Multi-antenna switching method and ultra-bandwidth communication system

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-antenna switching method, which is characterized in that antenna switching is carried out at intervals of STS sections, at most one time of antenna switching is carried out at each interval of the STS sections, and after the switching is completed, a new antenna is adopted to carry out an STS receiving process, and a signal received by the new antenna is analyzed and processed. The antenna switching is carried out based on the STS sequence, and the channel quality of each antenna can be evaluated more accurately, so that accurate antenna switching is realized, and the problems of misjudgment and untimely switching in a traditional method are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ultra-wideband communication, and in particular to a multi-antenna switching method and an ultra-wideband communication system. Background Art

[0002] Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is a short-range wireless communication technology that has the characteristics of high data rate, low power consumption and high positioning accuracy. Currently, UWB technology has been widely used in short-range wireless communication and precise positioning systems.

[0003] At present, in order to further improve the system's coverage, channel stability and anti-interference ability, UWB design has gradually begun to adopt a multi-antenna system, using multiple antennas to send and receive signals simultaneously. In a multi-antenna system, how to effectively switch antennas without affecting communication quality is crucial.

[0004] Existing multi-antenna switching methods usually rely on simple physical layer indicators such as received signal strength indication (RSSI) or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to determine the switching timing of antennas and select target antennas. However, these methods often perform poorly in environments with severe multipath effects or rapid channel changes, which can easily lead to problems such as misjudgment, signal loss, or untimely switching, thereby affecting the communication performance and positioning accuracy of the system. At the same time, in existing multi-antenna UWB systems, the multi-antenna switching system and the receiver are generally independent of each other. Such a design requires separate processing of signal quality analysis in an independent module. If the signal quality is processed again in hardware, it is easy to waste chip area and power consumption; if all are sent to the host computer, it will pose a great challenge to the real-time performance of the system. In addition, the separate design is not conducive to accurately knowing the time point of antenna switching, which is easy to cause trouble for subsequent data analysis and positioning. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of some or all of the problems in the prior art, the first aspect of the present invention provides a multi-antenna switching method, which performs antenna switching based on a scrambling time sequence (STS), and the switching method includes:

[0006] The antenna is switched during the STS segment interval, wherein the antenna is switched at most once during each STS segment interval. After the switching is completed, the new antenna is used to perform the STS receiving process, and the signal received by the new antenna is analyzed and processed.

[0007] Furthermore, antenna switching is performed according to an antenna switching strategy pre-stored in a system register.

[0008] Furthermore, the antenna switching strategy includes a one-to-one configuration between STS segment intervals and antennas.

[0009] Furthermore, the switching method further includes:

[0010] After each antenna switch is completed, the quality of the signal received by the new antenna is evaluated;

[0011] At the last STS segment interval, the signal quality of each previous STS segment is compared, and the antenna used by the STS segment with the best signal quality is determined as the optimal path antenna; and

[0012] The system antenna is switched to the optimal path antenna.

[0013] Furthermore, the signal quality is evaluated including:

[0014] The coherence between the received data signal and the locally generated STS codeword is calculated, and the coherence is used as a signal quality evaluation criterion.

[0015] Furthermore, the switching method further includes:

[0016] Upload the data signals received by each STS segment to the host computer.

[0017] Furthermore, the switching method further includes:

[0018] Multi-antenna positioning is achieved based on the data signals received by different antennas in each STS segment.

[0019] A second aspect of the present invention provides an ultra-wideband communication system, which includes multiple antennas, and switching between the multiple antennas can be achieved according to the switching method as described above.

[0020] The present invention provides an ultra-wideband communication system and a multi-antenna switching method thereof, which utilizes the STS segment interval and performs antenna switching based on the STS sequence, and can more accurately evaluate the channel quality of each antenna, thereby achieving accurate antenna switching and avoiding the problems of misjudgment and untimely switching in traditional methods. In addition, the high randomness and anti-interference characteristics of the STS sequence enable the switching method to maintain stable signal reception in an environment with strong multipath effects and interference, and the design strongly coupled with the STS can also multiplex some modules, effectively reducing the area and power consumption of the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] To further illustrate the above and other advantages and features of various embodiments of the present invention, a more specific description of various embodiments of the present invention will be presented with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that these drawings only depict typical embodiments of the present invention and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof. In the accompanying drawings, for clarity, identical or corresponding parts will be represented by identical or similar reference numerals.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the structure of an ultra-wideband communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a multi-antenna switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0024] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between a timing diagram of a UWB packet and an antenna switching time point according to a multi-antenna switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In the following description, the present invention is described with reference to various embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various embodiments can be implemented without one or more specific details or with other replacement and / or additional methods, materials or components. In other cases, well-known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid blurring the inventive point of the present invention. Similarly, for the purpose of explanation, specific quantities, materials and configurations are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to these specific details. In addition, it should be understood that the various embodiments shown in the drawings are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn in correct proportions.

[0026] In this specification, reference to "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The phrase "in one embodiment" appearing in various places in this specification does not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

[0027] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention describe the process steps in a specific order, but this is only for the purpose of illustrating the specific embodiment, rather than limiting the order of the steps. On the contrary, in different embodiments of the present invention, the order of the steps can be adjusted according to the adjustment of the process.

[0028] In the current common ultra-wideband communication system (UWB) multi-antenna design, the multi-antenna switching system and the receiver are generally independent of each other. Such a design requires separate processing of signal quality analysis in an independent module. If the signal quality is processed again in hardware, it is easy to waste chip area and power consumption; if all are sent to the host computer, it will cause great challenges to the real-time performance of the system. The separate design is also not conducive to accurately knowing the time point of antenna switching, which is easy to cause trouble for subsequent data analysis and positioning. The IEEE 802.15.4z standard introduces the scrambled time sequence (STS) mechanism. STS uses pseudo-random sequences and encryption technology to protect the integrity of the timestamp data generated in each frame. Usually, this process relies on the Advanced Encryption Standard AES security protocol. STS uses the private and public keys at both ends of the link to encrypt and exchange the initial STS key. After initialization, a complex algorithm is used to change the STS code after each transmission. The STS field consists of a set of pseudo-random binary phase shift keying BPSK modulated pulses. The pseudo-randomness of the BPSK modulation sequence is ensured by a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator. Due to the pseudo-randomness and lack of periodicity of the sequence, the receiver is allowed to generate reliable, highly accurate and artifact-free channel delay estimates. It can be seen that STS is a highly randomized time series signal that provides enhanced security and time resolution capabilities by encrypting and scrambling the signal. Based on this, a more accurate assessment of the received signal quality can be made based on the STS sequence. In the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, there is an STS segment interval before each STS segment, so this interval time can also be used to switch antennas, and judge the signal quality in the subsequent STS segments, and finally select the optimal antenna or perform multi-antenna positioning. The multi-antenna switching method based on STS can more accurately assess the quality of the received signals of different antennas, thereby optimizing the antenna selection and switching strategy, and improving the security of the entire UWB system.

[0029] The technical solution of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments.

[0030] Figure 1 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an ultra-wideband communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1As shown, the present application is mainly directed to an ultra-wideband communication system with multiple antennas, and the ultra-wideband communication system includes multiple antennas. As mentioned above, in an embodiment of the present invention, the multiple antennas are mainly switched based on the STS sequence. Therefore, as shown in the figure, in one embodiment of the present invention, the multiple antennas are communicatively connected to the receiver of the UWB system through an analog front end, so that the receiver can receive data through a certain antenna. At the same time, the antenna can also receive the antenna selection result determined by the STS sequence module in the receiver, and then determine the optimal sky strategy. As shown in the figure, the receiver also includes a frame synchronization module and an unpacking module. In the actual UWB packet reception process, the frame synchronization processing link is first performed through the frame synchronization module, and then the STS processing stage is entered. After all STSs are completed, the data packet is decoded to complete the reception of a UWB packet. The switching of multiple antennas is performed in the STS processing stage.

[0031] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a multi-antenna switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the multi-antenna switching method of the ultra-wideband communication system as described above includes:

[0032] Switching the antenna at an STS segment interval, wherein the antenna is switched at most once per STS segment interval; and

[0033] After the switch is completed, the new antenna is used to perform the STS receiving process, and the signal received by the new antenna is analyzed and processed.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, antenna switching is performed according to an antenna switching strategy pre-stored in a system register, thereby ensuring that the signal received by the new antenna is stable before the end of the segment interval. The antenna switching strategy mainly includes a one-to-one correspondence between STS segments and antennas, that is, which antenna is switched to at which STS segment interval.

[0035] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between a timing diagram of a UWB packet and an antenna switching time point according to a multi-antenna switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the SP1 data packet format in the IEEE 802.15.4z standard is adopted, and its STS sequence is located before the received data packet. Based on this, for SP1, the optimal antenna can be determined by the switching method as described above. Specifically, the antenna is switched at the first few STS segment intervals, and the antenna is switched at most once in each STS segment interval, or not switched, and the STS receiving process is performed through the switched antenna in the subsequent STS segment, and the signal received by the new antenna is analyzed and processed to evaluate the quality of the signal received by the antenna, and then in the last STS segment interval, the signal quality of each previous STS segment is compared, and the antenna used in the STS segment with the best signal quality is determined as the optimal path antenna, and the system antenna is switched to the optimal path antenna.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, the evaluation of signal quality is mainly based on the coherence of the received data signal and the locally generated STS codeword in the STS stage. Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, after the STS segment interval antenna switching is successful, the STS receiving process is entered, which receives the STS sequence transmitted by the new antenna on the one hand, generates a local STS sequence on the other hand, and then calculates the coherence between the STS sequence transmitted by the new antenna and the local STS sequence, and uses the coherence as the signal quality, that is, the transmission quality of the new antenna. In one embodiment of the present invention, the coherence of each bit is equal to the product of the codeword strength in the received STS sequence and the codeword strength of the local STS sequence, wherein the local codeword usually includes three types of +, -, and 0. When calculating the coherence, the local codeword can be converted to +1, -1, and 0 accordingly, and the received codeword strength is usually within a specified range, such as -1 to +1. Based on this, the coherence between the STS sequence transmitted by the new antenna and the local STS sequence can be obtained to evaluate the signal quality. In one embodiment of the present invention, the higher the coherence between the two, the better the signal quality, that is, the better the transmission quality of the new antenna.

[0037] As shown in the figure, in the existing IEEE 802.15.4z standard, a UWB packet includes 4 STS segments and 5 STS segment intervals. Therefore, the switching method described above only supports the switching of 4 antennas at most at a time. If the number of antennas is more than 4, it may be necessary to determine the optimal antenna based on multiple UWB packets, or adopt other strategies, which will not be repeated here.

[0038] For the SP2 or SP3 data packet format in the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, if the data packet is before the STS segment or does not include the data packet, the purpose of switching the antenna at this time is not to select the optimal antenna path, but to convert it into receiving multipath data from different antennas, which is processed by the CIR module or the host computer, such as technology and the multipath data for multi-antenna positioning. In one embodiment of the present invention, for example, angle information can be obtained by triangulation based on the time difference obtained from different receiving points, and then accurate position information can be obtained in combination with distance information to achieve multi-antenna positioning.

[0039] In the multi-antenna switching method provided by the present invention, since antenna switching is related to the UWB segment interval, each SRMARKER can be used as a reference time point for antenna switching, and the data of coherent value matching of STS packets by different antennas can also be processed as multipath data, thereby obtaining data such as direction angles. Based on this, multi-antenna switching of the UWB system can be realized simply and efficiently, and rapid iteration can also be performed on the existing single-antenna system, retaining the advantages of the single-antenna system while having the advantages of the multi-antenna system.

[0040] The switching method can be based on the existing single-antenna UWB receiver chip system, meeting the multi-antenna requirements without adding or substantially modifying the existing circuits, and the design of strong coupling with STS can also reuse some modules, effectively reducing the chip area and power consumption. In addition, the high randomness and anti-interference characteristics of the STS sequence enable the switching method to maintain stable signal reception in an environment with strong multipath effects and interference.

[0041] Although various embodiments of the present invention are described above, it should be understood that they are presented as examples only and not as limitations. It is obvious to those skilled in the relevant art that various combinations, modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present invention disclosed herein should not be limited by the exemplary embodiments disclosed above, but should only be defined according to the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A multi-antenna switching method, characterized in that: Includes steps: The antenna is switched during the STS segment interval, wherein the antenna is switched at most once during each STS segment interval. After the switching is completed, the new antenna is used to perform the STS receiving process, and the signal received by the new antenna is analyzed and processed.

2. The switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna switching is performed according to the antenna switching strategy pre-stored in the system register.

3. The switching method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The antenna switching strategy includes: a one-to-one configuration of STS segment intervals and antennas.

4. The switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: After each antenna switch is completed, the quality of the signal received by the new antenna is evaluated; At the last STS segment interval, the signal quality of each previous STS segment is compared, and the antenna used by the STS segment with the best signal quality is determined as the optimal path antenna; and The system antenna is switched to the optimal path antenna.

5. The switching method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Signal quality assessment includes: The coherence between the received data signal and the locally generated STS codeword is calculated, and the coherence is used as an evaluation criterion for signal quality, wherein the higher the coherence, the better the signal quality.

6. The switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: Upload the data signals received by each STS segment to the host computer.

7. The switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: Multi-antenna positioning is achieved based on the data signals received by different antennas in each STS segment.

8. An ultra-wideband communication system, characterized in that: The ultra-wideband communication system comprises a plurality of antennas, and the ultra-wideband communication system implements switching between the plurality of antennas according to the switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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