Apparatus and methods for operating multi-link devices in wirless networks

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for operating multiple link premises devices in a wireless network. In one embodiment, premises devices such as a wireless gateway, Access Point (AP) or user devices use Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology for the transmission of data on multiple links operating on different frequencies. The disclosed apparatus and methods provide a solution to share channel statistic or similar data across the different links, such as for link performance improvement via more optimal MIMO operation. In one implementation, large-scale channel statistics are shared via the preamble or mid-amble of a frame across multiple links between an AP and a user device to enhance receiver performance. In another embodiment, the channel statistics are shared between multiple AP devices which can coordinate with each other, and/or are made specific to individual client devices, in order to enhance receiver performance.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . Multi-link wireless access point apparatus, comprising:
 digital processor apparatus;   at least one wireless transceiver chain in data communication with the digital processor apparatus and comprising at least one antenna element; and   computer readable apparatus in data communication with the digital processor apparatus and comprising storage medium, the storage medium comprising at least one computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed on the digital processor apparatus, cause the multi-link wireless access point apparatus to: 
 utilize one or more channel statistics associated with a first wireless link for at least one second wireless link so as to exploit at least one commonality between the first wireless link and the second wireless link. 
   
     
     
         22 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the exploitation of the at least one commonality between the first wireless link and the second wireless link comprises utilization of the one or more channel statistics to increase a quality of multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) channel estimation for at least the first and second wireless links. 
     
     
         23 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the exploitation of the at least one commonality between the first wireless link and the second wireless link comprises utilization of training correlation data based at least in part on data relating to the one or more channel statistics. 
     
     
         24 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the utilization of the training correlation data based at least in part on the data relating to the one or more channel statistics comprises transmission, from the multi-link wireless access point apparatus, of the training correlation data to one or more receiver devices in wireless communication with the multi-link wireless access point apparatus, the training correlation data indicating a correlation between at least the first wireless link and the second wireless link. 
     
     
         25 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein:
 the multi-link wireless access point apparatus comprises an Access Point (AP) compliant with at least one IEEE Std. 802.11 standard;   the one or more receiver devices each comprise an STA (station) compliant with the at least one IEEE Std. 802.11 standard; and   the training correlation data comprises data indicative of a plurality of parameters each relating to one or more physical characteristics of the first wireless link.   
     
     
         26 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the training correlation data comprises data indicative of a plurality of parameters each relating to one or more physical characteristics of the first wireless link, the plurality of parameters selected from the group consisting of: (i) average delay, (ii) Doppler Shift, (iii) delay spread, (iv) Doppler spread, and (iv) beam direction. 
     
     
         27 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein:
 the one or more receiver devices in wireless communication with the multi-link wireless access point apparatus comprise a plurality of receiver devices;   the transmitted training correlation data comprises (i) first training correlation data transmitted on the first wireless link, and (ii) second training correlation data transmitted on the second wireless link; and   at least one of the first training correlation data or second training data is applicable to only a particular one of the plurality of receiver devices.   
     
     
         28 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the training correlation data comprises (i) first training correlation data transmitted on the first wireless link, and (ii) second training correlation data transmitted on the second wireless link. 
     
     
         29 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein:
 the multi-link wireless access point apparatus is further configured to create a third wireless link;   the transmitted training correlation data further comprises third training correlation data transmitted on the third wireless link;   the first training correlation data comprises at least data indicating whether a correlation or applicability for each of a plurality of parameters exists between the first wireless link and at least one of the second wireless link or the third wireless link;   the second training correlation data comprises at least data indicating whether a correlation or applicability for each of the plurality of parameters exists between the second wireless link and at least one of the first wireless link or the third wireless link; and   the third training correlation data comprises at least data indicating whether a correlation or applicability for each of a plurality of parameters exists between the third wireless link and at least one of the second wireless link and the first wireless link.   
     
     
         30 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein:
 the multi-link wireless access point apparatus comprises an Access Point (AP) compliant with at least one of IEEE Std. 802.11ax or IEEE Std. 802.1 1be;   the first training correlation data transmitted on the first wireless link is transmitted using at least a portion of an existing preamble or mid-amble training data field transmitted on the first wireless link; and   the second training correlation data transmitted on the second wireless link is transmitted using at least a portion of an existing preamble or mid-amble training data field transmitted on the second wireless link.   
     
     
         31 . The multi-link wireless access point apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the at least one wireless transceiver chain comprises at least first and second wireless transceiver chains each enabled for establishment of a plurality of wireless links with respective first and second wireless receiver devices; and   the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed on the digital processor apparatus, cause the multi-link wireless access point apparatus to: 
 utilize one or more channel statistics associated with the plurality of wireless links associated with the first transceiver chain for at least one of the plurality of wireless links associated with the second transceiver chain. 
   
     
     
         32 . A method of operating a multi-link access point apparatus within a wireless network, the method comprising:
 determining link correlation data, the link correlation data indicating a correlation between two or more of a plurality of wireless links between the multi-link access point apparatus and at least one user device; and   transmitting, on one or more of the plurality of wireless links, the link correlation data to the at least one user device, the link correlation data transmitted to the at least one user device enabling the at least one user device to utilize the link correlation data for at least one of (i) channel estimation, or (ii) data decoding.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the transmitting, on the one or more of the plurality of wireless links, of the link correlation data to the at least one user device comprises transmitting multiple data sets on respective multiple ones the plurality of wireless links, each of the multiple data sets having different characteristics from other ones of the multiple data sets, the different characteristics based at least on respective frequency bands utilized by the respective multiple ones the plurality of wireless links. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the transmitting, on the one or more of the plurality of wireless links, of the link correlation data to the at least one user device comprises transmitting the link correlation data via at least one preamble or midamble of a single user (SU) frame, the link correlation data valid across all available frequency bandwidth utilized by the two or more of the plurality of wireless links. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the transmitting, on the one or more of the plurality of wireless links, of the link correlation data to the at least one user device comprises transmitting the link correlation data via at least one preamble or midamble of a multiple user (MU) frame, the link correlation data valid only across a subset of frequency bands utilized by the two or more of the plurality of wireless links. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the at least one preamble or midamble of the MU frame comprises multiple training field correlation (TFC) values associated with respective different users. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the determining of the link correlation data comprises determining that a first one of the two or more of the plurality of wireless links has a greater level of training data associated therewith than that of the at least one second link of the two or more of the plurality of wireless links. 
     
     
         38 . A computerized access point apparatus configured for wireless communication with a computerized wireless device within a wireless infrastructure, the computerized access point apparatus comprising:
 digital processing apparatus;   at least one wireless network interface in data communication with the digital processing apparatus, the at least one wireless network interface is compliant with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11be standard supporting multiple wireless links; and   a storage device in data communication with the digital processing apparatus, the storage device comprising a storage medium having at least one computer program, the at least one computer program configured to, when executed on the digital processing apparatus, cause the computerized access point apparatus to: 
 generate training correlation data indicative of a correlation between a first wireless link used for data transmission in an uplink (UL) direction and a second wireless link used for data transmission in a downlink (DL) direction; and 
 transmit the training correlation data to the computerized wireless device to enable beamforming based on DL-to-UL reciprocity across the first and second wireless links. 
   
     
     
         39 . The computerized access point apparatus of  claim 38 , wherein the at least one computer program is further configured to, when executed on the digital processing apparatus, cause the computerized access point apparatus to:
 evaluate a pool of available links to identify eligible ones of the available links that can be used as respective wireless links for at least one of (i) the UL direction, or (ii) the DL direction.   
     
     
         40 . The computerized access point apparatus of  claim 39 , wherein:
 the generation of the training correlation data comprises: 
 (i) an estimation of one or more channel statistics in one of the UL or DL directions; and 
 (ii) utilization of the one or more channel statistics on a first one of the UL or DL directions to compute beamforming or precoding weights on a remaining one of the UL or DL directions; and 
   the transmission of the training correlation data to the computerized wireless device comprises transmission of the training correlation data on at least one of the UL or DL directions using the computed beamforming or precoding weights.