CN111224701B

CN111224701B - Beam forming device, method, device and equipment for controlling beam forming

Info

Publication number: CN111224701B
Application number: CN201811422333.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄晶晶; 陈军; 刘鹏; 王光健; 王斌
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-27
Filing date: 2018-11-27
Publication date: 2022-07-12
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-27
Also published as: CN111224701A

Abstract

The application provides a beam forming device, a method, a device and equipment for controlling beam forming. The beam forming device includes: the antenna comprises a baseband unit, a precoding module, at least two groups of channels, S combiner groups and S antenna sub-arrays, wherein each group of channels comprises S channels, each channel comprises a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiving module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are connected in sequence, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 1; one end of the pre-coding module is connected with the baseband unit, and the other end of the pre-coding module is respectively connected with the DAC/ADC in each channel of the at least two groups of channels; each combiner group in the S combiner groups is respectively connected with at least two phase shifter arrays and an antenna sub-array, each phase shifter array in the at least two phase shifter arrays belongs to different groups of channels, and the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent. The number of terminal devices which can be connected to a satellite is increased.

Description

Beam forming device, method, device and equipment for controlling beam forming

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of satellite communications technologies, and in particular, to a beam forming apparatus, a method, an apparatus, and a device for controlling beam forming.

Background

In the satellite internet, a terminal device may communicate with other network devices (e.g., core network devices, other terminal devices, etc.) through a satellite. The satellite forms spot beam-to-ground coverage by using a beam forming technology, and terminal equipment in the spot beam coverage can access the satellite and communicate with other network equipment through the satellite.

Currently, many satellites cover the ground by using an adjustable spot beam, that is, the satellites can adjust the direction of the spot beam to cover different geographical areas in the ground at different times. In the prior art, a beam forming device in a satellite is generally a hybrid beam forming device, a subarray in the hybrid beam forming device can form a subarray pattern at the same time, a high gain range of the subarray pattern can form a coverage area on the ground, and a plurality of spot beams with higher gains can be further formed in the coverage area by using a digital beam forming technology. Typically only terminal devices within the high gain coverage area of the subarray pattern may access the satellite. In the above process, since the high-gain coverage area is small, the number of terminal devices that can access the satellite is small.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a beam forming device, a method, a device and equipment for controlling beam forming, which improve the number of terminal equipment which can be accessed to a satellite.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a beamforming apparatus, comprising: the antenna comprises a baseband unit, a precoding module, at least two groups of channels, S (S is an integer greater than or equal to 1) combiner groups and S antenna sub-arrays, wherein each group of channels comprises S channels, each channel comprises a DAC/ADC, a radio frequency transceiving module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are sequentially connected, one end of the precoding module is connected with the baseband unit, and the other end of the precoding module is respectively connected with the DAC/ADC in each channel of the at least two groups of channels; each combiner group in the S combiner groups is respectively connected with at least two phase shifter arrays and an antenna sub-array, each phase shifter array in the at least two phase shifter arrays belongs to different groups of channels, and the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent.

In the beam forming device provided by the application, the phase shifter configurations of each group of channels are mutually independent, one phase shifter configuration can enable the beam forming device to form a subarray directional diagram, and when the phase shifter configurations of each group of channels are different, the beam forming device can form at least two subarray directional diagrams. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be connected to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence of the switching on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

In a possible implementation, one end of the ith combiner group is connected to the phase shifter array in the ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the ith combiner group is connected to the ith antenna sub-array, where i is 1,2, … … S in sequence.

In a possible implementation, the phase shifter array includes T phase shifters, each combiner group includes T combiners, each antenna sub-array includes T antenna units, T is an integer greater than 1, wherein one end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected to the jth phase shifter in the ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected to the jth antenna unit in the ith antenna sub-array, where i is sequentially 1,2, … … S, and j is sequentially 1,2, … … T.

In a possible implementation manner, the phase shifter array includes T phase shifters, where the power divider is connected to the T phase shifters, respectively, and is configured to divide a signal received from the radio frequency transceiver module into T signals and send a kth signal of the T signals to a kth phase shifter of the T phase shifters, where k is 1,2, … … T; the power divider is further configured to combine the signals received from the T phase shifters into one signal, and send the signal to the rf transceiver module.

In a possible embodiment, the at least two sets of channels include at least one of a TDD channel set and a FDD channel set, where the TDD channel set includes S TDD channels, and the FDD channel set includes S FDD channels.

When a TDD mode terminal device and an FDD mode user terminal coexist in a service area of a satellite, a phase shifter configuration in a TDD channel group may be determined according to information (for example, the number of terminal devices, a service of the terminal device, a priority of the terminal device, and the like) of the TDD mode terminal device in the service area, and a spot beam may be transmitted according to the phase shifter configuration in the TDD channel group, so that the spot beam covers the TDD mode terminal device. Determining the configuration of phase shifters in the FDD channel group according to information (e.g., the number of terminal devices, the service of the terminal device, the priority of the terminal device, etc.) of the terminal device in FDD mode in the service area, and transmitting a spot beam according to the configuration of the phase shifters in the FDD channel group so that the spot beam covers the terminal device in FDD mode. Furthermore, the number of data streams allocated to each channel may be determined according to the information of the terminal device in TDD mode and the information of the terminal device in FDD mode, so that the beamforming apparatus can simultaneously serve the terminal devices in two modes (TDD mode and FDD mode).

In a possible implementation mode, the input end of the DAC is connected with the pre-coding module, and the output end of the DAC is connected with the radio frequency transceiving module. The input end of the ADC is connected with the radio frequency transceiving module, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

In a possible implementation manner, the TDD channel includes an ADC, a DAC, a power amplifier PA, a low noise amplifier LNA, a link selector, a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider, and a phase shifter array, where an output end of the DAC is connected to an input end of the PA, an output end of the PA is connected to one end of the link selector, and another end of the link selector is connected to the radio frequency transceiver module. One end of the link selector is further connected with the input end of the LNA, the output end of the LNA is further connected with the input end of the ADC, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

In a possible implementation manner, the FDD channel includes an ADC, a DAC, a PA, an LNA, a circulator, a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider, and a phase shifter array, wherein an output terminal of the DAC is connected to an input terminal of the PA, an output terminal of the PA and one end of the circulator are connected to the circulator, and the other end of the circulator and the radio frequency transceiver module are connected. One end of the circulator is further connected with the input end of the LNA, the output end of the LNA is further connected with the input end of the ADC, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for controlling beamforming, applied to a first satellite, where a beamforming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, and phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are independent of each other, the method including: determining at least two geographical areas to be covered; determining configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in a beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device according to at least two geographic areas, wherein the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each point beam; and controlling the beam forming device to transmit the spot beam according to the configuration information and the coding information.

In the above process, since the beam forming apparatus includes two sets of channels, the two sets of channels are respectively configured with phase shifters, so that the first satellite can cover the area 1 through the channel set 1 and cover the area 2 through the channel set 2. That is, at the same time, the first satellite may form two high gain coverage areas in the service area so that more terminal devices may access the satellite. The first satellite does not need to switch the high-gain coverage area between the area 1 and the area 2, and further, the influence on the service of the terminal equipment is avoided.

In one possible embodiment, determining configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in a beamforming device according to at least two geographic regions comprises: determining a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels; determining a subarray directional diagram corresponding to each geographic area; and determining configuration information of phase shifters in the ith group of channels according to a subarray directional diagram corresponding to the ith geographical area, wherein the ith geographical area corresponds to the ith group of channels, i is 1,2, … … and N in sequence, the beam forming device comprises N groups of channels, and N is an integer greater than 1.

In the process, for each geographic area, the subarray directional diagram corresponding to the geographic area is determined, and then the configuration information of the phase shifter in the channel corresponding to the geographic area is determined according to the subarray directional diagram corresponding to the geographic area, so that the configuration information of the phase shifter in each channel can be accurately determined and obtained.

In one possible embodiment, determining the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels includes: determining the type of each geographic area, wherein the types of the geographic areas comprise a first type and a second type, the first type of geographic area comprises terminal equipment in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode, and the second type of geographic area comprises terminal equipment in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode; and determining the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels in the beam forming device of the first satellite according to the type of each geographic area, wherein the TDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the first type, and the FDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the second type.

In the above process, when the geographic area includes the terminal device in TDD mode, it is determined that the TDD channel corresponds to the geographic area. And when the geographical area comprises the terminal equipment in the FDD mode, determining that the FDD channel corresponds to the geographical area. And further, the beam forming device can be controlled to carry out accurate beam forming.

In one possible embodiment, determining the coding information of the precoding module in the beamforming device according to at least two geographical areas includes: determining a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area; determining the forming direction of each point beam according to the point beam corresponding to each geographical area, wherein the forming direction of the point beam corresponding to one geographical area is positioned in a subarray directional diagram of the geographical area; and determining the coding information of a precoding module in the beamforming device according to the forming direction of each point beam.

In the above process, for each geographic area, the forming direction of the spot beam corresponding to the geographic area is determined, so that the forming direction of the spot beam corresponding to the geographic area is located in the subarray directional diagram of the geographic area, and further, the coding information of the precoding module can be accurately determined according to the forming direction of the spot beam.

In one possible embodiment, determining the spot beam corresponding to each geographic area includes: and determining the spot beam corresponding to each geographic area according to at least one of the number of the terminal equipment in each geographic area or the service information of the terminal equipment in each geographic area.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: determining that a first terminal device is located in an overlapping region of geographic regions covered by a first satellite and a second satellite, the first satellite moving in a direction away from the first terminal device, the second satellite moving in a direction closer to the first terminal device; and sending first switching indication information to the second satellite, wherein the first switching indication information comprises the position of the first terminal equipment, and the first switching indication information is used for indicating the second satellite to adjust the spot beam direction according to the position of the first terminal equipment.

In the process, in the process of switching the terminal device from the first satellite to the second satellite, only the directions of partial spot beams of the first satellite and the second satellite need to be adjusted, and the service of other terminal devices in the coverage range of the first satellite does not need to be interrupted, and the service of other terminal devices in the coverage range of the second satellite does not need to be interrupted, so that the reliability of satellite switching is improved.

In one possible implementation, after sending the first handover indication information to the second satellite, the method further includes: receiving a first switching response message sent by a second satellite, wherein the first switching response message is used for indicating the first terminal equipment to be switched to the second satellite; and releasing the spot beam covering the first terminal equipment according to the first switching response message.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving second switching indication information sent by a third satellite, wherein the second switching indication information comprises the position of second terminal equipment; and adjusting the spot beam direction of the first satellite according to the position of the second terminal equipment so that the spot beam of the first satellite covers the second terminal equipment.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment determines the coverage range of a first spot beam, the first spot beam is the spot beam transmitted by a first satellite, the beam forming device of the first satellite comprises at least two groups of channels, the phase shifter configuration in each group of channels is independent, the first spot beam is determined by the first satellite according to the configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and the coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, and the coding information comprises the amplitude weight and the phase weight of each spot beam; the terminal device accesses the first satellite through the first spot beam.

In one possible embodiment, the configuration information and the coding information are determined for the first satellite from the position of the terminal.

In the above process, the beam forming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, the phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are independent from each other, one phase shifter configuration may enable the beam forming device to form one subarray directional diagram, and when the phase shifter configurations of each group of channels are different, the beam forming device may form at least two subarray directional diagrams. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be connected to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus for controlling beamforming for a first satellite, the beamforming apparatus of the first satellite comprising at least two groups of channels, the phase shifter configuration in each group of channels being independent of each other, the apparatus comprising a first determining module, a second determining module, and a control module, wherein,

the first determining module is used for determining at least two geographic areas to be covered;

the second determining module is configured to determine, according to the at least two geographic areas, configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beamforming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beamforming device, where the coding information includes an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each point beam;

the control module is used for controlling the beam forming device to transmit the spot beam according to the configuration information and the coding information.

In a possible implementation manner, the second determining module is specifically configured to:

determining a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels;

determining a subarray directional diagram corresponding to each geographic area;

determining configuration information of phase shifters in an ith group of channels according to a subarray directional diagram corresponding to an ith geographical area, wherein the ith geographical area corresponds to the ith group of channels, i is 1,2, … … and N in sequence, the beam forming device comprises N groups of channels, and N is an integer greater than 1.

In one possible implementation, the first determining module is configured to:

determining the type of each geographic area, wherein the types of the geographic areas comprise a first type and a second type, the geographic area of the first type comprises terminal equipment in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode, and the geographic area of the second type comprises terminal equipment in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode;

and determining the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels in the beam forming device of the first satellite according to the type of each geographic area, wherein the TDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the first type, and the FDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the second type.

In one possible implementation, the second determining module is configured to:

determining a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area;

determining the forming direction of each point beam according to the point beam corresponding to each geographical area, wherein the forming direction of the point beam corresponding to one geographical area is positioned in a subarray directional diagram of the geographical area;

and determining the coding information of a precoding module in the beamforming device according to the forming direction of each point beam.

In one possible implementation, the second determining module is configured to:

and determining the spot beam corresponding to each geographic area according to at least one of the number of the terminal equipment in each geographic area or the service information of the terminal equipment in each geographic area.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a third determining module and a sending module, wherein,

the third determining module is configured to determine that a first terminal device is located in an overlapping area of geographic areas covered by the first satellite and the second satellite, the first satellite moving in a direction away from the first terminal device, and the second satellite moving in a direction close to the first terminal device;

the sending module is configured to send first handover indication information to the second satellite, where the first handover indication information includes a position of the first terminal device, and the first handover indication information is used to indicate the second satellite to adjust a spot beam direction according to the position of the first terminal device.

In a possible embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a receiving module, wherein,

the receiving module is configured to receive a first handover response message sent by the second satellite after the sending module sends first handover indication information to the second satellite, where the first handover response message is used to indicate that the first terminal device is handed over to the second satellite;

the control module is further configured to release the spot beam covering the first terminal device according to the first handover response message.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive second handover indication information sent by a third satellite, where the second handover indication information includes a location of a second terminal device;

the control module is further configured to adjust a spot beam direction of the first satellite according to the position of the second terminal device, so that the spot beam of the first satellite covers the second terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising a determining module and an accessing module, wherein,

the determining module is configured to determine a coverage area of a first spot beam, where the first spot beam is a spot beam transmitted by the first satellite, a beam forming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, the phase shifter configuration in each group of channels is independent, the first spot beam is determined by the first satellite according to configuration information of the phase shifter in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, and the coding information includes an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam;

the access module is configured to access the first satellite through the first spot beam.

In a possible embodiment, the configuration information and the coding information are determined by the first satellite according to the position of the terminal device.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus for controlling beamforming, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the processor executes program instructions in the memory, and is configured to implement the method for controlling beamforming according to any one of the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a memory and a processor, where the processor executes program instructions in the memory to implement the communication method according to any one of the second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing the method for controlling beamforming according to any one of the first aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing the communication method according to any one of the second aspects.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a satellite comprising the beamforming apparatus of any one of the first aspect and the apparatus for controlling beamforming shown in the sixth aspect.

According to the beam forming device, the method, the device and the equipment for controlling the beam forming, the beam forming device comprises a plurality of groups of channels, the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent, one phase shifter configuration can enable the beam forming device to form one subarray directional diagram, and when the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is different, the beam forming device can form at least two subarray directional diagrams. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be accessed to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence of the switching on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a satellite transmitting an adjustable spot beam provided herein;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam forming apparatus provided in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a channel provided herein;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another beamforming device provided in the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a TDD channel provided in the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an FDD channel provided in the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a spot beam provided herein;

fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling beamforming according to the present application;

FIG. 9A is a schematic illustration of a subarray pattern provided by the present application;

FIG. 10A is a schematic view of a beam profile provided herein;

FIG. 10B is a schematic illustration of another spot beam provided herein;

fig. 11 is a flow chart illustrating another method for controlling beamforming provided herein;

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a satellite handoff provided herein;

fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided herein;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for controlling beam forming according to the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus for controlling beam forming provided in the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an apparatus for controlling beamforming according to the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a communication device provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 1, the satellite 101, a terminal device (terminal device)102, a gateway (Gate Way, GW)103, and a core network 104 are included.

The satellites 101 may transmit multiple spot beams at the same time, each spot beam may cover a geographic area, the multiple spot beams may cover different areas, and the geographic areas of the ground covered by the different spot beams may have overlapping areas. For example, satellite 101 may transmit three spot beams at the same time that cover geographic area a, geographic area B, and geographic area C of the ground, respectively. The geographic regions illustrated herein may include airborne regions, marine regions, land regions (including remote regions).

The Terminal device 102 includes, but is not limited to, a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (Mobile Terminal), a Mobile phone (Mobile Telephone), a Mobile phone (handset), a portable device (portable equipment), a vehicle-mounted Mobile device or device, and the like. When terminal device 102 is located within the coverage area of satellite 101's spot beam, then terminal device 102 may access satellite 101.

The gateway 103 is disposed on the ground, and the gateway 103 may establish communication with the satellite 101, for example, the satellite 101 may communicate with the gateway 103 through the feeder circuit, and the gateway 103 may also establish communication with the core network 104 on the ground, so that the satellite 101 may access the core network 104 through the gateway 103.

It should be noted that fig. 1 illustrates only one application scenario in an exemplary manner, and the technical solution shown in the present application may also be applied to other scenarios, which are not specifically limited in the present application.

In practical applications, the satellite may transmit spot beams in a fixed spot beam manner or an adjustable spot beam manner. When the satellite transmits the spot beam by the fixed spot beam, the satellite transmits the spot beam according to the geographical area served by (or covered by) the satellite, so that the spot beam can fully cover the geographical area served by the satellite in real time. For example, each satellite in the iridium satellite system is equipped with 48L-band fixed-point beams, and the 48L-band fixed-point beams can fully cover the service area of the satellite in real time. When the satellite transmits the spot beams in the adjustable spot beam mode, the spot beams transmitted by the satellite cannot fully cover the service area of the satellite in real time, and the satellite adjusts the spot beams transmitted by the satellite according to the service requirements of the terminal equipment in the service area of the satellite, so that the transmitted spot beams cover the terminal equipment with the service requirements in the service area of the satellite. For example, an additional 30 hundred million (O3 billion, O3b) system has 12 Ka-band steerable spot beams per satellite, which at the same time do not completely cover the service area of the satellite, but the satellite can steer its transmitted steerable spot beam so that the steerable spot beam covers a different area of its service area.

The technical solution shown in the present application can be applied to a scene of an adjustable spot beam, and for facilitating understanding of the present application, the following describes in detail a process of transmitting an adjustable spot beam by a satellite with reference to fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a satellite transmitting an adjustable spot beam provided herein. Referring to fig. 2, a service area of the satellite 201 is a service area X, and at the same time, a high-gain coverage area of the satellite 201 is a part of the service area X. For example, the service area X of the satellite 201 may be several thousand square kilometers, while the high-gain coverage area of the satellite 201 is typically several tens of square kilometers. It is assumed that the number M of spot beams emitted by the satellite 201 at the same time is 16, and of course, M may have other values, which is not specifically limited in this application.

In practical applications, the satellite 201 may periodically scan its service area X such that the high-gain coverage area of the satellite 201 covers different areas in the service area X. During the scanning by the satellite 201, the satellite 201 may determine a terminal device having a service requirement, for example, during the scanning by the satellite, when a terminal device located in a high-gain coverage area has a service requirement, the terminal device may request to access the satellite 201. The satellite 201 can adjust the direction of its transmitted spot beam according to the location of the terminal device with service requirement, so that the transmitted spot beam covers the terminal device with service requirement.

For example, at time T1, assuming that the terminal devices in geographic area X1 have traffic demand, satellite 202 may determine a subarray pattern according to geographic area X1, determine configuration information according to the subarray pattern, and adjust the direction of its transmitted spot beam according to the configuration information so that the transmitted spot beam covers area X1, see fig. 2, and at time T1, 16 spot beams transmitted by satellite 201 cover geographic area X1. At time T2, assuming that the terminal devices in geographic area X2 have traffic demand, satellite 202 may determine a subarray pattern according to geographic area X2, determine configuration information according to the subarray pattern, and adjust the direction in which its spot beam is transmitted according to the configuration information, so that the transmitted spot beam covers area X2, see fig. 2, and at time T2, 16 spot beams transmitted by satellite 201 cover geographic area X2.

The high-gain coverage area of the satellite shown in the present application refers to an area with a gain within a preset range, for example, the high-gain coverage area may be a coverage area with a gain (a-3) dB to AdB, where a is the maximum gain of the spot beam. In the high-gain coverage area, the satellite signal received by the terminal device is strong, so that the terminal device can perform data communication service with the satellite 201. The service area of the satellite, except for the high-gain coverage area, is a low-gain coverage area in which the satellite signal received by the terminal device is weak, and the terminal device may not perform data communication service with the satellite 201 according to the weak satellite signal.

In the practical application process, one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one geographical area. If a satellite can form only one subarray pattern at a time, the satellite can correspondingly cover only one geographical area within its service area at the same time, resulting in a smaller number of terminal devices that can access the satellite. Further, when the terminal devices in different geographic areas in the service area of the satellite have service requirements at the same time, the satellite needs to switch the high-gain coverage range, so that different terminal devices can complete the service. For example, referring to fig. 2, in the T1 timeslot, a plurality of terminal devices in the geographic area X1 have traffic needs, and the plurality of terminal devices are all located in a high gain coverage area (spot beam coverage area) of the satellite. Assuming that a high priority terminal in the geographic area X2 has a traffic demand during the T2 time slot and the traffic for the multiple terminals is not complete, the satellite needs to disconnect from the multiple terminals in the geographic area X1 and adjust the spot beam direction to allow one terminal in the geographic area X2 to access the satellite. After the service processing of the terminal equipment in the geographic area X2 is completed, the spot beam direction is adjusted, the connection with one terminal equipment in the geographic area X2 is disconnected, and a plurality of terminal equipment in the geographic area X1 are enabled to access the satellite.

In view of the above, the present application provides a beamforming apparatus disposed in a satellite, wherein the beamforming apparatus can form at least two subarray directional diagrams at the same time, so that the satellite can cover at least two geographical areas in a service area of the satellite at the same time. In this way, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, thereby enabling more terminal devices to access the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

The technical means shown in the present application will be described in detail with reference to specific examples. It should be noted that the following embodiments may exist independently or may be combined with each other, and the description of the same or similar contents is not repeated in different embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam forming apparatus provided in the present application. Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a channel provided in the present application. The beamforming device shown in fig. 3 may be located in a satellite, with the channels shown in fig. 4 being part of the beamforming device shown in fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 3-4, the beamforming apparatus may include a baseband unit 301, a precoding module 302, at least two groups of channels 303, S combiner groups 304, and S antenna subarrays 305, where each group of channels 303 includes S channels, each channel includes a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)/Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider, and a phase shifter array connected in sequence, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 1. One end of the pre-coding module is connected with the baseband unit, and the other end of the pre-coding module is respectively connected with the DAC/ADC in each channel of the at least two groups of channels. Each combiner group in the S combiner groups is respectively connected with at least two phase shifter arrays and an antenna sub-array, each phase shifter array in the at least two phase shifter arrays belongs to different groups of channels, and the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent.

Optionally, the baseband unit may be a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) module.

The baseband unit is connected with the precoding module, and the baseband unit can generate a baseband signal and send the baseband signal to the precoding module. The baseband unit may transmit a plurality of baseband signals (data streams) simultaneously, the number of the data streams transmitted by the baseband unit is the same as the number of spot beams that can be transmitted by the satellite, and each data stream transmitted by the baseband unit may form one spot beam.

For example, assuming that the satellite can transmit M (M is an integer greater than 1) spot beams, the baseband unit can simultaneously transmit M data streams, which can form M spot beams.

The baseband unit can also receive the digital signal sent by the pre-coding module and process the digital signal. For example, the baseband unit may convert the digital signal into a baseband signal.

One end of the pre-coding module is connected with the baseband unit, and the other end of the pre-coding module is respectively connected with the DAC/ADC in each channel of the at least two groups of channels. The pre-coding module may receive a plurality of data streams (baseband signals) transmitted by the baseband unit, determine a channel corresponding to each data stream, and transmit the data streams to the corresponding channels. For example, the pre-coding module may determine a channel group corresponding to each data stream and send the data stream to all channels in the channel group. One data stream may correspond to one channel group, i.e. one data stream corresponds to one group of channels.

Optionally, the precoding module (or other components in the satellite) may determine the forming direction of each point beam according to a geographical area to be covered, and determine the value of each element in the data precoding matrix according to the forming direction of each point beam. The pre-coding module can control the amplitude and phase of the data stream sent to each channel according to the value of each element in the digital pre-coding matrix, thereby realizing the effect of digital beam forming.

For example, assuming that a group of channels includes S channels, for any data stream 1, the data stream 1 corresponds to a first group of channels, S channels in the first group of channels are respectively denoted as channel 11, channel 12, … …, and channel 1S, and a data precoding matrix corresponding to the data stream 1 includes S weight values, which are respectively denoted as w (1,1), w (1,2), … …, and w (1, S), the data stream 1 may be processed by w (1,1), and the processed data stream 1 is sent to the channel 11, the data stream 1 may be processed by w (1,2), and the processed data stream 1 is sent to the channel 12, … …, the data stream 1 is processed by w (1, S), and the processed data stream 1 is sent to the channel 1S.

Optionally, the number of the channel groups included in the beam forming device is at least two, for example, the number of the channel groups may be 2, 3, 4, and the like, and certainly, in the actual application process, the number of the channel groups may be set according to actual needs.

It should be noted that each group of channels includes S channels, and the structure of each channel may be the same. Referring to fig. 4, for any one channel in any one group of channels in the multiple groups of channels, the DAC/ADC, the radio frequency transceiver module, the power divider, and the phase shifter array are sequentially connected.

Referring to fig. 4, the input terminal of the DAC is connected to the precoding module, and the output terminal of the DAC is connected to the rf transceiver module. The input end of the ADC is connected with the radio frequency transceiving module, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

Optionally, when the beam forming device transmits a signal, the DAC starts working and the ADC stops working; when the beam forming device receives signals, the DAC stops working, and the ADC starts working. That is, during the process of transmitting signals by the beam forming device, the DAC converts the received digital signals into analog signals; during the process of receiving signals by the beam forming device, the DAC converts the received analog signals into digital signals.

Optionally, the radio frequency transceiver module may be a radio frequency link (radio frequency chain). The radio frequency transceiving module is used for receiving the analog signal sent by the DAC and sending the analog signal to the power divider. The radio frequency receiving module is also used for receiving the analog signal sent by the power divider and sending the analog signal to the ADC.

Optionally, the power divider may receive a signal sent by the radio frequency module and divide the signal into a plurality of signals, for example, the power divider may divide the signal into a plurality of signals on average. The power divider may further receive a plurality of signals transmitted by the phase shifter array and combine the plurality of signals into one signal, for example, the power divider may superimpose the plurality of signals to obtain one signal.

Optionally, the phase shifter array includes a plurality of phase shifters connected in parallel, and each phase shifter is configured to adjust a phase of a signal received from the power divider. The number of phase shifters included in one phase shifter array is generally the same as the number of combiners included in one combiner group and the number of antenna elements included in one antenna sub-array.

Optionally, each combiner group includes a plurality of combiners. For example, the combiner may be a summer.

Optionally, each antenna subarray includes a plurality of antenna elements.

Each combiner group is respectively connected with at least two phase shifter arrays, and each phase shifter array in the at least two phase shifter arrays belongs to different groups of channels, namely, each combiner group is connected with the phase shifter arrays in at least two groups of channels.

Each combiner group is also connected with one antenna sub-array, and the combiner groups and the antenna sub-arrays can have one-to-one correspondence.

Alternatively, the phase shifter configuration for each group of channels may be the same or different.

The beam forming device comprises a plurality of groups of channels, the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent, one phase shifter configuration can enable the beam forming device to form a subarray directional diagram, and when the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is different, the beam forming device can form at least two subarray directional diagrams. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be accessed to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence of the switching on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

In addition to any of the above embodiments, the beam forming apparatus will be described in further detail with reference to the embodiment shown in fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another beamforming apparatus provided in the present application.

Referring to fig. 5, one end of the ith combiner group is connected to the phase shifter array in the ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the ith combiner group is connected to the ith antenna subarray, where i is 1,2, and … … S in sequence.

For example, one end of the 1 st combiner group is connected to the phase shifter array in the 1 st channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the 1 st combiner group is connected to the 1 st antenna sub-array. One end of the 2 nd combiner group is connected with the phase shifter array in the 2 nd channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the 2 nd combiner group is connected with the 2 nd antenna subarray, and so on.

Referring to fig. 5, the phase shifter array may include T phase shifters (T is not shown), each combiner group includes T combiners, each antenna sub-array includes T antenna elements, and T is an integer greater than 1. One end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected with the jth phase shifter in the ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected with the jth antenna unit in the ith antenna subarray, wherein i is 1,2, … … S in sequence, and j is 1,2, … … T in sequence.

For example, one end of the 1 st combiner in the 1 st combiner group is connected to the 1 st phase shifter in the 1 st channel in each group of channels, the other end of the 1 st combiner in the 1 st combiner group is connected to the 1 st antenna unit in the 1 st antenna sub-array, one end of the 2 nd combiner in the 1 st combiner group is connected to the 2 nd phase shifter in the 1 st channel in each group of channels, the other end of the 2 nd combiner in the 1 st combiner group is connected to the 2 nd antenna unit in the 1 st antenna sub-array, and so on.

Referring to fig. 5, the phase shifter array includes T phase shifters (T is not shown in the figure), wherein the power divider is respectively connected to the T phase shifters, and is configured to divide a signal received from the radio frequency transceiver module into T signals and send a kth signal of the T signals to a kth phase shifter of the T phase shifters, where k is 1,2, and … … T in sequence; the power divider is further configured to combine the signals received from the T phase shifters into one signal, and send the signal to the rf transceiver module.

Optionally, the at least two groups of channels include at least one of a TDD channel group and a FDD channel group, where the TDD channel group includes S TDD channels, and the FDD channel group includes S FDD channels.

When a TDD mode terminal device and an FDD mode user terminal coexist in a service area of a satellite, a phase shifter configuration in a TDD channel group may be determined according to information (for example, the number of terminal devices, a service of the terminal device, a priority of the terminal device, and the like) of the TDD mode terminal device in the service area, and a spot beam may be transmitted according to the phase shifter configuration in the TDD channel group, so that the spot beam covers the TDD mode terminal device. Determining the configuration of phase shifters in the FDD channel group according to information (e.g., the number of terminal devices, the service of the terminal device, the priority of the terminal device, etc.) of the terminal device in FDD mode in the service area, and transmitting a spot beam according to the configuration of the phase shifters in the FDD channel group so that the spot beam covers the terminal device in FDD mode. Furthermore, the number of data streams allocated to each group of channels may be determined according to the information of the terminal device in TDD mode and the information of the terminal device in FDD mode, so that the beamforming apparatus can simultaneously serve the terminal devices in both modes (TDD mode and FDD mode).

Optionally, the TDD channel and the FDD channel have different structures. The structure of the TDD channel and the FDD channel will be described in detail below.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a TDD channel provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 6, the TDD channel includes an ADC, a DAC, a Power Amplifier (PA), a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a link selector, a radio frequency transceiver module, a Power divider, and a phase shifter array.

The output end of the DAC is connected with the input end of the PA, the output end of the PA is connected with one end of the link selector, and the other end of the link selector is connected with the radio frequency transceiving module. One end of the link selector is further connected with the input end of the LNA, the output end of the LNA is further connected with the input end of the ADC, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

Alternatively, the link selector may be a two-way switch that communicates with either the PA or the LNA at the same time.

When the beam forming device transmits signals, the link selector is communicated with the PA and disconnected with the LNA, so that the DAC can convert digital signals received from the pre-coding module into analog signals, the analog signals are amplified by the PA and then transmitted to the radio frequency transceiver module, and in this case, the radio frequency transceiver module cannot transmit signals to the LNA.

When the beam forming device receives signals, the link selector is communicated with the LNA and disconnected from the PA, so that the radio frequency transceiver module can send analog signals to the LNA, the LNA processes the analog signals and sends the processed analog signals to the ADC, the ADC converts the processed analog signals into digital signals and sends the digital signals to the precoding module, and under the condition, the signals cannot be sent to the radio frequency module.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an FDD channel provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 7, the FDD channel includes an ADC, a DAC, a PA, an LNA, a circulator, a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider, and a phase shifter array.

The output end of the DAC is connected with the input end of the PA, and the output end of the PA and one end of the circulator are connected with the other end of the circulator and connected with the radio frequency transceiving module. One end of the circulator is further connected with the input end of the LNA, the output end of the LNA is further connected with the input end of the ADC, and the output end of the ADC is connected with the precoding module.

When the beam forming device transmits a signal, the circulator is turned on in the forward direction (data transmitted by the PA can be transmitted to the rf transceiver module), so that the DAC can convert a digital signal received from the precoding module into an analog signal, and after the analog signal is amplified by the PA, the amplified analog signal is transmitted to the rf transceiver module, in which case, the rf transceiver module cannot transmit a signal to the LNA.

When the beam forming device receives signals, the circulator is conducted reversely (data sent by the radio frequency transceiver module can be sent to the LNA), so that the radio frequency transceiver module can send analog signals to the LNA, the LNA processes the analog signals and sends the processed analog signals to the ADC, the ADC converts the processed analog signals into digital signals and sends the digital signals to the pre-coding module, and in this case, the circulator cannot send signals to the radio frequency module.

Based on any of the above embodiments, the position of the spot beam emitted by the beam forming device will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a spot beam provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 8, a service area X of the satellite includes a geographic area corresponding to configuration 1, a geographic area corresponding to configuration 2, and a geographic area corresponding to configuration N … ….

And the geographic area corresponding to each configuration comprises geographic areas corresponding to M point beams, wherein M is the maximum number of the point beams transmitted by the satellite.

For example, when the configuration of the channel group is configuration 1, the geographic areas corresponding to the M spot beams are B1_1, B1_2, … …, and B1_ M. When the configuration of the channel group is configured with N, the geographical areas corresponding to the M spot beams are BN _1, BN _2, … …, BN _ M.

Alternatively, the configuration shown in the embodiment of fig. 8 may be a phase shifter configuration for a group of channels.

Optionally, one phase shifter configuration corresponds to one geographic area, that is, when the phase shifter configuration is configuration i, the spot beam emitted by the beam forming apparatus according to configuration i is located in the geographic area corresponding to configuration i.

Alternatively, a spot beam typically corresponds to a channel group, which may correspond to one or more spot beams. In the practical application process, the corresponding relationship between the channel group and the spot beam can be determined according to the practical requirement.

Optionally, the high gain range of a channel group of a satellite in one configuration is related to the number of spot beams corresponding to the group of channels.

For example, assuming that the configuration of one channel group is configuration 1, the channel group corresponds to 5 spot beams, and the high gain range of the channel group under configuration 1 includes the range corresponding to the 5 spot beams.

Optionally, the high-gain coverage area of the satellite includes: each group of channels in the beam forming device has a high gain range under the configuration of the corresponding phase shifter.

For example, assuming that the beam forming device includes two sets of channels, which are respectively denoted as channel set 1 and channel set 2, and assuming that the configuration of channel set 1 is configuration 1 and the configuration of channel set 2 corresponds to configuration 3, the high-gain coverage area of the satellite includes: a high gain range for channel group 1 in configuration 1, and a high gain range for channel group 2 in configuration 3.

On the basis of any of the above embodiments, the following takes the example of the satellite being provided with the beamforming device shown in any of the above embodiments as an example to describe the beamforming method in detail, specifically, please refer to the embodiments shown in fig. 9 to fig. 12.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling beamforming according to the present application. Referring to fig. 9, the method may include:

s901, the first satellite determines at least two geographic areas to be covered.

It should be noted that, a beam forming device is disposed in the first satellite, and the beam forming device may be the beam forming device shown in any of the above embodiments, and the structure and implementation principle of the beam forming device may refer to any of the above embodiments, and are not described herein again.

Optionally, the size of one geographic area is less than or equal to the size of the largest high-gain coverage area of the first satellite. The maximum high-gain coverage area of the first satellite is related to the number of spot beams supported by the first satellite, and the greater the number of spot beams supported by the first satellite, the greater the maximum high-gain coverage area of the first satellite.

Optionally, the number of the at least two geographic regions is less than or equal to the number of sets of channels included in the beamforming device of the first satellite.

The first satellite has a service area corresponding to the first satellite, the service area is an area on the ground, and at least two geographic areas to be covered are located in the service area of the first satellite.

Alternatively, when the relative position of the first satellite to the earth is fixed, then the service area of the first satellite is fixed. When the relative position of the first satellite to the earth is not fixed, then the service area of the first satellite is not fixed.

Optionally, the first satellite may obtain first information of each terminal device in its service area, and determine at least two geographic areas according to the first information of the terminal device.

Optionally, the first information may include at least one of a location of the terminal device, a service requirement of the terminal device, and a priority of the terminal device. Of course, the first information may also include others, and the present application is not limited to this specifically.

Optionally, when the terminal device has a service requirement, the terminal device may report the first information to the first satellite. Alternatively, the terminal device may periodically report the first information to the first satellite.

For example, when the terminal device has a service requirement, the terminal device sends an access request to the first satellite, and the first information is carried in the access request.

For example, the first satellite may determine a terminal device having a service requirement in its service area, and then determine at least two geographical areas according to the location, priority, and the like of the terminal device having the service requirement. At least two geographical areas cover terminal devices with service requirements.

It should be noted that, when only terminal devices in one geographic area have service requirements in the service area of the first satellite, the first satellite may determine a geographic area covered with terminal devices having service requirements. Alternatively, the first satellite may also determine at least two geographic areas, one of which covers the service requiring terminal device, and the other of which may cover any geographic area.

S902, the first satellite determines configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in a beam forming device of the first satellite and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device according to at least two geographic areas.

The coding information includes an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam.

Alternatively, the first satellite may determine the configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels in the beamforming device by the following feasible implementation manners: the first satellite determines a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels; the first satellite determines a subarray directional diagram corresponding to each geographic area; the first satellite determines configuration information of phase shifters in an ith group of channels according to a subarray directional diagram corresponding to an ith geographic area, wherein the ith geographic area corresponds to the ith group of channels, i is 1,2, … … and N in sequence, the beam forming device comprises N groups of channels, and N is an integer greater than 1.

Optionally, the first satellite may determine the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels through at least two possible implementations as follows:

one possible implementation is: the beamforming means of the first satellite comprises a mode channel (TDD channel or FDD channel).

When the first satellite includes channels in one mode in its beam forming device, the first satellite can arbitrarily determine the correspondence between the channels and the geographic areas, so that each geographic area corresponds to at least one group of channels.

For example, assuming that the beam forming device of the first satellite includes two groups of channels, which are respectively recorded as a channel group 1 and a channel group 2, and assuming that the first satellite determines to obtain two geographic areas, which are respectively recorded as a geographic area 1 and a geographic area 2, the first satellite may determine that the channel group 1 corresponds to the geographic area 1 and the channel group 2 corresponds to the geographic area 2, or the first satellite may determine that the channel group 1 corresponds to the geographic area 2 and the channel group 2 corresponds to the geographic area 1.

For example, assuming that the beam forming device of the first satellite includes three groups of channels, which are respectively denoted as a channel group 1, a channel group 2, and a channel group 3, and assuming that the first satellite determines that two geographic areas are obtained, which are respectively denoted as a geographic area 1 and a geographic area 2, the first satellite may determine that the channel group 1 and the channel group 2 correspond to the geographic area 1 and the channel group 3 corresponds to the geographic area 2, or the first satellite may determine that the channel group 1 corresponds to the geographic area 2 and the channel group 3 correspond to the geographic area 1. Of course, the first satellite may also determine that the corresponding relationship between the channel groups and the geographic regions is other, as long as each geographic region corresponds to at least one channel group.

Another possible implementation: the first satellite has a beam forming device including two modes of channels (TDD and FDD channels).

When the beam forming device of the first satellite comprises the channels in the two modes, the first satellite can determine the type of each geographic area, and determine the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels in the beam forming device of the first satellite according to the type of each geographic area; the types of the geographic areas comprise a first type and a second type, the geographic area of the first type comprises terminal equipment in a TDD mode, the geographic area of the second type comprises terminal equipment in an FDD mode, a TDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the first type, and an FDD channel group corresponds to the geographic area of the second type.

Optionally, if the terminal devices having service requirements in a geographic area are all in the TDD mode, it may be determined that the geographic area is of the first type. If all terminal devices in a geographic area with service requirements are in FDD mode, the geographic area may be determined to be of the second type.

For example, assuming that the beam forming device of the first satellite includes two groups of channels, which are respectively recorded as a channel group 1 and a channel group 2, where the channel group 1 is a TDD channel and the channel group 2 is an FDD channel, assuming that the first satellite determines two geographical areas, which are respectively recorded as a geographical area 1 and a geographical area 2, where the geographical area 1 is of a first type and the geographical area 2 is of a second type, the first satellite determines that the channel group 1 corresponds to the geographical area 1 and the channel group 2 corresponds to the geographical area 2.

Optionally, the first satellite may determine the subarray directional diagram corresponding to each geographic area according to the relative position of the first satellite and each geographic area.

Next, a process of determining the configuration information of the phase shifter will be described with reference to fig. 9A.

Fig. 9A is a schematic diagram of a subarray pattern provided by the present application. Referring to FIG. 9A, assume the subarray pattern is a two-dimensional planar array of M N, where the two-dimensional planar array is locatedIn the area array, M sub-array units are arranged along an x axis at a distance dx, and N sub-array units are arranged along a y axis at a distance dy. The satellite can calculate the azimuth angle theta of the central position of the geographic area to be covered relative to the satellite according to the position of the satellite and the central position of the geographic area to be covered₀And

determining the phase difference beta between two adjacent subarray units in the x-axis direction according to the following formula_xAnd a phase difference β between two adjacent subarray units in the y-axis direction_y：

Wherein, beta_xIs the phase difference between two adjacent subarray units in the x-axis direction, beta_yIs the phase difference between two adjacent subframe units in the y-axis direction,

λ is the wavelength of the satellite transmitted signal.

Aiming at any subarray, according to the phase difference beta between two adjacent subarray units in the x-axis direction_xPhase difference beta between two adjacent subarray units in the y-axis direction_yAnd determining the phase of the subarray unit according to the position of the subarray unit in the subarray directional diagram. The position of the sub-array elements in the sub-array pattern may be indicated by the x-axis and y-axis labels of the sub-array elements in the sub-array pattern. For example, for the m-th sub-array element E in the x-axis and the n-th sub-array element E in the y-axis_mnThe sub-array unit E_mnThe phase of (A) is: (m-1). times.beta._x+(n-1)×β_yWherein M is an integer, N is an integer, M is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M, and N is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

After determining the phase of each sub-array element, configuration information of the phase shifter may be determined according to the phase of each sub-array element.

Optionally, if the ith geographic area corresponds to the ith group of channels, the configuration information of the phase shifters in the ith group of channels may be determined according to the subarray directional diagram corresponding to the ith geographic area.

Wherein a group of channels corresponds to a geographic region, and a geographic region may correspond to one or more groups of channels. When a geographic region corresponds to multiple groups of channels, the phase shifters of the multiple groups of channels are configured identically, that is, the configuration information of the phase shifters in the multiple groups of channels is identical.

After the first satellite determines configuration information of phase shifters in the ith group of channels according to a subarray directional diagram corresponding to the ith geographic area, a spot beam transmitted by the first satellite through the configuration information is in the ith geographic area.

Optionally, the configuration information of the phase shifters in a group of channels includes the phase of each phase shifter in the group of channels.

Optionally, the first satellite may determine the coding information of the precoding module in the beamforming device through the following feasible implementation manners: the first satellite determines a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area; the first satellite determines the forming direction of each spot beam according to the spot beam corresponding to each geographic area, and the forming direction of the spot beam corresponding to one geographic area is located in a subarray directional diagram of the geographic area; and the first satellite determines the coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device according to the forming direction of each point beam.

Optionally, the first satellite may determine the spot beam corresponding to each geographic area according to at least one of the number of terminal devices in each geographic area or service information of the terminal devices in each geographic area.

For example, the number of terminal devices may be the total number of terminal devices in the geographic area, or may be the number of terminal devices having a service at the current time in the geographic area.

For example, the service information may include at least one of an identification of the service, a priority of the service, and an amount of resources required by the service.

For example, the greater the number of terminal devices having a service requirement in a geographic area, the greater the number of spot beams corresponding to the geographic area. The larger the traffic of the terminal device in a geographic area is, the larger the number of spot beams corresponding to the geographic area is.

Optionally, the precoding information includes a weight value of each point beam.

For example, the precoding information includes S weight values (W (1,1), W (1,2), … …, W (1, S)) corresponding to data stream 1, S weight values (W (M,1), W (M,2), … …, W (M, S)) corresponding to data stream 2, … …, and S weight values (W (M,1), W (M,2), … …, W (M, S)) corresponding to data stream M.

Optionally, a preset corresponding relationship exists between the forming direction of the spot beam and the weight value of each spot beam in the coding information, and the coding information may be determined according to the forming direction of the spot beam and the corresponding relationship.

And S903, the first satellite controls the beam forming device to transmit the spot beam according to the configuration information and the coding information.

Optionally, after the first satellite determines to obtain the configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels and the coding information of the precoding module, the first satellite modifies the configuration of the phase shifters in each group of channels according to the configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels, and modifies the weight value of each data stream in the precoding module according to the coding information.

After the first satellite modifies the phase shifter configuration and the weight value of each data stream in the precoding module for each group of channels, the spot beam transmitted by the first satellite may be determined by the first satellite in S901 to obtain at least two geographic areas.

In the beamforming method provided by the present application, the beamforming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, and the phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are independent from each other, so that the first satellite can cover at least two geographic areas in the ground. When the first satellite transmits spot beams, the first satellite determines at least two geographical areas to be covered, determines configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device according to the at least two geographical areas, wherein the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam, and controls the beam forming device to transmit the spot beams according to the configuration information and the coding information. One phase shifter configuration may cause the beam forming means to form one subarray pattern, and when the phase shifter configuration is different for each group of channels, the beam forming means may form at least two subarray patterns. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be accessed to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in a plurality of geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the plurality of geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

The method shown in the embodiment of fig. 9 will be described in detail below by specific examples with reference to fig. 10A to 10B.

Fig. 10A is a schematic diagram of a beam profile provided in the present application. Fig. 10B is a schematic diagram of another spot beam provided in the present application.

Referring to fig. 10A, the service area of the first satellite is a service area X, where more terminal devices have service requirements in an area 1 of the service area X, and fewer terminal devices have service requirements in an area 2 of the service area X. The phase shifters corresponding to the region 1 are arranged in the arrangement 1, and the phase shifters corresponding to the region 2 are arranged in the arrangement 3.

Referring to fig. 10B, a first satellite may transmit 16 spot beams at the same time, and the first satellite may have N phase shifter configurations.

Assuming that the first satellite includes two sets of channels in the beam forming device, which are denoted as channel set 1 and channel set 2, the phase shifter configuration of channel set 1 can be set to configuration 1, so that the first satellite can perform high-gain coverage on area 1 through channel set 1. The phase shifter configuration for channel group 2 may be set to configuration 2 so that the first satellite may have high gain coverage for region 2 through channel group 2.

Since the number of terminal devices with service requirements in the area 1 is large, and the number of terminal devices with service requirements in the area 2 is small, 12 spot beams (spot beam 1-spot beam 12) can be configured for the

channel group

1, and 4 spot beams (spot beam 13-spot beam 16) can be configured for the channel group 2. Thus, the high gain range for region 1 includes 12 spot beam coverage and the high gain range for region 2 includes 4 spot beam coverage.

In the above process, since the beam forming apparatus includes two sets of channels, the two sets of channels are respectively configured with phase shifters, so that the first satellite can cover the area 1 through the channel set 1 and cover the area 2 through the channel set 2. That is, at the same time, the first satellite may form two high gain coverage areas in the service area so that more terminal devices may access the satellite. The first satellite does not need to switch the high-gain coverage area between the area 1 and the area 2, and therefore the influence on the service of the terminal equipment is avoided.

On the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the terminal device may need to be handed over from one satellite to another during movement of the satellite or terminal device. Next, the handover procedure of the terminal device will be described in detail by the embodiment shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another method for controlling beamforming according to the present application. Referring to fig. 11, the method may include:

s1101, the first satellite determines that the first terminal device is located in an overlapping area of geographic areas covered by the first satellite and the second satellite.

The first satellite moves towards the direction far away from the first terminal equipment, and the second satellite moves towards the direction close to the first terminal equipment.

Optionally, the first satellite moves in a direction away from the first terminal device, where a relative position of the first satellite and the earth is fixed, and the first terminal moves in a direction away from the first satellite; or the relative position of the first terminal equipment and the earth is fixed, and the first terminal equipment moves towards the direction far away from the first satellite; or the relative position of the first satellite and the earth is not fixed, the relative position of the first terminal device and the earth is not fixed, and the distance between the first satellite and the first terminal device is increased by the movement of the first terminal device and the first satellite.

Optionally, the second satellite moves towards the direction close to the first terminal device, where the relative position of the second satellite and the earth is fixed, and the first terminal moves towards the direction close to the second satellite; or the relative position of the first terminal equipment and the earth is fixed, and the first terminal equipment moves towards the direction close to the second satellite; alternatively, the relative position of the second satellite to the earth is not fixed, the relative position of the first terminal device to the earth is not fixed, and the movement of the first terminal device and the second satellite brings the distance between the second satellite and the first terminal device closer.

Alternatively, the first satellite may acquire a geographic area (service area) covered by the second satellite and determine the coincidence area based on the geographic area (service area) covered by the first satellite and the geographic area covered by the second satellite.

S1102, the first satellite sends first switching indication information to the second satellite, and the first switching indication information comprises the position of the first terminal device.

The first switching indication information is used for indicating the second satellite to adjust the spot beam direction according to the position of the first terminal equipment.

Optionally, the first handover indication information may further include a rate of the first terminal device, service information, and the like.

Optionally, the service information may include an identifier of the service, a service priority, and the like.

Optionally, the first satellite may send the first handover indication information to the second satellite through the inter-satellite link.

Optionally, the first satellite may further send first indication information to the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate to the first terminal device that the first terminal device is to be switched to the second satellite. Optionally, the first indication information may include information such as a position of the second satellite.

Optionally, after the first terminal device receives the first indication information, if the first terminal device is equipped with a high-gain antenna, the first terminal device may adjust a beam direction, so that the beam direction of the first terminal device is aligned with the second satellite.

S1103, the second satellite adjusts the spot-beam direction of the second satellite according to the position of the first terminal device, so that the spot-beam of the second satellite covers the first terminal device.

Optionally, the second satellite may adjust the direction of the small number of spot beams such that the small number of spot beams of the second satellite cover the first terminal device.

For example, the small number of spot beams may be 1,2, etc.

And S1104, the second satellite sends a first switching response message to the first satellite.

And the first switching response message is used for indicating that the first terminal equipment is successfully switched to the second satellite.

S1105, the first satellite releases the spot beam covering the first terminal device according to the first switching response message.

Optionally, the first satellite may adjust the direction of the spot beam covering the first terminal device so that the spot beam covers other locations.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, in the process of switching the terminal device from the first satellite to the second satellite, only the directions of the partial spot beams of the first satellite and the second satellite need to be adjusted, and the service of other terminal devices in the coverage area of the first satellite does not need to be interrupted, and the service of other terminal devices in the coverage area of the second satellite does not need to be interrupted, thereby improving the reliability of satellite switching.

It should be noted that, in an actual application process, the second terminal device may also switch from the third satellite to the first satellite, and the switching process is similar to the switching process shown in fig. 11, and is not described herein again.

Next, the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 11 will be described in detail by specific examples with reference to fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of satellite handover provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 12, the service area of satellite 1 is service area X1, and the service area of satellite 2 is service area X2. The

satellites

1 and 2 are in flight, and the relative positions of the

satellites

1 and 2 to the ground are not fixed. The flight directions of the satellite 1 and the satellite 2 with respect to the earth are shown in fig. 12.

At time T1 (before handover), there are terminal devices with service requirements in both area 1 and area 3 in service area X1 of satellite 1, and at this time, part of the spot beam of satellite 1 covers area 1 and part of the spot beam covers area 2, so that terminal devices in both area 1 and area 2 can access satellite 1. During the flight of the satellite 1, the satellite 1 detects that the terminal equipment in the area 3 is located in the overlapping area of the coverage of the satellite 1 and the satellite 2, and since the satellite 1 is far away from the terminal equipment in the area 3 and the satellite 2 is close to the terminal equipment in the area 3, the satellite 1 determines that the terminal equipment in the area 3 needs to be switched to the satellite 2, and then the satellite 1 sends a switching request message to the satellite 2, wherein the switching request message includes information such as the position of the terminal equipment in the area 3.

After satellite 2 receives the handover request message sent by satellite 1, satellite 2 adjusts the directions of its partial spot beams so that the partial spot beams cover the terminal devices in area 3, and sends a handover response message to satellite 1 to indicate to satellite 1 that the terminal devices in area 3 complete the handover, and satellite 1 releases the spot beams covering area 3.

At time T2 (after the handoff), satellite 1's spot beam covers region 1 and satellite 2's spot beam covers region 2 and region 3.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 13, the method may include:

s1301, the terminal device determines the coverage range of the first spot beam, wherein the first spot beam is the spot beam emitted by the first satellite.

The first spot beam is determined by the first satellite according to configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, and the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam.

It should be noted that the beam forming device of the first satellite may be the beam forming device shown in any of the above embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

Optionally, the first spot beam is any one of the spot beams transmitted by the first satellite.

Optionally, the configuration information and the coding information are determined by the first satellite according to the position of the terminal device.

It should be noted that, the process of the first satellite transmitting the first spot beam may refer to any one of the above embodiments in fig. 9 to fig. 12, and details are not repeated here.

S1302, the terminal device accesses a first satellite through a first spot beam.

Optionally, when the terminal device has a service requirement, the terminal device may access the satellite through the first spot beam. For example, the terminal device may send an access request to the satellite through the first spot beam.

In the method shown in the embodiment of fig. 13, the beam forming device of the first satellite includes at least two sets of channels, the phase shifter configuration in each set of channels is independent, one phase shifter configuration may enable the beam forming device to form one subarray pattern, and when the phase shifter configuration in each set of channels is different, the beam forming device may form at least two subarray patterns. Because one subarray directional diagram corresponds to one high-gain coverage area in the ground, at least two high-gain coverage areas can be formed in the service area of the satellite at the same time, and further more terminal devices can be accessed to the satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal devices in multiple geographic areas have service requirements at the same time, the satellite only needs to transmit spot beams in the multiple geographic areas at the same time, and the switching of the transmission directions of the spot beams is not needed, so that the influence on the service of the terminal devices is avoided.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for controlling beamforming according to the present application. The apparatus for controlling beam forming 10 may be applied to a first satellite. The beam forming device of the first satellite comprises at least two groups of channels, and the phase shifter configuration in each group of channels is independent. The means for controlling beamforming 10 may control the beamforming means in the first satellite to perform beamforming. Referring to fig. 14, the apparatus for controlling beamforming 10 includes a first determining module 11, a second determining module 12 and a control module 13, wherein,

the first determining module 11 is configured to determine at least two geographic areas to be covered;

the second determining module 12 is configured to determine, according to the at least two geographic areas, configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beamforming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beamforming device, where the coding information includes an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each point beam;

the control module 13 is configured to control the beam forming apparatus to transmit the spot beam according to the configuration information and the coding information.

Alternatively, the apparatus for controlling beamforming 10 may be a part of the baseband unit 301. Alternatively, the apparatus 10 for controlling beamforming may be an apparatus independent of the baseband unit 301.

Alternatively, the apparatus for controlling beam forming 10 may control the beam forming apparatus shown in the embodiments of fig. 3-7 to perform beam forming.

Alternatively, the first determining module 11 may execute S901 in the embodiment of fig. 9.

Alternatively, the second determining module 12 may execute S902 in the embodiment of fig. 9.

Alternatively, the control module 13 may execute S903 in the embodiment of fig. 9.

It should be noted that the apparatus 10 for controlling beam forming may execute the technical solutions shown in the embodiments of the methods in fig. 9-12, and the implementation principles and the beneficial effects thereof are similar, and are not described herein again.

In a possible implementation, the second determining module 12 is specifically configured to:

determining a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels;

In a possible implementation, the first determining module 11 is configured to:

In a possible implementation, the second determining module 12 is configured to:

determining a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area;

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus for controlling beamforming provided in the present application. On the basis of the embodiment of fig. 14, please refer to fig. 15, the apparatus 10 for controlling beam forming further comprises a third determining module 14 and a transmitting module 15, wherein,

the third determining module 14 is configured to determine that a first terminal device is located in an overlapping area of geographic areas covered by the first satellite and a second satellite, where the first satellite moves away from the first terminal device, and the second satellite moves closer to the first terminal device;

the sending module 15 is configured to send first handover indication information to the second satellite, where the first handover indication information includes a position of the first terminal device, and the first handover indication information is used to indicate the second satellite to adjust a spot beam direction according to the position of the first terminal device.

In a possible embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a receiving module 16, wherein,

the receiving module 16 is configured to receive a first handover response message sent by the second satellite after the sending module 15 sends the first handover indication information to the second satellite, where the first handover response message is used to indicate that the first terminal device is handed over to the second satellite;

the control module 13 is further configured to release the spot beam covering the first terminal device according to the first handover response message.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 16 is further configured to receive second handover indication information sent by a third satellite, where the second handover indication information includes a location of a second terminal device;

the control module 13 is further configured to adjust the spot beam direction of the first satellite according to the position of the second terminal device, so that the spot beam of the first satellite covers the second terminal device.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 16, the communication device 20 may include a determination module 21 and an access module 22, wherein,

the determining module 21 is configured to determine a coverage area of a first spot beam, where the first spot beam is a spot beam transmitted by the first satellite, a beam forming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, configurations of phase shifters in each group of channels are independent, the first spot beam is determined by the first satellite according to configuration information of the phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, and the coding information includes an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam;

the access module 22 is configured to access the first satellite through the first spot beam.

Alternatively, the determining module 21 may execute S1301 in the embodiment of fig. 13.

Optionally, the access module 22 may execute S1302 in the embodiment of fig. 13.

It should be noted that the communication device 20 may execute the technical solution shown in the embodiment of the method in fig. 13, and the implementation principle and the beneficial effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 17 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of an apparatus for controlling beamforming according to the present application. Referring to fig. 17, the apparatus 30 for controlling beam forming includes: a memory 31 and a processor 32, wherein the memory 31 and the processor 32 are in communication; illustratively, the memory 31 and the processor 32 communicate via a communication bus 33, the memory 31 being used for storing a computer program, the processor 32 executing the computer program to implement the method shown in the above embodiments.

Optionally, the means for controlling beamforming may further comprise a transmitter and/or a receiver.

Optionally, the Processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps (S901-S903 in the embodiment of fig. 9) of the method disclosed in this application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device provided in the present application. Referring to fig. 18, the communication device 40 includes: a memory 41 and a processor 42, wherein the memory 41 and the processor 42 are in communication; illustratively, the memory 41 and the processor 42 communicate via a communication bus 43, the memory 41 being used for storing a computer program, the processor 42 executing the computer program to implement the method shown in the above embodiments.

Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a transmitter and/or a receiver.

Optionally, the Processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps (S1301-S1302 in the embodiment of fig. 13) of the method disclosed in this application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

The present application provides a storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing a method of controlling beamforming as described in any of the method embodiments above.

The present application provides a storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing the communication method described in any of the above method embodiments.

The present application provides a chip, where the chip is used to support a device for controlling beamforming to implement the functions shown in the embodiments of the present application (e.g., determining at least two geographic areas to be covered, determining configuration information of phase shifters, determining encoding information of precoding modules, etc.), and the chip is specifically used in a chip system, where the chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. When the chip in the receiving device implementing the method includes a processing unit, the chip may further include a communication unit, and the processing unit may be, for example, a processor, and when the chip includes the communication unit, the communication unit may be, for example, an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like. The processing unit performs all or part of the actions performed by the respective processing modules (for example, the first determining module 11, the second determining module 12, the control module 13, and the like in fig. 14) in the embodiment of the present application, and the communication unit may perform corresponding receiving or sending actions. In another specific embodiment, the processing module of the receiving device in the present application may be a processing unit of a chip, and the receiving module or the transmitting module of the apparatus for controlling beamforming is a communication unit of the chip.

The present application provides a chip, where the chip is used for enabling a device of a terminal device to implement the functions shown in the embodiments of the present application (for example, access to the first satellite, etc.), and the chip is specifically used for a chip system, where the chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. When the chip in the receiving device implementing the method includes a processing unit, the chip may further include a communication unit, and the processing unit may be, for example, a processor, and when the chip includes the communication unit, the communication unit may be, for example, an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like. The processing unit performs all or part of the actions performed by the respective processing modules (e.g., the determining module 21 and the accessing module 22 in fig. 16) in the embodiments of the present application, and the communication unit may perform the corresponding receiving or transmitting actions. In another specific embodiment, the processing module of the receiving device in the present application may be a processing unit of a chip, and the receiving module or the transmitting module of the terminal device is a communication unit of the chip.

The present application also provides a satellite comprising beamforming means and means for controlling beamforming. Alternatively, the means for controlling beamforming may be provided in a baseband unit of the beamforming means.

Alternatively, the beam forming device in the satellite may be the beam forming device shown in the embodiments of fig. 3-7.

Alternatively, the means for controlling beamforming in the satellite may be the means for controlling beamforming shown in the embodiments of fig. 14-15.

All or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The aforementioned program may be stored in a readable memory. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned memory (storage medium) includes: read-only memory (ROM), RAM, flash memory, hard disk, solid state disk, magnetic tape (magnetic tape), floppy disk (flexible disk), optical disk (optical disk), and any combination thereof.

Embodiments of the present application are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processing unit of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processing unit of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

In the present application, the terms "include" and variations thereof may refer to non-limiting inclusions; the term "or" and variations thereof may mean "and/or". The terms "first," "second," and the like in this application are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. In the present application, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

Claims

1. A beamforming apparatus, comprising: the antenna comprises a baseband unit, a precoding module, at least two groups of channels, S combiner groups and S antenna sub-arrays, wherein the at least two groups of channels comprise at least one of a time division duplex TDD channel group and a frequency division duplex FDD channel group, the TDD channel group comprises S TDD channels, the FDD channel group comprises S FDD channels, each channel comprises a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiving module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are sequentially connected, one end of the ith combiner group is connected with the phase shifter array in the ith channel in each group of channels, the other end of the ith combiner group is connected with the ith antenna sub-array, wherein i is 1,2 and … … S sequentially, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 1,

one end of the pre-coding module is connected with the baseband unit, and the other end of the pre-coding module is respectively connected with the DAC/ADC in each channel of the at least two groups of channels;

each combiner group in the S combiner groups is respectively connected with at least two phase shifter arrays and an antenna sub-array, each phase shifter array in the at least two phase shifter arrays belongs to different groups of channels, and the phase shifter configuration of each group of channels is mutually independent.

2. The beamforming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the phase shifter array comprises T phase shifters, each combiner group comprises T combiners, each antenna sub-array comprises T antenna elements, and T is an integer greater than 1,

one end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected with the jth phase shifter in the ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the jth combiner in the ith combiner group is connected with the jth antenna unit in the ith antenna sub-array, wherein i is 1,2, … … S in sequence, and j is 1,2, … … T in sequence.

3. The beamforming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the array of phase shifters comprises T phase shifters, wherein,

the power divider is respectively connected to the T phase shifters, and is configured to divide a signal received from the radio frequency transceiver module into T signals and send a kth signal of the T signals to a kth phase shifter of the T phase shifters, where k is 1,2, and … … T in sequence; the power divider is further configured to combine the signals received from the T phase shifters into one signal, and send the signal to the radio frequency transceiver module.

4. A method for controlling beam forming is applied to a first satellite, a beam forming device of the first satellite comprises at least two groups of channels, the at least two groups of channels comprise at least one of a Time Division Duplex (TDD) channel group and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) channel group, the TDD channel group comprises S TDD channels, the FDD channel group comprises S FDD channels, each channel comprises a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are connected in sequence, one end of an ith combiner group is connected with the phase shifter array in the ith channel in each group of channels, the other end of the ith combiner group is connected with an ith antenna subarray, wherein i is 1,2 and … … S in sequence, and the phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are independent from each other, and the method comprises the following steps:

determining at least two geographical areas to be covered;

determining configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device according to the at least two geographical areas, wherein the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each point beam;

and controlling the beam forming device to transmit the spot beam according to the configuration information and the coding information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining configuration information for phase shifters in each group of channels in a beamforming device based on the at least two geographic regions comprises:

determining a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels;

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the geographic area corresponding to each group of channels comprises:

7. The method according to any of claims 4-6, wherein said determining the coding information of the precoding module in the beamforming apparatus according to the at least two geographical areas comprises:

determining a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area;

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the spot beam for each geographic area comprises:

9. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, further comprising:

determining that a first terminal device is located in an overlapping region of geographic areas covered by the first satellite moving in a direction away from the first terminal device and a second satellite moving in a direction closer to the first terminal device;

and sending first switching indication information to the second satellite, wherein the first switching indication information comprises the position of the first terminal equipment, and the first switching indication information is used for indicating the second satellite to adjust the spot beam direction according to the position of the first terminal equipment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein after sending the first handover indication message to the second satellite, further comprising:

receiving a first switching response message sent by the second satellite, wherein the first switching response message is used for indicating the first terminal equipment to be switched to the second satellite;

and releasing the spot beam covering the first terminal equipment according to the first switching response message.

11. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, further comprising:

receiving second switching indication information sent by a third satellite, wherein the second switching indication information comprises the position of second terminal equipment;

and adjusting the spot beam direction of the first satellite according to the position of the second terminal equipment so that the spot beam of the first satellite covers the second terminal equipment.

12. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal device determines a coverage area of a first spot beam, the first spot beam is a spot beam transmitted by a first satellite, a beam forming device of the first satellite comprises at least two groups of channels, the at least two groups of channels comprise at least one of a time division duplex TDD channel group and a frequency division duplex FDD channel group, wherein the TDD channel group comprises S TDD channels, the FDD channel group comprises S FDD channels, each channel comprises a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are sequentially connected, one end of an ith combiner group is connected with a phase shifter array in an ith channel in each group of channels, the other end of the ith combiner group is connected with an ith antenna subarray, wherein i is 1,2 and … … S sequentially, and the phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are mutually independent, the first spot beam is obtained by the first satellite according to configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, wherein the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam;

and the terminal equipment accesses the first satellite through the first spot beam.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration information and the encoded information are determined by the first satellite based on a location of the terminal device.

14. A device for controlling beam forming is applied to a first satellite, the beam forming device of the first satellite comprises at least two groups of channels, the at least two groups of channels comprise at least one of a time division duplex TDD channel group and a frequency division duplex FDD channel group, the TDD channel group comprises S TDD channels, the FDD channel group comprises S FDD channels, each channel comprises a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiver module, a power divider and a phase shifter array which are sequentially connected, one end of an ith combiner group is connected with the phase shifter array in the ith channel in each group of channels, the other end of the ith combiner group is connected with an ith antenna subarray, wherein i is 1,2 and … … S in sequence, the phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are mutually independent, and the device comprises a first determining module, A second determination module and a control module, wherein,

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second determining module is specifically configured to:

determining a geographical area corresponding to each group of channels;

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first determining module is configured to:

17. The apparatus of any one of claims 14-16, wherein the second determining module is configured to:

determining a spot beam corresponding to each geographic area;

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second determining means is configured to:

19. The apparatus according to any of claims 14-16, further comprising a third determining module and a sending module, wherein,

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a receiving module, wherein,

21. The apparatus of claim 20,

the receiving module is further configured to receive second handover indication information sent by a third satellite, where the second handover indication information includes a location of a second terminal device;

22. A communication device, comprising a determination module and an access module, wherein,

the determining module is configured to determine a coverage area of a first spot beam, where the first spot beam is a spot beam transmitted by a first satellite, a beam forming device of the first satellite includes at least two groups of channels, where the at least two groups of channels include at least one of a TDD channel group and a FDD channel group, where the TDD channel group includes S TDD channels, the FDD channel group includes S FDD channels, each channel includes a digital-to-analog converter (DAC/analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a radio frequency transceiver module, a power splitter, and a phase shifter array, which are sequentially connected, one end of an ith combiner group is connected to a phase shifter array in an ith channel in each group of channels, and the other end of the ith combiner group is connected to an ith antenna subarray, where i is sequentially 1,2, … … S, and phase shifter configurations in each group of channels are mutually independent, the first spot beam is obtained by the first satellite according to configuration information of phase shifters in each group of channels in the beam forming device and coding information of a precoding module in the beam forming device, wherein the coding information comprises an amplitude weight and a phase weight of each spot beam;

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the configuration information and the encoded information are determined for the first satellite based on a location of a terminal device.

24. An apparatus for controlling beamforming comprising a memory and a processor executing program instructions in the memory for implementing the method of controlling beamforming of any of claims 4-11.

25. A communication apparatus comprising a memory and a processor, the processor executing program instructions in the memory for implementing the communication method of claim 12 or 13.

26. A storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing the method of controlling beamforming of any of claims 4-11.

27. A storage medium characterized by storing a computer program for implementing the communication method of claim 12 or 13.