Coordinated Beamforming Receiver Processing for Multi-AP Stream Assignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing MU-MIMO systems lack effective coordination in antenna configuration and stream assignment across multiple access points (APs), leading to unnecessary resource use, increased interference, and hardware duplication, which hinders efficient scalability and user throughput in dynamic environments.
Innovation Solution
Implement a unified framework for stream assignment and antenna mapping across multiple APs using a shared receiver structure that projects received signals into receiver-specific subspaces to isolate desired streams while suppressing interference, and use a common signal processing pipeline for both CoBF and MU-MIMO approaches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate processing pipelines are implemented for CoBF and MU-MIMO signals, then dedicated processing capability is achieved, but hardware duplication and implementation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the previously separate CoBF and MU-MIMO processing pipelines into a unified processing structure. The receiver uses a common signal processing architecture that handles both CoBF and MU-MIMO transmissions through shared components, eliminating hardware duplication while maintaining dedicated processing capability for each transmission type.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified processing pipeline is designed with multi-functional capability to handle both CoBF and MU-MIMO signals. The same receiver structure performs different processing operations depending on the transmission type, making the system universal rather than requiring separate dedicated hardware for each function.
2Device complexity
If fixed configurations are used for assigning users and spatial streams, then system simplicity is maintained, but adaptability in dynamic environments is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic configuration mechanisms that allow the system to adapt user and spatial stream assignments based on real-time channel conditions and traffic requirements. The configuration can be adjusted dynamically while maintaining a structured framework, enabling the system to respond to changing environmental conditions without complete reconfiguration.
3Productivity
If antenna resources are increased across multiple APs, then transmission capacity is improved, but resource efficiency decreases due to lack of coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements coordination mechanisms among multiple APs that use feedback information about channel conditions and resource usage to optimize antenna resource allocation. This coordinated approach allows the system to maintain high transmission capacity while improving resource efficiency by avoiding redundant antenna usage and reducing interference through informed resource management.
4Measurement precision
If interference mitigation filtering techniques are used, then signal quality is improved, but performance degrades when receive antennas exceed transmit antennas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses the performance degradation in receive-antenna-rich scenarios by changing the processing parameters and algorithms used in the unified pipeline. The system adapts its signal processing parameters based on the relative numbers of transmit and receive antennas, optimizing performance for different antenna configurations rather than relying on fixed filtering techniques that assume specific antenna ratios.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and a method are disclosed for providing coordinated beamforming. CoBF, transmission in a wireless communication system. The method includes: selecting a plurality of access points, APs, (405, 410) to transmit to a plurality of stations, STAs, in a CoBF transmission; assigning spatial streams to the STAs such that each STA is assigned no more than a threshold number of spatial streams, and the total number of spatial streams assigned to the STAs does not exceed a maximum total stream count; configuring each of the APs to use a common number of logical antennas selected from a set of antenna counts; and mapping a number of physical antennas at each AP to the common number of logical antennas using a configurable antenna reduction method.