Multi-AP Beamforming Antenna Mapping for Shared Receiver Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing MU-MIMO systems lack coordination in antenna configuration and stream assignment across multiple APs, leading to unnecessary resource use, increased interference, and hardware duplication, which hinders efficient scalability and user throughput.
Innovation Solution
Implement a unified framework for stream assignment and antenna mapping across multiple APs using a shared receiver structure, with configurable thresholds and antenna reduction methods, and a common signal processing pipeline for CoBF and MU-MIMO signals.
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 receiver structure. The shared receiver implements a single processing pipeline that can handle both CoBF and MU-MIMO signals by receiving signals from multiple APs, processing them through common interference mitigation algorithms (such as MVDR and LMMSE), and recovering data streams for multiple users simultaneously. This consolidation eliminates redundant hardware components and reduces implementation complexity while maintaining the ability to process both transmission types effectively.
2Stability of the object's composition
If fixed configurations are used for assigning users and spatial streams, then system stability is maintained, but adaptability in dynamic environments is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic configurations for user and spatial stream assignments in the unified receiver. The system can adaptively adjust the number of spatial streams assigned to each user based on channel conditions, interference levels, and user requirements. The receiver processes signals from multiple APs transmitting to multiple users with configurable stream assignments, allowing the system to optimize performance in real-time for both coordinated beamforming and MU-MIMO transmissions without requiring fixed predetermined configurations.
3Measurement precision
If interference mitigation is performed using MVDR and LMMSE techniques, then accurate channel statistics are utilized, but performance degrades when receive antennas exceed transmit antennas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the interference mitigation approach by changing the fundamental parameter of having multiple receive antennas at each user station. This allows the system to handle cases where the number of receive antennas exceeds the number of transmit antennas by utilizing the additional receive antennas for spatial diversity and improved signal processing, thereby maintaining or enhancing performance rather than degrading it.
Data Source
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) 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.