Method, apparatus and computer program product for wireless communication

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. A method includes transmitting, by a first wireless communication node or a second wireless communication node, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs to the second wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

Description

[0001] Divisional application

[0002] This application is a divisional application of application number 202080106166.5, application date October 16, 2020, and titled “Methods, devices, and computer program products for wireless communications.” Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communications. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and computer program product for wireless communications. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to 5G wireless communications. Background Art

[0004] In existing systems, the design of reference signals (RS) (e.g., demodulation reference signals (DM-RS)) is mainly aimed at transmission scenarios under different channel conditions to ensure system efficiency. For example, within the resources occupied by the scheduled channel, each scheduling unit (e.g., resource blocks RB and time slots or sub-time slots in existing specifications) applies the same pattern of DM-RS. That is, in the case of aggregated transmission or repetition, with respect to the time domain behavior of DM-RS, the same pattern of DM-RS is repeated across time slots.

[0005] More specifically, in 5G, many parameters (e.g., DM-RS type, number of front-loaded DM-RS, number of additional DM-RS) are used to define the repetition pattern and are configured by higher layer signaling. In this context, the supported number of DM-RS ports is also determined by the code division multiplexing (CDM) group by introducing time / frequency orthogonal cover codes (OCC) or cyclic shift (CS) shifts. The capacity of the current DM-RS design supports 8 ports and 12 ports for DM-RS type 1 and DM-RS type 2, respectively. In other cases, the DM-RS position is fixed within the allocated area. For example, in Long Term Evolution Category M1 (LTE-M), DM-RS is always transmitted in resources with symbol index equal to 3. In Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), the allocated time domain resources of the DM-RS of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) are coupled with the corresponding format of the PUSCH.

[0006] When analyzing channel conditions, the channel conditions are mainly characterized by the following two aspects: frequency selectivity and time-varying behavior. Frequency selectivity is determined by the multipath conditions. When there are more multipaths, more channels in the frequency domain are available. Time-varying behavior is determined by the multipaths and mobility. However, as the number of multipaths increases, frequency offset estimation becomes more difficult. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present disclosure relates to methods, devices, and computer program products for wireless communications that can reduce the overhead of DM-RS and thus make the allocation of reference signals more flexible.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication method. In one embodiment, the wireless communication method includes: according to an instruction provided by a first wireless communication node or a second wireless communication node, the first wireless communication node sends a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) to the second wireless communication node.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication method. In one embodiment, the wireless communication method includes: according to an indication provided by a first wireless communication node or a second wireless communication node, receiving, by the second wireless communication node, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first PRB of a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from the first wireless communication node.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication node. In one embodiment, the wireless communication node includes a communication unit and a processor. The processor is configured to send a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) to the other wireless communication node according to an instruction provided by the wireless communication node or another wireless communication node.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication node. In one embodiment, the wireless communication node includes a communication unit and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first PRB of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) from the other wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or another wireless communication node.

[0012] Various embodiments may preferably implement the following features.

[0013] Preferably, two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS, wherein the number of the second PRBs is determined by the indication.

[0014] Preferably, the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are equidistantly spaced or distributed in the frequency domain, wherein the gaps between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are determined by the indication.

[0015] Preferably, the indication is provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) command.

[0016] Preferably, the indication is determined by one of: a PRB bundling size; or a resource block group (RBG) size.

[0017] Preferably, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB in the frequency domain corresponds to the PRB bundling size and the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0018] Preferably, the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0019] Preferably, under the condition that the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0020] Preferably, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB is smaller than the PRB bundling size.

[0021] Preferably, the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are equidistantly spaced or distributed in the frequency domain, wherein the gaps between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS correspond to the PRB bundling size and the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0022] Preferably, the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the gap between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0023] Preferably, under the condition that the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the gap between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0024] Preferably, the gap between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS is smaller than the PRB bundling size.

[0025] Preferably, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs in the frequency domain corresponds to a resource block group (RBG) size.

[0026] Preferably, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB in the frequency domain corresponds to the RBG size and the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0027] Preferably, the RBG size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0028] Preferably, under the condition that the RBG size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain is determined by the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0029] Preferably, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs is smaller than the RBG size.

[0030] Preferably, corresponding to one or more second PRBs in the PRBs not carrying DM-RS, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased.

[0031] Preferably, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased corresponding to the number of one or more second PRBs between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB in the frequency domain.

[0032] Preferably, corresponding to the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased.

[0033] Preferably, corresponding to the indication and the upper limit of the power increase, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is operably increased.

[0034] Preferably, the indication is determined corresponding to an upper limit of the power boost.

[0035] Preferably, the number of one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs in the frequency domain is the same in different time slots.

[0036] Preferably, the energy per resource element (EPRE) of the power boosted DM-RS in the first PRB is the same in different time slots.

[0037] Preferably, the ratio of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE with power boost corresponding to the indication is X dB, the ratio of the PDSCH EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups without data is Y dB, the upper limit of the total power boost is Z dB, and X, Y, Z meet the following relationship:

[0038] |X|+|Y|≤|Z|

[0039] Among them, X, Y, and Z are non-positive numbers.

[0040] Preferably, the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to the power-boosted DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups with no data is Y dB, the upper limit of the total power boost is Z dB, and |Y|≥|Z|, and the first wireless communication node does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB corresponding to the indication.

[0041] Preferably, the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to the power-boosted DM-RSEPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups without data is Y dB, the upper limit of the total power boost is Z dB, and under the condition of |Y|≥|Z|, the first wireless communication node does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB corresponding to the indication.

[0042] Preferably, the ratio of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) EPRE to the power-boosted DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the indication is estimated to be X dB, the ratio of a PDSCH EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups without data is Y dB, the total power boost is capped at Z dB, and |X|+|Y|≥|Z|, and the first wireless communication node does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB corresponding to the indication.

[0043] Preferably, the ratio of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) EPRE to the power-boosted DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the indication is estimated to be X dB, the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups without data is Y dB, the upper limit of the total power boost is Z dB, and under the condition of |X|+|Y|≥|Z|, the first wireless communication node does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB corresponding to the indication.

[0044] Preferably, two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated by one or more second PRBs in the frequency domain, and the one or more second PRBs carry another DM-RS corresponding to another second wireless communication node.

[0045] Preferably, the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the first PRB and the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the one or more second PRBs are different.

[0046] Preferably, two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated by one or more second PRBs in the frequency domain, and the one or more second PRBs are used for interference measurement.

[0047] The present disclosure also relates to a computer program product, which includes a computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, and when the code is executed by a processor, the processor implements the wireless communication method described in any of the aforementioned methods.

[0048] The above and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] Figure 1 A wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0050] Figure 2 Another wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0051] Figure 3 An example of DM-RS overhead reduction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0052] Figure 4 Another example of DM-RS overhead reduction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0053] Figure 5 Another example of DM-RS overhead reduction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0054] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a first wireless communication node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0055] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a second wireless communication node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to provide features that will become apparent by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example rather than by way of limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0057] Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and shown herein. In addition, the specific order and / or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely exemplary. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be rearranged while still within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an exemplary order, and unless otherwise expressly stated, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0058] The above and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims.

[0059] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication method corresponding to DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0060] Figure 1 A wireless communication method 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In an embodiment, the wireless communication method 100 may be performed by using a first wireless communication node, which may be a terminal device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) or a network device (e.g., a base station (BS)) that transmits a DM-RS. In the following paragraphs, a first wireless communication node will be used in a descriptive example, but the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. The details of the first wireless communication node may be referred to below. Figure 6 to determine the relevant paragraphs.

[0061] In one embodiment, the wireless communication method 100 includes operation 110 .

[0062] Operation 110 includes transmitting, by the first wireless communication node to the second wireless communication node, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs according to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0063] By this method, the overhead of the DM-RS sent by the first wireless communication node can be reduced, and the reference signal can be allocated more flexibly.

[0064] In one embodiment, the second wireless communication node may be a terminal device (e.g., user equipment (UE)) or a network device (e.g., base station (BS)). In the following paragraphs, the first wireless communication node is used to describe a node that sends a DM-RS, and the second wireless communication node is used to describe a node that receives a DM-RS. In some embodiments, when the first wireless communication node is a terminal device (e.g., user equipment (UE)), the second wireless communication node is a network device (e.g., base station (BS)), and vice versa.

[0065] In one embodiment, the indication is provided (e.g., determined or configured) by one of the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node that is a network device (e.g., a base station (BS)). In one embodiment, the network device (one of the first wireless communication node and the second wireless communication node) determines or configures an indication (e.g., a parameter) for downlink transmission or uplink transmission, and sends the indication to the terminal node (the other of the first wireless communication node and the second wireless communication node).

[0066] In one embodiment, two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs that do not carry DM-RS. In one embodiment, the number of second PRBs is determined by the indication. In the following paragraphs, the first PRB is used to indicate the PRB carrying DM-RS, and the second PRB is used to indicate the PRB that does not carry DM-RS or carries DM-RS related to another node.

[0067] Details of the method 100 will be described in the following embodiments.

[0068] Figure 2 A wireless communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In an embodiment, the wireless communication method 200 may be performed by using a second wireless communication node, which may be a terminal device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) or a network device (e.g., a base station (BS)) that transmits a DM-RS. In the following paragraphs, a second wireless communication node will be used in a descriptive example, but the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. The details of the second wireless communication node may be referred to below. Figure 7 to determine the relevant paragraphs.

[0069] In one embodiment, the wireless communication method 200 includes operation 210 .

[0070] Operation 210 includes receiving, by the second wireless communication node, a DM-RS in a first PRB of a plurality of PRBs from the first wireless communication node in accordance with an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0071] By this method, the overhead of the DM-RS sent by the first wireless communication node can be reduced, and the reference signal can be allocated more flexibly.

[0072] Details of the first wireless communication node and the second wireless communication node and the first PRB and the second PRB may be determined by referring to the above paragraphs and will not be repeated here.

[0073] In one embodiment, the indication is provided (e.g., determined or configured) by one of the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node that is a network device (e.g., a base station (BS)). In one embodiment, the network device (one of the first wireless communication node and the second wireless communication node) determines or configures an indication (e.g., a parameter) for downlink transmission or uplink transmission, and sends the indication to the terminal node (the other of the first wireless communication node and the second wireless communication node).

[0074] Details of the method 200 will be described in the following embodiments.

[0075] In the following paragraphs, many aspects of DM-RS overhead reduction are described in the following illustrative examples, but the present disclosure is not limited to these examples.

[0076] Aspect 1: Configuration for DM-RS overhead reduction

[0077] Aspect 1 - Case 1:

[0078] In some embodiments of Case 1, the network device may explicitly indicate one or more parameters in the indication to reduce or downsample the transmission of the DM-RS in the frequency domain.

[0079] In some embodiments, the network device may directly configure the indication to a value of X (e.g., 2) to reduce or downsample the transmission of the DM-RS in the frequency domain. In some embodiments, the DM-RS is allocated in one PRB of X (e.g., 2) consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first PRB with a DM-RS may be a PRB with the lowest / highest PRB index or a middle one of X (eg, 2) of the X PRBs.

[0081] for Figure 3 In the example shown in , when X is 2, the DM-RS is allocated in the frequency domain in a first PRB of two consecutive PRBs (e.g., allocated in PRB1 and PRB3 of PRB1 to PRB4). In this example, the second PRB (e.g., PRB2 and PRB4) does not carry the DM-RS.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first PRBs carrying DM-RS are equally spaced or distributed in the frequency domain. In one embodiment, the gaps or spacings between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS in the frequency domain are determined by the indication. In one embodiment, the density of the first PRBs carrying DM-RS in the frequency domain is determined by the indication.

[0083] In some embodiments, two adjacent first PRBs in the PRBs in the frequency domain (eg, Figure 3 In some embodiments, the number of one or more second PRBs between PRB1 and PRB3 in the frequency domain is the same in different time slots. In some embodiments, the gap or interval between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS in the frequency domain is the same in different time slots. In some embodiments, the density of the first PRBs carrying DM-RS in the frequency domain is the same in different time slots.

[0084] In some embodiments, the indication is provided by the network device via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) command.

[0085] In some embodiments, the indication may be determined by one of the PRB bundling size (see Aspect 1-Case 2a below) or the resource block group (RBG) size (see Aspect 1-Case 2b below). In some embodiments, the indication may be one of the PRB bundling size or the RBG size.

[0086] It should be noted that, through the above embodiments, no additional signal is required to enable / disable the function of DM-RS overhead reduction. For example, in the case where the indication is configured with a value other than 1, the function is enabled. In the case where the indication is configured with a value of 1, the function is disabled.

[0087] Aspect 1 - Case 2a:

[0088] In some embodiments of Case 2a, the network device may implicitly indicate one or more parameters to reduce or downsample the transmission of the DM-RS in the frequency domain.

[0089] In some embodiments, a parameter for determining the quantitative ratio of DM-RS overhead reduction is implicitly indicated (eg, via coupling with other parameters).In some embodiments, a value of the PRB bundling size is used for DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0090] In some embodiments, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB in the frequency domain corresponds to the PRB bundling size and the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node. From a different perspective, the gap between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS corresponds to the PRB bundling size and the indication provided by the network device.

[0091] In some embodiments, the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the number of one or more second PRBs between two adjacent first PRBs is determined by an indication provided by a network device. From a different perspective, the PRB bundling size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the gap between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS is determined by an indication provided by a network device.

[0092] For example, when the PRB bundling size is 2, the gap between the first PRBs is 2.

[0093] When the PRB bundling size is 4 or wideband, the gap is determined by the value in the indication (e.g., 2 or 3). In such embodiments, the number of one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs is less than the PRB bundling size. That is, the gap between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS is less than the PRB bundling size.

[0094] In some embodiments, the network device determines a gap that is no larger than the PRB bundling size.

[0095] In some embodiments, the network equipment provides signaling to explicitly enable functionality for DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0096] In some embodiments, the DM-RS-free PRB (ie, the second PRB) is selected following the PRB boundary definition for PRB bundling.

[0097] In some embodiments, once the network device provides signaling to the terminal device to enable the DM-RS overhead reduction functionality, the terminal device is configured to perform DM-RS overhead reduction (e.g., sending and / or receiving a first PRB and a second PRB) based on the value of the PRB bundling size.

[0098] Aspect 1 - Case 2b:

[0099] In some embodiments of Case 2a, the network device may implicitly indicate one or more parameters to reduce or downsample the transmission of the DM-RS in the frequency domain.

[0100] In some embodiments, a parameter for determining the quantitative ratio of DM-RS overhead reduction is implicitly indicated (eg, via coupling with other parameters).In some embodiments, a value of a resource block group (RBG) size is used for DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0101] In some embodiments, the number of the one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between the two adjacent first PRBs of the first PRB in the frequency domain corresponds to the RBG size and the indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node. From a different perspective, the gap between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS corresponds to the RBG size and the indication provided by the network device.

[0102] In some embodiments, the RBG size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the number of one or more second PRBs between two adjacent first PRBs is determined by an indication provided by a network device. From a different perspective, the RBG size is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the gap between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS is determined by an indication provided by a network device.

[0103] For example, when the RBG size is 2, the gap between the first PRBs is 2.

[0104] When the RBG size is 4 or wideband, the gap is determined by the value in the indication (e.g., 2 or 3). In such embodiments, the number of one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS between two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs is less than the RBG size. That is, the gap between the first PRBs carrying DM-RS is less than the RBG size.

[0105] In some embodiments, the network device determines a gap that is no larger than the RBG size.

[0106] In some embodiments, the network equipment provides signaling to explicitly enable functionality for DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0107] In some embodiments, the DM-RS-free PRB (ie, the second PRB) is selected following the PRB boundary definition for the RBG.

[0108] In some embodiments, once the network device provides signaling to the terminal device to enable the DM-RS overhead reduction functionality, the terminal device is configured to perform DM-RS overhead reduction (e.g., sending and / or receiving a first PRB and a second PRB) based on the value of the RBG size.

[0109] Aspect 2: Individual configuration to reduce DM-RS overhead

[0110] Aspect 2 - Case 1: Power Boost

[0111] In some implementations, the power of the DM-RS is the same across the PRBs due to the repetitive pattern allocation.

[0112] In some embodiments, in response to the DM-RS overhead reduction function being enabled, the power of the DM-RS in the PRB will be boosted (eg, increased).

[0113] In some embodiments, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is boosted corresponding to one or more second PRBs in the PRBs not carrying the DM-RS.

[0114] For example, Figure 3 As shown in , since the second PRB (ie, PRB2, PRB4) does not carry DM-RS, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased accordingly.

[0115] In some embodiments, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased corresponding to the number of one or more second PRBs between two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain. From a different perspective, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB is increased corresponding to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node.

[0116] In some embodiments, when the DM-RS is allocated in the first PRB of X consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain, the power of the DM-RS is increased by X times (or 10*log 10 (X)dB).

[0117] For example, when X is 2, Figure 3 As shown in , since DM-RS will not be sent in PRB2 and PRB4, the power of DM-RS in PRB1 and PRB3 can be increased by 2 times (or 10*log 10 (2) dB).

[0118] In some embodiments, the first wireless communication node and / or the second wireless communication node may have an upper limit for power boost. In some embodiments, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB may be operatively boosted corresponding to the indication and the upper limit for power boost. In some embodiments, the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB may be operatively boosted corresponding to the number of one or more second PRBs between two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRB in the frequency domain and the upper limit for power boost. In some embodiments, once the value of the power boost due to the reduction in DM-RS overhead is greater than the upper limit, the first wireless communication node and / or the second wireless communication node will not boost the power of the DM-RS in the first PRB.

[0119] In some embodiments, the indication is determined corresponding to an upper limit of the power boost. In some embodiments, the number of PRBs not carrying DM-RS between two adjacent PRBs carrying DM-RS in the frequency domain is determined corresponding to the upper limit of the power boost. In some embodiments, once the power boost due to DM-RS overhead reduction is enabled, the indication (e.g., the value X as described above) should also be limited by the upper limit of the power boost.

[0120] In some embodiments, when DM-RS overhead reduction is enabled in both the time domain and the frequency domain, power boosting for DM-RS is enabled in the same symbol. Figure 4 As shown in , power boosting for DM-RS is enabled in symbol SBL.

[0121] In some embodiments, the energy per resource element (EPRE) of the power boosted DM-RS in the first PRB is the same in different time slots. In some embodiments, the energy per resource element (EPRE) of the power boosted DM-RS in the first PRB corresponding to the indication is the same in different time slots.

[0122] In some embodiments, in case of aggregated transmission, the ratio of DM-RS overhead reduction should be ensured to be the same across time slots. This also means that the energy per resource element (EPRE) of DM-RS should remain the same across time slots after the boost due to DM-RS overhead reduction.

[0123] Aspect 2 - Case 1a: Power Boost

[0124] In some embodiments, when non-MU scheduling is enabled, power boosting for DM-RS is supported. Such information can be determined by an indication in the DCI, namely, a DM-RS port indication.

[0125] In some embodiments, in response to DM-RS overhead reduction being enabled, the power of the DM-RS in the PRB will be boosted (eg, increased) corresponding to both the indication and the number of DM-RS code division multiplexing (CDM) groups without data.

[0126] In some embodiments, the network equipment provides signaling to enable power boosting of DM-RS in PRBs due to reduced DM-RS overhead.

[0127] In some embodiments, assume that the ratio of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) EPRE to the indicated power-boosted DM-RS EPRE is X dB, the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups without data is Y dB, the upper limit of the total power boost (e.g., the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to DM-RS EPRE) is Z dB, and X, Y, Z meet the following relationship:

[0128] X+Y≥Z

[0129] or

[0130] |X|+|Y|≤|Z|, where X, Y, and Z are non-positive numbers.

[0131] In some embodiments, following the notation used above, in response to |Y|≥|Z|, the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node transmitting the DM-RS does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the PRB corresponding to the indication.

[0132] In some embodiments, assuming that the ratio of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) EPRE to the indicated power-boosted DM-RS EPRE is estimated to be X dB, the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to the DM-RS EPRE corresponding to the number of DM-RS CDM groups with no data is Y dB, and the upper limit of the total power boost (e.g., the ratio of PDSCH EPRE to DM-RS EPRE) is Z dB, in response to |X|+|Y|≥|Z|, the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node that sends the DM-RS does not boost the power of the DM-RS in the indicated PRB.

[0133] Aspect 2 - Case 2: DM-RS Capacity Enhancement

[0134] In some embodiments, with DM-RS overhead reduction enabled (in the time or frequency domain), resource elements (REs) may be used for other terminal devices.

[0135] For example, Figure 5 As shown in , PRB2 and PRB4 carry DM-RS for another terminal device.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first PRB carrying the DM-RS after the DM-RS overhead is reduced may be configured by the network device.

[0137] In some embodiments, the offset on the PRB index can be configured for the terminal device. For example, a first PRB with a first offset (e.g., 0) is the first of X PRBs, and a second PRB with a second offset (e.g., 1) is the second of X PRBs. Figure 5 , PRB1 and PRB3 may be PRBs with an offset of 0, and PRB2 and PRB4 may be PRBs with an offset of 1.

[0138] Thus, in some embodiments, two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs, and the one or more second PRBs carry another DM-RS corresponding to another second wireless communication node. In some embodiments, the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the first PRB and the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the one or more second PRBs are different. In some embodiments, the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the first PRB and the frequency offset of the DM-RS carried by the one or more second PRBs are configured by a network device.

[0139] Aspect 2 - Case 3: Measurement Enhancement

[0140] In some embodiments, with DM-RS overhead reduction enabled (in time or frequency domain), spare REs (not transmitting DM-RS after DM-RS overhead reduction) may be used for interference measurement or transmission of other reference signals.

[0141] In some embodiments, in case of downlink channels, these spare REs may be used as channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) interference measurement (IM) resources.

[0142] From another aspect, in some embodiments, the second PRB between two adjacent first PRBs is used for interference measurement. In some embodiments, the second PRB is used for interference measurement. In some embodiments, the RE in the second PRB at the position corresponding to the RE in the first PRB for DM-RS is used for interference measurement. In some embodiments, the RE in the second PRB at the position corresponding to the RE in the first PRB for DM-RS is used as a CSI-RSIM resource in the downlink channel.

[0143] Figure 6A schematic diagram of a first wireless communication node 40 (e.g., a terminal device or a network device) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided. The first wireless communication node 40 may include a processor 400 such as a microprocessor or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a storage unit 410, and a communication unit 420. The storage unit 410 may be any data storage device that stores program code 412 accessed and executed by the processor 400. The communication unit 420 may be a transceiver and is used to send and receive signals (e.g., messages or data packets) according to the processing results of the processor 400. In an embodiment, the communication unit 420 sends and receives signals via at least one antenna 422.

[0144] In the case where the first wireless communication node 40 is a terminal device, the first wireless communication node 40 may be a user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, an electronic book or a portable computer system, and is not limited thereto. Embodiments of the storage unit 410 include, but are not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, and an optical data storage device.

[0145] In the case where the first wireless communication node 40 is a terminal device, the first wireless communication node 40 may be a satellite, a base station (BS), a network entity, a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), a radio access network (RAN), a next generation RAN (NG-RAN), a data network, a core network or a radio network controller (RNC), and this document does not limit this. In addition, the first wireless communication node 40 may include (execute) at least one network function, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function (AF), etc. Examples of the storage unit 510 include, but are not limited to, a SIM, a ROM, a flash memory, a RAM, a hard disk, and an optical data storage device.

[0146] In an embodiment, the storage unit 410 and the program code 412 may be omitted, and the processor 400 may include a storage unit having stored program code.

[0147] The processor 400 may implement any one of the steps of the exemplary embodiments on the first wireless communication node 40 , for example, by executing the program code 412 .

[0148] The communication unit 420 may be a transceiver. Alternatively or additionally, the communication unit 420 may combine a transmitting unit and a receiving unit configured to transmit and receive signals to and from another wireless communication node, respectively.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first wireless communication node 40 may be used to perform the above operations (e.g., the operations in method 100 and other related operations). In some embodiments, the processor 400 and the communication unit 420 cooperate to perform the above operations. For example, the processor 400 performs the operations and sends or receives information through the communication unit 420.

[0150] In one embodiment, the processor 400 is configured to send a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of multiple PRBs to the other wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the wireless communication node or the other wireless communication node.

[0151] The details of the operation of the first wireless communication node 40 may be determined with reference to the above-described embodiments and will not be described here.

[0152] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a second wireless communication node 50 (e.g., a terminal device or a network device) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided. The second wireless communication node 50 may include a processor 500 such as a microprocessor or an ASIC, a storage unit 510, and a communication unit 520. The storage unit 510 may be any data storage device that stores a program code 512 accessed and executed by the processor 500. The communication unit 520 may be a transceiver and is used to send and receive signals (e.g., messages or data packets) according to the processing results of the processor 500. In an example, the communication unit 520 sends and receives signals via at least one antenna 522.

[0153] In the case where the second wireless communication node 50 is a terminal device, the second wireless communication node 50 may be a user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, an electronic book or a portable computer system, and is not limited thereto. Embodiments of the storage unit 510 include, but are not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, and an optical data storage device.

[0154] In the case where the second wireless communication node 50 is a terminal device, the second wireless communication node 50 may be a satellite, a base station (BS), a network entity, a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), a radio access network (RAN), a next generation RAN (NG-RAN), a data network, a core network or a radio network controller (RNC), and this document does not limit this. In addition, the second wireless communication node 50 may include (execute) at least one network function, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function (AF), etc. Examples of the storage unit 510 include, but are not limited to, a SIM, a ROM, a flash memory, a RAM, a hard disk, and an optical data storage device.

[0155] In an embodiment, storage unit 510 and program code 512 may be omitted. Processor 500 may include a storage unit with stored program code.

[0156] The processor 500 may implement any of the steps described in the exemplary embodiments on the second wireless communication node 50 , for example by executing the program code 512 .

[0157] The communication unit 520 may be a transceiver. Alternatively or additionally, the communication unit 520 may combine a transmitting unit and a receiving unit configured to transmit and receive signals to and from a communication device (eg, user equipment), respectively.

[0158] In some embodiments, the second wireless communication node 50 may be used to perform the above operations (e.g., the operations in method 200 and other related operations). In some embodiments, the processor 500 and the communication unit 520 cooperate to perform the above operations. For example, the processor 500 performs the operations and sends or receives signals through the communication unit 520.

[0159] In one embodiment, the processor 500 is configured to send a first or second downlink signal including listen-before-talk (LBT) scheme switching information through the communication unit 520 to enable the wireless communication node to switch from the first uplink LBT scheme to the second uplink LBT scheme.

[0160] In an embodiment, the processor 500 is configured to receive a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs from another wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the other wireless communication node.

[0161] The details of the operation of the second wireless communication node 50 may be determined with reference to the above-described embodiments and will not be described here.

[0162] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer program product, which includes a computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, and when the code is executed by a processor, the processor implements any one of the wireless communication methods described in the foregoing methods.

[0163] Although various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented only as examples and not as limitations. Similarly, various figures may depict exemplary architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the exemplary features and functions of the present disclosure. However, these technicians will understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of an embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

[0164] It should also be understood that any reference to an element using designations such as "first," "second," etc. herein does not generally limit the number or order of these elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or multiple instances of an element. Thus, reference to a first and a second element does not mean that only two elements may be used or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0165] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technical means may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0166] Those skilled in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, units, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of programs or design codes incorporating instructions (for convenience, referred to herein as "software" or "software units"), or any combination of these technologies.

[0167] In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, units, circuits and steps have been described above roughly with respect to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or as a combination of these technologies, depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not lead to deviations from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, processors, devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, units, etc. may be configured to perform one or more functions described herein. The terms "configured to" or "configured for" used herein with respect to a specified operation or function refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed and / or arranged to perform a specified operation or function.

[0168] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, units, devices, components and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, units and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but may also be any conventional processor, controller or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a combination of multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein. If implemented in software, these functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0169] Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, including any media that can transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that a computer can access. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0170] In this document, the term "unit" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. In addition, for the purpose of discussion, various units are described as discrete units; however, as is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, two or more units may be combined to form a single unit that performs the associated functions.

[0171] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components can be used in embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, the above description describes embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is apparent that any appropriate functional distribution can be applied between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains without departing from the present disclosure. For example, functions that are shown to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers can be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, references to specific functional units are merely references to appropriate means for providing the functions, rather than representing a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0172] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as described in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: According to an instruction provided by a first wireless communication node or a second wireless communication node, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) in multiple PRBs is sent by the first wireless communication node to the second wireless communication node.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: Two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs not carrying a DM-RS, and the one or more second PRBs are used for interference measurement.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein: Resource elements (REs) in the second PRB at positions corresponding to REs in the first PRB for DM-RS are used for interference measurement.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein: The resource elements (REs) of the one or more second PRBs are used as channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) interference measurement (IM) resources.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, wherein: REs in the second PRB at positions corresponding to REs in the first PRB for DM-RS are used as CSI-RSIM resources in a downlink channel.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The position of the first PRB is determined according to the indicated offset.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: Two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS, wherein the number of the second PRBs is determined by the indication.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are equidistantly spaced or distributed in the frequency domain, wherein the gaps between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are determined by the indication.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The indication is provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) command.

10. A wireless communication method, comprising: According to an instruction provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node, the second wireless communication node receives a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs from the first wireless communication node.

11. The wireless communication method according to claim 10, wherein: Two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs not carrying a DM-RS, and the one or more second PRBs are used for interference measurement.

12. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, wherein: Resource elements (REs) in the second PRB at positions corresponding to REs in the first PRB for DM-RS are used for interference measurement.

13. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, wherein: The resource elements (REs) of the one or more second PRBs are used as channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) interference measurement (IM) resources.

14. The wireless communication method according to claim 13, wherein: REs in the second PRB at positions corresponding to REs in the first PRB for DM-RS are used as CSI-RSIM resources in a downlink channel.

15. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The position of the first PRB is determined according to the indicated offset.

16. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: Two adjacent first PRBs in the first PRBs are separated in the frequency domain by one or more second PRBs not carrying DM-RS, wherein the number of the second PRBs is determined by the indication.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are equidistantly spaced or distributed in the frequency domain, wherein the gaps between the first PRBs carrying the DM-RS are determined by the indication.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The indication is provided by the first wireless communication node or the second wireless communication node via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) command.

19. A wireless communication node, comprising: Communication unit; as well as A processor is configured to send a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) to the other wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the wireless communication node or the other wireless communication node.

20. The wireless communication node according to claim 19, wherein: The processor is further configured to perform the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 2 to 9.

21. A wireless communication node, comprising: Communication unit; as well as A processor is configured to receive a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in a first physical resource block (PRB) of a plurality of PRBs from another wireless communication node according to an indication provided by the first wireless communication node or the other wireless communication node.

22. The wireless communication node according to claim 21, wherein: The processor is further configured to perform the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 11 to 18.

23. A computer program product comprising computer readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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