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US 8,270,909 B2Granted
Sounding and steering protocols for wireless communications
AssigneeMarvell World Trade Ltd.
InventorsHongyuan Zhang, Hui-Ling Lou, Rohit U. Nabar, Yong Liu
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Abstract
The present disclosure includes systems, apparatuses, and techniques relating to wireless local area network devices. Systems, apparatuses, and techniques include communicating with multiple wireless communication devices to determine characteristics of spatial wireless channels, determining steering matrices based on one or more outputs of the communicating, and transmitting signals that concurrently provide data to the wireless communication devices via different spatial wireless channels. The signals can be spatially steered to the wireless communication devices based on the steering matrices.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- transmitting a sounding packet to wireless communication devices to determine characteristics of spatial wireless channels, wherein the spatial wireless channels are respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, wherein the sounding packet is based on a spatial mapping matrix;
- receiving, in response to the sounding packet, feedback packets from the wireless communication devices, wherein the feedback packets are indicative of feedback matrices, the feedback matrices being derived from wireless channel estimations that are based on received versions of the sounding packet;
- determining steering matrices based on the spatial mapping matrix and the feedback matrices, wherein the steering matrices are respectively associated with the wireless communication devices;
- and
- transmitting, in a space division multiple access (SDMA) frame, a first segment and a second segment, the first segment comprising a single un-steered physical (PHY) frame that provides information to the wireless communication devices, the second segment comprising multiple steered PHY frames that concurrently provide data to the wireless communication devices via different spatial wireless channels, wherein the single un-steered PHY frame is not spatially steered, wherein the multiple steered PHY frames are spatially steered to the wireless communication devices based on the steering matrices, respectively.
2 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- transceiver electronics to transmit and receive signals;
- and
- processor electronics configured to (i) communicate with multiple wireless communication devices to determine information associated with spatial wireless channels, the spatial wireless channels being respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, (ii) determine steering matrices based on the information, the steering matrices being respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, and (iii) cause the transceiver electronics to transmit, in a space division multiple access (SDMA) frame, a first segment and a second segment, the first segment comprising a single un-steered physical (PHY) frame that provides information to the wireless communication devices, the second segment comprising multiple steered PHY frames that concurrently provide data to the wireless communication devices via different spatial wireless channels, wherein the single un-steered PHY frame is not spatially steered, wherein the multiple steered PHY frames signals are spatially steered to the wireless communication devices based on the steering matrices, respectively.
A system comprising:
- an access point configured to (i) communicate with multiple wireless communication devices to determine information associated with spatial wireless channels, the spatial wireless channels being respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, (ii) determine steering matrices based on the information, the steering matrices being respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, and (iii) transmit, in a space division multiple access (SDMA) frame, a first segment and a second segment, the first segment comprising a single un-steered physical (PHY) frame that provides information to the wireless communication devices, the second segment comprising multiple steered PHY frames that concurrently provide data to the wireless communication devices via different spatial wireless channels, wherein the single un-steered PHY frame is not spatially steered, wherein the multiple steered PHY frames are spatially steered to the wireless communication devices based on the steering matrices, respectively.
A system comprising:
- a transceiver to transmit and receive signals;
- and
- a processor that is communicatively coupled with the transceiver, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:
- causing the transceiver to transmit a sounding packet to wireless communication devices to determine characteristics of spatial wireless channels, wherein the spatial wireless channels are respectively associated with the wireless communication devices, wherein the sounding packet is based on a spatial mapping matrix;
- receiving, in response to the sounding packet, feedback packets from the wireless communication devices, wherein the feedback packets are indicative of feedback matrices, the feedback matrices being derived from wireless channel estimations that are based on received versions of the sounding packet;
- determining steering matrices based on the spatial mapping matrix and the feedback matrices, wherein the steering matrices are respectively associated with the wireless communication devices;
- and
- causing the transceiver to transmit, in a space division multiple access (SDMA) frame, to the wireless communication devices, the SDMA frame comprising multiple steered physical (PHY) frames that concurrently provide data to the wireless communication devices via different spatial wireless channels, wherein the multiple steered PHY frames are spatially steered to the wireless communication devices based on the steering matrices, respectively.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.