JP-2026076098-A - Communication methods and systems using millimeter waves

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a communication method using millimeter waves. [Solution] The communication method is performed by a communication system that stores a zone table and a polling table. The zone table includes a plurality of zone data sets, each corresponding to a plurality of communication zones. For each communication zone, the communication method sets a transmission configuration related to the communication zone based on the zone data set corresponding to the communication zone, the transmission configuration includes a transmission angle and a transmission gain, and based on the zone table, sends a plurality of delayed beacon frames to each communication zone according to the plurality of transmission configurations related to the communication zone, each of which indicates a predetermined delay time according to the polling table, enters PCF mode for one of the polled communication zones, and performs data transmission with an accessible terminal device in that communication zone. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

• シー－チエ・スー
• イー－ポン・チェン
• チア－イン・ヤン
• ミン－フォン・リン

Assignees

• 明泰科技股▲分▼有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20250428

Priority Date

20241023

Claims (18)

1. A communication method using millimeter waves performed by a communication system, The communication system includes a storage medium for storing a zone table and a polling table, an antenna array, and a controller, wherein the zone table includes a plurality of zone datasets corresponding to a plurality of communication zones, each of which indicates an accessible terminal device that may be in the corresponding communication zone and the signal strength of each of the accessible terminal devices that may be in the corresponding communication zone, and the communication method is A) For each of the communication zones, the controller sets a transmit configuration of the antenna array associated with the communication zone based on the signal strength of the accessible terminal devices shown in the zone dataset corresponding to the communication zone, wherein the transmit configuration includes a transmit angle and a transmit gain. B) The controller controls the antenna array to transmit a plurality of delayed beacon frames to the communication zone according to a plurality of transmission configurations related to the communication zone, based on the zone table, wherein each of the delayed beacon frames indicates a predetermined delay time according to the polling table. C) With respect to one of the communication zones polled by the controller, the controller enters PCF (Point Coordination Function) mode and performs data transmission with the accessible terminal device located in that communication zone, Communication method.
2. Each of the zone datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device that may be in the corresponding communication zone, each of the device data pieces includes the signal strength of the corresponding accessible terminal device in the corresponding communication zone, and the communication method is D) The controller further includes the step of grouping the communication zones into zone groups the communication zones having accessible terminal devices whose signal strength is greater than a predetermined value based on the corresponding device data piece, wherein the communication zones in the zone group are spatially adjacent to each other. In step A), the transmission configuration of the antenna array associated with the communication zone in the zone group is set to be the same. The communication method according to claim 1.
3. E) The controller, for each of the communication zones, determines, based on the zone table, whether there are terminal devices that can access the communication zone, identifies the communication zone as an inactive zone if it determines that there are terminal devices that can access the communication zone, and identifies the communication zone as an active zone if it determines that there are terminal devices that can access the communication zone. F) With respect to the communication zone identified as the active zone, the communication system performs the steps of A), B), and C), G) For each of the communication zones identified as an inactive zone, the communication system further includes the step of performing a zone scan procedure to search for unregistered terminal devices not registered by the communication system, The communication method according to claim 1.
4. The aforementioned zone scan procedure is: G1) The controller controls the antenna array and transmits scan beacon frames to the communication zone according to the initial transmission configuration (substep), G2) The controller has a substep of determining whether it has received a registration request from an unregistered terminal device, which includes a device data piece transmitted in response to the scan beacon frame and which corresponds to the unregistered terminal device, G3) In response to receiving the registration request, the controller updates the zone table by adding the device data piece corresponding to the unregistered terminal device included in the registration request to the zone dataset corresponding to the communication zone, The communication method according to claim 3.
5. The initial transmission configuration includes a transmission angle which is the minimum transmission angle of the communication system, and a transmission gain which is the maximum transmission gain of the communication system. The communication method according to claim 4.
6. The zone table further includes a plurality of group datasets corresponding to a plurality of zone groups that group the communication zones, each of which group datasets indicates at least one of the communication zones in the corresponding zone group and at least one of the accessible terminal devices in the communication zone in the corresponding zone group, and the communication method, after step G), H) The controller updates the zone groups by grouping the communication zones based on the zone table updated in substep G3), wherein each of the updated zone groups includes at least one of the communication zones. I) The controller further includes the step of updating the group dataset in the zone table based on the updated zone group, The communication method according to claim 4.
7. Each of the zone datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device that may be in the corresponding communication zone, each of the device data pieces includes the signal strength of the corresponding accessible terminal device, and each of the group datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device in the communication zone that is in the corresponding zone group. For each of the aforementioned zone groups, the difference in signal strength between different accessible terminal devices in the communication zone within that zone group is less than a threshold. The communication method according to claim 6.
8. Step C) is C1) The controller performs a substep of determining, based on the zone table, whether the accessible terminal device in the communication zone requires data transmission, C2) When the controller determines that the accessible terminal device in the communication zone requires data transmission, the controller includes a substep of performing data transmission with the accessible terminal device based on the zone table, The communication method according to claim 3.
9. Step C) is C3) When it is determined that the accessible terminal device in the communication zone does not require data transmission, the communication system further includes a substep of performing the zone scan procedure for the communication zone identified as an inactive zone, which searches for unregistered terminal devices not registered by the communication system. The communication method according to claim 8.
10. A communication system using millimeter waves, including a storage medium, an antenna array, and a controller, The storage medium stores a zone table and a polling table, the zone table includes a plurality of zone datasets corresponding to a plurality of communication zones, each of which indicates an accessible terminal device that may be in the corresponding communication zone and the signal strength of each of the accessible terminal devices that may be in the corresponding communication zone. The aforementioned controller, For each of the aforementioned communication zones, a transmission configuration of the antenna array is set for the communication zone based on the signal strength of the accessible terminal device shown in the zone dataset corresponding to the communication zone, the transmission configuration including a transmission angle and a transmission gain. The antenna array is controlled to transmit a plurality of delayed beacon frames to the communication zone according to a plurality of transmission configurations associated with the communication zone based on the zone table, and each of the delayed beacon frames indicates a preset delay time according to the polling table. For one of the communication zones polled by the controller, the controller is configured to enter PCF (Point Coordination Function) mode and perform data transmission with the accessible terminal device located in that communication zone. Communication system.
11. Each of the zone datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device that may be located in the corresponding communication zone, and each of the device data pieces includes the signal strength of the corresponding accessible terminal device located in the corresponding communication zone. The controller groups the communication zones that have accessible terminal devices whose signal strength is greater than a predetermined value based on the corresponding device data piece into zone groups, and the communication zones in the zone groups are further configured to be spatially adjacent to each other. The transmission configuration of the antenna array associated with the communication zone in the zone group is set to be the same. The communication system according to claim 10.
12. The aforementioned controller, For each of the aforementioned communication zones, based on the zone table, it is determined whether there are any terminal devices that can access the communication zone, and if it is determined that there are no terminal devices that can access the communication zone, the communication zone is identified as an inactive zone, and if it is determined that there are terminal devices that can access the communication zone, the communication zone is identified as an active zone. With respect to the communication zone identified as the active zone, the transmission configuration is set, the antenna array is controlled to transmit the beacon frame, and data transmission is performed with the accessible terminal device located in the communication zone. Each of the communication zones identified as an inactive zone is further configured to perform a zone scan procedure to search for unregistered terminal devices not registered by the communication system. The communication system according to claim 10.
13. The aforementioned zone scan procedure is: Controlling the antenna array to transmit scan beacon frames to the communication zone according to the initial transmission configuration, To determine whether a registration request has been received from an unregistered terminal device, which includes a device data piece corresponding to the unregistered terminal device and is transmitted in response to the scan beacon frame. The process includes updating the zone table by adding the device data piece corresponding to the unregistered terminal device included in the registration request to the zone dataset corresponding to the communication zone in response to the receipt of the registration request, The communication system according to claim 12.
14. The initial transmission configuration includes a transmission angle which is the minimum transmission angle of the communication system, and a transmission gain which is the maximum transmission gain of the communication system. The communication system according to claim 13.
15. The zone table further includes a plurality of group datasets, each corresponding to a plurality of zone groups that group the communication zones, each of which group datasets indicates at least one of the communication zones in the corresponding zone group and at least one of the accessible terminal devices in the communication zone in the corresponding zone group. The aforementioned controller, Based on the updated zone table, the communication zones are grouped and the zone groups are updated, each of the updated zone groups includes at least one of the communication zones. The system is further configured to update the group dataset of the zone table based on the updated zone group. The communication system according to claim 13.
16. Each of the zone datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device that may be in the corresponding communication zone, each of the device data pieces includes the signal strength of the corresponding accessible terminal device, and each of the group datasets includes a device data piece corresponding to the accessible terminal device in the communication zone that is in the corresponding zone group. For each of the aforementioned zone groups, the difference in signal strength between different accessible terminal devices in the communication zone within that zone group is less than a threshold. The communication system according to claim 15.
17. The aforementioned controller, Based on the aforementioned zone table, it is determined whether the accessible terminal device in the communication zone requires data transmission. When it is determined that an accessible terminal device in the communication zone requires data transmission, the system is further configured to perform data transmission with the accessible terminal device based on the zone table. The communication system according to claim 12.
18. The aforementioned controller, When it is determined that the accessible terminal device in the communication zone does not require data transmission, the system is further configured to perform the zone scan procedure to search for unregistered terminal devices that are not registered by the communication system in the communication zone identified as an inactive zone. The communication system according to claim 17.

Description

This invention relates to a communication method and a communication system, and more particularly to a communication method using millimeter waves and a communication system that implements the same. Wi-Fi networks typically connect by using omnidirectional antennas to broadcast signals over a wide area. However, using omnidirectional antennas for long-distance communication can lead to signal attenuation and a decrease in connection quality. As a result, the data transfer rate may need to be reduced to maintain the connection. Millimeter waves are a crucial tool in 5G communication technology, offering significant advantages. Due to their broad spectrum, millimeter waves provide high-speed, high-capacity data transmission, effectively meeting increasing data demands even in high-density communication environments. Furthermore, millimeter waves enable low-latency communication, essential in situations requiring high immediacy. Even more importantly, millimeter-wave antenna arrays can generate directional beams, providing higher gain and effectively compensating for signal attenuation during long-distance communication. However, in a Wi-Fi network, replacing an omnidirectional antenna, which can transmit and receive signals uniformly in all directions, with a millimeter-wave antenna array improves signal attenuation over long distances, but it results in line-of-sight (LoS) communication. That is, if the millimeter-wave antenna array generates a narrow-angle beam, the communication angle becomes narrower; if it generates a wide-angle beam, the communication angle widens, but the communication distance decreases. Therefore, using a millimeter-wave antenna array for omnidirectional transmission and reception can lead to problems such as signal attenuation and loss, reduced communication speed, and connection interruptions. Taiwan Patent No. I572092 This figure shows a communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention.This is a flowchart showing a communication method according to one embodiment of the present invention.This is a flowchart showing the zone scan procedure for the communication method.This is a flowchart showing the data transmission procedure for a communication method.This is a schematic diagram showing multiple beams radiated by an antenna array into multiple communication zones.This is a schematic diagram showing the zone table for the communication system. Before describing the present invention in more detail, it should be noted that, where appropriate, reference numerals or their terminology may be repeated between drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements that may have similar characteristics. In this specification, the terms “coupling” or “connection” mean that multiple electrical devices/equipment/facilities are directly connected by a conductive material (e.g., wire), or that two electrical devices/equipment/facilities are indirectly connected by one or more other devices/equipment/facilities or by wireless communication. Referring to Figure 1, a communication system 1 is shown that performs a communication method using millimeter waves according to one embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 1 includes a storage medium 11, an antenna array 12, and a controller 13 electrically connected to the storage medium 11 and the antenna array 12. In this embodiment, the communication system 1 may also be a wireless access point (WAP) configured to communicate with at least one terminal device 3 (e.g., a station (STA)). The storage medium 11 can be implemented using random access memory (RAM) or flash memory. The antenna array 12 is a millimeter-wave antenna array configured to transmit multiple beams directed to multiple specific zones, as shown in Figure 5. More specifically, the beams can be considered as multiple independent channels, each corresponding to one of the specific zones (e.g., communication zones). That is, the antenna array 12 can use the beams to simultaneously serve multiple communication zones. The controller 13 comprises a transmission server 131 and a detector 132 and can be implemented using a microcontroller. The controller 13 includes a transmission server 131 and a detector 132 and can be implemented using a microcontroller. The storage medium 11 stores a zone table 60, as shown in Figure 6, and a polling table (not shown). The zone table 60 may be pre-configured or generated by the controller 13. Each zone table 60 is associated with multiple communication zones. Specifically, the controller 13 controls the antenna array 12 to transmit multiple beams in multiple directions corresponding to each communication zone. Each of these beams is transmitted at the minimum transmission angle and maximum transmission gain of the antenna array 12. The controller 13 then records the signal strength of each accessible terminal device 3 that may be present in the communication zone. In the example illustrated in Figure 6, th