WLAN capacity enhancement using SDM

• US 20050047384A1
• Filed: 08/13/2004
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wavion limited (Alvarion Limited)
• Original Assignee: Wavion limited (Alvarion Limited)
• Inventors: Shavit, Yael, Tweg, Ruby, Podyetsky, Alex, Wax, Mati, Levitan, Evgeni, Freiman, Amit, Aviram, Aviv, Elzas, Hovav, Ofir-Arad, Einat, Vaknin, Avi
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN) includes receiving uplink signals from a plurality of stations in the WLAN. Responsively to the uplink signals, a set of the stations is selected for inclusion in a spatial multiplexing group. Downlink signals are transmitted simultaneously to the stations in the set using spatial division multiplexing (SDM).

Claims

1. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

receiving uplink signals from a plurality of stations in the WLAN;

responsively to the uplink signals, selecting a set of the stations for inclusion in a spatial multiplexing group; and

transmitting downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set using spatial division multiplexing (SDM).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises processing the uplink signals to determine respective spatial signatures of the stations, and grouping the stations in the set responsively to the spatial signatures.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises calculating respective beamforming weights for the stations in the set responsively to the respective spatial signatures, and applying the beamforming weights to the downlink signals.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein calculating the respective beamforming weights comprises computing receive beamforming weights and transmit beamforming weights, wherein the transmit beamforming weights are applied to the downlink signals, and wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises applying the receive beamforming weights to the uplink signals.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving first and second uplink signals simultaneously from at least first and second stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and wherein applying the receive beamforming weights comprises using the beamforming weights to separate and demodulate the first and second uplink signals simultaneously.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein grouping the stations comprises selecting the stations for inclusion in the group such that there is a substantial difference between the respective spatial signatures of all the stations in the group.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises measuring respective power levels of the uplink signals, and wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises grouping the stations in the set responsively to the power levels.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein grouping the stations comprises selecting a first station having a first power level, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective power levels of the uplink signals of all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first power level.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises placing data packets in respective queues for transmission to the stations, and wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises grouping the stations in the set responsively to a characteristic of the respective queues.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the queues have respective lengths, and wherein grouping the stations comprises selecting a first station having a first queue length, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective queue lengths of all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first queue length.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the data packets have respective packet lengths, and wherein grouping the stations comprises selecting a first station having a first packet for transmission having a first packet length, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective packet lengths of the packets to be transmitted to all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first packet length.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises assigning respective priorities to the queues, and choosing at least one of the stations for inclusion in the group responsively to the priorities.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein assigning the respective priorities comprises calculating the priorities responsively to at least one of a load of the queues, an age of a first packet, and a length of the first packet in each of the queues.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises determining respective transmission rates for the stations responsively to the uplink signals, and wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises grouping the stations in the set responsively to the respective transmission rates.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises determining a number of the stations to be included in the set, and wherein determining the respective transmission rates comprises setting the respective transmission rates responsively to the number of the stations in the set.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises calculating beamforming weights responsively to the uplink signals, and applying the beamforming weights to the downlink signals.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises calculating first beamforming weights for application to the uplink signals and second beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals, and wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises applying the first beamforming weights so as to enhance reception of the uplink signals.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein selecting the set of the stations comprises selecting a first set of the stations for inclusion in a first spatial multiplexing group, to which the downlink signals are to be transmitted during a first period, and comprising selecting a second set of the stations for inclusion in a second spatial multiplexing group, and transmitting the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the second set using the SDM during a second period, subsequent to the first period.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises permitting the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises transmitting a broadcast message from an access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and transmitting the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set using SDM during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving uplink signals at an access point in the WLAN via multiple antennas that are coupled to the access point, finding respective correlations between respective sequences of samples of the uplink signals received by the antennas and a known preamble of a packet carried by the uplink signals, and combining the respective correlations from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a timing of the uplink signals.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving uplink signals at an access point in the WLAN via multiple antennas that are coupled to the access point, tracking respective phases of the uplink signals received by the antennas, and combining the respective phases from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover at least one of a carrier frequency offset and an instantaneous carrier phase of the uplink signals.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving the uplink signals at an access point in the WLAN via multiple antennas that are coupled to the access point, wherein the access point comprises at least first and second transceivers, which are coupled to respective antennas among the multiple antennas and have respective response characteristics, and

wherein the method comprises making a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal from the first transceiver to the second transceiver via the respective antennas, and modifying the uplink signals received by the access point responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for an imperfection in the response characteristics.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the imperfection comprises a mismatch in the respective response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving the uplink signals at an access point in the WLAN via multiple antennas that are coupled to the access point, wherein the access point comprises multiple transceivers, which are respectively coupled to the antennas and comprise respective local oscillators, and which generate respective baseband signals responsively to the uplink signals, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the method comprises providing a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals provided by the multiple transceivers.

25. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

receiving first signals from a plurality of stations in the WLAN;

responsively to the first signals, determining respective spatial signatures of the stations;

calculating beamforming weights based on the spatial signatures; and

communicating with two or more of the stations simultaneously by spatial division multiplexing (SDM) using the beamforming weights.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein receiving the first signals comprises prompting the stations to transmit respective uplink signals such that the stations transmit the uplink signals in a predetermined sequence.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein prompting the stations comprises causing each of the stations to transmit the uplink signals within a respective, predetermined time window.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein prompting the stations comprises causing the stations to transmit the uplink signals at intervals selected so that at least some of the uplink signals overlap in time.

29. The method according to claim 26, wherein receiving the first signals comprises sending a broadcast message so as to disable uplink transmission by the stations in the WLAN for a predetermined period, and wherein prompting the stations comprises sending a second message, following the broadcast message, to each of the stations in the predetermined sequence.

30. The method according to claim 25, wherein receiving the first signals comprises receiving the first signals at multiple antennas of an access point in the WLAN, and wherein determining the respective spatial signatures comprises computing a signature vector responsively to the first signals received by each of the antennas.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein computing the signature vector comprises, for each station among the plurality of stations, finding a correlation between a sequence of samples of the signals received by each of the antennas and a known preamble of a packet carried by the first signals.

32. The method according to claim 31, and comprising combining the respective correlations from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a timing of the first signals.

33. The method according to claim 30, and comprising tracking respective phases of the first signals received by the antennas, and combining the respective phases from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a carrier frequency offset of the first signals.

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein the access point comprises at least first and second transceivers, which are coupled to respective antennas among the multiple antennas and have respective response characteristics, and

wherein the method comprises making a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal from first transceiver to the second transceiver via the respective antennas, and modifying uplink signals received by the access point responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for an imperfection in the response characteristics.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the imperfection comprises a mismatch in the respective response characteristics of the first and second transceivers.

36. The method according to claim 30, wherein the access point comprises multiple transceivers, which are respectively coupled to the antennas and comprise respective local oscillators, and which generate respective baseband signals responsively to uplink signals received via the antennas, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the method comprises providing a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals provided by the multiple transceivers.

37. The method according to claim 25, wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises orthogonalizing the spatial signatures of the two or more of the stations.

38. The method according to claim 25, wherein communicating with the two or more of the stations comprises exchanging second signals with the stations, and wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises determining the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to the second signals causes a distortion of the second signals to be reduced.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises determining the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to the second signals causes an interference between the second signals to be reduced.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein determining the beamforming weights comprises minimizing a cost function having a first term corresponding to the distortion and at least a second term corresponding to the interference, wherein different, respective weight factors are assigned to the first and second terms in the cost function.

41. The method according to claim 25, wherein communicating with the two or more of the stations comprises exchanging second signals with the stations, and wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises determining the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to the second signals causes an interference between the second signals to be reduced.

42. The method according to claim 25, and comprising receiving at least one interfering signal from a source other than the plurality of the stations, and wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises determining the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to the second signals causes an interference due to the at least one interfering signal to be reduced.

43. The method according to claim 25, wherein communicating with the two or more of the stations comprises transmitting downlink signals to the stations and receiving uplink signals from the stations, and wherein calculating the beamforming weights comprises calculating first beamforming weights for application to the uplink signals and second beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals, wherein the second beamforming weights are different from the first beamforming weights.

44. The method according to claim 43, wherein calculating the second beamforming weights comprises computing respective transmit beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals that are to be transmitted to each of the two or more of the stations, and optimizing the transmit beamforming weights jointly for all of the two or more of the stations so as to reduce an interference between the downlink signals received by each of the two or more of the stations.

45. The method according to claim 25, wherein receiving the first signals comprises permitting the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and wherein communicating with the two or more of the stations comprises transmitting a broadcast message from an access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and transmitting downlink signals simultaneously to the two or more of the stations using the beamforming weights during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

46. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

selecting a set of stations in the WLAN for inclusion in a spatial multiplexing group;

during a first operating period, permitting the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN;

transmitting a broadcast message from an access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period; and

during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message, transmitting downlink signals from the access point simultaneously to the stations in the spatial multiplexing group using spatial division multiplexing (SDM).

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein the standard applicable to the WLAN comprises an IEEE 802.11 standard.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein transmitting the broadcast message comprises transmitting a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein transmitting the broadcast message comprises transmitting a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) prior to the CTS message.

50. The method according to claim 46, wherein transmitting the broadcast message comprises specifying, in the broadcast message, a duration of the second operating period.

51. The method according to claim 50, wherein upon a conclusion of the specified duration, the stations in the WLAN are permitted to resume transmission of the uplink signals.

52. The method according to claim 50, wherein transmitting the broadcast message comprises repeating transmission of the broadcast message periodically, at predetermined intervals, so as to define successive downlink and uplink transmission periods within the WLAN.

53. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

receiving uplink signals at an access point from at least one station in the WLAN via multiple antennas that are coupled to the access point;

finding respective correlations between respective sequences of samples of the uplink signals received by the antennas and a known preamble of a packet carried by the uplink signals;

tracking respective phases of the uplink signals received by the antennas;

combining the respective correlations from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a timing of the uplink signals; and

combining the respective phases from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a carrier frequency offset and a carrier phase of the uplink signals.

54. The method according to claim 53, wherein receiving the uplink signals comprises receiving the uplink signals from a plurality of stations in the WLAN, and communicating with two or more of the stations simultaneously by spatial division multiplexing (SDM), responsively to the recovered timing, carrier frequency offset and carrier phase.

55. The method according to claim 53, wherein combining the respective correlations comprises computing a sum of the respective correlations so as to find the timing that maximizes the sum.

56. The method according to claim 53, wherein combining the respective correlations comprises finding the timing that maximizes a plurality of the respective correlations.

57. The method according to claim 53, wherein combining the respective phases comprises summing the respective phases.

58. The method according to claim 57, wherein summing the respective phases comprises measuring respective powers of the uplink signals, weighting the respective phases responsively to the respective powers, and summing the weighted respective phases.

59. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

selecting a number of stations in the WLAN for inclusion in a spatial multiplexing group;

determining a downlink transmission rate for the spatial multiplexing group responsively to the number of the stations in the group; and

transmitting downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the spatial multiplexing group using spatial division multiplexing (SDM) at the downlink transmission rate.

60. The method according to claim 59, wherein determining the downlink transmission rate comprises measuring a level of uplink signals received from the stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and selecting the downlink transmission rate from a table using an index determined by the level of the uplink signals.

61. The method according to claim 60, wherein the table comprises different lists of entries corresponding to different numbers of the stations that may be included in the spatial multiplexing group.

62. The method according to claim 60 wherein selecting the downlink transmission rate comprises collecting statistics that are indicative of errors in communication between an access point and the stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and adjusting the index responsively to the statistics.

63. The method according to claim 59, and comprising permitting the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and wherein transmitting the downlink signals comprises transmitting a broadcast message from an access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and transmitting the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set using SDM during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

64. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

providing an access point comprising a plurality of transceivers coupled to respective antennas for communication over the WLAN, the plurality of transceivers comprising at least first and second transceivers, each transceiver comprising a respective transmitter and a respective receiver having respective response characteristics;

configuring the access point to exchange communication signals with a station in the WLAN by communicating simultaneously with the station through the first and second transceivers;

making a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal through the transmitter of the first transceiver and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the second transceiver; and

applying calibration factors to the communication signals responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for one or more imperfections in the response characteristics.

65. The method according to claim 64, wherein the plurality of transceivers comprises at least a third transceiver, and wherein the one or more imperfections comprise a mismatch in the response characteristics of the at least one of the first and second transceivers relative to the third transceiver, and wherein making the measurement comprises at least one of at least one of transmitting the calibration signal and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the third transceiver.

66. The method according to claim 64, wherein the imperfection comprises an I/Q mismatch of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver of at least one of the transceivers.

67. The method according to claim 66, wherein transmitting the calibration signal comprises transmitting a sequence of signal vectors having respective phases and amplitudes, and making the measurement comprises determining the I/Q mismatch of at least the transmitter by measuring a power of the calibration signal that is received responsively to the signal vectors in the sequence.

68. The method according to claim 67, wherein making the measurement further comprises measuring a local oscillator leakage of the transmitter based on the calibration signal that is received responsively to the signal vectors in the sequence.

69. The method according to claim 66, wherein determining the I/Q mismatch comprises measuring the I/Q mismatch of the transmitter by receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the second transceiver after having determined the I/Q mismatch of the receiver.

70. The method according to claim 64, wherein making the measurement comprises at least one of transmitting the calibration signal through two or more of the plurality of the transceivers, and receiving the calibration signal through two or more of the plurality of the transceivers, so as to make at least one further measurement of the response characteristics of one or more of the transceivers, and wherein applying the calibration factors comprises using the at least one further measurement in determining the calibration factors.

71. The method according to claim 70, wherein performing the at least one further measurement comprises transmitting the calibration signal through the transmitter of the second transceiver and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the first transceiver.

72. The method according to claim 64, wherein the transceivers comprise respective local oscillators, and which are adapted to generate respective baseband signals responsively to uplink signals received via the antennas, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the method comprises providing a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals.

73. The method according to claim 64, wherein communicating simultaneously with the station through the first and second transceivers comprises applying beamforming coefficients to the signals conveyed through the first and second transceivers.

74. The method according to claim 64, wherein making the measurement comprises measuring the response characteristics as a function of frequency, and wherein applying the calibration factors comprises filtering the communication signals using the calibration factors.

75. The method according to claim 64, wherein making the measurement comprises varying a gain of the at least one of the first and second transceivers, and measuring the response characteristics as a function of the gain, and wherein applying the calibration factors comprises selecting the calibration factors to apply responsively to a gain setting of the at least one of the first and second transceivers.

76. A method for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

providing an access point comprising a plurality of transceivers coupled to respective antennas for communication over the WLAN, each transceiver comprising;

a respective receiver, which is coupled to receive uplink radio frequency (RF) signals from a station in the WLAN;

a down-converter, which is adapted to down-convert the RF signals to baseband signals having a phase; and

a local oscillator, which is coupled to drive the down-converter, thereby determining the phase of the baseband signals;

configuring the access point to exchange communication signals with a station in the WLAN by communicating simultaneously with the station through the plurality of the transceivers; and

applying a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phase of the baseband signals provided by the plurality of transceivers to a digital processing circuit in the access point.

77. The method according to claim 76, wherein the local oscillator of each of the transceivers comprises a phase-locked loop, and wherein applying the reference signal comprises coupling a respective loop filter to the phase-locked loop in each of the transceivers so as to enhance coherency of the local oscillator among the transceivers.

78. The method according to claim 76, wherein applying the reference signal comprises:

injecting the reference signal into the RF signals;

measuring a phase deviation among the baseband signals by detecting a component of the baseband signals corresponding to the injected reference signal; and

adjusting the phase of the baseband signals to compensate for the phase deviation.

79. An access point for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of transceivers, which are coupled to receive uplink signals via respective antennas from stations in the WLAN;

control circuitry, which is adapted, responsively to the uplink signals, to select a set of the stations for inclusion in a spatial multiplexing group; and

spatial division multiplexing (SDM) circuitry, which is coupled to the transceivers so as to transmit downlink signals simultaneously to the set of the stations in the spatial multiplexing group.

80. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to process the uplink signals to determine respective spatial signatures of the stations, and to group the stations in the set responsively to the spatial signatures.

81. The access point according to claim 80, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate respective beamforming weights for the stations in the set responsively to the respective spatial signatures, and wherein the SDM circuitry is coupled to apply the beamforming weights to the downlink signals.

82. The access point according to claim 80, wherein the respective beamforming weights comprise receive beamforming weights and transmit beamforming weights, wherein the transmit beamforming weights are applied to the downlink signals, and wherein the SDM circuitry is further coupled to apply the receive beamforming weights to the uplink signals.

83. The access point according to claim 82, wherein the uplink signals comprise first and second uplink signals, which are received simultaneously from at least first and second stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and wherein the SDM circuitry is adapted to apply the receive beamforming weights so as to separate the first and second uplink signals, and wherein the access point comprises demodulating circuitry, which is adapted to demodulate the separated first and second uplink signals simultaneously.

84. The access point according to claim 80, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to select the stations for inclusion in the group such that there is a substantial difference between the respective spatial signatures of all the stations in the group.

85. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to measure respective power levels of the uplink signals, and to group the stations in the set responsively to the power levels.

86. The access point according to claim 85, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to group the stations by selecting a first station having a first power level, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective power levels of the uplink signals of all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first power level.

87. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to place data packets in respective queues for downlink transmission to the stations, and to select the set of the stations by grouping the stations responsively to a characteristic of the respective queues.

88. The access point according to claim 87, wherein the queues have respective lengths, and wherein the control circuitry is adapted to group the stations by selecting a first station having a first queue length, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective queue lengths of all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first queue length.

89. The access point according to claim 87, wherein the data packets have respective packet lengths, and wherein the control circuitry is adapted to group the stations by selecting a first station having a first packet for transmission having a first packet length, and selecting at least a second station so that the respective packet lengths of the packets to be transmitted to all the stations in the set are within a predefined bound of the first packet length.

90. The access point according to claim 87, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to assign respective priorities to the queues, and to select at least one of the stations for inclusion in the group responsively to the priorities.

91. The access point according to claim 90, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate the priorities responsively to at least one of a load of the queues, an age of a first packet, and a length of the first packet in each of the queues.

92. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine respective transmission rates for the stations responsively to the uplink signals, and to group the stations in the set responsively to the respective transmission rates.

93. The access point according to claim 92, wherein the set comprises a number of the stations determined by the control circuitry, and wherein the control circuitry is adapted to set the respective transmission rates responsively to the number of the stations in the set.

94. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate beamforming weights responsively to the uplink signals, and wherein the SDM circuitry is coupled to apply the beamforming weights to the downlink signals.

95. The access point according to claim 94, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate first beamforming weights for application to the uplink signals and second beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals, and wherein the SDM circuitry is adapted to apply the first beamforming weights so as to enhance reception of the uplink signals.

96. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to select a first set of the stations for inclusion in a first spatial multiplexing group, to which the downlink signals are to be transmitted during a first period, and to select a second set of the stations for inclusion in a second spatial multiplexing group, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the second set during a second period, subsequent to the first period.

97. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is configured to permit the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and to transmit a broadcast message from the access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set using SDM during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

98. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to find respective correlations between respective sequences of samples of the uplink signals received by the transceivers and a known preamble of a packet carried by the uplink signals, and to combine the respective correlations from the plurality of the transceivers so as to recover a timing of the uplink signals.

99. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to track respective phases of the uplink signals received by the transceivers, and to combine the respective phases from the plurality of the transceivers so as to recover at least one of a carrier frequency offset and an instantaneous carrier phase of the uplink signals.

100. The access point according to claim 79, wherein the plurality of the transceivers comprises at least first and second transceivers, which have respective response characteristics, and

wherein the control circuitry is adapted to make a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal from the first transceiver to the second transceiver via the respective antennas, and to modify the uplink signals received by the access point responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for an imperfection in the response characteristics.

101. The access point according to claim 100, wherein the imperfection comprises a mismatch in the respective response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers.

102. The access point according to claim 100, wherein the transceivers comprise respective local oscillators, and which generate respective baseband signals responsively to the uplink signals, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the control circuitry is coupled to provide a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals provided by the multiple transceivers.

103. An access point for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of transceivers, which are coupled to receive first signals via respective antennas from stations in the WLAN;

control circuitry, which is adapted, responsively to the first signals, to determine respective spatial signatures of the stations and to calculate beamforming weights based on the spatial signatures; and

spatial division multiplexing (SDM) circuitry, which is coupled to the transceivers so as to communicate with two or more of the stations simultaneously by spatial division multiplexing (SDM) using the beamforming weights.

104. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to prompt the stations to transmit respective first signals such that the stations transmit the first signals in a predetermined sequence.

105. The access point according to claim 104, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to prompt the stations so as to cause each of the stations to transmit the uplink signals within a respective, predetermined time window.

106. The access point according to claim 104, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to cause the stations to transmit the uplink signals at intervals selected so that at least some of the uplink signals overlap in time.

107. The access point according to claim 104, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to send a broadcast message from the access point to the stations so as to disable uplink transmission by the stations in the WLAN for a predetermined period, and to prompt the stations to transmit the first signals by sending a second message, following the broadcast message, to each of the stations in the predetermined sequence.

108. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the respective spatial signatures comprise signature vectors, which are computed by the control circuitry responsively to the first signals received by each of the transceivers.

109. The access point according to claim 108, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to compute a respective signature vector for each station among the plurality of stations by finding a correlation between a sequence of samples of the signals received by each of the transceivers and a known preamble of a packet carried by the first signals.

110. The access point according to claim 109, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to combine the respective correlations from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a timing of the first signals.

111. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to track respective phases of the first signals received by the transceivers, and to combine the respective phases from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a carrier frequency offset of the first signals.

112. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the plurality of the transceivers comprises at least first and second transceivers, and

wherein the control circuitry is adapted to make a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal from first transceiver to the second transceiver via the respective antennas, and to modify uplink signals received by the access point responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for an imperfection in the response characteristics.

113. The access point according to claim 112, wherein the imperfection comprises a mismatch in the respective response characteristics of the first and second transceivers.

114. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the transceivers comprise respective local oscillators, and are operative to generate respective baseband signals responsively to uplink signals received via the antennas, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the control circuitry is adapted to provide a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals provided by the multiple transceivers.

115. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate the beamforming weights by orthogonalizing the spatial signatures of two or more of the stations.

116. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to second signals exchanged between the SDM circuitry and the two or more of the stations causes a distortion of the second signals to be reduced.

117. The access point according to claim 116, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to the second signals causes an interference between the second signals to be reduced.

118. The access point according to claim 117, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine the beamforming weights by minimizing a cost function having a first term corresponding to the distortion and at least a second term corresponding to the interference, wherein different, respective weight factors are assigned to the first and second terms in the cost function.

119. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to second signals exchanged between the SDM circuitry and the two or more of the stations causes an interference between the second signals to be reduced.

120. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to determine the beamforming weights so that application of the beamforming weights to second signals exchanged between the SDM circuitry and the two or more of the stations causes an interference due to at least one interfering signal from a source other than the plurality of the stations to be reduced.

121. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the SDM circuitry is adapted to generate downlink signals for transmission to the stations and to process uplink signals received from the stations, and wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate first beamforming weights for application to the uplink signals and second beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals, wherein the second beamforming weights are different from the first beamforming weights.

122. The access point according to claim 121, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to calculate the second beamforming weights for application to the downlink signals that are to be transmitted to each of two or more of the stations, and to optimize the second beamforming weights jointly for all of the two or more of the stations so as to reduce an interference between the downlink signals received by each of the two or more of the stations.

123. The access point according to claim 103, wherein the control circuitry is configured to permit the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and to transmit a broadcast message from the access point to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit the downlink signals simultaneously to the two or more of the stations using the beamforming weights during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

124. An access point for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of transceivers, which are coupled via respective antennas to communicate with stations in the WLAN;

spatial division multiplexing (SDM) circuitry, which is coupled to the transceivers so as to communicate with a set of the stations simultaneously by spatial division multiplexing (SDM); and

control circuitry, which is configured to permit the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and to transmit a broadcast message to the stations so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

125. The access point according to claim 124, wherein the standard applicable to the WLAN comprises an IEEE 802.11 standard.

126. The access point according to claim 125, wherein the broadcast message comprises a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message.

127. The access point according to claim 126, wherein the broadcast message further comprises a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM), which is transmitted prior to the CTS message.

128. The access point according to claim 124, wherein the broadcast message specifies a duration of the second operating period.

129. The access point according to claim 128, wherein upon a conclusion of the specified duration, the stations in the WLAN are permitted to resume transmission of the uplink signals.

130. The access point according to claim 128, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to repeat transmission of the broadcast message periodically, at predetermined intervals, so as to define successive downlink and uplink transmission periods within the WLAN.

131. An access point for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of transceivers, which are coupled via respective antennas to receive uplink signals from at least one station in the WLAN; and

control circuitry, which is adapted to find respective correlations between respective sequences of samples of the uplink signals received by the antennas and a known preamble of a packet carried by the uplink signals, and to track respective phases of the uplink signals received by the antennas, and to combine the respective correlations from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a timing of the uplink signals, and to combine the respective phases from the plurality of the antennas so as to recover a carrier frequency offset and a carrier phase of the uplink signals.

132. The access point according to claim 131, wherein the transceivers are coupled to receive the uplink signals from a plurality of stations in the WLAN, and comprising spatial division multiplexing (SDM) circuitry, which is adapted to communicate via the transceivers with two or more of the stations simultaneously by SDM, responsively to the recovered timing and carrier phase.

133. The access point according to claim 131, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to compute a sum of the respective correlations so as to find the timing that maximizes the sum.

134. The access point according to claim 131, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to find the timing that maximizes a plurality of the respective correlations.

135. The access point according to claim 131, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to sum the respective phases in order to recover the carrier phase.

136. The access point according to claim 135, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to measure respective powers of the uplink signals, to weight the respective phases responsively to the respective powers, and to sum the weighted respective phases.

137. An access point for communication over a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of transceivers, which are coupled via respective antennas to communicate with stations in the WLAN;

spatial division multiplexing (SDM) circuitry, which is coupled to the transceivers so as to communicate with a number of the stations in a spatial multiplexing group simultaneously by spatial division multiplexing (SDM); and

control circuitry, which is adapted to determine a downlink transmission rate for the spatial multiplexing group responsively to the number of the stations in the group, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the spatial multiplexing group using SDM at the downlink transmission rate.

138. The access point according to claim 137, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to measure a level of uplink signals received from the stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and to select the downlink transmission rate from a table using an index determined by the level of the uplink signals.

139. The access point according to claim 138, wherein the table comprises different lists of entries corresponding to different numbers of the stations that may be included in the spatial multiplexing group.

140. The access point according to claim 138, wherein the control circuitry is adapted to collect statistics that are indicative of errors in communication between the access point and the stations in the spatial multiplexing group, and to adjust the index responsively to the statistics.

141. The access point according to claim 137, wherein the control circuitry is configured to permit the stations in the WLAN to transmit uplink signals during a first operating period, subject to a collision-avoidance mechanism provided by a standard applicable to the WLAN, and to transmit a broadcast message to the stations in the WLAN so as to disable transmission of the uplink signals, thereby terminating the first operating period, and to cause the SDM circuitry to transmit the downlink signals simultaneously to the stations in the set using SDM during a second operating period immediately following the broadcast message.

142. An access point for use in a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of antennas;

a plurality of transceivers, the plurality comprising at least first and second transceivers, each transceiver comprising a respective transmitter and a respective receiver, which are coupled to a respective one of the antennas and have respective response characteristics;

a digital processing circuit, which is coupled to exchange communication signals with a station in the WLAN by communicating simultaneously through the first and second transceivers; and

a calibration circuit, which is coupled to make a measurement of the response characteristics of at least one of the first and second transceivers by transmitting a calibration signal through the transmitter of the first transceiver and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the second transceiver, and which is adapted to determine calibration factors for application to the communication signals responsively to the measurement so as to compensate for one or more imperfections in the response characteristics.

143. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the plurality of transceivers comprises at least a third transceiver, and wherein the one or more imperfections comprise a mismatch in the response characteristics of the at least one of the first and second transceivers relative to the third transceiver, and wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to make the measurement by at least one of at least one of transmitting the calibration signal and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the third transceiver.

144. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the imperfection comprises an I/Q mismatch of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver of at least one of the transceivers.

145. The access point according to claim 144, wherein the calibration signal comprises a sequence of signal vectors having respective phases and amplitudes, and wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to determine the I/Q mismatch of at least the transmitter by measuring a power of the calibration signal that is received responsively to the signal vectors in the sequence.

146. The access point according to claim 145, wherein the calibration circuit is further adapted to measure a local oscillator leakage of the transmitter based on the calibration signal that is received responsively to the signal vectors in the sequence.

147. The access point according to claim 144, wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to determine the I/Q mismatch of the transmitter by receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the second transceiver prior to having determined the I/Q mismatch of the receiver.

148. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to make at least one further measurement by at least one of transmitting the calibration signal through two or more of the plurality of the transceivers, and receiving the calibration signal through two or more of the plurality of the transceivers, and is adapted to apply the at least one further measurement in determining the calibration factors.

149. The access point according to claim 148, wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to make the at least one further measurement by transmitting the calibration signal through the transmitter of the second transceiver and receiving the transmitted calibration signal through the receiver of the first transceiver.

150. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the transceivers comprise respective local oscillators, and which are adapted to generate respective baseband signals responsively to uplink signals received via the antennas, the baseband signals having respective phases that are determined by the respective local oscillators, and

wherein the access point comprises a transceiver controller, which is coupled to provide a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phases of the baseband signals.

151. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the digital processing circuit is adapted to apply beamforming coefficients to the signals conveyed through the first and second transceivers.

152. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to measure the response characteristics as a function of frequency, and to filter the communication signals using the calibration factors.

153. The access point according to claim 142, wherein the transceivers have a variable gain, and wherein the calibration circuit is adapted to measure the response characteristics as a function of the gain, and to select the calibration factors to apply to the communication signals responsively to a gain setting of the at least one of the first and second transceivers.

156. The access point according to claim 150, wherein the transceiver controller is coupled to inject the reference signal into the RF signals, and comprising a phase tracking circuit, which is coupled to measure a phase deviation among the baseband signals by detecting a component of the baseband signals corresponding to the injected reference signal, and to adjust the phase of the baseband signals to compensate for the phase deviation.

154. An access point for use in a wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a plurality of antennas;

a plurality of transceivers, each comprising;

a respective receiver, which is coupled to receive uplink radio frequency (RF) signals from a station in the WLAN via a respective one of the antennas;

a down-converter, which is adapted to down-convert the RF signals to baseband signals having a phase; and

a local oscillator, which is coupled to drive the down-converter, thereby determining the phase of the baseband signals;

a digital processing circuit, which is coupled to receive and process the baseband signals simultaneously from the plurality of the transceivers; and

a transceiver controller, which is coupled to provide a reference signal to the transceivers so as to synchronize the phase of the baseband signals provided by the plurality of transceivers to the digital processing circuit.

155. The access point according to claim 154, wherein the local oscillator of each of the transceivers comprises a phase-locked loop, and comprising a plurality of loop filters, coupled respectively to the phase-locked loop in each of the transceivers so as to enhance a coherency of the local oscillator among the transceivers.