DMRS transmission methods and apparatuses, device, and storage medium

Abstract

DMRS transmission methods and apparatuses, a device, and a storage medium, which relate to the technical field of communications. A method is executed by a terminal device. The method comprises: using K physical resource blocks (PRBs) as a unit to send or receive a DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port, wherein the K PRBs include a plurality of DMRS ports, DMRS ports included in different PRBs are not completely the same, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from among the plurality of DMRS ports, and K is an integer greater than 1 (310). In the method, a large number of DMRS ports are distributed to a plurality of PRBs, thereby reducing DMRS resource overheads on each PRB; thus, the multiplexing of a large number of DMRS ports is supported by means of relatively low resource overheads in a low multipath delay scenario, thereby improving the spectral efficiency of data transmission.

Description

DMRS transmission method, apparatus, device and storage medium TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a DMRS transmission method, apparatus, device and storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In related technologies, two types of DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) on each PRB (Physical Resource Block) can support 16 and 24 DMRS ports respectively, and each occupies 2 OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols. However, with the increase of downlink antenna ports, the network device can schedule more users for multi-user multiplexing, thereby requiring more orthogonal DMRS ports for uplink and downlink transmission. If more OFDM symbols are configured in each PRB to support more DMRS ports, a large amount of physical resources need to be occupied, thereby affecting the rate of uplink and downlink transmission.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a DMRS transmission method, apparatus, device and storage medium. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are as follows:

[0005] According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) transmission method is provided, the method is executed by a terminal device, and the method comprises:

[0006] In K PRBs, DMRS of a data channel is sent or received on at least one DMRS port, the K PRBs contain a plurality of DMRS ports, the DMRS ports contained in different PRBs are not completely the same, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K is an integer greater than 1.

[0007] According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) transmission method is provided, the method is executed by a network device, and the method comprises:

[0008] In K PRBs, DMRS of a data channel is received or sent on at least one DMRS port, the K PRBs contain a plurality of DMRS ports, the DMRS ports contained in different PRBs are not completely the same, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K is an integer greater than 1.

[0009] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a device for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission is provided, the device comprising:

[0010] a transceiver configured to transmit or receive DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K PRBs, the K PRBs containing a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs containing different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K being an integer greater than 1.

[0011] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a device for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission is provided, the device comprising:

[0012] a transceiver configured to transmit or receive DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K PRBs, the K PRBs containing a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs containing different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K being an integer greater than 1.

[0013] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor executing the computer program to implement the above DMRS transmission method.

[0014] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer readable storage medium is provided, the storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer program being configured to be executed by a processor to implement the above DMRS transmission method.

[0015] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a chip is provided, the chip comprising a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, the chip is configured to implement the above DMRS transmission method.

[0016] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer program is provided, the computer program comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor reading and executing the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium to implement the above DMRS transmission method.

[0017] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor reading and executing the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium to implement the above DMRS transmission method.

[0018] The technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can include the following beneficial effects:

[0019] By dispersing a large number of DMRS ports on multiple PRBs, the DMRS resource overhead on each PRB is reduced, thereby supporting multiplexing of a large number of DMRS ports by smaller resource overhead in a low multipath delay scenario, and improving the spectral efficiency of data transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a configuration type of DMRS provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a DMRS transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS port provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of DMRS ports according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of DMRS ports according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of DMRS ports according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of DMRS transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of DMRS transmission according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a DMRS transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a DMRS transmission apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] For the purpose of making the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0044] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0045] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, evolved system of NR system, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), 5th-Generation (5G) system, B5G (Beyound 5G) system, 6th-Generation (6G) system or other communication systems, etc.

[0046] Generally, the traditional communication system supports a limited number of connections, which is easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, the mobile communication system will not only support the traditional communication, but also support, for example, Device to Device (D2D) communication, Machine to Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication, or Vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0047] The communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, can also be applied to a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and can also be applied to a standalone (SA) network deployment scenario.

[0048] The communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, which can also be regarded as a shared spectrum, or can also be applied to a licensed spectrum, which can also be regarded as a non-shared spectrum.

[0049] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, and can also be applied to a terrestrial network (TN) system. The NTN generally adopts a satellite communication mode to provide communication services to ground users. The NTN system currently includes an NR-NTN and an IoT-NTN system, and other NTN systems can be included in the future.

[0050] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture 100 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture 100 can include a terminal device 10, an access network device 20, and a core network element 30.

[0051] The terminal device 10 can refer to a UE (User Equipment), an access terminal device, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. In some embodiments, the terminal device 10 can also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) phone, a WLL (Wireless Local Loop) station, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5GS (5th Generation System), or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For the convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices. The number of terminal devices 10 is usually multiple, and one or more terminal devices 10 can be distributed in the cell managed by each access network device 20. The terminal device can also be referred to simply as a terminal device or a UE, and those skilled in the art can understand its meaning.

[0052] The access network device 20 is a device deployed in an access network to provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 10. The access network device 20 can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with access network device functions can be different, for example, in a 5G NR system, it is called gNodeB or gNB. As communication technology evolves, the name of the "access network device" may change. For ease of description, in the embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned devices that provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 10 are collectively referred to as access network devices. In some embodiments, through the access network device 20, a communication relationship can be established between the terminal device 10 and the core network element 30. Illustratively, in the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system, the access network device 20 can be an EUTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) or one or more eNodeBs in the EUTRAN; in the 5G NR system, the access network device 20 can be a RAN (Radio Access Network) or one or more gNBs in the RAN. In the embodiments of the present application, the "network device" refers to the access network device 20, such as a base station, unless otherwise specified.

[0053] The core network element 30 is a network element deployed in the core network, and the main functions of the core network element 30 are to provide user connection, manage users, and complete bearer for services, and to provide an interface to external network devices as a bearer network device. For example, the core network element in the 5G NR system can include AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) entities, UPF (User Plane Function) entities, and SMF (Session Management Function) entities.

[0054] In some embodiments, the access network device 20 and the core network element 30 communicate with each other through some air interface technology, such as the NG interface in the 5G NR system. The access network device 20 and the terminal device 10 communicate with each other through some air interface technology, such as the Uu interface.

[0055] The "5G NR system" in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a 5G system or an NR system, but those skilled in the art can understand its meaning. The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to the LTE system, and can also be applicable to the 5G NR system, and can also be applicable to the subsequent evolution system of the 5G NR system (for example, the B5G (Beyound 5G) system, the 6G system (6th Generation System, the sixth generation mobile communication system)), and can also be applicable to other communication systems such as the NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things, Narrow Band Internet of Things) system, and the like, and the present application does not limit this.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resource (for example, frequency domain resource, or frequency spectrum resource) on the carrier used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station), and the cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell (Small cell). The small cell can include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and the like. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmit power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0057] Before introducing the technical solutions of the present application, the related technologies involved in the present application are introduced and explained. The following related technologies can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application in any way, and all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

[0058] In the NR system, two different DMRS types, type 1 and type 2, are supported, and different types of resources have different occupation modes.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 2(a), for Type 1 DMRS, 2 CDM (Code Division Multiplexing) groups (different colors) can be supported on one OFDM symbol per PRB, each CDM group contains 6 subcarriers. Each CDM group can support 2 ports, the two ports are kept orthogonal by OCC (Orthogonal Cover Code) of length 2, that is, one port uses OCC code [+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1] on different subcarriers, and the other port uses OCC code [+1 -1 +1 -1 +1 -1]. In this way, Type 1 DMRS can support up to 4 orthogonal ports on one OFDM symbol, and up to 8 orthogonal ports on two OFDM symbols (TD-OCC is used between the two OFDM symbols). In the evolved version of NR, OCC code of length 4 is introduced, so that 8 orthogonal ports can be supported in one OFDM symbol, and a total of 16 orthogonal ports can be supported on two OFDM symbols.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 2(b), for Type 2 DMRS, 3 CDM groups (different colors represent different CDM groups) can be supported on one OFDM symbol per PRB, each CDM group contains 4 subcarriers adjacent to each other. Each CDM group can support 2 ports, the two ports are kept orthogonal by OCC, that is, one port uses OCC code [+1 +1 +1 +1] on different subcarriers, and the other port uses OCC code [+1 -1 +1 -1]. In this way, Type 2 DMRS can support up to 6 orthogonal ports on one OFDM symbol, and up to 12 orthogonal ports on two OFDM symbols (TD-OCC is used between the two OFDM symbols). In the evolved version of NR, OCC code of length 4 is introduced, that is, 4 REs in one CDM group use OCC code of length 4, so that 12 orthogonal ports can be supported in one OFDM symbol, and a total of 24 orthogonal ports can be supported on two OFDM symbols.

[0061] In the related art, 16 and 24 DMRS ports can be supported on each PRB by two types of DMRS respectively, and 2 OFDM symbols are occupied respectively. However, with the increase of downlink antenna ports, the network device can schedule more users for multi-user multiplexing, so that more orthogonal DMRS ports are needed for uplink and downlink transmission. If more OFDM symbols are configured in each PRB to support more DMRS ports, a large amount of physical resources need to be occupied, thereby affecting the rate of uplink and downlink transmission.

[0062] Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a flow chart of a DMRS transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a terminal device. The method includes the following step 310.

[0063] In step 310, the terminal device transmits or receives, in units of K PRBs, DMRSs of a data channel on at least one DMRS port, the K PRBs contain multiple DMRS ports, different PRBs contain different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from the multiple DMRS ports, and K is an integer greater than 1.

[0064] Correspondingly, the network device receives or transmits, on at least one DMRS port, DMRSs of a data channel.

[0065] K can be understood as the frequency domain granularity of the DMRS. Optionally, K is an integer greater than 1. For example, K can take a value from the set {2, 3, 4, 8}.

[0066] One PRB contains 14 or 28 OFDM symbols in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain. PRB is usually used as the basic transmission unit in the frequency domain, and the resource scheduling of data transmission is also in units of PRB.

[0067] In some embodiments, K is configured by the network device. In one example, K is directly configured by the network device. For example, the network device directly indicates the value of K. In another example, K is determined based on a parameter indicated by the network device. For example, K is determined based on the number of CDM groups configured by the network device; or K is determined based on the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device.

[0068] In some embodiments, the network device can determine the value of K according to the current delay spread. The difference between the time when a signal reaches the receiving end through different paths is called delay spread. For example, when the delay spread is large, the network device can configure a small K; when the delay spread is small, the network device can configure a large K. It should be noted that the network device can also configure the frequency domain granularity of the DMRS to be 1 (i.e., K = 1, for example, in the case of large delay spread), at which time the transmission mode and mapping mode of the DMRS are similar to those in the related art, and this application will not be repeated. In the related art, a DMRS port is transmitted in each PRB, so the frequency domain granularity of the DMRS is 1. In the embodiments of the present application, in the case of K > 1, a larger DMRS frequency domain granularity can be used in the case of small delay spread, thereby reducing the overhead of the DMRS and improving the transmission rate of the uplink and downlink. By combining the method of the present application and the DMRS transmission mode with a frequency domain granularity of K = 1 in the related art, the network device can flexibly configure the frequency granularity of the DMRS in different scenarios, thereby balancing between channel estimation performance and DMRS overhead.

[0069] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the DMRS ports in the K PRBs for DMRS transmission, wherein different PRBs in the K PRBs contain different DMRS ports. In one example, different PRBs in the K PRBs contain completely different DMRS ports. In another example, different PRBs in the K PRBs contain different DMRS ports that are not completely the same.

[0070] The DMRS ports in the K PRBs for DMRS transmission are DMRS ports that can be used for DMRS transmission in the K PRBs, which not only include DMRS ports for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, but also include DMRS ports that can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0071] In some embodiments, each of the K PRBs includes L CDM groups, different PRBs contain different CDM group indexes and different CDM groups occupy different physical resources, each CDM group contains the same number of DMRS ports, and L is a positive integer. For example, each of the K PRBs contains L CDM groups with different indexes, wherein different CDM groups occupy different physical resources and different CDM groups contain the same number of DMRS ports.

[0072] The DMRS ports included in each CDM group are kept orthogonal by code division multiplexing, i.e., by different cyclic shifts or different OCC codes. Exemplarily, each CDM group occupies 2 / 4 / 8 subcarriers, and a frequency domain OCC code with a length of 2 or 4 is used in the group, or a time domain OCC code with a length of 2 is further used, so as to multiplex 2 / 4 / 8 subcarriers in one CDM group. In one example, the value of L is one of {2, 3, 4, 6}.

[0073] In one example, that different CDM groups occupy different physical resources can include that different CDM groups can occupy different time domain resources (TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)), or different CDM groups can occupy different frequency domain resources (FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing)), so that K PRBs include K*L CDM groups in total.

[0074] Exemplarily, each PRB can include 3 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers; or each PRB can include 4 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers; or each PRB can include 6 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers or different OFDM symbols.

[0075] In one example, L is agreed by the network device and the terminal device in advance. Exemplarily, the network device and the terminal device both use the value of L specified in the protocol. In another example, L is configured by the network device. Exemplarily, the network device can configure the value of L, and the terminal device determines the length of the frequency domain OCC used, or determines the number of OFDM symbols used, or determines the subcarriers occupied by the DMRS according to the value of L. For example, when L=3, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the DMRS is 1; for example, when L=6, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the DMRS is 2.

[0076] In some embodiments, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to determine at least one DMRS port. The first information can be control layer information such as RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, or physical layer information such as DCI (Downlink Control Information).

[0077] Optionally, the method further includes the following step 320.

[0078] At step 320, the terminal device receives DCI or RRC signaling sent by the network device, and the DCI or RRC signaling is used to determine the at least one DMRS port.

[0079] Correspondingly, the network device sends the DCI or RRC signaling.

[0080] It should be noted that the first information can be information dedicated to determining the at least one DMRS port, for example, step 320 is performed before step 310; or can be carried in downlink information between the terminal device and the network device, for example, in downlink information in a random access process.

[0081] The technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application reduces the DMRS resource overhead on each PRB by dispersing a large number of DMRS ports on multiple PRBs, thereby supporting a large number of DMRS port multiplexing through smaller resource overhead in a low multipath delay scenario, and improving the spectral efficiency of data transmission.

[0082] Mapping of CDM groups

[0083] 1. Mapping mode of CDM groups

[0084] Mode 1: The CDM groups contained in the K PRBs can be mapped in the mode of first frequency domain and then time domain. Exemplarily, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped on different PRBs in the same OFDM symbol, and then mapped on different OFDM symbols.

[0085] For different values of K, the mapping mode of the CDM groups can refer to the examples of FIGS. 4-10. In the figures, the numbers represent the serial numbers of the CDM groups (i.e., the first CDM group), which can also be represented by the indexes of the CDM groups, and the index of the CDM group is the serial number of the CDM minus 1. In the figures, each CDM group occupies 2 or 4 or 8 subcarriers, and contains 2 or 4 or 8 DMRS ports (containing k ports is CDM k in the figures). FIGS. 4-10 mainly take CDM4 (one CDM group contains 4 DMRS ports) as an example, and other CDM multiplexing modes (such as CDM2 and CDM8) can be similarly deduced. The advantage of this mode is that the DMRS is more uniformly distributed in the frequency domain, which can better resist the frequency selectivity of the channel, and at the same time, the DMRS can occupy as few OFDM symbols as possible within one PRB, so that the number of data REs (Resource Element, resource element) of different PRBs is consistent.

[0086] In an embodiment, one CDM group includes k ports, and the number L of CDM groups is equal to the quotient of the number of DMRS ports and k. In some embodiments, the CDM groups included in the K PRBs are mapped to OFDM symbols in the order of frequency domain first and time domain second, using configuration type 1 or configuration type 2. The number of OFDM symbols can be configured by the network device or determined by the terminal device based on the value of K and the number of CDM groups. Among them, the front DMRS generally occupies the first 1 / 2 OFDM symbol of a slot, or occupies the first 1 / 2 OFDM symbol (i.e. the third 1 / 4 OFDM symbol or the fifth 1 / 6 OFDM symbol) after the control channel. In the following figures, only the example of the front DMRS is given, if the network device configures additional DMRS symbols, the front DMRS can be repeatedly transmitted on the subsequent OFDM symbols (i.e. using the same pattern and sequence as the front DMRS, called additional DMRS), so as to ensure the performance of the high-speed scene by increasing the time domain density of the DMRS.

[0087] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 4, in the case of K=2, there are 24 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-6 are mapped to 1 OFDM symbol in the configuration type 2.

[0088] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of K=4, there are 48 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-12 are mapped to 1 OFDM symbol in the configuration type 2.

[0089] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 6, in the case of K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-12 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in the configuration type 1.

[0090] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-12 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in the configuration type 2.

[0091] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 8, in the case of K=3, there are 72 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-18 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in the configuration type 2.

[0092] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case of K=4, there are 72 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-18 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in the configuration type 2.

[0093] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of K=4, there are 96 DMRS ports, and CDM groups 1-24 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in the configuration type 2.

[0094] For example, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped in the time domain first and then in the frequency domain. For example, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped to different OFDM symbols on the same PRB and then mapped to different PRBs.

[0095] For different values of K, the mapping manner of the CDM groups can refer to the examples in FIGS. 11-17. The numbers represent the serial numbers of the CDM groups (i.e., the first CDM group), and the index of the CDM group can also be used, which is the serial number of the CDM group minus 1.

[0096] In some embodiments, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped to the OFDM symbols in the time domain first and then in the frequency domain using configuration type 1 or configuration type 2. The number of OFDM symbols can be configured by the network device or determined by the terminal device based on the value of K and the number of CDM groups.

[0097] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-6 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 1.

[0098] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-12 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 1.

[0099] For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-24 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 1.

[0100] For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-6 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 2.

[0101] For example, as shown in FIG. 15, when K=2, there are 48 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-12 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 2.

[0102] For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when K=4, there are 72 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-18 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 2.

[0103] For example, as shown in FIG. 17, when K=4, there are 96 DMRS ports, and the CDM groups 1-24 are mapped to 2 OFDM symbols in configuration type 2.

[0104] 2. Numbering order of CDM groups

[0105] The numbering order of the CDM groups refers to a manner of determining the sequence number of the CDM groups, that is, the manners 1 and 2 described in the above embodiments.

[0106] In some embodiments, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined based on the value of K and / or the number of the first OFDM symbols, which is the number of the OFDM symbols configured by the network device for the DMRS. Illustratively, the terminal device determines the numbering order of the CDM groups based on the mapping relationship between the value of K and / or the number of the OFDM symbols and the numbering order of the CDM groups. For example, when the number of the OFDM symbols is 1, the manner 1 is adopted; when the number of the OFDM symbols is 2, the manner 2 is adopted. For another example, when the value of K is even, the manner 1 is adopted; when the value of K is odd, the manner 2 is adopted. The mapping relationship between the value of K and / or the number of the OFDM symbols and the numbering order of the CDM groups can be pre-configured or pre-defined, or configured by the network device.

[0107] In some embodiments, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is configured by the network device. Illustratively, the network device sends downlink signaling to the terminal device for indicating the numbering order of the CDM groups. For example, the network device indicates which numbering order is adopted through 1-bit downlink signaling. For example, when the value of the downlink signaling is 1, the manner 1 is adopted; when the value of the downlink signaling is 0, the manner 2 is adopted.

[0108] The above method provides the mapping manner of the CDM groups in the K PRBs, so that the DMRS is more uniformly distributed in the frequency domain, can better resist the frequency selectivity of the channel, and at the same time, the DMRS can occupy as few OFDM symbols as possible in one PRB, so that the number of data REs in different PRBs is consistent.

[0109] Regarding the DMRS port

[0110] 1. Physical resources occupied by the DMRS port

[0111] In some embodiments, the physical resources occupied by the same DMRS port or the same CDM group are the same in the case of different values of K. That is, the physical resources occupied by the same DMRS port or the same CDM group are the same for different values of K. Illustratively, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 9 and 10, the physical resources occupied by the two CDM groups with the same sequence number are the same in the case of different values of K, and the physical resources occupied by the corresponding DMRS ports are also the same. Illustratively, as shown in FIGS. 15-17, the physical resources occupied by the two CDM groups with the same sequence number are also the same in the case of different values of K, and the physical resources occupied by the corresponding DMRS ports are also the same. This backward compatible manner can reduce the implementation complexity of the terminal device.

[0112] 2. On DMRS ports

[0113] In some embodiments, each of the at least one DMRS port is used for demodulation of data channels on K PRBs. The DMRS port transmitted or received on each of the K PRBs is used for demodulation of data channels on all the K PRBs. That is, for one DMRS port on any of the K PRBs, the result of channel estimation based on it is used not only for data channel detection on the PRB, but also for demodulation of data channels on other PRBs of the K PRBs. At this time, the DMRS-based channel estimation is in units of K PRBs, that is, each DMRS port on one PRB corresponds to a corresponding transmission layer in the data channels on multiple PRBs. Compared with the related art in which each DMRS port can only be used for data demodulation on the PRB, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can support data detection on multiple PRBs with very low DMRS overhead.

[0114] In one example, each of the K PRBs contains a DMRS port (CDM group). In another example, not necessarily every PRB of the K PRBs contains a DMRS port or a CDM group, and some PRBs can not contain any DMRS port or CDM group for rate matching. The demodulation of data channels on these PRBs is based on the DMRS ports (resources) on other PRBs.

[0115] Specifically, which PRBs contain DMRS ports or CDM groups can be determined according to the number of DMRS ports or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission contained in the K PRBs configured by the network device. Since the physical resources mapped by the DMRS ports or the CDM groups can be agreed in advance by the network device and the terminal device, or determined according to the aforementioned numbering order of the CDM groups, as long as the total number of DMRS ports or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission is determined, the PRBs that these DMRS need to occupy can be determined.

[0116] For example, when the total number of DMRS ports is 48, K = 4 PRBs, and the DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned numbering order of the CDM groups, mode 1, there are DMRS resources on all PRBs, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0117] For example, when the total number of DMRS ports is 48, K = 4 PRBs, and the DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned numbering order of the CDM groups, mode 2, there are DMRS resources only on two PRBs, as shown in FIG. 18.

[0118] For example, when the total number of DMRS ports is 72, K = 4 PRBs, and DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned CDM group numbering order manner 2, there are DMRS resources on only three PRBs, as shown in FIG. 16.

[0119] For example, when the total number of DMRS ports is 96, K = 4 PRBs, and no matter which numbering order is based on, there are DMRS resources on all PRBs, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0120] Information related to network device indication

[0121] In some embodiments, the method further includes the following step 330.

[0122] Step 330, the terminal device receives the second information sent by the network device.

[0123] Correspondingly, the network device sends the second information.

[0124] In one example, the second information is used to indicate the number of DMRS ports. For example, the number of DMRS ports can be 12, 24, 48, or 96. The number of DMRS ports determines the number of DMRS ports that can be carried in the K PRBs. These DMRS ports can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices, and the network device can also configure some of the ports not to be used for DMRS transmission but for data transmission.

[0125] In one example, the second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM group contained in the K PRBs. The first type of CDM group is the CDM group not used for data transmission. Illustratively, the second information can indicate the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission contained in the K PRBs, at this time the number corresponds to the first several CDM groups not used for data transmission. The number is at least 1 and at most M, where M is the maximum number of CDM groups that can be carried in the K PRBs. For example, the number can be one of 1-3, or one of 1-6, or one of 1-12, or one of 1-24. According to the information, the terminal device can rate match data on the corresponding resources, thereby avoiding interference between DMRS and data. For another example, the second information can indicate from the M CDM groups contained in the K PRBs that several CDM groups are not used for data transmission, and these CDM groups can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0126] In one example, the second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM groups contained in the first PRB of the K PRBs. The first PRB is the first PRB or the last PRB of the K PRBs, and the CDM groups contained in the other PRBs of the K PRBs than the first PRB are all the first type of CDM groups. The terminal device assumes that the CDM groups contained in the K-1 PRBs of the K PRBs are all not used for data transmission, and only part or all of the CDM groups in the remaining 1 PRB are not used for data transmission, so it is only necessary to indicate the CDM groups in the first PRB that are not used for data transmission. In one example, the second information needs to indicate 1 to L CDM groups contained in the first PRB from the L CDM groups contained in the first PRB, which are not used for data transmission. In another example, the second information can indicate the number l of CDM groups contained in the first PRB that are not used for data transmission, and the number corresponds to the first l or last l CDM groups that are not used for data transmission. The value of the number ranges from 1 to L. For example, the network device can indicate that the first 1 to L or last 1 to L CDM groups are not used for data transmission by log2L bits. These CDM groups not used for data transmission can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0127] In one example, the network device directly indicates the value of K, and the terminal device performs rate matching on the data channel based on the second information.

[0128] In another example, the network device does not directly indicate the value of K, and the terminal device determines K based on the second information. After determining K, the terminal device performs rate matching on the data channel.

[0129] The network device determines the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports and indicates it to the terminal device. Specifically, the CDM groups or the DMRS ports can be used for DMRS transmission of multiple terminal devices multiplexed on the same resource, not limited to the terminal device. The network device can determine the number of required CDM groups or the number of required DMRS ports according to the number of transmission layers of each terminal device and the DMRS ports used by each terminal device simultaneously scheduled on the current physical resource, and indicate it to the corresponding terminal device through high-layer signaling or physical-layer signaling.

[0130] The terminal device determines the value of K according to the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports. Specifically, the terminal device determines the value of the frequency domain granularity K of the DMRS according to the frequency domain resources required to be occupied by the CDM groups corresponding to the number of CDM groups; or the terminal device determines the value of the frequency domain granularity K of the DMRS according to the frequency domain resources required to be occupied by the DMRS ports corresponding to the number of DMRS ports.

[0131] That is, the number of PRBs occupied by the CDM group or DMRS port configured by the network device is the value of K. Since the physical resource mapped by the DMRS port or CDM group can be agreed by the network device and the terminal device in advance (for example, defined in the protocol), as long as the number of DMRS ports or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission is determined, the number of PRBs occupied by the DMRS can be determined, and thus the value of K is obtained.

[0132] In one example, the number of CDM groups configured by the network device is M, and the value of K is the integer value of the quotient of M and L, L is the number of CDM groups carried in one PRB, and L and M are positive integers. For example, when the number of configured CDM groups is M, the value of K is K = M / L (integer), where L is the number of CDM groups that can be carried in one PRB.

[0133] In another example, the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device is S, and the value of K is the integer value of the quotient of S and P, P is the number of DMRS ports carried in one PRB, and S and P are positive integers. For example, when the number of configured DMRS ports is S, the value of K is K = S / P (integer), where P is the number of DMRS ports that can be carried in one PRB.

[0134] How the terminal device receives or transmits the DMRS of the data channel

[0135] The terminal device transmits or receives the DMRS of the data channel in at least one of the DMRS ports in the K PRBs as the frequency domain unit; the at least one DMRS port is the DMRS port indicated by the network device from the DMRS ports. Illustratively, the terminal device receives the DMRS port information (first information) indicated by the network device through the DCI, and the DMRS port information is used to indicate the at least one DMRS port.

[0136] In some embodiments, the terminal device transmits or receives the DMRS in K PRBs as the frequency domain unit (also known as frequency domain granularity), which means that each K PRB contains a group of DMRS ports (CDM group), and the DMRS ports contained in one K PRB group are different, while the DMRS ports contained in different frequency bands are the same. That is, each frequency band composed of K PRBs uses the same DMRS resource, which is determined according to the method described in the embodiments of the present application to determine the DMRS port for DMRS transmission or the CDM group not used for data transmission. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the terminal device transmits (transmits or receives) the DMRS in K PRBs as the frequency domain unit, wherein the DMRS port pattern contained in each K PRB is shown in any of FIGS. 4-18.

[0137] In some embodiments, the data channel on K PRBs adopts the same precoding. In order to ensure that the DMRS port on each PRB can be used for data demodulation on all K PRBs, it is necessary to ensure that the data channel on K PRBs adopts the same precoding, otherwise the data channel on other PRBs cannot be demodulated. For uplink transmission, the terminal device needs to ensure that K PRBs adopt the same precoding, and the network device can perform channel estimation and data detection based on the assumption of the same precoding; for downlink transmission, the network device needs to ensure that K PRBs adopt the same precoding, and the terminal device can perform channel estimation and data detection based on the assumption of the same precoding.

[0138] In some embodiments, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K. The granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K. Since the DMRS port on each PRB can be used for data demodulation on K PRBs, the granularity of precoding of the data channel needs to be an integer multiple of K, that is, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K.

[0139] In some embodiments, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of K. Since the channel estimation is in the granularity of K PRBs, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel can be limited to an integer multiple of K, as shown in FIG. 18, so as to ensure that there are enough DMRS resources in each K PRBs for data demodulation, and there is no case that only part of the DMRS ports in a certain frequency band.

[0140] In some embodiments, in the case where the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of K, the following cases can be included:

[0141] Case 1: The data channel on the last k PRBs adopts the same precoding as the data channel on the previous K PRBs.

[0142] Case 2: The data channel on the last k PRBs belongs to the same PRB bundle as the data channel on the previous K PRBs.

[0143] Case 3: The last k PRBs are jointly used for channel estimation with the previous K PRBs.

[0144] Wherein, k = N mod K, N is the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel.

[0145] If the number N of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of K, as shown in FIG. 20, the data channel on the last k PRBs is precoded in the same way as the data channel on the previous K PRBs, or the k PRBs belong to the same PRB bundle as the previous K PRBs, where k = N mod K. At this time, since the last k PRBs are precoded in the same way as the previous K PRBs or belong to the same PRB bundle as the previous K PRBs, the terminal device or the network device can use the channel estimation result obtained from the DMRS on the previous K PRBs for detection of the data channel on the last k PRBs, thereby ensuring the detection performance of the data on the last k PRBs.

[0146] Further, the DMRS on the k PRBs and the previous K PRBs can be jointly used for channel estimation, and the obtained channel estimation result can be used for detection of the data channel on the K+k PRBs. For example, the k PRBs contain 2 DMRS ports {0, 1}, and the previous K PRBs contain 4 DMRS ports {0, 1, 2, 3}. For the DMRS ports {0, 1}, the terminal device or the network device can jointly use the DMRS on the k PRBs and the previous K PRBs for channel estimation; for the DMRS ports {2, 3}, only the DMRS on the previous K PRBs can be used for channel estimation. Regardless of which port, the obtained channel estimation result is used for demodulation of the data on the k PRBs and the previous K PRBs. For uplink transmission, this method is performed at the network device side; for downlink transmission, this method is performed at the terminal device side.

[0147] When the terminal device transmits the DMRS of the data channel in K-PRB frequency domain units, the network device receives the DMRS of the data channel in K-PRB frequency domain units on at least one of the DMRS ports. At this time, the method of receiving the DMRS by the network device corresponds to the method of transmitting the DMRS by the terminal device.

[0148] Before the terminal device receives the DMRS of the data channel in K-PRB frequency domain units, the network device transmits the DMRS of the data channel in K-PRB frequency domain units on at least one of the DMRS ports. At this time, the method of transmitting the DMRS by the network device corresponds to the method of receiving the DMRS by the terminal device.

[0149] Next, two possible implementation manners of the DMRS transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application are given. The contents in the above embodiments can also be combined to obtain other embodiments, which will not be described herein.

[0150] Embodiment one, the network device configures K

[0151] 1. The network device determines the value of the PRB quantity K and indicates the value to the terminal device through downlink signaling.

[0152] K can be defined as the frequency domain granularity of DMRS, and K is an integer greater than 1. For example, the value of K can be one of {2, 3, 4, 8}.

[0153] According to the definition of the NR protocol, one PRB contains 14 or 28 OFDM symbols in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain. PRB is usually used as the basic transmission unit in the frequency domain, and the resource scheduling of data transmission is in units of PRB.

[0154] Specifically, the network device can determine the value of K according to the current delay spread. When the delay spread is large, the network device can configure a smaller K; when the delay spread is small, the network device can configure a larger K. It should be noted that the network device can also configure the frequency domain granularity of DMRS to be 1 (i.e., K = 1, for example, in a scenario with large delay spread), at which time the transmission and mapping manner of DMRS is similar to that in the existing NR protocol, which will not be described here. The implementation manner of K > 1 is mainly focused on in the embodiments of the present application.

[0155] The downlink signaling can be high-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling) or DCI signaling (such as DCI indication for scheduling PDSCH or PUSCH).

[0156] In the related art, one DMRS port is transmitted in each PRB, so the frequency domain granularity of DMRS is 1. In the embodiments of the present application, by configuring K > 1, a larger DMRS frequency domain granularity can be used in a scenario with small delay spread, thereby reducing the overhead of DMRS and improving the transmission rate of uplink and downlink.

[0157] 2. The terminal device receives the value of K indicated by the network device.

[0158] For example, the terminal device can receive K indicated by the network device through high-layer signaling or DCI signaling as the frequency domain granularity of DMRS.

[0159] 3. The terminal device determines the DMRS port for DMRS transmission in K PRBs, wherein different PRBs in the K PRBs contain different DMRS ports.

[0160] The DMRS port for DMRS transmission in the K PRBs is the DMRS port that can be used for DMRS transmission in the K PRBs, which not only includes the DMRS port for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, but also includes the DMRS port that can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0161] Each of the K PRBs contains L CDM groups with different indexes, wherein different CDM groups occupy different physical resources, and different CDM groups contain the same number of DMRS ports.

[0162] The DMRS ports contained in each CDM group are multiplexed by code division, i.e., by different cyclic shifts or different OCC codes. Specifically, each CDM group occupies 2 / 4 / 8 subcarriers, and a frequency domain OCC code with a length of 2 or 4 is used within the group, or a time domain OCC code with a length of 2 is further used, so as to multiplex 2 / 4 / 8 subcarriers within one CDM group.

[0163] Different CDM groups can occupy different time domain resources (TDM) or different frequency domain resources (FDM), so that a total of K*L CDM groups are contained in the K PRBs.

[0164] The value of L is pre-agreed by the network and the terminal device, or is configured by the network device to the terminal device.

[0165] In an embodiment, each PRB can contain 3 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers; or each PRB can contain 4 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers; or each PRB can contain 6 CDM groups, and different CDM groups occupy different subcarriers or different OFDM symbols.

[0166] In another embodiment, the network device can configure the value of L, and the terminal device determines the length of the frequency domain OCC used, or determines the number of OFDM symbols used, or determines the subcarriers occupied by the DMRS, according to the value of L. For example, when L=3, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the DMRS is 1; for example, when L=6, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the DMRS is 2.

[0167] The numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is first mapping different PRBs on the same OFDM symbol and then mapping different OFDM symbols (mode 1), or first mapping different OFDM symbols within the same PRB and then mapping different PRBs (mode 2).

[0168] Examples of the manner 1 are shown in FIGS. 4-10. The mapping manner can be used for type 1 DMRS and type 2 DMRS. The number represents the sequence number of the CDM group (i.e., the k-th CDM group). The CDM group index is the sequence number of the CDM minus 1. Each CDM group occupies 2 or 4 or 8 subcarriers, and contains 2 or 4 or 8 DMRS ports (i.e., CDM k in the figure). The examples in the embodiments of the present application are mainly based on CDM4. Other CDM multiplexing manners (such as CDM2 and CDM8) can be similarly applied. The manner has the advantages that the DMRS is more uniformly distributed in the frequency domain, and can better resist the frequency selectivity of the channel. Meanwhile, the DMRS can occupy as few OFDM symbols as possible in a PRB, so that the number of data REs in different PRBs is consistent.

[0169] Examples of the manner 2 are shown in FIGS. 11-17. The number represents the sequence number of the CDM group (i.e., the k-th CDM group). The CDM group index is the sequence number of the CDM minus 1. The mapping manner can be used for type 1 DMRS and type 2 DMRS. The method is the same and will not be repeated here.

[0170] Specifically, the numbering order of the CDM groups can be one of two fixed manners. Alternatively, the numbering order is determined according to the value of K and / or the number of OFDM symbols configured by the network device for the DMRS. For example, when the number of OFDM symbols is 1, the manner 1 is used; when the number of OFDM symbols is 2, the manner 2 is used. Alternatively, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined according to the configuration information of the network device. For example, the network device indicates which numbering order to use through 1-bit signaling.

[0171] For different values of K, the same DMRS port occupies the same physical resource. As shown in FIGS. 2 / 3 / 7 / 8 or FIGS. 13-15, under different numbers of DMRS ports, the same DMRS port (such as port 0-23) occupies the same physical resource. This backward compatible manner can reduce the implementation complexity of the terminal.

[0172] Specifically, the DMRS ports transmitted or received on each of the K PRBs are used for the detection of data channels on all the K PRBs. That is, for a DMRS port on any of the K PRBs, the result of channel estimation based on it is used not only for the detection of data channels on the PRB (prior art), but also for the detection of data channels on other PRBs of the K PRBs. At this time, the DMRS-based channel estimation is in units of K PRBs, that is, each DMRS port on a PRB corresponds to a corresponding transmission layer in the data channels on multiple PRBs. In this way, only a very low DMRS overhead can support data detection on multiple PRBs.

[0173] In an implementation, the terminal device receives third information sent by the network device, and the third information can be used to indicate one of the following three information.

[0174] The third information can indicate the total number of DMRS ports contained in the K PRBs. For example, the total number of DMRS ports can be 12, 24, 48 or 96. The total number of DMRS ports determines the number of DMRS ports that can be carried in the K PRBs. These DMRS ports can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices, and the network device can also configure some of the ports not to be used for DMRS transmission but for data transmission.

[0175] The third information can indicate the CDM groups in the K PRBs that are not used for data transmission. Specifically, the third information can indicate the number of CDM groups in the K PRBs that are not used for data transmission, and at this time the first several CDM groups corresponding to the number are not used for data transmission. The number is at least 1 and at most M, where M is the number of CDM groups that can be carried in the K PRBs. For example, the number can be one of 1-3, or one of 1-6, or one of 1-12, or one of 1-24. According to this information, the terminal device can rate match the data on the corresponding resources, thereby avoiding interference between DMRS and data. For another example, the third information can indicate from the M CDM groups contained in the K PRBs that a number of CDM groups are not used for data transmission, and these CDM groups can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0176] The third information can indicate that the target PRB of the K PRBs contains CDM groups not used for data transmission, where the target PRB is the first PRB or the last PRB of the K PRBs, and the remaining K-1 PRBs contain no CDM groups used for data transmission. Wherein, the terminal device assumes that the K-1 PRBs of the K PRBs contain no CDM groups used for data transmission, and only part or all of the CDM groups in the remaining 1 target PRB are not used for data, so only the CDM groups in the target PRB not used for data transmission need to be indicated.

[0177] At this time, the third information needs to indicate from the L CDM groups contained in the target PRB that 1-L CDM groups are not used for data transmission.

[0178] For example, the third information can indicate the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission contained in the target PRB, at this time, the first several CDM groups corresponding to the number are not used for data transmission. The value range of the number is 1-L. For example, the network device can indicate that the first 1-L CDM groups are not used for data transmission by log2L bits. These CDM groups not used for data transmission can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0179] In an implementation, the terminal device can determine the physical resources actually used for DMRS transmission (of different terminal devices) in the K PRBs based on the third information, so as to rate match the data channel on the corresponding resources.

[0180] In an implementation, each PRB of the K PRBs contains a DMRS port (CDM group). In another implementation, not necessarily every PRB of the K PRBs contains a DMRS port or a CDM group, and part of the PRBs can not contain any DMRS port or CDM group used for rate matching. The demodulation of the data channel on these PRBs is based on the DMRS port (resource) on other PRBs.

[0181] Specifically, which PRBs contain DMRS ports or CDM groups can be determined according to the total number of DMRS ports contained in the K PRBs or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission configured by the network device. Since the physical resources mapped by the DMRS port or the CDM group can be agreed by the network device and the terminal device in advance, or determined according to the numbering order of the foregoing CDM groups, as long as the total number of DMRS ports or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission is determined, the PRBs occupied by these DMRS can be determined.

[0182] When the total number of DMRS ports is 48, K = 4 PRBs, and the DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned CDM group numbering order mode 1, there are DMRS resources on all PRBs, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0183] When the total number of DMRS ports is 48, K = 4 PRBs, and the DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned CDM group numbering order mode 2, there are DMRS resources on only two PRBs, as shown in FIG. 18.

[0184] When the total number of DMRS ports is 72, K = 4 PRBs, and the DMRS occupies at most 2 OFDM symbols, based on the aforementioned CDM group numbering order mode 2, there are DMRS resources on only three PRBs, as shown in FIG. 16.

[0185] When the total number of DMRS ports is 96, K = 4 PRBs, and based on any numbering order, there are DMRS resources on all PRBs, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0186] 4. The terminal device transmits or receives a DMRS of a data channel in at least one DMRS port in a K-PRB frequency domain unit; the at least one DMRS port is indicated by the network device from the DMRS ports.

[0187] Specifically, the terminal device receives DMRS port information indicated by the network device through DCI, and the information is used to indicate at least one DMRS port.

[0188] The terminal device transmits or receives the DMRS in a K-PRB frequency domain unit (also referred to as frequency domain granularity), which means that each K-PRB contains a group of DMRS ports (CDM group), and the DMRS ports contained in a K-PRB frequency band are different, while the DMRS ports contained in different frequency bands are the same. That is, each K-PRB frequency band uses the same DMRS resource, which is determined according to the method described in the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the terminal device transmits or receives the DMRS in a K-PRB frequency domain unit, wherein the DMRS port pattern contained in each K-PRB is shown in any of the aforementioned steps 3 and FIGS. 4-18.

[0189] In an embodiment, the data channels on the K PRBs adopt the same precoding. In order to ensure that the DMRS ports on each PRB can be used for data demodulation on all the K PRBs, the data channels on the K PRBs need to adopt the same precoding, otherwise the data channels on other PRBs cannot be demodulated. For uplink transmission, the terminal device needs to ensure that the K PRBs adopt the same precoding, and the network device can perform channel estimation and data detection based on the assumption of the same precoding; for downlink transmission, the network device needs to ensure that the K PRBs adopt the same precoding, and the terminal device can perform channel estimation and data detection based on the assumption of the same precoding.

[0190] In an embodiment, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channels is an integer multiple of K. Since the DMRS ports on each PRB can be used for data demodulation on the K PRBs, the granularity of precoding of the data channels needs to be an integer multiple of K, i.e. the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channels is an integer multiple of K.

[0191] In an embodiment, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channels is an integer multiple of K.

[0192] Since the channel estimation is performed with a granularity of K PRBs, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channels can be limited to an integer multiple of K, as shown in FIG. 16, so as to ensure that there are sufficient DMRS resources within every K PRBs for data demodulation, and there is no case that only part of the DMRS ports in a certain frequency band.

[0193] In an embodiment, if the number N of PRBs occupied by the data channels is not an integer multiple of K, as shown in FIG. 20, the data channels on the last k PRBs adopt the same precoding as the data channels on the previous K PRBs, or the k PRBs belong to the same PRB bundle as the previous K PRBs, where k = N mod K. At this time, since the last k PRBs adopt the same precoding as the previous K PRBs or belong to the same PRB bundle as the previous K PRBs, the terminal device or the network device can use the channel estimation result obtained from the DMRS on the previous K PRBs for detection of the data channels on the last k PRBs, so as to ensure the detection performance of the data on the last k PRBs.

[0194] Further, the k PRBs and the DMRSs on the previous K PRBs can be jointly used for channel estimation, and the obtained channel estimation results can be used for detection of data channels on the K+k PRBs. For example, the k PRBs contain 2 DMRS ports {0, 1}, and the previous K PRBs contain 4 DMRS ports {0, 1, 2, 3}. For the DMRS ports {0, 1}, the terminal device or the network device can jointly use the DMRSs on the k PRBs and the previous K PRBs for channel estimation; for the DMRS ports {2, 3}, only the DMRSs on the previous K PRBs can be used for channel estimation. Regardless of which port, the obtained channel estimation results are used for data transmission on the k PRBs and the previous K PRBs. For uplink transmission, the method is performed at the network device side; for downlink transmission, the method is performed at the terminal device side.

[0195] When the terminal device transmits the DMRS of the data channel in the unit of K PRBs in the frequency domain, the network device receives the DMRS of the data channel in the unit of K PRBs on at least one of the DMRS ports. At this time, the method of receiving the DMRS by the network device corresponds to the method of transmitting the DMRS by the terminal device.

[0196] When the terminal device receives the DMRS of the data channel in the unit of K PRBs in the frequency domain, the network device transmits the DMRS of the data channel in the unit of K PRBs on at least one of the DMRS ports. At this time, the method of transmitting the DMRS by the network device corresponds to the method of receiving the DMRS by the terminal device.

[0197] Embodiment two, the terminal device determines K based on the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports

[0198] 1. The network device determines the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports and indicates to the terminal device.

[0199] Specifically, the CDM groups or the DMRS ports can be used for multiplexing DMRS transmissions of multiple terminal devices using the same resource, not limited to terminal devices. The network device can determine the number of required CDM groups or the total number of required DMRS ports according to the number of transmission layers and the DMRS ports used by each terminal device simultaneously scheduled on the current physical resource, and indicate to the corresponding terminal device through high-layer signaling or physical-layer signaling.

[0200] 2. The terminal device determines the value of K according to the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports.

[0201] Specifically, the terminal device determines the value of the frequency domain granularity K of the DMRS according to the frequency domain resources occupied by the CDM group corresponding to the number of CDM groups; or the terminal device determines the value of the frequency domain granularity K of the DMRS according to the frequency domain resources occupied by the DMRS port corresponding to the number of DMRS ports.

[0202] That is, the number of PRBs occupied by the CDM group or the DMRS port configured by the network device is the value of K.

[0203] Since the physical resources mapped by the DMRS port or the CDM group can be agreed by the network device and the terminal device in advance (for example, defined in the protocol), as long as the total number of DMRS ports or the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission is determined, the number of PRBs occupied by the DMRS can be determined, thereby obtaining the value of K. The specific physical resources mapped by the DMRS port or the CDM group can refer to the description in Embodiment I and the accompanying drawings, which will not be described here.

[0204] In an implementation, when the number of configured DMRS ports is S, the value of K is K=S / P (rounded up), where P is the number of DMRS ports that can be carried by one PRB.

[0205] In an implementation, when the number of configured CDM groups is M, the value of K is K=M / L (rounded up), where L is the number of CDM groups that can be carried by one PRB.

[0206] In an implementation, the number of CDM groups or the number of DMRS ports can be indicated by the third information.

[0207] For example, the third information can indicate the total number of DMRS ports contained in K PRBs. For example, the total number of DMRS ports can be 12, 24, 48 or 96. The terminal device can determine the corresponding number of PRBs to be occupied according to these numbers. For example, 24 ports need to occupy 1 PRB, 96 ports need to occupy 4 PRBs, and so on. These DMRS ports can be used for DMRS transmission of the terminal device, or can be used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices.

[0208] The third information can indicate the number of CDM groups not used for data transmission contained in K PRBs. The terminal device can determine the corresponding number of PRBs to be occupied according to these numbers. For example, the number can be an integer from 1 to 3 (occupying 1 PRB), or an integer from 1 to 6 (occupying 1 PRB), or an integer from 1 to 12 (occupying 2 PRBs), or an integer from 1 to 24 (occupying 4 PRBs).

[0209] 3. The terminal device transmits or receives DMRS of a data channel in at least one of the DMRS ports contained in the K PRBs as a frequency domain unit.

[0210] In the embodiment, each of the K PRBs contains a DMRS port (CDM group). That is, because the value of K is determined according to the frequency domain resource required by the allocated DMRS port (CDM group), no PRB is only for data transmission, and all PRBs contain DMRS (i.e., CDM groups not used for data transmission). However, the terminal device can only transmit or receive DMRS on part of the PRBs, and the DMRS resources on other PRBs are used for DMRS transmission of other terminal devices, and thus are also not used for data transmission.

[0211] In the embodiment, the terminal device transmits or receives DMRS in K PRBs as a frequency domain unit, which means that each K PRB contains a group of DMRS ports (CDM group), and the DMRS ports contained in a K PRB are different, while the DMRS ports contained in different frequency bands are the same. That is, each frequency band composed of K PRBs uses the same DMRS resource, and the DMRS ports used for DMRS transmission or the CDM groups not used for data transmission are determined according to the method described in the embodiment.

[0212] In the embodiment, the terminal device transmits or receives DMRS in K PRBs as a frequency domain unit, which means that each K PRB contains a group of DMRS ports (CDM group), and the DMRS ports contained in a K PRB are different, while the DMRS ports contained in different frequency bands are the same. That is, each frequency band composed of K PRBs uses the same DMRS resource, and the DMRS ports used for DMRS transmission or the CDM groups not used for data transmission are determined according to the method described in the embodiment.

[0213] Specifically, the DMRS port transmitted or received on each of the K PRBs is used for detection of the data channel on all K PRBs. For details, refer to the description in Embodiment 1.

[0214] In an implementation, the data channel on the K PRBs uses the same precoding. For details, refer to the description in Embodiment 1.

[0215] In an implementation, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K. For details, refer to the description in Embodiment 1.

[0216] The number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of K. If the number N of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of K, the method described in Embodiment 1 can be referred to for DMRS transmission or channel estimation.

[0217] Specifically, the at least one DMRS port is a DMRS port indicated by the network device from DMRS ports contained in the K PRBs. For example, the terminal device receives DMRS port information indicated by the network device through the DCI, and the information is used to indicate the at least one DMRS port.

[0218] When the terminal device transmits the DMRS of the data channel in the K PRBs as the frequency domain unit, the network device receives the DMRS of the data channel on at least one DMRS port in the DMRS port in the K PRBs as the frequency domain unit.

[0219] Before the terminal device receives the DMRS of the data channel in the K PRBs as the frequency domain unit, the network device transmits the DMRS of the data channel on at least one DMRS port in the DMRS port in the K PRBs as the frequency domain unit.

[0220] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only from different problems to introduce and explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application. The contents in the above embodiments can be combined to obtain new embodiments, which are all within the protection scope of the present application.

[0221] In the above method embodiments, the technical solutions of the present application are introduced and explained only from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. The steps performed by the terminal device described above can be implemented alone to become a DMRS transmission method on the terminal device side, and the steps performed by the network device described above can be implemented alone to become a DMRS transmission method on the network device side. In addition, the embodiments provided in the present application can be combined arbitrarily to form new embodiments, which are all within the protection scope of the present application.

[0222] The following is a device embodiment of the present application, which can be used to execute the method embodiments of the present application. For details not disclosed in the device embodiments of the present application, please refer to the method embodiments of the present application.

[0223] Please refer to FIG. 21, which shows a block diagram of a DMRS transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application. The device has the function of implementing the above-mentioned DMRS transmission method on the terminal device side, which can be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The device can be the terminal device introduced above, or can be arranged in the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 21, the device 2100 can include a transceiver module 2110.

[0224] The transceiver module 2110 is configured to transmit or receive, in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a data channel on at least one DMRS port, the K PRBs contain a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs contain different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and K is an integer greater than 1.

[0225] In some embodiments, each of the at least one DMRS port is used for demodulation of the data channel on the K PRBs.

[0226] In some embodiments, each of the K PRBs includes L code division multiplexing (CDM) groups, different PRBs contain different CDM group indexes and different CDM groups occupy different physical resources, each CDM group contains the same number of DMRS ports, and L is a positive integer.

[0227] In some embodiments, L is agreed upon in advance by the network device and the terminal device, or L is configured by the network device.

[0228] In some embodiments, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped to different PRBs on the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and then mapped to different OFDM symbols, or the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped to different OFDM symbols on the same PRB and then mapped to different PRBs.

[0229] In some embodiments, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined based on the value of K and / or a first OFDM symbol number, the first OFDM symbol number being the number of OFDM symbols for DMRS configured by the network device, or the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is configured by the network device.

[0230] In some embodiments, in the case where the value of K is different, the same DMRS port or the same CDM group occupies the same physical resource.

[0231] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2110 is further configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling transmitted by the network device, and the DCI or the RRC signaling is used to determine the at least one DMRS port.

[0232] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2110 is further configured to receive second information transmitted by the network device.

[0233] The second information is used to indicate the number of the plurality of DMRS ports, or

[0234] The second information is used to indicate a first type of CDM group contained in the K PRBs; or

[0235] The second information is used to indicate a first type of CDM group contained in a first PRB in the K PRBs.

[0236] The first type of CDM group is a CDM group not used for data transmission, the first PRB is a first PRB or a last PRB in the K PRBs, and the CDM groups contained in the PRBs other than the first PRB in the K PRBs are all the first type of CDM group.

[0237] In some embodiments, the apparatus 2100 further includes a processing module (not shown in the figure).

[0238] The processing module is configured to perform rate matching on the data channel based on the second information; or

[0239] The processing module is configured to determine the K based on the second information.

[0240] In some embodiments, the data channel on the K PRBs uses the same precoding.

[0241] In some embodiments, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of the K.

[0242] In some embodiments, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of the K.

[0243] In some embodiments, in the case where the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of the K,

[0244] The data channel on the last k PRBs uses the same precoding as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or

[0245] The data channel on the last k PRBs belongs to the same PRB bundle as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or

[0246] The last k PRBs and the previous K PRBs jointly perform channel estimation.

[0247] The N is the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel.

[0248] In some embodiments, the K is configured by the network device; or

[0249] The K is determined based on the number of CDM groups configured by the network device; or

[0250] The K is determined based on the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device.

[0251] In some embodiments, the network device configures a number of CDM groups as M, the value of the K is the integer value after the quotient of the M and L is rounded up, the L is the number of CDM groups included in one PRB, and the L and the M are positive integers.

[0252] In some embodiments, the network device configures a number of DMRS ports as S, the value of the K is the integer value after the quotient of the S and P is rounded up, the P is the number of DMRS ports carried in one PRB, and the S and the P are positive integers.

[0253] The technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application reduces the DMRS resource overhead on each PRB by dispersing a large number of DMRS ports on multiple PRBs, thereby supporting a large number of DMRS port multiplexing through smaller resource overhead in a low multipath delay scenario, and improving the spectral efficiency of data transmission.

[0254] Please refer to FIG. 22, which shows a block diagram of a DMRS transmission device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The device has the function of implementing the DMRS transmission method of the network device side described above, which can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The device can be the network device introduced above, or can be arranged in the network device. As shown in FIG. 22, the device 2200 can include a transceiver module 2210.

[0255] The transceiver module 2210 is configured to receive or send the DMRS of the data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs contain multiple DMRS ports, the DMRS ports contained in different PRBs are not completely the same, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by the network device from the multiple DMRS ports, and the K is an integer greater than 1.

[0256] In some embodiments, each of the at least one DMRS port is used for demodulation of the data channel on the K PRBs.

[0257] In some embodiments, each of the K PRBs includes L code division multiplexing (CDM) groups, the CDM group indexes contained in different PRBs are different and different CDM groups occupy different physical resources, the number of DMRS ports contained in each CDM group is the same, and the L is a positive integer.

[0258] In some embodiments, the L is agreed upon in advance by the network device and the terminal device; or,

[0259] The L is configured by the network device.

[0260] In some embodiments, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped first on different PRBs and then on different OFDM symbols; or, the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped first on different OFDM symbols and then on different PRBs.

[0261] In some embodiments, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined based on the value of the K and / or a first OFDM symbol number, the first OFDM symbol number being the number of OFDM symbols for DMRS configured by the network device; or, the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is configured by the network device.

[0262] In some embodiments, in the case that the value of the K is different, the same DMRS port or the same CDM group occupies the same physical resource.

[0263] In some embodiments, the transceiver 2210 is further configured to send, to the terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the DCI or the RRC signaling being used to determine the at least one DMRS port.

[0264] In some embodiments, the transceiver 2210 is further configured to send, to the terminal device, second information.

[0265] The second information is used to indicate the number of the plurality of DMRS ports; or,

[0266] The second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM groups contained in the K PRBs; or,

[0267] The second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM groups contained in a first PRB of the K PRBs.

[0268] The first type of CDM group is a CDM group not used for data transmission, the first PRB is a first PRB or a last PRB of the K PRBs, and the CDM groups contained in the PRBs other than the first PRB of the K PRBs are all the first type of CDM group.

[0269] In some embodiments, the data channels on the K PRBs adopt the same precoding.

[0270] In some embodiments, the granularity of PRB bundling of the data channels is an integer multiple of the K.

[0271] In some embodiments, the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of the K.

[0272] In some embodiments, in the case that the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of the K,

[0273] The data channel on the last k PRBs adopts the same precoding as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or,

[0274] The data channel on the last k PRBs belongs to the same PRB bundle as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or,

[0275] The last k PRBs jointly perform channel estimation with the previous K PRBs;

[0276] wherein k = N mod K, and the N is the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel.

[0277] In some embodiments, the K is configured by the network device; or,

[0278] The K is determined based on the number of CDM groups configured by the network device; or,

[0279] The K is determined based on the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device.

[0280] In some embodiments, the number of CDM groups configured by the network device is M, and the value of the K is the integer value after the quotient of the M and L, and the L is the number of CDM groups included in one PRB, and the L and the M are both positive integers.

[0281] In some embodiments, the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device is S, and the value of the K is the integer value after the quotient of the S and P, and the P is the number of DMRS ports carried in one PRB, and the S and the P are both positive integers.

[0282] The technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can reduce the DMRS resource overhead of each PRB by dispersing a large number of DMRS ports to multiple PRBs, thereby supporting a large number of DMRS port multiplexing through smaller resource overhead in a low multipath delay scenario, and improving the spectral efficiency of data transmission.

[0283] It should be noted that the apparatus provided by the above embodiments in implementing its functions is only exemplified by the division of the above various functional modules, and in actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0284] As to the apparatus in the above embodiments, the specific manners in which various modules perform operations have been described in detail in the embodiments of the method, and thus will not be described in detail here. For details not described in detail in the apparatus embodiments, reference can be made to the above method embodiments.

[0285] Please refer to FIG. 23, which shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be the terminal device or the network device described above. The communication device 2300 can include at least one of a processor 2301, a transceiver 2302, and a memory 2303. The processor 2301 is configured to implement processing functions of the communication device 2300, such as generating information to be sent, processing information received, and controlling transmitting and / or receiving, etc. The transceiver 2302 is configured to implement transmit and / or receive functions, such as implementing the functions of the transceiver module 2110 described above, or implementing the functions of the transceiver module 2210 described above.

[0286] The processor 2301 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 2301 performs various processing functions by running software programs and modules.

[0287] The transceiver 2302 can include a receiver and a transmitter. For example, the receiver and the transmitter can be implemented as a same wireless communication component, which can include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0288] The memory 2303 can be connected to the processor 2301 and the transceiver 2302.

[0289] The memory 2303 can be used to store a computer program for execution by the processor 2301. The processor 2301 is configured to execute the computer program to implement various steps in the method embodiments described above.

[0290] In some embodiments, the communication device 2300 is the terminal device described in the above embodiments. The transceiver 2302 is configured to transmit or receive a DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs contain a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs contain different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and K is an integer greater than 1.

[0291] In some embodiments, the communication device 2300 is a network device in the above embodiments, and the transceiver 2302 is configured to receive or transmit the DMRS of the data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs contain a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs contain different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port is indicated by the network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K is an integer greater than 1.

[0292] For details not described in the present embodiment, refer to the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0293] In addition, the memory can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage devices or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memories, erasable programmable read-only memories, static random access memories, read-only memories, magnetic memories, flash memories, programmable read-only memories.

[0294] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, the storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to be executed by a processor to implement the DMRS transmission method of the terminal device side or the DMRS transmission method of the network device side. In some embodiments, the computer readable storage medium can include: a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a RAM (Random-Access Memory), a SSD (Solid State Drives) or an optical disc, etc. Among them, the random access memory can include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0295] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip, the chip includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, the chip is used to implement the DMRS transmission method of the terminal device side or the DMRS transmission method of the network device side.

[0296] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, the computer program product includes computer instructions, the computer instructions are stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium to implement the DMRS transmission method of the terminal device side or the DMRS transmission method of the network device side.

[0297] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be direct indication, or indirect indication, or can be an indication of an associated relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that B can be obtained by A directly; or A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained by C; or A and B have an associated relationship.

[0298] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" can mean a direct or indirect corresponding relationship between the two, or an associated relationship between the two, or an indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0299] In some embodiments of the present application, "predefined" can be realized by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other means for indicating related information in devices (such as terminal devices and network devices), and the specific implementation manner is not limited in the present application. For example, pre-defined can mean defined in a protocol.

[0300] In some embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, which can include BLE protocol, Wi-Fi protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, and the present application is not limited to this.

[0301] "Multiple" mentioned herein refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship.

[0302] "Greater than or equal to" mentioned herein can mean greater than or equal to, and "less than or equal to" can mean less than or equal to.

[0303] In addition, the step numbers described herein only exemplarily show a possible execution order between steps, and in some other embodiments, the above steps can also be executed in a different order from the numbering order, such as simultaneously executing two steps with different numbers, or executing two steps with different numbers in an order opposite to the illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0304] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in the above one or more examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions can be stored in a computer readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on the computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

[0305] The above merely illustrates the embodiments of the present application, and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission, the method comprising: The method is performed by a terminal device, and the method comprises: sending or receiving a DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs containing a plurality of DMRS ports, the DMRS ports contained in different PRBs not being completely identical, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and K being an integer greater than 1.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Each of the at least one DMRS port is used for demodulation of the data channel on the K PRBs.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Each of the K PRBs comprises L code division multiplexing (CDM) groups, the CDM groups contained in different PRBs having different indexes and occupying different physical resources, the number of DMRS ports contained in each CDM group being identical, and L being a positive integer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The L is agreed upon in advance by the network device and the terminal device, or the L is configured by the network device.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped to different PRBs on the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol first and then to different OFDM symbols, or the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are mapped to different OFDM symbols on the same PRB first and then to different PRBs.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that, The numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined based on the value of K and / or a first OFDM symbol number, the first OFDM symbol number being the number of OFDM symbols for DMRS configured by the network device, or the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is configured by the network device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, In the case where the value of K is different, the same DMRS port or the same CDM group occupies the same physical resource.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device, the DCI or the RRC signaling being used to determine the at least one DMRS port.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving second information sent by the network device; The second information is used to indicate the number of the plurality of DMRS ports, or The second information is used to indicate a first type of CDM group contained in the K PRBs, or The second information is used to indicate a first type of CDM group contained in a first PRB in the K PRBs. The first type of CDM group is a CDM group not used for data transmission, the first PRB is a first PRB or a last PRB in the K PRBs, and the CDM groups contained in the PRBs other than the first PRB in the K PRBs are all the first type of CDM group.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The method further comprises: based on the second information, performing rate matching on the data channel, or based on the second information, determining K.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The data channel on the K PRBs uses the same precoding.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of K.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, In a case where the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of the K, the data channel on the last k PRBs is precoded in the same way as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or the data channel on the last k PRBs belongs to the same PRB bundle as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or the last k PRBs are jointly used for channel estimation with the previous K PRBs; where k = N mod K, and the N is the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the K is configured by the network device; or the K is determined based on the number of CDM groups configured by the network device; or the K is determined based on the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The number of CDM groups configured by the network device is M, and the value of the K is an integer obtained by rounding up the quotient of the M and L, and the L is the number of CDM groups included in one PRB, and the L and the M are positive integers.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein, The number of DMRS ports configured by the network device is S, and the value of the K is an integer obtained by rounding up the quotient of the S and P, and the P is the number of DMRS ports carried in one PRB, and the S and the P are positive integers. 18.A method for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission, comprising: The method is performed by a network device, and the method comprises: receiving or transmitting, in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), a data channel DMRS on at least one DMRS port, the K PRBs containing a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs containing different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by the network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K being an integer greater than 1.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, Each of the at least one DMRS port is used for demodulation of the data channel on the K PRBs.

20. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein, Each of the K PRBs contains L code division multiplexing (CDM) groups, different CDM groups in different PRBs have different CDM group indexes and occupy different physical resources, and the number of DMRS ports in each CDM group is the same, and the L is a positive integer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the L is agreed upon in advance by the network device and the terminal device; or the L is configured by the network device.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein, The CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped to different PRBs on the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and then mapped to different OFDM symbols; or the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs are first mapped to different OFDM symbols on the same PRB and then mapped to different PRBs.

23. The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein, The numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is determined based on the value of the K and / or a first OFDM symbol number, the first OFDM symbol number being the number of OFDM symbols for DMRS configured by the network device; or the numbering order of the CDM groups contained in the K PRBs is configured by the network device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that, The physical resources occupied by the same DMRS port or the same CDM group are the same in different values of K.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the DCI or the RRC signaling being used to determine the at least one DMRS port.

26. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal device, second information; The second information is used to indicate the number of the plurality of DMRS ports; or The second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM group included in the K PRBs; or The second information is used to indicate the first type of CDM group included in the first PRB in the K PRBs. The first type of CDM group is a CDM group not used for data transmission, the first PRB is the first PRB or the last PRB in the K PRBs, and the CDM groups included in the PRBs other than the first PRB in the K PRBs are all the first type of CDM group.

27. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 26, characterized in that, The data channel on the K PRBs uses the same precoding.

28. The method of any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein, The granularity of PRB bundling of the data channel is an integer multiple of K.

29. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 28, characterized in that, The number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is an integer multiple of K.

30. The method of any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein, In the case where the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel is not an integer multiple of K, The data channel on the last k PRBs uses the same precoding as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or The data channel on the last k PRBs belongs to the same PRB bundle as the data channel on the previous K PRBs; or The last k PRBs are jointly used for channel estimation with the previous K PRBs; where k = N mod K, and N is the number of PRBs occupied by the data channel.

31. The method of any of claims 18 to 30, wherein The K is configured by the network device; or The K is determined based on the number of CDM groups configured by the network device; or The K is determined based on the number of DMRS ports configured by the network device.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein, The number of CDM groups configured by the network device is M, and the value of the K is the integer value obtained by rounding up the quotient of the M and L, where L is the number of CDM groups included in one PRB, and L and M are positive integers.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein, The number of DMRS ports configured by the network device is S, and the value of the K is the integer value obtained by rounding up the quotient of the S and P, where P is the number of DMRS ports carried in one PRB, and S and P are positive integers.

34. A demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission device, characterized in that, The apparatus comprises: a transceiver module, configured to send or receive a DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs including a plurality of DMRS ports, the DMRS ports included in different PRBs being not completely the same, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by a network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K being an integer greater than 1.

35. A demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmission device, characterized in that, The apparatus comprises: The transceiver is configured to receive or transmit a DMRS of a data channel on at least one DMRS port in units of K physical resource blocks (PRBs), the K PRBs containing a plurality of DMRS ports, different PRBs containing different DMRS ports, the at least one DMRS port being indicated by the network device from the plurality of DMRS ports, and the K being an integer greater than 1.

36. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to implement the method of any one of claims 1-17 or the method of any one of claims 18-33.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is configured to be executed by a processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1-17 or the method of any one of claims 18-33.

38. A chip, characterized by The chip comprises programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, the programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions are configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-17 or the method of any one of claims 18-33.

39. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium to implement the method of any one of claims 1-17 or the method of any one of claims 18-33.

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