Communication equipment and communication system switching method

Abstract

The invention discloses communication equipment and a communication system switching method, and belongs to the technical field of communication. The communication equipment comprises a digital signal processing and baseband processing unit, an antenna array and a plurality of groups of communication links, the antenna array comprises N antenna sub-arrays, one antenna sub-array corresponds to one group of communication links, each antenna sub-array is connected with the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit through the corresponding communication link, and the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit is connected with the antenna array. Each antenna sub-array comprises a plurality of antenna array elements, and N is an integer greater than 1; wherein the first number is smaller than the second number, and the first number is the number of antenna array elements used for communicating with the ground system in the N antenna sub-arrays when the communication equipment is in a working mode of communicating with the ground system; the second number is the number of antenna array elements used for communicating with the satellite system in the N antenna sub-arrays when the communication equipment is in the working mode of communicating with the first satellite system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication device and a communication system switching method. Background Art

[0002] With the development of non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology and 6G ground-to-space integration, ground-to-space terminals are required to be able to adapt to both terrestrial and satellite communication scenarios. Currently, ground-to-space terminals that support both terrestrial and satellite communications primarily combine the functions of terrestrial and satellite communication systems, resulting in unstable handover between ground and space. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication device and a communication system switching method, which can solve the problem of how to achieve stable switching between a terrestrial communication system and a satellite communication system.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application is implemented as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a digital signal processing and baseband processing unit, an antenna array, and multiple groups of communication links, wherein the antenna array comprises N antenna subarrays, one antenna subarray corresponds to a group of communication links, each antenna subarray is connected to the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit via the corresponding communication link, each antenna subarray comprises multiple antenna array elements, and N is an integer greater than 1; wherein the first number is less than the second number, wherein the first number is the number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays used for communicating with the ground system when the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with the ground system, and the second number is the number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays used for communicating with the satellite system when the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with the first satellite system.

[0006] According to a second aspect, a communication system switching method is provided, which is applied to the communication device described in the first aspect. The method includes: when the communication device is connected to a ground system, determining the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system; when it is determined that switching to a first satellite system is required, determining the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system based on the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system; wherein the first number is less than the second number, the first number is the number of antenna array elements included in a third number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the ground system, the second number is the number of antenna array elements included in a fourth number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the first satellite system, the third number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system, and the fourth number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system.

[0007] The technical solution provided by this application may have the following beneficial effects:

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, when a communication device composed of a digital signal processing and baseband processing unit, an antenna array and multiple groups of communication links needs to communicate with a ground system, a first number, i.e., a small number of antenna array elements, can be selected to transmit and receive signals, which not only realizes the MIMO function but also improves the link capacity; when it needs to communicate with a first satellite system, a second number, i.e., a majority of antenna array elements can be selected to form a large combined array to transmit and receive signals, forming high-gain performance, and can realize flexible grouping of antenna array elements, i.e., allocating different numbers of antenna array elements according to different working modes, to realize stable switching between the ground communication system and the satellite communication system.

[0009] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0011] Figure 1a A schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0012] Figure 1b A schematic structural diagram of an antenna array provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0013] Figure 1c Another schematic diagram showing the structure of an antenna array provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown

[0014] Figure 1d A schematic structural diagram of a communication link provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0015] Figure 1e Another structural diagram of a communication link provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0016] Figure 1f Another structural diagram of a communication link provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0017] Figure 1g Another structural diagram of a communication link provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication system switching method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 A process diagram of a communication system switching method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0021] Figure 1a A communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown, wherein the communication device 100 includes a digital signal processing and baseband processing unit 110, an antenna array 120 and multiple groups of communication links 130, wherein the antenna array 120 includes N antenna sub-arrays 121, each antenna sub-array 121 corresponds to a group of communication links 131, each antenna sub-array 121 is connected to the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit 110 via the corresponding communication link 131, each antenna sub-array 120 includes multiple antenna array elements, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0022] The digital signal processing and baseband processing unit 110 primarily performs rate conversion and filtering on received and transmitted digital signals, synthesizes transmitted terrestrial and satellite communication baseband signals, and decodes received terrestrial and satellite communication baseband signals. The antenna array 120, which transmits and receives signals, consists of several antenna sub-arrays.

[0023] In one implementation, Figure 1b As shown, the antenna array includes a signal transmitting antenna array and a signal receiving antenna array, wherein the signal transmitting antenna array and the signal receiving antenna array each include at least one antenna subarray, and each antenna subarray is composed of a plurality of antenna array elements. For example, Figure 1c As shown, each antenna array element 100 is arranged according to a certain spacing and regular distribution. Several antenna array elements are combined to form an antenna sub-array 121, antenna sub-array 122, antenna sub-array 123 and antenna sub-array 124. The number of antenna array elements contained in each antenna sub-array unit can be the same or different. Figure 1c In the embodiment, antenna subarray 121 and antenna subarray 122 each contain 12 antenna elements, while antenna subarray 123 and antenna subarray 124 each contain 24 antenna elements. The entire antenna array 120 is split and combined to form a plurality of antenna subarrays.

[0024] In one implementation, Figure 1d As shown, each group of the communication links 131 includes: a beamforming unit 1311 and an analog-to-digital conversion unit 1312. The antenna subarray 121 is connected to the beamforming unit 1311, and the beamforming unit 1311 is connected to the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit 110 through the analog-to-digital conversion unit 1312. The analog-to-digital conversion unit 1312 is used to convert the antenna signal type, that is, to convert the received signal from a low / medium frequency analog signal to a digital signal, and to convert the transmitted signal from a digital signal to a low / medium frequency analog signal. The beamforming unit 1311 is used to control the signal amplitude and phase of the antenna signal so that the antenna beam shape meets the expectation and the beam points to the target direction.

[0025] In one implementation, Figure 1e As shown, each communication link 131 also includes a frequency conversion unit 1313, wherein the beamforming unit 1311 and the analog-to-digital conversion unit 1312 are respectively connected to the frequency conversion unit 1313. Each antenna subarray corresponds to a set of beamforming units 1311, a set of frequency conversion units 1313, a set of analog-to-digital conversion units 1312, and a set of digital signal processing units 110. Each link group can form a beam and operate independently. To improve the performance of a single beam, multiple beams can also be combined to form a large beam.

[0026] In yet another implementation, Figure 1f As shown, the analog-to-digital conversion unit 1312 includes a frequency conversion unit 13120 .

[0027] In another implementation, Figure 1g As shown, the beamforming unit 1311 includes the frequency conversion unit 13110.

[0028] In each of the above-mentioned implementations, it can be understood that the frequency conversion unit can be parallel to the analog-to-digital conversion unit and the beamforming unit, or can be included in the analog-to-digital conversion unit or the beamforming unit. The frequency conversion unit is used to up-convert the low / medium frequency signal output by the analog-to-digital unit, move the carrier frequency to the target frequency permitted by the air interface; down-convert the received high-frequency signal to a low / medium frequency signal, and send it to the analog-to-digital conversion unit for digital processing.

[0029] Regarding the first number being smaller than the second number, it can be understood that in a ground system, the distance between the communication device and the base station is relatively close, generally 1-10 km or less, and the signal propagation path loss is small. In a satellite communication system, the distance between the communication device and the onboard base station / transponder is about 500-1500 km (low-orbit constellation system), which is 50 times or more than that of the ground system. In a ground-to-ground integrated co-frequency system, its propagation path loss is 10*log10(50)=34 dB or more than that of the ground system. Due to the difference in propagation path loss, the ground system and the satellite communication system have different requirements for the gain performance index of the communication device antenna. The satellite communication system requires the communication device antenna to have a higher gain, while in the ground system, a low-gain communication device antenna can meet the performance requirements. Therefore, the number of antenna array elements used to communicate with the ground system can be smaller than the number of antenna array elements used to communicate with the first satellite system, that is, the first number is smaller than the second number.

[0030] The above content is further illustrated by a specific example. Assume that the antenna array has a total of 1000 elements, the antenna element gain is set to 4dBi, and the saturated transmission power of the beamforming unit is 11dBm. The receiving and transmitting antenna arrays use the same array strategy. Ten antenna subarrays, each containing 10 antenna elements, are composed as Class A subarrays. The antenna gain of Class A subarrays is 4+10*log10(10)=14dBi, and the transmit saturated EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power) is 4+11+10*log10(10)=25dBm; four antenna subarrays, each containing 225 antenna elements, are composed as Class B subarrays. The antenna gain of Class B subarrays is 4+10*log10(225)=27.5dBi, and the transmit EIRP is 4+11+10*log10(225)=38.5dBm.

[0031] In the ground communication working mode, 4 Class A receiving subarray units and 8 Class A transmitting subarray units are selected. Each Class A receiving subarray forms a receiving beam, and every 2 Class A transmitting subarrays form a transmitting beam, forming a 4*4 MIMO architecture to transmit and receive ground signals. At this time, the antenna gain of each receiving beam is 14dBi, and the saturated EIRP of the transmitting beam is 25+10*log10(2)=28dBm. This performance index is higher than the receiving antenna gain of the existing UE (user communication equipment), and the transmitting EIRP is similar. The remaining 6 Class A receiving subarrays and 4 Class B receiving subarrays are combined into a large monitoring beam for monitoring satellite signals. At this time, the antenna gain of the monitoring beam reaches 4+10*log10(6*10+225*4)=33.8dBi. Compared with the 34dBi gain of the large combined array composed of 1000 array elements, the gain loss is only 0.2dB, which has little impact on the monitoring of satellite signals and is also conducive to subsequent satellite-to-ground switching.

[0032] When the communication device is communicating with the first satellite system, four Class B subarrays can be combined to form a large combined array for satellite communication. The remaining ten Class A receiving subarrays can be combined to form a beam for monitoring satellite and ground system signals. The beam gain for satellite communication is 4 + 10 * log 10 (4 * 225) = 33.5 dBi. Compared to the 34 dBi gain of a large combined array consisting of 1000 elements, the gain loss is only 0.5 dB, minimally impacting satellite communication performance. The monitoring beam gain is 4 + 10 * log (10 * 10) = 24 dBi. When used for scanning and monitoring surrounding satellite signals, its beam gain is 10 dB lower than the communication beam gain. This beam performance can be used to monitor and measure the beacon strength of surrounding satellites. When comparing the signal strength with the target satellite, the signal strength acquired by the monitoring beam is first compensated by 10 dB.

[0033] Therefore, during the communication process between the communication device and the ground system or the first satellite system, the number of antenna subarrays can be combined and applied according to different scenarios.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present application, when a communication device composed of a digital signal processing and baseband processing unit, an antenna array and multiple groups of communication links needs to communicate with a ground system, a first number, i.e., a small number of antenna array elements, can be selected to transmit and receive signals, which not only realizes the MIMO function but also improves the link capacity; when it needs to communicate with a first satellite system, a second number, i.e., a majority of antenna array elements can be selected to form a large combined array to transmit and receive signals, forming high-gain performance, and can realize flexible grouping of antenna array elements, i.e., allocating different numbers of antenna array elements according to different working modes, to realize stable switching between the ground communication system and the satellite communication system.

[0035] In one implementation, when the communication device is in an operating mode for communicating with a terrestrial system, a third number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays are used to monitor the signal quality of a satellite system, where the third number is the difference between N and the first number. It will be understood that the satellite system may be multiple satellite systems. When the communication device is in an operating mode for communicating with a terrestrial system, the signal quality of each satellite system is monitored using the third number of antenna array elements. If the signal quality of a monitored satellite system meets a target threshold, the communication device may switch from operating in a mode for communicating with the terrestrial system to operating in a mode for communicating with that satellite system.

[0036] In one implementation, when the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with a first satellite system, a fourth number of the N antenna subarrays is used to monitor the signal quality of a second satellite system and / or a ground system, where the fourth number is the difference between N and the second number. It is understood that when the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with the first satellite system, the signal quality of each of the other satellite systems and the ground system is monitored using the third number of antenna array elements. If the signal quality of a monitored satellite system meets a target threshold, the communication device can switch its operating mode of communicating with the ground system to that satellite system. If the signal quality of the monitored ground system meets the target threshold, the communication device can switch its operating mode of communicating with the first satellite system to that of communicating with the ground system.

[0037] Figure 2 A communication system switching method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0038] S210: When the communication device is connected to a ground system, determine a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system.

[0039] In one implementation, determining the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system includes: the communication device uses Xt antenna subarrays among N antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the ground system, and uses Xr antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the ground system.

[0040] It can be understood that when the communication device initially chooses to connect to the ground system, Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and Xr receiving antenna subarrays can be allocated for ground communication connections, where Xt and Xr can be equal or unequal. Considering that the propagation path loss of the ground system is small, Xt and Xr are less than the first threshold, and the total number of antenna array elements included in the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays is less than the second threshold. The first threshold and the second threshold are not specifically limited in the embodiment of this application and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0041] S220: When it is determined that switching to the first satellite system is required, determine a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system according to the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system.

[0042] The first number is smaller than the second number. The first number is the number of antenna elements included in the third number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the terrestrial system, and the second number is the number of antenna elements included in the fourth number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the first satellite system. The third number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the terrestrial system, and the fourth number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system. Regarding the first number being smaller than the second number, it can be understood that in terrestrial systems, the distance between communication devices and base stations is relatively close, resulting in low signal propagation path loss. In contrast, in satellite communication systems, the distance between communication devices and satellite systems is relatively far, resulting in high signal propagation path loss. Therefore, terrestrial and satellite systems have different requirements for the gain performance of communication device antennas. Satellite communication systems require communication device antennas to have higher gain, while in terrestrial systems, low-gain communication device antennas can meet these performance requirements. Therefore, the number of antenna elements used for communication with the terrestrial system can be smaller than the number of antenna elements used for communication with the first satellite system. It should be noted that, when the number of antenna elements in each antenna subarray is the same, the third number is smaller than the fourth number. When the number of antenna array elements included in each antenna subarray is different, the third number may be smaller than the fourth number, or the third number may be equal to the fourth number, or the third number may be greater than the fourth number, but the number of antenna array elements included in the third number of antenna subarrays is always smaller than the number of antenna array elements included in the fourth number of antenna subarrays.

[0043] In one implementation, determining the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system based on the transmitting antenna subarray and receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system includes: using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system. The number of antenna elements included in the Xt antenna subarrays is less than the number of antenna elements included in the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays, Xt and Xr are both integers greater than 1 and less than N, Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0044] It is understandable that, if it is determined that switching to the first satellite system is necessary, the communication device selects to combine the (N-Xr+Yr) receiving antenna subarrays into a large combined array for receiving the target satellite signal; and combines the (N-Xt+Yt) transmitting antenna subarrays into a large combined array beam for transmitting signals to the target satellite. The number of antenna elements included in the Xt antenna subarrays is less than the number of antenna elements included in the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays, which means that, if switching to the first satellite system is determined to be necessary, the antenna elements included in some or all of the antenna subarrays used for communicating with the ground system can be allocated to the first satellite system, that is, Xt and Xr are both integers greater than 1 and less than N, Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present application, when a communication device is connected to a ground system, a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system are determined; and when it is determined that switching to a first satellite system is required, the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system are determined based on the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system. This achieves dynamic adjustment of the number of antenna array elements allocated to the main communication link and the switching link based on the different performance requirements of the ground communication link and the satellite communication link for the communication device, thereby enabling seamless switching between the satellite-to-ground communication links and ensuring the stability and reliability of the communication links.

[0046] In one implementation, determining the need to switch to a first satellite system includes: monitoring the signal quality of the first satellite system using (N - Xr) antenna subarrays; obtaining a first ratio of the signal quality of the first satellite system to the signal quality of the ground system; and determining to switch to the first satellite system when the first ratio satisfies a preset threshold. It is understood that the communication device may select which communication system to connect to or determine whether a switch is necessary based on factors such as signal quality. After establishing a communication link with the ground system, the communication device may combine the remaining N - Xr antenna subarrays and subsequent hardware links with the digital baseband to form a large combined array to monitor received satellite signals, continuously record the quality of the received signal from the first satellite system, and compare the quality of each received signal from the first satellite system with the quality of the received signal from the ground system to obtain a first ratio. When the first ratio satisfies a preset threshold, a satellite-to-ground handover process is triggered, i.e., switching the communication link from the ground system to the first satellite system. Optionally, the (N - Xr) antenna subarrays may monitor the signal strength of the first satellite system to determine whether a system switch is necessary.

[0047] Below through Figure 3 The various switching processes in the embodiments of the present application are described as follows. Figure 3 As shown in FIG, when the communication system needs to switch the communication link from the ground system to the first satellite system, there are two ways: hard switching and soft switching:

[0048] 1. Hard switch

[0049] In one implementation, using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the multiple antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system includes: disconnecting the communication device from the ground system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, where Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0050] It is understandable that, if it is determined that a handover from the ground system to the first satellite system is required, a hard handover mode can be selected, i.e., disconnecting the communication link with the ground system and then reestablishing a link with the first satellite system. When disconnecting the communication device from the ground system, the occupied Xt transmit antenna subarrays and Xr receive antenna subarrays can be released, i.e., the antenna subarray resources occupied by communication with the ground system are released, and Yt transmit antenna subarrays of the Xt transmit antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmit antenna subarrays for communication with the first satellite system, and Yr receive antenna subarrays of the Xr receive antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receive antenna subarrays for communication with the first satellite system. For example, assume that there are 100 antenna subarrays in total. When communicating with a ground system, 10 of the 100 antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays, and 20 of the 100 antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays. When it is determined that switching to a first satellite system is required, the 10 antenna subarrays and the 20 antenna subarrays are first released. Then, 5 of the 10 transmitting antenna subarrays and the (100-10) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, that is, 95 antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system; and 6 of the 20 released receiving antenna subarrays and the (100-20) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, that is, 86 antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system.

[0051] 2. Soft switching

[0052] In one implementation, using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the multiple antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system includes: using the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system; disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system. The method further comprises: establishing a connection with the ground system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, where Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0053] It can be understood that this implementation involves a soft handoff in which the communication device switches the connection from the ground system to the first satellite system. Specifically, while maintaining the original communication link, the communication device first establishes a link with the first satellite system and then disconnects the original communication link with the ground system. In this implementation, while maintaining communication with the ground system, the communication device coordinates N-Xr receive antenna subarrays and subsequent hardware links with the digital baseband to form a high-gain beam to receive signals from the target satellite. Simultaneously, the communication device coordinates N-Xt transmit antenna subarrays and subsequent hardware links with the digital baseband to form a high-EIRP beam to transmit signals to the target satellite. After establishing a link with the first satellite system, the communication device releases the antenna subarray resources occupied by communications with the ground system. To further enhance satellite communication link performance, some of the released antenna subarray resources are merged into a larger array used for satellite communications. That is, N-Xr+Yr receiving antenna subarrays are merged into a large combined array to receive the target satellite signal, thereby improving the antenna gain of the receiving beam; N-Xt+Yt transmitting antenna subarrays are merged into a large combined array beam to improve the EIRP of the transmitting beam.

[0054] Furthermore, in one implementation, the method further includes: monitoring the signal quality of the second satellite system using (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays, and monitoring the signal quality of the ground system using some or all of the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing. It is understood that after establishing a communication link with the first satellite system, the communication device may combine the remaining (Xr-Yr) receiving antenna subarrays into a single beam to monitor the satellite signal strength or quality of the second satellite system, while simultaneously time division multiplexing the Xr-Yr or some of the Xr-Yr receiving antenna subarrays to monitor the signal strength or quality of the ground system. In this implementation, because the antenna gain of the beam monitoring the signal strength of the surrounding satellite, i.e., the second satellite system, is much smaller than the gain of the main communication beam, the received signal strength will be significantly attenuated compared to the target satellite. Assuming that each receiving antenna subarray contains the same number of antenna elements, the attenuation difference is Att (dB) = 10*log10((N-Xr+Yr) / (Xr-Yr)). If the number of antenna elements in each receiving antenna subarray differs, the attenuation difference is Att (dB) = 10 * log10 (total number of antenna elements in the communication beam / total number of antenna elements in the monitoring beam). The actual recorded signal strength of the surrounding satellites requires compensation for the signal strength of the second satellite system by Att (dB).

[0055] When the communication system needs to switch the connection from the first satellite system to the second satellite system, there are also two methods: hard handover and soft handover:

[0056] 1. Hard switch

[0057] In one implementation, after using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: if it is determined that switching to a second satellite system is required, disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system and releasing The Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are placed in an unoccupied state; Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, where Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0058] It can be understood that in the hard handover mode, the communication device disconnects the communication link with the first satellite system, releasing the antenna subarray resources occupied by the communication with the first satellite system, and combines the N-Xr+Yr receiving antenna subarrays into a large combined array for receiving the second satellite system signal; and combines the N-Xt+Yt transmitting antenna subarrays into a large combined array beam for transmitting signals to the second satellite system.

[0059] 2. Soft switching

[0060] In one implementation, after Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: when it is determined that switching to a second satellite system is required, separating Wt antenna subarrays from the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays and separating Wr antenna subarrays from the (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays; and using the Wt antenna subarrays and the (Xt-Yt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system. antenna subarrays, using the Wr antenna subarrays and the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system; disconnecting the communication device from the second satellite system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays of the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays of the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, where Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

[0061] It is understood that, based on the signal strength of the second satellite system, the communication device separates Wr subarrays from the N-Xr+Yr receiving subarrays of the first satellite system and combines them with the previously idle Xr-Yr antenna subarrays to form a receive beam consisting of Xr-Yr+Wr subarrays for receiving signals from the second satellite system. This improves the receive beam antenna gain and ensures that the communication device can stably and quickly access the second satellite system. Furthermore, the communication device separates Wt subarrays from the N-Xt+Yt transmitting subarrays and combines them with the previously idle Xt-Yt subarrays to form a transmit beam consisting of Xt-Yt+Wt subarrays and related hardware links for transmitting signals to the second satellite system. Once a communication link is established between the communication device and the second satellite system, the antenna subarrays and other resources occupied by communication with the first satellite system are released. The released antenna subarrays are respectively allocated to the communication links established with the second satellite system, so that the receiving beam subarray communicating with the second satellite system includes N-Xr+Yr receiving antenna subarrays, and the transmitting beam subarray includes N-Xt+Yt transmitting antenna subarrays.

[0062] Furthermore, in one implementation, the method further includes: monitoring the signal quality of the first satellite system using the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays, and monitoring the signal quality of the ground system using some or all of the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing. It is understood that after establishing a communication link with the second satellite system, the communication device can combine the (Xr-Yr) receiving antenna subarrays into a single beam to monitor the satellite signal strength or quality of the first satellite system, while simultaneously time-division multiplexing the (Xr-Yr) or some of the (Xr-Yr) receiving antenna subarrays to monitor the signal strength or quality of the ground system.

[0063] When the communication system needs to switch the connection from the first satellite system or the second satellite system to the terrestrial system, there are also two methods: hard switching and soft switching. The embodiment of the present application takes the first satellite system as an example for explanation:

[0064] 1. Hard switch

[0065] In one implementation, after using Yt of the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr of the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: upon determining that switching to the ground system is required, disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; using the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and using the Xr receiving antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system.

[0066] It can be understood that the communication system disconnects the communication link with the first satellite system, releases the antenna subarray resources occupied by the communication with the first satellite system, and uses the Xt transmitting subarrays and Xr receiving subarrays of the antenna array for the ground system communication link.

[0067] 2. Soft switching

[0068] In one implementation, after Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: if it is determined that switching to the ground system is required, separating Zt antenna subarrays from the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays; and using the Zt antenna subarrays. The antenna subarray and the (Xt-Yt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system; the communication device is disconnected from the first satellite system, and the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are released; the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system.

[0069] It is understood that while maintaining communication with the first satellite system, the communication device uses the remaining Xr-Yr receive antenna subarrays to form one or more beams to receive downlink signals from the base station. Simultaneously, Zt antenna subarrays are separated from the original N-Xt+Yt transmit antenna subarrays and combined with the previously idle Xt-Yt antenna subarrays to form one or more beams to transmit uplink signals to the base station. After establishing a communication link with the ground system, the communication device releases resources such as the antenna subarrays occupied by communication with the first satellite system. Based on ground communication requirements, the antenna subarray allocation is adjusted so that transmission consists of Xt transmit subarrays and reception consists of Xr receive subarrays.

[0070] Furthermore, in one implementation, the method further includes: monitoring the signal quality of the first satellite system using (N-Xr) antenna subarrays, and monitoring the signal quality of the second satellite system using some or all of the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing. It is understood that after establishing a communication link with the ground system, the communication device can combine the (N-Xr) receiving antenna subarrays into a single beam to monitor the signal strength or quality of the first satellite system, while simultaneously time division multiplexing the (N-Xr) or some of the (N-Xr) receiving antenna subarrays to monitor the signal strength or quality of the second satellite system.

[0071] In one implementation, the ground system includes a first cell system and a second cell system; the method further includes: the communication device uses Xt antenna subarrays among N antenna subarrays as transmit antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first cell system, and uses Xr antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receive antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first cell system; and when it is determined that switching to a second cell system is required, uses the Xt transmit antenna subarrays as transmit antenna subarrays for communicating with the second cell system, and uses the Xr receive antenna subarrays as receive antenna subarrays for communicating with the second cell system. It is understood that when the communication device needs to switch between cells in the ground system, the allocation status and function of each antenna subarray on the antenna array plane remain unchanged, that is, when switching from the first cell to the second cell, the number of transmit antenna subarrays and the number of receive antenna subarrays remain unchanged.

[0072] In each of the above-mentioned implementation methods, the communication equipment can stably establish a communication link with the ground system or the satellite system, and can reliably realize stable and seamless switching of satellite-to-ground, inter-satellite, and ground-to-satellite communication links. Among them, the parameter values ​​such as Xr, Yr, Wr, Xt, Yt, Wt, and Zt can remain unchanged or change with the switching of the communication link status.

[0073] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0074] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general-purpose hardware platform, or of course, by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0075] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims. These implementation methods are all within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Digital signal processing and baseband processing unit, antenna array and multiple communication links, among which, The antenna array comprises N antenna subarrays, one antenna subarray corresponds to a group of communication links, each antenna subarray is connected to the digital signal processing and baseband processing unit through the corresponding communication link, each antenna subarray comprises a plurality of antenna array elements, and N is an integer greater than 1; The first number is smaller than the second number, wherein the first number is the number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays used for communicating with the ground system when the communication device is in a working mode of communicating with the ground system, and the second number is the number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays used for communicating with the satellite system when the communication device is in a working mode of communicating with the first satellite system.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with a ground system, a third number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays are used to monitor the signal quality of the satellite system, wherein the third number is a difference between N and the first number.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that When the communication device is in an operating mode of communicating with a first satellite system, a fourth number of antenna array elements in the N antenna subarrays are used to monitor the signal quality of a second satellite system and / or a ground system, wherein the fourth number is a difference between N and the second number.

4. A communication system switching method, characterized in that: include: When the communication device is connected to a ground system, determining a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system; In a case where it is determined that a switch to the first satellite system is required, determining a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system according to the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system; Among them, the first number is smaller than the second number, the first number is the number of antenna array elements included in the third number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the ground system, the second number is the number of antenna array elements included in the fourth number of antenna subarrays corresponding to the first satellite system, the third number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system; the fourth number is the number of antenna subarrays included in the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining of a transmitting antenna subarray and a receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the ground system includes: The communication device uses Xt antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the ground system, and uses Xr antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the ground system.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining, according to the transmitting antenna subarray and the receiving antenna subarray corresponding to the first satellite system, includes: Using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system; Among them, the number of antenna array elements included in the Xt antenna subarrays is less than the number of antenna array elements included in the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays, Xt and Xr are both integers greater than 1 and less than N, Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method of using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the multiple antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system includes: Disconnecting the communication device from the ground system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, wherein Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method of using (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays among the multiple antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first satellite system, and using (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first satellite system includes: Using the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system; Disconnecting the communication device from the ground system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, wherein Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: After using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: If it is determined that a switch to the second satellite system is required, disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, wherein Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

10. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: After using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: When it is determined that switching to the second satellite system is required, Wt antenna subarrays are separated from the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays, and Wr antenna subarrays are separated from the (N-Xr+Yr) antenna subarrays; Using the Wt antenna subarrays and the (Xt-Yt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, and using the Wr antenna subarrays and the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system; Disconnecting the communication device from the second satellite system, and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, and Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second satellite system, wherein Yt is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to Xt, and Yr is an integer greater than 0 and less than Xr.

11. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: After using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: If it is determined that a switch to the ground system is required, disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system, and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; The Xt transmitting antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system.

12. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: After using Yt transmitting antenna subarrays among the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the (N-Xt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, and using Yr receiving antenna subarrays among the Xr receiving antenna subarrays and the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the first satellite system, the method further includes: When it is determined that switching to the ground system is required, Zt antenna subarrays are separated from the (N-Xt+Yt) antenna subarrays; Using the Zt antenna subarrays and the (Xt-Yt) antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and using the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system; Disconnecting the communication device from the first satellite system, and releasing the occupied Xt transmitting antenna subarrays and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays; The Xt transmitting antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system, and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the ground system.

13. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Determining the need to switch to the first satellite system includes: Monitoring the signal quality of the first satellite system through (N-Xr) antenna subarrays; Acquire a first ratio of a signal quality of the first satellite system to a signal quality of the ground system; When the first ratio meets a preset threshold, it is determined to switch to the first satellite system.

14. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The signal quality of the second satellite system is monitored through (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays, and the signal quality of the ground system is monitored by using part or all of the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The signal quality of the first satellite system is monitored through (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays, and the signal quality of the ground system is monitored by using part or all of the (Xr-Yr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The signal quality of the first satellite system is monitored through (N-Xr) antenna subarrays, and the signal quality of the second satellite system is monitored by using part or all of the (N-Xr) antenna subarrays through time division multiplexing.

17. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The ground system includes a first cell system and a second cell system; the method further includes: The communication device uses Xt antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as transmitting antenna subarrays to transmit signals to the first cell system, and uses Xr antenna subarrays among the N antenna subarrays as receiving antenna subarrays to receive signals transmitted by the first cell system; When it is determined that switching to the second cell system is required, the Xt transmitting antenna subarrays are used as transmitting antenna subarrays for communicating with the second cell system, and the Xr receiving antenna subarrays are used as receiving antenna subarrays for communicating with the second cell system.

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