DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD OF SIMULTANEOUSLY COMMUNICATING WITH A GROUP OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICES

• US 20110149941A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Prime LLC (Daedalus Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Stacey, Robert J., Gong, Michelle X.
• Granted Patent: US 8,374,154 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/343
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0634 Antenna weights or vector/matrix coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/03783 Details of reference signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/03802 Signalling on the reverse channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03343 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of simultaneously communicating with a group of wireless communication devices. For example, a device may include a wireless communication unit to transmit at least one beamforming-training initiation frame to a group of a plurality of wireless communication devices, wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive two or more feedback frames from two or more of the wireless communication devices, wherein the wireless communication unit is to determine two or more beamforming schemes based on the two or more feedback frames, and wherein the wireless communication unit is to simultaneously transmit two or more different wireless communication transmissions to the two or more wireless communication devices, respectively, using the two or more beamforming schemes, respectively. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A device including:

a wireless communication unit to transmit at least one beamforming-training initiation frame to a group of a plurality of wireless communication devices,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive two or more feedback frames from two or more of the wireless communication devices,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to determine two or more beamforming schemes based on the two or more feedback frames,

and wherein the wireless communication unit is to simultaneously transmit two or more different wireless communication transmissions to the two or more wireless communication devices, respectively, using the two or more beamforming schemes, respectively.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is to determine an order at which the feedback frames are to be transmitted, and wherein the initiation frame includes an indication of the required order.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the initiation frame includes a training request frame, and wherein the feedback frames include channel sounding frames.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the initiation frame includes a channel sounding frame, and wherein the feedback frames include beamforming feedback frames.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit the initiation frame including an address assigned to the group of wireless communication devices.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is to communicate with the group of wireless communication devices over a wireless communication medium,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to reserve the wireless communication medium for a time period, during which the wireless communication unit is to transmit the beamforming-training initiation frame, receive the feedback frames, and simultaneously transmit the two or more different wireless communication transmissions.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication unit is to reserve the wireless communication medium by transmitting at least one request-to-send packet to one or more wireless communication devices of the group, wherein the request-to-send packet includes a duration value corresponding to the time period to be reserved.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication unit is to reserve the wireless communication medium by transmitting a data packet to at least one of the wireless communication devices of the group, wherein the packet includes a duration value corresponding to the time period to be reserved.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein the wireless medium operates according to a carrier-sense-multiple-access-with-collision-avoidance scheme.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit the two or more transmissions according to a space-division-multiple-access (SDMA) scheme.

11. A method including:

transmitting at least one beamforming-training initiation frame from a wireless communication unit to a group of a plurality of wireless communication devices;

receiving, at the wireless communication unit, two or more feedback frames from two or more of the wireless communication devices;

determining two or more beamforming schemes based on the two or more feedback frames; and

simultaneously transmitting two or more different wireless communication transmissions from the wireless communication unit to the two or more wireless communication devices, respectively, using the two or more beamforming schemes, respectively.

12. The method of claim 11 including determining an order at which the feedback frames are to be transmitted, wherein the initiation frame includes an indication of the required order.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the initiation frame includes a training request frame, and wherein the feedback frames include channel sounding frames.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the initiation frame includes a channel sounding frame, and wherein the feedback frames include beamforming feedback frames.

15. The method of claim 11 including transmitting the initiation frame including an address assigned to the group of wireless communication devices.

16. The method of claim 11 including:

reserving, by the wireless communication unit, a wireless communication medium for a time period, which includes a time period for to transmitting the beamforming-training initiation frame, receiving the feedback frames, and simultaneously transmitting the two or more different wireless communication transmissions.

17. A wireless communication system including:

a wireless communication device to communicate with a group of a plurality of other wireless communication devices,

wherein the wireless communication device includes;

one or more antennas; and

a wireless communication unit to transmit at least one beamforming-training initiation frame to the group of wireless communication devices,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive two or more feedback frames from two or more of the wireless communication devices,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to determine two or more beamforming schemes based on the two or more feedback frames,

and wherein the wireless communication unit is to simultaneously transmit two or more different wireless communication transmissions to the two or more wireless communication devices, respectively, using the two or more beamforming schemes, respectively.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the wireless communication unit is to determine an order at which the feedback frames are to be transmitted, and wherein the initiation frame includes an indication of the required order.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the wireless communication unit is to transmit the initiation frame including an address assigned to the group of wireless communication devices.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the wireless communication unit is to communicate with the group of wireless communication devices over a wireless communication medium,

wherein the wireless communication unit is to reserve the wireless communication medium for a time period, during which the wireless communication unit is to transmit the beamforming-training initiation frame, receive the feedback frames, and simultaneously transmit the two or more different wireless communication transmissions.