Hashed Address Sector Sweep Frames for Faster 802.11ad SLS
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing IEEE 802.11ad standard's Sector Level Sweep (SLS) procedure is inefficient as the length of SSW frames is fixed at 26 octets, leading to increased time requirements for beamforming training as the number of sectors increases, hindering the completion of SLS in a timely manner.
Innovation Solution
A communication apparatus and method that generate shortened Sector Sweep frames using abbreviated addresses obtained by scrambling and hashing the source and destination addresses, reducing the frame length and enabling faster sector selection during SLS.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of sectors is increased to improve beamforming performance, then the communication quality is improved, but the time required for SLS increases due to the fixed 26-octet SSW frame length
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information from the original 26-octet SSW frame, creating a shortened version that includes only critical fields (Frame Control, Duration, RA, TA, SSW with Direction, CDOWN, Sector ID, DMG Antenna ID, and FCS). This extraction reduces the frame length to 20 octets while maintaining beamforming functionality, allowing faster sector sweeping without compromising the ability to identify and establish optimal beam paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of frame length from a fixed 26 octets to a reduced 20 octets by modifying the information structure. This parameter change is achieved by using abbreviated addresses (4 octets instead of 6 octets for MAC addresses) and optimizing field configurations, enabling the system to complete more sector sweeps in the same time period while maintaining the necessary beamforming training functionality.
2Loss of time
If the SSW frame length is reduced to shorten SLS time, then the SLS completion time is reduced, but the address information may become insufficient for proper identification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates abbreviated copies of the original MAC addresses (6 octets reduced to 4 octets) that retain sufficient identifying information for communication purposes. These copied address fields maintain the essential unique identification capability while occupying less space, allowing the frame to be shortened without losing the ability to properly identify source and destination stations during beamforming training.
Data Source
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AI summary
A communication apparatus includes a PHY transmission circuit that generates a PHY frame including either of a short Sector Sweep frame and a Sector Sweep frame; and a transmission array antenna that selects, based on the PHY frame, any sector from among a plurality of sectors and transmits the PHY frame. The PHY transmission circuit generates the short Sector Sweep frame that includes an abbreviated address generated from an address of a source communication apparatus and an address of a destination communication apparatus. The abbreviated address is a value that is obtained by scrambling, based on any field included in the PHY frame, the address of the source communication apparatus and the address of the destination communication apparatus and by performing calculation using a hash function.