HK1138120B - Method and system for transmitting information in wireless communication system - Google Patents

Description

System and method for communicating information in a wireless communication system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method and system for transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode.

Background

A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is a wireless communication system that may transmit signals using multiple transmit antennas and/or receive signals using multiple receive antennas. Communication between MIMO systems is based on specifications from IEEE. A MIMO system receiving signal Y may calculate a signal estimation matrix H based on the received signal. The signal includes information generated by a plurality of information sources. Each such information source may be referred to as a spatial stream.

A typical wireless communication system is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, such as the system defined by the IEEE802.11 specification. In a WLAN, a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) represents the basic data unit transmitted and/or received in a WLAN system. The PPDU, in turn, includes a series of fields, such as data fields. The data field within a PPDU is also referred to as a physical layer service data unit (PSDU) or payload. A typical PPDU definition is presented in application standard documents such as IEEE 802.11.

The MIMO transmitter may combine the spatial streams to generate one or more RF chains to be transmitted. A set of RF chains to be transmitted may be transmitted simultaneously as a signal vector X. A transmitting MIMO system may utilize multiple transmit antennas in transmitting the signal vector X. A receiving MIMO system may utilize multiple receive antennas when receiving a corresponding signal vector Y.

When the number of RF chains to be transmitted is smaller than the number of transmit antennas on the MIMO transmitter side, the RF chains may be transmitted simultaneously via a plurality of transmitter antennas. This technique is called transmit diversity. When using transmit diversity techniques, a MIMO transmitter may assign or map the various RF chains to be transmitted for transmission over the various transmit antennas. Likewise, a MIMO receiver may use receive diversity techniques when the number of received RF chains is less than the number of receive antennas. When using receive diversity techniques, the MIMO receiver may assign or map the various received RF chains to the various receive antennas.

Antenna selection is the procedure that enables a MIMO transmitter to map individual RF chains to individual transmit antennas and/or a MIMO receiver to map individual RF chains to individual receive antennas. In existing MIMO systems, an antenna selection procedure on the MIMO transmitter side may cause the transmitting antennas to transmit a series of sounding frames that cause the MIMO receiver to transmit antenna selection feedback information. Based on the antenna selection feedback information, the MIMO transmitter may implement mapping of each RF chain to be transmitted to each transmit antenna at the MIMO transmitter side.

In some cases, the antenna selection procedure may be terminated before completion. For example, the MIMO receiver may detect a missing sounding frame in a series of sounding frames transmitted by the MIMO transmitter, or the MIMO transmitter may receive old or "stale" feedback information from the MIMO receiver. In the case where the antenna selection procedure is terminated before completion, the MIMO transmitter and the MIMO receiver need to restart the antenna selection procedure from the beginning. In such a case, the MIMO transmitter may restart the antenna selection procedure by retransmitting at least the first sounding frame of the sequence of sounding frames.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Disclosure of Invention

A method and/or system for a transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for selecting a sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted during an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits receive a failure indication during transmission of the selected sequence of protocol data units;

the one or more circuits retransmit one or more previously transmitted ones of the selected protocol data units based on the failure indication.

Preferably, the one or more circuits determine a sequence index value based on the received failure indication.

Preferably, the one or more circuits are operable to retransmit at least one selected protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value (sequence index value).

Preferably, the one or more circuits transmit each protocol data unit subsequent to the retransmitted selected protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units.

Preferably, the one or more circuits retransmit a first protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units based on the received failure indication.

Preferably, the one or more circuits transmit each protocol data unit subsequent to the first protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is also provided a system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for selecting a sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits receive a failure indication including a sequence index value during transmission of the selected sequence of protocol data units;

the one or more circuits select a subsequent sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted in an antenna selection process based on the sequence index value.

Preferably, the selected subsequent sequence of protocol data units is different from the previously selected sequence of protocol data units.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is also provided a system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for receiving a sequence of protocol data units during an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits detect a reception failure during a reception process;

the one or more circuits transmit a failure indication including a sequence index value based on the detection result.

Preferably, the one or more circuits are configured to determine the sequence index value based on a number of protocol data units within the received sequence of protocol data units.

Preferably, the one or more circuits request retransmission of at least one protocol data unit within the received sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value.

Preferably, the one or more circuits determine the sequence index value based on one or both of: receiving a time point of at least one protocol data unit in the sequence of protocol data units; and the contents of the at least one protocol data unit.

Preferably, the one or more circuits request retransmission of the received sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for transmitting information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

selecting a sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted during an antenna selection process;

receiving a failure indication during transmission of the selected sequence of protocol data units;

retransmitting one or more previously transmitted protocol data units of the selected protocol data units based on the failure indication.

Preferably, the method further comprises: a sequence index value is determined based on the received failure indication.

Preferably, the method further comprises: retransmitting at least one selected protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value.

Preferably, the method further comprises: transmitting each protocol data unit subsequent to the retransmitted selected protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units.

Preferably, the method further comprises: retransmitting a first protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units based on the received failure indication.

Preferably, the method further comprises: transmitting each protocol data unit subsequent to the first protocol data unit within the selected sequence of protocol data units.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for transmitting information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

selecting a sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

receiving a failure indication containing a sequence index value during transmission of the selected sequence of protocol data units;

selecting a subsequent sequence of protocol data units to be transmitted in the antenna selection process based on the sequence index value.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for transmitting information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

receiving a sequence of protocol data units during an antenna selection process;

detecting a reception failure in a reception process;

and transmitting a failure indication containing the sequence index value based on the detection result.

Preferably, the method further comprises: determining the sequence index value based on a number of protocol data units within the received sequence of protocol data units.

Preferably, the method further comprises: requesting retransmission of at least one protocol data unit within the received sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value.

Preferably, the method further comprises: determining the sequence index value based on one or both of: receiving a time point of at least one protocol data unit in the sequence of protocol data units; and the contents of the at least one protocol data unit.

Preferably, the method further comprises: requesting retransmission of the received sequence of protocol data units based on the determined sequence index value.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully described with reference to the following description and drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of antenna selection feedback used in conjunction with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a MIMO system for use with embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a sequence of antenna selection frames recovered after an antenna selection failure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a sequence of antenna selection frames that restarts after an antenna selection failure in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for a transmitting mobile terminal to transmit an antenna selection failure recovery mode according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for a transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode by a receiving mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system for a transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode. According to one aspect of the invention, a MIMO transmitter initiates an antenna selection procedure by transmitting a sequence of antenna selection frames (e.g., sounding frames) to a MIMO receiver. In the event that the antenna selection process terminates prematurely, the MIMO receiver may determine the cause of premature termination of the antenna selection procedure. The MIMO receiver may also determine a first antenna selection frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames that is detected as not being received normally. Based on the determined cause of premature termination, the MIMO receiver may send an antenna selection failure indication frame to the MIMO transmitter. The antenna selection failure indication frame may indicate that the MIMO receiver side detected a failure in the current antenna selection procedure. The antenna selection failure indication frame may also indicate whether the antenna selection procedure should be resumed from a starting point or whether the antenna selection procedure should be resumed from a point of failure detection. The antenna selection procedure may be restarted by retransmitting the first antenna selection frame of the sequence of antenna selection frames that was not normally received at the MIMO receiver side. Upon receiving the antenna selection failure indication frame, the MIMO transmitter may continue the current antenna selection procedure (i.e., continue transmitting antenna selection frames in the sequence of antenna selection frames) without interruption, may resume the antenna selection procedure by transmitting the first antenna selection frame indicated in the antenna selection failure indication frame that was not normally received, or may newly start the antenna selection procedure from the starting point (i.e., by retransmitting the first antenna selection frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames).

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of antenna selection feedback used in conjunction with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, a transmitting mobile terminal 102, a receiving mobile terminal 122, and a communication medium 144 are shown. Communication medium 144 may represent a wireless communication medium. The transmitting mobile terminal 102 may transmit the signal vector X to the receiving mobile terminal 122 via the communication medium 144. The direction of transmission from the transmitting mobile terminal 102 to the receiving mobile terminal 122 is referred to as the downlink direction. Signal vector X includes signals from one or more RF chains that are transmitted via one or more transmit antennas. Each of the one or more RF chains includes a signal, each of which contains at least a portion of one or more antenna selection frames. The signal vector X mayTransmitted over the communication medium 144 and changed during the course of the transmission. The transfer characteristic associated with communication medium 144 may be expressed as a transfer function H. The signal vector X may be changed based on the transfer function H. In the downlink direction, the transfer function H is denoted H_down. The altered signal vector X is denoted as signal Y. The recipient mobile terminal 122 may receive the signal Y.

The receiving mobile terminal 122 may determine and transfer function H based on preamble information contained in a signal Y received via the communication medium 144, for example_downThe value or values involved. Based on the sequence of the received signal Y, and the calculated transfer function H_downThe receiving mobile terminal 122 may calculate an antenna selection feedback vector. The antenna selection feedback vector may be calculated after a sequence of antenna selection frames is successfully received. Each antenna selection feedback vector includes a number of bits that enable the transmitting mobile terminal 102 to assign a particular RF chain to a particular transmit antenna. The antenna selection feedback vector may also include Channel State Information (CSI), enabling the transmitting mobile terminal 102 to assign RF chains to particular transmit antennas.

The receiving mobile terminal 122 may transmit the signal vector X via_fTransmit an antenna selection feedback vector. Transmitted signal vector X_fMay be transmitted to the transmitting mobile terminal 102 via the communication medium 144. The signal vector X is transmitted over the communication medium 144_fMay be changed. The direction of communication from the receiving mobile terminal 122 to the transmitting mobile terminal 102 is referred to as the uplink direction. Signal vector X_fMay be changed based on the transfer function H. In the uplink direction, the transfer function may be represented as H_up. Altered signal vector X_fCan be represented as Y_f. The transmitting mobile terminal 102 may receive the signal Y_f。

The transmitting mobile terminal 102 may be based on one or more received signals Y_fEach transmit antenna is assigned to each RF chain to be transmitted. Subsequent data from the RF chain to be transmitted may be transmitted via one or more transmissions assigned according to the previously received antenna selection feedback vectorThe antenna to transmit.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a MIMO system for use with embodiments of the present invention. Referring to fig. 2, a transmitting mobile terminal 202, a receiving mobile terminal 206, and a wireless communication medium 204 are shown. A typical example of a transmitting mobile terminal 202 is an ieee802.11wlan Access Point (AP). A typical example of the receiving mobile terminal 206 is an ieee802.11wlan workstation (STA). The transmitting mobile terminal 202 may be a MIMO system. The receiving mobile terminal 206 may be a MIMO system. The transmitting mobile terminal 202 includes a transmit spatial mapping matrix 208, a plurality of Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) modules 210a, 210b, … …, and 210n, an antenna mapping module 211, and a plurality of transmit antennas 212a, 212b, … …, and 212 n. The receiving mobile terminal 206 includes a spatial equalizer 222, a plurality of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) modules 222a, 222b, … …, and 222n, and a plurality of receive antennas 226a, 226b, … …, and 226 n.

The spatial mapping matrix 208 includes a direction matrix (steering matrix) Q for performing calculation on a plurality of space-time streams or spatial streams (where Nsts is a variable representing the number of space-time/spatial streams), and generating a plurality of RF chains to be transmitted Trf _ tx, where Trf _ tx ≧ Nsts is a variable representing the number of RF chains to be transmitted. The plurality of space-time streams includes a first space-time Stream₁Second space-time Stream₂… … and Nsts space-time Stream_Nsts. The plurality of RF chains to be transmitted includes an RF Chain to be transmitted including a first RF Chain to be transmitted Tx Chain₁A second RF chain to be transmitted TxChain₂… … and the RF Chain Tx Chain to be transmitted Trf _ Tx_{Trf_tx}Wherein each RF chain to be transmitted includes multiple space-time Stream streams₁、Stream₂… … and Stream_NstsA corresponding weighted sum calculated based on the coefficients in the direction matrix Q.

The IFFT module 210a may perform IFFT calculation to convert the RF Chain to be transmitted Tx Chain in the frequency domain₁Converted to a time domain form. The IFFT module 210b may perform IFFT calculation to convert the RF Chain to be transmitted Tx Chain in the frequency domain₂Conversion to time-domain shapeFormula (II) is shown. The IFFT module 210n may perform IFFT calculation to convert the RF Chain to be transmitted Tx Chain in the frequency domain_{Trf_tx}Converted to a time domain form.

The antenna mapping module 211 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that may enable transmission of one or more of the Trf tx time domain signals. The antenna mapping module 211 may cause the selected time domain signal to be transmitted via an antenna selected from the Ntx transmit antennas 212a, 212b, … …, and 212n (where Ntx represents the number of transmit antennas). For example, the antenna mapping module 211 may cause the RF chain x to be transmitted in the time domain₁Transmitted to the wireless communication medium 204 via the transmit antenna 212 a. RF chain x to be transmitted in time domain₂May be transmitted to the wireless communication medium 204 via the transmit antenna 212 b. RF chain x to be transmitted in time domain_{Trf_tx}May be transmitted to the wireless communication medium 204 via the transmit antenna 212 n. One or more RF chain signals transmitted at a particular point in time may be represented by a transmit signal vector X.

The receiving antenna 226a may receive the signal y via the wireless communication medium 204₁. The FFT module 224a performs FFT computation to convert the received signal y in time domain₁Receive RF chain RxChoin converted into frequency domain form₁. The receiving antenna 226b may receive the signal y via the wireless communication medium 204₂. The FFT module 224b performs FFT computation to convert the received signal y in time domain₂Receive RF chain RxChoin converted into frequency domain form₂. The receiving antenna 226n may receive the signal y through the wireless communication medium 204_NrxNrx is a variable indicating the number of receiving antennas on the receiving mobile terminal 206 side. The FFT module 224n performs FFT computation to convert the received signal y in time domain form_NrxReceiving RF Chain Rx Chain converted into frequency domain form_Nrx. Multiple receive RF chains may be represented by a receive signal vector Y.

The spatial equalizer 222 performs computations on the received Nrx RF chains and generates Nsts estimated space-time streams. The plurality of receive RF chains may include a first receive RF Chain Rx Chain₁A second receiving RF Chain Rx Chain₂Nrx receive RF Chain Rx Chain_Nrx. Multiple purposeThe estimated space-time stream includes a first estimated space-time streamSecond estimated space-time flowNsts estimated space-time flow. Each estimated space-time Stream at the receiving mobile terminal 206 side may include a corresponding space-time Stream to the transmitting mobile terminal 202 side₁、Stream₂… … and Stream_NstsAn estimate of (a).

When the number of selected transmitting RF chains is less than the number of transmitting antennas, the antenna selection is such that a plurality of RF chains Tx Chain₁、Tx Chain₂、……Tx Chain_{Trf_tx}Is assigned to transmit via one or more transmit antennas 212a, 212b, … …, and 212 n. In this regard, the number of transmitted RF chains Trf _ tx is less than the number of transmit antennas Ntx, i.e., Trf _ tx<Ntx. The antenna selection procedure may implement a correspondence between the respective RF chains and the transmit antennas for transmitting signals associated with the respective RF chains. For example, when Trf _ tx is 2 and Ntx is 3, the first transmit antenna may transmit the first RF chain TxChain₁The second transmitting antenna can simultaneously transmit the second RF Chain Tx Chain₂. In this case, the third transmitting antenna may not transmit a signal, i.e., be in an inactive state.

In the antenna selection procedure, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may transmit a sequence of sounding frames via one or more transmit antennas. The number of sounding frames transmitted in the sequence N_seqMay be an integer greater than or equal to Ntx/Trf _ tx.

In one embodiment of the present invention, Trf _ tx is 2 and Ntx is 3, the antenna selection procedure may transmit a sequence of two sounding frames (where 2 ≧ 3/2). For example, in FIG. 2, at a time point t₀From Tx Chain₁Via transmit antennas 212a and 212b at reference s₁(t₀) And s₂(t₀) Transmits a sounding frame within the signal. For example, the signal may be received by a receive antenna 226a via the communication medium 204. At a point in time t₁From Tx Chain₂Via transmit antennas 212b and 212n, labeled s₂(t₁) And s₃(t₁) Transmits a second sounding frame. For example, the signal may be received by a receive antenna 226a via the communication medium 204.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may detect a failure to receive, for example, the second probe frame. In response, the receiving mobile terminal 206 sends a Protocol Data Unit (PDU), e.g., a PLCP data unit, to the transmitting mobile terminal 202. A typical example of a PDU includes a frame. A typical example of a PDU may contain an MAI (modulation coding scheme or antenna selection indication) field with a value indicating to the transmitting mobile terminal 202 that the PDU contains an antenna selection failure indication frame (e.g., MAI ═ 14). The example antenna selection failure indication frame may contain an Antenna Selection (ASEL) Command field (ASEL Command) having a value indicating that a failure was detected on the receiving mobile terminal 206 side during the antenna selection procedure (e.g., ASEL Command 5). The exemplary antenna selection failure indication frame also contains an ASEL Data field (ASEL Data) having a value indicating the first frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames that was not successfully received by the receiving mobile terminal 206. For example, assuming that the number of probe frames starts from 0, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may transmit an antenna selection failure indication frame containing ASEL Data of 1 to indicate that the receiving mobile terminal 206 detected a failure to receive the second probe frame in the sequence of probe frames shown in fig. 3. Alternatively, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may receive the second probe frame but determine that the information contained in the previously transmitted first probe frame is stale. This may be done based on an evaluation of the content of the received probe frames and/or in case there is an excessive delay between receiving the first probe frame and receiving the second probe frame. In these cases, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may transmit an antenna selection failure indication frame containing ASEL Data 0.

In one embodiment of the invention, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may check the ASEL data field after receiving the antenna selection failure indication frame. When ASEL Data is equal to k (k)>0) The transmitting mobile terminal 202 may then retransmit the sequence of antenna selection frames starting with the (k +1) th sounding frame in the sequence to resume the antenna selection procedure. For example, when ASEL Data is 1, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may retransmit the second sounding frame of the sequence of antenna selection frames to resume the antenna selection procedure. The first retransmitted probe frame may contain an ASEL Command field with a value (TXASSSR, which may be represented by an ASEL Command ═ 1, for example) indicating that the retransmitted probe frame is being transmitted in connection with resuming the antenna selection procedure. The retransmitted probe frame may also contain an ASEL Data field having a value (e.g., ASEL Data k) that indicates to the receiving mobile terminal 206 that the retransmitted frame is the (k +1) th probe frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. The transmitting mobile terminal 202 may transmit sounding frames (k +1) -N in a sequence of antenna selection frames_seqTo continue the recovered antenna selection procedure. In this regard, the antenna selection procedure may be resumed by skipping sounding frames 0 through (k-1) in the sequence of sounding frames and repeating only a portion of the sounding frames in the entire sequence.

In the case of ASEL Data being 0, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may retransmit the sequence of antenna selection frames starting with the start frame to resume the antenna selection procedure. For example, when ASEL Data is 0, the transmitting mobile terminal may retransmit the first sounding frame and then retransmit the second sounding frame and/or any subsequent frames waiting for transmission to resume the antenna selection procedure. In this regard, the antenna selection procedure may be recovered by repeating the entire sequence of antenna selection frames. The first sounding frame of the retransmitted antenna selection frame sequences may contain an ASEL Command field having a value (TXASSI, represented by ASEL Command 0, or TXASSI, i.e., TXASSI-CSI, represented by ASEL Command 6, with signal status information feedback from the receiver) indicating to the receiving mobile terminal 206 that the transmitting mobile terminal 202 is starting the transmitting antenna selection frame sequence. The first sounding frame may also include an ASEL data field having a value of N_seqIndicates thatNumber of sounding frames in sequence of antenna selection frames, e.g. when N_seqWhen 2, ASEL Data is 2.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a sequence of antenna selection frames recovered after an antenna selection failure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 3, a plurality of frames transmitted by a transmitting mobile station (TX)202 is shown. TX202 may transmit a sequence of antenna selection frames starting with the first sounding frame 302. The first sounding frame 302 has TXASSI or TXASSI-CSI to indicate that the sounding frame 302 is the first sounding frame in a sounding frame sequence. The first probe frame 302 also has a value ASEL Data N_seqTo indicate the number of sounding frames transmitted by TX202 in the sequence of antenna selection frames. The receiving mobile station (RX)206 may receive these transmitted sounding frames.

At the end of the transmission of the first sounding frame 302, an inter-frame space (IFS) time interval, e.g., a short inter-frame space (SIFS) time interval, begins. Although the SIFS shown in fig. 3 is an example IFS time interval, it is to be appreciated that the various embodiments of the invention are not so limited. For example, the IFS time interval may also be represented by a point coordinate function interframe space (PIFS) time interval. In FIG. 3, the SIFS duration is denoted as T_SIFS. The SIFS time interval specifies the time period to wait between the second sounding frame 304 in the TX202 transmit antenna selection frame sequence. At some point in time after the SIFS ends, TX202 transmits a second sounding frame 304. TX202 may continue to transmit subsequent sounding frames, each sounding frame spaced in time by SIFS, until TX202 transmits the last or nth of the sequence of sounding frames_seqA sounding frame 306.

RX206 may detect a failure in receiving second sounding frame 304. In response to detecting the failure, RX206 transmits a failure indication frame 308 to TX 202. The failure indication frame 308 may be transmitted by the RX206 after the sounding frame 306 is transmitted by the TX 202. The failure indication frame 308 has a value acelcommand of 5 to indicate that a failure was detected during the sequence of receive antenna selection frames. The failure indication frame 308 also has a value ASEL Data of 2 to indicate that a failure was detected during reception of the 2 nd sounding frame of the sequence of antenna selection frames. In summary, RX206 may transmit the failure indication frame to TX202 at the first transmit opportunity for it.

Upon receiving the failure indication frame 308, the TX202 may retransmit the second sounding frame 310. The retransmitted second sounding frame 310 may have TXASSR to indicate that the retransmitted second sounding frame 310 is being retransmitted and that the sequence of antenna selection frames starting from the transmitted sounding frame 302 is being recovered. TX202 then retransmits subsequent sounding frames in the sounding frame sequence through Nth_seqA sounding frame 312. In summary, TX202 may retransmit a sounding frame in a sequence of sounding frames starting with the sounding frame indicated in received failure indication frame 308 until the last frame transmitted before failure indication frame 308 is received. TX202 may then continue to transmit the remaining frames in the sequence of sounding frames. Upon receiving sounding frame 312, RX206 transmits an antenna selection feedback information frame to TX 202.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a sequence of antenna selection frames that restarts after an antenna selection failure in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 4, a plurality of frames transmitted by a transmitting mobile station (TX)202 is shown. TX202 may transmit a sequence of antenna selection frames starting with the first sounding frame 402. The first sounding frame 402 has TXASSI or TXASSI-CSI to indicate that the sounding frame 402 is the first sounding frame in a sounding frame sequence. The first probe frame 402 also has a value ASEL Data N_seqTo indicate the number of sounding frames transmitted by TX202 in the sequence of antenna selection frames. The receiving mobile station (RX)206 may receive these transmitted sounding frames.

In fig. 4, the delay over time (denoted T)_Delay) Thereafter, TX202 transmits a second sounding frame 404. TX202 may continue to transmit sounding frames in the sounding frame sequence until the last or nth sounding frame_seqA sounding frame 406. During the transmission of the sequence of sounding frames, RX206 may determine the length T of the delay between transmission of sounding frame 402 and sounding frame 404 due to the data contained in the first sounding frame 402_DelayAnd fail. As a result, RX206 may detect a failure in the antenna selection frame sequence transmission process. In response to detecting the failure, RX206 may transmit failure indication frame 408 to TX202 after TX202 has transmitted sounding frame 406. As described aboveIn summary, RX206 may transmit the failure indication frame 408 at the earliest transmission opportunity. The failure indication frame 408 has a value ASEL Command of 5 to indicate that a failure was detected during the sequence of receive antenna selection frames. Failure indication frame 408 also has a value ASEL Data ═ 0 to indicate that RX206 requested TX202 to restart the transmit antenna selection frame sequence from the starting frame.

Upon receiving the failure indication frame 408, the TX202 may retransmit the first sounding frame 410. The retransmitted first sounding frame 410 may have TXASSR or TXASSI-CSI to indicate that the retransmitted first sounding frame 410 is being retransmitted and that the sequence of antenna selection frames is retransmitted from the starting frame. TX202 may also retransmit second sounding frame 412. TX202 then retransmits subsequent sounding frames in the sounding frame sequence through Nth_seqA sounding frame 414. Upon receiving sounding frame 414, RX206 transmits an antenna selection feedback information frame to TX 202.

In various embodiments of the present invention, upon receiving a request to retransmit a sequence of antenna selection frames, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 is not limited to retransmitting the same sequence of antenna selection frames that have begun prior to receiving the failure indication frame. The transmitting mobile terminal 202 may retransmit the same sequence of antenna selection frames or may restart by transmitting a different sequence of antenna selection frames. For example, where the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may select from a plurality of candidate antenna selection frame sequences, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may select the antenna selection frame sequence using various methods. For example, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may utilize random selection, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may select the sequence of antenna selection frames in a sequential manner, or may select the same sequence of antenna selection frames each time.

Referring to fig. 3, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may send a request to retransmit the sequence of antenna selection frames upon receiving any retransmitted frames 310, … …, and/or 312. For example, the recipient mobile terminal 206 may determine that the time delay between receiving the first frame 302 and receiving the retransmitted second frame 310 is significant, thereby determining that the content of the first frame 302 is stale. In this case, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may transmit a failure indication frame requesting retransmission of the antenna selection frame sequence to the transmitting mobile terminal 202 after receiving the retransmitted frame 312.

Referring back to fig. 3, in the event that the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines that the time delay between transmission of the first transmitted frame 302 and retransmission of the second frame 310 is too long, thereby determining that the data content of the transmitted first frame 302 is stale, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may resume the sequence of transmit antenna selection frames in response to receiving the failure indication frame 308. In this case, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 may retransmit the first frame within the sequence of antenna selection frames in response to the failure indication frame.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method for a transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode for a transmitting mobile terminal. Referring to fig. 5, in step 502, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 selects a sequence of antenna selection frames. In step 504, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines the number of frames to be transmitted in the sequence of antenna selection frames. In step 506, the sequence index is initialized to a value k equal to 0. In step 508, the transmitting mobile terminal sets a field value for a first transmitted antenna selection frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. In one embodiment, the ASEL Command is 0 or 6, indicating that the frame is the first frame in a sequence of antenna selection frames, and the ASEL Data is N_seqIndicating the number of frames in the sequence of antenna selection frames that remain to be transmitted.

In step 510, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 transmits the next frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. The transmitted frame is represented as the (k +1) th frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. In step 512, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines whether an antenna selection failure indication frame is received from the receiving mobile terminal 206. In the case where the antenna selection failure indication frame is not received, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines whether k is N in step 514_seq-1 to determine whether the last frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames has been transmitted.

In step 514 k ≠ N_seqIn case-1, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 prepares to transmit the next antenna selection frame in the sequence. In step 516, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 increments the sequence index by 1. Step (ii) of518, the transmitting mobile terminal sets ASEL Data to N_seq-k is the value of the ASEL Data field within the antenna selection frame for the next transmission. Current value N_seq-k represents the number of frames remaining to be transmitted in the sequence of antenna selection frames. After step 518, the next frame may be transmitted in step 510.

In the case where the antenna selection failure indication frame is received in step 512, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines whether the receiving mobile terminal is requesting retransmission of the antenna selection frame sequence by evaluating the value Rec _ ASEL _ Data of the ASEL Data field within the received failure indication frame in step 520. In the case where Rec _ ASEL _ Data is 0, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 restarts the transmission antenna selection frame sequence in step 502. Following step 520, the antenna selection frame sequence selected in step 502 may be the same antenna selection frame sequence previously selected or a new antenna selection frame sequence.

In the case of Rec _ ASEL _ Data ≠ 0 in step 520, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 attempts to recover the sequence of antenna selection frames. The transmitting mobile terminal 202 may determine the starting point of recovery by retransmitting one antenna selection frame based on the value Rec _ ASEL _ Data. In step 522, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 resets the value k of the sequence index to Rec _ ASEL _ Data. In the case where k is 0, the transmitting mobile terminal may retransmit the antenna selection frame sequence starting from the start frame of the sequence. In step 524, the transmitting mobile terminal sets a field value for the first retransmitted antenna selection frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. In one embodiment, the ASEL Command is 1, indicating that the current antenna selection frame sequence transmitted before recovery is resumed; ASEL Data is N_seq-k, indicating the number of frames of the sequence of antenna selection frames that remain to be transmitted. Following step 524, the first retransmitted frame may be transmitted in step 510.

In step 514, k is equal to N_seqIn case-1, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines that the last frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames has been transmitted. In step 526, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 determines whether an antenna selection failure indication frame is received after the antenna selection frame sequence is completed. The day is received in step 526In the case of a line selection failure indication frame, step 520 follows. Otherwise, the transmitting mobile terminal 202 will wait to receive feedback information from the receiving mobile terminal 206.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for a transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode by a receiving mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 6, the receiving mobile terminal 206 receives a frame in step 602. In step 604, the receiving mobile terminal 206 determines whether the received frame represents a start frame of a sequence of antenna selection frames by determining whether the received frame contains an acelcommand field. In the case where the value of the ASEL Command field, i.e., Rec _ ASEL _ Command is 0 or Rec _ ASEL _ Command is 6, the receiving mobile terminal 206 evaluates the value Rec _ ASEL _ Data of the received intra-frame ASEL Data field to determine the number of frames remaining in the antenna selection frame sequence in step 606. Otherwise, the received frame is processed appropriately based on the content in step 630. Referring back to step 606, the index value for the number of remaining frames may be passed through a variable N_RemTo this end, N_Rem＝Rec_ASEL_Data。

In step 608, the sequence index is initialized to k 1. In step 610, the receiving mobile terminal 206 receives the next frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames. In step 612, the receiving mobile terminal 206 counts the remaining frames by N_RemMinus 1. In step 614, the receiving mobile terminal 206 compares the current value of the remaining frame count with the value Rec _ ASEL _ Data of the ASEL Data field within the received antenna selection frame. In N_RemIn the case of Rec _ ASEL _ Data, the receiving-side mobile terminal 206 determines whether the Data contained in the antenna selection frame received before is invalid in step 616. When the data contained in one or more previously received antenna selection frames is determined not to be stale, the receiving mobile terminal 206 will determine whether there are any remaining frames in the sequence of antenna selection frames in step 618. In N_RemIn the case of 0, the receiving mobile terminal will determine that the antenna selection frame sequence has been completed. The receiving mobile terminal 206 may then generate and transmit antenna selection feedback information to the transmitting mobile terminal 202.

In step 618N_RemIn case of ≠ 0, the sequence index value k is decremented in step 620. After step 620, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may receive the next frame in the sequence of antenna selection frames in step 610.

When the information in one or more previously received frames is determined to be invalid in step 616, the receiving mobile terminal 206 sets a field value for the antenna selection failure indication frame in step 626. In one embodiment of the present invention, an ASEL Command of 1 indicates that the receiving mobile terminal 206 detects a failure in the antenna selection procedure, and an ASEL Data of 0 indicates that retransmission of the antenna selection frame sequence from the start frame is requested. In step 632, the receiving mobile terminal 206 determines whether there is an available transmission opportunity. When the receiving mobile terminal determines that there is a transmission opportunity in step 632, the receiving mobile terminal 206 transmits an antenna selection failure indication frame in step 628. After step 628, the receiving mobile terminal 206 will wait for the first frame in the subsequent sequence of antenna selection frames in step 602. When receiving mobile terminal 206 determines that there are no available transmission opportunities in step 632, then step 618 is performed.

In step 614N_RemWith ≠ Rec _ ASEL _ Data, the receiving mobile terminal 206 may determine that at least one frame of the sequence of antenna selection frames was not successfully received. The receiving mobile terminal 206 may thus determine that a failure occurred in the antenna selection procedure. In step 622, the receiving mobile terminal 206 sets a field value for the antenna selection failure indication frame. In one embodiment, an ASEL Command of 1 indicates that the receiving mobile terminal 206 detects a failure in the antenna selection procedure, and an ASEL Data of k indicates that the recovery of the antenna selection procedure is requested starting from the (k +1) th frame in the sequence. In step 630, the receiving mobile terminal 206 determines whether there is an available transmission opportunity. When it is determined in step 630 that there is an available transmission opportunity, the receiving mobile terminal 206 transmits an antenna selection failure indication frame in step 624. After step 624, the receiving mobile terminal 206 will wait in step 610 for a retransmission of the (k +1) th frame in the current antenna selection frame sequence. When it is determined in step 630 that there are no available transmission opportunities, nextStep 616 is performed.

Another embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program having at least one code section for execution by a computer to cause the computer to perform the above-described steps of the transmit antenna selection failure recovery mode.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware, software and firmware may be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. The computer program in this document refers to: any expression, in any programming language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to other languages, codes or symbols; b) reproduced in a different format. However, other meanings of computer program that can be understood by those skilled in the art are also encompassed by the present invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to several particular embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for selecting a sequence of antenna selection frames to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits receive a failure indication during transmission of the selected sequence of antenna selection frames;

the one or more circuits are configured to retransmit one or more previously transmitted antenna selection frames of the selected antenna selection frames based on the failure indication; or

The one or more circuits restart an antenna selection process by transmitting another sequence of antenna selection frames different from a previously selected sequence of antenna selection frames based on the failure indication, wherein the another sequence of antenna selection frames is selected from a plurality of candidate sequences of antenna selection frames in a random manner or a sequential manner;

the one or more circuits calculate an antenna selection feedback vector, which is calculated after the mobile terminal at the receiving side successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector, which includes channel state information, causes the transmitting mobile terminal to assign an RF chain to a particular transmit antenna.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said one or more circuits are operable to determine a sequence index value based on a received failure indication.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein said one or more circuits are operable to retransmit at least one selected antenna selection frame within said selected sequence of antenna selection frames based on said determined sequence index value.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said one or more circuits transmit each antenna selection frame subsequent to a retransmitted selected antenna selection frame within said selected sequence of antenna selection frames.

5. A system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for selecting a sequence of antenna selection frames to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits are configured to receive a failure indication including a sequence index value during transmission of the selected sequence of antenna selection frames;

the one or more circuits select a subsequent sequence of antenna selection frames to be transmitted in an antenna selection process based on the sequence index value; wherein the selected subsequent sequence of antenna selection frames is different from the previously selected sequence of antenna selection frames;

the one or more circuits receive an antenna selection feedback vector, which is calculated after a receiving mobile terminal successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector, which includes channel state information, causes the transmitting mobile terminal to assign an RF chain to a particular transmit antenna.

6. A system for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

one or more circuits for receiving a sequence of antenna selection frames in an antenna selection process;

the one or more circuits detect a reception failure during a reception process;

the one or more circuits transmit a failure indication including a sequence index value based on the detection result;

wherein the failure indication indicates: the antenna selection process is restarted from a starting point or the antenna selection process is restarted from a point of failure detection;

the one or more circuits calculate an antenna selection feedback vector after the receiver mobile terminal successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector, which includes channel state information, causes the transmitting mobile terminal to assign an RF chain to a particular transmit antenna.

7. A method for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

selecting a sequence of antenna selection frames, wherein the sequence of antenna selection frames is to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

receiving a failure indication and an antenna selection feedback vector during transmission of the selected sequence of antenna selection frames;

retransmitting one or more previously transmitted antenna selection frames of the selected antenna selection frames based on the failure indication; or

Restarting an antenna selection process by transmitting another sequence of antenna selection frames different from the previously selected sequence of antenna selection frames based on the failure indication, wherein the another sequence of antenna selection frames is selected from a plurality of candidate sequences of antenna selection frames in a random manner or a sequential manner;

causing the transmitting mobile terminal to assign an RF chain to a particular transmit antenna based on the antenna selection feedback vector; the antenna selection feedback vector is calculated after the mobile terminal of the receiving party successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector includes channel state information.

8. A method for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

selecting a sequence of antenna selection frames to be transmitted in an antenna selection process;

receiving a failure indication containing a sequence index value and an antenna selection feedback vector during transmission of the selected antenna selection frame sequence;

selecting a subsequent sequence of antenna selection frames to be transmitted in an antenna selection process based on the sequence index value; wherein the selected subsequent sequence of antenna selection frames is different from the previously selected sequence of antenna selection frames;

based on the antenna selection feedback vector, the transmitting mobile terminal allocates an RF chain to a specific transmitting antenna; the antenna selection feedback vector is calculated after the mobile terminal of the receiving party successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector includes channel state information.

9. A method for communicating information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

receiving a sequence of antenna selection frames in an antenna selection process;

detecting a reception failure in a reception process;

transmitting a failure indication containing a sequence index value based on the detection result;

wherein the failure indication indicates: the antenna selection process is restarted from a starting point or the antenna selection process is restarted from a point of failure detection;

calculating an antenna selection feedback vector after the receiving mobile terminal successfully receives an antenna selection frame sequence; the antenna selection feedback vector, which includes channel state information, causes the transmitting mobile terminal to assign an RF chain to a particular transmit antenna.