WAP ICI Removal Circuit for Multi-User WLAN Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless local area networks (WLANs) face challenges in multi-user communications due to Inter Carrier Interference (ICI) and Common Phase Error (CPE), which degrade uplink throughput and limit modulation and coding schema, especially in multi-user MIMO and OFDMA environments.
Innovation Solution
A wireless access point (WAP) equipped with a transceiver featuring multiple antennas, stream separation control circuits, and ICI removal circuits, which convert received uplink communication packets into discrete streams, separate and remove ICI, improving uplink communication by mitigating phase errors through CPE and ICI removal processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multi-user MIMO and OFDMA communications are implemented to increase throughput, then communication capacity is improved, but Inter Carrier Interference and Common Phase Error degrade signal quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful ICI and CPE components from the received signal. The ICI removal circuit specifically extracts interference from adjacent subcarriers and the CPE correction circuit extracts and corrects common phase errors, thereby eliminating the degradation caused by multi-user MIMO and OFDMA operations while preserving the high throughput capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary correction circuits between the signal reception and processing stages. The CPE correction circuit acts as an intermediary that compensates for phase errors before further processing, and the ICI removal circuit serves as an intermediary that filters out interference components, thereby mediating between the high-capacity multi-user transmission and the signal quality requirements.
2Productivity
If higher order modulation and coding schema are used to increase data rate, then throughput is improved, but susceptibility to phase errors and ICI increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by correcting CPE and removing ICI before the signal undergoes demodulation and decoding. The CPE correction circuit applies preliminary phase correction to counteract expected phase errors, and the ICI removal circuit preliminarily eliminates interference before the signal is processed further, thereby enabling the use of higher order modulation schemes without increased susceptibility to errors.
3Productivity
If multiple stations transmit concurrently on the same OFDM tones to improve spectral efficiency, then channel utilization is improved, but interference between users increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful inter-user interference into a manageable signal component. By using advanced signal processing in the ICI removal circuit, the interference from other users transmitting on the same tones is transformed from an unusable harmful signal into correctable interference that can be mathematically separated and removed, thereby enabling concurrent transmissions without significant interference.
Data Source
AI summary
A WAP for wireless communications on a selected orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) communication channel of a wireless local area network (WLAN). The transceiver includes: antennas, transmit and receive chain components, a stream separation control circuit, and an Inter Carrier Interference (ICI) removal circuit. The receive chain components include: an equalizer component converting a received uplink communication packet from one or more of the associated stations at an input into discrete communication streams at an output thereof. The stream separation control circuit couples to the equalizer component to control the separation of the communication streams at the output of the equalizer component into groups, with each group comprising all of the communication streams transmitted by a corresponding one of the one or more associated stations. The ICI removal circuit couples to the stream separation control circuit to discretely remove ICI from each group of streams.