CN117811679A

CN117811679A - Method, device and communication system for antenna correction

Info

Publication number: CN117811679A
Application number: CN202211216200.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 龚政委
Original assignee: Shanghai Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2022-09-30
Publication date: 2024-04-02
Also published as: WO2024067007A1

Abstract

The application discloses a method, a device and a communication system for antenna correction. The antenna system can be applied to antenna systems such as base stations, satellite communication, detection radars and the like. The antenna correction device includes: n antenna ports, a coupling plate, N service channels, and a first switch; the N antenna ports are respectively connected with the N service channels; n is an integer greater than or equal to 3; the N service channels comprise a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel and a first receiving channel, and the output port of the coupling plate is connected with the first receiving channel through a first switch, so that the disconnection of the first switch does not influence the data transmission of the service channels. In addition, the first switch is used for realizing correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port, the first transmission channel corresponds to the first antenna port, and the second transmission channel corresponds to the second antenna port. And the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, thereby reducing hardware cost.

Description

Method, device and communication system for antenna correction

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a communication system for antenna correction.

Background

With the rapid development of wireless communication, antennas of network devices show a development trend of multiport and diversification, including antenna technologies such as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), beam Forming (BF), massive MIMO (MM), and the like, and in order to achieve better system performance, the phase, amplitude and time delay of radio frequency channels corresponding to the multiport of the network devices need to be corrected by a correction method.

At present, the common correction methods mainly comprise: a switch is added between the antenna and the service channel, and one antenna is independently controlled by one switch. And each antenna is provided with a corresponding antenna number, and the service channel from which the coupling signal comes is determined according to the antenna number by respectively controlling the opening and closing of the switch, so that the signal difference between different service channels is determined, and the antenna is corrected.

However, the number of digital switches in the above manner is the same as the number of antennas, that is, the number of antennas increases, and the hardware cost increases.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method, a device and a communication system for antenna correction. The correction among the plurality of antenna ports is realized through the first switch positioned between the output port of the coupling plate and the receiving channels, the plurality of antenna ports are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of sending channels, and the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, so that the hardware cost is reduced.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an antenna correction device, which can be applied to antenna systems such as a base station, satellite communication, and probe radar. The antenna correction device includes: n antenna ports, a coupling plate, N service channels, and a first switch; the N antenna ports are respectively connected with the N service channels (namely, the N antenna ports are in one-to-one correspondence with the N service channels), and N is an integer greater than or equal to 3; the N service channels comprise a first transmitting channel, a second transmitting channel and a first receiving channel, and the output ports of the coupling plates are connected with the first receiving channel through a first switch; the first switch is used for realizing correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port, the first transmission channel corresponds to the first antenna port, and the second transmission channel corresponds to the second antenna port. For example, in the state where the first switch is turned off, since the path between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is turned off, the signal received by the first receiving channel is mainly received from the antenna port corresponding to the receiving channel. In the state that the first switch is closed, the channel between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is normal, and at this time, the signal received by the first receiving channel can come from the output port of the coupling plate besides coming from the antenna port corresponding to the receiving channel. The difference of channel coefficients between channels where the signals are sent by all the sending channels can be obtained through the signals obtained in the open state of the first switch and the signals obtained in the closed state of the first switch, and then the antenna ports of all the sending channels can be compensated according to the difference of the channel coefficients, so that the relative errors of all the sending channels are reduced.

In this embodiment, the output port of the coupling board is connected to the first receiving channel through a first switch, and the first switch is used to implement correction between the first antenna port corresponding to the first transmitting channel and the second antenna port corresponding to the second transmitting channel. In addition, in the antenna correction process, the first switch is positioned between the output port of the coupling plate and the first receiving channel, so that the disconnection of the first switch does not influence the data transmission of the service channel. And the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, thereby reducing hardware cost.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the correcting, by the first switch, between the first antenna port corresponding to the first transmission channel and the second antenna port corresponding to the second transmission channel includes: under the condition that a first switch is disconnected, a first receiving channel is used for receiving signals sent by a first sending channel and a second sending channel so as to acquire a first group of signals, wherein the first group of signals are interference signals; under the condition that the first switch is closed, the first receiving channel is used for receiving signals sent by the first sending channel and the second sending channel so as to acquire a second group of signals, wherein the second group of signals comprise interference signals and effective signals, and the effective signals are used for correcting the first antenna port and the second antenna port. In the state that the first switch is opened, the first group of signals mainly come from the antenna port corresponding to the receiving channel at the moment because the passage between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is opened. In the state that the first switch is closed, the channel between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is normal, and at this time, the second group of signals can come from the output port of the coupling plate in addition to the antenna port corresponding to the receiving channel. Specifically, the effective signal is used for determining a difference in channel coefficient between the first antenna port and the second antenna port, the difference in channel coefficient is used for compensating the first antenna port and the second antenna port when transmitting the service signal so as to offset the difference in channel coefficient, and the channel coefficient is related to at least one of the following: channel amplitude, channel phase difference, arrival delay difference.

In this possible implementation manner, by turning off the first switch, the air interface coupled interference signals received by the first receiving channel are approximately equal (i.e. all are represented by interference signals), so that the interference signals in the second set of signals can be cancelled according to the interference signals in the first set of signals, and thus, an effective signal can be obtained. And further, correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port is realized according to the effective signal.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the interference signal includes a first interference signal and a second interference signal, where the first interference signal is a null coupling signal between a first antenna port and a third antenna port, the third antenna port corresponds to the first receiving channel, and the second interference signal is a null coupling signal between the second antenna port and the third antenna port; the effective signals comprise first effective signals and second effective signals, the first effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the first sending channel, and the second effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the second sending channel.

In this possible implementation manner, the correction is achieved by determining the first effective signal corresponding to the first transmission channel and the second effective signal corresponding to the second transmission channel, so that the compensation can be performed subsequently according to the difference between the first effective signal and the second effective signal.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first sending channel is used to send a signal through a first resource, and the second sending channel is used to send a signal through a second resource; the first resource or the second resource comprises at least one of: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, and space domain resources.

In this possible implementation manner, there are multiple situations of resources used by the sending channel, so that the application scenario of this embodiment is increased.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources; the first interference signal and the second interference signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources, and the first effective signal and the second effective signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources.

In this possible implementation manner, in the case that the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division, the first interference signal and the second interference signal can be correctly decomposed, and the first effective signal and the second effective signal can be correctly decomposed. Reducing the time spent in the correction process.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources; the first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch is in an off state at the first moment and the second moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the first moment comprises a first interference signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmitting channel at the second moment comprises a second interference signal, and the first moment is different from the second moment; the second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch is in a closed state at the third moment and the fourth moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the third moment comprises a first signal, wherein the first signal comprises a first interference signal and a first effective signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmission channel at the fourth time instant comprises a second signal, the second signal comprises a second interference signal and a second effective signal, and the third time instant is different from the fourth time instant.

In this possible implementation manner, when the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal, the signal is transmitted at different times. Thereby improving the flexibility of the correction scheme.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first receiving channel is further used for sending a signal, the first sending channel is used as a second receiving channel, and the antenna correction device further includes a second switch, and an output port of the coupling board is connected with the second receiving channel through the second switch; the second switch is used for realizing correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port.

In this possible implementation manner, the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel is corrected with other antenna ports. The first receiving channel may also be used to transmit signals and use the first transmitting channel as the second receiving channel. And further based on a correction between the second switch first antenna port and the corresponding third antenna port of the first receiving channel between the output port of the coupling plate and the second receiving channel.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in a same remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), or the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in different RRUs.

In this possible implementation manner, the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel may be two service transmission channels in the same RRU, or may be two service transmission channels in different RRUs. Can be applied to antenna correction across RRUs.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides an antenna correction method. The method may be performed by a network device or by a component of a network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or system-on-a-chip, etc.). The method comprises the following steps: under the condition that a first switch is disconnected, a first group of signals are obtained, wherein the first group of signals are signals transmitted by a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel and are received by a first receiving channel, and the first group of signals are interference signals; under the condition that a first switch is closed, a second group of signals are obtained, wherein the second group of signals are signals transmitted by a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel and are received by a first receiving channel, and the second group of signals comprise interference signals and effective signals; the first antenna port and the second antenna port are calibrated based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals. In the state that the first switch is opened, the path between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is opened, and the first group of signals are mainly from the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel. In the state that the first switch is closed, the channel between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is normal, and the second group of signals can come from the output port of the coupling plate besides the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel.

In this embodiment, on the one hand, by acquiring the first set of signals when the first switch is opened and acquiring the second set of signals when the first switch is closed, correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port is further achieved based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals. On the other hand, the interference signals obtained through the first group of signals counteract the interference in the second group of signals, so that the effective signals output by the coupling plate are obtained. I.e. correction of the antenna ports is achieved by successive interference cancellation. On the other hand, in the antenna correction process, since the first switch is located between the output port of the coupling plate and the first receiving channel, the disconnection of the first switch does not affect the data transmission of the service channel. On the other hand, the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, and compared with a scheme that one channel corresponds to one switch, the hardware cost can be reduced.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the steps are as follows: correcting the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals, comprising: determining a valid signal based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals; the first antenna port and the second antenna port are calibrated based on the effective signal.

In this possible implementation, the interference signals in the second set of signals may be cancelled according to the interference signals in the first set of signals, so that a valid signal may be obtained. And further, correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port is realized according to the effective signal.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the interference signal includes a first interference signal and a second interference signal, where the first interference signal is a null coupling signal between a first antenna port and a third antenna port, the third antenna port corresponds to the first receiving channel, and the second interference signal is a null coupling signal between the second antenna port and the third antenna port; the effective signals comprise first effective signals and second effective signals, the first effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the first sending channel, and the second effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the second sending channel.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the steps are as follows: correcting the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the effective signal, comprising: the first antenna port and the second antenna port are corrected based on a difference in channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal. Specifically, a difference of channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal is determined, the difference of channel coefficients is used for compensating the first antenna port and the second antenna port when transmitting service signals so as to offset the difference of channel coefficients, and the channel coefficients are related to at least one of the following: the amplitude of the channel, the phase difference of the channel, the moment when the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel.

In this possible implementation manner, the first antenna port and the second antenna port may be specifically corrected according to the difference of the channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal, so as to improve flexibility of the scheme.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the steps are as follows: acquiring a first set of signals, comprising:

acquiring a first set of signals on a first resource; acquiring a second set of signals, comprising: acquiring a first set of signals on a second resource; the first resource and the second resource comprise at least one of: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, and space domain resources.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources; the first interference signal and the second interference signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources, and the first effective signal and the second effective signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources; the first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch is in an off state at the first moment and the second moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the first moment comprises a first interference signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmitting channel at the second moment comprises a second interference signal, and the first moment is different from the second moment; the second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch is in a closed state at the third moment and the fourth moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the third moment comprises a first signal, wherein the first signal comprises a first interference signal and a first effective signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmission channel at the fourth time instant comprises a second signal, the second signal comprises a second interference signal and a second effective signal, and the third time instant is different from the fourth time instant.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first receiving channel is further used for sending a signal, the first sending channel is used as a second receiving channel, and the antenna correction device further includes a second switch, and an output port of the coupling board is connected with the second receiving channel through the second switch; the second switch is used for realizing correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port. Of course, the second transmission channel may be the second reception channel. Of course, if the second transmitting channel is used as the second receiving channel, the second switch is used to implement the correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port.

In this possible implementation manner, the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel is corrected with other antenna ports. The first receiving channel may also be used to transmit signals and use the first transmitting channel as the second receiving channel. And further a correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port is achieved based on the second switch.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in the same RRU, or the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in different RRUs.

A third aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a network device. The network device includes: the acquisition unit is used for acquiring a first group of signals under the condition that the first switch is disconnected, wherein the first group of signals are signals transmitted by the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel and are interference signals; the acquisition unit is further used for acquiring a second group of signals under the condition that the first switch is closed, wherein the second group of signals are signals transmitted by the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel and are received by the first receiving channel, and the second group of signals comprise interference signals and effective signals; and the processing unit is used for correcting the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals. In the state that the first switch is opened, the path between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is opened, and the first group of signals are mainly from the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel. In the state that the first switch is closed, the channel between the coupling plate and the first receiving channel is normal, and the second group of signals can come from the output port of the coupling plate besides the antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the valid signal based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals; the processing unit is specifically configured to correct the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the effective signal.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the interference signal includes a first interference signal and a second interference signal, where the first interference signal is an air interface coupling signal between a first antenna port and a third antenna port, the third antenna port corresponds to the first receiving channel, and the second interference signal is an air interface coupling signal between the second antenna port and the third antenna port; the effective signals comprise first effective signals and second effective signals, the first effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the first sending channel, and the second effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the second sending channel.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to correct the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on a difference in channel coefficient between the first effective signal and the second effective signal. Specifically, a difference of channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal is determined, the difference of channel coefficients is used for compensating the first antenna port and the second antenna port when transmitting service signals so as to offset the difference of channel coefficients, and the channel coefficients are related to at least one of the following: the amplitude of the channel, the phase difference of the channel, the moment when the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the acquiring unit is specifically configured to acquire the first set of signals on the first resource; an acquisition unit, in particular for acquiring a first set of signals on a second resource; the first resource and the second resource comprise at least one of: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, and space domain resources.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources; the first interference signal and the second interference signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources, and the first effective signal and the second effective signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources; the first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch is in an off state at the first moment and the second moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the first moment comprises a first interference signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmitting channel at the second moment comprises a second interference signal, and the first moment is different from the second moment; the second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch is in a closed state at the third moment and the fourth moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the third moment comprises a first signal, wherein the first signal comprises a first interference signal and a first effective signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmission channel at the fourth time instant comprises a second signal, the second signal comprises a second interference signal and a second effective signal, and the third time instant is different from the fourth time instant.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first receiving channel is further used for sending a signal, the first sending channel is used as a second receiving channel, the antenna correction device further includes a second switch, and an output port of the coupling board is connected with the second receiving channel through the second switch; the second switch is used for realizing correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port corresponding to the first receiving channel. Of course, if the second transmitting channel is used as the second receiving channel, the second switch is used to implement the correction between the second antenna port and the third antenna port.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in the same RRU, or the first receiving channel and the second receiving channel are two service transmission channels in different RRUs.

A fourth aspect of the present embodiment provides a network device, including: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to implement the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect described above.

A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides an antenna correction system, including: the antenna correction means in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and/or the network device in the fourth aspect.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the network device is further configured to control on/off of a switch in the antenna correction device. Optionally, the baseband unit in the network device is configured to connect to a first receiving channel in the antenna correction device, so as to obtain the signal through the first receiving channel.

A sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a base station, including: the antenna correction device of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

A seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

An eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

A ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor for supporting a network device to implement the functionality involved in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In one possible design, the system on a chip may further include memory to hold the program instructions and data necessary for the network device. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit providing program instructions and/or data to the at least one processor.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of an antenna calibration device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an interference signal flow direction provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an interference signal and a useful signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating another structural example of the antenna calibration device according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is an exemplary diagram of two receiving channels provided in the embodiment of the present application being located in the same RRU;

fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of two receiving channels provided in the embodiments of the present application being located in different RRUs;

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of an antenna calibration method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is another schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are only some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments herein, all other embodiments that a person skilled in the art would obtain without making any inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the embodiments herein.

The terms "first," "second," and the like in the embodiments of the present application and in the above-described figures are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate such that the embodiments described herein may be implemented in other sequences than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or modules that are expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is a logical division, and there may be another division manner when implementing in practical applications, for example, multiple modules may be combined or integrated in another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed.

Furthermore, in the embodiments herein, unless explicitly stated and limited otherwise, the terms "connected," "configured," and the like are to be construed broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or can be communicated between two elements or the interaction relationship between the two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

Before a specific description of the wireless correction device provided by the embodiment of the present application is given, an application scenario of the antenna correction device provided by the embodiment of the present application is first described.

The antenna correction device can be applied to antenna systems such as access network equipment, satellite communication equipment and detection radar. It will be appreciated that the above described access network device may also be a base station, which may be located in a base station subsystem (base btation bubsystem, BBS), a terrestrial radio access network (UMTS terrestrial radio access network, UTRAN) or an evolved terrestrial radio access network (evolved universal terrestrial radio access, E-UTRAN), for cell coverage of signals for enabling communication between terminal devices and a radio network. Specifically, the base station may be a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (global system for mobile comunication, GSM) or (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, a node B (NodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario. Or the base station may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a g node (gnob or gNB) in a New Radio (NR) system, an access network device in a future evolution network, or the like, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The access network device will be described later with a base station.

Take the application of the antenna calibration device to a base station as an example. The base station is equipped with an antenna to enable transmission of signals in space. In addition, the base station may further include a radio frequency processing unit and a baseband processing unit. The baseband processing unit may be connected to the antenna through the radio frequency processing unit. In some embodiments, the radio frequency processing unit may also be referred to as a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), and the baseband processing unit may also be referred to as a baseband unit (BBU).

In one possible embodiment, the rf processing unit may be integrally provided with the antenna, and the baseband processing unit is located at a distal end of the antenna, in which case the rf processing unit and the antenna may be collectively referred to as an active antenna unit (active antenna unit, AAU). It should be noted that, the positional relationship between the rf processing unit and the antenna is not limited, for example, the rf processing unit and the baseband processing unit may also be located at the distal end of the antenna. The radio frequency processing unit and the baseband processing unit can be connected through a transmission line.

In order to achieve better system performance, it is important to calibrate the radio frequency channels corresponding to the multiple antenna ports in the base station by using a calibration method. The corrected parameters are mainly phase, amplitude, delay, etc. between the radio frequency channels. One common calibration method is to add a switch between the antenna and the traffic channel, one antenna being independently controlled by one switch. The network equipment numbers the antennas, determines the corresponding service channels of the antenna from which the coupling signal comes according to the numbers by respectively controlling the opening and closing of the switches, thereby determining the signal difference between different service channels and correcting the antennas. However, the number of digital switches in the above manner is the same as the number of antennas, that is, the number of antennas increases, and the hardware cost increases.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present application provide an antenna calibration device for reducing hardware cost.

The wireless correction device provided in the embodiment of the present application is specifically described below.

As shown in fig. 1, an embodiment of the present application provides an embodiment of an antenna correction device, including: n antenna ports 101, a coupling plate 102, N traffic channels 103, and a first switch 104.

Wherein N antenna ports 101 are used for transmitting and receiving signals. The coupling board 102 is configured to combine one or more transmission signals into a combined signal, and transmit the combined signal to the receiving channel, that is, the combined signal is sent out through the output port 105 of the coupling board 102. The N traffic channels 103 are multiplexed channels having a transmitting function and a receiving function. In the foregoing base station scenario, the service channel may also be understood as an RRU channel.

The N antenna ports 101 are respectively connected with the N service channels 103, or it is understood that the N antenna ports 101 are in one-to-one correspondence with the N service channels 103, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 3. The N service channels 103 include a first transmitting channel a, a second transmitting channel B, and a first receiving channel C, and the output ports 105 of the coupling board 102 are connected to the first receiving channel C through the first switch 104; the first switch 104 is used to implement correction between the first antenna port 1 corresponding to the first transmission channel a and the second antenna port 2 corresponding to the second transmission channel B.

It will be understood that the antenna correction devices shown in fig. 1 to 3, 8 and 9 in the embodiments of the present application are only exemplarily described by taking 3 antenna ports, 3 service channels, 1 receiving channel and 1 switch as examples. The antenna correction device shown in fig. 4 to 6 is only exemplarily described with 3 antenna ports, 3 service channels, 2 receiving channels, and 2 switches. In practical applications, the antenna calibration device may further include a greater number of antenna ports, service channels, receiving channels, switches, and the like, which are not limited herein.

The first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2 can be understood as corrected antenna ports.

Alternatively, one traffic channel and one antenna port may be connected through 1 coupler 106 for establishing a path between one traffic channel and one antenna port. In addition, the first switch 104 and the first receiving channel C may be coupled (i.e. 107 in fig. 1 indicates a coupling interface). The difference between the coupler 106 and the coupling board 102 is that the coupler 106 is used for realizing the propagation of a single-path signal, and the coupling board 102 is used for realizing the combination of multiple paths of signals and then transmitting the combined signals to the first receiving channel C through the output port 105. Wherein the path between the output port 105 and the first receiving channel C may be referred to as a reverse coupling circuit.

In addition, an active amplification module (i.e., black rectangle in 103 in fig. 1) may be disposed on each of the N service channels 103, and the active amplification module is configured to amplify power of signals received/transmitted by the service channels.

The switches (e.g., the first switch, the second switch) in the embodiments of the present application may be a mechanical switch or a digital switch, and are not limited herein. It will be appreciated that the first switch may be a digital switch in order to reduce the delay of opening and closing the switch. The digital switch may be a diode, a triode, or the like. In addition, the number of switches corresponds to the number of multiplexed reception channels among the N traffic channels 103.

The first switch 104 is used to implement the calibration between the first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2, the first transmission channel a corresponds to the first antenna port 1, and the second transmission channel B corresponds to the first antenna port 2, which can be specifically understood that the calibration between the first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2 is implemented by opening and closing the first switch 104.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, when the first switch 104 is turned off, the first receiving channel C is configured to receive signals sent by the first sending channel a and the second sending channel B, so as to obtain a first set of signals, where the first set of signals are interference signals.

That is, in the case where the first switch 104 is turned off, the output port 105 of the coupling plate 102 cannot transmit the combined signal to the first receiving channel C. In this state, the signal received by the first reception channel C is an interference signal between the antenna port 3 and the antenna port 2.

As shown in fig. 3, when the first switch 104 is closed, the first receiving channel C is configured to receive signals from the first transmitting channel a and the second transmitting channel B to obtain a second set of signals, where the second set of signals includes an interference signal and a valid signal, and the valid signal is configured to correct the first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2. That is, in this case, the output port 105 of the coupling board 102 may emit a combined signal (i.e., a valid signal). In this state, the first receiving channel C receives signals from the interference signal and the effective signal. The effective signal is understood to be the signal transmitted by the transmission channel to the corresponding antenna, and is also understood to be the signal transmitted by the corresponding antenna.

Specifically, the interference signal includes a first interference signal and a second interference signal, where the first interference signal is an air interface coupling interference signal between the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 3, the first transmission channel a corresponds to the antenna port 1, the first receiving channel C corresponds to the antenna port 3, the second interference signal is an air interface coupling interference signal between the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3, the second transmission channel B corresponds to the antenna port 2, and the first receiving channel C corresponds to the antenna port 3. The effective signals include a first effective signal and a second effective signal, where the first effective signal is an effective signal output by the first transmission channel a through the coupling board 102, and the second effective signal is an effective signal output by the second transmission channel B through the coupling board 102.

When the first switch 104 is opened and closed, the first interference signal may represent an interference signal between the first antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3 when the first switch 104 is opened, or may represent an interference signal between the first antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3 when the first switch 104 is closed. The first and second valid signals may then be determined by the difference in the received signals of the first receiving channel C between the opening and closing of the first switch 104. And the first antenna port 1 and/or the second antenna port 2 are/is compensated by the difference of the channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal, thereby realizing the correction between the first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2. I.e. a correction between the first antenna port 1 and the second antenna port 2 is achieved. The channel coefficients are associated with at least one of: the amplitude of the channel, the phase difference of the channel, the moment when the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel. The process of correcting based on the channel coefficients will be described later in connection with the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and will not be further described here.

Optionally, the first transmission channel a is used for transmitting signals through a first resource, and the second transmission channel B is used for transmitting signals through a second resource; the first resource and the second resource belong to at least one of the following: time division resources, frequency division resources, code division resources, and space division resources.

In one possible implementation, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources. The first and second interfering signals are orthogonal frequency division signals, and the first and second effective signals are orthogonal frequency division signals.

In another possible implementation, the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources to each other; the first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch is in an off state at the first moment and the second moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the first moment comprises a first interference signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmitting channel at the second moment comprises a second interference signal, and the first moment is different from the second moment; the second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch is in a closed state at the third moment and the fourth moment; the signal transmitted by the first transmitting channel at the third moment comprises a first signal, wherein the first signal comprises a first interference signal and a first effective signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmission channel at the fourth time instant comprises a second signal, the second signal comprises a second interference signal and a second effective signal, and the third time instant is different from the fourth time instant.

Of course, in order to ensure the correction effect, the smaller the difference between the first moment and the third moment, the better, so that when the first switch 104 is opened and closed, the interference signal is closer, thereby conveniently determining the more accurate first interference signal and the more accurate second interference signal.

In this embodiment, the output port 105 of the coupling board 104 is connected to the first receiving channel C through the first switch 104, and the first switch 104 is used to implement correction between the first antenna port 1 corresponding to the first transmitting channel a and the second antenna port 3 corresponding to the second transmitting channel B. In addition, in the antenna calibration process, since the first switch 104 is located between the output port 105 of the coupling plate 104 and the first receiving channel C, the disconnection of the first switch 104 does not affect the data transmission of the N service channels 103. And the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, thereby reducing hardware cost.

Further, in order to calibrate the antenna port 3 corresponding to the first receiving channel C, as shown in fig. 4, the antenna calibration device may further include a second switch 108, where the output port of the coupling board is connected to the second receiving channel D through the second switch 108. The first receiving channel C may also be used for transmitting signals, and the first transmitting channel a is used as the second receiving channel D. The second switch is used for realizing the correction between the second antenna port 2 and the corresponding third antenna port 3 of the first receiving channel C. It will be appreciated that the second transmitting channel B may also be used as the second receiving channel D, and the apparatus described in fig. 4 herein will be described by taking the first transmitting channel a as an example for the second receiving channel D. Of course, if the second transmission channel is used as the second reception channel, the second switch 108 is used to implement the correction between the first antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3.

By opening and closing the second switch 108, the antenna calibration function of the device shown in fig. 4 can be realized by referring to the description related to the first switch 104, which is not repeated here.

It should be noted that, in the apparatus of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, the first receiving channel C and the second receiving channel D may be two service transmission channels in the same RRU, or as shown in fig. 6, the first receiving channel C and the second receiving channel D may be two service transmission channels in different RRUs, respectively. Correspondingly, the first switch 104 and the second switch 108 may be on the output port 105 of the coupling board 102 and the same RRU, or may be connected across different RRUs through the output port 105 of the coupling board 102. It can be seen that this approach can achieve antenna port correction corresponding to different RRUs.

In addition, the first switch and the second switch in fig. 5 may be located inside the RRU, or may be located outside the RRU. Similarly, in fig. 6, the first switch may be located inside the RRU1, inside the RRU2, or independent of two RRUs, and the second switch may be located inside the RRU1, or may be located outside the RRU 1. The inclusion relationship between the switch (e.g., the first switch, the second switch, etc.) and the RRU is not specifically limited herein. To facilitate the switch control, the switch is typically located outside the RRU.

The first switch 104 and/or the second switch 108 in the above embodiments may be connected to a control unit, which may be a BBU in a base station, a control device for performing the switching state of other devices, for example, a remote control unit (remote control unit, RCU), etc., which is not limited herein.

The antenna correction device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described above, and the antenna correction method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below. The method may be performed by a network device (e.g., a base station, etc.). Further, it may also be performed by a component of the network device (e.g., a BBU, a chip, or a system-on-chip, etc.).

Alternatively, the BBU described above may be connected to a service channel as a reception channel in the antenna correction device. Optionally, the BBU may also be connected to a switch (e.g., a first switch, a second switch, etc.) to control the opening and closing of the switch.

It will be appreciated that the switch may also be connected to control opening and closing of the switch by a processing unit other than the BBU. Such as RCU. That is, the unit for correction calculation and the unit for controlling the switch may be the same unit (e.g., BBU), or may be different units (e.g., BBU is used for correction calculation, RCU is used for controlling on/off of the switch), which is not limited herein. The specific control method of the switch is not limited. For example, the control of the switch may be set in advance by a processing unit such as a BBU/RCU, or may be controlled in real time by a processing unit such as a BBU/RCU, etc., and is not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 7, a flowchart of an antenna calibration method according to an embodiment of the present application may include steps 701 to 703. Steps 701 to 703 are described in detail below.

In step 701, a first set of signals is acquired with a first switch open.

Under the condition that a first switch is disconnected, a first group of signals are acquired, wherein the first group of signals are signals received by a first receiving channel from a first sending channel and a second sending channel, and the first group of signals are interference signals.

Illustratively, the foregoing fig. 2 and the network device control the first switch are taken as examples. The network device may control the first switch to open. And selects the service channel A and the service channel B as the channels for transmitting signals, and the service channel C as the channel for receiving signals. The network device receives signals from a first set of signals from traffic channel a and traffic channel B via traffic channel C.

As can be seen from fig. 2, in case the first switch is opened, the first set of signals is mainly coming from the corresponding antenna port 3 of the traffic channel C due to the opening of the path between the coupling plate and the traffic channel C. I.e. the first set of signals comprises: an air-interface coupled interference signal between antenna port 1 and antenna port 3 (i.e., the first interference signal in the embodiments of fig. 1-7 described above), and an air-interface coupled interference signal between antenna port 2 and antenna port 3 (i.e., the second interference signal in the embodiments of fig. 1-7 described above).

Optionally, a first set of signals is acquired on a first resource.

The resources (e.g., first resource, second resource, etc.) in embodiments of the present application may include at least one of: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, and space domain resources. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, only the first resource and the second resource are described as being orthogonal resources, and it may be understood that the first resource and the second resource may also be non-orthogonal resources, which is not limited herein.

Example 1, if the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources. The first interfering signal and the second interfering signal are orthogonal frequency division signals.

The first group of signals will be described in detail by taking the example 1 described above and the same time when the transmission channels transmit signals as an example. It will be appreciated that the timing at which the transmission channels transmit signals over different frequency points may also be different.

At time 1, in case the first switch is turned off, the traffic channel a and the traffic channel B send signals s to the traffic channel C at different frequency points. Due to the disconnection of the path between the coupling plate and the service channel C, the first set of signals y ₀ Mainly from the corresponding antenna port 3 of the traffic channel C. The antenna port 1 sends out a signal through the service channel a, that is, the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 3 generate air interface coupling interference (i.e., first interference information). Similarly, the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3 generate air-interface coupling interference (i.e. second interference information). Since the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources, the antenna port 3 receives the coupling signal h·s of the first interference signal and the second interference signal, and the noise n.

This process can be shown as expression 0.

Expression 0: y is ₀ ＝h·s+n；

Wherein y is ₀ For receiving signals from the service channel A and the service channel B on different frequency points of the service channel C, h.s is a first interference signal and a second interference signalThe coupling signal of the scrambling signal, h, represents the channel coefficient of the channel on which the coupling signal is located, s represents the multiplication, s is the signal transmitted by the service channel a and the service channel B at time 1, and n is noise.

In this example, the first set of signals y ₀ Includes coupling the signal h.s with the noise n.

Example 2, if the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources. The first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch at the first moment and the second moment is in an off state. The second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch at the third moment and the fourth moment is in a closed state. The first interference signal corresponds to a signal sent by the service channel A at a first moment; the second interference signal corresponds to a signal sent by the service channel B at a second moment; the first signal corresponds to a signal sent by the service channel A at a third moment, and comprises a first interference signal and a first effective signal; the second signal corresponds to a signal sent by the service channel B at a fourth time, and the second signal comprises a second interference signal and a second effective signal. Wherein the first time is different from the second time, and the third time is different from the fourth time. Of course, in order to ensure the correction effect, the smaller the difference between the first moment and the third moment, the better, so that when the first switch 104 is opened and closed, the interference signal is closer, thereby conveniently determining the more accurate first interference signal and the more accurate second interference signal.

Illustratively, the first set of signals is described in detail using example 2 above as an example.

At a first moment, as shown in the foregoing fig. 2, the traffic channel a transmits a signal s ₁ Since the first switch at the first time is in the off state. The signal y received by the service channel C ₁ Comprising an air interface coupling interference signal h between antenna port 1 and antenna port 3 ₁₃ ·s ₁ I.e. the first interfering signal, and noise n. The process may be as shown in expression 1.

Expression 1: y is ₁ ＝h ₁₃ ·s ₁ +n；

Wherein y is ₁ Receiving a signal from a service channel A for a service channel C, h ₁₃ ·s ₁ For coupling an interference signal (i.e. a first interference signal) for the air interface between the first antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3, h ₁₃ Representing the channel coefficient of the channel on which the first interfering signal is located, representing the multiplication, s ₁ And n is noise for the signal sent by the service channel A at the first moment.

At a second moment, as shown in the foregoing fig. 2, traffic channel B transmits signal s ₂ Since the first switch at the second moment is in the off state. The signal y received by the service channel C ₂ Comprising air interface coupling interference signal h between antenna port 2 and antenna port 3 ₂₃ ·s ₂ (i.e., the second interfering signal) and noise n. The process can be as shown in expression 2:

expression 2: y is ₂ ＝h ₂₃ ·s ₂ +n；

Wherein y is ₂ Receiving a signal from a service channel B for the service channel C, h ₂₃ ·s ₂ For coupling an interference signal (i.e. a second interference signal) for an air interface between the second antenna port 2 and the third antenna port 3, h ₂₃ Representing the channel coefficient of the channel on which the second interfering signal is located, representing the multiplication, s ₂ And n is noise, which is a signal sent by the service channel B at the second moment.

In this example, the first set of signals includes y ₁ And y is ₂ 。

Step 702, with the first switch closed, acquiring a second set of signals.

Under the condition that the first switch is closed, a second group of signals are acquired, wherein the second group of signals are signals transmitted by the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel and are received by the first receiving channel, and the second group of signals comprise interference signals and effective signals.

Illustratively, fig. 3 and the network device control the first switch are taken as examples. The network device may control the first switch to close. And selects the service channel A and the service channel B as the channels for transmitting signals, and the service channel C as the channel for receiving signals. The network device receives signals from a second set of signals from traffic channel a and traffic channel B via traffic channel C.

As can be seen from fig. 3, in case the first switch is closed, since the path between the coupling plate and the service channel C is normal, the second set of signals may come from the output port of the coupling plate in addition to the corresponding antenna port 3 of the service channel C. I.e. the second set of signals comprises a first signal and a second signal. The first signal comes from traffic channel a and the second signal comes from traffic channel B.

The first signal includes: the air interface between the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 3 couples an interference signal (i.e., the first interference signal in the embodiments shown in the foregoing fig. 1 to 7), and an effective signal (referred to as a first effective signal) that the traffic channel a transmits to the traffic channel C through the coupling plate.

The second signal includes: the air interface between the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3 couples an interference signal (i.e., the second interference signal in the embodiment shown in the foregoing fig. 1 to 7), and a useful signal (referred to as a first useful signal) that the traffic channel B transmits to the traffic channel C through the coupling plate.

Optionally, a second set of signals is acquired on a second resource. For the description of the second resource, reference may be made to the description in step 701, which is not repeated here.

Illustratively, the second set of signals is described in detail in continuation of example 1 above.

At time 2, when the first switch is closed, the service channel a and the service channel B send signals s to the service channel C at different frequency points ₃ . Since the path between the coupling plate and the service channel C is normal, the second set of signals may now come from the output signal of the coupling plate in addition to the signal from the antenna port 3. The antenna port 1 sends out a signal through the service channel a, that is, the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 3 generate air interface coupling interference (i.e., first interference information), and the service channel a transmits an effective signal (referred to as a first effective signal) of the service channel C through the coupling board. Similarly, the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3 generate air-interface coupling interference (i.e. second interference information), and the service channel B transmits an effective signal (referred to as a second effective signal) of the service channel C through the coupling board. The first interference signal and the second interference signal are generated by the first and second resources The disturbing signal is a coupling signal h ₂ ·s ₃ . The first effective signal and the second effective signal are combined signals h ₁ ·s ₃ 。

This process can be shown in expression 3.

Expression 3: y is ₃ ＝h ₁ ·s ₃ +h ₂ ·s ₃ +n；

Wherein y is ₃ Receiving signals from a service channel A and a service channel B on different frequency points for the service channel C, and h ₁ ·s ₃ A combined signal h which is the signal sent by the service channel A and the service channel B and is output by the coupling plate ₁ Channel coefficient representing the channel on which the combined signal is located, representation multiplication, s ₃ Signals for traffic channel a and traffic channel B are sent at time 2. h is a ₂ ·s ₃ Representing the coupling signal of two interference signals, one interference signal is the air interface coupling interference signal between the second antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3, the other interference signal is the air interface coupling interference signal between the second antenna port 2 and the third antenna port 3, and n is noise.

In this example, the second set of signals includes y ₃ 。y ₃ Comprising a valid signal h ₁ ·s ₃ Interference signal h ₂ ·s ₃ And noise n.

Illustratively, the second set of signals is described in detail in continuation of example 2 above.

At a third time, as shown in fig. 3, traffic channel a transmits signal s ₄ Since the first switch at the third time is in the closed state. The service channel C receives the signal y from ₄ Comprising the following steps: air interface coupling interference signal h between first antenna port 1 and third antenna port 3 ₁₃ ·s ₄ The service channel A outputs a first effective signal h through the coupling plate _AC ·s ₄ And noise n. This process can be shown in expression 4.

Expression 4: y is ₄ ＝h _AC ·s ₄ +h ₁₃ ·s ₄ +n；

Wherein y is ₄ Receiving a message from traffic channel A for traffic channel CSignals of (h), h _AC ·s ₄ A first effective signal h output by the service channel A through the coupling plate _AC Channel coefficient representing the channel on which the first useful signal is located, representation multiplication, s ₄ And the signal is sent by the service channel A at the third moment. h is a ₁₃ ·s ₄ For coupling an interference signal (i.e. a first interference signal) for the air interface between the first antenna port 1 and the third antenna port 3, h ₁₃ And the channel coefficient of the channel where the first interference signal is located is represented, and n is noise.

At the fourth time, as shown in fig. 3, traffic channel B transmits signal s ₅ Since the first switch at the third time is in the closed state. The service channel C receives the signal y from ₅ Comprising the following steps: air interface coupling interference signal h between second antenna port 2 and third antenna port 3 ₂₃ ·s ₅ The service channel B outputs a second effective signal h through the coupling plate _BC ·s ₅ And noise n. This process can be shown in expression 5.

Expression 5: y is ₅ ＝h _BC ·s ₅ +h ₂₃ ·s ₅ +n；

Wherein y is ₅ Receiving a signal from a service channel B for the service channel C, h _BC ·s ₅ A second effective signal h output by the service channel B through the coupling plate _BC Representing the channel coefficient of the channel on which the second significant signal is located, representing the multiplication, s ₅ And is the signal sent by the service channel B at the fourth time. h is a ₂₃ ·s ₅ For coupling an interference signal (i.e. a second interference signal) for an air interface between the second antenna port 2 and the third antenna port 3, h ₂₃ And the channel coefficient of the channel where the second interference signal is located is represented, and n is noise.

In this example, the second set of signals includes y ₄ And y is ₅ . The effective signals in the second group of signals comprise the first effective signal h _AC ·s ₄ And a second effective signal h _BC ·s ₅ . The interference signals in the second set of signals include the first interference signal h ₁₃ ·s ₄ With a second interference signal h ₂₃ ·s ₅ 。

In step 703, the first antenna port and the second antenna port are calibrated based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals.

After the first set of signals and the second set of signals are acquired, the first antenna port and the second antenna port may be corrected based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals.

Specifically, a valid signal is determined based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals; and correcting the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the effective signal. For example, the first antenna port and the second antenna port are compensated based on a difference in channel coefficients between the first effective signal and the second effective signal to achieve correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port. The channel coefficients are associated with at least one of: the amplitude of the channel, the phase difference of the channel, the moment when the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel.

The channel coefficients in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as channel gains (channel gain) or channel state matrices. For describing the effect of distance, scattering, fading, etc. on the signal.

Since the channel coefficients are typically complex (having a real part and an imaginary part). From the complex number, at least one of the following is calculated: amplitude, phase. For example, the channel coefficient is h=a+bi, a is the real part, and b is the imaginary part. The magnitude of the channel coefficient isPhase is +.>So that based on the different channel coefficients at least one of the following can be calculated: amplitude differences, phase differences, etc. The time delay difference can be obtained specifically according to the arrival time of the receiving channel to receive the signals sent by different sending channels.

The following describes the determination process of the difference in channel coefficients, continuing with the example of example 1 above:

illustratively, as can be seen from the above example 1 by the expression 0, the channel coefficient h·s of the interference signal can be calculated by the expression 0 without considering the influence of the noise n by the network device or the processing function in the network device.

In addition, the on-state switching of the first switch is in the order of milliseconds, and therefore, the channel response corresponding to time 1 and time 2 is substantially unchanged (i.e., the channel coefficient h·s in expression 0 and the channel coefficient h in expression 3 ₂ ·s ₃ Approximation). The expression 3 can be used to obtain: y is ₃ -h ₂ ·s ₃ ＝h ₁ ·s ₃ +n; since the noise n is not considered, the signals sent by the service channel A and the service channel B are known, h ₂ ·s ₃ The signal received by traffic channel C is known. Thus, the channel coefficient h of the effective signal can be calculated ₁ . And then h is calculated according to the signals received by different frequency points ₁ Splitting the channel coefficients into channel coefficients corresponding to the service channel A and channel coefficients corresponding to the service channel B, and determining the difference of the two channel coefficients.

The following continues with the example of example 2 described above, describing the determination process of the difference in channel coefficients:

illustratively, as can be seen from the above example 2 by the expression 1 and the expression 2, the network device or the processing function device in the network device can calculate the channel coefficient h of the first interference signal by the expression 1 without considering the influence of the noise n ₁₃ . The channel coefficient h of the second interference signal can be calculated by expression 2 ₂₃ 。

In addition, the on-state switching of the first switch is in the order of milliseconds, and therefore, the channel response corresponding to the first time and the third time is substantially unchanged (i.e., the channel coefficient h in expression 1 ₁₃ And the channel coefficient h in expression 4 ₁₃ Approximation). The channel response corresponding to the fourth time at the second time is substantially unchanged (i.e., h in expression 2) ₂₃ And h in expression 5 ₂₃ Approximation). And h has been calculated by expression 1 and expression 2 ₁₃ And h ₂₃ . And can be obtained by expression 4: y is ₄ -h ₁₃ ·s ₄ ＝h _AC ·s ₄ +n, can be obtained by expression 5: y is ₅ -h ₂₃ ·s ₅ ＝h _BC ·s ₅ +n. Since the noise n is not considered, the signals sent by the service channel A and the service channel B are known, h ₁₃ And h ₂₃ The signal received by traffic channel C is known. Thus, the channel coefficient h of the first effective signal can be calculated _AC Channel coefficient h with second significant signal _BC 。

Through h _AC And h _BC The difference of the channel coefficients compensates the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2, thereby realizing the correction between the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2. For example, the difference in channel coefficients is used to compensate for the antenna ports of each transmit channel to reduce the relative error of each transmit channel. The channel coefficients are related to at least one of: the amplitude of the signal of the channel, the phase difference of the signal of the channel, the moment the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel. For example, if the difference in channel coefficients and the phase difference between the signals of the channels, the phase difference is used for correction of the phase between the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2 so that the phases of the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2 remain relatively uniform. In other cases, similarly, in summary, the difference in channel coefficients is used to make the relative error between the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2 lower than a certain threshold, which can be set according to the actual situation.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative, and in practical application, the compensation may be performed after other processing is performed through different channel coefficients, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, if the baseband unit in the network device is connected to the first switch and the first receiving channel respectively. The baseband unit in the network device may obtain the first set of signals and the second set of signals by controlling a communication state of the first switch between the first receiving channel and the output port of the coupling board. And further, the first antenna port corresponding to the first transmission channel and the second antenna port corresponding to the second transmission channel can be corrected according to the first set of signals and the second set of signals.

Similar to the above-described fig. 4, the antenna port 3 corresponding to the first reception channel C is corrected with respect to other antenna ports. As shown in fig. 4, the first receiving channel C is further used for transmitting signals, the first transmitting channel a is used as the second receiving channel D, and the antenna correction device further includes a second switch, where the output port of the coupling board is connected to the second receiving channel D through the second switch 108; the second switch is used for realizing the correction between the second antenna port 2 and the corresponding third antenna port 3 of the first receiving channel C. Of course, the second transmission channel B may be the second reception channel D.

The above can also be understood to be for correction of the antenna port 3 corresponding to the first reception channel C with respect to other antenna ports. The first transmit channel a may be used as the second receive channel D. The first receiving channel C and the second transmitting channel B transmit signals. The second receiving channel D (i.e., the first transmitting channel a) receives the signal. The correction between the second antenna port 2 and the corresponding third antenna port 3 of the first reception channel C is made by opening and closing the second switch 108. Reference may be made specifically to the foregoing description of the implementation of the correction based on the first switch 104, which is not repeated here.

It will be appreciated that the first switch and the second switch are not closed at the same time, and that the second switch is opened during calibration of the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2 until the calibration of the antenna port 1 and the antenna port 2 is completed. Similarly, in the process of calibrating the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3, the first switch is turned off until the calibration of the antenna port 2 and the antenna port 3 is completed.

In addition, the first receiving channel C and the second receiving channel D are two service transmission channels in the same RRU, or the first receiving channel C and the second receiving channel D are two service transmission channels in different RRUs. That is, the first switch 104 and the second switch 108 may be on the output port 105 of the coupling board 102 and the same RRU, or may be connected across different RRUs through the output port 105 of the coupling board 102.

The embodiment of the application also provides a network device (for example, a base station), and as shown in fig. 8, an embodiment of the base station includes an antenna correction device 801 and a BBU802. The BBU802 is connected to the first receiving channel, and further obtains the first set of signals and the second set of signals through the first receiving channel, so as to implement correction between antenna ports. It will be appreciated that the antenna correction device 801 in fig. 8 is only exemplarily described with 3 antenna ports, 3 service channels, 1 receiving channel, and 1 switch. In practical applications, the antenna calibration device 801 may further include a greater number of antenna ports, service channels, receiving channels, switches, etc., which are not limited herein. In this case, there are various cases for controlling the switch. For example, the control of the switch may be preset by other devices, or may be controlled in real time by other devices, which is not limited herein.

In addition, fig. 9 shows another embodiment of a network device in which the BBU802 is connected not only to the first receiving channel, but also to the first switch. The BBU802 may then obtain the first set of signals and the second set of signals by controlling the communication state of the first switch between the first receiving channel and the output port of the coupling board. And the first antenna port and the second antenna port can be corrected according to the first set of signals and the second set of signals.

It can be seen that fig. 8 differs from fig. 9 in that the processing unit in fig. 8 that performs the steps of the embodiment shown in fig. 7 described above is not the same unit as the processing unit that controls the switch. For example, the processing unit performing the steps of the embodiment shown in fig. 7 is BBU802, and the processing unit controlling the switch is RCU, etc. The processing unit in fig. 9 that performs the steps of the embodiment of fig. 7 described above is the same unit (i.e., BBU 802) as the processing unit that controls the switches.

The antenna correction device, the base station and the antenna correction method in the embodiments of the present application are described above, and the network device in the embodiments of the present application is described below, where the network device may be the aforementioned access network device (e.g., base station). Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of a network device in an embodiment of the present application includes:

An obtaining unit 1001, configured to obtain a first set of signals when the first switch is turned off, where the first set of signals is signals sent by the first sending channel and the second sending channel and the first set of signals is an interference signal;

the obtaining unit 1001 is further configured to obtain a second set of signals under a condition that the first switch is closed, where the second set of signals is signals sent by the first sending channel and the second sending channel and the first receiving channel receives signals sent by the first sending channel and the second sending channel, and the second set of signals includes an interference signal and an effective signal;

the processing unit 1002 is configured to correct the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals.

In this embodiment, the operations performed by the units in the network device are similar to those described in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and are not repeated here.

In this embodiment, on the one hand, the acquiring unit 1001 acquires the first set of signals when the first switch is opened and acquires the second set of signals when the first switch is closed, and the processing unit 1002 further realizes correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port based on the first set of signals and the second set of signals. On the other hand, the interference signals obtained through the first group of signals counteract the interference in the second group of signals, so that the effective signals output by the coupling plate are obtained. I.e. correction of the antenna ports is achieved by successive interference cancellation. On the other hand, in the antenna correction process, since the first switch is located between the output port of the coupling plate and the first receiving channel, the disconnection of the first switch does not affect the data transmission of the service channel. On the other hand, the number of the switches is consistent with the number of the receiving channels, and compared with a scheme that one channel corresponds to one switch, the hardware cost can be reduced.

Referring to fig. 11, a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to the foregoing embodiment provided in the embodiments of the present application, where the network device may specifically be a base station in the foregoing embodiment, and the structure of the network device may refer to the structure shown in fig. 11.

The network device includes at least one processor 1111, at least one memory 1112, at least one transceiver 1113, at least one network interface 1114, and one or more antennas 1115. The processor 1111, the memory 1112, the transceiver 1113, and the network interface 1114 are connected, for example, by a bus, which in the embodiments of the present application may include various interfaces, transmission lines, buses, or the like, which are not limited in this embodiment. The antenna 1115 is connected to a transceiver 1113. The network interface 1114 is used to enable the network device to connect with other communication devices via a communication link, e.g., the network interface 1114 may comprise a network interface between the network device and a core network device, e.g., an S1 interface, and the network interface may comprise a network interface between the network device and other network devices (e.g., other network devices or core network devices), e.g., an X2 or Xn interface.

The processor 1111 is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and to control the entire network device, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs, for example, to support the network device to perform the actions described in the embodiments. The network device may include a baseband processor, which is mainly used for processing the communication protocol and the communication data, and a central processor, which is mainly used for controlling the whole terminal device, executing the software program, and processing the data of the software program. The processor 1111 in fig. 11 may integrate the functions of a baseband processor and a central processor, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processor may also be separate processors, interconnected by a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network formats, and that the terminal device may include multiple central processors to enhance its processing capabilities, and that the various components of the terminal device may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor may also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a software program, which is executed by the processor to realize the baseband processing function.

The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The memory 1112 may be separate and coupled to the processor 1111. Alternatively, the memory 1112 may be integrated with the processor 1111, for example within a chip. The memory 1112 is capable of storing program codes for implementing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled to be executed by the processor 1111, and various types of executed computer program codes may be regarded as drivers of the processor 1111.

Fig. 11 shows only one memory and one processor. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc. The memory may be a memory element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip memory element, or a separate memory element, as embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

The transceiver 1113 may be used to support reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between a network device and a terminal, and the transceiver 1113 may be connected to an antenna 1115. The transceiver 1113 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, the one or more antennas 1115 may receive radio frequency signals, and the receiver Rx of the transceiver 1113 is configured to receive the radio frequency signals from the antennas, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1111, so that the processor 1111 may perform further processing, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing, on the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals. The transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1113 is also configured to receive a modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 1111, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to a radio frequency signal, and transmit the radio frequency signal through the one or more antennas 1115. In particular, the receiver Rx may selectively perform one or more steps of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, where the order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion is adjustable. The transmitter Tx may selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing processing and digital-to-analog conversion processing on the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a radio frequency signal, and the sequence of the up-mixing processing and the digital-to-analog conversion processing may be adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

The transceiver may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver device, etc. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, where the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

It should be noted that, the network device shown in fig. 11 may be specifically used to implement the steps implemented by the network device in the embodiment of the method corresponding to fig. 7, and implement the technical effects corresponding to the network device, and the specific implementation manner of the network device shown in fig. 11 may refer to the description in the embodiment of the method of fig. 7, which is not repeated herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, which comprises the antenna correction device in the foregoing fig. 1 to 6 and a baseband unit connected with the antenna correction device. Optionally, the network device is further configured to control on-off of the first switch in the antenna correction device.

The embodiment of the application also provides a base station, which comprises the antenna correction device in the foregoing fig. 1 to 6.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method as described in the foregoing embodiments as a possible implementation of a network device.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product (or computer program) storing one or more computers, which when executed by the processor performs a method as described above as a possible implementation of the network device.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip system, which comprises at least one processor and is used for supporting the terminal equipment to realize the functions involved in the possible realization modes of the network equipment. Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit providing program instructions and/or data to the at least one processor. In one possible design, the system on a chip may further include a memory to hold the necessary program instructions and data for the terminal device. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in essence or a part contributing to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in 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, random access memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

Claims

1. An antenna correction device, comprising: n antenna ports, a coupling plate, N service channels, and a first switch; the N antenna ports are respectively connected with the N service channels; n is an integer greater than or equal to 3; the N service channels comprise a first sending channel, a second sending channel and a first receiving channel, and the output ports of the coupling plates are connected with the first receiving channels through the first switch; the first switch is used for realizing correction between a first antenna port and a second antenna port, the first transmission channel corresponds to the first antenna port, and the second transmission channel corresponds to the second antenna port.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first switch is configured to implement a correction between the first antenna port and the second antenna port, comprising:

when the first switch is turned off, the first receiving channel is configured to receive signals from the first sending channel and the second sending channel, so as to obtain a first set of signals, where the first set of signals are interference signals;

the first receiving channel is configured to receive signals from the first transmitting channel and the second transmitting channel when the first switch is closed, so as to obtain a second set of signals, where the second set of signals includes the interference signal and an effective signal, where the effective signal is used to determine a difference in channel coefficients between the first antenna port and the second antenna port, where the difference in channel coefficients is used to compensate when the first antenna port and the second antenna port transmit traffic signals, and where the channel coefficients are related to at least one of: the amplitude of the channel, the phase difference of the channel, the moment when the signal carried by the channel arrives at the first receiving channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the interfering signal comprises a first interfering signal and a second interfering signal, the first interfering signal being a null-coupling signal between the first antenna port and a third antenna port, the third antenna port corresponding to the first receive channel, the second interfering signal being a null-coupling signal between the second antenna port and the third antenna port;

The effective signals comprise first effective signals and second effective signals, the first effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the first sending channel, and the second effective signals are effective signals which are output to the first receiving channel through the coupling plate by the second sending channel.

4. A device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first transmission channel is for transmitting signals over a first resource and the second transmission channel is for transmitting signals over a second resource;

the first resource and the second resource include at least one of: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, and space domain resources.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal frequency division resources; the first interference signal and the second interference signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources, and the first effective signal and the second effective signal are signals of orthogonal frequency division resources.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first resource and the second resource are orthogonal time division resources;

The first resource comprises a first moment and a second moment, and the first switch is in an off state at the first moment and the second moment; the signal sent by the first sending channel at the first time comprises the first interference signal; the signal sent by the second sending channel at the second moment comprises the second interference signal, and the first moment is different from the second moment;

the second resource comprises a third moment and a fourth moment, and the first switch is in a closed state at the third moment and the fourth moment; the signal sent by the first sending channel at the third moment comprises the first signal, and the first signal comprises the first interference signal and the first effective signal; the signal transmitted by the second transmitting channel at the fourth time includes the second signal, the second signal includes the second interference signal and the second effective signal, and the third time is different from the fourth time.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first receiving channel is further used for transmitting a signal, the first transmitting channel is used as a second receiving channel, the antenna correction apparatus further comprises a second switch through which an output port of the coupling plate is connected with the second receiving channel; the second switch is used for realizing correction between a second antenna port and a third antenna port, the second antenna port corresponds to the second transmitting channel, and the third antenna port corresponds to the first receiving channel.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first receive channel and the second receive channel are two traffic transmission channels in a same remote radio unit RRU or wherein the first receive channel and the second receive channel are two traffic transmission channels in different RRUs.

9. A communication system comprising an antenna correction device according to claims 1 to 8 and a baseband unit connected to the antenna correction device.

10. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the baseband unit is further configured to control on-off of the first switch in the antenna correction device.

11. A base station, characterized in that it comprises an antenna correction device according to claims 1 to 8.