Beam scanning device, antenna array determination method and satellite communication system

Abstract

The invention provides a beam scanning device, and the device comprises an antenna module, the antenna module comprises S antenna arrays, and S is an integer greater than 1; a coverage area of the satellite communication system is divided into S sub-areas according to quadrants, and each antenna array is used for carrying out beam scanning on one sub-area. The invention also provides an antenna array determination method and a satellite communication system. The technical problem of how to realize large-angle beam scanning by a satellite communication system is at least solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of satellite communication technology, and in particular to a beam scanning device, an antenna array determination method and a satellite communication system. Background Art

[0002] At present, satellites in operation and deployment usually use different spot beam forming methods and application modes to provide communication coverage for different physical areas on the ground to provide global communication. In related technologies, satellite communication systems usually use analog side phase shifting technology or full digital phase shifting technology to perform phase shifting on the beam, and then form several high-gain spot beams through its antenna array or its sub-array to achieve high-gain spot beams for designated area services within the coverage range of a single satellite.

[0003] With the development of satellite communication systems, in order to better provide global communications, it is required to enhance the coverage of a single satellite, that is, the satellite communication system needs to achieve a larger angle of beam scanning. However, most of the current satellite communication systems use single-array antennas when performing beam scanning, and it is difficult for single-array antennas to achieve a larger angle of beam scanning. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a beam scanning device, an antenna array determination method and a satellite communication system, which are used to solve the problem that the current satellite communication system is difficult to achieve large-angle beam scanning.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, this application is implemented as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, a beam scanning device is provided, which is applied to a satellite communication system, comprising:

[0007] An antenna module, wherein the antenna module includes S antenna arrays, where S is an integer greater than 1;

[0008] The scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system is divided into S sub-areas according to quadrants, and each antenna array is used to perform beam scanning on a sub-area.

[0009] In a second aspect, a method for determining an antenna array is provided, which is applied to a satellite communication system, comprising:

[0010] Acquire location information of a user device and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, wherein the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing a scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants;

[0011] Determine a target sub-area from the S sub-areas according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, wherein the location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user equipment;

[0012] A target antenna array is used to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on the target sub-area.

[0013] According to a third aspect, an electronic device is provided, including:

[0014] processor;

[0015] a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor;

[0016] The processor is configured to execute the instructions to implement the method as described in the second aspect.

[0017] According to a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. When instructions in the storage medium are executed by a processor of an electronic device, the electronic device is enabled to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0018] According to a fifth aspect, a satellite communication system is provided, wherein the satellite communication system comprises the beam scanning device as described in the first aspect.

[0019] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can effectively increase the beam scanning angle of the satellite communication system by dividing the scanning airspace to be covered by the satellite communication system into S sub-areas by quadrants, and using S antenna arrays to independently scan the S sub-areas, thereby enhancing the overall coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. In addition, since the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing by quadrants, and each antenna array can independently scan a sub-area, beam scanning in a two-dimensional direction can be achieved for any antenna array, and the scanning range is larger. In this way, when providing communication services to user devices through S antenna arrays, no matter in which direction the user device moves relative to the satellite communication system, the problem of frequent beam hopping switching can be avoided, thereby improving system performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam scanning device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 2is a schematic diagram of dividing a scanning area of ​​a satellite communication system into four sub-areas and corresponding antenna arrays according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the scanning coverage area of ​​4 antenna arrays in one embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam scanning device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of a transceiver module of an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a sub-array unit in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam scanning device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam scanning device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for determining an antenna array according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the area coverage when a satellite moves relative to a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Fig.12 It is a structural diagram of an antenna array determination device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this application, the technical solutions in this application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in one or more embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0034] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the present application and claims are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a particular order or precedence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate so that the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, "and / or" in the present application and claims means at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally means that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0035] Satellite communication systems are non-terrestrial communication systems that usually use analog side phase shifting technology or full digital phase shifting technology to perform phase shifting on the beam, and then form several high-gain spot beams through its antenna array or sub-array to achieve high-gain spot beams for designated regional services within the coverage range of a single satellite. However, most of the system architectures corresponding to these two phase shifting technologies use single-array antennas for multi-beam scanning, and the beam scanning angle of single-array antennas is limited, and beam scanning at a larger angle cannot be achieved.

[0036] In the related art, satellite communication systems can use multi-array antennas to perform multi-beam scanning, thereby achieving beam scanning at a larger angle. However, the characteristic of this beam scanning method is that the sub-array antenna implements single-beam one-dimensional scanning or fixed-point beam coverage. Although large-angle beam scanning can be achieved, since its sub-array antenna is one-dimensional scanning or fixed-point beam scanning, when the user moves at high speed vertically in the direction of satellite movement, it is limited by the scanning angle of the sub-array antenna unit, and there will be frequent beam hopping switching, which reduces system performance.

[0037] The embodiment of the present application provides a beam scanning device, a method for determining an antenna array, and a satellite communication system. By dividing the scanning airspace that the satellite communication system needs to cover into S sub-areas by quadrants, and using S antenna arrays to independently scan the S sub-areas, the beam scanning angle of the satellite communication system can be effectively increased, thereby enhancing the overall coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. In addition, since the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing by quadrants, and each antenna array can independently scan a sub-area, for any antenna array, beam scanning in a two-dimensional direction can be achieved, and the scanning range is larger. In this way, when providing communication services to user devices through S antenna arrays, no matter in which direction the user device moves relative to the satellite communication system, the problem of frequent beam hopping switching can be avoided, thereby improving system performance.

[0038] It should be noted that the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is not only applicable to satellite communication systems, but also to other non-terrestrial communication systems, active antenna processing unit (AAU) base stations, phased array systems, and other systems that use antennas for beam scanning. The embodiments of the present application are described only by taking the satellite communication system as an example.

[0039] The technical solutions provided by various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a beam scanning device according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The beam scanning device 10 shown can be applied to a satellite communication system, and the beam scanning device 10 includes an antenna module 11, and the antenna module 11 includes S antenna arrays, namely antenna array 1, antenna array 2, ..., antenna array S. The scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system can be divided into S sub-areas according to quadrants, namely sub-area 1, sub-area 2, ..., sub-area S, and each antenna array is used to perform independent beam scanning on a sub-area, that is, antenna array 1 can perform independent beam scanning on sub-area 1, antenna array 2 can perform independent beam scanning on sub-area 2, ..., antenna array S can perform independent beam scanning on sub-area S.

[0041] The above-mentioned division of the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into S sub-areas by quadrant may be the division of the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into S two-dimensional sub-areas by two-dimensional quadrants, and the shape of each two-dimensional sub-area may be rectangular, circular or other shapes, etc., which are not specifically limited here, as long as the S two-dimensional sub-areas can cover the beam scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system. When each antenna array performs independent beam scanning on its corresponding two-dimensional sub-area, it may perform scanning in a two-dimensional direction, so that, compared with one-dimensional scanning, the beam scanning angle and beam scanning range may be increased, thereby achieving beam scanning at a larger angle.

[0042] It should be noted that the number S of antenna arrays included in the antenna module, that is, the number S of sub-areas obtained by dividing the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system by quadrants, is an integer greater than 0. Figure 1 The example where S is greater than 2 is used for illustration.

[0043] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the number S of the antenna arrays, that is, the number S of the sub-areas, may be equal to 4. n , n is an integer greater than 0. That is to say, the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system can be divided into 4 quadrants. n sub-regions, and use 4 nEach antenna array performs independent beam scanning on each sub-area.

[0044] Take n=0 as an example. Figure 2 As shown, the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system can be divided into four sub-areas according to the quadrants, namely sub-area 1, sub-area 2, sub-area 3 and sub-area 4, and these four sub-areas are independently scanned by antenna array 1, antenna array 2, antenna array 3 and antenna array 4 respectively. Among them, in the X direction, the beam scanning range of a single array is 0~θ°, and in the Y direction, the beam scanning range of a single array is 0~ψ°. In this way, the maximum scanning range of the entire system in the X direction is 2θ°, and the maximum scanning range in the Y direction is 2ψ°. Compared with one-dimensional scanning, although the scanning angle of a single array antenna in a single direction is reduced, from the perspective of the entire system, a larger scanning angle can be achieved.

[0045] It should be noted that when n is greater than or equal to 2, that is, the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system is divided into 16 sub-areas or more sub-areas by quadrant, although a larger angle beam scanning can be achieved, due to the increase in the number of sub-areas, the number of beam hopping switches will increase during the movement of the user equipment relative to the satellite communication system, thereby increasing the complexity of the system. Therefore, if there are no special requirements, the value of n can be preferably 1, that is, the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system is divided into 4 sub-areas by quadrants, and 4 antenna arrays are used to perform independent beam scanning on these 4 sub-areas respectively.

[0046] Optionally, at least two of the S sub-areas may have overlapping areas. In this way, when the user equipment moves to the overlapping area, the satellite communication device can pre-judge the position of the user equipment in the overlapping area, and then switch the antenna array and adjust the beamforming, so as to provide a more stable communication service for the user equipment. The specific size of the overlapping area can be determined according to actual conditions and is not specifically limited here.

[0047] Taking the example of dividing the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into four sub-areas, there can be overlapping areas between each of the four areas. Figure 3 As shown, the coverage area of ​​each antenna array can be a circular area. The coverage area 1 of antenna array 1 overlaps with the coverage areas of other antenna arrays. The same is true for antenna array 2, antenna array 3 and antenna array 4, which also overlap with the coverage areas of other antenna arrays.

[0048] In addition to the antenna module, the beam scanning device provided in the embodiment of the present application may also include a beam flow processing module, a first data flow processing module, a second data flow processing module and S groups of transceiver modules. Figure 4 . Figure 4 In the embodiment, the beam flow processing module 41 is connected to the first data flow processing module 42, the first data flow processing module 42 is connected to the S group transceiver module 43, and the S group transceiver module 43 is connected to the antenna module 11. In addition, the beam flow processing module 41 is also connected to the second data flow processing module 44, and the second data flow processing module 44 is connected to the S group transceiver module 43. Among them, the beam flow processing module 41, the first data flow processing module 42, the S group transceiver module 43 and the antenna module 11 can jointly realize downlink communication, or the beam flow processing module 41, the second data flow processing module 44, the S group transceiver module 43 and the antenna module 11 can jointly realize uplink communication.

[0049] The following will describe downlink communication and uplink communication respectively.

[0050] In downlink communication, N beam streams can be processed in sequence by the beam stream processing module and the first data stream processing module to obtain M groups of signals, each group of signals includes Q sub-signals, and S groups of transceiver modules are used to route the Q sub-signals in each group of signals to different antenna arrays of the antenna module, and the antenna array performs downlink beam scanning to achieve downlink communication.

[0051] The N beam streams may be provided by the baseband data side, and may be specifically related to the number of adjustable beams required by the satellite communication system. For example, in downlink communication, if the satellite communication system requires N adjustable beams, then the corresponding baseband data side needs to provide at least N beam streams.

[0052] When the beam stream processing module processes the N beam streams, it may be to perform digital coding processing on the N beam streams. After the digital coding processing, the N beam streams may be divided into M data streams, each of which may be obtained by weighting the N beam streams. Wherein, N is an integer greater than 1, and M is an integer greater than or equal to N. For example, N is 16, and M may be 64.

[0053] After the beam stream processing module processes M data streams, the first data stream processing module may process the M data streams to obtain M groups of signals. One data stream may correspond to a group of signals, and each group of signals may include Q sub-signals, where Q is an integer greater than 1.

[0054] When the first data stream processing module processes M data streams, the processing methods may include multiple, and accordingly, the structure of the first data stream processing module may also include multiple. Optionally, in a possible implementation, the first data stream processing module may include M digital-to-analog converter (DAC) modules, M radio frequency modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules, each DAC module is connected to an radio frequency module, each radio frequency module is connected to a power division module, each power division module is connected to a phase shift module, and each phase shift module includes Q phase shifters. When the first data stream processing module processes M data streams, for each data stream, the data stream can be processed in sequence by a DAC module, a radio frequency module, a power division module and Q phase shifters in a phase shift module to obtain Q sub-signals, and the Q sub-signals constitute a group of signals. In this way, for the M data streams, after being processed by the M DAC modules, M radio frequency modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules in the first data stream processing module, corresponding M groups of signals can be obtained.

[0055] Optionally, in another possible implementation, the first data stream processing module may include M groups of phase shifting modules, M groups of DAC modules and M groups of radio frequency modules, each group of phase shifting modules includes Q phase shifters, each group of DAC modules includes Q DAC modules, each group of radio frequency modules includes Q radio frequency modules, each phase shifter is connected to a DAC module, and each DAC module is connected to a radio frequency module. When the first data stream processing module processes the M data streams, for each data stream, the data stream can be processed in sequence by Q phase shifters in a group of phase shifting modules, Q DAC modules in a group of DAC modules and Q radio frequency modules in a group of radio frequency modules to obtain a group of signals including Q sub-signals. In this way, for the M data streams, after being processed by the M groups of phase shifting modules, M groups of DAC modules and M groups of radio frequency modules in the first data stream processing module, corresponding M groups of signals can be obtained.

[0056] After the first data stream processing module obtains M groups of signals, S groups of transceiver modules can route the M groups of signals to S antenna arrays. Specifically, for each group of signals in the M groups of signals, S groups of transceiver modules can route Q sub-signals in the group of signals to different antenna arrays. Optionally, Q can be greater than or equal to S. When Q is greater than S, each group of transceiver modules can be used to route at least one sub-signal in the M groups of signals to an antenna array, and when Q is equal to S, each group of transceiver modules can be used to route one sub-signal in the M groups of signals to an antenna array. For example, if Q is equal to 8 and S is equal to 4, each group of transceiver modules can route two sub-signals in the M groups of signals to an antenna array. If Q is equal to 4 and S is equal to 4, each group of transceiver modules can route one sub-signal in the M groups of signals to an antenna array.

[0057] Optionally, each group of transceiver modules may include multiple transceiver modules, and in downlink communication, each transceiver module may route one or more sub-signals to an antenna array. The number of transceiver modules included in each group of transceiver modules may be determined according to actual conditions, and is not specifically limited here. Optionally, if Q is equal to S, the number of transceiver modules included in each group of transceiver modules may be M, so that one transceiver module may route one sub-signal to an antenna array. For example, if Q and S are both equal to 4, assuming that M groups of signals are 64 groups of signals, each group of transceiver modules may include 64 transceiver modules, and each group of transceiver modules is used to route each sub-signal in the 64 groups of signals (a total of 64 sub-signals) to an antenna array, and each transceiver module may route one sub-signal of the 64 sub-signals to an antenna array.

[0058] Optionally, for each group of transceiver modules, the working modes of the multiple transceiver modules included therein may be the same. The working modes of the multiple transceiver modules may be time-sharing and same frequency, time-sharing and frequency-division, or simultaneous frequency-division. Figure 5 shown. Figure 5 (a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the transceiver module under time-sharing and frequency co-existence. Figure 5 (b) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the transceiver module under time division or simultaneous division, based on Figure 5 (a) shows the structure, the transceiver module can realize the time-sharing and frequency-same communication mode, based on Figure 5 (a) shows the structure, the transceiver module can realize the time-division frequency-division or simultaneous frequency-division communication mode. Figure 5 TX stands for transmission and RX stands for reception.

[0059] Optionally, each antenna array may include multiple sub-array units. In downlink communication, when each group of transceiver modules routes multiple sub-signals to an antenna array, it may route the multiple sub-signals to different sub-array units of the antenna array, and each sub-array unit may be used to process one or more sub-signals. The number of sub-array units in each antenna array may be determined based on actual conditions and is not specifically limited here. Each sub-array unit may include T amplitude modulation and phase modulation modules and T sub-array unit arrays, where T is an integer greater than 0. Figure 6 An antenna array may include Q sub-array units, each of which includes T amplitude modulation and phase modulation modules and T sub-array unit arrays ( Figure 6 Each small black square shown represents a sub-array unit cell).

[0060] The above details how the beam flow processing module, the first data flow processing module, the S group transceiver module and the antenna module perform signal processing in the downlink communication scenario. The following details how the beam flow processing module, the second data flow processing module, the S group transceiver module and the antenna module perform signal processing in the uplink communication scenario.

[0061] In uplink communication, any antenna array in the antenna module can receive signals sent by the user equipment by beam scanning. Specifically, each antenna array includes multiple sub-array units, and each sub-array unit can be used for signal reception. The structure of each sub-array unit can be found in Figure 6 The embodiments shown will not be described again here.

[0062] After the S antenna arrays receive the signals sent by the user equipment, the S groups of transceiver modules can generate Q groups of signals based on the signals received by the S antenna arrays, each group of signals includes M sub-signals, and the Q groups of signals are processed by the second data stream processing module and the beam stream processing module in turn to obtain N beam streams. Q, M and N are the same size as Q and M recorded in the above downlink communication, and are not repeated here. Among them, when the S groups of transceiver modules generate Q groups of signals, each group of transceiver modules can generate a group of signals based on the signals received by one antenna array. Specifically, each group of transceiver modules includes multiple transceiver modules, each transceiver module can generate one or more sub-signals based on the signals received by one antenna array, and the sub-signals generated by multiple transceiver modules constitute a group of signals. Among them, the working mode and structure of each transceiver module can be referred to. Figure 5The embodiment shown will not be repeated here. After the S group of transceiver modules generates the Q group of signals, the second data stream processing module can process the Q group of signals to obtain M data streams. Among them, each sub-signal in the Q group of signals can generate a data stream, so that the Q group of signals can generate M data streams. The M data streams can be processed by the beam stream processing module to obtain N beam streams.

[0063] When the second data stream processing module processes the Q group of signals, the processing methods may include multiple processing methods, and accordingly, the structure of the second data stream processing module may also include multiple methods. Optionally, in a possible implementation, the second data stream processing module may include M analog-to-digital converter (ADC) modules, M radio frequency modules, M power division modules, and M phase shift modules, each ADC module is connected to an RF module, each RF module is connected to a power division module, each power division module is connected to a phase shift module, and each phase shift module includes Q phase shifters. When the second data stream processing module processes the Q group of signals, each sub-signal in the Q group of signals (a total of Q sub-signals) can be processed in sequence by Q phase shifters in a phase shift module (one phase shifter can process one sub-signal), a power division module, a radio frequency module, and an ADC module to obtain a data stream. In this way, for the Q group signals, after being processed by the M phase shift modules, M power division modules, M radio frequency modules and M ADC modules in the second data stream processing module, corresponding M data streams can be obtained.

[0064] Optionally, in another possible implementation, the second data stream processing module may include M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of ADC modules and M groups of radio frequency modules, each group of phase shift modules includes Q phase shifters, each group of ADC modules includes Q DAC modules, each group of radio frequency modules includes Q radio frequency modules, each phase shifter is connected to an ADC module, and each ADC module is connected to an radio frequency module. When the second data stream processing module processes Q groups of signals, each sub-signal in the Q group of signals (a total of Q sub-signals) can be processed in sequence by a group of radio frequency modules, a group of ADC modules and a group of phase shifters to obtain a corresponding data stream, and each radio frequency module, each DAC module and each phase shifter are used to process a sub-signal. In this way, for the Q group of signals, after being processed by the M groups of phase shift modules, the M groups of ADC modules and the M groups of radio frequency modules in the second data stream processing module, the corresponding M data streams can be obtained.

[0065] In order to facilitate understanding of the above-mentioned beam flow processing module, the first data flow processing module, the second data flow processing module, the S groups of transceiver modules and the S antenna arrays, please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 .

[0066] Figure 7 The beam scanning device shown includes a beam flow processing module, a first data flow processing module, a second data flow processing module, S groups of transceiver modules and S antenna arrays. The first data flow module includes M DAC modules, M radio frequency modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules, each of which includes Q phase shifters. The second data flow processing module includes M ADC modules, M radio frequency modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules, each of which includes Q phase shifters. Among them, Q here can be explained by taking S as an example.

[0067] In downlink communication, the baseband data side provides N beam streams. The N beam streams are digitally encoded and processed by the beam stream processing module and then divided into M data streams (M≥N). Each data stream is obtained by weighting the N beam streams. The M data streams reach the M RF modules through M DAC modules, and then are processed by M power division modules and M phase shift modules to obtain M groups of signals, each of which includes Q sub-signals. The i-th (1=1, 2, ..., Q) sub-signal in the M group of signals is routed to different sub-array units of the i-th antenna array through the i-th transceiver module. Figure 7 These signals are modulated by the antenna array to form different beams, and the area covered by the antenna array is scanned. Other antenna arrays are similar.

[0068] In uplink communication, after the S antenna arrays receive the signals sent by the user equipment, multiple transceiver modules can process the signals received by the S antenna arrays to obtain Q groups of signals, each of which includes M sub-signals. The j-th (j=1, 2, ..., M) sub-signal in the Q group of signals is processed by the j-th phase shift module, the j-th power division module, the j-th RF module and the j-th ADC module in sequence to obtain a data stream, thereby obtaining M data streams. After the M data streams are processed by the beam stream processing module, N beam streams can be obtained.

[0069] Figure 8 The beam scanning device shown includes a beam flow processing module, a first data flow processing module, a second data flow processing module, S groups of transceiver modules and S antenna arrays. The first data flow module includes M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of DAC modules and M groups of RF modules, each group of phase shift modules includes Q phase shifters, each group of DAC modules includes Q DAC modules, and each group of RF modules includes Q RF modules. The second data flow module includes M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of ADC modules and M groups of RF modules, each group of phase shift modules includes Q phase shifters, each group of ADC modules includes Q ADC modules, and each group of RF modules includes Q RF modules. Among them, Q here can be explained by taking S as an example.

[0070] In downlink communication, the baseband data side provides N beam streams. After being digitally encoded and processed by the beam stream processing module, the N beam streams are divided into M data streams (M≥N), and each data stream is obtained by weighting the N beam streams. The M data streams are processed by M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of DAC modules and M groups of RF modules in turn to obtain M groups of signals, each of which includes Q sub-signals. The i-th (1=1, 2, ..., Q) sub-signal in the M groups of signals is routed to different sub-array units of the i-th antenna array through the i-th transceiver module. Figure 8 These signals are modulated by the antenna array to form different beams, and the area covered by the antenna array is scanned. Other antenna arrays are similar.

[0071] In uplink communication, after the S antenna arrays receive the signals sent by the user equipment, multiple transceiver modules can process the signals received by the S antenna arrays to obtain Q groups of signals, each of which includes M sub-signals. The j-th (j=1, 2, ..., M) sub-signal in the Q group of signals is processed by the j-th RF module, the j-th ADC module and the j-th phase shift module in sequence to obtain a data stream, thereby obtaining M data streams. After the M data streams are processed by the beam stream processing module, N beam streams can be obtained.

[0072] Based on the beam scanning device provided in the embodiment of the present application, since the scanning airspace that the satellite communication system needs to cover can be divided into S sub-areas by quadrants, and S antenna arrays are used to independently scan the S sub-areas, the beam scanning angle of the satellite communication system can be effectively increased, thereby enhancing the overall coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. In addition, since the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing by quadrants, and each antenna array can independently scan a sub-area, for any antenna array, beam scanning in a two-dimensional direction can be achieved, and the scanning range is larger. In this way, when providing communication services to user devices through S antenna arrays, no matter in which direction the user device moves relative to the satellite communication system, the problem of frequent beam hopping switching can be avoided, thereby improving system performance.

[0073] Fig. 9 It is a flowchart of a method for determining an antenna array according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 9 The antenna array determination method shown can be used in a satellite communication system. Fig. 9 The method for determining the antenna array shown may include the following steps.

[0074] S902: Acquire location information of the user equipment and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, where the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants.

[0075] When providing communication services to user equipment, the satellite communication system can obtain the location information of the user equipment. The location information here can be the absolute location information of the user equipment (such as geographic location information), or it can be the relative location information of the user equipment relative to the satellite communication system, which is not specifically limited here. When obtaining the location information of the user equipment, the satellite communication system can also obtain the location information corresponding to its scanning area. In the embodiment of the present application, the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system can be divided into S sub-areas according to quadrants. When the satellite communication system obtains the location information corresponding to its scanning area, it can obtain the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas. Wherein, S is an integer greater than 1. Optionally, S can be equal to 4. n , n is an integer greater than 0.

[0076] S904: Determine a target sub-region from the S sub-regions according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-regions, and the location information of the target sub-region matches the location information of the user equipment.

[0077] The location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user device, and the user device may be located within the area corresponding to the target sub-area. After obtaining the location information of the user device and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, the satellite communication system may determine the area within which the user device is located based on the location information, and determine the sub-area as the target sub-area. For example, if the user device is located within the area corresponding to sub-area 1, sub-area 1 may be determined as the target sub-area.

[0078] S906: Use a target antenna array to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on a target sub-area.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present application, when the satellite communication system divides its scanning area into S sub-areas by quadrants, an antenna array can be used to perform independent beam scanning for each sub-area. In this way, when providing services to user equipment, after determining the target sub-area from the S sub-areas, the antenna array used for beam scanning the target sub-area can be used as the target antenna array, and the target antenna array is used to provide services to the user equipment.

[0080] It should be noted that at least two of the S sub-areas may have overlapping areas. When determining the target sub-area, there may be a user device located in the overlapping area of ​​two or more sub-areas. In this case, the two or more sub-areas corresponding to the overlapping area can be determined as the target sub-areas. When the user device provides communication services, the antenna array corresponding to the appropriate sub-area can be selected to provide services for the user device under the premise of reducing beam hopping switching.

[0081] It should also be noted that in actual application scenarios, both the user equipment and the satellite communication system are in motion, that is, the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas are variable. In this way, after using a certain target antenna array to provide communication services to the user, the satellite communication system can continue to obtain the location information of the user equipment and the location information of each of the S sub-areas, and flexibly adjust the antenna array that provides communication services to the user equipment according to the location information, so as to better provide communication services to the user equipment.

[0082] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the movement trajectory of the user equipment may be predicted, and the antenna array providing communication services for the user equipment may be dynamically adjusted according to the predicted movement trajectory, which may specifically include the following steps:

[0083] Obtain multiple location information of user devices;

[0084] Predicting a movement trajectory of a user device based on multiple location information of the user device;

[0085] Dynamically adjust the antenna array that provides communication services to the user equipment based on the predicted movement trajectory of the user equipment.

[0086] The multiple location information of the user equipment may be multiple location information of the user equipment within a specified time period, and the specified time period may be determined according to actual needs and is not specifically limited here. For example, for a user equipment moving at a high speed, the specified time period may be 1 minute, that is, multiple location information of the user equipment within 1 minute is obtained, and for a user equipment moving at a low speed, the specified time period may be half an hour, that is, multiple location information of the user equipment within half an hour is obtained.

[0087] After obtaining multiple location information of the user device, the movement trajectory of the user device can be predicted based on the location information. There are many methods for predicting the movement trajectory, which can be found in the specific implementation of the related technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0088] After the motion trajectory of the user equipment is predicted, the location information of the user equipment at a certain time t in the future can be determined according to the motion trajectory, and the location information can be compared with the location information of the S sub-areas to determine the area range corresponding to which sub-area the user equipment will be located at at the time t, and the antenna array corresponding to the sub-area is used as the target antenna array corresponding to the time t. In this way, when the time t is about to be reached, the antenna array can be switched to the predetermined target antenna array corresponding to the time t, thereby realizing dynamic adjustment of the antenna array according to the predicted motion trajectory, so as to better provide communication services for the user equipment.

[0089] Fig.10Schematic diagram of the movement of the satellite communication system relative to the user equipment. Fig.10 In the present invention, the process of providing communication services for user equipment by a satellite communication system can be described as follows.

[0090] Assume that the user device is Fig.10 At point A, the satellite moves from point B to point C. At the initial point B, assuming that the point beam signal quality of antenna array 1 corresponding to point A is the best, beam 1 of antenna array 1 provides signal coverage, tracks and locates the position P1 (x1, y1, z1) of the user equipment, records the time T1, and updates the shaping parameters of antenna array 1 to maintain the best channel quality. When the satellite moves to other points at high speed and the coverage area relative to the user equipment changes, assuming that it moves to the overlapping coverage area of ​​antenna array 1 and other array antennas, then antenna array 1 can still provide communication services for the user equipment, and track and locate the position Pn (xn, yn, zn) of the user equipment, records the time Tn, and adjusts the shaping parameters of antenna array 1 to maintain the best channel quality. Through the location information of the user equipment obtained by the system at different times, the possible movement trajectory of the user equipment can be intelligently calculated, and the movement trajectory can be iteratively corrected continuously. According to the relative motion trajectory of the user equipment and the satellite, the relative position of the user equipment can be predicted in advance in the overlapping area of ​​array coverage, and other antenna arrays can adjust the shaping parameters of the beam within the array plane in time to take over antenna array 1 and continue to provide services for the user equipment.

[0091] The antenna array determination method provided in the embodiment of the present application can divide the scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into S sub-areas according to quadrants. Each sub-area is independently scanned by an antenna array. Therefore, the beam scanning angle can be increased. When providing services to user equipment, the service interruption caused by beam hopping switching can be reduced, thereby improving system performance.

[0092] The above describes specific embodiments of the present application. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recorded in the claims can be performed in an order different from that in the embodiments and still achieve the desired results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying drawings do not necessarily require the specific order or continuous order shown to achieve the desired results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0093] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig.11At the hardware level, the electronic device includes a processor, and optionally also includes an internal bus, a network interface, and a memory. The memory may include a memory, such as a high-speed random access memory (RAM), and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk storage. Of course, the electronic device may also include hardware required for other services.

[0094] The processor, network interface and memory can be interconnected through an internal bus, which can be an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus or an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.11 Only one bidirectional arrow is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0095] The memory is used to store the program. Specifically, the program may include a program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. The memory may include a memory and a non-volatile memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor.

[0096] The processor reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile memory into the memory and then runs it, forming a determination device of the antenna array at the logical level. The processor executes the program stored in the memory and is specifically used to perform the following operations:

[0097] Acquire location information of a user device and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, wherein the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing a scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants;

[0098] Determine a target sub-area from the S sub-areas according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, wherein the location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user equipment;

[0099] A target antenna array is used to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on the target sub-area.

[0100] The above application Fig.11The method performed by the antenna array determination device disclosed in the illustrated embodiment can be applied to a processor or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in software form. The above processor may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in this application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0101] The electronic device may also perform Fig. 9 The method and the device for determining the antenna array are implemented in Figure 8 The functions in the illustrated embodiments will not be described in detail in this application.

[0102] Of course, in addition to software implementation methods, the electronic device of the present application does not exclude other implementation methods, such as logic devices or a combination of software and hardware, etc. That is to say, the execution subject of the following processing flow is not limited to each logic unit, but can also be hardware or logic devices.

[0103] The present application also proposes a computer-readable storage medium, which stores one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs include instructions, which, when executed by a portable electronic device including a plurality of application programs, enable the portable electronic device to execute Fig. 9 The method of the embodiment shown is specifically used to perform the following operations:

[0104] Acquire location information of a user device and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, wherein the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing a scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants;

[0105] Determine a target sub-area from the S sub-areas according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, wherein the location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user equipment;

[0106] A target antenna array is used to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on the target sub-area.

[0107] Fig.12 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna array determination device 120 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig.12 In a software implementation, the antenna array determination device 120 may include: an acquisition module 121, a determination module 122 and a communication module 123, wherein:

[0108] An acquisition module 121 acquires location information of a user equipment and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, wherein the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing a scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants;

[0109] A determination module 122, determining a target sub-area from the S sub-areas according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, wherein the location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user equipment;

[0110] The communication module 123 uses a target antenna array to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on the target sub-area.

[0111] Optionally, the acquisition module 121 is further used to acquire multiple location information of the user equipment;

[0112] The determination module 122 is further configured to predict a movement trajectory of the user equipment according to the plurality of location information;

[0113] The communication module 123 is further configured to dynamically adjust the antenna array that provides communication services to the user equipment according to the predicted movement trajectory of the user equipment.

[0114] The antenna array determination device 120 provided in the present application may also execute Fig. 9 The method is implemented by the antenna array determination device 120. Fig. 9 The functions of the illustrated embodiments will not be described in detail in this application.

[0115] The embodiment of the present application also provides a satellite communication system, which includes the beam scanning device provided in the embodiment of the present application. Based on the beam scanning device, the satellite communication system can achieve larger and wider angle beam scanning, and when the user equipment provides services, the service interruption caused by beam hopping switching can be reduced, thereby improving system performance.

[0116] In short, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0117] The systems, devices, modules or units described in the above embodiments may be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. Specifically, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

[0118] Computer readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, computer readable media does not include temporary computer readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0119] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0120] Each embodiment in this application is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

Claims

1. A beam scanning device, applied to a satellite communication system, comprising: An antenna module, wherein the antenna module includes S antenna arrays, where S is an integer greater than 1; The scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system is divided into S sub-areas according to quadrants, and each antenna array is used to perform beam scanning on a sub-area.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein S=4 n , n is an integer greater than 0.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two of the S sub-areas have overlapping areas.

4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a beam flow processing module, a first data flow processing module, a second data flow processing module and S groups of transceiver modules, wherein: The beam stream processing module is connected to the first data stream processing module, the first data stream processing module is connected to the S group transceiver modules, and the S group transceiver modules are connected to the antenna module; in downlink communication, N beam streams are processed by the beam stream processing module and the first data stream processing module in sequence to obtain M groups of signals, each group of signals includes Q sub-signals; the S group of transceiver modules are used to route the Q sub-signals in each group of signals to different antenna arrays; or, The beam stream processing module is connected to the second data stream processing module, the second data stream processing module is connected to the S group transceiver module, and the S group transceiver module is connected to the antenna module; in uplink communication, the S group transceiver module is used to generate Q groups of signals according to the signals received by the S antenna arrays, each group of signals includes M sub-signals; the Q group of signals are processed by the second data stream processing module and the beam stream processing module in sequence to obtain N beam streams; Wherein, N is an integer greater than 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to N, and Q is an integer greater than 1.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein Q=S; In downlink communication, each group of transceiver modules is used to route each sub-signal in the M groups of signals to an antenna array; or, In uplink communication, each group of transceiver modules is used to generate a group of signals according to a signal received by an antenna array.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein each group of transceiver modules comprises a plurality of transceiver modules; In downlink communication, each transceiver module is used to route one or more sub-signals to an antenna array; or, In uplink communication, each transceiver module is used to generate one or more sub-signals based on a signal received by an antenna array.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the working modes of the multiple transceiver modules are time-division and same-frequency, time-division and frequency-division, or simultaneous frequency-division.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each antenna array comprises a plurality of sub-array units; in, Each sub-array unit includes T amplitude modulation and phase modulation modules and T sub-array unit arrays, where T is an integer greater than 0.

9. The device according to claim 4, wherein the first data stream processing module comprises M DAC modules, M RF modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules; each DAC module is connected to a RF module, each RF module is connected to a power division module, each power division module is connected to a phase shift module, and each phase shift module comprises Q phase shifters; or, The first data stream processing module includes M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of DAC modules and M groups of RF modules; each group of phase shift modules includes Q phase shifters, and each group of DAC modules includes Q DAC modules; each group of RF modules includes Q RF modules, each phase shifter is connected to a DAC module, and each DAC module is connected to an RF module.

10. The device according to claim 4, wherein the second data stream processing module comprises M ADC modules, M RF modules, M power division modules and M phase shift modules; each ADC module is connected to a RF module, each RF module is connected to a power division module, each power division module is connected to a phase shift module, and each phase shift module comprises Q phase shifters; or, The second data stream processing module includes M groups of phase shift modules, M groups of ADC modules and M groups of RF modules; each group of phase shift modules includes Q phase shifters, each group of ADC modules includes Q ADC modules, each group of RF modules includes Q RF modules, each phase shifter is connected to an ADC module, and each ADC module is connected to an RF module.

11. A method for determining an antenna array, applied to a satellite communication system, comprising: Acquire location information of a user device and location information corresponding to each of S sub-areas, wherein the S sub-areas are obtained by dividing a scanning area of ​​the satellite communication system into quadrants; Determine a target sub-area from the S sub-areas according to the location information of the user equipment and the location information corresponding to each of the S sub-areas, wherein the location information of the target sub-area matches the location information of the user equipment; A target antenna array is used to provide communication services for the user equipment, where the target antenna array is an antenna array used to perform beam scanning on the target sub-area.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: Acquire multiple location information of the user equipment; Predicting a movement trajectory of the user equipment according to the multiple pieces of location information; Dynamically adjust the antenna array that provides communication services to the user equipment according to the predicted movement trajectory of the user equipment.

13. An electronic device comprising: processor; a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to execute the instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, when instructions in the storage medium are executed by a processor of an electronic device, the electronic device is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 12.

15. A satellite communication system, comprising the beam scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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