Communication module supporting high-orbit satellite and low-orbit internet satellite

Abstract

The invention provides a communication module supporting a high-orbit satellite and a low-orbit internet satellite, and belongs to the technical field of satellite communication. Comprising a baseband unit, a radio frequency unit and a power supply and interface unit, the baseband unit, the radio frequency unit and the power supply and interface unit are respectively connected with the other two units in pairs, and the baseband unit mainly operates two standard communication system protocols of high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication to realize the access of a high-orbit satellite network and a low-orbit internet; the radio frequency unit is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals required by high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication; the power supply and the interface unit are mainly used for embedding the communication module into an external terminal so as to realize data interaction with the terminal and simultaneously supply power to the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit. The communication module supports two satellite communication systems, reduces the complexity of peripheral terminal design, and has the advantages of high integration, low cost, miniaturization and low power consumption.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of satellite communication. Specifically, it relates to a communication module that supports communication between geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites. Background Art

[0002] In the field of satellite communication, with the progress of technology and the change of social needs, low-earth-orbit satellite communication is gradually becoming a major development trend in the field of satellite communication. Compared with traditional geostationary satellites, low-earth-orbit satellites have the advantages of short transmission delay and small path loss, and can provide faster data transmission rates and service response speeds.

[0003] Existing satellite communication modules are all single-mode modules, which only support geostationary satellite communication systems or low-earth-orbit Internet satellite communication systems. In the future, with the deployment of more low-earth-orbit satellites and the continuous improvement of technical standards, low-earth-orbit Internet satellites will play an increasingly important role in emergency communication, remote area network coverage, etc. At the same time, the cooperation between geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites will also be one of the trends that cannot be ignored. The two will jointly build a more perfect and efficient space-ground integrated communication network to meet the diverse needs of different levels of users.

[0004] Therefore, designing a communication module that supports both geostationary satellite communication systems and low-earth-orbit Internet satellite communication systems has become an urgent need. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above background, the present invention proposes a communication module that supports geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites. Through the integrated design of the baseband chip, one baseband chip is enabled to support two communication systems of geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet satellite communication; through the integrated design of the radio frequency chip, one radio frequency transceiver chip is enabled to complete the processing of radio frequency signals for the two systems. Finally, while supporting the two satellite communication systems, this communication module reduces the complexity of the design of the peripheral terminal, and has the advantages of high integration, low cost, miniaturization, and low power consumption.

[0006] The present invention is realized through the following technical solutions: A communication module that supports geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites, including a baseband unit and a radio frequency unit. The baseband unit and the radio frequency unit support two communication systems: geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, where: The baseband unit is used to run the protocol of two standard communication systems, namely geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, and realize the access to the geostationary satellite network and the low-earth-orbit Internet; The radio frequency unit is used to realize the transceiver of radio frequency signals required for geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication.

[0007] Furthermore: The baseband unit includes a baseband processing chip and an MCP (Multi-Chip-Package) memory chip; the baseband processing chip is interconnected with the MCP memory chip; The baseband processing chip supports the waveform of the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol and the waveform of the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system. By loading these two waveforms on demand, it realizes the operation and signal processing functions of the two standard communication protocol stacks and the physical layer software of high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, and realizes the access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet. The MCP memory chip is composed of SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory) and NAND Flash, providing random caching and static storage for the baseband processing chip.

[0008] Furthermore: The radio frequency unit includes a radio frequency transceiver chip, a first receiving-end SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) filter, and a second receiving-end SAW25; The baseband processing chip of the baseband unit is connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip through a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface; the baseband processing chip transmits the baseband information of high-orbit satellite communication or low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication to be sent to the radio frequency transceiver chip for up-conversion modulation processing; The radio frequency transceiver chip performs down-conversion demodulation processing on the received high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency information from the first receiving-end SAW or the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency information from the second receiving-end SAW, obtains the corresponding baseband signal, and transmits it to the baseband processing chip.

[0009] Furthermore: The radio frequency unit is connected to an external transceiver integrated antenna through a radio frequency interface to realize the receiving and transmitting functions of radio frequency signals for the two communication systems of high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication; The radio frequency switching switch of the radio frequency unit is connected to the radio frequency interface and is used to realize the switching between the four radio frequency receiving and transmitting states of receiving and transmitting high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency signals and receiving and transmitting low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency signals; The radio frequency switching switch is connected to the baseband processing chip of the baseband unit, and the baseband processing chip realizes the control of the four radio frequency receiving and transmitting states of the radio frequency switching switch.

[0010] Furthermore: The RF unit further includes a first transmitting SAW, a second transmitting SAW, a first LNA, a PA (Power Amplifier), a second LNA, and an RF switch; The RF transceiver chip is also sequentially connected to a first receiving SAW and the first LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) to form a high-orbit satellite communication receiving channel; this channel is used to receive the RF signals of the high-orbit communication system sent by the high-orbit satellite received by the RF interface. After the RF signals pass through the RF switch, the first LNA amplifies the signals, and after analog band-pass filtering by the first receiving SAW, the RF transceiver chip processes and demodulates the signals into baseband signals, and then sends them to the baseband processing chip; The RF transceiver chip is also sequentially connected to the first transmitting SAW and the PA to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmitting channel; this channel is used to receive the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip. The RF transceiver chip processes and modulates the signals into RF signals of the high-orbit communication system. The RF signals are subjected to analog band-pass filtering by the first transmitting SAW, and then the power of the RF signals is amplified by the PA. The RF signals are sent to the RF interface via the RF switch; The RF transceiver chip is also sequentially connected to the second transmitting SAW and the PA to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmitting channel; this channel is used to receive the low-orbit Internet narrowband communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip. The RF transceiver chip processes and modulates the signals into RF signals of the low-orbit Internet narrowband system. The RF signals are subjected to analog band-pass filtering by the second transmitting SAW, and then the power of the RF signals is amplified by the PA. The RF signals are sent to the RF interface via the RF switch; The RF transceiver chip is also sequentially connected to the second receiving SAW and the second LNA to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication receiving channel. This channel is used to receive the RF signals of the low-orbit Internet narrowband system sent by the low-orbit Internet satellite received by the RF interface. After the RF signals pass through the RF switch, the second LNA amplifies the signals, and after analog band-pass filtering by the second receiving SAW, the RF transceiver chip processes and demodulates the signals into baseband signals, and then sends them to the baseband processing chip.

[0011] Further: The RF unit further includes a TCXO (Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator), and the TCXO is connected to the RF transceiver chip to provide the required reference frequency source for the RF transceiver chip.

[0012] Further: The high-orbit satellite communication system is in the S band, and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system is in the L band.

[0013] Further, a first power amplifier PA in the S band is separately configured for the high-orbit satellite communication transmitting channel, and a second power amplifier PA in the L band is separately configured for the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmitting channel, thereby replacing the dual-band power amplifier PA.

[0014] Further, it further includes a power supply and interface unit; the power supply and interface unit is used to embed the communication module into an external terminal to realize data interaction with the terminal, and at the same time supply power to the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit; The power supply and interface unit includes a power management unit PMU (Power Management Unit), a B2B (Board to Board) interface, and a radio frequency interface; The power management unit PMU is connected to the baseband processing chip, the MCP memory chip, the radio frequency transceiver chip, and the TCXO; the baseband processing chip provides power management parameter configuration for the power management unit PMU, and under the control of the configured parameters, the power management unit PMU generates the working voltages required by the corresponding modules and supplies power to the baseband processing chip, the MCP memory chip, the radio frequency transceiver chip, and the TCXO respectively.

[0015] Further, the B2B interface is a 58-pin board-to-board connector, providing a physical connection between the communication module and the external terminal, so that the communication module is embedded into the external terminal; the B2B interface is used to realize the interaction of power supply, ground signal, communication signal, control signal, and status indication signal between the communication module and the external terminal.

[0016] Further, the communication signals carried by the B2B interface are implemented by the following interfaces: The UART interface is used to realize data communication between the communication module and the external terminal, designed based on the 16550 standard requirements, and its rate is default 4000000 bps; The USB interface supports being configured as a debugging interface or a download interface; The USIM interface, the communication module provides 2 sets of USIM card interfaces, supporting communication with an external USIM card; The SDMMC interface, the communication module provides an SDMMC interface, which is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external connection of various types of data cards, including SD cards, MMC cards, and SDIO cards; The PCM interface is used to realize audio communication between the communication module and the external terminal.

[0017] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system are respectively located in two modem partitions, and the EMSD (External Module Service Daemon) starts the corresponding modem partition according to the relevant configuration of the application processor AP of the external terminal.

[0018] Furthermore, The startup call process of the EMSD for the communication module is as follows: First step, the EMSD issues an open command to the modem device; Second step, the kernel loads the CP ARM and DSP files; Third step, the EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files; Fourth step, the EMSD issues a startup command to the modem device. During the execution of the call process, the EMSD informs the kernel of the CP waveforms to be loaded through the first step, and then the kernel loads the binary images of the relevant waveforms from the specified flash area through the second step; Correspondingly, when the EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files in the third step, it loads the corresponding files according to different waveforms.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: Compared with the prior art, a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention supports two systems, namely the high-orbit satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet satellite communication system. Through the integrated design of the baseband chip, one baseband chip can complete the operation of the two systems of high-orbit satellite and low-orbit Internet satellite communication; through the integrated design of the radio frequency chip, one radio frequency transceiver chip can complete the processing of radio frequency signals of the two systems. Finally, while the communication module is highly integrated in the two satellite communication system modules, it reduces the complexity of the peripheral terminal design, and has the advantages of high integration, low cost, miniaturization, and low power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the radio frequency unit of another communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites.

[0022] Figure 3 is the startup process of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 is the reset process of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 1 A block diagram of a communication module designed by the present invention that supports communication between geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites is given. Referring to Figure 1 , a communication module that supports communication between geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites provided in this embodiment includes a baseband unit 1, a radio frequency unit 2, and a power supply and interface unit 3; the baseband unit 1, the radio frequency unit 2, and the power supply and interface unit 3 are each connected pairwise to the other two units. The baseband unit 1 and the radio frequency unit 2 support two communication systems, namely geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, where: The baseband unit 1 mainly runs the protocol of two standard communication systems, namely geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, to achieve access to the geostationary satellite network and the low-earth-orbit Internet. The radio frequency unit 2 mainly realizes the transceiver of radio frequency signals required for geostationary satellite communication and low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication. The power supply and interface unit 3 mainly realizes the embedding of this communication module into an external terminal to achieve data interaction with the terminal, and at the same time powers the baseband unit 1 and the radio frequency unit 2.

[0026] In addition, the baseband unit 1 includes a baseband processing chip 11 and an MCP memory chip 12; The radio frequency unit 2 includes a radio frequency transceiver chip 21, a first receiving-end SAW 22, a first transmitting-end SAW 23, a second transmitting-end SAW 24, a second receiving-end SAW 25, a first LNA 26, a PA 27, a second LNA 28, a radio frequency switch 29, and a TCXO 210; The power supply and interface unit 3 includes a power management unit PMU 31, a B2B interface 32, and a radio frequency interface 33.

[0027] In the above communication module that supports high-orbit satellite and low-orbit Internet satellite communication, the baseband processing chip is interconnected with the MCP memory chip; the baseband processing chip supports the waveform of the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol and the waveform of the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system. By loading these two waveforms as needed, it realizes the operation of two standard communication protocol stacks, the physical layer software, and the related functions of signal processing for high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, and realizes the access to the high-orbit satellite network and the low-orbit Internet; the MCP memory chip 12 is composed of SDRAM and NAND Flash, and provides random caching and static storage for the baseband processing chip 11.

[0028] The MCP memory chip 12 provides dynamic caching and static storage for the baseband processing chip 11, stores the firmware code required for the operation of the baseband processor, temporarily caches the received data packets for further processing, and caches the intermediate results and other temporary data generated during the calculation process.

[0029] In the above communication module that supports high-orbit satellite and low-orbit Internet satellite communication, the baseband processing chip is also connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip through a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface. The baseband processing chip transmits the baseband information of high-orbit satellite communication or the baseband information of low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication to be sent to the radio frequency transceiver chip for up-conversion modulation processing; in addition, the radio frequency transceiver chip performs down-conversion demodulation processing on the received high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency information from the first receiving end SAW or the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency information from the second receiving end SAW to obtain the corresponding baseband signal and transmits it to the baseband processing chip.

[0030] The above radio frequency interface 33 is connected to an external transceiver integrated antenna to realize the functions of receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals for two communication systems, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication; The radio frequency switch 29 is connected to the baseband processing chip 11, and the baseband processing chip 11 controls the radio frequency switch 29; The radio frequency switch 29 is also connected to the radio frequency interface 33. Under the control of the baseband processing chip 11, using the radio frequency switch 29, the module can switch between four radio frequency transceiver states: receiving high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency signals, transmitting high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency signals, receiving low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency signals, and transmitting low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency signals, so as to realize the function of receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals of two systems using one external transceiver integrated antenna.

[0031] Further, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the first receiving SAW 22 and the first LNA 26 in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication receiving channel. This channel is used to receive the RF signals of the high-orbit communication system sent by high-orbit satellites received by the RF interface 33. After the RF signal passes through the RF switch 29, the first LNA 26 amplifies the signal, and after analog band-pass filtering by the first receiving SAW 22, the RF transceiver chip 21 processes and demodulates the signal into a baseband signal, and then sends it to the baseband processing chip 11.

[0032] In some embodiments, when the communication module needs to receive high-orbit satellite communication signals, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in the high-orbit satellite communication RF signal receiving state. The RF signal enters the RF interface 33 through the transceiver integrated antenna external to the communication module, and then enters the first LNA 26 through the RF switch 29. The first LNA 26 amplifies the received RF signal. The amplified RF signal enters the first receiving SAW 22. After the first receiving SAW 22 performs analog band-pass filtering on the input S-band high-orbit communication system RF signal, it outputs the RF signal to the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF transceiver chip 21 demodulates, performs analog-to-digital conversion, and serial-to-parallel conversion on the received RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal, and sends the obtained digital baseband signal to the baseband processing chip 11. The baseband processing chip 11 performs operations such as timing synchronization, carrier synchronization, decoding, and data parsing on the received digital baseband signal to obtain the required service or signaling data, and sends it to the external terminal host through the B2B interface 32.

[0033] Further, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the first transmitting SAW 23 and the PA 27 in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmitting channel. This channel is used to receive the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip 11. The RF transceiver chip 21 processes and modulates the signal into an RF signal of the high-orbit communication system. The RF signal passes through the first transmitting SAW 23 for analog band-pass filtering, and then the power amplifier PA 27 amplifies the power of the RF signal, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface 33 through the RF switch 29.

[0034] In some embodiments, when transmitting high-orbit satellite communication signals using the communication module, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in the high-orbit satellite communication RF signal transmission state. The external terminal host first transmits the data to be sent to the baseband processing chip 11 through the B2B interface 32. After receiving the data, the baseband processing chip, according to the specifications of the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol stack, completes data framing, encoding and modulation, and then sends the data to the RF transceiver chip 21. After receiving the data, the RF transceiver chip 21 performs serial-to-parallel conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, and carrier modulation on the data to obtain an S-band RF signal of the high-orbit satellite communication system. After the RF signal is sent to the first transmitting SAW 23, the first transmitting SAW 23 performs analog band-pass filtering on the RF signal and outputs it to the power amplifier PA 27. PA 27 amplifies the power of the RF signal, and the amplified RF signal is transmitted to the external transceiver integrated antenna through the RF switch 29 and the RF interface 33 to achieve the transmission of the RF signal.

[0035] Furthermore, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also sequentially connected to the second transmitting SAW 24 and the PA 27 to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel. This channel is used to receive the low-orbit Internet narrowband communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip 11, process and modulate the signal into an RF signal of the low-orbit Internet narrowband system through the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF signal is subjected to analog band-pass filtering by the second transmitting SAW 24, and then the power amplifier PA 27 amplifies the power of the RF signal, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface 33 via the RF switch 29.

[0036] In some embodiments, when transmitting low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication signals using the communication module, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication RF signal transmission state. The external terminal host first transmits the data to be sent to the baseband processing chip 11 through the B2B interface 32. After receiving the data, the baseband processing chip, according to the specifications of the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system protocol stack, completes data framing, encoding and modulation, and then sends the data to the RF transceiver chip 21. After receiving the data, the RF transceiver chip 21 performs serial-to-parallel conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, and carrier modulation on the data to obtain an L-band RF signal of the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system. After the RF signal is sent to the second transmitting SAW 24, the second transmitting SAW 24 performs analog band-pass filtering on the RF signal and outputs it to the power amplifier PA 27. PA 27 amplifies the power of the RF signal, and the amplified RF signal is transmitted to the external transceiver integrated antenna through the RF switch 29 and the RF interface 33 to achieve the transmission of the RF signal.

[0037] Further, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected in sequence with the second receiving-end SAW 25 and the second LNA 28 to form a narrowband communication receiving channel for low-orbit Internet satellites. This channel is used to receive the narrowband radio frequency signals of the low-orbit Internet satellites sent by the low-orbit Internet satellites received by the RF interface 33. After the radio frequency signal passes through the RF switch 29, the second LNA 28 amplifies the signal, and after analog band-pass filtering by the second receiving-end SAW 25, the signal is processed and demodulated into a baseband signal by the RF transceiver chip 21, and then sent to the baseband processing chip 11.

[0038] In some embodiments, when the communication module needs to receive narrowband communication signals of low-orbit Internet satellites, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in the receiving state of the narrowband satellite communication radio frequency signals of low-orbit Internet satellites. The radio frequency signal enters the RF interface 33 through the integrated transceiver antenna externally connected to the communication module, and then enters the second LNA 28 through the RF switch 29. The second LNA 28 amplifies the received radio frequency signal. The amplified radio frequency signal enters the second receiving-end SAW 25. After the second receiving-end SAW 25 performs analog band-pass filtering on the input L-band narrowband radio frequency signals of low-orbit Internet satellites, the radio frequency signal is output to the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF transceiver chip 21 demodulates, performs analog-to-digital conversion, and serial-to-parallel conversion on the received radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal, and sends the obtained digital baseband signal to the baseband processing chip 11. The baseband processing chip 11 performs operations such as timing synchronization, carrier synchronization, decoding, and data parsing on the received digital baseband signal to obtain the required service or signaling data, and sends it to the external terminal host through the B2B interface 32.

[0039] Further, in the process mentioned in the above example, the TCXO 210 is connected to the RF transceiver chip to provide the reference frequency required for signal modulation and demodulation of the RF transceiver chip 21.

[0040] Further, the power management unit PMU 31 is connected to the baseband processing chip 11, the MCP memory chip 12, the RF transceiver chip 21, and the TCXO 210. The baseband processing chip 11 provides power management parameter configuration for the power management unit PMU 31. Under the control of the configured parameters, the power management unit PMU 31 generates the working voltages required by the corresponding modules and supplies power to the baseband processing chip 11, the MCP memory chip 12, the RF transceiver chip 21, and the TCXO 210 respectively.

[0041] Furthermore, a communication module provided by the present invention for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites further includes a B2B interface 32. The B2B interface 32 is a 58-pin board-to-board connector. The physical connection between the communication module and an external terminal enables the module to be conveniently embedded into the external terminal. The B2B interface 32 can realize the interaction of power supply, ground signal, communication signal, control signal, and status indication signal between the communication module and the external terminal.

[0042] In some embodiments, the communication signals carried by the B2B interface 32 are implemented by the following interfaces: The UART interface is used to implement data communication between the communication module and the external terminal. It is designed based on the 16550 standard requirements, and its rate is defaulted to 4000000 bps. The USB interface supports being configured as a debugging interface or a download interface. The USIM interface. The communication module provides 2 sets of USIM card interfaces, supporting communication with external USIM cards. The SDMMC interface. The communication module provides an SDMMC interface. This interface is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external connection of various types of data cards, including SD cards, MMC cards, and SDIO cards. The PCM interface is used to implement audio communication between the communication module and the external terminal.

[0043] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication system is in the S band, and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system is in the L band. The radio frequency unit 2 of the communication module selects radio frequency devices and configures radio frequency parameters for the communication frequency bands of the above two systems, so that the radio frequency unit 2 can normally receive, transmit, and process radio frequency signals of the two systems.

[0044] Furthermore, a first S-band power amplifier PA can be separately configured for the high-orbit satellite communication transmitting channel, and a second L-band power amplifier PA can be separately configured for the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmitting channel, thereby replacing the dual-band power amplifier PA27.

[0045] In some embodiments, the power amplifier PA 27 in the radio frequency unit 2 can be configured according to the communication frequency bands of the two systems respectively. As Figure 2 shown, the radio frequency unit 2 includes a first PA 271 in the S band and a second PA 272 in the L band, replacing the original integrated PA 27, and respectively realizing the power amplification of the high-orbit satellite S-band radio frequency signal from the first transmitting SAW 23 and the low-orbit Internet L-band radio frequency signal from the second transmitting SAW 24 when transmitting high-orbit satellite communication signals and low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication signals in the foregoing embodiments.

[0046] The communication module of this embodiment supports dual-mode single-standby and two modem partitions, namely the geostationary satellite communication system and the low-earth-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system. When starting the communication processor, the External Module Service Daemon (EMSD) starts the corresponding modem partition according to the relevant configurations of the Application Processor (AP) of the external terminal.

[0047] The normal startup process of the communication module is as follows: 1) Uboot startup -> 2) Kernel startup -> 3) Upper-layer component (init) startup -> 4) EMSD service startup -> 5) EMSD issues an open command to the modem device -> 6) The kernel loads the CP ARM and DSP files -> 7) EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files -> 8) EMSD issues a startup command to the modem device.

[0048] Among them, when executing steps 5) - 8) of the above process, EMSD needs to inform the kernel of the CP waveforms to be loaded, and then the kernel loads the binary images of the relevant waveforms from the specified flash area. Correspondingly, when EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files, it can load the corresponding files according to different waveforms. On the Application Processor (AP) side of the external terminal, the direct switching of the two supported CP waveforms can be achieved through AT commands. After the switching, the communication module does not need to be restarted and takes effect immediately. The configuration will be saved after the switching and still takes effect after a power-off restart.

[0049] The AT command for waveform switching is defined as AT^CPTYPE, and the command settings are as follows (note that AT commands are not case-sensitive). It should be noted that after setting this AT command, the MUX program (EMSD) on the module side will restart. At this time, the MUX program (EMSD) of the host computer also needs to be restarted. After issuing the AT^CPTYPE command, it is recommended to delay 5 to 10 seconds before starting the MUX program (EMSD) of the host computer.

[0050] Further preferably, another embodiment of the communication module supporting geostationary satellites and low-earth-orbit Internet satellites is given, and its basic functional characteristics are shown in Table 1 below: Table 1: Functional Characteristics Table of the Communication Module

[0051] Specifically, this module mainly includes a baseband unit, a radio frequency unit, and a power supply and interface unit. The three units are interconnected with each other. In this embodiment, the baseband unit mainly runs two standard communication system protocols, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, to achieve access to the high-orbit satellite network and the low-orbit Internet. The radio frequency unit mainly realizes the transceiver of radio frequency signals required for high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication. The power supply and interface unit mainly realizes the embedding of the communication module into an external terminal to achieve data interaction with the terminal, and at the same time supplies power to the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit.

[0052] Furthermore, the baseband unit includes a baseband processing chip, and the LC1881 chip can be used to implement the baseband processing functions of the two systems' protocols. The baseband unit also includes an MCP memory chip, which contains NAND and SDRAM, to provide random caching and static storage for the baseband processing chip. The radio frequency unit includes a radio frequency transceiver chip, a transceiver SAW filter, and a 26M voltage-controlled oscillator. The radio frequency transceiver chip is used to perform up-conversion modulation processing on the baseband signals of the two communication systems, or to perform down-conversion demodulation processing on the radio frequency signals of the two systems. The transceiver SAW filter is used to perform analog band-pass filtering on analog signals. The 26M voltage-controlled oscillator provides the reference frequency source required for modulation and demodulation for the radio frequency transceiver chip.

[0053] Furthermore, the power supply processing and interface unit includes a PMU chip, an application interface, and a radio frequency interface.

[0054] Among them, the PMU chip integrates a power management unit inside, which is used to manage the power supply required by each unit on the module, generate the working voltage required by the corresponding module, and supply power to each module.

[0055] The application interface is composed of a 58-pin board-to-board connector, which is used to connect the communication module to an external terminal to achieve signal connection between the communication module and the external terminal. Specifically, it includes power supply and ground signals, communication signals, and control signals.

[0056] Among them, to achieve the connection of the power supply and ground signals between the communication module and the external terminal, the communication module is equipped with 4 V_PA signal pins, 8 VSYS signal pins, and 9 GND pins, so that the communication module proposed in this embodiment can continuously and stably work under a relatively large transmission power. The input voltage of the V_PA signal is fixed at 5V, and a regulated input from the bottom board is recommended, with an output capacity of ≥3A. The input voltage range of the VSYS signal is 3.6V to 4.2V. When the system is powered by a battery, it is recommended that the battery output capacity be ≥3A.

[0057] To achieve the transmission of communication signals between the communication module and the external terminal, the communication module in this embodiment also supports UART interface, USB interface, USIM interface, SDMMC interface, and PCM interface.

[0058] Specifically, the UART interface is the communication interface between the communication module and the external terminal. This interface is designed based on the 16550 standard requirements, and its default rate is 4000000 bps. The communication rate can be dynamically configured between 4800 bps and 4000 kbps using AT commands. The UART signal definitions are shown in Table 2: Table 2: UART Signal Definition Table

[0059] The USB interface can be configured as a debug interface or a download interface through custom settings. This interface is designed in accordance with the USB 2.0 protocol specification; the USB interface can operate in SLAVE mode or DMA mode. It supports three operating modes: USB 2.0 High Speed (HS, 480 Mbps), Full Speed (FS, 12 Mbps), and Low Speed (LS, 1.5 Mbps). The USB interface signal definitions are shown in Table 3: Table 3: USB Interface Signal Definition Table

[0060] The communication module provides two sets of USIM card interfaces for connecting to and communicating with the USIM card. This interface meets the requirements of the ISO / IEC7816 standard, and the connection signal interface definitions are shown in Table 4: Table 4: Connection Signal Interface Definition Table

[0061] The communication module supports an SDMMC interface. This interface is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports various types of data cards, including SD memory (SD memory card compliant with the SD3.0 protocol), SDIO (SDIO interface compliant with the SDIO3.0 protocol), and MMC card (MMC / eMMC memory card compliant with the MMC4.41 protocol). The SDMMC interface definitions are shown in Table 5: Table 5: SDMMC Interface Definition Table

[0062] The communication module supports a PCM interface for audio communication between the communication module and the external terminal. The PCM interface specifications are shown in Table 6: Table 6: PCM Interface Specification Table

[0063] The interface definitions of the PCM interface are shown in Table 7: Table 7: PCM Interface Definition Table

[0064] To achieve the transmission of control signals between the communication module and an external terminal, in this embodiment, the communication module defines 4 auxiliary GPIOs for sleep wake-up, and the definitions are shown in Table 8: Table 8: Definition Table of Wake-up Auxiliary GPIOs

[0065] The radio frequency interface includes 1 antenna connector, which adopts the IPEX interface form, and the connection between the communication module and an external antenna can be achieved through a matching cable.

[0066] Furthermore, the communication module has the following four working modes, as shown in Table 9: Table 9: Working Mode Table of the Communication Module

[0067] The switching between the shutdown mode and the normal mode is the power-on and power-off process, and the switching between the sleep mode and the standby mode is achieved through the sleep and wake-up mechanism. In the sleep mode, it is necessary to wake up before soft shutdown, and soft shutdown can be initiated in both the standby and service modes. Before entering the service mode, it is necessary to enter the standby mode first. In the standby mode, the system will automatically enter the sleep mode according to the service situation (except for the prohibited sleep).

[0068] As Figure 3 shown, the power-on process of the communication module in this embodiment is given. First, VSYS is powered on, the POWER_KEY signal remains high, and the system is in the shutdown mode. At this time, the DBB_RST_N signal always remains high. If the POWER_KEY signal is pulled low, the system will be powered on and automatically reset, and then the system software starts to execute. After a continuous period of time (the time length is t, t > 2s), the system power supply can be maintained, and at this time, the POWER_KEY signal can be released.

[0069] The power-off process must be started by software. The host sends a power-off command to the communication module through an AT command. After the baseband processing chip inside the SCM3105JA receives the power-off instruction, it controls the PMU chip to complete the power-off operation, and then the host cuts off the VBAT power supply that powers the module.

[0070] Figure 4The reset process of the communication module in this example is given. During the startup process of the communication module, the reset signal (PMU_RST_IN) should be pulled up to a high level through an external pull-up resistor; otherwise, it may cause the module to fail to start up normally. After the communication module starts up normally, the host can reset the module by pulling the reset signal (PMU_RST_IN) low for a period of time (the length of the time is t, t > 500 ms) and then setting it high. When resetting the communication module through the PMU_RST_IN signal, the POWER_KEY signal must be high; otherwise, the system will enter an indeterminate state.

[0071] It should be understood that the device may further include additional boxes not shown and / or the shown boxes may be omitted. Each of the shown components may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof, and the scope of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0072] It should be noted that the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present application and are not used to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and modifications. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication module supporting high-orbit satellite and low-orbit Internet satellite communication, comprising a baseband unit (1) and a radio frequency unit (2), characterized in that, The baseband unit (1) and the radio frequency unit (2) support two communication systems, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, where: The baseband unit (1) is used to run the protocol stacks of two standard communication systems, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, and to realize the access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet. The radio frequency unit (2) is used to realize the transceiver of radio frequency signals required for high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication.

2. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 1, wherein: The baseband unit (1) includes a baseband processing chip (11) and an MCP memory chip (12); the baseband processing chip (11) is connected to the MCP memory chip (12). The baseband processing chip (11) supports two CP waveforms, namely the waveform of the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol and the waveform of the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system. By loading these two waveforms as needed, the operation and signal processing functions of the protocol stacks and physical layer software of the two standard communication protocols, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, are realized, and the access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet is realized. The MCP memory chip (12) is composed of SDRAM and NAND Flash, and provides random caching and static storage for the baseband processing chip (11).

3. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 1, wherein: The radio frequency unit (2) includes a radio frequency transceiver chip (21), a first receiving-end SAW (22), and a second receiving-end SAW (25). The baseband processing chip (11) of the baseband unit (1) is connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) through a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface; the baseband processing chip (11) transmits the baseband information of high-orbit satellite communication or low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication to be sent to the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) for up-conversion modulation processing. The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) performs down-conversion demodulation processing on the received radio frequency information of high-orbit satellite communication from the first receiving-end SAW (22) or the radio frequency information of low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication from the second receiving-end SAW (25), obtains the corresponding baseband signal, and transmits it to the baseband processing chip (11).

4. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 1, wherein: The radio frequency unit (2) is connected to an external transceiver integrated antenna through a radio frequency interface (33) to realize the receiving and transmitting functions of radio frequency signals of two communication systems, namely high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication. The radio frequency switch (29) of the radio frequency unit (2) is connected to the radio frequency interface (33) and is used to realize the switching between four radio frequency transceiver states, namely the reception and transmission of radio frequency signals of high-orbit satellite communication and the reception and transmission of radio frequency signals of low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication. The radio frequency switching switch (29) is connected to the baseband processing chip (11) of the baseband unit (1), and the baseband processing chip (11) controls the four radio frequency transceiver states of the radio frequency switching switch (29).

5. The communication module for supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 3, characterized in that: The radio frequency unit (2) further includes a first transmitting SAW (23), a second transmitting SAW (24), a first LNA (26), a PA (27), a second LNA (28), and a radio frequency switching switch (29); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also sequentially connected to the first receiving SAW (22) and the first LNA (26) to form a high-orbit satellite communication receiving channel; this channel is used to receive the radio frequency signals of the high-orbit communication system sent by the high-orbit satellite received by the radio frequency interface (33). After the radio frequency signal passes through the radio frequency switching switch (29), the first LNA (26) amplifies the signal, and after analog band-pass filtering by the first receiving SAW (22), the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) processes and demodulates the signal into a baseband signal, and then sends it to the baseband processing chip (11); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also sequentially connected to the first transmitting SAW (23) and the PA (27) to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmitting channel; this channel is used to receive the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip (11). The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) processes and modulates the signal into a radio frequency signal of the high-orbit communication system. The radio frequency signal is subjected to analog band-pass filtering by the first transmitting SAW (23), and then the power amplifier PA (27) amplifies the power of the radio frequency signal. The radio frequency signal is sent to the radio frequency interface (33) via the radio frequency switching switch (29); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also sequentially connected to the second transmitting SAW (24) and the PA (27) to form a narrowband communication transmitting channel for low-orbit Internet satellites; this channel is used to receive the narrowband communication baseband information of the low-orbit Internet from the baseband processing chip (11). The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) processes and modulates the signal into a radio frequency signal of the narrowband system of the low-orbit Internet. The radio frequency signal is subjected to analog band-pass filtering by the second transmitting SAW (24), and then the power amplifier PA (27) amplifies the power of the radio frequency signal. The radio frequency signal is sent to the radio frequency interface (33) via the radio frequency switching switch (29); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also sequentially connected to the second receiving SAW (25) and the second LNA (28) to form a narrowband communication receiving channel for low-orbit Internet satellites. This channel is used to receive the radio frequency signals of the narrowband system of the low-orbit Internet satellites sent by the low-orbit Internet satellites received by the radio frequency interface (33). After the radio frequency signal passes through the radio frequency switching switch (29), the second LNA (28) amplifies the signal, and after analog band-pass filtering by the second receiving SAW (25), the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) processes and demodulates the signal into a baseband signal, and then sends it to the baseband processing chip (11).

6. The communication module for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 2, characterized in that: The radio frequency unit (2) further comprises a TCXO (210), wherein the TCXO (210) is connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) to provide a required reference frequency source for the radio frequency transceiver chip (21).

7. The communication module for supporting communication between geostationary satellites and low-earth orbit internet satellites according to claim 1, characterized in that: The high-orbit satellite communication system is the S band, and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system is the L band.

8. The communication module for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 5, wherein The high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel is independently configured with an S-band first power amplifier PA, and the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel is independently configured with an L-band second power amplifier PA, thereby replacing the power amplifier PA (27).

9. The communication module for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 6, wherein It also includes a power supply and an interface unit (3); the power supply and the interface unit (3) is used to embed the communication module into an external terminal to achieve data interaction with the terminal, and to supply power to the baseband unit (1) and the radio frequency unit (2); The power supply and interface unit (3) comprises a power management unit PMU (31), a B2B interface (32) and a radio frequency interface (33); The power management unit PMU (31) is connected to the baseband processing chip (11), the MCP memory chip (12), the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) and the TCXO (210); the baseband processing chip (11) provides power management parameter configuration for the power management unit PMU (31); and under the control of the configuration parameters, the power management unit PMU (31) generates the operating voltage required by the corresponding module and supplies power to the baseband processing chip (11), the MCP memory chip (12), the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) and the TCXO (210) respectively.

10. A communication module for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 9, characterized in that, The B2B interface (32) is a 58-pin board-to-board connector, which provides a physical connection between the communication module and an external terminal, so that the communication module is embedded in the external terminal; the B2B interface (32) is used to realize the interaction of power supply, ground signal, communication signal, control signal and status indication signal between the communication module and the external terminal.

11. A communication module for supporting communication between geostationary satellites and low-earth orbit internet satellites according to claim 9, characterized in that, The communication signal carried by the B2B interface (32) is implemented by the following interface: UART interface, used to realize data communication between the communication module and the external terminal, designed based on 16550 standard requirements, and its default rate is 4000000 bps; USB interface, supports configuration as debugging interface or downloading interface; USIM interface: the communication module provides two sets of USIM card interfaces to support communication with an external USIM card; SDMMC interface: the communication module provides an SDMMC interface, which is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external connection of multiple types of data cards, including SD card, MMC card, and SDIO card; The PCM interface is used to implement audio communication between the communication module and an external terminal.

12. The communication module for supporting communication between high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 2, characterized in that, The high-orbit satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system are located in two modem partitions respectively. EMSD starts the corresponding modem partition according to the relevant configuration of the application processor AP of the external terminal.

13. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 11, characterized in that: The startup call process of EMSD for the communication module is as follows: First step, EMSD sends an open command to the modem device; Second step, the kernel loads the CP ARM and DSP files; Third step, EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files; Fourth step, EMSD sends a startup command to the modem device; During the execution of the call process, EMSD informs the kernel of the CP waveforms to be loaded through the first step, and then the kernel loads the binary images of the relevant waveforms from the specified flash area through the second step; Correspondingly, when EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files in the third step, according to different waveforms, the corresponding files are loaded.

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