CN114976637A - Antenna control method, antenna module and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to an antenna control method, an antenna module, and a communication device, and the antenna control method includes: when the signal strength of the communication device is less than a first intensity threshold, acquiring field strength distribution information of a communication environment where the communication device is located; Determine the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information, and determine each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one, the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication equipment; control each branch in the target antenna array The antennas transmit and receive signals simultaneously with each target phase corresponding to each other, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold. Based on the above method, the peak gain of the communication device in a specific direction can be improved, thereby improving the communication quality of the signal sent and received by the communication device in the current communication environment.

Description

Antenna control method, antenna module and communication device

technical field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of radio frequency technology, and in particular, to an antenna control method, an antenna module, and a communication device.

Background technique

With the rapid growth of the amount of information, users' demands for communication equipment are also increasing. However, during the communication between the communication device and the peer device, the communication quality often changes due to the location of the peer device, the occlusion of buildings, and other reasons. In some cases, the above situation may even lead to an obvious jam phenomenon during the communication process, which greatly affects the user experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on this, it is necessary to provide an antenna control method, an antenna module and a communication device that can improve the communication quality in view of the above technical problems.

In a first aspect, the present application provides an antenna control method, including:

When the signal strength of the communication device is less than the first strength threshold, acquiring field strength distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located;

Determine a target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information, and determine each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device;

Control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals simultaneously with each of the target phases corresponding to each other, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an antenna module, including:

multiple antennas;

a control module, configured to acquire field intensity distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located when the signal intensity of the communication device is less than a first intensity threshold; determine a target antenna array according to the field intensity distribution information, and determine the target Each antenna in the antenna array corresponds to each target phase in a one-to-one correspondence, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device; control each antenna in the target antenna array to have a one-to-one corresponding to each phase. The target phase transmits and receives signals at the same time, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including the above-mentioned antenna module.

The above antenna control method can determine whether it is in a weak signal scenario according to the current signal strength of the communication device and the first strength threshold. And when it is determined to be in a weak signal scenario, the corresponding multiple antennas are selected according to the communication environment to form the target antenna array, and the target phase of each antenna is determined, so that the signals received and received by the multiple antennas in the target antenna array are effectively superimposed. , so as to increase the peak gain of the communication device in a specific direction, thereby improving the communication quality of the signal sent and received by the communication device in the current communication environment.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings that need to be used in the descriptions of the embodiments or related technologies. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only For some embodiments of the present application, for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained according to these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is an application environment diagram of an antenna control method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is one of the flowcharts of an antenna control method according to an embodiment;

Fig. 3 is one of the schematic diagrams of the antenna position of a communication device;

4 is a flowchart of controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to multiple scanning phase combinations to obtain electric field strengths in multiple directions; and obtaining field strength distribution information according to the electric field strengths in multiple directions;

5 is a flowchart of the steps of an embodiment of determining a target antenna array according to field strength distribution information and a preset radiation pattern of each antenna;

6 is a flow chart of determining each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one according to an embodiment;

7 is a flowchart of the steps of an embodiment of determining a target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna;

Fig. 8 is the second schematic diagram of the antenna position of a communication device;

9 is a flowchart of determining a target antenna array according to a target radiation direction and a preset radiation pattern of each candidate antenna according to an embodiment;

10 is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna module according to an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an internal structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application, but not to limit the present application.

It will be understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. used in this application may be used herein to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish a first element from another element. For example, a first intensity threshold may be referred to as a second intensity threshold, and similarly, a second intensity threshold may be referred to as a first intensity threshold, without departing from the scope of this application. Both the first intensity threshold and the second intensity threshold are intensity thresholds, but they are not the same intensity threshold.

In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature delimited with "first", "second" may expressly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of the present application, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise expressly and specifically defined. In the description of this application, the meaning of "several" is at least one, such as one, two, etc., unless otherwise expressly and specifically defined.

FIG. 1 is an application environment diagram of an antenna control method according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1 , the antenna control method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the application environment shown in FIG. 1 . The communication device 102 communicates with the peer device 104 through an antenna. Among them, the communication device 102 can be, but is not limited to, various personal computers, notebook computers, smart phones, tablet computers, Internet of Things devices and portable wearable devices. IoT devices can be smart speakers, smart TVs, smart air conditioners, smart vehicle-mounted devices, and the like. The portable wearable device may be a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a head-mounted device, or the like. The peer device 104 may be, but is not limited to, a base station, a router, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an antenna control method according to an embodiment. The embodiment of the present application is described by taking the method applied to the communication device 102 in FIG. 1 as an example. The antenna type includes, but is not limited to, an IFA antenna (Inverted-FAntenna) or a PIFA antenna (Planar Inverted F-shaped Antenna). Referring to FIG. 2 , the antenna control method includes steps 202 to 206 .

Step 202, when the signal strength of the communication device is less than the first strength threshold, acquire field strength distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located.

The signal strength of the communication device corresponds to the function supported by the antenna. For example, if the antenna is a WIFI antenna, the signal strength is the current WIFI signal strength of the communication device.

Specifically, the signal strength is used to evaluate the current communication quality of the communication device. Optionally, the signal strength may be a specific value of evaluation indicators such as Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), received power, and the like, and the signal strength may also be a strength level divided by a preset rule. Exemplarily, if the signal strength includes four strength levels, it is displayed on the user interface as one grid, two grids, three grids, and four grids, respectively, from weak to strong. Moreover, the first intensity threshold is set corresponding to the setting manner of the signal intensity. For example, it may be determined that the current signal strength is less than the first strength threshold when the strength level is one or two grids. Wherein, the first strength threshold may be the signal strength when the basic communication function can be guaranteed, for example, the basic communication function is the function of sending and receiving text messages in real time. The first intensity threshold may also be adaptively adjusted according to the current traffic demand of the communication device, and the traffic demand may be determined according to the type of application program currently running on the communication device. For example, if the currently running application is an e-book type application, it can be determined that the traffic demand is low, and a lower first intensity threshold is set.

Step 204: Determine a target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information, and determine each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one.

Wherein, the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device. The field intensity distribution information refers to distribution information of electric field intensity. It can be understood that, the closer to the signal emission source, the greater the electric field strength, that is, the direction of the opposite end device can be known based on the field strength distribution information. Correspondingly, during the communication process, if the signal gain in the direction of the opposite end device is increased, the signal quality of the communication device in the current communication environment can be effectively improved. Therefore, based on the hardware structure of multiple antennas, by controlling at least some of the antennas to transmit and receive signals simultaneously with the target phase, the signals in some directions can obtain constructive interference, and the signals in other directions can obtain destructive interference, thereby Realize the control of the signal sending and receiving direction, this process can also be called beamforming (Beamforming). The target phases of different antennas in the target antenna array may be the same or different, and are specifically determined according to the actual communication environment.

Exemplarily, FIG. 3 is one of the schematic diagrams of the antenna positions of a communication device. Referring to FIG. 3 , the communication device includes two antennas, ANT1 and ANT2 respectively. Table 1 shows the peak gain of ANT1 and ANT2 after the field patterns are superimposed in different phase combinations. Referring to Table 1, Port1 refers to the phase of the ANT1 transceiving signal, and Port2 refers to the phase of the ANT2 transceiving signal. For example, if the phases of the signals sent and received by ANT1 and ANT2 are both 0, then the peak gain of the field pattern formed by the superposition of signals transmitted and received by ANT1 and ANT2 simultaneously in the form of an antenna array is 0.664dBi, that is, the field pattern formed by the superposition is in the direction of maximum gain. The gain on is 0.664dBi. Among them, when the phase of the ANT1 transceiving signal is 0, and the phase of the ANT2 transceiving signal is 90, the peak gain of the field pattern formed by superposition is 2.95dBi, which is 2.286dBi higher than the peak gain of the (0,0) phase combination. . It can be seen from this that, by determining an appropriate target phase for each antenna, the peak gain of the target antenna array can be effectively improved, thereby improving the communication quality of the communication device.

Table 1 Peak gain of ANT1 and ANT2 after field pattern superposition at different combined phases

Step 206: Control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals simultaneously with each of the target phases corresponding to each other, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

Specifically, interference may occur between signals radiated by different antennas, wherein if there is constructive interference of signals in the direction where the opposite end device is located, the signal strength of the communication device can be improved. Moreover, the higher the degree of matching between the direction of constructive interference and the direction where the opposite end device is located, the greater the signal strength when the communication device communicates with the opposite end device. In one example, each antenna can be controlled to operate at a corresponding target phase by generating a phase modulation signal. Specifically, the phase modulation signal is used to transmit to the phase modulation module connected to each antenna, so as to instruct the phase modulation module to perform corresponding phase modulation. The phase modulation module may include a plurality of phase shifters, and each antenna of the communication device is respectively connected to each phase shifter in a one-to-one correspondence. Each phase shifter is used to respectively receive the phase modulation signal carrying the corresponding target phase information, and perform phase modulation on the signal sent and received by the connected antenna according to the target phase information, so as to adjust the direction of constructive interference and destructive interference of the signal. It should be noted that when the target antenna array includes only part of the antennas of the communication device, the remaining antennas of the communication device may be used to receive other signals, or may not receive signals, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, based on a relatively simple antenna structure, it can be determined whether the communication device is in a weak signal scenario according to the current signal strength of the communication device and the first strength threshold through the antenna control method. And when it is determined to be in a weak signal scenario, the corresponding multiple antennas are selected according to the communication environment to form the target antenna array, and the target phase of each antenna is determined, so that the signals received and received by the multiple antennas in the target antenna array are effectively superimposed. , in order to improve the peak gain of the communication device in a specific direction, thereby improving the communication quality of the signal sent and received by the communication device in the current communication environment, and meeting the communication needs of the user. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the reason why the signal strength of the communication device is less than the first strength threshold. Exemplarily, the reason for insufficient signal strength may be that only one antenna is currently sending and receiving signals, or the communication environment changes when multiple antennas are jointly sending and receiving signals, but as long as the communication device includes multiple antennas, this embodiment can be used. The antenna control method of the invention controls at least part of the antenna of the communication device.

In one of the embodiments, acquiring the field strength distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located includes the following steps: controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to a combination of multiple scanning phases, so as to acquire the electric field strengths in multiple directions, One-to-one correspondence with multiple scanning phase combinations, the scanning antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device, and the scanning phase combination includes scanning the phases corresponding to each antenna in the antenna array in a one-to-one manner; obtained according to the electric field strength in multiple directions Field strength distribution information.

The beam scanning refers to a process of detecting signal strengths in multiple directions in a communication environment by changing the signal receiving direction of the scanning antenna array. Specifically, by changing the phase of each antenna in the scanning antenna array, this embodiment can realize the adjustment of the signal receiving direction. Taking the scanning antenna array including two antennas ANT1 and ANT2 as an example, the processor first controls ANT1 and ANT2 to scan the phase combination (α1, β1) to send and receive signals to obtain the electric field strength in one direction, and then controls ANT1 and ANT2 to scan the phase combination. (α2, β2) Send and receive signals to obtain the electric field strength in another direction, and so on, until the detection of the electric field strength in all the directions to be scanned is completed. It can be understood that, the number of antennas in the scanning antenna array and the number of scanning phase combinations can be set according to the requirements of scanning accuracy. For example, in the case of high requirements on scanning accuracy, a larger number of antennas are selected for scanning, or a larger number of scanning phase combinations are set. In this embodiment, by scanning the cooperation of multiple antennas in the antenna array, the field intensity distribution information can be accurately obtained without increasing the complexity of each antenna unit.

It can be understood that, in the ideal case where the antenna is not blocked, the scanning result obtained by beam scanning is only affected by the communication environment. That is, even if different antennas are selected to form the scanning antenna array, the signal strength in the same direction obtained by scanning should be the same. Therefore, in the above ideal situation, no special selection of the antennas in the scanning antenna array is required, and any antenna in the communication device can be used to form the scanning antenna array. However, in the non-ideal situation where some antennas are blocked, multiple antennas that are not blocked should be selected to form a scanning antenna array, so as to ensure the accuracy of the field strength distribution information. In this embodiment, the multiple antennas that are not blocked may be determined in any manner, which is not limited here. Exemplarily, the holding position of the user may be determined according to the touch position of the screen, so as to determine whether the antenna is blocked.

4 is an embodiment of controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to multiple scanning phase combinations to obtain electric field strengths in multiple directions; a flow chart of obtaining field strength distribution information according to the electric field strengths in multiple directions, with reference to FIG. 4 , In one embodiment, the above steps include steps 402 to 408 .

Step 402 , controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to a plurality of first scanning phase combinations to obtain first electric field strengths in multiple directions within a first angle range.

Exemplarily, the first angle range may be a 360° range, and the multiple directions include six directions of up, down, left, right, front and rear of the communication device. Taking the communication device as a mobile phone as an example, in order to facilitate the subsequent description, three-dimensional coordinates are established with the mobile phone as the center. The upward direction refers to the direction from the microphone to the earpiece, which can be defined as the (0, 1, 0) direction. The downward direction refers to the direction from the earpiece to the microphone, which can be defined as the (0, -1, 0) direction. The front direction refers to the direction from the back cover to the display screen, which can be defined as the (0, 0, -1) direction. The rear direction refers to the direction from the display screen to the back cover, which can be defined as the (0, 0, 1) direction. The left direction can be defined as the (-1, 0, 0) direction. The right direction is set opposite to the left direction, which can be defined as the (1, 0, 0) direction.

Step 404 , determining a second angle range according to a plurality of first electric field intensities.

Wherein, the second angle range is smaller than the first angle range, and the second angle range at least covers the direction corresponding to the maximum value among the plurality of first electric field intensities.

Step 406 , controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to multiple second scanning phase combinations, so as to obtain second electric field strengths in multiple directions within the second angle range.

Wherein, the number of the second scan phase combinations is greater than the number of the first scan phase combinations. Exemplarily, if the direction corresponding to the maximum value in the first electric field intensity is the left direction, then (-1, 0, 0), (-1, 0, 1), (-1, 1, 1), (-1, 0, 1), (-1, -1, 1), (-1, -1, 0), (-1, -1, -1), (-1, 0, -1) and (-1, 1, -1) A total of 9 directions of beam scanning are performed to obtain more precise scanning results.

Step 408: Acquire field intensity distribution information according to a plurality of second electric field intensities.

In this embodiment, based on a plurality of first electric field intensities, the location direction of the opposite end device can be preliminarily determined, and the location direction of the opposite end device is located in the second angle range. By using a larger number of second scanning phase combinations, a higher density beam scan can be performed on multiple directions within the second angular range, thereby reducing the angular range that needs to be scanned, and obtaining more accurate beam scanning speed with a faster beam scanning speed. The scanning results can be obtained to obtain accurate field strength distribution information.

Further, the electric field intensities in multiple directions obtained by beam scanning may be interpolated to obtain electric field intensities in undetected directions. Still further, data fitting may be performed on the electric field intensities in multiple directions obtained by beam scanning to obtain an electric field intensity distribution map. Based on the above steps, more accurate field strength distribution information can be obtained, thereby improving the accuracy of selecting the target antenna array and calculating the target phase. The specific contents of the interpolation algorithm and the data fitting algorithm are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In one of the embodiments, determining the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information includes the following steps: determining the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna.

The preset radiation pattern can be understood as an inherent property of the antenna, and the preset radiation pattern will not change if the antenna structure does not change. The preset radiation pattern can be pre-stored in the memory before the communication equipment leaves the factory, and can be directly called by the processor when needed, so as to quickly and accurately determine the target antenna array. Specifically, the multiple antennas forming the target antenna array may be determined first, and then the target phase of each of the antennas may be determined. For example, the field intensity distribution information can be matched with the preset radiation pattern, and it is determined that the antenna with higher similarity between the preset radiation pattern and the field intensity distribution information constitutes the target antenna array. For example, a target antenna array may be formed by using multiple antennas whose similarity is greater than the similarity threshold. In another example, multiple antennas with high similarity between preset radiation patterns may be selected to form a target antenna array, so as to improve the peak gain after the patterns are superimposed. For another example, when there are a large number of antennas with a high degree of similarity between the preset radiation patterns, the preset radiation patterns of the antennas and the field strength distribution information can be further matched to determine the Some of the antennas form the target antenna array.

It can be understood that, in other embodiments, multiple antennas constituting the target antenna array and the target phase of each of the antennas can also be determined at the same time. For example, ergodic calculation can be performed according to the preset radiation patterns and optional phase combinations of all antennas to obtain the superimposed patterns in various combinations, so that the matching degree of the multiple superimposed patterns with the field intensity distribution information can be determined. The highest combination forms the target antenna array and determines the target phase for each of these antennas.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of determining the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna in the steps of an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5 , in one embodiment, the above steps include steps 502 to 505 .

Step 502: Determine the target radiation direction according to the field intensity distribution information.

The target radiation direction is the incoming wave direction of the signal, and the target radiation direction can also be understood as the direction of the peer device. Therefore, the direction with the maximum signal strength in the field strength distribution information can be obtained as the target radiation direction. For example, if the aforementioned data processing method of fitting the electric field intensities in multiple directions obtained by beam scanning is used, the maximum signal intensity can be determined according to the fitting curve obtained by data fitting, and the maximum signal intensity can be calculated from the fitting curve. The target radiation direction corresponding to the signal strength.

Step 504: Determine the target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna.

In this embodiment, the gain of the antenna in various directions can be obtained according to the preset radiation pattern. Therefore, it can be determined that the antenna with larger gain in the target radiation direction constitutes the target antenna array, thereby improving the communication quality of the target antenna array.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of determining each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6 , in one embodiment, the above steps include steps 602 to 604 .

Step 602: Determine a target phase difference according to a preset timing sequence of signals received and received by each antenna in the target antenna array, so that constructive interference occurs when signals received and received by each antenna have the target phase difference.

Specifically, each antenna in the target antenna array transmits and receives signals at the same frequency, but the preset timing sequences for transmitting signals are not exactly the same. For example, under a preset time sequence, it is possible that the peak position of the signal transmitted by a certain antenna corresponds to the trough position of the signal transmitted by another antenna. It can be understood that, based on the principle of wave interference, when the peak positions of multiple signals overlap, the multiple signals will interfere constructively, so that the maximum amplitude can be generated, and the maximum amplitude is equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the respective signals. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the phase of each signal based on the preset timing, so that the peaks of the signals transmitted by each antenna coincide. Correspondingly, the target phase difference when adjusting each signal is determined by the preset timing. Taking the target antenna array including three antennas as an example, the target phase difference can be that the phase of the signal transmitted by ANT2 is 30° behind that of the signal transmitted by ANT1, and the phase of the signal transmitted by ANT3 is 15° behind the phase of the signal transmitted by ANT2.

Step 604: Determine each of the target phases according to the target phase differences.

Wherein, the difference between each of the target phases satisfies the target phase difference. That is, the target phase of each antenna can be determined according to the target phase difference. For example, taking the phase difference obtained in the previous step as an example, it can be determined that the phase of the ANT1 radiation signal is 0°, the phase of the ANT2 radiation signal is 30°, and the phase of the ANT3 radiation signal is 45°. It can be understood that although the multiple antennas in the target antenna array can generate constructive interference based on the preset phase difference, the maximum gain direction of the signal after constructive interference is determined by the preset radiation pattern and amplitude of each antenna. . Therefore, it is necessary to determine the maximum gain direction after constructive interference based on the preset radiation pattern of each antenna. Moreover, the amplitude of the signal radiated by each antenna can be determined according to the preset radiation pattern and the target radiation direction, so that the maximum gain direction of the target antenna array can be adjusted more accurately, so that the maximum gain direction of the target antenna array points to the target radiation direction. It should be noted that the maximum gain direction of the target antenna array points to the target radiation direction includes that the maximum gain direction of the target antenna array coincides with the target radiation direction, and also includes that the angle between the maximum gain direction and the target radiation direction is smaller than the angle error threshold. Therefore, in this step, the target phase and amplitude of each antenna can be further determined based on the preset radiation pattern, so that the signal after constructive interference superposition accurately points to the target radiation direction, thereby obtaining a higher signal gain , to improve the communication quality of communication equipment.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of determining a target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna in an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7 , in one embodiment, the above steps include steps 702 to 704 .

Step 702: Determine multiple antennas located on the same side as candidate antennas.

Step 704: Determine the target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each candidate antenna.

Wherein, the middle frame of the communication device includes a plurality of sides which are closed and connected in the circumferential direction. Specifically, due to the antenna structure, multiple antennas located on the same side usually have more similar field patterns. FIG. 8 is the second schematic diagram of the antenna position of a communication device. Referring to FIG. 8 , the communication device includes three antennas, namely ANT1 , ANT2 and ANT3 . Table 2 shows the peak gain of ANT1 and ANT3 after the field patterns are superimposed at different combined phases. Referring to Table 1, Port1 refers to the phase of the ANT1 transceiving signal, and Port3 refers to the phase of the ANT3 transceiving signal. For example, if the phases of the signals transmitted and received by ANT1 and ANT3 are both 0, the peak gain of the field pattern formed by the superposition of signals transmitted and received simultaneously by ANT1 and ANT3 in the manner of an antenna array is 0.721dBi. Among them, when the phase of the ANT1 transceiving signal is 0 and the phase of the ANT3 transceiving signal is 90, the peak gain of the field pattern formed by superposition is 1.52dBi, which is only 0.799 higher than the peak gain of the (0,0) phase combination. dBi. Combining the comparison of Table 1 and Table 2, it can be seen that the antenna position has a great influence on the peak gain after the field pattern is superimposed. The maximum peak gain of the antenna combination using ANT1 and ANT3 is still higher than that of the antenna combination using ANT1 and ANT2 It is 1.43dBi smaller, so that the improvement of communication quality when ANT1 and ANT3 work together is not significant enough. Therefore, in this embodiment, by selecting multiple antennas located on the same side as candidate antennas, and determining the target antenna array from the candidate antennas, it is possible to effectively reduce the number of targets to be determined without affecting the calculation result. Therefore, the computational efficiency of the antenna control method is improved.

Table 2 Peak gain of ANT1 and ANT3 after field pattern superposition in different phase combinations

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of determining a target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each candidate antenna according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 9, in one embodiment, the above steps include step 902, which includes At least one of steps 904 and 906.

Step 902, when the number of candidate antennas is greater than two, obtain the remaining power of the communication device.

Specifically, since the target antenna array needs to include at least two antennas, if there are only two candidate antennas, all the candidate antennas can be selected to form the target antenna array. However, if the number of candidate antennas is more than two, some or all of the antennas can be selected to form the target antenna array, so that the antennas can be controlled more flexibly. It can be understood that the more the number of antennas in the target antenna array, the greater the power consumption of the target antenna array, but the better the directivity when transmitting and receiving signals. Therefore, appropriate antenna selection can be performed according to the current remaining power, thereby effectively balancing the relationship between power consumption and communication quality.

Step 904, when the remaining power is less than the power threshold, select two candidate antennas to form a target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each candidate antenna.

Step 906, when the remaining power is greater than or equal to the power threshold, select all the candidate antennas to form the target antenna array.

Specifically, if the remaining power is less than the power threshold, two alternative antennas are selected to form the target antenna array, so as to improve the communication quality of the communication device to a certain extent without excessively increasing the power consumption. If the remaining power is greater than or equal to the power threshold, the maximum number of available antennas can be selected to achieve the best network performance and improve the user experience.

In one of the embodiments, the number of antennas in the target antenna array can be determined according to the gain information in the target radiation direction. For example, the gain threshold can be used as the evaluation index. If the gain of the target antenna array including two antennas in the target radiation direction is greater than or equal to the gain threshold, only two antennas can be used to form the target antenna array. Another example, if the difference between the gain of the target antenna array including n antennas in the target radiation direction and the gain of the target antenna array including n+1 antennas in the target radiation direction is less than the gain difference threshold, then It shows that the increase of the antenna does not improve the gain of the target antenna array in the target radiation direction, and only n antennas can be used to form the target antenna array.

In one of the embodiments, the antenna control method further includes the following steps: when the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to a second strength threshold, controlling one target antenna in the plurality of antennas of the communication device to send and receive signals, the second strength threshold is greater than the first strength threshold, and the signal strength of the target antenna is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold. Specifically, if the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the second strength threshold, it indicates that the current communication environment is good, and even if only one antenna is used to send and receive signals, it is sufficient to meet the user's communication needs. Therefore, the communication device is switched to the working state of single-antenna communication, thereby reducing the power consumption of the communication device and prolonging the standby time of the communication device.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowcharts are displayed in sequence according to the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in the sequence indicated by the arrows. Unless explicitly stated herein, there is no strict order in the execution of these steps, and these steps may be performed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in each flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed and completed at the same time, but may be executed at different times. The order of execution is also not necessarily sequential, but may be performed alternately or alternately with other steps or sub-steps of other steps or at least a portion of a phase.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna module according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10 , in one embodiment, the antenna module includes multiple antennas and a control module. Wherein, the control module is configured to acquire the field intensity distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located when the signal intensity of the communication device is less than the first intensity threshold; determine the target antenna array according to the field intensity distribution information, and determine the target antenna array in the target antenna array. Each of the antennas corresponds to each target phase one-to-one, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device; control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals at the same time with each of the target phases in a one-to-one correspondence, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

In this embodiment, by adopting the above structure and the control logic of the control module, it can be determined whether the communication device is in a weak signal scenario according to the current signal strength of the communication device and the first strength threshold. And when it is determined to be in a weak signal scenario, the corresponding multiple antennas are selected according to the communication environment to form the target antenna array, and the target phase of each antenna is determined, so that the signals received and received by the multiple antennas in the target antenna array are effectively superimposed. , so as to increase the peak gain of the communication device in a specific direction, thereby improving the communication quality of the signal sent and received by the communication device in the current communication environment.

In one embodiment, the control module is further configured to generate a phase modulation signal according to the target antenna array, the antenna module further includes a phase modulation module, and the phase modulation module is respectively connected to each antenna and the control module. The phase modulation module is used to receive the phase modulation signal, and according to the phase modulation signal, the phase when each antenna transmits and receives signals is modulated as the corresponding target phase, so that each antenna in the target antenna array has a one-to-one correspondence with each antenna. Send and receive signals at the same time as the target phase. Wherein, the phase modulation module may include a plurality of phase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are respectively connected with the plurality of antennas in a one-to-one correspondence. Further, a matching circuit may be connected between the phase shifter and the corresponding antenna to realize impedance matching and improve the radio frequency performance of the antenna module.

In one of the embodiments, an antenna control apparatus is provided, including a field strength distribution acquisition module, a target array determination module, and a signal generation module. Wherein, the field intensity distribution obtaining module is configured to obtain the field intensity distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located when the signal intensity of the communication device is less than the first intensity threshold. The target array determination module is used to determine the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information, and to determine each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device. The signal generating module is used to control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals simultaneously with each target phase corresponding to each other, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

In one of the embodiments, the antenna control apparatus further includes a single-antenna control module, configured to control a target antenna among the multiple antennas of the communication device to send and receive signals when the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the second strength threshold, The second strength threshold is greater than the first strength threshold, and the signal strength of the target antenna is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold.

The division of each module in the above-mentioned antenna control apparatus is only used for illustration. In other embodiments, the antenna control apparatus may be divided into different modules as required to complete all or part of the functions of the above-mentioned antenna control apparatus. For the specific limitation of the antenna control apparatus, reference may be made to the foregoing limitation on the antenna control method, which will not be repeated here. Each module in the above-mentioned antenna control device may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware and combinations thereof. The above modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the communication device in the form of hardware, or stored in the memory of the communication device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute the operations corresponding to the above modules.

In one of the embodiments, a communication device is provided, including the above-mentioned antenna module.

In one of the embodiments, the communication device further includes a middle frame including a plurality of sides that are circumferentially closed and connected. Wherein, at least two antennas of the antenna module are located on the same side. In this embodiment, by arranging at least two antennas on the same side, the field pattern similarity between the multiple antennas located on the same side can be improved, thereby improving the field pattern directivity after superposition, and improving the field pattern directionality after being superimposed on the same side. The signal strength when the multiple antennas constitute the target antenna array.

In one of the embodiments, the included angle between the maximum gain directions of the at least two antennas located on the same side is less than 45°. Specifically, by adjusting the angle between the maximum gain directions of at least two antennas located on the same side, the field pattern similarity of the above two antennas can be made higher, so that the superimposed field pattern directionality is better, Thus, the signal strength when the multiple antennas located on the same side form the target antenna array is further improved.

In one of the embodiments, a communication device is provided, including multiple antennas, a phase modulation module, a memory and a processor, where the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the above method when executing the computer program.

In one of the embodiments, a communication device is provided, the communication device may be a terminal, and its internal structure diagram may be as shown in FIG. 11 . The communication device includes a processor, a memory, a communication interface, a display screen and an input device connected through a system bus. Among them, the processor of the communication device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the communication device includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The nonvolatile storage medium stores an operating system and a computer program. The internal memory provides an environment for the execution of the operating system and computer programs in the non-volatile storage medium. The communication interface of the communication device is used for wired or wireless communication with an external terminal, and the wireless communication can be realized by WIFI, mobile cellular network, NFC (Near Field Communication) or other technologies. The computer program, when executed by the processor, implements an antenna control method. The display screen of the communication device may be a liquid crystal display screen or an electronic ink display screen, and the input device of the communication device may be a touch layer covered on the display screen, or a button, a trackball or a touchpad set on the shell of the communication device , or an external keyboard, trackpad, or mouse.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the structure shown in FIG. 11 is only a block diagram of a part of the structure related to the solution of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the communication device to which the solution of the present application is applied. The specific communication device More or fewer components than shown in the figures may be included, or some components may be combined, or have a different arrangement of components.

In one of the embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium is provided on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the foregoing method embodiments are implemented.

In one of the embodiments, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, implements the steps in the foregoing method embodiments.

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by instructing relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium Yes, when the computer program is executed, it may include the processes of the above-mentioned method embodiments. Wherein, any reference to a memory, a database or other media used in the various embodiments provided in this application may include at least one of a non-volatile memory and a volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include Read-Only Memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive memory (ReRAM), magnetic variable memory (Magnetoresistive Random Memory) Access Memory, MRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM), Phase Change Memory (Phase Change Memory, PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory may include random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) or external cache memory, and the like. By way of illustration and not limitation, the RAM may be in various forms, such as static random access memory (Static Random Access Memory, SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (Dynamic Random Access Memory, DRAM). The database involved in the various embodiments provided by this application may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. The non-relational database may include a blockchain-based distributed database, etc., but is not limited thereto. The processors involved in the various embodiments provided in this application may be general-purpose processors, central processing units, graphics processors, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, quantum computing-based data processing logic devices, and so on. , not limited to this.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description simple, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features It is considered to be the range described in this specification.

The above embodiments only represent several implementations of the embodiments of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are specific and detailed, but should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that, for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the embodiments of the present application, several modifications and improvements can be made, which all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent in the embodiments of the present application shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. an antenna control method, is characterized in that, comprises: When the signal strength of the communication device is less than the first strength threshold, acquiring field strength distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located; Determine a target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information, and determine each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device; Control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals simultaneously with each of the target phases corresponding to each other, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold. 2. The antenna control method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring the field strength distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located comprises: The scanning antenna array is controlled to perform beam scanning according to a plurality of scanning phase combinations to obtain electric field strengths in multiple directions, and the multiple directions are in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of the scanning phase combinations, and the scanning antenna array includes the at least two antennas, the scanning phase combination includes each phase corresponding to each antenna in the scanning antenna array one-to-one; The field strength distribution information is acquired according to the electric field strengths in multiple directions. 3 . The antenna control method according to claim 2 , wherein the control scan antenna array performs beam scanning according to a plurality of scanning phase combinations to obtain electric field strengths in multiple directions; obtain the electric field strengths in multiple directions. The field strength distribution information includes: controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to a plurality of first scanning phase combinations to obtain first electric field strengths in multiple directions within a first angle range; determining a second angle range according to a plurality of the first electric field intensities, the second angle range being smaller than the first angle range; Controlling the scanning antenna array to perform beam scanning according to a plurality of second scanning phase combinations to obtain second electric field strengths in multiple directions within a second angle range, the number of the second scanning phase combinations being greater than the first scanning phase the number of combinations; The field intensity distribution information is acquired according to a plurality of the second electric field intensities. 4. The antenna control method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information comprises: The target antenna array is determined according to the field strength distribution information and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna. 5 . The antenna control method according to claim 4 , wherein the determining the target antenna array according to the field strength distribution information and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna comprises: 5 . Determine the target radiation direction according to the field strength distribution information, and the target radiation direction is the incoming wave direction of the signal; The target antenna array is determined according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna. 6 . The antenna control method according to claim 5 , wherein the determining the target antenna array according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each antenna comprises: 6 . Determining that multiple antennas located on the same side are used as alternative antennas, and the middle frame of the communication device includes multiple sides that are closed and connected in the circumferential direction; The target antenna array is determined according to the target radiation direction and the preset radiation pattern of each candidate antenna. 7. The antenna control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the determining each target phase corresponding to each antenna in the target antenna array one-to-one comprises: The target phase difference is determined according to the preset timing of signals received and received by each antenna in the target antenna array, so that constructive interference occurs when the signals received and received by each antenna have the target phase difference; Each of the target phases is determined according to the target phase difference, and the difference between each of the target phases satisfies the target phase difference. 8. The antenna control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control of each antenna in the target antenna array is to send and receive signals simultaneously with each of the target phases corresponding to each other in a one-to-one manner, include: A phase modulation signal is generated according to the target antenna array, and the phase modulation signal is used to control each antenna in the target antenna array to send and receive signals simultaneously with each of the target phases corresponding to each other. 9. An antenna module, characterized in that, comprising: multiple antennas; a control module, configured to acquire field intensity distribution information of the communication environment where the communication device is located when the signal intensity of the communication device is less than a first intensity threshold; determine a target antenna array according to the field intensity distribution information, and determine the target Each antenna in the antenna array corresponds to each target phase in a one-to-one correspondence, and the target antenna array includes at least two antennas of the communication device; control each antenna in the target antenna array to have a one-to-one corresponding to each phase. The target phase transmits and receives signals at the same time, so that the signal strength of the communication device is greater than or equal to the first strength threshold. 10. The antenna module according to claim 9, wherein the control module is further configured to generate a phase modulation signal according to the target antenna array, and the antenna module further comprises: The phase modulation module is respectively connected with the control module and each antenna, the phase modulation module is used for receiving the phase modulation signal, and modulates the phase of each antenna when receiving and transmitting signals according to the phase modulation signal to correspond to so that each antenna in the target antenna array transmits and receives signals simultaneously with each of the target phases in one-to-one correspondence. 11. A communication device, comprising the antenna module according to claim 9 or 10. 12. The communication device of claim 11, further comprising: a middle frame, including a plurality of sides that are circumferentially closed and connected; Wherein, at least two antennas of the antenna module are located on the same side. 13. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein the included angle between the maximum gain directions of the at least two antennas located on the same side is less than 45°.

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