A communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication module that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit internet satellites, belonging to the field of satellite communication technology. It includes 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 each connected to the other two units in pairs, wherein the baseband unit mainly runs two standard communication system protocols for 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 transmission and reception 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. While supporting two satellite communication systems, this communication module 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 field of satellite communication technology, and in particular relates to a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites. Background Art

[0002] In the field of satellite communications, with technological advancements and evolving societal needs, low-orbit satellite communications are gradually becoming a major development trend. Compared to traditional high-orbit satellites, low-orbit satellites offer advantages such as shorter transmission delays and lower path loss, enabling faster data transmission rates and service response times.

[0003] Existing satellite communication modules are all single-mode, supporting only high-orbit satellite communication systems or low-orbit internet satellite communication systems. In the future, with the deployment of more low-orbit satellites and the continuous improvement of technical standards, low-orbit internet satellites will play an increasingly important role in emergency communications and network coverage in remote areas. Furthermore, the collaborative cooperation between high-orbit and low-orbit internet satellites will be a significant trend. Together, they will build a more comprehensive and efficient integrated space-ground communication network to meet the diverse needs of users at all levels.

[0004] Therefore, it has become an urgent need to design a communication module that supports both the sky-high satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet satellite communication system. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Against this backdrop, the present invention proposes a communication module that supports both high-orbit satellites and low-orbit internet satellites. Through the integrated design of the baseband chip, a single baseband chip supports both high-orbit and low-orbit internet satellite communication systems. Furthermore, through the integrated design of the radio frequency chip, a single RF transceiver chip processes RF signals for both systems. Ultimately, while supporting both satellite communication systems, this communication module reduces the complexity of peripheral terminal design, offering the advantages of high integration, low cost, miniaturization, and low power consumption.

[0006] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit internet satellites, comprising a baseband unit and a radio frequency unit, wherein the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit support two communication systems: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication.

[0008] The baseband unit is used to run two standard communication system protocols: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, to achieve access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet;

[0009] The radio frequency unit is used to realize the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals required for high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication.

[0010] Further:

[0011] The baseband unit includes a baseband processing chip and an MCP (Multi-Chip-Package) memory chip; the baseband processing chip and the MCP memory chip are interconnected;

[0012] The baseband processing chip supports high-orbit satellite communication system protocol waveforms and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system waveforms. By loading these two waveforms on demand, it realizes the operation and signal processing functions of two standard communication protocol stacks, physical layer software, and high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, and realizes access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet;

[0013] The MCP memory chip is composed of SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory) and NAND Flash, providing random access cache and static storage for the baseband processing chip.

[0014] Further:

[0015] The radio frequency unit includes a radio frequency transceiver chip, a first receiving end SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave, surface acoustic wave filter) and a second receiving end SAW25;

[0016] The baseband processing chip of the baseband unit is connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip using a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface; the baseband processing chip transmits the required high-orbit satellite communication baseband information or low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication baseband information to the radio frequency transceiver chip for up-conversion modulation processing;

[0017] The RF transceiver chip performs down-conversion demodulation on the high-orbit satellite communication RF information received from the first receiving end SAW or the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication RF information received from the second receiving end SAW to obtain a corresponding baseband signal and transmit it to the baseband processing chip.

[0018] Further:

[0019] The radio frequency unit is connected to the external integrated transceiver antenna through a radio frequency interface to realize the reception and transmission functions of radio frequency signals of two communication systems: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication;

[0020] The radio frequency switching switch of the radio frequency unit is connected to the radio frequency interface, and is used to switch between four radio frequency transceiver states: receiving and sending radio frequency signals for high-orbit satellite communication, and receiving and sending radio frequency signals for low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication;

[0021] The radio frequency switching switch is connected to the baseband processing chip of the baseband unit, and the baseband processing chip controls the four radio frequency transmitting and receiving states of the radio frequency switching switch.

[0022] Further:

[0023] The radio frequency unit further includes a first transmitting end SAW, a second transmitting end SAW, a first LNA, a PA (Power Amplifier), a second LNA and a radio frequency switch;

[0024] The RF transceiver chip is further connected to the first receiving end SAW and the first LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication receiving channel; this channel is used to receive a high-orbit communication system RF signal sent by a high-orbit satellite and received by the RF interface. After the RF signal passes through the RF switch, it is amplified by the first LNA and subjected to analog bandpass filtering by the first receiving end SAW. The signal is then processed and demodulated into a baseband signal by the RF transceiver chip and then sent to the baseband processing chip.

[0025] The RF transceiver chip is also connected to the first transmitting SAW and the PA in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel; this channel is used to receive high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip, process the signal through the RF transceiver chip and modulate it into a high-orbit communication system RF signal, the RF signal is analog bandpass filtered by the first transmitting SAW, and then the RF signal is power amplified by the power amplifier PA, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface via the RF switching switch;

[0026] The RF transceiver chip is also connected to the second transmitting end SAW and the PA in sequence to form a low-orbit internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel; this channel is used to receive low-orbit internet narrowband communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip, process and modulate the signal into a low-orbit internet narrowband system RF signal through the RF transceiver chip, and the RF signal is analog bandpass filtered by the second transmitting end SAW, and then the RF signal is power amplified by the power amplifier PA, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface via the RF switching switch;

[0027] The RF transceiver chip is also connected to the second receiving end SAW and the second LNA in sequence to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication receiving channel, which is used to receive the low-orbit Internet narrowband system RF signal sent by the low-orbit Internet satellite received by the RF interface. After the RF signal passes through the RF switching switch, the second LNA amplifies the signal, and after analog bandpass filtering is performed by the second receiving end SAW, the signal is processed and demodulated into a baseband signal by the RF transceiver chip, and then sent to the baseband processing chip.

[0028] Furthermore, the radio frequency unit further includes a TCXO (Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator), which is connected to the radio frequency transceiver chip to provide the required reference frequency source for the radio frequency transceiver chip.

[0029] Furthermore: the high-orbit satellite communication system is the S band, and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system is the L band.

[0030] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel is separately configured with an S-band first power amplifier PA, and the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel is separately configured with an L-band second power amplifier PA, thereby replacing the dual-band power amplifier PA.

[0031] Furthermore, it also includes a power supply and an interface unit; the power supply and the interface unit are used to enable the communication module to be embedded in an external terminal to achieve data interaction with the terminal, and to power the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit;

[0032] The power supply and interface unit includes a power management unit (PMU), a B2B (Board to Board) interface, and a radio frequency interface;

[0033] The power management unit PMU is connected to the baseband processing chip, the MCP memory chip, the RF transceiver chip and the TCXO; the baseband processing chip provides power management parameter configuration for the power management unit PMU. Under the control of the configuration parameters, the power management unit PMU generates the operating voltage required by the corresponding module and supplies power to the baseband processing chip, the MCP memory chip, the RF transceiver chip and the TCXO respectively.

[0034] Furthermore, the B2B interface is a 58-pin board-to-board connector, which provides a physical connection between the communication module and the external terminal, so that the communication module can be embedded in 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.

[0035] Furthermore, the communication signal carried by the B2B interface is implemented by the following interface:

[0036] The UART interface is used to realize data communication between the communication module and the external terminal. It is designed based on the 16550 standard and has a default rate of 4000000 bps.

[0037] USB interface, supports configuration as debugging interface or downloading interface;

[0038] USIM interface: the communication module provides two sets of USIM card interfaces to support communication with external USIM cards;

[0039] SDMMC interface: The communication module provides an SDMMC interface, which is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external data cards of various types, including SD card, MMC card, and SDIO card;

[0040] The PCM interface is used to implement audio communication between the communication module and an external terminal.

[0041] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system are located in two modem partitions respectively, and the EMSD (external module service guardian) starts the corresponding modem partition according to the relevant configuration of the application processor AP of the external terminal.

[0042] Further,

[0043] The EMSD startup call process for the communication module is as follows: Step 1, EMSD sends an open command to the modem device; Step 2, the kernel loads the CP ARM and DSP files; Step 3, EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files; Step 4, EMSD sends a startup command to the modem device;

[0044] During the execution call process, EMSD informs the kernel of the CP waveform to be loaded in the first step. Then, the kernel loads the binary image of the relevant waveform from the specified flash area in the second step. Correspondingly, in the third step, when EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files, it loads the corresponding files according to different waveforms.

[0045] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0046] Compared to existing technologies, the communication module proposed in this invention, which supports both high-orbit satellite and low-orbit internet satellite communication systems, supports both high-orbit satellite communication systems. Through the integrated design of the baseband chip, a single baseband chip can operate both high-orbit satellite and low-orbit internet satellite communication systems; through the integrated design of the radio frequency chip, a single radio frequency transceiver chip can process radio frequency signals for both systems. Ultimately, this communication module, while highly integrating the modules for both satellite communication systems, reduces the complexity of peripheral terminal design, offering the advantages of high integration, low cost, miniaturization, and low power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention.

[0048] Figure 2 This is another block diagram of the RF unit of a communication module that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites.

[0049] Figure 3 This is a startup process of a communication module that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention.

[0050] Figure 4 This is a reset process of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites proposed by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] To further clarify the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application, the following will provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments represent only a portion of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are also within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0052] Figure 1 The block diagram of a communication module designed by the present invention that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites is given. Figure 1 This embodiment provides a communication module that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit internet satellites, including a baseband unit 1, a radio frequency unit 2, and a power supply and interface unit 3. The baseband unit 1, radio frequency unit 2, and power supply and interface unit 3 are each connected to the other two units in pairs. The baseband unit 1 and radio frequency unit 2 support both high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication.

[0053] Baseband unit 1 mainly runs two standard communication system protocols: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, realizing access to high-orbit satellite network and low-orbit Internet;

[0054] The RF unit 2 mainly realizes the transmission and reception of RF signals required for high-orbit satellite communications and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communications;

[0055] The power supply and interface unit 3 mainly implements the embedding of the communication module into an external terminal to achieve data interaction with the terminal, and at the same time provides power to the baseband unit 1 and the radio frequency unit 2.

[0056] In addition, the baseband unit 1 includes a baseband processing chip 11 and an MCP memory chip 12;

[0057] The RF unit 2 includes a RF transceiver chip 21, a first receiving SAW 22, a first transmitting SAW 23, a second transmitting SAW 24, a second receiving SAW 25, a first LNA 26, a PA 27, a second LNA 28, a RF switch 29, and a TCXO 210.

[0058] The power and interface unit 3 includes a power management unit PMU 31 , a B2B interface 32 and a radio frequency interface 33 .

[0059] In the above-mentioned communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites, the baseband processing chip and the MCP memory chip are interconnected; the baseband processing chip supports the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol waveform and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system waveform. By loading these two waveforms on demand, the two standard communication protocol stacks, physical layer software operation and signal processing related functions of high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication are realized, thereby realizing access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet; the MCP memory chip 12 is composed of SDRAM and NAND Flash, providing random cache and static storage for the baseband processing chip 11.

[0060] The MCP memory chip 12 provides dynamic cache and static storage for the baseband processing chip 11, stores the firmware code required for the baseband processor to run, temporarily caches received data packets for further processing, and caches intermediate results and other temporary data generated during the calculation process.

[0061] In the above-mentioned communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites, the baseband processing chip is also connected to the RF transceiver chip using a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface. The baseband processing chip transmits the required high-orbit satellite communication baseband information or low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication baseband information to the RF transceiver chip for up-conversion modulation processing; in addition, the RF transceiver chip performs down-conversion demodulation processing on the high-orbit satellite communication RF information received from the first receiving end SAW or the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication RF information received from the second receiving end SAW to obtain the corresponding baseband signal and transmit it to the baseband processing chip.

[0062] The radio frequency interface 33 is connected to an external integrated transceiver antenna to realize the reception and transmission functions of radio frequency signals of two communication systems: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication;

[0063] The RF switch 29 is connected to the baseband processing chip 11, and the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29;

[0064] The RF switching switch 29 is also connected to the RF interface 33. Under the control of the baseband processing chip 11, the module can use the RF switching switch 29 to switch between four RF transceiver states: high-orbit satellite communication RF signal reception, high-orbit satellite communication RF signal transmission, low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication RF signal reception, and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication RF signal transmission, thereby realizing the RF signal transceiver functions of two systems using an external integrated transceiver antenna.

[0065] Furthermore, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the first receiving end 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 high-orbit communication system RF signal sent by the high-orbit satellite received by the RF interface 33. After the RF signal passes through the RF switching switch 29, the first LNA 26 amplifies the signal, and after analog bandpass filtering is performed by the first receiving end SAW 22, 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.

[0066] In some embodiments, when the communication module needs to receive a high-orbit satellite communication signal, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in a high-orbit satellite communication RF signal receiving state. The RF signal enters the RF interface 33 through the integrated transceiver 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 end SAW 22. The first receiving end SAW 22 performs analog bandpass filtering on the input S-band high-orbit communication system RF signal and then outputs the RF signal to the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF transceiver chip 21 demodulates, performs analog-to-digital conversion, and parallel-to-serial conversion on the received RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal, and then sends the obtained digital baseband signal to the baseband processing chip 11. The baseband processing chip 11 performs timing synchronization, carrier synchronization, decoding, data analysis, and other operations 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.

[0067] Furthermore, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the first transmitting end SAW 23 and PA 27 in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel, which is used to receive the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip 11, and process and modulate the signal into a high-orbit communication system RF signal through the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF signal is analog bandpass filtered through the first transmitting end SAW 23, and then the RF signal is power amplified by the power amplifier PA 27, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface 33 via the RF switching switch 29.

[0068] In some embodiments, when a high-orbit satellite communication signal is transmitted using a communication module, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in a high-orbit satellite communication RF signal transmission state. The external terminal host first transmits the data to be transmitted to the baseband processing chip 11 through the B2B interface 32. After receiving the data, the baseband processing chip completes data framing and coding modulation according to the specifications of the high-orbit satellite communication system protocol stack, 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 end SAW 23, the first transmitting end SAW 23 performs analog bandpass filtering on the RF signal and outputs it to the power amplifier PA 27. PA 27 power amplifies the RF signal. The amplified RF signal is transmitted to the external integrated transceiver antenna through the RF switch 29 and the RF interface 33 to realize the transmission of the RF signal.

[0069] Furthermore, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the second transmitting end SAW 24 and PA 27 in sequence to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel; this channel is used to receive low-orbit Internet narrowband communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip 11, and the RF transceiver chip 21 processes and modulates the signal into a low-orbit Internet narrowband system RF signal. The RF signal is analog bandpass filtered through the second transmitting end SAW 24, and then the power amplifier PA 27 is used to amplify the RF signal, and the RF signal is sent to the RF interface 33 via the RF switching switch 29.

[0070] In some embodiments, when the communication module is used to transmit a low-orbit internet satellite narrowband communication signal, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in a 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 completes data framing and coding modulation according to the specifications of the low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication system protocol stack, 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 end SAW 24, the second transmitting end SAW 24 performs analog bandpass filtering on the RF signal and outputs it to the power amplifier PA 27. PA 27 power amplifies the RF signal. The amplified RF signal is transmitted to the external integrated transceiver antenna through the RF switch 29 and the RF interface 33 to realize the transmission of the RF signal.

[0071] Furthermore, the RF transceiver chip 21 is also connected to the second receiving end SAW 25 and the second LNA 28 in sequence to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication receiving channel. This channel is used to receive the low-orbit Internet narrowband system RF signal sent by the low-orbit Internet satellite received by the RF interface 33. After the RF signal passes through the RF switching switch 29, the second LNA 28 amplifies the signal, and after analog bandpass filtering is performed through 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.

[0072] In some embodiments, when the communication module needs to receive a low-orbit internet satellite narrowband communication signal, the baseband processing chip 11 controls the RF switch 29 to be in a low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication RF signal receiving state. The RF signal enters the RF interface 33 through the external transceiver antenna connected to the communication module, and then enters the second LNA 28 through the RF switch 29. The second LNA 28 amplifies the received RF signal. The amplified RF signal enters the second receiving end SAW 25. The second receiving end SAW 25 performs analog bandpass filtering on the input L-band low-orbit internet narrowband system RF signal and then outputs the RF signal to the RF transceiver chip 21. The RF transceiver chip 21 demodulates, performs analog-to-digital conversion, and parallel-to-serial conversion on the received RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal, and then sends the obtained digital baseband signal to the baseband processing chip 11. The baseband processing chip 11 performs timing synchronization, carrier synchronization, decoding, data analysis and other operations 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.

[0073] Furthermore, in the process mentioned in the above example, the TCXO 210 is connected to the RF transceiver chip 21 to provide the RF transceiver chip 21 with a reference frequency required for signal modulation and demodulation.

[0074] Furthermore, 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 configuration parameters, the power management unit PMU 31 generates the operating voltage 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.

[0075] Furthermore, the present invention provides a communication module that supports high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites, and also 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 the external terminal enables the module to be easily embedded in 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.

[0076] In some embodiments, the communication signals carried by the B2B interface 32 are implemented by the following interfaces:

[0077] UART interface, used to realize data communication between the communication module and the external terminal, is designed based on the 16550 standard requirements, and its default rate is 4000000 bps;

[0078] USB interface, supports configuration as debugging interface or downloading interface;

[0079] USIM interface: The communication module provides two sets of USIM card interfaces to support communication with external USIM cards;

[0080] SDMMC interface: The communication module provides an SDMMC interface, which is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external data cards of various types, including SD card, MMC card, and SDIO card;

[0081] The PCM interface is used to implement audio communication between the communication module and the external terminal.

[0082] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication system is the S band, and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system is the L band. The radio frequency unit 2 of the communication module selects radio frequency devices and configures radio frequency parameters according to 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.

[0083] Furthermore, the high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel can be separately configured with an S-band first power amplifier PA, and the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel can be separately configured with an L-band second power amplifier PA, thereby replacing the dual-band power amplifier PA27.

[0084] 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. Figure 2 As shown, the RF unit 2 includes a first S-band PA 271 and a second L-band PA 272, which replace the original integrated PA 27 and respectively implement power amplification of the high-orbit satellite S-band RF signal from the first transmitting end SAW 23 and the low-orbit Internet L-band RF signal from the second transmitting end SAW 24 when transmitting the high-orbit satellite communication signal and the low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication signal in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0085] The communication module of this embodiment supports dual-mode single standby, supporting two modem partitions: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit internet narrowband satellite communication. When the communication processor is started, the External Module Service Daemon (EMSD) activates the corresponding modem partition based on the configuration of the external terminal's application processor (AP).

[0086] The normal startup process of the communication module is: 1) uboot startup -> 2) kernel startup -> 3) upper-layer component (init) startup -> 4) EMSD service startup -> 5) EMSD sends an open command to the modem device -> 6) kernel loads CP ARM and DSP files -> 7) EMSD loads AMT and NVRAM files -> 8) EMSD sends a startup command to the modem device.

[0087] During steps 5) through 8) above, the EMSD informs the kernel of the desired CP waveform. The kernel then loads the binary image of the relevant waveform from the designated flash area. Accordingly, when loading AMT and NVRAM files, the EMSD simply loads the appropriate file for each waveform. On the external terminal's application processor (AP), AT commands can be used to switch between the two supported CP waveforms. This switch takes effect immediately, without requiring a restart of the communication module. The configuration is saved and persists across power cycles.

[0088] The AT command for waveform switching is defined as AT^CPTYPE. The command settings are as follows (note that AT commands are case-insensitive). It is important to note that after setting this AT command, the module's MUX program (EMSD) will restart, and the host computer's MUX program (EMSD) will also need to be restarted. After issuing the AT^CPTYPE command, it is recommended to wait 5 to 10 seconds before restarting the host computer's MUX program (EMSD).

[0089] Further preferably, another embodiment of a communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites is provided, and its basic functional characteristics are shown in Table 1 below:

[0090] Table 1: Communication module functional characteristics

[0091]

[0092] Specifically, the module mainly includes a baseband unit, a radio frequency unit, and a power supply and interface unit. The three units are interconnected in pairs. In this embodiment, the baseband unit mainly runs two standard communication system protocols: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, to achieve access to high-orbit satellite networks and low-orbit Internet; the radio frequency unit mainly realizes the transmission and reception 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 realize data interaction with the terminal, and at the same time provides power for the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit.

[0093] Furthermore, the baseband unit includes a baseband processing chip, which can use the LC1881 chip to implement baseband processing functions for the two communication protocols. The baseband unit also includes an MCP memory chip, which contains NAND and SDRAM, providing random access cache and static storage for the baseband processing chip. The radio frequency unit includes an RF transceiver chip, a transceiver SAW filter, and a 26M voltage-controlled oscillator. The RF transceiver chip is used to up-convert and modulate the baseband signals of the two communication systems, or to down-convert and demodulate the RF signals of the two systems. The transceiver SAW filter is used to perform analog bandpass filtering on analog signals. The 26M voltage-controlled oscillator provides the reference frequency source required for modulation and demodulation for the RF transceiver chip.

[0094] Furthermore, the power processing and interface unit includes a PMU chip, an application interface, and a radio frequency interface.

[0095] Among them, the PMU chip integrates a power management unit, which is used to manage the power supply required by each unit on the module, generate the operating voltage required by the corresponding module, and provide power to each module.

[0096] The application interface consists of a 58-pin board-to-board connector, which is used to connect the communication module and the external terminal to realize the signal connection between the communication module and the external terminal, specifically including power and ground signals, communication signals, and control signals.

[0097] Among them, in order to realize the connection between the communication module and the external terminal power and ground signals, 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 operate continuously and stably at a higher transmission power; the input voltage of the V_PA signal is fixed at 5V, and a baseboard voltage-regulated input with an output capacity of ≥3A is recommended; the input voltage range of the VSYS signal is 3.6V~4.2V. When the system is battery-powered, the recommended battery output capacity is ≥3A.

[0098] In order to realize the communication signal transmission between the communication module and the external terminal, the communication module in this embodiment also supports a UART interface, a USB interface, a USIM interface, an SDMMC interface and a PCM interface.

[0099] Specifically, the UART interface is the communication interface between the communication module and the external terminal. The interface is designed based on the 16550 standard. Its default rate is 4000000bps. The communication rate can be dynamically configured between 4800bps and 4000kbps using AT commands. The UART signal definition is shown in Table 2:

[0100] Table 2: UART signal definition table

[0101]

[0102] 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 and can operate in slave mode or DMA mode. It supports USB 2.0 high-speed (HS, 480Mbps), full-speed (FS, 12Mbps), and low-speed (LS, 1.5Mbps) operating modes. The USB interface signal definitions are shown in Table 3:

[0103] Table 3: USB interface signal definition table

[0104]

[0105] The communication module provides two sets of USIM card interfaces for connecting and communicating with USIM cards. The interfaces comply with ISO / IEC 7816 standards. The connection signal interface definitions are shown in Table 4:

[0106] Table 4: Connection signal interface definition table

[0107]

[0108] The communication module supports an SDMMC interface. This interface uses a 4-bit data width design and supports multiple types of data cards, including SD memory (SD memory card with SD3.0 protocol), SDIO (SDIO interface with SDIO3.0 protocol), and MMC card (MMC / eMMC memory card with MMC4.41 protocol). The SDMMC interface definition is shown in Table 5:

[0109] Table 5: SDMMC interface definition table

[0110]

[0111] The communication module supports a PCM interface for audio communication between the communication module and external terminals. The PCM interface specifications are shown in Table 6:

[0112] Table 6: PCM interface specifications

[0113]

[0114] The interface definition of the PCM interface is shown in Table 7:

[0115] Table 7: Interface definition table of PCM interface

[0116]

[0117] To achieve control signal transmission between the communication module and the external terminal, the communication module in this embodiment defines four auxiliary GPIOs for sleep and wake-up, as shown in Table 8:

[0118] Table 8: Wake-up auxiliary GPIO definition table

[0119]

[0120] The RF interface includes an antenna connector in the form of an IPEX interface. The communication module can be connected to an external antenna through a matching cable.

[0121] Furthermore, the communication module has the following four working modes, as shown in Table 9:

[0122] Table 9: Communication module working mode table

[0123]

[0124] Switching between shutdown mode and normal mode is the power-on / off process. Switching between sleep mode and standby mode is achieved through the sleep and wake-up mechanism. In sleep mode, the system must be woken up before a soft shutdown can be initiated. A soft shutdown can be initiated in both standby and service modes. Before entering service mode, the system must first enter standby mode. In standby mode, the system automatically enters sleep mode based on service conditions (no sleep exceptions are allowed).

[0125] like Figure 3 The figure shows the communication module startup process in this embodiment. First, VSYS is powered on, the POWER_KEY signal remains high, and the system is in shutdown mode. At this time, the DBB_RST_N signal remains high. If the POWER_KEY signal is pulled low, the system powers on and automatically resets. The system software then begins executing. After a period of time (t, t > 2s), the system power is maintained, and the POWER_KEY signal can be released.

[0126] The shutdown process must be initiated by software. The host sends a shutdown command to the communication module through AT commands. After the baseband processing chip inside the SCM3105JA receives the shutdown command, it controls the PMU chip to complete the shutdown operation. The host then cuts off the VBAT power supply to the module.

[0127] Figure 4The communication module reset process in this example is described. During the communication module startup process, the reset signal (PMU_RST_IN) must be pulled high using an external pull-up resistor. Otherwise, the module may not boot properly. After the communication module boots properly, the host can reset the module by pulling the reset signal (PMU_RST_IN) low for a period of time (t, t > 500ms) and then pulling it high. When resetting the communication module using the PMU_RST_IN signal, the POWER_KEY signal must be high; otherwise, the system will enter an undefined state.

[0128] It should be understood that the device may also include additional frames not shown and / or the frames shown may be omitted, and the components shown may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof, and the scope of the present application is not limited in this respect.

[0129] It should be noted that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites, 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: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication, wherein: The baseband unit (1) is used to operate 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 (2) is used to realize the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals required for high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication; The high-orbit satellite communication system and the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system are located in two modem partitions respectively. The EMSD starts the corresponding modem partition according to the relevant configuration of the application processor AP of the external terminal; The EMSD startup call process for the communication module is as follows: Step 1, EMSD sends an open command to the modem device; Step 2, the kernel loads the CP ARM and DSP files; Step 3, EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files; Step 4, EMSD sends a startup command to the modem device; During the execution call process, EMSD informs the kernel of the CP waveform to be loaded in the first step. Then, the kernel loads the binary image of the relevant waveform from the specified flash area in the second step. Correspondingly, in the third step, when EMSD loads the AMT and NVRAM files, it loads the corresponding files according to different waveforms.

2. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit internet satellites according to claim 1, characterized in that: The baseband unit (1) comprises a baseband processing chip (11) and an MCP memory chip (12); the baseband processing chip (11) and the MCP memory chip (12) are interconnected; The baseband processing chip (11) supports two CP waveforms, namely, a high-orbit satellite communication system protocol waveform and a low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication system waveform. By loading these two waveforms on demand, the operation and signal processing functions of two standard communication protocol stacks, physical layer software of high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication are realized, thereby realizing access to high-orbit satellite network and low-orbit Internet; The MCP memory chip (12) is composed of SDRAM and NAND Flash, and provides random cache 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, characterized in that: The radio frequency unit (2) comprises 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) using a serial digital I / Q data interface and a 3-wire / 4-wire SPI serial control interface; the baseband processing chip (11) transmits the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information or low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication baseband information 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 high-orbit satellite communication radio frequency information received from the first receiving end SAW (22) or the low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication radio frequency information received from the second receiving end SAW (25), obtains a 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, characterized in that: The radio frequency unit (2) is connected to an external transceiver integrated antenna via a radio frequency interface (33) to realize the reception and transmission functions of radio frequency signals of two communication systems: high-orbit satellite communication and low-orbit Internet narrowband satellite communication; The radio frequency switching switch (29) of the radio frequency unit (2) is connected to the radio frequency interface (33) and is used to realize switching between four radio frequency receiving and transmitting states: receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals for high-orbit satellite communication, and receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals for 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 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 end SAW (23), a second transmitting end SAW (24), a first LNA (26), a PA (27), a second LNA (28) and a radio frequency switch (29); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also connected to the first receiving end SAW (22) and the first LNA (26) in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication receiving channel; the channel is used to receive a high-orbit communication system radio frequency signal sent by the high-orbit satellite received by the radio frequency interface (33); the radio frequency signal is amplified by the first LNA (26) after passing through the radio frequency switching switch (29), and is subjected to analog bandpass filtering by the first receiving end SAW (22). The signal is then processed and demodulated into a baseband signal by the radio frequency transceiver chip (21), and then sent to the baseband processing chip (11); The radio frequency transceiver chip (21) is also connected to the first transmitting end SAW (23) and PA (27) in sequence to form a high-orbit satellite communication transmission channel; the channel is used to receive the high-orbit satellite communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip (11), and the radio frequency transceiver chip (21) processes and modulates the signal into a high-orbit communication system radio frequency signal, the radio frequency signal is subjected to analog bandpass filtering through the first transmitting end SAW (23), and then the radio frequency signal is amplified by the power amplifier PA (27), and 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 connected to the second transmitting end SAW (24) and PA (27) in sequence to form a low-orbit internet satellite narrowband communication transmission channel; the channel is used to receive low-orbit internet narrowband communication baseband information from the baseband processing chip (11), and the signal is processed and modulated into a low-orbit internet narrowband system radio frequency signal by the radio frequency transceiver chip (21); the radio frequency signal is subjected to analog bandpass filtering by the second transmitting end SAW (24), and then the radio frequency signal is power amplified by the power amplifier PA (27), and the radio frequency signal is sent to the radio frequency interface (33) via the radio frequency switching switch (29); The RF transceiver chip (21) is also connected to the second receiving end SAW (25) and the second LNA (28) in sequence to form a low-orbit Internet satellite narrowband communication receiving channel, which is used to receive the low-orbit Internet narrowband system RF signal sent by the low-orbit Internet satellite received by the RF interface (33). After the RF signal passes through the RF switching switch (29), the second LNA (28) amplifies the signal, and after analog bandpass filtering is performed through the second receiving end SAW (25), the signal is processed and demodulated into a baseband signal through the RF transceiver chip (21), and then sent to the baseband processing chip (11).

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

7. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-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 supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 5, characterized in that: 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 supporting high-orbit satellites and low-orbit Internet satellites according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a power supply and interface unit (3); the power supply and interface unit (3) is used to enable the communication module to be embedded in 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) includes 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); 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. The communication module supporting 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 the external terminal, so that the communication module can be 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. The communication module supporting high-orbit satellites and low-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: The UART interface is used to realize data communication between the communication module and the external terminal. It is designed based on the 16550 standard and has a default rate of 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 external USIM cards; SDMMC interface: The communication module provides an SDMMC interface, which is designed with a 4-bit data width and supports external data cards of various types, 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.

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