Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and can improve the channel estimation accuracy of a terminal by estimating reference signals of the terminal and other terminals. The method is applied to first equipment (such as a first terminal), and comprises the following steps: receiving first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information indicates a first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates a second reference signal; the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first device, and the second reference signal is a reference signal of the second device. And the first device receives a first reference signal and a fourth reference signal according to the first indication information and the second indication information, wherein the fourth reference signal belongs to the second reference signal. And the first device performs channel estimation according to the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] In the process of communication between a base station and a terminal, the base station may send a reference signal to the terminal, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in a 5G system. Each terminal can perform downlink channel estimation according to its respective reference signal. How to improve the accuracy of channel estimation by the terminal is a problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can improve the accuracy of channel estimation by a terminal.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the embodiments of this application provide the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first device. The method includes: receiving first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information indicates a first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates a second reference signal; the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first device, and the second reference signal is a reference signal of a second device; receiving a first reference signal and a fourth reference signal according to the first indication information and the second indication information, where the fourth reference signal belongs to the second reference signal; performing channel estimation according to the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal.

[0006] With this solution, the first device can perform channel estimation by using its own reference signal and a reference signal other than its own reference signal. By increasing the reference signals used for channel estimation, the accuracy of channel estimation is improved.

[0007] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the fourth reference signal is all the reference signals in the second reference signal.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the fourth reference signal is a part of the reference signals in the second reference signal.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are formed through the same precoding codebook.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, a first beam serves the first device and the second device.

[0011] With this solution, the first device can receive the first reference signal and the second reference signal in the same beam, and thus perform channel estimation through the second reference signal.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal and the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal are different. Through this solution, the first device receives the second reference signal in the time-frequency resources other than the first reference signal, so that the first device can obtain more reference signals for channel estimation and improve the channel estimation effect.

[0013] The first indication information indicates that the first reference signal includes: the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the first reference signal: the configuration information of the first reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, or the antenna port number of the first reference signal; or, the second indication information indicates that the second reference signal includes: the second indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the second reference signal: the configuration information of the second reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, or the antenna port number of the second reference signal.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the configuration information of the first reference signal includes one or more of the following: the position of the first reference signal, the type of the first reference signal, the time-domain symbol length of the first reference signal.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the configuration information of the second reference signal includes one or more of the following: the position of the second reference signal, the type of the second reference signal, the time-domain symbol length of the second reference signal.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, before receiving the fourth reference signal, the method further includes: sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation according to the third reference signal, and the third reference signal is different from the first reference signal.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is determined according to the third indication information.

[0018] Through this solution, the third reference signal is a reference signal other than the first reference signal. The first device indicates the ability to perform channel estimation according to the third reference signal, so that the radio access network device issues the second indication information according to this ability.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, if the third indication information indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation according to the third reference signal, the radio access network device sends the second indication information. Thus, the radio network device can issue the second indication information when the first device has this ability.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, if the third indication information indicates that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the radio access network device does not send the second indication information. Thus, the radio network device can refrain from sending the second indication information when the first device does not have this ability, saving communication resources.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the third indication information indicates a capability level, and the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information, including: the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal indicated by the second indication information are determined based on the third indication information.

[0022] Through this solution, the radio access network device can allocate second reference signals with different time-frequency resources to the first device according to the capability level of the first device, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of communication resources.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, when the third indication information indicates that the first device has the first ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the second indication information indicates the first time-frequency resource; when the third indication information indicates that the first device has the second ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the second indication information indicates the second time-frequency resource; when the first ability is greater than the second ability, the first time-frequency resource is greater than the second time-frequency resource.

[0024] Through this solution, when the capability level of the first device is high, the radio access network device can indicate second reference signals with more time-frequency resources, so that the first device can perform channel estimation based on more reference signals, improving the channel estimation ability of the first device.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal through downlink control information DCI.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the configuration information of the second reference signal through radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is received through a broadcast signal.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, before receiving the fourth reference signal, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates whether the radio access network device has sent the second reference signal.

[0029] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information is received through a MAC CE, a broadcast signal, or an RRC signaling.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information indicates the format of the downlink control information DCI.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, if the fourth indication information indicates that the radio access network device has sent a second reference signal, the method further includes: receiving the DCI in a first format, where the DCI in the first format includes a field for the second indication information.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, if the fourth indication information indicates that the radio access network device has not sent a second reference signal, the method further includes: receiving the DCI in a second format, where the DCI in the second format does not include a field for the second indication information.

[0033] Through this solution, the first device can parse the DCI using the DCI format corresponding to the fourth indication information according to the content indicated by the fourth indication information, thereby reducing the resources consumed by blindly detecting different formats of DCI.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information is the first bit in the DCI, and the first bit indicates whether the wireless network device has sent a second reference signal.

[0035] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is received through a broadcast signal.

[0036] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, receiving the second indication information includes: if the fourth indication information indicates that the wireless network device has sent the second indication information, receiving the second indication information through a broadcast signal.

[0037] Through this solution, the wireless network device can send the fourth indication information through the DCI, so that the first device can determine whether to receive the second indication information through a broadcast signal according to the fourth indication information.

[0038] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first bit is the demodulation reference signal DMRS sequence initialization bit.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible design, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are demodulation reference signals DMRS.

[0040] Second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: sending first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information indicates a first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates a second reference signal; the first reference signal is a reference signal of a first device, and the second reference signal is a reference signal of a second device; sending the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are formed through the same precoding codebook.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, a first beam serves the first device and the second device.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal and the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal are different.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first indication information indicating the first reference signal includes: the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the first reference signal: configuration information of the first reference signal, time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, or antenna port number of the first reference signal; or, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal includes: the second indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the second reference signal: configuration information of the second reference signal, time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, or antenna port number of the second reference signal.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the configuration information of the first reference signal includes one or more of the following: position of the first reference signal, type of the first reference signal, time-domain symbol length of the first reference signal.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the configuration information of the second reference signal includes one or more of the following: position of the second reference signal, type of the second reference signal, time-domain symbol length of the second reference signal.

[0047] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, before sending the second reference signal, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, where the third indication information indicates the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation based on a third reference signal, and the third reference signal is different from the first reference signal.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information.

[0049] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, if the third indication information indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, then send the second indication information.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, if the third indication information indicates that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the second indication information is not sent.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the third indication information indicates a capability level, and the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information, including: the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal indicated by the second indication information are determined based on the third indication information.

[0052] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, when the third indication information indicates that the first device has the first ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the second indication information indicates the first time-frequency resources; when the third indication information indicates that the first device has the second ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the second indication information indicates the second time-frequency resources; when the first ability is greater than the second ability, the first time-frequency resources are greater than the second time-frequency resources.

[0053] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal through downlink control information DCI.

[0054] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the configuration information of the second reference signal through radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0055] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is sent through a broadcast signal.

[0056] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, before sending the second reference signal, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates whether the second reference signal has been sent.

[0057] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information is sent through MAC CE or a broadcast signal or RRC signaling.

[0058] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information indicates the format of downlink control information DCI.

[0059] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, if the fourth indication information indicates that the radio access network device has sent the second reference signal, the method further includes: sending DCI of the first format, and the field of the second indication information is included in the DCI of the first format.

[0060] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, if the fourth indication information indicates that the radio access network device does not send the second reference signal, the method further includes: sending DCI of a second format, where the field of the second indication information is not included in the DCI of the second format.

[0061] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the fourth indication information is the first bit in the DCI, and the first bit indicates whether to send the second reference signal.

[0062] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the second indication information is sent through a broadcast signal.

[0063] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, sending the second indication information includes: if the fourth indication information indicates that the wireless network device sends the second indication information, then sending the second indication information through a broadcast signal.

[0064] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first bit is the demodulation reference signal DMRS sequence initialization bit.

[0065] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, sending the second indication information includes: sending the second indication information when one or more of the following conditions are met: the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal is greater than or equal to a first threshold; or, the ratio of the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal to the FFT size is greater than or equal to a second threshold, N FFT is determined according to the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal and satisfies the following formula:

[0066]

[0067] where M and P are non-negative integers, and N SC is the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal, represents the ceiling operation; or, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the first device is less than or equal to a third threshold.

[0068] Through this solution, the wireless network device can send the second indication information when the above conditions are met, thereby saving communication resources.

[0069] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible design, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are demodulation reference signals DMRS.

[0070] A third aspect provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method of any one of the designs in any of the above aspects.

[0071] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device is used to implement the various communication methods described above. The communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the above communication methods, and the modules, units, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0072] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device is enabled to execute the communication method of any one of the above aspects.

[0073] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory, and the processor is used to read and execute instructions in the memory, so that the communication device executes the communication method of any one of the above aspects.

[0074] In a seventh aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes a processor and an input / output port. The processor is used to implement the processing functions involved in the communication method of any one of the above aspects, and the input / output port is used to implement the transceiver functions involved in the communication method of any one of the above aspects.

[0075] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, and the memory is used to store program instructions and data for implementing the functions involved in the communication method of any one of the above aspects.

[0076] The chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0077] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided. The system includes a first device and a wireless network device. The first device executes the communication method of the first aspect above, and the wireless network device executes the communication method of the second aspect above.

[0078] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a possible design, a second device is further included, and the wireless network device serves the first device and the second device through a first beam. In combination with the eighth aspect, in a possible design, the first reference signal of the first device and the second reference signal of the second device are formed through the same precoding codebook.

[0079] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium; when the instructions run on a communication device, the communication device is enabled to execute the communication method of any one of the above designs.

[0080] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the methods, chip systems, communication systems, communication devices, computer-readable storage media, and computer program products provided in the second to ninth aspects mentioned above can be referred to the beneficial effects of the first aspect provided above and any possible implementation method, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 3 This is a comparison diagram of the effects of the embodiments of the present application and the prior art;

[0084] Figure 4 Another effect comparison diagram of the embodiment of the present application and the prior art;

[0085] Figure 5 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the spectrum position provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the reporting capability level of the first device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Figure 8 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0091] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (eg Figure 1 110a and 110b in the figure, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (Figure 1 (not shown in the figure). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. Terminals can be connected to each other, and RAN nodes can be connected to each other, either wired or wirelessly. Optionally, the communication system 1000 further includes a core network 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wired. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Optionally, the communication system 1000 further includes the Internet 300.

[0092] The RAN 100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, and a future radio access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The RAN 100 can also include two or more different radio access systems as described above. The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0093] The RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, a RAN entity, a network device, or an access node, is used to help terminals access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in the figure), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110b in the figure), or a relay node or a donor node.

[0094] In another application scenario, wireless access for a terminal can be assisted through the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, where different RAN nodes respectively implement some functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete some or all of the functions of the physical layer. For the specific descriptions of the above various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency device, for example, included in the remote radio unit (RRU) or the active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0095] In different systems, the RAN node may have different names. For example, in the O-RAN system, the CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), the DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and the RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in the form of a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the base station is used as an example of the RAN node in the following description.

[0096] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. Embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0097] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. Embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0098] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1 the helicopter or drone 120i in [diagram] can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j that access the radio access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 120i is through the radio air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 120i can also be through the interface protocol between base stations. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both the base station and the terminal can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 The 110a and 110b in [diagram] can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions. Figure 1 The 120a - 120j in [diagram] can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0099] Communication can be carried out between a base station and a terminal, between base stations, or between terminals through licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz) or above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. Embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0100] In embodiments of this application, the functions of a base station can be performed by modules (such as chips) in the base station or by a control subsystem with base station functions. The control subsystem with base station functions here can be a control center in application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of a terminal can also be performed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal or by a device with terminal functions.

[0101] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell that has established a wireless connection with the terminal is called the serving cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the serving cell, it is also interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0102] In embodiments of this application, a time-domain symbol can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. Unless otherwise specified, the symbols in embodiments of this application refer to time-domain symbols.

[0103] The device names and message names in embodiments of this application are for illustration purposes only, and they may change as the system evolves.

[0104] The precoding codebook and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) involved in embodiments of this application are introduced below.

[0105] Precoding codebook: It can also be called a beamforming codebook. The base station can adjust the parameters of the antenna through the codebook to shape the beam emitted by the antenna, and this codebook can be called a precoding codebook. The base station using the same precoding codebook for beamforming can make the antenna emit the same beam.

[0106] NTN technology includes satellite communication, high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft networks, space Internet, etc. The device sending the signal can use the same precoding codebook to precode the signals sent to multiple devices, that is, communicate with multiple devices using the same beam. The channel for the device sending the signal to communicate with the device receiving the signal can be a line of sight (LOS) channel. In NTN technology, the above-mentioned device sending the signal can be a device located in the air. For example, the base station is set on the ground, the base station communicates with the satellite, and the satellite forwards the signal of the base station to multiple terminals, or forwards the signals of multiple terminals to the base station, so as to realize the signal transmission between the base station and multiple terminals through the LOS path. Another example is that the base station is set on the satellite, and the base station on the satellite communicates between the satellite and multiple terminals, so as to realize the signal transmission of multiple terminals through the LOS path.

[0107] During the process of the base station communicating with the terminal, it can send reference signals to the terminal, such as the demodulation reference signals (DMRS) in the 5G system. Each terminal can perform downlink channel estimation according to its own reference signal. How to improve the accuracy of the terminal's channel estimation is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0108] In order to improve the accuracy of the terminal's channel estimation, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. In this method, the base station sends the reference signals of multiple terminals, and the terminal (such as the first device) performs channel estimation according to its own reference signal and the reference signals of other terminals (such as the second device), so as to improve the accuracy of its own channel estimation.

[0109] The following describes the implementation manner of the embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0110] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 2 shown, this method may include the following steps.

[0111] S201. The base station sends the first indication information and the second indication information. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first indication information and the second indication information.

[0112] The first indication information indicates the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is the reference signal of the first device. The second indication information indicates the second reference signal, and the second reference signal is the reference signal of the second device.

[0113] Exemplarily, a reference signal (such as a first reference signal, a second reference signal, or a fourth reference signal hereinafter) may be a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0114] In some embodiments, the first indication information indicates that the first reference signal includes one or more of the following information of the first reference signal: configuration information of the first reference signal, time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, or antenna port numbers of the first reference signal.

[0115] In some embodiments, the second indication information indicates that the second reference signal includes one or more of the following information of the second reference signal: configuration information of the second reference signal, time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, or antenna port numbers of the second reference signal.

[0116] In some embodiments, default values of the information of the above reference signals (such as the information of the first reference signal and the second reference signal above) may be stored in the base station and the terminal. When the configuration of the base station for the terminal (such as the first device and the second device above) is the default value, the terminal may not be indicated. For example, when the information of the first reference signal (such as configuration information, time-frequency resources, or antenna port numbers) is the default value, the base station may not send the first indication information, and the terminal may obtain the information of the first reference signal according to the default value. The information of the second reference signal is similar to that of the first reference signal and will not be elaborated here.

[0117] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more of the following information: the position of the reference signal (such as dmrs-AdditionalPosition), the type of the reference signal (such as dmrs-Type), and the time-domain symbol length of the reference signal (such as maxLength). Among them, the position of the reference signal indicates the position of the symbol of the reference signal in a time slot. For example, the position of the reference signal is that the reference signal is located in the third symbol. One time slot includes 14 symbols, the DCI is located in the first 2 symbols, and the first device may receive the third symbol (i.e., the first symbol after the DCI) to obtain the reference signal. The type of the reference signal indicates the density of the reference signal distributed in the frequency spectrum. For example, the density may be 1 / 2, 1 / 3, etc.

[0118] In some embodiments, the base station indicates the configuration information of the first reference signal and the configuration information of the second reference signal through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0119] For example, the fields for configuration information in the RRC signaling (DMRS-DownlinkConfig::=SEQUENCE) are as follows, including the DMRS type, additional DMRS position, DMRS time-domain symbol length, indication for scrambling, PTRS-related configuration, etc.

[0120]

[0121]

[0122] For instance, the field for configuration information in the above RRC signaling can be a field indicating the first reference signal. The field for the configuration information of the second reference signal in the RRC signaling (Out-of-band-DMRS-DownlinkConfig::=SEQUENCE) can be similar to the field in the above RRC signaling. For example, refer to the following examples.

[0123]

[0124] The time-frequency resources may include: the subcarrier position in the frequency domain where the reference signal is located, and the symbol position in the time slot in the time domain. In some embodiments, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal and the second reference signal are different. Exemplarily, the difference in time-frequency resources can refer to different frequency bands. For example, the frequency band of the first reference signal is from resource block (RB) 10 to RB20, and the frequency band of the second reference signal is from RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30. In this example, the frequency band of the second reference signal is outside the frequency band of the first reference signal. Therefore, the second reference signal is also referred to as the out-of-band reference signal of the first reference signal, simply called the out-of-band reference signal.

[0125] Exemplarily again, the difference in time-frequency resources can refer to different symbol positions. For example, the first reference signal is located in symbol 3 of time slot 1, and the second reference signal is located in symbol 3 of time slot 2. Exemplarily again, the difference in time-frequency resources can refer to different time slots. For example, the first reference signal is located in time slot 1, and the second reference signal is located in time slot 2.

[0126] Exemplarily again, the difference in time-frequency can refer to different frequency bands and different time slots. The examples of different frequency bands and different time slots above can be combined, which will not be elaborated here.

[0127] In some embodiments, the base station can indicate the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, the antenna port number of the first reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, and the antenna port number of the second reference signal through downlink control information (DCI).

[0128] Exemplarily, the second indication information may indicate the time-frequency resource of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal through DCI. The DCI may be a new DCI format, and the new DCI format includes a field indicating the time-frequency resource of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal. Alternatively, an existing DCI format may be used, and a field indicating the time-frequency resource of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal is added to the existing DCI format. The first device reads the DCI to obtain the field of the time-frequency resource of the second reference signal and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal.

[0129] In some embodiments, the base station may indicate the first reference signal and / or the second reference signal through a broadcast signal. That is, the first indication information and / or the second indication information are sent through a broadcast message. The base station indicates the reference signal through a broadcast signal, and such a reference signal may be referred to as a beam-level reference signal. For example, if the reference signal is DMRS, it may be referred to as beam-level DMRS. In some embodiments, the broadcast signal may indicate the reference signals configured under the same beam.

[0130] It should be noted that the first device may use some of the reference signals in the second reference signal for estimation, such as the fourth reference signal. For more details, see the following description.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first indication information and the second indication information are sent in the same message. In other embodiments, the first indication information and the second indication information are sent in different messages.

[0132] In some embodiments, the second device is a device other than the first device. The number of second devices is one or more. Exemplarily, referring to Figure 1 , if the first device is 120a, the second device may be 120b, 120c, or 120i, etc.

[0133] In some embodiments, when the satellite provides services to the first device and the second device, the same precoding codebook is used.

[0134] Exemplarily, the first beam serves the first device and the second device. That is, the base station uses the same beam to send the first reference signal of the first device and the second reference signal of the second device.

[0135] With this solution, the base station uses the same precoding codebook to precode the signals of multiple terminals (such as the first device and the second device above), that is, the base station uses the same beam to send the signals of multiple terminals. The terminal uses the reference signal sent by the base station to other terminals under the same beam, that is, the base station indicates to the terminal the reference signal outside the time-frequency resources occupied by the terminal's own reference signal to improve the channel estimation accuracy, thereby improving the downlink transmission performance.

[0136] The second reference signal indicated by the second indication information can be the reference signal of all the reference signals of the second device, or the reference signal of some of the reference signals of the second device. Exemplarily, taking the second device including the second device 1 to the second device 3, and the frequency band distribution of the second device 1 to the second device 3 being RB0 to RB10, RB20 to RB30, or RB30 to RB40 as an example, the base station can indicate to the first device some of the reference signals of the second device (the second device 1 and the second device 2), that is, indicate that the frequency band of the reference signal of the second device is RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30. Or, the base station indicates all the reference signals of the second device to the first device, that is, indicates that the frequency band of the reference signal of the second device can be RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB40.

[0137] S202. The base station sends the first reference signal and the second reference signal. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal according to the first indication information and the second indication information, and the fourth reference signal belongs to the second reference signal.

[0138] In some embodiments, the fourth reference signal is all of the second reference signals. Exemplarily, the frequency band of the second reference signal sent by the base station is RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30. The first device can receive the second reference signals of RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30, that is, the first device receives all the second reference signals from the base station, and the frequency band of the fourth reference signal is RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30.

[0139] In other embodiments, the fourth reference signal is some of the second reference signals. Exemplarily, the frequency band of the second reference signal sent by the base station is RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30. The first device can receive the second reference signals of RB0 to RB10, that is, the frequency band of the fourth reference signal is RB0 to RB10.

[0140] The first device may determine the received fourth reference signal according to its channel estimation capability. For example, taking each resource block (RB) including 12 subcarriers, the reference signal of the first device includes 10 RBs, the frequency band of the reference signal of the second device 1 is from RB0 to RB10, and the frequency band of the reference signal of the second device 2 is from RB20 to RB30 as an example. If the first device can perform channel estimation based on 512 subcarriers, the first device can receive the second reference signals of RB0 to RB10 and RB20 to RB30 (a total of 240 subcarriers), that is, the fourth reference signal is all the second reference signals. If the first device can perform channel estimation based on 256 subcarriers, the first device can receive the second reference signals of RB0 to RB10 (a total of 120 subcarriers), that is, the fourth reference signal is part of the second reference signals. In this solution, the first reference signal already occupies 120 subcarriers, and the first device can obtain 240 subcarriers by acquiring the subcarriers of the second device 1. In this case, the first device can only process 16 more subcarriers. If it acquires the subcarriers of the second device 2 again, the first device will acquire an additional 104 subcarriers that are beyond its processing capacity. Therefore, the first device may no longer acquire the subcarriers of the second second device.

[0141] S203. The first device performs channel estimation according to the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal.

[0142] It should be noted that the specific method for the first device to perform channel estimation according to the fourth reference signal in the embodiments of the present application may refer to the method for the first device to perform channel estimation using its own reference signal in the related art, which will not be elaborated here.

[0143] In the prior art, the first device only performs channel estimation using its own reference signal. In the embodiments of the present application, the precoding codebooks for the satellite to precode the second reference signal and the first reference signal are the same. The first device performs channel estimation using its own reference signal and the reference signals of other devices, that is, performs channel estimation using more reference signals, thereby increasing the channel estimation accuracy.

[0144] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 are the performance comparison diagrams of the block error rate (BLER) for the method of the embodiments of the present application and the prior art where the terminal only uses its own reference signal for channel estimation. Among them, the solid line represents the BLER obtained by the prior art, and the dashed line represents the BLER obtained by the method of the embodiments of the present application. The same graphics on the lines represent a group of comparison lines. For example, the two leftmost lines with circles are a group of comparison lines. Figure 3 and Figure 4In the performance comparison diagram, taking the case where the number of points of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) is 512 points as an example, where the number of FFT points needs to be an integer power of 2 greater than or equal to the number of valid subcarriers. Without relevant instructions, the examples of the number of subcarriers in the embodiments of this application are all the number of valid subcarriers. Figure 3 In [reference], the frequency domain resources of the first reference signal use 22 RBs, that is, 22 * 12 = 264 subcarriers, and 248 subcarriers other than the first reference signal. Figure 4 In [reference], the frequency domain resources of the first reference signal use 32 RBs, that is, 32 * 12 = 384 subcarriers, and 128 subcarriers other than the first reference signal. The DMRS uses a density of 1 / 2, that is Figure 3 In [reference], the number of subcarriers of the fourth reference signal is 248 / 2 = 124, Figure 4 In [reference], the number of subcarriers of the fourth reference signal is 128 / 2 = 64.

[0145] From Figure 3 and Figure 4 it can be seen that using out-of-band DMRS can improve the channel estimation accuracy, thereby improving the BLER performance. Figure 3 Under the configuration of [reference], at BLER = 10 -1 the maximum performance improvement can reach about 0.5 dB, Figure 4 Under the configuration of [reference], at BLER = 10 -1 the maximum performance improvement can reach about 0.3 dB.

[0146] The above embodiments introduce the channel estimation of the first device based on the reference signals of other devices. Next, it is introduced that the base station can send the reference signals of other devices to the first device according to the processing ability of the first device.

[0147] Referring to Figure 5 in some embodiments, S501 is further included before S202.

[0148] S501. The first device sends the third indication information. Correspondingly, the base station receives the third indication information.

[0149] The third indication information indicates the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, and the third reference signal is different from the first reference signal. That is to say, the third reference signal can refer to a reference signal other than the first signal.

[0150] The third reference signal may include the above-mentioned second reference signal.

[0151] In some embodiments, the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation is the maximum number of FFT points N FFT that the first device can process. The relevant description of N FFT can be found in the following text.

[0152] Exemplarily, the third indication information may indicate that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal. Alternatively, the third indication information may indicate that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal. For example, the third indication information may indicate, by 1 bit, the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal. A value of 1 for this bit indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal. A value of 0 for this bit indicates that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information. The base station determines the second indication information based on the third indication information. If the third indication information indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on the third reference signal, the base station sends the second indication information to the first device. For another example, if the third indication information indicates that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the second reference signal, the base station does not send the second indication information to the first device, thereby saving communication resources.

[0154] In some embodiments, when the base station sends the second reference signal to the second device, the base station sends the second indication information to the first device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the third indication information indicates a capability level, and the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information, including: the second reference signal indicated by the second indication information is determined based on the third indication information.

[0156] Exemplarily, the third indication information may indicate, by 2 bits, the capability level of the first device to perform channel estimation based on the reference signal. For example, 00 represents level 0, 01 represents level 1, 10 represents level 2, and 11 represents level 3. Level 0 indicates that the first device does not have the ability to perform channel estimation based on the reference signal. Level 1 indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on a reference signal with less than or equal to 256 subcarriers. Level 2 indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on a reference signal with less than or equal to 512 subcarriers. Level 3 indicates that the first device has the ability to perform channel estimation based on a reference signal with less than or equal to 1024 subcarriers.

[0157] The base station obtains the capability level of the first device based on the third indication information. The base station may send the second indication information to the first device based on the capability level of the first device. The base station may determine the second indication information based on the third indication information, and the second indication information may indicate partial reference signals of the second device.

[0158] Exemplarily, the base station obtains the number of subcarriers on which the first device can perform channel estimation based on the third indication information. For example, the third indication information indicates that the capability level of the first device is level 2. The first reference signal allocated by the base station to the first device occupies 22 RBs, that is, 264 subcarriers. Then the base station can obtain that the first device can also perform channel estimation based on 248 subcarriers.

[0159] If the second device includes the second device 4, and the second device 4 occupies 22 RBs, that is, 264 subcarriers, the base station can indicate to the first device the second reference signal of the 22 RBs of the second device 4. Since 264 > 248, the first device can use the first reference signal and the reference signal of the second device 4 to estimate 512 subcarriers, improving the estimation accuracy.

[0160] If the second device includes the second device 5 and the second device 6, and the second device 5 and the second device 6 each occupy 12 RBs, that is, 144 subcarriers, the base station can indicate to the first device the second reference signal of a total of 24 RBs of the second device 5 and the second device 6.

[0161] If the second device includes the second device 5 to the second device 7, and each of the second device 5 to the second device 7 occupies 12 RBs, the base station can indicate to the first device the second reference signal of a total of 24 RBs of the second device 5 and the second device 6, that is, 288 subcarriers, and 288 > 248. The base station does not indicate to the first device the second reference signal of the second device 7. When the number of subcarriers of the reference signal of the second device is greater than the processing capacity of the first device, the base station can not indicate to the first device the subcarriers beyond the processing capacity of the first device, thereby reducing the resources occupied by the second indication information.

[0162] Referring to Figure 6 In (a) of, in the above example, the spectra of the second device 5 and the second device 6 are adjacent to the spectrum of the first device, and the spectrum of the second device 7 is more than 512 subcarriers away from the spectrum of the first device, that is, beyond the capacity of the first device, and the first device cannot use the spectrum of the second device 7 for channel estimation.

[0163] Referring to Figure 6 In (b) and (c) of, the spectrum of the second device 7 is not more than 512 subcarriers away from the spectrum of the first device, and the base station can also indicate to the first device the second reference signals of the second device 6 and the second device 7.

[0164] For another example, the third indication information indicates that the capability level of the first device is level 3. If the second device includes the second device 5 to the second device 7, and each of the second device 5 to the second device 7 occupies 12 RBs, then the base station can indicate to the first device the second reference signals of the second device 5 to the second device 7. In some embodiments, referring to Figure 7, the base station can request the above capabilities and / or capability levels from the first device through high-layer signaling, and the first device reports the above capabilities and / or capability levels to the base station. For example, a request field for the capability or capability level of channel estimation for the reference signal is added to the Capability Enquiry (UECapabilityEnquiry) signaling, and a field for the capability or capability level of channel estimation for the reference signal is added to the UECapabilityInformation signaling.

[0165] In this solution, the base station can send second indication information according to the capability level of the first device, so that when the capability level of the first device is low, the second indication information indicates fewer reference signals, thereby reducing communication resources. When the capability level of the first device is high, the base station can indicate more reference signals to the first device, so that the first device performs channel estimation based on more reference signals, better improving the performance of the first device in channel estimation. For example, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the more resources of the fourth reference signal used by the first device, the greater the performance improvement.

[0166] Next, it is introduced that the base station activates or deactivates the sending of the second indication information, thereby realizing indicating the second reference signal to the first device or not indicating the second reference signal to the first device. Through this solution, the first device can narrow the scope of blind detection of DCI, thereby reducing the overhead consumed by blind detection of DCI.

[0167] Referring to Figure 8 , in some embodiments, S801 is further included before S202.

[0168] S801: The base station sends fourth indication information. Correspondingly, the first device receives the fourth indication information.

[0169] In some embodiments, the fourth indication information indicates whether the base station has sent the second reference signal. It can also be said that the fourth indication information indicates whether the base station has already sent the second reference signal. Or the fourth indication information indicates that the base station may send the second reference signal. Or the fourth indication information indicates that the base station has sent the fourth reference signal. Or the fourth indication information indicates that the base station has not sent the fourth reference signal. Or the fourth indication information indicates whether the first device may receive the second reference signal. The fourth indication information indicates to activate the base station to send the second reference signal, or the fourth indication information indicates to deactivate the base station to send the second reference signal. If the fourth indication information indicates that the base station has sent the second reference signal, the first device can receive the fourth reference signal according to the second indication information. Exemplarily, if the base station communicates with the second device, the base station sends the second reference signal, and if the base station does not communicate with the second device, the base station does not send the second reference signal.

[0170] In some embodiments, the base station may send the fourth indication information through a MAC control element (MAC CE).

[0171] In other embodiments, the base station may send the fourth indication information through a broadcast signal.

[0172] In other embodiments, the base station may send the fourth indication information through RRC signaling.

[0173] In the above embodiments, the base station sends the fourth indication information in a manner other than DCI, such as through MAC CE, broadcast signal, or RRC signaling, and the fourth indication information indicates the format of DCI.

[0174] For example, if the base station indicates in the fourth indication information to send a second reference signal, or equivalently, indicates to activate the first device to perform channel estimation based on a reference signal other than the first device, the base station will send DCI of a first format to the first device. After receiving the fourth indication information, the first device may receive DCI according to the first format, where the DCI of the first format includes a field of second indication information. If the base station indicates in the fourth indication information not to send the second reference signal, the base station sends DCI of a second format to the first device. After receiving the fourth indication information, the first device may receive DCI according to the second format, where the DCI of the second format does not include the second indication information.

[0175] This solution instructs the first device to receive DCI using different DCI formats according to the fourth indication information, so as to parse the DCI sent by the base station. When the base station sends different formats of DCI, the first device does not need to blindly detect multiple formats or multiple lengths of DCI, saving resources of the first device.

[0176] It should be noted that the above first format and second format may be a type of format, not limited to only one format.

[0177] It should be noted that in other scenarios where the structure of DCI is modified, such as adding fields or adding new DCI formats, resulting in the terminal needing to blindly detect multiple structures of DCI, the method proposed in the embodiments of the present application can be used. That is, when modifying the format of DCI, the base station may send indication information to the terminal to indicate whether the function causing the DCI format change is used, so that the terminal can receive DCI according to a small number of known DCI formats without blindly detecting all structures of DCI, thereby saving resources.

[0178] In other embodiments, the fourth indication information may be the first bit in DCI.

[0179] Exemplarily, the base station may send the second indication information through the above-mentioned broadcast signal. The fourth indication information being 1 indicates that the base station has sent the second indication information, and being 0 indicates that the base station has not sent the second indication information. After receiving the fourth indication information, if the fourth indication information is 1, the first device may receive the broadcast signal, thereby receiving the second indication information. If the fourth indication information is 0, the first device may not receive the broadcast signal.

[0180] In some embodiments, the first bit is a DMRS sequence initialization bit. In this solution, the first device and the second device are not in a multi-user (multi-user mimo) scenario, and there is no need to use the DMRS sequence initialization bit. By multiplexing the sequence initialization bit position, the existing DCI structure does not need to be modified, and the first device can be instructed to receive the reference signal of the second device through the existing DCI, reducing the resources consumed by the first device for blindly detecting the DCI.

[0181] In some embodiments, the above S201 may include: sending the second indication information when one or more of the following conditions are met: the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold. Or, the ratio of the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal to the number of points N of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) FFT is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and N FFT is determined according to the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal, and N FFT satisfies the following formula:

[0182]

[0183] where M and P are non-negative integers, and N SC is the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal, represents the ceiling operation. Or, the modulation and coding strategy MCS of the first device is less than or equal to the third threshold.

[0184] The number of subcarriers of the second reference signal may also be the number of resource blocks of the second reference signal, and the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal may also be the number of resource blocks of the first reference signal. Exemplarily, the first threshold may be 24 subcarriers or 2 resource blocks. When the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal is greater than 24 subcarriers, the base station may send the second indication information. Referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , when the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal is larger, the channel estimation effect of the first device is better. By setting the first threshold, when the improvement of the channel estimation effect of the first device is not significant, the base station may not send the second indication information and the second reference signal to the first device, thereby saving communication resources.

[0185] Exemplarily, the value of the above second threshold is 10%, 15%, 30%, etc. The base station compares the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal with the FFT size N FFT and when the ratio is small, it may not send the second indication information and the second reference signal to the first device, thereby saving communication resources.

[0186] Referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the smaller the MCS of the first device, that is, the lower the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the operating point, the greater the performance improvement. Therefore, when the MCS of the first device is less than or equal to the third threshold, the base station sends the second indication information, which can save communication resources.

[0187] It should be noted that the above correspondence between resource blocks and the number of subcarriers is only an example. During the evolution of the communication system, the correspondence may change, and the base station can obtain the number of subcarriers according to the correspondence between resource blocks and subcarriers in the current system. For example, one resource block corresponds to 12 subcarriers.

[0188] In the embodiments of the present application, the processing performed by a single execution entity (such as the first device or the base station) shown can also be divided and performed by multiple execution entities, and these execution entities can be logically and / or physically separated, without limitation.

[0189] It should be noted that the above embodiments take the terminal in the 5G system performing channel estimation according to DMRS as an example. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, and devices other than the terminal perform channel estimation according to reference signals other than DMRS. The above examples should not be considered as a limitation to the embodiments of the above application.

[0190] In the various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships. For example, the above multiple embodiments can be combined and the combined solution can be implemented. Optionally, some operations in the processes of the method embodiments are optionally combined, and / or the order of some operations is optionally changed. And, the execution order between the steps of each process is only exemplary and does not constitute a limitation on the execution order between the steps. The steps can also be in other execution orders. It is not intended to indicate that the execution order is the only order in which these operations can be performed. Those of ordinary skill in the art will think of various ways to reorder the operations herein. Additionally, it should be noted that the process details involved in a certain embodiment herein are equally applicable to other embodiments in a similar manner, or different embodiments can be combined and used.

[0191] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving the hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0192] Figure 9 and Figure 10 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided for the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or the base station in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be, for example, Figure 1 the terminal 120 shown in Figure 1 or the base station 110 shown in

[0193] such as Figure 9 shown, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to implement the above Figure 2 or Figure 5 or Figure 8 the functions of the terminal or the base station in the method embodiments shown.

[0194] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2 : the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the first indication information and the second indication information, and receive the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform channel estimation according to the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal.

[0195] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the base station in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2 : the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the first indication information and the second indication information, and send the first reference signal and the second reference signal; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform the functions related to processing.

[0196] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 : the transceiver unit 1320 is further used to send the third indication information; the processing unit 1310 is used to perform the functions related to processing.

[0197] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the base station in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to receive third indication information; the processing unit 1310 is configured to perform functions related to processing.

[0198] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 8 the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to receive fourth indication information; the processing unit 1310 is configured to perform functions related to processing.

[0199] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 8 the functions of the base station in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to send fourth indication information; the processing unit 1310 is configured to perform functions related to processing. For a more detailed description of the above processing unit 1310 and transceiver unit 1320, reference can be made to Figure 2 、 Figure 5 and Figure 8 the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown.

[0200] As Figure 10 shown, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1430, configured to store instructions executed by the processor 1410 or store input data required for the processor 1410 to run instructions or store data generated after the processor 1410 runs instructions.

[0201] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement Figure 2 、 Figure 5 or Figure 8 the methods shown, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the functions of the above processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 1320.

[0202] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station. It can be understood that this information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station. It can be understood that this information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0203] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from a terminal, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information is sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0204] In this application, entity A sending information to entity B can be that A directly sends to B or A indirectly sends to B through other entities. Similarly, entity B receiving information from entity A can be that entity B directly receives the information sent by entity A or entity B indirectly receives the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be information interaction between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between different modules within a device, for example, information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0205] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0206] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well-known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or a terminal.

[0207] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0208] In the description of the present application and the accompanying drawings, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish objects or to distinguish the processing of the same object. The words such as "first" and "second" can distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. For example, the first device and the second device are only used to distinguish different devices and do not limit their sequence. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit being different.

[0209] "At least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more.

[0210] "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or its similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0211] In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the description of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further includes other steps or units not listed, or optionally further includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0212] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to give examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, applied to a first device, the method includes: receiving first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information indicates a first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates a second reference signal; the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first device, and the second reference signal is a reference signal of a second device; receiving a first reference signal and a fourth reference signal according to the first indication information and the second indication information, where the fourth reference signal belongs to the second reference signal; performing channel estimation according to the first reference signal and the fourth reference signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, a first beam serves the first device and the second device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal and the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal are different.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, the first indication information indicating the first reference signal includes: the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the first reference signal: the configuration information of the first reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, or the antenna port number of the first reference signal; or, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal includes: the second indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the second reference signal: the configuration information of the second reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, or the antenna port number of the second reference signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, before receiving the fourth reference signal, the method further includes: sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation according to a third reference signal, and the third reference signal is different from the first reference signal.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, the second indication information is determined according to the third indication information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, the third indication information indicates a capability level, and the second indication information determined according to the third indication information includes: the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal indicated by the second indication information are determined according to the third indication information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the time-frequency resources and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal through downlink control information DCI.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, before receiving the fourth reference signal, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates whether the radio access network device has sent the second reference signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, the fourth indication information indicates the format of downlink control information DCI.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The fourth indication information is the first bit in DCI, and the first bit indicates whether the wireless network device transmits the second reference signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the first bit is a demodulation reference signal DMRS sequence initialization bit.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are demodulation reference signals DMRS.

14. A communication method, wherein, comprising: transmitting first indication information and second indication information; the first indication information indicates a first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates a second reference signal; the first reference signal is a reference signal of the first device, and the second reference signal is a reference signal of a second device; transmitting the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, a first beam serves the first device and the second device.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal and the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal are different.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein, the first indication information indicating the first reference signal includes: the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the first reference signal: the configuration information of the first reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal, or the antenna port number of the first reference signal; or, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal includes: the second indication information indicates one or more of the following information of the second reference signal: the configuration information of the second reference signal, the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal, or the antenna port number of the second reference signal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, wherein, before transmitting the second reference signal, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, where the third indication information indicates the ability of the first device to perform channel estimation based on a third reference signal, and the third reference signal is different from the first reference signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, the second indication information is determined according to the third indication information.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the third indication information indicates a capability level, and the second indication information being determined according to the third indication information includes: the time-frequency resources of the second reference signal indicated by the second indication information are determined according to the third indication information.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14-20, wherein, the second indication information indicating the second reference signal information includes: the second indication information indicates the time-frequency resources and / or the antenna port number of the second reference signal through downlink control information DCI.

22. The method according to any one of claims 14-21, wherein, Before sending the second reference signal, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates whether the second reference signal has been sent.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, the fourth indication information indicates the format of downlink control information DCI.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein, the fourth indication information is the first bit in DCI, and the first bit indicates whether the second reference signal is sent.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein, the first bit is the demodulation reference signal DMRS sequence initialization bit.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14-25, wherein, the sending of the second indication information includes: sending the second indication information when one or more of the following conditions are met: the number of subcarriers of the second reference signal is greater than or equal to a first threshold; or, Subcarrier number of the second reference signal and FFT point number FFT The ratio of which is greater than or equal to a second threshold, and the N FFT is determined according to the subcarrier number of the first reference signal, and the N FFT satisfies the following formula: where M and P are non-negative integers, N SC is the number of subcarriers of the first reference signal, represents the ceiling operation; or, the modulation and coding strategy MCS of the first device is less than or equal to a third threshold.

27. The method according to any one of claims 14-26, wherein, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are demodulation reference signals DMRS.

28. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, wherein, when the instructions are run on a communication device, the communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 14 to 27.

29. A communication device, wherein, it includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 27.

30. A communication device, wherein, it includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the computer instructions, the communication device is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the communication device is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 14 to 27.

31. A computer program product, wherein, it includes: a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the computer is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 14 to 27.

32. A system, wherein, it includes a first device and a wireless network device, the first device performs the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and the wireless network device performs the communication method according to any one of claims 14 to 27.

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