CN113890585B

CN113890585B - Satellite communication system, communication method and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN113890585B
Application number: CN202010633262.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 康绍莉; 缪德山; 孙韶辉; 王映民; 毕海
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-02
Filing date: 2020-07-02
Publication date: 2022-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-02
Also published as: CN113890585A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a satellite communication system, a communication method and equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: informing the terminal of relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types; the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band. In the embodiment of the invention, each satellite supports a plurality of beam types, different beam types support different functions, and the bandwidths and powers of different beam types can be statically or dynamically configured, so that the satellite communication system can support large capacity and meet the high-speed requirement of a specific user.

Description

Satellite communication system, communication method and equipment

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a satellite communication system, a communication method and equipment.

Background

Satellite communication systems are designed using a fixed beam approach, i.e., for each satellite in the constellation, it supports multiple beams of fixed shape, each beam having the same bandwidth, and multiple beams can be frequency multiplexed. For example, high-orbit constellations such as maritime satellite (Immarsat), low-orbit constellations such as iridium (Idirium), one-network corporation (Oneweb), and the like all adopt a fixed beam design scheme.

Fig. 1a and 1b show an example of a typical fixed beam low earth satellite communication system, where the entire earth is covered by N = L × M × K fixed beams, where L is the number of orbital planes, M is the number of satellites per orbit, and K is the number of beams per satellite. Each beam uses a fixed bandwidth of B MHz, and the frequency multiplexing between the beams is performed according to a Q-fold relationship, which means that the total bandwidth required by the system for the user link is B × Q MHz. Constellation configuration in fig. 1a, L =12,m =24, single star beam configuration in fig. 1b, K =16,q =4.

However, fixed beam satellite communication systems have limited support for user capacity and rate, and it is difficult to support both high capacity and high rate requirements for a particular user.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a satellite communication system, a communication method, and a device, which solve the problem that a satellite communication system with fixed beams is limited in support of user capacity and rate.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a satellite communication system, including: at least one constellation of satellites, each satellite in the constellation of satellites supporting at least two beam types; the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

Optionally, each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams and a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams, and there is no inter-satellite link between satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams and a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and no inter-satellite link exists between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and there is no inter-satellite link between satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite and a plurality of data beams transparently forwarded, and no inter-satellite link exists between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of processing control beams on the satellite and a plurality of data beams which are transparently forwarded, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams, a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and no inter-satellite link exists between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams, a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite, a plurality of data beams transparently forwarded and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and there is no inter-satellite link between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite, a plurality of data beams transparently forwarded and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation.

Optionally, the control beam corresponds to a primary carrier, the data beam corresponds to a secondary carrier, or the control beam and the data beam belong to different bandwidth portions of the same carrier.

Optionally, the control beam is used for one or more of the following combinations: user access and residence, system information broadcast, data beam activation and deactivation, uplink timing adjustment and user mobility management.

Optionally, the channels or signals supported by the control beam include one or more of the following in combination:

the system comprises a downlink synchronization channel, a physical broadcast channel, a physical random access channel, a physical uplink control channel, a physical downlink control channel, a physical uplink data sharing channel, a physical downlink data sharing channel, a cell reference signal, a demodulation reference signal, a channel sounding reference signal and a phase tracking reference signal.

Optionally, the data beam is used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

Optionally, the channels or signals supported by the data beam include one or more of the following in combination:

the system comprises a synchronization tracking reference signal, a physical random access channel, a physical uplink control channel, a physical downlink control channel, a physical uplink data sharing channel, a physical downlink data sharing channel, a cell reference signal, a demodulation reference signal, a channel sounding reference signal and a phase tracking reference signal.

Optionally, the bandwidth and power of each beam type is statically or dynamically configured.

Optionally, the bandwidth and power of the control beam are statically or dynamically configured based on system capacity requirements; alternatively, the bandwidth and power of the data beam are statically or dynamically configured based on data transmission requirements.

Optionally, the control beam is implemented by a plurality of continuous fixed beams, or the control beam is implemented by a time-division scanning manner by using a plurality of discontinuous fixed beams.

Optionally, the data beam is dynamically generated according to a rate requirement of a user.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, applied to a network device, including:

informing the terminal of relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types;

wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the operating bandwidth and/or power of the different beam types is configured in a static or dynamic manner.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

notifying data beam configuration information of a serving cell of the terminal, wherein the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the data beam is activated or deactivated.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, applied to a network side device, including:

the first sending module is used for informing the terminal of the relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in the satellite communication system supports at least two wave beam types;

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

and the configuration module is used for configuring the working bandwidth and/or power of different beam types in a static or dynamic mode.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a second sending module, configured to notify data beam configuration information of a serving cell of the terminal, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a processing module for activating or deactivating the data beam.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network device, including: a first transceiver and a first processor;

the first transceiver transmits and receives data under control of the first processor;

the first processor reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: notifying the terminal of relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types;

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, applied to a terminal, including:

receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two beam types from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with the terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

acquiring data beam configuration information of a serving cell, wherein the data beam configuration information comprises: a beam frequency configuration and/or a beam direction.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, applied to a terminal, including:

the first receiving module is used for receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two beam types from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a second receiving module, configured to obtain data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: a beam frequency configuration and/or a beam direction.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal, including: a second transceiver and a second processor;

the second transceiver transmits and receives data under the control of the second processor;

the second processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two types of beams from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

Optionally, the second processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: acquiring data beam configuration information of a serving cell, wherein the data beam configuration information comprises: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

Optionally, the terminal allows performing radio resource management measurements on the configured data beams.

Optionally, the terminal initially accesses to the control beam, establishes a radio resource control connection, and reports the user location information.

Optionally, the terminal supports uplink and downlink synchronization on a data beam.

Optionally, the terminal supports deactivation of data beams.

In the embodiment of the invention, each satellite supports multiple beam types, different beam types support different functions, and the bandwidths and powers of different beam types can be statically or dynamically configured, so that the satellite communication system can support large capacity and meet the high-rate requirement of a specific user.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a constellation configuration of a fixed-beam low-orbit satellite communication system;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a single satellite beam configuration for a fixed beam low-orbit satellite communication system;

fig. 2a to fig. 2l are schematic diagrams of constellation configurations and communication manners according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a second flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of satellite communications according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication device;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a network-side device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a second schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, in the description and claims of this application, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the use of "and/or" in the specification and claims means that at least one of the connected objects, such as a and/or B, means that three cases, a alone, B alone, and both a and B, exist.

In the present embodiments, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "such as" in an embodiment of the present invention is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present relevant concepts in a concrete fashion.

The techniques described herein are not limited to 5G New Radio (NR) and may also be used in various wireless communication systems, such as Long term Evolution (Long Time Evolution, LTE)/LTE Evolution (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a) systems, code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems.

The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. CDMA systems may implement Radio technologies such as CDMA2000, universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved-UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (e.g., LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "third Generation Partnership project" (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as for other systems and radio technologies.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a satellite communication system, including: at least one constellation of satellites, each satellite in the constellation of satellites supporting at least two beam types; wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

In an embodiment of the invention, the constellation of satellites may be a geostationary orbit (GEO) constellation, a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation.

Referring to fig. 2a to 2l, the constellation configuration and the communication mode of the satellite communication system can be variously realized according to the different beam types of each satellite.

The method I comprises the following steps: each satellite uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of transparently relayed data beams, without an inter-satellite link between the satellites, see fig. 2a.

The second method comprises the following steps: each satellite uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of transparently relayed data beams, with an inter-satellite link between the satellites, see fig. 2b.

The third method comprises the following steps: each satellite uses a plurality of control beams processed on-board the satellite and a plurality of data beams processed on-board the satellite without an inter-satellite link between the satellites, see fig. 2c.

The method is as follows: each satellite uses a plurality of control beams processed on-board the satellite and a plurality of data beams processed on-board the satellite with an inter-satellite link between the satellites, see fig. 2d.

The fifth mode is as follows: each satellite uses multiple transparently forwarded control beams and multiple on-board processed data beams, with no inter-satellite link between satellites, see fig. 2e.

The method six: each satellite uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of data beams processed on-board the satellite with inter-satellite links between the satellites, see fig. 2f.

The seventh mode comprises the following steps: each satellite uses multiple on-satellite processed control beams and multiple transparently forwarded data beams, with no inter-satellite link between satellites, see fig. 2g.

The method eight: each satellite uses a plurality of on-satellite processed control beams and a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams, with inter-satellite links between satellites, see fig. 2h.

The method is nine: each satellite uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of transparently relayed data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, there is no inter-satellite link between the satellites, see fig. 2i.

The method comprises the following steps: each satellite uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of transparently relayed data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites, as shown in figure 2j.

The eleventh mode: each satellite uses a plurality of on-satellite processed control beams and a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, with no inter-satellite links between satellites, see fig. 2k.

The method twelve: each satellite uses a plurality of on-satellite processed control beams and a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, with inter-satellite links between satellites, see fig. 2l.

It will be appreciated that the multiple data beams of a satellite may correspond to different carriers or different portions of the bandwidth of the same carrier. The carrier herein refers to a frequency band having a specific frequency bandwidth and is represented by a center frequency of the frequency band, which is called a frequency point.

In some embodiments, the control beam corresponds to a primary carrier, the data beam corresponds to a secondary carrier, or the control beam and data beam are configured to use different bandwidth portions of the same carrier.

Optionally, the control beam is used for one or more of the following combinations: the method comprises the steps of (1) user access and residence, (2) system information broadcast, (3) data beam activation and deactivation, (4) uplink timing adjustment and (5) user mobility management.

In some embodiments, the channels or signals supported by the control beam include one or more of the following in combination:

(1) A downlink Synchronization channel (Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS)/Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS));

(2) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH);

the PSS, SSS and PBCH are responsible for downlink synchronization.

(3) Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH);

the PRACH channel is responsible for uplink access.

(4) A Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH);

the PUCCH Channel is responsible for transmitting Information such as positive Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK), channel State Information (CSI), scheduling Request (SR), and the like.

(5) A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH);

the PDCCH channel is responsible for transmitting scheduling information.

(6) Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH);

(7) A Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH);

wherein, the PDSCH and PUSCH channels are used for low-speed data transmission.

(8) Cell Reference Signal (CRS);

and the CRS carries out time-frequency synchronous tracking, doppler frequency shift estimation and downlink channel demodulation.

(9) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS);

wherein, the DMRS performs PUSCH demodulation and frequency offset correction.

(10) A channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS);

the SRS performs uplink timing synchronization, frequency offset estimation, and uplink Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) estimation.

(11) The Phase-tracking reference signals (PT-RS).

Wherein the PT-RS is used for random phase tracking.

In some embodiments, the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

In some embodiments, the channels or signals supported by the data beam include one or more of the following in combination:

(1) A Tracking Reference Signal (TRS);

wherein, the TRS realizes the rapid downlink synchronization.

(2) Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH);

the PRACH channel plays a role in assisting uplink frequency calibration, and the design may be different from that of a control beam. The main reason is that the signal-to-noise ratio range of the data beam is better than that of the control beam, and the length of the PRACH signal can be reduced accordingly.

(3) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH);

(4) A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH);

(5) Physical uplink data shared channel (PUSCH);

(6) A physical downlink data shared channel (PDSCH);

(7) Cell Reference Signals (CRS);

(8) Demodulation reference signals (DMRSs);

(9) A channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS);

(10) The phase tracks the reference signal (PT-RS).

For the above PUCCH/PDCCH, PUSCH/PDSCH, CRS, DMRS, SRS, PT-RS, each channel under the data beam is consistent with the control beam in terms of function and design principle, and the main difference is that the parameters are somewhat different.

In some embodiments, the resource indication of the control channel and the traffic channel on the data beam may be performed by the control beam.

In some embodiments, the bandwidth and power of each beam type is statically or dynamically configured. Compared with a satellite communication system with fixed beams, the satellite communication system provided by the embodiment of the invention can flexibly allocate the bandwidth and the power of various types of beams according to the capacity and the speed requirement of the system, so that the system can support high capacity and high speed.

Illustratively, the bandwidth and power of the control beam are statically or dynamically configured based on system capacity requirements, and frequency multiplexing is performed among a plurality of control beams; or the bandwidth and the power of the data beam are statically or dynamically configured based on the data transmission requirement, and the frequency multiplexing is carried out among a plurality of data beams.

In some embodiments, the control beam required to achieve continuous coverage is implemented by a plurality of continuous fixed beams, or the control beam is implemented by a time-division scanning mode by using a plurality of discontinuous fixed beams. It is understood that the above-mentioned continuity refers to the angular continuity of the plurality of fixed beams or the continuity of the coverage area of the plurality of fixed beams projected onto the ground.

In some embodiments, the data beams are dynamically generated according to the user's rate requirements. For example, the frequencies of the data beams are statically or dynamically allocated within the system bandwidth and out of the band occupied by the control channel.

In some embodiments, the data beam and the control beam may be configured with different frequency bands, that is, the control beam and the data beam may correspond to different frequency bands, respectively.

It is understood that when the data beam of the terminal is configured with multiple frequency bands, carrier aggregation techniques similar to those in 4G or 5G may be employed, for example, the following channels and corresponding signals in the data beam for control: for example, a physical random access channel, a physical uplink control channel, a physical downlink control channel, and the like are configured on only one frequency band, and a channel for transmitting data and corresponding signals, such as a physical uplink data shared channel, a physical downlink data shared channel, and the like, may be configured on multiple frequency bands.

The beam configured with the control-enabling channel in the plurality of data beams becomes a main data beam, and the main data beam in the uplink direction and the main data beam in the downlink direction form a pairing relation, so that the control channel hybrid automatic repeat request technology is adopted conveniently. Meanwhile, the main data beam is configured on a predefined frequency band or bandwidth, which is also beneficial to the fast demodulation of the control signaling carried on the beam.

In some embodiments, the plurality of data beams of the satellite correspond to different carriers or different portions of the bandwidth of the same carrier.

In the embodiment of the invention, each satellite supports a plurality of beam types, different beam types support different functions, and the bandwidths and powers of different beam types can be statically or dynamically configured, so that the satellite communication system can support large capacity and meet the high-speed requirement of a specific user.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, where an execution subject of the method may be a network-side device, for example, a gateway station (ground gateway station), and the method includes the specific steps of: and step 301.

Step 301: informing the terminal of relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types; wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

In an embodiment of the invention, the satellite supports at least two beam types, including: a control beam and a data beam.

In the embodiment of the invention, the satellite can be in a transparent forwarding mode or an on-satellite processing mode.

In the embodiment of the invention, the satellites can have no inter-satellite link or an inter-satellite link.

In some embodiments, the method shown in fig. 3 may further include: the operating bandwidth and/or power of the different beam types is configured in a static or dynamic manner.

In some embodiments, the method shown in fig. 3 may further include: notifying a terminal of data beam (secondary carrier) configuration information in a serving cell, the data beam configuration information including: a beam frequency configuration and/or a beam direction.

In some embodiments, the method shown in fig. 3 may further include: the data beam is activated or deactivated.

In the embodiment of the invention, each satellite supports various beam types, and different beam types support different functions, so that the satellite communication system can support large capacity and meet the high-speed requirement of a specific user.

Referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, where an execution subject of the method may be a terminal, and the method includes the specific steps of: step 401.

Step 401: receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two types of beams from network side equipment in a satellite communication system; wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with the terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

In some embodiments, the method shown in fig. 4 further comprises: acquiring data beam configuration information of a serving cell, wherein the data beam configuration information comprises: a beam frequency configuration and/or a beam direction.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal allows performing Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (RSRP, RSRQ, etc.) on the configured data beam.

In the embodiment of the invention, a terminal is initially accessed into a Control beam (main carrier), establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection and reports user position information.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the terminal has the requirement of uplink data transmission, the terminal sends the request information of data transmission to the network.

In the embodiment of the invention, the terminal supports uplink and downlink synchronization under a data beam, the downlink fast synchronization is realized by using a newly added synchronization tracking reference signal, and the uplink synchronization is corrected or reestablished by using a PRACH channel in the uplink.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the terminal supports deactivation of the data beam.

The satellite communication method and process of the embodiments of the present invention are described in the following twelve manners, that is, each satellite uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite, a plurality of data beams transparently forwarded, and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and an inter-satellite link is provided between the satellites.

Each satellite in the constellation has 3 wave beam types, wherein the control wave beam of the wide wave beam continuously covers the geographic area, and each wave beam corresponds to 1 cell; the transparent transfer spot beams and the data beams to which the on-satellite processing spot beams belong are not continuously covered in a geographic area and are dynamically generated according to the speed requirement of the terminal.

After the terminal is started, the terminal firstly monitors the broadcast system information of the control beam and then accesses to the control beam cell. If no data is sent, entering an inactive state and residing in a network; when data is sent or a paging signal is intercepted, the terminal returns to a connection state, activates a data beam and starts data sending; and when the data is sent, the control beam is returned.

In order to support high-speed data transmission, a high-gain spot beam is responsible for data scheduling and transmission of a user, the spot beam adopts a frequency band different from that of a wide beam, a control beam is a main carrier, and a data beam is an auxiliary carrier. When the user has data demand, the control signaling activates the auxiliary carrier wave through the main carrier wave, and after the auxiliary carrier wave beam is activated, the user transmits data in the auxiliary carrier wave beam; when the data transmission is finished, the network deactivates the connection of the user on the auxiliary carrier, and only keeps the connection with the main carrier.

For the area without the gateway station, the data beam used by the terminal is a data beam of an on-satellite processing type; for the area with the gateway station, the data beam used by the terminal may be a data beam of an on-satellite processing type, a data beam of a transparent forwarding type, or a combination of the data beam of the on-satellite processing type and the data beam of the transparent forwarding type.

As shown in fig. 5, the satellite 1 is located at a position without a suitable gateway station connection, the satellite 2 is located at a position with a gateway station connection, the satellite 1 is located within a coverage area with a terminal a for communication, and the satellite 2 is located within a coverage area with a terminal B and a terminal C for communication. The data of terminal a will be via the user link to satellite 1 via the inter-satellite link to satellite 2 via the feeder link to the gateway station; the data of terminal B will be via the user link to satellite 2 and via the feeder link to the gateway station; the data of terminal C will be processed directly by satellite 2 after being linked to satellite 2 via the user link.

The control beam and the data beam share the operating bandwidth and the transmitting power of the system, and the specific operating bandwidth and the transmitting power of each beam can adopt a static or dynamic configuration mode. If the static configuration is selected, the working bandwidth and the transmitting power of the control beam and the working bandwidth and the transmitting power of the data beam are divided in advance, and each satellite serving the terminal has the same configuration. If the dynamic configuration is selected, the working bandwidth and the transmitting power of the control beam and the working bandwidth and the transmitting power of the data beam are changed according to the conditions of cell load and the like, and a plurality of satellites serving the terminal have different configurations. The multiple frequency points of the control wave beam adopt a frequency multiplexing mode, and the multiple frequency points of the data wave beam can have the same frequency or adopt the frequency multiplexing mode.

Referring to fig. 6, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, which is applied to a network side device, where the apparatus 600 includes:

a first sending module 601, configured to notify, to a terminal, related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types;

Optionally, the apparatus 600 further comprises:

a configuration module 602, configured to configure the operating bandwidth and/or power of different beam types in a static or dynamic manner.

Optionally, the apparatus 600 further comprises:

a second sending module 603, configured to notify the terminal of data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

Optionally, the apparatus 600 further comprises: a processing module 604 for activating or deactivating the data beam.

The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present invention may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, which has similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network-side device, where the network-side device 700 includes: a first transceiver 701 and a first processor 702;

the first transceiver 701 transmits and receives data under the control of the first processor 702;

the first processor 702 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: notifying the terminal of relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in a satellite communication system supports at least two beam types;

Optionally, the first processor 702 reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: the operating bandwidth and/or power of the different beam types is configured in a static or dynamic manner.

Optionally, the first processor 702 reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: notifying data beam configuration information of a serving cell of the terminal, wherein the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

Optionally, the first processor 702 reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: the data beam is activated or deactivated.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, which is applied to a terminal, where the apparatus 800 includes:

a first receiving module 801, configured to receive, from a network-side device in a satellite communication system, related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two beam types;

Optionally, the apparatus 800 further comprises:

a second receiving module 802, configured to obtain data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present invention may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, which has similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal, where the terminal 900 includes: a second transceiver 901 and a second processor 902;

the second transceiver 901 transmits and receives data under the control of the second processor 902;

the second processor 902 reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports at least two beam types from network side equipment in a satellite communication system; wherein the at least two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with the terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band.

Optionally, the terminal supports uplink and downlink synchronization in a data beam, and uses a newly added synchronization tracking reference signal to implement downlink synchronization in the downlink, and uses a PRACH channel to assist uplink frequency alignment in the uplink or reestablish uplink synchronization.

Optionally, the terminal supports deactivation of data beams.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in this invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. 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 processor 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 processor 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 invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A satellite communication system, comprising: at least one constellation of satellites, each satellite in the constellation of satellites supporting two beam types, the two beam types comprising: a control beam and a data beam; wherein the control beam and the data beam are each configured to communicate with terminals within a coverage area using different frequency bands;

the control beam corresponds to a main carrier, the data beam corresponds to an auxiliary carrier, or the control beam and the data beam correspond to different bandwidth parts of the same carrier;

the steering beam is used for one or more of the following combinations: user access and residence, system information broadcast, data beam activation and deactivation, uplink timing adjustment and user mobility management;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein each satellite in the constellation of satellites uses a plurality of transparently relayed control beams and a plurality of transparently relayed data beams, and wherein there are no inter-satellite links between satellites in the constellation of satellites;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of on-board processed control beams and a plurality of on-board processed data beams, and there is no inter-satellite link between satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and no inter-satellite link exists between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparent forwarding control beams and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and an inter-satellite link is arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of transparently forwarded control beams, a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processed data beams, and there is no inter-satellite link between satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of control beams processed on the satellite, a plurality of data beams transparently forwarded and a plurality of data beams processed on the satellite, and no inter-satellite link exists between the satellites in the satellite constellation;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

each satellite in the satellite constellation uses a plurality of on-satellite processing control beams, a plurality of transparently forwarded data beams and a plurality of on-satellite processing data beams, and inter-satellite links are arranged between the satellites in the satellite constellation.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the channels or signals supported by the control beam comprise one or more of the following in combination:

the system comprises a downlink synchronization channel, a physical broadcast channel, a physical random access channel, a physical uplink control channel, a physical downlink control channel, a physical uplink data sharing channel, a physical downlink data sharing channel, a cell reference signal, a demodulation reference signal, a channel detection reference signal and a phase tracking reference signal.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the channels or signals supported by the data beam comprise one or more of the following in combination:

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the bandwidth and power of each beam type is statically or dynamically configured.

6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein the bandwidth and power of the control beam are statically or dynamically configured based on system capacity requirements; alternatively, the bandwidth and power of the data beam are statically or dynamically configured based on data transmission requirements.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the control beam is implemented by a plurality of continuous fixed beams, or the control beam is implemented by a time-division scanning manner using a plurality of discontinuous fixed beams.

8. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the data beams are dynamically generated based on a user's rate requirements.

9. A communication method is applied to a network side device, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

informing the terminal of the relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in the satellite communication system supports two wave beam types;

wherein the two beam types include: a control beam and a data beam, each configured to communicate with the terminals within a coverage area using a different frequency band;

the control beam is used for one or more of the following combinations: user access and residence, system information broadcast, data beam activation and deactivation, uplink timing adjustment and user mobility management;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

notifying the terminal of data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the data beam is activated or deactivated.

13. A communication device applied to a network side device, comprising:

the first sending module is used for informing the terminal of the relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in the satellite communication system supports two beam types;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a second sending module, configured to notify the terminal of data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a processing module for activating or deactivating the data beam.

17. A network-side device, comprising: a first transceiver and a first processor;

the first processor reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: informing the terminal of the relevant information that each satellite in a satellite constellation in the satellite communication system supports two wave beam types;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

18. A communication method applied to a terminal is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports two wave beam types from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

20. A communication apparatus, applied to a terminal, comprising:

the first receiving module is used for receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports two beam types from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

a second receiving module, configured to obtain data beam configuration information of a serving cell, where the data beam configuration information includes: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

22. A terminal, comprising: a second transceiver and a second processor;

the second processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: receiving related information that each satellite in a satellite constellation supports two types of beams from network side equipment in a satellite communication system;

the data beams are used for transmission and/or scheduling of data traffic.

23. The terminal of claim 22, wherein the program in the memory is read by the second processor to perform the following operations: acquiring data beam configuration information of a serving cell, wherein the data beam configuration information comprises: beam frequency configuration and/or beam direction.

24. The terminal of claim 22, wherein the terminal allows rrm measurements on the configured data beams.

25. The terminal of claim 22, wherein the terminal initially accesses a control beam, establishes a radio resource control connection, and reports user location information.

26. The terminal of claim 22, wherein the terminal supports uplink and downlink synchronization on a data beam; and/or the terminal supports deactivation of data beams.