Coordinated Beam Training for Millimeter-Wave APs
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Solution Overview
Problem
In 60 GHz millimeter-wave communication, severe signal attenuation due to path loss necessitates directional communication using beamforming, but existing methods lack an efficient mechanism for coordinating beamforming training across multiple access points (APs) and stations (STAs), leading to inefficiencies in resource utilization and access success rates.
Innovation Solution
A beam training method where a first AP determines and sends information to configure an association beamforming training time period, allowing multiple APs and STAs to perform beam training within the indicated period, enabling coordinated beamforming training and improving system performance by managing the A-BFT time period and slot allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If association beamforming training is performed between one AP and multiple STAs, then beam training can be completed for individual AP-STA pairs, but there is no efficient mechanism to coordinate multiple APs and STAs simultaneously, leading to resource waste and low access success rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the A-BFT phase into multiple sub-phases, where each sub-phase is dedicated to a specific AP. This segmentation allows the coordination mechanism to manage multiple AP-STA pairs systematically without overwhelming complexity, improving overall beam training efficiency while maintaining manageable control structure.
2Productivity
If multiple APs and STAs perform beam training simultaneously without coordination, then more beam training can be conducted in parallel, but resource utilization becomes inefficient and access success rates decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic A-BFT sub-phases where each AP gets designated time slots to perform beam training. This periodic structure ensures that multiple APs and STAs can operate in parallel across different time periods without resource conflicts, maximizing throughput while minimizing resource waste through systematic time division.
3Ease of operation
If the A-BFT time period is not divided into sub-periods, then the training process is simpler to implement, but multiple APs cannot be efficiently coordinated leading to slot waste and reduced access success rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the A-BFT time period into multiple sub-periods, each associated with a specific AP. This segmentation enables reliable coordination of multiple APs and STAs by assigning dedicated time slots, thereby improving access success rates while maintaining operational clarity through structured time division.
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides a beam training method and apparatus. The method includes: A first access point AP determines first information. The first information is used to indicate an association beamforming training A-BFT time period, the A-BFT time period is used to perform A-BFT between a plurality of APs and a station STA within coverage of the plurality of APs, and the plurality of APs include the first AP and at least one second AP. The first AP sends the first information. A first STA receives the first information, and determines, based on the first information, a time period for performing sector sweep. The beam training method and apparatus in embodiments of this application can be used to control the plurality of APs and a plurality of STAs to perform association beamforming training.