Patent Description:
A massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive multiple-input multiple-output, Massive MIMO) technology is a key technology of a current 5th generation (5th generation, <NUM>) mobile communication system. In this technology, a large-scale antenna array is deployed on a network device to improve a system throughput. However, because a massive MIMO device uses a large quantity of transceiver units (transceivers, TRxs) (for example, <NUM> TRxs or <NUM> TRxs are used), energy consumption of the network device increases sharply. Particularly, when load of the network device is low, enabling of a large quantity of transmit (transmit, Tx) channels makes an energy efficiency ratio of the network device significantly lower than an energy efficiency ratio of the network device with medium and high load. Currently, in an architecture of a downlink transmitting system using digital beamforming (digital beamforming, DBF), when the load of the network device is low, a part of Tx channels are disabled to save energy. However, in this manner, in a process of disabling the part of Tx channels, the Tx channels are also disconnected from a part of the antenna array. In this case, a scale of the antenna array is reduced. Furthermore, reduction in the scale of the antenna array causes damage to an aperture of the antenna array and reduction in an effective isotropic radiated power (effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP) of the network device. Consequently, performance and coverage of the network device are reduced to different extent.

In an architecture of a downlink transmitting system using hybrid beamforming (hybrid beamforming, HBF), a quantity of Tx channels is reduced to save energy. However, when the load of the network device is high or a vertical distribution spacing between users relative to a ground is large, performance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF is significantly poorer than performance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using DBF.

Document <CIT> relates to a power amplifier device and a power amplifier system in a satellite communication system. The intermediate frequency detection assembly receives an input intermediate frequency signal. The radio frequency switch assembly receives a radio frequency signal after frequency conversion processing of the intermediate frequency signal, the intermediate frequency detection assembly detects whether the power of the intermediate frequency signal is greater than or equal to preset power and whether the intermediate frequency signal is an intermediate frequency signal of a presetfrequency band and outputs a combined signal to the controller according to a detection result; the controller outputs a control signal to the radio frequency switch assembly according to the combined signal; the radio frequency switch assembly conducts a channel corresponding to the detection result in the dual-channel radio frequency according to the control signal, thereby achieving filteringsuppression at different frequency bands, according to the power amplifier device, on the basis of the traditional single-machine single-channel radio frequency, a single-machine multi-band compatibledesign scheme can be provided, meanwhile, on the basis of improvement of the power amplifier device, the power amplifier device does not need to depend on control intervention of an external communication port, the double-band intelligent switching function of the satellite power amplifier can be achieved, and convenience is improved.

Document <CIT> discloses a transceiver, a base station, and a signal processing method, which relate to the field of communications, and reduce a search time and improve communication quality while reducing the calculation complexity and calculation processing time of a baseband part. The solution is as follows: a transmit module converts a first baseband signal into a first radio frequency signal, performs beamforming on the first radio frequency signal by means of HBF, and then transmits the first radio frequency signal via a passive frontend module and an antenna module; a receive module receives a second radio frequency signal via the antenna module and the passive frontend module, converts the second radio frequency signal into a second baseband signal, and transmits the second baseband signal to a digital medium frequency module; and the digital medium frequency module performs amplitude-phase weighting on the second baseband signal by means of DBF, and then transmits the second baseband signal to a baseband module; alternatively, the digital medium frequency module transmits the second baseband signal to the baseband module, and the baseband module performs amplitude-phase weighting on the second baseband signal by means of DBF.

This application provides a downlink transmitting system, which can support switching between different connection states, so as to adapt to different application scenarios. The present invention is defined by the attached set of claims.

According to a first aspect, a downlink transmitting system is provided and includes at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least one Tx port group, a plurality of power amplifiers (power amplifiers, PAs), at least one switching switch, and an antenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports included in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence. The at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group. Each Tx port group is connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequency module group through one switching switch. Each Tx port group includes a plurality of Tx ports. A quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules included in each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Tx ports included in a corresponding Tx port group. Each switching switch includes at least two connection states. Quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. All Tx ports in a Tx port group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, each switching switch includes the at least two connection states, and the quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are different. Therefore, when a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules is small, the foregoing transmitting system can achieve an effect of energy saving, and is applicable to a scenario in which network load is low. When all digital intermediate frequency modules are enabled or the quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules is large, the foregoing transmitting system is applicable to a scenario in which the network load is high. In addition, regardless of the quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the downlink transmitting system, all the Tx ports in the downlink transmitting system are in an enabled state. Therefore, PAs connected to all the Tx ports are also in an enabled state. In this way, a scale of the antenna array connected to all PAs is not reduced, and performance of the downlink transmitting system is not affected.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the second connection state. When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequency modules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequency module group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first digital intermediate frequency module port in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the first connection state when a first condition is met, and the first condition includes at least one of the following conditions: A quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to a ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the second connection state when a second condition is met, and the second condition is as follows: A quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to a ground is less than a second threshold.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a baseband processor, and the baseband processor is configured to control a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the switching switch is a bridge.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the downlink transmitting system further includes a plurality of phase shifters, and the plurality of phase shifters are connected to all the Tx ports included in the downlink transmitting system in a one-to-one correspondence.

Based on the foregoing downlink transmitting system, the phase shifter may perform analog weighting between different antenna bays included in the antenna array. Therefore, coverage of a vertical beam of the downlink transmitting system can be expanded.

According to a second aspect, a switching method is provided and applied to a downlink transmitting system. The downlink transmitting system includes: at least one digital intermediate frequency module group, at least one Tx port group, a plurality of PAs, at least one switching switch, and an antenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array. The plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports included in the at least one Tx port group in a one-to-one correspondence. The at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group. Each Tx port group is connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequency module group through one switching switch. Each Tx port group includes a plurality of Tx ports. A quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules included in each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Tx ports included in a corresponding Tx port group. Each switching switch includes at least two connection states. Quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. All Tx ports in a Tx port group connected to the switching switch in the different connection states are in an enabled state.

The method includes: controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the at least two connection states include a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in the second connection state. When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of digital intermediate frequency modules in a first digital intermediate frequency module group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx port group and the first digital intermediate frequency module group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch. When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, and at least one second digital intermediate frequency module in the first digital intermediate frequency module group is not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground includes: when a first condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state. The first condition includes at least one of the following conditions: The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and a vertical spacing between at least two of the users relative to the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the controlling a connection state of the at least one switching switch based on a quantity of served users and a spacing between different users includes: when a second condition is met, controlling a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state. The second condition is as follows: The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: determining the quantity of users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on a received channel state information beam identifier.

A massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive multiple-input multiple-output, Massive MIMO) technology is a key technology of a current 5th generation (5th generation, <NUM>) mobile communication system. In this technology, a large-scale antenna array is deployed on a network device to improve a system throughput. However, because a massive MIMO device uses a large quantity of transceiver units (transceivers, TRxs) (for example, <NUM> TRxs or <NUM> TRxs are used), energy consumption of the network device increases sharply. Particularly, when load of the network device is low, enabling of a large quantity of transmit (transmit, Tx) channels makes an energy efficiency ratio of the network device significantly lower than an energy efficiency ratio of the network device with medium and high load. <FIG> shows an architecture of a downlink transmitting system using digital beamforming (digital beamforming, DBF). As shown in <FIG>, when load of a network device is low, a part of Tx channels may be disabled to save energy. For example, in <FIG>, a Tx channel may be disabled by disconnecting a Tx <NUM> from an intermediate frequency (namely, a digital intermediate frequency module, which is denoted as an intermediate frequency below) <NUM> and a power amplifier (power amplifier, PA) <NUM>, and another Tx channel may be disabled by disconnecting a Tx <NUM> from an intermediate frequency <NUM> and a PA <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in a process of disabling the part of Tx channels, the Tx channels are also disconnected from a part of an antenna array. In this case, a scale of the antenna array is reduced. Furthermore, reduction in the scale of the antenna array causes damage to an aperture of the antenna array and reduction in an effective isotropic radiated power (effective isotropic radiated power, EIRP) of the network device. Consequently, performance and coverage of the network device are reduced to different extent.

<FIG> shows an architecture of a downlink transmitting system using hybrid beamforming (hybrid beamforming, HBF). Compared with the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using DBF shown in <FIG>, for the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF shown in <FIG>, a quantity of Tx channels and a quantity of PAs are reduced by half. Correspondingly, for a vertical array driven by one Tx channel and one PA, that <NUM> channel drives <NUM> antenna elements is changed to that <NUM> channel drives <NUM> antenna elements. To be specific, as shown in <FIG>, a quantity of rows of an antenna array connected to one Tx channel and one PA is increased from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF shown in <FIG>, because the quantity of Tx channels is reduced, an effect of energy saving is achieved to some extent when load of a network device is low, and a loss of performance is small. However, when the load of the network device is high or a vertical distribution spacing between users relative to a ground is large, the performance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using HBF is significantly poorer than performance of the architecture of the downlink transmitting system using DBF. In view of this, an embodiment of this application provides a downlink transmitting system. The downlink transmitting system can adjust a quantity of Tx channels based on an application scenario, without causing damage to an aperture of an antenna array.

In embodiments shown below, "first", "second", "third" and various numbers are merely used for distinguishing for ease of description, and are not used to limit the scope of embodiments of this application. For example, the numbers are used to distinguish between different PAs, different phase shifters, and the like. In addition, "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units further includes another inherent step or unit.

The technical solutions in embodiments of this application may be applied to various communication systems, such as a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5th Generation, <NUM>) mobile communication system or a new radio access technology (new radio access Technology, NR) system, a 6th generation (<NUM>) mobile communication system, or a future evolved communication system. The <NUM> mobile communication system may include a non-standalone (non-standalone, NSA) communication system and/or a standalone (standalone, SA) communication system.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a structure of a downlink transmitting system <NUM> according to an embodiment of this application. The downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include: at least one Tx channel group (for example, a Tx channel group <NUM> and a Tx channel group <NUM> in <FIG>), at least one PA group (for example, a PA group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> in <FIG>), at least one switching switch (for example, a switching switch <NUM> and a switching switch <NUM> in <FIG>), and an antenna array <NUM>.

The antenna array <NUM> may include a plurality of antenna bays (for example, an antenna bay <NUM> to an antenna bay <NUM> in <FIG>). A quantity of rows of antenna elements included in each antenna bay is not limited in this embodiment of this application. For example, the antenna bay <NUM> includes three rows of antenna elements, and an antenna bay <NUM> includes two rows of antenna elements.

The at least one PA group is connected to the antenna array <NUM>, and each PA in all PAs included in the at least one PA group is connected to one antenna bay in the antenna array <NUM>. For example, in <FIG>, a PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>. A PA <NUM> is connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>.

Each Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency and a Tx port. For example, in <FIG>, a <NUM>st Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>, a <NUM>nd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>, a <NUM>rd Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>, and a <NUM>th Tx channel may include an intermediate frequency <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>.

The at least one Tx channel group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one PA group, and each Tx channel group is connected to each PA in a corresponding PA group through one switching switch. For example, in <FIG>, the Tx channel group <NUM> corresponds to the PA group <NUM>, and the Tx channel group <NUM> is connected to each PA in the PA group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>. The Tx channel group <NUM> corresponds to the PA group <NUM>, and the Tx channel group <NUM> is connected to each PA in the PA group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>.

Each of the at least one Tx channel group includes a plurality of Tx channels, and a quantity of Tx channels included in each Tx channel group is equal to a quantity of PAs included in a corresponding PA group.

For example, in <FIG>, the Tx channel group <NUM> and the Tx channel group <NUM> each include <NUM> Tx channels, a quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group <NUM> and a quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> are both <NUM>, and a quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group <NUM> and a quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

For another example, in <FIG>, a quantity of Tx channels included in a Tx channel group <NUM> is <NUM>, and the quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group <NUM> and a quantity of PAs included in a PA group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one Tx channel group may include a same quantity of Tx channels. For example, in <FIG>, the quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group <NUM> and the quantity of Tx channels included in the Tx channel group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one Tx channel group may include a different quantity of Tx channels. For example, in <FIG>, a quantity of Tx channels included in a Tx channel group <NUM> is <NUM>, but a quantity of Tx channels included in a Tx channel group <NUM> is <NUM>.

Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connection states, and quantities of enabled Tx channels in a Tx channel group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. In other words, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes the at least two connection states.

The at least two connection states may include a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the second connection state.

When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx channels in a first Tx channel group are connected to a plurality of PAs in a first PA group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx channel group and the first PA group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is the Tx channel group <NUM>, and the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> are connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the <NUM>st Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>nd Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA <NUM>. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is the Tx channel group <NUM>, and the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> are connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the <NUM>rd Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>th Tx channel is correspondingly connected to the PA <NUM>.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is the Tx channel group <NUM>, and the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, four Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> are connected to four PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a <NUM>st Tx channel is correspondingly connected to a PA <NUM>, a <NUM>nd Tx channel is correspondingly connected to a PA <NUM>, a <NUM>rd Tx channel is correspondingly connected to a PA <NUM>, and a <NUM>th Tx channel is correspondingly connected to a PA <NUM>.

If connection states of all switching switches in the at least one switching switch are the first connection state, it may be considered that the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is in the first connection state. It can be learned that downlink transmitting systems <NUM> shown in <FIG> are in the first connection state.

When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is connected to at least two PAs in the first PA group, and at least one second Tx channel in the first Tx channel group is not connected to all PAs in the first PA group. It may be understood that, when the second Tx channel is not connected to all the PAs in the first PA group, the second Tx channel is in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first Tx channel is a <NUM>st Tx channel, and the second Tx channel is a <NUM>nd Tx channel. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the <NUM>st Tx channel is connected to two PAs (namely, a PA <NUM> and a PA <NUM>) in the PA group <NUM>, and the <NUM>nd Tx channel is in a disabled state. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first Tx channel is a <NUM>rd Tx channel, and the second Tx channel is a <NUM>th Tx channel. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the <NUM>rd Tx channel is connected to two PAs (namely, a PA <NUM> and a PA <NUM>) in the PA group <NUM>, and the <NUM>th Tx channel is in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first Tx channel is a <NUM>st Tx channel, and the second Tx channel is a <NUM>nd Tx channel to a <NUM>th Tx channel. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the <NUM>st Tx channel is connected to four PAs (namely, a PA <NUM> to a PA <NUM>) in the PA group <NUM>, and the <NUM>nd Tx channel to the <NUM>th Tx channel are in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx channel group is a Tx channel group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first Tx channel is a <NUM>st Tx channel, and the second Tx channel is a <NUM>nd Tx channel and a <NUM>rd Tx channel. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the <NUM>st Tx channel is connected to three PAs (namely, a PA <NUM> to a PA <NUM>) in the PA group <NUM>, the <NUM>nd Tx channel and the <NUM>rd Tx channel are in a disabled state, and a <NUM>th Tx channel may still be connected to a PA <NUM>.

If a connection state of at least one of the at least one switching switch is the second connection state, it may be considered that the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is in the second connection state. It can be learned that downlink transmitting systems <NUM> shown in <FIG> are in the second connection state.

As shown in <FIG>, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may further include a baseband processor <NUM> (for example, may be a baseband lower (baseband lower, BBL)), and a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch may be controlled by the baseband processor. For example, the baseband processor may control the connection state of the switching switch based on a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

For example, when a first condition is met, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state, where the first condition includes at least one of the following conditions:
The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and
a vertical spacing between at least two of the users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> relative to the ground is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

For another example, when a second condition is met, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state, where the second condition is as follows:
The quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is less than a first threshold, and a vertical spacing between any two of the users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> relative to the ground is less than a second threshold.

Optionally, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor is further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state. If the users are distributed within the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the second connection state. Alternatively, if the users are distributed outside the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state, the baseband processor controls the connection state of the at least one of the at least one switching switch to be the first connection state.

For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting systems <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> (where a quantity of Tx channels included in each Tx channel group and a quantity of PAs included in each PA group are both <NUM>), if the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes <NUM> Tx channels, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the first connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. If a connection state of each switching switch in the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is the second connection state, a quantity of enabled Tx channels is <NUM>, and the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the second connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. Therefore, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor is further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverage of the <NUM> DBF. If the users (for example, <NUM>rd and <NUM>th users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the second connection state. If the users (for example, <NUM>st and <NUM>nd users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are not distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the first connection state.

A method for determining, by the baseband processor, the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> and the spacing between the different users is not limited in this embodiment of this application. For example, the baseband processor may determine the quantity of users and the spacing between the different users based on a received channel state information (channel state information, CSI) beam identifier (identifier, ID).

It should be understood that <FIG> are merely examples, and show four or six Tx channels, four or six PAs, and one or two switching switches. Optionally, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include K Tx channels, K PAs, and L switching switches, where K is an integer greater than <NUM>, and L is a positive integer.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may further include a plurality of phase shifters (a phase shifter <NUM> to a phase shifter <NUM> in <FIG> and <FIG>). The plurality of phase shifters are connected to all PAs included in the at least one PA group in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in <FIG> and <FIG>, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>. The phase shifter may be located between the PA and the switching switch (as shown in <FIG>), or may be located between the PA and the antenna array (as shown in <FIG>). This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

It should be understood that, when the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes the phase shifters, because the phase shifters may adjust a phase of a beam, that is, may adjust a direction of the beam, even if the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is in the second connection state, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may adjust coverage by using the phase shifters. Therefore, when the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes the phase shifters, the baseband processor does not need to determine whether the users are distributed within the coverage of the downlink transmitting system in the second connection state. In other words, when determining that the second condition is met, the baseband processor may control the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the second connection state.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a structure of another downlink transmitting system <NUM> according to an embodiment of this application. The downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include: at least one Tx port group (for example, a Tx port group <NUM> and a Tx port group <NUM> in <FIG>), at least one digital intermediate frequency module group (where a digital intermediate frequency module is denoted as an intermediate frequency below) (for example, an intermediate frequency group <NUM> and an intermediate frequency group <NUM> in <FIG>), at least one switching switch (for example, a switching switch <NUM> and a switching switch <NUM> in <FIG>), a plurality of PAs (for example, a PA <NUM> to a PA <NUM> in <FIG>), and an antenna array <NUM>.

The plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array <NUM>, and each PA in the plurality of PAs is connected to one antenna bay in the antenna array <NUM>. For example, in <FIG>, the PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>. A PA <NUM> is connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, and the PA <NUM> is connected to the antenna bay <NUM>.

The plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports included in the at least one Tx port group in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in <FIG>, the PA <NUM> is connected to a Tx port <NUM>, the PA <NUM> is connected to a Tx port <NUM>, the PA <NUM> is connected to a Tx port <NUM>, and the PA <NUM> is connected to a Tx port <NUM>.

The at least one Tx port group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one intermediate frequency group, and each Tx port group is connected to each intermediate frequency in a corresponding intermediate frequency group through one switching switch. For example, in <FIG>, the Tx port group <NUM> corresponds to the intermediate frequency group <NUM>, and the Tx port group <NUM> is connected to each intermediate frequency in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>. The Tx port group <NUM> corresponds to the intermediate frequency group <NUM>, and the Tx port group <NUM> is connected to each intermediate frequency in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>.

Each of the at least one Tx port group includes a plurality of Tx ports, and a quantity of Tx ports included in each Tx port group is equal to a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in a corresponding intermediate frequency group. For example, in <FIG>, the Tx port group <NUM> and the Tx port group <NUM> each include <NUM> Tx ports, a quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group <NUM> and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> are both <NUM>, and a quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group <NUM> and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

For another example, in <FIG>, a quantity of Tx ports included in a Tx port group <NUM> is <NUM>, and the quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group <NUM> and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in an intermediate frequency group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one Tx port group may include a same quantity of Tx ports. For example, in <FIG>, the quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group <NUM> and the quantity of Tx ports included in the Tx port group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one Tx port group may include a different quantity of Tx ports. For example, in <FIG>, a quantity of Tx ports included in a Tx port group <NUM> is <NUM>, but a quantity of Tx ports included in a Tx port group <NUM> is <NUM>.

Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connection states, and quantities of enabled intermediate frequencies in an intermediate frequency group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. In other words, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes the at least two connection states.

The at least two connection states may include a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled intermediate frequencies in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled intermediate frequencies in the second connection state.

When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of Tx ports in a first Tx port group are connected to a plurality of intermediate frequencies in a first intermediate frequency group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first Tx port group and the first intermediate frequency group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is the Tx port group <NUM>, and the first intermediate frequency group is the intermediate frequency group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two Tx ports in the Tx port group <NUM> are connected to two intermediate frequencies in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is the Tx port group <NUM>, and the first intermediate frequency group is the intermediate frequency group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two Tx ports in the Tx port group <NUM> are connected to two intermediate frequencies in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, the Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is the Tx port group <NUM>, and the first intermediate frequency group is the intermediate frequency group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, four Tx ports in the Tx port group <NUM> are connected to four intermediate frequencies in the intermediate frequency group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>.

When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first intermediate frequency in the first intermediate frequency group is connected to at least two Tx ports in the first Tx port group, and at least one second intermediate frequency in the first intermediate frequency group is not connected to all Tx ports in the first Tx port group. It may be understood that, when the second intermediate frequency is not connected to all the Tx ports in the first Tx port group, the second intermediate frequency is in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency group is an intermediate frequency group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the second intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency <NUM> is connected to two Tx ports (namely, a Tx port <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>) in the Tx port group <NUM>, and the intermediate frequency <NUM> is in a disabled state. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency group is an intermediate frequency group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the second intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency <NUM> is connected to two Tx ports (namely, a Tx port <NUM> and a Tx port <NUM>) in the Tx port group <NUM>, and the intermediate frequency <NUM> is in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency group is an intermediate frequency group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the second intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM> to an intermediate frequency <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency <NUM> is connected to four Tx ports (namely, a Tx port <NUM> to a Tx port <NUM>) in the Tx port group <NUM>, and the intermediate frequency <NUM> to the intermediate frequency <NUM> are in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first Tx port group is a Tx port group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency group is an intermediate frequency group <NUM>, the first intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM>, and the second intermediate frequency is an intermediate frequency <NUM> and an intermediate frequency <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the intermediate frequency <NUM> is connected to three Tx ports (namely, a Tx port <NUM> to a Tx port <NUM>) in the Tx port group <NUM>, the intermediate frequency <NUM> and the intermediate frequency <NUM> are in a disabled state, and a Tx port <NUM> may still be connected to an intermediate frequency <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may further include a baseband processor <NUM> (for example, may be a BBL), and a connection state of each of the at least one switching switch may be controlled by the baseband processor. For example, the baseband processor may control the connection state of the switching switch based on a quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> and a vertical spacing between different users relative to a ground.

For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting systems <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> (where a quantity of Tx ports included in each Tx port group and a quantity of intermediate frequencies included in each intermediate frequency group are both <NUM>), if the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes <NUM> Tx ports, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the first connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. If a connection state of each switching switch in the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is the second connection state, a quantity of enabled intermediate frequencies is <NUM>, and the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the second connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. Therefore, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor is further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverage of the <NUM> DBF. If the users (for example, <NUM>rd and <NUM>th users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the second connection state. If the users (for example, <NUM>st and <NUM>nd users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are not distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the first connection state.

A method for determining, by the baseband processor, the quantity of users served by the downlink transmitting system <NUM> and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground is not limited in this embodiment of this application. For example, the baseband processor may determine the quantity of users and the vertical spacing between the different users relative to the ground based on a received CSI beam ID.

It should be understood that <FIG> are merely examples, and show four or six Tx ports, four or six intermediate frequencies, four or six PAs, and one or two switching switches. Optionally, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include K Tx ports, K intermediate frequencies, K PAs, and L switching switches, where K is an integer greater than <NUM>, and L is a positive integer.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG>, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may further include a plurality of phase shifters (for example, a phase shifter <NUM> to a phase shifter <NUM> in <FIG>). The plurality of phase shifters are connected to a plurality of Tx ports in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in <FIG>, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, and a Tx port <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a structure of another downlink transmitting system <NUM> according to an embodiment of this application. The downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include: a plurality of Tx channels, at least one PA group (for example, a PA group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> in <FIG>), at least one antenna bay group (for example, an antenna bay group <NUM> and an antenna bay group <NUM> in <FIG>), and at least one switching switch (for example, a switching switch <NUM> and a switching switch <NUM> in <FIG>).

The at least one PA group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one antenna bay group, and each PA group is connected to each antenna bay in a corresponding antenna bay group through one switching switch. For example, in <FIG>, the PA group <NUM> corresponds to the antenna bay group <NUM>, and the PA group <NUM> is connected to each antenna bay in the antenna bay group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>. The PA group <NUM> corresponds to the antenna bay group <NUM>, and the PA group <NUM> is connected to each antenna bay in the antenna bay group <NUM> through the switching switch <NUM>.

Each of the at least one PA group includes a plurality of PAs, and a quantity of PAs included in each PA group is equal to a quantity of antenna bays included in a corresponding antenna bay group.

For example, in <FIG>, the PA group <NUM> and the PA group <NUM> each include two PAs, a quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> and a quantity of antenna bays included in the antenna bay group <NUM> are both <NUM>, and a quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> and a quantity of antenna bays included in the antenna bay group <NUM> are both <NUM>. For another example, in <FIG>, a quantity of PAs included in a PA group <NUM> is <NUM>, and the quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> and a quantity of antenna bays included in an antenna bay group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one PA group may include a same quantity of PAs. For example, in <FIG>, the quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> and the quantity of PAs included in the PA group <NUM> are both <NUM>.

Optionally, each of the at least one PA group may include a different quantity of PAs. For example, in <FIG>, a quantity of PAs included in a PA group <NUM> is <NUM>, but a quantity of PAs included in a PA group <NUM> is <NUM>.

A quantity of rows of antenna elements included in each antenna bay is not limited in this embodiment of this application. For example, in <FIG>, an antenna bay <NUM> includes three rows of antenna elements, and an antenna bay <NUM> includes two rows of antenna elements.

Each of the at least one switching switch includes at least two connection states, and quantities of enabled PAs in a PA group connected to the switching switch in different connection states are different. In other words, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes the at least two connection states. It may be understood that, in the downlink transmitting system <NUM>, a plurality of Tx channels are connected to a plurality of PAs in a one-to-one correspondence. Therefore, in the different connection states, quantities of enabled Tx channels in the downlink transmitting system <NUM> are different.

The at least two connection states may include a first connection state and a second connection state, and a quantity of enabled PAs in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled PAs in the second connection state. In other words, a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the first connection state is greater than a quantity of enabled Tx channels in the second connection state.

When a connection state of a first switching switch is the first connection state, a plurality of PAs in a first PA group are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a first antenna bay group in a one-to-one correspondence, the first PA group and the first antenna bay group are connected through the first switching switch, and the first switching switch is any one of the at least one switching switch.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>, and the first antenna bay group is the antenna bay group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two PAs in the PA group <NUM> are connected to two antenna bays in the antenna bay group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the antenna bay <NUM>. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be the switching switch <NUM>, the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>, and the first antenna bay group is the antenna bay group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, two PAs in the PA group <NUM> are connected to two antenna bays in the antenna bay group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first PA group is the PA group <NUM>, and the first antenna bay group is the antenna bay group <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the first connection state, four PAs in the PA group <NUM> are connected to four antenna bays in the antenna bay group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>, and a PA <NUM> is correspondingly connected to an antenna bay <NUM>.

When the connection state of the first switching switch is the second connection state, at least one first PA in the first PA group is connected to at least two antenna bays in the first antenna bay group, and at least one second PA in the first PA group is not connected to all antenna bays in the first antenna bay group. It may be understood that, when the second PA is not connected to all the antenna bays in the first antenna bay group, the second PA is in a disabled state. It may be understood that, when the second PA is in the disabled state, a Tx channel connected to the second PA is also in a disabled state.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group <NUM>, the first PA is a PA <NUM>, and the second PA is a PA <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the PA <NUM> is connected to two antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay <NUM> and an antenna bay <NUM>) in the antenna bay group <NUM>, the PA <NUM> is in a disabled state, and correspondingly, a second Tx channel connected to the PA <NUM> is also in a disabled state. Alternatively, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group <NUM>, the first PA is a PA <NUM>, and the second PA is a PA <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the PA <NUM> is connected to two antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay <NUM> and an antenna bay <NUM>) in the antenna bay group <NUM>, the PA <NUM> is in a disabled state, and a fourth Tx channel connected to the PA <NUM> is also in a disabled state correspondingly.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first PA is a PA <NUM>, and the second PA is a PA <NUM> to a PA <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the PA <NUM> is connected to four antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay <NUM> to an antenna bay <NUM>) in the antenna bay group <NUM>, the PA <NUM> to the PA <NUM> are in a disabled state, and, a second Tx channel to a fourth Tx channel that are respectively connected to the PA <NUM> to the PA <NUM> are also in a disabled state correspondingly.

For example, in <FIG>, the first switching switch may be a switching switch <NUM>, the first antenna bay group is an antenna bay group <NUM>, the first PA group is a PA group <NUM>, the first PA is a PA <NUM>, and the second PA is a PA <NUM> and a PA <NUM>. When a connection state of the switching switch <NUM> is the second connection state, the PA <NUM> is connected to three antenna bays (namely, an antenna bay <NUM> to an antenna bay <NUM>) in the antenna bay group <NUM>, the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM> are in a disabled state, a second Tx channel and a third Tx channel that are respectively connected to the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM> are also in a disabled state correspondingly, and a PA <NUM> may still be connected to an antenna bay <NUM>.

For example, with reference to the downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> (where a quantity of PAs included in each PA group and a quantity of antenna bays included in each antenna bay group are both <NUM>), if the downlink transmitting system <NUM> includes <NUM> PAs (in other words, includes <NUM> Tx channels), the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the first connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. If a connection state of each switching switch in the downlink transmitting system <NUM> is the second connection state, a quantity of enabled PAs is <NUM> (in other words, a quantity of enabled Tx channels is <NUM>), and the downlink transmitting system <NUM> in the second connection state may be referred to as <NUM> DBF. Therefore, when the second condition is met, the baseband processor is further configured to determine whether the users are distributed within coverage of the <NUM> DBF. If the users (for example, <NUM>rd and <NUM>th users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the second connection state. If the users (for example, <NUM>st and <NUM>nd users counted from top to bottom in <FIG>) are not distributed within the coverage of the <NUM> DBF, the baseband processor controls the switching switch to enable the downlink transmitting system <NUM> to be in the first connection state.

It should be understood that <FIG> are merely examples, and show four or six antenna bays, four or six PAs, and one or two switching switches. Optionally, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may include K antenna bays, K PAs, and L switching switches, where K is an integer greater than <NUM>, and L is a positive integer.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG>, the downlink transmitting system <NUM> may further include a plurality of phase shifters (for example, a phase shifter <NUM> to a phase shifter <NUM> in <FIG>). The plurality of phase shifters are connected to a plurality of antenna bays in a one-to-one correspondence. For example, in <FIG>, an antenna bay <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>, an antenna bay <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, an antenna bay <NUM> is correspondingly connected to a phase shifter <NUM>, and an antenna bay <NUM> is correspondingly connected to the phase shifter <NUM>.

A structure and a type of a switching switch are not limited in embodiments of this application. In the following embodiment, a downlink transmitting system <NUM> is used as an example to describe the structure and the type of the switching switch provided in embodiments of this application. In the following embodiments, an example in which each Tx channel group includes two Tx channels and each PA group includes two PAs is used for description.

In an implementation, the switching switch may be a bridge.

For example, in a downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a Tx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a bridge <NUM>, and a Tx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a bridge <NUM>. The downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> further includes a phase shifter, and the phase shifter is located between a bridge and a PA. In this case, the Tx channel group <NUM> is connected to a phase shifter <NUM> and a phase shifter <NUM><NUM> through the bridge <NUM>, and the Tx channel group <NUM> is connected to a phase shifter <NUM> and a phase shifter <NUM> through the bridge <NUM>.

The downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> is in a first connection state. When determining that a first condition is met, a baseband processor may control the bridges to enable connection states of the bridge <NUM> and the bridge <NUM> to be the first connection state.

For example, in <FIG>, the baseband processor controls the bridge <NUM>, to enable a port A and a port C of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, and enable a port B and a port D of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> to be connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a <NUM>st Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>, and a <NUM>nd Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>. The baseband processor controls the bridge <NUM>, to enable a port A and a port C of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, and enable a port B and a port D of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> to be connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a <NUM>rd Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>, and a <NUM>th Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>.

The downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> is in a second connection state. When determining that a second condition is met, the baseband processor may control the bridges to enable the connection states of the bridge <NUM> and the bridge <NUM> to be the second connection state.

For example, in <FIG>, the baseband processor controls the bridge <NUM>, to enable the port A, the port C, and the port D of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, and enable the port B and the port D of the bridge <NUM> to be in a disconnected state, so as to enable the <NUM>st Tx channel to be connected to the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>nd Tx channel to be in a disabled state. The baseband processor controls the bridge <NUM>, to enable the port A and the port C of the bridge <NUM> to be in a disconnected state, and enable the port B, the port C, and the port D of the bridge <NUM> to be in a connected state, so as to enable the <NUM>th Tx channel to be connected to the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>rd Tx channel to be in a disabled state.

In another implementation, the switching switch may include a single-pole double-throw switch, or include a single-pole double-throw switch and a single-pole single-throw switch.

For example, in a downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a Tx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a switching switch <NUM>, and the switching switch <NUM> may include a switch <NUM> and a switch <NUM>. The switch <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be single-pole double-throw switches. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch. A Tx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a switching switch <NUM>, and the switching switch <NUM> may include a switch <NUM> and a switch <NUM>. The switch <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be single-pole double-throw switches. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch.

The downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> is in a first connection state. When determining that a first condition is met, a baseband processor may control the switching switch to enable connection states of the switching switch <NUM> and the switching switch <NUM> to be the first connection state.

For example, in <FIG>, the baseband processor controls the switching switch <NUM>, to enable a port C of the switch <NUM> to be connected to a port A of the switch <NUM>, and enable a port D of the switch <NUM> to be connected to a port B of the switch <NUM>, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> to be connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. To be specific, a <NUM>st Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>, and a <NUM>nd Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>. The baseband processor controls the switching switch <NUM>, to enable a port C of the switch <NUM> to be connected to a port A of the switch <NUM>, and enable a port D of the switch <NUM> to be connected to a port B of the switch <NUM>, so as to enable two Tx channels in the Tx channel group <NUM> to be connected to two PAs in the PA group <NUM> in a one-to-one correspondence. In other words, a <NUM>rd Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>, and a <NUM>th Tx channel is connected to a PA <NUM>.

The downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> is in a second connection state. When determining that a second condition is met, the baseband processor may control the switching switch to enable the connection states of the switching switch <NUM> and the switching switch <NUM> to be the second connection state.

For example, in <FIG>, the baseband processor controls the switching switch <NUM>, to enable the port C of the switch <NUM> to be connected to the port A of the switch <NUM>, and enable the port D of the switch <NUM> to be connected to the port A, so as to enable the <NUM>st Tx channel to be connected to the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>nd Tx channel to be in a disabled state. The baseband processor controls the switching switch <NUM>, to enable the port C of the switch <NUM> to be connected to the port A of the switch <NUM>, and enable the port D of the switch <NUM> to be connected to the port A, so as to enable the <NUM>rd Tx channel to be connected to the PA <NUM> and the PA <NUM>, and the <NUM>th Tx channel to be in a disabled state.

It should be understood that the switches <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> are both single-pole double-throw switches, and the switch <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be single-pole double-throw switches or may be single-pole single-throw switches.

It should be further understood that the single-pole single-throw switch mentioned in this embodiment of this application is a switch having a single-pole single-throw function, and the single-pole double-throw switch mentioned in this embodiment of this application is a switch having a single-pole double-throw function.

For structures and types of the switching switches in the downlink transmitting system <NUM> and the downlink transmitting system <NUM> provided in embodiments of this application, refer to descriptions in <FIG>. For brevity, details are not described in this embodiment of this application.

The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application as defined in the attached claims.

For example, in a downlink transmitting system <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a Tx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a switching switch <NUM>, and the switching switch <NUM> may include a switch <NUM> and a switch <NUM>. The switch <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be single-pole double-throw switches. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch. ATx channel group <NUM> and a PA group <NUM> are connected through a switching switch <NUM>, and the switching switch <NUM> may include a switch <NUM> and a switch <NUM>. The switch <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be single-pole double-throw switches. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch. Alternatively, the switch <NUM> is a single-pole double-throw switch, and the switch <NUM> is a single-pole single-throw switch.

Claim 1:
A downlink transmitting system (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), comprising:
at least one digital intermediate frequency module group,
at least one transmit, Tx, port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
a plurality of power amplifiers, PAs (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), at least one switching switch (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), and
an antenna array (<NUM>, <NUM>), wherein
the plurality of PAs are connected to the antenna array (<NUM>, <NUM>),
the plurality of PAs are connected to all Tx ports comprised in the downlink transmitting system (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) in a one-to-one correspondence,
the at least one digital intermediate frequency module group is in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one Tx port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
each of the at least one Tx port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is connected to each digital intermediate frequency module in a corresponding digital intermediate frequency module group through one of the at least one switching switch (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
each of the at least one Tx port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprises a plurality of Tx ports,
a quantity of digital intermediate frequency modules comprised in each digital intermediate frequency module group is equal to a quantity of Tx ports comprised in a corresponding Tx port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>),
each of the at least one switching switch (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprises at least two connection states,
quantities of enabled digital intermediate frequency modules in a digital intermediate frequency module group connected to the each of the at least one switching switch (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) in different connection states are different, and
all Tx ports in a Tx port group (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) connected to the each one of the at least one switching switch (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) in the different connection states are in an enabled state.