A target beam selection method and device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a target beam selection method and device. By configuring an EIRP switching threshold value n of a satellite terminal, when the satellite terminal moves to an overlapping area of ​​EIRP coverage maps of different beams, when the difference between an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of a current service beam and an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of an adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n, the satellite terminal selects the adjacent beam as the target beam, thereby avoiding the problem in the prior art that the current service beam service needs to be suspended and the channel quality of the current service beam or the target beam needs to be measured, and the target beam selection can be completed efficiently, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of high-throughput satellite communications, and in particular to a target beam selection method and device. Background Art

[0002] Satellite communications have the advantages of wide coverage, stable links, and large communication bandwidth. However, the coverage of a single satellite cannot achieve complete coverage, and the communication capacity cannot support the growing communication needs. Therefore, it is necessary to combine satellites over different regions to jointly provide users with convenient broadband access services. These satellites form partially overlapping communication beams on the ground, and mobile carriers will inevitably face the problem of cross-beams. High-throughput satellite technology with multi-beam as the key technology is gradually maturing. A single satellite can generate dozens of communication beams, and frequency reuse technology is used between beams to increase communication capacity. Moving between these beams will also face the same problem.

[0003] In the prior art, the beam switching of the satellite still uses the switching method of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 5G, and the beam switching process is triggered by measuring the channel quality of the current service beam and the adjacent beam, such as measuring the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) or measuring the reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ). In the satellite system, in order to improve the communication capacity, the following two methods are generally used: for the same frequency, different polarization directions are used; or for different frequencies, frequency reuse is used. If the switching method of the public network is used, regardless of the same frequency or different frequency networking mode, the satellite terminal needs to temporarily (GAP period) stop the service of the current beam to measure the channel quality of the adjacent beam, which affects the communication efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a target beam selection method and device, which can complete the target beam selection without stopping the current beam service, thereby ensuring the efficiency of satellite communication.

[0005] The specific technical solution adopted in the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A target beam selection method, comprising:

[0007] The equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal configured in the satellite base station;

[0008] The satellite terminal moves to the overlapping area of ​​the EIRP coverage maps of different beams. When the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current service beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold n, the adjacent beam is selected as the target beam.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes: the satellite base station configures the EIRP threshold range [M, N] of the satellite terminal's reported position information in the current service beam, wherein M and N represent the EIRP values ​​of the current service beam; when the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], there is no need to report the position information to the satellite base station; when the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is not within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], the satellite terminal reports the position information to the satellite base station.

[0010] Further, after selecting the adjacent beam as the target beam, the method further includes:

[0011] When the satellite terminal is located in the overlapping area, there is no need to report location information to the satellite base station; when the satellite terminal leaves the overlapping area and moves to other areas of the EIRP coverage map of the target beam, the satellite terminal reports location information to the satellite base station.

[0012] Furthermore, before the satellite base station configures the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, it also includes:

[0013] Obtain EIRP coverage diagrams of different beams of the satellite terminal.

[0014] A target beam selection device, comprising:

[0015] A switching threshold configuration module is used to configure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal;

[0016] A decision selection module is used to select a neighboring beam as a target beam when the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current serving beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n when the satellite terminal moves to the overlapping area of ​​the EIRP coverage map of different beams.

[0017] Furthermore, it also includes: a position threshold configuration module, which is used to configure the EIRP threshold range [M, N] of the reported position information of the satellite terminal in the current service beam, where M and N represent the EIRP values ​​of the current service beam;

[0018] The location information reporting module is used to report the location information to the satellite base station when the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is not within the EIRP threshold range [M, N]; when the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], not report the location information to the satellite base station.

[0019] Furthermore, it also includes: an EIRP acquisition module, used to obtain EIRP coverage diagrams of different beams of the satellite terminal.

[0020] Beneficial effects:

[0021] (1) The present invention provides a target beam selection method. By configuring the EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, when the satellite terminal moves to the overlapping area of ​​the EIRP coverage map of different beams, when the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current service beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n, the adjacent beam is selected as the target beam, thereby avoiding the problem in the prior art that the current service beam service needs to be suspended to measure the channel quality of the current service beam or the target beam, and the target beam selection can be completed efficiently, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0022] (2) By configuring the EIRP threshold range of the satellite terminal's reported position information in the current service beam, the satellite terminal's position information can be obtained more conveniently and efficiently. At the same time, there is no need to frequently report changes in position information, which is conducive to reducing business load.

[0023] (3) When the satellite terminal leaves the overlapping area and moves to other areas of the EIRP coverage map of the target beam, the satellite terminal reports its location information to the satellite base station, so that the target beam selection and location information of the satellite terminal can be grasped in a timely manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the threshold configuration of the reporting location information of the EIRP coverage map of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the target beam selection principle of the EIRP coverage map of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a structural block diagram of the target beam selection device of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention provides a target beam selection method and device. By configuring an EIRP switching threshold value n of a satellite terminal, when the satellite terminal moves to an overlapping area of ​​EIRP coverage maps of different beams, when the difference between an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of a current service beam and an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of an adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n, the satellite terminal selects the adjacent beam as the target beam, thereby avoiding the problem in the prior art that the current service beam service needs to be suspended and the channel quality of the current service beam or the target beam needs to be measured, and the target beam selection can be completed efficiently, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

[0028] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0029] Equivalent Isotropic Raditated Power (EIRP) is defined as the product of the power emitted by the antenna and the gain of the antenna. The satellite transmits microwave signals to any place within the visible area on the earth's surface through its transmitting antenna. The equivalent isotropic radiated power of its downlink signal is called the satellite's EIRP. If the points with the same EIRP of the signal emitted by the satellite antenna to the earth's surface are connected, an isoline will be formed. These isolines are generally closed, and are surrounded by isolines with smaller values. The map formed by these isolines is the EIRP coverage map.

[0030] An embodiment of the present invention provides a target beam selection method, comprising:

[0031] Step 1: The satellite base station configures the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, where n can be any value;

[0032] Step 2: The satellite terminal moves to the overlapping area of ​​the EIRP coverage maps of different beams. When the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current service beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold n, the adjacent beam is selected as the target beam.

[0033] In a specific embodiment, it also includes: the satellite base station configures the EIRP threshold range [M, N] for the satellite terminal to report the position information of the current service beam, wherein M and N can take any value, representing the EIRP value of the current service beam; when the EIRP value corresponding to the satellite terminal position is within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], there is no need to report the position information to the satellite base station; when the EIRP value corresponding to the position of the satellite terminal is not within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], the satellite terminal reports the position information to the satellite base station.

[0034] When a satellite terminal accesses a satellite base station, the satellite base station configures a threshold value for the satellite terminal to report location information. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the threshold configuration for reporting location information of the EIRP coverage map of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the threshold value is configured as 60dBW, that is, the satellite terminal moves within the 60dBW contour line (such as Figure 1 If the satellite terminal moves to an area outside the 60 dBW contour line, the location information will be reported. In this embodiment, only the minimum EIRP value for reporting location information is configured. In actual implementation, the maximum EIRP value can also be configured.

[0035] In a specific embodiment, the satellite terminal selects the adjacent beam as the target beam, including: when the satellite terminal is located in the overlapping area, there is no need to report the location information to the satellite base station; when the satellite terminal leaves the overlapping area and moves to other areas of the EIRP coverage map of the target beam, the satellite terminal reports the location information to the satellite base station.

[0036] Among them, technical personnel in this field should know that the above-mentioned satellite terminal reports location information when leaving the overlapping area, and the trigger condition for reporting the location information is not directly triggered by the action of leaving the overlapping area, but because after leaving the overlapping area, the EIRP value corresponding to the satellite terminal position is no longer within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], which triggers the reporting of the location information. In this way, the target beam selection and location information of the satellite terminal can be grasped in time.

[0037] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the target beam selection principle of the EIRP coverage map of the present invention, as shown in Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the satellite base station selects the target beam by configuring the switching threshold (i.e., the difference between the channel quality of the current service beam and the adjacent beam). For example, the satellite terminal accesses beam Beam1. When the satellite terminal moves to area A, the channel quality of the service beam Beam1 is 59dBW, and the channel quality of the adjacent beam Beam2 is 60dBW. If the switching threshold is configured as 1, the adjacent beam Beam2 is selected as the target beam; if the switching threshold is configured as 3, the satellite terminal needs to move to area B before the adjacent beam Beam2 can be selected as the target beam. At the same time, according to Figure 2 It can be seen that when the satellite terminal leaves area B, it has exceeded the threshold value of 59dBW for reporting location information relative to the current service beam Beam1, so the satellite terminal reports the location information to the satellite base station.

[0038] The networking mode of the satellite system is similar to that of the public network (LTE / 5G), both of which are cellular networking modes. When the satellite terminal moves to other areas of the 59dBW contour line (i.e., area C), the target beam can also be switched according to the above threshold value or the actually configured threshold value.

[0039] In a specific embodiment, before the satellite base station configures the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, the method further includes: acquiring EIRP coverage diagrams of different beams of the satellite terminal.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present invention, a target beam selection device is also provided. Figure 3 It is a structural block diagram of the target beam selection device of the present invention.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, the target beam selection device includes: a switching threshold configuration module, which is used to configure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, wherein n can take any value; a selection decision module, which is used to select the adjacent beam as the target beam when the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current service beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n when the satellite terminal moves to the overlapping area of ​​the EIRP coverage map of different beams.

[0042] In a specific embodiment, it also includes: a position threshold configuration module, used to configure the EIRP threshold range [M, N] for reporting position information of the satellite terminal in the current service beam, wherein M and N can take any value, indicating the EIRP value of the current service beam; a position information reporting module, used to report the position information to the satellite base station when the EIRP value corresponding to the satellite terminal position is not within the EIRP threshold range [M, N]; when the EIRP value corresponding to the satellite terminal position is within the EIRP threshold range [M, N], not report the position information to the satellite base station.

[0043] In a specific embodiment, it also includes: an EIRP acquisition module, which is used to acquire EIRP coverage maps of different beams of the satellite terminal.

[0044] In summary, the present invention provides a target beam selection method and device, which selects the target beam based on the satellite EIRP coverage map. The satellite terminal does not need to measure the channel quality of the current service beam / adjacent beam, thereby ensuring the continuity of the satellite terminal beam service and improving communication efficiency.

[0045] The above specific embodiments only describe the design principle of the present invention. The shapes and names of the components in the description may be different and are not limited. Therefore, those skilled in the art in the field of the present invention may modify or replace the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments; and these modifications and replacements do not deviate from the creative purpose and technical solutions of the present invention and should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A target beam selection method, characterized in that: include: The equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal configured in the satellite base station; The satellite terminal moves to an overlapping area of ​​EIRP coverage maps of different beams, and when a difference between an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current serving beam and an EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold n, the adjacent beam is selected as the target beam; The satellite base station configures the EIRP threshold range for reporting position information of the satellite terminal in the current service beam. When the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is within the EIRP threshold range, there is no need to report the position information to the satellite base station; when the EIRP value corresponding to the location of the satellite terminal is not within the EIRP threshold range, the satellite terminal reports the position information to the satellite base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After selecting the adjacent beam as the target beam, the method further includes: When the satellite terminal is located in the overlapping area, there is no need to report location information to the satellite base station; when the satellite terminal leaves the overlapping area and moves to other areas of the EIRP coverage map of the target beam, the satellite terminal reports location information to the satellite base station.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the satellite base station configures the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal, the method further includes: Obtain EIRP coverage diagrams of different beams of the satellite terminal.

4. A target beam selection device, characterized in that: include: A switching threshold configuration module is used to configure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP switching threshold value n of the satellite terminal; A selection decision module is configured to select, when the satellite terminal moves to an overlapping area of ​​EIRP coverage maps of different beams, the adjacent beam as the target beam when the difference between the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the current serving beam and the EIRP value of the overlapping area in the EIRP coverage map of the adjacent beam meets the EIRP switching threshold value n; The position threshold configuration module is used to configure the EIRP threshold range of the satellite terminal's reported position information in the current service beam; The position information reporting module is used to report the position information to the satellite base station when the EIRP value corresponding to the position of the satellite terminal is not within the EIRP threshold range; when the EIRP value corresponding to the position of the satellite terminal is within the EIRP threshold range, not report the position information to the satellite base station.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: The EIRP acquisition module is used to acquire the EIRP coverage diagrams of different beams of the satellite terminal.

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