Antenna system and antenna system control method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses an antenna system and an antenna system control method and device, and relates to the field of communication. The antenna system comprises a control module, a first switch group, at least three antenna array surfaces, a transmitter, a receiver and a second switch group, the second antenna array plane is located at the upper end of the first antenna array plane, and the third antenna array plane is located at the lower end of the first antenna array plane; the first switch group is used for controlling opening or closing of any one antenna array plane in the at least three antenna array planes; the second switch group is used for controlling any one antenna array plane in the at least three antenna array planes to be connected with the transmitter or the receiver; the control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, and the working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode or a radar mode. By adopting the antenna system, air-ground communication and radar detection functions can be realized, and two different working modes can be switched.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an antenna system, an antenna system control method and a device. Background Art

[0002] UAV is the abbreviation of unmanned aircraft, which is an unmanned aircraft that uses radio equipment and self-contained program control devices. UAVs include unmanned helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, multi-rotor aircraft, etc. As the technology of UAVs with miniaturization, low cost, and intelligence gradually matures, the application of consumer UAVs has exploded, and the number of industrial application UAVs has also continued to grow.

[0003] 5G cellular network is the most widely used wide-area mobile communication system, which can meet the communication needs of ground and air drones. In order to solve the bottleneck of limited flight and control distance of traditional drones, 5G cellular network can replace the self-built communication link of drones to realize remote control of drones. The widespread use of drones in various industries will become a future development trend.

[0004] However, as the application scenarios of drones become more and more diverse, while bringing convenience, they have also caused frequent incidents of "illegal flying", seriously endangering public safety and personal privacy.

[0005] How to ensure both drone communication and radar detection at the same time is an issue worthy of attention. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides an antenna system, an antenna system control method and a device for realizing radar detection of targets such as drones while ensuring low-altitude drone communication.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides an antenna system, which includes a control module, a first switch group, at least three antenna arrays, a transmitter, a receiver, and a second switch group; the at least three antenna arrays include a first antenna array, a second antenna array and a third antenna array; the normal direction of the first antenna array is parallel to the horizontal direction, the angle between the normal direction of the second antenna array and the horizontal direction is a first angle, and the angle between the normal direction of the third antenna array and the horizontal direction is a second angle; the second antenna array is located at the upper end of the first antenna array, and the third antenna array is located at the lower end of the first antenna array; the first switch group is used to control the opening or closing of any one of the at least three antenna arrays; the second switch group is used to control any one of the at least three antenna arrays to be connected to the transmitter or the receiver; the control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, and the working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode or a radar mode. The above-mentioned antenna system can realize air-to-ground communication and radar detection functions, can switch between two different working modes, and can perform radar detection on targets such as drones while ensuring low-altitude drone communication.

[0008] In a possible design, the first angle and the second angle are both acute angles.

[0009] In one possible design, the antenna system also includes a phase shifter group; the phase shifter group is used to control the beam direction corresponding to any one of the at least three antenna arrays; the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, and the coverage modes of the antenna system are ground mode and air mode.

[0010] In a possible design, the working mode of the antenna system is a radar mode; when the control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, the control module controls the second antenna array and the third antenna array to be turned on, and the first antenna array to be turned off, through the first switch group; the control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the transmitter, and the third antenna array to be connected to the receiver, through the second switch group, or the control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the receiver, and the third antenna array to be connected to the transmitter through the second switch group. The above design can realize the selection of different antenna arrays for the transmitting and receiving antenna arrays, and can ensure the isolation between the transmitting and receiving antenna arrays, and reduce the interference between the transmitting and receiving signals.

[0011] In one possible design, the operating mode of the antenna system is a communication mode; when the control module controls the operating mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, the control module controls the second antenna array surface and the third antenna array surface to be turned on, and the first antenna array surface to be turned off, through the first switch group; the control module controls the second antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter, and the third antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter, through the second switch group, or the control module controls the second antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver, and the third antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group.

[0012] In a possible design, the phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array face and a phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array face; the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode; when the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, the control module controls the beam corresponding to the second antenna array face to be an air-to-air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array face, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third antenna array face to be an air-to-air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array face. The above design can be used to switch different antenna array faces in time division, and with the beam weight configuration of the phase shifter, the vertical coverage angle range is expanded, the vertical coverage blind spot is eliminated, especially the coverage blind spot for the overhead airspace, and the communication coverage of a large vertical angle range between air and ground is achieved.

[0013] In one possible design, the first antenna array surface includes a first sub-antenna array surface, a second sub-antenna array surface and a third sub-antenna array surface, wherein the first sub-antenna array surface, the second sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface do not overlap with each other, the first sub-antenna array surface is located at the upper end of the second sub-antenna array surface, and the third sub-antenna array surface is located at the lower end of the second sub-antenna array surface; the first switch group is also used to control the opening or closing of any one of the first sub-antenna array surface, the second sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface.

[0014] In one possible design, the operating mode of the antenna system is a radar mode; when the control module controls the operating mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, the control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface to be turned on, and the second sub-antenna array surface to be turned off through the first switch group; the control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter, and the third sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group, or the control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver, and the third sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter through the second switch group.

[0015] By adopting the above design, different antenna array surfaces can be selected for the transmitting and receiving antenna array surfaces, and the isolation between the transmitting and receiving antenna array surfaces can be ensured, thereby reducing the interference between the transmitting and receiving signals.

[0016] In one possible design, the phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface and a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode; when the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, the control module controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface.

[0017] In one possible design, the phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface and a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode; when the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, the control module controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface.

[0018] In one possible design, the operating mode of the antenna system is a communication mode; when the control module controls the operating mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, the control module controls the second antenna array surface and the third antenna array surface to be turned off, and the first antenna array surface to be turned on through the first switch group; the control module controls the first antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter, or the first antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group.

[0019] In one possible design, the phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode; when the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, the control module controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface.

[0020] In one possible design, the phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode; when the control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, the control module controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface.

[0021] In a second aspect, the present application provides an antenna system control method, including: obtaining configuration information, the configuration information indicating the working modes corresponding to N sub-time units in a first time unit; setting the working mode of the antenna system to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit being any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system being a communication mode or a radar mode. Using the above method, the control module can switch to different working modes according to the configuration information to realize air-to-ground communication and radar detection functions.

[0022] In one possible design, the configuration information also indicates the coverage modes corresponding to the N sub-time units respectively, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode or a ground mode; at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the coverage mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit.

[0023] In one possible design, the first time unit is a time slot and the first sub-time unit is a symbol, or the first time unit is a subframe and the first sub-time unit is a time slot.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present application provides an antenna system control device, comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit; the transceiver unit is used to obtain configuration information, the configuration information indicating the working modes corresponding to N sub-time units within a first time unit; the processing unit is used to set the working mode of the antenna system to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit is any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode or a radar mode.

[0025] In one possible design, the configuration information also indicates the coverage modes corresponding to the N sub-time units respectively, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode or a ground mode; the processing unit is also used to set the coverage mode of the antenna system to the coverage mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit.

[0026] In one possible design, the first time unit is a time slot and the first sub-time unit is a symbol, or the first time unit is a subframe and the first sub-time unit is a time slot.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to a terminal device or a network device, and includes a unit for executing any method described in the second aspect.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising at least one processing element and at least one storage element, wherein the at least one storage element is used to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is used to read and execute the programs and data stored in the storage element, so that any method described in the above second aspect of the present application is implemented.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the methods described in the second aspect.

[0030] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: an interface circuit; the interface circuit is used to provide input and / or output of programs or instructions to at least one processor; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions so that the communication device can implement any method described in any one of the second aspects above.

[0031] In a possible manner, the communication device includes the at least one processor.

[0032] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium storing a software program, which, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement any of the methods described in the second aspect.

[0033] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the methods described in the second aspect.

[0034] In a tenth aspect, a chip system is provided, comprising at least one chip and a memory, wherein the at least one chip is used to read and execute a program stored in the memory to implement any of the methods described in the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the bending angle of the antenna array surface in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main beam direction of the space beam in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna system in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of directions of the first antenna array surface 300, the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 in the embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the shape of the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 in the embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the first antenna array surface 300, the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 in the embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of an antenna system including a phase shifter group 900 and an antenna system including a phase shifter group 900 in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram showing that the working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application is a radar mode;

[0043] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the positional relationship among the first sub-antenna array face, the second sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face in the embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Fig.10 Another schematic diagram of the working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application being the radar mode;

[0045] Fig.11 This is another schematic diagram of the working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application being the radar mode;

[0046] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of a working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application being a communication mode;

[0047] Fig.13 Another schematic diagram of the working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application being the communication mode;

[0048] Fig.14 This is another schematic diagram of the working mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application being the communication mode;

[0049] Fig.15 Schematic diagram of the working mode and coverage mode of the antenna system in the embodiment of the present application.

[0050] Fig.16 This is a flow chart summarizing the antenna system control method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Fig.17 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Fig.18 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), or applied to future communication systems or other similar communication systems.

[0054] The following is a brief description of the technical concepts involved in this application:

[0055] 1. Beamforming: A technology that achieves directional signal transmission or reception by adjusting the amplitude and phase of each transmitting or receiving channel.

[0056] 2. Radar: Radar is an electronic device that uses electromagnetic waves to detect targets. Radar emits electromagnetic waves to illuminate the target and receives its echo, thereby obtaining information such as the distance from the target to the electromagnetic wave emission point, the rate of change of distance (radial velocity), direction, altitude, etc.

[0057] 3. RF phase shifter, referred to as phase shifter, is a microwave network module that provides controllable phase difference for RF signals and is commonly used in phased array antennas.

[0058] 4. The bending angle of the antenna array: refers to the angle between the normal direction perpendicular to the antenna array and the horizontal direction, such as Figure 1 shown.

[0059] 5. Ground beam: The main beam direction of the ground beam is aimed at the ground terminal equipment.

[0060] 6. Aerial beam: The main beam direction of the aerial beam is aimed at the aerial terminal equipment. When the main beam direction of the aerial beam is in the area of ​​0 to 45 degrees upward to the sky, the aerial beam can also be called the aerial far area beam. When the main beam direction of the aerial beam is in the area of ​​45 to 90 degrees upward to the sky, the aerial beam can also be called the aerial near head area beam. Figure 2 shown.

[0061] Existing 5G communication base stations generally use two-dimensional plate-shaped directional antennas, which are difficult to meet coverage requirements. Although the mechanical tilt angle can be adjusted during installation, there may generally be holes in air coverage or insufficient ground coverage, making it difficult to meet the coverage requirements of the entire airspace. In addition, in order to achieve air communication and radar coverage, it is currently necessary to deploy communication equipment and radar equipment at the same time, that is, two sets of equipment need to be deployed, resulting in high deployment costs. The present application provides an antenna system for realizing radar detection of targets such as drones while ensuring low-altitude drone communications.

[0062] like Figure 3 As shown, the antenna system includes: a control module 100 , a first switch group 200 , at least three antenna arrays, a transmitter 600 , a receiver 700 , and a second switch group 800 .

[0063] The at least three antenna array faces include a first antenna array face 300, a second antenna array face 400, and a third antenna array face 500. The normal direction of the first antenna array face 300 is parallel to the horizontal direction. The angle between the normal direction of the second antenna array face 400 and the horizontal direction is a first angle, and the angle between the normal direction of the third antenna array face 500 and the horizontal direction is a second angle. Figure 4 As shown, the first angle and the second angle are independent of each other, and the first angle and the second angle may both be acute angles, wherein the first angle may be the same as or different from the second angle. It can also be described as follows: the bending angle of the first antenna array face 300 is 0 degrees, the bending angle of the second antenna array face 400 is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees, and the bending angle of the third antenna array face 500 is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees.

[0064] The second antenna array surface 400 is located at the upper end of the first antenna array surface 300 , and the third antenna array surface 500 is located at the lower end of the first antenna array surface 300 .

[0065] Exemplarily, the first antenna array 300 can be used to achieve ground coverage and air coverage, wherein the ground coverage mainly achieves coverage of ground terminal equipment, and the air coverage mainly achieves coverage of distant air areas, specifically including an area with an upward tilt of 0 to 45 degrees to the air. The second antenna array 400 and the third antenna array 500 can be used to achieve air coverage, wherein the air coverage mainly achieves coverage of the area near the head of the air, specifically including an area with an upward tilt of 45 to 90 degrees to the air.

[0066] The present application does not limit the specific shapes of the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500. The shapes of the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 may be curved or non-curved, such as Figure 5 In addition, Figure 6 As shown, there may be a gap between the second antenna array surface 400 and the first antenna array surface 300. And / or, there may be a gap between the third antenna array surface 500 and the first antenna array surface 300, which is not limited in the present application.

[0067] It is understandable that the antenna system may further include other antenna array surfaces, which may be located at the upper end of the second antenna array surface 400 or the lower end of the third antenna array surface 500. The normal direction of the other antenna array surfaces may be parallel to the horizontal direction or have an angle with it, and the present application does not limit this.

[0068] The first switch group 200 is used to control the opening or closing of any one of the at least three antenna arrays. It should be noted that the first switch group 200 may include multiple switches, and the present application does not limit the specific composition of the first switch group 200. The connection relationship of each switch in the present application is only an example and is not a limitation of the present application.

[0069] The second switch group 800 is used to control any one of the at least three antenna arrays to be connected to the transmitter 600 or the receiver 700. The second switch group 800 may include a plurality of switches, and the present application does not limit the specific structure of the second switch group 800.

[0070] The control module 100 controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group 200 and the second switch group 800. The working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode or a radar mode.

[0071] In a possible implementation, the antenna system may further include a phase shifter group 900. It should be noted that the phase shifter group 900 is an optional module. The phase shifter group includes a plurality of phase shifters, and different phase shifters may correspond to different antenna arrays. Exemplarily, the phase shifter group 900 is used to control the beam direction corresponding to any one of the at least three antenna arrays, that is, different phase shifters in the phase shifter group 900 are used to control the beam direction corresponding to the corresponding antenna array.

[0072] The control module 100 controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group 900. The coverage modes of the antenna system are a ground mode and an air mode.

[0073] It can be understood that when the antenna system does not include the phase shifter group 900, the antenna system is a digital beam forming (DBF) structure, such as Figure 7 As shown, when the antenna system includes a phase shifter group 900, the antenna system is a hybrid beam forming (HBF) structure, such as Figure 3 As shown. If there is no phase shifter group, the antenna system can also adjust the beam direction. By increasing the number of RF channels, the effect similar to adjusting the beam direction through the phase shifter group can be achieved. By introducing the phase shifter group to obtain the HBF structure, the number of RF channels can be reduced. The DBF structure is relatively more flexible, but the number of RF channels is greater and the cost will be higher.

[0074] The following describes the working mode and coverage mode of the antenna system:

[0075] Case 1: The antenna system operates in radar mode.

[0076] The radar system generally requires the system to work in a full-duplex state of simultaneous transmission and reception, so there are high requirements for the isolation between the transmitting and receiving antenna arrays, and generally require that there be a sufficient distance between the transmitting and receiving antenna arrays. The following scheme 1 or scheme 2 can be adopted to realize the transmission and reception antenna arrays to select different antenna arrays through the control module 100, the first switch group 200 and the second switch group 800, and can ensure the isolation between the transmitting and receiving antenna arrays, and reduce the interference between the transmitting and receiving signals.

[0077] Solution 1: The control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be turned on and the first antenna array surface 300 to be turned off through the first switch group 200. For example, Figure 8 As shown, switches a and b in the first switch group 200 are set upward, switch e is disconnected, and switches c and d are set downward. The second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are turned on, and the first antenna array surface 300 is turned off. Therefore, the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are in working state, and the first antenna array surface 300 is in non-working state.

[0078] The control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 to be connected to the transmitter 600 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be connected to the receiver 700 through the second switch group 800, or the control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 to be connected to the receiver 700 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be connected to the transmitter 600 through the second switch group 800. That is, one of the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 is used as a radar receiving array surface, and the other antenna array surface is used as a radar transmitting array surface. The control module 100 can configure the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 to realize a full-duplex radar mode, that is, the antenna system realizes a radar detection function. In addition, since there is a sufficient distance between the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500, a high degree of isolation can be ensured.

[0079] For example, Figure 8 As shown, the control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 to be connected to the receiver 700 through the second switch group 800, so that the second antenna array surface 400 is a radar receiving array surface, and the control module 100 controls the third antenna array surface 500 to be connected to the transmitter 600 through the second switch group 800, so that the second antenna array surface 400 is a radar transmitting array surface.

[0080] Further, the phase shifter group 900 may include a phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array surface 400 and a phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array surface 500 .

[0081] The control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the second antenna array surface 400 to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array surface 400. The control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the third antenna array surface 500 to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array surface 500, so that the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode.

[0082] At the same time, the control module 100 can adjust the beam weights of the phase shifters corresponding to the second antenna array surface 400 and the phase shifters corresponding to the third antenna array surface 500 in the phase shifter group 900. When the adjusted phase shifters make the main beam direction of the air beam in the area 45 degrees to 90 degrees upward to the air, the air mode at this time can be called the air near-head area mode, or the air mode for the area 45 degrees to 90 degrees upward to the air.

[0083] Solution 2: The first antenna array 300 includes a first sub-antenna array, a second sub-antenna array and a third sub-antenna array, wherein the first sub-antenna array, the second sub-antenna array and the third sub-antenna array do not overlap each other, the first sub-antenna array is located at the upper end of the second sub-antenna array, and the third sub-antenna array is located at the lower end of the second sub-antenna array. That is, the first antenna array can be divided into three parts, such as Fig. 9 shown.

[0084] The first switch group is also used to control the opening or closing of any one of the first sub-antenna array face, the second sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face. In order to ensure that there is a sufficient distance between the first sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face, the number of antenna elements included in the second sub-antenna array face is at least greater than 4.

[0085] The control module 100 controls the first sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face to be turned on, and the second sub-antenna array face to be turned off, through the first switch group 200. For example, Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, switches a and b in the first switch group 200 are set downward, switch e is disconnected, and switches c and d are set upward. The second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are turned off, and the second sub-antenna array surface controlled by switch e in the first antenna array surface 300 is turned off. Therefore, the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are in a non-operating state, the first sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface in the first antenna array surface 300 are in an operating state, and the second sub-antenna array surface is in a non-operating state.

[0086] The control module 100 controls the first sub-antenna array face to be connected to the transmitter 600 and the third sub-antenna array face to be connected to the receiver 700 through the second switch group 800, or the control module 100 controls the first sub-antenna array face to be connected to the receiver 700 and the third sub-antenna array face to be connected to the transmitter 600 through the second switch group 800. That is to say, one of the first sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face is used as a radar receiving array face, and the other antenna array face is used as a radar transmitting array face. The control module 100 can configure the first sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face to realize a full-duplex radar mode, that is, the antenna system realizes a radar detection function. In addition, since there is a sufficient spacing between the first sub-antenna array face and the third sub-antenna array face, a high degree of isolation can be ensured.

[0087] Further, the phase shifter group 900 may include a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array face and a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array face.

[0088] The control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface, so that the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode.

[0089] At the same time, the control module 100 can adjust the beam weights of the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface and the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface in the phase shifter group 900. When the adjusted phase shifters make the main beam direction of the air beam in the area of ​​0 to 45 degrees upward to the air, the air mode at this time can be called the air far area mode, or the air mode for the area of ​​0 to 45 degrees upward to the air, such as Fig.10 shown.

[0090] Alternatively, the control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface, so that the coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode, such as Fig.11 shown.

[0091] Case 2: The antenna system works in communication mode

[0092] Solution a: The control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be turned on and the first antenna array surface 300 to be turned off through the first switch group 200. For example, Fig.12 As shown, the switches a and b in the first switch group 200 are positioned upward, the switch e is disconnected, and the switches c and d are positioned downward.

[0093] The control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 to be connected to the transmitter 600 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be connected to the transmitter 700 through the second switch group 800, or the control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 to be connected to the receiver 700 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be connected to the receiver 700 through the second switch group 800. That is to say, the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are simultaneously used as communication receiving array surfaces (receiving uplink information from the terminal device) or communication transmitting array surfaces (sending downlink information to the terminal device). Exemplarily, whether the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 are simultaneously used as communication receiving array surfaces or communication transmitting array surfaces can be determined according to the uplink and downlink subframe ratio.

[0094] At the same time, the control module 100 can adjust the beam weights of the phase shifters corresponding to the second antenna array surface 400 and the phase shifters corresponding to the third antenna array surface 500 in the phase shifter group 900. When the adjusted phase shifters make the main beam direction of the air beam in the area of ​​45 degrees to 90 degrees upward to the air, the air mode at this time can be called the air near head area mode, or, the air mode for the area of ​​45 degrees to 90 degrees upward to the air, such as Fig.12 shown.

[0095] Solution b: The control module 100 controls the second antenna array surface 400 and the third antenna array surface 500 to be turned off and the first antenna array surface 300 to be turned on through the first switch group 200. For example, Fig.13 and Fig.14 As shown, switches a and b in the first switch group 200 are positioned downward, switch e is closed, and switches c and d are positioned upward.

[0096] The control module 100 controls the first antenna array 300 to connect to the transmitter 600, or the first antenna array 300 to connect to the receiver 700 through the second switch group 800. That is, the first antenna array 300 serves as a communication receiving array (receiving uplink information from the terminal device) or a communication transmitting array (sending downlink information to the terminal device). Exemplarily, whether the first antenna array 300 serves as a communication receiving array or a communication transmitting array can be determined according to the uplink and downlink subframe ratio.

[0097] The phase shifter group 900 includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface 300. The control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array surface 300 to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface 300, so that the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode. At the same time, the control module 100 can adjust the beam weight of the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface 300 in the phase shifter group 900. When the adjusted phase shifter makes the main beam direction of the air beam in the area of ​​0 to 45 degrees upward to the air, the air mode at this time can be called an air far area mode, or, an air mode for the area of ​​0 to 45 degrees upward to the air, such as Fig.13 shown.

[0098] Alternatively, the control module 100 controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array face 300 to be a ground beam through a phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array face 300, so that the coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode, such as Fig.14 shown.

[0099] At present, flat antennas are generally used, but the vertical coverage is insufficient and there are coverage holes above the head. Or a complex motor transmission device is required to adjust the coverage range of the antenna array above the head. The above schemes a and b can be used to switch different antenna arrays in time through the control module 100 and the first switch group 200, and cooperate with the beam weight configuration of the phase shifter to expand the vertical coverage angle range, eliminate the vertical coverage blind area, especially the coverage blind area of ​​the airspace above the head, and realize the vertical communication coverage of a large angle range between the air and the ground.

[0100] Based on the above schemes 1, 2, a and b, it can be seen that the above antenna system can be configured into two different working modes, and can also be configured into a variety of different coverage modes, such as Fig.15shown.

[0101] It can be seen that through the design of three antenna arrays, in conjunction with the first switch group for switching the antenna array, the second switch group, the transmitter, the receiver, and the phase shifter for controlling the beam pointing, air-to-ground communication and radar detection functions can be realized. It can switch between two different working modes and multiple different coverage modes, and can also solve the problems of limited vertical coverage and holes in overhead coverage.

[0102] Furthermore, based on the above antenna system, the present application also provides an antenna system control method for controlling the working mode and coverage mode of the above antenna system, such as Fig.16 As shown, the method includes:

[0103] Step 1601: Obtain configuration information, where the configuration information indicates the working modes corresponding to N sub-time units in the first time unit, where N is a positive integer.

[0104] In one possible design, the first time unit is a time slot and the first sub-time unit is a symbol, or the first time unit is a subframe and the first sub-time unit is a time slot.

[0105] Exemplarily, the control module may obtain configuration information, where the configuration information is as shown in Table 1, and configures the working modes corresponding to each time slot in a subframe.

[0106] Table 1

[0107]

[0108] Among them, the coverage mode number 1 indicates that the coverage mode is the ground mode, the coverage mode number 2 indicates that the coverage mode is the distant air area mode, and the coverage mode number 3 indicates that the coverage mode is the near overhead air area mode.

[0109] Step 1602: Set the working mode of the antenna system to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit is any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system is the communication mode or the radar mode.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the configuration information further indicates the coverage modes corresponding to the N sub-time units respectively, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the coverage mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit.

[0111] The coverage mode of the antenna system is an air mode or a ground mode. The air mode also includes an air mode for an area with an upward tilt of 0 to 45 degrees (also referred to as a far-air area mode), and an air mode for an area with an upward tilt of 45 to 90 degrees (also referred to as a near-air overhead area mode), as shown in Table 1.

[0112] For example, in combination with Table 1, at the start position of time slot 1, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the communication mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the ground mode, corresponding to the above scheme b. Fig.14 At the start position of time slot 5, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the communication mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the remote area mode, corresponding to the above scheme b. Fig.13 At the start position of time slot 6, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the communication mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the remote area mode, corresponding to the above scheme a. Fig.12 At the start position of time slot 7, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the radar mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the air distant area mode, corresponding to the above scheme 2 as Fig.11 At the start position of time slot 8, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the radar mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the air distant area mode, corresponding to the above scheme 2 as Fig.10 At the start position of time slot 9, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the radar mode, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the air distant area mode, corresponding to the above scheme 1 as Figure 8 shown.

[0113] By adopting the above method, the control module can switch to different working modes and different coverage modes according to the configuration information to achieve air and ground communication coverage and radar detection coverage.

[0114] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above-mentioned embodiments, the control module includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0115] Fig.17 and Fig.18The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the control module in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments.

[0116] like Fig.17 As shown, the communication device 1700 includes a processing unit 1710 and a transceiver unit 1720 .

[0117] The transceiver unit 1720 is used to obtain configuration information, where the configuration information indicates the working modes corresponding to the N sub-time units in the first time unit;

[0118] Processing unit 1710 is used to set the working mode of the antenna system to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit is any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system is communication mode or radar mode.

[0119] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1710 and the transceiver unit 1720, please refer to Fig.16 The relevant description in the method embodiment shown is directly obtained and will not be repeated here.

[0120] like Fig.18 As shown, the communication device 1800 includes a processor 1810 and an interface circuit 1820. The processor 1810 and the interface circuit 1820 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1820 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1800 may also include a memory 1830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1810 or storing input data required by the processor 1810 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1810 executes instructions.

[0121] When the communication device 1800 is used to implement Fig.16 When the method is shown, the processor 1810 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned processing unit 1710, and the interface circuit 1820 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1720.

[0122] It is understandable that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0123] In the present application, another example of a device is provided, the notification device includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one processor is coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one memory is used to store instructions, when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device executes the method in the above embodiment. Take the communication device including a processor and a memory as an example, Fig.18 As shown, the communication device 1800 includes a processor 1810 and a memory 1830. The processor 1810 and the memory 1830 are coupled, and the memory 1830 stores instructions. When the instructions stored in the memory 1830 are executed by the processor 1810, the communication device 1800 executes the method executed by the network device or terminal in the above embodiment.

[0124] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal as discrete components.

[0125] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape; it may also be an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0126] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0127] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of the present application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0128] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. An antenna system, characterized in that: The antenna system includes a control module, a first switch group, at least three antenna arrays, a transmitter, a receiver, and a second switch group; The at least three antenna array surfaces include a first antenna array surface, a second antenna array surface and a third antenna array surface; a normal direction of the first antenna array surface is parallel to a horizontal direction, an angle between a normal direction of the second antenna array surface and the horizontal direction is a first angle, and an angle between a normal direction of the third antenna array surface and the horizontal direction is a second angle; the second antenna array surface is located at an upper end of the first antenna array surface, and the third antenna array surface is located at a lower end of the first antenna array surface; The first switch group is used to control the opening or closing of any one of the at least three antenna array surfaces; The second switch group is used to control any one of the at least three antenna array surfaces to be connected to the transmitter or the receiver; The control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, and the working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode or a radar mode.

2. The antenna system according to claim 1, characterized in that The first angle and the second angle are both acute angles.

3. The antenna system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The antenna system also includes a phase shifter group; The phase shifter group is used to control the beam direction corresponding to any one of the at least three antenna array planes; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, and the coverage modes of the antenna system are a ground mode and an air mode.

4. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The working mode of the antenna system is radar mode; The control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, including: The control module controls the second antenna array surface and the third antenna array surface to be turned on, and the first antenna array surface to be turned off, through the first switch group; The control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the transmitter and the third antenna array to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group, or the control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the receiver and the third antenna array to be connected to the transmitter through the second switch group.

5. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode; The control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, including: The control module controls the second antenna array surface and the third antenna array surface to be turned on, and the first antenna array surface to be turned off, through the first switch group; The control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the transmitter and the third antenna array to be connected to the transmitter through the second switch group, or the control module controls the second antenna array to be connected to the receiver and the third antenna array to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group.

6. The antenna system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array surface and a phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array surface; The coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, including: The control module controls the beam corresponding to the second antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the second antenna array surface, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third antenna array surface.

7. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first antenna array surface includes a first sub-antenna array surface, a second sub-antenna array surface and a third sub-antenna array surface, wherein the first sub-antenna array surface, the second sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface do not overlap each other, the first sub-antenna array surface is located at the upper end of the second sub-antenna array surface, and the third sub-antenna array surface is located at the lower end of the second sub-antenna array surface; The first switch group is also used to control the opening or closing of any one of the first sub-antenna array surface, the second sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface.

8. The antenna system according to claim 7, characterized in that The working mode of the antenna system is radar mode; The control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, including: The control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface and the third sub-antenna array surface to be turned on, and the second sub-antenna array surface to be turned off, through the first switch group; The control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter and the third sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group, or the control module controls the first sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver and the third sub-antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter through the second switch group.

9. The antenna system according to claim 8, characterized in that The phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface and a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface; The coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, including: The control module controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface.

10. The antenna system according to claim 8, characterized in that The phase shifter group includes a phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface and a phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface; The coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, including: The control module controls the beam corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first sub-antenna array surface, and the control module controls the beam corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the third sub-antenna array surface.

11. The antenna system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The working mode of the antenna system is a communication mode; The control module controls the working mode of the antenna system through the first switch group and the second switch group, including: The control module controls the second antenna array surface and the third antenna array surface to be turned off, and the first antenna array surface to be turned on, through the first switch group; The control module controls the first antenna array surface to be connected to the transmitter, or the first antenna array surface to be connected to the receiver through the second switch group.

12. The antenna system according to claim 11, characterized in that The phase shifter group includes phase shifters corresponding to the first antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, including: The control module controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array surface to be an air beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface.

13. The antenna system according to claim 11, characterized in that The phase shifter group includes phase shifters corresponding to the first antenna array surface; the coverage mode of the antenna system is a ground mode; The control module controls the coverage mode of the antenna system through the phase shifter group, including: The control module controls the beam corresponding to the first antenna array surface to be a ground beam through the phase shifter corresponding to the first antenna array surface.

14. An antenna system control method, characterized in that: include: Acquire configuration information, where the configuration information indicates the working modes respectively corresponding to the N sub-time units within the first time unit; At the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the working mode of the antenna system is set to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit is any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system is the communication mode or the radar mode.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The configuration information further indicates the coverage modes corresponding to the N sub-time units respectively, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode or a ground-to-ground mode; The method further comprises: At the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the coverage mode of the antenna system is set to the coverage mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first time unit is a time slot and the first sub-time unit is a symbol, or the first time unit is a subframe and the first sub-time unit is a time slot.

17. An antenna system control device, characterized in that: Including transceiver unit and processing unit: The transceiver unit is used to obtain configuration information, where the configuration information indicates the working modes corresponding to the N sub-time units in the first time unit respectively; The processing unit is used to set the working mode of the antenna system to the working mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit, the first sub-time unit is any one of the N sub-time units, and the working mode of the antenna system is the communication mode or the radar mode.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The configuration information further indicates the coverage modes corresponding to the N sub-time units respectively, and the coverage mode of the antenna system is an air-to-air mode or a ground-to-ground mode; The processing unit is further configured to set the coverage mode of the antenna system to the coverage mode corresponding to the first sub-time unit at the starting position of the first sub-time unit.

19. The device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The first time unit is a time slot and the first sub-time unit is a symbol, or the first time unit is a subframe and the first sub-time unit is a time slot.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 16.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: One or more processors and one or more memories; wherein the one or more memories store one or more programs, and when the programs are executed by the one or more processors, the device executes the method as described in any one of claims 14-16.

22. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system includes at least one chip and a memory, and the at least one chip is used to read and execute the program stored in the memory to implement the method as described in any one of claims 14-16.

23. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The readable storage medium includes a program, and when the program is executed on a device, the device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 16.

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