A method for controlling beam hopping of a phased array antenna of a communication satellite

Abstract

The application relates to a beam hopping control method of a phased array antenna of a communication satellite, and belongs to the technical field of satellite communication. The method is characterized in that a satellite-borne network controller periodically collects service applications of each ground terminal under a phased array beam, and counts the number of coverage areas that need to be changed in the current period of the phased array beam; then, the satellite-borne network controller calculates the optimal number of residence time slots of each coverage area by using a dynamic programming method, and controls the phased array beam to perform change according to the calculation result. The application is suitable for a wideband communication satellite which is provided with a phased array antenna and has the capability of on-board processing and multi-carrier parallel demodulation, and can realize service-driven phased array beam change control and improve resource utilization efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of satellite communication technology, and in particular to a method for beam hopping control of a phased array antenna for a communication satellite. Background Technology

[0002] Phased array antennas are characterized by high gain and flexible pointing. When applied to satellite communications, they often employ beam hopping, where the satellite controls the phased array beam to hop between multiple dispersed coverage areas in a time-division multiplexing manner. Each time a phased array beam covers an area, it remains stationary there for a period of time, during which satellite terminals within that area can conduct service communications. This beam hopping method allows the link transmission capability of the phased array beam to remain comparable to that of traditional narrow-spot beams, while achieving coverage capabilities comparable to wide-area beams, thus achieving a win-win situation for both transmission and coverage.

[0003] In phased array antenna beam hopping control, it is necessary to address the issue of allocating dwell time across different coverage areas. Currently, an average allocation method is commonly used, meaning that each area receives coverage for the same duration. However, considering the varying service demands and station capabilities of satellite terminals within different areas, an average allocation inevitably leads to resource shortages in some areas and resource idleness in others, resulting in an imbalance and decreased resource utilization. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention proposes a beam-hopping control method for phased array antennas of communication satellites, which can be used in broadband communication satellites with on-board processing capabilities and configured with phased array antennas to realize service-driven phased array beam agility control and improve resource utilization efficiency.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A beam-hopping control method for a phased array antenna of a communication satellite is disclosed, applicable to a broadband communication satellite equipped with a phased array beam and possessing on-board processing and multi-carrier parallel demodulation capabilities. Each phased array beam of the satellite is configured with multiple carrier groups, each carrier group containing one or more subcarriers with the same carrier rate and equally spaced center frequencies. All subcarriers within the same carrier group employ time-division multiple access (TDMA) and have the same number of time slots. The minimum number of time slots for each subcarrier group in the phased array beam is the basic number of time slots N of the phased array beam. bslot The number of subcarrier time slots in each carrier group is an integer multiple of the number of basic time slots; each carrier group of the phased array beam has the same frame period, and the frame period divided by the number of basic time slots is the unit dwell time of the phased array beam; the phased array beam supports agility between multiple discrete coverage areas, and dwells in each coverage area in an integer multiple of the unit dwell time.

[0007] This method includes the following steps:

[0008] Step A. The satellite network controller collects ground terminal service requests within one frame period of the phased array beam. Each service request includes the location of the ground terminal that sent the request, the available carrier group, and the resource requirement information estimated based on its service data stream.

[0009] Step B. Based on the location information in the service application, the spaceborne network control system counts the number N of coverage areas of ground terminals distributed under the phased array beam. spot The coverage area will be divided into numbers from 0 to N. spot The applications are numbered sequentially from -1 and organized into multiple service application sets according to their coverage area.

[0010] Step C. The onboard network controller maintains a variable `step` and initializes it to N. spot -1;

[0011] Step D. The onboard network controller maintains an N bslot +1 row, N bslot A matrix M with +1 columns, where rows range from 0 to N. bslot Numbered, columns from 0 to N bslot Number the elements and initialize all elements of the matrix to a constant value that takes an extreme value;

[0012] Step E. The onboard network controller maintains an N spot row, N bslot A matrix U with +1 columns, where rows range from 0 to N. spot -1 is the numbering unit, and the columns are from 0 to N. bslot Number the elements and initialize all elements in the matrix to 0;

[0013] Step F. The onboard network controller maintains an N bslot +1 column vector The elements of this vector range from 0 to N. bslot Number the vector and initialize all elements in the vector to 0;

[0014] Step G. Update the values ​​of each element in the spaceborne network control update matrix M;

[0015] Step H. Onboard network control updates vectors The values ​​of each element in the vector The element in the i-th column is assigned the maximum or minimum value of the element in the i-th column of matrix M; if the constant in step D is a maximum value, then the maximum or minimum value here is the minimum value, and if the constant in step D is a minimum value, then the maximum or minimum value here is the maximum value.

[0016] Step I. The spaceborne network control updates the value of each element in the step-th row of matrix U. For the element in the step-th row and the j-th column of matrix U, assign the value to the row number of the maximum value element in the j-th column of matrix M. If the constant value in step D is a maximum value, then the maximum value here is the minimum value. If the constant value in step D is a minimum value, then the maximum value here is the maximum value.

[0017] Step J. The onboard network controller decrements the value of step by 1 and resets all elements in matrix M to their initial values;

[0018] Step K. The onboard network controller checks if step is less than 0. If so, it sets the value of step to 0 and executes the subsequent steps; otherwise, it jumps to step G.

[0019] Step L. The onboard network controller maintains a variable `state` and initializes it to `N`. bslot ;

[0020] Step M. The onboard network controller maintains an N spot Column vector The elements of this vector range from 0 to N. spot Number the vector with -1 and initialize all elements in the vector to 0;

[0021] Step N. The onboard network controller reads the value of the step-th row and state-th column of matrix U and assigns it to the vector. The first column;

[0022] Step O. The onboard network controller subtracts the value read in step N from the current value of state, and then updates state using the result.

[0023] Step P. The onboard network controller checks if state is less than 0. If so, it jumps to step R; otherwise, it increments the value of step by 1 and executes the subsequent steps.

[0024] Step Q. Onboard network control checks if step equals N. spot If yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, skip to step N.

[0025] Step R. Onboard network control reads vectors The value of each column is multiplied by the unit dwell time to obtain the dwell time in the corresponding numbered area.

[0026] Step S. The onboard network control schedules the phased array beams sequentially from 0 to N according to the dwell time calculated in step R. spot -1 coverage area implements agile transformation.

[0027] Furthermore, in step G, for an element in matrix M, the update method is as follows:

[0028] a) The onboard network controller checks whether the row number of the current element is greater than the column number. If so, it sets the value of the element to 0; otherwise, it proceeds to the next step.

[0029] b) The onboard network controller uses the row number of the current element multiplied by the unit dwell time, and the product is used as the dwell time in the coverage area at step number to calculate the allocation value of the coverage area;

[0030] c) The onboard network control uses the column number minus the row number of the current element, and uses the result as an index to retrieve the vector. The corresponding element;

[0031] d) The onboard network controller sums the retrieval results from step c) with the allocation value from step b) to obtain the updated value of the current element.

[0032] Furthermore, in step b), the calculation method for the allocated value is as follows:

[0033] 1) The onboard network controller determines the carrier groups of ground terminals in the coverage area based on the available carrier groups and resource requirements in the current service application of the coverage area;

[0034] 2) The onboard network controller calculates the number of time slots requested (r) and the number of time slots allocated (a) for each ground terminal based on the resource demand information in the current coverage area service application and the carrier group information of each ground terminal determined in step 1).

[0035] 3) Calculate the allocation value v of each ground terminal by the spaceborne network control: If the initial values ​​of each element of matrix M are extremely large constant values, then v = max(0, ra). 2 +min(0,ra); If the initial values ​​of each element of matrix M are extremely small constant values, then v = -max(0,ra). 2 -min(0,ra);

[0036] 4) The satellite-borne network control sums the allocation values ​​of all ground terminals within the coverage area to obtain the allocation value of this coverage area.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0038] 1. This invention uses a dynamic programming method to dynamically calculate the dwell time of the phased array beam in different coverage areas, and can adjust the agile control strategy of the phased array beam in real time based on the service traffic requirements in the communication process of the ground terminal.

[0039] 2. This invention can fully utilize the transmission resources within the phased array beam, and while solving the problem of agile control of the phased array beam over multiple coverage areas, it can improve the overall efficiency of resource utilization. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the application scenario of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0042] A method for beam hopping control of a phased array antenna for a communication satellite is disclosed. The method involves the onboard network controller periodically collecting service requests from ground terminals under the phased array beam and calculating the number of coverage areas that the phased array beam needs to hop in the current period. Then, the onboard network controller uses a dynamic programming method to calculate the optimal number of dwell time slots for each coverage area and controls the phased array beam to hop according to the calculation results.

[0043] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the application scenario of this method. The satellite is equipped with onboard network control and a phased array beam. Within the phased array beam, there are two carrier groups. Carrier group 1 has eight 1Msps subcarriers, each with 24 time slots; carrier group 2 has four 2Msps subcarriers, each with 48 time slots. Ground terminals under the phased array beam are distributed in four hotspot areas, and the onboard network control system controls the phased array beam to perform agile coverage of these four areas.

[0044] The method includes the following steps:

[0045] A. The satellite network control collects ground terminal service requests within one frame period of the phased array beam. Each service request includes information such as the location of the ground terminal that sent the request, the available carrier group, and the resource requirements estimated based on its service data stream.

[0046] B. The satellite network control system counts the number of coverage areas of the ground terminals distributed under the phased array beams (4 in this example) based on the location information in the service application, numbers these coverage areas in order from 0 to 3, and organizes them into multiple service application sets according to the coverage areas.

[0047] C. The onboard network control maintains a variable step and initializes it to 3;

[0048] D. The onboard network controller maintains a 25-row, 25-column matrix M (the rows of the matrix are numbered from 0 to 24, and the columns are numbered from 0 to 24), and initializes all elements in the matrix to a very large constant value;

[0049] E. The onboard network controller maintains a 4-row, 25-column matrix U (the rows of the matrix are numbered from 0 to 3, and the columns are numbered from 0 to 24), and initializes all elements in the matrix to 0;

[0050] F. The onboard network controller maintains a 25-column vector. (The elements of the vector are numbered from 0 to 24), and all elements in the vector are initialized to 0;

[0051] G. The values ​​of each element in the spaceborne network control update matrix M;

[0052] The method for updating the element values ​​of specific rows and columns in the spaceborne network control matrix M in step G includes the following steps:

[0053] a) The onboard network controller checks whether the row number of the current element is greater than the column number. If so, it sets the value of the element to 0; otherwise, it proceeds to the next step.

[0054] b) The onboard network controller uses the row number of the current element multiplied by the unit dwell time, and the product is used as the dwell time in the coverage area at step number to calculate the allocation value of the coverage area;

[0055] In step b), the method for calculating the allocation value of a specific coverage area by the spaceborne network control includes the following steps:

[0056] 1) The onboard network controller determines the carrier groups of ground terminals in the coverage area based on the available carrier groups and resource requirements in the current service application of the coverage area;

[0057] 2) The onboard network controller calculates the number of time slots requested (r) and the number of time slots allocated (a) for each ground terminal based on the resource demand information in the current coverage area service application and the carrier group information of each ground terminal determined in step 1).

[0058] 3) The satellite-borne network control calculates the allocated value of each ground terminal, v = max(0, ra). 2 +min(0,ra);

[0059] 4) The satellite-borne network control sums the allocation values ​​of all ground terminals within the coverage area to obtain the allocation value of this coverage area.

[0060] c) The onboard network control uses the column number minus the row number of the current element, and uses the result as an index to retrieve the vector. The corresponding element;

[0061] d) The onboard network controller sums the retrieval results from step c) with the allocation value from step b) to obtain the value of the current element.

[0062] H. Onboard network control update vector The values ​​of each element in the vector The element in the i-th column is assigned the minimum value of the element in the i-th column of matrix M;

[0063] I. The value of each element in the step-th row of the satellite network control update matrix U is assigned to the element in the step-th row and the j-th column of matrix U as the row number of the minimum element in the j-th column of matrix M;

[0064] J. The onboard network controller decrements the value of step by 1 and resets all elements in matrix M to their initial values;

[0065] K. The onboard network control checks if step is less than 0. If so, it sets the value of step to 0 and executes the subsequent steps; otherwise, it jumps to step G.

[0066] L-planet-borne network control maintains a variable `state` and initializes it to 24;

[0067] M. The onboard network controller maintains a 4-column vector. (The elements of the vector are numbered from 0 to 3), and all elements in the vector are initialized to 0;

[0068] N. The onboard network controller reads the value of the step-th row and the state-th column of matrix U and assigns it to the vector. The first column;

[0069] O. The onboard network controller subtracts the value read in the step from the current value of state, and then uses the result to update state;

[0070] P. The onboard network controller checks if state is less than 0. If so, it jumps to step R; otherwise, it increments the value of step by 1 and executes the subsequent steps.

[0071] Q. The onboard network control checks if step 4 is equal to 4. If yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, skip to step N.

[0072] R. Spaceborne Network Control Read Vector The value of each column is multiplied by the unit dwell time to obtain the dwell time in the corresponding numbered area.

[0073] S. The satellite-borne network control schedules the phased array beams to perform agile switching on coverage areas 0 to 3 in sequence according to the dwell time calculated in step R.

[0074] In summary, this invention presents an original beam-hopping control method for phased array antennas of communication satellites. It can be applied to high- and low-orbit broadband communication satellites with on-board processing and multi-carrier parallel demodulation capabilities and configured with phased array beams. This method enables service-driven agile control of phased array beams, solves the problem of on-demand dynamic scheduling of phased array beams based on service-driven principles, and improves resource utilization efficiency.

[0075] Those skilled in the art will understand that a satellite phased array beam agility control method can be implemented by hardware or software related to program instructions, which, when executed, performs the steps of the above-described method embodiments.

[0076] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for other technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for beam hopping control of a phased array antenna for a communication satellite, characterized in that, The application is applied to a wideband communication satellite which is configured with phased array beams, has on-board processing and multi-carrier parallel demodulation capability; a plurality of carrier groups are configured in a single phased array beam of the satellite, each carrier group contains one to more subcarriers with same carrier rate and equally spaced center frequency points, each subcarrier in the same carrier group adopts time division multiple access mode and the time slot number of each subcarrier is the same; the minimum value of the time slot number of each subcarrier group of the phased array beam is the basic time slot number of the phased array beam , the time slot number of each subcarrier group is an integer multiple of the basic time slot number; each carrier group of the phased array beam has the same frame period, and the frame period divided by the basic time slot number is the unit residence time of the phased array beam; The phased array beam supports agility between multiple discrete coverage areas, and stays in each coverage area in integer multiples of the unit dwell time; This method includes the following steps: Step A. The satellite network controller collects ground terminal service requests within one frame period of the phased array beam. Each service request includes the location of the ground terminal that sent the request, the available carrier group, and the resource requirement information estimated based on its service data stream. Step B. The satellite network controller counts the number of coverage areas of the ground terminal distribution under the phased array beam according to the location information in the service application The coverage areas are numbered in order from 0 to , and are organized into multiple service application sets according to the coverage areas. Step C. The on-board network control maintains a variable and initializes it to ; Step D. The on-board network control maintains a column matrix with rows numbered from 0 to and columns numbered from 0 to and initializes all elements of the matrix to a constant value with an extreme value. Step E. The on-board network control maintains a row, column matrix with rows numbered from 0 to and columns numbered from 0 to and initializes all elements of the matrix to 0; Step F. The on-board network control maintains a vector of columns , the elements of which are numbered from 0 to and all elements of the vector are initialized to 0; Step G. Spacecraft network control update matrix the value of each element in the matrix For an element in the matrix a) The onboard network controller checks whether the row number of the current element is greater than the column number. If so, it sets the value of the element to 0; otherwise, it proceeds to the next step. b) The onboard network controller uses the row number of the current element multiplied by the unit dwell time, and the product is used as the first... The dwell time in the coverage area is used to calculate the allocation value of the coverage area; c) The onboard network control uses the column number minus the row number of the current element, and uses the result as an index to retrieve the vector. The corresponding element; d) The onboard network control sums the search results from step c) with the allocation value from step b) to obtain the updated value of the current element; Step H. Onboard network control updates vectors The values ​​of each element in the vector The element in the i-th column is assigned the value of the matrix. The maximum and minimum values ​​of the elements in the i-th column; if the constant value in step D is a maximum value, then the maximum and minimum values ​​here are the minimum values; if the constant value in step D is a minimum value, then the maximum and minimum values ​​here are the maximum values. Step I. Onboard Network Control System Update Matrix No. The values ​​of each element in a row, for the matrix No. The element in row j and column j is assigned the value of the matrix. The row number of the most valuable element in column j; if the constant value in step D is a maximum value, then the most valuable element here is a minimum value; if the constant value in step D is a minimum value, then the most valuable element here is a maximum value. Step J. The spaceborne network control will Decrease the value by 1 and set the matrix to 1. All elements in the file are reset to their initial values; Step K. Onboard network control check Is it less than 0? If so, set it. If the value is 0, proceed to the next step; otherwise, skip to step G. Step L. The onboard network controller maintains a variable. and initialize it to ; Step M. Maintain a satellite-borne network control system. Column vector The elements of this vector range from 0 to... Number the vector and initialize all elements in the vector to 0; Step N. Onboard network control reads the matrix No. line, number The values ​​of the columns are assigned to the vector. The List; Step O. The onboard network control will After subtracting the value read in step N from the current value, update the result. ; Step P. Onboard network control check Check if it is less than 0; if so, skip to step R; otherwise, Increment the value by 1, and execute the subsequent steps; Step Q. Onboard network control check Is it equal to If yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, skip to step N. Step R. Onboard network control reads vectors The value of each column is multiplied by the unit dwell time to obtain the dwell time in the corresponding numbered area. Step S. The onboard network control schedules the phased array beams sequentially from beam 0 to beam 1 according to the dwell time calculated in step R. The coverage area of ​​the number will be adjusted accordingly.

2. The beam hopping control method for a phased array antenna of a communication satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step b), the calculation method for the allocated value is as follows: 1) The satellite network controller determines the carrier groups of ground terminals in the coverage area based on the available carrier groups and resource demand information in the current service application of the coverage area; 2) The onboard network controller calculates the number of time slots requested (r) and the number of time slots allocated (a) for each ground terminal based on the resource demand information in the current coverage area service application and the carrier group information of each ground terminal determined in step 1). 3) The satellite-borne network control calculates the allocation value v of each ground terminal: if the matrix If the initial values ​​of each element are extremely large constant values, then If the matrix If the initial values ​​of each element are extremely small constant values, then ; 4) The allocation value of the satellite network control system is obtained by summing the allocation values ​​of all ground terminals within the coverage area.

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