first threshold;

[0142] (3) The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold;

[0143] (4) The channel capacity is greater than or equal to the third threshold;

[0144] (5) The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, Ls is the target antenna number.

[0145] Specifically, consider that there are M APs around the STA, and the m()th AP has N m Root antenna,Now in order to determine the participating APs for STA’s multi-AP coordinated transmission, it is necessary to select the optimal target antenna from the root antenna.

[0146] For example, the preset condition for selecting the target antennas may be whether the number of the selected target antennas meets the target antenna number.

[0147] Optionally, the target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0148] Specifically, the target number of antennas (assuming L s ) can be determined by the STA based on its transmission needs, or specified by the sharing AP, or predefined by the protocol.

[0149] Among the above-mentioned preconditions (1)-(5), they can be used alone or in combination with each other.

[0150] Optionally, the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold may be determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0151] For example, the process of selecting an antenna or AP based on channel quality (when a STA selects an antenna or AP):

[0152] 1. The STA detects the channel quality by receiving information such as NDP and / or NDPA sent by the neighboring AP(s), and obtains the indication information of whether the neighboring AP supports Multi-AP collaboration;

[0153] Optionally, the STA may detect the channel quality of the neighboring AP by measuring signal strength (such as RSRP / RSSI, etc.);

[0154] 2. The STA selects the Nr antennas or APs with the best channel quality; or,

[0155] The STA selects antennas or APs whose channel quality meets a preset condition (signal strength is greater than or equal to a preset threshold). If the number of antennas or APs meeting the preset condition exceeds Nr, the STA selects Nr antennas or APs with the best channel quality from among the antennas or APs meeting the preset condition. Alternatively, the STA randomly selects Nr antennas or APs from among the antennas or APs meeting the preset condition.

[0156] 3. The STA reports the selected antenna or AP information to the AP associated with the STA, which may be multiple APs;

[0157] 4. After receiving the information of the selected antenna or AP, the AP associated with the STA attempts to establish a Multi-AP collaboration relationship with the selected AP.

[0158] Optionally, the STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result, which may be implemented in the following ways:

[0159] One way to implement it:

[0160] The STA determines, based on the channel measurement results, channel capacities of multiple antenna combinations;

[0161] The STA determines, based on the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations, a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to a target antenna in the target antenna combination.

[0162] Specifically, a traversal method can be used. For example, for a given number of target antennas (assuming L s ), then by all antennas N of all m APs s -1 (excluding the antenna with the strongest associated signal that the STA has retained) to traverse the number of combinations, that is, for antenna selection situations, calculate the channel capacity of each situation, and finally select an antenna combination with the largest channel capacity, namely the target antenna combination, and the antenna in the target antenna combination is the target antenna.

[0163] Another way to implement it:

[0164] For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

[0165] Specifically, a fast antenna selection algorithm can be used. For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, calculate the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i, and select the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i as the target antenna. Update i to i+1 and repeat the above steps until the preset conditions are met, for example, L is selected. s target antennas, and finally select the antenna combination with the largest channel capacity.

[0166] The channel capacity of the i-1th step is calculated based on the channel measurement result of the target antenna selected in the i-1th step.

[0167] Initially, the antenna with the strongest associated signal is retained and the corresponding channel capacity is calculated.

[0168] Optionally, for Figure 1 and Figure 2 For different application scenarios, the overall antenna selection process is the same for both, but there are slight differences in the initial selection of the antenna with the strongest signal:

[0169] for Figure 1 In the application scenario of a single AP, you only need to select the antenna with the strongest signal from the AP and retain it.

[0170] for Figure 2 In the application scenario of multiple APs, the antenna with the strongest signal needs to be selected from all associated APs and retained, so that it degenerates to the state of retaining the antenna with the strongest signal under single AP association.

[0171] In the above implementation, antenna / AP selection is performed with the goal of maximizing channel capacity, thereby improving system performance.

[0172] For example, let (size is N r ×n) is the channel capacity calculated based on the order of the channel matrix after selecting n antennas from the original channel matrix H after the nth antenna selection. Then, when executing the n+1th step, the channel capacity of the selected antenna can be expressed as

[0173] By deduction, we can get

[0174]

[0175] Specifically, at step n+1, s Select the corresponding transmitting antenna J from H, that is, select the Jth column from the original H. Then put J into the corresponding position to get H n+1 (For H n+1 In addition to the newly added J column, in the original H, the columns to the left of the J column, in H n+1 Still on the left side of column J; in the original H, the column to the right of column J, in H n+1 The number in H is still on the right side of column J. That is, according to the order in the original H, the column J is inserted into H. That is, all the selected antennas are arranged according to the order in the original H).

[0176] Among them, the contribution of the Jth antenna to the channel capacity is the formula The second addend in Specifically, the contribution of the Jth antenna depends on Therefore, when selecting the first antenna, it is necessary to calculate the values ​​of all candidate antennas. And select the antenna corresponding to the maximum value.

[0177] Optionally, each step selects only one antenna that contributes most to the channel capacity. Therefore, the process needs to be repeated multiple times until a termination condition is met (for example, the termination condition is that the target number of antennas is reached).

[0178] Where C[·] represents the channel capacity of the channel matrix ·, when ·=H n When , it represents the channel capacity after executing step n (after selecting n antennas); when ·=n+1, it represents the channel capacity after executing step n+1 (after selecting n+1 antennas).

[0179] det[·] represents the determinant operation on ·.

[0180] I represents the unit matrix, and its subscript N r Represents the size of this unit matrix I is N r ×N r .

[0181] ρ represents the average linear signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

[0182] N t Represents the number of currently selected transmit antennas (i.e., the number of antennas actually participating in transmission after selection).

[0183] Among them, h J Represents the Jth column of the original H. The above formula shows that when the Jth transmitting antenna is selected in the n+1 step, H n Add the Jth column in the original H to the selected antenna H in the order of the original H. n In the n+1 , and also gives the contribution to the channel capacity. That is, the contribution to the channel capacity when the Jth antenna is selected in the n+1th step.

[0184] In each execution step, when the number of selected antennas does not meet the target number of antennas, all unselected antennas are traversed and their contributions to the current channel capacity are calculated according to the above method. Finally, the antenna with the largest contribution is selected to complete the antenna selection process.

[0185] Optionally, after the STA selects a target antenna, the second information further includes at least one of the following: the selected target antenna and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0186] In one embodiment, when STA decision-making is adopted, that is, the AP selection process is completed on the STA side, the relevant fields need to be modified as follows:

[0187] Optionally, the second information is carried via a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

[0188] Since the MIMO Control field determines the presence and content of the Compressed Beamforming Report field, the MU-specific Beamforming Report field, and the CQI Report field, which carry feedback information, in order to include only the channel measurement results of the selected target antenna in the STA's feedback to the AP, the corresponding content of the MIMO Control field needs to be modified. Specifically,

[0189] The reserved subfields in B48 to B55 of the original MIMO control field are replaced with antenna selection subfields. Optionally, the number of bits can be increased. Figure 7 It is an updated MIMO control field, for example, the number of bits may be 64 bits.

[0190] The Antenna Selection subfield indicates whether the STA uses antenna selection in the MIMO Control field and, if so, determines the channel state information retained in the report. For example, if the STA uses antenna selection (i.e., a multi-AP collaborative AP selection scheme), the Antenna Selection subfield is 64 bits long (the value of this field is the total number of target antennas) and is used to instruct the report to only report channel measurement results for the selected antennas. If the STA does not use antenna selection (i.e., does not use a multi-AP collaborative AP selection scheme), the Antenna Selection subfield is 0 or may not exist.

[0191] Optionally, the first information is carried by a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame, the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield;

[0192] The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled;

[0193] The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

[0194] Specifically, such as Figure 8 As shown in the figure, in order to consider backward compatibility, the first three subfields L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG remain unchanged as the traditional OFDM preamble code, and a new field is defined: Antenna Selection Information. This field needs to contain sufficient information to indicate whether the AP has enabled antenna selection (i.e., the AP selection scheme for multi-AP collaboration) and how to select the antenna. Figure 9 As shown, the antenna selection information field includes the following subfields:

[0195] Enable / disable bit (ie, the first subfield): includes a binary bit to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled.

[0196] Antenna selection bit (ie, the second subfield): multiple binary bits, specifying which candidate antennas are selected for multi-AP coordinated transmission.

[0197] Reserved for possible future expansion.

[0198] In the above implementation, by adding corresponding fields in the NDP frame, the antenna conditions of specific APs participating in Multi-AP coordination are indicated, thereby completing AP selection with low implementation complexity.

[0199] Optionally, the channel measurement result is a channel measurement result obtained by compressing a channel measurement result matrix.

[0200] Optionally, when beamforming is used for feedback, the following steps may be used to compress the feedback matrix:

[0201] 1. The beamformer (beamforming transmitter) requires the beamformee (beamforming receiver) to provide channel state information (CSI).

[0202] (1) Beamformer sends NDP for detection purpose.

[0203] (2) The beamformee obtains the channel matrix H and returns a compressed beamforming report (CBR).

[0204] 2. Decompose the estimated channel matrix H into U∑V by SVD H , and select V as the beamforming feedback matrix.

[0205] 3. By using Givens rotation, the feedback matrix V is compressed into the form of an angle vector (φ, ψ) and fed back to the transmitter.

[0206] 4. Beamformer reconstructs the feedback matrix V based on the angle vector (φ, ψ) and uses it for beamforming to achieve directional signal transmission.

[0207] For example, the feedback matrix V is compressed as follows: N is established by the beamformee r ×N c The beamforming orthogonal column matrix V is as follows:

[0208]

[0209] in, is an N r×N r The diagonal matrix of :

[0210]

[0211] G li (ψ) is N r ×N r Givens rotation matrix:

[0212]

[0213] Take the compression process of a 4×2V matrix as an example:

[0214]

[0215] N r ×N c The beamforming standard orthogonal column matrix V is column-wise phase-invariant because the steering matrix requires a phase reference. When the number of rows and columns is equal, the standard orthogonal column matrix becomes a unitary matrix, in is a column phase shift matrix, such as

[0216]

[0217] When the beamformee estimates the channel, it may find beamforming matrix, but it should send Back to Beamformer.

[0218] θ in i Should make The last line of is non-negative real numbers.

[0219] Diagonal matrix Angle in Satisfy D * The first column of 1V is constrained to be non-negative real numbers. The first column is rotated by Givens G l1 can be changed to [1 0 ... 0] T ,

[0220]

[0221] For a new (N r -1)×(N c -1) submatrix, and apply this process in the same way. Then the corners in the diagonal matrix satisfy the constraint that all elements in the second column are non-negative real numbers. Now, the first two columns of G are rotated by Givens l2 Can become As shown below:

[0222]

[0223] This process continues until the first column N of the right matrix c become When N c Less than N r When, because Because it is invalid, This process does not need to continue, then by multiplying D i and G li The complex conjugate transpose of the product on the left can be expressed as:

[0224]

[0225] Where p = min(N c , N r -1).

[0226] Its simplified form can be written as the above formula. The columns 1...N of the beamforming feedback matrix c Each corresponds to spatial stream 1...N c ,When determining the steering matrix, the transmitter shall not rearrange the columns of the beamforming feedback matrix.

[0227] In the above implementation, by compressing the channel measurement results before transmission, the amount of transmitted data can be reduced and signaling overhead can be saved.

[0228] Figure 10 This is the second flow chart of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 10 As shown, the method provided in this embodiment includes:

[0229] Step 1001: The AP sends first information to a station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information. The first information is used by the STA to determine a channel measurement result corresponding to the AP's antenna.

[0230] Step 1002: The AP receives second information sent by the STA. The second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the AP's antenna. The channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0231] Optionally, after step 1002, the method further includes:

[0232] The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information.

[0233] Optionally, the AP is a shared AP or an AP associated with the STA.

[0234] Optionally, the first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0235] Optionally, the second information further includes: indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0236] Optionally, the AP determining a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information includes:

[0237] The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result and the indication information, where the target AP is an AP supporting multi-AP collaboration.

[0238] Optionally, the AP determining a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information includes:

[0239] The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0240] The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas;

[0241] The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0242] The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold;

[0243] The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold;

[0244] The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

[0245] Optionally, the target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0246] Optionally, the AP determining a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information includes:

[0247] The AP determines, based on the channel measurement results, channel capacities of the plurality of antenna combinations;

[0248] The AP determines a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to a target antenna in the target antenna combination according to the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations.

[0249] Optionally, the AP determining a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information includes:

[0250] For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

[0251] Optionally, the second information is carried via a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

[0252] Optionally, the first information is carried by a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame, the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield;

[0253] The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled;

[0254] The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

[0255] Optionally, when the STA determines the target antenna and the target AP, the second information includes at least one of the following: a selected target antenna, a selected target AP, a channel measurement result, and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0256] In the case where the AP determines the target antenna and the target AP, the second information includes at least one of the following: a channel measurement result, and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0257] For example, the process of selecting an antenna or AP based on channel quality (when the antenna / AP selection is performed by the AP associated with the STA):

[0258] 1. The STA detects the channel quality by receiving information such as NDP and / or NDPA sent by the neighboring AP(s), and obtains the indication information of whether the neighboring AP supports Multi-AP collaboration;

[0259] Optionally, the STA may detect the channel quality of the neighboring AP by measuring signal strength (RSRP / RSSI, etc.);

[0260] 2. The STA sends the measured channel quality of the AP and / or the indication information of whether the neighboring AP supports Multi-AP collaboration to the AP associated with the STA;

[0261] 3. The AP associated with the STA selects a target AP for collaboration after receiving the channel quality report of the neighboring AP reported by the STA and / or the indication information that the neighboring AP supports Multi-AP collaboration, and then the AP attempts to establish a Multi-AP collaboration relationship with the target AP.

[0262] The method in the embodiment of the present invention has similar implementation principles and technical effects to the method in any of the aforementioned STA side method embodiments, and will not be described in detail here.

[0263] The AP selection method and apparatus for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention are described below. The AP selection method and apparatus for multi-access point AP collaboration described below and the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration described above can refer to each other.

[0264] Figure 11 This is one of the structural diagrams of the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 11 As shown, the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by this embodiment includes:

[0265] The receiving module 1110 is configured to receive, at a station STA, first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes candidate antenna information;

[0266] The processing module 1120 is configured to determine a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each AP according to the candidate antenna information of each AP; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0267] The sending module 1130 is configured to send second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

[0268] Optionally, the processing module 1120 is further configured to:

[0269] Before sending the second information to each of the APs, a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna are determined according to the channel measurement result.

[0270] Optionally, the first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0271] Optionally, the processing module 1120 is specifically configured to:

[0272] A target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna are determined according to the indication information and the channel measurement result, where the target AP is an AP that supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0273] Optionally, the processing module 1120 is specifically configured to:

[0274] Determine a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0275] The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas;

[0276] The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0277] The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold;

[0278] The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold;

[0279] The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

[0280] Optionally, the target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0281] Optionally, the processing module 1120 is specifically configured to:

[0282] determining channel capacities of multiple antenna combinations based on the channel measurement results;

[0283] According to the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations, a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna in the target antenna combination are determined.

[0284] Optionally, the processing module 1120 is specifically configured to:

[0285] For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

[0286] Optionally, the second information further includes at least one of the following: a selected target antenna, and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0287] Optionally, the second information is carried via a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

[0288] Optionally, the first information is carried by a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame, the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield;

[0289] The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled;

[0290] The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

[0291] Optionally, the channel measurement result is a channel measurement result obtained by compressing a channel measurement result matrix.

[0292] The device of the embodiment of the present invention is used to execute the method in any of the aforementioned STA side method embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0293] Figure 12 This is the second structural diagram of the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the present invention. Figure 12 As shown, the AP selection device for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by this embodiment includes:

[0294] The sending module 1210 is configured to send first information to a station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0295] The receiving module 1220 is configured to receive second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, and the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0296] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0297] The processing module is configured to determine a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information.

[0298] Optionally, the AP is a shared AP or an AP associated with a STA.

[0299] Optionally, the first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0300] Optionally, the second information further includes: indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

[0301] Optionally, the processing module is specifically configured to:

[0302] A target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna are determined according to the channel measurement result and the indication information, where the target AP is an AP that supports multi-AP collaboration.

[0303] Optionally, the processing module is specifically configured to:

[0304] Determine a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0305] The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas;

[0306] The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0307] The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold;

[0308] The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold;

[0309] The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

[0310] Optionally, the target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

[0311] Optionally, the processing module is specifically configured to:

[0312] determining channel capacities of multiple antenna combinations based on the channel measurement results;

[0313] According to the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations, a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna in the target antenna combination are determined.

[0314] Optionally, the processing module is specifically configured to:

[0315] For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

[0316] Optionally, the second information is carried via a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

[0317] Optionally, the first information is carried by a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame, the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield;

[0318] The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled;

[0319] The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

[0320] The device of the embodiment of the present invention is used to execute the method in any of the aforementioned AP side method embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0321] Figure 13 The following is an example of a STA entity structure diagram, such as Figure 13 As shown, the STA may include: a processor 1310, a communication interface 1320, a memory 1330, and a communication bus 1340, wherein the processor 1310, the communication interface 1320, and the memory 1330 communicate with each other through the communication bus 1340. The processor 1310 may call the logic instructions in the memory 1330 to execute the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration, the method comprising: the station STA receives first information sent by at least one AP, the first information including: candidate antenna information;

[0322] The STA determines, based on the candidate antenna information of each of the APs, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each of the APs; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0323] The STA sends second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

[0324] In addition, the logic instructions in the above-mentioned memory 1330 can be implemented in the form of a software functional unit and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when sold or used as an independent product. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0325] Figure 14 An example of an AP physical structure diagram is shown below: Figure 14As shown, the AP may include: a processor 1410, a communication interface 1420, a memory 1430, and a communication bus 1440, wherein the processor 1410, the communication interface 1420, and the memory 1430 communicate with each other via the communication bus 1440. The processor 1410 may call the logic instructions in the memory 1430 to execute the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration, which includes:

[0326] The AP sends first information to the station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0327] The AP receives second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, where the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0328] In addition, the logic instructions in the above-mentioned memory 1430 can be implemented in the form of a software functional unit and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when sold or used as an independent product. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0329] On the other hand, the present invention further provides a computer program product, the computer program product including a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program including program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can execute the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided by the above methods, the method including: a station STA receiving first information sent by at least one AP, the first information including: candidate antenna information;

[0330] The STA determines, based on the candidate antenna information of each of the APs, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each of the APs; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0331] The STA sends second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result. Or,

[0332] The AP sends first information to the station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0333] The AP receives second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, where the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0334] In another aspect, the present invention further provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program is implemented to perform the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration provided above, the method comprising: a station STA receiving first information sent by at least one AP, the first information comprising: candidate antenna information;

[0335] The STA determines, based on the candidate antenna information of each of the APs, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each of the APs; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration;

[0336] The STA sends second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result. Or,

[0337] The AP sends first information to the station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP;

[0338] The AP receives second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, where the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

[0339] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one location or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected based on actual needs to achieve the objectives of the present embodiment. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will be able to understand and implement the present invention without inventive effort.

[0340] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, or of course, by hardware. Based on this understanding, the essence of the above technical solution or the part that contributes to the existing technology can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc., and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment or certain parts of the embodiments.

[0341] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for selecting an AP in collaboration with multiple access points (APs), characterized in that: include: The station STA receives first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes: candidate antenna information; The STA determines, based on the candidate antenna information of each of the APs, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each of the APs; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration; The STA sends second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

2. The AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before the STA sends the second information to each of the APs, the method further includes: The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result.

3. The AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

4. The AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration according to claim 3, characterized in that: The STA determines, according to the channel measurement result, a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the indication information and the channel measurement result, where the target AP is an AP that supports multi-AP collaboration.

5. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The STA determines, according to the channel measurement result, a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The STA determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following: The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas; The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold; The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold; The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold; The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

6. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to claim 5, characterized in that: The target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

7. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The STA determines, according to the channel measurement result, a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The STA determines, based on the channel measurement results, channel capacities of multiple antenna combinations; The STA determines, based on the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations, a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to a target antenna in the target antenna combination.

8. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The STA determines, according to the channel measurement result, a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

9. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that: The second information further includes at least one of the following: a selected target antenna and indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

10. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The second information is carried by a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

11. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The first information is carried by a null data packet (NDP) frame, wherein the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield; The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled; The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

12. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The channel measurement result is a channel measurement result obtained by compressing the channel measurement result matrix.

13. A multi-access point AP selection method, characterized in that: include: The AP sends first information to the station STA, where the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine the channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP; The AP receives second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes: a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, where the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

14. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to claim 13, characterized in that: After the AP receives the second information sent by the STA, the method further includes: The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result in the second information.

15. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that: The first information further includes: indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the AP supports multi-AP collaboration.

16. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that: The second information also includes: indication information of whether multi-AP collaboration is supported.

17. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that: The AP determining, according to the channel measurement result in the second information, a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna according to the channel measurement result and the indication information, where the target AP is an AP supporting multi-AP collaboration.

18. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that: The AP determining, according to the channel measurement result in the second information, a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The AP determines a target antenna and a target AP corresponding to the target antenna based on the channel measurement result and a preset condition, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following: The number of target antennas is equal to the number of target antennas; The system throughput is greater than or equal to a first threshold; The channel quality corresponding to the target antenna is greater than or equal to a second threshold; The channel capacity is greater than or equal to a third threshold; The target antenna is the front L with the highest channel quality s candidate antennas, L s is the target antenna number.

19. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to claim 18, characterized in that: The target number of antennas is determined by the STA, determined by the AP, or predefined by a protocol.

20. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that: The AP determining, according to the channel measurement result in the second information, a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: The AP determines, based on the channel measurement results, channel capacities of the plurality of antenna combinations; The AP determines a target antenna combination with the largest channel capacity and a target AP corresponding to a target antenna in the target antenna combination according to the channel capacities of the multiple antenna combinations.

21. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that: The AP determining, according to the channel measurement result in the second information, a target antenna and determining a target AP corresponding to the target antenna, including: For step i, based on the channel capacity of step i-1, the contribution of each candidate antenna to the channel capacity of step i is calculated, and the candidate antenna with the largest contribution to the channel capacity of step i is selected as the target antenna, where i is an integer greater than 0.

22. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that: The second information is carried by a MIMO control field in a beamforming report.

23. The AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration according to any one of claims 13 to 22, characterized in that: The first information is carried by a null data packet (NDP) frame, wherein the NDP frame includes an antenna selection information field, and the antenna selection information field includes: a first subfield and a second subfield; The first subfield is used to indicate whether antenna selection is enabled; The second subfield includes: information of candidate antennas to be selected.

24. An AP selection device for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, characterized in that: include: A receiving module, configured for a station STA to receive first information sent by at least one AP, where the first information includes: candidate antenna information; A processing module, configured to determine, based on candidate antenna information of each AP, a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of each AP; the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration; The sending module is configured to send second information to each of the APs, where the second information includes: the channel measurement result.

25. An AP selection device for multi-access point (AP) collaboration, characterized in that: include: A sending module, configured to send first information to a station STA, wherein the first information includes candidate antenna information; the first information is used by the STA to determine a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP; The receiving module is configured to receive second information sent by the STA, where the second information includes a channel measurement result corresponding to the antenna of the AP, and the channel measurement result is used to select a target AP for multi-AP collaboration.

26. A station (STA), comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the program, the steps of the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 are implemented.

27. An access point (AP), comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the program, the steps of the AP selection method for multi-access point (AP) collaboration as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 23 are implemented.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the steps of the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, or the AP selection method for multi-access point AP collaboration as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 23.

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