CN115913316A

CN115913316A - Communication method, electronic device, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115913316A
Application number: CN202211208487.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 朱棣; 吕子平; 陈静; 张博
Original assignee: China Star Network Innovation Research Institute Co ltd
Current assignee: China Star Network Innovation Research Institute Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2022-09-30
Publication date: 2023-04-04

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, electronic equipment and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a first satellite acquires a first coverage area at the current moment, wherein the first coverage area comprises one or more sub-coverage areas; and in the moving process of the satellite towards the first direction, the direction of the antenna changes towards the second direction so as to obtain a second coverage area at the next moment, wherein the second coverage area comprises one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the second coverage area is the same as the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the first coverage area. The method provided by the embodiment of the application is beneficial to improving the switching efficiency.

Description

Communication method, electronic device, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium.

Background

In recent years, low-orbit satellite communication systems have become a new growth point in the field of satellite communication. The low earth orbit satellite communication system is generally composed of a constellation consisting of a plurality of communication satellites with orbit heights of 300 to 1500 kilometers, a matched ground system and the like. The user terminal transmits wireless signals, and the wireless signals are received by a receiving antenna of the low-orbit communication satellite and forwarded to the ground system so as to access the ground network. Meanwhile, the low earth orbit communication satellite transmits the signal returned by the ground system to the user terminal through the satellite transmitting antenna, thereby completing the whole communication process.

Unlike terrestrial communication systems, satellites are constantly operating in orbit. The satellites are in high speed motion relative to the ground position. For terrestrial users, the user terminal needs to continuously switch the accessed satellite. If the satellite is in the form of multiple beams, the user terminal also needs to switch between beams with different frequencies, which may result in a large consumption of switching resources and reduce the operating efficiency of the system.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, an electronic device and a storage medium, which are beneficial to improving the switching efficiency.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a first satellite, where the first satellite can form one or more beams, and the one or more beams form one or more sub coverage areas with the same shape on the ground through an antenna, including:

the first satellite acquires a first coverage area at the current moment, wherein the first coverage area comprises one or more sub-coverage areas;

and in the moving process of the first satellite towards the first direction, the orientation of the antenna changes towards the second direction so as to obtain a second coverage area at the next moment, wherein the second coverage area comprises one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the second coverage area is the same as the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the first coverage area.

In the application, the antenna is moved towards the direction opposite to the movement direction of the satellite in the satellite moving process, so that the coverage area where the user terminal is located does not change, the user terminal does not switch, and the switching efficiency can be improved.

In one possible implementation manner, the first satellite further includes a maximum scanning area, and the maximum scanning area is used for characterizing a maximum scanning range of the first satellite.

In one possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

in the moving process of the first satellite, when the second coverage area is detected to be located at a first edge of the maximum scanning area, moving a first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area to a neighboring side of a second sub-coverage area, wherein the first sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to the first edge in the first coverage area, the second sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to a second edge in the first coverage area, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

In one possible implementation manner, the multiple beams have different frequencies therebetween, and the user terminal is located in the first sub-coverage area, the method further includes:

after the first sub-coverage area is moved, the user terminal in the first sub-coverage area before the movement is covered by a third sub-coverage area, where the third sub-coverage area is a coverage area of a second satellite, and a frequency of the third sub-coverage area is the same as a frequency of the first sub-coverage area.

In one possible implementation manner, the maximum scanning area is a sub-coverage area formed by M beams on the ground; wherein M is a positive number greater than or equal to N +1, N is a total number of beams of the first satellite, and N is a positive integer.

In one possible implementation manner, in a case where the first satellite forms multiple beams, the multiple beams and the antenna are mapped one to one, and a mapping relation between the multiple beams and the antenna is variable during the movement of the first satellite.

In one possible implementation manner, the shape of the sub coverage area is an ellipse, a circle or a hexagon.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising:

an acquisition module, configured to acquire, by the first satellite, a first coverage area at a current time, where the first coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas;

and a changing module, configured to change, in a moving process of the first satellite in a first direction, an orientation of the antenna in a second direction to obtain a second coverage area at a next moment, where the second coverage area includes the one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the second coverage area is the same as the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the first coverage area.

In one possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes:

and a moving module, configured to, in a moving process of the first satellite, when it is detected that the second coverage area is located at a first edge of the maximum scanning area, move a first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area to a neighboring side of a second sub-coverage area, where the first sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to the first edge in the first coverage area, the second sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to a second edge in the first coverage area, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

In one possible implementation manner, the multiple beams have different frequencies, and the user terminal is located in the first sub-coverage area, where the communication apparatus further includes:

a switching module, configured to, after moving the first sub-coverage area, cover the user terminal in the first sub-coverage area before the movement by a third sub-coverage area, where the third sub-coverage area is a coverage area of a second satellite, and a frequency of the third sub-coverage area is the same as a frequency of the first sub-coverage area.

In one possible implementation manner, in a case where the first satellite forms a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams and the antenna are mapped one to one, and a mapping relation between the plurality of beams and the antenna is variable during movement of the first satellite.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a first satellite comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program; the processor is configured to run the computer program to implement the communication method according to the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to implement the communication method according to the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the communication method according to the first aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram of a communication system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of a communication method provided in the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a coverage area provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4a and fig. 4b are schematic diagrams illustrating coverage area changes according to an embodiment provided in the present application;

fig. 4c and 4d are schematic diagrams illustrating coverage area changes according to another embodiment provided herein;

FIGS. 5 a-5 c are schematic diagrams of the maximum coverable area of one embodiment provided herein;

FIGS. 5 d-5 f are schematic diagrams of maximum coverable areas of another embodiment provided herein;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another embodiment of a communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of coverage area movement provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a beam and radiation unit mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9a and 9b are schematic diagrams illustrating a user equipment handover provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and following associated objects are in one or relationship. For example, A/B may represent A or B. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the association object, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

It should be noted that the words "first", "second", and the like, referred to in the embodiments of the present application, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicit indication of the number of technical features indicated, nor as indicating or implicit order.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. Further, "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, and may include any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one (one) of a, B, or C, may represent: a, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B and C. Each of a, B, and C may itself be an element, or may be a set including one or more elements.

In the present application embodiments, "exemplary," "in some embodiments," "in another embodiment," and the like are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term using examples is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding" and "corresponding" may be sometimes used in combination, and it should be noted that the intended meaning is consistent when the difference is not emphasized. In the embodiments of the present application, communication and transmission may be mixed, and it should be noted that the expressions are consistent when the differences are not emphasized. For example, a transmission may include a transmission and/or a reception, either a noun or a verb.

The method can be used with a larger than device and is applicable to the technical scheme adopted when the size is larger than the size, and can also be used with a smaller than device and is applicable to the technical scheme adopted when the size is smaller than the size. It should be noted that, when the ratio is equal to or greater than the ratio, the ratio is not equal to or less than the ratio; when the ratio is equal to or less than the connection ratio, the ratio is not greater than the connection ratio.

In recent years, low-orbit satellite communication systems have become a new growth point in the field of satellite communication. The low earth orbit satellite communication system is generally composed of a constellation consisting of a plurality of communication satellites with orbit heights of 300 to 1500 kilometers, a matched ground system and the like. The user terminal transmits a wireless signal, and the wireless signal is received by a receiving antenna of the low-orbit communication satellite and forwarded to the ground system so as to access the ground network. Meanwhile, the low earth orbit communication satellite transmits the signal returned by the ground system to the user terminal through the satellite transmitting antenna, thereby completing the whole communication process.

Based on the above problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a satellite.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will now be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3, 4a, 4b, 5a to 5c, 6 to 8, 9a and 9 b.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to fig. 1, the communication system may include one or more satellites, gateway stations, user terminals. The link between the user terminal and the satellite may be referred to as a service link, the gateway station as a ground system, the link between the user terminal and the satellite may be referred to as a feedback link, and the link between the satellite and the satellite may be referred to as an inter-satellite link. The user terminal communicates with the satellite up and down through the service link, and the gateway station communicates with the satellite up and down through the feedback link and can access to a ground network, for example, the ground network may include the internet, a mobile communication network and other networks.

It will be appreciated that each satellite may transmit wireless signals through an antenna to form a beam. A satellite may form one or more beams, and the coverage area of the beam may be understood as the area covered by the satellite for providing the user terminal with communication service, and may also be understood as the serving cell of the user, that is, the user terminal leaves the coverage area of the beam, and the user terminal cannot enjoy the communication service provided by the satellite. The projection shape of the beam on the ground (i.e., the shape of the coverage area) may be an ellipse, a circle, a hexagon, and the like, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application. In addition, the shape of the coverage area is the same for any satellite when forming the one or more beams.

Next, two satellites, for example, a satellite 1 and a satellite 2, will be exemplarily described below. Where satellite 1 and satellite 2 each have 4 beams. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application is only illustrated by taking 2 satellites as an example, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this, and in some embodiments, 3 or more satellites may be included. In addition, the embodiment of the present application is only described by taking an example that one satellite transmits 4 beams, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this, and in some embodiments, more than 4 or less than 4 beams may also be included.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of a communication method provided in the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

in step 201, a satellite acquires a first coverage area at a current time, wherein the first coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas.

In particular, a satellite may transmit signals through an antenna to form one or more beams. And the satellite can make the beams form different projection areas on the ground by changing the angle of the antenna, and the projection areas can be understood as the coverage areas of the signals. In the case of using a phased array antenna, the satellite may change the antenna orientation by changing the phase of the phased array antenna, so as to change the coverage area formed by the beam on the ground. The antenna may also be a non-phased array antenna, and in a case that the satellite uses the non-phased array antenna, the satellite may change the orientation of the antenna by mechanically rotating or tilting the antenna, so that a coverage area formed by a beam on the ground may be changed, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

After the satellite forms a coverage area on the ground through one or more beams, a first coverage area at a current time (e.g., time t) may be obtained, where time t may be any time. Within the first coverage area, there may be one or more user terminals. Taking 4 beams of the satellite 1 as an example, the satellite 1 may form 4 sub-coverage areas on the ground through the 4 beams, and the 4 sub-coverage areas may be regarded as the first coverage area of the satellite 1. Similarly, the satellite 2 may form 4 sub-coverage areas on the ground through 4 beams, and the 4 sub-coverage areas may be considered as the first coverage area of the satellite 2.

The first coverage area is now illustrated with reference to fig. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, satellite 1 has beams 1-1, beams 1-2, beams 1-3, and beams 1-4; satellite 2 has beams 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4. Wherein, the beam 1-1 forms a sub-coverage area 1-1 on the ground, the beam 1-2 forms a sub-coverage area 1-2 on the ground, the beam 1-3 forms a sub-coverage area 1-3 on the ground, and the beam 1-4 forms a sub-coverage area 1-4 on the ground, and the sub-coverage area 1-1, the sub-coverage area 1-2, the sub-coverage area 1-3 and the sub-coverage area 1-4 can form a first coverage area of the satellite 1; the beam 2-1 forms a sub-coverage area 2-1 on the ground, the beam 2-2 forms a sub-coverage area 2-2 on the ground, the beam 2-3 forms a sub-coverage area 2-3 on the ground, and the beam 2-4 forms a sub-coverage area 2-4 on the ground.

Step 202, in the moving process of the satellite towards the first direction, the antenna changes towards a second direction to obtain a second coverage area at the next moment, wherein the second coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the second coverage area is the same as the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the first coverage area.

Specifically, as the satellite moves, the coverage area formed on the ground by the beams transmitted by the satellite moves as the satellite moves. Therefore, when a user terminal is in the coverage of any beam of any satellite at any time, the user terminal may not be in the coverage of the beam if the satellite moves, thereby possibly causing a handover of the user terminal.

In order to avoid frequent handover of the user terminal due to movement of the satellite, the satellite may change the antenna orientation during movement of the satellite in the first direction, such that the antenna orientation changes in the second direction, thereby changing the coverage area of the beam on the ground. Wherein the second direction may be a direction opposite to the first direction. After the antenna orientation is changed, the satellite may obtain a second coverage area at a time next to the time t (for example, at the time t + 1), and the obtaining manner of the second coverage area may specifically refer to the obtaining manner of the first coverage area, which is not described herein again.

When the coverage area of the satellite is changed by changing the orientation of the antenna, the coverage area formed by the beams of the satellite on the ground can be relatively static and can not be changed due to the movement of the satellite. That is, at least the sub-coverage area where the ue is located in the second coverage area is not changed, so that the ue is not handed over due to the movement of the satellite, thereby improving handover efficiency and improving system operation efficiency.

The change of the coverage area will now be exemplified by taking the satellite 1 as an example and referring to fig. 4 a-4 d. Fig. 4a and 4b illustrate that the coverage area includes 4 elliptical sub coverage areas, and fig. 4c and 4d illustrate that the coverage area includes 7 hexagonal sub coverage areas.

Fig. 4a is a schematic view of the coverage area of the satellite 1 at time t. Referring to fig. 4a, a satellite 1 is located at a position S1 at time t, and forms a first coverage area through projection of a beam on the ground, wherein the first coverage area includes a sub-coverage area 1-1, a sub-coverage area 1-2, a sub-coverage area 1-3, and a sub-coverage area 1-4, and the sub-coverage area 1-1 detects a user terminal.

Fig. 4b is a schematic diagram of the coverage area of the satellite 1 at the time t + 1. When the satellite 1 starts moving from the position S1 in the first direction and moves to the position S2 at the time t +1, the coverage area of the beam on the ground is changed due to the movement of the position of the satellite 1. At this time, in order to avoid the user terminal in the sub-coverage area 1-1 from being handed over, the satellite 1 may change the orientation of the antenna, so that a second coverage area may be obtained, such that the coverage area formed by the beam of the satellite 1 on the ground is not changed, for example, the user terminal is still in the coverage area of the sub-coverage area 1-1. The second coverage area may include sub-coverage areas 1-1', 1-2', 1-3 'and 1-4', and the sub-coverage areas 1-1', 1-2', 1-3 'and 1-4' are the same as the sub-coverage areas 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4.

Fig. 4c is a schematic view of the coverage area of the satellite 1 at time t. Referring to fig. 4c, the satellite 1 is located at the position S1 at time t, and a first coverage area is formed by projection of a beam on the ground, wherein the first coverage area includes a sub-coverage area 1-1, a sub-coverage area 1-2, a sub-coverage area 1-3, a sub-coverage area 1-4, a sub-coverage area 1-5, a sub-coverage area 1-6, and a sub-coverage area 1-7, and the sub-coverage area 1-1 detects a user terminal.

Fig. 4d is a schematic diagram of the coverage area of the satellite 1 at the time t + 1. When the satellite 1 starts moving from the position S1 in the first direction and moves to the position S2 at the time t +1, the coverage area of the beam on the ground is changed due to the movement of the position of the satellite 1. At this time, in order to avoid the user terminal in the sub-coverage area 1-1 from being handed over, the satellite 1 may change the orientation of the antenna, so that a second coverage area may be obtained, such that the coverage area formed by the beam of the satellite 1 on the ground is not changed, for example, the user terminal is still in the coverage area of the sub-coverage area 1-1. The second coverage area may include sub-coverage areas 1-1', 1-2', 1-3', 1-4', 1-5', 1-6' and 1-7', and the sub-coverage areas 1-1, 1-2', 1-3', 1-4', 1-5', 1-6' and 1-7' are the same as the sub-coverage areas 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6 and 1-7.

That is, the coverage area of the satellite 1 at the S1 position is the same as the coverage area of the satellite 1 at the S2 position, so that it can be ensured that the coverage area formed on the ground by the satellite during movement is relatively stable. Since the coverage area can be regarded as the serving cell of the user terminal, the user terminal does not change the serving cell in the moving process of the satellite, thereby avoiding frequent switching and improving switching efficiency and system operation efficiency.

In some alternative embodiments, there is a limit to the range of the orientation of the antenna, that is, after the satellite moves a certain distance, the coverage area formed by the beam on the ground cannot be changed by changing the orientation of the antenna. Therefore, the satellite 1 may also preset a maximum scanning area, which may also be referred to as a maximum coverage area, wherein the maximum coverage area may be used to characterize a variable maximum coverage area of the beam formed by the satellite 1 on the ground, that is, a maximum scanning area of the satellite 1. The maximum coverage area may be a coverage area formed on the ground by the M beams. Wherein M is a positive integer or a positive decimal number greater than or equal to N +1, N is the total number of beams of the satellite, and N is a positive integer.

Next, taking the satellite 1 as an example, the maximum coverage area is exemplarily illustrated with reference to fig. 5a to 5 f. In which fig. 5 a-5 c take the example of an elliptical sub-coverage area and fig. 5 d-5 f take the example of a hexagonal sub-coverage area.

Referring to fig. 5a, a satellite 1 has beams 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4, and correspondingly forms a sub-coverage area 1-1, a sub-coverage area 1-2, a sub-coverage area 1-3 and a sub-coverage area 1-4 on the ground. The dashed box is the maximum coverable area, which may be the coverage area of 5 beams. When the satellite 1 changes the antenna orientation so that the coverage area formed by the beams on the ground is located at the leftmost side of the maximum coverage area, a coverage area diagram as shown in fig. 5b can be obtained. Referring to fig. 5b, the rightmost side of the maximum coverable area is also an idle area, which is the coverable area of one beam. When the satellite 1 changes the antenna orientation so that the coverage area formed by the beams on the ground is located at the rightmost side of the maximum coverage area, a coverage area diagram as shown in fig. 5c can be obtained. Referring to fig. 5c, the left-most side of the maximum coverable area is also an idle area, which is the coverable area of one beam.

Referring to fig. 5d, the satellite 1 has 7 beams, and sub-coverage areas 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6 and 1-7 are correspondingly formed on the ground. The dashed box is the maximum coverable area, which may be the coverage area of 10 beams. When the satellite 1 changes the antenna orientation so that the coverage area formed by the beams on the ground is located at the leftmost side of the maximum coverable area, a coverage area diagram as shown in fig. 5e can be obtained. Referring to fig. 5e, the rightmost side of the maximum coverable area also has a partial idle area, which is a coverable area of 3 beams. When the satellite 1 changes the antenna orientation so that the coverage area formed by the beams on the ground is located at the rightmost side of the maximum coverage area, a coverage area diagram as shown in fig. 5f can be obtained. Referring to fig. 5f, the leftmost side of the maximum coverable area also has a partial idle area, which is a coverable area of 3 beams.

The changing manner of the coverage area of the satellite 2 in the moving process may specifically refer to the changing manner of the coverage area of the satellite 1 in the moving process, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the communication method provided in the present application, where when a satellite has a maximum coverage area, the method specifically includes the following steps:

step 601, the satellite acquires a first coverage area at the current time, wherein the first coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas.

The specific implementation of step 601 may refer to the related description in the foregoing embodiments, and is not described herein again.

Step 602, in the moving process of the satellite in the first direction, the antenna direction changes in the second direction to obtain a second coverage area at the next time, where the second coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the second coverage area is the same as the sub-coverage area where the user terminal is located in the first coverage area.

For the specific implementation of step 602, reference may be made to the related description in the foregoing embodiments, and details are not described here.

Step 603, when it is detected that the second coverage area is located at the first edge of the maximum coverable area, moving the first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area to the adjacent side of the second sub-coverage area, where the first sub-coverage area is the coverage area closest to the first edge in the first coverage area, the second sub-coverage area is the coverage area closest to the second edge in the first coverage area, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

Specifically, when the satellite moves, the antenna orientation of the satellite may be changed with reference to the description of the above embodiment, whereby the coverage area after the satellite moves may be made constant.

However, since the satellite has the maximum coverage area, when the coverage area formed by the beam on the ground is located at the edge of the maximum coverage area, that is, the antenna is oriented at the maximum angle adjustable by the satellite, if the satellite moves, the antenna is oriented beyond the adjustment range of the satellite, which may result in that the coverage area after the satellite moves may not be completely overlapped with the coverage area before the satellite moves, and thus the relative stability of the coverage area may not be ensured, and the operation efficiency of the system may be reduced. Thus, during the movement of the satellite, the position of the second coverage area can also be detected. When it is detected that the second coverage area is located at the first edge of the maximum coverable area, a first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area may be moved to an adjacent side of the second sub-coverage area, where the first sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to the first edge in the first coverage area, the second sub-coverage area is a coverage area closest to the second edge in the first coverage area, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

Next, the satellite 1 is taken as an example, and the movement of the sub-coverage area is exemplarily described with reference to fig. 7. Referring to fig. 7, the satellite 1 has a beam 1-1, a beam 1-2, a beam 1-3, and a beam 1-4, and when the satellite 1 moves in the right direction, a second coverage area is correspondingly formed on the ground at time t +1, and the second coverage area includes a plurality of sub-coverage areas, for example, the sub-coverage area 1-1, the sub-coverage area 1-2, the sub-coverage area 1-3, and the sub-coverage area 1-4. Since the second coverage area is located at the leftmost side of the maximum coverable area, the sub-coverage area 1-4 as the leftmost side near the maximum coverable area can be moved to the right side of the sub-coverage area 1-1, and it can be understood that the sub-coverage area 1-1 is the rightmost sub-coverage area.

It can be understood that, when the satellite 1 moves in the left direction, it may be determined whether the second coverage area is located at the rightmost side of the maximum coverable area, and if the second coverage area is located at the rightmost side of the maximum coverable area, the sub-coverage area located at the rightmost side of the maximum coverable area in the second coverage area may be moved to the adjacent side of the sub-coverage area closest to the leftmost side.

In some optional embodiments, for a scenario where the antenna is mechanically oriented, the angle of the antenna needs to be changed by rotating or tilting, so as to change the orientation of the antenna, and if the angle is too large, the layout design of components may be affected, thereby increasing the complexity of the system design. For a scene of changing the orientation of the antenna in an electronic manner, the angle of the antenna needs to be changed by changing the phase, so that the orientation of the antenna is changed, the phase is adjusted by the vibration surface, the larger the phase is, the larger the vibration surface is, and the larger the vibration surface is, so that the higher the cost is. Therefore, the beams and the radiation units are mapped one by one, and the mapping relation between the beams and the radiation units is changed in the moving process of the satellite, so that the adjustment angle of the antenna can be reduced, and the problem of changing the direction of the antenna in a mechanical mode and an electronic mode can be solved. Wherein, the radiation unit may be a radiation device of the antenna, and the radiation unit has a preset maximum adjustment angle. It is understood that the preset maximum adjustment angle can also be understood as the maximum variable range of the coverage area formed by the beams on the ground, and for example, taking the maximum coverable area shown in fig. 5a as an example, the maximum variable range of any beam is the range of 5 beams. If the beams are mapped with the radiation unit, the maximum variable range of any one beam can be a range of 2 beams, so that the variable angle of the antenna can be reduced, and the problems caused by the mechanical method and the electronic method can be avoided. It is understood that the range of 2 beams is merely exemplary and is not meant to limit the embodiments of the present application, and in some embodiments, the range may be less than 5 beams.

Next, taking the satellite 1 as an example, the mapping relationship between the antenna and the beam is exemplarily described with reference to fig. 8. Referring to fig. 8, satellite 1 has beams 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, and 1-4, where beam 1-1 maps to radiating element 1-1, beam 1-2 maps to radiating element 1-2, beam 1-3 maps to radiating element 1-3, beam 1-4 maps to radiating element 1-4, and the maximum variable range of radiating element 1-1, radiating element 1-2, radiating element 1-3, and radiating element 1-4 may be a range of 2 beams. Assuming that the sub-coverage area 1-4 needs to be moved to a position adjacent to the sub-coverage area 1-1 during the movement of the satellite 1, if the adjustment is performed mechanically or electronically, the angle of the radiation unit 1-4 needs to be adjusted by 4 beam ranges. In the embodiment of the application, by mapping the radiation unit 1-1 with the beam 1-4, the sub-coverage area 1-1 can be moved to a position adjacent to the sub-coverage area 1-1 without adjusting the angles of the 4 beam ranges, that is, without adjusting the angles of the radiation units, only the mapping relationship between the beam and the radiation unit needs to be changed. It can be understood that, when the sub-coverage areas 1-4 are moved, the mapping relationship between the remaining beams and the radiation unit is changed accordingly.

In some alternative embodiments, during the movement of the satellites, the user terminal may switch between the satellites when the user terminal is located in an area beyond the coverage area of the satellites. By setting the sub-coverage areas with the same frequency among different satellites, the user terminal can only switch the satellites without switching the frequency when switching among the satellites, so that the signaling consumption caused by frequency switching can be reduced, and the switching efficiency and the system operation efficiency are improved.

Next, the inter-satellite handover will be exemplarily described by taking the satellite 1 and the satellite 2 as an example and referring to fig. 9a and 9 b. Referring to FIG. 9a, satellite 1 has 4 beams, beams 1-1, beams 1-2, beams 1-3, and beams 1-4, corresponding to frequencies frequency 1, frequency 2, frequency 3, and frequency 4, respectively; satellite 2 has 4 beams, beam 2-1, beam 2-2, beam 2-3, and beam 2-4, corresponding to frequencies frequency 1, frequency 2, frequency 3, and frequency 4, respectively. Assuming that the ue is located in the sub-coverage area 1-1, as can be seen from the above description, when the sub-coverage area 1-1 is located at the edge of the maximum coverable area, the sub-coverage area 1-1 may be moved to the adjacent side of the sub-coverage area near the other edge of the maximum coverable area, for example, the adjacent side of the sub-coverage area 1-2, so that the coverage area schematic diagram shown in fig. 9b may be obtained. Referring to fig. 9b, the satellite 2 may perform the same operation as the satellite 1, for example, move the sub-coverage area 2-1 to the neighboring side of the sub-coverage area 2-1, thereby making the user terminal located in the coverage of the sub-coverage area 2-1, at which time the user terminal may be handed over from the sub-coverage area 1-1 of the satellite 1 to the sub-coverage area 2-1 of the satellite 2. However, since the frequency of the sub-coverage area 1-1 is the same as the frequency of the sub-coverage area 2-1, for example, the frequency is 1, the frequency of the user terminal is not switched, and only the satellite is switched, for example, from the satellite 1 to the satellite 2, so that the signaling overhead caused by the frequency switching can be reduced.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the communication device of the present application, and as shown in fig. 10, the communication device 1000 is applied to a first satellite, the first satellite may form one or more beams, and the one or more beams form one or more sub coverage areas with the same shape on the ground through an antenna, and the sub coverage areas may include: an obtaining module 1010 and a changing module 1020; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

an obtaining module 1010, configured to obtain, by the first satellite, a first coverage area at a current time, where the first coverage area includes one or more sub-coverage areas;

a changing module 1020, configured to, in a moving process of the first satellite in a first direction, change an orientation of the antenna in a second direction to obtain a second coverage area at a next time, where the second coverage area includes the one or more sub-coverage areas, the first direction is opposite to the second direction, and a sub-coverage area where a user terminal in the second coverage area is located is the same as a sub-coverage area where the user terminal in the first coverage area is located.

In one possible implementation manner, the communication device 1000 further includes:

and a moving module, configured to, in a moving process of the first satellite, when it is detected that the second coverage area is located at a first edge of the maximum scanning area, move a first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area to an adjacent side of a second sub-coverage area, where the first sub-coverage area is a coverage area in the first coverage area that is closest to the first edge, the second sub-coverage area is a coverage area in the first coverage area that is closest to a second edge, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

In one possible implementation manner, the multiple beams have different frequencies, and the ue is located in the first sub-coverage area, the communication apparatus 1000 further includes:

In one possible implementation manner, the shape of the sub coverage area is an ellipse, a circle or a hexagon

The communication device provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 10 may be used to implement the technical solutions of the method embodiments shown in the present application, and further reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments for implementing the principles and technical effects.

It should be understood that the division of the modules of the communication device shown in fig. 10 is merely a logical division, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. And these modules can be realized in the form of software called by processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; and part of the modules can be realized in the form of calling by the processing element in software, and part of the modules can be realized in the form of hardware. For example, the detection module may be a separate processing element, or may be integrated into a chip of the electronic device. The other modules are implemented similarly. In addition, all or part of the modules can be integrated together or can be independently realized. In implementation, each step of the above method or each module above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or an instruction in the form of software.

For example, the above modules may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), among others. For another example, these modules may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a System-On-a-Chip (SOC).

An exemplary electronic device provided in embodiments of the present application is further described below in conjunction with fig. 11. Fig. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device 1100, and the electronic device 1100 may be the satellite.

The electronic device 1100 may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein: the memory stores program instructions executable by the processor, and the processor calls the program instructions to execute the communication method provided by the embodiment shown in the application.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device 1100 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present application. The electronic device 1100 shown in fig. 11 is only an example, and should not bring any limitation to the functions and the scope of use of the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in fig. 11, the electronic device 1100 is in the form of a general purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 1100 may include, but are not limited to: one or more processors 1110, a memory 1120, a communication bus 1140 that connects the various system components (including the memory 1120 and the processors 1110), and a communication interface 1130.

Communication bus 1140 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processor, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, such architectures include, but are not limited to, industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, enhanced ISA bus, video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Electronic device 1100 typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by an electronic device and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media.

Memory 1120 may include computer system readable media in the form of volatile Memory, such as Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or cache Memory. The electronic device may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer system storage media. Although not shown in FIG. 11, a disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk (e.g., a "floppy disk") and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk (e.g., a Compact disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Digital versatile disk Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM), or other optical media) may be provided. In these cases, each drive may be connected to the communication bus 1140 by one or more data media interfaces. Memory 1120 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of the application.

A program/utility having a set (at least one) of program modules, including but not limited to an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, may be stored in the memory 1120, with each of these examples or some combination possibly including implementation in a network environment. The program modules generally perform the functions and/or methodologies of the embodiments described herein.

Electronic device 1100 may also communicate with one or more external devices (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, display, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device, and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable the electronic device to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication may occur through communication interface 1130. Also, electronic device 1100 may communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN), wide Area Network (WAN), and/or a public Network such as the Internet) via a Network adapter (not shown in FIG. 11) that may communicate with other modules of the electronic device via communication bus 1140. It should be appreciated that although not shown in FIG. 11, other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 1100, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive Arrays, disk array (RAID) systems, tape Drives, and data backup storage systems, among others.

The processor 1110 executes programs stored in the memory 1120 to perform various functional applications and data processing, for example, to implement the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application

It should be understood that the connection relationship between the modules illustrated in the embodiment of the present application is only an exemplary illustration, and does not limit the structure of the electronic device 1100. In other embodiments of the present application, the electronic device 1100 may also adopt different interface connection manners or a combination of multiple interface connection manners in the above embodiments.

In the above embodiments, the processors may include, for example, a CPU, a DSP, a microcontroller, or a digital Signal processor, and may further include a GPU, an embedded Neural Network Processor (NPU), and an Image Signal Processing (ISP), and the processors may further include necessary hardware accelerators or logic Processing hardware circuits, such as an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program according to the technical solution of the present application. Further, the processor may have the functionality to operate one or more software programs, which may be stored in the storage medium.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method provided by the embodiments shown in the present application.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method provided by the embodiments shown in the present application.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate that a exists alone, a and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" and the like, refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c or a and b and c, wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, any function, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a separate product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure should be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a first satellite, wherein the first satellite can form one or more beams, and the one or more beams form one or more sub coverage areas with the same shape on the ground through an antenna, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first satellite further comprises a maximum scan area, and wherein the maximum scan area is used to characterize a maximum scan range of the first satellite.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in the moving process of the first satellite, when the second coverage area is detected to be located at a first edge of the maximum scanning area, moving a first sub-coverage area in the second coverage area to an adjacent side of a second sub-coverage area, wherein the first sub-coverage area is a coverage area in the first coverage area closest to the first edge, the second sub-coverage area is a coverage area in the first coverage area closest to a second edge, and the first edge and the second edge are opposite sides.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of beams have different frequencies between them, wherein the user terminal is located in the first sub-coverage area, and wherein the method further comprises:

and after the first sub-coverage area is moved, the user terminal in the first sub-coverage area before the movement is covered by a third sub-coverage area, wherein the third sub-coverage area is the coverage area of a second satellite, and the frequency of the third sub-coverage area is the same as the frequency of the first sub-coverage area.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, wherein the maximum scanning area is a sub-coverage area formed on the ground by M beams; wherein M is a positive number greater than or equal to N +1, N is a total number of beams of the first satellite, and N is a positive integer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in the case that the first satellite forms a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams are mapped one-to-one with the antenna, and a mapping relationship between the plurality of beams and the antenna is variable during the movement of the first satellite.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape of the sub-coverage areas is elliptical, circular, or hexagonal.

8. A first satellite, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program; the processor is adapted to run the computer program to implement the communication method according to any of claims 1-7.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores a computer program which, when run on a computer, implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.