Satellite communication method, electronic device, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of satellite communications. Disclosed are a satellite communication method, an electronic device, a storage medium and a program product. In the method, taking an electronic device being a mobile phone as an example, the mobile phone corresponds to a plurality of patterns; and during satellite communication, actual beam coverage ranges of the plurality of patterns in the mobile phone at the current moment are determined, a first pattern, of which the actual beam coverage range covers a satellite, is then selected from among the plurality of patterns, and a communication connection is established with a satellite on the basis of the first pattern, so as to execute services such as calls and short messages. In the method, since the mobile phone has the plurality of patterns, when a relative position relationship between the mobile phone and the satellite changes, or when the attitude of the mobile phone changes, the first pattern can be automatically selected from among the plurality of patterns, so as to establish a communication connection between the mobile phone and the satellite on the basis of the first pattern, without requiring changing the position or attitude of the mobile phone again. In this way, the satellite communication experience of users can be improved.

Description

Satellite communication method, electronic device, storage medium and program product

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on February 6, 2024, with application number 202410174039.9 and application name “Satellite communication method, electronic device, storage medium and program product”. The entire contents of the above application are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of satellite communication technology, and in particular to a satellite communication method, electronic equipment, storage medium, and program product. Background Art

[0003] Currently, electronic devices already have the ability to communicate directly with satellites (e.g., high-orbit satellites). For example, consider a smartphone (hereafter referred to as a mobile phone) communicating with a satellite. Since satellites are farther away from Earth than base stations located on Earth, the phone requires a high-gain antenna. This high-gain antenna's beam coverage extends over longer distances, enabling communication with distant satellites.

[0004] However, due to the consideration of making mobile phones thin and light, there is usually only one high-gain antenna inside the mobile phone. In order to reduce the space occupied by the high-gain antenna, the width of the beam coverage range of the high-gain antenna is designed to be smaller. As a result, if the posture of the mobile phone changes slightly, or the relative position relationship between the mobile phone and the satellite changes slightly, the beam will not cover the satellite in the width direction, affecting the communication process. If the mobile phone's beam is to cover the satellite in the width direction, the user needs to constantly change the position or posture of the mobile phone so that the beam can cover the satellite. However, this method requires the user to move the mobile phone and change the position or posture of the mobile phone to make the mobile phone's beam coverage cover the satellite, which reduces the convenience of the communication process and also reduces the user experience.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, electronic equipment, storage medium, and program product.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, which is applied to an electronic device, and the method includes: obtaining first position information of a satellite; based on the first position information, selecting a first directional pattern of the satellite covered by the current beam coverage from multiple directional patterns of the electronic device; and communicating with the satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0008] This application does not limit the type of electronic device. For example, the electronic device can be any device that can establish a communication connection with a satellite, including but not limited to mobile phones and tablet computers. This application also does not limit the implementation method of multiple directional patterns. For example, multiple physical antennas can be provided within a mobile phone, where each physical antenna can generate a directional pattern; for another example, multiple directional patterns can be obtained by changing multiple different antenna matching circuits corresponding to a physical antenna within the mobile phone.

[0009] In the present application, the beam coverage of the directional pattern at the current moment can be determined based on the current position information of the electronic device (i.e., the second position information described later) and the current attitude information of the electronic device. In other words, if the position and attitude of the electronic device change, the actual beam coverage corresponding to the directional pattern of the electronic device will also change. Then, based on the current beam coverage of each directional pattern and the first position information of the satellite, the first directional pattern whose current beam coverage covers the satellite can be selected from multiple directional patterns, and communication with the satellite can be carried out based on the first directional pattern.

[0010] In this method, when the relative position relationship between the mobile phone and the satellite changes, or the posture of the mobile phone changes, the first direction pattern can be automatically selected from multiple direction patterns without having to change the position or posture of the mobile phone to establish a communication connection with the satellite, thereby improving the convenience of the communication process and the user experience.

[0011] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, communicating with a satellite based on the first pattern includes communicating with the satellite when a first received signal strength corresponding to the first pattern satisfies a first strength condition.

[0012] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the method further includes: when the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, displaying a user guide map, wherein the user guide map is used to prompt the user to rotate and / or move the electronic device.

[0013] It can be understood that after determining the first directional pattern, it is also necessary to determine whether the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern meets the first strength condition. If the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern meets the first strength condition, a communication connection is established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. If the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, a communication connection is not established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. Exemplarily, in this case, a user guide map as shown in FIG13 below may be displayed on the display screen of the electronic device to prompt the user to move the electronic device or change the posture of the electronic device to re-determine the first directional pattern.

[0014] In addition, the first strength condition can be determined based on the current position of the satellite. In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, when the satellite is only in the current beam coverage range of the first directional pattern, the first strength condition is: the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern in the first area is greater than a first threshold, and the difference between the first received signal strength and the second received signal strength of the second directional pattern in the first area among the multiple directional patterns is greater than a second threshold, and the first area is determined based on the current beam coverage range; when the satellite is in the overlapping area of ​​the first directional pattern and the second directional pattern, the first strength condition is: the first received signal strength is greater than the first threshold.

[0015] It is understood that in this application, multiple directional patterns may have overlapping areas. If a satellite is in the overlapping area of ​​a first directional pattern and a second directional pattern among the multiple directional patterns, it means that the electronic device can now communicate with the satellite based on either the first directional pattern or the second directional pattern. Therefore, after selecting the first directional pattern, it is necessary to ensure that the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern meets the strength condition. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern is greater than a first threshold.

[0016] In this method, after determining a first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns based on the first location information, the location information of the electronic device, and the attitude information, it is necessary to further determine whether the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern meets a first strength condition. Only if the first strength condition is met, communication with the satellite based on the first directional pattern is performed. This method can ensure the received signal strength of the first directional pattern used for communication, thereby improving communication quality.

[0017] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the multiple directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having an overlapping area, and based on the first position information, the first directional pattern whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite is selected from the multiple directional patterns of the electronic device, including: when the satellite is in the overlapping area, determining that the current beam coverage ranges of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern both cover the satellite; and selecting the first directional pattern from the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern based on the moving direction of the satellite.

[0018] Specifically, if the satellite moves from the first direction to the second direction, and the third direction pattern is located in the first direction of the fourth direction pattern, the fourth direction pattern is used as the first direction pattern. This situation can be seen in FIG. 11A below.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the multiple directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having an overlapping area, and based on the first position information, the first directional pattern whose current beam coverage covers the satellite is selected from the multiple directional patterns of the electronic device, including: when the satellite is in the overlapping area, determining that the current beam coverage of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern both cover the satellite; corresponding to the received signal strength of the third directional pattern in the overlapping area and the received signal strength of the fourth directional pattern in the overlapping area being greater than a third threshold, the directional pattern with the larger received signal strength in the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern; corresponding to the received signal strength of only one directional pattern in the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern being greater than the third threshold, the directional pattern with the received signal strength greater than the third threshold is used as the first directional pattern.

[0020] It can be understood that in this method, if it is determined that the electronic device is in the overlapping area of ​​the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern, it can be further determined by judging whether the corresponding received signal strength of the two directional patterns in the overlapping area is greater than a third threshold value to determine which directional pattern to use as the first directional pattern. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selection of the third threshold value. For example, it can be set based on experience or flexibly adjusted according to the actual application scenario. This method of determining the first directional pattern by the received signal strength of the directional pattern can also ensure that the selected first directional pattern has a higher signal strength, thereby ensuring the quality of communication.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the method further includes: when the received signal strengths corresponding to the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern are both not greater than a third threshold, displaying a user guide map, wherein the user guide map is used to prompt the user to rotate and / or move the electronic device.

[0022] If the received signal strength of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern is not greater than the third threshold, the first directional pattern cannot be determined, and a communication connection with the satellite cannot be established. At this time, the display screen of the electronic device may display a user guidance map as shown in Figure 13 below, which is used to prompt the user to move the electronic device or change the posture of the electronic device to re-determine the first directional pattern.

[0023] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the method also includes: corresponding to the selection of the first directional pattern, determining whether the first directional pattern is the same as the fifth directional pattern among the multiple directional patterns currently used for communication with the satellite, and the first directional pattern and the fifth directional pattern have an overlapping area; corresponding to the first directional pattern being different from the fifth directional pattern, determining whether the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern in the first area meets a second strength condition; corresponding to the first received signal strength meeting the second strength condition, communicating with the satellite based on the first directional pattern; wherein the second strength condition is that the first received signal strength is greater than a first threshold.

[0024] It is understandable that when communicating with a satellite based on the fifth directional pattern, the electronic device can re-determine the first directional pattern that is currently more suitable for communicating with the satellite. If the first directional pattern and the fifth directional pattern are different, it means that the satellite is currently in the overlapping area of ​​the first directional pattern and the fifth directional pattern. At this time, if the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern within the first area is greater than the first threshold, the fifth directional pattern is switched to the first directional pattern, and communication with the satellite is carried out based on the first directional pattern. The first area can be the overlapping area, or it can be the beam coverage range corresponding to the first directional pattern including the overlapping area.

[0025] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the first directional pattern has a corresponding first confidence level, and the first strength condition is: the difference between the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern in the first area and the corrected value of the second received signal strength of the second directional pattern in the first area among the multiple directional patterns is greater than a fourth threshold; wherein the corrected value of the second received signal strength is determined based on the product of the second received signal strength and the second confidence level, and the sum of the first confidence level and the second confidence level is one.

[0026] The first confidence level is determined based on the accuracy of the first position information, the current position information of the electronic device, and the current attitude information. In addition, when the multiple directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern with overlapping areas, the first confidence level is determined based on whether the first position information, the current position information of the electronic device, and the accuracy of the current attitude information are overlapped, and also based on whether the first position information is overlapped. In this way, the first directional pattern has a corresponding first confidence level, and the confidence level is combined to determine whether the first received signal strength meets the strength condition, which can improve the accuracy of the determination of the first directional pattern for satellite communication.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the first aspect above, the multiple directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern with overlapping areas, and based on the first position information, the first directional pattern of the satellite covered by the current beam coverage is selected from the multiple directional patterns of the electronic device, including: taking the directional pattern corresponding to the larger effective beam coverage included in the overlapping area in the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern as the first directional pattern.

[0028] It is understood that if the satellite is in a high-orbit satellite and the position and attitude of the mobile phone remain unchanged, the relative position of the satellite and the mobile phone will also remain unchanged. In this case, the directional pattern with the largest effective beam coverage can be used as the first directional pattern. For details, see Figure 11B below.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides an electronic device comprising: a memory and a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory so that the electronic device executes the satellite communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0030] In a third aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the satellite communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, comprising: execution instructions, the execution instructions being stored in a readable storage medium, at least one processor of an electronic device being able to read the execution instructions from the readable storage medium, and at least one processor executing the execution instructions so that the electronic device implements the satellite communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing a directional pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0033] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between a mobile phone's posture and a beam coverage range of a directional pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0034] FIG3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the position of a mobile phone and the beam coverage of a directional pattern according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0035] FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of an interface when a mobile phone communicates with a high-orbit satellite according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0036] FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a mobile phone and a low-orbit satellite according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0037] FIG6 shows another schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a mobile phone and a low-orbit satellite according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0038] FIG7 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a satellite communication method executed at different times according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0039] FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of an interface for triggering mobile phone and satellite communication according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0040] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a first satellite communication method according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0041] FIG10A is a schematic diagram showing a comparison of interfaces of a mobile phone communicating with a satellite in the case of one directional pattern and two directional patterns according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0042] FIG10B is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a second satellite communication method according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0043] FIG10C shows a schematic diagram of a process for determining a first directional pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0044] FIG10D is a schematic diagram showing another process of determining a first directional pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0045] FIG10E is a schematic diagram showing a relative angular relationship between a mobile phone and a satellite according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0046] FIG11A is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of determining a first first direction pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0047] FIG11B is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of determining a second first direction pattern according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0048] FIG12 is a schematic diagram showing a process of a mobile phone communicating with a low-orbit satellite based on a first directional pattern at opportunity 1 according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0049] FIG13 is a schematic diagram showing a mobile phone interface transformation when the mobile phone cannot establish a communication connection with a satellite according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0050] FIG14 is a schematic diagram showing another process of a mobile phone communicating with a low-orbit satellite based on a first direction pattern at opportunity 1 according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0051] FIG15 is a schematic diagram showing a process of a mobile phone communicating with a low-orbit satellite based on a first directional pattern at opportunity 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0052] FIG16 is a schematic diagram showing a process of a mobile phone communicating with a target low-orbit satellite based on a first direction pattern at opportunity 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0053] FIG17 shows a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Illustrative embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to, satellite communication methods, electronic devices, storage media, and program products.

[0055] The following first explains the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0056] Directional pattern: This is the directional pattern of the antenna included in electronic devices such as mobile phones, which can be used to characterize the beam coverage of the antenna. When an electronic device communicates with a satellite, the antenna of the electronic device can emit electromagnetic waves within a certain beam coverage range to communicate with the satellite. Among them, electronic devices include but are not limited to any electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the type and form of electronic devices. It can be understood that for the sake of convenience, the following detailed description will be given using the electronic device as a mobile phone as an example.

[0057] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a directional pattern. The directional pattern can represent the beam coverage corresponding to a mobile phone in a specific posture and position. As shown in Figure 1, the directional pattern corresponding to the antenna in a mobile phone in one case is shown, where the angle corresponding to the shaded area on the horizontal axis represents the azimuth angle of the beam emitted by the antenna relative to the mobile phone, and the angle corresponding to the shaded area on the vertical axis represents the elevation angle of the beam emitted by the antenna relative to the mobile phone. Therefore, in Figure 1, the azimuth angles and elevation angles corresponding to the multiple shaded areas respectively represent the beam coverage of the beam emitted by the antenna.

[0058] It's understandable that if the position or posture of a mobile phone changes, the beam coverage of the antenna's directional pattern will also change accordingly. Referring to Figure 2, when mobile phone 201 is placed perpendicular to the ground, the corresponding beam coverage of the directional pattern is shown as cone 202. If mobile phone 201 is tilted to the right at a certain angle, the corresponding beam coverage of the directional pattern changes from cone 202 to cone 203. Therefore, it can be seen that for the antenna of a mobile phone, its directional pattern is fixed, but the actual beam coverage of the antenna will change when the mobile phone's posture changes.

[0059] Referring to Figure 3, when mobile phone 201 is placed perpendicular to the ground at position 1, the beam coverage corresponding to the directional pattern is shown as cone 302. If mobile phone 201 is moved from position 1 to position 2, the beam coverage corresponding to the directional pattern changes from cone 302 to cone 303. Therefore, it can be seen that for the antenna of a single mobile phone, its directional pattern is fixed; however, when the position of the mobile phone changes, the actual beam coverage of the antenna also changes.

[0060] High-Earth Orbit Satellites: Artificial satellites operating in geosynchronous orbits at an altitude of approximately 36,000 kilometers. These satellites orbit in the same direction as Earth's rotation, on circular orbits located in the Earth's equatorial plane, with an orbital period equal to one Earth rotation. Therefore, high-earth orbit satellites remain stationary relative to Earth.

[0061] Low Earth Orbit (LEO): An artificial satellite operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) or near Earth orbit (LEO), with an orbital altitude of approximately 400-2000 kilometers. LEO satellites remain in motion relative to the Earth.

[0062] Reference signal received power (RSRP): A key parameter that represents wireless signal strength and one of the physical layer measurement requirements. It is the average of the signal power received on all resource elements carrying the reference signal.

[0063] Based on the above content, due to limited space inside electronic devices such as mobile phones, they usually only have one high-gain antenna, and the antenna only corresponds to one directional pattern. When the coverage width of the beam coverage range corresponding to the directional pattern is small, when the relative position relationship between the mobile phone and the satellite or the posture of the mobile phone changes, it is necessary to adjust the position or posture of the mobile phone again to change the beam coverage range corresponding to the directional pattern, and then communicate with the satellite, which reduces the convenience of the communication process.

[0064] It can be understood that the mobile phone can establish a communication connection with satellites within the beam coverage range of the beam generated by the antenna, but cannot establish a communication connection with satellites outside the beam coverage range.

[0065] Taking a high-orbit satellite as an example, Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the interface when a mobile phone communicates with a high-orbit satellite. As shown in Figure 4, satellite 401 is located in a fan-shaped area 402, which means that satellite 401 is within the beam coverage corresponding to the antenna in mobile phone 201. In this case, mobile phone 201 can communicate with satellite 401. In Figure 4, mobile phone 201 has successfully connected to satellite 401 and can communicate. It can be understood that for ease of description, the beam coverage corresponding to mobile phone 201 is represented by a fan-shaped area 402 in a two-dimensional plane, but it should be understood that in actual applications, the beam coverage corresponding to mobile phone 201 can be, for example, the three-dimensional conical area 202 shown above.

[0066] Since the satellite 401 is a high-orbit satellite, when the mobile phone 201 on the earth does not move, the satellite 401 and the mobile phone 201 remain relatively stationary.

[0067] Therefore, in the scenario shown in Figure 4, when the user uses the mobile phone 201 to communicate with the satellite 401, since the angle corresponding to the fan-shaped area 402 is small, that is, the coverage width of the beam coverage range corresponding to the mobile phone 201 is small, during the communication process, the user may change the posture of the mobile phone 201, etc., which may cause the satellite to deviate, that is, the fan-shaped area 402 cannot cover the satellite 401, and thus cause the connection between the mobile phone 201 and the satellite 401 to be disconnected. The mobile phone 201 needs to adjust its position or posture to establish a connection with the satellite 401 again.

[0068] Taking a low-orbit satellite as an example, it can be understood that since the low-orbit satellite is moving relative to the mobile phone on the earth, if a mobile phone corresponding to only one directional pattern wants to communicate with the low-orbit satellite, it needs to constantly adjust its posture so that the mobile phone's beam can cover the low-orbit satellite that is constantly moving relative to the mobile phone. Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a mobile phone and a low-orbit satellite. In Figure 5, satellite 503 is a low-orbit satellite, and fan-shaped area 502 is the area where mobile phone 201 communicates with satellite 503 at time t1, and the position of satellite 503 at time t1 can be l1. It can be understood that for ease of illustration, the beam range corresponding to mobile phone 201 is represented by fan-shaped area 502 and fan-shaped area 504 in a two-dimensional plane, but it should be understood that the beam coverage range should actually be the three-dimensional conical area 202 shown above.

[0069] For example, in the case of satellite 503 moving from left to right in the perspective shown in FIG5 , at time t2, satellite 503 has moved from position l1 to position l2, and at time t2, satellite 503 is no longer within sector-shaped area 502 at time t1. Therefore, when the relative position of satellite 503 relative to mobile phone 201 changes, in order to maintain communication with satellite 503, mobile phone 201 needs to adjust its posture, such as tilting mobile phone 201 to the right, to change the corresponding beam coverage of mobile phone 201, such as changing the corresponding beam coverage of mobile phone 201 to sector-shaped area 504, which can cover the moved satellite 503 and thus communicate with satellite 503.

[0070] It should be understood that the beam coverage represented by each sector in Figures 2 to 5 is actually the beam coverage of the main beam emitted by the antenna. In other words, the beam intensity is relatively high within the sector. However, other areas outside the sector may also correspond to beams, but the beam intensity is relatively low. Therefore, for ease of description, they are not shown in the drawings of this application.

[0071] Figure 6 shows another schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a mobile phone and a low-orbit satellite. In Figure 6, satellite 503 and satellite 601 are both low-orbit satellites. The distance between satellite 503 and satellite 601 and mobile phone 201 on Earth is approximately 1175 km, and the distance between the two satellites is fixed. Therefore, based on the content shown in Figure 6, mobile phone 201 adjusts its posture to communicate with satellite 503 until satellite 503 is no longer within the visual range of mobile phone 201 (for example, it moves to the other hemisphere). At this point, mobile phone 201 needs to adjust its posture again and change the beam coverage range so that the beam coverage range of mobile phone 201 can cover satellite 601, thereby establishing a communication connection with satellite 601.

[0072] Therefore, it can be seen from the above content that no matter whether the mobile phone is communicating with a high-orbit satellite or a low-orbit satellite, since the mobile phone only has a fixed directional pattern, if the posture or position of the mobile phone does not change, the actual beam coverage range of the directional pattern will remain unchanged. At the same time, the coverage width of the beam coverage range corresponding to the directional pattern is small (such as the angle corresponding to the fan-shaped areas 402 and 502 is small). If the posture of the mobile phone changes slightly, or the relative position relationship between the mobile phone and the satellite changes slightly, the beam will not cover the satellite in the width direction, affecting the communication process. If the beam of the mobile phone is to cover the satellite in the width direction, the user needs to constantly change the position or posture of the mobile phone so that the beam can cover the satellite. However, this method requires changing the position or posture of the mobile phone, which reduces the convenience of the communication process and also reduces the user experience.

[0073] It's understood that a mobile phone can be equipped with multiple antennas, allowing it to have multiple radiation patterns, meaning it can have multiple beam coverage areas. For example, a single antenna in a mobile phone can generate a single radiation pattern with a corresponding beam coverage area. Multiple radiation patterns can be achieved by installing multiple antennas within the phone. In this case, the phone can simultaneously have multiple beam coverage areas corresponding to multiple radiation patterns. Furthermore, by changing the antenna matching circuit corresponding to a single antenna within the phone, different radiation patterns can be achieved at different times. Specifically, by adjusting the on / off state of the RF switch within the phone, the antenna can be placed in different antenna matching circuits. It's understood that because different antenna matching circuits have different inductors, capacitors, and other components, the total impedance of the circuit changes when the antenna is located in a different antenna matching circuit, which in turn changes the current flowing through the antenna. These different currents result in different electromagnetic fields generated by the antenna, which in turn changes the shape of the electromagnetic wave, and thus the antenna's beam coverage area.

[0074] On this basis, the present application provides a satellite communication method. In this method, multiple directional patterns are pre-set in a mobile phone. Then, during satellite communication, the actual beam coverage of the multiple directional patterns in the mobile phone at the current moment is determined. From the multiple directional patterns, it is determined that the beam coverage covers the first directional pattern of the satellite, and a communication connection is established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0075] In some embodiments, after determining the first directional pattern, it is also necessary to determine whether the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern meets the strength condition. If the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern meets the first strength condition, a communication connection is established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. If the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, a communication connection is not established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. Exemplarily, when the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, a user guide map may be displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone to prompt the user to move the mobile phone or change the posture of the mobile phone to re-determine the first directional pattern; or, a prompt message may be displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone to prompt the user to pause the communication process.

[0076] In addition, the first strength condition can be determined based on the current position of the satellite. For example, if it is determined that there is only one directional pattern whose beam coverage covers the satellite among multiple directional patterns, then after using the directional pattern as the first directional pattern, in addition to determining whether the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern is greater than the first threshold, it is also necessary to determine whether the difference between the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern and the received signal strength (i.e., the second received signal strength) corresponding to another directional pattern (i.e., the second directional pattern) is greater than the second threshold. In this way, the received signal strength of the determined first directional pattern can be made better. If it is determined that there are multiple (for example, two) directional patterns whose beam coverage covers the satellite among multiple directional patterns, it is only necessary to determine whether the first received signal strength is greater than the first threshold.

[0077] In some embodiments, if it is determined that there are multiple directional patterns whose beam coverage range covers the satellite, for example, there are two directional patterns that cover the satellite, then it is also necessary to determine a first directional pattern from the two determined directional patterns. Specifically, the directional pattern with the largest corresponding received signal strength can be used as the first directional pattern, and then a communication connection is established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. In addition, the first directional pattern can also be determined based on the direction of movement of the satellite. For example, if the satellite moves from left to right relative to the mobile phone, and directional pattern 1 is to the right of directional pattern 2, directional pattern 1 can be used as the first directional pattern.

[0078] In some other embodiments, if no beam coverage in multiple directional patterns covers the satellite's directional pattern, a user guidance map may also be displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone to prompt the user to move the mobile phone or change the posture of the mobile phone, so as to determine again whether there is a beam coverage covering the first directional pattern of the satellite based on the changed position and posture of the mobile phone.

[0079] In other embodiments, when the mobile phone is not communicating with a satellite, the mobile phone may determine the first pattern upon receiving a communication instruction from the user. For example, if the user turns on the "Enable Satellite Communication" switch on the mobile phone's display, the mobile phone may begin determining the first pattern and communicating with the satellite based on the first pattern. Furthermore, if the mobile phone is already communicating with a satellite based on a pattern, the mobile phone may re-determine the first pattern currently suitable for satellite communication when the phone's posture changes, the phone's position relative to the satellite changes, or the quality of the satellite communication signal deteriorates. Alternatively, the mobile phone may determine the first pattern at regular intervals to ensure that the mobile phone and satellite communication signals remain optimal.

[0080] In the method provided in the embodiments of this application, a mobile phone corresponds to multiple directional patterns. When the phone's posture changes, or the relative position between the phone and the satellite changes, the phone can automatically select a directional pattern whose beam coverage range covers the satellite and establish a connection with the satellite based on that directional pattern. The user does not need to change (or significantly change) the phone's posture or position. This can improve the convenience of the communication process and enhance the user experience.

[0081] The following first describes the execution timing of the satellite communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0082] FIG7 shows a schematic flow chart of a satellite communication method provided by the present application executed at different times, and includes the following steps:

[0083] 701: Startup.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, taking the electronic device as a mobile phone as an example, this step can be used to indicate that the mobile phone can determine the satellite and establish a communication connection with the satellite. For example, after the mobile phone detects the user's startup instruction, it can start to determine the satellite. It can be understood that the satellite involved in the embodiment of the present application can be a high-orbit satellite or a low-orbit satellite. If it is a high-orbit satellite, the mobile phone can directly determine the first direction pattern based on the high-orbit satellite, and then establish a communication connection with the satellite. If it is a low-orbit satellite, the mobile phone can select a low-orbit satellite to connect to from multiple low-orbit satellites. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the method of determining the low-orbit satellite to be connected. For example, the mobile phone can calculate the distance to each low-orbit satellite separately, and then select the low-orbit satellite with the closest distance as the satellite to be connected.

[0085] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the activation instruction. For example, the activation instruction may be a voice instruction, a gesture instruction, or a touch instruction on the mobile phone display screen. For example, if the activation instruction is a touch instruction, for example, after the mobile phone detects the activation operation of a relevant switch on the display screen, it may execute the determination of the first directional pattern and subsequent operations based on the first directional pattern and satellite communication.

[0086] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an interface for triggering satellite communication between a mobile phone and satellite. As shown in Figure 8, the mobile phone's display interface 801 displays an "Enable Satellite Communication" switch 802. Once the mobile phone detects that the switch has transitioned from the off state to the on state, it can begin determining the satellite to connect to. It should be understood that display interface 801 also includes a "SIM Card Selection" portal, a "Frequently Asked Questions" portal, and instructions for using satellite communication. This application does not specifically limit the content of display interface 801.

[0087] 702: Determine a first directional pattern and execute the service.

[0088] It is understood that after the mobile phone detects the user's start-up command and determines the satellite to be connected, it can further determine from multiple directional patterns that the current beam coverage range covers the first directional pattern of the satellite, and communicate with the satellite based on the first directional pattern to perform the service. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of service. For example, the service can be a call service, a text message service, etc.

[0089] It can be understood that this step can be executed by the service startup module (or star search startup module) inside the mobile phone, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0090] For the convenience of subsequent description, the timing of determining the first directional pattern for the first time may be referred to as timing 1.

[0091] 703: Determine the first directional pattern again at a different time, which involves switching the directional pattern and executing the service.

[0092] It is understood that the determination of the first directional pattern involved in step 702 is the initial determination of the first directional pattern. In contrast, this step can represent the process of re-determining the first directional pattern. As previously described, when a mobile phone is already communicating with a satellite based on a directional pattern, the timing for the mobile phone to re-determine the first directional pattern currently suitable for satellite communication may be when the mobile phone's posture changes, the mobile phone's position relative to the satellite changes, the quality of the satellite communication signal is poor, etc. Alternatively, the mobile phone can determine the first directional pattern at fixed time intervals to ensure that the mobile phone and the satellite communication signal remain in optimal state.

[0093] For example, when the mobile phone communicates with the satellite based on pattern 1, if the mobile phone determines again that the first pattern currently suitable for communicating with the satellite is pattern 2, then the mobile phone can determine whether pattern 1 and pattern 2 are the same. If they are the same, there is no need to switch the pattern, and communication with the satellite can still be based on pattern 1. If not, the mobile phone can switch the pattern, that is, no longer communicate based on pattern 1, but communicate based on pattern 2. It can be understood that this situation indicates that pattern 1 and pattern 2 have an overlapping area, and the satellite is currently in the beam coverage range corresponding to the overlapping area. In this way, the mobile phone can once again determine the first pattern currently suitable for communicating with the satellite (i.e., pattern 2) when the satellite is in the overlapping area, and execute the switching pattern. This method can ensure that the pattern is switched while the communication between the mobile phone and the satellite is not interrupted, which can improve the communication quality and enhance the user experience.

[0094] If there is no overlapping area between the multiple directional patterns, the situation of switching directional patterns can be that after the mobile phone determines that it is disconnected from the satellite, it again determines the first directional pattern from the multiple directional patterns, and establishes a communication connection with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. Specifically, if the mobile phone originally communicated with the satellite based on directional pattern 1, but the satellite is no longer within the beam coverage of directional pattern 1, resulting in the mobile phone being unable to continue to communicate with the satellite based on directional pattern 1, that is, the mobile phone is disconnected from the satellite, then after the mobile phone detects that it is disconnected from the satellite, it can again determine the first directional pattern from the multiple directional patterns. If the first directional pattern is different from directional pattern 1, it is reflected in the mobile phone switching from directional pattern 1 to the first directional pattern, communicating with the satellite based on the first directional pattern and performing services.

[0095] It can be understood that this step can be executed by the service holding module inside the mobile phone, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0096] For the convenience of subsequent description, this time of re-determining the first directional pattern may be referred to as time 2.

[0097] 704: Business ended.

[0098] For example, if the service is a call service, the end of the service means the end of the call. For example, the user can end the call by clicking the hang-up control on the display of the mobile phone. If the service is a text message service, the end of the service is indicated by the completion of the short message sending.

[0099] 705: End.

[0100] It is understood that this step refers to the mobile phone terminating the communication connection with the satellite. Exemplarily, the user can instruct the mobile phone to terminate the communication connection with the satellite by clicking a disconnect control in the display screen of the mobile phone.

[0101] It will be appreciated that both timing 1 and timing 2 mentioned above involve determining a first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns and communicating with a satellite based on the first directional pattern. Therefore, referring to FIG. 9 , FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic flow chart of a first satellite communication method, which may include the following steps.

[0102] 901: Acquire the first position information of the satellite.

[0103] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the manner in which a mobile phone obtains the first position information of a satellite. For example, a satellite can send the satellite's ephemeris information to a mobile phone by sending a broadcast signal, and the mobile phone can further determine the satellite's first position information based on the satellite's ephemeris information.

[0104] 902: Based on the first position information, select a first directional pattern of a satellite covered by a current beam coverage range from multiple directional patterns of the electronic device.

[0105] It is understood that the multiple directional patterns in this application may or may not have overlapping areas, and this is not limited in the embodiments of this application. In addition, the mobile phone can obtain different directional patterns through the built-in antenna. For example, multiple directional patterns can be obtained by changing the antenna matching circuit of an antenna in the mobile phone. It is also possible to set multiple antennas in the mobile phone to obtain multiple directional patterns, that is, one antenna corresponds to one directional pattern. The method of obtaining multiple directional patterns by changing the antenna matching circuit of the antenna has been explained above and will not be repeated here.

[0106] It can be understood that, based on the foregoing, for any directional pattern of a mobile phone, the actual beam coverage corresponding to the directional pattern will also change depending on the posture or position of the mobile phone. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, the mobile phone can determine the current beam coverage of each directional pattern based on the current posture information and the second position information of the mobile phone. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the method for obtaining the second position information and posture information of the mobile phone. For example, the mobile phone can determine the second position information of the mobile phone based on the built-in position sensor, and the mobile phone can also obtain the orientation information, acceleration information and gravity information of the mobile phone based on the built-in magnetometer, accelerometer and gravimeter, etc., so as to further determine the posture information of the mobile phone in three-dimensional space.

[0107] After determining the current beam coverage of each directional pattern, the mobile phone can select the first directional pattern of the satellite whose current beam coverage covers the satellite from the multiple directional patterns based on the first position information of the satellite.

[0108] It can be understood that if the mobile phone determines, based on the first location information and the current beam coverage of each directional pattern, that only one current beam coverage covers the directional pattern of the satellite, then the directional pattern can be directly used as the first directional pattern.

[0109] If the mobile phone determines, based on the first location information and the current beam coverage of each pattern, that multiple current beam coverages cover the satellite pattern, it is necessary to select a pattern from the multiple patterns as the first pattern. The specific method for selecting a pattern from the multiple patterns as the first pattern will be described later and is not detailed here.

[0110] 903: Communicate with the satellite based on the first direction pattern.

[0111] It can be understood that after the first direction pattern is determined, the mobile phone can communicate with the satellite based on the first direction pattern to complete communication services, such as call services, text message services, etc.

[0112] FIG10A shows a schematic diagram comparing interfaces of a mobile phone communicating with a satellite in the case of one directional pattern and two directional patterns. As shown in (1) in FIG10A , sector area 402 (i.e., sector area ABCD) represents the beam coverage corresponding to directional pattern 1, and at this time, satellite 401 is located in sector area 402, so the mobile phone interface shows a successful connection. If satellite 401 moves outside sector area 402, for example, to point P in (1), the mobile phone needs to change its position or posture to re-establish a communication connection with satellite 401.

[0113] However, as shown in (2) in FIG10A , sector area 402 represents the beam coverage corresponding to pattern 1; sector area 403 (i.e., sector area ECFH) represents the beam coverage corresponding to pattern 2. Although satellite 401 is not currently located in sector area 402, but is located in sector area 403, the mobile phone does not need to change its position or posture and can directly communicate with satellite 401 based on pattern 2.

[0114] In the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the mobile phone has multiple corresponding directional patterns. Based on the current location information and attitude information of the mobile phone and the first location information of the satellite, the mobile phone can select the first directional pattern of the satellite whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite from the multiple directional patterns, and communicate with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. In this way, compared to the case where there is only one directional pattern, the mobile phone can directly determine that the beam coverage range covers the satellite's directional pattern, and can communicate with the satellite without changing its position or attitude, which improves the convenience of the communication process and also enhances the user experience.

[0115] In some embodiments, after determining the first directional pattern, it is also necessary to determine whether the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern meets the first strength condition. If the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern meets the first strength condition, a communication connection is established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. If the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, a communication connection is not established with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. Exemplarily, in this case, a user guide map may be displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone to prompt the user to change the position or posture of the mobile phone to re-determine the first directional pattern; or, a prompt message may be displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone to prompt the user to pause the communication process.

[0116] The first intensity condition may be different depending on the position of the satellite. The corresponding relationship between the position of the satellite and the first intensity condition will be described later and will not be elaborated here.

[0117] It can be understood that in the steps shown in FIG9 , since the current beam coverage is determined based on the current position information and attitude information of the mobile phone, the process of determining the first directional pattern is to determine the first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns based on the first position information of the satellite, the current position information of the mobile phone (such as the second position information), and the attitude information. That is to say, in other embodiments, the mobile phone may first determine the relative position relationship between the satellite and the mobile phone based on the first position information of the satellite and the second position information of the mobile phone, and then determine the first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns based on the relative position relationship and the attitude of the mobile phone. This method is essentially the same as the method shown in FIG9 .

[0118] The method provided by the present application will be described again below using this method and an example in which the strength condition needs to be determined after the first directional pattern is determined.

[0119] Figure 10B shows a flow chart of the second satellite communication method. As shown in Figure 10B, the application processor (AP) can determine the relative position relationship (such as relative position information) between the mobile phone and the satellite based on satellite information (such as ephemeris information, which can represent the first position information) and mobile phone information (such as global positioning system (GPS) information, which can represent the second position information). Exemplarily, the relative position information can be reflected in the form of azimuth and pitch angles between the mobile phone and the satellite. In some embodiments, the second position information can also be Beidou information obtained based on Beidou satellites, that is, the mobile phone can obtain the second position information of the mobile phone based on Beidou satellites. In addition, the AP can also determine the posture of the mobile phone (that is, the spatial position of the center of the antenna beam) based on mobile phone information such as magnetometer information, accelerometer information and gravimeter information, wherein the posture of the mobile phone can also be reflected in the form of the azimuth and pitch angles of the mobile phone itself, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] Then, based on the relative position information between the mobile phone and the satellite, the posture of the mobile phone, and the directional pattern information of multiple pre-stored directional patterns, the AP determines a first directional pattern from the multiple directional patterns and sends the determined first directional pattern to the baseband integrated circuit (BBIC) or to the modem in the BBIC. In addition, the radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) in the mobile phone can send the received signal strength (i.e., RX received signal strength) corresponding to the different directional patterns detected by the antenna (ANT) module to the BBIC through the serializer / deserializer (Serdes).

[0121] The BBIC determines whether to enable communication with the satellite based on the first directional pattern based on the first directional pattern sent by the AP and a first received signal strength of the received first directional pattern.

[0122] It is understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the location of the fusion decision module, that is, the present application does not limit the execution chip of the decision whether to base the decision on the first directional pattern and satellite communication. For example, the AP makes the decision. That is, the RFIC sends the RX signal strength to the AP via the BBIC. The AP then determines the first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns and then makes a fusion decision based on the signal strength of the first directional pattern to determine whether to communicate with the satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0123] Another example is the RFIC. That is, after the AP determines a first pattern from multiple patterns, it sends it to the RFIC via the BBIC. The RFIC then makes a fusion decision based on the first pattern and the RX signal strength, determining whether to communicate with the satellite based on the first pattern. This RFIC-based fusion decision-making approach can speed up decision-making and improve efficiency.

[0124] Figure 10C illustrates a schematic diagram of a first directional pattern determination process. As shown in Figure 10C , the satellite's position (e.g., first position information) can be determined based on the satellite's ephemeris information; the phone's position (e.g., second position information) can be determined based on the phone's GPS information or Beidou satellite information. The satellite and phone positions are then input into a module for calculating the relative angle between the phone and the satellite. This module estimates the relative angle between the phone and the satellite, and then outputs the relative position information between the phone and the satellite.

[0125] In addition, as shown in FIG10C , the phone's orientation, i.e., its posture information, can also be determined based on the phone's internal magnetometer (or compass), accelerometer (A), and gravimeter (G). The first orientation pattern is then determined based on the relative position information between the phone and the satellite, the phone's posture information, and pre-stored orientation pattern information (not shown).

[0126] FIG10D shows another schematic diagram of a process for determining a first directional pattern. As shown in FIG10D , (x 1,t ,y 1,t ,z 1,t ) can represent the position of satellite 1 at different times t; (x 2,t ,y 2,t ,z 2,t ) can represent the position of satellite 2 at different times t; (x n,t ,y n,t ,z n,t ) can represent the position of satellite n at different times t. (x 0,t ,y 0,t ,z 0,t ) can represent the position of the mobile phone at different times t. It can be understood that if the satellite is a high-orbit satellite, the satellite remains relatively stationary with the earth, that is, at different times t, the position of the satellite is fixed, and usually, the mobile phone only needs to communicate with a fixed high-orbit satellite, that is, only (x 1,t ,y 1,t ,z 1,t ) indicates a high-orbit satellite.

[0127] If the satellite is a low-orbit satellite, it is in a relative motion state relative to the earth, that is, at different times t, the position of the satellite is different. In addition, since there are multiple low-orbit satellites, (x 1,t ,y 1,t ,z 1,t ), (x 2,t ,y 2,t ,z 2,t ), (x n,t ,y n,t ,z n,t ) represents multiple different low-orbit satellites.

[0128] Based on the satellite position and the phone position, the relative position information of the phone and the satellite can be determined, that is, the relative angle information between the phone and the satellite can be calculated. In Figure 10D, the relative angle between the phone and satellite 1 can be expressed as in, represents the azimuth angle between the mobile phone and the satellite at time t, θ 1,t represents the pitch angle between the mobile phone and the satellite at time t. Similarly, the relative angle between the mobile phone and satellite 2 can be expressed as The relative angle between the mobile phone and satellite n can be expressed as

[0129] Figure 10E shows a schematic diagram of the relative angle relationship between a mobile phone and a satellite. As shown in Figure 10E, the angle between the projection of the line connecting the satellite position and the mobile phone position on the xoy plane and the x-axis is The angle between the projection of the line connecting the satellite position and the mobile phone position on the yoz plane and the z-axis is θ t .

[0130] In addition, the represents the posture of the mobile phone at time t, where represents the azimuth of the mobile phone at time t, θ UED,t represents the elevation angle of the phone at time t. Then, based on the relative angle between the phone and the satellite and the phone's attitude at time t, as well as pre-stored directional pattern information for the phone (not shown in the figure), a comprehensive decision is made on the first directional pattern required for the phone to communicate with each satellite, i.e., the optimal directional pattern decision is made.

[0131] Figure 11A shows a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a first directional pattern is determined. In Figure 11A, mobile phone 1101 includes two directional patterns, that is, mobile phone 1101 has two corresponding beam coverage areas, for example, embodied as fan-shaped area 1102 and fan-shaped area 1103, and the shaded portion in the figure is the overlapping area of ​​fan-shaped area 1102 and fan-shaped area 1103, which can also be regarded as the overlapping area of ​​the two directional patterns (in order to intuitively represent the overlapping area, fan-shaped area 1102 and fan-shaped area 1103 are not shaded, but the overlapping area is represented by the shaded portion).

[0132] If satellite 1104 is in the overlapping area of ​​sector-shaped area 1102 and sector-shaped area 1103, it means that satellite 1104 can communicate with mobile phone 1101 based on either sector-shaped area 1102 or sector-shaped area 1103. Mobile phone 1101 needs to further determine a first direction pattern from sector-shaped area 1102 and sector-shaped area 1103. For example, taking satellite 1104 as a low-orbit satellite, if satellite 1104 moves from left to right in the perspective shown in Figure 11A, then if the posture of mobile phone 1101 does not change, the direction pattern corresponding to sector-shaped area 1103 can be used as the first direction pattern because the direction of movement of satellite 1104 is consistent with the direction corresponding to sector-shaped area 1103.

[0133] Referring to Figure 11B, if satellite A1 is a high-orbit satellite (for ease of description, the high-orbit satellite is illustrated as a point A1), when the position and posture of the mobile phone do not change, the relative position of the satellite and the mobile phone is also unchanged. In Figure 11B, the sector area C1OB1 is the overlapping area of ​​the two directional patterns. Therefore, if satellite A1 is in the overlapping area, the directional pattern with the larger effective beam coverage in the overlapping area can be used as the first directional pattern. For example, in Figure 11B, the effective beam coverage of satellite A1 in the overlapping area of ​​sector area 1102 is sector area A1OB1, and the effective beam coverage of satellite A1 in the overlapping area of ​​sector area 1103 is sector area A1OC1. Since the range of sector area A1OB1 is larger than that of sector area A1OC1, the directional pattern corresponding to sector area 1102 can be used as the first directional pattern.

[0134] It will be understood that the above-described method for determining the first directional pattern is merely illustrative and does not constitute an exhaustive limitation of the present application. For example, the first directional pattern may also be determined based on a directional pattern determination model. For example, the relative position information between the mobile phone and the satellite, the mobile phone's attitude information, and directional pattern information of multiple directional patterns may be input into the directional pattern determination model, and then a selected first directional pattern may be output based on the directional pattern model.

[0135] In this method, after determining the first directional pattern, the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern is further determined, and then a decision is made whether to communicate with the satellite based on the first directional pattern, so as to improve the communication quality between the mobile phone and the satellite and enhance the user experience.

[0136] It is understood that the satellites in this application include high-orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites. Below, the satellite communication method provided in this application will be described in detail based on Figures 7 and 9 above, using communications between a mobile phone and high-orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites as examples. It is understood that for ease of description, the following description will be based on the example of a mobile phone having two corresponding directional patterns.

[0137] Case 1: The satellite is a low-orbit satellite.

[0138] The following describes in detail how the mobile phone communicates with the low-orbit satellite based on the first direction pattern at opportunity 1.

[0139] FIG12 shows a flow chart of a mobile phone communicating with a low-orbit satellite based on a first directional pattern at opportunity 1. As shown in FIG12 , the process includes the following steps:

[0140] 1201: Start.

[0141] For example, after the mobile phone detects the user's start command, it can start to determine the satellite to further determine the first direction pattern and other subsequent operations. For details, please refer to the description of the above-mentioned step 701, which will not be repeated here.

[0142] 1202: Is there a GPS signal?

[0143] When the mobile phone begins establishing a communication connection with the satellite, it can first determine whether a GPS signal can be detected. If not, it indicates that the mobile phone's location information cannot be obtained at this time, and it is necessary to execute step 1203 to search for GPS signals again. If it is, it indicates that the electronic device can obtain the mobile phone's location information based on the GPS signal, which facilitates the subsequent determination of the first directional pattern. Therefore, step 1204 can be executed at this time.

[0144] 1203: Searching for GPS signal.

[0145] Exemplarily, after the mobile phone searches for a GPS signal, step 1204 may be executed to determine a first direction map.

[0146] 1204: Based on the first position information of the satellite, determine whether the current beam coverage range covers at least one initial direction pattern of the satellite.

[0147] It can be understood that the principle of this step is consistent with the principle of step 902 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0148] 1205: Is the number of initial directional patterns one?

[0149] It is understood that in the embodiment of the present application, there may or may not be an overlapping area between the two directional patterns. If the number of initial directional patterns is one, there is no overlapping area between the two directional patterns, or there is an overlapping area between the two directional patterns, but the satellite is in the non-overlapping area of ​​a certain directional pattern. If the number of initial directional patterns is one, step 1206 is executed and the initial directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern. If the number of initial directional patterns is multiple (that is, two in this embodiment, that is, the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern), it means that the satellite is in the overlapping area of ​​the two directional patterns, and step 1209 is executed to determine the first directional pattern from the two initial directional patterns.

[0150] 1206: Use the initial directional pattern as the first directional pattern.

[0151] 1207: Determine based on the RX measurement comparison module 1 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0152] Exemplarily, a specific judgment method of this step may be: RSRP1>x dB&&(RSRP1-RSRP2)>y dB?

[0153] RSRP1 represents the first received signal strength corresponding to the first pattern in the first region where the satellite is located. The first received signal strength is a statistical value obtained by taking a weighted average of the received signals at multiple locations included in the first pattern. x represents the first threshold. RSRP2 represents the second received signal strength of the pattern adjacent to the first pattern in the first region. y represents the second threshold.

[0154] As shown in (2) in Figure 10A, it can be understood that pattern 1 and pattern 2 have overlapping areas and corresponding non-overlapping areas. Among them, the non-overlapping area of ​​pattern 1 is the sector area ABCE, and the non-overlapping area of ​​pattern 2 is the sector area CFHD. If it is determined that the satellite is in the non-overlapping area of ​​pattern 1 (i.e., sector area ABCE), the first area can be the sector area ABCE or the sector area ABCD, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. At this time, the pattern corresponding to RSRP2 is pattern 2.

[0155] The embodiments of this application do not limit the method for determining the first received signal strength and the second received signal strength. For example, the received signal strength can be detected by a sensor within the electronic device. Furthermore, the first threshold and the second threshold can be set based on experience or flexibly adjusted based on actual application scenarios. The embodiments of this application do not limit the method for determining the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0156] It can be understood that when the received signal strength and the transmitted signal strength corresponding to the directional pattern are reciprocal, the received signal strength can represent the transmitted signal strength. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, if the received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern is greater than the first threshold value, and the difference between the first received signal strength and the second received signal strength is greater than the second threshold value, it means that the transmitted signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern meets the strength requirement, and step 1208 can be executed at this time to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. In this way, it can be ensured that the first received signal strength of the first directional pattern has a greater received signal strength than the second directional pattern in the first area, and the quality of communication can be guaranteed when communicating with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. Among them, the first threshold value can be called the absolute threshold value of the first directional pattern. The second threshold value can also be called the relative threshold value of the first directional pattern.

[0157] If not, a prompt message may be displayed to inform the user that a connection with the satellite cannot be established at present, and the user may be asked to confirm whether to try to establish a connection again. If the user confirms to try to connect again, a user guidance map may be displayed to prompt the user to change the position or posture of the mobile phone, and then step 1204 may be executed again.

[0158] Figure 13 shows a schematic diagram of the mobile phone interface transformation when the mobile phone cannot establish a communication connection with the satellite. Exemplarily, if the first received signal strength does not meet the strength condition, as shown in Figure 13, the mobile phone displays a prompt interface 1301 including a prompt box 1302, and the prompt information in the prompt box 1302 is, for example, "Currently unable to establish a connection with the satellite, please confirm whether to try to establish a connection again." The prompt box 1302 also includes a confirmation control 1303 and a cancel control 1304. In response to the triggering operation of the cancel control 1304, the mobile phone ends the process of establishing a communication connection. In response to the triggering operation of the confirmation control 1303, the mobile phone displays a guidance interface 1305, and the guidance interface 1305 may display guidance information 1306, such as "Please slowly tilt the phone to the left", and a guidance map 1307 (i.e., a user guidance map).

[0159] It is understood that in this step, the first received signal strength and the second received signal strength may be measured multiple times at fixed time intervals to obtain multiple first received signal strengths and multiple second received signal strengths. If the multiple first received signal strengths are all greater than the first threshold, and the differences between the multiple first received signal strengths and the second received signal strengths are all greater than the second threshold, step 1208 is performed. Similarly, if at least one of the multiple first received signal strengths is not greater than the first threshold, or if at least one of the differences between the multiple first received signal strengths and the second received signal strength is not greater than the second threshold, the steps shown in FIG. 13 are performed.

[0160] 1208: Establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern.

[0161] 1209: Determine a first direction pattern from the two initial direction patterns based on the movement direction of the satellite relative to the mobile phone.

[0162] The content of this step has been described in detail above and will not be repeated here.

[0163] 1210: Determine based on RX measurement comparison module 2 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0164] Exemplarily, a specific judgment method of this step may be: RSRP1>x dB?

[0165] Among them, RSRP1 represents the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern in the first area where the satellite is located. As shown in (2) in Figure 10A, it can be understood that if it is determined that the satellite is in the overlapping area of ​​directional pattern 1 and directional pattern 2 (i.e., the sector area ECD), the first area is the sector area ECD. If the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern in the first area is greater than the first threshold, step 1208 is executed to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first directional pattern. In this way, the first received signal strength symbol strength requirement of the first directional pattern in the first area can be ensured, and the quality of communication can be guaranteed when communicating with the satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0166] If not, a prompt message may be displayed to inform the user that a connection with the satellite cannot be established at present, and the user may be asked to confirm whether to try to establish a connection again. If the user confirms to try to connect again, a user guidance map may be displayed to prompt the user to change the position or posture of the mobile phone, and then step 1204 may be executed again.

[0167] The schematic diagram of the mobile phone interface change in this case can be found in Figure 13 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0168] In some embodiments, if it is determined based on the first position information of the satellite that no beam coverage covers the second direction pattern of the satellite, the mobile phone may also display the content shown in Figure 13 to determine whether to establish a connection again or end the connection.

[0169] In some other embodiments, the present application may also set different confidence levels for the first directional patterns obtained in different situations, and then integrate the confidence levels and received signal strengths to comprehensively consider whether to communicate with the satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0170] For example, because sensors that measure position information, attitude information, and the like have certain errors, different error values ​​can correspond to different confidence levels for the first directional map. For example, if the sensor error is low, indicating a high accuracy of the determined first directional map, a higher confidence level can be set for the first directional map. Similarly, if the sensor error is high, indicating a low accuracy of the first directional map, a lower confidence level can be set for the first directional map.

[0171] Furthermore, when there is an overlap between the two patterns, the confidence level of the first pattern can be determined based on a combination of sensor errors and whether the satellites are currently in the overlap area. For example, if the sensor errors are the same, the confidence level of the first pattern is higher if the satellites are in the overlap area, and lower if the satellites are in the non-overlap area.

[0172] In this case, the strength judgment condition of the received signal strength can refer to the following formula (1).

[0173] RSRP1-(1-n)*RSRP2>z dB Formula (1)

[0174] Among them, n represents the confidence of the first directional pattern (ie, the first confidence); z represents the intensity threshold (ie, the fourth threshold), and the intensity threshold in this case can be flexibly adjusted according to the actual application scenario, and this application does not limit this.

[0175] That is, in this embodiment, no matter whether the number of initial directional patterns is one or more, after the mobile phone determines the first directional pattern, it can determine whether the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern meets the strength condition based on the above formula (1).

[0176] In some other embodiments, in step 1205, if it is determined that there are two initial directional patterns, a first directional pattern may be determined based on the received signal strengths of the two initial directional patterns. For example, a determination is made as to whether the received signal strengths corresponding to the two initial directional patterns within the overlapping region are both greater than a third threshold. If so, the initial directional pattern with the greater received signal strength is used as the first directional pattern. If only one initial directional pattern has a received signal strength greater than the third threshold, that initial directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern. If the received signal strengths of both initial directional patterns are not greater than the third threshold, the steps shown in FIG. 13 are performed.

[0177] In the above method, after the mobile phone determines the first pattern, it further determines whether the first received signal strength corresponding to the first pattern meets a first strength condition. This first strength condition varies depending on the location of the satellite. This method, through two determinations, ultimately determines the first pattern for communication with the satellite, increasing the accuracy of the first pattern and improving communication quality.

[0178] FIG14 shows another flow chart of a mobile phone communicating with a low-orbit satellite based on a first directional pattern at opportunity 1. As shown in FIG14 , the process includes the following steps:

[0179] 1401: Start.

[0180] 1402: Whether there is a GPS signal.

[0181] It can be understood that if the GPS signal can be searched, step 1404 is executed; if the GPS signal cannot be searched, step 1403 is executed.

[0182] 1403: Searching for GPS signal.

[0183] It can be understood that the principles of the above steps 1401-1403 are roughly the same as those of the previous steps 1201-1203, and will not be repeated here.

[0184] 1404: Determine the relative position relationship between the antenna beam center and multiple satellites.

[0185] It is understood that the method for determining the relative position relationship between the antenna beam center and each satellite has been described above and will not be repeated here. In addition, this step can be implemented based on the relative position relationship determination module inside the mobile phone.

[0186] 1405: Determine at least one satellite identifier of at least one satellite that meets the location condition based on the relative position relationship, the attitude information of the mobile phone, and the directional pattern information.

[0187] It can be understood that the satellites meeting the location conditions may refer to satellites located within the coverage areas of the multiple direction patterns of the mobile phone.

[0188] 1406: Detect the received signal strengths between each directional pattern of the mobile phone and different satellites, and use the satellite and directional pattern with the largest received signal strength as the satellite to be communicated with and the first directional pattern, respectively.

[0189] It can be understood that when the mobile phone does not communicate with the satellite based on the directional pattern, the mobile phone can detect the beam coverage range of each directional pattern of the mobile phone based on the internal sensor and receive the strength of the signal sent by each satellite, such as the broadcast signal sent by the satellite.

[0190] For example, a mobile phone has two corresponding patterns A and B, and there are three satellites C, D, and E that meet the location conditions. Then, the mobile phone can detect the signal strength between pattern A and satellites C, D, and E respectively to obtain RSRP. AC ,RSRP AD ,RSRP AE Similarly, RSRP can be obtained by detecting the signal strength between pattern B and satellites C, D, and E. BC ,RSRP BD ,RSRP BE Then, select RSRP AC ,RSRP AD ,RSRP AE ,RSRP BC ,RSRP BD ,RSRP BE The satellite corresponding to the maximum value is used as the satellite to be communicated, and the directional pattern corresponding to the maximum value is selected as the first directional pattern. That is to say, the mobile phone can subsequently communicate with the satellite to be communicated based on the first directional pattern.

[0191] Exemplarily, this step may be implemented by a satellite and direction pattern determination module within the mobile phone.

[0192] 1407: Establish a communication connection with the satellite to be communicated based on the first direction pattern.

[0193] The following describes in detail how the mobile phone communicates with the low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern at opportunity 2. FIG15 shows a flow chart of how the mobile phone communicates with the low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern at opportunity 2. As shown in FIG15 , the process includes the following steps:

[0194] 1501: Start.

[0195] In the embodiment of the present application, timing 2 for re-determining the first pattern may be when the mobile phone is already communicating with the satellite based on a pattern, and the posture of the mobile phone changes, the position of the mobile phone relative to the satellite changes, the quality of the satellite communication signal is poor, or the mobile phone is disconnected from the satellite. For details, please refer to the content shown in Figure 7 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0196] 1502: Based on the first position information of the satellite, determine whether the current beam coverage covers at least one initial direction pattern of the satellite.

[0197] It can be understood that the principle of this step is consistent with the principle of step 902 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0198] 1503: Is the number of initial directional patterns one?

[0199] It is understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the two patterns may or may not have an overlapping area. If there is one initial pattern, step 1504 is executed to use the initial pattern as the first pattern. If there are multiple initial patterns (two in this embodiment), it means that the satellite is in the overlapping area of ​​the two patterns, and step 1507 is executed to determine the first pattern from the two initial patterns.

[0200] 1504: Use the initial directional pattern as the first directional pattern.

[0201] 1505: Determine based on the RX measurement comparison module 1 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0202] If yes, step 1506 can be executed to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern. If no, the mobile phone can display the content shown in Figure 13 above.

[0203] 1506: Establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern.

[0204] 1507: Determine a first direction pattern from the two initial direction patterns based on the direction of movement of the satellite relative to the mobile phone.

[0205] It can be understood that the principles of the above steps 1504-1507 are the same as those of the previous steps 1206-1209, and will not be repeated here.

[0206] 1508: Is the first directional pattern the same as the directional pattern currently used by mobile phones to communicate with satellites?

[0207] It can be understood that the directional pattern currently used by mobile phones and satellite communications is the fifth directional pattern mentioned above.

[0208] If so, the direction pattern is not switched and step 1502 is executed again; if not, step 1509 is executed to determine whether the first received signal strength of the first direction pattern meets the first strength condition.

[0209] 1509: Determine based on the RX measurement comparison module 2 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0210] If yes, then step 1506 is executed to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern. If no, then the mobile phone may display the content shown in FIG. 13 above.

[0211] It can be understood that, similar to the principle shown in FIG12 , in other embodiments, if the number of initial directional patterns is determined to be two, the first directional pattern can be determined based on the received signal strengths of the two initial directional patterns. For example, it is determined whether the received signal strengths corresponding to the two initial directional patterns in the overlapping region are both greater than a third threshold. If so, the initial directional pattern with the greater received signal strength is used as the first directional pattern. If only one initial directional pattern has a received signal strength greater than the third threshold, that initial directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern. If the received signal strengths of both initial directional patterns are not greater than the third threshold, the above-mentioned steps shown in FIG13 are executed.

[0212] It can be understood that the above-mentioned method of communicating with the low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern at opportunity 2 only involves switching directional patterns, but does not involve switching satellites.

[0213] For example, when the position of the mobile phone does not change, since the low-orbit satellite is moving relative to the mobile phone, when the satellite moves out of the mobile phone's visual range (for example, to the other hemisphere), the mobile phone will be unable to communicate with the low-orbit satellite. In this case, the mobile phone can determine the first directional pattern of the target low-orbit satellite in the current beam coverage range based on the target low-orbit satellite sent by the star network, and then establish a communication connection with the target low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern.

[0214] As shown in Figure 6 above, both low-orbit satellite 503 and low-orbit satellite 601 are moving from left to right. When low-orbit satellite 503 is about to move out of the visual range of mobile phone 201, mobile phone 201 can receive the corresponding identifier of low-orbit satellite 601 from the star network, indicating that mobile phone 201 can prepare to establish a communication connection with low-orbit satellite 601. Mobile phone 201 can then determine that the beam coverage range covers the first pattern of low-orbit satellite 601 and establish a communication connection with low-orbit satellite 601 based on the first pattern.

[0215] The following describes in detail how the mobile phone communicates with the target low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern in this case. Figure 16 shows a flow chart of how the mobile phone communicates with the target low-orbit satellite based on the first directional pattern in opportunity 2. As shown in Figure 16, the process includes the following steps:

[0216] 1601: Startup.

[0217] In this embodiment, if the mobile phone receives the target low-orbit satellite sent by the star network, the mobile phone can start to determine the first direction pattern.

[0218] 1602: Based on the first position information of the target low-orbit satellite, determine whether the current beam coverage range covers at least one initial direction pattern of the target low-orbit satellite.

[0219] 1603: Is the number of initial directional patterns one?

[0220] If yes, execute step 1604; if no, execute step 1607 to determine the first directional pattern from the multiple initial directional patterns.

[0221] 1604: Use the initial directional pattern as the first directional pattern.

[0222] 1605: Determine based on the RX measurement comparison module 1 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0223] If yes, step 1606 can be executed to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern. If no, the mobile phone can display the content shown in Figure 13 above.

[0224] 1606: Establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern.

[0225] 1607: Determine a first direction pattern from the two initial direction patterns based on the direction of movement of the satellite relative to the mobile phone.

[0226] It can be understood that the principles of the above steps 1602-1607 are the same as those of the previous steps 1204-1209, and will not be repeated here.

[0227] 1608: Determine based on the RX measurement comparison module 2 whether the first strength condition is met?

[0228] If yes, then step 1606 is executed to establish a communication connection with the satellite based on the first direction pattern. If no, then the mobile phone may display the content shown in FIG. 13 above.

[0229] It can be understood that, similar to the principle shown in FIG12 , in other embodiments, if the number of initial directional patterns is determined to be two, the first directional pattern can be determined based on the received signal strengths of the two initial directional patterns. For example, it is determined whether the received signal strengths corresponding to the two initial directional patterns in the overlapping region are both greater than a third threshold. If so, the initial directional pattern with the greater received signal strength is used as the first directional pattern. If only one initial directional pattern has a received signal strength greater than the third threshold, that initial directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern. If the received signal strengths of both initial directional patterns are not greater than the third threshold, the above-mentioned steps shown in FIG13 are executed.

[0230] Case 2: The satellite is a high-orbit satellite.

[0231] It can be understood that the process of the mobile phone communicating with the high-orbit satellite based on the first pattern at opportunity 1 is basically the same as the process shown in Figure 12 above. For details, please refer to the description of Figure 12 above. It should be noted that since the high-orbit satellite is stationary relative to the earth, if the position of the mobile phone does not change, the relative position information between the high-orbit satellite and the mobile phone will not change. Therefore, when determining the first pattern from the two initial patterns, the pattern with a larger effective beam coverage range can be used as the first pattern. In this case, the method of determining the first pattern can be specifically referred to the relevant description of Figure 11B above, which will not be repeated here.

[0232] Furthermore, since high-orbit satellites are stationary relative to the Earth, the satellite switching scenario described in Figure 16 above is generally not involved. The process by which the mobile phone communicates with the high-orbit satellite based on the first pattern at opportunity 2 is essentially the same as that shown in Figure 15 above. For details, please refer to the description of Figure 15 above.

[0233] The above only describes the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by taking mobile phone and satellite communication as an example. It can be understood that the method of selecting a first directional pattern from multiple directional patterns in the present application can also be applied to the communication between mobile phones and base stations. The principle is the same, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0234] The satellite communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, regardless of whether the mobile phone is communicating with a high-orbit satellite or a low-orbit satellite, can select a preferred first directional pattern from the multiple directional patterns, whose current beam coverage covers the satellite, based on the current position information, attitude information of the mobile phone, and the first position information of the satellite, regardless of whether the mobile phone is communicating with a high-orbit satellite or a low-orbit satellite. Compared to the case of only one directional pattern, the mobile phone can directly determine that the beam coverage covers the first directional pattern of the satellite, and can communicate with the satellite without changing its position or attitude, thereby improving the convenience of the communication process and enhancing the user experience.

[0235] Furthermore, after determining the first directional pattern, the method further determines the received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern. Communication with the satellite based on the first directional pattern is only initiated if the received signal strength meets the strength requirement. This ensures the quality of communication between the phone and the satellite, improving the user experience.

[0236] In some embodiments, the present application also provides a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the satellite communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0237] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide an electronic device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories; one or more memories storing one or more programs, and when one or more programs are executed by one or more processors, the electronic device executes the satellite communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0238] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including: execution instructions, the execution instructions are stored in a readable storage medium, at least one processor of the electronic device can read the execution instructions from the readable storage medium, and at least one processor executes the execution instructions so that the electronic device implements the satellite communication method described in the above embodiment.

[0239] Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 17, the electronic device may include a processor 110, an external memory interface 120, an internal memory 121, a universal serial bus (USB) interface 130, a charging management module 140, a power management module 141, a battery 142, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 150, a wireless communication module 160, an audio module 170, a speaker 170A, a receiver 170B, a microphone 170C, an earphone interface 170D, a sensor module 180, a button 190, a motor 191, an indicator 192, a camera 193, a display 194, and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card interface 195. The sensor module 180 may include a pressure sensor 180A, a gyroscope sensor 180B, an air pressure sensor 180C, a magnetic sensor 180D, an acceleration sensor 180E, a distance sensor 180F, a proximity light sensor 180G, a fingerprint sensor 180H, a temperature sensor 180J, a touch sensor 180K, an ambient light sensor 180L, etc.

[0240] It is understood that the structures illustrated in the embodiments of the present invention do not constitute specific limitations on the electronic device. In other embodiments of the present application, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or arrange the components differently. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0241] The processor 110 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU). The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0242] The controller can generate operation control signals according to the instruction operation code and timing signal to complete the control of instruction fetching and execution.

[0243] Processor 110 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in processor 110 is a cache memory. This memory can store instructions or data that have just been used or are being recycled by processor 110. If processor 110 needs to use the same instruction or data again, it can directly access it from the memory. This avoids duplicate accesses, reduces processor 110 latency, and thus improves system efficiency. The processor can be used to execute the satellite communication method described herein.

[0244] The external memory interface 120 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the electronic device. The external memory card communicates with the processor 110 via the external memory interface 120 to implement data storage functions. For example, files such as music and videos can be stored on the external memory card.

[0245] The internal memory 121 can be used to store computer executable program code, which includes instructions. The internal memory 121 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area can store an operating system, an application required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area can store data created during the use of the electronic device (such as audio data, a phone book, etc.), etc. In addition, the internal memory 121 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, a universal flash storage (UFS), etc. The processor 110 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running instructions stored in the internal memory 121 and / or instructions stored in a memory provided in the processor.

[0246] The SIM card interface 195 is used to connect a SIM card.

[0247] It will be understood that, as used herein, the term "module" may refer to or include, or be part of, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and / or other appropriate hardware components that provide the described functionality.

[0248] It is understood that in each embodiment of the present application, the processor can be a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, etc., and / or any combination thereof. According to another aspect, the processor can be a single-core processor, a multi-core processor, etc., and / or any combination thereof.

[0249] The various embodiments disclosed in this application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these implementation methods. The embodiments of the present application can be implemented as a computer program or program code executed on a programmable system, which includes at least one processor, a storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device.

[0250] Program code can be applied to input instructions to perform the functions described herein and generate output information. The output information can be applied to one or more output devices in a known manner. For purposes of this application, a processing system includes any system having a processor such as, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a microprocessor.

[0251] Program code can be implemented with a high-level programming language or an object-oriented programming language to communicate with the processing system. Where necessary, program code can also be implemented in assembly language or machine language. In fact, the mechanism described in this application is not limited to the scope of any particular programming language. In either case, the language can be a compiled language or an interpreted language.

[0252] In some cases, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosed embodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried or stored on one or more temporary or non-temporary machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) storage media, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. For example, the instructions may be distributed over a network or through other computer-readable media. Therefore, a machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), including but not limited to floppy disks, optical disks, optical discs, read-only memories (CD-ROMs), magneto-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or a tangible machine-readable memory for transmitting information (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.) using the Internet in electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagation signals. Therefore, a machine-readable medium includes any type of machine-readable medium suitable for storing or transmitting electronic instructions or information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).

[0253] In the accompanying drawings, some structural or method features may be shown in a particular arrangement and / or order. However, it should be understood that such a particular arrangement and / or order may not be required. Rather, in some embodiments, these features may be arranged in a manner and / or order different from that shown in the illustrative drawings. In addition, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in a particular figure does not imply that such feature is required in all embodiments, and in some embodiments, such features may not be included or may be combined with other features.

[0254] It should be noted that the units / modules mentioned in the various device embodiments of the present application are all logical units / modules. Physically, a logical unit / module can be a physical unit / module, or a part of a physical unit / module, or can be implemented as a combination of multiple physical units / modules. The physical implementation of these logical units / modules themselves is not the most important. The combination of functions implemented by these logical units / modules is the key to solving the technical problems raised by this application. In addition, in order to highlight the innovative part of this application, the above-mentioned device embodiments of this application do not introduce units / modules that are not closely related to solving the technical problems raised by this application. This does not mean that other units / modules do not exist in the above-mentioned device embodiments.

[0255] It should be noted that in the examples and description of this patent, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "including a" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device that includes the element.

[0256] While the present application has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: Applied to electronic equipment, the method includes: Obtaining first position information of the satellite; Based on the first position information, selecting a first directional pattern whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite from a plurality of directional patterns of the electronic device; Communicate with the satellite based on the first direction pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The current beam coverage is determined based on current location information and current posture information of the electronic device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The multiple directional patterns are obtained through multiple physical antennas inside the electronic device, or by changing multiple different antenna matching circuits of a physical antenna inside the electronic device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The communicating with the satellite based on the first direction pattern includes: The first received signal strength corresponding to the first direction pattern meets a first strength condition, and communication is performed with the satellite.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: If the first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern does not meet the first strength condition, a user guide map is displayed, wherein the user guide map is used to prompt the user to rotate and / or move the electronic device.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When the satellite is only within the current beam coverage of the first pattern, the first strength condition is: a first received signal strength of the first pattern within a first area is greater than a first threshold, and a difference between the first received signal strength and a second received signal strength of a second pattern within the first area of the multiple patterns is greater than a second threshold, and the first area is determined based on the current beam coverage. When the satellite is in an overlapping area of the first radiation pattern and the second radiation pattern, the first strength condition is: the first received signal strength is greater than the first threshold.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The plurality of directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having overlapping areas, and The selecting, based on the first position information, a first directional pattern whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite from a plurality of directional patterns of the electronic device includes: When the satellite is in the overlapping area, determining that current beam coverage ranges of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern both cover the satellite; A first direction pattern is selected from the third direction pattern and the fourth direction pattern based on a moving direction of the satellite.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The selecting, based on the moving direction of the satellite, the first direction pattern from the third direction pattern and the fourth direction pattern comprises: Corresponding to the satellite moving from the first direction to the second direction, and the third direction pattern being located in the first direction of the fourth direction pattern, the fourth direction pattern is used as the first direction pattern.

9. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The plurality of directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having overlapping areas, and The selecting, based on the first position information, a first directional pattern whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite from a plurality of directional patterns of the electronic device includes: When the satellite is in the overlapping area, determining that current beam coverage ranges of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern both cover the satellite; Corresponding to the received signal strength of the third directional pattern in the overlapping area and the received signal strength of the fourth directional pattern in the overlapping area being greater than a third threshold, the directional pattern with the greater received signal strength between the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern; Corresponding to the fact that only one of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern has a received signal strength greater than the third threshold, the directional pattern with a received signal strength greater than the third threshold is used as the first directional pattern.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the received signal strengths corresponding to the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern are both not greater than the third threshold, a user guide map is displayed, wherein the user guide map is used to prompt the user to rotate and / or move the electronic device.

11. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: In response to selecting the first directional pattern, determining whether the first directional pattern is the same as a fifth directional pattern among the plurality of directional patterns currently used for communication with the satellite, and the first directional pattern and the fifth directional pattern have an overlapping area; corresponding to the first directional pattern being different from the fifth directional pattern, determining whether a first received signal strength corresponding to the first directional pattern in the first area meets a second strength condition; corresponding to the first received signal strength satisfying the second strength condition, communicating with the satellite based on the first direction pattern; The second strength condition is that the first received signal strength is greater than a first threshold.

12. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first pattern has a corresponding first confidence level, and The first strength condition is: A difference between a first received signal strength of the first directional pattern in the first area and a corrected value of a second received signal strength of a second directional pattern in the first area of the multiple directional patterns is greater than a fourth threshold; The correction value of the second received signal strength is determined based on the product of the second received signal strength and a second confidence level, and the sum of the first confidence level and the second confidence level is one.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first confidence level is determined based on the first position information, current position information of the electronic device, and accuracy of the current posture information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The plurality of directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having overlapping areas, and The first confidence level is also determined based on the overlapping area.

15. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The plurality of directional patterns include a third directional pattern and a fourth directional pattern having overlapping areas, and The selecting, based on the first position information, a first directional pattern whose current beam coverage range covers the satellite from a plurality of directional patterns of the electronic device includes: The directional pattern corresponding to the larger effective beam coverage included in the overlapping area of the third directional pattern and the fourth directional pattern is used as the first directional pattern.

16. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; One or more memories; the one or more memories store one or more programs, and when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the electronic device executes the satellite communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the satellite communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that include: Computer instructions, when the computer instructions are executed on an electronic device, enable the electronic device to perform the satellite communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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