Processing configuration information of a reference signal

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a solution for handling configuration information of reference signals. In the solution, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, control information comprising a phase tracking reference signal - demodulation reference signal (PTRS - DMRS) association field, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; determines an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations; and determines at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS - DMRS association field and the association configuration.

Description

Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 596021, filed November 3, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0002] Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the telecommunications field, and more specifically to methods, apparatuses, devices, and computer-readable storage media for processing configuration information of reference signals. Background Technology

[0003] In 3GPP Release 18, support for eight transmit (TX) uplink (UL) transmissions has been agreed upon. For the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) to phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) association, the UL downlink control information (DCI) can include a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field. For eight TX UL operations, the user equipment (UE) can be configured with maxRank, where maxRank defines the maximum number of layers (sometimes referred to as PUSCH layers) associated with the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0004] For eight TX UL operations, each PTRS port can be associated with up to four DMRS ports. That is, four bits are needed to indicate the associated DMRS layer for PTRS ports #0 and #1. However, in the existing DCI format, two bits can be used to indicate PTRS-DMRS association. Therefore, it is desirable to also discuss how to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of eight TX UEs without increasing the DCI payload. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to at least: receive control information from a second apparatus, the control information including a Phase Tracking Reference Signal-Demodulation Reference Signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; determine an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first apparatus; and determine at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

[0006] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to at least: send control information to a first apparatus, the control information including a Phase Tracking Reference Signal-Demodulation Reference Signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; and wherein the PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by the second apparatus based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first apparatus.

[0007] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving control information from a second device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein a first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; determining an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device; and determining at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

[0008] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: sending control information to a first device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; and wherein the PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by a second device based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: means for receiving control information from a second apparatus, the control information including a Phase Tracking Reference Signal-Demodulation Reference Signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; means for determining an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first apparatus; and means for determining at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

[0010] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: a component for transmitting control information to a first apparatus, the control information including a Phase Tracking Reference Signal-Demodulation Reference Signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; and wherein the PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by the second apparatus based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first apparatus.

[0011] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to a third aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0013] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 An example communication environment in which example embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented is shown; Figure 2 Signaling diagrams of communications according to some example embodiments of this disclosure are shown; Figure 3 A flowchart is shown illustrating a method implemented at a first device according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; Figure 5 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0015] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0017] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0018] References to "an embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that incorporating other embodiments, whether explicitly described or not, to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0019] It should be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0020] As used herein, “at least one of the following: a list of two or more elements” and “at least one of the following: a list of two or more elements” and similar wording (where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0021] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the execution step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0022] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that, when used herein, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and / or “including” specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0023] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor having software (including digital signal processors(s)), software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when the software is not required to operate.

[0024] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used herein, the term "circuit" also encompasses only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion thereof and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term "circuit" also encompasses, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0025] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a variety of communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that embody the future types of this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0026] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communications network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header End (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a spacecraft network device, etc. In some example embodiments, the Radio Access Network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves as a UE toward the parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves as a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0027] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and recycle bins, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile termination (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment," "communication equipment," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0028] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, or resources in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, code domain, or any other resource that enables communication.

[0029] In the following text, resources in the time domain will be used as examples of resources for describing some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains. In summary, the resources used herein include, but are not limited to, time resources or frequency resources, such as subband non-overlapping full-duplex time resources, dynamic time-division duplex time resources, full-duplex evolution time resources, subbands, subcarriers, or resource elements (REs).

[0030] In a wireless communication system, a user equipment (UE) can perform a PTRS transmission procedure with appropriate configuration. When transform precoding is not enabled, the UE PT-RS transmission procedure is as follows.

[0031] The maximum number of PTRS ports configured is given by the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig. It is not expected that the UE will be configured with a greater number of UL PT-RS ports than it reports as required.

[0032] If the UE has reported the ability to support fully coherent UL transmission, then if UL PT-RS is configured, the UE will expect maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig to be configured to 1. If the UE has reported the ability to support fully coherent UL transmission, and when the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'sdmscheme', the UE can be configured with maxNrofPortsforSDM set to n2, depending on the UE's capabilities, where at most one PT-RS port is associated with each SRS resource set used by a higher-level parameter set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook'.

[0033] For codebook-based or non-codebook-based UL transmissions, the association between one or more UL PTRS ports and one or more DMRS ports is signaled by one or more PTRS-DMRS association fields, which adopt DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, and 0_3. For PUSCHs corresponding to configuration license type 1 transmissions, the UE may assume an association between UL PTRS ports and DMRS ports, which is defined by the value 0 in Table 1 below, or the value "00" in Table 2 below, or the value "00" in Table 3 below.

[0034] Table 1: PTRS-DMRS association or second PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0

[0035] Table 2: PTRS-DMRS association or second PTRS-DMRS association for UL PTRS ports 0 and 1

[0036] Table 3: PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0 or the actual UL PTRS port (if multipanelScheme is not configured), or PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS ports 0 and 1 (if multipanelScheme is configured as sdmScheme and maxNrofPortsforSDM is set to 2).

[0037] For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 or by active DCI format 0_0, the UL PTRS port is associated with DMRS port 0.

[0038] For non-codebook-based UL transmissions, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted is determined based on the Probe Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI) of the higher-level parameter sri-ResourceIndicator in DCI format 0_1, 0_2, or 0_3, or in rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant. When two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'noncodebook', the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted for each SRS resource set is determined based on the SRI corresponding to the associated SRS resource set, or the higher-level parameter sri-ResourceIndicator or sri-ResourceIndicator2 corresponding to the associated SRS resource set in rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant. If the UE has a higher-level parameter `phaseTrackingRS` configured in `DMRS-UplinkConfig`, then the UE has a PTRS port index configured for each configured SRS resource via the higher-level parameter `ptrs-PortIndex` configured in `SRS-Config`. If the PTRS port indexes associated with different SRIs are the same, then the corresponding UL DMRS port is associated with a UL PTRS port.

[0039] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'sdmscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPortsforSDM in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be sent corresponding to the SRS resource set is 2.

[0040] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'SFNscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted corresponding to each SRS resource set is determined based on the first Transmit Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI) code point field for 'codebook' or the first SRI code point field for 'nonCodebook'.

[0041] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'SFNscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted corresponding to each SRS resource set is determined based on the first TPMI code point field of 'codebook' or the first SRI code point field of 'nonCodebook'.

[0042] For UL transmissions based on partially coherent and incoherent codebooks, the actual number of UL PTRS ports is determined based on the TPMI and / or layer number, which is indicated by the precoding information and layer number segment in DCI format 0_1, 0_2, or 0_3, or configured by the higher-level parameter precodingAndNumberOfLayers. If the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig set to 'n2', the actual UL PTRS port and associated transport layer are derived from the indicated TPMI as follows: For PUSCH transmissions with 2 or 4 ports, PUSCH antenna ports 1000 and 1002 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 0, and PUSCH antenna ports 1001 and 1003 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 1.

[0043] UL PT-RS port 0 is associated with the 'x' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using PUSCH antenna ports 1000 and 1002, and UL PT-RS port 1 is associated with the 'y' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using PUSCH antenna ports 1001 and 1003, wherein 'x' and / or 'y' are given by the PTRS-DMRS association of the DCI parameters, as shown in DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, and 0_3.

[0044] For a PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, PUSCH antenna ports 1000, 1001, 1004 and 1005 in the indicated TPMI share PTRS port 0, and PUSCH antenna ports 1002, 1003, 1006 and 1007 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 1.

[0045] UL PT-RS port 0 is associated with the 'x' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using one or more of the PUSCH antenna ports 1000, 1001, 1004 and 1005, and UL PTRS port 1 is associated with the 'y' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using one or more of the PUSCH antenna ports 1002, 1003, 1006 and 1007, where 'x' and / or 'y' are given by the PTRS-DMRS association of the DCI parameters, as shown in DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 0_2.

[0046] If the UE is scheduled to have two codewords, and if the UE is configured with the higher-layer parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig set to 'n1', the PTRS port is associated with one of the DMRS ports indicated by the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI field for the codeword with the higher modulation and coding scheme (MCS). If the MCS indices of the two codewords are the same, the PTRS antenna port is associated with codeword 0. When a codeword is scheduled to transmit a PUSCH for retransmission, the MCS used to determine the PTRS association with the codeword is obtained from the DCI used for the same transport block in the initial transmission.

[0047] Further details regarding DCI format 0_1 ​​are as follows.

[0048] If PTRS-UplinkConfig is not configured in dmrs-UplinkForPUSCH-MappingTypeA or dmrs-UplinkForPUSCH-MappingTypeB and the transformation precoder is disabled, or if the transformation precoder is enabled, or if maxRank=1 and multipanelScheme is not configured, or if maxRank=1 and maxRankSfn=1, or if both PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPortsforSdm with maxRank=1 and maxRankSdm=1, then the number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 0 bits. Otherwise, the number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 or 4 bits, where Tables 1-3 and 4-5 above are used to indicate the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports, and the DMRS port is indicated by the antenna port field.

[0049] Table 4: PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0, maxRank>4

[0050] Table 5: PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS ports 0 and 1, maxRank>4

[0051] The number of bits for PTRS-DMRS association is 2 bits. When one or both PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is absent or the SRS resource set indicator field is present and equal to "00" or "01" and maxRank<=4, this field indicates the association between the PTRS port and DMRS port according to Table 1-2 corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment.

[0052] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits. When one or two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is present and equal to "10" or "11", maxRank=3 or 4, and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports according to Table 1-2 corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment.

[0053] According to Table 3, when a PTRS port is configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits, the SRS resource set indicator field exists and is equal to "10" and "11", maxRank=2, and multipanelScheme is not configured. The most significant bit (MSB) of this field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator and / or precoding information and layer digital segment, and the least significant bit (LSB) of this field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the second SRS resource indicator field and / or the second precoding information field.

[0054] According to Table 3, when two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPortsforSDM in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field exists and is equal to "10", and multipanelScheme is configured as sdmScheme, the MSB of this field indicates the association between PTRS port 0 and the DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment, and the least significant bit (LSB) of this field indicates the association between PTRS port 1 and the DMRS port corresponding to the second SRS resource indicator field and / or the second precoding information field.

[0055] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits. When a PTRS port is configured by maxNrofPortsforSDM in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field exists and is equal to "10", and multipanelScheme is configured as sdmScheme. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and the second SRS resource indicator field and / or the precoding information and layer number segment and the second precoding information field according to Table 1.

[0056] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits. When one or two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is present and equal to "10", and multipanelScheme is configured as sfnScheme. This field indicates the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports according to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment as specified in Table 1-2.

[0057] The number of bits for PTRS-DMRS association is 2 bits. When a PTRS port is configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is not present, maxRank>4 and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the selected codeword according to Table 4. If the MCS indices of the two codewords are different for the initial PUSCH, the selected codeword is the codeword with the higher MCS for the initial PUSCH, otherwise it is codeword 0.

[0058] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 4 bits. When two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is not present, maxRank>4, and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment according to Table 5.

[0059] If the "Bandwidth Part Indicator" field indicates a bandwidth part other than the active bandwidth part, and the "PTRS-DMRS Association" field exists for the indicated bandwidth part but does not exist for the active bandwidth part, then the UE assumes that the "PTRS-DMRS Association" field does not exist for the indicated bandwidth part.

[0060] When a transform precoder indicator field is present, if the bit width of the PTRS-DMRS association field used to enable the transform precoder is not equal to the bit width of the PTRS-DMRS association field used to disable the transform precoder, then multiple most significant bits with values ​​set to '0' are inserted into the PTRS-DMRS association field used for the case with the smaller bit width, until the bit widths of the PTRS-DMRS association fields used for both cases are the same.

[0061] In the case of 8 TX ULs, the UE can be configured with maxRank, where maxRank defines the maximum number of layers associated with PUSCH, and maxRank can be greater than 4 (maxRank>4) or not greater than 4 (maxRank<=4).

[0062] Based on the above discussion, if maxRank>4 and 2 PTRS ports are used, the PTRS-DMRS association field with 4 bits is used as shown in Table 5 above, and if maxRank<=4 and 2 PTRS ports are used, the PTRS-DMRS association field with 2 bits is used as shown in Table 2.

[0063] For 8 TX UL PUSCHs with partially coherent codebooks, where 2 PTRS ports (denoted as PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1) are configured by maxNrofPorts (e.g., maxNrofPorts is set to 2), the number of DMRS ports mapped to PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1 can be represented as a combination (x, y), where x is the number of layers associated with PTRS port #0 and y is the number of layers associated with PTRS port #1. Additionally, for an 8TX UL PUSCH with a partially coherent codebook, if maxRank <= 4 and the two PTRS ports (i.e., PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1) are configured by maxNrofPorts (e.g., maxNrofPorts is set to 2), then the combination (x, y) can be (4, 0), (3, 1), (3, 0), (2, 2), (2, 1), (2, 0), (1, 3), (1, 2), (1, 1), (1, 0), (0, 4), (0, 3), (0, 2), (0, 1).

[0064] Since each PTRS port can be associated with up to four DMRS ports, 2 bits are needed for each PTRS port to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association. Therefore, 4 bits are needed to indicate the associated DMRS layer of PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1.

[0065] In the existing DCI format, if maxRank <= 4 and two PTRS ports are configured (i.e., PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1), then 2 bits can be used to indicate PTRS-DMRS association. Therefore, it seems necessary to increase the DCI payload. However, increasing the DCI payload may be undesirable for system performance (e.g., in terms of PDCCH coverage).

[0066] Therefore, it is also desirable to discuss how to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of 8 TX UEs without increasing the DCI payload.

[0067] Example embodiments of this disclosure relate to a solution for processing configuration information for reference signals. In this solution, a first device (such as a terminal device) receives control information from a second device (such as a network device), the control information including a Phase Tracking Reference Signal-Demodulation Reference Signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; determines an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations; and determines at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

[0068] In this disclosure, there may be a one-to-one mapping between 'layer', 'rank', and '(DMRS) port', and therefore such expressions can be used interchangeably. For example, "number of layers" can be replaced by "number of (DMRS) ports", and "PUSCH with 4 layers" can be replaced by "PUSCH with 4 (DMRS) ports", and so on.

[0069] In this disclosure, if a PTRS port is associated with one or more layers / ports, then actual transmission will be performed on the PTRS port. Therefore, expressions such as "actual PTRS port," "PTRS port associated with at least one layer / port," and similar expressions have the same physical meaning.

[0070] Furthermore, expressions such as “the actual number of (UL)PTRS ports”, “the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer”, and similar expressions have the same physical meaning.

[0071] In the following description, although some embodiments are described with respect to two PTRS ports (i.e., PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1), these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and to help those skilled in the art to understand and implement this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. In other embodiments, more than two PTRS ports may exist.

[0072] In this disclosure, the names of fields / indicators / parameters / IEs are provided for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. In other words, the names may be changed in other embodiments. For example, the PTRS-DMRS association field, used to indicate the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports, may be renamed in other embodiments.

[0073] As used herein, the terms “UE expects,” “UE does not expect,” “terminal device expects,” and “terminal device does not expect” may imply a limitation on the configuration of a network device (also known as NW configuration). The terms “not expecting UE” and “not expecting terminal device” may imply a terminal-specific implementation, also known as a UE-specific implementation. In some embodiments, the terms “UE does not expect” and “UE does not expect” may be used equivalently.

[0074] The principles and embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Note that any section / subsection headings provided herein are not intended to be limiting. Embodiments are described throughout this document, and any type of embodiment may be included under any section / subsection. Furthermore, embodiments disclosed in any section / section may be combined in any way with any other embodiments described in the same section / section and / or different sections / sections.

[0076] Example Environment Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. The communication environment 100 includes a first device 110 and a second device 120. The service area provided by the second device 120 is referred to as a cell. The second device 120 may provide one or more cells, for example, such as... Figure 1 The shown is community 102.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be included in the terminal device, and the second device 120 may be included in the network device serving the terminal device.

[0078] In the following description, for illustrative purposes, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in connection with the terminal device can be implemented at the network device or other devices, and the operations described in connection with the network device can be implemented at the terminal device or other devices.

[0079] In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0080] Communication in communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), wireless local network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Furthermore, communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other currently known or future-developed technologies.

[0081] Working principles and example signaling for communication refer to Figure 2 This illustrates a signaling flow 200 of communications according to some embodiments of this disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 For example, signaling flow 200 can be discussed by using first device 110 and second device 120.

[0082] It should be understood that the operation of the first device 110 and the second device 120 should be coordinated. In other words, the second device 120 and the first device 110 should have a common understanding regarding configuration, parameters, etc. This common understanding can be achieved through any suitable interaction between the second device 120 and the first device 110, or between the second device 120 and the first device 110, applying the same rules / policies.

[0083] In the following description, although some operations are presented from the perspective of the first device 110, it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by the second device 120. Similarly, although some operations are presented from the perspective of the second device 120, it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by the first device 110. For the sake of brevity, some identical or similar content has been omitted here.

[0084] In some example embodiments, multiple association configurations can be represented as multiple association tables. In some example embodiments, the association tables can be defined by a wireless standards organization (such as 3GPP). If so, both the first device 110 and the second device 120 are aware of such association tables in advance.

[0085] Some example association configurations (shown in Table 6-7) are shown below.

[0086] Table 6: PTRS-DMRS association or second PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0 or PTRS port 1

[0087] Table 7: PTRS-DMRS association or second PTRS-DMRS association for UL PTRS ports 0 and 1

[0088] exist Figure 2 In the example, the first device 110 can be a terminal device, and the second device 120 can be a network device.

[0089] exist Figure 2 In the example, the first device 110 may be configured with a maximum number of layers that is less than or equal to the number of the first threshold. For example, the first device 110 may be configured with maxRank, where maxRank <= the number of the first threshold.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be eight transmit (TX) devices, and the number of first thresholds may be four (i.e., maxRank <= 4).

[0091] In some embodiments, partial and inconsistent PUSCH may be used to schedule the first device 110.

[0092] In operation, the first device 110 receives control information 210 from the second device 120, wherein the control information includes a PTRS-DMRS association field. As an example, the control information is a ULDCI including a PTRS-DMRS association field with 2 bits.

[0093] Based on the control information, the first device 110 determines 220 associated configurations (such as Table 6 or Table 7) from a plurality of associated configurations, wherein the associated configurations indicate the correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the association configuration may be determined based on the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer (also referred to as the actual number of PTRS ports). Alternatively or additionally, the association configuration may be determined based on at least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device 110.

[0095] Then, the first device 110 determines 230 for at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and association configuration.

[0096] After that, as Figure 2 As shown, using the determined DMRS port, the UL transmission corresponding to 240 can be performed using the second device.

[0097] In some example embodiments, if the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the first device 110 may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations (such as Table 6), wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port. The first device may then determine the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0098] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with a PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 0, the first device 110 may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations (such as Table 6), wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port. The first device 110 may then determine the corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0099] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, the first device 110 may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port. The first device 110 may then determine the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the number of second thresholds may be associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS associated field.

[0101] In some example embodiments, when the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, the number of the second threshold can be half of 2 raised to the power of n, that is, the number of the second threshold = 2. (n-1) or 2 (n) / 2. For example, if the PTRS-DMRS association field is 2 bits, then the number of second thresholds is 2.

[0102] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with a PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 1, the first device 110 may determine the association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations (i.e., Table 6), wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port. The first device 110 may then determine the corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0103] For better understanding only, the following example implementation is discussed with reference to a specific scenario in which 8 TX UL transmissions with partially coherent codebooks are scheduled, and maxRank<=4 and 2 PTRS ports (denoted as PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1) are configured (e.g., maxNrofPorts is set to 2).

[0104] Furthermore, the number of DMRS ports mapped to PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1 can be represented as a combination (x, y), where x is the layer number of PTRS port #0 and y is the layer number of PTRS port #1.

[0105] For 8 TX UL PUSCHs with partially coherent codebooks, if maxRank <= 4 and 2 PTRS ports (i.e., PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1) are configured by maxNrofPorts (e.g., maxNrofPorts is set to 2), then the combination (x, y) can be (4, 0), (3, 1), (3, 0), (2, 2), (2, 1), (2, 0), (1, 3), (1, 2), (1, 1), (1, 0), (0, 4), (0, 3), (0, 2), (0, 1).

[0106] In some example implementations, the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits.

[0107] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with one of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports is 0, the first device 110 may determine the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports based on the bit values ​​of two bits and the associated configuration.

[0108] For example, for the combination (4, 0), PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 4 (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 0 (meaning PTRS port #1 is not actually used). In this case, it can be determined that Table 6 is used, and the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS port #0.

[0109] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, then the first device 110 may determine a first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the highest significant bit of the two bits, and determine a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the lowest significant bit of the two bits.

[0110] Specifically, for the combination (2,2), PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 2 (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 2 (meaning PTRS port #1 is actually used). In this case, PTRS-DMRS association indications for PTRS ports #0 and #1 are needed. Furthermore, since the first / second PTRS ports have only two candidate DMRS ports (i.e., two layers), 1 bit may be sufficient to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association for the first / second PTRS ports. Therefore, it can be determined that Table 7 is used, where the MSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS ports #0 / 1, and the LSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to correspondingly indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS ports #1 / 0.

[0111] In some example embodiments, if the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, the first device 110 may determine a first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the highest significant bit of the two bits, and determine a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the lowest significant bit of the two bits.

[0112] Specifically, for the combination (1, 1), PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 1 (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 1 (meaning PTRS port #1 is actually used). However, since it is not necessary to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the PTRS port associated with layer 1, the second device 120 can set the 2-bit PTRS-DMRS association to '00' (or the first device 110 assumes it to be '00').

[0113] In some example embodiments, if the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports is 1, the first device 110 determines the appropriate DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS ports and the associated configuration based on the bit value of two bits and the associated configuration.

[0114] Specifically, for the combination (3, 1), PTRS port #1 is associated with Layer 1. Since it is not necessary to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the PTRS port associated with Layer 1, the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port of PTRS port #0.

[0115] Using the above example process, PTRS-DMRS association for 8TXUEs can be handled well without increasing the signaling payload of DCI.

[0116] Example In the following example embodiment, the UE can be 8 TX UEs and is scheduled with partial and incoherent PUSCH. Specifically, PTRS-DMRS association can be indicated for one or more PTRS ports without introducing any additional signaling overhead (i.e., with 2 bits). In this way, an enhanced signaling scheme for PTRS-DMRS association indication is provided, and the UE / NW behavior interpreting the enhanced signaling can be well specified.

[0117] As described above, the number of DMRS ports mapped to PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1 can be represented as a combination (x, y), where x is the layer number of PTRS port #0 and y is the layer number of PTRS port #1. Additionally, for 8 TX UL PUSCHs with partially coherent codebooks, if maxRank <= 4 and 2 PTRS ports (i.e., PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1) are configured by maxNrofPorts (e.g., maxNrofPorts is set to 2), then the combination (x, y) can be (4, 0), (3, 1), (3, 0), (2, 2), (2, 1), (2, 0), (1, 3), (1, 2), (1, 1), (1, 0), (0, 4), (0, 3), (0, 2), (0, 1).

[0118] According to some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the above combinations can be classified as follows: Category 1: (4,0), (3,0), (2,0), (1,0); Category 2: (0, 4), (0, 3), (0, 2), (0, 1); Category 3: (2, 2); Category 4: (3,1), (2,1), (1,3), (1,2); Category 5: (1, 1).

[0119] Different processes can be performed according to the different categories described below.

[0120] For Category 1, PTRS port #0 is associated with more than one layer (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 0 (meaning PTRS port #1 is not actually used). In this case, it can be determined that Table 6 is used, and the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS port #0.

[0121] For category 2, PTRS port #1 is associated with more than one layer (meaning PTRS port #1 is actually used), while PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 0 (meaning PTRS port #0 is not actually used). In this case, it can be determined that Table 6 is used, and the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS port #1.

[0122] For category 3, PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 2 (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 2 (meaning PTRS port #1 is actually used). In this case, PTRS-DMRS association indications for PTRS ports #0 and #1 are required. Furthermore, since the existence of only two candidate DMRS ports (i.e., two layers) associated with the bits of PTRS ports #0 / #1 may be sufficient to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the first / second PTRS ports, it can be determined that Table 7 is used, and the MSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS ports #0 / 1, while the LSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to correspondingly indicate the scheduled DMRS port for PTRS ports #1 / 0.

[0123] For category 4, one of PTRS port #0 and PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 1. Since it is not necessary to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of a PTRS port associated with layer 1, the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port associated with another PTRS port that is associated with more than one layer.

[0124] Therefore, it can be determined that Table 6 is used, and the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI can be used to indicate the scheduled DMRS port associated with another PTRS port associated with more than one layer.

[0125] For category 5, PTRS port #0 is associated with layer 1 (meaning PTRS port #0 is actually used), while PTRS port #1 is associated with layer 1 (meaning PTRS port #1 is actually used). However, since it is not necessary to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the PTRS port associated with layer 1, the second device can set the 2-bit PTRS-DMRS association to '00' (or the first device can assume it is '00').

[0126] When transform precoding is not enabled, an example procedure for the UE PT-RS transmission process is described below, using Tables 6 and 7 above and Tables 8-10 below.

[0127] Table 8: PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0 or actual UL PT-RS port (if multipanelScheme is not configured), or PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS ports 0 and 1 (if multipanelScheme is configured as sdmScheme and maxNrofPortsforSDM is set to 2).

[0128] Table 9: PTRS-DMRS association of UL PTRS port 0, maxRank>4

[0129] Table 10: PTRS-DMRS associations of UL PTRS ports 0 and 1, maxRank>4

[0130] The maximum number of PTRS ports configured is given by the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig. It is not expected that the UE will be configured with a greater number of UL PT-RS ports than it reports as required.

[0131] If the UE has reported the ability to support fully coherent UL transmission, then if UL PT-RS is configured, the UE will expect maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig to be configured to 1. If the UE has reported the ability to support fully coherent UL transmission, and when the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'sdmscheme', the UE can be configured with maxNrofPortsforSDM set to n2, depending on the UE's capabilities, where at most one PT-RS port is associated with each SRS resource set used by a higher-level parameter set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook'.

[0132] For codebook-based or non-codebook-based UL transmissions, the association between one or more UL PTRS ports and one or more DMRS ports is signaled by one or more PTRS-DMRS association fields, which adopt DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, and 0_3. For PUSCHs corresponding to configuration license type 1 transmissions, the UE may assume that the association between the UL PTRS ports and DMRS ports is defined by value 0 in Table 6, value "00" in Table 7, or value "00" in Table 8.

[0133] For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 or by active DCI format 0_0, the UL PTRS port is associated with DMRS port 0.

[0134] For non-codebook-based UL transmissions, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted is determined based on the Probe Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI) of the higher-level parameter sri-ResourceIndicator in DCI format 0_1, 0_2, or 0_3, or in rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant. When two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'noncodebook', the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted for each SRS resource set is determined based on the SRI corresponding to the associated SRS resource set, or the higher-level parameter sri-ResourceIndicator or sri-ResourceIndicator2 corresponding to the associated SRS resource set in rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant. If the UE has a higher-level parameter `phaseTrackingRS` configured in `DMRS-UplinkConfig`, then the UE has a PTRS port index configured for each configured SRS resource via the higher-level parameter `ptrs-PortIndex` configured in `SRS-Config`. If the PTRS port indexes associated with different SRIs are the same, then the corresponding UL DMRS port is associated with a UL PTRS port.

[0135] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'sdmscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPortsforSDM in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be sent corresponding to the SRS resource set is 2.

[0136] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'SFNscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted corresponding to each SRS resource set is determined based on the first Transmit Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI) code point field for 'codebook' or the first SRI code point field for 'nonCodebook'.

[0137] When the higher-level parameter multipanelScheme is set to 'SFNscheme' and two SRS resource sets are configured in srs-ResourceSetToAddModList or srs-ResourceSetToAddModListDCI-0-2, where the higher-level parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet is set to 'codebook' / 'nonCodebook' and the higher-level parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig is set to n2, the actual number of UL PTRS ports to be transmitted corresponding to each SRS resource set is determined based on the first TPMI code point field of 'codebook' or the first SRI code point field of 'nonCodebook'.

[0138] For UL transmissions based on partially coherent and incoherent codebooks, the actual number of UL PTRS ports is determined based on the TPMI and / or layer number, which is indicated by the precoding information and layer number segment in DCI format 0_1, 0_2, or 0_3, or configured by the higher-level parameter precodingAndNumberOfLayers. If the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig set to 'n2', the actual UL PTRS port and associated transport layer are derived from the indicated TPMI as follows: For PUSCH transmissions with 2 or 4 ports, PUSCH antenna ports 1000 and 1002 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 0, and PUSCH antenna ports 1001 and 1003 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 1.

[0139] UL PT-RS port 0 is associated with the 'x' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using PUSCH antenna ports 1000 and 1002, and UL PT-RS port 1 is associated with the 'y' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using PUSCH antenna ports 1001 and 1003, wherein 'x' and / or 'y' are given by the PTRS-DMRS association of the DCI parameters, as shown in DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, and 0_3.

[0140] For a PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, PUSCH antenna ports 1000, 1001, 1004 and 1005 in the indicated TPMI share PTRS port 0, and PUSCH antenna ports 1002, 1003, 1006 and 1007 in the indicated TPMI share PT-RS port 1.

[0141] UL PT-RS port 0 is associated with the 'x' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using one or more of the PUSCH antenna ports 1000, 1001, 1004 and 1005, and UL PTRS port 1 is associated with the 'y' of the UL layer transmitted in the indicated TPMI using one or more of the PUSCH antenna ports 1002, 1003, 1006 and 1007, where 'x' and / or 'y' are given by the PTRS-DMRS association of the DCI parameters, as shown in DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 0_2.

[0142] When the UE is configured with a maxRank of 4 or less, if the actual number of PTRS ports is two and the number of PUSCH layers associated with a PTRS port is one and the number of PUSCH layers associated with another PTRS port is greater than 2, then the PTRS-DMRS association of the DCI parameter only indicates the x' or y' of the associated layers of the PTRS ports associated with more than one layer.

[0143] If the UE is scheduled to have two codewords, and if the UE is configured with the higher-layer parameter maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig set to 'n1', the PTRS port is associated with one of the DMRS ports indicated by the PTRS-DMRS association field in the DCI field for the codeword with the higher modulation and coding scheme (MCS). If the MCS indices of the two codewords are the same, the PTRS antenna port is associated with codeword 0. When a codeword is scheduled to transmit a PUSCH for retransmission, the MCS used to determine the PTRS association with the codeword is obtained from the DCI used for the same transport block in the initial transmission.

[0144] Further details regarding DCI format 0_1 ​​are as follows.

[0145] If PTRS-UplinkConfig is not configured in dmrs-UplinkForPUSCH-MappingTypeA or dmrs-UplinkForPUSCH-MappingTypeB and the transform precoder is disabled, or if the transform precoder is enabled, or if maxRank=1 and multipanelScheme is not configured, or if maxRank=1 and maxRankSfn=1, or if both PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPortsforSdm with maxRank=1 and maxRankSdm=1, then the number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 0 bits. Otherwise, the number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 or 4 bits, where Table 6-10 is used to indicate the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports, and the DMRS port is indicated by the antenna port field.

[0146] The PTRS-DMRS association uses 2 bits. When one or both PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, and the SRS Resource Set Indicator field is absent or present and equal to "00" or "01" with maxRank <= 4, this field indicates the association between the PTRS and DMRS ports according to Tables 6-7, corresponding to the SRS Resource Set Indicator field and / or precoding information and layer number segments. For PUSCH transmissions with 8 ports, Table 6 is used for PTRS ports if the actual number of PTRS ports is 1, and for PTRS ports if the actual number of PTRS ports is 2 and the number of PUSCH layers associated with one of the PTRS ports is greater than 2. Otherwise, Table 7 is used for PTRS port 0 and PTRS port 1.

[0147] The number of bits for PTRS-DMRS association is 2 bits. When one or two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is present and equal to "10" or "11", maxRank=3 or 4, and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and DMRS port according to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment as specified in Table 6-7.

[0148] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits. When a PTRS port is configured by maxNrofPortsforSDM in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field exists and is equal to "10", and multipanelScheme is configured as sdmScheme. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and the second SRS resource indicator field and / or the precoding information and layer number field and the second precoding information field according to Table 6.

[0149] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 2 bits. When one or two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is present and equal to "10", and multipanelScheme is configured as sfnScheme. This field indicates the association between PTRS ports and DMRS ports according to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment as specified in Table 6-7.

[0150] The number of bits for PTRS-DMRS association is 2 bits. When a PTRS port is configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is not present, maxRank>4 and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and the DMRS port corresponding to the selected codeword according to Table 9. If the MCS indices of the two codewords are different for the initial PUSCH, the selected codeword is the codeword with the higher MCS for the initial PUSCH; otherwise, it is codeword 0.

[0151] The number of bits associated with PTRS-DMRS is 4 bits. When two PTRS ports are configured by maxNrofPorts in PTRS-UplinkConfig, the SRS resource set indicator field is not present, maxRank>4, and multipanelScheme is not configured. This field indicates the association between the PTRS port and DMRS port corresponding to the SRS resource indicator field and / or precoding information and layer digital segment, according to Table 10.

[0152] If the "Bandwidth Part Indicator" field indicates a bandwidth part other than the active bandwidth part, and the "PTRS-DMRS Association" field exists for the indicated bandwidth part but does not exist for the active bandwidth part, then the UE assumes that the "PTRS-DMRS Association" field does not exist for the indicated bandwidth part.

[0153] When a transform precoder indicator field is present, if the bit width of the PTRS-DMRS association field used to enable the transform precoder is not equal to the bit width of the PTRS-DMRS association field used to disable the transform precoder, then multiple most significant bits with values ​​set to '0' are inserted into the PTRS-DMRS association field used for the case with the smaller bit width, until the bit widths of the PTRS-DMRS association fields used for both cases are the same.

[0154] In some example embodiments, for a UE that supports one or two PTRS ports (e.g., PTRS port #0 and / or PTRS port #1) scheduled for PUSCH transmissions with a given number of layers (e.g., 4, such as maxRank <= 4), the network device may indicate the association of the PTRS and DMRS ports with a given number of bits (e.g., 2 bits), where each DMRS port is associated with one layer. For example, the network device may transmit a DCI including a PTRS-DMRS association field with a given number of bits (e.g., 2 bits).

[0155] In some example embodiments, the UE can interpret the DCI (specifically the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI) differently depending on the number of (PUSCH) layers of the shared PTRS port. As used herein, the PUSCH layer of a shared PTRS port means "PTRS port associated with more than one (PUSCH) layer".

[0156] In some example embodiments, when the number of layers sharing a PTRS port is greater than a threshold (e.g., 2, or the number of layers associated with a PTRS port is greater than the threshold number), the terminal device determines that the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the PTRS port. For example, for combinations (4, 0) and (3, 0), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #0, while for combinations (0, 4) and (0, 3), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #1.

[0157] Otherwise, the terminal device determines that the PTRS-DMRS association field is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of the two PTRS ports. For example, for combination (2,2), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS ports #0 and #1, that is, the MSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field is used for PTRS ports #0 / 1, and the LSB of the PTRS-DMRS association field is used for PTRS ports #1 / 0.

[0158] In some example embodiments, one of the PTRS ports is associated with zero PUSCH layers, and the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used for another PTRS port (associated with at least one PUSCH layer, or with more than M PUSCH layers, where M can be a pre-configured threshold number, such as 2). For example, for the combinations (4, 0) and (3, 0), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #0, while for the combinations (0, 4) and (0, 3), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #1.

[0159] In some example embodiments, one of the PTRS ports is associated with one PUSCH layer, and the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used for another PTRS port (associated with more than one PUSCH layer, or with more than M PUSCH layers, where M can be a pre-configured threshold number, such as 2). For example, for combination (3, 1), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #0, while for combination (1, 3), the PTRS-DMRS association field included in the DCI is used to indicate the PTRS-DMRS association of PTRS port #1.

[0160] Example Method Figure 3 A flowchart of an example method 300 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purposes of discussion, [the following will be discussed]. Figure 1 Method 300 is described by the angle of the first device 110 in the middle.

[0161] In block 310, the first device receives control information from the second device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number.

[0162] At block 320, the first device determines an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or the number of at least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

[0163] At box 330, the first device determines at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and association configuration.

[0164] In some example embodiments, based on the determination that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the first device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and the first device may determine the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0165] In some example embodiments, based on the determination that the layer number associated with the PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 0, the first device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and the first device may determine the corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0166] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, the first device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and the first device may determine the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the number of second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS associated field.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

[0169] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with the PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 1, the first device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and the first device may determine the corresponding DMRS port of another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0170] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports is 0, the first device may determine the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports based on the bit value of two bits and the associated configuration.

[0171] In some example embodiments, depending on whether the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, the first device may determine a first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the highest significant bit of the two bits, and determine a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the lowest significant bit of the two bits.

[0172] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports is 1, the first device can determine the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports based on the bit value of two bits and the associated configuration.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the first device is eight transmit (TX) devices, and the first threshold number is four.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0175] Figure 4 A flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purposes of discussion, [the following will be discussed]. Figure 1 Method 400 is described by the angle of the second device 120 in the middle.

[0176] At block 410, the second device sends control information to the first device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, the first device being configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; and the PTRS-DMRS association field being determined by the second device based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates the correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

[0177] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the second device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate the corresponding DMRS port used for the PTRS port.

[0178] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is 0, the second device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and wherein the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port of another PTRS port.

[0179] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, the second device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate the corresponding DMRS port used for the PTRS port.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the number of second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS associated field.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

[0182] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is 1, the second device may determine an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate the corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein when the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 0, the bit value of the two bits indicates the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein, in the case that the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, the bit value of the most significant bit of the two bits indicates a first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port, and the bit value of the least significant bit of the two bits indicates a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein when the layer number associated with one of the PTRS ports is 1, the bit value of the two bits indicates the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0186] In some example embodiments, the first device is an 8-transmit (TX) device, and the first threshold number is 4.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0188] Example devices, equipment and media In some example embodiments, a first device capable of performing any method 300 (e.g., Figure 1 The first device 110 may include a component for performing a corresponding operation of method 300. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: components for receiving control information from the second device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; components for determining an association configuration from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device; and components for determining at least one DMRS port for at least one PTRS based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

[0190] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the first apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and corresponding DMRS ports; and a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port for a PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0191] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with a PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 0, the first apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and a corresponding DMRS port; and a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port of another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0192] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, the first apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and a corresponding DMRS port; and a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the number of second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS associated field.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

[0195] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is 1, the first apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and a corresponding DMRS port; and a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port of another PTRS port based on the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

[0196] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, and wherein the first device further includes a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based on the bit value of the two bits and the association configuration, based on determining that the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 0.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, and wherein the first device further includes: a component for determining a first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the highest significant bit of the two bits, and for determining a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based at least in part on the bit value of the lowest significant bit of the two bits, depending on whether the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, and wherein the first device further includes: a component for determining a corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port based on the bit value of the two bits and the association configuration, according to determining that the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 1.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the first device is eight transmit (TX) devices, and the first threshold number is four.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes components for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 300 or the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the components include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform.

[0202] In some example embodiments, a second device capable of performing any method 400 (e.g., Figure 1 The second device 120 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 400. This component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in... Figure 1 The second device 120 in the middle.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the second device includes a component for sending control information to the first device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; and wherein the PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by the second device based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or at least one corresponding number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations based on determining that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and corresponding DMRS ports; and wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations based on determining that the number of layers associated with the PTRS port in at least one PTRS port is 0, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and corresponding DMRS ports; and wherein the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port of another PTRS port.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and corresponding DMRS ports; and wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate the corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the number of second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS associated field.

[0208] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

[0209] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further includes: a component for determining an association configuration as a first association configuration among a plurality of association configurations based on determining that the number of layers associated with at least one PTRS port is 1, the first association configuration indicating a correspondence between candidate bit values ​​of a PTRS-DMRS association field and corresponding DMRS ports; wherein the bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicate a corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein when the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 0, the bit value of the two bits indicates the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0211] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein in the case that the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, the bit value of the most significant bit of the two bits is at least partially based on a first corresponding DMRS port indicating one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port, and the bit value of the least significant bit of the two bits indicates a second corresponding DMRS port indicating the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the first device is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field includes two bits, wherein when the layer number associated with one of the PTRS ports is 1, the bit value of the two bits indicates the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the first device is eight transmit (TX) devices, and the first threshold number is four. In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

[0214] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device further includes a component for performing other operations in some exemplary embodiments of method 400 or second device 120. In some example embodiments, the component includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to perform.

[0215] Figure 5 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 can be provided to implement a communication device, for example, such as... Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 shown. As shown, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processors 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processors 510.

[0216] Communication module 540 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 540 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, communication module 540 may include at least one antenna.

[0217] As a non-limiting example, processor 510 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 500 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock of a synchronous main processor.

[0218] Memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), optical disc, laser disc, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that will not persist for the duration of a power outage.

[0219] Computer program 530 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 510. The instructions of program 530 may include instructions for performing operations / actions of some example embodiments of this disclosure. Program 530 may be stored in memory (e.g., ROM 524). Processor 510 can perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0220] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by program 530, enabling device 500 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 2 to 4 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0221] In some example embodiments, program 530 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 500 (such as memory 520) or other storage device accessible by device 500. Device 500 may load program 530 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 522 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0222] Figure 6 An example of a computer-readable medium 600 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc. A program 530 is stored on the computer-readable medium 600.

[0223] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0224] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions that execute in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, such as those included in a program module, to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0225] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0226] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0227] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0228] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the discussion above, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated otherwise, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0229] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: The first device receives control information from the second device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; An association configuration is determined from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: The number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or At least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device; and At least one DMRS port for the at least one PTRS is determined based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, The association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and The corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port is determined based on the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

3. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is 0, The association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and The appropriate DMRS port for the other PTRS port is determined based on the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

4. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the number of layers associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to a second threshold number, The association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and The corresponding DMRS port for the PTRS port is determined based on the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

5. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the number of the second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field.

6. The first apparatus of claim 5, wherein the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

7. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is 1, The association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, wherein the first association configuration indicates the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; and The appropriate DMRS port for the other PTRS port is determined based on the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the first association configuration.

8. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits, wherein, The first device is also made to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with either the first PTRS port or the second PTRS port is 0, Based on the bit values ​​of the two bits and the associated configuration, a corresponding DMRS port is determined for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

9. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits, and wherein, The first device is also made to: Based on the determination that the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, A first corresponding DMRS port for one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is determined at least in part based on the bit value of the highest significant bit of the two bits, and a second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is determined at least in part based on the bit value of the lowest significant bit of the two bits.

10. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits, and wherein, The first device is also made to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 1, Based on the bit values ​​of the two bits and the associated configuration, a corresponding DMRS port is determined for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

11. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus comprises eight transmit (TX) devices and the number of the first threshold is four.

12. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

13. A second device, comprising: At least one processor; And at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: Control information is sent to the first device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field. The first device is configured with a maximum number of layers that is less than or equal to a first threshold number; and The PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by the second device based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates the correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: The number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or At least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

14. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the second device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the number of PTRS ports associated with at least one layer is 1, the association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS ports; Furthermore, the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port used for the PTRS port.

15. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the second device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is 0, the association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; Furthermore, the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port of the other PTRS port.

16. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the second device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the number of layers associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is greater than or equal to the number of second thresholds, the association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; Furthermore, the bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port used for the PTRS port.

17. The second apparatus of claim 16, wherein the number of the second thresholds is associated with the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field.

18. The second apparatus of claim 17, wherein the number of bits in the PTRS-DMRS association field is n, and the number of the second threshold is half of 2 raised to the power of n.

19. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the second device is further configured to: Based on the determination that the layer number associated with the PTRS port in the at least one PTRS port is 1, the association configuration is determined as the first association configuration among the plurality of association configurations, the first association configuration indicating the correspondence between the candidate bit values ​​of the PTRS-DMRS association field and the corresponding DMRS port; The bit value of the PTRS-DMRS association field indicates the corresponding DMRS port for another PTRS port.

20. The second apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits. Furthermore, when the layer number associated with one of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports is 0, the bit values ​​of the two bits indicate the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS ports and the second PTRS ports.

21. The second apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits. And among them, When the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 2 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 2, or when the number of layers associated with the first PTRS port is 1 and the number of layers associated with the second PTRS port is 1, The value of the most significant bit of the two bits is at least partially based on a first corresponding DMRS port indicating the use of one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port, and The value of the least significant bit of the two bits indicates the second corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

22. The second apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first apparatus is configured with a first PTRS port and a second PTRS port, and the PTRS-DMRS association field comprises two bits. And where the number of layers associated with one of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port is 1, The bit values ​​of the two bits indicate the corresponding DMRS port for the other of the first PTRS port and the second PTRS port.

23. The first apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first apparatus comprises eight transmit (TX) devices and the number of the first thresholds is four.

24. The first device according to claim 13, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

25. A method comprising: The first device receives control information from the second device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field, wherein the first device is configured with a maximum number of layers less than or equal to a first threshold number; An association configuration is determined from a plurality of association configurations, wherein the association configuration indicates a correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: The number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or At least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device; and At least one DMRS port for the at least one PTRS is determined based on the PTRS-DMRS association field and the association configuration.

26. A method comprising: Control information is sent to the first device, the control information including a phase tracking reference signal-demodulation reference signal (PTRS-DMRS) association field. The first device is configured with a maximum number of layers that is less than or equal to a first threshold number; and The PTRS-DMRS association field is determined by the second device based on an association configuration, wherein the association configuration indicates the correspondence between bit values ​​and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, and the association configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: The number of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) ports associated with at least one layer, or At least one corresponding layer associated with at least one PTRS port of the first device.

27. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a device to perform at least the method of any one of claims 25-26 or the method of claim 25 or 26.

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