A signal relay apparatus, and a distributed communication system and method

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of communication networks, in particular to a signal relay device, a distributed communication system and a method, which comprise a power management module, an AC input interface for directly taking power from an automatic feeder terminal backup power supply interface; a radio frequency front end module for transceiving wireless signals; a master control and signal processing module electrically connected with the power management module and the radio frequency front end module. The application has the beneficial effects that by fully utilizing the power supply and location resources of the existing power feeder terminal, and by adopting the distributed Mesh networking and intelligent gain control technology, the cost and power consumption are significantly reduced while the communication online rate of the feeder terminal in remote complex environments and the reliability of the unmanned aerial vehicle inspection image transmission are greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication network technology, and in particular to a signal relay device and a distributed communication system and method. Background Technology

[0002] To overcome the challenges of communication signal blind spots, unstable drone image transmission, and low online rate of automated feeder terminals when inspecting distribution network lines in remote areas with tall trees, dense forests, and complex environments, existing technologies often involve building dedicated communication base stations or deploying traditional relay equipment. However, this approach is not only costly, complex to deploy, and consumes a lot of power, but also cannot be coordinated with existing power infrastructure, making it difficult to meet the needs of distribution network lines for economical, fast, and reliable communication enhancement. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution: In a first aspect, the present invention provides a signal relay device, including a power management module, which is used to supply power to a radio frequency front-end module and a main control and signal processing module; Radio frequency front-end module, used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals; The main control and signal processing module is electrically connected to the power management module and the radio frequency front-end module, respectively. The main control and signal processing module is used to perform relay forwarding operations on the inspection data of the UAV inspection terminal. Relay forwarding operations are implemented through the Mesh backbone network.

[0004] In a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the main control and signal processing module includes a cooperative controller and a cross-layer scheduler; wherein, The collaborative controller is used to perform unified abstraction and quality of service negotiation for power data reporting and relay services. The cross-layer scheduler is used to dynamically allocate time slots and transmission power resources for power data reporting and relay services based on real-time link status and service priorities.

[0005] As a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the power management module includes a rectifier and filter unit, a switching power supply conversion unit and a low dropout linear regulator that are electrically connected in sequence. The rectifier and filter unit is used to draw power from the AC power interface of the automated feeder terminal and convert the AC power into pulsating DC power for filtering. A switching power supply conversion unit is used to step down the filtered DC voltage and convert it into a first DC voltage. A low-dropout linear regulator is used to convert a first DC voltage into a second DC voltage and a third DC voltage, respectively. The second DC voltage and the third DC voltage serve as the operating voltages of the main control and signal processing module and the RF front-end module, respectively. The ripple coefficients of the second DC voltage and the third DC voltage are both lower than those of the first DC voltage.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the power management module is provided with an AC input interface for directly drawing power from the backup power interface of the automated feeder terminal.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the main control and signal processing module includes a microcontroller with an ARM Cortex-M4 architecture.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the radio frequency front-end module includes a radio frequency chip integrating a dual-channel transceiver.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the main control and signal processing module is specifically used for: The signal strength received by the RF front-end module is acquired in real time, and the gain control voltage is dynamically calculated based on the error between the received signal strength and the preset target value using an incremental PID control algorithm. The RF front-end module adjusts the gain according to the gain control voltage, amplifies the received signal, and then forwards it.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the signal relay device of the present invention, the main control and signal processing module is further configured as follows: Periodic broadcasts include beacon frames containing the device's load status and uplink quality; Listen to and receive beacon frames from multiple candidate parent nodes, and parse and obtain the received signal strength, load level and hop count to the network root node from the beacon frames of each candidate parent node. For each candidate parent node, the comprehensive path cost is calculated based on the received signal strength, load level, and number of hops to the network root node obtained from the analysis. The comprehensive path cost is a function value obtained by linear weighted summation using the received signal strength, load level, and number of hops as input variables. Select the candidate parent node with the lowest overall path cost as the association target, and send an association request to access the Mesh backbone network.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a distributed communication system, comprising: at least two signal relay devices; At least one drone inspection terminal, wherein the drone inspection terminal integrates a communication module compatible with the Mesh network protocol of the signal relay device; The back-end monitoring center is communicatively connected to at least one signal relay device that acts as a Mesh network gateway.

[0012] Thirdly, the present invention provides a distributed communication method, including: obtaining operating power from the automated feeder terminal where it is located; It self-organizes with similar devices deployed in other feeder terminals to form a distributed Mesh backbone network; The drone inspection data is relayed through the Mesh backbone network. Cross-service resource scheduling is implemented for the power data reporting service of automated feeder terminals and the relay service of drone inspection data.

[0013] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: by making full use of the power supply and location resources of existing power feeder terminals, and by adopting distributed mesh networking and intelligent gain control technology, it achieves a qualitative leap in the online communication rate of feeder terminals and the reliability of UAV inspection image transmission in remote and complex environments, while bringing about a significant reduction in cost and power consumption. Furthermore, through modular design and plug-and-play characteristics, combined with the self-organizing and self-healing capabilities of the network, this device also simplifies deployment and maintenance to the extreme. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the following description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 Working process of signal relay device Figure 1 .

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the design principle of a signal relay device.

[0017] Figure 3 Working principle of signal relay device Figure 2 . Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0019] Example 1, referring to Figures 1-2 This is the first embodiment of the present invention, which provides a signal relay device, including: In existing power distribution network inspection technologies, communication coverage is significantly insufficient: on the one hand, 10kV automated feeder terminals deployed in remote forest areas often have low data reporting online rates due to weak public network signals, affecting the perception of power grid status; on the other hand, drones performing line inspections are prone to image transmission interruptions and control delays in complex terrain, threatening flight safety and inspection efficiency.

[0020] The signal relay device provided in this embodiment aims to effectively solve the above problems. The device adopts a modular design and is encapsulated in a waterproof, dustproof, and corrosion-resistant metal shell. The specific device includes: a power management module, an RF front-end module, and a main control and signal processing module.

[0021] In this embodiment of the invention, to achieve the plug-and-play functionality and extremely low deployment cost of the device, a power management module is specifically designed that can fully utilize existing power infrastructure without requiring additional power supply lines. It should be noted that the power management module is equipped with an AC input interface for directly drawing power from the backup power interface of the automated feeder terminal, thereby obtaining AC operating power from the automated feeder terminal of the power distribution line to power the RF front-end module and the main control and signal processing module.

[0022] In an alternative implementation, the input interface uses an industrial-grade waterproof connector and draws power from a spare AC 220V interface at the feeder terminal.

[0023] Specifically, the power management module includes a rectifier and filter unit, a switching power supply conversion unit, and a low-dropout linear regulator, which are connected in sequence; among them, The rectifier and filter unit is used to draw power from the AC power interface of the automated feeder terminal and convert the AC power into pulsating DC power for filtering. A switching power supply conversion unit is used to step down the filtered DC voltage and convert it into a first DC voltage. Low dropout linear regulators are used to convert a first DC voltage into a second DC voltage and a third DC voltage, respectively. The second DC voltage and the third DC voltage serve as the operating voltages of the main control and signal processing module and the RF front-end module, respectively. The ripple coefficients of the second DC voltage and the third DC voltage are both lower than those of the first DC voltage. It is understood that at least two low dropout linear regulators are used.

[0024] In this embodiment, the first DC voltage is specifically +5V. The second DC voltage is specifically +3.3V, which is used as the digital power supply for the main control and signal processing modules. The third DC voltage is also +3.3V, but it serves as the analog power supply for the RF front-end module. Its physical wiring and filtering are independent of the digital power supply to avoid noise crosstalk.

[0025] It should be noted that the power management module also includes a power monitoring circuit, which monitors the input voltage, current and temperature of each unit in real time, and performs protective shutdown in case of overvoltage, undervoltage or overcurrent.

[0026] In an optional implementation, the rectifier and filter unit can use an MB6S bridge rectifier for AC / DC conversion, followed by a 470μF / 400V electrolytic capacitor for primary filtering. Specifically, the MB6S bridge rectifier is responsible for converting 220V AC power into unidirectional but highly pulsating DC power. By utilizing the charging and discharging characteristics of the capacitor, the voltage waveform is smoothed, and most of the power frequency ripple is filtered out to obtain high-voltage, high-ripple DC power.

[0027] In an optional implementation, the switching power conversion unit can be composed of an LM2596-5.0 switching regulator chip and its peripheral inductor and capacitor circuits, that is, by using a high-frequency switching method, the high voltage DC obtained above can be efficiently reduced to 5V DC.

[0028] In an alternative implementation, the low-dropout linear regulator provides 3.3V power to the main control and signal processing module and peripheral digital circuitry using an AMS1117-3.3; and provides 3.3V analog power to the signal conversion and amplification unit using a TPS7A4701 low-noise LDO with an output noise as low as 4μVRMS, ensuring RF performance.

[0029] Preferably, the power management module enables the device to directly utilize the reliable energy of the power line without the need for additional power lines, significantly reducing deployment costs and complexity, and ensuring the continuous and reliable operation of the device under normal grid fluctuations.

[0030] The radio frequency front-end module is used to transmit and receive wireless signals. It should be emphasized that the operating frequency band of the radio frequency front-end module covers 700MHz to 2.5GHz, and it can simultaneously receive SIM card signals from mobile communication base stations and image transmission control signals from drone inspection terminals.

[0031] Specifically, the RF front-end module includes an antenna, an antenna tuning circuit, and a signal conversion and amplification unit. The antenna tuning circuit is used to match the antenna impedance to maximize energy transmission efficiency. The signal conversion and amplification unit integrates a duplexer, a low-noise amplifier, a mixer, an intermediate frequency filter, a programmable gain amplifier, a voltage-controlled gain amplifier, and a power amplifier to form a complete superheterodyne transceiver structure. Specifically, during signal reception, the antenna receives the signal → the low-noise amplifier amplifies it (initial amplification to reduce noise) → the programmable gain amplifier further amplifies it (dynamically adjusting the gain according to the signal strength) → subsequent processing such as frequency conversion and filtering. During signal transmission, the baseband signal → the voltage-controlled gain amplifier adjusts the gain (dynamically adjusting the power of the transmitted signal according to demand) → the power amplifier amplifies it → the antenna transmits it.

[0032] It should be noted that the antenna is a wideband rod antenna, and its frequency coverage range is required to be 700MHz to 2.5GHz, while supporting 2G / 4G SIM card signals (900 / 1800MHz) and drone image transmission signals (2.4GHz), with a gain of 3dBi.

[0033] In one alternative implementation, the antenna in the RF front-end module may be a broadband dipole antenna.

[0034] In another alternative implementation, the antenna in the RF front-end module may also be a multi-band helical antenna.

[0035] During operation, the system synchronously acquires SIM card signals from the mobile communication base station and image transmission control signals from the drone inspection terminal via an antenna. These signals are then input to a signal conversion and amplification unit for processing. Inside this unit, the received uplink signals (such as the image transmission control signals from the drone inspection terminal) and downlink signals (such as the SIM card signals from the mobile communication base station) undergo low-noise amplification, frequency conversion, bandpass filtering, and power amplification, respectively. The uplink and downlink signals utilize independent processing channels and are effectively isolated using high-performance filters to avoid signal interference and ensure communication quality.

[0036] The main control and signal processing module is the intelligent control core of the signal relay device of this invention. It is electrically connected to the power management module and the radio frequency front-end module respectively. The main control and signal processing module is used to perform relay forwarding operations on the inspection data of the UAV inspection terminal. The relay forwarding operation is implemented through the Mesh backbone network.

[0037] Specifically, the control signal relay device and similar devices deployed in other feeder terminals self-organize to form a mesh backbone network based on the wireless mesh protocol, thereby connecting isolated nodes into a communication network with self-healing capabilities through the mesh backbone network.

[0038] Furthermore, the Mesh backbone network relays inspection data, such as high-definition video, from the drone inspection terminal to provide a stable remote communication link for the drone.

[0039] Specifically, the main control and signal processing module includes a microcontroller unit, memory, a communication interface, and a hardware encryption engine. It should be noted that the memory includes Flash memory for storing control programs, algorithm parameters, and temporary network information, and SRAM for caching data during program execution. The Flash memory capacity is no less than 512KB, and the SRAM capacity is no less than 128KB. Furthermore, the hardware encryption engine ensures the security of Mesh backbone network communication data and works with the microcontroller unit to implement data encryption and decryption functions.

[0040] In an alternative implementation, the microcontroller unit may be a 32-bit MCU processing chip based on the ARM Cortex-M4 architecture, which integrates a high-precision ADC and DAC.

[0041] Furthermore, the main control and signal processing module is also configured to acquire the strength of the signal received by the RF front-end module in real time, and based on the incremental PID control algorithm, dynamically calculate the gain control voltage according to the error between the strength of the received signal and the preset target value. The RF front-end module then adjusts the gain according to the gain control voltage, amplifies the received signal, and forwards it.

[0042] It should be noted that the microcontroller unit (MCU) incorporates a signal quality assessment algorithm to dynamically generate a precise analog control voltage based on the signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio at the antenna receiver. This control voltage is then fed back to the gain control terminal of the signal conversion and amplification unit to achieve adaptive closed-loop control of the signal amplification factor. It is important to emphasize that the MCU and the signal conversion and amplification unit are interconnected via a high-speed SPI bus and at least two analog control signal lines. Furthermore, the gain control terminal of the voltage-controlled gain amplifier (VCO) is directly connected to the DAC output pin of the MCU processing chip to receive the high-precision gain control voltage. .

[0043] It should be further explained that the microcontroller unit, through its internally integrated ADC module, periodically performs analog-to-digital conversion and acquisition on the received signal strength indication value output from the front stage of the signal conversion and amplification unit at a sampling frequency of not less than 10Hz. Then, it compares the acquired real-time signal strength measurement value with the signal strength threshold range pre-stored in the MCU Flash memory, and uses an incremental PID control algorithm to dynamically calculate the gain control voltage output from its DAC pin to the control terminal of the signal conversion and amplification unit based on the comparison result. The threshold range refers to the corresponding range composed of the minimum operating threshold, the target optimization value, and the saturation distortion threshold.

[0044] Specifically, comparing the acquired real-time signal strength measurement value with the signal strength threshold range pre-stored in the MCU Flash memory means: If the real-time signal strength measurement is less than the minimum operating threshold, it means that the signal is too weak and the gain needs to be increased. When the real-time signal strength measurement value is between the minimum operating threshold and the target optimization value, it indicates that the signal strength is moderate, but there is still room for improvement. The gain can be appropriately increased to approach the target optimization value. When the real-time signal strength measurement is between the target optimized value and the saturation distortion threshold, it means that the signal strength is close to the ideal value, and it may be necessary to fine-tune the gain to keep it near the target optimized value. When the real-time signal strength measurement value is greater than the saturation distortion threshold, it indicates that the signal is too strong and the gain needs to be reduced to avoid distortion.

[0045] Furthermore, the specific manifestation of the incremental PID control algorithm is as follows: ; In the formula: The output value of the gain control voltage represents the current sampling period; This represents the gain control voltage output value of the previous sampling period; This is the proportional adjustment coefficient, used to measure the rate of change of the response error; This is the integral adjustment coefficient, used to eliminate static error; The sampling period of the system; This represents the signal strength error of the current cycle. This represents the signal strength error of the previous sampling period.

[0046] in The following formula is used to calculate: ; In the formula: The preset target optimization value, This represents the current real-time measured signal strength value.

[0047] Ideally, by introducing an incremental PID control algorithm, severe gain oscillations can be effectively avoided, resulting in a smooth and stable signal enhancement effect.

[0048] Furthermore, it should be noted that the signal conversion and amplification unit receives the gain control voltage from the MCU. Then, its internal voltage-controlled gain amplifier linearly adjusts its amplification factor according to the voltage value, and its actual gain value... The relationship with the control voltage is described by the following piecewise linearized model: ; In this model: This is the minimum gain that the amplifier can set, and it is usually set to 0dB to avoid over-amplifying noise; The maximum gain that an amplifier can safely provide is determined by its semiconductor process and supply voltage. The minimum voltage threshold required to enable gain control; The saturation control voltage that can generate maximum gain.

[0049] Preferably, the above model can ensure that the voltage-controlled gain amplifier operates in the linear region, preventing signal distortion.

[0050] For example, in an MCU, the intelligent gain control algorithm is executed periodically at a frequency of 10Hz.

[0051] Furthermore, the preset target optimization index proportionality coefficient Integral coefficient Sampling period ; Furthermore, suppose that at a certain moment, the MCU's ADC samples and converts the data to obtain the real-time measurement value. The measurement value of the previous period The control voltage of the previous cycle .

[0052] Calculate the current error: ; Calculate the error at the previous moment: ; Substitute into the incremental PID formula: ; Result Analysis: The MCU sets its DAC output voltage to 1.051V and sends it to the gain control terminal of the ADRV9002. The ADRV9002 then adjusts its output voltage according to its internal calibration curve (assuming...). correspond , Correspondingly, through linear interpolation, the gain is set to approximately: Preferably, by efficiently and directionally radiating and forwarding the enhanced relay signal, which has been optimized and coordinated by the MCU processing chip, through the antenna, the coverage radius of the original signal can be effectively extended and signal blind spots can be filled. It can also significantly improve the stability and reliability of the signal in complex environments.

[0053] Furthermore, the main control and signal processing module is also configured as follows: Periodic broadcasting includes beacon frames containing the device's load status and uplink quality. Specifically, after initialization, each node broadcasts beacon frames containing its unique MAC address, current node load level, and uplink signal-to-noise ratio in its communication channel at fixed time intervals.

[0054] Listen to and receive beacon frames from multiple candidate parent nodes. From the beacon frames of each candidate parent node, parse and obtain the received signal strength, load level, and hop count to the network root node of that candidate parent node.

[0055] For each candidate parent node, the comprehensive path cost is calculated based on the received signal strength, load level, and number of hops to the network root node obtained from the analysis. The comprehensive path cost is a function value obtained by linear weighted summation using the received signal strength, load level, and number of hops as input variables.

[0056] Select the candidate parent node with the lowest overall path cost as the association target, and send an association request to access the Mesh backbone network.

[0057] Specifically, the integrated path cost aims to balance signal quality and network load, and its expression is: ; In the formula: The normalized received signal strength indication value is calculated as follows: ,in This is the maximum signal strength that the RF front-end module can process. The current relay load of the candidate parent node is quantified as a value between 0 and 1, where 0 represents idle and 1 represents full load; This represents the number of hops from the candidate parent node to the network root node (gateway). These are normalized weight coefficients, and satisfy... It can be configured according to network policies, such as increasing latency when low latency is required. Increase when load balancing is required. .

[0058] Ideally, the integrated path cost function takes into account signal quality, network load, and transmission hop count, and intelligently selects the optimal path to ensure overall network performance.

[0059] For example, when a new drone terminal or relay node needs to join the network, it scans for surrounding candidate parent nodes.

[0060] Specifically, the weighting coefficient is set as follows: (Focus on signal quality) (Emphasis on load) (Focusing on network depth).

[0061] Furthermore, suppose node A discovers two candidate parent nodes, B and C; Regarding node B, , but (Light load) .

[0062] Calculate path cost: In other words, although node B's signal is slightly weaker and has a higher hop count, its low load makes its overall cost lower. Almost identical to node C, node A may choose... The value of node C is smaller, but this calculation clearly demonstrates how the algorithm trades off between signal strength, load, and network depth.

[0063] In one optional implementation, the bottom of the signal relay device housing is designed with standard rail mounting clips and is equipped with a set of spare clamp mounting accessories to adapt to different field scenarios such as rail mounting in distribution boxes or clamp mounting on utility poles.

[0064] Example 2, refer to Figure 3 In a preferred embodiment, the main control and signal processing module further includes a cooperative controller and a cross-layer scheduler; wherein, the cooperative controller is used to perform unified abstraction and quality of service negotiation for power data reporting services and relay services; the cross-layer scheduler is used to dynamically allocate time slots and transmission power resources for power data reporting services and relay services according to real-time link status and service priority.

[0065] It should be noted that the cooperative controller includes a sub-cooperative controller (CC) responsible for network registration, topology reporting, capability declaration (supported frequency bands, maximum transmit power, available buffer, etc.) and time synchronization with adjacent acquisition terminals / smart meters / distributed relay units, as well as a QoS proxy for uniformly abstracting the requirements of two types of services. Service A is the FTU's own remote communication (protection / control / telemetry / telecommunications); Service B is the relay forwarding service provided by surrounding terminals. It can be understood that uniformly abstracting the power data reporting service and the relay service means translating and filling out a unified, quantifiable resource scheduling request form for these two types of services. Service quality negotiation refers to quickly evaluating this request based on the current resource scheduling request form, combined with the real-time status of the current network (such as channel congestion, how much resource other high-priority services are using), and the hardware capacity limit of this device. Specifically: if the remaining resources are sufficient, the request is approved, the service is formally registered in the scheduling queue, and an initial resource weight is assigned; otherwise, the request is rejected or downgraded.

[0066] Ideally, unified abstraction transforms heterogeneous, subjective business requirements into homogeneous, rational, and computable scheduling instructions, so that subsequent dynamic resource allocation is no longer a simple matter of experience, but a scientific optimization decision based on unified standards.

[0067] The cross-layer scheduler is responsible for unifying wireless / power line carrier / narrowband private network interfaces into a unified virtual resource pool for unified scheduling. Furthermore, the cross-layer scheduler can form a cross-layer closed loop by reading real-time information such as physical layer link quality indicators (RSSI, SNR, PER), MAC layer congestion status, and network layer path cost.

[0068] The cross-layer scheduler is used to dynamically allocate time slots and transmission power resources for power data reporting and relay services based on real-time link status and service priority. Specifically, it aims to ensure that the power data service (service A) of the feeder terminal itself enjoys the highest reliability, while serving the UAV relay service (service B) as efficiently as possible.

[0069] Specifically, let the allocation period be a fixed frame length T. f The system's schedulable resources include time slot allocation, transmit power, buffer space, and processing power. Time slots and power are the primary allocation (other resources are allocated subsequently). make This represents two types of service sets (A: FTU owned; B: trunk). make For the time slot share of service k in frame t, satisfying the following: make Let k be the average transmit power of service k; For business k The effective signal-to-noise ratio is: In the formula: Link gain (including antenna and path loss). B is the noise power spectral density, and B is the bandwidth. This represents the power of co-channel interference.

[0070] The corresponding physical layer effective rate (efficiency factor considering coding and protocol overhead) for: Therefore, the service rate available for service k in frame t is: Objective: To maximize the long-term average utility of the system while ensuring the reliability and latency constraints of the FTU's own services. Weighted utility maximization is employed. In the formula: As a business weight, For concave utility functions (such as log() for proportional fairness). The time-averaged service rate, This is the minimum guaranteed rate for FTU's own business.

[0071] That is, the channel status is monitored in real time through a cross-layer scheduler. The scheduler solves the aforementioned optimization problem and dynamically outputs the allocation scheme of time slot share and transmit power for each frame. For the highest priority power protection control message, the scheduler supports a preemption mechanism that can immediately interrupt the transmission of lower priority data.

[0072] When in use, S1: Adjacent terminals / meter cycles send Beacon (including service type, expected indicators, etc.). ) and average arrival rate Identity verification, key negotiation, and time synchronization are completed through CC.

[0073] S2: Set initial values ​​based on the capabilities of this FTU via the QoS Broker. (P0 Reservation Share) and WFQ Weight .

[0074] S3: Measurement based on constraints and current link Solve a small linear / convex optimization problem to confirm whether the conditions can be met. With the request session .

[0075] S4: Calculated per frame It is then sent to the MAC / PHY; preemption is supported for P0, and WFQ packet sending is performed for P1–P3.

[0076] S5: The network layer uses minimum cost routing, and the cost can be set to; Select the relay link with the lowest cost; link deterioration triggers fast rerouting and power / time slot reallocation. Parameters This is a weighting factor.

[0077] It should be noted that when link deterioration is detected, not only is the route switched, but resource reallocation is also triggered immediately, that is, jumping back to S4 and recalculating based on the new link state.

[0078] S6: N A proportional fair update is performed once per frame. This causes the long-run share to converge toward log-utility optimality. Step size, It is an exponentially weighted average throughput.

[0079] It should be noted that when link degradation is detected, an independent slow timescale optimization process runs in parallel. By periodically adjusting service weights or evaluating long-term throughput, the resource allocation strategy can slowly adapt to long-term changes in network load and service patterns, tending towards global optimum.

[0080] S7: Enable redundant replicas or multipath distribution for critical P0 / P1 messages, which is required; Where M is the maximum number of parallel paths or retransmissions.

[0081] Example 3 illustrates the performance and cost optimization effects before and after adopting the present invention in a typical 5km 10kV distribution network line inspection scenario in Tunchang area.

[0082] 1. Scene setting Inspection area: A 10kV power distribution line about 5km long that runs through a dense rubber forest.

[0083] Communication requirements: Ensure the online rate (>95%) of automated feeder terminals (assuming 10) along the line, and provide stable high-definition image transmission for UAV inspection (requiring continuous bandwidth >2Mbps).

[0084] Baseline situation: Before the relay system was deployed, about 4 feeder terminals were located in signal blind spots, with an online rate of only 60%; when the drone flew deep into the forest, the image transmission was often stuck and interrupted, resulting in low inspection efficiency.

[0085] 2. System Deployment of the Invention The deployment plan involves selecting six key locations along the line for the feeder terminals and installing the device of this invention.

[0086] (1) Device definition Let the set of feeder terminals along the 10 kV distribution network be... Each candidate point i Having spatial coordinates Candidate points i A location is considered a "critical location" if and only if it simultaneously satisfies the following three types of constraints and makes the comprehensive objective function reach a threshold: ; in For communication link availability, Contribute to topology and business needs. To assess the feasibility of the project, and to evaluate candidate sites i The overall score is used as the deployment threshold.

[0087] (2) Communication link availability Link budget and SNR threshold Given transmit power Antenna gain (dB) Reference distance loss (dB) Path loss index n ,margin M (dB) Noise Power N (dBm), candidate points i With the other end j The accepted SNR is ; And demanded, ; in For the target modulation and coding scheme (MCS) at the target block bit error rate The threshold is set below. From this, the maximum safe jump distance can be obtained. ; If the geometric spacing along the line If so, then the link pair is available.

[0088] View distance and Fresnel zone Distance between two points At carrier wavelength Below, the first Fresnel radius ; Minimum clearance required Determined by topography and forest density, and ensuring that the additional attenuation across vegetation does not exceed the margin M.

[0089] (3) Contribution of topology and business needs Task requirement density and coverage gain Let the demand density function along the railway corridor be... (Comprehensive drone inspection of corridors, blind spot density, alarm hotspots, etc.), starting from points i Service coverage indication function ; Then its marginal coverage contribution ; Where Z is the set of selected points. The service SNR threshold.

[0090] (4) Feasibility of project implementation It has the capability to draw safe AC220V power from the feeder terminal and has an industrial-grade interface (IP67) for installation; it supports standard mechanical fixing such as DIN rail or clamps; the ambient electromagnetic / temperature and humidity are within the rated range of the equipment; and the maintenance accessibility meets the operation and maintenance specifications.

[0091] (5) Comprehensive scoring and deployment criteria Define a normalized score for each candidate point. ; in, Link quality score; Normalized value of coverage / demand gain; Topological importance; Improvement of network connectivity / redundancy; Penalty for excessive overlap with existing node coverage; The implementation cost at this point; For the strategy weights, satisfying .

[0092] (6) Rapid identification in engineering Candidate screening (hard criteria): Eliminate FTU sites that do not meet the requirements for power supply / installation / protection; calculate terrain—dense forest—corridor visibility, and eliminate sites that do not meet the requirements. Cleared area.

[0093] Link fast calculation: obtained from field / simulation Quickly estimate and score .

[0094] Requirement overlay: Overlay blind spot heatmaps / inspection corridors / alarm hotspots, and calculate... .

[0095] Topology verification: Greedy / tacit search is used to ensure... and Maximize under constraints .

[0096] On-site verification: RSSI / SINR and trial connection tests were conducted on the selected points for verification. With the margin M.

[0097] Fixed-point and fine-tuning: If a pair of links has insufficient margin, adjust accordingly. The formula fine-tunes the positions between adjacent FTUs to achieve the final node spacing. Allow for annealing margin.

[0098] Network topology: After power-on, the six devices automatically network using Mesh technology, forming a distributed relay network that combines chain and mesh structures. One node, located near the operations and maintenance center, connects to the backend monitoring center via a 4G network, acting as a gateway.

[0099] 3. Comparative Analysis of Optimization Effects Table 1 Comparison and Analysis of Optimization Effects In summary, the signal relay device of this invention, by fully utilizing the power and location resources of existing power feeder terminals and employing distributed mesh networking and intelligent gain control technology, achieves a qualitative leap in the online communication rate of feeder terminals and the reliability of UAV inspection image transmission in remote and complex environments, while significantly reducing cost and power consumption. Furthermore, through modular design and plug-and-play characteristics, combined with the self-organizing and self-healing capabilities of the network, this device also simplifies deployment and maintenance to the extreme.

[0100] Example 4: This example also provides a distributed communication system, including: At least two of the aforementioned signal relay devices, as fixed network nodes, are deployed at various key feeder terminals of the 10kV distribution network line according to geographical topology and signal coverage requirements. Through Mesh automatic addressing wireless networking technology, they form a distributed signal relay backbone network that covers a wide and remote forest area and has self-healing capabilities. At least one drone inspection terminal, wherein the drone inspection terminal integrates a communication module compatible with the Mesh network protocol of the signal relay device; Specifically, the communication module can continuously scan the network environment, automatically execute switching algorithms, and seamlessly connect to the relay device with the best current signal quality during the drone's flight, thereby providing a stable, low-latency remote transmission link for high-definition video transmission and flight control signals. The back-end monitoring center is communicatively connected to at least one signal relay device that acts as a Mesh network gateway.

[0101] Specifically, the backend monitoring center establishes a secure VPN tunnel connection between the operator's 4G / 5G core network and one or more designated relay devices acting as gateways in the distributed signal relay backbone network to achieve the following functions: It can receive and display high-definition inspection videos and equipment status data transmitted back by drones in real time; Centralized monitoring of the online status, operating parameters, power status, and network topology of all relay devices within the entire network; Send flight mission instructions, equipment configuration parameter updates, and remote software upgrade packages to the lower levels.

[0102] Example 5: This example also provides a distributed communication method, including: Obtain operating power from the terminal of the automated feeder; It self-organizes with similar devices deployed in other feeder terminals to form a distributed Mesh backbone network; The drone inspection data is relayed through the Mesh backbone network. Cross-service resource scheduling is implemented for the power data reporting service of automated feeder terminals and the relay service of drone inspection data.

[0103] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A signal relay device, characterized in that: include, A power management module is provided for supplying power to the radio frequency front-end module and the main control and signal processing module. A radio frequency front-end module, which is used to transmit and receive wireless signals; The main control and signal processing module is electrically connected to the power management module and the radio frequency front-end module, respectively. The main control and signal processing module is used to perform relay forwarding operations on the inspection data of the UAV inspection terminal. The relay forwarding operation is implemented through the Mesh backbone network.

2. The signal relay device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The main control and signal processing module includes a collaborative controller and a cross-layer scheduler; wherein... The collaborative controller is used to perform unified abstraction and quality of service negotiation for power data reporting services and relay services. The cross-layer scheduler is used to dynamically allocate time slots and transmission power resources for the power data reporting service and the relay service based on the real-time link status and service priority.

3. A signal relay device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The power management module includes a rectifier and filter unit, a switching power supply conversion unit, and a low-dropout linear regulator that are connected in sequence. The rectifier and filter unit is used to draw power from the AC power interface of the automated feeder terminal and convert the AC power into pulsating DC power for filtering. The switching power supply conversion unit is used to step down the filtered DC voltage and convert it into a first DC voltage; The low-dropout linear regulator is used to convert the first DC voltage into a second DC voltage and a third DC voltage, respectively. The second DC voltage and the third DC voltage are used as the operating voltages of the main control and signal processing module and the radio frequency front-end module, respectively. The ripple coefficients of the second DC voltage and the third DC voltage are both lower than those of the first DC voltage.

4. A signal relay device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The power management module is equipped with an AC input interface for directly drawing power from the backup power interface of the automated feeder terminal.

5. A signal relay device as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The main control and signal processing module includes a microcontroller based on the ARM Cortex-M4 architecture.

6. A signal relay device as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The radio frequency front-end module includes a radio frequency chip that integrates a dual-channel transceiver.

7. A signal relay device as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The main control and signal processing module is specifically used for: The strength of the received signal from the radio frequency front-end module is acquired in real time, and the gain control voltage is dynamically calculated based on the error between the strength of the received signal and the preset target value using an incremental PID control algorithm. The radio frequency front-end module adjusts the gain according to the gain control voltage, amplifies the received signal, and then forwards it.

8. A signal relay device as described in any one of claims 4-7, characterized in that: The main control and signal processing module is also configured to: Periodic broadcasts include beacon frames containing the device's load status and uplink quality; Listen to and receive beacon frames from multiple candidate parent nodes, and parse and obtain the received signal strength, load level and hop count to the network root node from the beacon frames of each candidate parent node. For each candidate parent node, the comprehensive path cost is calculated based on the received signal strength, load level, and hop count to the network root node obtained from the analysis. The comprehensive path cost is a function value obtained by linear weighted summation using the received signal strength, load level, and hop count as input variables. Select the candidate parent node with the lowest integrated path cost as the association target, and send an association request to access the Mesh backbone network.

9. A distributed communication system, employing the apparatus as described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, include, At least two of the aforementioned signal relay devices; At least one drone inspection terminal, wherein the drone inspection terminal integrates a communication module compatible with the Mesh network protocol of the signal relay device; The background monitoring center is communicatively connected to at least one of the signal relay devices that serve as the Mesh network gateway.

10. A distributed communication method, characterized in that, Performed by any of the signal relay devices according to claims 1-8, the method includes the following steps: Obtain operating power from the terminal of the automated feeder; It self-organizes with similar devices deployed in other feeder terminals to form a distributed mesh backbone network; The drone inspection data is relayed through the Mesh backbone network. Cross-service resource scheduling is performed on the power data reporting service of the automated feeder terminal and the relay service of the UAV inspection data.

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