A flexible adjustment method for high-throughput satellite beam coverage area

Abstract

The present invention discloses a flexible adjustment method for high-throughput satellite beam coverage area, including the following steps: S1. Input the capacity demand, geographical location and priority of each user; S2. Confirm the beam center according to the user priority and geographical location; S3. Cluster users according to the beam center. In the present invention, through the coverage area adjustment method based on the active beam forming network, the beam coverage area is dynamically adjusted as the user demand changes. For the hot spot area, a narrow beam is used for coverage, and for the non-hot spot area, a wide beam is used for coverage, and the resource utilization rate of the system is high; through the user grouping method based on capacity matching, the beam width and beam capacity are calculated in real time during the user grouping process, and the beam width is designed considering the matching degree of the user capacity demand; through the high-throughput satellite beam coverage area adjustment method, the position of the beam center is determined by introducing the user priority, which effectively avoids the influence of the initial input on the final solution.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of satellite beam coverage technology, and in particular to a method for flexibly adjusting a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area. Background Art

[0002] The throughput of the next generation of high-throughput satellites will reach hundreds of gigabits per second or even terabits per second, and the number of beams will develop from dozens to hundreds. With the increase of mobile terminals such as airborne terminals, shipborne terminals, and high-speed rail terminals, high-throughput satellites face problems such as uneven geographical distribution of users and tidal effects of business time. There are three prominent problems with traditional high-throughput satellites with average and fixed beam coverage resources. First, some beams waste resources because there are no business requests; second, some beams are rejected because there are no resources; third, some terminals are not in the current beam coverage area and cannot communicate. With the application of flexible payloads, especially active beamforming networks and phased array antennas, it is very important to carry out flexible adjustment of beam coverage areas. When adjusting the coverage area, it is necessary to dynamically optimize the number, size, center position and other parameters of the beams based on the spatiotemporal distribution of services and channel status. The expansion of resource dimensions and the increase in the scale of adjustable parameters have significantly increased the complexity of resource allocation problems in this type of system. Therefore, for the next generation of high-throughput satellite systems, it is necessary to study the design of optimization algorithms to improve system resource utilization and user service quality under the constraints of flexible antennas on the satellite.

[0003] In the literature [1] PUNEETH JUBBA HONNAIAH, NICOLA MATURO, SYMEON CHATZ INOTAS, STEVEN KISSELEFF, AND JENS KRAUSE, Demand-Based Adaptive Multi-Beam Pattern and Footprint Planning for High Throughput GEO Satellite Systems [J], IEEE OpenJournal of the Communications Society, 2021, 2: 1526-1540.

[0004] In the paper, in view of the increasing number of mobile terminal services, the authors proposed a flexible adjustment algorithm for beam shape and position. By setting the number of beams and considering load balancing, users are grouped, and then the beam center and beam width of each user group are designed. However, the authors did not consider the impact of user needs on beam coverage, and grouped users based on distance. In addition, the elliptical beam requires higher capabilities for the onboard payload. In the literature [2] Bingkun Liu, Chunxiao Jiang, Linling Kuang, Jianhua Lu, Joint User Grouping and Beamwidth Optimization for Satellite Multicast with Phased Array Antennas [C], IEEE Global Communications Conference, 2020., the authors proposed a flexible adjustment algorithm for beam center and size based on phased array antennas to address the different user positions at different times. The beam center is determined by a random algorithm, and then the user group is determined according to a greedy algorithm to obtain the beam width of each beam. However, the scenario designed by the authors is a broadcast satellite, and the service needs of each user are the same. The authors did not consider the impact of different user needs on the beam coverage area. In the literature [3] Flor G. Ortiz-Gomez, Miguel A. Salas-Natera, Ramón Martínez, Salvador Landeros-Ayala, Optimization in VHTS Satellite System Design with Irregular Beam Coverage for Non-Uniform Traffic Distribution [J], Remote Sensing, 2021, 13, 2642., facing the time and space non-uniform service requirements, the authors proposed a coverage area adjustment algorithm that jointly optimizes the beam width and beam arrangement angle. However, the authors considered designing the system according to user needs and seamlessly connecting the coverage area, which resulted in a waste of some resources;

[0005] When adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam, the traditional method has two important drawbacks:

[0006] (1) The current high-throughput satellite beam coverage adjustment algorithm takes into account the continuous coverage of the beam, resulting in a waste of some resources;

[0007] (2) In the beam coverage area adjustment method, the matching degree between the capacity of each beam and the capacity of the covered users is not considered when grouping users;

[0008] (3) In the beam coverage area adjustment algorithm, a random method is generally used to select the beam center, and then subsequent optimization is performed. The selection of the initial center point has a great influence on the final result.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention proposes a method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam. Summary of the invention

[0010] The purpose of the present invention is to propose a method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam in order to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0012] A method for flexibly adjusting a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area comprises the following steps:

[0013] S1. Input the capacity requirements, geographic location and priority of each user;

[0014] S2. Confirm the beam center based on user priority and geographic location;

[0015] S3. Cluster users according to beam centers;

[0016] S4. Optimize beam width according to the change of single beam capacity and user communication quality;

[0017] S5. Output the final beam coverage plan.

[0018] Preferably, the method for implementing step S1 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0019] S11. Obtain each user's capacity requirement Rj, priority, geographic location, beam diameter range [d_min, d_max], maximum number of beams n_max, and beam capacity C based on the upper input.

[0020] Preferably, the method for confirming the beam center in step S2 specifically includes the following steps:

[0021] S21. Sort all users according to their priority from high to low as the set to be allocated, with beam number n=1, and the allocated beam set being an empty set;

[0022] S22. Select the user with the highest priority from the set to be allocated as the screening object; determine whether the beam number is equal to 1, if so, directly enter step S23, otherwise, select the center point of the allocated beam in turn, calculate the distance between the beam center point and the screening object, and select the shortest distance D1; determine whether D1 is greater than or equal to d_min, if so, enter step S23, otherwise, remove the screening object from the set to be allocated and enter step S32;

[0023] S23. The center point of beam n is the geographical location of the screening object. The screening object belongs to beam n and is removed from the set to be assigned. The diameter of beam n is d_min. Users in the user set who are not assigned to their beams are selected as the judgment set.

[0024] Preferably, the specific method of clustering users according to beam centers in step S3 includes the following steps:

[0025] S31. Select user i in the judgment set in turn, calculate the distance D2 between user i and the screening object; determine whether D2 is less than or equal to d_min / 2. If so, user i belongs to beam n, and user i is removed from the judgment set. Otherwise, repeat step S31; when i is the maximum number of users in the judgment set, take the intersection of the judgment set and the set to be allocated as the new set to be allocated;

[0026] S32. Determine whether the beam number n is equal to n_max or the set to be allocated is an empty set. If so, go to step S41. Otherwise, add beam n to the allocated beam set, n=n+1, and repeat steps S22, S23, S31, and S32.

[0027] Preferably, the method for optimizing the beam width in step S4 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0028] S41. Select users without subordinate beams from the user set and sort them from high to low according to user priority as the set to be optimized;

[0029] S42. Select user j in the set to be optimized in turn, calculate the sum of capacity requirements Cm of all users in beam m in the allocated beam set, and the distance D3 between user j and the center point of beam m, calculate the beam capacity C1 with D3 as the beam radius, and select the beam with Cm+Rj≤C1 as the allocable set;

[0030] S43. Calculate the distance between the center point of beam k and user j in the allocable set in turn, and select the shortest distance D4; determine whether D4 is less than or equal to d_max / 2. If so, user j belongs to beam k, and user j is removed from the set to be optimized. The diameter of beam k is updated to D4*2, and the process proceeds to step S51; otherwise, determine whether the current number of beams has reached the maximum value. If so, user j is removed from the set to be optimized, and the process proceeds to step S51. Otherwise, add a new beam, with user j as the center point of the newly added beam, and remove user j from the set to be optimized. The diameter of the newly added beam is d_min, and the newly added beam is added to the allocated beam set, and the process proceeds to step S51.

[0031] Preferably, the method for determining and outputting the final beam coverage solution in step S5 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0032] S51. Determine whether the set to be optimized is an empty set. If so, output the final beam center, beam diameter, and beam number plan; otherwise, repeat steps S42, S43, and S51.

[0033] In summary, due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0034] 1. In this application, through the coverage area adjustment method based on the active beam forming network, the beam coverage area is dynamically adjusted as user demand changes. For hot spots, narrow beams are used for coverage, and for non-hot spots, wide beams are used for coverage, and the system resource utilization rate is high.

[0035] 2. In this application, through the user grouping method based on capacity matching, the beam width and beam capacity are calculated in real time during the user grouping process, and the beam width is designed considering the matching degree of user capacity requirements;

[0036] 3. In this application, a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area adjustment method is used to determine the position of the beam center by introducing user priority, thereby effectively avoiding the impact of the initial input on the final solution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for flexibly adjusting a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area provided according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of optimization results of beam size, center position, and number of a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area flexible adjustment method provided according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0040] See also Figure 1-2 , the present invention provides a technical solution:

[0041] A method for flexibly adjusting a high-throughput satellite beam coverage area comprises the following steps:

[0042] S1. Input the capacity requirements, geographic location and priority of each user;

[0043] S11. Obtain the capacity requirement Rj, priority, geographic location, beam diameter range [d_min, d_max], maximum number of beams n_max, and beam capacity C of each user according to the input from the upper level;

[0044] S2. Confirm the beam center based on user priority and geographic location;

[0045] S21. Sort all users according to their priority from high to low as the set to be allocated, with beam number n=1, and the allocated beam set being an empty set;

[0046] S22. Select the user with the highest priority from the set to be allocated as the screening object; determine whether the beam number is equal to 1, if so, directly enter step S23, otherwise, select the center point of the allocated beam in turn, calculate the distance between the beam center point and the screening object, and select the shortest distance D1; determine whether D1 is greater than or equal to d_min, if so, enter step S23, otherwise, remove the screening object from the set to be allocated and enter step S32;

[0047] S23. The center point of beam n is the geographical location of the screening object, the screening object belongs to beam n and the screening object is removed from the set to be assigned; the diameter of beam n is d_min; users in the user set who are not assigned to the corresponding beam are selected as the judgment set;

[0048] S3. Cluster users according to beam centers;

[0049] S31. Select user i in the judgment set in turn, calculate the distance D2 between user i and the screening object; determine whether D2 is less than or equal to d_min / 2. If so, user i belongs to beam n, and user i is removed from the judgment set. Otherwise, repeat step S31; when i is the maximum number of users in the judgment set, take the intersection of the judgment set and the set to be allocated as the new set to be allocated;

[0050] S32. Determine whether the beam number n is equal to n_max or the set to be allocated is an empty set. If so, proceed to step S41. Otherwise, add beam n to the allocated beam set, n=n+1, and repeat steps S22, S23, S31, and S32.

[0051] S4. Optimize beam width according to the change of single beam capacity and user communication quality;

[0052] S41. Select users without subordinate beams from the user set and sort them from high to low according to user priority as the set to be optimized;

[0053] S42. Select user j in the set to be optimized in turn, calculate the sum of capacity requirements Cm of all users in beam m in the allocated beam set, and the distance D3 between user j and the center point of beam m, calculate the beam capacity C1 with D3 as the beam radius, and select the beam with Cm+Rj≤C1 as the allocable set;

[0054] S43. Calculate the distance between the center point of beam k and user j in the assignable set in turn, and select the shortest distance D4; determine whether D4 is less than or equal to d_max / 2. If so, user j belongs to beam k, and user j is removed from the set to be optimized. The diameter of beam k is updated to D4*2, and the process proceeds to step S51; otherwise, determine whether the current number of beams has reached the maximum value. If so, user j is removed from the set to be optimized, and the process proceeds to step S51. Otherwise, add a new beam, with user j as the center point of the newly added beam, remove user j from the set to be optimized, and the diameter of the newly added beam is d_min. The newly added beam is added to the assigned beam set, and the process proceeds to step S51;

[0055] S5. Output the final beam coverage plan;

[0056] S51. Determine whether the set to be optimized is an empty set. If so, output the final beam center, beam diameter, and beam number plan; otherwise, repeat steps S42, S43, and S51.

[0057] Specifically, the satellite downlink has 40 beams and a total of 100 users; the capacity of a single beam is 320Mbps, and the beam diameter range is [240km, 480km]; enter the geographic location, capacity requirement, and priority of each user as shown in the following table:

[0058] Table 1 Geographic location, capacity requirements and priority of each user input

[0059]

[0060]

[0061] According to the method proposed in the present invention, the final beam coverage area is calculated as follows: Figure 2 As shown, 33 beams are generated. For the same input conditions, the resource utilization rate of all beams with fixed beam widths is 71.2%. The utilization rate of the entire satellite capacity resources calculated by the method proposed in the present invention is 90.6%, which is increased by about 20%.

[0062] To sum up, the present application provides a flexible adjustment method for the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam, which provides a coverage area adjustment method for a high-throughput satellite based on an onboard active beamforming network or phased array antenna based on user priority and spatiotemporal service distribution, thereby improving resource utilization and ensuring user communication quality.

[0063] The above description of the embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Input the capacity requirements, geographic location and priority of each user; S2. Confirm the beam center based on user priority and geographic location; S3. Cluster users according to beam centers; The specific method of performing user clustering according to the beam center in step S3 comprises the following steps: S31. Select user i in the judgment set in turn, calculate the distance D2 between user i and the screening object; determine whether D2 is less than or equal to d_min / 2. If so, user i belongs to beam n, and user i is removed from the judgment set. Otherwise, repeat step S31; when i is the maximum number of users in the judgment set, take the intersection of the judgment set and the set to be allocated as the new set to be allocated; S32. Determine whether the beam number n is equal to n_max or the set to be allocated is an empty set. If so, proceed to step S41. Otherwise, add beam n to the allocated beam set, n=n+1, and repeat steps S22, S23, S31, and S32. S4. Optimize beam width according to the change of single beam capacity and user communication quality; The method for optimizing the beam width in step S4 specifically comprises the following steps: S41. Select users without subordinate beams from the user set and sort them from high to low according to user priority as the set to be optimized; S42. Select user j in the set to be optimized in turn, calculate the sum of capacity requirements Cm of all users in beam m in the allocated beam set, and the distance D3 between user j and the center point of beam m, calculate the beam capacity C1 with D3 as the beam radius, and select beams with Cm+Rj≤C1 as the allocable set; S43. Calculate the distances between the center point of beam k and user j in the assignable set in turn, and select the shortest distance D4; determine whether D4 is less than or equal to d_max / 2. If so, user j belongs to beam k, and user j is removed from the set to be optimized. The diameter of beam k is updated to , go to step S51; otherwise, determine whether the current number of beams reaches the maximum value. If so, remove user j from the set to be optimized and go to step S51. Otherwise, add a new beam, with user j as the center point of the newly added beam, remove user j from the set to be optimized, and the diameter of the newly added beam is d_min. Add the newly added beam to the allocated beam set and go to step S51; S5. Output the final beam coverage plan.

2. The method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method for implementing step S1 specifically comprises the following steps: S11. Obtain each user's capacity requirement Rj, priority, geographic location, beam diameter range [d_min, d_max], maximum number of beams n_max, and beam capacity C based on the upper input.

3. The method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method for confirming the beam center in step S2 specifically includes the following steps: S21. Sort all users according to their priority from high to low as the set to be allocated, with beam number n=1, and the allocated beam set is an empty set; S22. Select the user with the highest priority from the set to be allocated as the screening object; determine whether the beam number is equal to 1, if so, directly enter step S23, otherwise, select the center point of the allocated beam in turn, calculate the distance between the beam center point and the screening object, and select the shortest distance D1; determine whether D1 is greater than or equal to d_min, if so, enter step S23, otherwise, remove the screening object from the set to be allocated and enter step S32; S23. The center point of beam n is the geographical location of the screening object. The screening object belongs to beam n and is removed from the set to be assigned. The diameter of beam n is d_min. Users in the user set who are not assigned to their beams are selected as the judgment set.

4. The method for flexibly adjusting the coverage area of ​​a high-throughput satellite beam according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method for determining and outputting the final beam coverage solution in step S5 specifically comprises the following steps: S51. Determine whether the set to be optimized is an empty set. If so, output the final beam center, beam diameter, and beam number plan; otherwise, repeat steps S42, S43, and S51.

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