A method, apparatus and communication device for determining a multi-antenna operating state

Abstract

The application discloses a multi-antenna working state judgment method, device and communication equipment. The multi-antenna working state judgment method comprises the following steps: receiving a beamforming report fed back by a receiver, wherein the beamforming report comprises a feedback matrix and a signal-to-noise ratio estimation value of a spatial stream; calculating a weight matrix based on the feedback matrix; and judging whether the working state of each transmitting antenna is normal based on the weight matrix and the signal-to-noise ratio estimation value of the spatial stream. The application utilizes the beamforming report fed back by the receiver to identify the working state of the transmitting antenna, does not need to increase additional cost, and can not only identify the abnormal state of the transmitting antenna caused by the device itself, but also identify the abnormal state of the transmitting antenna caused by external environment and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication, and in particular to a method, apparatus, and communication device for determining the operating status of multiple antennas, as well as a communication device. Background Technology

[0002] In communication systems, increasing the number of antennas at both the transmitting and receiving ends and utilizing Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology can significantly improve communication speed. For example, the 802.11 protocol uses a scheme that utilizes Channel State Information (CSI) feedback from the peer end to construct beams and form a precoding matrix for MIMO transmission.

[0003] Beamforming is a MIMO (Multi-Input Multiple-Output) transmission technology that uses sensor arrays to transmit and receive signals in a directional manner. A beamforming transmitter typically has multiple antennas. By adjusting the amplitude and phase of the transmitted data from each antenna, the transmitted energy becomes directional in space, thereby increasing the signal strength received by the receiver. In MIMO transmission with multiple spatial streams, the data to be transmitted can be divided into multiple data streams at the physical layer, using the same time and frequency domain resources for transmission; each data stream is called a spatial stream. Beamforming transmitters can suppress interference between spatial streams or between different users by adjusting the amplitude and phase of the transmitted data from each antenna. This means that different amplitude and phase weights are used to differentiate the transmitted data in spatial direction, increasing the communication rate without consuming more time and frequency resources. In beamforming transmission, the maximum number of transmitted spatial streams must be less than or equal to the smaller of the number of antennas used in the transmitter and receiver. The transmitter can send unadjusted antenna amplitude and phase data to the receiver to estimate spatial direction information. The receiver then obtains the channel estimation matrix and returns a beamforming report to the transmitter. The transmitter analyzes the report and uses it as the basis for adjusting the antenna amplitude and phase.

[0004] As the number of antennas increases, some antennas are prone to malfunction due to inherent factors such as equipment aging and high temperatures, or external environmental factors such as obstruction and contact issues. Examples include lower transmit power for transmitting antennas and lower gain for receiving antennas. When antenna malfunctions, the number of MIMO spatial streams and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) supported by the communication system will significantly decrease. It is necessary to adjust the usage strategy promptly for the malfunctioning antennas to avoid large fluctuations in communication network throughput. While receivers can relatively easily identify malfunctioning receiving antennas through signal processing, it is usually more difficult for transmitters to identify malfunctions in transmitting antennas.

[0005] Existing technology adds a feedback circuit at the transmitting end to detect the transmitted signal during transmission, thereby determining whether the transmitting antenna is working properly. This method not only requires additional feedback circuitry and corresponding signal processing resources, increasing costs, but also fails to reflect the impact of the external environment on the transmitting antenna, such as when the transmitting antenna is blocked, preventing the transmitted signal from reaching the receiving end. Therefore, its applicability is limited and its accuracy is insufficient. Summary of the Invention

[0006] One objective of this application is to provide a method, apparatus, and communication device for determining the operating status of multiple antennas, which uses beamforming reports fed back by the receiver to identify the operating status of the transmitting antenna without incurring additional costs, and can identify abnormal transmitting antenna status caused by the device itself or by external environmental influences.

[0007] One aspect of this application provides a method for determining the operating status of multiple antennas, the method comprising: receiving a beamforming report fed back by a receiver, the beamforming report including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Represents the number of spatial flows; based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×Nsts A matrix whose element in row t and column s is in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

[0008] In some embodiments, based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts Determining whether the operating status of each transmit antenna is normal based on the signal-to-noise ratio estimate of the N spatial streams includes: sts The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimates of the spatial flows are used to determine available and anomalous spatial flows; it is then determined whether all spatial flows are available; in response to the condition that all spatial flows are available, the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is calculated, where the average weight of the t-th transmit antenna to all spatial flows is... For each transmitting antenna, determine whether its average weight with respect to all spatial flows is greater than a first threshold. If its average weight with respect to all spatial flows is greater than the first threshold, its working state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its working state is determined to be abnormal.

[0009] In the above embodiments, after determining whether all spatial flows are available spatial flows, the method further includes: in response to the existence of available spatial flows and abnormal spatial flows, calculating the average weight of each transmitting antenna to the available spatial flows and the average weight of each transmitting antenna to the abnormal spatial flows, wherein the average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the available spatial flows is... The average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the anomalous spatial flow is Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm These represent the number of elements in the set of available spatial flow indices and the set of abnormal spatial flow indices, respectively. For each transmitting antenna, it is determined whether its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than a second threshold or whether its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than a third threshold. In response to its average weight for available spatial flow being greater than the second threshold or its average weight for abnormal spatial flow being less than the third threshold, its operating state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its operating state is determined to be abnormal.

[0010] In some embodiments, based on N stsDetermining available and abnormal spatial flows based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimates of the spatial flows includes: sequentially determining whether the SNR estimate of each spatial flow is greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold; in response to the SNR estimate being greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold, determining the spatial flow as an available spatial flow, otherwise determining the spatial flow as an abnormal spatial flow.

[0011] Another aspect of this application provides a multi-antenna transmitter communication method, wherein the multi-antenna transmitter includes N... Tx The method includes: using any one of the above-described multi-antenna operating state determination methods to determine the N antennas. Tx The operating status of the transmit antenna; in response to the presence of a transmit antenna in an abnormal operating state, perform one or more of the following steps: (1) reduce the modulation and coding strategy of the transmit signal; (2) reduce the number of transmit spatial streams; (3) shut down the transmit antenna in an abnormal operating state.

[0012] A third aspect of this application provides a multi-antenna operating status determination device, comprising: a beamforming report receiving module configured to receive a beamforming report fed back by a receiver, the beamforming report including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Represents the number of spatial flows; the weight calculation module is configured to be based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts A matrix whose element in row t and column s is in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; the transmitting antenna operating status determination module, which is configured to determine the operating status based on the weight matrix Q and the N. sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

[0013] In some embodiments, the transmitting antenna operating state determination module includes: a spatial flow type determination submodule, which is configured to determine the N based on the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimates of the spatial flows are used to determine available and anomalous spatial flows. A spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule is configured to determine whether all spatial flows are available, and in response to all spatial flows being available, calculate the weight mean of each transmit antenna for all spatial flows, where the weight mean of the t-th transmit antenna for all spatial flows is... The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule is configured to determine whether the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than a first threshold. If the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than the first threshold, its working state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its working state is determined to be abnormal.

[0014] In the above embodiments, the spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule is further configured to: in response to the existence of available spatial flow and abnormal spatial flow, calculate the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow, and the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to the abnormal spatial flow, wherein the weight mean of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow is... The average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the anomalous spatial flow is Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm The numbers represent the number of elements in the set of available spatial flow numbers and the set of abnormal spatial flow numbers, respectively. The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule is further configured to: for each transmit antenna, determine whether its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than a second threshold or whether its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than a third threshold. In response to its average weight for available spatial flow being greater than the second threshold or its average weight for abnormal spatial flow being less than the third threshold, determine that its working state is normal; otherwise, determine that its working state is abnormal.

[0015] In some embodiments, the spatial flow type determination submodule is further configured as follows: a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) comparison submodule, configured to sequentially determine whether the estimated SNR value of each spatial flow is greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold value, and output the determination result; and a determination submodule, configured to determine that the spatial flow is an available spatial flow in response to the determination result output by the SNR comparison submodule being greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold value, otherwise determining that the spatial flow is an abnormal spatial flow.

[0016] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, the processor being configured to: control the transceiver to receive a beamforming report fed back by a receiver, the beamforming report including N... sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Represents the number of spatial flows; based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts A matrix whose element in row t and column s is in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

[0017] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device that includes the multi-antenna operating status determination device described in any of the preceding claims.

[0018] The above is an overview of this application, and there may be simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of details. Therefore, those skilled in the art should recognize that this section is merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application in any way. This overview section is neither intended to identify the key or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor to serve as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The above and other features of this application will become more fully clear through the following description and appended claims, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is understood that these drawings depict only a few embodiments of the application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the application. The application will be described more clearly and in more detail through the use of the drawings.

[0020] Figure 1A schematic diagram of the MIMO transmission system is shown.

[0021] Figure 2 An embodiment of this application illustrates a method 200 for determining the operating state of multiple antennas;

[0022] Figure 3 It shows Figure 2 One implementation of step 230;

[0023] Figure 4 An exemplary structural block diagram of a multi-antenna operating state determination device 400 according to an embodiment of this application is shown;

[0024] Figure 5 An exemplary structural block diagram of the transmitting antenna operating status determination module 430 is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solution of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, similar symbols generally denote similar components unless the context otherwise requires. The specific embodiments described in the following detailed description, drawings, and claims are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Other embodiments may be adopted, and modifications, combinations, equivalent substitutions, or other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter of this application, all of which explicitly constitute part of the content of this application and are included within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the MIMO transmission system is shown.

[0027] refer to Figure 1 The MIMO transmission system includes a transmitter 10 and a receiver 20. For MIMO transmission of multiple spatial streams, the transmitter 10 has N... Tx The receiver 20 has N transmitting antennas. Rx Root receiving antenna, where N Tx and N Rx All are greater than 1. Transmitter 10 uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation to transmit data to receiver 20, with N subcarriers. sc .

[0028] In the 802.11 wireless LAN standard, transmitter 10 and receiver 20 each correspond to a wireless station (STA). In the 3GPP LTE standard, transmitter 10 and receiver 20 correspond to an LTE base station (Evolved NodeB, eNB) and an LTE terminal (User Equipment, UE), respectively. The following explanation uses an 802.11 wireless LAN as an example to illustrate the principles of this application. It should be understood that this application is also applicable to other multi-antenna communication systems.

[0029] In an 802.11 network, the transmitter using MIMO beamforming technology to send data is called a beamforming transmitter, and the corresponding receiver is called a beamforming receiver. The transmitter sends a null data packet (NDP) to estimate the channel state. The receiver receives the NDP, calculates feedback information for constructing the beamforming precoding matrix, and sends it back to the transmitter. This feedback information includes a beamforming report. The transmitter constructs the beamforming precoding matrix based on the receiver's feedback information, thus using beamforming technology in subsequent data frame transmissions. Depending on the configuration, the beamforming report can be sent as either a non-compressed beamforming frame or a compressed beamforming frame. When transmitting with uncompressed beamforming frames, the beamforming report contains the quantized values ​​of each element of each feedback matrix; when transmitting with compressed beamforming frames, the beamforming report contains the quantized angle values ​​representing each feedback matrix. The transmitter can construct each feedback matrix based on the quantized angle values, so it can also be considered that the beamforming report includes the feedback matrix.

[0030] The inventors of this application discovered that when a transmitting antenna malfunctions, the elements in its corresponding beamforming precoding matrix also become abnormal. Since the beamforming precoding matrix is ​​constructed from the feedback matrix, the feedback matrix contains information about the malfunctioning transmitting antenna. This application determines the operating status of the transmitting antenna by extracting the corresponding information from the feedback matrix, without needing to add a feedback circuit or additional signal processing hardware resources, thus reducing the cost of the transmitter.

[0031] Figure 2 This application illustrates a method 200 for determining the operating state of multiple antennas, which can be applied to... Figure 1 In the MIMO transmitter 10 shown. Specifically, method 200 includes the following steps:

[0032] In step 210, a beamforming report fed back by receiver 20 is received. The beamforming report includes a feedback matrix and a signal-to-noise ratio estimate of the spatial stream.

[0033] Receiver 20 can perform channel estimation based on the empty data packet signal or other pilot signal sent by transmitter 10, estimate the spatial stream signal-to-noise ratio, calculate the feedback matrix for beamforming by transmitter 10, and then generate a beamforming report and feed it back to transmitter 10.

[0034] Receiver 20 can perform channel estimation using various channel estimation algorithms. For each subcarrier, the channel estimation result can be represented as a channel estimation matrix. A feedback matrix can be calculated based on the channel estimation matrix. For example, receiver 20 can perform singular value decomposition on the channel estimation matrix, selecting all or some singular vectors to construct the feedback matrix. In some embodiments, a singular value threshold is set, and the number of singular values ​​greater than this threshold is taken as the number of spatial streams. The singular vectors corresponding to these singular values ​​are quantized according to certain rules to obtain the feedback matrix. Each column of the feedback matrix is ​​the quantized value of a singular vector, and the columns are mutually orthogonal. A spatial stream can be understood as an independent data stream from the transmitter to the receiver. The number of transmittable spatial streams is related to the channel characteristics between the transmitter's multiple transmit antennas and the receiver's multiple receive antennas. By performing singular value decomposition on the channel estimation matrix, the number of available spatial streams can be estimated. Then, receiver 20 further estimates the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each spatial stream.

[0035] The beamforming report fed back by receiver 20 includes N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimates of N spatial streams. sc N is the number of subcarriers. sts Let N be the number of spatial flows. For ease of description, let N be... sc The feedback matrices are represented as follows: Each feedback matrix is ​​N. Tx ×N sts Matrix, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier. The t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmit antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0≤k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts .

[0036] In step 220, the weight matrix is ​​calculated based on the feedback matrix.

[0037] In this step, transmitter 10 is based on N scUsing a set of feedback matrices, the weight of each spatial flow at each transmit antenna is calculated, resulting in a weight matrix Q. The weight matrix Q is N... Tx ×N sts Matrix. Where the element q in the t-th row and s-th column of the weight matrix Q. t,s , where is the weight of the s-th spatial flow at the t-th transmitting antenna, can be calculated using the following formula:

[0038] in, For the feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column.

[0039] The weight matrix Q reflects the contribution of the transmitting antenna to the spatial flow, and to a certain extent, indicates the magnitude of the transmitting antenna's contribution when transmitting signals. A smaller contribution indicates a lower importance of the transmitting antenna. When the contribution falls below a preset condition, the transmitting antenna's operating state can be considered abnormal. This application further extracts information from the weight matrix to determine the operating state of the transmitting antenna.

[0040] In step 230, the operating status of each transmit antenna is determined based on the weight matrix and the signal-to-noise ratio estimate of the spatial flow.

[0041] Figure 3 It shows Figure 2 One implementation of step 230 in the process.

[0042] In step 231, based on the signal-to-noise ratio estimate of the spatial flow, the available spatial flow and the anomalous spatial flow are determined.

[0043] In some embodiments, an available spatial stream signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold can be set according to actual conditions, and the estimated SNR of each spatial stream is compared with the available spatial stream SNR threshold. When the estimated SNR is greater than the available spatial stream SNR threshold, the spatial stream is determined to be an available spatial stream; otherwise, the spatial stream is determined to be an abnormal spatial stream. The available spatial stream SNR threshold can be set according to the system's preset communication rate, modulation and coding scheme, etc. For example, it can be set to be equal to or slightly lower than the SNR that the receiver can demodulate normally.

[0044] In step 232, it is determined whether all spatial flows are available spatial flows.

[0045] If all space streams are available space streams, proceed to step 233; otherwise, proceed to step 237.

[0046] In step 233, the weighted mean of the t-th transmitting antenna with respect to all spatial flows is calculated. The average weight of the transmitting antenna to all spatial flows reflects the magnitude of the transmitting antenna's contribution to the transmitted signal.

[0047] In step 234, determine the average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna for all spatial flows. Is it greater than the first threshold? Responding to the weighted mean. If the value is greater than the first threshold, the working state of the t-th transmitting antenna is determined to be normal (step 235); otherwise, the working state of the t-th transmitting antenna is determined to be abnormal (step 236).

[0048] The first threshold value is a preset threshold. If the modulus of each column of the feedback matrix is ​​normalized to 1, the first threshold value can be set to an integer less than 1. For example, in some embodiments, the first threshold value can be set to 0.1.

[0049] If it is determined in step 232 that not all spatial flows are available spatial flows, then in step 237, it is determined whether there are available spatial flows and abnormal spatial flows.

[0050] In response to the existence of both available and anomalous spatial flows, in step 238, the mean weight of the available spatial flow at the t-th transmit antenna is calculated. and the mean weight of the anomalous spatial flow at the t-th transmit antenna. Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm These represent the number of elements in the set of available space stream indices and the set of abnormal space stream indices, respectively.

[0051] If all spatial flows are abnormal, the beamforming report information is considered abnormal, and no judgment is made on the operating status of the transmitting antenna.

[0052] In step 239, the weighted mean of the available spatial flow at the t-th transmitting antenna is determined. Is it greater than the second threshold, or the weighted average of the abnormal spatial flow at the t-th transmit antenna? Is it less than the third threshold value?

[0053] Response to mean Greater than the second threshold, or the mean If the value is less than the third threshold, the working state of the t-th transmitting antenna is determined to be normal (step 235); otherwise, the working state of the t-th transmitting antenna is determined to be abnormal (step 236).

[0054] Both the second and third threshold values ​​are preset thresholds, and are calculated based on the weighted average. and If the number of elements used is small, it can be set to a value higher than the first threshold to improve robustness.

[0055] By performing step 230 on each transmitting antenna, it is possible to determine whether the transmitting antenna is functioning normally.

[0056] This application also provides a communication method using a multi-antenna transmitter. The multi-antenna transmitter includes N... Tx For each transmitting antenna, determine N using any of the above-mentioned methods for determining the operating status of multiple antennas. Tx After determining the operating status of the transmitting antenna, in response to the presence of a transmitting antenna in an abnormal operating state, perform one or more of the following steps:

[0057] (1) Reduce the modulation and coding strategies of the transmitted signal.

[0058] Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) refers to the modulation method and channel coding scheme used by wireless devices during channel transmission. Different MCS schemes typically correspond to different data transmission rates. Reducing the MCS scheme of the transmitted signal, such as lowering the modulation order and / or reducing the coding rate, can reduce the data transmission rate, thereby lowering the requirements for channel quality.

[0059] (2) Reduce the number of transmit spatial streams to reduce the requirements for channel quality.

[0060] (3) Turn off the transmitting antenna that is in an abnormal working state. This can reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

[0061] The above steps can be performed individually or in combination.

[0062] This application also provides a multi-antenna transmitter configured to perform the above-described multi-antenna transmitter communication method.

[0063] To facilitate a clear understanding of the beneficial effects of this invention by those skilled in the art, the inventors, based on... Figure 1 A simulation of a MIMO transmission system scenario was conducted. The wireless LAN standard was 802.11ax, the channel bandwidth was 20MHz, the transmitter had 3 antennas, and the receiver had 2 antennas. The available spatial stream signal-to-noise ratio threshold was set to 23dB, and the first threshold was set to 0.1.

[0064] In one simulation, the beamforming report from the receiver contained two spatial flows with estimated signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of 35.5 dB and 27.25 dB, respectively. Both were greater than the usable spatial flow SNR threshold, indicating that all spatial flows were usable. The average weights of the three transmit antennas for all spatial flows, calculated from the feedback matrix, were 0.5744, 0.4761, and 0.5948, respectively, all greater than the first threshold of 0.1. Therefore, it was determined that all three antennas of the beamforming transmitter were functioning correctly.

[0065] In another simulation of the same scenario, when one antenna malfunctioned, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimates for the two spatial flows in the beamforming report fed back by the receiver were 33.5 dB and 24 dB. Since both SNR estimates were greater than the SNR threshold, all spatial flows were determined to be usable. Based on the feedback matrix, the average weights of the three transmit antennas for all spatial flows were calculated to be 0.6996, 0.6996, and 0.0582, respectively. The average weights of the first and second antennas for all spatial flows were greater than the first threshold of 0.1, indicating normal operation. The average weight of the third antenna for all spatial flows was less than the first threshold of 0.1, indicating an malfunction in the third antenna.

[0066] This application also provides a multi-antenna operating status determination device. Figure 4 This diagram illustrates an exemplary structural block diagram of a multi-antenna operating state determination device 400 according to an embodiment of this application. The device 400 can be used to implement the multi-antenna operating state determination method 200 of this application. Figure 4 As shown, the device 400 includes a beamforming report receiving module 410, a weight calculation module 420, and a transmitting antenna operating status determination module 430. The structure and operation of each unit of the device 400 are briefly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For further details, please refer to the description of the multi-antenna operating status determination method 200.

[0067] The beamforming report receiving module 410 is configured to receive beamforming reports fed back by the receiver, the beamforming reports including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, and the k-th feedback matrix V. k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts In each feedback matrix, the t-th row corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Indicates the number of spatial flows.

[0068] The weight calculation module 420 is configured to be based on N sc Calculate the weight matrix Q from the feedback matrices, where the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts A matrix whose element in row t and column s is in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column.

[0069] The transmitting antenna operating status determination module 430 is configured to determine the operating status based on the weight matrix Q and N. sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operation of each transmitting antenna is normal.

[0070] Figure 5 An exemplary structural block diagram of the transmitting antenna operating status determination module 430 is shown. Figure 5 As shown, the transmitting antenna working status judgment module 430 includes a spatial flow type judgment submodule 431, a spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule 432, and a spatial flow weight comparison and judgment submodule 433.

[0071] Among them, the spatial flow type determination submodule 431 is configured to be based on N sts The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each spatial stream is estimated to identify available and anomalous spatial streams.

[0072] In some embodiments, the spatial flow type determination submodule 431 includes a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) comparison submodule and a determination submodule. The SNR comparison submodule is configured to sequentially determine whether the estimated SNR value of each spatial flow is greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold, and output the determination result. The determination submodule is configured to determine that the spatial flow is an available spatial flow in response to the determination result output by the SNR comparison submodule being greater than the available spatial flow SNR threshold; otherwise, it determines that the spatial flow is an abnormal spatial flow.

[0073] The spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule 432 is configured to determine whether all spatial flows are usable spatial flows. In response to the condition that all spatial flows are usable, it calculates the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows, where the weight mean of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows is...

[0074] The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule 433 is configured to determine whether the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than a first threshold. If the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than the first threshold, its working state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its working state is determined to be abnormal.

[0075] In some embodiments, the spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule 432 is further configured to: in response to the existence of available spatial flow and abnormal spatial flow, calculate the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow, and the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to the abnormal spatial flow, wherein the weight mean of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow is... The average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the anomalous spatial flow is Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm These represent the number of elements in the set of available space stream indices and the set of abnormal space stream indices, respectively.

[0076] The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule 433 is further configured to: for each transmit antenna, determine whether its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than a second threshold or whether its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than a third threshold; in response to its average weight for available spatial flow being greater than the second threshold or its average weight for abnormal spatial flow being less than the third threshold, determine that its working state is normal; otherwise, determine that its working state is abnormal.

[0077] This application also provides a communication device, which includes the multi-antenna operating status determination device in any of the above embodiments.

[0078] Furthermore, this application also provides a communication device including a transceiver and a processor, which can be used to implement the aforementioned multi-antenna operating state determination method 200. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to receive a beamforming report fed back from the receiver, the beamforming report including N... sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, and the k-th feedback matrix V. k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts In each feedback matrix, the t-th row corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Represents the number of spatial flows; based on N sc Calculate the weight matrix Q from the feedback matrices, where the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts A matrix whose element in row t and column s is in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; based on the weight matrices Q and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operation of each transmitting antenna is normal.

[0079] This application utilizes information implicit in the beamforming report fed back by the receiver to identify the operating status of the transmitting antenna, eliminating the need for additional feedback circuits or other structures at the transmitting end and incurring no extra costs. Furthermore, since the beamforming report already reflects the effects of the external environment, it can identify not only abnormal transmitting antenna conditions caused by equipment-related factors such as aging or high temperatures, but also abnormal transmitting antenna conditions caused by external environmental factors such as obstruction or contact.

[0080] Those skilled in the art can understand and implement other modifications to the disclosed embodiments by reading the specification, the disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims. Such modifications, without departing from the essence of the claims, fall within the scope of protection of the claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements and steps, and the words "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. In practical applications of this application, a single part or module may perform the functions of multiple technical features referenced in the claims. Any reference numerals in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. A method for determining the operating status of multiple antennas, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive the beamforming report fed back by the receiver, the beamforming report including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Indicates the number of spatial flows; Based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts The matrix has an element in the t-th row and s-th column as follows: in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; Based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts Determining whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal based on the signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream includes: Based on the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimates of the spatial streams are used to determine the available spatial streams and anomalous spatial streams; Determine whether all spatial flows are available spatial flows; In response to the condition that all spatial flows are available spatial flows, calculate the average weight of each transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows, where the average weight of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows is... For each transmitting antenna, determine whether its average weight with respect to all spatial flows is greater than a first threshold. If its average weight with respect to all spatial flows is greater than the first threshold, its working state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its working state is determined to be abnormal.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After determining whether all spatial flows are available spatial flows, the method further includes: In response to the existence of available and anomalous spatial flows, calculate the average weight of each transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow and the average weight of each transmit antenna with respect to the anomalous spatial flow, where the average weight of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow is... The average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the anomalous spatial flow is Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm These represent the number of elements in the set of available space stream indices and the set of abnormal space stream indices, respectively. For each transmitting antenna, determine whether its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than a second threshold or whether its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than a third threshold. If its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than the second threshold or its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than the third threshold, its operating state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its operating state is determined to be abnormal.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Based on N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimates of the spatial streams, used to determine available and anomalous spatial streams, include: For each spatial stream, determine whether its signal-to-noise ratio estimate is greater than the available spatial stream signal-to-noise ratio threshold. If the estimated signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a spatial stream is greater than the available spatial stream SNR threshold, the spatial stream is determined to be an available spatial stream; otherwise, the spatial stream is determined to be an abnormal spatial stream.

5. A communication method using a multi-antenna transmitter, wherein the multi-antenna transmitter comprises N Tx A transmitting antenna, characterized in that, The method includes: The method described in any one of claims 1 to 4 is used to determine the N. Tx The operating status of the root transmitting antenna; In response to the presence of a transmitting antenna in an abnormal operating state, perform one or more of the following steps: (1) Reduce the modulation and coding strategies of the transmitted signal; (2) Reduce the number of launch space streams; (3) Turn off the transmitting antenna that is in an abnormal working state.

6. A multi-antenna operating status determination device, comprising: Beamforming report receiving module, configured to receive beamforming reports fed back by a receiver, the beamforming reports including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Indicates the number of spatial flows; The weight calculation module is configured to be based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts The matrix has an element in the t-th row and s-th column as follows: in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; The transmitting antenna operating status determination module is configured to determine the operating status based on the weight matrix Q and the N. sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

7. The multi-antenna operating status determination device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The transmitting antenna operating status determination module includes: The spatial flow type determination submodule is configured to determine the type of flow based on the N. sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimates of the spatial streams are used to determine the available spatial streams and anomalous spatial streams; The spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule is configured to determine whether all spatial flows are usable spatial flows. In response to the condition that all spatial flows are usable, it calculates the weight mean of each transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows, where the weight mean of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to all spatial flows is... The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule is configured to determine whether the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than a first threshold. If the average weight of each transmit antenna to all spatial flows is greater than the first threshold, its working state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its working state is determined to be abnormal.

8. The multi-antenna operating status determination device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The spatial flow weight mean calculation submodule is further configured as follows: In response to the existence of available and anomalous spatial flows, calculate the average weight of each transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow and the average weight of each transmit antenna with respect to the anomalous spatial flow, where the average weight of the t-th transmit antenna with respect to the available spatial flow is... The average weight of the t-th transmitting antenna to the anomalous spatial flow is Among them I norm and I abnorm N represents the set of indices for available space flows and abnormal space flows, respectively. norm and N abnorm These represent the number of elements in the set of indices of available space streams and the set of indices of abnormal space streams, respectively. The spatial flow weight comparison and determination submodule is further configured as follows: For each transmitting antenna, determine whether its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than a second threshold or whether its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than a third threshold. If its average weight for available spatial flow is greater than the second threshold or its average weight for abnormal spatial flow is less than the third threshold, its operating state is determined to be normal; otherwise, its operating state is determined to be abnormal.

9. The multi-antenna operating status determination device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The spatial flow type determination submodule is further configured as follows: The signal-to-noise ratio comparison submodule is configured to sequentially determine whether the estimated signal-to-noise ratio of each spatial stream is greater than the available spatial stream signal-to-noise ratio threshold, and output the determination result. The judgment submodule is configured to determine that the spatial flow is a usable spatial flow if the judgment result output by the signal-to-noise ratio comparison submodule is greater than the available spatial flow signal-to-noise ratio threshold value; otherwise, the spatial flow is determined to be an abnormal spatial flow.

10. A communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, the processor being configured to: The transceiver is controlled to receive a beamforming report fed back from the receiver, the beamforming report including N sc Feedback matrices and N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream, the k-th feedback matrix V k Corresponding to the k-th subcarrier, the feedback matrix V k For N Tx ×N sts The matrix, wherein the t-th row of each feedback matrix corresponds to the t-th transmitting antenna, and the s-th column corresponds to the s-th spatial flow, 0 ≤ k <N sc , 0≤t <N Tx , 0≤s <N sts N sc N represents the number of subcarriers. Tx N represents the number of transmitting antennas of the transmitter. sts Indicates the number of spatial flows; Based on the N sc The weight matrix Q is calculated from the feedback matrices, and the weight matrix Q is N. Tx ×N sts The matrix has an element in the t-th row and s-th column as follows: in, For the k-th feedback matrix V k The element in the t-th row and s-th column; Based on the weight matrix Q and the N sts The signal-to-noise ratio estimate of each spatial stream is used to determine whether the operating status of each transmitting antenna is normal.

11. A communication device comprising the multi-antenna operating status determination device according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

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