Downlink transmission system and switching method

Abstract

Provided are a downlink transmission system and a switching method. The downlink transmission system comprises at least one digital intermediate-frequency module group, at least one Tx port group, multiple PAs, at least one switch and an antenna array, wherein the multiple PAs are connected to the antenna array; the multiple PAs are connected in a one-to-one correspondence to all Tx ports comprised in the downlink transmission system; the at least one digital intermediate-frequency module group corresponds to the at least one Tx port group on a one-to-one basis; each Tx port group is connected to each digital intermediate-frequency module in the corresponding digital intermediate-frequency module group by means of one switch; each Tx port group comprises multiple Tx ports; the number of digital intermediate-frequency modules comprised in each digital intermediate-frequency module group is equal to the number of Tx ports comprised in the corresponding Tx port group; each switch comprises at least two connected states; and in different connected states, the number of turned-on digital intermediate-frequency modules, which are connected to the switch, in the digital intermediate-frequency module group is different.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This application relates to the communication field, and morespecifically, to a downlink transmitting system and a switching method.BACKGROUND

[0003] A massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive multiple-inputmultiple-output, Massive MIMO) technology is a key technology of a current 5thgeneration (5th generation, 5G) mobile communication system. In this technology,a large-scale antenna array is deployed on a network device to improve a systemthroughput. However, because a massive MIMO device uses a large quantity oftransceiver units (transceivers, TRxs) (for example, 32 TRxs or 64 TRxs are used),energy consumption of the network device increases sharply. Particularly, whenload of the network device is low, enabling of a large quantity of transmit (transmit,Tx) channels makes an energy efficiency ratio of the network device significantlylower than an energy efficiency ratio of the network device with medium and highload.

[0004] Currently, in an architecture of a downlink transmitting system usingdigital beamforming (digital beamforming, DBF), when the load of the networkdevice is low, a part of Tx channels are disabled to save energy. However, in thismanner, in a process of disabling the part of Tx channels, the Tx channels are alsodisconnected from a part of the antenna array. In this case, a scale of the antennaarray is reduced. Furthermore, reduction in the scale of the antenna array causesdamage to an aperture of the antenna array and reduction in an effective isotropicradiated power (effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP) of the network device.Consequently, performance and coverage of the network device are reduced todifferent extent.

[0005] In an architecture of a downlink transmitting system using hybridbeamforming (hybrid beamforming, HBF), a quantity of Tx channels is reduced tosave energy. However, when the load of the network device is high or a verticaldistribution spacing between users relative to a ground is large, performance of thearchitecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF is significantly poorerthan performance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system usingDBF.SUMMARY

[0006] This application provides a downlink transmitting system, which cansupport switching between different connection states, so as to adapt to differentapplication scenarios.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a downlink transmitting system is providedand includes at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least oneTx port group, a plurality of power amplifiers (power amplifiers, PAs), at least oneswitching switch, and an antenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to theantenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports included in thedownlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence. The at least onedigital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence withthe at least one Tx port group. Each Tx port group is connected to each digitalintermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequencymodule group through one switching switch. Each Tx port group includes aplurality of Tx ports. A quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules includedin each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Txports included in a corresponding Tx port group. Each switching switch includes atleast two connection states. Quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequencymodules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to theswitching switch in different connection states are different. All Tx ports in a Txport group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states arein an enabled state.

[0008] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, each switchingswitch includes the at least two connection states, and the quantities of enableddigital intermediate frequency modules in the digital intermediate frequencymodule group connected to the switching switch in the different connection statesare different. Therefore, when a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequencymodules is small, the foregoing transmitting system can achieve an effect of energysaving, and is applicable to a scenario in which network load is low. When all digitalintermediate frequency modules are enabled or the quantity of enabled digitalintermediate frequency modules is large, the foregoing transmitting system isapplicable to a scenario in which the network load is high. In addition, regardlessof the quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the downlinktransmitting system, all the Tx ports in the downlink transmitting system are in anenabled state. Therefore, PAs connected to all the Tx ports are also in an enabledstate. In this way, a scale of the antenna array connected to all PAs is not reduced,and performance of the downlink transmitting system is not affected.

[0009] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and asecond connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequencymodules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digitalintermediate frequency modules in the second connection state. When a connectionstate of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx portsin a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequencymodules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-onecorrespondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequencymodule group are connected through the first switching switch, and the firstswitching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When theconnection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at leastone first digital intermediate f requency module port in the first digital intermediatefrequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx portgroup, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the firstdigital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in thefirst Tx port group.

[0010] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is thefirst connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition includesat least one of the following conditions: A quantity of users served by the downlinktransmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a verticalspacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equalto a second threshold.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is thesecond connection state when a second condition is met, and the second conditionis as follows: A quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is lessthan a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relativeto a ground is less than a second threshold.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a baseband processor, andthe baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the atleast one switching switch.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the switching switch is a bridge.

[0014] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a plurality of phaseshifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to all the Tx ports includedin the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0015] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, the phase shiftermay perform analog weighting between different antenna bays included in theantenna array. Therefore, coverage of a vertical beam of the downlink transmittingsystem can be expanded.

[0016] According to a second aspect, a downlink transmitting system isprovided and includes: at least one Tx channel group, at least one PA group, at leastone switching switch, and an antenna array. The at least one PA group is connectedto the antenna array. The at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-onecorrespondence with the at least one PA group. Each Tx channel group is connectedto each PA in a corresponding PA group through one switching switch. Each Txchannel group includes a plurality of Tx channels. Each Tx channel includes a Txport and a digital intermediate frequency module. A quantity of PAs included ineach PA group is equal to a quantity of Tx channels included in a corresponding Txchannel group. Each switching switch includes at least two connection states.Quantities of enabled Tx channels in a Tx channel group connected to the switchingswitch in different connection states are different. All PAs in a PA group connectedto the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

[0017] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, each switchingswitch includes the at least two connection states, and the quantities of enabled Txchannels in the Tx channel group connected to the switching switch in the differentconnection states are different. Therefore, when a quantity of enabled Tx channelsis small, the foregoing transmitting system can achieve an effect of energy saving,and is applicable to a scenario in which network load is low. When all Tx channelsare enabled or the quantity of enabled Tx channels is large, the foregoingtransmitting system is applicable to a scenario in which the network load is high. Inaddition, regardless of the quantity of enabled Tx channels in the downlinktransmitting system, all PAs in the downlink transmitting system are in an enabledstate. Therefore, a scale of the antenna array connected to all the PAs is not reduced,and performance of the downlink transmitting system is not affected.

[0018] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state anda second connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the firstconnection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the secondconnection state. When a connection state of a first switching switch is the firstconnection state, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connectedto a plurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Txchannel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switchingswitch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connectionstate, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is connected to atleast two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Tx channel in the firstTx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group.

[0019] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switchis the first connection state when a first condition is met, and the first conditionincludes at least one of the following conditions: A quantity of users served by thedownlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and avertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater thanor equal to a second threshold.

[0020] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switchis the second connection state when a second condition is met, and the secondcondition is as follows: A quantity of users served by the downlink transmittingsystem is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of theusers relative to a ground is less than a second threshold.

[0021] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a basebandprocessor, and the baseband processor is configured to control a connection state ofeach of the at least one switching switch.

[0022] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the switching switch is a bridge.

[0023] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a plurality ofphase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to all the PAsincluded in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0024] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, the phase shiftermay perform analog weighting between different antenna bays included in theantenna array. Therefore, coverage of a vertical beam of the downlink transmittingsystem can be expanded.

[0025] According to a third aspect, a downlink transmitting system is providedand includes: a plurality of Tx channels, at least one PA group, at least one switchingswitch, and an antenna array. The plurality of Tx channels are connected to all PAsincluded in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence. Theantenna array includes at least one antenna bay group. The at least one PA group isin a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one antenna bay group. Each PAgroup is connected to each antenna bay in a corresponding antenna bay groupthrough one switching switch. Each PA group includes a plurality of PAs. A quantityof PAs included in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antenna bays included ina corresponding antenna bay group. Each switching switch includes at least twoconnection states. Quantities of enabled PAs in a PA group connected to theswitching switch in different connection states are different. All antenna bays in anantenna bay group connected to the switching switch in the different connectionstates are in an enabled state.

[0026] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, each switchingswitch includes the at least two connection states, and the quantities of enabled PAsin the PA group connected to the switching switch in the different connection statesare different. In other words, quantities of enabled Tx channels connected to thePAs in a one-to-one correspondence are different. Therefore, when a quantity ofenabled PAs is small, in other words, when a quantity of enabled Tx channels issmall, the foregoing transmitting system can achieve an effect of energy saving, andis applicable to a scenario in which network load is low. When all PAs are enabledor the quantity of enabled PAs is large, in other words, when all Tx channels areenabled or the quantity of enabled Tx channels is large, the foregoing transmittingsystem is applicable to a scenario in which the network load is high. In addition,regardless of the quantity of enabled PAs in the downlink transmitting system, allantenna bays in the downlink transmitting system are in an enabled state. Therefore,a scale of the antenna array is not reduced, and performance of the downlinktransmitting system is not affected.

[0027] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and asecond connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connection stateis greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state. When aconnection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a pluralityof PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a firstantenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA group and the firstantenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch, and the firstswitching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When theconnection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at leastone first PA in the first PA group is connected to at least two antenna bays in thefirst antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in the first PA group is notconnected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group.

[0028] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is thefirst connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition includesat least one of the following conditions: A quantity of users served by the downlinktransmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a verticalspacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equalto a second threshold.

[0029] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is thesecond connection state when a second condition is met, and the second conditionis as follows: A quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is lessthan a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relativeto a ground is less than a second threshold.

[0030] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a baseband processor, andthe baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the atleast one switching switch.

[0031] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the switching switch is a bridge.

[0032] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a plurality of phaseshifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to a plurality of antennabays included in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0033] Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, the phase shiftermay perform analog weighting between different antenna bays included in theantenna array. Therefore, coverage of a vertical beam of the downlink transmittingsystem can be expanded.

[0034] According to a fourth aspect, a switching method is provided andapplied to a downlink transmitting system. The downlink transmitting systemincludes: at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least one Txport group, a plurality of PAs, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array.The plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array. The plurality of PAs areconnected to all Tx ports included in the at least one Tx port group in a one-to-onecorrespondence. The at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is ina one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group. Each Tx port groupis connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a correspondingdigital intermediate frequency module group through one switching switch. EachTx port group includes a plurality of Tx ports. A quantity of digital intermediatefrequency modules included in each digital intermediate frequency module groupis equal to a quantity of Tx ports included in a corresponding Tx port group. Eachswitching switch includes at least two connection states. Quantities of enableddigital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency modulegroup connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different.All Tx ports in a Tx port group connected to the switching switch in the differentconnection states are in an enabled state.

[0035] The method includes: controlling a connection state of the at least oneswitching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing betweendifferent users relative to a ground.

[0036] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state anda second connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequencymodules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digitalintermediate frequency modules in the second connection state. When a connectionstate of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx portsin a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequencymodules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-onecorrespondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequencymodule group are connected through the first switching switch, and the firstswitching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When theconnection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at leastone first digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediatefrequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx portgroup, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the firstdigital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in thefirst Tx port group.

[0037] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switchbased on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different usersrelative to a ground includes: when a first condition is met, controlling a connectionstate of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connectionstate. The first condition includes at least one of the following conditions: Thequantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equalto a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relativeto the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0038] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switchbased on a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users includes:when a second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of theat least one switching switch to be the second connection state. The secondcondition is as follows: The quantity of users served by the downlink transmittingsystem is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of theusers relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

[0039] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the method further includes: determining the quantity of users andthe vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on areceived channel state information beam identifier.

[0040] According to a fifth aspect, a switching method is provided and appliedto a downlink transmitting system. The downlink transmitting system includes: atleast one Tx channel group, at least one PA group, at least one switching switch,and an antenna array. The at least one PA group is connected to the antenna array.The at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the atleast one PA group. Each Tx channel is connected to each PA in a corresponding PAgroup through one switching switch. Each Tx channel group includes a plurality ofTx channels. Each Tx channel includes a Tx port and a digital intermediatefrequency module. A quantity of PAs included in each PA group is equal to aquantity of Tx channels included in a corresponding Tx channel group. Eachswitching switch includes at least two connection states. Quantities of enabled Txchannels in a Tx channel group connected to the switching switch in differentconnection states are different. All PAs in a PA group connected to the switchingswitch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

[0041] The method includes: controlling a connection state of the at least oneswitching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing betweendifferent users relative to a ground.

[0042] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifthaspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and asecond connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the firstconnection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the secondconnection state. When a connection state of a first switching switch is the firstconnection state, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connectedto a plurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Txchannel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switchingswitch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connectionstate, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is connected to atleast two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Tx channel in the firstTx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group.

[0043] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifthaspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch basedon a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relativeto a ground includes: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection stateof at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state.The first condition includes at least one of the following conditions: The quantityof users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to afirst threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative tothe ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0044] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifthaspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch basedon a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users includes: whena second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the atleast one switching switch to be the second connection state. The second conditionis as follows: The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system isless than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the usersrelative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

[0045] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifthaspect, the method further includes: determining the quantity of users and thevertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on areceived channel state information beam identifier.

[0046] According to a sixth aspect, a switching method is provided and appliedto a downlink transmitting system. The downlink transmitting system includes: aplurality of Tx channels, at least one PA group, at least one switching switch, andan antenna array. The antenna array includes at least one antenna bay group. The atleast one PA group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one antennabay group. Each PA group is connected to each antenna bay in a correspondingantenna bay group through one switching switch. Each PA group includes a pluralityof PAs. A quantity of PAs included in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antennabays included in a corresponding antenna bay group. Each switching switchincludes at least two connection states. Quantities of enabled PAs in a PA groupconnected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. Allantenna bays in an antenna bay group connected to the switching switch in thedifferent connection states are in an enabled state.

[0047] The method includes: controlling a connection state of the at least oneswitching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing betweendifferent users relative to a ground.

[0048] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixthaspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and asecond connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connection stateis greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state. When aconnection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a pluralityof PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a firstantenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA group and the firstantenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch, and the firstswitching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When theconnection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at leastone first PA in the first PA group is connected to at least two antenna bays in thefirst antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in the first PA group is notconnected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group.

[0049] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixthaspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch basedon a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relativeto a ground includes: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection stateof at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state.The first condition includes at least one of the following conditions: The quantityof users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to afirst threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative tothe ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0050] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixthaspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch basedon a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users includes: whena second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the atleast one switching switch to be the second connection state. The second conditionis as follows: The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system isless than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the usersrelative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

[0051] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixthaspect, the method further includes: determining the quantity of users and thevertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on areceived channel state information beam identifier.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0052] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a downlink transmittingsystem using DBF;

[0053] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a downlink transmittingsystem using HBF; and

[0054] FIG. 3 to FIG. 28 are schematic diagrams of structures of downlinktransmitting systems according to embodiments of this application.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0055] The following describes technical solutions of this application withreference to accompanying drawings.

[0056] A massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive multiple-inputmultiple-output, Massive MIMO) technology is a key technology of a current 5thgeneration (5th generation, 5G) mobile communication system. In this technology,a large-scale antenna array is deployed on a network device to improve a systemthroughput. However, because a massive MIMO device uses a large quantity oftransceiver units (transceivers, TRxs) (for example, 32 TRxs or 64 TRxs are used),energy consumption of the network device increases sharply. Particularly, whenload of the network device is low, enabling of a large quantity of transmit (transmit,Tx) channels makes an energy efficiency ratio of the network device significantlylower than an energy efficiency ratio of the network device with medium and highload.

[0057] FIG. 1 shows an architecture of a downlink transmitting system usingdigital beamforming (digital beamforming, DBF). As shown in FIG. 1, when loadof a network device is low, a part of Tx channels may be disabled to save energy.For example, in FIG. 1, a Tx channel may be disabled by disconnecting a Tx 3 froman intermediate frequency (namely, a digital intermediate frequency module, whichis denoted as an intermediate frequency below) 3 and a power amplifier (poweramplifier, PA) 3, and another Tx channel may be disabled by disconnecting a Tx 4from an intermediate frequency 4 and a PA 4.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 1, in a process of disabling the part of Tx channels,the Tx channels are also disconnected from a part of an antenna array. In this case,a scale of the antenna array is reduced. Furthermore, reduction in the scale of theantenna array causes damage to an aperture of the antenna array and reduction inan effective isotropic radiated power (effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP) ofthe network device. Consequently, performance and coverage of the network deviceare reduced to different extent.

[0059] FIG. 2 shows an architecture of a downlink transmitting system usinghybrid beamforming (hybrid beamforming, HBF). Compared with the architectureof the downlink transmitting system using DBF shown in FIG. 1, for thearchitecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF shown in FIG. 2, aquantity of Tx channels and a quantity of PAs are reduced by half. Correspondingly,for a vertical array driven by one Tx channel and one PA, that 1 channel drives 3antenna elements is changed to that 1 channel drives 6 antenna elements. To bespecific, as shown in FIG. 2, a quantity of rows of an antenna array connected toone Tx channel and one PA is increased from 3 to 6.

[0060] In the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBFshown in FIG. 2, because the quantity of Tx channels is reduced, an effect of energysaving is achieved to some extent when load of a network device is low, and a lossof performance is small. However, when the load of the network device is high ora vertical distribution spacing between users relative to a ground is large, theperformance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF issignificantly poorer than performance of the architecture of the downlinktransmitting system using DBF.

[0061] In view of this, an embodiment of this application provides a downlinktransmitting system. The downlink transmitting system can adjust a quantity of Txchannels based on an application scenario, without causing damage to an apertureof an antenna array.

[0062] The following describes the technical solutions of this application withreference to the accompanying drawings.

[0063] In embodiments shown below, "first", "second", "third" and variousnumbers are merely used for distinguishing for ease of description, and are not usedto limit the scope of embodiments of this application. For example, the numbers areused to distinguish between different PAs, different phase shifters, and the like. Inaddition, "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to covernon-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, ordevice that includes a series of steps or units further includes another inherent stepor unit.

[0064] The technical solutions in embodiments of this application may beapplied to various communication systems, such as a long term evolution (LongTerm Evolution, LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (frequencydivision duplex, FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (time division duplex,TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (universal mobiletelecommunication system, UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwaveaccess (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, WiMAX)communication system, a 5th generation (5th Generation, 5G) mobilecommunication system or a new radio access technology (new radio accessTechnology, NR) system, a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, ora future evolved communication system. The 5G mobile communication systemmay include a non-standalone (non-standalone, NSA) communication systemand / or a standalone (standalone, SA) communication system.

[0065] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a downlink transmittingsystem 300 according to an embodiment of this application. The downlinktransmitting system 300 may include: at least one Tx channel group (for example,a Tx channel group 361 and a Tx channel group 362 in FIG. 3), at least one PAgroup (for example, a PA group 331 and a PA group 332 in FIG. 3), at least oneswitching switch (for example, a switching switch 321 and a switching switch 322in FIG. 3), and an antenna array 350.

[0066] The antenna array 350 may include a plurality of antenna bays (forexample, an antenna bay 351 to an antenna bay 354 in FIG. 3). A quantity of rowsof antenna elements included in each antenna bay is not limited in this embodimentof this application. For example, the antenna bay 351 includes three rows of antennaelements, and an antenna bay 352 includes two rows of antenna elements.

[0067] The at least one PA group is connected to the antenna array 350, andeach PA in all PAs included in the at least one PA group is connected to one antennabay in the antenna array 350. For example, in FIG. 3, a PA 3311 is connected to theantenna bay 351, and a PA 3312 is connected to the antenna bay 352. A PA 3321 isconnected to an antenna bay 353, and a PA 3322 is connected to the antenna bay354.

[0068] Each Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency and a Tx port.For example, in FIG. 3, a 1st Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 1and a Tx port 1, a 2nd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 2 and a Txport 2, a 3rd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 3 and a Tx port 3,and a 4th Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 4 and a Tx port 4.

[0069] The at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-one correspondencewith the at least one PA group, and each Tx channel group is connected to each PAin a corresponding PA group through one switching switch. For example, in FIG. 3,the Tx channel group 361 corresponds to the PA group 331, and the Tx channelgroup 361 is connected to each PA in the PA group 331 through the switching switch321. The Tx channel group 362 corresponds to the PA group 332, and the Tx channelgroup 362 is connected to each PA in the PA group 332 through the switching switch322.

[0070] Each of the at least one Tx channel group includes a plurality of Txchannels, and a quantity of Tx channels included in each Tx channel group is equalto a quantity of PAs included in a corresponding PA group.

[0071] For example, in FIG. 3, the Tx channel group 361 and the Tx channelgroup 362 each include 2 Tx channels, a quantity of Tx channels included in the Txchannel group 361 and a quantity of PAs included in the PA group 331 are both 2,and a quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group 362 and a quantityof PAs included in the PA group 332 are both 2.

[0072] For another example, in FIG. 4, a quantity of Tx channels included in aTx channel group 363 is 4, and the quantity of Tx channels included in the Txchannel group 363 and a quantity of PAs included in a PA group 333 are both 4.

[0073] Optionally, each of the at least one Tx channel group may include a samequantity of Tx channels. For example, in FIG. 3, the quantity of Tx channelsincluded in the Tx channel group 361 and the quantity of Tx channels included inthe Tx channel group 362 are both 2.

[0074] Optionally, each of the at least one Tx channel group may include adifferent quantity of Tx channels. For example, in FIG. 5, a quantity of Tx channelsincluded in a Tx channel group 361 is 2, but a quantity of Tx channels included ina Tx channel group 363 is 4.

[0075] Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connectionstates, and quantities of enabled Tx channels in a Tx channel group connected tothe switching switch in different connection states are different. In other words, thedownlink transmitting system 300 includes the at least two connection states.

[0076] The at least two connection states may include a first connection stateand a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the firstconnection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the secondconnection state.

[0077] When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connectionstate, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connected to aplurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Txchannel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switchingswitch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.

[0078] For example, in FIG. 3, the first switching switch may be the switchingswitch 321, the first Tx channel group is the Tx channel group 361, and the first PAgroup is the PA group 331. When a connection state of the switching switch 321 isthe first connection state, two Tx channels in the Tx channel group 361 areconnected to two PAs in the PA group 331 in a one-to-one correspondence. To bespecific, the 1st Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA 3311, and the2nd Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA 3312. Alternatively, the firstswitching switch may be the switching switch 322, the first Tx channel group is theTx channel group 362, and the first PA group is the PA group 332. When aconnection state of the switching switch 322 is the first connection state, two Txchannels in the Tx channel group 362 are connected to two PAs in the PA group 332in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the 3rd Tx channel iscorrespondingly connected to the PA 3321, and the 4th Tx channel iscorrespondingly connected to the PA 3322.

[0079] For example, in FIG. 4, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 323, the first Tx channel group is the Tx channel group 363, and the first PAgroup is the PA group 333. When a connection state of the switching switch 323 isthe first connection state, four Tx channels in the Tx channel group 363 areconnected to four PAs in the PA group 333 in a one-to-one correspondence. To bespecific, a 1st Tx channel is correspondingly connected to a PA 3331, a 2nd Txchannel is correspondingly connected to a PA 3332, a 3rd Tx channel iscorrespondingly connected to a PA 3333, and a 4th Tx channel is correspondinglyconnected to a PA 3334.

[0080] If connection states of all switching switches in the at least one switchingswitch are the first connection state, it may be considered that the downlinktransmitting system 300 is in the first connection state. It can be learned thatdownlink transmitting systems 300 shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 are in the firstconnection state.

[0081] When the connection state of the first switching switch is the secondconnection state, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group isconnected to at least two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Txchannel in the first Tx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group.It may be understood that, when the second Tx channel is not connected to all thePAs in the first PA group, the second Tx channel is in a disabled state.

[0082] For example, in FIG. 6, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 321, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group 361, the first PA groupis a PA group 331, the first Tx channel is a 1st Tx channel, and the second Tx channelis a 2nd Tx channel. When a connection state of the switching switch 321 is thesecond connection state, the 1st Tx channel is connected to two PAs (namely, a PA3311 and a PA 3312) in the PA group 331, and the 2nd Tx channel is in a disabledstate. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be a switching switch 322, thefirst Tx channel group is a Tx channel group 362, the first PA group is a PA group332, the first Tx channel is a 3rd Tx channel, and the second Tx channel is a 4th Txchannel. When a connection state of the switching switch 322 is the secondconnection state, the 3rd Tx channel is connected to two PAs (namely, a PA 3321and a PA 3322) in the PA group 332, and the 4th Tx channel is in a disabled state.

[0083] For example, in FIG. 7, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 323, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group 363, the first PA groupis a PA group 333, the first Tx channel is a 1st Tx channel, and the second Tx channelis a 2nd Tx channel to a 4th Tx channel. When a connection state of the switchingswitch 323 is the second connection state, the 1st Tx channel is connected to fourPAs (namely, a PA 3331 to a PA 3334) in the PA group 333, and the 2nd Tx channelto the 4th Tx channel are in a disabled state.

[0084] For example, in FIG. 8, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 323, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group 363, the first PA groupis a PA group 333, the first Tx channel is a 1st Tx channel, and the second Tx channelis a 2nd Tx channel and a 3rd Tx channel. When a connection state of the switchingswitch 323 is the second connection state, the 1st Tx channel is connected to threePAs (namely, a PA 3331 to a PA 3333) in the PA group 333, the 2nd Tx channel andthe 3rd Tx channel are in a disabled state, and a 4th Tx channel may still be connectedto a PA 3334.

[0085] If a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switchis the second connection state, it may be considered that the downlink transmittingsystem 300 is in the second connection state. It can be learned that downlinktransmitting systems 300 shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 are in the second connectionstate.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 8, the downlink transmitting system 300may further include a baseband processor 310 (for example, may be a basebandlower (baseband lower, BBL)), and a connection state of each of the at least oneswitching switch may be controlled by the baseband processor. For example, thebaseband processor may control the connection state of the switching switch basedon a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 300 and a verticalspacing between different users relative to a ground.

[0087] For example, when a first condition is met, the baseband processorcontrols the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switchto be the first connection state, where the first condition includes at least one of thefollowing conditions:

[0088] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 300 isgreater than or equal to a first threshold; anda vertical spacing between at least two of the users served by thedownlink transmitting system 300 relative to the ground is greater than or equal toa second threshold.

[0089] For another example, when a second condition is met, the basebandprocessor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least oneswitching switch to be the second connection state, where the second condition isas follows:

[0090] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 300 isless than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users servedby the downlink transmitting system 300 relative to the ground is less than a secondthreshold.

[0091] Optionally, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor isfurther configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverageof the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state. If the users aredistributed within the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the secondconnection state, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at leastone of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state.Alternatively, if the users are distributed outside the coverage of the downlinktransmitting system in the second connection state, the baseband processor controlsthe connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be thefirst connection state.

[0092] For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting systems 300shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 (where a quantity of Tx channels included in each Txchannel group and a quantity of PAs included in each PA group are both 2), if thedownlink transmitting system 300 includes 64 Tx channels, the downlinktransmitting system 300 in the first connection state may be referred to as 64 DBF.If a connection state of each switching switch in the downlink transmitting system300 is the second connection state, a quantity of enabled Tx channels is 32, and thedownlink transmitting system 300 in the second connection state may be referredto as 32 DBF. Therefore, when the second condition is met, the baseband processoris further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverageof the 32 DBF. If the users (for example, 3rd and 4th users counted from top to bottomin FIG. 6) are distributed within the coverage of the 32 DBF, the baseband processorcontrols the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system 300 to bein the second connection state. If the users (for example, 1st and 2nd users countedfrom top to bottom in FIG. 6) are not distributed within the coverage of the 32 DBF,the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlinktransmitting system 300 to be in the first connection state.

[0093] A method for determining, by the baseband processor, the quantity ofusers served by the downlink transmitting system 300 and the spacing between thedifferent users is not limited in this embodiment of this application. For example,the baseband processor may determine the quantity of users and the spacingbetween the different users based on a received channel state information (channelstate information, CSI) beam identifier (identifier, ID).

[0094] It should be understood that FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 are merely examples, andshow four or six Tx channels, four or six PAs, and one or two switching switches.Optionally, the downlink transmitting system 300 may include K Tx channels, KPAs, and L switching switches, where K is an integer greater than 1, and L is apositive integer.

[0095] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the downlink transmittingsystem 300 may further include a plurality of phase shifters (a phase shifter 341 toa phase shifter 344 in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10). The plurality of phase shifters areconnected to all PAs included in the at least one PA group in a one-to-onecorrespondence. For example, in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, a PA 3311 is correspondinglyconnected to the phase shifter 341, a PA 3312 is correspondingly connected to aphase shifter 342, a PA 3321 is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter 343,and a PA 3322 is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter 344. The phaseshifter may be located between the PA and the switching switch (as shown in FIG.9), or may be located between the PA and the antenna array (as shown in FIG. 10).This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0096] It should be understood that, when the downlink transmitting system 300includes the phase shifters, because the phase shifters may adjust a phase of a beam,that is, may adjust a direction of the beam, even if the downlink transmitting system300 is in the second connection state, the downlink transmitting system 300 mayadjust coverage by using the phase shifters. Therefore, when the downlinktransmitting system 300 includes the phase shifters, the baseband processor doesnot need to determine whether the users are distributed within the coverage of thedownlink transmitting system in the second connection state. In other words, whendetermining that the second condition is met, the baseband processor may controlthe switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system 300 to be in thesecond connection state.

[0097] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another downlinktransmitting system 400 according to an embodiment of this application. Thedownlink transmitting system 400 may include: at least one Tx port group (forexample, a Tx port group 441 and a Tx port group 442 in FIG. 11), at least onedigital intermediate frequency module group (where a digital intermediatefrequency module is denoted as an intermediate frequency below) (for example, anintermediate frequency group 421 and an intermediate frequency group 422 in FIG.11), at least one switching switch (for example, a switching switch 431 and aswitching switch 432 in FIG. 11), a plurality of PAs (for example, a PA 451 to a PA454 in FIG. 11), and an antenna array 460.

[0098] The antenna array 460 may include a plurality of antenna bays (forexample, an antenna bay 461 to an antenna bay 464 in FIG. 11). A quantity of rowsof antenna elements included in each antenna bay is not limited in this embodimentof this application. For example, the antenna bay 461 includes three rows of antennaelements, and an antenna bay 462 includes two rows of antenna elements.

[0099] The plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array 460, and eachPA in the plurality of PAs is connected to one antenna bay in the antenna array 460.For example, in FIG. 11, the PA 451 is connected to the antenna bay 461, and a PA452 is connected to the antenna bay 462. A PA 453 is connected to an antenna bay463, and the PA 454 is connected to the antenna bay 464.

[00100] The plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports included in the at leastone Tx port group in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in FIG. 11, the PA451 is connected to a Tx port 1, the PA 452 is connected to a Tx port 2, the PA 453is connected to a Tx port 3, and the PA 454 is connected to a Tx port 4.

[00101] The at least one Tx port group is in a one-to-one correspondence withthe at least one intermediate frequency group, and each Tx port group is connectedto each intermediate frequency in a corresponding intermediate frequency groupthrough one switching switch. For example, in FIG. 11, the Tx port group 441corresponds to the intermediate frequency group 421, and the Tx port group 441 isconnected to each intermediate frequency in the intermediate frequency group 421through the switching switch 431. The Tx port group 442 corresponds to theintermediate frequency group 422, and the Tx port group 442 is connected to eachintermediate frequency in the intermediate frequency group 422 through theswitching switch 432.

[00102] Each of the at least one Tx port group includes a plurality of Tx ports,and a quantity of Tx ports included in each Tx port group is equal to a quantity ofintermediate frequencies included in a corresponding intermediate frequency group.

[00103] For example, in FIG. 11, the Tx port group 441 and the Tx port group442 each include 2 Tx ports, a quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group441 and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in the intermediatefrequency group 421 are both 2, and a quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx portgroup 442 and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in the intermediatefrequency group 422 are both 2.

[00104] For another example, in FIG. 12, a quantity of Tx ports included in a Txport group 443 is 4, and the quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group 443and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in an intermediate frequencygroup 423 are both 4.

[00105] Optionally, each of the at least one Tx port group may include a samequantity of Tx ports. For example, in FIG. 11, the quantity of Tx ports included inthe Tx port group 441 and the quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group442 are both 2.

[00106] Optionally, each of the at least one Tx port group may include a differentquantity of Tx ports. For example, in FIG. 13, a quantity of Tx ports included in aTx port group 441 is 2, but a quantity of Tx ports included in a Tx port group 443is 4.

[00107] Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connectionstates, and quantities of enabled intermediate frequencies in an intermediatefrequency group connected to the switching switch in different connection statesare different. In other words, the downlink transmitting system 400 includes the atleast two connection states.

[00108] The at least two connection states may include a first connection stateand a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled intermediate frequenciesin the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled intermediatefrequencies in the second connection state.

[00109] When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connectionstate, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality ofintermediate frequencies in a first intermediate frequency group in a one-to-onecorrespondence, the first Tx port group and the first intermediate frequency groupare connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch isany one of the at least one switching switch.

[00110] For example, in FIG. 11, the first switching switch may be the switchingswitch 431, the first Tx port group is the Tx port group 441, and the firstintermediate frequency group is the intermediate frequency group 421. When aconnection state of the switching switch 431 is the first connection state, two Txports in the Tx port group 441 are connected to two intermediate frequencies in theintermediate frequency group 421 in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific,the Tx port 1 is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 1, and theTx port 2 is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 2.Alternatively, the first switching switch may be the switching switch 432, the firstTx port group is the Tx port group 442, and the first intermediate frequency groupis the intermediate frequency group 422. When a connection state of the switchingswitch 432 is the first connection state, two Tx ports in the Tx port group 442 areconnected to two intermediate frequencies in the intermediate frequency group 422in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the Tx port 3 is correspondinglyconnected to an intermediate frequency 3, and the Tx port 4 is correspondinglyconnected to an intermediate frequency 4.

[00111] For example, in FIG. 12, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 433, the first Tx port group is the Tx port group 443, and the firstintermediate frequency group is the intermediate frequency group 423. When aconnection state of the switching switch 433 is the first connection state, four Txports in the Tx port group 443 are connected to four intermediate frequencies in theintermediate frequency group 423 in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific,a Tx port 1 is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 1, a Tx port2 is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 2, a Tx port 3 iscorrespondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 3, and a Tx port 4 iscorrespondingly connected to an intermediate frequency 4.

[00112] If connection states of all switching switches in the at least one switchingswitch are the first connection state, it may be considered that the downlinktransmitting system 400 is in the first connection state. It can be learned thatdownlink transmitting systems 400 shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 are in the firstconnection state.

[00113] When the connection state of the first switching switch is the secondconnection state, at least one first intermediate frequency in the first intermediatefrequency group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, andat least one second intermediate frequency in the first intermediate frequency groupis not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group. It may be understood that,when the second intermediate frequency is not connected to all the Tx ports in thefirst Tx port group, the second intermediate frequency is in a disabled state.

[00114] For example, in FIG. 14, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 431, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group 441, the first intermediatefrequency group is an intermediate frequency group 421, the first intermediatefrequency is an intermediate frequency 1, and the second intermediate frequency isan intermediate frequency 2. When a connection state of the switching switch 431is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency 1 is connected to two Txports (namely, a Tx port 1 and a Tx port 2) in the Tx port group 441, and theintermediate frequency 2 is in a disabled state. Alternatively, the first switchingswitch may be a switching switch 432, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group442, the first intermediate frequency group is an intermediate frequency group 422,the first intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency 3, and the secondintermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency 4. When a connection state ofthe switching switch 432 is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency3 is connected to two Tx ports (namely, a Tx port 3 and a Tx port 4) in the Tx portgroup 442, and the intermediate frequency 4 is in a disabled state.

[00115] For example, in FIG. 15, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 433, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group 443, the first intermediatefrequency group is an intermediate frequency group 423, the first intermediatefrequency is an intermediate frequency 1, and the second intermediate frequency isan intermediate frequency 2 to an intermediate frequency 4. When a connectionstate of the switching switch 433 is the second connection state, the intermediatefrequency 1 is connected to four Tx ports (namely, a Tx port 1 to a Tx port 4) in theTx port group 443, and the intermediate frequency 2 to the intermediate frequency4 are in a disabled state.

[00116] For example, in FIG. 16, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 433, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group 443, the first intermediatefrequency group is an intermediate frequency group 423, the first intermediatefrequency is an intermediate frequency 1, and the second intermediate frequency isan intermediate frequency 2 and an intermediate frequency 3. When a connectionstate of the switching switch 433 is the second connection state, the intermediatefrequency 1 is connected to three Tx ports (namely, a Tx port 1 to a Tx port 3) inthe Tx port group 443, the intermediate frequency 2 and the intermediate frequency3 are in a disabled state, and a Tx port 4 may still be connected to an intermediatefrequency 4.

[00117] If a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switchis the second connection state, it may be considered that the downlink transmittingsystem 400 is in the second connection state. It can be learned that downlinktransmitting systems 400 shown in FIG. 14 to FIG. 16 are in the second connectionstate.

[00118] As shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 16, the downlink transmitting system 400may further include a baseband processor 410 (for example, may be a BBL), and aconnection state of each of the at least one switching switch may be controlled bythe baseband processor. For example, the baseband processor may control theconnection state of the switching switch based on a quantity of users served by thedownlink transmitting system 400 and a vertical spacing between different usersrelative to a ground.

[00119] For example, when a first condition is met, the baseband processorcontrols the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switchto be the first connection state, where the first condition includes at least one of thefollowing conditions:

[00120] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 400 isgreater than or equal to a first threshold; anda vertical spacing between at least two of the users served by thedownlink transmitting system 400 relative to the ground is greater than or equal toa second threshold.

[00121] For another example, when a second condition is met, the basebandprocessor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least oneswitching switch to be the second connection state, where the second condition isas follows:

[00122] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 400 isless than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users servedby the downlink transmitting system 400 relative to the ground is less than a secondthreshold.

[00123] Optionally, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor isfurther configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverageof the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state. If the users aredistributed within the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the secondconnection state, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at leastone of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state.Alternatively, if the users are distributed outside the coverage of the downlinktransmitting system in the second connection state, the baseband processor controlsthe connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be thefirst connection state.

[00124] For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting systems 400shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 14 (where a quantity of Tx ports included in each Txport group and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in each intermediatefrequency group are both 2), if the downlink transmitting system 400 includes 64Tx ports, the downlink transmitting system 400 in the first connection state may bereferred to as 64 DBF. If a connection state of each switching switch in the downlinktransmitting system 400 is the second connection state, a quantity of enabledintermediate frequencies is 32, and the downlink transmitting system 400 in thesecond connection state may be referred to as 32 DBF. Therefore, when the secondcondition is met, the baseband processor is further configured to determine whetherthe users are distributed within coverage of the 32 DBF. If the users (for example,3rd and 4th users counted from top to bottom in FIG. 14) are distributed within thecoverage of the 32 DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch toenable the downlink transmitting system 400 to be in the second connection state.If the users (for example, 1st and 2nd users counted from top to bottom in FIG. 14)are not distributed within the coverage of the 32 DBF, the baseband processorcontrols the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system 400 to bein the first connection state.

[00125] A method for determining, by the baseband processor, the quantity ofusers served by the downlink transmitting system 400 and the vertical spacingbetween the different users relative to the ground is not limited in this embodimentof this application. For example, the baseband processor may determine the quantityof users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the groundbased on a received CSI beam ID.

[00126] It should be understood that FIG. 11 to FIG. 16 are merely examples,and show four or six Tx ports, four or six intermediate frequencies, four or six PAs,and one or two switching switches. Optionally, the downlink transmitting system400 may include K Tx ports, K intermediate frequencies, K PAs, and L switchingswitches, where K is an integer greater than 1, and L is a positive integer.

[00127] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 17, the downlink transmitting system 400may further include a plurality of phase shifters (for example, a phase shifter 471to a phase shifter 474 in FIG. 17). The plurality of phase shifters are connected to aplurality of Tx ports in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in FIG. 17, a Txport 1 is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter 471, a Tx port 2 iscorrespondingly connected to a phase shifter 472, a Tx port 3 is correspondinglyconnected to a phase shifter 473, and a Tx port 4 is correspondingly connected tothe phase shifter 474.

[00128] It should be understood that, when the downlink transmitting system 400includes the phase shifters, because the phase shifters may adjust a phase of a beam,that is, may adjust a direction of the beam, even if the downlink transmitting system400 is in the second connection state, the downlink transmitting system 400 mayadjust coverage by using the phase shifters. Therefore, when the downlinktransmitting system 400 includes the phase shifters, the baseband processor doesnot need to determine whether the users are distributed within the coverage of thedownlink transmitting system in the second connection state. In other words, whendetermining that the second condition is met, the baseband processor may controlthe switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system 400 to be in thesecond connection state.

[00129] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another downlinktransmitting system 500 according to an embodiment of this application. Thedownlink transmitting system 500 may include: a plurality of Tx channels, at leastone PA group (for example, a PA group 521 and a PA group 522 in FIG. 18), at leastone antenna bay group (for example, an antenna bay group 541 and an antenna baygroup 542 in FIG. 18), and at least one switching switch (for example, a switchingswitch 531 and a switching switch 532 in FIG. 18).

[00130] Each Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency and a Tx port.For example, in FIG. 18, a 1st Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 1and a Tx port 1, a 2nd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 2 and a Txport 2, a 3rd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 3 and a Tx port 3,and a 4th Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency 4 and a Tx port 4.

[00131] The at least one PA group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the atleast one antenna bay group, and each PA group is connected to each antenna bayin a corresponding antenna bay group through one switching switch. For example,in FIG. 18, the PA group 521 corresponds to the antenna bay group 541, and the PAgroup 521 is connected to each antenna bay in the antenna bay group 541 throughthe switching switch 531. The PA group 522 corresponds to the antenna bay group542, and the PA group 522 is connected to each antenna bay in the antenna baygroup 542 through the switching switch 532.

[00132] Each of the at least one PA group includes a plurality of PAs, and aquantity of PAs included in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antenna baysincluded in a corresponding antenna bay group.

[00133] For example, in FIG. 18, the PA group 521 and the PA group 522 eachinclude two PAs, a quantity of PAs included in the PA group 521 and a quantity ofantenna bays included in the antenna bay group 541 are both 2, and a quantity ofPAs included in the PA group 522 and a quantity of antenna bays included in theantenna bay group 542 are both 2.

[00134] For another example, in FIG. 19, a quantity of PAs included in a PAgroup 523 is 4, and the quantity of PAs included in the PA group 523 and a quantityof antenna bays included in an antenna bay group 543 are both 4.

[00135] Optionally, each of the at least one PA group may include a samequantity of PAs. For example, in FIG. 18, the quantity of PAs included in the PAgroup 521 and the quantity of PAs included in the PA group 522 are both 2.

[00136] Optionally, each of the at least one PA group may include a differentquantity of PAs. For example, in FIG. 20, a quantity of PAs included in a PA group521 is 2, but a quantity of PAs included in a PA group 523 is 4.

[00137] A quantity of rows of antenna elements included in each antenna bay isnot limited in this embodiment of this application. For example, in FIG. 18, anantenna bay 5411 includes three rows of antenna elements, and an antenna bay 5412includes two rows of antenna elements.

[00138] Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connectionstates, and quantities of enabled PAs in a PA group connected to the switchingswitch in different connection states are different. In other words, the downlinktransmitting system 500 includes the at least two connection states. It may beunderstood that, in the downlink transmitting system 500, a plurality of Tx channelsare connected to a plurality of PAs in a one-to-one correspondence. Therefore, inthe different connection states, quantities of enabled Tx channels in the downlinktransmitting system 500 are different.

[00139] The at least two connection states may include a first connection stateand a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connectionstate is greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state. Inother words, a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the first connection state is greaterthan a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the second connection state.

[00140] When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connectionstate, a plurality of PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antennabays in a first antenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA groupand the first antenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch,and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.

[00141] For example, in FIG. 18, the first switching switch may be the switchingswitch 531, the first PA group is the PA group 521, and the first antenna bay groupis the antenna bay group 541. When a connection state of the switching switch 531is the first connection state, two PAs in the PA group 521 are connected to twoantenna bays in the antenna bay group 541 in a one-to-one correspondence. To bespecific, a PA 5211 is correspondingly connected to the antenna bay 5411, and a PA5212 is correspondingly connected to the antenna bay 5412. Alternatively, the firstswitching switch may be the switching switch 532, the first PA group is the PAgroup 522, and the first antenna bay group is the antenna bay group 542. When aconnection state of the switching switch 532 is the first connection state, two PAsin the PA group 522 are connected to two antenna bays in the antenna bay group542 in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a PA 5221 is correspondinglyconnected to an antenna bay 5421, and a PA 5222 is correspondingly connected toan antenna bay 5422.

[00142] For example, in FIG. 19, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 533, the first PA group is the PA group 523, and the first antenna bay groupis the antenna bay group 543. When a connection state of the switching switch 533is the first connection state, four PAs in the PA group 523 are connected to fourantenna bays in the antenna bay group 543 in a one-to-one correspondence. To bespecific, a PA 5231 is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay 5431, a PA 5232is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay 5432, a PA 5233 is correspondinglyconnected to an antenna bay 5433, and a PA 5234 is correspondingly connected toan antenna bay 5434.

[00143] If connection states of all switching switches in the at least one switchingswitch are the first connection state, it may be considered that the downlinktransmitting system 500 is in the first connection state. It can be learned thatdownlink transmitting systems 500 shown in FIG. 18 to FIG. 20 are in the firstconnection state.

[00144] When the connection state of the first switching switch is the secondconnection state, at least one first PA in the first PA group is connected to at leasttwo antenna bays in the first antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in thefirst PA group is not connected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group. Itmay be understood that, when the second PA is not connected to all the antennabays in the first antenna bay group, the second PA is in a disabled state. It may beunderstood that, when the second PA is in the disabled state, a Tx channel connectedto the second PA is also in a disabled state.

[00145] For example, in FIG. 21, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 531, the first PA group is a PA group 521, the first antenna bay group is anantenna bay group 541, the first PA is a PA 5211, and the second PA is a PA 5212.When a connection state of the switching switch 531 is the second connection state,the PA 5211 is connected to two antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay 5411 and anantenna bay 5422) in the antenna bay group 541, the PA 5212 is in a disabled state,and correspondingly, a second Tx channel connected to the PA 5212 is also in adisabled state. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be a switching switch532, the first PA group is a PA group 522, the first antenna bay group is an antennabay group 542, the first PA is a PA 5221, and the second PA is a PA 5222. When aconnection state of the switching switch 532 is the second connection state, the PA5221 is connected to two antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay 5421 and an antennabay 5422) in the antenna bay group 542, the PA 5222 is in a disabled state, and afourth Tx channel connected to the PA 5222 is also in a disabled statecorrespondingly.

[00146] For example, in FIG. 22, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 533, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group 543, the first PAgroup is a PA group 523, the first PA is a PA 5231, and the second PA is a PA 5232to a PA 5234. When a connection state of the switching switch 533 is the secondconnection state, the PA 5231 is connected to four antenna bays (namely, an antennabay 5431 to an antenna bay 5434) in the antenna bay group 543, the PA 5232 to thePA 5234 are in a disabled state, and, a second Tx channel to a fourth Tx channelthat are respectively connected to the PA 5232 to the PA 5234 are also in a disabledstate correspondingly.

[00147] For example, in FIG. 23, the first switching switch may be a switchingswitch 533, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group 543, the first PAgroup is a PA group 523, the first PA is a PA 5231, and the second PA is a PA 5232and a PA 5233. When a connection state of the switching switch 533 is the secondconnection state, the PA 5231 is connected to three antenna bays (namely, anantenna bay 5431 to an antenna bay 5433) in the antenna bay group 543, the PA5232 and the PA 5233 are in a disabled state, a second Tx channel and a third Txchannel that are respectively connected to the PA 5232 and the PA 5233 are also ina disabled state correspondingly, and a PA 5234 may still be connected to an antennabay 5434.

[00148] If a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switchis the second connection state, it may be considered that the downlink transmittingsystem 500 is in the second connection state. It can be learned that downlinktransmitting systems 500 shown in FIG. 21 to FIG. 23 are in the second connectionstate.

[00149] As shown in FIG. 18 to FIG. 23, the downlink transmitting system 500may further include a baseband processor 510 (for example, may be a BBL), and aconnection state of each of the at least one switching switch may be controlled bythe baseband processor. For example, the baseband processor may control theconnection state of the switching switch based on a quantity of users served by thedownlink transmitting system 500 and a vertical spacing between different usersrelative to a ground.

[00150] For example, when a first condition is met, the baseband processorcontrols the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switchto be the first connection state, where the first condition includes at least one of thefollowing conditions:

[00151] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 500 isgreater than or equal to a first threshold; anda vertical spacing between at least two of the users served by thedownlink transmitting system 500 relative to the ground is greater than or equal toa second threshold.

[00152] For another example, when a second condition is met, the basebandprocessor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least oneswitching switch to be the second connection state, where the second condition isas follows:

[00153] The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system 500 isless than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users servedby the downlink transmitting system 500 relative to the ground is less than a secondthreshold.

[00154] Optionally, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor isfurther configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverageof the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state. If the users aredistributed within the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the secondconnection state, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at leastone of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state.Alternatively, if the users are distributed outside the coverage of the downlinktransmitting system in the second connection state, the baseband processor controlsthe connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be thefirst connection state.

[00155] For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting system 500shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 21 (where a quantity of PAs included in each PA groupand a quantity of antenna bays included in each antenna bay group are both 2), ifthe downlink transmitting system 500 includes 64 PAs (in other words, includes 64Tx channels), the downlink transmitting system 500 in the first connection statemay be referred to as 64 DBF. If a connection state of each switching switch in thedownlink transmitting system 500 is the second connection state, a quantity ofenabled PAs is 32 (in other words, a quantity of enabled Tx channels is 32), and thedownlink transmitting system 500 in the second connection state may be referredto as 32 DBF. Therefore, when the second condition is met, the baseband processoris further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverageof the 32 DBF. If the users (for example, 3rd and 4th users counted from top to bottomin FIG. 21) are distributed within the coverage of the 32 DBF, the basebandprocessor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system500 to be in the second connection state. If the users (for example, 1st and 2nd userscounted from top to bottom in FIG. 21) are not distributed within the coverage ofthe 32 DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable thedownlink transmitting system 500 to be in the first connection state.

[00156] A method for determining, by the baseband processor, the quantity ofusers served by the downlink transmitting system 500 and the vertical spacingbetween the different users relative to the ground is not limited in this embodimentof this application. For example, the baseband processor may determine the quantityof users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the groundbased on a received CSI beam ID.

[00157] It should be understood that FIG. 18 to FIG. 23 are merely examples,and show four or six antenna bays, four or six PAs, and one or two switchingswitches. Optionally, the downlink transmitting system 500 may include K antennabays, K PAs, and L switching switches, where K is an integer greater than 1, and Lis a positive integer.

[00158] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 24, the downlink transmitting system 500may further include a plurality of phase shifters (for example, a phase shifter 551to a phase shifter 554 in FIG. 24). The plurality of phase shifters are connected to aplurality of antenna bays in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in FIG. 24,an antenna bay 5411 is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter 551, anantenna bay 5412 is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter 552, an antennabay 5421 is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter 553, and an antenna bay5422 is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter 554.

[00159] It should be understood that, when the downlink transmitting system 500includes the phase shifters, because the phase shifters may adjust a phase of a beam,that is, may adjust a direction of the beam, even if the downlink transmitting system500 is in the second connection state, the downlink transmitting system 500 mayadjust coverage by using the phase shifters. Therefore, when the downlinktransmitting system 500 includes the phase shifters, the baseband processor doesnot need to determine whether the users are distributed within the coverage of thedownlink transmitting system in the second connection state. In other words, whendetermining that the second condition is met, the baseband processor may controlthe switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system 500 to be in thesecond connection state.

[00160] A structure and a type of a switching switch are not limited inembodiments of this application. In the following embodiment, a downlinktransmitting system 300 is used as an example to describe the structure and the typeof the switching switch provided in embodiments of this application. In thefollowing embodiments, an example in which each Tx channel group includes twoTx channels and each PA group includes two PAs is used for description.

[00161] In an implementation, the switching switch may be a bridge.

[00162] For example, in a downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 25and FIG. 26, a Tx channel group 361 and a PA group 331 are connected through abridge 321, and a Tx channel group 362 and a PA group 332 are connected througha bridge 322. The downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12further includes a phase shifter, and the phase shifter is located between a bridgeand a PA. In this case, the Tx channel group 361 is connected to a phase shifter 341and a phase shifter 342 21 through the bridge 321, and the Tx channel group 362 isconnected to a phase shifter 343 and a phase shifter 344 through the bridge 322.

[00163] The downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 25 is in a firstconnection state. When determining that a first condition is met, a basebandprocessor may control the bridges to enable connection states of the bridge 321 andthe bridge 322 to be the first connection state.

[00164] For example, in FIG. 25, the baseband processor controls the bridge 321,to enable a port A and a port C of the bridge 321 to be in a connected state, andenable a port B and a port D of the bridge 321 to be in a connected state, so as toenable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group 361 to be connected to two PAs inthe PA group 331 in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a 1st Tx channelis connected to a PA 3311, and a 2nd Tx channel is connected to a PA 3312. Thebaseband processor controls the bridge 322, to enable a port A and a port C of thebridge 322 to be in a connected state, and enable a port B and a port D of the bridge322 to be in a connected state, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channelgroup 362 to be connected to two PAs in the PA group 332 in a one-to-onecorrespondence. To be specific, a 3rd Tx channel is connected to a PA 3321, and a4th Tx channel is connected to a PA 3322.

[00165] The downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 26 is in a secondconnection state. When determining that a second condition is met, the basebandprocessor may control the bridges to enable the connection states of the bridge 321and the bridge 322 to be the second connection state.

[00166] For example, in FIG. 26, the baseband processor controls the bridge 321,to enable the port A, the port C, and the port D of the bridge 321 to be in a connectedstate, and enable the port B and the port D of the bridge 321 to be in a disconnectedstate, so as to enable the 1st Tx channel to be connected to the PA 3311 and the PA3312, and the 2nd Tx channel to be in a disabled state. The baseband processorcontrols the bridge 322, to enable the port A and the port C of the bridge 322 to bein a disconnected state, and enable the port B, the port C, and the port D of thebridge 322 to be in a connected state, so as to enable the 4th Tx channel to beconnected to the PA 3321 and the PA 3322, and the 3rd Tx channel to be in a disabledstate.

[00167] In another implementation, the switching switch may include a singlepoledouble-throw switch, or include a single-pole double-throw switch and asingle-pole single-throw switch.

[00168] For example, in a downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 27and FIG. 28, a Tx channel group 361 and a PA group 331 are connected through aswitching switch 321, and the switching switch 321 may include a switch 3211 anda switch 3212. The switch 3211 and the switch 3212 may be single-pole doublethrow switches. Alternatively, the switch 3211 is a single-pole single-throw switch,and the switch 3212 is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, the switch3211 is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch 3212 is a single-polesingle-throw switch. A Tx channel group 362 and a PA group 332 are connectedthrough a switching switch 322, and the switching switch 322 may include a switch3221 and a switch 3222. The switch 3221 and the switch 3222 may be single-poledouble-throw switches. Alternatively, the switch 3221 is a single-pole single-throwswitch, and the switch 3222 is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, theswitch 3221 is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch 3222 is a singlepolesingle-throw switch.

[00169] The downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 27 is in a firstconnection state. When determining that a first condition is met, a basebandprocessor may control the switching switch to enable connection states of theswitching switch 321 and the switching switch 322 to be the first connection state.

[00170] For example, in FIG. 27, the baseband processor controls the switchingswitch 321, to enable a port C of the switch 3211 to be connected to a port A of theswitch 3211, and enable a port D of the switch 3212 to be connected to a port B ofthe switch 3212, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group 361 to beconnected to two PAs in the PA group 331 in a one-to-one correspondence. To bespecific, a 1st Tx channel is connected to a PA 331, and a 2nd Tx channel is connectedto a PA 332. The baseband processor controls the switching switch 322, to enable aport C of the switch 3221 to be connected to a port A of the switch 3221, and enablea port D of the switch 3221 to be connected to a port B of the switch 3222, so as toenable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group 362 to be connected to two PAs inthe PA group 332 in a one-to-one correspondence. In other words, a 3rd Tx channelis connected to a PA 333, and a 4th Tx channel is connected to a PA 334.

[00171] The downlink transmitting system 300 shown in FIG. 28 is in a secondconnection state. When determining that a second condition is met, the basebandprocessor may control the switching switch to enable the connection states of theswitching switch 321 and the switching switch 322 to be the second connectionstate.

[00172] For example, in FIG. 28, the baseband processor controls the switchingswitch 321, to enable the port C of the switch 3211 to be connected to the port A ofthe switch 3211, and enable the port D of the switch 3212 to be connected to theport A, so as to enable the 1st Tx channel to be connected to the PA 3311 and the PA3312, and the 2nd Tx channel to be in a disabled state. The baseband processorcontrols the switching switch 322, to enable the port C of the switch 3221 to beconnected to the port A of the switch 3221, and enable the port D of the switch 3222to be connected to the port A, so as to enable the 3rd Tx channel to be connected tothe PA 3321 and the PA 3322, and the 4th Tx channel to be in a disabled state.

[00173] It should be understood that the switches 3212 and 3222 in FIG. 28 areboth single-pole double-throw switches, and the switch 3211 and the switch 3221may be single-pole double-throw switches or may be single-pole single-throwswitches.

[00174] It should be further understood that the single-pole single-throw switchmentioned in this embodiment of this application is a switch having a single-polesingle-throw function, and the single-pole double-throw switch mentioned in thisembodiment of this application is a switch having a single-pole double-throwfunction.

[00175] For structures and types of the switching switches in the downlinktransmitting system 400 and the downlink transmitting system 500 provided inembodiments of this application, refer to descriptions in FIG. 25 to FIG. 28. Forbrevity, details are not described in this embodiment of this application.

[00176] The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of thisapplication, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application.Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art withinthe technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protectionscope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shallbe subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A downlink transmitting system, comprising: at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least one transmit Tx port group, a plurality of power amplifiers PAs, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array, the plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence, the at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group, each Tx port group is connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequency module group through one switching switch, each Tx port group comprises a plurality of Tx ports, and a quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules comprised in each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Tx ports comprised in a corresponding Tx port group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all Tx ports in a Tx port group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state2. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 1, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequency modules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequency module group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first digital intermediate frequency module port in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group.

3. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 2, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the first connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

4. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 2, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the second connection state when a second condition is met, and the second condition is as follows: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to a ground is less than a second threshold.

5. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a baseband processor, and the baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch.

6. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the switching switch is a bridge.

7. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a plurality of phase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to all the Tx ports comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

8. A downlink transmitting system, comprising: at least one transmit Tx channel group, at least one power amplifier PA group, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the at least one PA group is connected to the antenna array, the at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one PA group, each Tx channel group is connected to each PA in a corresponding PA group through one switching switch, each Tx channel group comprises a plurality of Tx channels, each Tx channel comprises a Tx port and a digital intermediate frequency module, and a quantity of PAs comprised in each PA group is equal to a quantity of Tx channels comprised in a corresponding Tx channel group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled Tx channels in a Tx channel group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all PAs in a PA group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

9. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 8, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connected to a plurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx channel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is connected to at least two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group.

10. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 9, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the first connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

11. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 9, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the second connection state when a second condition is met, and the second condition is as follows: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to a ground is less than a second threshold.

12. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a baseband processor, and the baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch.

13. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the switching switch is a bridge.

14. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a plurality of phase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to all PAs comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

15. A downlink transmitting system, comprising: a plurality of transmit Tx channels, at least one power amplifier PA group, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the plurality of Tx channels are connected to all PAs comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence, the antenna array comprises at least one antenna bay group, the at least one PA group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one antenna bay group, each PA group is connected to each antenna bay in a corresponding antenna bay group through one switching switch, each PA group comprises a plurality of PAs, and a quantity of PAs comprised in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antenna bays comprised in a corresponding antenna bay group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled PAs in a PA group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all antenna bays in an antenna bay group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

16. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 15, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a first antenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA group and the first antenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first PA in the first PA group is connected to at least two antenna bays in the first antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in the first PA group is not connected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group.

17. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 16, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the first connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

18. The downlink transmitting system according to claim 16, wherein a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the second connection state when a second condition is met, and the second condition is as follows: a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to a ground is less than a second threshold.

19. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a baseband processor, and the baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch.

20. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the switching switch is a bridge.

21. The downlink transmitting system according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the downlink transmitting system further comprises a plurality of phase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to a plurality of antenna bays comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

22. A switching method, applied to a downlink transmitting system, wherein the downlink transmitting system comprises: at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least one transmit Tx port group, a plurality of power amplifiers PAs, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array, the plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a oneto- one correspondence, the at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group, each Tx port group is connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequency module group through one switching switch, each Tx port group comprises a plurality of Tx ports, and a quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules comprised in each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Tx ports comprised in a corresponding Tx port group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all Tx ports in a Tx port group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state; and the method comprises: controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequency modules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequency module group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground comprises: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users comprises: when a second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state, wherein the second condition is as follows: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

26. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the method further comprises: determining the quantity of users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on a received channel state information beam identifier.

27. A switching method, applied to a downlink transmitting system, wherein the downlink transmitting system comprises: at least one transmit Tx channel group, at least one power amplifier PA group, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the at least one PA group is connected to the antenna array, the at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one PA group, each Tx channel is connected to each PA in a corresponding PA group through one switching switch, each Tx channel group comprises a plurality of Tx channels, each Tx channel comprises a Tx port and a digital intermediate frequency module, and a quantity of PAs comprised in each PA group is equal to a quantity of Tx channels comprised in a corresponding Tx channel group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled Tx channels in a Tx channel group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all PAs in a PA group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state; and the method comprises: controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connected to a plurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx channel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is connected to at least two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground comprises: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users comprises: when a second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state, wherein the second condition is as follows: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

31. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 30, wherein the method further comprises: determining the quantity of users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on a received channel state information beam identifier.

32. A switching method, applied to a downlink transmitting system, wherein the downlink transmitting system comprises: a plurality of transmit Tx channels, at least one power amplifier PA group, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array, wherein the plurality of Tx channels are connected to all PAs comprised in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence, the antenna array comprises at least one antenna bay group, the at least one PA group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one antenna bay group, each PA group is connected to each antenna bay in a corresponding antenna bay group through one switching switch, each PA group comprises a plurality of PAs, and a quantity of PAs comprised in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antenna bays comprised in a corresponding antenna bay group, wherein each switching switch comprises at least two connection states, quantities of enabled PAs in a PA group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different, and all antenna bays in an antenna bay group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state; and the method comprises: controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the at least two connection states comprise a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state, wherein when a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a first antenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA group and the first antenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch; and when the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first PA in the first PA group is connected to at least two antenna bays in the first antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in the first PA group is not connected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground comprises: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

35. The method according to claim 33, wherein the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users comprises: when a second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state, wherein the second condition is as follows: the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

36. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 35, wherein the method further comprises: determining the quantity of users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on a received channel state information beam identifier.