Beam switching method, apparatus, device, and storage medium

Abstract

This application discloses a beam switching method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. The method includes: acquiring the beam direction of a reference beam; determining a reference line-of-sight (LOS) vector based on the beam direction, wherein the LOS vector is a direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device; collecting motion state information of the terminal device from a reference time to the current time, the motion state information including angular velocity and acceleration; generating beam switching assistance information based on the LOS vector and the motion state information; and sending the beam switching assistance information to the base station. This solution, by introducing a beam switching assistance mechanism based on the LOS vector and the terminal's motion state information, can complete target beam preparation earlier in scenarios involving changes in terminal attitude, position movement, or rapid shifts in receiving direction, thereby reducing beam mismatch probability and shortening beam switching latency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a beam switching method, apparatus, device and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In high-frequency communication systems, beamforming is a crucial technique for achieving high-gain transmission. Due to the narrow beamwidth, communication links have stringent requirements for spatial alignment; if the receiving direction of the terminal equipment deviates, the link quality can degrade rapidly.

[0003] In existing technologies, beam management mechanisms based on radio frequency (RF) measurements are employed. Terminal devices measure the downlink reference signal transmitted by the base station and report the identifier of the strongest beam to achieve beam selection or switching. However, RF measurement-based schemes typically rely on periodic beam scanning and measurements, which struggle to reflect link status promptly in scenarios where terminal device attitude changes rapidly. In practical applications, rapid rotation of the terminal device can cause the originally aligned beam to deviate from the antenna main lobe direction, resulting in a rapid drop in signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, traditional beam scanning and measurement feedback processes involve a certain time delay. By the time the terminal device completes the measurement and reports the results, its attitude may have changed, causing the measurement results to lag behind the actual link status. In addition, frequent RF measurements and measurement reporting increase terminal power consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a beam switching method, apparatus, device, and storage medium, which can introduce a beam switching auxiliary mechanism based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information of the terminal device during the beam management process, thereby enabling advance prediction and rapid adjustment of the communication beam when the attitude of the terminal device changes rapidly.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a beam switching method applied to a terminal device, comprising:

[0006] Obtain the beam direction of the reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to the reference time; A reference line-of-sight direction vector is determined based on the beam direction, and the reference line-of-sight direction vector is the direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device. The motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time is collected, and the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration; Beam switching assistance information is generated based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and the beam switching assistance information is sent to the base station. The base station uses the beam switching assistance information to determine and activate the corresponding target beam for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

[0007] Secondly, this application provides a beam switching device applied to a terminal device, comprising: The acquisition module is configured to acquire the beam direction of a reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to the reference time. The vector module is configured to determine a reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction, wherein the reference line-of-sight direction vector is a direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device. The acquisition module is configured to acquire motion state information of the terminal device from a reference time to the current time, the motion state information including angular velocity and acceleration; The switching module is configured to generate beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and send the beam switching assistance information to the base station, so that the base station can determine and activate the corresponding target beam based on the beam switching assistance information for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

[0008] Thirdly, this application provides a beam switching device, including: One or more processors; A memory that stores one or more programs, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the beam switching method as described in the first aspect.

[0009] Fourthly, this application provides a storage medium containing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a computer processor, are used to perform the beam switching method as described in the first aspect.

[0010] In this application, a beam switching method based on the fusion of reference line-of-sight (LAS) direction modeling and terminal motion state perception is constructed, enabling the terminal to continuously perceive, predict, and report beam pointing changes in dynamic motion scenarios. The method first obtains the reference beam direction corresponding to a reference time, and then determines the reference LAS direction vector pointing to the base station in the terminal device coordinate system based on this beam direction, thereby establishing a mapping relationship between beam pointing and spatial direction. Subsequently, the motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time is collected. The motion state information includes at least angular velocity and acceleration, used to characterize the terminal's attitude changes and spatial motion trends. Based on this, the reference LAS direction vector and motion state information are fused to generate beam switching auxiliary information that characterizes the evolution trend of the terminal's LAS direction. Then, this beam switching auxiliary information is sent to the base station via uplink signaling, enabling the base station to perform predictive selection and activation of the target beam based on the direction change characteristics and motion trend information reported by the terminal, thereby providing the terminal with a target beam matching the current spatial direction to complete beam switching. This solution introduces a joint modeling mechanism of direction vector and motion state, transforming the traditional passive beam switching method based on radio frequency measurement into an active assisted decision-making mode based on motion prediction. This significantly improves the foresight, stability, and success rate of beam switching, and is suitable for communication systems with high requirements for beam tracking accuracy and link continuity in millimeter-wave communication, satellite communication, and high-speed mobile scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a beam switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a beam switching auxiliary information generation method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a beam switching auxiliary information determination method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a beam switching method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a structural block diagram of a beam switching device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a beam switching device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0012] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, specific embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining this application and not for limiting it. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to this application are shown in the drawings, not all of them. Before discussing exemplary embodiments in more detail, it should be mentioned that some exemplary embodiments are described as processes or methods depicted as flowcharts. Although the flowcharts describe operations (or steps) as being processed sequentially, many of these operations can be performed in parallel, concurrently, or simultaneously. Furthermore, the order of the operations can be rearranged. A process can be terminated when its operation is completed, but it may also have additional steps not included in the drawings. A process can correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc.

[0013] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0014] Currently, with the development of millimeter-wave and higher frequency band communications, beamforming has become a core technology for ensuring link quality. However, due to the extremely narrow beams, communication links are highly sensitive to spatial alignment accuracy. In existing technologies, terminals typically rely on radio frequency (RF) measurement mechanisms to measure the SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) or CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal) and report the strongest beam index to assist the base station in beam selection. However, this mechanism has significant shortcomings in dynamic scenarios. In terms of attitude sensitivity, when the terminal rotates rapidly, the original aligned beam will quickly deviate from the main lobe direction, causing a sharp drop in the signal-to-noise ratio. In terms of feedback mechanisms, traditional scanning processes have delays of tens of milliseconds. By the time measurement and reporting are completed, the terminal's attitude may have changed, causing beam selection lag. In terms of energy consumption, frequent RF measurements and reporting significantly increase terminal power consumption. Therefore, existing RF measurement-based beam management methods struggle to achieve fast, stable, and efficient beam tracking and switching in highly dynamic scenarios.

[0015] Therefore, this invention aims to propose a beam switching method that enables real-time perception and predictive feedback of spatial pointing changes in scenarios where rapid changes in terminal attitude coexist with narrow-beam communication, thereby supporting rapid selection and activation of the target beam by the base station. This method obtains the reference beam direction and determines the reference line-of-sight direction vector, while simultaneously collecting the terminal's angular velocity and acceleration to characterize attitude changes. Based on these, beam switching auxiliary information is generated and reported to the base station. The base station predicts and activates the target beam based on the beam switching auxiliary information, allowing the terminal to complete the beam switching. By introducing a joint modeling mechanism of line-of-sight direction and motion state, this method effectively improves the timeliness and accuracy of beam switching, and is applicable to millimeter-wave and high-speed mobile communication scenarios.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a beam switching method provided in an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 1 The beam switching method specifically includes: S110. Obtain the beam direction of the reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to the reference time.

[0017] The reference beam can be the target beam used for signal transmission or reception at a reference time, and the beam direction can be the directional parameter of the spatial radiation pointing of the reference beam, which can reflect the radiation pointing characteristics of the reference beam in the azimuth, elevation, or joint spatial dimensions. The reference time can be the time when the terminal device completed the most recent beam establishment, and is used to characterize the spatial pointing state of the current reference beam in the time dimension.

[0018] In one embodiment, the reference beam can be determined by the communication device reading the reference beam corresponding to the reference time from the beam management record.

[0019] In one embodiment, the beam direction of the reference beam can be obtained as follows: after determining the reference beam, the communication device reads the azimuth and elevation angles associated with the reference beam, and calculates the beam direction by transforming the azimuth and elevation angles using coordinate transformation. For example, the coordinate transformation formula for the beam direction is as follows:

[0020]

[0021]

[0022] in, The pitch angle, It is the azimuth angle. The beam direction.

[0023] By taking the above steps, the reference beam and its direction corresponding to the reference time are obtained, so that subsequent beam tracking, beam switching determination, target beam generation or link direction adjustment can be performed under the premise that the direction reference is clear, thereby improving the accuracy and stability of the beam control process.

[0024] S120. Determine a reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction. The reference line-of-sight direction vector is the direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device.

[0025] The reference line-of-sight vector can be a geometric vector used to describe the spatial pointing relationship between the terminal device and the base station, characterizing the spatial directional characteristics from the terminal device to the base station in the terminal device's local coordinate system. A mapping relationship exists between the beam direction and the reference line-of-sight vector; this mapping relationship is used to convert the beam direction into a directional expression in the terminal coordinate system.

[0026] In one embodiment, the method for determining the reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction can be as follows: the terminal device searches for the reference line-of-sight direction vector corresponding to the beam direction in the beam codebook. The beam codebook pre-stores multiple correspondences between beam indices and direction vectors.

[0027] By taking the above steps, the reference line-of-sight direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device is obtained, so that the subsequent beam alignment calculation, direction deviation evaluation and beam adjustment strategy can be performed under a unified spatial reference, thereby improving the accuracy and stability of spatial pointing control.

[0028] S130. Collect motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time, the motion state information including angular velocity and acceleration.

[0029] Among them, motion state information can be a set of dynamic parameters used to describe the attitude and motion change characteristics of the terminal device within a set time window, reflecting the rotational and translational behavior of the terminal device in space; angular velocity can be a physical quantity that measures the rate of rotation of the terminal device around each coordinate axis, and acceleration can be a physical quantity that describes the rate of change of the terminal device's velocity. Angular velocity and acceleration together constitute the core measurement parameters used to characterize the motion process and attitude change trend of the terminal device.

[0030] In one embodiment, the angular velocity can be obtained by the terminal device sampling the angular velocity of each axis in real time using the gyroscope in the built-in inertial measurement unit to obtain the angular velocity around the three orthogonal coordinate axes in the terminal device coordinate system.

[0031] In one embodiment, the acceleration can be obtained by the terminal device acquiring linear acceleration along each axis through the accelerometer in the built-in inertial measurement unit to obtain the acceleration that reflects the actual motion state of the terminal device.

[0032] By taking the above steps, the angular velocity and acceleration information of the terminal device between the reference time and the current time are obtained, so that subsequent attitude change estimation, line-of-sight direction update and beam tracking and compensation calculation can be performed under the premise that the motion state is continuously observable, thereby improving the accuracy and stability of beam control in dynamic scenes.

[0033] S140. Generate beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and send the beam switching assistance information to the base station, so that the base station can determine and activate the corresponding target beam based on the beam switching assistance information for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

[0034] The beam switching assistance information can be control information used to assist the base station in predicting the spatial pointing trend of the terminal device and performing target beam selection. The beam switching assistance information can include at least one of the following: target beam index, target line of sight vector, direction offset, attitude change, angular velocity characteristic value, and beam matching degree index, used to assist the base station in predicting the current spatial pointing state of the terminal device and performing target beam selection.

[0035] In one embodiment, the method for generating beam switching auxiliary information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information can be: combining the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information to obtain beam switching auxiliary information.

[0036] In one embodiment, the method of sending beam switching assistance information to the base station may be: the terminal device carries the beam switching assistance information through the physical uplink control channel, and sends the beam switching assistance information when the angular velocity reaches a set threshold.

[0037] Through the above steps, beam switching auxiliary information is generated and sent based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information. This enables the base station to know the spatial pointing evolution trend of the terminal device in advance when the terminal device undergoes attitude or motion changes, and to determine and activate the corresponding target beam accordingly. This reduces the probability of beam mismatch, shortens the beam switching delay, and improves the continuity, accuracy and link stability of the beam switching process.

[0038] Optionally, generating beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information includes: When the angular velocity is greater than a set angular velocity threshold, beam switching assistance information is determined based on the reference line-of-sight vector and the motion state information.

[0039] For example, the angular velocity threshold can be a preset threshold parameter used to determine whether the attitude change of the terminal device reaches the beam adjustment trigger condition; when the angular velocity is greater than the set angular velocity threshold, it indicates that the terminal device is currently in a relatively obvious rotation state, and the spatial pointing relationship corresponding to the reference beam may change rapidly. At this time, the calculation of beam switching auxiliary information can be triggered to enhance the base station's ability to perceive the direction change of the terminal device.

[0040] In one embodiment, the method for determining beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information may be as follows: the terminal device first determines whether the currently acquired angular velocity exceeds the set angular velocity threshold; if the determination result is yes, the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information are combined to obtain beam switching assistance information.

[0041] In this way, when the angular velocity is greater than the set angular velocity threshold, beam switching auxiliary information is determined based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information. This enables the terminal device to promptly characterize its spatial pointing change trend in a rapidly rotating scenario, thereby supporting the base station to more accurately determine the target beam and improve the timeliness of beam switching and link stability.

[0042] Optionally, Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating beam switching auxiliary information according to an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 2 The method for generating beam switching auxiliary information specifically includes: S1401. Calculate the attitude change of the terminal device based on the motion state information.

[0043] For example, attitude change can be a state parameter describing the degree of change in the spatial attitude of a terminal device from a reference time to the current time, reflecting the rotation of the terminal device around one or more coordinate axes. Attitude change can be used to characterize the deflection of the terminal device's current attitude relative to the reference attitude, providing a basis for subsequent line-of-sight updates, beam offset prediction, and beam switching auxiliary information generation.

[0044] In one embodiment, the method for calculating the attitude change of the terminal device based on motion state information can be as follows: the terminal device superimposes the angular velocity data from the reference time to the current time to obtain the rotation angle change of the terminal device around each coordinate axis; the terminal device performs attitude estimation on the acceleration data from the reference time to the current time to obtain the attitude angles of the terminal device, including pitch angle and roll angle; the terminal device performs a weighted calculation of the rotation angle change and attitude angle according to a set weight to obtain the attitude change. The formula for calculating the rotation angle change of each coordinate axis is shown below:

[0045]

[0046]

[0047] in, , , They are respectively axis, axis, The change in the rotation angle of the shaft. The number of sampling points between the reference time and the current time. , , They are respectively axis, axis, The axis in the first angular velocity at each sampling time, This represents the time interval between each two samples.

[0048] The formula for calculating the attitude angle is as follows:

[0049]

[0050] in, This is the roll angle. The pitch angle, , , They are respectively axis, axis, The acceleration of the shaft.

[0051] The formula for calculating attitude change is as follows:

[0052]

[0053]

[0054] Where 0.98 and 0.02 are the weights obtained through calibration.

[0055] Through the above steps, the attitude change of the terminal device is calculated based on the motion state information, enabling the terminal device to accurately represent the spatial attitude change from the reference time to the current time. This provides a reliable attitude basis for subsequent reference line of sight direction updates, beam switching auxiliary information generation, and target beam prediction, thereby improving the accuracy and stability of beam control in dynamic scenarios.

[0056] Optionally, calculating the attitude change of the terminal device based on the motion state information includes: The motion state information is calculated using a sensor fusion algorithm to obtain the attitude change of the terminal device, wherein the sensor fusion algorithm is an extended Kalman filter or a complementary filter.

[0057] For example, a sensor fusion algorithm can be a state estimation algorithm used for joint estimation and error suppression of multi-source motion measurement data, capable of fusing angular velocity and acceleration information to obtain stable and continuous attitude changes. By processing motion state information through a sensor fusion algorithm, the impact of single sensor measurement noise and accumulated errors on the attitude estimation results can be reduced.

[0058] In one embodiment, the method of calculating the attitude change of the terminal device by using extended Kalman filtering to calculate the motion state information can be as follows: construct a nonlinear state-space model with attitude parameters as state variables, use angular velocity as state propagation input to predict and update the attitude, and use acceleration as an observation measurement to correct the attitude direction; at each sampling time, through iterative calculation of state prediction and observation update, obtain the attitude estimation result of the terminal device at the current time, and further determine the attitude change relative to the reference time.

[0059] In one embodiment, the method of calculating the attitude change of the terminal device by complementary filtering can be as follows: weighted fusion of the high-frequency attitude change component obtained by integrating the angular velocity and the low-frequency attitude reference component obtained by acceleration calculation, wherein the angular velocity component is used to reflect rapid dynamic changes and the acceleration component is used to provide a long-term stable reference. By setting the filtering weights, the two types of components are fused and calculated to obtain a smooth and stable attitude change.

[0060] By using the above method, the motion state information is calculated through sensor fusion algorithms to obtain the attitude change of the terminal device. This allows the attitude estimation process to be executed while taking into account both dynamic response capability and long-term stability, thereby improving the accuracy and robustness of attitude change calculation and providing a reliable basis for subsequent beam direction prediction and beam switching control.

[0061] S1402. Perform an inverse rotation on the reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the attitude change amount to obtain the target line-of-sight direction vector.

[0062] For example, the target gaze direction vector can be a geometric vector representing the updated spatial direction from the terminal device to the base station in the current terminal device coordinate system. Since the terminal device coordinate system rotates with changes in the terminal device's attitude, an inverse rotation can be performed on the reference gaze direction vector based on the attitude change to eliminate the influence of the terminal device's own attitude change on the gaze direction representation, thus obtaining the target gaze direction vector corresponding to the current moment. Because the reference gaze direction vector is defined in the terminal device coordinate system at the reference moment, and the current terminal device coordinate system has rotated relative to the reference moment coordinate system, an inverse rotation transformation corresponding to the attitude change is needed to convert the gaze direction from the reference moment to the current moment coordinate system.

[0063] In one embodiment, when the attitude change is represented in the form of a rotation matrix, the method for performing inverse rotation on the reference line-of-sight direction vector can be as follows: the terminal device obtains the attitude rotation matrix based on the attitude change, and applies the inverse or transpose of the attitude rotation matrix to the reference line-of-sight direction vector to obtain the target line-of-sight direction vector. The specific calculation formula is as follows:

[0064]

[0065] in, Let the target's line of sight direction vector be . As a reference line-of-sight vector, This represents the change in attitude. This is a quaternion to rotation matrix function.

[0066] Through the above steps, the reference line-of-sight direction vector is inversely rotated according to the attitude change to obtain the target line-of-sight direction vector. This enables the terminal device to accurately update its line-of-sight direction expression relative to the base station when its own attitude changes, thereby providing a reliable spatial direction basis for subsequent direction prediction, beam matching and beam switching control, and improving the accuracy and stability of the beam control process.

[0067] S1403. Generate beam switching auxiliary information based on the target line-of-sight vector.

[0068] For example, beam switching assistance information can be control information used to indicate the target beam. There is a mapping relationship between the target line-of-sight vector and the beam switching assistance information to support the base station side in performing target beam selection and activation.

[0069] In one embodiment, the method for generating beam switching auxiliary information based on the target line-of-sight vector can be as follows: the terminal device uses the mapping relationship between the line-of-sight vector and the beam index to map the target line-of-sight vector to the corresponding target beam index, and uses the target beam index as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0070] Through the above steps, beam switching auxiliary information is generated based on the target line-of-sight vector, enabling the terminal device to effectively express the current spatial pointing state and feed it back to the base station. This allows the base station to perform precise target beam selection and switching control based on the auxiliary information, improving beam matching accuracy and reducing the risk of link interruption.

[0071] Optionally, Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining beam switching auxiliary information provided in an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 3 The method for determining beam switching auxiliary information specifically includes: S14031. Search the antenna codebook for the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight direction vector.

[0072] For example, the antenna codebook can be a pre-configured set of beam directions, containing multiple beam indices and corresponding beam pointing parameters for each beam index, used to characterize the coverage direction of different beams in space. By searching for the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector in the antenna codebook, a continuous spatial direction representation can be mapped to a discrete beam identifier that can be used for beam control.

[0073] In one embodiment, the method of searching for the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector from the antenna codebook can be: the terminal determines the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector based on the correspondence between the beam index and the beam direction vector in the antenna codebook.

[0074] Through the above steps, the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector is searched from the antenna codebook, enabling the terminal device to convert the current spatial line-of-sight direction into a beam identifier that can be used for beam control and signaling interaction. This provides a clear basis for subsequent beam switching auxiliary information generation, target beam matching, and beam switching control, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of beam selection.

[0075] S14032. The beam index is determined as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0076] For example, a beam index can be a discrete identifier parameter used to uniquely identify a beam direction in an antenna codebook, representing the mapping result of the target line-of-sight direction vector in the codebook space. By incorporating the beam index as part of beam switching auxiliary information, an efficient expression from continuous spatial directions to discrete beam identifiers can be achieved, thereby reducing signaling overhead and improving beam selection efficiency.

[0077] In one embodiment, the method of determining the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information can be as follows: after the terminal device completes the beam index search corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector, it writes the beam index as a core field into a preset beam switching auxiliary information structure, and encodes the beam index according to the agreed bit encoding format to generate beam switching auxiliary information for reporting.

[0078] Through the above steps, the beam index is determined as beam switching auxiliary information, enabling the terminal device to feed back the target beam information to the base station in a structured and low-overhead manner. This supports the base station in quickly determining and activating the target beam, improving beam switching efficiency and reducing the risk of link interruption.

[0079] Optionally, determining the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information includes: Calculate the main lobe overlap area of ​​the reference beam and the target beam corresponding to the beam index.

[0080] For example, the main lobe overlap area can be the overlap area between the reference beam and the target beam in the spatial coverage area, reflecting the overlap level between the main energy radiation areas of the two beams. By calculating the main lobe overlap area of ​​the reference beam and the target beam, the continuity of spatial coverage before and after beam switching can be evaluated, thereby providing a basis for beam switching auxiliary information optimization, target beam selection, or switching reliability determination.

[0081] In one embodiment, the main lobe overlap area can be calculated by: obtaining the main lobe coverage ranges of the reference beam and the target beam respectively, performing spatial intersection calculation on the main lobe coverage ranges of the reference beam and the target beam to obtain the overlap area, and determining the area corresponding to the overlap area as the main lobe overlap area.

[0082] Through the above steps, the main lobe overlap area of ​​the target beam corresponding to the reference beam and the beam index is calculated, enabling terminal equipment or base station to quantitatively evaluate the spatial coverage continuity and handover smoothness between the two beams, thereby providing a reliable basis for target beam selection, beam handover timing control and link stability assurance.

[0083] If the main lobe overlap area is less than a preset overlap area threshold, the beam index is used as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0084] For example, the overlap area threshold can be a preset threshold parameter used to determine whether the spatial coverage continuity between the reference beam and the target beam meets the handover assistance reporting conditions. When the main lobe overlap area is less than the preset overlap area threshold, it indicates that the spatial coverage difference between the reference beam and the target beam is large, and the target direction currently corresponding to the terminal device has changed significantly relative to the reference direction. At this time, the beam index can be reported to the base station as beam handover assistance information to help the base station determine the target beam in a timely manner.

[0085] In one embodiment, the beam index can be used as beam switching auxiliary information in the following way: after the terminal device completes the calculation of the main lobe overlap area between the reference beam and the target beam, it compares the calculated main lobe overlap area with a preset overlap area threshold; if the comparison result shows that the main lobe overlap area is less than the preset overlap area threshold, it determines that the spatial coverage overlap between the target beam and the reference beam is lower than the set requirement, and extracts the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0086] In this way, when the main lobe overlap area is less than the preset overlap area threshold, the beam index is used as beam switching auxiliary information, enabling the terminal device to promptly feed back candidate beam information to the base station when the spatial coverage difference between the target beam and the reference beam increases. This supports the base station in quickly determining and activating the target beam, improving the timeliness, accuracy and link stability of beam switching.

[0087] Optionally, generating beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information includes: The reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information are combined to obtain beam switching auxiliary information.

[0088] For example, beam switching auxiliary information can be control information used to characterize the spatial pointing state of the terminal device and its dynamic changing trend, comprehensively reflecting the current line-of-sight direction and motion change characteristics. Reference line-of-sight direction vectors and motion state information can be used as multi-source input parameters, and through combined processing, auxiliary information for beam control can be generated.

[0089] In one embodiment, the method of combining the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information to obtain beam switching auxiliary information can be: the terminal device uses the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information to construct a joint parameter set, and encapsulates the joint parameter set as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0090] By combining the reference line-of-sight vector with motion state information through the above steps, beam switching auxiliary information is obtained. This enables the terminal device to feed back more predictive directional information to the base station based on the coordinated expression of spatial pointing and dynamic change information. This supports the base station in more accurately executing target beam selection and switching control, and improves the foresight of beam switching and link stability.

[0091] Optionally, Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a beam switching method provided in an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 4 The beam switching method specifically includes: S201, Reference beam alignment.

[0092] For example, the terminal device first establishes a reference beam alignment relationship with the base station, determines the reference beam currently used for communication, and records the corresponding reference line-of-sight direction vector and related beam parameters as a reference for subsequent change calculations.

[0093] S202, Real-time data acquisition by sensors.

[0094] For example, the motion state information of the terminal device is collected in real time through an inertial measurement unit, wherein the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration data, which are used to characterize the motion behavior of the terminal in three-dimensional space.

[0095] S203. Calculate the attitude change.

[0096] For example, based on the collected angular velocity and acceleration data, sensor fusion algorithms, such as extended Kalman filtering or complementary filtering, are used to calculate the attitude changes of the terminal device at the current moment relative to a reference moment, including changes in pitch angle, roll angle and yaw angle.

[0097] S204~S205 Calculate the target line-of-sight vector when the angular velocity is greater than the angular velocity threshold.

[0098] For example, it is determined whether the current angular velocity is greater than a preset angular velocity threshold. If not, it means that the terminal attitude change is small, and the process returns to the sensor real-time acquisition step to continue monitoring. If so, it means that the terminal has undergone significant movement. The reference line-of-sight direction vector is rotated and transformed according to the amount of attitude change to obtain the target line-of-sight direction vector of the terminal currently pointing to the base station, thereby realizing dynamic updating of spatial direction.

[0099] S206, Codebook Search.

[0100] For example, in a predefined antenna beamcodebook, the candidate beam that best matches the target line-of-sight vector is searched, and the corresponding beam index is determined.

[0101] S207~S208: When the target beam and the reference beam are different, generate beam switching auxiliary information.

[0102] For example, it is determined whether the target beam is different from the current reference beam. If not, it means that the current beam is still compatible and no switching is required. The process returns to the sensor real-time acquisition step to continue monitoring. If so, it means that beam adjustment is required. Beam switching auxiliary information is generated based on the target beam index. The beam switching auxiliary information includes the target beam index, direction offset, and beam matching index.

[0103] S209. Send beam switching auxiliary information.

[0104] For example, the terminal sends beam switching assistance information to the base station via the uplink, which can be carried by, for example, through MACCE (Medium Access Control Control Element) or uplink control information.

[0105] S210, Perform beam switching.

[0106] For example, the base station and the terminal perform a beam switching operation based on the auxiliary information, switching the communication beam from the reference beam to the target beam in order to maintain link quality.

[0107] S211, Update reference attitude.

[0108] For example, after completing the beam switching, the target beam is updated to the new reference beam, and the reference line-of-sight direction vector and related state parameters are updated as the benchmark for the next round of calculation.

[0109] Based on the above embodiments, Figure 5 This is a structural block diagram of a beam switching device provided in an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 5 The beam switching device provided in this embodiment specifically includes: an acquisition module 11, a vector module 12, a data acquisition module 13, and a switching module 14.

[0110] The system includes: an acquisition module 11, configured to acquire the beam direction of a reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to a reference time; a vector module 12, configured to determine a reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction, wherein the reference line-of-sight direction vector is the direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device; an acquisition module 13, configured to acquire motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time, wherein the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration; and a switching module 14, configured to generate beam switching auxiliary information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and send the beam switching auxiliary information to the base station, so that the base station can determine and activate the corresponding target beam based on the beam switching auxiliary information for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

[0111] Based on the above embodiments, the switching module 14 includes an angular velocity determination unit, configured to determine beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information when the angular velocity is greater than a set angular velocity threshold.

[0112] Based on the above embodiments, the switching module 14 includes: an attitude change unit configured to calculate the attitude change amount of the terminal device according to the motion state information; an inverse rotation unit configured to perform inverse rotation on the reference line-of-sight direction vector according to the attitude change amount to obtain a target line-of-sight direction vector; and an auxiliary information unit configured to generate beam switching auxiliary information according to the target line-of-sight direction vector.

[0113] Based on the above embodiments, the attitude change unit includes: a fusion calculation subunit, configured to calculate the motion state information through a sensor fusion algorithm to obtain the attitude change amount of the terminal device; wherein, the sensor fusion algorithm is an extended Kalman filter or a complementary filter.

[0114] Based on the above embodiments, the auxiliary information unit includes: a beam index subunit configured to search for the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight direction vector from the antenna codebook; and an auxiliary information subunit configured to determine the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information.

[0115] Based on the above embodiments, the auxiliary information subunit includes: an overlap area component configured to calculate the main lobe overlap area of ​​the reference beam and the target beam corresponding to the beam index; and an area judgment component configured to use the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information when the main lobe overlap area is less than a preset overlap area threshold.

[0116] Based on the above embodiments, the switching module 14 includes: a combination unit configured to combine the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information to obtain beam switching auxiliary information.

[0117] The beam switching device provided in this application embodiment, by constructing a multi-dimensional collaborative beam switching system composed of an acquisition module 11, a vector module 12, a collection module 13, and a switching module 14, achieves full-process processing capabilities for reference beam spatial representation, terminal attitude perception, and beam switching auxiliary information generation, ensuring that the terminal device can achieve high-precision, low-latency beam tracking and switching decisions in dynamic motion and channel change environments. The acquisition module 11 undertakes the task of acquiring basic beam information and is configured to acquire the beam direction parameters of the reference beam corresponding to the reference time, providing basic input for subsequent spatial direction modeling. The vector module 12 is oriented towards spatial direction expression; it constructs a reference line-of-sight direction vector in the terminal device coordinate system based on the beam direction parameters. This reference line-of-sight direction vector is used to represent the spatial pointing relationship from the terminal device to the base station, thereby achieving a unified mapping of beam spatial information to the terminal's local coordinate system. The collection module 13 undertakes the task of motion state perception and is configured to collect the motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time, where the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration, used to characterize the attitude changes and motion trends of the terminal device in three-dimensional space. The switching module 14 is used to perform the direction update and auxiliary decision-making process. Based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and motion state information, it generates beam switching auxiliary information reflecting the current terminal pointing change and sends this beam switching auxiliary information to the base station. This enables the base station to determine and activate the corresponding target beam for the terminal device to perform beam switching based on the terminal's spatial pointing change prediction result. Through the coordinated beam direction acquisition by the acquisition module, the direction vector construction by the vector module, the motion state perception by the acquisition module, and the auxiliary information generation and feedback by the switching module, this embodiment can maintain the continuity and accuracy of beam pointing tracking in complex scenarios such as high-speed terminal movement, rapid attitude changes, or beam alignment offset. This provides key support for base station-side beam management and link maintenance, thereby achieving stable and efficient beam switching optimization.

[0118] The beam switching device provided in this application embodiment can be used to execute the beam switching method provided in the above embodiment, and has corresponding functions and beneficial effects.

[0119] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a beam switching device provided in an embodiment of this application, with reference to... Figure 6The beam switching device includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a communication device 23, an input device 24, and an output device 25. The number of processors 21 and the number of memories 22 in the beam switching device can be one or more. The processor 21, memory 22, communication device 23, input device 24, and output device 25 of the beam switching device can be connected via a bus or other means.

[0120] The memory 22, as a computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store software programs, computer-executable programs, and modules, such as program instructions / modules corresponding to the beam switching method in any embodiment of this application (e.g., acquisition module 11, vector module 12, acquisition module 13, and switching module 14 in the beam switching device). The memory 22 may primarily include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system and at least one application program required for a function; the data storage area may store data created based on the use of the device, etc. Furthermore, the memory 22 may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. In some instances, the memory may further include memory remotely located relative to the processor, and these remote memories can be connected to the device via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, corporate intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

[0121] The communication device 23 is used for data transmission.

[0122] The processor 21 executes various functional applications and data processing of the device by running software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory 22, thereby realizing the beam switching method described above.

[0123] Input device 24 can be used to receive input digital or character information, and to generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the device. Output device 25 may include display devices such as a display screen.

[0124] The beam switching device provided above can be used to execute the beam switching method provided in the above embodiments, and has corresponding functions and beneficial effects.

[0125] This application embodiment also provides a storage medium containing computer-executable instructions. When executed by a computer processor, the computer-executable instructions are used to execute a beam switching method. The beam switching method includes: obtaining the beam direction of a reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to a reference time; determining a reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction, wherein the reference line-of-sight direction vector is a direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device; collecting motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time, wherein the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration; generating beam switching auxiliary information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information; and sending the beam switching auxiliary information to the base station, wherein the base station determines and activates a corresponding target beam based on the beam switching auxiliary information for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

[0126] Storage medium—any type of memory device or storage device. The term "storage medium" is intended to include: mounting media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, magnetic media (e.g., hard disk or optical storage); registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Storage medium may also include other types of memory or combinations thereof. Furthermore, storage medium may reside in a first computer system in which a program is executed, or it may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network (such as the Internet). The second computer system can provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "storage medium" may include two or more storage media residing in different locations (e.g., in different computer systems connected via a network). Storage medium may store program instructions (e.g., specifically implemented as a computer program) executable by one or more processors.

[0127] Of course, the computer-executable instructions provided in the embodiments of this application are not limited to the beam switching method described above, but can also execute related operations in the beam switching method provided in any embodiment of this application.

[0128] The beam switching device, storage medium, and beam switching equipment provided in the above embodiments can execute the beam switching method provided in any embodiment of this application. For technical details not described in detail in the above embodiments, please refer to the beam switching method provided in any embodiment of this application.

[0129] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment and the technical principles employed in this application. This application is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and various obvious changes, readjustments, and substitutions that can be made by those skilled in the art will not depart from the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, although this application has been described in detail through the above embodiments, this application is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include many other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of this application. The scope of this application is determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A beam switching method, applied to terminal equipment, characterized in that, include: Obtain the beam direction of the reference beam, which is the beam corresponding to the reference time; A reference line-of-sight direction vector is determined based on the beam direction, and the reference line-of-sight direction vector is the direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device. The motion state information of the terminal device from the reference time to the current time is collected, and the motion state information includes angular velocity and acceleration; Beam switching assistance information is generated based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and the beam switching assistance information is sent to the base station. The base station uses the beam switching assistance information to determine and activate the corresponding target beam for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

2. The beam switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of generating beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information includes: When the angular velocity is greater than a set angular velocity threshold, beam switching assistance information is determined based on the reference line-of-sight vector and the motion state information.

3. The beam switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of generating beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information includes: The attitude change of the terminal device is calculated based on the motion state information; The reference line-of-sight direction vector is inversely rotated based on the attitude change amount to obtain the target line-of-sight direction vector; Beam switching auxiliary information is generated based on the target line-of-sight vector.

4. The beam switching method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of calculating the attitude change of the terminal device based on the motion state information includes: The motion state information is calculated using a sensor fusion algorithm to obtain the attitude change of the terminal device; The sensor fusion algorithm is either an extended Kalman filter or a complementary filter.

5. The beam switching method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of generating beam switching assistance information based on the target line-of-sight vector includes: Search the antenna codebook for the beam index corresponding to the target line-of-sight vector; The beam index is determined as beam switching auxiliary information.

6. The beam switching method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of determining the beam index as beam switching auxiliary information includes: Calculate the main lobe overlap area of ​​the reference beam and the target beam corresponding to the beam index; If the main lobe overlap area is less than a preset overlap area threshold, the beam index is used as beam switching auxiliary information.

7. The beam switching method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of generating beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information includes: The reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information are combined to obtain beam switching auxiliary information.

8. A beam switching device, applied to terminal equipment, characterized in that, include: The acquisition module is configured to acquire the beam direction of a reference beam, wherein the reference beam is the beam corresponding to the reference time. The vector module is configured to determine a reference line-of-sight direction vector based on the beam direction, wherein the reference line-of-sight direction vector is a direction vector from the terminal device to the base station in the coordinate system of the terminal device. The acquisition module is configured to acquire motion state information of the terminal device from a reference time to the current time, the motion state information including angular velocity and acceleration; The switching module is configured to generate beam switching assistance information based on the reference line-of-sight direction vector and the motion state information, and send the beam switching assistance information to the base station, so that the base station can determine and activate the corresponding target beam based on the beam switching assistance information for the terminal device to perform beam switching.

9. A beam switching device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A memory that stores one or more programs, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the beam switching method as described in any one of claims 1-7.

10. A storage medium containing computer-executable instructions, characterized in that, The computer-executable instructions, when executed by a computer processor, are used to perform the beam switching method as described in any one of claims 1-7.

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