Method and device for determining residual time delay, program product, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a residual time delay determination method and device, a program product, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and is applied to the technical field of communication, and the residual time delay determination method comprises the following steps: when a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal is received, determining the residual time delay according to the PUCCH signal; determining an air interface time delay change rate of the spaceborne base station relative to the user terminal according to the time information corresponding to the current moment, ephemeris information corresponding to the spaceborne base station and beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; determining a time delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal according to the air interface time delay change rate; according to the uplink residual time delay corresponding to at least one time in the time delay average window length before the current time, the statistical average time delay of the user terminal at the current time is determined, and the statistical average time delay is used as the residual time delay of the PUCCH signal. The average value of the time delay estimation values of other broadband signals is used as the residual time delay of the PUCCH signal, so that the time delay estimation error for uplink synchronization can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and device for determining residual delay, a program product, an electronic device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Currently, broadband satellite internet services largely utilize 5G communication systems for better compatibility with terrestrial network equipment. However, in 5G communication systems, receivers must maintain certain time synchronization accuracy when demodulating received signals. Compared to terrestrial communication scenarios, low-orbit satellite communication scenarios face significant challenges in receiver time synchronization due to the faster relative motion between the onboard base station and user terminals, resulting in rapidly varying air interface delays. If the time synchronization error exceeds a certain threshold, signal demodulation performance will be severely degraded.

[0003] Receive signal synchronization includes downlink synchronization (base station transmission and terminal reception) and uplink synchronization (terminal transmission and base station reception). In existing technologies, the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization is large, resulting in a significant degradation in the demodulation performance of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a method and device for determining residual delay, a program product, an electronic device, and a storage medium, so as to solve the technical problem in the prior art that the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization is large, resulting in a significant decrease in PUCCH demodulation performance.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining residual delay, which is applied to a satellite base station, including: when receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determining the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; determining the delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal based on the air interface delay change rate; and determining the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay average window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0006] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0007] In an optional embodiment, the delay averaging window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate and is no greater than the maximum window length. In this solution, the air interface delay variation rate can reflect the fluctuation frequency of the uplink residual delay. Therefore, the delay averaging window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate. When the fluctuation frequency is large, a small window is used for statistics, while when the fluctuation frequency is large, a large window is used for statistics. This ensures statistical accuracy while avoiding excessive deviation of the statistical results from the fluctuation axis due to excessive statistical time, achieving good performance at different satellite motion positions.

[0008] In an optional implementation manner, determining the average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal according to the air interface delay change rate includes: calculating the average delay window length using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length, as well as is a constant, In the above scheme, the average delay window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate and the proportional relationship between the two is determined by the parameter Control, so that you can choose the appropriate window length. In addition, the embodiment of the present application also controls the maximum window length. Constraints have been made to prevent the solution from being unimplemented due to excessive statistical time in extreme scenarios.

[0009] In an optional embodiment, the determining of the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay averaging window length before the current moment includes: calculating the average of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment to obtain the statistical average delay. In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of the uplink residual delay in the low-orbit satellite communication scenario and the principle that the delay estimation value of the broadband signal is highly accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of the delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0010] In an optional implementation manner, calculating the mean of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment to obtain the statistical average delay includes: calculating the statistical average delay using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding statistical average delay, Indicates the user terminal At the moment The corresponding uplink residual delay, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment In the above scheme, based on the sawtooth-like periodic fluctuation of the uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, limiting the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal to a certain range, thereby reducing the error in the delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with existing schemes.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, the method further includes: receiving an uplink broadband signal transmitted by the user terminal; and determining the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment based on the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal. In the above scheme, the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment can be obtained by calculating the difference between the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal. When necessary, the uplink residual delay can be used to calculate the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, thereby reducing the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization.

[0012] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a residual delay determination device, which is applied to a satellite base station, including: a first determination module, for determining, when receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; a second determination module, for determining the delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal based on the air interface delay change rate; and a third determination module, for determining the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay average window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0013] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, the delay averaging window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate and is no greater than the maximum window length. In this solution, the air interface delay variation rate can reflect the fluctuation frequency of the uplink residual delay. Therefore, the delay averaging window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate. When the fluctuation frequency is large, a small window is used for statistics, while when the fluctuation frequency is large, a large window is used for statistics. This ensures statistical accuracy while avoiding excessive deviation of the statistical results from the fluctuation axis due to excessive statistical time, achieving good performance at different satellite motion positions.

[0015] In an optional implementation manner, the second determining module is specifically configured to calculate the delay average window length using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length, as well as is a constant, In the above scheme, the average delay window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate and the proportional relationship between the two is determined by the parameter Control, so that you can choose the appropriate window length. In addition, the embodiment of the present application also controls the maximum window length. Constraints have been made to prevent the solution from being unimplemented due to excessive statistical time in extreme scenarios.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the third determination module is specifically configured to calculate the mean of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment to obtain the statistical average delay. In the above scheme, based on the sawtooth-like periodic fluctuation of the uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of the broadband signal is highly accurate, the mean of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, limiting the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal to a certain range, thereby reducing the error in the delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared to existing schemes.

[0017] In an optional implementation manner, the third determining module is further configured to calculate the statistical average delay using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding statistical average delay, Indicates the user terminal At the moment The corresponding uplink residual delay, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment In the above scheme, based on the sawtooth-like periodic fluctuation of the uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, limiting the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal to a certain range, thereby reducing the error in the delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with existing schemes.

[0018] In an optional embodiment, the residual delay determination apparatus further comprises: a first receiving module for receiving an uplink broadband signal transmitted by the user terminal; and a fourth determining module for determining the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment based on the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal. In the above scheme, the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment can be obtained by calculating the difference between the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal. This uplink residual delay can then be used to calculate the residual delay of the PUCCH signal when necessary, thereby reducing the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization.

[0019] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, comprising computer program instructions, which, when read and executed by a processor, execute the residual delay determination method as described in the first aspect.

[0020] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a bus; the processor and the memory communicate with each other through the bus; the memory stores computer program instructions that can be executed by the processor, and the processor calls the computer program instructions to execute the residual delay determination method as described in the first aspect.

[0021] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the residual delay determination method as described in the first aspect.

[0022] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the following specifically cites the embodiments of the present application and provides a detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other relevant drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for determining residual delay is provided for an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 A structural diagram of a device for determining residual delay is provided for an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 This is a structural block diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. Words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not limit them to be necessarily different.

[0026] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0027] Before describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the communication system of the embodiments of the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. A communication system provided in the embodiments of the present application includes an access device and a user terminal. In the specific implementation of the embodiments of the present application, the user terminal can be a computer, a smart phone, a telephone, a cable TV set-top box, a digital subscriber line router, and other devices. The access device can be one of a ground base station, a high-altitude base station, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, and a high-orbit satellite. It should be noted that in actual applications, the number of access devices and user terminals can be one or more, and this application does not limit this.

[0028] The above-mentioned communication system may be applicable to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems or NR systems (also referred to as fifth-generation (5G) systems), LTE and NR hybrid networking systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems (such as narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems), 6G systems, and other post-5G evolution systems, as well as other next-generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, without limitation.

[0029] Furthermore, access equipment can be used to support user terminal access, for example, it can be a base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) in a 2G access technology communication system, a node B (Node B) and a radio network controller (RNC) in a 3G access technology communication system, an evolved node B (eNB) in a 4G access technology communication system, a next generation node B (gNB) in a 5G access technology communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), a relay node (Relay Node), an access point (AP), and other ground equipment, and can also be non-ground equipment: a high-altitude base station, for example, a hot air balloon that can provide wireless access functions for user terminals, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, a high-orbit satellite, etc. For the convenience of description, in all embodiments of the present application, the device that provides wireless communication functions for the user terminal is collectively referred to as an access device or a base station.

[0030] A user terminal can be a device that provides voice or data connectivity to users, and can also be referred to as a mobile station, subscriber unit, station, or terminal equipment (TE). A user terminal can be a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, handheld device, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, tablet computer, or the like. With the advancement of wireless communication technology, any device that can access a communication system, communicate with the network side of a communication system, or communicate with other objects through a communication system can be a user terminal in the embodiments of the present application. For example, user terminals and cars in intelligent transportation, household appliances in smart homes, power meters, voltage monitoring instruments, and environmental monitoring instruments in smart grids, video surveillance equipment in intelligent security networks, and cash registers can all be included. In the embodiments of the present application, a user terminal can communicate with a base station. Multiple user terminals can also communicate with each other. User terminals can be static or mobile.

[0031] In addition, the "protocol" involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as the LTE protocol, the New Radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems (such as the 6G communication system), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The communication architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for determining residual delay is provided for an embodiment of the present application. The method can be, but is not limited to, performed by an electronic device. Figure 3 The possible structure of the electronic device is shown. For details, please refer to the following Figure 3As an embodiment, the electronic device may be a satellite-borne base station. The method for determining the residual delay may specifically include the following steps: S101: When a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal is received, the air interface delay variation rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal is determined based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal.

[0034] S102: Determine the average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal according to the air interface delay variation rate.

[0035] S103: Determine the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay averaging window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0036] Specifically, in the above S101, it is assumed that the satellite base station is at time (i.e. current moment) received from user terminal The PUCCH signal sent can be based on the time The corresponding ephemeris information and the beam direction information corresponding to the above PUCCH signal determine the satellite base station at time Relative user terminal Air interface delay variation rate .

[0037] Among them, ephemeris information is a data set that describes the satellite's orbit in space and related state parameters. It is the core foundation for the global navigation satellite system to achieve functions such as positioning, navigation, and timing. In the embodiment of the present application, ephemeris information is used to determine the relative position between the onboard base station and the user terminal. The beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal may include information such as the beam azimuth angle and the beam elevation angle; in the embodiment of the present application, the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal is used to determine the position of the user terminal.

[0038] Air interface delay refers to the delay experienced during wireless transmission of data between a base station and a user terminal. It is primarily affected by factors such as the data transmission duration, the waiting time for data transmission resource requests, and the feedback delay caused by data processing. The air interface delay change rate is a quantitative description of the change in air interface delay, reflecting the dynamic characteristics of air interface delay. In the embodiment of the present application, the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal can be determined based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal.

[0039] The following example describes a specific implementation method for determining the above-mentioned air interface delay change rate: Step 1: Establish an earth coordinate system; Step 2: Calculate the relative position vector between the terminal and the satellite (i.e., the direction of the straight line connecting the two) based on the terminal position and the satellite position. The terminal position is determined based on the beam direction information and the horizontal plane altitude of the beam center position, and the satellite position is determined based on the ephemeris information; Step 3: Project the satellite motion vector (obtained from the ephemeris information) in the direction of the relative position vector to obtain the relative motion vector; Step 4: Calculate the range change rate based on the relative motion vector; Step 5: Calculate the air interface delay change rate based on the range change rate.

[0040] In the above S102, the air interface delay variation rate calculated in the above S101 can be used. , further determine the average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal The delay average window length represents a period of time equal to the delay average window length. In the embodiment of the present application, the delay average window length can be from the current moment Start and delay forward by the time period of the average window length.

[0041] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation method for determining the above-mentioned average delay window length, and those skilled in the art may make appropriate adjustments based on actual circumstances. For example, the above-mentioned average delay window length may be determined based on a predetermined correspondence between the air interface delay change rate and the average delay window length; alternatively, the average delay window length may be calculated based on a predetermined formula; alternatively, the air interface delay change rate may be input into a pre-trained deep learning model to obtain the average delay window length, etc.

[0042] In S103 above, the uplink residual delay is a parameter in a wireless communication system that describes the slight time deviation that remains during uplink transmission after time synchronization compensation. In wireless communications, user terminals and base stations must maintain strict time synchronization to ensure that uplink signals from different user terminals are transmitted orthogonally on the base station side (to avoid mutual interference). To this end, wireless communication systems use various technical solutions to compensate for the propagation delay between user terminals and base stations.

[0043] Current technical solutions for addressing uplink synchronization delay in 5G-based low-orbit satellite communications include terminal dynamic ephemeris calculation and closed-loop timing adjustment. Specifically, the following are: Terminal ephemeris calculation: The terminal obtains ephemeris information from the onboard base station, calculates the satellite position at different times based on this ephemeris information to obtain the corresponding air interface delay, and then adjusts the transmission signal time; Closed-loop timing adjustment: The terminal ephemeris calculation generates a continuously accumulating error. The base station uses the pilot signal transmitted by the terminal to estimate this error and then notifies the terminal to adjust the transmission signal time. However, even after using these two technical solutions, small-scale errors will still remain, which is the uplink residual delay.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, each time the satellite-borne base station receives an uplink signal sent by a user terminal, it can determine the uplink residual delay corresponding to that moment. Initially, within the time period of the forward delay average window length, there may be one or more uplink residual delays corresponding to time points. Based on the at least one uplink residual delay, the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current time point can be further determined.

[0045] The statistical average delay determined in S103 can be used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal for demodulation of the PUCCH signal. As an embodiment, the above-mentioned specific demodulation method may include using the residual delay to complete channel estimation, as well as subsequent channel equalization, soft demodulation, and channel decoding. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this, and those skilled in the art may make appropriate adjustments with reference to the existing technology.

[0046] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0047] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the average delay window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate and is not greater than the maximum window length.

[0048] Specifically, the average delay window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate, which means that a small window can be used for statistics when the air interface delay change rate is large, and a large window can be used for statistics when the air interface delay change rate is small. This not only ensures statistical accuracy but also avoids the statistical results deviating significantly from the fluctuation axis due to the statistical time being too long, thus achieving better performance at different positions of the satellite movement.

[0049] Furthermore, the average delay window length is no greater than the maximum window length, constraining the maximum delay window length to prevent extreme scenarios where excessive statistical time can cause the solution to fail. This is because when the satellite passes overhead, its air interface delay variation rate is zero. Without protection, the average delay window length becomes infinite.

[0050] As an implementation method, the average delay window length can be calculated using the following formula: ; in, Indicates user terminal At the current moment The corresponding average delay window length is, as well as is a constant, Indicates the maximum window length. as well as Can be determined based on experience.

[0051] In the above scheme, the air interface delay change rate reflects the fluctuation frequency of the uplink residual delay. Therefore, the delay average window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate. When the fluctuation frequency is large, a small window is used for statistics, and when the fluctuation frequency is large, a large window is used for statistics. This ensures statistical accuracy while avoiding excessive statistical time that may cause the statistical results to deviate significantly from the fluctuation axis, achieving good performance at different satellite motion positions. In addition, this embodiment of the application also imposes constraints on the maximum window length to prevent the scheme from failing in extreme scenarios due to excessive statistical time.

[0052] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the above S103 may specifically include the following steps: Calculate the average of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one time point to obtain the statistical average delay.

[0053] Specifically, as an implementation method, the statistical average delay may be calculated using the following formula: ; in, Indicates user terminal At the current moment The corresponding statistical average delay is, Indicates user terminal At the moment The corresponding uplink residual delay is Indicates user terminal At the current moment The corresponding average delay window length.

[0054] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0055] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the method for determining the residual delay provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps: S201: Receive an uplink broadband signal sent by a user terminal.

[0056] S202: Determine the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment according to the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal.

[0057] Specifically, the uplink broadband signal may include at least one of a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). By calculating the difference between the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal, the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that time can be obtained.

[0058] In the above scheme, by calculating the difference between the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal, the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment can be obtained. When necessary, the uplink residual delay can be used to calculate the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, thereby reducing the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization.

[0059] In low-orbit satellite communication scenarios, after the terminal's dynamic ephemeris calculation and closed-loop timing adjustment steps, the uplink residual delay often exhibits a sawtooth-like periodic fluctuation pattern, and the frequency of the fluctuation is related to the relative motion state between the satellite-borne base station and the user terminal. Generally speaking, when the pitch angle between the satellite and the user terminal is low, the frequency of the residual delay change fluctuation is large, and vice versa. Against this background, the embodiment of the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects: 1. It can effectively improve the PUCCH demodulation performance in low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios. The demodulation performance of the PUCCH signal depends to a large extent on the accuracy of the uplink residual delay estimation, but in low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios, the delay estimation accuracy is poor due to the narrow bandwidth of the PUCCH channel. The modulation order and code rate of the PUCCH channel are low, and it naturally has a certain ability to resist delay estimation errors, so its requirement for the accuracy of the residual delay estimation is that the error is no more than a certain range to complete correct demodulation. The embodiment of the present application is based on the law that the uplink residual delay in the low-orbit satellite communication scenario has a sawtooth periodic fluctuation. The average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the PUCCH residual delay, and the PUCCH delay estimation error is limited to a certain direction (traditional delay estimation will produce a large error). Compared with the existing scheme, it can effectively improve the PUCCH channel demodulation performance in low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios.

[0060] 2. Better performance can be obtained at different positions of satellite movement. Under different relative position conditions of satellite movement and the terminal, the fluctuation frequency of the uplink residual delay is different, and the fluctuation axis may also be different. The embodiment of the present application is based on the satellite-borne base station calculating the air interface delay change rate according to the ephemeris information, the received uplink signal beam direction information, the terminal position information and the movement speed, and then calculating a reasonable average delay window length. When the fluctuation frequency is large, a small window is used for statistics; otherwise, a large window is used for statistics, which not only ensures the statistical accuracy but also avoids the long statistical time causing the statistical results to deviate greatly from the fluctuation axis, thereby achieving better performance at different positions of satellite movement. In addition, the embodiment of the present application also imposes constraints on the maximum statistical window length to prevent the solution from being unable to be implemented due to excessive statistical time in extreme scenarios.

[0061] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A structural diagram of a residual delay determination device is provided for an embodiment of the present application. The residual delay determination device 300 can be applied to a satellite base station and can specifically include: a first determination module 301, configured to, upon receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determine the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; a second determination module 302, configured to determine the delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal based on the air interface delay change rate; and a third determination module 303, configured to determine the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay average window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0062] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0063] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the delay average window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate and is not greater than the maximum window length.

[0064] In the above scheme, the air interface delay variation rate reflects the fluctuation frequency of the uplink residual delay. Therefore, the delay averaging window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay variation rate. When the fluctuation frequency is large, a small window is used for statistics, while when the fluctuation frequency is large, a large window is used. This ensures statistical accuracy while avoiding excessive deviation from the fluctuation center axis due to excessive statistical time, thus achieving good performance regardless of the satellite's motion position.

[0065] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the second determining module 302 is specifically configured to calculate the average delay window length using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length, as well as is a constant, Indicates the maximum window length.

[0066] In the above scheme, the average delay window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate and the proportional relationship between the two is determined by the parameter Control, so that you can choose the appropriate window length. In addition, the embodiment of the present application also controls the maximum window length. Constraints have been made to prevent the solution from being unimplemented due to excessive statistical time in extreme scenarios.

[0067] Further, based on the above embodiment, the third determining module 303 is specifically configured to calculate an average value of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment to obtain the statistical average delay.

[0068] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0069] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the third determining module 303 is further configured to calculate the statistical average delay using the following formula: ; in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding statistical average delay, Indicates the user terminal At the moment The corresponding uplink residual delay, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length.

[0070] In the above scheme, based on the law of sawtooth periodic fluctuation of uplink residual delay in low-orbit satellite communication scenarios and the principle that the delay estimation value of broadband signals is more accurate, the average of the delay estimation values ​​of other broadband signals is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, and the delay estimation error of the PUCCH signal is limited to a certain direction, thereby reducing the error of delay estimation for uplink synchronization, and thus effectively improving the PUCCH demodulation performance compared with the existing scheme.

[0071] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, the residual delay determination device 300 also includes: a first receiving module, used to receive the uplink broadband signal sent by the user terminal; and a fourth determination module, used to determine the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment based on the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal.

[0072] In the above scheme, by calculating the difference between the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal, the uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment can be obtained. When necessary, the uplink residual delay can be used to calculate the residual delay of the PUCCH signal, thereby reducing the error in delay estimation for uplink synchronization.

[0073] Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3This is a block diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device 400 includes: at least one processor 401, at least one communication interface 402, at least one memory 403, and at least one communication bus 404. Among them, the communication bus 404 is used to realize direct connection and communication between these components, the communication interface 402 is used to communicate signaling or data with other node devices, and the memory 403 stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor 401. When the electronic device 400 is running, the processor 401 communicates with the memory 403 through the communication bus 404, and the machine-readable instructions are called by the processor 401 to execute the above-mentioned residual delay determination method.

[0074] For example, the processor 401 of an embodiment of the present application reads a computer program from the memory 403 through the communication bus 404 and executes the computer program to implement the following method: when receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determining the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; determining the delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal based on the air interface delay change rate; determining the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay average window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0075] The processor 401 includes one or more processors, which may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The processor 401 may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a network processor (NP), or other conventional processors; or a dedicated processor, including a neural network processing unit (NPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. Furthermore, when there are multiple processors 401, some may be general-purpose processors, while others may be dedicated processors.

[0076] The memory 403 includes one or more, which may be, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.

[0077] I understand. Figure 3 The structure shown is for illustration only. The electronic device 400 may also include Figure 3 More or fewer components than shown, or with Figure 3 Different configurations shown. Figure 3Each component shown in the figure can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the embodiments of the present application, the electronic device 400 can be, but is not limited to, a physical device such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a smart wearable device, an in-vehicle device, or a virtual device such as a virtual machine. In addition, the electronic device 400 does not necessarily have to be a single device, but can also be a combination of multiple devices, such as a server cluster, etc.

[0078] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program including computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can execute the steps of the residual delay determination method in the above embodiment, for example including: S101: When receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determine the air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on the time information corresponding to the current moment, the ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and the beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal. S102: Determine the delay average window length corresponding to the user terminal based on the air interface delay change rate. S103: Determine the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay average window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

[0079] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the residual delay determination method described in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0080] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some communication interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0081] In addition, the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0082] Furthermore, the functional modules in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated together to form an independent part, or each module can exist independently, or two or more modules can be integrated to form an independent part.

[0083] It should be noted that if the function is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the existing technology, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program code.

[0084] In this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, but do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0085] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations of the present application are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for determining residual delay, characterized in that: Applied to satellite base stations, including: Upon receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determining, based on time information corresponding to a current moment, ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal, an air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal; Determining the average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal according to the air interface delay change rate; Determine, based on an uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one time point within the delay averaging window before the current time point, a statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current time point, wherein the statistical average delay is used as a residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

2. The method for determining the residual delay according to claim 1, wherein: The delay average window length is inversely proportional to the air interface delay change rate and is not greater than the maximum window length.

3. The method for determining the residual delay according to claim 2, wherein: The determining, according to the air interface delay change rate, an average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal includes: The delay average window length is calculated using the following formula: ； in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length, as well as is a constant, Indicates the maximum window length.

4. The method for determining the residual delay according to claim 1, wherein: The determining, based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one time point within the delay averaging window length before the current time point, the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current time point includes: An average of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment is calculated to obtain the statistical average delay.

5. The method for determining the residual delay according to claim 4, wherein: The calculating the mean of the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment to obtain the statistical average delay includes: The statistical average delay is calculated using the following formula: ； in, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding statistical average delay, Indicates the user terminal At the moment The corresponding uplink residual delay, Indicates the user terminal At the current moment The corresponding delay average window length.

6. The method for determining the residual delay according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving an uplink broadband signal sent by the user terminal; An uplink residual delay corresponding to the user terminal at that moment is determined according to the actual arrival time and the expected reception time of the uplink broadband signal.

7. A device for determining residual delay, characterized in that: Applied to satellite base stations, including: A first determining module is configured to, upon receiving a PUCCH signal sent by a user terminal, determine an air interface delay change rate of the satellite base station relative to the user terminal based on time information corresponding to a current moment, ephemeris information corresponding to the satellite base station, and beam direction information corresponding to the PUCCH signal; A second determining module is configured to determine an average delay window length corresponding to the user terminal according to the air interface delay change rate; A third determination module is configured to determine the statistical average delay of the user terminal at the current moment based on the uplink residual delay corresponding to at least one moment within the delay averaging window length before the current moment, wherein the statistical average delay is used as the residual delay of the PUCCH signal.

8. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are read and executed by a processor, the method for determining the residual delay according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is executed.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor, memory, and bus; The processor and the memory communicate with each other via the bus; The memory stores computer program instructions that can be executed by the processor, and the processor calls the computer program instructions to execute the method for determining the residual delay according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is caused to perform the residual delay determination method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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