Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The communication method comprises: when a first parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, a network device sends a first demodulation reference signal to a first terminal device on each of at least one first time unit, and sending a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device on each of the at least one second time unit, each second time unit is also used for transmitting a physical channel of the first terminal equipment; the first parameter is used for representing the network coverage condition of the first terminal device, and the at least one first time unit is located behind the at least one second time unit. Therefore, the network equipment can send the additional DMRS to the first terminal equipment on the first time unit, so that the accuracy of channel estimation of the terminal equipment can be improved by sending more DMRS to the terminal equipment, and the network coverage performance is further improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of internet-of-things (IoT) technology, the interconnection of all things is gradually becoming a reality, and more and more IoT devices have been deployed in people's lives. In order to better realize interconnection and intercommunication, IoT networks need to provide wider coverage.

[0003] Currently, for a traditional 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) terminal device, the coverage performance can be improved by increasing the bandwidth. However, the bandwidth resources of an evolved IoT terminal device (such as a next-generation IoT terminal device) are limited, for example, the bandwidth resources of the evolved IoT terminal device often have only one or a few resource blocks (RBs), and it is difficult to improve the coverage performance by increasing the bandwidth resources. Therefore, how to improve the coverage performance of the next-generation IoT terminal device is a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus to improve the coverage performance of a communication system by configuring more demodulation reference signals for a terminal device.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, and the method comprises: when a first parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, the network device sends a first demodulation reference signal to a first terminal device in each of at least one first time unit, and sends a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit; each second time unit is also used for transmitting a physical channel of the first terminal device; wherein the first parameter is used to represent the network coverage of the first terminal device, the at least one first time unit is located after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink data or downlink data of the first terminal device.

[0006] In the method, when the network device determines that the network coverage of the first terminal device is poor, the network device can configure, on the basis of configuring the demodulation reference signal in the second time unit used for transmitting the physical channel of the first terminal device, the demodulation reference signal additionally needed to be sent to the first terminal device in the first time unit located after the second time unit, so as to improve the accuracy of channel estimation of the terminal device by sending more demodulation reference signals to the first terminal device, so that the terminal device uses transmission parameters and configurations more in line with the current channel to perform data transmission, and finally the coverage performance can be effectively improved.

[0007] In a possible design, the first parameter used to represent the network coverage of the first terminal device can be replaced with: the first parameter is a reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device, a scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, or a transmission bandwidth of the physical channel.

[0008] In a possible design, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: a reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device, a scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, and a transmission bandwidth of the physical channel.

[0009] In a possible design, the network device can further send first indication information to the first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

[0010] Through the design, the network device can notify the first terminal device of the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal for the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can receive the demodulation reference signal additionally sent by the network device according to the transmission configuration, thereby improving the efficiency of the first terminal device in receiving the demodulation reference signal.

[0011] In a possible design, the network device can further send second indication information to the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal takes effect.

[0012] Through the design, the first terminal device can know the position and quantity of the demodulation reference signal sent by the network device, so as to ensure that the first terminal device receives all the demodulation reference signals sent by the network device.

[0013] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, and the method includes:

[0014] The first terminal device receives a first demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one first time unit; and the first terminal device receives a second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit; each of the second time units is also used for transmitting a physical channel of the first terminal device; wherein the at least one first time unit is after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink data or downlink data of the first terminal device.

[0015] In the method, the first terminal device can receive the first demodulation reference signal additionally transmitted by the network device in the first time unit based on the second demodulation reference signal transmitted by the network device in the second time unit, so that the first terminal device can improve the accuracy of channel estimation by receiving more demodulation reference signals, so as to use transmission parameters and configurations more in line with the current channel for data transmission, thereby effectively improving the coverage performance of the communication system. In addition, when the terminal device has good coverage, correct data transmission can be achieved only by receiving the second time unit, which can save the power consumption of the first terminal device.

[0016] In a possible design, the first terminal device receives first indication information from the network device, and the first indication information is used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

[0017] Through the design, the first terminal device can know that the network device additionally transmits the first demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in the first time unit after transmitting the second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in the second time unit, so that the first terminal device improves the channel estimation result by receiving more demodulation reference signals, thereby improving the network coverage performance of the first terminal device.

[0018] In a possible design, the first terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal takes effect.

[0019] Through the design, the first terminal device can know the position and quantity of the demodulation reference signal transmitted by the network device, so as to ensure that the first terminal device receives all the demodulation reference signals transmitted by the network device.

[0020] In a possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first demodulation reference signal occupies consecutive N symbols in each of the first time units, N is an integer greater than or equal to 3, and the second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each of the second time units, M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0021] Through the design, the first terminal device can receive more demodulation reference signals in a period of time containing the first time unit and the second time unit, improve the accuracy of channel estimation, and thus improve the coverage performance.

[0022] In a possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect, the transmission configuration includes: a number of the at least one first time unit, and a time domain location of the at least one first time unit.

[0023] In a possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first indication information includes first sub-indication information or second sub-indication information, the first sub-indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate a ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit. In this way, the network device can indicate the number of the first time unit in two ways, one directly and the other indirectly through a ratio. When the network device indirectly indicates the number of the first time unit through a ratio, the first terminal device can determine the number of the first time unit according to the number of the second time unit.

[0024] In a possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect, the second indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI.

[0025] Through the design, the network device can flexibly instruct the first terminal device to receive or not receive the first demodulation reference signal through DCI.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which includes a module or unit for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which includes a module or unit for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive a signal from another device outside the communication apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor or send a signal from the processor to another device outside the communication apparatus. The processor implements the method in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect, or the method in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect, by executing code instructions through a logic circuit. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a memory coupled with the processor, which stores necessary program instructions and data of the apparatus.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which comprises the communication apparatus according to the third aspect and the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which comprises a processor coupled with a memory, the memory being configured to store programs or instructions, when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip system implements the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or implements the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0031] Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit configured to interact code instructions with the processor.

[0032] Optionally, the processor in the chip system can be one or more, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is configured to read software codes stored in the memory.

[0033] Optionally, the memory in the chip system can also be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor or arranged separately from the processor, which is not limited in the present application. For example, the memory can be a non-transient processor, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip as the processor or arranged on different chips respectively, and the type of the memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor are not limited in the present application.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer programs or instructions, when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the computer executes the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or executes the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0035] In a ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or executes the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0036] The beneficial effects of the third aspect to the ninth aspect are specifically described with reference to the technical effects achieved by the corresponding designs in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided as an example in this application;

[0038] Figure 2A This illustration shows a schematic diagram of communication between a network device and an AIoT device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 2B This illustration shows another schematic diagram of communication between a network device and an AIoT device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a DMRS configuration method when the PDSCH mapping method is of type A, as exemplarily provided in this application.

[0041] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided as an example in this application;

[0042] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first time unit and a second time unit is provided as an example in this application;

[0043] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first time unit and a second time unit is provided as an example in this application;

[0044] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first time unit is provided as an example in this application;

[0045] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, a further detailed description of this application will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The specific operational methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. Therefore, implementations of the device and method can be referred to mutually, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0049] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 4th generation (4G) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) communication systems, future communication systems, or other similar communication systems. Furthermore, the technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to cellular links, public land mobile networks (PLMNs), machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or other networks; they can also be applied to links between devices, such as device-to-device (D2D) links. D2D links can also be called sidelinks, which are also known as secondary links or auxiliary links.

[0050] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300.

[0051] The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as...) Figure 1 110a and 110b in the above), may also include at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 (Referring to 120a-120j in the original text). The terminal device connects wirelessly to the network device in the wireless access network 100, and the network device connects to the core network wirelessly or via wired connection. The network device in the wireless access network 100 can also be referred to as access network device, wireless access network device, base station, access point, etc. Figure 1 This is just an illustration; the communication system may also include other devices, such as wireless repeaters and wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 It is not shown in the middle.

[0052] Network devices in a radio access network can be base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation nodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, next-generation base stations in future communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in wireless-fidelity (WiFi) systems, Bluetooth, and StarScan, etc.; they can also be modules or units that perform some of the functions of a base station. In some deployments, a gNB can include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU implements some of the functions of the gNB, and the DU implements some of the functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services. For example, it implements radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions, etc. The DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services. For example, it can implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. The gNB can also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since the information in the RRC layer ultimately becomes the information in the PHY layer, or is transformed from the information in the PHY layer, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC layer signaling) can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU and AAU. It is understood that the network device can be one or more of the following: CU node, DU node, and AAU node. Furthermore, the CU can be a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or a network device in the core network (CN); this application does not limit this. Additionally, in the embodiments of this application, the network device provides services to the cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be the cell corresponding to a network device (such as a base station).A cell can belong to a macro base station or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. For example, a small cell can include: a metro cell, a micro cell, a picocell, a femto cell, etc. Because small cells have small coverage areas and low transmission power, they can provide high-speed data transmission services. Furthermore, in other possible cases, the network device can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, a CU can also be called an O-CU (open CU), a DU can also be called an O-DU, a CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, a CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and a radio unit (RU) can also be called an O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU units in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. Specific descriptions of the aforementioned protocol layers can be based on relevant 3GPP technical specifications. Network equipment can be a macro base station (e.g.,...). Figure 1 110a in the text), can also be a micro base station or an indoor station (such as... Figure 1 In 110b), it can also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network equipment.

[0053] Terminal devices can also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals (MT), etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as D2D, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, intelligent transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0054] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the network devices and terminal devices.

[0055] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative, for example, Figure 1 The helicopter or drone 120i can be configured as a mobile network device. For terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 via 120i, drone 120i is a network device; however, for network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device. That is, 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a and 110b can be referred to as communication devices with network equipment functions. Figure 1 The 120a-120j in the text can be referred to as communication devices with terminal equipment functions.

[0056] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes network device functions. This control subsystem, including network device functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal device can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device that includes terminal device functions.

[0057] When terminal devices are used as next-generation IoT devices, they can be called ambient IoT (AIoT) devices, or other names are not limited here. Scenarios where network devices communicate directly with AIoT devices include... Figure 2AAs shown, network devices and AIoT devices can directly transmit data. The channel used by the network device to send data to the AIoT device can be called the downlink transmission channel (or reader-device transmission channel) (Physical Device Reader Channel, PRDCH) or the ambient physical downlink shared channel (APDSCH). Correspondingly, the channel used by the AIoT device to send data to the network device can be called the physical device-to-reader channel (PDRCH) or the ambient physical uplink shared channel (APUSCH).

[0058] Scenarios where network devices and AIoT devices communicate through intermediate nodes, such as... Figure 2B As shown, network devices can transmit data with AIoT devices through intermediate nodes. The intermediate node can be a UE (User Equipment), and the network device and UE are connected via a Uu port. The UE and AIoT devices can directly send and receive data, channels, or signals. In this intermediate node topology, the channel sent by the UE to the AIoT device can be called PRDCH. Correspondingly, the channel sent by the AIoT device to the UE can be called PDRCH. Optionally, the network device pre-allocates or pre-configures time-frequency resources for the UE and AIoT devices, on which they communicate.

[0059] In the above Figure 2A and Figure 2B In the context of AIoT devices, a user-side entity is used to receive or reflect signals. AIoT devices primarily include sensors such as smart speakers, train detectors, gas stations, and inventory tags. The main functions of AIoT devices include collecting data, receiving control information and downlink data from network devices or UEs, and transmitting uplink data to network devices or UEs.

[0060] Compared to existing new radio (NR) terminal devices (e.g., NR terminal devices in R15, R16, and R17), AIoT devices have at least one of the following distinguishing features, which are illustrated below using AIoT devices as an example:

[0061] 1) The maximum bandwidth of an AIoT device can be less than the maximum bandwidth of the terminal device in R15 and R16 (e.g., the maximum bandwidth of the terminal device in R15 and R16 is 100MHz). The maximum bandwidth of an AIoT device can also be less than the bandwidth of the reduced capability (RedCap) in R17 (e.g., the bandwidth of RedCap is 20MHz). For example, the maximum bandwidth of an AIoT device can be one resource block (RB), 1.44MHz, 1.5MHz, 2.88MHz, 3MHz, etc. This is only an example and is not a specific limitation.

[0062] 2) The number of antennas supported by AIoT devices is one transmit and one receive, or one transmit and two receive.

[0063] 3) The uplink transmission channel (or device-reader transmission channel) (i.e., PDRCH) is not aligned with the start and / or boundary of the NR's time slots, frames, symbols, etc.

[0064] 4) Uplink data transmission (or device-reader data transmission) uses a single-carrier waveform or a DFT-s-OFDM waveform.

[0065] 5) The downlink transmission channel (or reader-device transmission channel) (i.e., PRDCH) is not aligned with the start and / or end boundaries of the NR's time slots, frames, etc.; the downlink transmission channel is aligned with the start and / or end boundaries of the NR's orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

[0066] 6) Downlink data transmission (or reader-device data transmission) uses CP-OFDM waveform or OFDM waveform without cyclic prefix (CP).

[0067] 7) Supported modulation methods include at least one of binary on-off keying (OOK), frequency-shift keying (FSK), binary phase shift keying (BPSK), and minimum shift keying (MSK). FSK can also be called binary frequency-shift keying (BFSK or 2FSK) or OOK-FSK.

[0068] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the technologies related to the embodiments of this application will be introduced below.

[0069] When NR terminal devices transmit data with network devices, each NR slot contains a DMRS (Digital Modular Support Array). Before sending DMRS, the network device needs to determine the specific location of the DMRS within a slot. NR DMRS can be divided into front-end DMRS and supplementary DMRS. The specific configuration parameters for front-end DMRS and supplementary DMRS are as follows:

[0070] 1) Number of continuous symbols in the preceding DMRS:

[0071] The duration of the preceding DMRS can be either 1 or 2. The possible values ​​for the duration of the preceding DMRS are shown below:

[0072] Case 1: When the terminal device is in an idle state, the default value of the continuous symbol count of the front-end DMRS is 1 for a single symbol.

[0073] Scenario 2: When the terminal device is in connected mode, the network device can configure the continuous symbol count of the frontend DMRS to single or double symbols via the radio resource controller (RRC) parameter `maxLength`. Specifically, when `maxLength` is set to `len1`, the continuous symbol count of the frontend DMRS is 1. When `maxLength` is set to `len2`, the continuous symbol count of the frontend DMRS is 2. When `maxLength` is set to `len2`, the terminal device determines the actual continuous symbol count of the frontend DMRS through the corresponding downlink control information (DCI).

[0074] 2) Location of the pre-DMRS at position l0:

[0075] Type A: The occurrence position l0 of the preceding DMRS can be either pos2 or pos3. The possible values ​​for the occurrence position l0 of the preceding DMRS are shown below:

[0076] The network device determines the position of l0 based on the DMRS-Type A-Position in the master information block (MIB) or RRC, where l0 takes the value pos2 or pos3 (the default value is pos2). When l0 is pos2, it represents the position of symbol number 2 starting from 0, which is also the position of the 3rd OFDM symbol within a time slot. When l0 is pos3, it represents the position of symbol number 3 starting from 0, which is also the position of the 4th OFDM symbol within a time slot.

[0077] Type B: l0 is the symbol position at the beginning of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) / physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0078] 3) Number of occurrences of additional DMRS:

[0079] The occurrence count of the additional DMRS can take values ​​pos0, pos1, pos2, and pos3. The possible values ​​for the occurrence count of the additional DMRS are shown below:

[0080] Network devices can determine the value of the additional DMRS occurrence count based on the higher-level configuration. When the additional DMRS occurrence count is not configured in the higher-level configuration, the default value for the additional DMRS occurrence count is pos2.

[0081] 4) Location of additional DMRS:

[0082] The locations where additional DMRS appear can be shown in Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The values ​​for the locations of additional DMRS are mainly related to three parameters: Mapping type, RRC status, and frequency hopping. The Mapping type can be Type A or Type B. The RRC status can be idle or connected. Frequency hopping indicates that DMRS is only used for PUSCH. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are used to configure the locations of additional DMRS for PUSCH, and Tables 4 and 5 are used to configure the locations of additional DMRS for PDSCH.

[0083] Table 1: The location of the additional DMRS of PUSCH within the single-symbol pre-DMRS time slot, and the frequency hopping disable within that time slot.

[0084]

[0085] Table 2: The location of the additional DMRS of PUSCH within the double-symbol pre-DMRS time slot, and the frequency hopping disable within that time slot.

[0086]

[0087]

[0088] Table 3: The position of the additional DMRS of PUSCH within the single-symbol pre-DMRS time slot, and the frequency hopping enabled within that time slot.

[0089]

[0090] Table 4: Location of Additional DMRS in Single Symbol Pre-DMRS Slots for PUSCH

[0091]

[0092] Table 5: The position of the additional DMRS of PUSCH within the double-symbol pre-DMRS time slot, and the frequency hopping disable within that time slot.

[0093]

[0094] After determining the location of the DMRS within a time slot, the network device sends the DMSR and PDSCH / PUSCH to the terminal device in that time slot. For example, taking the DMRS of PDSCH as an example, when the PDSCH mapping mode is Type A, the OFDM symbol locations corresponding to the PDCCH, pre-DMRS, and additional DMRS groups that may appear in a time slot are as follows: Figure 3 As shown. Among them, Figure 3 In this context, Pos0 indicates that the maximum number of appendages in the DMRS is 0, Pos1 indicates that the maximum number of appendages in the DMRS is 1, Pos2 indicates that the maximum number of appendages in the DMRS is 2, and Pos3 indicates that the maximum number of appendages in the DMRS is 3. Nsym represents the number of symbols.

[0095] To ensure communication of terminal devices in IoT networks, these devices require higher data transmission performance to guarantee network coverage. For existing NR terminal devices with abundant bandwidth resources, coverage performance can be improved by increasing bandwidth. However, for AIoT devices, due to their limited bandwidth resources—often consisting of only one or a few bandwidth blocks (RBs)—it is difficult to improve coverage performance simply by increasing bandwidth. Therefore, how to improve the coverage performance of AIoT devices remains an unsolved problem.

[0096] Therefore, embodiments of this application provide a communication method to improve coverage performance by configuring more DMRS for terminal devices.

[0097] Next, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For ease of explanation, all optional steps are indicated by dashed lines in the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of this application.

[0098] Figure 4 The following is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0099] S401: The network device determines the first parameter.

[0100] The first parameter characterizes the network coverage of the first terminal device. Further, the first parameter may include at least one of the following: the reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device, the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, and the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel. The physical channel is used to carry uplink or downlink data from the first terminal device. The physical channel can be PDSCH, PRDCH, or APDSCH, or it can be PUSCH, PDRCH, or APUSCH; this application does not limit the specific name of the physical channel. In this application, uplink refers to transmission from the first terminal device to the network device, and downlink refers to transmission from the network device to the first terminal device.

[0101] Optionally, the first parameter may include the reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device. The reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device may be obtained by the first terminal device itself or by the network device.

[0102] As an example, the network device can send reference signals to the first terminal device. These reference signals include, but are not limited to: synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB), channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and sounding reference signal (SRS). After receiving the reference signals, the first terminal device can measure the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) to obtain its measurement result. After obtaining the measurement result, the first terminal device can send it to the network device.

[0103] As another example, after receiving a reference signal from a first terminal device, the network device can also perform RSRP measurement on the reference signal to obtain the reference signal measurement result from the first terminal device. The reference signal sent by the first terminal device to the network device includes, but is not limited to, SRS.

[0104] Optionally, the first parameter may include the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel. In this case, the network device can determine the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel of the first terminal device based on the scheduling information of the first terminal device. The scheduling bandwidth can be either the bandwidth of the physical channel or the number of RBs occupied by the physical channel. The scheduling information can be dynamically generated by the network device based on the network status, the terminal requirements of the first terminal device, and the available resources of the network device. For example, the network device can determine the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel or the number of RBs occupied by the physical channel based on the scheduling information of the first terminal device.

[0105] Optionally, the first parameter may include the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel. In this case, the network device can determine the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel based on the service requirements of the first terminal device. These service requirements include, but are not limited to, data transmission rate and latency requirements.

[0106] After determining the first parameter, the network device can further determine whether network coverage performance needs to be improved based on the first parameter and the first threshold. Currently, network devices can improve network coverage performance by increasing the bandwidth of the first terminal device. However, in this embodiment, the network device improves network coverage performance by sending additional DMRS to the first terminal device.

[0107] In this embodiment, for ease of distinction, the time unit for transmitting additional DMRS can be referred to as the first time unit, and only DMRS is transmitted in each first time unit. Furthermore, regardless of whether the network device transmits additional DMRS, the network device will transmit DMRS in the time unit for transmitting the physical channel. For ease of distinction, in this embodiment, the time unit used for transmitting DMRS and the physical channel can be referred to as the second time unit. The DMRS transmitted in the second time unit may include pre-transmitted DMRS and additional DMRS, or may only include pre-transmitted DMRS. In this embodiment, the time unit can be a slot, containing multiple symbols. For example, the symbols contained in the time unit can be OFDM symbols.

[0108] In some embodiments, when the first parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, the network device may determine to send additional DMRS to the first terminal device. Optionally, the additional DMRS can be configured in a semi-static manner. For example, the network device can determine the DMRS transmission configuration from the DMRS configuration information based on the network coverage of the first terminal device. The transmission configuration includes, but is not limited to, the number of at least one first time unit and the time-domain location of at least one first time unit. The DMRS configuration information can be protocol-predefined information pre-configured in the RRC parameters. The DMRS configuration information can be a set of values ​​for the number of first time units or a scaling factor for the first time units. For example, the set of values ​​for the number of first time units can be {1, 2, 3, 4}. The set of values ​​for the scaling factor can be {1 / 4, 1 / 5, 1 / 8} or {1 / 4}. When the scaling factor is 1 / 4, it indicates that there is one first time unit within every four time units.

[0109] As an example, when the DMRS configuration information is a set of values ​​for the number of first time units, the network device can determine the number of at least one first time unit from this set of values ​​based on the network coverage of the first terminal device. Here, at least one first time unit follows at least one second time unit. Alternatively, the network device can determine the number of first time units based on other requirements of the first terminal device; this is not limited here. For example, such as... Figure 5 As shown, when there are 2 first time units, both first time units are located after 2 second time units.

[0110] As another example, when the DMRS configuration information is at least one scaling factor, the network device can select one scaling factor from at least one scaling factor based on the network coverage of the first terminal device. The network device can determine the number of first time units and the time-domain location of the first time units based on the selected scaling factor. For example, the network device can determine the size of the data packets transmitted to the first terminal device and determine the number of second time units based on the size of the data packets. The network device can determine the number of first time units and the time-domain location of at least one first time unit based on the scaling factor and the number of second time units. For example, as... Figure 6 As shown, when the scaling factor is 1 / 4 and the number of second time units is 6, every 4 time units contain 1 first time unit and 3 second time units, with the first time unit following the 3 second time units. Furthermore, since the network device can flexibly adjust the number or scaling of first time units based on the size of the data packets transmitted from the network device to the first terminal device, it does not require frequent updates to the configuration information of the first time units.

[0111] After determining the number of at least one first time unit, the network device can send first indication information to the first terminal device. The first indication information indicates the transmission configuration of the DMRS. Optionally, the first indication information includes first sub-indication information or second sub-indication information. The first sub-indication information indicates the number of at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information indicates the ratio of the number of at least one first time unit to at least one second time unit. After receiving the first indication information, the first terminal device can determine the transmission configuration of the first time units and thus receive the demodulation reference signal additionally sent by the network device according to the transmission configuration, thereby improving the efficiency of receiving the demodulation reference signal.

[0112] For example, a network device can send an RRC message to a first terminal device. The RRC message contains RRC parameters, with first indication information located within these parameters. For instance, if the first indication information is pre-configured in the RRC parameters, at least one bit in the RRC parameters can indicate the specific value of the number of at least one first time unit, and the ratio of the number of at least one first time unit to the number of at least one second time unit. For example, if the number of first time units is 2, the RRC parameters need to contain two bits indicating 2.

[0113] The network device can also send a second indication information to the first terminal device. This second indication information is used to indicate that the DMRS transmission configuration is effective. For example, the network device can send a DCI to the first terminal device. The DCI contains the second indication information. Alternatively, the network device can add one bit to the downlink configuration (DMRS-DownlinkConfig) or uplink configuration (DMRS-UplinkConfig) sent to the first terminal device. This added bit carries the second indication information. The network device can send the second indication information to the first terminal device by sending the downlink configuration or uplink configuration with the added bit. Furthermore, the network device can reuse a field indicating the DMRS position in the second time unit to carry the second indication information. This field can be the field for the additional DMRS position (DMRS-AdditionalPosition). When the current DMRS is a double symbol, or when the current DMRS is a single symbol and PUSCH frequency hopping is enabled, the second indication information can reuse a portion of the DMRS-AdditionalPosition value. For example, DMRS-AdditionalPosition can be either pos2 or pos3.

[0114] S402: When the first parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, the network device transmits a first demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one first time unit, and transmits a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit. The first terminal device receives the first demodulation reference signal from the network device in at least one first time unit, and receives the second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit.

[0115] The first demodulation reference signal transmitted in each first time unit may include one or more additional DMRSs, each additional DMRS occupying one symbol in the first time unit. The second demodulation reference signal transmitted in each second time unit may include at least one pre-DMRS and / or at least one additional DMRS. The position of the second demodulation reference signal in the second time unit can be determined according to the contents of Tables 1-5 above. For example, the additional DMRS occupies N consecutive OFDM symbols in the first time unit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3. For example, as... Figure 7 As shown, the first time unit contains 14 OFDM symbols, and the additional DMRS occupies 11 consecutive symbols in the first time unit. The first time unit contains multiple OFDM symbols. The physical channel and DMRS occupy M symbols in the second time unit, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2. At least one first time unit follows at least one second time unit.

[0116] Each second time unit is also used to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device. For example, the physical channel of the first terminal device can be PDSCH, PRDCH, or APDSCH, or it can be PUSCH, PDRCH, or APUSCH.

[0117] In other embodiments, when the first parameter is greater than the first threshold, the network device may determine not to send additional DMRS to the first terminal device.

[0118] S403: When the first parameter is greater than the first threshold, the network device sends a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of the at least one second time unit. The first terminal device receives the second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of the at least one second time unit.

[0119] Based on the above embodiments, when the network coverage of the first terminal device is poor, the network device can send additional DMRS to the first terminal device in addition to sending the pre-DMRS and supplementary DMRS, thus configuring more DMRS for the first terminal device. This can improve the accuracy of channel estimation by the terminal device, so that the terminal device can use transmission parameters and configurations that are more in line with the current channel for data transmission, and ultimately improve network coverage performance.

[0120] Figure 8 A schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application is shown. In this method, the network device communicates directly with the first terminal device. Figure 8 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0121] S801: The network device determines the first parameter.

[0122] The first parameter is used to characterize the network coverage of the first terminal device. The first parameter includes at least one of the following: the reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device, the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, and the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel.

[0123] The process of determining the first parameter in step S801 is the same as the process of determining the first parameter in step S401 in the above embodiment, and will not be described again here.

[0124] The network device can determine whether to send a first demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in a first time unit based on a first parameter and a first threshold. For example, when the first parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, the network device can execute steps S802-S804, causing the network device to send the first demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in the first time unit. When the first parameter is greater than the first threshold, the network device can execute step S805.

[0125] S802: The network device sends a first instruction message to the first terminal device. The first terminal device receives the first instruction message from the network device.

[0126] The first indication information is used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal. The transmission configuration includes, but is not limited to, the number of at least one first time unit and the time-domain position of at least one first time unit. The first indication information includes either first sub-indication information or second sub-indication information. The first sub-indication information indicates the number of at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information indicates the ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit.

[0127] The process of sending the first indication information to the first terminal device in step S802 is the same as the process of the network device sending the first indication information to the first terminal device in the above embodiment, and will not be described again here.

[0128] S803: The network device sends a second instruction message to the first terminal device. The first terminal device receives the instruction message from the first terminal device.

[0129] The second indication information is used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal is in effect. The second indication information can be carried in the DCI.

[0130] S804: The network device transmits a first demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one first time unit, and transmits a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit. The first terminal device receives the first demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one first time unit, and receives the second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit.

[0131] In this configuration, at least one first time unit follows at least one second time unit, and each second time unit is further used to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device. The physical channel carries uplink or downlink data from the first terminal device. The first demodulation reference signal occupies N consecutive symbols in each first time unit, and the second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each second time unit.

[0132] S805: The network device transmits a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit. The first terminal device receives the second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit.

[0133] based on Figure 8 As shown, when the first parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, and the network device determines that the network coverage of the first terminal device is poor, the network device can determine that in addition to sending a demodulation reference signal in the second time unit, it is also necessary to send an additional demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in at least one first time unit. In this way, by configuring more demodulation reference signals for the first terminal device when the coverage performance of the first terminal device is poor, the accuracy of the terminal device's channel estimation can be improved, so that the terminal device can use transmission parameters and configurations that are more in line with the current channel for data transmission, thereby improving network coverage performance.

[0134] The foregoing primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of device interaction. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, each device may include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0135] The embodiments of this application can divide the device into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0136] When using integrated units, Figure 9 A possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in an embodiment of this application is shown. For example... Figure 9 As shown, the communication device 900 may include a processing unit 901 and a transceiver unit 902. The processing unit 901 is used to control and manage the operation of the communication device 900. The transceiver unit 902 is used to support communication between the communication device 900 and other devices. Optionally, the transceiver unit 902 may include a receiving unit and / or a transmitting unit, respectively used to perform receiving and transmitting operations. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a storage unit 903 for storing the program code and / or data of the communication device 900. The transceiver unit may be referred to as an input / output unit, a communication unit, etc. Specifically, the communication device 900 may be the aforementioned first terminal device, network device, etc.

[0137] In one example, when the communication device 900 is a network device, the transceiver unit 902 is configured to send a first demodulation reference signal to a first terminal device in each of at least one first time unit when the first parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, and to send a second demodulation reference signal to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit; each second time unit is further configured to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device; wherein, the first parameter is used to characterize the network coverage of the first terminal device, the at least one first time unit is located after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink or downlink data of the first terminal device.

[0138] In one alternative approach, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: the reference signal measurement result of the first terminal device, the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, and the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel.

[0139] In one alternative approach, the first demodulation reference signal occupies N consecutive symbols in each first time unit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3, and the second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each second time unit, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0140] In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 902 is further configured to send first indication information to the first terminal device, the first indication information being used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

[0141] In one alternative approach, the transmission configuration includes: the number of the at least one first time unit and the time-domain location of the at least one first time unit.

[0142] In one alternative embodiment, the first indication information includes a first sub-indication information or a second sub-indication information, wherein the first sub-indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit.

[0143] In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 902 is further configured to send a second indication message to the first terminal device, the second indication message being used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal is effective.

[0144] In one alternative, the second indication information is carried in downlink control information (DCI).

[0145] In another example, the communication device 900 is a first terminal device, and the transceiver unit 902 is configured to receive a first demodulation reference signal from a network device in each of at least one first time unit; and to receive a second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit; each second time unit is further configured to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device; wherein the at least one first time unit is located after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink or downlink data of the first terminal device.

[0146] In one alternative approach, the first demodulation reference signal occupies N consecutive symbols in each first time unit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3, and the second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each second time unit, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0147] In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 902 is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

[0148] In one alternative approach, the transmission configuration includes: the number of the at least one first time unit and the time-domain location of the at least one first time unit.

[0149] In one alternative embodiment, the first indication information includes a first sub-indication information or a second sub-indication information, wherein the first sub-indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit.

[0150] In an alternative embodiment, transceiver unit 902 is further configured to receive second indication information from the network device, the second indication information being used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal is effective.

[0151] In one alternative, the second indication information is carried in downlink control information (DCI).

[0152] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, all units in the device can be implemented entirely through software calls from processing elements; all units can be implemented entirely in hardware; or some units can be implemented through software calls from processing elements, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, each unit can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip within the device. Alternatively, it can be stored as a program in memory, called and executed by a processing element of the device. Moreover, these units can be fully or partially integrated together, or implemented independently. The processing element here can also be called a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the operations or units described above can be implemented through integrated logic circuits in the processor element or through software calls from processing elements.

[0153] In one example, a unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the methods described above, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. As another example, when a unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor capable of calling programs. Furthermore, these units can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0154] The receiving unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. The transmitting unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to transmit signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit for the chip to transmit signals to other chips or devices.

[0155] Please refer to Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, used to implement the operation of the network device or the first terminal device in the above embodiments. The communication device 1000 includes a processor 1010 and an interface 1030. Optionally, the communication device 1000 also includes a memory 1020. The interface 1030 is used to enable communication with other devices.

[0156] In the above embodiments, the method executed by the network device or the first terminal device can be implemented by the processor 1010 calling a program stored in the memory (which can be the memory 1020 in the network device or the first terminal device, or an external memory). That is, the communication device 1000 for implementing the functions of the network device or the first terminal device may include a processor 1010, which executes the method executed by the network device or the first terminal device in the above method embodiments by calling a program in the memory. The processor here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities, such as a CPU. The access network device can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementation methods can be combined.

[0157] When the communication device 1000 is used in the above method, the processor 1010 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 901, and the interface 1030 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 902.

[0158] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0159] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented or operate the described functions using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor; alternatively, it can also be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented using a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0160] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of this application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software units can be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be housed in an ASIC.

[0161] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0162] In one or more exemplary implementations, the functions described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of these three. If implemented in software, these functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted on a computer-readable medium in the form of one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media that facilitate the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. For example, such computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and other forms that can be read by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Furthermore, any connection can be suitably defined as a computer-readable medium, for example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server or other remote resource via a coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wirelessly, such as infrared, wireless and microwave, it is also included in the defined computer-readable medium. The disks and discs mentioned include compressed disks, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically copy data magnetically, while discs typically copy data optically using lasers. Combinations of these can also be contained in computer-readable media.

[0163] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0164] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the above descriptions are merely specific implementations of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made based on the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application should be included within the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. The above description of this application specification allows any artist in the art to utilize or implement the content of the embodiments of this application. Any modifications based on the disclosed content should be considered obvious in the art. The basic principles described in the embodiments of this application can be applied to other variations without departing from the inventive nature and scope of this application. Therefore, the content disclosed in the embodiments of this application is not limited to the described embodiments and implementations, but can be extended to the maximum scope consistent with the principles of this application and the disclosed new features.

[0165] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and modifications to the embodiments of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, the embodiments of this application are also intended to include these modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to network devices, the method includes: When the first parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, a first demodulation reference signal is sent to the first terminal device in each of at least one first time unit, and a second demodulation reference signal is sent to the first terminal device in each of at least one second time unit; each second time unit is also used to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device. Wherein, the first parameter is used to characterize the network coverage of the first terminal device, the at least one first time unit is located after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink or downlink data of the first terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first parameter includes at least one of the following: The reference signal measurement results of the first terminal device, the scheduling bandwidth of the physical channel, and the transmission bandwidth of the physical channel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first demodulation reference signal occupies N consecutive symbols in each first time unit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3. The second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each second time unit, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first indication message to the first terminal device, the first indication message being used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The transmission configuration includes: the number of the at least one first time unit and the time domain position of the at least one first time unit.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first sub-indication information or a second sub-indication information. The first sub-indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second indication message to the first terminal device, the second indication message being used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal is effective.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second indication information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI).

9. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first terminal device, the method includes: Receive a first demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one first time unit; and receiving a second demodulation reference signal from the network device in each of at least one second time unit; each second time unit is also used to transmit the physical channel of the first terminal device; Wherein, the at least one first time unit is located after the at least one second time unit, and the physical channel is used to carry uplink or downlink data of the first terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first demodulation reference signal occupies N consecutive symbols in each first time unit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3. The second demodulation reference signal and the physical channel occupy M symbols in each second time unit, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The transmission configuration includes: the number of the at least one first time unit and the time domain position of the at least one first time unit.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first sub-indication information or a second sub-indication information. The first sub-indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one first time unit, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the ratio of the number of the at least one first time unit to the number of the at least one second time unit.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives a second indication message from the network device, the second indication message being used to indicate that the transmission configuration of the demodulation reference signal is in effect.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The second indication information is carried in the downlink control information (DCI).

16. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a network device for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, and a first terminal device for performing the method as described in any one of claims 9-15.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a memory and one or more processors, the memory being coupled to the one or more processors; The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit; The transceiver unit is used to receive and send data; The processing unit is configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It includes computer program instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

20. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is run on a computer, it causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

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