Communication method, terminal device and antenna assembly

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method, terminal equipment and an antenna assembly. The communication method is used for communication between first equipment and second equipment. The communication method comprises the following steps: acquiring first communication quality, wherein the first communication quality is determined according to signal quality when a first device communicates with a second device through an omnidirectional antenna; acquiring second communication quality, wherein the second communication quality is determined according to signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the directional antenna; determining a target antenna in the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna comprises at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna; and establishing communication between the first device and the second device through the target antenna. The communication quality between devices can be improved or the cost of the devices can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In a wireless communication system, the antenna system interfaces with the external communication medium. Different devices, such as a mobile platform and a remote controller that controls the mobile platform, communicate through antennas. Existing communication methods between devices have technical problems such as poor communication quality or high costs. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method, a terminal device and an antenna assembly, which aim to solve technical problems such as poor communication quality or high cost in communication methods between devices.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method for communication between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device and the second device communicate through a first antenna and / or a second antenna, and a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device through the first antenna is less than a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device through the second antenna, and the communication method includes:

[0005] Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the first antenna;

[0006] Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the second antenna;

[0007] determining a target antenna among the first antenna and the second antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna;

[0008] Communication between the first device and the second device is established through the target antenna.

[0009] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method for communication between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device and the second device communicate through an omnidirectional antenna and / or a directional antenna, and a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device through the omnidirectional antenna is less than a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device through the directional antenna, and the communication method includes:

[0010] Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the omnidirectional antenna;

[0011] Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the directional antenna;

[0012] determining a target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna;

[0013] Communication between the first device and the second device is established through the target antenna.

[0014] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, including:

[0015] one or more omnidirectional antennas;

[0016] one or more directional antennas, wherein a maximum communication distance for the terminal device to communicate with a target device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than a maximum communication distance for the terminal device to communicate with the target device via the directional antenna; and

[0017] One or more processors, working individually or collectively, are used for the steps of the aforementioned communication method.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, including:

[0019] Circuit boards;

[0020] a directional antenna, the directional antenna being connected to the circuit board and being substantially perpendicular to the circuit board; and

[0021] A signal reflecting plate, wherein the signal reflecting plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

[0022] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an antenna assembly, including:

[0023] Circuit boards;

[0024] a directional antenna, the directional antenna being connected to the circuit board and being substantially perpendicular to the circuit board; and

[0025] A signal reflecting plate, wherein the signal reflecting plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

[0026] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, a terminal device and an antenna assembly, wherein the communication method is used for communication between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device and the second device communicate via an omnidirectional antenna and / or a directional antenna, and the maximum communication distance of the first device communicating with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than the maximum communication distance of the first device communicating with the second device via the directional antenna; the communication method comprises: obtaining a first communication quality, wherein the first communication quality is determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna; obtaining a second communication quality, wherein the second communication quality is determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device via the directional antenna; determining a target antenna from the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna; and establishing communication between the first device and the second device via the target antenna. The communication quality between the devices can be improved or the cost of the devices can be reduced.

[0027] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory and cannot limit the disclosure of the embodiments of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of communication between a remote control device and an unmanned aerial vehicle in some embodiments of the present application;

[0031] Figure 3a-Figure 3b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a remote control device in some embodiments of the present application;

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna assembly in some embodiments of the present application;

[0033] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a directional antenna in some embodiments of the present application;

[0034] Figure 6a-6b is an exploded schematic diagram of a directional antenna in some embodiments;

[0035] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a communication method in some implementation modes of the present application;

[0036] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the connection between a directional antenna and an omnidirectional antenna in some embodiments of the present application;

[0037] Figure 9a is a schematic diagram of the principle of a 3-beam wave steering network in some implementation modes of the present application;

[0038] Figure 9b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 3-beam wave steering network in some implementation modes of the present application;

[0039] Fig.9c yes Figure 9b Scanning diagram of the horizontally polarized beam of the 3-beam beam steering network;

[0040] Figure 9d yes Figure 9b Scanning diagram of the vertically polarized beam of the 3-beam beam steering network;

[0041] Fig.10 yes Figure 8 Directivity diagram of the 2.4GHz antenna;

[0042] Fig.11a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 4-beam wave steering network in some implementation modes of the present application;

[0043] Fig.11b yes Fig.11a Scanning diagram of the horizontally polarized beam of the 4-beam beam steering network;

[0044] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of a remote control device outputting prompt information in some implementation modes of the present application;

[0045] Fig.13 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Fig.14 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Fig.15 It is a schematic block diagram of an antenna assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0049] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are only examples and do not necessarily include all the contents and operations / steps, nor must they be executed in the order described. For example, some operations / steps may also be decomposed, combined or partially merged, so the actual execution order may change according to actual conditions.

[0050] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, some embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0051] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 It is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0052] The communication method is used for communication between a first device and a second device. Specifically, it is used for point-to-point communication between the first device and the second device, where the first device and the second device are each other's communication local end and communication peer end.

[0053] Optionally, the communication method may be applied in the first device, or may be applied in the second device, or may be performed jointly by the first device and the second device.

[0054] In some embodiments, the first device and the second device are selected from at least one of the following: a terminal device, a mobile platform, and the first device and the second device may be of the same or different types. The terminal device may include at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant, a wearable device, a remote control device, etc.; the mobile platform may include at least one of an unmanned aerial vehicle, a gimbal, a gimbal vehicle, an unmanned vehicle, an unmanned ship, etc. Further, the aircraft may be a rotary-wing drone, such as a quad-rotor drone, a hexacopter drone, an octo-rotor drone, or a fixed-wing drone.

[0055] In some embodiments, one of the first device and the second device is a terminal device, and the other is a target device controlled by the terminal device. For ease of description, the present application embodiment mainly takes the first device as a remote control device and the second device as an unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by the remote control device as an example for description.

[0056] For example, data is transmitted between the remote control device and the UAV via a wireless channel.

[0057] For example, Figure 2 As shown, the wireless channel from the UAV to the remote control device is called a downlink channel, which is used to transmit data collected by the UAV, such as videos, pictures, sensor data, and telemetry data such as the status information (OSD) of the UAV.

[0058] For example, Figure 2 As shown, the wireless channel from the remote control device to the unmanned aerial vehicle is called an uplink channel, which is used to transmit remote control data; for example, the uplink channel is used to transmit flight control instructions and control instructions such as taking pictures, recording videos, and returning home.

[0059] The first device and the second device communicate with each other via the first antenna and / or the second antenna. Figure 3a and Figure 3b As shown, a first device, such as a remote control, includes a first antenna and a second antenna for communicating with a second device.

[0060] Exemplarily, a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the first antenna is smaller than a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the second antenna.

[0061] Optionally, the maximum communication distance corresponding to the first antenna can be smaller than the maximum communication distance corresponding to the second antenna by configuring the first antenna to be different from the second antenna in at least one of the following: type, structure, transmit power, and receive gain. For example, when the transmit power of the first antenna is smaller than the transmit power of the second antenna, the maximum communication distance corresponding to the first antenna is smaller than the maximum communication distance corresponding to the second antenna.

[0062] Exemplarily, the coverage range of the first device communicating with the second device via the first antenna is greater than the coverage range of the first device communicating with the second device via the second antenna.

[0063] For example, the first antenna is an omnidirectional antenna and the second antenna is a directional antenna. Using an omnidirectional antenna for communication can increase the coverage of communication, but the gain of an omnidirectional antenna is usually low and the coverage distance is short; a directional antenna, such as a phased array antenna, can communicate with the second device in at least one direction at a larger maximum communication distance, such as Figure 3b The directional antenna shown can achieve a greater coverage distance in the right direction of the figure.

[0064] like Figure 1 As shown, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application includes steps S110 to S140.

[0065] Step S110: Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the first antenna.

[0066] Step S120: Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the second antenna.

[0067] Step S130: Determine a target antenna among the first antenna and the second antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna.

[0068] Step S140: Establish communication between the first device and the second device through the target antenna.

[0069] Exemplarily, a first antenna with a smaller maximum communication distance is used in combination with a second antenna with a larger maximum communication distance. By at least determining the first antenna as a target antenna when the first communication quality is better than the second communication quality, and at least determining the second antenna as a target antenna when the second communication quality is better than the first communication quality, the communication between the first device and the second device can have a higher communication quality for more time. The cost of the first antenna is also generally lower than the cost of the second antenna. The combination of the first antenna and the second antenna can also reduce the cost of the device compared to using only the second antenna, such as an omnidirectional phased array antenna.

[0070] The first antenna and the second antenna are used together to achieve omnidirectional coverage of communication between the first device and the second device, and can achieve high-gain coverage in at least one direction of the first device, thereby increasing the communication distance between the first device and the second device in the at least one direction, and can communicate with the second device farther and more stably. For example, when the second antenna can achieve high-gain coverage directly in front of the first device, and the second device is usually located directly in front of the first device, the first device can communicate with the second device farther and more stably.

[0071] For ease of explanation, the embodiments of the present application are mainly described by taking the first antenna as an omnidirectional antenna and the second antenna as a directional antenna as an example. The first device and the second device communicate with each other via an omnidirectional antenna and / or a directional antenna, wherein the maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than the maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the directional antenna.

[0072] like Figure 3a and Figure 3bFIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the positions of an omnidirectional antenna and a directional antenna on a first device such as a remote control device in one embodiment.

[0073] The omnidirectional antenna radiates the same signal strength in all directions on at least one of the horizontal plane and the vertical plane; for example, the omnidirectional antenna may include a dipole antenna and / or a circularly polarized omnidirectional antenna. Figure 3a and Figure 3b As shown, the omnidirectional antenna of the remote control device includes two external vertically polarized antennas. The antenna pattern of the vertically polarized antenna has omnidirectional coverage in the horizontal plane, but the gain is low.

[0074] In at least one of the horizontal plane and the vertical plane, the directional antenna has a signal strength in one or some directions that is greater than the signal strength in other directions; for example, the directional antenna includes a phased array antenna.

[0075] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, the directional antenna of the remote control device includes directional antenna 100A, directional antenna 100B, directional antenna 100C and directional antenna 100D. It should be noted that the terminal device such as the remote control device may include only one directional antenna, or two directional antennas, but is certainly not limited thereto.

[0076] Exemplarily, each directional antenna can include a horizontal polarization antenna and a vertical polarization antenna, wherein the directions in which the horizontal polarization antenna and the vertical polarization antenna transmit signals are perpendicular. Figure 4 See also Figure 5 The directional antenna 100A includes a horizontal polarization antenna 110A and a vertical polarization antenna 120A, the directional antenna 100B includes a horizontal polarization antenna 110B and a vertical polarization antenna 120B, the directional antenna 100C includes a horizontal polarization antenna 110C and a vertical polarization antenna 120C, and the directional antenna 100D includes a horizontal polarization antenna 110D and a vertical polarization antenna 120D; four groups of vertical + horizontal dual-polarization antenna arrays are formed. The integration of directional antennas can be improved, the volume can be reduced, or more directional antennas can be set up in terminal devices.

[0077] It should be noted that for different obstacles and shielding objects, after electromagnetic waves of different polarizations pass through obstacles, the attenuation and polarization deflection of transmission, reflection, and diffraction are different. After the electromagnetic waves of the single-polarized omnidirectional antenna pass through the obstacle, in addition to energy attenuation, the polarization of the electromagnetic waves will also be deflected, which is easy to cause polarization mismatch of the transmitting and receiving antennas and link gain reduction; the vertical + horizontal dual-polarization antenna array of the embodiment of the present application can also adopt polarization diversity to improve this problem to a certain extent. Moreover, for unmanned aerial vehicles using horizontal + vertical polarization antennas, the horizontal + vertical polarization antennas can be better conformally designed with the arms and tripods of the unmanned aerial vehicles, the vertical polarization antenna can achieve better coverage in the horizontal plane, and the horizontal polarization antenna can achieve better coverage in the pitch direction, that is, the vertical plane; the remote control device also adopts the vertical + horizontal dual-polarization antenna array and horizontal + vertical polarization diversity, which can better control the yaw rotation / roll rotation, and pitch rotation of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0078] Exemplarily, at least two of the directional antennas send or receive signals in different directions, and / or at least two of the directional antennas use signals with different polarization directions. For example, some of the directional antennas include horizontally polarized antennas. Another part of the directional antennas include vertically polarized antennas. It is also possible to determine directional antennas with different sending or receiving signal directions and / or polarization directions as target antennas so that the first device can communicate with the second device farther and more stably.

[0079] For example, Figure 6a and Figure 6b As shown, the horizontal polarization antenna and the vertical polarization antenna can be in the form of a planar printed dipole antenna; the planar printed dipole antenna includes a substrate 10, a radiation branch 11 arranged on one side of the substrate, and a feeding balun structure 12 arranged on the other side of the substrate.

[0080] Optional, such as Figure 5 and Figure 6a , Figure 6bAs shown, multiple horizontally polarized antennas, such as the radiation branches of the horizontally polarized antenna 110A and the horizontally polarized antenna 110B, can be arranged on the same substrate 10A, that is, a common board design; each vertically polarized antenna, such as the radiation branches of the vertically polarized antenna 120A and the vertically polarized antenna 120B, can be respectively arranged on their own substrates 10, such as the radiation branches of the vertically polarized antenna 120A are arranged on the substrate 10B, and the radiation branches of the vertically polarized antenna 120B are arranged on the substrate 10C; the substrates 10A, 10B, and 10C are grooved at the positions shown in the figure, such as the grooved portion 101a, the grooved portion 101b, the grooved portion 101c, and the grooved portion 101d; through the plug-in combination in the grooved portions, such as the plug-in combination of the grooved portion 10a and the grooved portion 101c, and the plug-in combination of the grooved portion 101b and the grooved portion 101d, as shown Figure 5 As shown, multiple directional antennas can be set up in an integrated manner, and the small number of materials can achieve assembly efficiency.

[0081] Please combine Figure 5 See also Figure 4 In some embodiments, the directional antenna is connected to the circuit board 200, and the directional antenna is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board 200. For example, when the directional antenna is an antenna in the form of a PCB, the substrate carrying the directional antenna is connected to the circuit board 200. A grounding layer may be provided on the circuit board 200, and the circuit board 200 may be called a floor.

[0082] Optionally, an antenna feeder network may be provided on one side of the circuit board 200 facing the directional antenna, and a beam forming network (or beam control network) of the directional antenna may be provided on the other side of the circuit board 200. A plug-in portion 101 is provided on one side of the substrate carrying the directional antenna. Figure 5 The structural component shown can be plugged into the opening portion 200a of the circuit board 200 through the plug-in portion 101, and welding positions can be set on the plug-in portion 101 and the opening portion 200a to connect the directional antenna to the circuit board 200, for example, to achieve electrical connection between the feeding balun structure of the directional antenna and the antenna feed line network on the circuit board 200.

[0083] It should be noted that the directional antenna in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The antenna in the form of a PCB (printed circuit board) shown may also be an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) antenna with a plastic bracket, a laser (such as LDS (Laser Direct Structuring) or LAP (Laser Ablation Process)) antenna, or a metal steel sheet antenna.

[0084] In some embodiments, at least two of the directional antennas are located at different locations on the first device. Figure 4 As shown, directional antenna 100A, directional antenna 100B, directional antenna 100C and directional antenna 100D are arranged in sequence on the circuit board 200 at intervals, and are configured on the first device together with the circuit board 200. Therefore, the positions of directional antenna 100A, directional antenna 100B, directional antenna 100C and directional antenna 100D on the first device are also arranged at intervals.

[0085] Exemplarily, the horizontally polarized antenna is roughly parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple directional antennas. Specifically, the extension direction of the radiation branches of the horizontally polarized antenna is roughly parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple directional antennas. The vertically polarized antenna is roughly perpendicular to the horizontally polarized antenna. Specifically, the extension direction of the radiation branches of the vertically polarized antenna is roughly parallel to the extension direction of the radiation branches of the horizontally polarized antenna.

[0086] In some embodiments, the frequency bands of the signals used by at least two of the directional antennas are different. For example, among the frequency bands of the signals used by at least two of the directional antennas, at least one frequency band is different. Optionally, the directional antenna may include a single-frequency antenna or a multi-frequency antenna, such as a dual-frequency antenna. When a dual-frequency antenna is used, the antenna size can be reduced.

[0087] like Figure 4 As shown, directional antenna 100A and directional antenna 100C support the first frequency band, the second frequency band and the third frequency band, directional antenna 100B and directional antenna 100D support the first frequency band and the second frequency band but do not support the third frequency band; for example, directional antenna 100A and directional antenna 100C can be called a three-band unit, and directional antenna 100B and directional antenna 100D can be called a dual-band unit. The difference between the first frequency band and the second frequency band is smaller than the difference between the first frequency band and the third frequency band, and smaller than the difference between the second frequency band and the third frequency band. For example, the first frequency band is the 5.2 GHz frequency band, the second frequency band is the 5.8 GHz frequency band, and the third frequency band is the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

[0088] Exemplarily, the radiation branches of the horizontal polarization antenna and the vertical polarization antenna of the directional antenna 100B and the directional antenna 100D each include two symmetrical L-shaped radiation branches, and the length of a single branch is equivalent to 1 / 4 wavelength of 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz; by setting the length and coupling position of the balun (such as an open-circuit feeding needle) of the feeding balun structure of the directional antenna 100B and the directional antenna 100D, the two L-shaped radiation branches can couple equal-amplitude reverse currents at 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz, and the two L-shaped radiation branches can form a dipole antenna radiation pattern after being connected to the same ground. Optionally, the height between the highest point of the L-shaped radiation branch and the floor is approximately 1 / 4 wavelength of 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz, and the signal radiated by the antenna is reflected once by the floor and is positively superimposed with the antenna's own radiation electric field, which can improve the antenna gain.

[0089] Exemplarily, the antenna form of directional antenna 100A and directional antenna 100C is a planar printed dipole antenna with half of the antenna short-circuited and the feeding structure; the radiating branches of the horizontally polarized antenna and the vertically polarized antenna of directional antenna 100A and directional antenna 100C each include two symmetrical F-shaped radiating branches, and the two F-shaped radiating branches form a three-band dipole antenna radiation pattern when connected to the same ground; the length of the outer long arm of a single F-shaped radiating branch is equivalent to 1 / 4 wavelength of 2.4GHz, and the length of the inner short arm is equivalent to 1 / 4 wavelength of 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz; the feeding balun of the feeding balun structure of directional antenna 100A and directional antenna 100C is short-circuited at the bifurcation of the F-shaped radiating branch and one side of the radiating branch, which can effectively improve impedance matching and the phase difference between the radiating branches on both sides, so that the two F-shaped radiating branches can generate equal-amplitude reverse currents at 2.4GHz / 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz. The height between the highest point of the F-shaped radiation branch and the floor is approximately 1 / 4 wavelength of 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz and 1 / 8 wavelength of 2.4GHz. For 2.4GHz, adjusting the coupling gap between the outer long arm of the F-shaped radiation branch and the floor can improve the antenna gain of 2.4GHz.

[0090] It should be noted that the radiating branches of the directional antenna are not limited to the L-shaped radiating branches or F-shaped radiating branches shown in the figure, but can also be straight radiating branches; using L-shaped radiating branches or F-shaped radiating branches can reduce the size of the antenna.

[0091] In some embodiments, Figure 4The phased array antenna array shown can be equivalent to four 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz first directional antennas and two 2.4GHz second directional antennas. For example, the first directional antenna includes the L-shaped radiating branches of the directional antenna 100B and the directional antenna 100D and the internal short arms of the F-shaped radiating branches of the directional antenna 100A and the directional antenna 100C; the second directional antenna includes the outer long arms of the F-shaped radiating branches of the directional antenna 100A and the directional antenna 100C. The distance between two adjacent second directional antennas (such as the distance between the antenna centers) is roughly equal to the at least one frequency band corresponding to the second directional antenna, such as half of the wavelength of 2.4GHz, such as 60 mm; the distance between two adjacent first directional antennas is roughly equal to 1 / 2 wavelength of 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz, such as 30 mm; so that the phased array antenna array can achieve relatively high gain for the three frequency bands of 2.4GHz / 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz.

[0092] Optionally, the center of the directional antenna 100B and the directional antenna 100D, i.e., the dual-band unit, is 10.25 mm away from the edge of the long side of the floor (such as the circuit board 200), which is approximately 1 / 5 of the wavelength of the operating frequency; the center of the directional antenna 100A and the directional antenna 100C, i.e., the triple-band unit, is 25.75 mm away from the edge of the long side of the floor, which is approximately 1 / 5 of the wavelength of the operating frequency 2.4 GHz. The non-centrally symmetrical layout of the directional antennas and floors supporting different frequency bands can ensure that the long side of the floor has a similar effect on the three frequency bands; for example, the non-centrally symmetrical layout of the 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz dual-band unit and the 2.4 / 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz triple-band unit can ensure that the floor effects of the three frequency bands on the long side are similar.

[0093] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, a signal reflection plate 300 is also provided on the circuit board 200, and the signal reflection plate 300 is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

[0094] Exemplarily, the length direction of the circuit board 200 is the arrangement direction of multiple directional antennas. Limited by the volume of terminal devices such as remote control devices, the width of the circuit board 200 is relatively narrow, that is, the width of the floor is relatively narrow, for example, when it is less than 1 / 2 wavelength of 2.4GHz, it cannot achieve good reflection characteristics for 2.4GHz signals. By setting the signal reflection plate 300, the equivalent electrical size of the floor in the width direction can be extended, so that the floor can form a reflection effect on 2.4GHz in the width direction, and the antenna gain in the 2.4GHz band is improved; a three-band extremely low profile antenna structure is realized.

[0095] For example, Figure 4As shown, the signal reflection plate 300 is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board 200 and is spaced apart from the directional antenna.

[0096] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the signal reflection plate 300 is substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of directional antennas (such as directional antenna 100A, directional antenna 100B, directional antenna 100C and directional antenna 100D). For example, the signal reflection plate 300 is at least arranged at both ends of the vertically polarized antenna in the directional antenna, mainly to reflect the signal of the vertically polarized antenna.

[0097] Optionally, signal reflection plates 300 are respectively set at both ends of the vertical polarization antenna 120A and the vertical polarization antenna 120C supporting 2.4 GHz, so that the floor forms a reflection effect on 2.4 GHz in the width direction, thereby improving the antenna gain in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. Signal reflection plates do not need to be set at the directional antenna 100B and the directional antenna 100D to reduce the overall weight of the antenna.

[0098] like Figure 7 As shown, taking the first antenna as an omnidirectional antenna and the second antenna as a directional antenna as an example, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application may include steps S210 to S240.

[0099] Step S210: Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the omnidirectional antenna.

[0100] It should be noted that the meaning of "communication" in the embodiments of the present application can be that the receiving party receives the signal sent by the other party (i.e., completes the information transmission), which is regarded as communication, and the receiving party is not required to parse the signal and execute the parsed instructions.

[0101] Signal quality may include transmitted signal quality and / or received signal quality. For example, the transmitted signal quality of the first device may be determined based on the signal strength of the received signal when the second device receives the signal sent by the first device; the received signal quality of the first device may be determined based on the signal strength of the received signal when the first device receives the signal sent by the second device.

[0102] In some implementations, when the second device is far away from the first device or there is an obstruction between them, the first communication quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna is poor.

[0103] Step S220: Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the directional antenna.

[0104] In some embodiments, when the direction of the second device relative to the first device is the same as or close to the directional direction of the directional antenna, the second communication quality corresponding to the directional antenna is better, specifically, better than the first communication quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna; and when the direction of the second device relative to the first device is significantly different from the directional direction of the directional antenna, the second communication quality corresponding to the directional antenna is poor, but at this time the second device can still be within the coverage range of the omnidirectional antenna, and the first communication quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna is better than the second communication quality corresponding to the directional antenna.

[0105] Step S230: determining a target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna.

[0106] In some implementations, the target antenna may include a target transmit antenna.

[0107] Exemplarily, the first communication quality includes the signal quality received by the second device from the signal sent by the first device through the omnidirectional antenna, that is, the transmission signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna of the first device; the second communication quality includes the signal quality received by the second device from the signal sent by the first device through the directional antenna, that is, the transmission signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna of the first device.

[0108] Step S230 determines the target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, and may include: determining the target transmitting antenna on the first device among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality. For example, when the transmission signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna is better than the transmission signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna, the determined target transmitting antenna includes at least the omnidirectional antenna of the first device; for example, the target transmitting antenna only includes the omnidirectional antenna of the first device but does not include the directional antenna of the first device. When the transmission signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna is better than the transmission signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna, the determined target transmitting antenna includes at least the directional antenna of the first device; for example, the target transmitting antenna only includes the directional antenna of the first device but does not include the omnidirectional antenna of the first device.

[0109] For example, the first device may obtain from the second device the signal quality of the signal sent by the first device when the second device receives it as the transmission signal quality, and compare the transmission signal qualities corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna to determine the target transmission antenna. Alternatively, the second device may compare the signal quality of the signal sent by the first device to determine the target transmission antenna of the first device, and the first device may obtain the target transmission antenna determined by the second device.

[0110] In some embodiments, the target antenna comprises a target receive antenna.

[0111] Exemplarily, the first communication quality includes the signal quality of the signal sent by the second device received by the first device through the omnidirectional antenna, that is, the received signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna of the first device; the second communication quality includes the signal quality of the signal sent by the second device received by the first device through the directional antenna, that is, the received signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna of the first device.

[0112] Step S230 determines the target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, and may include: determining the target receiving antenna on the first device among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality. For example, when the received signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna is better than the received signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna, the determined target receiving antenna includes at least the omnidirectional antenna of the first device; for example, the target receiving antenna only includes the omnidirectional antenna of the first device but does not include the directional antenna of the first device. When the received signal quality corresponding to the directional antenna is better than the received signal quality corresponding to the omnidirectional antenna, the determined target receiving antenna includes at least the directional antenna of the first device; for example, the target receiving antenna only includes the directional antenna of the first device but does not include the omnidirectional antenna of the first device.

[0113] For example, the first device may compare signal qualities of a signal sent by the second device to determine a target receiving antenna of the first device.

[0114] In some embodiments, the target transmitting antenna and the target receiving antenna can be determined separately, and the determined target transmitting antenna and the target receiving antenna can be the same or different; or only the target transmitting antenna can be determined according to the communication quality, and the target receiving antenna can be determined according to the determined target transmitting antenna, such as the determined target transmitting antenna can also be used as the target receiving antenna; or only the target receiving antenna can be determined according to the communication quality, and the target transmitting antenna can be determined according to the determined target receiving antenna, such as the determined target receiving antenna can also be used as the target transmitting antenna.

[0115] Step S240: Establish communication between the first device and the second device through the target antenna.

[0116] The directional antenna and the omnidirectional antenna are used together to achieve omnidirectional coverage of the communication between the first device and the second device, and can achieve high-gain coverage in at least one direction of the first device, thereby improving the communication distance between the first device and the second device in the at least one direction, and can communicate with the second device farther and more stably.

[0117] Illustratively, the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the remote control device and their respective postures may change. By determining an omnidirectional antenna as the target antenna to increase the communication coverage, the communication between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the remote control device may be prevented from being interrupted during the above-mentioned change process. By determining a directional antenna as the target antenna to increase the gain in at least one direction, the communication distance between the first device and the second device in the at least one direction may be improved, and communication with the second device may be performed farther and more stably.

[0118] For example, the transmitting antenna includes two omnidirectional antennas and two directional antennas.

[0119] See also Figure 8 , the two omnidirectional antennas include the external antenna 0 and the external antenna 1 of the remote control device, and the two directional antennas include the horizontally polarized antenna 110C in the directional antenna 100C, and the horizontally polarized antenna 110A in the directional antenna 100A. The remote control device provides two transmission links, namely, the transmission link TRx1 and the transmission link TRx2; wherein the transmission link TRx1 connects the external antenna 0 and the horizontally polarized antenna 110C through a single-pole double-throw switch SPDT1, and the transmission link TRx2 connects the external antenna 1 and the horizontally polarized antenna 110A through a single-pole double-throw switch SPDT3. By controlling the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT1 and the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT3, the remote control device can be switched to communicate with other devices through the omnidirectional antenna or the directional antenna.

[0120] The external antenna 0 and the external antenna 1 can be omnidirectional vertically polarized antennas. Polarization diversity can be achieved by teaming directional horizontally polarized antennas (horizontally polarized antenna 110C, horizontally polarized antenna 110A) and external omnidirectional vertically polarized antennas. The diversity of dual-polarized antennas can be achieved with a smaller antenna size, and the communication resources of the transceiver link will not be occupied, so that the communication has higher real-time performance; it is not easy to produce polarization mismatch between the transceiver antennas, which can prevent gain reduction; and the yaw rotation / roll rotation and pitch rotation of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be better controlled.

[0121] Optionally, the horizontal polarization antenna 110C is connected to the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT1 and the receiving link Rx1 through the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT2, and the horizontal polarization antenna 110A is connected to the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT3 and the receiving link Rx2 through the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT4. The horizontal polarization antenna 110C and the horizontal polarization antenna 110A can be switched to the transmitting state or the receiving state by controlling the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT2 and the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT4.

[0122] It should be noted that the differences between the positions of the four transmitting antennas will result in differences in the quality of the corresponding transmitted signals; the polarization directions of the signals used by the external antenna 0, the external antenna 1 and the horizontal polarization antenna 110C, the horizontal polarization antenna 110A are different, which will also result in differences in the quality of the corresponding transmitted signals; optionally, the frequency bands of the external antenna 0, the external antenna 1 and the horizontal polarization antenna 110C, the horizontal polarization antenna 110A may also be different, which will also result in differences in the quality of the corresponding transmitted signals. The embodiment of the present application can control the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT1, the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT3, the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT2 and the single-pole double-throw switch SPDT4 to enable the remote control device to send signals through the four transmitting antennas in sequence, so as to obtain the quality of the transmitted signals of the four transmitting antennas and determine the target transmitting antenna among the four transmitting antennas to achieve the best communication effect.

[0123] In some implementations, the horizontally polarized antenna 110C and the horizontally polarized antenna 110A may support multiple frequency bands, for example, not only may the 2.4 GHz frequency band be used to send signals, but also the 5.2 GHz frequency band or the 5.8 GHz frequency band may be used to send signals. For example, the transmission link may use different frequency bands to send signals through the horizontally polarized antenna, obtain the transmission signal quality of different frequency bands, and determine the target transmission frequency band in different frequency bands to achieve the best communication effect.

[0124] In some embodiments, the target receiving antenna may include multiple directional antennas. When a directional antenna is determined as the target antenna, the phase difference between the multiple directional antennas may be determined to achieve a higher quality communication effect. When the beam directions are the same, the communication quality between the remote control device and the unmanned aerial vehicle is higher.

[0125] Exemplarily, step S220 obtains the second communication quality, including: adjusting the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas to adjust the beam direction of the beams corresponding to the at least two directional antennas; obtaining the second communication quality, the second communication quality being determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the beams corresponding to at least two of the directional antennas.

[0126] The different phase differences between the multiple directional antennas of the first device can make the beam directions of the beams corresponding to the multiple directional antennas different; when the direction of the second device relative to the first device is constant, the second communication qualities corresponding to the beams in different beam directions are also different.

[0127] For example, when the UAV is in the beam direction of one of the beams, and the beam directions of the beams corresponding to the multiple directional antennas of the remote control device are the same as the beam direction of the UAV, the communication quality between the UAV and the remote control device is high.

[0128] Step S230 determines the target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, and may include: according to the second communication qualities corresponding to the beams in different beam directions, at least determining the beam with the best second communication quality as the target beam; determining at least two of the directional antennas corresponding to the target beam as the target antennas, and the phase difference between the at least two directional antennas is determined according to the phase difference corresponding to the target beam.

[0129] Exemplarily, by adjusting the phase difference between multiple directional antennas, communication with the second device is carried out through different beams and the second communication quality corresponding to each beam is obtained; the target phase difference between the multiple directional antennas is determined according to the target beam with the best second communication quality; when the phase difference between the multiple directional antennas is the target phase difference, the first device can communicate with the second device using the target beam to achieve higher quality communication.

[0130] In some implementations, adjusting the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas includes: adjusting the phase difference between at least two directional antenna groups. Figure 8 See also Figure 9a and Figure 9b , the input end Pin1 of the beam control network is connected to a directional antenna group, and the input end Pin2 of the beam control network is connected to another directional antenna group; the signals of the two directional antenna groups enter from Pin1 and Pin2 respectively, and pass through two-stage Wilkinson power dividers respectively, and are divided into four paths, one of which is grounded through a 50-ohm load; the path corresponding to Pin1 and the path corresponding to Pin2 have a phase difference of 120 degrees to obtain the signal of beam 1, and the other path corresponding to Pin1 and the other path corresponding to Pin2 have the same amplitude and phase to obtain the signal of beam 2, and the other path corresponding to Pin1 and the other path corresponding to Pin2 have a phase difference of 120 degrees to obtain the signal of beam 3. Fig.9c yes Figure 9b Scanning diagram of the horizontally polarized beam of the 3-beam beam steering network. Figure 9d yes Figure 9b Scanning diagram of the vertically polarized beam of the 3-beam beam control network; Beam 1, Beam 2, and Beam 3 can achieve a beam scanning angle of ±25 degrees, and the antenna gain is 11dBi, which can meet the high gain requirements of the remote control device scenario for the front.

[0131] like Figure 8As shown, the horizontally polarized antenna is connected to the receiving link Rx1 through a 2*3 beam control network and a beam switching switch SP4T, and the vertically polarized antenna is connected to the receiving link Rx2 through another 2*3 beam control network and another beam switching switch SP4T'. The signals of the three beams of the 2*3 beam control network can be transmitted to the receiving link through the beam switching switch SP4T to obtain the signals of the corresponding beams and the second communication quality.

[0132] like Figure 9b As shown, the phase shift network of the 2*3 wave control network is designed in PCB form, which can be integrated with the active circuit of the antenna while saving costs.

[0133] In some embodiments, the remote control device also provides two other receiving links, which are respectively connected to the external antenna 0 and the external antenna 1 of the remote control device, and the three beams of the horizontally polarized antenna and the three beams of the vertically polarized antenna can realize the reception of eight signals; by comparing the communication quality of the eight signals, the target receiving antenna and / or the target beam can be selected to achieve high-quality communication. Of course, it is not limited to this. For example, at least one of the receiving link Rx1 and the receiving link Rx2 is also connected to the external antenna and the 2*3 wave control network through a single-pole double-throw switch, so as to realize the switching between the directional antenna and the omnidirectional antenna.

[0134] Exemplarily, each of the directional antenna groups includes at least one directional antenna. Figure 8 A horizontally polarized directional antenna group includes a horizontally polarized antenna 110D and a horizontally polarized antenna 110C, which are connected to the input terminal Pin1 of the wave control network; another directional antenna group includes a horizontally polarized antenna 110B and a horizontally polarized antenna 110A, which are connected to the input terminal Pin2 of the wave control network.

[0135] Optionally, at least two of the directional antennas in at least one of the directional antenna groups are connected to the same first low noise amplifier, and the first low noise amplifier is used to amplify signals received by the at least two directional antennas. Figure 8 As shown, the horizontal polarization antenna 110D and the horizontal polarization antenna 110C are connected to the input terminal Pin1 of the beam control network through the first low noise amplifier LNA1, and the horizontal polarization antenna 110B and the horizontal polarization antenna 110A are connected to the input terminal Pin2 of the beam control network through the first low noise amplifier LNA2. One first low noise amplifier can amplify the signals of multiple antennas, and the number of low noise amplifiers is small, which can save costs.

[0136] In some embodiments, the directional antenna includes a first directional antenna and a second directional antenna.

[0137] Exemplarily, at least one frequency band corresponding to the second directional antenna is lower than any frequency band corresponding to the first directional antenna, and at least another frequency band corresponding to the second directional antenna is the same as at least one frequency band corresponding to the first directional antenna. Figure 4 See also Figure 8 The first directional antenna includes a 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz dual-band directional antenna 100D and a directional antenna 100B, and the second directional antenna includes a 2.4GHz / 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz triple-band directional antenna 100C and a directional antenna 100A, and the 2.4GHz of the second directional antenna is lower than 5.2GHz / 5.8GH.

[0138] The first directional antenna, such as directional antenna 100B, is disposed between two adjacent second directional antennas, such as directional antenna 100C and directional antenna 100A. The wavelength of the 2.4 GHz frequency band signal of the second directional antenna is greater than the wavelength of the 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz frequency band signal. The first directional antenna of the 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz frequency band disposed between two adjacent second directional antennas has less interference with the second directional antenna, and can also improve the integration level of the directional antenna and reduce the size of the antenna assembly.

[0139] Optionally, the distance between two adjacent second directional antennas is approximately equal to half of the wavelength of the at least one frequency band corresponding to the second directional antenna, such as half of the wavelength of 2.4 GHz, such as 60 mm. A first directional antenna is arranged between two adjacent second directional antennas, so that the distance between the 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz antennas is approximately equal to 1 / 2 of the wavelength of 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz, such as 30 mm; and the phased array antenna array can achieve relatively high gain for the three frequency bands of 2.4 GHz / 5.2 GHz / 5.8 GHz.

[0140] See also Figure 8 For the sake of convenience, the horizontal polarization antennas of the directional antenna 100D and the directional antenna 100C are mainly used as examples for description.

[0141] like Figure 8As shown, the second directional antenna 100C is connected to the first diplexer D1, and the first directional antenna 100D and the first diplexer D1 are connected to the first low noise amplifier LNA1 through the first power divider C1; wherein the first diplexer D1 is used to divide the frequency of the signal received by the second directional antenna 100C, for example, the frequency is divided into two signals of 2.4GHz and 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz; the first power divider C1 is used to combine the first frequency (5.2GHz / 5.8GHz) signal received by the first directional antenna 100D and the first frequency signal obtained by dividing the signal received by the second directional antenna 100C, so that the first frequency path of the first directional antenna 100D and the second directional antenna 100C form a dual-unit horizontal polarization antenna array; the first low noise amplifier LNA1 is used to amplify the signal output by the combined path of the first power divider C1. The signal amplified by the first low noise amplifier LNA1 is transmitted to the input terminal Pin1 of the beam control network as a signal of a directional antenna group. Similarly, the signals corresponding to the first directional antenna 100B and the second directional antenna 100A can be transmitted as the signals of another directional antenna group to the input terminal Pin2 of the beam control network. The beam control network can process the 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz signals of the two directional antenna groups into signals of three beams, such as Figure 8 The beams shown are Beam 1, Beam 2, and Beam 3. Each beam has good directivity and a high gain in the corresponding direction.

[0142] For example, Figure 8 As shown, the first duplexer D1 is also connected to the second low noise amplifier LNA3 through the second power divider C2. The second power divider C2 is used to combine the signals of the second frequency (2.4GHz) obtained by dividing the signals received by the plurality of the second directional antennas, such as the second directional antenna 100C and the second directional antenna 100A, and the second low noise amplifier LNA3 is used to amplify the signals output by the combined second power divider. The 2.4GHz channels of the plurality of the second directional antennas constitute a 2.4GHz directional beam antenna. Figure 8 As shown, the 2.4 GHz beam is indicated as 2.4 GBeam; Fig.10 The 2.4 GHz beam is shown as the antenna pattern, and it can be determined that the antenna gain of the 2.4 GHz beam is about 3 dB (decibel) higher than that of the traditional single antenna.

[0143] For example, see Figure 8At least two of the first low noise amplifiers, such as the first low noise amplifier LNA1 and the first low noise amplifier LNA2, are connected to the second duplexer D2 through a beam control network and a beam switching switch SP4T, different first low noise amplifiers are connected to different first directional antennas, and the second duplexer D2 is also connected to the second low noise amplifier LNA3; the terminal device receives the beam signal output by the beam control network through the beam switching switch SP4T through the second duplexer D2, and / or receives the signal amplified by the second low noise amplifier LNA3. The output end of the second duplexer D2 is connected to the receiving link Rx1, and the terminal device can receive the signal of the 5.2GHz / 5.8GHz beam through the receiving link Rx1, and / or receive the signal of the 2.4GHz beam.

[0144] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of multiple directional antennas, nor does it limit the number of multiple beams that can be formed by multiple directional antennas. For example, four directional antennas can also achieve four-beam reception. For example, the beam steering network can also be implemented using a Butler matrix network, such as Fig.11a As shown, the phase difference from beam 1 to the four directional antennas is negative 45 degrees, the phase difference from beam 2 is negative 135 degrees, the phase difference from beam 3 is positive 135 degrees, and the phase difference from beam 4 is positive 45 degrees, so that a four-beam scanning pattern can be achieved, as shown in Fig.11b shown.

[0145] In some implementations, the method of the embodiment of the present application further includes: using the directional antenna to detect the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device. For example, a reference direction of the first device is predefined, such as the front of the remote control device is the reference direction; the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device can be determined based on the angle between the projection of the line connecting the second device and the first device on the horizontal plane and the reference direction. The angle can be a specific value or a range of values.

[0146] Exemplarily, the use of the directional antenna to detect the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device includes: adjusting the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas to adjust the beam direction of the beams corresponding to the at least two directional antennas; obtaining a third communication quality, the third communication quality being determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the beams corresponding to the at least two directional antennas; and determining the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device according to the third communication quality corresponding to each beam in different beam directions. It is understandable that the third communication quality may be the second communication quality, but is certainly not limited thereto. For example, the second communication quality and the third communication quality may be determined at different times.

[0147] For example, the direction of the second device relative to the first device is determined according to the beam direction of the third beam with the best communication quality, such as the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device. Fig.13 As shown, the third communication quality of the rightmost beam is the best, then it is determined that the second device is located within the angle range corresponding to the rightmost beam, such as the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device is 25 degrees to the right.

[0148] For example, if the third communication qualities of the middle beam and the right beam are approximately equal and better than the third communication quality of the left beam, it can be determined that the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device is 12 degrees to the right.

[0149] In the embodiment of the present application, since the antenna beam is narrow, the function of azimuth direction finding can be realized. For example, when the antenna beam of the remote control device is scanned, whichever beam detects the unmanned aerial vehicle can determine which beam of the remote control device is within the coverage range of the unmanned aerial vehicle, thereby realizing the azimuth positioning of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0150] Optionally, the method further includes: outputting prompt information based on the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device. The prompt information is used to prompt that the angle between the second device and the first device is greater than an angle threshold, so as to adjust the angle between the second device and the first device according to the prompt information so that the angle between the second device and the first device is reduced. Or the prompt information is used to prompt the angle value between the second device and the first device.

[0151] For example, Fig.12 As shown, the remote control device can output the prompt information in the form of sound or display (text, image, animation, etc.) to prompt the user to adjust the posture of the remote control device to adjust the direction of the beam of the remote control device so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is within the beam range of the remote control device to ensure better communication quality.

[0152] For example, a directional antenna is mounted on a remote control device through an adjustment device, and the adjustment device can be controlled to adjust the posture of the directional antenna to adjust the direction of the beam of the remote control device so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is within the beam range of the remote control device to ensure better communication quality.

[0153] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the target antenna includes the directional antenna, determining a time slot allocation strategy for the first device to send signals to and receive signals from the second device based on the communication quality of the target transmitting antenna and the communication quality of the target receiving antenna in the target antenna, wherein the target transmitting antenna and the target receiving antenna are both located on the first device.

[0154] Exemplarily, when the target receiving antenna includes a directional antenna, it has the characteristic of high receiving gain, and the receiving link gain is greatly improved compared to the transmitting, so that the uplink and downlink between the first device such as the remote control device and the second device such as the unmanned aerial vehicle are unbalanced. The embodiment of the present application can also determine the transmission time slot allocation strategy of the uplink and downlink according to the communication quality of the target transmitting antenna and the communication quality of the target receiving antenna to improve the communication efficiency.

[0155] For example, when a directional antenna participates in communication, the uplink working time of the remote control device sending signals to the unmanned aerial vehicle can be increased, such as equivalently improving the uplink power density and increasing the uplink SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio); the downlink working time of the remote control device receiving signals from the unmanned aerial vehicle can also be reduced accordingly, thereby achieving rebalancing of the uplink and downlink links. Compared with the uplink and downlink communications of omnidirectional antennas, the embodiments of the present application can improve the SNR of each uplink and downlink link, improve the link margin of the uplink and downlink links, achieve the purpose of anti-interference by suppressing interference signals through high link margin, and improve communication stability and communication distance.

[0156] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is used for communication between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device and the second device communicate via an omnidirectional antenna and / or a directional antenna, and the maximum communication distance of the first device communicating with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than the maximum communication distance of the first device communicating with the second device via the directional antenna; the communication method comprises: obtaining a first communication quality, the first communication quality is determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna; obtaining a second communication quality, the second communication quality is determined according to the signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device via the directional antenna; determining a target antenna from the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, the target antenna comprising at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna; and establishing communication between the first device and the second device via the target antenna. The communication quality between devices can be improved or the cost of devices can be reduced.

[0157] In some embodiments, a directional antenna and an omnidirectional antenna are used in combination to achieve omnidirectional coverage of communications between a first device and a second device, and can achieve high-gain coverage in at least one direction of the first device, thereby increasing the communication distance between the first device and the second device in the at least one direction, and can communicate with the second device farther and more stably.

[0158] Exemplarily, by receiving signals through directional antennas such as phased array antennas in embodiments of the present application, the receiving performance of terminal devices such as remote control devices can at least be improved. For example, directional antennas such as phased array antennas can be used with omnidirectional antennas to achieve omnidirectional coverage on remote control devices, and can achieve relatively long-distance coverage when the unmanned aerial vehicle is at a specific angle of the remote control device.

[0159] For example, omnidirectional antennas and phased array antennas and other directional antenna combinations can achieve omnidirectional transmission and high-gain directional reception. For example, the transmitting antenna uses an omnidirectional antenna and the receiving antenna uses a high-gain phased array antenna. The transmitting antenna uses an omnidirectional antenna, which is not limited by the transmission EIRP. After the antenna transmission gain is improved, the RF transmission power does not need to be reduced, and there is no need to add an RF transmission power amplifier (PA) to each antenna unit, which will not increase the cost and RF power. The heat dissipation layout is small in size and can ensure good transmission performance.

[0160] Exemplarily, the target transmitting antenna and the target receiving antenna may be different, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the target transmitting antenna may also serve as the target receiving antenna, and the target receiving antenna may also be supplemented with a phased array antenna for reception.

[0161] For example, if there are relatively few receiving channels, a receiving beam with the best communication quality can be selected to receive signals according to the communication quality corresponding to the receiving beam, so as to achieve better communication quality.

[0162] In some embodiments, a miniaturized and low-cost phased array antenna is also provided.

[0163] The width of a substrate carrying a directional antenna is generally a wavelength λ. The width of the circuit board of the antenna assembly in the embodiment of the present application can be set to λ / 4. By providing a signal reflection plate, the circuit board can be prevented from directing the signal emitted by the directional antenna to the side of the circuit board away from the directional antenna, such as to the rear of the remote control device, thereby causing a loss of signal gain in front of the remote control device.

[0164] The receiving path adds a low noise amplifier (LNA) behind the directional antenna, which has a lower cost than adding a RF transmission power amplifier PA. By connecting multiple directional antennas to the same low noise amplifier in an array, the cost can be further reduced.

[0165] In some embodiments, the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas can be adjusted by a beam steering network, which has low insertion loss and cost and high reliability. In some other embodiments, a phase shifter component can also be used to adjust the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas.

[0166] Please refer to the above examples. Fig.13 , Fig.13 600 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 600 may include at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant, a wearable device, a remote control device, etc.

[0167] The terminal device 600 includes: one or more first antennas, and one or more second antennas.

[0168] The maximum communication distance of the terminal device 600 communicating with the target device through the first antenna is less than the maximum communication distance of the terminal device communicating with the target device through the second antenna. The target device may be any device other than the terminal device 600, such as another terminal device or a movable platform. The movable platform may include at least one of an unmanned aerial vehicle, a gimbal, a gimbal vehicle, etc. Further, the aircraft may be a rotary-wing drone, such as a quad-rotor drone, a hexacopter drone, an octo-rotor drone, or a fixed-wing drone.

[0169] like Fig.13 As shown, the first antenna is, for example, an omnidirectional antenna 610, and the second antenna is, for example, a directional antenna 620; wherein the maximum communication distance for the terminal device 600 to communicate with the target device via the omnidirectional antenna 610 is less than the maximum communication distance for the terminal device 600 to communicate with the target device via the directional antenna 620.

[0170] The terminal device 600 further includes one or more processors 601, which work individually or collectively to implement the steps of the communication method.

[0171] Exemplarily, the terminal device 600 may further include a memory 602 .

[0172] Exemplarily, the processor 601 and the memory 602 are connected via a bus 603 , which is, for example, an I2C (Inter-integrated Circuit) bus.

[0173] Specifically, the processor 601 may be a micro-controller unit (MCU), a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP).

[0174] Specifically, the memory 602 may be a Flash chip, a read-only memory (ROM) disk, an optical disk, a USB flash drive, or a mobile hard disk.

[0175] The processor 601 is used to run the computer program stored in the memory 602, and implement the steps of the aforementioned communication method when executing the computer program.

[0176] Exemplarily, the processor 601 is used to run a computer program stored in the memory 602, and implement the following steps when executing the computer program:

[0177] Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the first antenna;

[0178] Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the second antenna;

[0179] determining a target antenna among the first antenna and the second antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna;

[0180] Communication between the first device and the second device is established through the target antenna.

[0181] Exemplarily, the processor 601 is used to run a computer program stored in the memory 602, and implement the following steps when executing the computer program:

[0182] Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the omnidirectional antenna;

[0183] Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the directional antenna;

[0184] determining a target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna;

[0185] Communication between the first device and the second device is established through the target antenna.

[0186] The specific principles and implementation methods of the terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application are similar to the communication methods of the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0187] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the processor implements the steps of the communication method provided in the above embodiment.

[0188] The computer-readable storage medium may be an internal storage unit of the terminal device described in any of the above embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the remote control device. The computer-readable storage medium may also be an external storage device of the terminal device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (Smart Media Card, SMC), a secure digital (Secure Digital, SD) card, a flash card (Flash Card), etc. equipped on the remote control device.

[0189] Please refer to the above examples. Fig.14 , Fig.14 It is a structural diagram of the terminal device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0190] The terminal device 700 includes:

[0191] Circuit board 200;

[0192] A directional antenna 100, wherein the directional antenna 100 is connected to a circuit board 200, and the directional antenna 100 is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board 200; and

[0193] The signal reflecting plate 300 is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna 100 so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna 100 is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna 100.

[0194] In some implementations, there are multiple directional antennas 411 , and the signal reflection plate 300 is arranged substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple directional antennas 100 .

[0195] In some embodiments, the directional antenna 100 includes a horizontally polarized antenna and a vertically polarized antenna, the horizontally polarized antenna is roughly parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple directional antennas 100, and the vertically polarized antenna is roughly perpendicular to the horizontally polarized antenna, and the signal reflecting plate 300 is used to reflect the transmission signal of the vertically polarized antenna.

[0196] Please refer to the above examples. Fig.15 , Fig.15 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna assembly 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0197] The antenna assembly 800 includes:

[0198] Circuit board 200;

[0199] A directional antenna 100, wherein the directional antenna 100 is connected to a circuit board 200, and the directional antenna 100 is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board 200; and

[0200] The signal reflecting plate 300 is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna 100 so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna 100 is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna 100.

[0201] It should be understood that the terminology used in this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0202] It will also be understood that the term "and / or" as used in this application and the appended claims refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0203] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method for communication between a first device and a second device, characterized in that: The first device and the second device communicate with each other via an omnidirectional antenna and / or a directional antenna, a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than a maximum communication distance for the first device to communicate with the second device via the directional antenna, and the communication method includes: Acquire a first communication quality, where the first communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the omnidirectional antenna; Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through the directional antenna; determining a target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality, wherein the target antenna includes at least one of the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna; Communication between the first device and the second device is established through the target antenna.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first communication quality includes the signal quality of the signal received by the second device from the first device through the omnidirectional antenna; the second communication quality includes the signal quality of the signal received by the second device from the first device through the directional antenna; the target antenna includes a target transmitting antenna, and determining the target antenna from the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality includes: The target transmitting antenna on the first device is determined among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first communication quality includes signal quality of a signal sent by the second device and received by the first device through the omnidirectional antenna, the second communication quality includes signal quality of a signal sent by the second device and received by the first device through the directional antenna, the target antenna includes a target receiving antenna, and determining the target antenna from the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality includes: The target receiving antenna on the first device is determined among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality.

4. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first device and the second device communicate with each other via at least two of the directional antennas; Among them, at least two of the directional antennas send or receive signals in different directions, and / or at least two of the directional antennas use signals with different frequency bands, and / or at least two of the directional antennas use signals with different polarization directions, and / or at least two of the directional antennas have different positions on the first device.

5. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The obtaining of the second communication quality comprises: Adjusting a phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas to adjust beam directions of beams corresponding to the at least two directional antennas; Acquire a second communication quality, where the second communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through beams corresponding to at least two of the directional antennas; The step of determining a target antenna among the omnidirectional antenna and the directional antenna according to the first communication quality and the second communication quality comprises: According to the second communication qualities corresponding to the beams in different beam directions, at least determining the beam with the best second communication quality as the target beam; At least two of the directional antennas corresponding to the target beam are determined as target antennas, and a phase difference between the at least two directional antennas is determined according to the phase difference corresponding to the target beam.

6. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The directional antenna is used to detect an angle at which the second device deviates from the first device.

7. The communication method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Prompt information is output based on the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device, and the prompt information is used to prompt that the angle between the second device and the first device is greater than an angle threshold, so as to adjust the angle between the second device and the first device according to the prompt information so that the angle between the second device and the first device is reduced.

8. The communication method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The using the directional antenna to detect the angle at which the second device deviates from the first device includes: Adjusting a phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas to adjust beam directions of beams corresponding to the at least two directional antennas; Acquire a third communication quality, where the third communication quality is determined according to a signal quality when the first device communicates with the second device through beams corresponding to at least two of the directional antennas; The angle at which the second device deviates from the first device is determined according to third communication qualities corresponding to beams in different beam directions.

9. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the target antenna includes the directional antenna, a time slot allocation strategy for the first device to send signals to and receive signals from the second device is determined according to the communication quality of the target transmitting antenna and the communication quality of the target receiving antenna in the target antenna, wherein the target transmitting antenna and the target receiving antenna are both located on the first device.

10. The communication method according to claim 5 or 8, characterized in that: The adjusting the phase difference between at least two of the directional antennas comprises: adjusting a phase difference between at least two directional antenna groups; Each of the directional antenna groups includes at least one directional antenna, and at least two of the directional antennas in at least one of the directional antenna groups are connected to the same first low-noise amplifier, which is used to amplify signals received by at least two of the directional antennas.

11. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The directional antenna includes a first directional antenna and a second directional antenna, the second directional antenna is connected to a first duplexer, and the first directional antenna and the first duplexer are connected to a first low noise amplifier via a first power divider; The first duplexer is used to divide the frequency of the signal received by the second directional antenna, the first power divider is used to combine the first frequency signal received by the first directional antenna and the first frequency signal obtained by dividing the signal received by the second directional antenna, and the first low-noise amplifier is used to amplify the signal output by the combined output of the first power divider.

12. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The directional antenna is connected to the circuit board, and the directional antenna is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board; and A signal reflection plate is also provided on the circuit board, and the signal reflection plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The signal reflection plate is substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of directional antennas.

14. The communication method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The directional antenna includes a horizontal polarization antenna and a vertical polarization antenna. The horizontal polarization antenna is substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of directional antennas, and the vertical polarization antenna is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal polarization antenna. The signal reflection plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the vertical polarization antenna.

15. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: One of the first device and the second device is a terminal device, and the other is a target device controlled by the terminal device.

16. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: one or more omnidirectional antennas; One or more directional antennas, wherein a maximum communication distance for the terminal device to communicate with a target device via the omnidirectional antenna is less than a maximum communication distance for the terminal device to communicate with the target device via the directional antenna; as well as One or more processors, working individually or collectively, are configured to execute the steps of the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: Circuit boards; A directional antenna, the directional antenna is connected to the circuit board, and the directional antenna is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board; as well as A signal reflecting plate, wherein the signal reflecting plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

18. The terminal device according to claim 17, characterized in that: There are multiple directional antennas, and the signal reflection plate is approximately parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple directional antennas.

19. The terminal device according to claim 17, characterized in that: The directional antenna includes a horizontal polarization antenna and a vertical polarization antenna. The horizontal polarization antenna is substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of directional antennas, and the vertical polarization antenna is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal polarization antenna. The signal reflection plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the vertical polarization antenna.

20. An antenna assembly, characterized in that: include: Circuit boards; A directional antenna, the directional antenna is connected to the circuit board, and the directional antenna is substantially perpendicular to the circuit board; as well as A signal reflecting plate, wherein the signal reflecting plate is used to reflect the transmission signal of the directional antenna so that the direction of the transmission signal of the directional antenna is consistent with the extension direction of the radiation branch of the directional antenna.

Images