Beam steering control method, apparatus, and storage medium thereof

Abstract

A beam steering control method is executed in an access point device, the method comprising: calculating a direction of a beam pointing according to position information of at least one user equipment accessing, and controlling the beam steering according to collected application information and wireless performance index of the at least one user equipment. The application also provides a device and a storage medium for implementing the method. The application can automatically adjust the direction of the beam pointing to provide the best service quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a beam steering control method, apparatus and storage medium thereof. Background Technology

[0002] When a user installs a wireless access point in their home, they often need to adjust the angle at which the access point is placed to meet the wireless signal transmission requirements of each room.

[0003] However, if there are multiple user devices in the home at the same time, when the signal quality of the user devices is poor, it is often necessary to readjust the location of the wireless access point. Such adjustments usually require a series of trial and error attempts to achieve what the user considers the best result. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a beam steering control method, device and storage medium thereof, which can be applied to scenarios where multiple user equipments are connected, and can switch to the appropriate shaped beam for signal transmission in a timely manner.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides a beam steering control method, executed in an access point device. The method includes: forming a beam pointing towards a first beam direction according to an initial configuration; acquiring location information of at least one user equipment; calculating a second beam direction based on the location information of the at least one user equipment; configuring the antenna unit of the access point device to steering the beam towards the second beam direction; collecting running application information and wireless performance indicators of the at least one user equipment; determining the weight of the at least one user equipment based on the collected running application information and wireless performance indicators; calculating a third beam direction based on the location information and weight of the at least one user equipment; and configuring the antenna unit of the access point device to steering the beam towards the third beam direction.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a beam steering control device, including a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program, which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to implement the beam steering control method.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a storage medium storing a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the beam steering control method described above.

[0008] Compared with existing technologies, the beam steering control method, device and storage medium provided by the present invention can automatically adjust the beam direction by combining information such as the location of the user equipment, the running application and wireless performance indicators. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a beam steering control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of data collected by an access point device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of beam steering control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Explanation of main component symbols Steps S101~S108 Device 300 Processor 302 Memory 304 Communication Interface 306 The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will further illustrate the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0013] To facilitate understanding and implementation of this invention by those skilled in the art, the invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that this invention provides many applicable inventive concepts, which can be implemented in various specific forms. Those skilled in the art can utilize the details described in these or other embodiments, as well as any structural, logical, and electrical variations thereof, to implement the invention without departing from its spirit and scope.

[0014] This specification provides different embodiments to illustrate the technical features of different implementations of the invention. The configuration of elements in the embodiments is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the repetition of some reference numerals in the embodiments is for simplification and does not imply any correlation between different embodiments. The same element numbers used in the illustrations and specification represent the same or similar components. The illustrations in this specification are simplified and not drawn to scale.

[0015] Furthermore, in describing some embodiments of the present invention, the specification describes the method and / or procedure of the present invention in a specific order of steps. However, since the method and procedure are not necessarily performed according to the specific order of steps described, they are not limited to the specific order of steps. Those skilled in the art will understand that other orders are also possible implementations. Therefore, the specific order of steps described in the specification is not intended to limit the scope of the patent application. Moreover, the scope of the present invention for the method and / or procedure is not limited to the order of execution steps written therein, and those skilled in the art will understand that adjusting the order of execution steps does not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0016] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the specification of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Please see Figure 1 The diagram shows a flowchart of a beam steering control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to an access point device in a wireless network.

[0018] Step S101: Form a beam pointing in the direction of the first beam according to the initial configuration.

[0019] Specifically, once the access point device is installed in the home and powered on, it configures the antenna unit of the access point device to form a beam pointing in the direction of the first beam, based on the stored initial configuration.

[0020] Step S102: Obtain the location information of at least one user device.

[0021] Specifically, existing positioning algorithms can be used to obtain the location information of at least one user device. Common WLAN-based positioning algorithms mainly include Angle of Arrival (AOA) positioning, Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning, Received Signal Strength (RSS) model positioning, and Location Fingerprint positioning.

[0022] Step S103: Calculate the direction of the second beam based on the location information of the at least one user equipment.

[0023] The access point device can communicate with one or more user equipments. When there are multiple user equipments, they can be clustered and grouped according to the clustering results, and the direction of the second beam can be determined based on the grouping results.

[0024] For example, when the living room has the most user devices, the direction of the second beam can be calculated based on the center position of that user group.

[0025] Step S104: Configure the antenna unit of the access point device to redirect the beam to the second beam direction.

[0026] Specifically, beam steering can be achieved through phased array-based beam steering, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, hybrid beamforming, or adjusting the physical orientation of antenna elements using mechanical devices, etc., without any limitations.

[0027] In one embodiment, the antenna element is a smart antenna, and the antenna array mode of the smart antenna can be configured according to the second beam direction, so that the main beam direction of the smart antenna points to the second beam direction.

[0028] Step S105: Collect running application information and wireless performance metrics of at least one user device.

[0029] Specifically, at least one user device connected to the access point can be requested to provide information on running applications and wireless performance metrics at preset intervals. Depending on actual needs, the preset interval can be one hour, one day, one week, or one month, etc., and is not limited here. Alternatively, the user device can proactively provide feedback.

[0030] In one embodiment, the application information running on the user device includes any one or more combinations of web browsing applications, download applications, online game applications, streaming applications, virtual reality applications, augmented reality applications, and video conferencing applications.

[0031] In different embodiments, the application information running on the user device may also include the total running time of different applications.

[0032] In one embodiment, the wireless performance metrics reported by the user equipment include received signal strength indication, transmission speed, latency, and error rate.

[0033] In different embodiments, the applications running on the user equipment or the wireless performance metrics reported are not limited to the above-mentioned types; any application that the user equipment can run or any wireless performance metric that it can obtain should be included.

[0034] Step S106: Determine the weight of at least one user device based on the collected running application information and wireless performance metrics of at least one user device.

[0035] like Figure 2 The diagram illustrates how an access point device processes user equipment's running application information and wireless performance metrics in an example. The value of the "weight" field is calculated based on the collected data and default rules.

[0036] by Figure 2 For example, users can pre-set the importance of different applications, the values ​​corresponding to different received signal strength indication ranges for different applications, and the latency sensitivity for different applications.

[0037] For example, users prioritize video conferencing applications; followed by online games, virtual reality, and augmented reality applications; then streaming applications; next, web browsing applications; and finally, download applications. Users can then pre-set the importance of different applications through the access point device's administrator interface, setting the most important application to the highest importance of 10, and so on down to the lowest importance of 2. The access point device can then obtain information such as the applications running on the user's device based on the collected application information. Figure 2 The value of the "Importance" field.

[0038] As another example, users can also set latency sensitivity based on the latency tolerance of different applications. For instance, if a user is most intolerant of latency when playing online games, the latency sensitivity for the online game application can be set to the highest value of 10; conversely, if a user can tolerate latency and wait when browsing the web, the latency sensitivity for the web browsing application can be set to the lowest value of 2.

[0039] While the above example uses user-preset settings, access point devices can also pre-store the importance, latency sensitivity, and values ​​corresponding to different received signal strength indication ranges for different applications.

[0040] Other collected data can also be analyzed and processed in a similar way, which will not be elaborated here.

[0041] Finally, based on the collected data and default rules, the weight of the user's device can be calculated. Figure 2 In this case, the value of the weight field is obtained by adding the values ​​of all fields together. Figure 2 Although we assume that each user device has only one application, in actual application scenarios, there may be multiple applications collected for different user devices.

[0042] Step S107: Calculate the direction of the third beam based on the location information and weight of at least one user equipment.

[0043] Specifically, a weighted average method or other mathematical models can be used to comprehensively consider the weight and spatial location of each user device in order to calculate the optimal direction of the beam as the third beam direction.

[0044] Step S108: Configure the antenna unit of the access point device to turn the beam to the direction of the third beam.

[0045] In one embodiment, the antenna element is a smart antenna, and the antenna array mode of the smart antenna can be configured according to the third beam direction, so that the main beam direction of the smart antenna points to the third beam direction.

[0046] After step S108, the mathematical pattern of the third beam direction is optimized or adjusted again based on the next default cycle or the running application information and wireless performance indicators actively fed back by the user equipment.

[0047] In one embodiment, the access point device can also dynamically allocate bandwidth based on the applications running on the user device. For example, the allocated bandwidth, in descending order, is for virtual reality applications and augmented reality applications, video conferencing applications, streaming applications, online gaming applications, web browsing applications, and download applications.

[0048] Please see Figure 3 The diagram shown is a hardware block diagram of a beam steering control device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device 300 includes a processor 302, a memory 304, and a communication interface 306. Figure 1 The described method flow can be implemented by device 300. Those skilled in the art should understand that... Figure 3 The composition of the device 300 shown does not constitute a limitation of the embodiments of the present invention. Figure 3 The device 300 shown is simplified for ease of description, and in different embodiments it may include fewer or more components than shown.

[0049] In one embodiment, the processor 302 may be composed of integrated circuits, such as a single packaged integrated circuit or multiple integrated circuits with the same or different functions, including combinations of one or more central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, digital processing chips, graphics processors, and various control chips. The processor 302 is the control unit of the device 300, connecting various components of the device 300 via various interfaces and lines. It executes computer programs or modules stored in the memory 302 and calls data stored in the memory 302 to perform various functions of the device 300 and process data, such as beam steering control methods.

[0050] In one embodiment, the memory 304 is used to store computer program code and various data, such as beam steering control methods, and to enable high-speed, automatic access to programs or data during the operation of the device 300. The memory 304 includes read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), one-time programmable read-only memory (OTPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, disk storage, magnetic tape storage, or any other computer-readable storage medium capable of carrying or storing data.

[0051] In one embodiment, the communication interface 306 is composed of a communication circuit for communicating data or information with external devices, and the communication interface 306 includes an antenna unit.

[0052] In summary, the beam steering control method, device, and storage medium of the present invention can dynamically and proactively adjust the beam direction of the access point device according to the current usage of the user equipment, so as to provide the best user experience.

[0053] It is worth noting that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A beam steering control method, executed in an access point device, characterized in that, The method includes: A beam is formed pointing towards the direction of the first beam according to the initial configuration; Obtain the location information of at least one user device; The direction of the second beam is calculated based on the location information of the at least one user equipment. Configure the antenna unit of the access point device to steer the beam toward the second beam direction; Collect running application information and wireless performance metrics of at least one user device; The weight of the at least one user device is determined based on the collected running application information and wireless performance metrics of the at least one user device; The direction of the third beam is calculated based on the location information and weight of the at least one user equipment. as well as Configure the antenna unit of the access point device to redirect the beam to the direction of the third beam.

2. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the location information of at least one user device also includes: When multiple user devices exist, the multiple user devices are clustered; and The multiple user equipments are grouped according to the clustering results, and the direction of the second beam is determined according to the grouping results.

3. The beam steering control method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the second beam direction based on the grouping result further includes: determining the second beam direction based on the center position of the group containing the most user equipment.

4. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The process of forming a beam pointing in the direction of the first beam according to the initial configuration is performed after the access point device is powered on.

5. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The running application information of the at least one user device includes any one or more combinations of web browsing applications, download applications, online game applications, streaming applications, virtual reality applications, augmented reality applications, and video conferencing applications.

6. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The running application information of the at least one user device includes the total running time of different applications.

7. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wireless performance metrics of the at least one user equipment include received signal strength indication, transmission speed, latency, and error rate.

8. The beam steering control method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of calculating the third beam direction based on the location information and weights of the at least one user equipment further includes calculating the optimal direction of the beam as the third beam direction using a weighted average method based on the location information and weights of the at least one user equipment.

9. A beam steering control device, characterized in that, include Processor; and A memory for storing a computer program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to implement the beam steering control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the beam steering control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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