Channel state information acquisition method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a channel state information acquisition method and a communication device. The method comprises: a terminal receiving first information for determining a second reference signal resource, the second reference signal resource being from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource comprising N1 ports, the second reference signal resource comprising N2 ports, N1 being greater than N2. The terminal receives a reference signal on the second reference signal resource, and obtains channel state information of the N2 ports according to the received reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information, and the second channel estimation auxiliary information is channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined in the first channel estimation auxiliary information. The first channel estimation auxiliary information is channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource. And the terminal sends the channel state information of the N2 ports. Configuration information overhead can be reduced, and the resource utilization rate is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method for obtaining channel state information and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) utilizes spatial dimension resources to enable signals to obtain array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space, doubling the capacity and spectral efficiency of a communication system and meeting the transmission requirements of ultra-high speeds. It remains a key technology in the research of future mobile communication systems.

[0003] Currently, for dynamic service requirements in a Massive MIMO system, a dynamic power-off mechanism for radio frequency (RF) links is designed to achieve the purpose of energy saving. To support channel estimation for the dynamic power-off mechanism of RF links, a network device needs to configure corresponding channel estimation resources for different power-off methods, resulting in poor configuration flexibility and large signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a method for obtaining channel state information and a communication device, which can reduce signaling overhead and improve resource utilization.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for obtaining channel state information is provided. This method can be executed by a communication device, which can be a communication device (such as a terminal) or a component configured in a communication device (such as a chip or a chip system). Hereinafter, an example of a terminal executing this method will be used for illustration.

[0006] The method includes: The terminal receives first information, which is used to determine a second reference signal resource. The second reference signal resource is derived from a first reference signal resource. The first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, and the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, where N1 > N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. The terminal receives a reference signal on the second reference signal resource, and obtains channel state information of the N2 ports based on the received reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information. The second channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined from first channel estimation auxiliary information, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource. The terminal transmits the channel state information of the N2 ports.

[0007] According to the above solution, the terminal can determine a second reference signal resource based on a first reference signal resource according to first information from a network device, and determine channel estimation auxiliary information of the second reference signal resource based on the channel estimation auxiliary information of the first reference signal resource. By referring to the relevant configuration of the first reference signal resource, the relevant configuration of the second reference signal resource can be obtained, which can reduce the signaling overhead of obtaining the relevant configuration of the channel state information, improve resource utilization, and especially for a Massive MIMO system, can support the energy-saving scenario of dynamic RF off, greatly reducing the signaling overhead.

[0008] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information is configuration information of the second reference signal resource, and the first information includes an identifier of the first reference signal resource and information for indicating the N2 ports among the N1 ports.

[0009] According to the above solution, the first information may be configuration information of the second reference signal resource. The network device indicates the identifier of the first reference signal resource and the manner of indicating partial ports, and configures the second reference signal resource by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource. The first information does not need to include the specific configuration information of the time-frequency resource mapping pattern and the second channel estimation auxiliary information. Especially for the channel estimation auxiliary information with large overhead, it can greatly reduce the information overhead of the reference signal resource configuration information, improve resource utilization and the configuration efficiency of the reference signal resource.

[0010] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource.

[0011] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal receives second information for configuring the first reference signal resource, and the second information includes the first channel estimation auxiliary information and first indication information for indicating the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource.

[0012] According to the above solution, the network device can send the detailed configuration information of the first reference signal resource to the terminal to configure other reference signal resources by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource, so as to reduce the configuration signaling overhead. Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the second information further includes second indication information for indicating M ports that transmit reference signals among the N1 ports, where M is a positive integer, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to determine the channel state information of the N1 ports according to the reference signals transmitted by the M ports.

[0013] According to the above solution, a reference signal transmission method based on the sparse theory can be specifically adopted. By transmitting reference signals through a smaller number of ports, the terminal can estimate the channel state information of a larger number of ports, which can further reduce the overhead of reference signal transmission resources. Combining with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the second information further includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the effective duration of the first channel estimation assistance information.

[0014] According to the above solution, since the first channel estimation assistance information is obtained based on prior channel information, its accuracy may decrease with the movement and position change of the terminal. Therefore, the network device can notify the terminal of the effective duration of the first channel estimation assistance information to ensure the reliability of channel estimation. Combining with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal receives third information, which is used to indicate third channel estimation assistance information, and the third channel estimation assistance information is the channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the updated first reference signal resource.

[0015] According to this solution, the network device can only update the channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the reference reference signal resource, that is, it can update the channel estimation assistance information of other reference signal resources with the reference reference signal resource as the reference, without reconfiguring the reference signal resources, which can reduce the configuration signaling overhead, improve the resource utilization rate, and improve the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0016] Combining with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the second information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the first reference signal resource is the reference reference signal resource. The configuration information of the reference reference signal resource is the reference configuration information for configuring the reference signal resource, and / or the reference reference signal resource is not associated with the reporting configuration information.

[0017] According to the above solution, the network device notifies the terminal that the first reference signal resource is the reference reference signal resource through the configuration information of the first reference signal resource, so that the terminal can store the configuration information of the first reference signal resource for calling when the network device configures other reference signal resources.

[0018] Combining with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal determines not to receive reference signals on the first reference signal resource based on the fact that the first reference signal resource is the reference reference signal resource.

[0019] According to the above solution, the reference signal resource can be used only for configuring other reference signal resources and is not a resource for actually transmitting reference signals. After the terminal learns that the first reference signal resource is a reference signal resource, it can determine the configuration information of the first reference signal resource as the reference configuration information for other reference signal resources, without receiving reference signals on the first reference signal resource, enabling the network device and the terminal to reach a consensus.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the terminal receives fourth information, which is used to indicate receiving downlink data on a first resource. A second resource in the first resource belongs to the first reference signal resource and does not belong to the second reference signal resource. The terminal determines that symbols in the downlink data are carried on the second resource.

[0021] According to the above solution, since the first reference signal resource does not actually carry reference signals, when the resource scheduled by the network device for carrying data overlaps with the first reference signal resource (for example, the overlapping resource is the second resource) and does not overlap with the second reference signal resource that actually carries reference signals, the terminal can determine that the second resource carries data symbols, enabling the terminal to accurately determine the resource that actually carries data symbols, and thus accurately determine the transport block size of the data.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal sends fifth information, which is used to indicate the support capability of the terminal for the reference signal resource. The fifth information includes one or more of the following:

[0023] The maximum number of supported reference signal resources;

[0024] The maximum number of ports supported for each reference signal resource;

[0025] The effective duration of the supported reference signal resources.

[0026] According to the above solution, the terminal can report or feedback to the network device the support capability of the terminal for the reference signal resource, so that the network device can configure a reference signal resource that meets the terminal's capabilities for the terminal.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal receives sixth information, which is used to query the support capability of the terminal for the reference signal resource.

[0028] According to the above solution, the network device can actively query the support capability of the terminal for the reference signal resources, so as to obtain the terminal capabilities or timely obtain the change of the terminal's support capability when the environment changes, and enable the reference signal resources that the network device can configure for the terminal to conform to the real-time support capability of the terminal.

[0029] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information is the reporting configuration information of the channel state information, and the first information specifically indicates to report the channel state information of N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource.

[0030] According to the above solution, the first information may be the reporting configuration information of the channel state information. The network device may configure a reference signal resource with a larger number of ports, and configure the terminal to report the channel state information of a partial port combination among the ports of the reference signal resource through the reporting configuration information. It can enable the network device to flexibly obtain the channel state information of a partial port combination among a larger number of port combinations.

[0031] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first reference signal resource is associated with multiple reporting configuration information, the multiple reporting configuration information includes the first information, and the ports of the first reference signal resource for obtaining the channel state information indicated by the multiple reporting configuration information are different.

[0032] According to the above solution, the network device may configure a reference signal resource with a larger number of ports, and configure multiple reporting configuration information associated with the reference signal resource. Different reporting configuration information configures the terminal to report the channel state information of different port combinations among the ports of the reference signal resource. This enables the network device to avoid configuring different reference signal resources for different port combinations, can reduce the configuration information overhead, and improve the resource utilization rate.

[0033] In a second aspect, a method for obtaining channel state information is provided. This method may be executed by a communication device, and the communication device may be a communication equipment (such as a network device) or may be a component (such as a chip or a chip system) configured in the communication equipment. Hereinafter, taking the network device executing this method as an example for illustration.

[0034] The method includes: The network device sends first information, where the first information is used to determine a second reference signal resource, the second reference signal resource is from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. The network device sends a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. The network device receives the channel state information of the N2 ports.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is the configuration information of the second reference signal resource, and the first information includes the identifier of the first reference signal resource and information for indicating the N2 ports among the N1 ports.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends second information, which is used to configure the first reference signal resource, and the second information includes the first channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource and the first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information further includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the M ports that transmit reference signals among the N1 ports, M is a positive integer, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to determine the channel state information of the N1 ports according to the reference signals transmitted by the M ports.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information further includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends third information, which is used to indicate third channel estimation auxiliary information, and the third channel estimation auxiliary information is the updated channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information further includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate that the first reference signal resource is a reference reference signal resource. The configuration information of the reference reference signal resource is the reference configuration information for configuring the reference signal resource, and / or, the reference reference signal resource is not associated with the reporting configuration information.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives fifth information, which is used to indicate the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal resource, and the fifth information includes one or more of the following:

[0043] The maximum number of supported reference reference signal resources;

[0044] The maximum number of ports for each supported reference signal resource;

[0045] The effective duration of the supported reference signal resource.

[0046] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sending sixth information, which is used to query the terminal's support capability for the reference signal resource.

[0047] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is the reporting configuration information of the channel state information, and the first information specifically indicates reporting the channel state information of N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource.

[0048] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first reference signal resource is associated with multiple reporting configuration information, the multiple reporting configuration information includes the first information, and the ports of the first reference signal resource for obtaining the channel state information indicated by the multiple reporting configuration information are different.

[0049] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect or any one of the embodiments of the first aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes: a transceiver unit, configured to receive first information, which is used to determine a second reference signal resource. The second reference signal resource is derived from a first reference signal resource. The first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. A processing unit, configured to obtain the channel state information of the N2 ports according to the received reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information. The second channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined from the first channel estimation auxiliary information, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the channel state information.

[0050] Fourthly, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect or any one of the implementation manners of the second aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes: a processing unit, configured to determine first information for determining a second reference signal resource, where the second reference signal resource is derived from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. A transceiver unit, configured to send the first information. The transceiver unit is further configured to send a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive channel state information, where the channel state information is the channel state information of the N2 ports.

[0051] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor may implement the methods in the first aspect to the second aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the first aspect to the second aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a pin, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces, without limitation.

[0052] In one implementation manner, the communication device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or an access network device). When the communication device is a communication device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0053] In another implementation manner, the communication device is a chip configured in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a communication device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0054] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0055] Sixthly, a processor is provided, including: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the methods in the first aspect to the second aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0056] In the specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be output to, for example but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Moreover, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times respectively. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manners of the processor and various circuits.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: a computer program (which can also be referred to as code, or instruction). When the computer program is run, it causes the computer to execute the methods in the above-mentioned first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code, or instruction). When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the methods in the above-mentioned first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0059] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes at least one of the foregoing first network devices and at least one of the foregoing second access network devices. Optionally, the communication system further includes at least one of the foregoing terminal devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a reference signal transmission and channel estimation method based on the sparse theory provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0062] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining channel state information provided by the present application;

[0063] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0064] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another example of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0065] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] In the embodiments of the present application, " / " may indicate that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B may indicate A or B; "and / or" may be used to describe three relationships of associated objects. For example, A and / or B may indicate: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Among them, A and B may be singular or plural. For the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used for distinction. These terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and these terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit that they are different. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner for easy understanding. In the embodiments of the present application, at least one (kind) may also be described as one (kind) or more (kinds). The more (kinds) may be two (kinds), three (kinds), four (kinds) or more, and the present application does not make limitations.

[0067] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) communication systems, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) systems, and the communication methods provided by the present application can also be applied to communication systems evolved after 5G such as 6th generation (6G) communication systems, future communication systems or other communication systems, etc. The present application does not make limitations in this regard.

[0068] Figure 1 To show a possible, non-limiting system schematic diagram. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 10 includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) 100 and a Core Network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 1etc. (not shown in the figure). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. The access network node (or RAN node) 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or by wire. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the access network nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or the same physical device integrating the core network logical function and the radio access network logical function.

[0069] The RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), for example, 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future evolution systems (such as 6G mobile communication systems). The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 can also be a communication system integrating two or more of the above systems.

[0070] The access network node 110, sometimes also called access network device, RAN entity or access node, etc., constitutes a part of the communication system to help the terminal achieve wireless access. The multiple access network nodes 110 in the communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the access network node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative. For example, Figure 1 the network element 120i in the middle can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j accessing the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The access network node 110 and the terminal 120 are sometimes both called communication devices. For example, Figure 1 the network elements 110a and 110b in the middle can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and the network elements 120a - 120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0071] In a possible scenario, the access network node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The access network node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in Figure 1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as

[0072] 110b in

[0073] Figure 1 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the access network node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an in-vehicle device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network node in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The access network node in this application can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network node.

[0072] In another possible scenario, multiple access network nodes cooperate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different access network nodes respectively implement some functions of the base station. For example, the access network node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0073] A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios for communication. Such scenarios include, for example, but are not limited to at least one of the following scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), D2D, V2X, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote healthcare, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, sensing terminals, terminals for communication and sensing integration, or smart cities, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone (such as Figure 1 120a, 120j, and 120e in Figure 1 ), a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function (such as Figure 1 120g in Figure 1 ), a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a wearable device, a vehicle (such as Figure 1 120b in

[0074] ), a drone, a helicopter, an aircraft (such as

[0075] 120i in Figure 1 ), a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a sensor, a sensor device, or a smart home device (such as Figure 1 120h in

[0074] ), etc.

[0074] It should be understood that "sending information / data to... (such as a terminal)" in this application can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal. It can include directly or indirectly sending information / data to the terminal. "Receiving information / data from... (such as a terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, and it can include directly or indirectly receiving information / data from the terminal. The information / data may be subjected to necessary processing, such as format change, etc., between the source and the destination of the information / data transmission, but the destination can understand the valid information / data from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly, and will not be elaborated here.

[0075] In this application, "sending information / data" only indicates the direction of information / data transfer, including direct sending over the air interface and indirect sending by the processing unit over the air interface. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of the module interface. "Receiving information / data" only indicates the direction of information / data transfer, including direct receiving over the air interface and indirect receiving by the processing unit over the air interface. "Receiving" can also be understood as "input" of the module interface.

[0076] In this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A. In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It can also only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it can also rely on the arrangement order of each information pre-agreed (such as protocol regulations) to implement the indication of specific information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending periods and / or sending opportunities of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0077] The following introduces the related technologies and terms involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0078] Reference signal transmission and channel estimation method based on sparse theory:

[0079] This method enables the network device to send reference signals on N TX ports out of N aug ports, where N TX is greater than or equal to N aug , and N TX , N aug are positive integers. The terminal estimates the channel state information (CSI) of N aug ports based on the channel estimation auxiliary information and the received reference signals from these N TX ports. It can reduce the overhead of air interface resources for transmitting reference signals. The following details this method.

[0080] The network device can obtain N TXPrior downlink channel information of N ports. For example, the prior downlink channel information may be the channel information of the downlink channel that the network device can obtain through channel estimation of the uplink channel according to uplink-downlink reciprocity, or the downlink channel information in a historical period obtained by the network device, or may be predicted through an artificial intelligence (AI) model. This application does not limit this. Based on the prior downlink channel information of the N TX ports, the network device can obtain the spatial domain basis vectors corresponding to each of the N TX ports.

[0081] Exemplarily, the prior downlink channel information is characterized by a channel matrix H, and the channel matrix H may include at least two dimensions of the number of frequency domain units, the number of transmit antenna ports, or the number of receive antenna ports. Hereinafter, taking the dimension of the channel matrix H as N f ×N TX as an example for introduction, where N f represents the number of frequency domain units. For example, N f may be the number of resource elements (REs) for carrying reference signals. It should be understood that this application is not limited to this. The network device can perform singular value decomposition (SVD) on the channel matrix H to obtain the spatio-frequency domain projection matrix V H of the channel matrix, where V H represents the conjugate transpose of matrix V. The spatio-frequency domain projection matrix V H includes N TX column vectors, and one of the column vectors is the spatial domain basis vector corresponding to one of the N TX ports. The matrix V H is a matrix composed of R row vectors in the right unitary matrix obtained by performing SVD on the channel matrix, and R is the rank of the channel matrix. The dimension of matrix V H is R×N TX . However, this application is not limited to this. The spatio-frequency projection matrix V H may be composed of N TX codewords determined by the network device according to the prior downlink channel information in a predefined codebook, and each of the N TX codewords is the spatial domain basis vector corresponding to one of the N TX ports.

[0082] The network device can obtain a maximally linearly independent group of column vectors from matrix V H . For example, if the maximally linearly independent group includes V H in N augColumn vectors, aug represents augmentation (i.e., the abbreviation of augmented), N aug Greater than or equal to R and less than N TX The network device is based on this N aug Column vectors in matrix V H In the position, the matrix P can be determined aug Matrix P aug The dimension of is N TX ×N aug This matrix P aug Of the N aug Each column vector in the N column vectors contains only 1 element with a value of 1 among the N elements, and the values of the other elements are 0, and the row number of the row where the element with a value of 1 is located is the same as the column number of one of the N column vectors in this maximally linearly independent set in matrix V TX There is at most 1 element with a value of 1 in any row of this matrix P. The result of multiplying matrix V aug By matrix P H In is the matrix V aug Composed of the N column vectors of this maximally linearly independent set H Matrix V aug Multiplied by matrix P aug The result is the matrix V H P aug Matrix P aug Can represent the N TX Selected from N aug Ports, so this matrix P aug Can be called the port pattern matrix.

[0083] Such as Figure 2 As shown, the network device calculates the maximally linearly independent set of matrix V H Determine the port pattern matrix P aug After that, from the maximally linearly independent set V of the spatial-frequency projection matrix H P aug And the spatial-frequency projection matrix VH The channel estimation auxiliary information P can be obtained + P + Satisfies:

[0084] P + =(V H P aug ) -1 V H ,

[0085] P + The dimension of is N aug ×N TX Among them, one column vector in P + Is N TXThe channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to one of the ports. The network device can use the N aug spatial domain basis vectors corresponding to N aug ports to send reference signals. The terminal can estimate the channel information of the N + ports based on the channel estimation auxiliary information P aug and the received reference signals from the N TX ports.

[0086] Specifically, the terminal receives the reference signals sent by the network device through the N aug ports. The reference signals are transmitted through the channel and reach the terminal. Therefore, the reference signals received by the terminal carry the channel information corresponding to the N aug ports. Since the reference signals are known, the terminal can obtain the channel information corresponding to the N aug ports, which can be expressed as the matrix H·P aug , where H represents the channel matrix corresponding to the N TX ports. The dimension of H is N f ×N TX , and the dimension of H·P aug is N f ×N aug . The terminal then multiplies the channel matrix H·P aug corresponding to the N aug ports by the channel estimation auxiliary information P + to obtain the estimated matrix of the channel matrix H corresponding to the N TX ports This matrix satisfies:

[0087]

[0088] That is, the terminal estimates the channel information of the N aug ports based on the received reference signals from the N TX ports of the network device.

[0089] As can be seen from the above introduction, through this channel estimation method, the network device can send reference signals only through some of the ports of the multiple ports of the channel information to be estimated. The terminal can estimate the channel information of the multiple ports according to the received reference signals from these partial ports. Especially for the Massive MIMO scenario, it can greatly reduce the resource overhead of transmitting reference signals.

[0090] For dynamic service requirements in a Massive MIMO system, a dynamic shutdown mechanism for radio frequency (RF) links is designed to achieve the purpose of energy saving. To support channel estimation for the dynamic shutdown mechanism of RF links, for different RF link shutdown methods, the corresponding port combinations are different, and the network device needs to configure the reference signal resources of the corresponding port combinations for each RF link shutdown method for channel estimation and then realize data transmission. If the network device configures the reference signal resources and channel estimation auxiliary information one by one for different RF link shutdown methods, there are problems of poor configuration flexibility and large signaling overhead.

[0091] To solve the above problems, this application proposes that through the indication of the network device, the terminal can obtain the channel information corresponding to some port combinations in a reference signal resource with a larger number of ports. This can greatly reduce the overhead of obtaining the relevant configuration information of CSI, improve the resource utilization rate and the configuration efficiency of the reference signal resources.

[0092] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of a channel information acquisition method 300 provided by an embodiment of this application. The method 300 includes but is not limited to the following S301 to S304.

[0093] S301, the network device sends a first piece of information to the terminal, and this first piece of information is used to determine a second reference signal resource. The second reference signal resource is from a first reference signal resource. The first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, and the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports. N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers.

[0094] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first piece of information and determines the second reference signal resource according to the first piece of information.

[0095] Exemplarily, the reference signal resource (the first reference signal resource and / or the second reference signal resource) can be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource. Or it can be other downlink reference signal resources for obtaining CSI, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource, etc. This application does not make a limitation on this.

[0096] Before S301, the network device may send second information to the terminal. The second information is used to configure the first reference signal resource. The second information includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the first reference signal resource includes N1 ports and the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource, that is, the positions of the time-domain resources and the frequency-domain resources included in the first reference signal resource.

[0097] The second information further includes first channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource. The first channel estimation auxiliary information includes N1 channel estimation auxiliary sub-information, and the N1 channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponds to the N1 ports one by one. For example, if the first channel estimation auxiliary information is denoted as a matrix This matrix has a dimension of M×N1, where M is the number of ports transmitting reference signals among the N1 ports, and M is a positive integer. The N1 column vectors in this matrix respectively correspond to the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource in sequence, and one column vector is the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the corresponding port.

[0098] As the reference signal transmission and channel estimation method based on the sparse theory introduced above, the network device may, based on the prior channel information, obtain the spatial domain projection matrix of the channel, and then calculate the maximum linearly independent group corresponding to the N1 ports, so as to determine the M ports transmitting reference signals among the N1 ports and the first channel estimation auxiliary information, where M is less than N1. Among them, the network device may determine the port pattern matrix P aug1 corresponding to the first reference signal resource. The dimension of the port pattern matrix is N1×M. Among the N1 column vectors of the matrix P aug1 , only one element in the M elements included in each column vector has a value of 1, and the number of elements with a value of 1 in any row of the matrix P aug1 does not exceed 1.

[0099] The first channel estimation auxiliary information is specifically used to determine the channel information of the N1 ports according to the reference signals transmitted by the M ports. For example, N1 = 1024, M = 256. The first reference signal resource includes 1024 ports, and 256 ports among the 1024 ports are the ports transmitting reference signals, and the other ports except the 256 ports do not transmit reference signals. In channel estimation, the terminal may estimate the channel information of each of the 1024 ports according to the reference signals received from the M ports and the first channel estimation auxiliary information. Specifically, the channel information corresponding to one port is estimated according to the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the port in the first information estimation auxiliary information and the reference signals received from the M ports.

[0100] Optionally, the second information may further include second indication information for indicating M ports out of the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource that transmit reference signals. For example, the terminal may determine the number of elements included in each channel estimation assistance sub-information according to the number of ports M that transmit reference signals indicated by the second indication information, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0101] The network device may notify the terminal of the M ports out of the N1 ports that transmit reference signals through the second indication information in the second information. For example, the second indication information indicates the number of ports M that transmit reference signals out of the N1 ports. Alternatively, the second indication information may include the identifier of each of the M ports. Alternatively, the second indication information may include a bit sequence that includes N1 bits corresponding one-to-one to the N1 ports, where one bit is used to indicate whether the corresponding port transmits a reference signal, that is, whether it belongs to the M ports that transmit reference signals. For example, indicating 1 means transmitting a reference signal, and indicating 0 means not transmitting a reference signal, or vice versa. M bits out of the N1 bits indicate that the corresponding ports transmit reference signals.

[0102] It should be understood that the present application is not limited thereto. The second information may not include the second indication information, and the network device may also notify the terminal of the M ports out of the N1 ports that transmit reference signals in an implicit indication manner.

[0103] For example, the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource is the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of M ports. After the terminal determines the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource according to the first indication information, it may determine that the number of ports that actually transmit reference signals out of the N1 ports is M.

[0104] For another example, the terminal obtains the first channel estimation assistance information through the second information, and it is known that the number of elements included in each channel estimation assistance sub-information among the N1 channel estimation assistance sub-informations is equal. Then, the terminal may determine the number of elements M included in each channel estimation assistance sub-information according to the total number of elements included in the first channel estimation assistance information, that is, the number of ports that transmit reference signals out of the N1 ports. Alternatively, the terminal may determine the matrix representation of the first channel estimation assistance information according to the first channel estimation assistance information. This matrix The number of rows of is the number of ports that transmit reference signals out of the N1 ports.

[0105] After the network device configures the first reference signal resource through the second information, it may send the first information to the terminal. The terminal may determine the second reference signal resource according to the first information. The second reference signal resource is from the first reference signal resource. The specific implementation manners of the first information may include, but are not limited to, the following Implementation Manner 1 and Implementation Manner 2, which are introduced separately below.

[0106] Embodiment 1, the first information is the configuration information of the second reference signal resource, and the first information includes the identifier of the first reference signal resource and the information for indicating N2 ports among N1 ports.

[0107] In this Embodiment 1, the first reference signal resource serves as the reference reference signal resource, and the configuration information of the reference reference signal resource is the reference configuration information for configuring other reference signal resources.

[0108] That is to say, the network device can configure other reference signal resources by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource. For example, when the network device configures the second reference signal resource through the first information, it can indicate that the first information refers to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource by including the identifier of the first reference signal resource in the first information. The terminal can determine that the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource based on the identifier of the first reference signal resource. And the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource can be determined based on the first channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource.

[0109] The first information further includes the information for indicating N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource. For example, N1 = 1024 and N2 = 512, that is, the second reference signal resource includes 512 ports among the 1024 ports of the first reference signal resource. The terminal can determine the N2 ports included in the second reference signal resource based on this information, and the terminal can determine the second channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource. The second channel estimation auxiliary information includes the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the N2 ports in the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0110] For example, the information for indicating the N2 ports may include the identifier of each of the N2 ports. The terminal can determine the N2 channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the N2 ports in the first channel estimation auxiliary information based on the identifiers of the N2 ports, and the second channel estimation auxiliary information includes the N2 channel estimation auxiliary sub-information.

[0111] For another example, the information for indicating the N2 ports may include a bit sequence. The bit sequence includes N1 bits, and the N1 bits correspond to the N1 ports one by one. Among them, one bit is used to indicate whether the corresponding port belongs to the second reference signal resource. For example, indicating 1 means belonging, and indicating 0 means not belonging, or vice versa. N2 bits among the N1 bits indicate that the corresponding ports belong to the second reference signal resource. Thus, after the terminal determines the N1 ports based on the bit sequence, it can determine the N2 channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the N2 ports in the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0112] For another example, the information used to indicate the N2 ports may include the number of ports N2 of the second reference signal resource. If the terminal defaults that the second reference signal resource includes the first N2 ports (or the last N2 ports) in the first reference signal resource, then the first N2 channel estimation auxiliary sub-informations (or the last N2 channel estimation auxiliary sub-informations) in the first channel estimation auxiliary information are the second channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0113] In specific implementation, the terminal may determine the sequence number set {I idx,i} of the N2 ports of the second reference signal resource among the N1 ports according to the second indication information. Here, I idx,i indicates that the sequence number of the i-th port among the N2 ports of the second reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource is I idx,i . Among them, idx is the abbreviation of the English word index for sequence number, and the value range of i is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to N2. Then, the sequence number set {I idx,i} includes a total of N2 sequence numbers, and the value range of I idx,i is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to N1.

[0114] For example, N1 = 1024 and N2 = 512, that is, the second reference signal resource includes 512 ports among the 1024 ports of the first reference signal resource. If the terminal can determine according to the second indication information that the first port among the 512 ports of the second reference signal resource is the third port among the 1024 ports of the first reference signal resource, then i = 1 and I idx,i = 3; the second port of the second reference signal resource is the eighth port of the first reference signal resource, then i = 2 and I idx,i = 8; and the terminal can also determine the sequence numbers of the other ports of the second reference signal resource among the 1024 ports of the first reference signal resource. Thus, the terminal can determine the sequence number set {I idx,i} = {3, 8,...}. The sequence number set {I idx,i} includes a total of 512 sequence numbers.

[0115] The terminal can determine the second channel estimation auxiliary information according to the sequence number set {I idx,i}. The second channel estimation auxiliary information is represented as a matrix This matrix satisfies:

[0116]

[0117] Among them, the ":" in it indicates extracting each row element in the extracted column, the {I idx,i} in it indicates the sequence number set {I idx,iIf each serial number in {} is the column serial number of the column to be extracted, then Specifically, it means extracting in the matrix each serial number in the set of serial numbers {I idx,i} as the elements of each row in the column with the serial number as the column serial number, that is, it means extracting in the matrix each serial number in the set of serial numbers {I idx,i} as the column vector with the serial number as the column serial number. For example, if the set of serial numbers {I idx,i} = {3, 8,...}, then the first column vector (i.e., i = 2) in the matrix is the third column vector (i.e., I = 3) in idx,i ; the second column vector in the matrix is the eighth column vector (i.e., I = 8) in idx,i ; and so on. The matrix corresponding to the second channel estimation auxiliary information includes 512 column vectors in the matrix corresponding to the first channel estimation auxiliary information. That is, the second channel estimation auxiliary information includes the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the ports with the serial numbers in the set of serial numbers {I idx,i} as the serial numbers in the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0118] Through the above introduction, the terminal can determine the second reference signal resource according to the first information and referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource, including the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource, the included ports, and the corresponding second channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0119] According to the above introduction, in the first embodiment, the network device can configure the second reference signal resource by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource through the first information. The first information does not need to include the specific configuration information of the time-frequency resource mapping pattern and the second channel estimation auxiliary information. Especially for the channel estimation auxiliary information with large overhead, it can greatly reduce the information overhead of the reference signal resource configuration information and improve the resource utilization rate and the configuration efficiency of the reference signal resource.

[0120] It should be understood that in the first embodiment, although the time-frequency resource mapping patterns of the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource are the same, and both include the same N2 ports, that is, the corresponding channel estimation auxiliary sub-information, the first reference signal resource and the second reference signal resource are considered to be different reference signal resources. For example, the identifiers of the two reference signal resources are different, and the number of included ports is different. When the network device triggers the terminal to measure the second reference signal resource and report the measured channel state information, it can specifically indicate the relevant information of the second reference signal resource. For example, it can indicate the identifier of the second reference signal resource or the identifier of the reporting configuration associated with the second reference signal resource.

[0121] Optionally, the network device may further send the configuration information of the third reference signal resource to the terminal. The configuration information of the third reference signal resource includes the identifier of the first reference signal resource and the information indicating N3 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource.

[0122] That is to say, the network device may also configure the third reference signal resource by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource. According to the configuration information of the third reference signal resource, the terminal can determine that the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the third reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource, the third reference signal resource includes N3 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource, and it can be determined that the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the third reference signal resource includes the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information corresponding to the N3 ports in the first channel estimation auxiliary information. The network device can configure multiple reference signal resources by applying and referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource, which can greatly reduce the configuration information overhead of the reference signal resources, improve the resource utilization rate and the configuration efficiency of the reference signal resources.

[0123] In the second embodiment, the first information is the reporting configuration information of the channel state information, and the reporting configuration information specifically indicates reporting the channel state information of the N2 ports of the first reference signal resource.

[0124] As described above, before S301, the network device may send the second information for configuring the first reference signal resource to the terminal. The first reference signal resource may be associated with multiple reporting configuration information. Among them, different reporting configuration information may indicate different port combinations of the first reference signal resource. For example, the first information indicates N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource, that is, configuring the terminal to report the channel state information of the N2 ports. If the first reference signal resource is also associated with another reporting configuration information, the reporting configuration information indicates N3 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource, that is, configuring the terminal to report the channel state information of the N3 ports.

[0125] In the second embodiment, the second reference signal resource determined by the terminal based on the first information in S301 can be understood as the N2 port resources of the first reference signal resource, and it can be considered that the second reference signal resource is a virtual resource. The terminal can determine, according to the first information, that the channel state information of N2 ports needs to be reported after measuring the first reference signal resource.

[0126] According to the above introduction, in the second embodiment, the network device can configure a reference signal resource with a relatively large number of ports, and configure multiple reporting configuration information associated with the reference signal resource. Different reporting configuration information configures the terminal to report the channel state information of different port combinations in the ports of the reference signal resource. This enables the network device to avoid configuring different reference signal resources for different port combinations, reduce the configuration information overhead, and improve the resource utilization rate.

[0127] S302, the network device sends a reference signal on the second reference signal resource.

[0128] In one example, the second reference signal resource can be a periodic resource or a semi-persistent (or semi-static) resource. In the first embodiment above, the first information can also indicate the period duration of the second reference signal resource. If the second reference signal resource is a periodic resource, after the network device configures the second reference signal resource through the first information, the terminal can periodically measure and report the channel state information corresponding to the measured second reference signal resource according to the first information. If the second reference signal resource is a semi-persistent resource, after the network device configures the second reference signal resource through the first information, after the network device sends the indication information for triggering the measurement of the second reference signal resource to the terminal, the terminal periodically measures and reports the channel state information corresponding to the measured second reference signal resource. In the second embodiment above, if the first reference signal resource is a periodic resource (or semi-persistent resource), then the second reference signal resource is a periodic resource (or semi-persistent resource).

[0129] In another example, the second reference signal resource can be an aperiodic resource. The network device can send the indication information for triggering the measurement of the second reference signal resource to the terminal, and the terminal can measure and report the channel state information corresponding to the measured second reference signal resource according to the indication information.

[0130] The network device sends a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the reference signal on the second reference signal resource.

[0131] As introduced in S301 above, among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource, M ports transmit reference signals. Therefore, when the network device sends reference signals on the second reference signal resource, it includes: sending reference signals on these M ports. When the terminal receives reference signals on the second reference signal resource, it includes: the terminal receives reference signals from these M ports.

[0132] S303. The terminal obtains the channel state information of these N ports according to the received reference signals and the second channel estimation auxiliary information. The second channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined from the first channel estimation auxiliary information, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource.

[0133] The network device sends reference signals through M ports. Correspondingly, the reference signals received by the terminal from these M ports carry the channel information corresponding to these M ports. Since the reference signals are known, the terminal can obtain the channel information corresponding to these M ports, which can be expressed as the channel matrix H corresponding to the M ports M , H M The dimension of which is N f ×M. The terminal can obtain the channel information of the N2 ports of the estimated second reference signal resource according to the second channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource The channel information of these N2 ports can be expressed as a matrix This matrix Satisfies:

[0134]

[0135] Exemplarily, the network device can send reference signals with the port pattern matrix P corresponding to the first reference signal resource aug1 The channel matrix H of the M ports M = H1·P aug1 where the dimension of H1 is N f ×N1. This matrix Can also be expressed as:

[0136]

[0137] After the terminal measures the channel information of the N2 ports, the channel state information of the N2 ports can be determined. The channel state information of the N2 ports may include one or more of a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a rank indicator (RI), or a layer indicator (LI) corresponding to the channel information of the N2 ports. Alternatively, the channel state information may include the channel information of the N2 ports, and this application does not limit this.

[0138] S304, the terminal sends the channel state information of the N2 ports to the network device.

[0139] Correspondingly, the network device receives the channel state information of the N2 ports of the terminal. The network device may transmit data to the terminal based on the channel state information of the N2 ports.

[0140] According to the above solution, the network device can obtain the channel state information of different port combinations by referring to the configuration information of a reference signal resource or associating multiple reporting configuration information for a configuration with a larger number of ports. It can reduce signaling overhead and improve resource utilization. Especially for the Massive MIMO system, it can support the energy-saving scenario of dynamic RF shutdown and greatly reduce signaling overhead.

[0141] In the first embodiment above, for the first reference signal resource that is used as the reference reference signal resource, the following two alternative embodiments may be included:

[0142] Embodiment A, the first reference signal resource is not associated with reporting configuration information.

[0143] That is to say, the network device configures the first reference signal resource only for configuring other reference signal resources by referring to the configuration information of the first reference signal resource, and the first reference signal resource is not used to obtain channel state information. The network device does not send a reference signal on the first reference signal resource and does not instruct the terminal to measure the first reference signal resource and report the channel state information.

[0144] The second information for configuring the first reference signal resource may further include fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first reference signal resource is a reference reference signal resource. The terminal may determine not to receive a reference signal on the first reference signal resource based on the first reference signal resource being a reference reference signal resource.

[0145] Optionally, if the terminal receives the fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate receiving downlink data on a first resource, a second resource in the first resource belongs to a first reference signal resource and does not belong to a second reference signal resource. The terminal determines that symbols in the downlink data are carried on the second resource.

[0146] For example, the terminal receives a downlink control information (DCI), where the DCI schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) resource to transmit downlink data, and the PDSCH resource overlaps with the first reference signal resource. Since the terminal needs to determine the number of resource elements (REs) actually carrying data symbols in the PDSCH resource and determine the size of the transport block (TB) of the downlink data. Since the first reference signal resource is not actually used to obtain channel state information and can carry data symbols, and the second reference signal resource is used to obtain channel state information and does not carry data symbols, the terminal can determine the REs in the PDSCH resource that belong to the first reference signal resource and do not belong to the second reference signal resource and carry data symbols. That is, the REs overlapping with the PDSCH resource on the resources of the ports other than the N2 ports of the second reference signal resource among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource carry data symbols. The terminal can determine the number of REs finally carrying data symbols, thereby determining the TB size of the downlink data.

[0147] In Embodiment B, the first information is the reporting configuration information associated with the first reference signal resource.

[0148] That is to say, the network device may use one or more reference signal resources configured for the terminal to obtain channel state information as the reference reference signal resource and configure other reference signal resources with the corresponding configuration information.

[0149] In an optional embodiment, the second information for configuring the first reference signal resource may further include third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0150] Since the first channel estimation auxiliary information is obtained based on prior channel information and may have reduced accuracy with the movement and position change of the terminal, etc., the network device may notify the terminal of the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information. The terminal may determine, according to the effective duration, that the first channel estimation auxiliary information and the channel estimation auxiliary information of the reference signal resource with the first reference signal resource as the reference are valid within the effective duration and become invalid after the effective duration.

[0151] Optionally, the network device may send third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate third channel estimation auxiliary information, and the third channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the updated first reference signal resource.

[0152] After configuring the first reference signal resource, the network device may determine that the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource needs to be updated according to the subsequently obtained channel information, or after the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information, the network device may determine the updated channel estimation auxiliary information (i.e., the third channel estimation auxiliary information). The network device notifies the terminal of the updated channel estimation auxiliary information through the third information. Accordingly, the terminal updates the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource, and the terminal also updates the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to other reference signal resources using the first reference signal resource as the reference reference signal according to the third channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0153] According to this solution, the network device can only update the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the reference reference signal resource, that is, it can update the channel estimation auxiliary information of other reference signal resources using the reference reference signal resource as the reference, without reconfiguring the reference signal resource, which can reduce the configuration signaling overhead, improve the resource utilization rate, and improve the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0154] In an optional implementation manner, the terminal may send fifth information to the network device, where the fifth information is used to feedback or report the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal. Exemplarily, the fifth information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0155] The maximum number of supported reference reference signal resources;

[0156] The maximum number of ports for each supported reference reference signal resource;

[0157] The effective duration of the supported reference reference signal resource.

[0158] Since the configuration information overhead of the reference reference signal resource is large and the terminal needs to store the configuration information. Therefore, the terminal may report to the network device the capability of the reference reference signal resources that the terminal can support, so that the network device can configure the reference reference signal resources within the capabilities of the terminal. For example, the number of reference reference signal resources configured by the network device for the terminal does not exceed the maximum number of reference reference signal resources that the terminal can support. The number of ports of the reference reference signal resources configured by the network device does not exceed the maximum number of ports that the terminal can support. And the effective duration of the reference reference signal configured by the network device for the terminal does not exceed the effective duration that the terminal can support, etc.

[0159] After establishing a communication connection with a network device, the terminal can actively report to the network device its support capabilities for reference signals. Alternatively, the terminal can report in response to a query from the network device. For example, the network device can send a sixth message to the terminal, and this sixth message is used to query the terminal's support capabilities for reference signal resources. In response to the sixth message, the terminal can send a fifth message to the network device.

[0160] In an alternative implementation, when the network device configures a reference signal resource for the terminal and references a reference signal resource, if the terminal determines that the referenced reference signal resource does not exist, the terminal can send a request message to the network device, and this request message is used to request the configuration information of the referenced reference signal resource. This can reduce the problem of configuration errors and improve reliability.

[0161] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include 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 hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0162] Figure 4 and Figure 5 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminals 120a - 120j shown in Figure 1 as shown, or can be the network device 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1 as shown, or can also be a module (such as a chip or a chip system) applied to the terminal or the network device.

[0163] The communication device 400 includes a transceiver unit 420, and the transceiver unit 420 can be used to receive or send information. The communication device 400 can also include a processing unit 410, and the processing unit 410 can be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0164] It should be understood that when the communication device 400 is a chip configured in (or for) a communication device, the transceiver unit 420 in the communication device 400 can be an input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 410 in the communication device 400 can be a processor in the chip.

[0165] Optionally, the communication device 400 may further include a storage unit 430, which may be used to store instructions or data, and the processing unit 410 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform corresponding operations.

[0166] The communication device 400 may be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the method embodiments described above. Figure 3 in the method embodiments shown.

[0167] When the communication device 400 is used to implement Figure 3 the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver unit 420 is configured to receive first information for determining a second reference signal resource, where the second reference signal resource is derived from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. The transceiver unit 420 is further configured to receive a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. The processing unit 410 is configured to obtain channel state information of the N2 ports according to the received reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information, where the second channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined from the first channel estimation auxiliary information, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource. The transceiver unit 420 is further configured to transmit the channel state information.

[0168] When the communication device 400 is used to implement Figure 3 the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown: The processing unit 410 is configured to determine first information for determining a second reference signal resource, where the second reference signal resource is derived from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers. The transceiver unit 420 is configured to transmit the first information. The transceiver unit 420 is further configured to transmit a reference signal on the second reference signal resource. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive channel state information, where the channel state information is the channel state information of the N2 ports.

[0169] For a more detailed description of the above processing unit 410 and transceiver unit 420, reference may be made to Figure 3 the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown.

[0170] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 420 in the communication device 400 can be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input / output interface, or pins, etc.). When the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver can be composed of a receiver and / or a transmitter. The processing unit 410 in the communication device 400 can be implemented through at least one processor, and the processing unit 410 in the communication device 400 can also be implemented through at least one logic circuit. Optionally, the communication device 400 further includes a storage unit, which can be implemented by a memory.

[0171] As Figure 5 shown, the communication device 500 includes a processor 510 and an interface circuit 520. The processor 510 and the interface circuit 520 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 520 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 500 can further include a memory 530, which is used to store the instructions executed by the processor 510 or store the input data required for the processor 510 to run the instructions or store the data generated after the processor 510 runs the instructions.

[0172] In one implementation, the memory 530 can also be integrated in the processor 510 or be independent of the processor 510.

[0173] When the communication device 500 is used to implement Figure 3 the method shown, the processor 510 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 410, and the interface circuit 520 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 420.

[0174] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip can implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and this information is sent by a network device to the terminal device; or, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and this information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0175] When the above communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module can implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The network device module receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and this information is sent by a terminal device to the network device; or, the network device module sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and this information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. Here, the network device module can be a baseband chip of the network device, or a DU or other module, and here the DU can be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0176] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may also be 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 may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0177] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions may consist of corresponding software modules, and the software modules may be stored in a random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, removable hard disks, CD-ROMs, 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 may also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may be located in an access network device or a terminal device. The processor and the storage medium may also exist as discrete components in the access network device or the terminal device.

[0178] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the application, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by one or more processors, it causes a device including the processor to execute Figure 3 the method shown in

[0179] In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may 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 may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices.

[0180] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores the above computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by one or more processors, the device including the processor is caused to execute Figure 3 the method shown in

[0181] For example, the computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. 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 accessible 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.

[0182] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, including one or more of the foregoing terminals. The system can further include one or more of the foregoing network devices.

[0183] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the devices described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there can be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0184] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of this solution.

[0185] In various embodiments of the present application, without special instructions and logical conflicts, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be cross-referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0186] As described above, it is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining channel state information, characterized in that Comprising: Receiving first information, the first information being used to determine a second reference signal resource, the second reference signal resource being derived from a first reference signal resource, the first reference signal resource including N1 ports, the second reference signal resource including N2 ports, N1 being greater than N2, and N1 and N2 being positive integers; Receiving a reference signal on the second reference signal resource; Obtaining channel state information of the N2 ports according to the received reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information, the second channel estimation auxiliary information being the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the second reference signal resource determined from first channel estimation auxiliary information, the first channel estimation auxiliary information being the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource; Transmitting the channel state information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information is configuration information of the second reference signal resource, the first information including an identifier of the first reference signal resource and information for indicating the N2 ports among the N1 ports.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving second information, the second information being used to configure the first reference signal resource, the second information including the first channel estimation auxiliary information and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second information further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate M ports among the N1 ports that transmit the reference signal, M being a positive integer, the first channel estimation auxiliary information being used to determine the channel state information of the N1 ports according to the reference signal transmitted by the M ports.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The second information further includes third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The method further includes: Receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate third channel estimation auxiliary information, the third channel estimation auxiliary information being the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the updated first reference signal resource.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that, The second information further includes fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that the first reference signal resource is a reference reference signal resource, The configuration information of the reference reference signal resource is reference configuration information for configuring a reference signal resource, and / or, the reference reference signal resource is not associated with reporting configuration information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further includes: Determining not to receive a reference signal on the first reference signal resource according to the first reference signal resource being the reference reference signal resource; And / or, Receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate receiving downlink data on a first resource, a second resource in the first resource belonging to the first reference signal resource and not belonging to the second reference signal resource; Determining that a symbol in the downlink data is carried on the second resource.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fifth piece of information, where the fifth piece of information is used to indicate the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal resource, and the fifth piece of information includes one or more of the following: The maximum number of supported reference reference signal resources; The maximum number of ports for each supported reference reference signal resource; The effective duration of the supported reference reference signal resource.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further includes: Receive a sixth piece of information, where the sixth piece of information is used to query the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal resource.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first piece of information is the reporting configuration information of the channel state information, and the first piece of information specifically indicates reporting the channel state information of N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein The first reference signal resource is associated with multiple reporting configuration information, and the multiple reporting configuration information includes the first piece of information. The ports of the first reference signal resource for obtaining the channel state information indicated by the multiple reporting configuration information are different.

14. A method for obtaining channel state information, characterized in that Includes: Send a first piece of information, where the first piece of information is used to determine a second reference signal resource. The second reference signal resource is from the first reference signal resource. The first reference signal resource includes N1 ports, the second reference signal resource includes N2 ports, N1 is greater than N2, and N1 and N2 are positive integers; Send a reference signal on the second reference signal resource; Receive the channel state information of the N2 ports.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The first piece of information is the configuration information of the second reference signal resource, and the first piece of information includes the identifier of the first reference signal resource and information used to indicate the N2 ports among the N1 ports.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the second reference signal resource is the same as that of the first reference signal resource.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The method further includes: Send a second piece of information, where the second piece of information is used to configure the first reference signal resource. The second piece of information includes the first channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource and a first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the time-frequency resource mapping pattern of the first reference signal resource.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The second piece of information further includes a second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate M ports that transmit the reference signal among the N1 ports, M is a positive integer, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to determine the channel state information of the N1 ports according to the reference signal transmitted by the M ports.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The second piece of information further includes a third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate the effective duration of the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: Send a third piece of information, where the third piece of information is used to indicate third channel estimation auxiliary information, and the third channel estimation auxiliary information is the updated channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that, The second piece of information further includes a fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first reference signal resource is a reference reference signal resource, The configuration information of the reference reference signal resource is the reference configuration information for configuring the reference signal resource, and / or, the reference reference signal resource is not associated with the reporting configuration information.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The method further includes: Receive a fifth piece of information, where the fifth piece of information is used to indicate the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal resource, and the fifth piece of information includes one or more of the following: The maximum number of supported reference reference signal resources; The maximum number of ports for each supported reference reference signal resource; The effective duration of the supported reference reference signal resource.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The method further includes: Sending a sixth piece of information, where the sixth piece of information is used to query the support capability of the terminal for the reference reference signal resource.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The first piece of information is the reporting configuration information of the channel state information, and the first piece of information specifically indicates reporting the channel state information of N2 ports among the N1 ports of the first reference signal resource.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The first reference signal resource is associated with multiple reporting configuration information, and the multiple reporting configuration information includes the first piece of information. The ports of the first reference signal resource for obtaining the channel state information indicated by the multiple reporting configuration information are different.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, Including a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or including a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 25.

27. A communication system, characterized in that, Including a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 and a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 25.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, Including a processor, where the processor is coupled to a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or executes the method according to any one of claims 14 to 25.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 25 is executed.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, Including an instruction, when the instruction is run by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 25.

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