Time delay estimation method and device, base station, equipment, medium and program product

Abstract

The invention provides a time delay estimation method and device, a base station, equipment, a medium and a program product, and the method comprises the steps: receiving a PRACH signal; time delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal in a time delay domain is determined; determining an initial time delay estimation value of the PRACH signal; determining a time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; determining the time delay correction amount of the PRACH signal; and determining the absolute time delay of the PRACH signal. According to the scheme, the received PRACH signal is divided into a plurality of time domain segments according to the duration time of the single leader sequence, and the time delay domain energy distribution of each segment is respectively acquired, so that the time delay estimation method can directly multiplex the time delay domain energy distribution of the PRACH signal output by the existing PRACH receiving link, the algorithm overhead and the hardware resource dependence are reduced, and the time delay estimation efficiency is improved. And time delay estimation is realized through relatively low calculation complexity, so that the power consumption and the implementation cost of the base station or the satellite load are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a delay estimation method, apparatus, base station, device, medium, and program product. Background Art

[0002] In the 3GPP NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) protocol, the preamble of the random access channel (PRACH) uses a repetitive sequence structure. To achieve uplink synchronization, the base station receiver must estimate the absolute delay between the UE and the satellite / base station under extremely long propagation delays (up to tens of milliseconds).

[0003] Currently, related technologies mainly use the time domain sliding correlation method to perform sliding correlation on the received PRACH signal sample by sample point using the local root sequence in the time domain to find the maximum correlation peak. However, the computational complexity of this solution is high and it is difficult to apply to real-time communication systems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a delay estimation method, apparatus, base station, device, medium and program product to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a delay estimation method, comprising: receiving a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals whose time length is the duration of a single preamble sequence; determining the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; determining an initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; determining a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal with a valid signal and the smallest index value; determining a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; and determining an absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate value and the delay correction amount.

[0006] In the implementation process of the above scheme, by dividing the received PRACH signal into multiple time domain segments according to the duration of a single preamble sequence, and obtaining the delay domain energy distribution of each segment respectively, the above delay estimation method can directly reuse the delay domain energy distribution of the PRACH signal output by the existing PRACH receiving link, reducing algorithm overhead and hardware resource dependence, and realizing delay estimation with low computational complexity, thereby reducing the power consumption and implementation cost of the base station or satellite payload; on the other hand, the above scheme realizes the precise synthesis of absolute delay by jointly utilizing the integer multiple delay reflected by the time domain segment index and the relative delay provided by the peak of the delay domain energy distribution, breaking through the limitation of the traditional method that can only estimate relative delay, which is beneficial to the delay estimation accuracy of the above delay estimation method; on the other hand, the above scheme can be implemented without modifying the PRACH protocol frame structure, and has good compatibility.

[0007] In an implementation of the first aspect, the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal is determined based on the peak position in the delay domain energy distribution, including: performing a threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals; and determining the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution corresponding to the time domain segment signal that passes the threshold judgment.

[0008] In the implementation process of the above scheme, by first performing a threshold judgment on the delay domain energy distribution peak of the signal in each time domain segment, false peaks that are obviously caused by noise or interference can be eliminated, so that only valid candidates with sufficient energy are retained when the peak position is subsequently extracted, which is beneficial to improving the estimation accuracy of the initial delay estimation value; on the other hand, invalid time domain segments are filtered out in advance through threshold judgment, and the subsequent processing process only needs to find the peak position in the time domain segment that passes the judgment, and the search space is greatly reduced, which is beneficial to improving the response speed of the above delay estimation method.

[0009] In an implementation of the first aspect, the threshold judgment is performed on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, including: performing a first threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, and determining that there is a time domain segment signal of the PRACH signal in each of the time domain segment signals; performing a second threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, and determining that there is a valid time domain segment signal of the valid PRACH signal in each of the time domain segment signals; and determining the initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the valid time domain segment signal.

[0010] In the implementation process of the above scheme, the first judgment can quickly lock the potential time domain segment signal where the signal exists, effectively narrowing the scope of subsequent analysis, reducing unnecessary calculations and processing, improving processing efficiency, avoiding further complex analysis of obviously invalid time domain segment signals, and saving computing resources; on the other hand, the second judgment further accurately determines the time domain segment signal where the valid PRACH signal exists among the time domain segment signals where the signal exists, ensuring the validity and reliability of the time domain segment signal used to determine the initial delay estimation value, and ultimately improving the accuracy and robustness of the initial delay estimation; on the other hand, the setting of the two threshold judgments provides double protection for the validity identification of the PRACH signal, enhancing the anti-interference ability of the above delay estimation method.

[0011] In an implementation of the first aspect, a first threshold judgment is performed on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, and the existence of the time domain segment signal of the PRACH signal is determined in each of the time domain segment signals, including: performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals to determine a first reference peak value; determining a first judgment threshold based on the first reference peak value and the detection threshold; determining the existence of the time domain segment signal of the signal in each of the time domain segment signals; wherein, the existence of the time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the first judgment threshold.

[0012] In the implementation process of the above scheme, the first reference peak is obtained by first accumulating and averaging the delay domain energy distribution peaks of the signals in each time domain segment, which can effectively smooth random noise interference, so that the first reference peak is closer to the average energy level of the real signal, avoiding misjudgment due to abnormally high or low peaks in individual time domain segments, thereby improving the accuracy of the subsequent first decision threshold setting; on the other hand, the first decision threshold calculated based on the first reference peak and the detection threshold can adapt to the overall energy changes of the signal, which not only improves the robustness of the detection of time domain segment signals in different signal-to-noise ratio environments, but also ensures that only the time domain segments that truly carry the PRACH signal energy can pass the first judgment, avoiding a large number of invalid or low-energy segment signals from entering the subsequent processing flow, which is conducive to improving the processing efficiency and resource utilization efficiency of the above delay estimation method.

[0013] In an implementation of the first aspect, based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals, a second threshold judgment is performed on each of the existing time domain segment signals, and a valid time domain segment signal with a valid PRACH signal is determined in each of the existing time domain segment signals, including: performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals to determine a second reference peak value; determining a second judgment threshold based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold; determining a valid time domain segment signal with a valid PRACH signal in each of the existing time domain segment signals; wherein, the valid time domain segment signal is the existing time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the second judgment threshold.

[0014] In the implementation process of the above scheme, the second reference peak is determined by cumulatively averaging the peak values ​​of the existing time domain segment signals, which can effectively suppress the influence of noise fluctuations on peak discrimination, so that the second reference peak value can more accurately reflect the effective energy level of the signal, thereby providing a more reliable benchmark for the second decision threshold, ensuring the accurate identification of the effective time domain segment signals; on the other hand, the second decision threshold determined based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold can further refine the screening, accurately lock those time domain segments that truly carry valid PRACH signals from the existing time domain segment signals, eliminate false signals caused by noise or interference, and improve the accuracy and reliability of delay estimation.

[0015] In an implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: acquiring a signal-to-noise ratio of the PRACH signal; and determining the detection threshold based on the signal-to-noise ratio.

[0016] In the implementation of the above scheme, the detection threshold and the signal-to-noise ratio are set to be in direct proportion. On the one hand, the threshold is raised synchronously when the signal-to-noise ratio increases, which can effectively prevent high-quality signals from being falsely triggered by noise spikes due to the threshold being too low, thereby significantly reducing the false alarm rate. On the other hand, the threshold is automatically lowered when the signal-to-noise ratio decreases, avoiding weak signals from being missed by the high threshold with a fixed threshold, thereby maintaining detection sensitivity. On the other hand, the threshold is linearly adjusted with the channel quality without the need for additional signaling or manual intervention, achieving simple and real-time adaptation, which can not only save baseband computing resources, but also improve the robustness and stability of the above delay estimation method in a large dynamic fading environment.

[0017] In an implementation of the first aspect, the determining of the initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the effective time domain segment includes: performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution of all the effective time domain segments; and determining the initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution after the cumulative averaging processing.

[0018] In the implementation process of the above scheme, by performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution of all valid time domain segments, the influence of random noise on the peak position can be effectively reduced, making the processed delay domain energy distribution smoother and more stable, thereby improving the accuracy of the initial delay estimation value; on the other hand, the cumulative averaging processing can integrate the information of multiple valid time domain segments to avoid misjudgment due to abnormalities or interference in individual time domain segments, thereby enhancing the robustness and reliability of the above delay estimation method; on the other hand, determining the initial delay estimation value based on the processed delay domain energy distribution can better reflect the true delay characteristics of the signal and improve the accuracy and stability of the delay estimation.

[0019] In an implementation of the first aspect, determining the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal includes: determining the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal in the valid time domain segment signal; wherein, the target time domain segment signal is the valid time domain segment signal with the smallest index value.

[0020] In the implementation process of the above scheme, by determining the target time domain segment signal with the smallest index value in the valid time domain segment signal, the position where the earliest valid PRACH signal appears can be quickly located, which helps to quickly identify the starting point of the PRACH signal, thereby providing an accurate benchmark for subsequent delay correction and absolute delay calculation, reducing the amount of data and complexity of subsequent processing; on the other hand, the process of determining the minimum index value is simple and direct, easy to implement, and can improve processing efficiency while ensuring accuracy.

[0021] In an implementation of the first aspect, the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal is used to determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal, including: determining the number of initial signal-free time domain segments based on the time domain segment index; when the initial delay estimate is greater than the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH signal, determining a number correction value, and using the number correction value to correct the initial number of signal-free time domain segments to determine the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments; and, based on the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single preamble sequence, determining the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal; when the initial delay estimate is not greater than the cyclic prefix duration, determining the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the initial number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single preamble sequence. During the implementation of the above scheme, the number of initial signal-free time domain segments is determined based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal, and correction is made according to the relationship between the initial delay estimate and the cyclic prefix duration. This allows for more accurate determination of the actual delay of the PRACH signal, thereby improving the accuracy of delay estimation. On the other hand, it allows for flexible selection of whether and how to make corrections based on different initial delay estimates, enabling the delay estimation method to better adapt to and accurately determine the delay correction amount when faced with different signal propagation conditions and delay situations, thereby improving the applicability and reliability of the delay estimation method in various complex environments.

[0022] In an implementation of the first aspect, the delay domain energy distribution includes a power delay spectrum; determining the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain includes: converting each of the time domain segment signals to the frequency domain to obtain the frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals; correlating the frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals with a local root sequence to obtain a frequency domain correlation signal; converting the frequency domain correlation signal to the time domain to obtain the time domain correlation signal of each of the time domain segment signals; performing a square operation on the time domain correlation signal to obtain the power delay spectrum of each of the time domain segment signals.

[0023] In the implementation process of the above scheme, the power delay spectrum can clearly show the distribution of signal energy at different delay times. By converting the time domain signal to the frequency domain and performing correlation processing and then converting it back to the time domain, the periodic components and related features in the signal can be effectively highlighted, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of signal detection. On the other hand, the use of the power delay spectrum can eliminate the interference caused by the multipath effect. In a multipath propagation environment, different paths of the signal may cause energy dispersion or superposition, while the power delay spectrum can concentrate on the main energy delay characteristics of the signal, which helps to accurately estimate the signal delay under complex channel conditions and is beneficial to improving the robustness of the above delay estimation method. On the other hand, the power delay spectrum can be applied to a variety of PRACH signal formats, does not depend on a specific signal structure, and has good compatibility with a variety of communication standards and application scenarios.

[0024] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a base station, including a base station processor, wherein: The base station processor is used to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals whose time length is the duration of a single leading sequence; determine the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; determine the initial delay estimate of the PRACH signal based on the peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; determine the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal with a valid signal and the smallest index value; determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; and determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction amount.

[0025] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a delay estimation device, including: A signal receiving module, configured to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals having a duration equal to the duration of a single preamble sequence; A delay domain energy distribution determining module, configured to determine the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; An initial delay estimation value determining module, configured to determine an initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; A time domain segment index determination module, configured to determine a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal having a valid signal and a minimum index value; A delay correction amount determining module, configured to determine a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; An absolute delay determination module is configured to determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a communication bus, wherein the processor and the memory communicate with each other through the communication bus; the memory stores computer program instructions that can be executed by the processor, and when the computer program instructions are read and run by the processor, the method provided by the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer program instructions are stored. When the computer program instructions are read and run by a processor, the method provided by the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

[0028] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method provided by the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0029] Other features and advantages of the present application will be described in the following description and, in part, will become apparent from the description or be understood by practicing the embodiments of the present application. The objectives and other advantages of the present application can be achieved and obtained through the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] 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.

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-beam mobile satellite communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 A flowchart of a delay estimation method provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a delay estimation device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are therefore only examples and cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0033] Currently, most related technologies use a time domain sliding correlation window to search for peaks to determine the multiple of the delay correction in the absolute delay compared to the duration of a single preamble sequence. The main steps include: (1) Receive the PRACH signal. (2) Perform correlation analysis: In the time domain, perform correlation analysis on each signal segment using a sliding correlation window, calculate the correlation coefficient, and measure the similarity between the signal and the known target signal. (3) Peak search: Find the peak in the correlation result. If the peak amplitude exceeds the set threshold, it is considered that there is a PRACH signal here. Each peak corresponds to a candidate delay value, and these candidate delay values ​​are related to the multiple k. (4) Determine the multiple k: Determine the multiple k based on the window position and signal propagation characteristics.

[0034] However, the computational complexity of the above solution is quadratic complexity O(N 2 ), which is not suitable for real-time systems and has large resource overhead, which will increase the power consumption of base stations and violate the low-power design goal of NTN.

[0035] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a delay estimation method, which divides the received PRACH signal into multiple time domain segments according to the duration of a single preamble sequence, and obtains the delay domain energy distribution of each segment respectively, so that the above-mentioned delay estimation method can directly reuse the delay domain energy distribution of the PRACH signal output by the existing PRACH receiving link, reducing algorithm overhead and hardware resource dependence, and realizing delay estimation with low computational complexity, thereby reducing the power consumption and implementation cost of the base station or satellite payload; on the other hand, the above-mentioned scheme realizes the precise synthesis of absolute delay by jointly utilizing the integer multiple delay reflected by the time domain segment index and the relative delay provided by the delay domain energy distribution peak, breaking through the limitation of traditional methods that can only estimate relative delay, which is beneficial to the delay estimation accuracy of the above-mentioned delay estimation method; on the other hand, the above-mentioned scheme can be implemented without modifying the PRACH protocol frame structure, and has good compatibility.

[0036] Before introducing the above delay estimation method, let's first introduce its application scenario: The above delay estimation method can be applied to the receiving end of non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as satellite communication systems and high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications. Non-terrestrial network systems include integrated communication and navigation (ICaN) systems and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

[0037] Satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems. For example, mobile communication systems may include fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE) systems), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., new radio (NR) systems), and future mobile communication systems.

[0038] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a multi-beam mobile satellite communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the satellite provides communication services to the terminal device through multiple beams. The satellite in this scenario is a non-geostationary Earth orbit (NGEO) satellite, and the satellite is connected to the core network equipment. The satellite uses multiple beams to cover the service area, and different beams can communicate through one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division. The satellite provides communication and navigation services to the terminal device by broadcasting communication signals and navigation signals. The satellite mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be a satellite base station, or a network-side device carried on a satellite.

[0039] For example, satellite communication systems can be divided into the following three types based on the satellite's orbital altitude: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication system, also known as synchronous orbit satellite communication system; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication system; and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system. Among them, the GEO satellite orbit altitude is 35,786 km. Its main advantage is that it can remain stationary relative to the ground and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellite communication also has obvious disadvantages: GEO satellite orbits are far away from the earth, and free space propagation loss is large, resulting in a tight communication link budget. In addition, in order to increase the transmission or reception gain, the satellite needs to be equipped with a larger diameter antenna; GEO communication transmission delay is large, which can reach a round-trip delay of about 500ms, which cannot meet the needs of low-latency services; GEO orbital resources are also relatively scarce, the launch cost is high, and it cannot provide coverage for the earth's polar regions. MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 km. Their advantage is that they can achieve global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites. However, their orbits are higher than LEO, and communication transmission latency is still higher than that of LEO satellites. LEO satellites, on the other hand, orbit at altitudes between 300 and 2,000 km. LEO satellites are lower than MEO and GEO orbits, offering advantages such as lower data transmission latency, lower transmission loss, and lower launch costs. Of course, in some specific application scenarios, LEO satellites can be replaced with GEO or MEO satellites, or even a combination of multiple types of satellites.

[0040] 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.

[0041] See Figure 2 , an embodiment of the present application provides a delay estimation method, comprising: Step S110: Receive a PRACH signal, and divide the PRACH signal into a preset number of time domain segment signals, each having a duration equal to the duration of a single preamble sequence.

[0042] The PRACH signal, referred to as the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), is a key signal used in the random access process between a terminal and a base station. The PRACH signal typically consists of a preamble sequence in a specific format, allowing the base station to detect the terminal's random access request and perform latency measurement.

[0043] It is understandable that in wireless communication systems, the signals received by the base station from terminal devices (such as mobile phones, IoT devices, etc.) are continuous. Since PRACH signals may be affected by time delay (for example, in large time delay scenarios in satellite communication or long-distance communication), in order to effectively process and analyze the signal, the continuous received signal can be divided into multiple lengths of time domain segment, is the duration of a single preamble sequence. By dividing the received signal into a preset number of By separating the time domain into segments, it is easier to perform independent signal processing on each segment. This facilitates signal delay detection in subsequent steps. The segmented processing method can adapt to the time-varying characteristics of the signal, improving detection accuracy and efficiency.

[0044] Step S120: Determine the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal in the delay domain.

[0045] Optionally, the delay domain energy distribution includes a power delay spectrum. The above-mentioned step S120 may include: determining the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal in the delay domain, including: converting each time domain segment signal into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal of each time domain segment signal; correlating the frequency domain signal of each time domain segment signal with a local root sequence to obtain a frequency domain correlation signal; converting the frequency domain correlation signal into the time domain to obtain a time domain correlation signal of each time domain segment signal; performing a square operation on the time domain correlation signal to obtain a power delay spectrum of each time domain segment signal.

[0046] The power delay profile is a frequency-domain and time-domain correlation obtained by processing the signal for each time period. It can be used to analyze the signal's delay characteristics. The power delay profile reflects the power distribution of the signal at different time delays within each time domain segment. The horizontal axis of the power delay profile represents time delay, and the vertical axis represents signal power at the corresponding delay. By observing the peak position in the power delay profile, the primary delay component of the signal can be determined. The peak location corresponds to the signal arrival time delay, which is crucial for estimating the PRACH signal delay.

[0047] It's understandable that after acquiring time-domain signals, each segment undergoes operations such as FFT, frequency-domain correlation, and IFFT to generate a delay power spectrum. These processes are part of the existing receiver processing flow and do not require additional signal processing steps. The delay estimation method described above can directly utilize this generated power delay spectrum data, eliminating the need for repeated calculations.

[0048] The power delay spectrum in the above scheme can clearly show the distribution of signal energy at different delay times. By converting the time domain signal to the frequency domain and performing correlation processing and then converting it back to the time domain, it can effectively highlight the periodic components and correlation characteristics in the signal, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of signal detection; on the other hand, the use of the power delay spectrum can eliminate the interference caused by the multipath effect. In a multipath propagation environment, different paths of the signal may cause energy dispersion or superposition, and the power delay spectrum can concentrate on reflecting the main energy delay characteristics of the signal, which helps to accurately estimate the signal delay under complex channel conditions, and is beneficial to improving the robustness of the above delay estimation method; on the other hand, the power delay spectrum can be applicable to a variety of PRACH signal formats, does not depend on a specific signal structure, and has good compatibility with a variety of communication standards and application scenarios.

[0049] Step S130: Determine an initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position in the delay domain energy distribution.

[0050] Optionally, the above-mentioned step S130 may include: performing threshold judgment on each time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal; and determining the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution corresponding to the time domain segment signal that passes the threshold judgment.

[0051] It will be appreciated that the threshold determination described above is a signal processing method used to determine whether a signal meets specific energy or intensity standards. Specifically, step S130 performs threshold determination on the signals in each time domain segment to determine whether the signals in each time domain segment meet the energy requirements. The main operations of the threshold determination may include calculating the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment and extracting its peak value. These peak values ​​are compared with a set threshold value. If the peak value exceeds the threshold value, a PRACH signal is considered to be present in the time domain segment; otherwise, a PRACH signal is considered to be absent.

[0052] The above scheme can eliminate false peaks that are obviously caused by noise or interference by first performing a threshold judgment on the delay domain energy distribution peak of the signal in each time domain segment, so that only valid candidates with sufficient energy are retained when the peak position is subsequently extracted, which is beneficial to improving the estimation accuracy of the initial delay estimation value; on the other hand, invalid time domain segments are filtered out in advance through threshold judgment, and the subsequent processing process only needs to find the peak position in the time domain segment that passes the judgment, which greatly reduces the search space and is beneficial to improving the response speed of the above delay estimation method.

[0053] Optionally, the above-mentioned threshold judgment is performed on each time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal, including: performing a first threshold judgment on each time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal, and determining that there is a time domain segment signal with a PRACH signal in each time domain segment signal; performing a second threshold judgment on each time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal, and determining that there is a valid time domain segment signal with a valid PRACH signal in each time domain segment signal; and determining the initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the valid time domain segment signal.

[0054] It is understandable that the above solution uses two threshold decisions for each time domain segment signal, where: (1) The first threshold decision, also known as the first threshold decision, is mainly used to preliminarily screen out time domain segments where PRACH signals may exist. The decision threshold at this time can be set to a low value to minimize missing possible signals. However, this decision cannot fully confirm whether the signals in these time domain segments are valid, because at a low threshold, there may be more noise interference or false signals that are mistakenly judged as PRACH signals.

[0055] (2) The second threshold decision, also known as the second threshold decision mentioned above, is mainly used to further confirm which PRACH signals in the time domain segments are valid with a stricter threshold.

[0056] By using this two-threshold decision method, valid signals can be identified more accurately based on the initial screening, thereby providing a more reliable basis for subsequently determining the initial delay estimate of the PRACH signal.

[0057] The first judgment in the above scheme can quickly lock the potential time domain segment signal where the signal exists, effectively narrowing the scope of subsequent analysis, reducing unnecessary calculations and processing, improving processing efficiency, avoiding further complex analysis of obviously invalid time domain segment signals, and saving computing resources; on the other hand, the second judgment further accurately determines the time domain segment signal where the valid PRACH signal exists in the time domain segment signal where the signal exists, ensuring the validity and reliability of the time domain segment signal used to determine the initial delay estimation value, and ultimately improving the accuracy and robustness of the initial delay estimation; on the other hand, the setting of the two threshold judgments provides double protection for the validity identification of the PRACH signal, enhancing the anti-interference ability of the above delay estimation method.

[0058] Optionally, the above-mentioned method performs a first threshold judgment on each time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal, and determines the existence of a time domain segment signal of a PRACH signal in each time domain segment signal, including: performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal to determine a first reference peak value; determining a first judgment threshold based on the first reference peak value and the detection threshold; determining the existence of a time domain segment signal of a signal in each time domain segment signal; wherein, the existence of a time domain segment signal is a time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the first judgment threshold.

[0059] Understandably, in complex signal environments, the peak value of a single time-domain segment can be significantly affected by noise. Cumulative averaging can smooth out these random fluctuations, resulting in a more accurate estimate of the signal's average energy level. Furthermore, this approach avoids misjudgments caused by abnormal peaks in individual time-domain segments, ensuring more reliable signal detection based on the first decision threshold. Cumulative averaging can better capture the typical energy characteristics of the PRACH signal, providing a more stable and accurate reference for subsequent threshold decisions.

[0060] The above scheme obtains a first reference peak by first performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution peaks of the signals in each time domain segment, which can effectively smooth random noise interference, so that the first reference peak is closer to the average energy level of the real signal, avoiding misjudgment due to abnormally high or low peaks in individual time domain segments, thereby improving the accuracy of the subsequent first decision threshold setting; on the other hand, the first decision threshold calculated based on the first reference peak and the detection threshold can adapt to the overall energy changes of the signal, which not only improves the robustness of the detection of time domain segment signals in different signal-to-noise ratio environments, but also ensures that only the time domain segments that truly carry the PRACH signal energy can pass the first judgment, avoiding a large number of invalid or low-energy segment signals from entering the subsequent processing process, which is conducive to improving the processing efficiency and resource utilization efficiency of the above delay estimation method.

[0061] Optionally, the above-mentioned method performs a second threshold judgment on each existing time domain segment signal based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each existing time domain segment signal, and determines that there is a valid time domain segment signal with a valid PRACH signal in each existing time domain segment signal, including: performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each existing time domain segment signal to determine a second reference peak value; determining a second judgment threshold based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold; determining that there is a valid time domain segment signal with a valid PRACH signal in each existing time domain segment signal; wherein, the valid time domain segment signal is a time domain segment signal with a peak value of the delay domain energy distribution not less than the second judgment threshold.

[0062] The above detection threshold can be a fixed threshold, for example, 0.98. Of course, the above detection threshold can also be a dynamic threshold based on noise adaptation. For the specific implementation of this solution, please refer to the introduction to the detection threshold in the following content.

[0063] The above scheme determines the second reference peak by cumulatively averaging the peak values ​​of the existing time domain segment signals, which can effectively suppress the influence of noise fluctuations on peak discrimination, so that the second reference peak value can more accurately reflect the effective energy level of the signal, thereby providing a more reliable benchmark for the second decision threshold, ensuring the accurate identification of the effective time domain segment signals; on the other hand, the second decision threshold determined based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold can further refine the screening, accurately lock those time domain segments that truly carry valid PRACH signals from the existing time domain segment signals, eliminate false signals caused by noise or interference, and improve the accuracy and reliability of delay estimation.

[0064] Optionally, the delay estimation method further includes: acquiring a signal-to-noise ratio of the PRACH signal; and determining a detection threshold based on the signal-to-noise ratio. The signal-to-noise ratio of the PRACH signal can be directly obtained from the measurement result of the base station physical layer. The base station physical layer can directly estimate the SNR using the received power of the PRACH preamble sequence and the noise floor.

[0065] In a certain scenario, the relationship between the detection threshold and the signal-to-noise ratio is shown in Table 1: Table 1 Relationship between detection threshold and signal-to-noise ratio

[0066] For example, the detection threshold and the signal-to-noise ratio can be set to be proportional. When SNR<0dB: In this case, the signal-to-noise ratio is low, the signal quality is poor, and it is easy to miss the signal, so the threshold value can be appropriately lowered to improve the detection sensitivity. When SNR≥0dB: In this case, the signal-to-noise ratio is high, the signal quality is good, and the threshold value can be appropriately increased. To reduce the false alarm rate.

[0067] The above scheme sets the detection threshold and the signal-to-noise ratio in direct proportion. On the one hand, the threshold is raised synchronously when the signal-to-noise ratio increases, which can effectively prevent high-quality signals from being falsely triggered by noise spikes due to the threshold being too low, and significantly reduce the false alarm rate; on the other hand, the threshold is automatically lowered when the signal-to-noise ratio decreases, avoiding weak signals from being missed by the high threshold with a fixed threshold, and maintaining detection sensitivity; on the other hand, the threshold is linearly adjusted with the channel quality, without the need for additional signaling or manual intervention, to achieve simple and real-time adaptation, which can not only save baseband computing resources, but also improve the robustness and stability of the above delay estimation method in a large dynamic fading environment. Optionally, the above step S130 may include: performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution of all valid time domain segments; and determining the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution after the cumulative averaging processing.

[0068] The initial delay estimate above refers to the relative delay component of the absolute PRACH signal delay. Relative delay is calculated based on the peak position of the delay power spectrum and reflects the signal delay within the duration of a PRACH sequence. Relative delay is a key component in calculating absolute delay, reflecting the signal delay variation within a PRACH sequence.

[0069] The above scheme performs cumulative averaging on the delay-domain energy distribution of all valid time-domain segments to smooth out the effects of noise and interference, making the resulting delay-domain energy distribution more representative of the true signal characteristics. Cumulative averaging improves the signal-to-noise ratio and makes the peak location more distinct and accurate. The initial PRACH signal delay estimate is determined based on the peak location of the delay-domain energy distribution after cumulative averaging, as this location better represents the true PRACH signal delay location. By finding the peak location, the initial PRACH signal delay can be more accurately estimated, providing a foundation for subsequent signal processing and delay compensation.

[0070] The above scheme can effectively reduce the impact of random noise on the peak position by performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution of all valid time domain segments, making the processed delay domain energy distribution smoother and more stable, thereby improving the accuracy of the initial delay estimation value; on the other hand, the cumulative averaging processing can integrate the information of multiple valid time domain segments to avoid misjudgment due to abnormalities or interference in individual time domain segments, thereby enhancing the robustness and reliability of the above delay estimation method; on the other hand, determining the initial delay estimation value based on the processed delay domain energy distribution can better reflect the true delay characteristics of the signal and improve the accuracy and stability of the delay estimation.

[0071] Step S140: Determine the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal with a valid signal and the smallest index value.

[0072] Optionally, determining the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal includes: determining the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal in the valid time domain segment signal; wherein, the target time domain segment signal is the valid time domain segment signal with the smallest index value.

[0073] It is understood that when receiving signals from various time domain segments, each time domain segment is assigned an index value to identify its position within the overall received signal. For example, if the received signal is divided into N time domain segments, the index values ​​of these time domain segments are typically 1, 2, 3, ..., N. The time domain segment index values ​​are generally related to the order in which the time domain segment signals are received: time domain segment signals received first are assigned smaller index values, while time domain segment signals received later are assigned larger index values.

[0074] The target time-domain segment signal is the valid time-domain segment signal with the smallest index value, meaning it appears first among all valid time-domain segments. Determining this index value clearly identifies the location where the PRACH signal begins, providing crucial location information for subsequent delay estimation. Subsequent delay estimation and other signal processing operations can be performed based on this index value. Once the location of the PRACH signal's first appearance is determined, it can be used as a reference point to calculate the signal's propagation delay.

[0075] The above scheme can quickly locate the position where the earliest valid PRACH signal appears by determining the target time domain segment signal with the smallest index value in the valid time domain segment signal, which helps to quickly identify the starting point of the PRACH signal, thereby providing an accurate benchmark for subsequent delay correction and absolute delay calculation, reducing the amount of data and complexity of subsequent processing; on the other hand, the process of determining the minimum index value is simple and direct, easy to implement, and can improve processing efficiency while ensuring accuracy.

[0076] Step S150: Determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal.

[0077] The above-mentioned step S150 may include: determining the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal, including: determining the number of initial signal-free time domain segments based on the time domain segment index; when the initial delay estimate value is greater than the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH signal, determining the number correction value, and using the number correction value to correct the initial number of signal-free time domain segments to determine the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments; and, determining the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single leading sequence; when the initial delay estimate value is not greater than the cyclic prefix duration, determining the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the initial number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single leading sequence.

[0078] The cyclic prefix (CP) is a technique used in OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) systems to eliminate inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by multipath propagation. It is a suffix copy of the signal, added to the beginning of the signal. The duration of the CP is the duration of this prefix portion.

[0079] It's understood that PRACH signal delay estimation can take into account the impact of the cyclic prefix. If the initial delay estimate exceeds the cyclic prefix duration, it indicates that the signal delay may have exceeded the range that the cyclic prefix can compensate for, and correction is required to improve the accuracy of the delay estimate. Furthermore, the cyclic prefix duration is closely related to signal integrity. By comparing the initial delay estimate with the cyclic prefix duration, it is possible to determine whether the signal is fully captured at the receiver, thereby determining whether the number of signal-free time domain segments needs to be corrected.

[0080] By comparing the initial delay estimate with the cyclic prefix duration, it is possible to determine whether the signal exceeds the cyclic prefix guard interval. Based on the comparison result, the number of initial signal-free time domain segments is adjusted to more accurately reflect the actual propagation of the signal. For example: if the relative delay Greater than the duration of a single cyclic prefix , then calculate the delay multiple ,otherwise ,in, is the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal, is the number of initial signal-free time domain segments, is the number of corrected no-signal time domain segments.

[0081] The above scheme determines the number of initial signal-free time domain segments based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal, and makes corrections based on the relationship between the initial delay estimate and the duration of the cyclic prefix. This can more accurately determine the actual delay of the PRACH signal, thereby improving the accuracy of the delay estimation. On the other hand, it can flexibly choose whether to make corrections and how to make corrections based on different initial delay estimate values, so that the above delay estimation method can better adapt to and accurately determine the delay correction amount when facing different signal propagation conditions and delay conditions, thereby improving the applicability and reliability of the above delay estimation method in various complex environments.

[0082] Step S160: Determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction.

[0083] The absolute delay is the actual total delay of the signal obtained by comprehensively considering the delay correction and relative delay. It can fully represent the transmission delay of the signal in a wireless communication scenario with large delay. The absolute delay is the final result of the PRACH delay estimation and can be used for subsequent communication system synchronization, signal processing, and other processes. The absolute delay can be calculated as follows: ,in, is the absolute delay, is the delay multiple, is the duration of a single preamble sequence, is the initial delay estimate.

[0084] The following provides specific application steps of the above delay estimation method in a certain application scenario, mainly including: Step 1: Divide the received signal into N segments of length time domain segment; Step 2: Perform fast Fourier transform (FFT) on each time domain segment independently, perform frequency domain correlation with the local root sequence, and perform inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate the delay power spectrum of N time domain segments. , is the time domain segment index, ; is the delay index, used to represent different delay values; Step 3: Detect the existence of power spectrum peak; For each power delay profile , calculate the peak value , merge all peak values ​​to obtain the power mean of the power delay spectrum ; like ( The detection threshold can be set to 0.98 by default, and can be set dynamically according to the signal-to-noise ratio condition. The segment begins to have a PRACH signal and jumps out of the loop, otherwise it is considered that the There is no PRACH signal in the segment. The segment index set with signal is , is the number of time domain segments with signals.

[0085] Step 4: Determine the delay multiple ; Calculate the average of the power delay spectrum peaks in the signal segment: ; Judge in sequence Whether it exceeds the threshold, if , then it is considered that from the There is a valid PRACH signal at the beginning of the segment and the loop is jumped out, otherwise it is considered that the There is no valid PRACH signal in the segment. The segment index set where the second judgment shows a signal is , after the second judgment, it is possible to accurately detect which segments have complete signals; it is understandable that the detection thresholds in the above two judgments are The same threshold value can be used; Identify the first delay power spectrum index that satisfies the signal: ; Combine all delay power spectra: , extract the peak position , calculate the relative delay , is the sampling period. If the relative delay is greater than the cyclic prefix duration , then calculate the delay multiple: ,otherwise .

[0086] For example: Assume the delay is 3.5 ,and At this time, there is no signal in the delay power spectrum of the first three time domain segments, so there is no correlation peak. There is a partial signal in the fourth time domain segment, so the delay power spectrum has a correlation peak, but the peak energy is lower than the energy of the delay power spectrum of the complete signal segment. In the first judgment, it is considered that there is a signal from the fourth time domain segment (including the fourth segment), that is, However, due to the low energy of the fourth time domain segment, the fourth segment will be screened out in the second judgment, that is, . Calculate the relative delay, and ,so =3.

[0087] Another example: the delay is 3.1 ,and The delay power spectrum of the first two time domain segments has no correlation peak. The third time domain segment has a correlation peak due to the presence of the cyclic prefix CP, but the peak energy is lower than the energy of the delay power spectrum with a complete signal segment. The fourth time domain segment has a complete correlation peak. The first judgment obtained However, due to the low energy of the fourth time domain segment, the fourth segment will be screened out in the second judgment, that is, . Calculate the relative delay, and ,so =3.

[0088] Step 5: Absolute time delay synthesis; Output absolute delay: , is the duration of a single prach sequence.

[0089] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a base station, including a base station processor, wherein: A base station processor is configured to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals whose duration is the duration of a single leading sequence; determine the delay domain energy distribution of each time domain segment signal in the delay domain; determine an initial delay estimate of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; determine a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is a time domain segment signal having a valid signal and a minimum index value; determine a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; and determine an absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction amount.

[0090] It can be understood that the above-mentioned base station processor is capable of executing the above-mentioned delay estimation method. For other functions of the base station processor, please refer to the above-mentioned delay estimation method, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] See Figure 3 Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a time delay estimation device 200, comprising: The signal receiving module 210 is configured to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals having a duration equal to the duration of a single preamble sequence; The delay domain energy distribution determining module 220 is configured to determine the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; An initial delay estimation value determining module 230 is configured to determine an initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; A time domain segment index determination module 240 is configured to determine a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal having a valid signal and a minimum index value; A delay correction amount determining module 250 is configured to determine a delay correction amount for the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; The absolute delay determination module 260 is configured to determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction.

[0092] Optionally, the above-mentioned initial delay estimation value determination module 230 is specifically used to: perform threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals; and determine the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution corresponding to the time domain segment signal that passes the threshold judgment.

[0093] Optionally, the above-mentioned initial delay estimation value determination module 230 is specifically used to: perform a first threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, and determine that there is a time domain segment signal of the PRACH signal in each of the time domain segment signals; perform a second threshold judgment on each of the existing time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals, and determine that there is a valid time domain segment signal of the valid PRACH signal in each of the existing time domain segment signals; determine the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the valid time domain segment signal.

[0094] Optionally, the above-mentioned initial delay estimation value determination module 230 is specifically used to: perform cumulative averaging processing on the peak values ​​of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals to determine a first reference peak value; determine a first decision threshold based on the first reference peak value and the detection threshold; determine the existence of a time domain segment signal of a signal in each of the time domain segment signals; wherein, the existence of the time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the first decision threshold.

[0095] Optionally, the above-mentioned initial delay estimation value determination module 230 is specifically used to: perform cumulative averaging processing on the peak values ​​of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals to determine a second reference peak value; determine a second decision threshold based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold; determine a valid time domain segment signal in which a valid PRACH signal exists in each of the existing time domain segment signals; wherein the valid time domain segment signal is the existing time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the second decision threshold.

[0096] Optionally, the delay estimation device 200 further includes: A detection threshold determination module is used to obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the PRACH signal; and determine the detection threshold based on the SNR; wherein the detection threshold is proportional to the SNR.

[0097] Optionally, the above-mentioned initial delay estimation value determination module 230 is specifically used to: perform cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distribution of all the valid time domain segments; and determine the initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on the peak position of the delay domain energy distribution after the cumulative averaging processing.

[0098] Optionally, the above-mentioned time domain segment index determination module 240 is specifically used to: determine the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal in the valid time domain segment signal; wherein, the target time domain segment signal is the valid time domain segment signal with the smallest index value.

[0099] Optionally, the above-mentioned delay correction amount determination module 250 is specifically used to: determine the initial number of signal-free time domain segments based on the time domain segment index; determine a first number correction value when the initial delay estimate is greater than the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH signal; and use the first number correction value to correct the initial number of signal-free time domain segments to determine the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments; determine a second number correction value when the initial delay estimate is not greater than the cyclic prefix duration; and use the second number correction value to correct the initial number of signal-free time domain segments to determine the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments; determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single leading sequence.

[0100] Optionally, the delay domain energy distribution includes a power delay spectrum; the above-mentioned delay domain energy distribution determination module 220 is specifically used to: convert each of the time domain segment signals into the frequency domain to obtain the frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals; correlate the frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals with the local root sequence to obtain the frequency domain correlated signal; convert the frequency domain correlated signal to the time domain to obtain the time domain correlated signal of each of the time domain segment signals; perform a square operation on the time domain correlated signal to obtain the power delay spectrum of each of the time domain segment signals.

[0101] Please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a block diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device 300 includes: at least one processor 310, at least one communication interface 330, at least one memory 320, and at least one communication bus 340. The communication bus 340 is used to enable direct communication between these components, the communication interface 330 is used to communicate signaling or data with other node devices, and the memory 320 stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor 310. When the electronic device 300 is running, the processor 310 and the memory 320 communicate via the communication bus 340, and the machine-readable instructions are called by the processor 310 to execute the above-mentioned delay estimation method.

[0102] As an implementation method, the electronic device 300 may be a base station, and the terminal may be wirelessly connected to the base station. The base station may also connect to or transmit and receive information with the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) system, the New Radio (NR) system, future wireless access systems, or Wi-Fi systems defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The base station may also connect to devices in two or more of the aforementioned wireless access systems. The base station may also connect to an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN).

[0103] A base station may be equipped with modules for implementing base station functions. These modules can implement the functions of the following devices: base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), transmission reception point (TRP), next-generation NodeB (gNB) in fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems, next-generation base stations in sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in Wi-Fi systems.

[0104] The aforementioned base station may also include an antenna and a transceiver. In the uplink, the uplink signal from the terminal is received via the antenna, modulated by the transceiver, and further processed by the processor 310 to recover the signaling information sent by the terminal. In the downlink, the signaling message is processed by the processor 310 and modulated by the transceiver to generate a downlink signal, which is transmitted to the terminal via the antenna. The processor 310 is also used to execute the delay estimation method described in the above embodiment. The base station may include a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor base station, a relay node, or a donor node.

[0105] It can be understood that the above only introduces a simplified design of the base station. In actual applications, the base station may include any number of transmitters, receivers, processors, controllers, memories, communication units, etc., and all base stations that can implement this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0106] The processor 310 includes one or more processors, which can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The processor 310 can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a network processor (NP), or other conventional processors; it can also be a special-purpose 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 310, some of them can be general-purpose processors, and others can be special-purpose processors.

[0107] The memory 320 includes one or more, which may be, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.

[0108] An embodiment of the present application further 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 is caused to perform various functions or steps in the above-mentioned delay estimation method embodiment.

[0109] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, it enables the computer to execute each function or step in the above-mentioned embodiment of the delay estimation method.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned figure descriptions are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0115] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the technical terms "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the quantity, specific order, or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0116] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0117] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0118] 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 time delay estimation method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive a PRACH signal and divide the PRACH signal into a preset number of time domain segment signals with a duration equal to the duration of a single preamble sequence; Determining the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; Determining an initial delay estimate of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; Determine a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal having a valid signal and a minimum index value; Determining a delay correction amount for the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; An absolute delay of the PRACH signal is determined based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction.

2. The delay estimation method according to claim 1, wherein: The determining, based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution, an initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal, includes: Performing threshold judgment on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals; An initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal is determined based on a peak position of the delay domain energy distribution corresponding to the time domain segment signal determined by the threshold.

3. The delay estimation method according to claim 2, wherein: The performing threshold decision on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals includes: Based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, a first threshold decision is performed on each of the time domain segment signals, and a time domain segment signal containing the PRACH signal is determined to be present in each of the time domain segment signals; Based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals, a second threshold decision is performed on each of the existing time domain segment signals, and a valid time domain segment signal of a valid PRACH signal is determined in each of the existing time domain segment signals; An initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal is determined based on a peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the effective time domain segment signal.

4. The delay estimation method according to claim 3, wherein: The performing a first threshold decision on each of the time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals, and determining that a time domain segment signal containing the PRACH signal exists in each of the time domain segment signals, includes: Performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak values ​​of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals to determine a first reference peak value; determining a first decision threshold based on the first reference peak value and the detection threshold; Determine the existence of a time domain segment signal in each of the time domain segment signals; wherein, the existence of the time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the first decision threshold.

5. The delay estimation method according to claim 3, wherein: The performing a second threshold decision on each of the existing time domain segment signals based on the peak value of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the existing time domain segment signals, and determining that a valid time domain segment signal having a valid PRACH signal exists in each of the existing time domain segment signals, includes: Performing cumulative averaging processing on the peak values ​​of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals to determine a second reference peak value; determining a second decision threshold based on the second reference peak value and the detection threshold; Determine in each of the existing time domain segment signals an effective time domain segment signal in which a valid PRACH signal exists; wherein the effective time domain segment signal is the existing time domain segment signal whose peak value of the delay domain energy distribution is not less than the second decision threshold.

6. The delay estimation method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio of the PRACH signal; The detection threshold is determined based on the signal-to-noise ratio.

7. The delay estimation method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that: The determining, based on a peak position of the delay domain energy distribution of the effective time domain segment, an initial delay estimate value of the PRACH signal, includes: Performing cumulative averaging processing on the delay domain energy distributions of all the effective time domain segments; An initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal is determined based on a peak position of the delay domain energy distribution after cumulative averaging processing.

8. The delay estimation method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that: The determining of the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal includes: In the valid time domain segment signals, a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal is determined; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the valid time domain segment signal with the smallest index value.

9. The delay estimation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The determining, based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal, a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal includes: Determining the number of initial signal-free time domain segments based on the time domain segment index; When the initial delay estimate is greater than the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH signal, determine a quantity correction value, and use the quantity correction value to correct the number of the initial signal-free time domain segments to determine the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments; and determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the corrected number of signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single preamble sequence; When the initial delay estimate is not greater than the cyclic prefix duration, a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal is determined based on the number of initial signal-free time domain segments and the duration of a single preamble sequence.

10. The delay estimation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The delay domain energy distribution includes a power delay spectrum; The determining of the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain includes: Convert each of the time domain segment signals into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals; Correlation processing is performed on the frequency domain signal of each of the time domain segment signals and a local root sequence to obtain a frequency domain correlation signal; Convert the frequency domain correlation signal to the time domain to obtain a time domain correlation signal of each time domain segment signal; A square operation is performed on the time domain correlation signal to obtain a power delay spectrum of each time domain segment signal.

11. A base station, characterized in that: A base station processor is included, wherein: The base station processor is used to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals whose time length is the duration of a single leading sequence; determine the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; determine the initial delay estimate of the PRACH signal based on the peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; determine the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal with a valid signal and the smallest index value; determine the delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; and determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction amount.

12. A time delay estimation device, characterized in that: include: A signal receiving module, configured to receive a PRACH signal; wherein the PRACH signal includes a preset number of time domain segment signals having a duration equal to the duration of a single preamble sequence; A delay domain energy distribution determining module, configured to determine the delay domain energy distribution of each of the time domain segment signals in the delay domain; An initial delay estimation value determining module, configured to determine an initial delay estimation value of the PRACH signal based on a peak position in the delay domain energy distribution; A time domain segment index determination module, configured to determine a time domain segment index of a target time domain segment signal based on the delay domain energy distribution; wherein the target time domain segment signal is the time domain segment signal having a valid signal and a minimum index value; A delay correction amount determining module, configured to determine a delay correction amount of the PRACH signal based on the time domain segment index of the target time domain segment signal; An absolute delay determination module is configured to determine the absolute delay of the PRACH signal based on the initial delay estimate and the delay correction.

13. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: A processor, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the processor and the memory communicate with each other via the communication bus; The memory stores program instructions that can be executed by the processor, and the processor can execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 by calling the program instructions.

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

15. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented.

Images