A method and apparatus for indicating a reference signal

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a kind of indication method and device of reference signal, for enabling coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul network.The method comprises the following steps: terminal device receives multiple first information from multiple network devices, and the first information is used to indicate that at least one reference signal of network device is used to estimate joint equivalent channel;Terminal device receives multiple second information from multiple network devices, and the second information is used to indicate the port of at least one reference signal;Terminal device receives multiple coherent joint transmission data from multiple network devices, one coherent joint transmission data includes at least one data stream and corresponding at least one reference signal;And terminal device determines at least one joint equivalent channel according to at least one reference signal of multiple network devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for indicating a reference signal. Background Technology

[0002] Existing mobile communication systems have various radio access networks (RANs) with different networking configurations, commonly including centralized RAN (CRAN) and distributed RAN (such as Internet Protocol RAN (IPRAN)). In CRAN networking, different RAN devices have ideal backhaul, meaning the transmission latency between them is very low, enabling real-time information exchange. However, in IPRAN networking, the backhaul between different RAN devices is non-ideal, meaning the transmission latency is relatively high, preventing real-time information exchange.

[0003] A typical scenario in mobile communication is when a terminal device moves to an area shared by the cells of two RAN devices. In this case, the terminal device can simultaneously establish wireless connections with both RAN devices to improve data transmission efficiency. Leveraging the real-time information exchange capabilities between RAN devices, coherent joint transmission (CJT) is an efficient data transmission method suitable for this scenario in CRAN networking. However, in distributed networks such as IPRAN, due to the non-ideal backhaul between RAN devices, coherent joint transmission technology applied to CRAN networking is not applicable. Enabling coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks is a crucial problem that needs to be solved to improve the user experience in such networks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method and apparatus for indicating a reference signal, enabling coherent joint transmission in a non-ideal backhaul network.

[0005] The following sections describe this application from multiple perspectives. It is easy to understand that the implementation methods of these multiple aspects can be referenced from each other.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a method for indicating a reference signal, comprising: a terminal device receiving a plurality of first information from a plurality of network devices, wherein one of the first information comes from one of the network devices, the first information being used to indicate at least one reference signal of the network device for estimating a joint equivalent channel; the terminal device receiving a plurality of second information from the plurality of network devices, wherein one of the second information comes from one of the network devices, the second information being used to indicate the port of the at least one reference signal; the terminal device receiving a plurality of coherent joint transmission data from the plurality of network devices, wherein one of the coherent joint transmission data comes from one of the network devices, the coherent joint transmission data including at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, one data stream corresponding to one reference signal; and the terminal device determining at least one joint equivalent channel based on the at least one reference signal of the plurality of network devices, wherein one joint equivalent channel is determined based on one of the reference signals of the plurality of network devices.

[0007] As can be seen, the method provided in this application enables coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks, effectively improving the service quality for users in multi-cell coverage areas of mobile networks and enhancing user experience.

[0008] In an alternative approach, the method further includes: a terminal device demodulating the at least one data stream according to the at least one joint equivalent channel, wherein a data stream is demodulated via a joint equivalent channel.

[0009] In one alternative approach, the reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0010] In one alternative approach, the second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

[0011] In one alternative approach, the first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0012] In one alternative approach, the second information is carried in downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0013] In a second aspect, this application provides a method for indicating a reference signal, comprising: a network device determining resources for coherent joint transmission of a terminal device; the network device determining a port for at least one reference signal allocated for the coherent joint transmission; the network device sending first information to the terminal device, the first information indicating that the at least one reference signal is used to estimate a joint equivalent channel; the network device sending second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating the port of the at least one reference signal; and the network device sending coherent joint transmission data to the terminal device, the coherent joint transmission data including at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, wherein one data stream corresponds to one reference signal.

[0014] As can be seen, the method provided in this application enables coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks, effectively improving the service quality for users in multi-cell coverage areas of mobile networks and enhancing user experience.

[0015] In one alternative approach, the second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

[0016] In one alternative approach, before the network device sends the second information to the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device determining, according to a first rule, the order of port numbers or port indices of each reference signal among the at least one reference signal included in the second information.

[0017] In one alternative approach, the reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0018] In one alternative approach, the first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0019] In one alternative approach, the second information is carried in downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0020] Thirdly, a terminal device is provided for executing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Specifically, the terminal device may include units for executing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0021] Fourthly, a network device is provided for performing the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the network device may include units for performing the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0022] Fifthly, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory stores computer-executable instructions, and when the terminal device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0023] Sixthly, a network device is provided, comprising: a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory stores computer-executable instructions, and when the network device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the network device to perform the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0024] A seventh aspect provides a communication device including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, to which the processor is coupled.

[0025] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device, and the communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0026] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0027] Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0028] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, to which the processor is coupled.

[0029] In one implementation, the communication device is a network device, and the communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0030] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a network device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a network device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0031] Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0032] A ninth aspect provides a processor, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0033] In a tenth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0034] Eleventhly, a processing apparatus is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and to receive signals via a receiver and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0035] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0036] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be separated from the processor.

[0037] In a twelfth aspect, a processing apparatus is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and to receive signals via a receiver and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0038] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0039] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be separated from the processor.

[0040] In specific implementation, the processor can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, gate circuit, flip-flop, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be output to, for example, but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0041] In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or set on different chips. The embodiments of this application do not limit the type of memory or the way the memory and processor are set.

[0042] It should be understood that the relevant data interaction process, such as sending indication information, can be the process of the processor outputting indication information, and receiving capability information can be the process of the processor receiving input capability information. Specifically, the data output by the processor can be sent to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. Here, the transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0043] The processing device in the eleventh or twelfth aspect above can be a chip. The processor can be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc. When implemented in software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that reads software code stored in a memory. The memory can be integrated into the processor or located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0044] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to perform the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0045] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: computer program code, which, when executed by a communication unit, processing unit, transceiver, or processor of a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0046] These and other aspects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of several embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0047] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a network device and a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 3 This application provides a schematic diagram of the protocol stack structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0050] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a method for indicating a reference signal, as provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a reference signal port allocation provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating another reference signal port allocation provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating yet another reference signal port allocation provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 8 This application provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0057] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the following points are explained before introducing the embodiments of this application.

[0058] First, in this application, "for indicating" can include both direct and indirect indication. When describing a certain "indication information" for indicating A, it can include whether the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but does not necessarily mean that the indication information carries A.

[0059] The information indicated by the instruction is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. At the same time, common parts of various pieces of information can be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the instruction overhead caused by individually indicating the same information.

[0060] Furthermore, the specific indication method can also be any existing indication method, such as, but not limited to, the above-mentioned indication methods and their various combinations. Specific details of various indication methods can be found in existing technologies, and will not be repeated here. As described above, for example, when multiple pieces of information of the same type need to be indicated, the indication methods for different pieces of information may differ. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. This application embodiment does not limit the selected indication method; therefore, the indication methods involved in this application embodiment should be understood to cover various methods that enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0061] The information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information messages, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. This configuration information can include, for example, but not limited to, one or a combination of at least two of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) layer signaling, and physical layer signaling. MAC layer signaling includes, for example, a MAC control element (CE); physical layer signaling includes, for example, downlink control information (DCI).

[0062] Second, in the embodiments shown below, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical designations are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they may be used to distinguish different reference signals or indication information.

[0063] Third, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be achieved by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means of indicating relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. "Storing" can refer to storing in one or more memories. These memories can be separate installations or integrated into the encoder, decoder, processor, or communication device. Alternatively, some memories can be separate installations, while others are integrated into the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this application does not limit this.

[0064] Fourth, the “protocol” involved in the embodiments of this application may refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as LTE protocol, NR protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, and this application does not limit it.

[0065] Fifth, "at least one" means one or more, while "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c can mean: a, or, b, or, c, or, a and b, or, a and c, or, b and c, or, a, b, and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0066] Sixth, in the embodiments of this application, descriptions such as "when," "under the circumstances," "if," and "if" all refer to the fact that the device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They are not time limits, nor do they require the device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device) to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0067] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or," for example, A / B can mean A or B. The "and / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The terms "first," "second," etc., do not limit the quantity or order of execution, and "first," "second," etc., do not necessarily imply differences.

[0068] It should be noted that, in this application, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0069] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems. They can be applied to fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems, future evolution systems, or multiple converged communication systems, as well as existing communication systems such as wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems and long-term evolution (LTE) systems. The application scenarios of the technical solutions provided in this application can include various scenarios, such as machine-to-machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). These scenarios may include, but are not limited to, communication scenarios between terminals, communication scenarios between network devices, and communication scenarios between network devices and terminals. The following descriptions use the application of the technical solutions of this application to network device and terminal communication scenarios as examples.

[0070] Furthermore, the network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0071] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, firstly, in conjunction with Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system 100 applicable to the methods provided in the embodiments of this application is shown in the figure. As shown, the communication system 100 includes at least two network devices, such as... Figure 1 The multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs) shown are: TRP 1 and TRP 2; the communication system 100 may also include at least one terminal device, such as... Figure 1 The diagram shows multiple user equipment (UEs): UE 1 to UE 5. UEs 1 to UE 5 can be mobile or fixed. A network device can communicate with one or more terminal devices via a wireless link. Each network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminal devices located within that coverage area. For example, a network device can send configuration / scheduling information to a terminal device, and the terminal device can receive downlink data sent by the network device based on this configuration information; another example is that a terminal device can also send uplink data to the network device. Figure 1 In the system shown, UE 1 and UE 2 are within the coverage area of ​​TRP 1, UE 3 and UE 4 are within the shared coverage area of ​​TRP 1 and TRP 2, and UE 5 is within the coverage area of ​​TRP 2. Therefore, UE 3 and UE 4 can establish wireless communication with either TRP 1 or TRP 2. In this scenario, TRP 1 and TRP 2 can jointly provide communication services to UE 3 and UE 4 via CJT.

[0072] It should be understood that Figure 1 The example illustrates two network devices and multiple terminal devices, as well as the communication links between these devices. In a real system, there may be more network devices and terminal devices; this application does not limit this.

[0073] The aforementioned communication devices, such as Figure 1The network devices (TRP 1 and TRP 2) and terminal devices (UE 1 to UE 5) can be configured with multiple antennas. These multiple antennas may include at least one transmitting antenna for transmitting signals and at least one receiving antenna for receiving signals. Additionally, each communication device also includes a transmitter chain and a receiver chain, which, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, may include multiple components related to signal transmission and reception (e.g., processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, or antennas). Therefore, the network devices and terminal devices can communicate via multi-antenna technology.

[0074] Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, but the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0075] It should be understood that Figure 1 This is merely an illustrative diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0076] Network equipment can be a wireless communication base station or base station controller, etc. For example, the base station can include various types of base stations, such as: micro base stations (also known as small stations), macro base stations, relay stations, access points, etc., which are not specifically limited in this application embodiment. In this application embodiment, the base station can be a base station (node ​​B) in WCDMA, an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in LTE, an eNB in ​​Internet of Things (IoT) or narrow band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), an access point (AP), wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or TRP in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc., in 5G mobile communication networks or future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), which are not limited in this application embodiment.

[0077] The network equipment described in this application, such as base stations, typically includes a baseband unit (BBU), a remote radio unit (RRU) or active antenna unit (AAU), an antenna, and feeders for connecting the RRU / AAU and the antenna. The BBU is responsible for signal modulation. The RRU is responsible for radio frequency processing. The antenna is responsible for the conversion between guided waves on the cable and space waves in the air. On the one hand, distributed base stations significantly shorten the length of the feeders between the RRU / AAU and the antenna, reducing signal loss and feeder costs. On the other hand, the RRU / AAU plus antenna is relatively small and can be installed anywhere, making network planning more flexible. Besides remote RRU / AAU deployment, all BBUs can be centralized in a central office (CO). This centralized approach greatly reduces the number of base station equipment rooms, reduces the energy consumption of supporting equipment, especially air conditioning, and significantly reduces carbon emissions. Furthermore, after the dispersed BBUs are centralized into a BBU baseband pool, unified management and scheduling are possible, making resource allocation more flexible. In this model, all physical base stations evolve into virtual base stations. All virtual base stations share user data transmission and reception, channel quality, and other information within the BBU baseband pool, cooperating with each other to enable joint scheduling.

[0078] In some deployments, a base station may include a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The base station may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the base station's functions, and the DU implements others. For example, the CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control, and handling the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing radio link control (RLC), media access control, and physical (PHY) layer functions. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is derived from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling or PDCP layer signaling, can also be considered as being sent by the DU, or by the DU+AAU. It is understood that network devices can be devices that include one or more of the following: CU nodes, DU nodes, and AAU nodes. Furthermore, a CU can be classified as a network device in the RAN or as a network device in the core network (CN), without any restrictions.

[0079] Network equipment provides services to cells. Terminal devices communicate with cells through transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) allocated by the network equipment. The cell can belong to a macro base station (e.g., macro eNB or macro gNB) or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. Small cells can include: metrocell, microcell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage area and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0080] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may also be referred to as UE, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment.

[0081] Terminal devices can be devices that provide voice / data connectivity to users, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or terminal devices in future PLMNs, etc.

[0082] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices; they achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly defined, wearable smart devices include those with comprehensive functions, large sizes, and the ability to perform complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses. They also include devices focused on a specific application function that require the use of other devices, such as smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0083] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be terminal devices within IoT systems. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development, its main technological characteristic being the connection of objects to networks via communication technologies, thereby achieving intelligent networks that enable human-machine and machine-to-machine interconnection. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption at the terminal level through narrowband (NB) technology.

[0084] In addition, terminal devices may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0085] The terminal is used to provide voice and / or data connectivity services to users. The terminal can have different names, such as user equipment (UE), access terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, wireless communication device, terminal agent, or terminal apparatus. Optionally, the terminal 20 can be various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, or computers with communication functions; this application embodiment does not limit this in any way. For example, a handheld device can be a smartphone. An in-vehicle device can be an in-vehicle navigation system. A wearable device can be a smart bracelet or VR device. A computer can be a PDA, tablet computer, or laptop computer.

[0086] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a network device and a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0087] The terminal device includes at least one processor 101 and at least one transceiver 103. Optionally, the terminal device may also include an output device 104, an input device 105, and at least one memory 102.

[0088] Processor 101, memory 102, and transceiver 103 are connected via a bus. Processor 101 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program according to this application. Processor 101 may also include multiple CPUs, and processor 101 can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. Here, processor can refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores used to process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0089] The memory 102 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or it may be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer. This application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. The memory 102 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 101 via a bus. Alternatively, the memory 102 may be integrated with the processor 101. The memory 102 is used to store the application code that executes the scheme of this application and is controlled by the processor 101 for execution. The processor 101 is used to execute computer program code stored in the memory 102, thereby implementing the method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0090] Transceiver 103 can be any transceiver-like device used for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc. Transceiver 103 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx.

[0091] Output device 104 communicates with processor 101 and can display information in various ways. For example, output device 104 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. Input device 105 communicates with processor 101 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, input device 105 can be a mouse, keyboard, touch screen device, or sensing device, etc.

[0092] The network device includes at least one processor 201, at least one memory 202, at least one transceiver 203, and at least one network interface 204. The processor 201, memory 202, transceiver 203, and network interface 204 are connected via a bus. The network interface 204 is used to connect to core network equipment via a link (e.g., an S1 interface), or to connect to the network interfaces of other network devices via a wired or wireless link (e.g., an X2 interface) (not shown in the figure). This embodiment does not specifically limit its usage. Furthermore, the relevant descriptions of the processor 201, memory 202, and transceiver 203 can be found in the description of the processor 101, memory 102, and transceiver 103 in the terminal, and will not be repeated here.

[0093] For example, the control plane and data plane protocol stack structure of the communication device (including network equipment and terminal equipment) involved in this application is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, both network devices and terminal devices have the following modules:

[0094] Radio Resource Control (RRC) Signaling Interaction Module: This module is used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive RRC signaling, such as when a network device sends RRC signaling to a terminal device, and the terminal device receives RRC signaling from the network device.

[0095] Media Access Control (MAC) Signaling Interaction Module: This module is used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive Media Access Control (MAC)-Control Element (CE) signaling. For example, a network device sends MAC-CE signaling to a terminal device, and the terminal device receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device.

[0096] Physical layer (PHY) signaling and data interaction module: This module is used by network devices and terminal devices to send and receive uplink / downlink control signaling and uplink / downlink data. For example, network devices send physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) messages to terminal devices, such as downlink control information (DCI) within the PDCCH; network devices send physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) messages to terminal devices, such as downlink data within the PDSCH. Terminal devices send physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) messages to network devices, such as uplink control information (UCI) within the PUCCH; terminal devices send physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) messages to network devices, such as uplink data within the PUSCH.

[0097] It should be understood that Figure 3 The modules shown are merely exemplary. Network devices and terminal devices may also include other communication modules, such as radio link control (RLC) modules, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) modules, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) modules, etc. This application does not specifically limit these.

[0098] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of this application, some terms involved in the embodiments of this application are briefly introduced below.

[0099] 1) Coherent joint transmission: Multiple network devices jointly transmit the same data to the terminal device on the same resources (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, time-frequency domain resources, etc.), so that the signals sent from multiple network devices are coherently superimposed at the terminal device, thereby improving the signal-to-dryness ratio or signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal at the terminal device and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0100] 2) Reference Signals: Used for channel measurement or channel estimation. Reference signals may include, for example, demodulation reference signals (DMRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), and synchronization signal blocks (SSBs). Terminal devices use reference signals transmitted by network devices to perform channel measurement or estimation, thereby obtaining the channel characteristics of the wireless channel between the terminal device and the network device.

[0101] 3) Reference signal port: The logical port used to indicate the reference signal. The port of the reference signal is determined by the frequency domain resources, time domain resources and multiplexing code occupied by the reference signal. Reference signals belonging to the same port can be considered to have experienced the same channel, and reference signals belonging to different ports are orthogonal to each other.

[0102] 4) Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) Groups: Used to distinguish reference signals occupying the same time-frequency resources. When multiple reference signals occupy the same time-frequency resources, different orthogonal codes are loaded to distinguish them. Multiple reference signals belonging to different CDM groups have different ports; multiple reference signals belonging to the same CDM group can have the same or different ports.

[0103] The above is a brief introduction to the technical terms used in the embodiments of this application, and will not be repeated below.

[0104] In existing technologies, coherent joint transmission is an effective data transmission method to improve the quality of service (QoS) and user experience for users in multi-cell shared coverage areas in mobile communications. Achieving coherent joint transmission requires coordinated transmission from multiple network devices. This necessitates real-time information exchange between these devices, such as information on resource allocation for transmitted data and corresponding reference signals. For CRAN networking, ideal backhaul transmission with low latency between network devices is considered readily achievable, facilitating coordinated transmission. However, for distributed networking methods such as IPRAN, non-ideal backhaul transmission latency between network devices can be 20ms or even longer, making real-time information exchange impossible. Currently, there is no satisfactory solution in the industry for achieving coherent joint transmission between network devices in non-ideal backhaul networks.

[0105] A key technology in coherent joint transmission is the estimation of the joint equivalent channel. This means that the terminal device needs to jointly estimate the channels of multiple network devices participating in the coherent joint transmission in order to demodulate data streams from these devices. In coherent joint transmission within a CRAN network, typically, multiple network devices allocate the same reference signal port to each data stream in the coherent joint transmission; that is, each network device sends the same reference signal for a downlink data stream. In this way, the terminal device does not distinguish between reference signals from different network devices, treating the channels of multiple network devices as a whole for joint channel estimation, and demodulates the data streams from multiple network devices based on the estimated channel characteristics. However, in distributed networks, in related technologies, there is no coordination between different network devices. The terminal device estimates the channel of each network device separately, making coherent joint transmission impossible. How the terminal device can determine which reference signals from different network devices are used for joint equivalent channel estimation is a crucial technical problem that needs to be solved for the application of coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks. Therefore, embodiments of this application provide a reference signal indication method to enable coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks, effectively improving the QoS of users in multi-cell co-coverage areas of mobile networks and enhancing user experience.

[0106] This article provides the following specific implementation methods, which are described below in conjunction with... Figure 4 The technical solutions of this application will be described in detail with specific method embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments. It should be noted that... Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method of this application, showing the detailed communication steps or operations of the method. However, these steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations may be performed in the embodiments of this application. Figure 4 Variations of various operations within it. Furthermore, Figure 4 Each step in the process can be followed separately according to... Figure 4 The different orders presented may be executed, and it is possible that they are not intended to be executed. Figure 4 All operations within.

[0107] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a reference signal indication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 400 is applied to the interaction between multiple (at least two) network devices and a terminal device. In this embodiment, the network device is a TRP, the terminal device is a UE, and the reference signal is a DMRS. It should be noted that the network device can also be other network-side devices, the terminal device can also be other devices, and the reference signal can also be other types of signals (such as CSI-RS signals, SSB signals, etc.), and this application does not specifically limit these possibilities. Figure 4The process shown includes the following steps:

[0108] S401 and TRP 1 determine the resources for coherent joint transmission of the UE.

[0109] TRP 1 is any one of the TRPs in the set of TRPs that provide coherent joint transmission for the UE. The coherent joint transmission of the UE includes the transmission of one or more downlink data streams.

[0110] Similarly, TRP n determines the resources for coherent joint transmission of the UE. Here, n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, where N is the number of TRPs in the set of TRPs providing coherent joint transmission for the UE, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The description only uses TRP 1 and TRP n as examples. In actual applications, all TRPs in this set will perform this step.

[0111] It should be noted that the resources for coherent joint transmission of the UE determined by TRP 1 and the resources for coherent joint transmission of the UE determined by TRP n (such as time-frequency resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, time-frequency domain resources, etc.) are related. The resources for coherent joint transmission of the UE include resources occupied by one or more downlink data streams and the corresponding resources occupied by the DMRS. Here, each TRP in this TRP set allocates the same resources to each downlink data stream in the coherent joint transmission of the UE. For example, assuming the TRP set includes TRP 1 and TRP 2, and the coherent joint transmission of the UE includes data stream 1, data stream 2, and data stream 3, then both TRP 1 and TRP 2 transmit data streams 1, 2, and 3 of the UE, and the resources allocated by TRP 1 for these three downlink data streams are the same as those allocated by TRP 2 for these three downlink data streams.

[0112] In non-ideal backhaul scenarios, it is difficult for TRP 1 and TRP 2 to coordinate their respective resource allocations. For example, TRP 1 initially allocates resources 1 and 2 to data stream 1, while TRP 2 initially allocates resources 2 and 3. To ensure that TRP 1 and TRP 2 allocate the same resources to each downlink data stream for the UE, in one possible implementation, TRP 1 and TRP 2 both indicate their initial resource allocation to the UE. The UE then updates the resource allocation status and reports it to TRP 1 and TRP 2, ensuring that the downlink data streams allocated to the UE by TRP 1 and TRP 2 have the same resources. For example, in the above example, the UE can report resources 1, 2, and 3 to TRP 1 and TRP 2 respectively, so that both TRP 1 and TRP 2 use resources 1, 2, and 3 to transmit data stream 1 for the UE, or both use some common resources among resources 1, 2, and 3 to transmit data stream 1 for the UE. In another possible implementation, TRP 1 indicates its initial resource allocation to the UE, and TRP 2 indicates its initial resource allocation to the UE. The UE then reports its resource allocation status to TRP 1, or TRP 2, or the control node of both TRP 1 and TRP 2, so that TRP 1 instructs TRP 2, or TRP 2 instructs TRP 1, or the control node instructs TRP 1 and TRP 2 to allocate the same resources for the downlink data streams to the UE. Similarly, TRP 1 and TRP 2 also use the same resources to transmit data stream 2 and data stream 3 for the UE. It should be understood that the above are merely examples, and this application does not specifically limit how each TRP in the TRP set determines the resources for the coherent joint transmission of the UE.

[0113] S402 and TRP 1 define one or more DMRS ports allocated for the coherent joint transport of the UE.

[0114] Similarly, TRP n determines one or more DMRS ports allocated for the coherent joint transport of the UE.

[0115] In this step, TRP 1 determines the corresponding DMRS port for each downlink data stream in one or more downlink data streams in the UE's coherent joint transmission. One DMRS port corresponds one-to-one with a downlink data stream. For example, if the UE's coherent joint transmission includes data stream 1, data stream 2, and data stream 3, then TRP 1 determines the corresponding DMRS port for each data stream, such as data stream 1 corresponding to DMRS port 1, data stream 2 corresponding to DMRS port 2, and data stream 3 corresponding to DMRS port 3. It should be noted that the first DMRS corresponding to DMRS port 1, the second DMRS corresponding to DMRS port 2, and the third DMRS corresponding to DMRS port 3 occupy the same or different time-frequency resources. Specifically, two DMRSs occupying the same time-frequency resources are composed of different orthogonal code sequences. In other words, different downlink data streams correspond to different DMRSs and different DMRS ports.

[0116] It should be noted that, Figure 4 This description uses only TRP 1 and TRP n as examples. In practical applications, all TRPs in this set perform this step separately. Since each TRP allocates its own DMRS port without coordination, depending on the DMRS port of each TRP, different TRPs may allocate the same DMRS port or different DMRS ports for the same downlink data stream in coherent joint transmission for the UE.

[0117] In one possible implementation, the DMRS ports of different TRPs in the TRP set belong to different CDM groups. That is, all DMRS ports of TRP i belong to CDM group i, and all DMRS ports of TRP j belong to CDM group j, where i is not equal to j. In this case, since the DMRS of each TRP belongs to a different CDM group, each TRP allocates one or more different DMRS ports for the coherent joint transmission of the UE.

[0118] When the coherent joint transmission of the UE includes a downlink data stream, each TRP in the TRP set allocates a different DMRS port for the downlink data stream. Figure 5 This diagram illustrates the allocation of DMRS ports for the downlink data stream of the UE by two TRPs. Figure 5 In this process, TRP 1 allocates DMRS port 1 to the downlink data stream, and TRP 2 allocates DMRS port 2 to the downlink data stream; DMRS port 1 and DMRS port 2 belong to different CDM groups.

[0119] When the coherent joint transmission of the UE includes multiple downlink data streams, each TRP in the TRP set allocates a different DMRS port for different downlink data streams, and the DMRS ports allocated by different TRPs are not the same. Figure 6 This diagram illustrates how two TRPs allocate DMRS ports for the three downlink data streams of the UE. Figure 6 In this configuration, TRP 1 allocates DMRS port 1 to data flow 1, DMRS port 2 to data flow 2, and DMRS port 4 to data flow 3; TRP 2 allocates DMRS port 5 to data flow 1, DMRS port 7 to data flow 2, and DMRS port 8 to data flow 3. DMRS ports 1, 2, and 3 belong to one CDM group, while DMRS ports 5, 7, and 8 belong to another CDM group.

[0120] In another possible implementation, when the UE's coherent joint transmission includes only one downlink data stream, the DMRS ports of different TRPs in the TRP set can belong to the same CDM group. That is, all DMRS ports of TRP i belong to CDM group i, and all DMRS ports of TRP j belong to CDM group j, where i equals j. In this case, since the DMRS ports of each TRP belong to the same CDM group, the DMRS ports allocated by each TRP for the downlink data stream may be the same or different. Optionally, if the DMRS ports allocated by each TRP for the downlink data stream are different, then... Figure 5 Similar to the example shown, the difference is that DMRS port 1 and DMRS port 2 belong to the same CDM group. Optionally, each TRP allocates the same DMRS port for this downlink data stream. Figure 7 This diagram illustrates how two TRPs allocate the same DMRS port to the downlink data stream of the UE. Figure 7 In this context, both TRP 1 and TRP 2 allocate DMRS port 1 for the downlink data stream.

[0121] S403, TRP 1 sends first information to the UE, which instructs one or more DMRS of TRP 1 to use for estimating the joint equivalent channel. Accordingly, the UE receives the first information from TRP 1.

[0122] Similarly, TRP n sends the first information to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the first information from TRP n.

[0123] In step S402, TRP 1 identifies one or more DMRS ports corresponding to one or more downlink data streams of the UE. In this step, TRP 1 notifies the UE that the one or more DMRS ports are used for estimating the joint equivalent channel. For a downlink data stream in the UE's coherent joint transmission, the UE receives the downlink data stream and its corresponding DMRS from multiple TRPs. The UE performs joint equivalent channel estimation based on the DMRS received from the multiple TRPs and demodulates the received downlink data stream based on the estimated equivalent channel characteristics. Therefore, each TRP in the set of TRPs providing coherent joint transmission to the UE needs to notify the UE that its DMRS is used for estimating the joint equivalent channel. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The description only uses TRP 1 and TRP n as examples. In actual applications, all TRPs in this set will perform this step.

[0124] Optionally, the first information is carried in RRC signaling. Alternatively, the first information can also be carried in MAC-CE signaling or DCI signaling.

[0125] Optionally, the first information can be carried in existing standard RRC, MAC-CE, or DCI signaling, such as in a field of existing signaling, or in new RRC, MAC-CE, or DCI signaling.

[0126] S404, TRP 1 sends a second message to the UE, which indicates one or more DMRS ports of TRP 1. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message from TRP 1.

[0127] Similarly, TRP n sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message from TRP n.

[0128] In step S402, TRP 1 determines one or more DMRS ports corresponding to one or more data streams in the coherent joint transmission of the UE, and in step S403, notifies the UE that these one or more DMRS ports are used by the UE to estimate the joint equivalent channel. In this step, TRP 1 sends the indication information of the determined one or more DMRS ports to the UE as second information, so that the UE can obtain the indication information of the DMRS port corresponding to each downlink data stream. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The description only uses TRP 1 and TRP n as examples. In actual applications, all TRPs in this set will perform this step.

[0129] Optionally, the second information includes the port number, port index, or other port indication information of each of the one or more DMRS ports.

[0130] Optionally, the second information is carried in physical layer control signaling such as DCI signaling. Alternatively, the second information can also be carried in MAC-CE signaling or RRC signaling.

[0131] Optionally, the second information can be carried in existing standard RRC, MAC-CE, or DCI signaling, such as in a field of existing signaling, or in new RRC, MAC-CE, or DCI signaling.

[0132] For example, in Figure 5 In this process, TRP 1 can send DCI 1 to the UE, where the second information in DCI 1 contains indication information for DMRS port 1; TRP 2 can send DCI 2 to the UE, where the second information in DCI 2 contains indication information for DMRS port 2. Optionally, the indication information for a DMRS port includes the port number or port index of the DMRS port.

[0133] For example, in Figure 6 In this process, TRP 1 can send DCI 1 to the UE, wherein the second information in DCI 1 includes indication information of DMRS port 1, indication information of DMRS port 2, and indication information of DMRS port 4; TRP 2 can send DCI 2 to the UE, wherein the second information in DCI 2 includes indication information of DMRS port 5, indication information of DMRS port 7, and indication information of DMRS port 8.

[0134] Optionally, TRP 1 includes the indication information of its multiple DMRS ports in the second information in a certain order according to the first rule. Similarly, TRP n also includes the indication information of its multiple DMRS ports in the second information in a certain order according to the first rule. Thus, the UE can determine from the order of the DMRS port indication information received by each TRP which DMRS ports are used for joint equivalent channel estimation of a certain downlink data stream. For example, the first rule is that the port numbers or port indices of the multiple DMRS ports correspond one-to-one with the transport layer numbers corresponding to the multiple data streams in ascending or descending order. It should be understood that in the transmission of multiple data streams, each data stream is mapped to a transport layer, and multiple data streams are mapped to multiple transport layers respectively. For example, in the above... Figure 6In the example, data stream 1 corresponds to transport layer 1 in both TRP 1 and TRP 2, data stream 2 corresponds to transport layer 2 in both TRP 1 and TRP 2, and data stream 3 corresponds to transport layer 3 in both TRP 1 and TRP 2. TRP 1 sends the second information in the order of the indication information of DMRS port 1, DMRS port 2, and DMRS port 3. TRP 2 sends the second information in the order of the indication information of DMRS port 5, DMRS port 7, and DMRS port 8. The UE can determine, based on the order of the DMRS port indication information sent by TRP 1 and TRP 2, that DMRS port 1 and DMRS port 5 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating downlink data streams in transport layer 1, DMRS port 2 and DMRS port 7 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating downlink data streams in transport layer 2, and DMRS port 4 and DMRS port 8 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating downlink data streams in transport layer 3. The first rule can be pre-configured or predefined by the protocol.

[0135] For example, in Figure 7 In this process, TRP 1 can send DCI 1 to the UE, where the first information in DCI 1 contains indication information of DMRS port 1; TRP 2 can send DCI 2 to the UE, where the first information in DCI 2 also contains indication information of DMRS port 1.

[0136] S405, TRP 1 sends coherent joint transmission data to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives coherent joint transmission data from TRP 1.

[0137] Similarly, TRP n sends coherent joint transmission data to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives coherent joint transmission data from TRP n.

[0138] The coherent joint transmission data includes one or more downlink data streams and one or more corresponding DMRSs for those downlink data streams. It should be noted that a downlink data stream and its corresponding DMRS are transmitted in the same slot (or subframe). For example, a downlink data stream can be transmitted in multiple slots (or subframes), and the corresponding DMRS is also transmitted along with the data in these multiple slots (or subframes). In a slot (or subframe), the UE estimates the channel by detecting the DMRS in that slot (or subframe) and demodulates the downlink data stream in that slot (or subframe) based on the characteristics of the channel. When the coherent joint transmission includes multiple downlink data streams, these multiple downlink data streams multiplex the same slot (or subframe). It should be noted that... Figure 4The description only uses TRP 1 and TRP n as examples. In actual applications, all TRPs in this set will perform this step.

[0139] S406, UE determines the joint equivalent channel.

[0140] In step S404, the UE obtains indication information of one or more DMRS ports allocated by each TRP for the UE's coherent joint transmission, as well as DMRS for estimating the joint equivalent channel, through the second information sent by the multiple TRPs. In step S405, the UE receives coherent joint transmission data sent by each of the multiple TRPs, wherein the coherent joint transmission data includes one or more downlink data streams and corresponding DMRS. In this step, the UE estimates the channel of the one or more downlink data streams based on the indication information of the one or more DMRS ports, and obtains the joint equivalent channel for each data stream.

[0141] For example, for Figure 5 The DMRS port allocation method shown is as follows: TRP 1 uses precoding matrix P1 to precode the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 1 and transmits the precoded DMRS; TRP 2 uses precoding matrix P2 to precode the DMRS signal transmitted on DMRS port 2 and transmits the precoded DMRS. One TRP precodes and transmits one DMRS signal, which can be understood as the TRP transmitting the DMRS to the terminal device in a specific spatial direction after transforming it using the precoding matrix. In the preceding steps, the UE learns that DMRS port 1 and DMRS port 2 are used to estimate the joint equivalent channel. In this step, the UE determines the joint equivalent channel of the data stream by detecting the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 1 and DMRS port 2. For example, assuming the channel representation between TRP 1 and the UE is H1, and the channel representation between TRP 2 and the UE is H2, then the joint equivalent channel determined by the UE through the DMRS is [H1 H2][P1 P2]. T , where A T It is represented as the transpose of matrix A.

[0142] For example, for Figure 6 The DMRS port allocation method shown uses a precoding matrix P for TRP 1. 1,1 The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 1 is precoded using the precoding matrix P. 1,2 The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 2 is precoded using the precoding matrix P. 1,3 The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 4 is precoded, and three precoded DMRS are transmitted; TRP 2 uses the precoding matrix P. 2,1The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 5 is precoded using the precoding matrix P. 2,2 The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 7 is precoded using the precoding matrix P. 2,3 The DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 8 is precoded, and the three precoded DMRS are transmitted. In the preceding steps, the UE learns that DMRS ports 1 and 5 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating data stream 1, DMRS ports 2 and 7 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating data stream 2, and DMRS ports 4 and 8 are the joint equivalent channels for estimating data stream 3. In this step, the UE determines the respective joint equivalent channels for different downlink data streams. For example, by detecting the DMRS transmitted on DMRS ports 1 and 5, the UE determines the joint equivalent channel corresponding to downlink data stream 1 as [H1 H2][P]. 1,1 P 2,1 ] T Similarly, the UE determines the joint equivalent channel corresponding to downlink data stream 2 as [H1 H2][P] by detecting the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 2 and DMRS port 7. 1,2 P 2,2 ] T The UE determines the joint equivalent channel corresponding to downlink data stream 3 as [H1 H2][P] by detecting the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 4 and DMRS port 8. 1,3 P 2,3 ] T .

[0143] Optionally, the terminal device can determine, according to the first rule, which DMRS ports from different TRPs are used for joint equivalent channel estimation of a certain downlink data stream.

[0144] For example, for Figure 7 The DMRS port allocation method shown is as follows: TRP 1 uses precoding matrix P1 to precode the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 1 and then transmits the precoded DMRS; TRP 2 uses precoding matrix P2 to precode the DMRS signal transmitted on DMRS port 1 and then transmits the precoded DMRS. The UE determines the joint equivalent channel by detecting the DMRS transmitted on DMRS port 1. For example, if the channel representation between TRP 1 and the UE is H1, and the channel representation between TRP 2 and the UE is H2, then the joint equivalent channel determined by the UE through DMRS is [H1 H2][P1 P2]. T It should be noted that, in Figure 5In the example, since each TRP uses a different DMRS port, the UE can estimate the equivalent channel of each TRP separately and then combine them to obtain the joint equivalent channel. Figure 7 In the example, since each TRP uses the same DMRS port, the UE cannot distinguish the channels of different TRPs. The UE directly obtains the joint equivalent channel by measuring on a single DMRS port.

[0145] Optionally, the method also includes S407.

[0146] S407. The UE demodulates the downlink data stream based on the joint equivalent channel.

[0147] In step S405 above, the UE determines the joint equivalent channel corresponding to each downlink data stream in one or more downlink data streams. In this step, the UE demodulates each downlink data stream according to the channel parameters of each joint equivalent channel to obtain the data of each downlink data stream. Specifically, how the UE demodulates a downlink data stream according to the joint equivalent channel can be referred to various methods currently available in the industry, and will not be elaborated here.

[0148] In the embodiments of this application, multiple network devices that provide coherent joint transmission for the terminal device respectively indicate information on reference signals for estimating the joint equivalent channel, so that the terminal device estimates the joint equivalent channel of the multiple network devices according to the corresponding indication information, thereby enabling coherent joint transmission in non-ideal backhaul networks, effectively improving the QoS of users in multi-cell co-coverage areas of mobile networks, and improving user experience.

[0149] The above mainly describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between each network element. It is understood that each network element, such as network devices and terminals, includes a hardware structure or software module, or a combination of both, to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0150] This application embodiment can divide network devices and terminals into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. The following description uses the example of dividing each function into a separate functional module:

[0151] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 As shown, the network device includes a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802. The communication unit 801 is used to support the network device in performing... Figure 4 S403 and S405, and / or other processes used to support the technical solutions described herein. Processing unit 802 is used to support the network device in performing... Figure 4 Steps S401 and S402 in the document, and / or other processes used to support the technical solutions described herein.

[0152] As an example, combined Figure 2 The network devices shown, Figure 8 The communication unit 801 in the middle can be made by Figure 2 This is implemented using transceiver 203. Figure 8 The processing unit 702 in the middle can be made by Figure 2 The processor 201 in the application is used for implementation, but this embodiment does not specifically limit the implementation.

[0153] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 As shown, the terminal device includes a communication unit 901 and a processing unit 902. The communication unit 901 is used to support the terminal device in performing... Figure 4 Steps S403 and S405, and / or other processes used to support the technical solutions described herein. Processing unit 902 is used to support the terminal device in executing... Figure 4 Steps S404 and S406 in the document, and / or other processes used to support the technical solutions described herein.

[0154] As an example, combined Figure 2 The terminal device shown, Figure 9 The communication unit 901 in the middle can be made by Figure 2 This is implemented using transceiver 103. Figure 9 The processing unit 902 in the middle can be made by Figure 2The processor 101 in the application is used for implementation, but this embodiment does not specifically limit the implementation.

[0155] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions; when the computer-readable storage medium is used on a communication device, the communication device performs the following actions: Figure 3 and Figure 6 The method is illustrated. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access, or it can include one or more data storage devices such as servers or data centers that can be integrated with media. The available medium can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media, or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0156] This application also provides a computer program product containing computer instructions, which, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute... Figure 4 The method shown.

[0157] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 10 The chip shown can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. The chip includes a processor 1001. The processor 1001 is used to support the execution of functions by the communication device. Figure 4 The technical solution shown.

[0158] Optionally, the chip also includes a transceiver pin 1002, which is used to receive control from the processor 1001 to support the communication device in performing operations. Figure 4 The technical solution shown.

[0159] Optional, Figure 10 The chip shown may also include: storage medium 1003.

[0160] It should be noted that, Figure 10The chip shown can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0161] The terminals, network devices, computer storage media, computer program products, and chips provided in the embodiments of this application are all used to execute the methods provided above. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects corresponding to the methods provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0162] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of this application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if such modifications and modifications of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for indicating a reference signal, characterized in that, The method includes: The terminal device receives multiple first pieces of information from multiple network devices, wherein one of the first pieces of information comes from one of the network devices, and the first information is used to indicate at least one reference signal of the network device for estimating the joint equivalent channel; The terminal device receives multiple pieces of second information from the plurality of network devices, wherein one piece of the second information comes from one of the network devices, and the second information is used to indicate the port of the at least one reference signal; The terminal device receives multiple coherently coupled transmission data from the plurality of network devices, wherein one coherently coupled transmission data originates from one of the network devices, and the coherently coupled transmission data includes at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, with one data stream corresponding to one reference signal; and The terminal device determines at least one joint equivalent channel based on at least one reference signal from the plurality of network devices, wherein one of the joint equivalent channels is determined based on one of the reference signals from the plurality of network devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device demodulates the at least one data stream according to the at least one joint equivalent channel, wherein one of the data streams is demodulated through one of the joint equivalent channels.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The second information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

7. A method for indicating a reference signal, applied to a network device in a set of network devices providing coherent joint transmission, characterized in that, The method includes: Determine the resources of the network device used for coherent joint transmission of terminal devices; Determine the port of the network device for at least one reference signal allocated to the coherent joint transmission; Send first information to the terminal device, the first information being used to instruct the at least one reference signal to be used to estimate the joint equivalent channel, the joint equivalent channel being estimated based on at least one reference signal sent by a plurality of network devices in the network device set; Send second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate the port of the at least one reference signal; and The terminal device is sent coherent joint transmission data, which includes at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, wherein one data stream corresponds to one reference signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Before sending the second information to the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device determines the arrangement order of the port numbers or port indices of each reference signal in the at least one reference signal included in the second information according to the first rule.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that, The second information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A communication unit is configured to receive multiple first messages from multiple network devices, wherein one of the first messages comes from one of the network devices, and the first message is used to indicate at least one reference signal of the network device for estimating a joint equivalent channel; The communication unit is further configured to receive a plurality of second information from the plurality of network devices, wherein one of the second information comes from one of the network devices, and the second information is used to indicate the port of the at least one reference signal; The communication unit is further configured to receive coherent joint transmission data from the plurality of network devices, wherein one coherent joint transmission data originates from one of the network devices, and the coherent joint transmission data includes at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, with one data stream corresponding to one reference signal; and A processing unit is configured to determine at least one joint equivalent channel based on at least one reference signal from the plurality of network devices, wherein one of the joint equivalent channels is determined based on one of the reference signals from the plurality of network devices.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, characterized in that, The processing unit is further configured to demodulate the at least one data stream according to the at least one joint equivalent channel, wherein one of the data streams is demodulated through one of the joint equivalent channels.

15. The communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

16. The communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

17. The communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that, The first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

18. The communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that, The second information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

19. A communication device in a set of communication devices, characterized in that, include: A processing unit is configured to determine the resources of the communication device for coherent joint transmission of terminal equipment; The processing unit is further configured to determine at least one port of reference signal allocated by the communication device for the coherent joint transmission; A communication unit is configured to send first information to the terminal device, the first information being configured to instruct the at least one reference signal to estimate a joint equivalent channel, the joint equivalent channel being estimated based on at least one reference signal sent by a plurality of communication devices in the set of communication devices respectively; The communication unit is further configured to send second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate the port of the at least one reference signal; and The communication unit is further configured to send coherent joint transmission data to the terminal device, the coherent joint transmission data including at least one data stream and at least one reference signal corresponding to the at least one data stream, wherein one data stream corresponds to one reference signal.

20. The communication device according to claim 19, characterized in that, The second information includes the port number or port index of each of the at least one reference signal.

21. The communication device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The processing unit is further configured to determine the arrangement order of the port numbers or port indices of each reference signal in the at least one reference signal included in the second information according to the first rule.

22. The communication device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that, The reference signal is the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

23. The communication device according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that, The first information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

24. The communication device according to any one of claims 19 to 23, characterized in that, The second information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and interface circuitry; The interface circuit is used to communicate with modules outside the communication device; The at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; The at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions to cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 to be performed.

27. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes: a processing circuit; the processing circuit is coupled to a storage medium; The processing circuit is configured to execute part or all of the computer program or instructions in the storage medium, and when the part or all of the computer program or instructions are executed, to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 to be performed.

29. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions, characterized in that, When it is run on a computer, it causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 12 to be performed.

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