A method, apparatus and system for channel estimation

Abstract

A method and device for channel estimation, the method comprising: a first communication device receiving a first reference signal and a second reference signal, in a case where a first QCL is satisfied between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, the first communication device determining channel estimation information of a second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information of a first channel and the second reference signal. In the present application, in the process of channel estimation, in addition to the target channel being estimated based on the target signal, the target channel can also be estimated by referring to auxiliary information, thereby improving the accuracy of channel estimation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a method, apparatus, and system for channel estimation. Background Technology

[0002] Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is one of the key technologies in mobile communication. In MIMO technology, multiple transmit antennas at the transmitting end and multiple receive antennas at the receiving end are used to transmit and receive signals, thereby achieving multiple transmissions and multiple receptions and improving communication quality.

[0003] Reference signals are transmitted between the transmitter and receiver to transmit and receive data, obtain system synchronization information, and provide feedback channel information. For example, the transmitter sends a reference signal to the receiver, which receives the reference signal and can then estimate channel information based on it, and feed back channel information such as channel state information (CSI). As communication systems support larger antenna architectures and more transport streams, the overhead of information exchange between the transmitter and receiver for channel measurement and estimation will increase significantly. Therefore, reducing the signaling overhead in the channel estimation process is a problem worth considering. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method, apparatus, and system for channel estimation, aiming to reduce the overhead of information exchange between the transmitter and receiver for channel estimation while ensuring the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0005] Firstly, a method for channel estimation is provided. This method can be executed by a first communication device. Unless otherwise specified, the "first communication device" in this application can be a terminal device, or a component applicable to the terminal device (e.g., a communication module, processor, chip, or chip system, such as a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in the terminal device (e.g., a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip), or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. For ease of description, the following description uses the execution of the method by the first communication device as an example.

[0006] The channel estimation method includes: a first communication device receiving a first reference signal and a second reference signal from a second communication device. If a first quasi-colocation (QCL) is satisfied between the first and second reference signals, the first communication device can determine channel estimation information for a second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information about the first channel and the second reference signal. The information about the first channel is generated based on channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the first communication device can estimate the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal, and determine the channel estimation information of the second channel. That is to say, in the process of channel estimation, the first communication device in this application can not only estimate the target channel (e.g., the second channel) based on the target signal (e.g., the second reference signal), but also refer to auxiliary information (e.g., the information of the first channel) during the estimation of the target channel, thereby improving the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0008] In addition, the information of the first channel mentioned above is generated by the first communication device itself by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal to obtain the channel coefficients. There is no need for the second communication device to directly provide the information of the first channel to the first communication device. In other words, the signaling overhead of transmitting auxiliary information can be reduced while improving the channel estimation accuracy.

[0009] Furthermore, the information of the first channel in this application is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal. The channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal can be understood as channel-based data rather than model data. In other words, the above technical solution can be applied to scenarios where channel estimation does not rely on a channel model. It can directly derive channel characteristics from actual channel measurement data, reduce errors introduced by model assumptions, eliminate the need to design different channel models for different channel scenarios, improve the accuracy of channel estimation, and reduce the overhead of channel estimation.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of the same type or reference signals of different types.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the two reference signals that satisfy the first QCL in this application can be reference signals of the same type or reference signals of different types. Compared with the two reference signals associated with QCL defined in the current protocol being reference signals of different types, the source reference signal and target reference signal of QCL defined in this application can be of the same type or different types, which improves the configuration flexibility.

[0012] In addition, the QCL source reference signal and target reference signal defined in this application can be of the same type, so that the auxiliary information in the channel estimation process based on the target reference signal can be determined based on the same type of source reference signal, which can improve the accuracy of channel estimation to a certain extent.

[0013] For example, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of the same type, including: the first reference signal is a first channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and the second reference signal is a second CSI-RS; or, the first reference signal is a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and the second reference signal is a second DMRS.

[0014] Optionally, both the first CSI-RS and the second CSI-RS are CSI-RS for measuring channel state information (CSI).

[0015] Optionally, the first DMRS and the second DMRS can both be physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) DMRS or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) DMRS.

[0016] For example, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of different types, including: the first reference signal is CSI-RS and the second reference signal is DMRS; or, the first reference signal is DMRS and the second reference signal is CSI-RS.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the number of spatial resources of the first reference signal is greater than 1, and the number of spatial resources of the second reference signal is greater than 1.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, the number of spatial resources for the first reference signal can be greater than 1, and the number of spatial resources for the second reference signal can also be greater than 1. Here, spatial resources can be understood as port resources, meaning the QCL source reference signal (i.e., the first reference signal) can be a multi-port reference signal. Therefore, during channel estimation based on the target reference signal (i.e., the second reference signal), the first reference signal can not only obtain the channel characteristics in the time and frequency domains but also the channel characteristics in the spatial domain, thus improving the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first communication device receiving a first reference signal from a second communication device includes: the first communication device receiving the first reference signal from the second communication device on a first resource. The first communication device receiving a second reference signal from the second communication device includes: the first communication device receiving the second reference signal from the second communication device on a second resource; wherein the number of resources in the first resource is greater than the number of resources in the second resource; or, the resource density of the first resource is greater than the resource density of the second resource.

[0020] Based on the above technical solution, the first resource corresponding to the first reference signal has a larger number of resources, or a higher resource density, compared to the second resource corresponding to the second reference signal. This can be understood as follows: comparing the first and second resources, the QCL source reference signal (i.e., the first reference signal) has a higher density of resources in the spatial, temporal, or frequency domains, while the target reference signal (i.e., the second reference signal) has a lower density of resources in the spatial, temporal, or frequency domains. In other words, during channel estimation based on the target reference signal, the auxiliary information can be determined based on the reference signal corresponding to the higher-density resources, which can improve the accuracy of channel estimation to a certain extent.

[0021] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the spatial resources corresponding to the second resource are distributed non-equally spaced in the spatial domain, and / or, the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are distributed non-equally spaced in the frequency domain.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, the second resource corresponding to the second reference signal can be non-equally spaced in the spatial domain and also non-equally spaced in the frequency domain. This can be understood as the application not limiting whether the first resource for transmitting the second reference signal is continuous in the spatial domain; it can be multiple continuous spatial resources or multiple non-contiguous (or non-equally spaced) spatial resources. Similarly, the application does not limit whether the first resource for transmitting the second reference signal is continuous in the frequency domain; it can be multiple continuous frequency resources or multiple non-contiguous (or non-equally spaced) frequency resources. The above technical solution is applicable to various resource distribution scenarios, thereby improving the flexibility of the above technical solution.

[0023] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first communication device determines channel estimation information of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information of the first channel and the second reference signal, including: the first communication device obtaining measurement information of the second channel based on the second reference signal. The first communication device determines the channel estimation information of the second channel based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel, wherein the measurement information of the second channel is a first number of channel coefficients for spatial resources, and the channel estimation information is a second number of channel coefficients for spatial resources; or, the measurement information of the second channel is a first number of channel coefficients for frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is a second number of channel coefficients for frequency domain resources; or, the measurement information of the second channel is a first number of channel coefficients for both spatial and frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is a second number of channel coefficients for both spatial and frequency domain resources, wherein the first number corresponds to the second reference signal, the second number corresponds to the first reference signal, and the second number is greater than the first number.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, in the process of the first communication device estimating the channel to obtain the channel estimation information of the second channel based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel obtained based on the second reference signal, the channel estimation information of the second channel can be the relationship between the channel coefficients of a second number of resources (e.g., spatial resources, frequency resources, or spatial-frequency resources) and the channel coefficients of a first number of resources (e.g., spatial resources, frequency resources, or spatial-frequency resources) in the spatial domain. Moreover, since the second number is greater than the first number, that is, the channel coefficients of the resources corresponding to the first reference signal (e.g., the channel coefficients of spatial resources, frequency resources, or spatial-frequency resources) are greater than the channel coefficients of the resources corresponding to the second reference signal (e.g., the channel coefficients of spatial resources, frequency resources, or spatial-frequency resources), thus referring to the channel coefficients related to the first channel in the process of estimating the channel estimation information of the second channel can improve the channel estimation accuracy.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel. The interpolation matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix of the first channel and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel are obtained by matrix decomposition of the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal.

[0026] Based on the above technical solutions, the specific form of the information of the first channel involved in this application can be varied, that is, there are multiple possibilities for the information that can serve as the first channel, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate information of the first channel including any one of the following: the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0028] Based on the above technical solution, when there are multiple possibilities for the information of the first channel determined by the first communication device based on the first reference signal, the second communication device can indicate which type of information the first channel is through the first indication information, thereby avoiding the first communication device selecting inappropriate auxiliary information when performing channel estimation and improving the accuracy of signal estimation.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining, based on the second resource, that the information of the first channel includes any one of the following: the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, wherein the second resource is the resource for receiving the second reference signal.

[0030] Based on the above technical solution, when there are multiple possibilities for the information of the first channel determined by the first communication device based on the first reference signal, the first communication device can determine which type of information the first channel is based on the specific situation of the second resource corresponding to the second reference signal, thereby avoiding the selection of inappropriate auxiliary information when the first communication device performs channel estimation and improving the accuracy of signal estimation.

[0031] In addition, compared with the above-mentioned scheme where the first indication information indicates the information of the first channel, this technical solution does not require the second communication device to indicate which type of information the first channel is through the indication information, thus reducing signaling overhead.

[0032] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a first type, the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a second type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel; or, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a third type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a fourth type, the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel; or, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a fifth type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel; or, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a sixth type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, the type information of the first QCL can indicate that there are different types of the first QCL, and different types of the first QCL correspond to different first channel information. By clearly defining the type of the first channel information from the design of the first QCL, the auxiliary information selected by the first communication device when performing channel estimation is inappropriate, thereby improving the accuracy of signal estimation.

[0034] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the number of rows of the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is n1, the number of columns of the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is r1, the number of rows of the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel is n2, the number of columns of the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel is r2, the number of rows of the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is n3, and the number of columns of the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is r3. Wherein, n1 is the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r1 is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; wherein, n2 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, n2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the second reference signal; where, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and r3... The number of frequency domain resources is less than or equal to the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmitting ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmitting ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

[0035] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the number of rows of the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is n4, the number of columns of the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is t1, the number of rows of the spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is n5, the number of columns of the spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is t2, the number of rows of the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is n6, and the number of columns of the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is t3. Wherein, n4 is the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t1 is the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; wherein, n5 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal, or, n5 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the second reference signal; wherein, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal. The product is defined as follows: t3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmitting ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and t3 is the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmitting ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

[0036] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the information of the first channel is the basis matrix of the first channel, determining the channel estimation information based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel includes: determining first coefficients based on the measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and a first matrix; estimating the second channel based on the basis matrix of the first channel and the first coefficients to determine the channel estimation information, wherein the first matrix is ​​used to indicate the location of the second resource for transmitting the second reference signal.

[0037] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, the information of the first matrix, and the first coefficients satisfy the following relationship:

[0038] S=((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) H *H RS2

[0039] Where S represents the first coefficient, P represents the first matrix, U represents the basis matrix of the first channel, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information of the second channel.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the basis matrix of the first channel, the first coefficients, and the channel estimation information satisfy the following relationship:

[0041] Y = U*S

[0042] Where Y represents the channel estimation information, S represents the first coefficient, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel.

[0043] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the information of the first channel is the interpolation matrix of the first channel, determining the channel estimation information based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel includes: determining the interpolation matrix of the first channel based on the basis matrix of the first channel and a first matrix; estimating the second channel using the interpolation matrix of the first channel and the first coefficients to determine the channel estimation information, wherein the first matrix is ​​used to indicate the location of the second resource for transmitting the second reference signal.

[0044] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the interpolation matrix of the first channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and the first matrix satisfy the following relationship:

[0045] X=U((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) h

[0046] Where X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, P represents the first matrix, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel.

[0047] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the interpolation matrix of the first channel, the measurement information of the second channel, and the channel estimation information satisfy the following relationship:

[0048] Y = X * HRS2

[0049] Where Y represents the channel estimation information, X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information of the second channel.

[0050] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the type of the first QCL is a new QCL type other than QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C and QCL type D.

[0051] Secondly, a communication method for channel estimation is provided. This method can be executed by a second communication device. Unless otherwise specified, the "second communication device" in this application can be a network device, or a component applicable to a network device (e.g., a communication module, processor, chip, or chip system, such as a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a network device (e.g., a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of a network device. For ease of description, the following explanation uses execution by a second communication device as an example.

[0052] The communication method for channel estimation includes: sending a first reference signal to a first communication device; sending a second reference signal to the first communication device, wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy a first QCL representation: the information of the first channel and the second reference signal are used to determine channel estimation information of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal, wherein the information of the first channel is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending first indication information to the first communication device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate information of the first channel including any one of the following: the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0054] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending first transmission configuration information to the first communication device, the first transmission configuration information including an identifier of the first reference signal and type information of the first QCL, wherein the type of the first QCL is a new QCL type other than QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C and QCL type D.

[0055] Regarding the beneficial effects not described in detail in the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0056] Thirdly, a communication apparatus is provided for performing the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above. Specifically, the apparatus may include units and / or modules for performing the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect, such as processing units and / or communication units.

[0057] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0058] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0059] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor for executing a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory for storing the computer program or instructions; correspondingly, at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory. Optionally, the device further comprises a communication interface coupled to the processor, which can be used to input information to the processor or output information from the processor. Optionally, the processor reads the computer program or instructions from the memory through the communication interface.

[0060] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0061] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment).

[0062] Fifthly, a processor is provided for performing the methods provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0063] Unless otherwise specified, or if it does not contradict its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, the transmission and / or reception operations involved by the processor can be understood as processor output and / or input operations, or as transmission and / or reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0064] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a program or instructions for execution by a device, the program or instructions including a method for performing any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above.

[0066] Eighthly, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor reads instructions from a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any of the above implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0067] Optionally, as one implementation, the chip further includes a memory storing computer programs or instructions, and a processor for executing the computer programs or instructions in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is used to perform the method provided by any of the above implementations of the first or second aspect.

[0068] Ninthly, a communication system is provided, comprising a first device (or a first communication device) and a second device (or a second communication device). The first device is used to perform the method provided as in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the second device is used to perform the method provided as in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0069] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application is shown as an example.

[0070] Figure 2 An exemplary schematic diagram of an open radio access network (ORAN) system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0071] Figure 3 An exemplary diagram of the network element function division and protocol layer structure of an ORAN device provided in an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0072] Figure 4 An example is shown showing the QCL type between different reference signals.

[0073] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a channel estimation method provided in this application.

[0074] Figures 6 to 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the first and second resources provided in this application.

[0075] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a QCL type provided in this application.

[0076] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of another QCL type provided in this application.

[0077] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a method for generating a basis matrix provided in this application.

[0078] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of a P-matrix provided in this application.

[0079] Figure 14 A schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0080] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided for an embodiment of this application.

[0081] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0082] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first.

[0083] First, in this application, "for indicating" can include both direct and indirect indication. When describing an indication message for indicating A, it can include whether the indication message directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but does not necessarily mean that the indication message carries A.

[0084] The information indicated by the instruction is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. At the same time, common parts of various pieces of information can be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the instruction overhead caused by individually indicating the same information.

[0085] Second, in this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more (including two). Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, "first," "second," and various numerical designations (e.g., "#1," "#2," etc.) are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The sequence numbers of the processes below do not imply an order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged where appropriate to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application. Moreover, in the embodiments of this application, terms such as "S510" are merely identifiers for descriptive convenience and do not limit the order of execution steps.

[0086] Third, in the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design options. Specifically, the use of the words "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0087] Fourth, the term "storage" in the embodiments of this application can refer to storage in one or more memories. These memories can be separate installations or integrated into an encoder, decoder, processor, or communication device. Alternatively, some memories can be separately installed, while others can be integrated into the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this application does not limit this.

[0088] Fifth, in the implementation of this application, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, such as 5th generation (5G) protocols, new radio (NR) protocols, and related protocols applied to future communication systems; this application does not limit this. "Predefined" may include predefined terms, such as protocol definitions. "Preconfiguration" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device; this application does not limit its implementation method.

[0089] Sixth, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "of", "corresponding (relevant)", "corresponding", and "associate" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when their differences are not emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent.

[0090] Seventh, in the embodiments of this application, "under the circumstances", "when", and "if" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction is not emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent.

[0091] Eighth, the term "and / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c can represent: a, or, b, or, c, or, a and b, or, a and c, or, b and c, or, a, b, and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0092] Ninth, the terms "message", "information", or "information element (IE)" can be used interchangeably in this article. There are no restrictions on the names of messages, information, or frames, as long as they can achieve the corresponding functions.

[0093] Tenth, in this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, and "send information" can include direct transmission or indirect transmission through other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, and "receive information" can include direct reception from YY or indirect reception from YY through other units or modules. Besides air interface transmission or reception signals implemented at the system level, such as network devices or terminal devices, "send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. For example, a modem or system-on-a-chip (e.g., SoC chip or SIP chip) transmits or receives signals. "Send" or "receive" can also be performed through device components, for example, using buses, traces, or interfaces to transmit or receive signals through several parts, modules, or chips of a device.

[0094] "Communication" can also be described as data transmission, information transmission, data processing, etc. "Transmission" includes sending and / or receiving. "Transmission" can be described as output. "Sending" can also be understood as the output of a chip interface, and "receiving" can be understood as the input of a chip interface. In other words, "sending" or "receiving" can occur between devices, for example, device 1 and device 2 sending or receiving data via an air interface. "Sending" or "receiving" can also occur within a device, for example, sending or receiving data between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0095] For example, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logic module within a device sending information to another logic module. For instance, "device 1 sending information" can be understood as device 1 sending information to device 2, or it can be understood as logic module 1 within device 1 sending information to logic module 2 within device 1. Similarly, "receiving information" can be understood as device 1 receiving information from device 2, or it can also be understood as logic module 1 within device 1 receiving information from logic module 2. For instance, "device 1 receiving information" can be understood as device 1 receiving information from device 2, or it can be understood as logic module 1 within device 1 receiving information from logic module 2 within device 1.

[0096] Furthermore, in this application, ID can be an abbreviation of any of the following: identifier, indication, indicator, index, identity, or identification. That is, identifier, indication, indicator, index, identity, or identification can be used interchangeably.

[0097] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0098] The technical solutions in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi or WiFi) systems, fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication systems (such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems), fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems (such as new radio (NR) systems), or future communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to low-frequency scenarios, high-frequency scenarios, terahertz frequencies, etc.

[0099] The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as inter-satellite communication and satellite communication. As an example, a satellite communication system includes a satellite base station and terminal equipment. The satellite base station provides communication services to the terminal equipment. The satellite base station can also communicate with other base stations. A satellite can act as a base station or as a terminal device. Here, "satellite" can refer to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), hot air balloons, low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, high-Earth orbit (HEO) satellites, etc. "Satellite" can also refer to non-terrestrial base stations or non-terrestrial equipment, etc.

[0100] In a communication system, a device can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, network element, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This application uses a device as an example for description. For instance, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device. This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features related to systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, combinations of these approaches are also possible.

[0101] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application is shown as an example. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may also include an Internet 300.

[0102] RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as...) Figure 1 110a and 110b (collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 RAN 100, denoted as RAN 120a-120j, is collectively referred to as RAN 120. RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 1 (Not shown in the image). Terminal 120 is connected to RAN node 110 wirelessly. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0103] RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future communication systems. RAN 100 can also be ORAN, cloud radio access network (CRAN), or WiFi system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0104] RAN node 110, sometimes referred to as RAN entity or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and assists terminals in achieving wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative, for example... Figure 1 Network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example... Figure 1 Network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0105] RAN nodes can also be described in different ways, such as access network equipment. Unless otherwise specified in this application, access network equipment will be used as the term.

[0106] Access network equipment can be devices or modules located on the network side of the aforementioned communication system and possessing corresponding communication functions. Access network equipment typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform the corresponding communication functions. Access network equipment may also be configured with programs or instructions for performing the corresponding communication functions, as well as the corresponding programs or instructions themselves.

[0107] In one possible scenario, access network equipment can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission point (TP), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (or transmit / receive point, TRP), a mobile switching center, a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a future communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. Access network equipment can also be a macro base station (such as...). Figure 1 110a), micro base stations or indoor stations (such as Figure 1The access network equipment can be categorized as follows: 110b), relay nodes or donor nodes, wireless controllers in CRAN scenarios, satellites, drones, balloons, or aircraft, etc. Optionally, the access network equipment can also be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network equipment in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0108] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each device performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, the access network devices can be a central unit (CU or control unit), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0109] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (O-RU). Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0110] For ease of description, the concepts of "access network equipment" and "site" will be used together in this application. Access network equipment can be understood as a collective term for all equipment (including sites) on the access network side; for example, one or more sites can be collectively referred to as access network equipment. A site can refer to a transmission node specifically located in a physical location. In other words, access network equipment conceptually includes sites.

[0111] A terminal is a device or module that connects to the aforementioned communication system and possesses corresponding communication functions. A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, wireless terminal device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote station, user terminal, user agent, or user device, etc. A terminal typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform the corresponding communication functions. The terminal can also be configured with programs or instructions for performing these communication functions.

[0112] Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices or smart wearable devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables. Terminals used in vehicles are called in-vehicle terminal devices, which include, for example, transportation vehicles with wireless communication capabilities, communication modules, or on-board units (OBUs).

[0113] For example, a terminal may include a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal device, or a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, or computer-embedded mobile device. For instance, a terminal may be a Personal Communication Service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or other similar devices. A terminal may also include restricted devices, such as devices with limited power consumption, limited storage capacity, or limited computing power. For example, a terminal may be an information sensing device such as a barcode scanner, radio frequency identification (RFID), a sensor, a global positioning system (GPS), or a laser scanner. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0114] In this application, core network equipment refers to equipment in the core network that provides service support to terminals. For example, in the case where CN200 is the core network of a future communication system, a 5G core network, or an evolved 5G core network, some examples of core network equipment include: access and mobility management function (AMF) entities, session management function (SMF) entities, user plane function (UPF) entities, policy control function (PCF) entities, etc., which are not listed here. Among them, the AMF entity can be responsible for terminal access management and mobility management; the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as user session establishment; the UPF entity can be a user plane functional entity, mainly responsible for connecting to external networks. For example, in the case of CN200 as the 4G core network, some core network devices include: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Public Data Network Gateway (PDN Gateway, P-GW), etc., which will not be listed here. It should be noted that in this application, entities can also be referred to as network elements or functional entities. For example, an AMF entity can also be called an AMF network element or AMF functional entity, and an SMF entity can also be called an SMF network element or SMF functional entity, etc. The above-mentioned core network devices can work independently or be combined to implement certain control functions. For example, AMF, SMF, and PCF can be combined into a single core network device.

[0115] Figure 2 An exemplary schematic diagram of an ORAN system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application is shown. The ORAN system in this embodiment may include... Figure 2 Other components besides those shown. For example... Figure 2As shown, access network devices can communicate with the core network (CN) via a backhaul link and with terminals via an air interface. For example, a BBU in an access network device communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, and an RU in an access network device communicates with at least one terminal via an air interface. A BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. A BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, which can communicate via at least one midhaul link.

[0116] Figure 3 An exemplary diagram of the network element function division and protocol layer structure of an ORAN device provided in an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0117] In some possible implementations, the CU is a logical node carrying the RRC layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions of the access network equipment. The CU can connect to network nodes such as the core network through interfaces (e.g., E2 interfaces). Optionally, the CU may have some core network functions. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers of the CU) connects to the DU (e.g., the radiolink control (RLC) layer and lower layers of the DU) through interfaces (e.g., F1 interfaces). For example, the F1 interface can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is the application protocol of the F1 interface, defining the signaling procedures of F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports both the F1 control plane (F1-C) and the F1 user plane (F1-U).

[0118] In some examples, a CU may include CU-CP and CU-UP. CU-CP is a logical node carrying the control plane (PDCP-C) layer, which carries the RRC layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer, and is used to implement the CU's control plane functions. CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. These network elements in the core network can be Access and Mobility Function (AMF) network elements, such as the AMF in a 5G system. CU-UP is a logical node carrying the user plane (PDCP-U) layer, which carries the SDAP layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer, and is used to implement the CU's user plane functions. CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. These network elements in the core network are, for example, the UPF in a 5G system.

[0119] In some possible implementations, the DU is a logical node that carries the RLC layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, the higher physical layer (HigherPHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, the DU can control at least one RU. The DU connects to the RU through some interface (e.g., a fronthaul interface). In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes the physical layer (PHY) processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation.

[0120] The above configurations of CU and DU are merely examples; the functions of CU and / or DU can be configured as needed. For instance, CU or DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or to have only some protocol layer processing functions. For example, some RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions above the RLC layer can be placed in the CU, while the remaining RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions below the RLC layer can be placed in the DU. Furthermore, the functions of CU or DU can be divided according to service type or other system requirements, such as by latency, placing functions that need to meet low latency requirements in the DU and functions that do not need to meet such latency requirements in the CU.

[0121] In some possible implementations, the RU is a logical node that carries both the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and radio frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, the RU may be a 3GPP TRP or RRH, or other similar functional entities. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes PHY processing functions such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering. The RU communicates with one or more terminals via a wireless link.

[0122] The DU and RU can be co-located or not. The DU and RU exchange control plane and user plane information via a fronthaul link through a Lower-Layer Split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS or LLS-C / U / S) interface. LLS-CUS may include a Lower-Layer Split C-Plane (LLS-C) interface providing the control plane (C-Plane) and a Lower-Layer Split U-Plane (LLS-U) interface providing the user plane (U-Plane). In some examples, the control plane refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via a Lower-Layer Split management (LLS-M) interface on the fronthaul link. The management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0123] DU and RU can cooperate to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of DU and RU can be configured in various ways depending on the design. For example, a DU can be configured to implement baseband functions, and an RU can be configured to implement mid-RF functions. Another example is that a DU can be configured to implement higher-level functions in the PHY layer, and an RU can be configured to implement lower-level functions in the PHY layer, or both lower-level and RF functions. Higher-level functions in the physical layer can include a portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the MAC layer, while lower-level functions in the physical layer can include another portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the mid-RF side.

[0124] Over the past few decades, wireless communication systems have evolved from first-generation analog communication to NR. Throughout this complex evolution, high throughput and massive connectivity have remained core challenges for wireless communication networks. Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology can significantly improve system capacity and meet the demands of high-speed transmission. Massive MIMO technology utilizes spatial resources to enable signals to achieve array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing system bandwidth, thereby multiplying the capacity and spectral efficiency of communication systems.

[0125] MIMO enables multi-stream, high-speed data transmission, relying on precise channel state information for precoding and transmission. A multi-stream, high-precision codebook can support the acquisition of the necessary channel information.

[0126] The communication systems and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0127] It should be understood that the above naming is defined solely for the purpose of distinguishing different functions and should not constitute any limitation on this application. This application does not preclude the possibility of using other naming conventions in 5G networks and other future networks. For example, in future networks, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may use the terminology from 5G, or they may use other names, etc.

[0128] It should be understood that Figure 1 This explanation uses communication between access network equipment and terminal equipment, and between access network equipment and core network equipment, as examples to briefly illustrate one communication scenario in which this application can be applied, and does not limit other scenarios in which this application can be applied. It should also be understood that... Figure 1 This is a simplified illustration for ease of understanding only. The communication system may also include other network devices or other terminal devices. Figure 1 It was not drawn in the middle.

[0129] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, some basic concepts involved in this application will be briefly explained.

[0130] 1. Multi-input multi-output (MIMO) technology: Utilizing spatial resources, signals can obtain array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing system bandwidth, thereby multiplying the capacity and spectral efficiency of the communication system.

[0131] 2. Reference signal (RS): Also known as pilot, reference sequence, reference signal, etc. For consistency, it will be described as reference signal below. A reference signal is a physical signal that transmits a sequence to achieve a specific function. Specifically, a reference signal is a physical signal generated by mapping a specific sequence onto corresponding resources according to a preset resource mapping method.

[0132] In a MIMO system, each port has an independent data channel. Based on a known reference signal, the receiver performs channel estimation for each port and reconstructs the transmitted data accordingly. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing the received signal to compensate for channel fading and noise, using the known reference signals from both the transmitter and receiver to detect changes in the channel's time and frequency domains.

[0133] Network devices can configure different reference signals for terminal devices. Uplink reference signals include, but are not limited to: sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), etc. Downlink reference signals include, but are not limited to: channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), channel state information-interference measurement reference signal (CSI-IMRS), cell specific reference signal (CS-RS), user equipment specific reference signal (US-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), or synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block), etc. Among them, the SS / PBCH block can be simply referred to as the synchronization signal block (SSB). CSI-RS also includes: Non-Zero Power CSI-RS (NZP CSI-RS) and Zero Power CSI-RS (ZP CSI-RS).

[0134] The reference signal in this application may also be a reference signal other than those listed above, which will not be listed here. In addition, the reference signal may also be called a pilot or pilot signal.

[0135] DMRS can be used for demodulation of PDSCH or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0136] CSI-RS can be used to measure channel information and report CSI. The channel state information includes at least one of the following: precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), channel quality indicator (CQI), and layer indicator (LI).

[0137] It should be understood that the reference signals listed above are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting this application. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future agreements to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0138] 3. Channel Estimation: In a MIMO system, each transmit antenna (virtual or physical) has an independent data channel. Based on a known reference signal, the receiver performs channel estimation for each transmit antenna and reconstructs the transmitted data accordingly. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing the received signal to compensate for channel fading and noise. It uses the reference signal known to both the transmitter and receiver to detect the time and frequency domain variations of the channel. This reference signal can also be called a pilot signal or RS. Within an OFDM symbol, the reference signal is distributed across different resource elements (REs) in the time-frequency two-dimensional space and has known amplitude and phase.

[0139] 4. Channel Information: This refers to information that reflects channel characteristics and channel quality. As an example, channel information includes at least one of the following: CSI, time-varying channel information, or channel frequency offset information, etc.

[0140] Channel information represents channel-related information between the network device side and the terminal device side. It is information that reflects channel characteristics and channel quality, and includes at least one of the following: channel state information, channel precoding information, channel environment information, beam information, beam angle information, beam power information, beam indication information, channel feature vector, channel eigenvalue, channel amplitude information, or channel phase information. The channel involved in this application can be an uplink channel, downlink channel, or sidelink channel, etc., and is not limited thereto.

[0141] Channel state information indicates the state of the channel. Channel precoding information indicates the precoding matrix of the channel, etc. Beam information indicates the beam used for transmitting or receiving signals, such as including the beam index. Beam angle information includes, for example, at least one of beam pointing, beamwidth, or beamforming method. Beam pointing includes, for example, the direction of the main lobe formed by beamforming. Beamwidth refers to the degree to which the main lobe formed by beamforming is broadened in space. Beamforming method refers to the method of beamforming, such as numerical methods, etc. Beam power information indicates the power of the beam. Beam indication information refers to the parameters required for beamforming. The channel eigenvector is a vector used to represent the transmission characteristics of the channel. The channel eigenvalue refers to the eigenvalue of the channel matrix. Channel amplitude information refers to the amplitude changes of the signal during transmission. Channel phase information refers to the phase changes of the signal during transmission.

[0142] 5. Time-domain resources: Time-domain resources may include one or more time-domain units (or time cells). A time-domain unit may be a symbol, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a mini-slot, a slot, a partial slot, a subframe, or a radio frame, etc. A slot may consist of 6, 7, 12, or 14 symbols; a mini-slot may include at least one symbol (e.g., 2, 7, or 14 symbols, or any number of symbols less than or equal to 14); the duration of a subframe in the time domain may be 1 millisecond (ms).

[0143] It should be understood that the time-domain unit sizes listed above are merely for the convenience of understanding the scheme of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application. It is understood that the time-domain unit sizes listed above can be other values, and this application does not limit them.

[0144] 6. Port: A port, also known as an antenna port, can include transmit ports and receive ports. An antenna port is a logical concept; one antenna port can correspond to one physical transmit antenna or multiple physical transmit antennas. In both cases, the terminal's receiver does not decompose signals from the same antenna port. From the terminal's perspective, regardless of whether the channel is formed by a single physical transmit antenna or by combining multiple physical transmit antennas, the RS corresponding to that antenna port defines that antenna port. For example, the antenna port corresponding to the demodulation reference signal DMRS is the DMRS port, and the terminal can obtain the channel estimate for the corresponding antenna port based on the reference signal. Each antenna port corresponds to a time / frequency resource grid and has its own independent reference signal. One antenna port is one channel, and the terminal performs channel estimation and data demodulation based on the reference signal corresponding to that antenna port.

[0145] Optionally, a port refers to a port after beamforming and / or phase rotation.

[0146] An antenna port is typically associated with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot signal), and its meaning can be understood as a transmit / receive interface on the channel through which the reference signal passes. In low-frequency systems, an antenna port may correspond to one or more antenna elements that jointly transmit the reference signal; the receiver can treat them as a whole without distinguishing between individual elements. In high-frequency systems, an antenna port may correspond to a beam; similarly, the receiver only needs to treat this beam as an interface and does not need to distinguish between individual elements.

[0147] 7. Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI): In NR, the beam indication of the beam or reference signal transmitted by the downlink channel is implemented by associating the reference resource index in the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status table.

[0148] TCI can be used to indicate TCI state. In one implementation, the network device configures a TCI state table for the terminal device through higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC). Each TCI state table contains several TCI states (corresponding to TCI-RS-Set in 3GPP standard 38.331). Each TCI state includes a TCI state ID, one or two quasi-peer QCL type indications (e.g., QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C, or QCL type D, etc.), and the reference signal index RS-ID corresponding to each type indication.

[0149] After RRC configuration, the network device can activate one or more TCI-states via higher-layer signaling (e.g., MAC CE). The activated TCI-state is a subset of the TCI-state list configured in the aforementioned RRC message. The network device can also indicate a selected TCI-state via the TCI field in physical layer signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)). This DCI can, for example, be applied to the DCI that schedules physical downlink resources.

[0150] The configuration information of a TCI state can include the identifiers of one or two reference signal resources and the associated QCL type. When the QCL relationship is configured as type A, type B, or type C, the terminal device can demodulate the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or PDSCH according to the TCI state indication. When the QCL relationship is configured as type D, the terminal device can know which transmit beam the network device uses to transmit signals, and then determine which receive beam to use to receive signals based on the beam pairing relationship determined by the channel measurement described above. The terminal device can determine the receive beam for receiving PDSCH based on the TCI field in the DCI on the PDCCH.

[0151] As described above, the TCI state can be used to indicate the QCL relationship between two reference signals. The TCI state includes the type of QCL (multiple (e.g., two) different QCL types can be configured) and the reference signal for each QCL type. Specifically, the reference signal may include: the carrier component (CC) identification (ID) and / or the bandwidth part (BWP) ID of the reference signal, and the number (or reference signal resource identifier) ​​of each reference signal resource. The reference signal resource identifier can be, for example, at least one of the following: non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS reference signal resource identifier (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId), non-zero power CSI-RS reference signal resource set identifier (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId), or SSB index (SSB-Index).

[0152] To facilitate understanding, the structure of a TCI state is briefly introduced below:

[0153]

[0154] 8. Quasi-colocation (QCL): Also known as quasi-co-location, quasi-co-location, etc. QCL can assist the UE in channel estimation, frequency offset error estimation, and synchronization processing. When the channel characteristics of one antenna port can be derived from those of another antenna port (signals transmitted from two different antenna ports will experience a radio channel with common characteristics), then the two antenna ports are considered to be in QCL.

[0155] Common wireless channel characteristics at the antenna port include Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, delay spread, and spatial receiver parameters.

[0156] Doppler shift: The frequency change of a radio signal relative to the receiver.

[0157] Doppler spread: The difference between the signal frequency and time at points Tx and Rx. Doppler spread defines a frequency range. When a transmitter sends a signal to a receiver at frequency f0, and there is relative movement between the transmitter and receiver, due to multipath effects, the frequency of the signal received by the receiver is not necessarily f0, but rather a composite signal ranging from f0-f to f0+f. This frequency range is the Doppler spread. Here, f represents the Doppler frequency shift.

[0158] Average delay: When a signal is transmitted from multiple antennas, it reaches the receiver through multiple paths of reflection from surrounding clutter. The average time taken for the receiver to receive all the signals from these multiple paths is called the average delay.

[0159] Delay spread: The difference between the arrival time of the earliest effective multipath component (i.e., the usual line-of-sight component) and the arrival time of the last multipath component is called delay spread.

[0160] Spatial Receiver Parameters: Spatial receiver parameters refer to the beamforming characteristics of downlink received signals, such as the main angle of arrival (MAA) and average angle of arrival (ASA). These parameters are newly introduced in 5G and correspond to a series of spatial reception attributes. They are primarily used in frequency bands above 6 GHz (FR2) because 5G uses hybrid analog-digital beamforming in these bands. The direction and width of the analog beam affect the wireless channel characteristics; therefore, this parameter is introduced to characterize the beam's impact on channel characteristics. If the spatial receiver parameters of two reference signals are QCL, it means the UE can use the same Rx beam for reception.

[0161] Based on the different scenarios of terminal devices and the QCL relationships between various reference signals, the QCL types are as follows:

[0162] QCL-Type A: This type of QCL inherits Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread from the source reference signal. That is, except for the spatial receiver parameters, all other wireless channel characteristics are the same, providing a comprehensive description of the target channel. Terminal equipment can obtain a complete description of the DMRS characteristics and is often used for channel demodulation.

[0163] QCL-Type B: Can inherit Doppler frequency shift and Doppler spread from the source reference signal. Primarily for low-frequency scenarios, it is divided into two cases:

[0164] When using a narrow-beam reference signal, the wide-beam reference signal is used as the QCL reference.

[0165] The time-domain density of the target reference signal is insufficient, but the frequency-domain density is sufficient.

[0166] QCL-Type C: Inherits Doppler shift and average time delay from the source reference signal. When using the SSB as the QCL reference, due to the limited resources and density of the SSB, only some coarse radio channel characteristics can be obtained from the 5SSB; other radio channel characteristics need to be obtained from the target signal. QCL-Type C is a subset of QCL-Type A.

[0167] QCL-TypeD: Spatial receiver parameters can be inherited from the source reference signal. If two antenna ports belong to TypeD, the same beam can be used to receive signals from both ports. Therefore, in beam management, there is no explicit signaling indicating which receive beam the UE should use; instead, it is implicitly indicated through the spatial receiver parameters. Only applicable to frequency bands above 6 GHz.

[0168] For multiple resources with QCL relationships, the same or similar configurations can be used, meaning that QCL relationships are transitive:

[0169] If the QCL-TypeA of pilot A points to pilot B, and the QCL-TypeA of pilot B points to pilot C, then the QCL-TypeA of pilot A can also point to pilot C.

[0170] The QCL-TypeA of pilot A points to either pilot B or pilot C, which is determined by the UE.

[0171] If pilot A's QCL-Type A points to pilot B, and pilot B's QCL-Type C points to pilot C, then pilot A's QCL-Type C can also point to pilot C.

[0172] For ease of understanding, combined with Figure 4 Briefly explain the QCL relationship between the reference signals.

[0173] Figure 4 An example is shown illustrating the QCL type between different reference signals. For example... Figure 4 As shown, for low-frequency QCL configurations, Type C is mainly used between different SSB reference signals. Generally, relatively coarse, large-scale information can be obtained from a wide beam. TRS plays a crucial role in the accurate time-frequency synchronization of the entire system, and CSI-RS needs to obtain Type A or Type B information from TRS. For DMRS, depending on the specific signaling, the required Type A information may be obtained directly from TRS or indirectly through CSI-RS.

[0174] 9. Channel coefficient: The "channel coefficient" used in this application can be understood as the coefficients that make up the channel matrix. For example, the channel matrix consists of N*M channel coefficients, where N is the number of transmit antenna ports and M is the number of receive antenna ports. Each channel coefficient represents the channel fading coefficient between one transmit antenna port and one receive antenna port. The channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal as described in the following embodiments can be understood as: the channel matrix of the first channel is obtained by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal, and the channel matrix of the first channel is composed of these channel coefficients.

[0175] For example, channel coefficients can be used to describe the amplitude attenuation and phase shift experienced by a signal as it propagates through a wireless channel. A channel coefficient can be used to describe the amplitude and phase changes of a signal along a single path from the transmitter to the receiver. In a MIMO system, the wireless channel can be described by a channel matrix, and the channel coefficients can specifically be multiple coefficients, or elements, in the channel matrix. For example, the channel matrix can be represented as having dimension N. Rx ×N Tx The matrix H is as follows:

[0176]

[0177] Where, N Tx N represents the number of transmit antenna ports. Rx The element h represents the number of receive antenna ports. i,j This represents the channel coefficient from the j-th transmit antenna port to the i-th receive antenna port, where i is from 1 to N. Rx positive integers, j being 1 to N Tx positive integers, N Tx N Rx All are positive integers.

[0178] It should be understood that the channel matrix H mentioned above represents a channel matrix on one resource, while in the process of estimating the channel coefficients based on the first reference signal in the following embodiments, a channel matrix on multiple resources can be obtained.

[0179] It should also be understood that the channel matrix mentioned in this application can be either an uncoded channel matrix or a precoded channel matrix, without limitation. The precoded channel matrix can be understood as the equivalent channel matrix obtained by multiplying the aforementioned channel matrix H by the precoded matrix. For example, the transmission of CSI-RS in a wireless channel can be described by an uncoded channel matrix, while the transmission of DMRS in a wireless channel can be described by a precoded channel matrix. The channel coefficients mentioned below can be the coefficients that make up the uncoded channel matrix or the precoded channel matrix. For ease of distinction, the channel coefficients corresponding to the uncoded channel matrix can be called "bare channel coefficients," while the channel coefficients corresponding to the precoded channel matrix can be called "equivalent channel coefficients." "Equivalent channel coefficients" can be elements in the equivalent channel matrix obtained by multiplying the aforementioned channel matrix H by the precoded matrix. In the following text, both "bare channel coefficients" and "equivalent channel coefficients" are collectively referred to as channel coefficients.

[0180] In this application, "channel coefficient" can also be referred to as the coefficient of the channel matrix, the channel matrix, the information of the channel matrix, or the data of the channel, etc. There is no limitation on the name of "channel coefficient", as long as it can be obtained by the first communication device by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal.

[0181] The above text combined Figure 1 This paper briefly introduces the application scenarios of the channel estimation method provided in the embodiments of this application, and also introduces the basic concepts involved in the embodiments of this application, including channel estimation and QCL. Several channel estimation methods are briefly introduced below:

[0182] Method 1:

[0183] The channel estimation method shown in Method 1 involves the receiver estimating the characteristics of the wireless channel between the receiver and the transmitter by receiving a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) transmitted by the transmitter. For example, the terminal measures the downlink channel information using CSI-RS and feeds the measurement results back to the base station; for instance, the terminal reports CQI, PMI, and RI information to the base station. After obtaining the CSI information, the base station can schedule the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and resource allocation according to channel quality. Therefore, the accuracy of channel estimation directly affects the performance of the wireless system.

[0184] It should be noted that future communication systems may support larger antenna architectures (e.g., base stations with 512 or 1024 ports; or UEs with 16 or 32 ports). For communication systems with larger antenna architectures in the future, a scheme based on CSI-RS to estimate the wireless channel may lead to huge CSI-RS resource overhead.

[0185] Method 2:

[0186] Method 2 illustrates a channel estimation approach based on channel estimation assistance information and CSI-RS. In this method, the time-frequency resource distribution of CSI-RS can be low-density. The UE performs channel estimation with the channel estimation assistance information transmitted by the base station, ensuring high channel estimation accuracy. The channel estimation assistance information is typically obtained by the base station based on SRS and then indicated to the UE.

[0187] It should be noted that the interactive signaling overhead of the channel estimation auxiliary information in this channel estimation method is relatively large.

[0188] Method 3:

[0189] Method 3, which introduces the concept of QCL (Quasi-Coordinated Channel Array) to assist the UE in channel estimation, frequency offset error estimation, and synchronization processing, introduces a method for channel estimation. For example, the CSI-RS and TRS can be configured as quasi-co-located, with the quasi-co-located type being QCL Type A or Type B. This means the CSI-RS can obtain Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread as auxiliary information for channel estimation from its quasi-co-located TRS. This reduces the signaling overhead for transmitting auxiliary channel estimation information; however, the currently defined QCL relationships and types may not meet future communication needs.

[0190] For example, the channel estimation auxiliary information of CSI-RS is obtained by configuring the QCL relationship, and CSI-RS and TRS have a QCL relationship. The density of time-frequency domain resources of CSI-RS is lower than that of TRS, so more accurate wireless channel characteristics, such as Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread, can be obtained through TRS. However, TRS is a single-port resource, and only some channel characteristics in the time and frequency domains can be obtained through TRS, not the channel characteristics in the spatial domain. CSI-RS generally supports multiple ports, such as NR supporting a maximum of 32 ports. Future communication systems may support larger antenna architectures (e.g., base stations with 512 or 1024 ports; or UEs with 16 or 32 ports, etc.), corresponding to the need for future communication systems to support a larger number of CSI-RS ports, such as 1024 / 512. CSI-RS requires sparse spatial pattern design, thus necessitating the acquisition of inter-port relationships within the CSI-RS as auxiliary information for channel estimation. Therefore, obtaining auxiliary information for channel estimation from a single-port TRS is insufficient.

[0191] Furthermore, NR predefines statistical channel models (e.g., cluster delay line (CDL), tap time delay line (TDL), etc.), and the channel estimation method shown in Method 3 above is designed based on this statistical channel model. Therefore, the wireless channel characteristics included in QCL-type AD are some parameters of the statistical channel model, such as average delay, delay spread, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, etc., resulting in low channel estimation accuracy.

[0192] The channel estimation methods described in methods one through three above cannot be applied to future communication systems. For example, the CSI-RS channel estimation method shown in method one has high resource overhead; another example is that the interactive signaling overhead of channel estimation auxiliary information shown in method one is relatively high; yet another example is that the channel estimation method shown in method three has low channel estimation accuracy.

[0193] This application provides a channel estimation method that aims to ensure channel estimation accuracy while reducing the overhead of information exchange between the transmitter and receiver for channel measurement and estimation.

[0194] It should be understood that the channel estimation method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to communication systems including terminal devices and network devices, for example, applied to Figure 1 The communication architecture shown can also be applied to other communication systems. This application does not limit the application scenario in any way, and any communication system including the devices in the following embodiments is acceptable.

[0195] It should also be understood that the embodiments shown below do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application, as long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be a device, or a functional module in the device that can call and execute a program.

[0196] The following describes in detail the channel estimation method provided in the embodiments of this application, taking the interaction between devices as an example.

[0197] In the following embodiments, the first communication device can refer to the first communication device itself (e.g., a terminal device), or a component within the first communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system, such as a circuit or chip in a terminal device responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core)), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first communication device. Similarly, the second communication device can refer to the second communication device itself (e.g., a network device), or a component within the second communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system, such as a circuit or chip in a network device responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core)), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0198] For ease of description, the following text may use the example of the first communication device as the terminal device and the second communication device as the network device (e.g., a base station).

[0199] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a channel estimation method provided in this application. The channel estimation method may include the following steps:

[0200] S510, the first communication device receives a first reference signal from the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device sends the first reference signal to the first communication device.

[0201] In this application, the first reference signal may be referred to as a QCL source reference signal, source reference signal, or QCL source, etc. It should be understood that the name of the first reference signal is not limited in this application, as long as it achieves the corresponding function. For example, in this application, the first reference signal can be understood as a reference signal used to obtain auxiliary information for channel estimation.

[0202] S520, the first communication device receives a second reference signal from the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device sends the second reference signal to the first communication device.

[0203] In this application, the second reference signal may be referred to as the QCL target reference signal, target reference signal, or QCL target, etc. It should be understood that the name of the second reference signal is not limited in this application, as long as it achieves the corresponding function. For example, the second reference signal in this application can be understood as a reference signal used for channel estimation of the target channel.

[0204] For ease of distinction, the first reference signal in this application can be denoted as RS1, and the second reference signal can be denoted as RS2.

[0205] It should be noted that the first reference signal and the second reference signal in this application can be reference signals transmitted by the second communication device to the first communication device on the same time domain resources or different time domain resources. For example, the second communication device transmits the first reference signal and the second reference signal to the first communication device on different space frequency resources corresponding to time slot #1; or, for another example, the second communication device transmits the first reference signal to the first communication device on time slot #1 and transmits the second reference signal to the first communication device on time slot #2, wherein time slot #1 is a time slot preceding time slot #2.

[0206] Additionally, it should be noted that the time-domain resources involved in this application may include one or more time-domain units (or, as may be called, time units (TUs)). A time-domain unit may be one or more symbols, which may be OFDM symbols, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols, etc. Alternatively, a time-domain unit may be one or more mini-slots, or a slot, or a partial slot, or a subframe, or a radio frame, etc. The aforementioned time-domain unit sizes are merely for ease of understanding the scheme of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application. It is understood that the time-domain resources involved in this application may be other values, as long as they can represent resources in the time domain.

[0207] The frequency domain resources involved in this application may include one or more frequency units (FUs), and a frequency unit may be one or more resource elements (REs), or a frequency unit may contain one or more consecutive (or discontinuous) REs. Alternatively, a frequency unit may be one or more resource blocks (RBs), or a frequency unit may contain one or more consecutive (or discontinuous) RBs. Alternatively, a frequency unit may be one or more subcarriers, etc. The above-mentioned frequency unit sizes are merely for the convenience of understanding the scheme of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application. It is understood that the frequency resources involved in this application can be other values, as long as they can represent resources in the frequency domain.

[0208] The airspace resources involved in this application refer to port resources of reference signals. Airspace resources may include one or more airspace elements, and an airspace element may be one or more ports.

[0209] For example, the first reference signal and the second reference signal described above are reference signals of the same type or reference signals of different types.

[0210] As one possible implementation, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of the same type. For example, the first reference signal is a first CSI-RS and the second reference signal is a second CSI-RS; or, the first reference signal is a first demodulation reference signal DMRS and the second reference signal is a second DMRS.

[0211] For example, both the first and second CSI-RS are CSI-RS for CSI. CSI-RS for CSI can be understood as a CSI-RS used to acquire CSI data. It should be understood that CSI-RS has multiple functions, such as beam management, interference measurement, and CSI acquisition.

[0212] For example, the first DMRS and the second DMRS can both be PDSCH DMRS or PDCCH DMRS.

[0213] As another possible implementation, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of different types. For example, the first reference signal is CSI-RS and the second reference signal is DMRS.

[0214] For example, the number of spatial resources of the first reference signal is greater than 1, and / or the number of spatial resources of the second reference signal is greater than 1.

[0215] Optionally, the above-mentioned first reference signal having more than 1 port resource and second reference signal having more than 1 port resource can also be described as follows: the first reference signal and the second reference signal both support multiple port resources; or, the first reference signal and the second reference signal both support N port resources, where N is an integer greater than 1; or, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are both multi-port reference signals.

[0216] For example, the first reference signal is the first CSI-RS, and the second reference signal is the second CSI-RS. Both the first CSI-RS and the second CSI-RS are multi-port CSI-RS.

[0217] It should be understood that the number of spatial resources of the first reference signal mentioned above is greater than 1, and / or the number of spatial resources of the second reference signal mentioned above is greater than 1, which are merely examples. In this application, the number of spatial resources of the first reference signal can also be equal to 1, and similarly, the number of spatial resources of the second reference signal can be equal to 1.

[0218] For example, the resources used by the second communication device to transmit the first reference signal and the second reference signal to the first communication device are different. For instance, the second communication device transmits the first reference signal to the first communication device on the first resource, and the second communication device transmits the second reference signal to the first communication device on the second resource.

[0219] As one possible implementation, the different resources used by the second communication device to send the first reference signal and the second reference signal to the first communication device can be that the number of resources in the first resource and the number of resources in the second resource are different, for example, the number of resources in the first resource is greater than the number of resources in the second resource.

[0220] For example, the first resource mentioned above includes time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and spatial-domain resources. Similarly, the second resource includes time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and spatial-domain resources.

[0221] For example, the number of resources in the first resource being greater than the number of resources in the second resource can be: the number of frequency domain resources in the first resource being greater than the number of frequency domain resources in the second resource.

[0222] For example, the number of resources in the first resource being greater than the number of resources in the second resource can be: the number of airspace resources in the first resource being greater than the number of airspace resources in the second resource.

[0223] For example, the fact that the number of resources in the first resource is greater than the number of resources in the second resource can be expressed as follows: the number of frequency domain resources in the first resource is greater than the number of frequency domain resources in the second resource, and the number of spatial domain resources in the first resource is greater than the number of spatial domain resources in the second resource. Alternatively, it can be described as the number of spatial-frequency domain resources in the first resource being greater than the number of spatial-frequency domain resources in the second resource.

[0224] As another possible implementation, the different resources used by the second communication device to send the first reference signal and the second reference signal to the first communication device can be: the resource density of the first resource and the resource density of the second resource are different, for example, the resource density of the first resource is greater than the resource density of the second resource.

[0225] For example, the resource density of the first resource being greater than the resource density of the second resource can be: the resource density of the first resource in the frequency domain is greater than the resource density of the second resource in the frequency domain.

[0226] For example, the resource density of the first resource being greater than the resource density of the second resource can be: the airspace resource density of the first resource being greater than the airspace resource density of the second resource being greater than the airspace resource density of the second resource.

[0227] For example, the resource density of the first resource being greater than the resource density of the second resource can be expressed as follows: the frequency domain resource density of the first resource is greater than the frequency domain resource density of the second resource, and the spatial domain resource density of the first resource is greater than the spatial domain resource density of the second resource. Alternatively, it can be described as the spatial frequency domain resource density of the first resource being greater than the spatial frequency domain resource density of the second resource.

[0228] Optionally, if the density of the first resource is greater than the density of the second resource, it can be described as follows: the first resource is a high-density resource (or dense resource) compared to the second resource, and the second resource is a low-density resource (or sparse resource) compared to the first resource.

[0229] By way of example and not limitation, the spatial domain resources corresponding to the second resource in this application are not equally spaced in the spatial domain, and / or the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are not equally spaced in the frequency domain. The non-equally spaced spatial domain resources corresponding to the second resource can be understood as the spatial domain resources occupying multiple ports in the spatial domain, where the index difference between two adjacent ports is not equal to the index difference between two other adjacent ports. Similarly, the non-equally spaced frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource can be understood as the frequency domain resources occupying multiple frequency domain resource units, where the index difference between two adjacent frequency domain resource units is not equal to the index difference between two other adjacent frequency domain resource units.

[0230] For example, the first communication device can obtain channel state information for 256 ports based on the information from the second reference signal and the first channel. If the transmitting ports of the second reference signal are 0-255, and all ports transmit the second reference signal, then the spatial resources corresponding to the second resource are evenly distributed (or uniformly distributed) in the spatial domain; or, if the transmitting ports of the second reference signal are 0, 8, 16..., that is, the interval between any two adjacent ports is equal, then the spatial resources corresponding to the second resource are evenly distributed in the spatial domain; if the transmitting ports of the second reference signal are irregular, such as 0, 24, 100, 244, then the spatial resources corresponding to the second resource are non-evenly distributed (or non-uniformly distributed) in the spatial domain.

[0231] For example, if the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource occupy four consecutive RBs in the frequency domain (e.g., RB0, RB1, RB2, RB3), then the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are evenly distributed (or uniformly distributed) in the frequency domain; or, if the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource occupy four non-consecutive RBs in the frequency domain (e.g., RB0, RB2, RB4, RB6), then the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are evenly distributed (or uniformly distributed) in the frequency domain; if the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource occupy four irregular RBs in the frequency domain (e.g., RB0, RB2, RB5, RB9), then the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are non-evenly distributed (or non-uniformly distributed) in the frequency domain.

[0232] To facilitate understanding, the following will be combined with... Figures 6 to 9 Briefly explain the relationship between the first and second resources in this application.

[0233] like Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 Image (a) shows the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal. Figure 6As can be seen from (a), the time domain resources of the first resource occupy time slot m, the frequency domain resources of the first resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the first resource occupy 48 ports from P0 to P47. Figure 6 The second resource shown in (b) is for transmitting the second reference signal. Figure 6 As can be seen from (b), the time domain resources of the second resource occupy time slot k, the frequency domain resources of the second resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the second resource occupy 8 ports: P0, P6, P12, P18, P24, P30, P36, and P42. Figure 6 As can be seen from (b), the number of airspace resources of the second resource is less than that of the first resource, and the airspace resources of the second resource are evenly distributed in the airspace.

[0234] Here, time slot m and time slot k can be the same or different time slots. If the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal and the resource for transmitting the second reference signal are as follows... Figure 6 As shown, it can be understood that the second reference signal is not transmitted on all 48 ports. Compared to the first resource, the second resource has fewer spatial resources; therefore, the second resource can be described as a sparse spatial resource. Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 Image (a) shows the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal. Figure 7 As can be seen from (a), the time domain resources of the first resource occupy time slot m, the frequency domain resources of the first resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the first resource occupy 48 ports from P0 to P47. Figure 7 The second resource shown in (b) is for transmitting the second reference signal. Figure 7 As can be seen from (b), the time domain resources of the second resource occupy time slot k, the frequency domain resources of the second resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the second resource occupy 8 ports: P0, P1, P4, P11, P41, P46, P44, and P43. Figure 7 As can be seen from (b), the number of airspace resources of the second resource is less than that of the first resource, and the airspace resources of the second resource are not evenly distributed in the airspace.

[0235] Here, time slot m and time slot k can be the same or different time slots. If the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal and the resource for transmitting the second reference signal are as follows... Figure 7 As shown, it can be understood that the second reference signal is not transmitted on all 48 ports. Compared with the first resource, the second resource has fewer spatial resources. Therefore, the second resource can be described as a sparse spatial resource.

[0236] like Figure 8 As shown, Figure 8 Image (a) shows the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal. Figure 8 As can be seen from (a), the time domain resources of the first resource occupy time slot m, the frequency domain resources of the first resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the first resource occupy 48 ports from P0 to P47. Figure 8 The second resource shown in (b) is for transmitting the second reference signal. Figure 8 As can be seen from (b), the time domain resources of the second resource occupy time slot k, the frequency domain resources of the second resource occupy 2 RBs (RB2 and RB0), and the spatial domain resources of the second resource occupy 48 ports (P0 to P47). Figure 8 As can be seen from (b), the number of frequency domain resources of the second resource is less than that of the first resource, and the frequency domain resources of the second resource are evenly distributed in the frequency domain.

[0237] Here, time slot m and time slot k can be the same or different time slots. If the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal and the resource for transmitting the second reference signal are as follows... Figure 8 As shown, it can be understood that the second reference signal is not transmitted on all RBs. Compared with the first resource, the frequency domain resource density of the second resource is less than that of the first resource. Therefore, the second resource can be described as a frequency-domain sparse resource. Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 Image (a) shows the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal. Figure 9 As can be seen from (a), the time domain resources of the first resource occupy time slot m, the frequency domain resources of the first resource occupy 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3, and the spatial domain resources of the first resource occupy 48 ports from P0 to P47. Figure 9 The second resource shown in (b) is for transmitting the second reference signal. Figure 9 As can be seen from (b), the time domain resources of the second resource occupy time slot k, the spatial domain resources of the second resource are only a portion of the 48 ports, and the frequency domain resources of the second resource occupy a total of 4 RBs from RB0 to RB3.

[0238] In addition, only a portion of the ports on each RB are occupied, such as Figure 9As shown in (b), the spatial resources of the second resource occupy 8 ports (P0, P1, P4, P17, P41, P46, P44, and P43) within RB0; 6 ports (P19, P21, P31, P33, P43, and P45) within RB1; 10 ports (P0, P1, P20, P26, P30, P33, P36, P43, P44, and P45) within RB2; and 6 ports (P6, P3, P17, P19, P24, and P45) within RB3. This can be understood as each RB corresponding to the second reference signal occupying only a portion of the ports, rather than all 48 ports.

[0239] In addition, each port is only partially occupied by RBs, such as Figure 9 As shown in (b), the second reference signal for ports P0 and P1 occupies RB0 and RB2, the second reference signal for port P3 occupies RB3, the second reference signal for port P4 occupies RB0, the second reference signal for port P17 occupies RB3, the second reference signal for port P19 occupies RB1 and RB3, and so on, without further listing. It can be understood that among the multiple ports corresponding to the second reference signal, each port only occupies a portion of the frequency domain units, rather than occupying all of RB0 to RB3.

[0240] from Figure 9 As can be seen in (b), the second reference signal is transmitted only on a portion of the 48 ports. The number of spatial domains for the second resource is less than that for the first resource, and the spatial domain resources of the second resource are not evenly spaced in the spatial domain. Furthermore, among the multiple ports corresponding to the second reference signal, each port occupies only a portion of the frequency domain units. The frequency domain resources of the second resource are less than those of the first resource, and the frequency domain resources of the second resource are not evenly spaced in the frequency domain.

[0241] Here, time slot m and time slot k can be the same or different time slots. If the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal and the resource for transmitting the second reference signal are as follows... Figure 9 As shown, it can be understood that the second reference signal is not transmitted on all 48 ports, and the ports that are transmitted are not transmitted on all RBs. Compared with the first resource, the second resource has fewer spatial resources than the first resource. For a certain port corresponding to the second reference signal, the second resource has fewer frequency resources than the first resource. Therefore, the second resource can be described as a sparse resource in both spatial and frequency domains.

[0242] It should be understood that the above Figures 6 to 9This application is merely illustrative of the possible relationship between the first and second resources and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. The distribution of the first and second resources can also take other forms, such as those described above. Figure 8 The frequency domain resources of the second resource shown can also be evenly distributed; for example, Figure 9 The frequency domain resources of the second resource shown can also be evenly distributed, which will not be illustrated here.

[0243] In this application, when a first quasi-co-addressable (QCL) is satisfied between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, the first communication device can assist in channel estimation of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information from the first channel. Therefore, when the first quasi-co-addressable (QCL) is satisfied between the first reference signal and the second reference signal... Figure 5 The method flow shown also includes:

[0244] S550, the first communication device estimates the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal.

[0245] For example, the information of the first channel used to assist in estimating the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal can also be described as follows: the information of the first channel is used to estimate the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal; or the information of the first channel is used to estimate the parameters of the second channel; or some or all of the channel characteristics of the second channel can be derived from the information of the first channel; or some or all of the channel characteristics of the second channel can inherit the information of the first channel; or the information of the first channel is associated with the second channel, etc.

[0246] The second channel corresponding to the second reference signal can be understood as: the second channel is the channel through which the second reference signal is transmitted, or the second channel is the channel where the second reference signal is located, or the second channel is the channel of the second reference signal, etc. Similarly, the first channel corresponding to the first reference signal can be understood as: the first channel is the channel through which the first reference signal is transmitted, or the first channel is the channel where the first reference signal is located, or the first channel is the channel of the first reference signal, etc.

[0247] It should be understood that the information of the first channel mentioned above is auxiliary information to assist the first communication device in estimating the second channel based on the second reference signal.

[0248] As described above, when the first communication device satisfies the first quasi-co-address QCL between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, it can assist in channel estimation of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information from the first channel. Optionally, the second communication device can also indicate, through first transmission configuration information, that the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy the first QCL. Figure 5 The method flow shown may also include:

[0249] S530, the first communication device receives first transmission configuration information from the second communication device, and correspondingly, the second communication device sends the first transmission configuration information to the first communication device.

[0250] Specifically, the first transmission configuration information includes an identifier for a first reference signal and type information for a first QCL. The identifier for the first reference signal indicates that the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy the first QCL. The first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfying the first QCL can also be described as follows: the first reference signal is a QCL source and the second reference signal is a QCL target; or, in the first transmission configuration information, the QCL source is the first reference signal and the QCL target is the second reference signal; or, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are QCL related; or, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are associated, etc.

[0251] Optionally, the identifier of the first reference signal may be an identifier (ID) of the first reference signal, or other information capable of identifying the first reference signal. This application does not limit the specific form of the identifier of the first reference signal, and all information capable of identifying the first reference signal is within the scope of protection of this application.

[0252] For example, the type of the first QCL is a new QCL type other than QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C and QCL type D.

[0253] Optionally, the type of the first QCL in this application can be denoted as QCL type X, or QCL type E, etc., as long as it can be distinguished from the several QCL types in the QCL type AD introduced in the basic concepts above. Alternatively, the type of the first QCL in this application can be an enhancement of a certain QCL type in the current QCL type AD, such as QCL type A. However, compared with QCL type A introduced in the basic concepts above, the source QCL parameters of QCL type A in this application also include "information of the first channel" as defined in this application. The definition of "information of the first channel" will be explained in detail below and will not be repeated here.

[0254] As one possible implementation, as can be seen from the above, the first reference signal and the second reference signal can be the same type of reference signal.

[0255] For example, the source reference signal is PDSCH DMRS and the target reference signal is also PDSCH DMRS; another example is that the source reference signal is PDCCH DMRS and the target reference signal is also PDCCH DMRS; yet another example is that the source reference signal is CSI-RS and the target reference signal is also CSI-RS.

[0256] For ease of understanding, combined with Figure 10 This section briefly describes the QCL relationship between the first and second reference signals in this implementation.

[0257] like Figure 10 As shown in (a), compared to the previous text Figure 4 The low-frequency QCL configuration relationship shown in the figure is supplemented by a new QCL type in this application (e.g., Figure 10 As shown in (a), the QCL type X between PDSCH DMRS and PDSCH DMRS can be QCL type X; similarly, the QCL type between PDCCH DMRS and PDCCH DMRS can be QCL type X; and the QCL type between CSI-RS and CSI-RS can be QCL type X.

[0258] like Figure 10 As shown in (b), compared to the previous text Figure 4 The high-frequency QCL configuration relationships shown in the figure are supplemented by a new QCL type in this application (e.g., Figure 10 As shown in (b), the QCL type X between PDSCH DMRS and PDSCH DMRS can be QCL type X; similarly, the QCL type between PDCCH DMRS and PDCCH DMRS can be QCL type X; and the QCL type between CSI-RS and CSI-RS can be QCL type X.

[0259] It should be understood that Figure 10 This application merely illustrates the QCL type between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. The first reference signal and the second reference signal in this application may also be other types of reference signals, such as the first reference signal being TRS and the second reference signal also being TRS; or the first reference signal being PTRS and the second reference signal also being PTRS, etc., which will not be illustrated here.

[0260] As another possible implementation, as can be seen from the above, the first reference signal and the second reference signal can be reference signals of different types.

[0261] For example, the first reference signal is PDSCH DMRS and the second reference signal is CSI-RS; or the first reference signal is PDCCH DMRS and the second reference signal is CSI-RS; or the first reference signal is CSI-RS and the second reference signal is either PDSCH DMRS or PDCCH DMRS.

[0262] For ease of understanding, combined with Figure 11 This section provides a brief introduction to the QCL type between the first and second reference signals in this implementation.

[0263] like Figure 11 As shown in (a), compared to the previous text Figure 4 The low-frequency QCL configuration relationship shown in the figure is supplemented by a new QCL type in this application (e.g., Figure 11 As shown in (a), the QCL type X can be the QCL type that is satisfied between PDSCH DMRS and CSI-RS.

[0264] like Figure 11 As shown in (b), compared to the previous text Figure 4 The high-frequency QCL configuration relationships shown in the figure are supplemented by a new QCL type in this application (e.g., Figure 11 As shown in (b), the QCL type X can be the QCL type that is satisfied between PDSCH DMRS and CSI-RS.

[0265] It should be understood that Figure 11 This application merely illustrates the QCL type between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. The first reference signal and the second reference signal in this application may also be other types of reference signals, such as the first reference signal being TRS and the second reference signal being PDSCH DMRS; or the first reference signal being PTRS and the second reference signal being PDSCH DMRS, etc., which will not be illustrated here.

[0266] Optionally, the first transmission configuration information in this application may be referred to as a first TCI state. For example, the first communication device is a terminal device, and the second communication device is a network device. The network device configures the first TCI state to the terminal device for the terminal device to estimate the first channel. For example, the network device configures at least one TCI state to the terminal device. The at least one TCI state is a list of TCI states, which includes several TCI states. Each TCI state is used by the terminal device to estimate the channel corresponding to the downlink reference signal associated with that TCI state.

[0267] For ease of understanding, the structure of one possible TCI state in this application is briefly described below:

[0268]

[0269] It should be understood that the first transmission configuration information described above, which is the first TCI state, is only an example and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. The first transmission configuration information can also be other configuration information, such as other configuration information in DCI or RRC. This application does not limit the name of the message or information, as long as it can achieve the corresponding function.

[0270] For example, after receiving the aforementioned first transmission configuration information, the first communication device can determine that the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy a first QCL. Therefore, the first communication device can determine the information of the first channel based on the first reference signal when the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy a first quasi-co-address QCL. Figure 5 The method flow shown also includes:

[0271] S540, the first communication device determines the information of the first channel.

[0272] For example, the first communication device determines information about a first channel by: the first communication device determining information about the first channel based on type information of a first QCL and a first reference signal. For instance, the first communication device determines that a first reference signal and a second reference signal satisfy the first QCL based on the type information of the first QCL; if it is determined that a first reference signal and a second reference signal satisfy the first QCL, the first communication device estimates the first channel based on the first reference signal to obtain information about the first channel.

[0273] The term "channel estimation" as described in this application may also be replaced with "channel measurement," "channel prediction," or "determining channel state information," etc.

[0274] Specifically, in this application, the information of the first channel is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal. Alternatively, the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal are used to generate the information of the first channel; or the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal are associated with the information of the first channel, etc. This application does not limit the specific description of the relationship between the information of the first channel and the "channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal," as long as the information of the first channel can be obtained based on the "channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal."

[0275] The "estimate the channel coefficients based on the first reference signal" shown in this application can be: estimating the channel coefficients based on the first reference signal once or multiple times to obtain the channel coefficients. For example, it can be obtaining the channel coefficients of the first channel by performing a channel measurement based on the first reference signal once, or obtaining the channel coefficients of the first channel by performing channel measurements based on multiple first reference signals multiple times within a time period.

[0276] The above-mentioned "the information of the first channel is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal" can be understood as follows: the information of the first channel (or the source QCL parameters) in this application is derived based on the channel coefficients obtained from the first reference signal, or it can be understood as the source QCL parameters in this application are channel characteristics determined based on channel data (e.g., channel coefficients), and do not depend on statistical channel models.

[0277] Furthermore, the information of the first channel can be equivalently described as "data-driven wireless channel characteristics." These data-driven wireless channel characteristics, compared to the statistical channel model in current NR systems, are not parameters of the statistical channel model. Instead, they are wireless channel characteristics derived from channel data acquired based on the first reference signal. The derivation methods can be classical mathematical methods or analytical mathematical tools, such as matrix theory, or artificial intelligence (AI) methods, such as AI learning, AI processing, and neural networks. "Data-driven" can be understood as derivation based on data.

[0278] For example, the first communication device estimates the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal, and the channel estimation information of the second channel includes the following steps:

[0279] Step 1: The first communication device obtains the measurement information of the second channel based on the second reference signal.

[0280] For example, the second reference signal is CSI-RS for CSI, and the first communication device can perform channel measurements based on CSI-RS for CSI to obtain measurement information of the second channel. It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method by which the first communication device obtains measurement information of the second channel based on the second reference signal; reference can be made to relevant descriptions in current related technologies regarding channel measurements based on CSI-RS for CSI, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0281] Step 2: The first communication device obtains the channel estimation information of the second channel based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel.

[0282] In one possible implementation, the measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficients of a first number of spatial resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficients of a second number of spatial resources. The first number corresponds to a second reference signal, the second number corresponds to a first reference signal, and the second number is greater than the first number. In another possible implementation, the measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficients of a first number of frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficients of a second number of frequency domain resources. The first number corresponds to a second reference signal, the second number corresponds to a first reference signal, and the second number is greater than the first number.

[0283] As another possible implementation, the measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficients of a first number of spatial frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficients of a second number of spatial frequency domain resources. The first number corresponds to the second reference signal, the second number corresponds to the first reference signal, and the second number is greater than the first number.

[0284] The above-described estimation of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal can also be described as follows: the information of the first channel is used to assist in estimating the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0285] For example, the information from the first channel is used to obtain the channel coefficients of a second number of spatial resources based on the channel coefficients of a first number of spatial resources; or

[0286] The information from the first channel is used to obtain the channel coefficients of the second number of frequency domain resources based on the channel coefficients of the first number of frequency domain resources; or,

[0287] The information from the first channel is used to obtain the channel coefficients of the second number of space-frequency domain resources based on the channel coefficients of the first number of space-frequency domain resources.

[0288] Wherein, the first quantity corresponds to the second reference signal, the second quantity corresponds to the first reference signal, the second quantity is greater than the first quantity, the channel coefficients of the second quantity of spatial resources are used as the channel estimation information of the second channel, or the channel coefficients of the second quantity of frequency resources are used as the channel estimation information of the second channel, or the channel coefficients of the second quantity of spatial-frequency resources are used as the channel estimation information of the second channel.

[0289] The first communication device can obtain the channel coefficients of a first number of channel ports, or the channel coefficients of a first number of frequency domain resources, or the channel coefficients of a first number of empty frequency domain resources based on the second reference signal.

[0290] Optionally, the information of the first channel mentioned above includes the basis matrix and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain basis matrix, the spatial domain basis matrix, or the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel. The interpolation matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain interpolation matrix, the spatial domain interpolation matrix, or the spatial-frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel. The interpolation matrix of the first channel can also be referred to as the interpolation coefficient matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel are obtained by matrix decomposition of the channel coefficients estimated based on the first reference signal.

[0291] It should be understood that the specific names of the information of the first channel are not limited in this application, and the basis matrix and / or interpolation matrix of the first channel described above are merely exemplary descriptions and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For example, the basis matrix of the first channel may also be called the original matrix of the first channel, and the interpolation matrix of the first channel may also be called the transformed matrix of the first channel, etc., which will not be illustrated here.

[0292] As one possible implementation, the information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel.

[0293] In this implementation, the basis matrix of the first channel can be understood as a matrix obtained by transforming the matrix of the first channel measured from the first reference signal.

[0294] Optionally, the basis matrix of the first channel is generated from the wireless channel features based on historical channel data and matrix theory. The historical channel data is the data obtained from the first reference signal, and the matrix theory can include matrix decomposition, matrix transformation, matrix operations, etc.

[0295] For example, the basis matrix of the first channel can be generated by performing singular value decomposition (SVD) on historical channel data (e.g., matrix A) to obtain r left singular vectors of matrix A, which form the basis matrix U.

[0296] For ease of understanding, combined with Figure 12 This section briefly introduces how the basis matrix of the first channel is generated.

[0297] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a method for generating the basis matrix of a channel. For example... Figure 12 As shown, matrix A represents historical channel data, and matrix U represents the projection matrix corresponding to the channel. Matrix A can be composed of channel coefficients obtained from one or more first reference signals (e.g., one time sampling point or multiple time sampling points).

[0298] Taking matrix A with dimensions n×m as an example, n represents the dimension related to the spatial and frequency domains (e.g., the number of transmit antenna ports or frequency domain units (e.g., the number of subcarriers, RBs, RB groups, etc.), and m represents the dimension related to the spatial and temporal domains (e.g., the number of receive antenna ports or the number of transmission time intervals (TTIs), etc.). Matrix A can be transformed into matrix U and matrix C through matrix decomposition, where matrix U has dimensions of n×r and matrix C has dimensions of r×m. Here, r is less than or equal to m. This matrix U can be understood as the basis matrix of the first channel mentioned above.

[0299] As can be seen from the above, the basis matrix of the first channel includes, but is not limited to: the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel.

[0300] Optionally, the number of rows in the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is n1, and the number of columns in the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is r1. Here, n1 represents the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r1 is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal.

[0301] like Figure 12 The matrix structure of the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel shown can be n×r, where n corresponds to the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, r corresponds to the number of basis vectors, and r is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal.

[0302] For example, the first communication device performs channel estimation based on the first reference signal to obtain matrix A, where matrix A has dimensions n×m. m=n Rx *n time Where, n time≥1. Or,

[0303] Where, n time ≥1.

[0304] The above n represents the number of frequency domain resources for the first reference signal. Rx n represents the number of receiving ports for the first reference signal or the number of receiving ports for the second reference signal. time Indicates the number of time slots. This indicates the number of ports transmitting the first reference signal.

[0305] Furthermore, the first communication device can determine the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel based on matrix A. For example, it can perform SVD on matrix A to obtain r left singular vectors of matrix A, which form the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel. The dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is n×r, where... This represents the number of frequency domain resources for the second reference signal.

[0306] As can be seen from the above, the dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is n×r, and In other words, the number of rows in the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and the number of columns is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal.

[0307] For example, the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal (denoted as the second number) is greater than the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal (denoted as the first number), such as... This can be understood as follows: when the information of the first channel is the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the channel coefficients of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal are the channel coefficients of the second number of frequency domain resources.

[0308] Optionally, the spatial basis matrix of the first channel has n2 rows and r2 columns. Here, n2 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, n2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the second reference signal.

[0309] like Figure 12 The spatial basis matrix of the first channel shown can be n×r, where n corresponds to the number of ports of the first reference signal and r is less than or equal to the number of ports of the second reference signal.

[0310] For example, the first communication device performs channel estimation based on the first reference signal to obtain matrix A, where the dimension of matrix A is n×m. Where, ntime ≥1. Or,

[0311] Where, n time ≥1.

[0312] The above n represents the number of frequency domain resources for the first reference signal. Rx n represents the number of receiving ports for the first reference signal or the number of receiving ports for the second reference signal. time Indicates the number of time slots. This indicates the number of ports transmitting the first reference signal.

[0313] Furthermore, the first communication device can determine the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel based on matrix A. For example, it can perform SVD on matrix A to obtain r left singular vectors of matrix A, which form the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel. The dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is n×r, where... or, This indicates the number of ports for transmitting the second reference signal.

[0314] As can be seen from the above, the spatial basis matrix U of the first channel has a dimension of n×r, and In other words, the number of rows in the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is equal to the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and the number of columns is less than or equal to the number of transmission ports of the second reference signal. Or,

[0315] The spatial basis matrix U of the first channel has dimensions n×r, and In other words, the number of rows of the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is equal to the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the first reference signal, and the number of columns is less than or equal to the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal.

[0316] For example, the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal (denoted as the second number) is greater than the number of transmission ports of the second reference signal (denoted as the first number), such as... This can be understood as follows: when the information of the first channel is the spatial basis matrix of the first channel, the channel coefficient of the second reference signal corresponding to the second channel is the channel coefficient of the second number of spatial resources.

[0317] Optionally, the number of columns in the spatial basis matrix of the first channel is r2, the number of rows in the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is n3, and the number of columns in the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel is r3. Wherein, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmission port of the second reference signal is equal, n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal and the number of transmission ports, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal and the number of transmission ports; or,

[0318] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or,

[0319] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmission ports of the second reference signal; or,

[0320] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is not equal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

[0321] like Figure 12 The structure of the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the channel shown can be n×r, where n corresponds to the combination of the number of ports and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r corresponds to the number of basis vectors. r is less than or equal to the combination of the number of ports and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal.

[0322] For example, the first communication device performs channel estimation based on the first reference signal to obtain matrix A, where matrix A has dimensions n×m. m=n time Where, n time ≥1; or,

[0323] Where, n time ≥1.

[0324] The above n represents the number of frequency domain resources for the first reference signal. Rx n represents the number of receiving ports for the first reference signal or the number of receiving ports for the second reference signal. time Indicates the number of time slots. This indicates the number of ports transmitting the first reference signal.

[0325] Furthermore, the first communication device can determine the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel based on matrix A. For example, it can perform SVD on matrix A to obtain r left singular vectors of matrix A, which form the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel. The dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix U of the first channel is n×r, where... or, Indicates the number of ports transmitting the second reference signal. This represents the number of frequency domain resources for the second reference signal.

[0326] As another possible implementation, the information of the first channel includes the interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0327] In this implementation, the interpolation matrix of the first channel is obtained based on the basis matrix of the first channel.

[0328] Optionally, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel has n4 rows and t1 columns. Here, n4 represents the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t1 represents the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal.

[0329] Optionally, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel has n5 rows and t2 columns. Here, n5 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; alternatively, n5 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and receiving ports of the second reference signal.

[0330] Optionally, the number of columns in the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel is t2, the number of rows in the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is n6, and the number of columns in the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel is t3. Wherein, when the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmission port of the second reference signal is equal, n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal and the number of transmission ports, and t3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal and the number of transmission ports; or,

[0331] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or,

[0332] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and t3 is the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmission ports of the second reference signal; or,

[0333] When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is not equal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

[0334] As described above, the information of the first channel may include the basis matrix and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel. The specific implementation of the first channel information—whether it be the frequency domain basis matrix, the spatial domain basis matrix, the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix, the frequency domain interpolation matrix, the spatial domain interpolation matrix, or the spatial-frequency domain interpolation matrix—can be determined through the following possible methods:

[0335] As one possible implementation, the type information of the first channel can be used to determine whether it is the basis matrix or the interpolation matrix mentioned above.

[0336] In this implementation, when the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a first type, the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0337] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is the second type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0338] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is a third type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0339] When the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is the fourth type, the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel; or,

[0340] When the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is the fifth type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel; or,

[0341] When the type information of the first QCL indicates that the type of the first QCL is the sixth type, the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0342] As another possible implementation, the information of the first channel can be indicated by the first indication information.

[0343] In this implementation, the first communication device receives first indication information from the second communication device, the first indication information indicating information about the first channel including any of the following:

[0344] The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0345] In this implementation, step S540, in which the first communication device determines the information of the first channel corresponding to the first reference signal, may be: the first communication device determines the information of the first channel based on the type information of the first QCL, the first indication information, and the first reference signal.

[0346] Optionally, the aforementioned first indication information can be carried in signaling such as DCI, RRC, or MAC-CE. For example, when the first indication information is carried in the DCI to indicate the specific type of information of the first channel, it can be dynamically indicated that the information of the first channel is specific to that channel. For instance, at time #1, the first indication information is carried through the DCI to indicate that the information of the first channel is the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, and at time #2, the first indication information is carried through the DCI to indicate that the information of the first channel is the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, etc.

[0347] As another possible implementation, the first communication device can determine the information of the first channel by receiving the second reference signal from the second resource.

[0348] In this implementation, step S540, in which the first communication device determines the information of the first channel corresponding to the first reference signal, may be: the first communication device determines the information of the first channel based on the type information of the first QCL, the second resource, and the first reference signal.

[0349] Specifically, in this implementation, the first communication device can determine, based on the second resource, that the information of the first channel includes any of the following:

[0350] The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0351] The first communication device described above determines the information of the first channel based on the second resource that receives the second reference signal, including but not limited to the following possible forms:

[0352] In one possible manner, the first communication device determines information about the first channel based on the relationship between the second resource that receives the second reference signal and the first resource that receives the first reference signal.

[0353] For example, the first communication device determines the information of the first channel based on the quantity or density of the second resource and the quantity or density of the first resource. For instance, if the number of spatial resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of spatial resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial basis matrix of the first channel.

[0354] As another possible approach, the first communication device determines information about the first channel based on the second resource that receives the second reference signal and a predefined threshold.

[0355] For example, if the number of spatial resources corresponding to the quantity of the second resource is less than the first threshold, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial basis matrix of the first channel.

[0356] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel, and the number of spatial resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of spatial resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0357] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel, and the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0358] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel, and the number of spatial frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of spatial frequency domain resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel; or,

[0359] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and the number of spatial resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of spatial resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel; or,

[0360] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel; or,

[0361] If the type information of the first QCL indicates that the information of the first channel includes the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and the number of spatial frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of spatial frequency domain resources corresponding to the first resource, then the information of the first channel includes the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0362] To facilitate understanding, the following example, using the information of the first channel as the basis matrix or the interpolation matrix, illustrates how the first communication device obtains the channel estimation information of the second channel based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel.

[0363] Method 1: The information of the first channel is the basis matrix of the first channel.

[0364] In the case shown in Method 1, the first communication device obtains channel estimation information for the second channel based on information from the first channel and measurement information from the second channel, including:

[0365] First, the first communication device determines a first coefficient based on the measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and a first matrix, which is used to indicate the location of the second resource that transmits the second reference signal.

[0366] Then, the first communication device estimates the second channel based on the basis matrix and the first coefficient of the first channel to obtain the channel estimation information of the second channel.

[0367] Optionally, the measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, the information of the first matrix, and the first coefficients satisfy the following relationship:

[0368]

[0369] In equation (2-1) above, S represents the first coefficient, P represents the first matrix, U represents the basis matrix of the first channel, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information for the second channel. H Rs2 This can be understood as obtaining measurement information of the second channel based on the second reference signal, H RS2 The dimension is t×1 (i.e., H). RS2 Let U be a matrix with t rows and 1 column (where t is the number of resources for the second reference signal). As mentioned above, the dimension of U is n×r (i.e., U is an n-row, r-column matrix). For example, the dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n1×r1, the dimension of the spatial domain basis matrix is ​​n2×r2, and the dimension of the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n3×r3. In addition, the dimension of P is t×n, therefore, the dimension of S is r×1.

[0370] Furthermore, the basis matrix of the first channel, the first coefficients, and the channel estimation information of the second channel satisfy the following relationship:

[0371] Y = U*S (2-2)

[0372] In equation (2-2) above, Y represents the channel estimation information of the second channel, S represents the first coefficient, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel. As can be seen from the above, the dimension of U is n×r (e.g., the dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n1×r1, the dimension of the spatial domain basis matrix is ​​n2×r2, and the dimension of the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n3×r3), the dimension of S is r×1, therefore, the dimension of Y is n×1.

[0373] Method 2: The information of the first channel is the interpolation matrix of the first channel.

[0374] In the case shown in Method 2, the first communication device obtains channel estimation information for the second channel based on information from the first channel and measurement information from the second channel, including:

[0375] First, the first communication device determines the interpolation matrix of the first channel based on the base matrix and the first matrix, the first matrix being used to indicate the location of the second resource from which the second reference signal is transmitted.

[0376] Then, the first communication device estimates the second channel based on the interpolation matrix of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel, and obtains the channel estimation information of the second channel.

[0377] Optionally, the interpolation matrix of the first channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and the first matrix satisfy the following relationship:

[0378] X=U((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) H (2-3)

[0379] In equation (2-3) above, X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, P represents the first matrix, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel. As can be seen from the above, the dimension of U is n×r (i.e., U is an n-row, r-column matrix). For example, the dimension of the frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n1×r1, the dimension of the spatial domain basis matrix is ​​n2×r2, and the dimension of the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix is ​​n3×r3. Furthermore, the dimension of P is t×n; therefore, the dimension of X is n×t (i.e., X is an n-row, t-column matrix, where n is the number of resources for the first reference signal, and t is the number of resources for the second reference signal).

[0380] Furthermore, the interpolation matrix of the first channel, the measurement information of the second channel, and the channel estimation information satisfy the following relationship:

[0381] Y = X * H RS2 (2-4)

[0382] In equation (2-4) above, Y represents the channel estimation information of the second channel, X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and H...RS2 This represents the measurement information from the second channel. X has dimensions n×t, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information for the second channel. H RS2 This can be understood as obtaining measurement information of the second channel based on the second reference signal, H RS2 The dimension is t×1 (i.e., H). RS2 Given a matrix of t rows and 1 column (where t is the number of resources for the second reference signal), the dimension of Y is n×1.

[0383] For ease of understanding, the following example illustrates the process by which the first communication device estimates the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal. This example is only for the purpose of understanding how the first communication device in this application estimates the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal, and does not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0384] Example 1: The first reference signal can be a source CSI-RS for CSI, and the second reference signal can be a target CSI-RS for CSI. The second resource for transmitting the second reference signal has a lower spatial resource density than the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal; that is, the second resource can be called a spatially sparse resource (as mentioned above). Figure 6 or Figure 7 (As shown). The source CSI-RS for CSI can contain a single measurement (e.g., one time sampling point) or multiple measurements (e.g., multiple time sampling points), and includes the following steps:

[0385] Step 1: The first communication device determines the base matrix U based on the first reference signal.

[0386] First, the first communication device can perform channel estimation based on the first reference signal to obtain the channel corresponding to the first reference signal. Each transmitting port and the first reference signal correspond to Between each receiving port, corresponding to the first reference signal Each time slot and the first reference signal corresponding to Multiple channel coefficients on each RB.

[0387] It should be understood that the superscript of the parameter in Example 1 is RS1, which indicates the relevant parameter corresponding to the first reference signal, such as... This indicates the number of transmitting ports that send the first reference signal; for example, This indicates the number of receiving ports that receive the first reference signal. This indicates the number of time slots occupied in the time domain by the first resource that transmits the first reference signal. The first resource representing the first reference signal occupies the number of RBs in the frequency domain, where, and This can be understood as the number of ports occupied in the spatial domain by the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal. Similarly, the superscript of the parameter in Example 1, RS2, indicates the relevant parameter corresponding to the second reference signal, such as... This indicates the number of transmitting ports that transmit the second reference signal; for example, This indicates the number of receiving ports that receive the second reference signal. This indicates the number of time slots occupied in the time domain by the second resource for transmitting the second reference signal. The number of RBs occupied by the second resource in the frequency domain for transmitting the second reference signal is indicated, where, and This can be understood as the number of ports occupied in the airspace by the second resource that transmits the second reference signal.

[0388] Optionally, the number of receiving ports for receiving the first reference signal The number of receiving ports for receiving the second reference signal They can be equal, and can be uniformly described as n in the following text. RX .

[0389] For example, in The m-th time slot in the time slot, The channel on the i-th RB in a given set of RBs can be represented as a dimension. Channel matrix That is to say There are several channel coefficients, where m can be 0 to... In the integer, i can be 0 to... Integers in the range.

[0390] Secondly, the first communication device can RB and Each time slot (that is, Multiple channel coefficients (at each time sampling point) are used as historical channel data to obtain auxiliary information for channel estimation (i.e., the information of the first channel mentioned above).

[0391] Therefore, the above channel matrix It can also be converted into vector form, and then... Each time slot Multiple channel coefficients on each RB are represented as a larger-dimensional matrix H. RS1 The matrix H RS1 Can correspond to Each time slot Channels on each RB.

[0392] Specifically, the above dimensions can be... Channel matrix n Rx The column vectors are concatenated sequentially from left to right and from top to bottom to obtain a vector of length . vector According to Channel estimation can be performed on the first reference signal received in each time slot to obtain... Each length is vector: Each vector can be viewed as a set of channel coefficients corresponding to a time slot, and each set of channel coefficients includes... Each channel coefficient. Concatenating the vectors sequentially from left to right according to their chronological order yields the vector corresponding to n. slot Each time slot A matrix H of RBs RS1 as follows: Its dimensions are The matrix H RS1 include One channel coefficient, that is, an example of the first channel coefficient. Wherein, each time slot corresponds to... Each channel coefficient can be considered as a set of channel coefficients in the first channel coefficients corresponding to one time slot, with each RB corresponding to... Each channel coefficient can also be viewed as a set of channel coefficients corresponding to one RB in the first channel coefficients, with each time slot and each RB corresponding to... Each channel coefficient can be considered as a set of channel coefficients corresponding to one time slot and one RB in the first channel coefficient.

[0393] It should be understood that, if The second communication device transmits the first reference signal in a time slot (e.g., in the 0th time slot), that is, the first communication device receives the first reference signal at a time sampling point and performs a channel estimation, corresponding to... Each time slot A matrix H of RBs RS1 It can be simplified as follows: Its dimensions are For this matrix H RS1 Singular value decomposition (SVD) yields the basis matrix U, as follows:

[0394]

[0395] U = B RS1 (:,1:r)

[0396] in, B RS1 It is a length of The unitary matrix composed of the left singular vectors has dimensions of S is a diagonal matrix composed of singular values, and its dimension is It is a length of The unitary matrix composed of the right singular vectors has a dimension of .

[0397] The basis matrix U includes the unitary matrix B RS1 The first r left singular vectors with relatively strong energy are given. The superscript H indicates finding the conjugate transpose of the matrix, and (:, 1:r) represents taking all rows from the 1st to the rth column of the matrix. It is easy to see that the basis matrix U has dimension n. The matrix.

[0398] Wherein, r can be predefined, indicated by the second communication device, or determined by the first communication device itself; this application does not limit this.

[0399] Step 2: The first communication device determines the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0400] The first communication device can determine the permutation matrix P based on the relationship between the multiple ports corresponding to the second reference signal and the multiple ports corresponding to the first reference signal, and then determine the channel interpolation coefficient matrix X based on the permutation matrix P and the basis matrix U. RS1 The channel interpolation coefficient matrix X RS1 That is, a mathematical expression of channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0401] In the first design, the second reference signal is a spatially sparse reference signal, and the permutation matrix P can be used to indicate the location of multiple ports used to transmit the second reference signal. Specifically, it can be used to indicate which of the multiple ports corresponding to the second reference signal are among the multiple ports corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0402] For example, the dimension of the permutation matrix P can be Among them, the number of rows is Corresponding to the second reference signal n of the transmitting ports and the second reference signal RX Each receiving port Types of port combinations; number of columns: Corresponding to the first reference signal Each transmitting port and the first reference signal n RX Each receiving port There are several port combinations. That is, each element in the permutation matrix P represents a port combination consisting of a transmitting port and a receiving port. The correspondence between each element and the port combination can be determined according to predefined rules. For example, the combinations can be arranged by traversing the transmitting ports first and then the receiving ports, thus creating a one-to-one correspondence with each element; or the combinations can be arranged by traversing the receiving ports first and then the transmitting ports, thus creating a one-to-one correspondence with each element.

[0403] In the permutation matrix P, the port combinations corresponding to elements with a value of 1 (i.e., a transmitting port and a receiving port) are used to transmit the second reference signal, while the port combinations corresponding to elements with a value of 0 are not used to transmit the second reference signal. Therefore, based on the transmitting and receiving ports of the second reference signal, the first communication device can determine the permutation matrix P.

[0404] Figure 13 This is an example of a permutation matrix P. Figure 13 In this context, assuming the first reference signal has four transmitting ports (Tx0 to Tx3) and two receiving ports, that is, n RX =2; the second reference signal has one transmission port, corresponding to transmission port Tx0, that is... That is, the dimension of the permutation matrix P in this example is 2×8, where 2 represents the two port combinations of one transmitting port and two receiving ports of the second reference signal, and 8 represents the eight port combinations of four transmitting ports and two receiving ports of the first reference signal. Figure 13 Each element in the diagram is represented by a box, which represents a port combination of a sending port and a receiving port. Figure 13 The eight port combinations shown are obtained by iterating through the sending ports first, then the receiving ports. Figure 13 In each row, the first, second, third, and fourth boxes from the left correspond to combinations of transmitting ports Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, and Tx3 with receiving port Rx0, for a total of four combinations. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth boxes correspond to combinations of transmitting ports Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, and Tx3 with receiving port Rx1, for a total of four combinations. The port combinations corresponding to the boxes filled in black are used to transmit the second reference signal, while the boxes not filled in black indicate that the corresponding port combinations are not used to transmit the second reference signal. That is, the second reference signal is transmitted through transmitting port Tx0 and received through receiving ports Rx0 and Rx1.

[0405] Channel interpolation coefficient matrix X RS1 The channel interpolation coefficient matrix X can be determined by the basis matrix U and the permutation matrix P. RS1 satisfy:

[0406] X RS1 =U((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) H .

[0407] It is not difficult to see that the channel interpolation coefficient matrix X RS1 It is a dimension of The matrix. That is, n1 is the area occupied by the first reference signal. One sending port and n RX The number of combinations of receiving ports, where n2 is the number of ports occupied by the second reference signal. One sending port and n RX The number of combinations of receiver ports.

[0408] Step 3: The first communication device determines the channel estimation information of the second channel (e.g., the channel coefficient #1 of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal) based on the second reference signal and the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0409] For ease of explanation, let's take the example of the second communication device transmitting a second reference signal once. That is, the first communication device performs channel estimation based on the second reference signal received at a time sampling point, and can obtain the measurement information of the second channel (e.g., the channel coefficient #2 of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal).

[0410] For example, the first communication device can perform channel estimation based on the second reference signal received in a time slot (i.e., an example of a time sampling point) to obtain One sending port and n RX Between each receiving port, in one time slot, Channel coefficients on each RB.

[0411] For example, in the k-th time slot, The channel corresponding to the i-th RB in a set of RBs can be represented as a dimension. matrix That is to say There are several channel coefficients, where k can be 0 to... In the integer, i can be 0 to... The integer in the range. Each channel coefficient is an example of a set of channel coefficients in channel coefficient #2 corresponding to one time slot and one RB in the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal. It can be understood that in the first design, therefore, The i-th RB in the RB is also The i-th RB in RB.

[0412] The channel matrix corresponding to the i-th RB It can be converted to a length of a one-dimensional vector For specific conversion methods, please refer to the above text based on... get The process will not be elaborated further. Furthermore, for the spatially sparse second reference signal, the frequency domain resources it occupies can be the same as those occupied by the first reference signal; therefore, It can be equal to

[0413] For the i-th RB, according to the transmission port of the second reference signal (i.e. (Number of ports) and channel interpolation coefficient matrix X RS1 The transmitting port corresponding to the first reference signal can be obtained. The channel coefficients (of each port). This process is based on the channel interpolation coefficient matrix X. RS1 The process of interpolating a set of channel coefficients in channel coefficient #2 of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal. Details are as follows:

[0414]

[0415] in, It is a length of The vector.

[0416] Therefore, the channel information of all ports in the k-th time slot can be obtained one RB at a time, that is, the channel information corresponding to... Channel matrix of RBs Its dimensions are The channel matrix include Channel coefficients: That is, an example of a set of channel coefficients corresponding to one RB in the channel coefficients #2 of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0417] Figure 5 In the communication method shown, the first communication device can estimate the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal. That is to say, in the process of channel estimation, the first communication device in this application can not only estimate the target channel (e.g., the second channel) based on the target signal (e.g., the second reference signal), but also refer to auxiliary information (e.g., the information of the first channel) during the estimation of the target channel, thereby improving the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0418] In addition, the information of the first channel is determined by the first communication device itself based on the first reference signal, without the need for the second communication device to directly provide the information of the first channel to the first communication device. In other words, the signaling overhead of transmitting auxiliary information can be reduced while improving the channel estimation accuracy.

[0419] Furthermore, the information of the first channel in this application is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal. The channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal can be understood as channel-based data rather than model data. In other words, the above technical solution can be applied to scenarios where channel estimation does not rely on a channel model, without the need to predetermine the channel model, thus reducing the complexity of channel estimation.

[0420] It should be understood that the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0421] It should also be understood that, in the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0422] It should also be understood that the above embodiments are mainly illustrated using devices in existing network architectures as examples. It should be understood that the specific form of the device is not limited in the embodiments of this application. For example, any device that can achieve the same function in the future is applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0423] For example, the channel estimation method provided in this application can also be applied to open RAN architectures. Open RAN architectures and their corresponding network elements / modules are as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the process of implementing the above method under the open RAN architecture is as follows: Figure 10 The processes shown are the same, only the executing entities are different. For example, [the process is described in the original text]. Figure 5 The second communication device in the channel estimation method shown is replaced by a CU (CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU or RU in the open RAN architecture.

[0424] For example, the channel estimation method provided in this application can also be applied to chip architecture. The process of implementing the above method under a chip architecture is similar to... Figure 5 The processes shown are the same, only the executing entities are different. For example, [the process is described in the original text]. Figure 5 In the channel estimation method shown, the second communication device is replaced with a network device chip. Figure 5 In the channel estimation method shown, the first communication device is replaced with a terminal device chip.

[0425] It is understood that, in the above-described method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as the first communication device and the second communication device) can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used in the devices.

[0426] It is also understood that some optional features in the various embodiments of this application may not depend on other features in some scenarios, or may be combined with other features in some scenarios, without limitation.

[0427] The above, combined with Figure 5 The channel estimation method provided in the embodiments of this application is described in detail. The channel estimation method is mainly described from the perspective of the interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, the first and second communication devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function.

[0428] Those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0429] The following, combined with Figures 14 to 16 This application provides a detailed description of the communication device provided in its embodiments. It should be understood that the descriptions of the device embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail can be found in the above method embodiments. For brevity, some content is omitted.

[0430] This application embodiment can divide the first communication device and the second communication device into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. The following description uses the division of each functional module according to each function as an example.

[0431] Figure 14This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 10 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 10 includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12. The transceiver module 11 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 12 is used for data processing. In other words, the transceiver module 11 is used to perform receiving and sending related operations, and the processing module 12 is used to perform other operations besides receiving and sending. The transceiver module 11 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. The transceiver module 11 may include a receiving module and / or a sending module, whereby the receiving module performs receiving-related operations and the sending module performs sending-related operations.

[0432] Optionally, the device 10 may further include a storage module 13, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 12 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the device can perform the operation of the device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The above modules may also be referred to as units, such as transceiver unit, processing unit, storage unit, etc.

[0433] In one design, the device 10 may correspond to the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or to a component of the first communication device (such as a chip).

[0434] The device 10 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 11 can be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the first communication device in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform the processing-related operations of the first communication device in the above method embodiment.

[0435] In one possible implementation, transceiver module 11 is configured to receive a first reference signal and a second reference signal from a second communication device. If a first QCL is satisfied between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, processing module 12 is configured to estimate a second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on information from the first channel and the second reference signal, wherein the information from the first channel is generated based on channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

[0436] When the device 10 is used to perform Figure 5 When the method is in use, the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as steps S510, S520 and S530; the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing steps in the method, such as steps S540 and S550.

[0437] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0438] In another design, the device 10 may correspond to the second communication device in the above method embodiment, or to a component of the second communication device (such as a chip).

[0439] The device 10 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver module 11 can be used to perform transceiver-related operations of the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform processing-related operations of the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0440] In one possible implementation, transceiver module 11 is configured to transmit a first reference signal and a second reference signal to a first communication device. Transceiver module 11 is also configured to transmit first transmission configuration information to the first communication device. The first transmission configuration information includes an identifier of the first reference signal and type information of a first quasi-co-addressable (QCL). The first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy the first QCL. The first QCL indicates that information about a first channel corresponding to the first reference signal is used to estimate a second channel corresponding to the second reference signal. The information about the first channel is generated based on channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

[0441] When the device 10 is used to perform Figure 5 When the method is in use, the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method, such as steps S510, S520 and S530; the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing steps in the method.

[0442] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0443] It should also be understood that the device 10 here is embodied in the form of a functional module. The term "module" here can refer to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electronic circuits, processors (e.g., shared processors, proprietary processors, or group processors, etc.) and memories for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that device 10 may specifically be a mobility management network element in the above embodiments, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the mobility management network element in the above method embodiments; or, device 10 may specifically be a terminal device in the above embodiments, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0444] The apparatus 10 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the devices (such as the first communication device and the second communication device) in the above-described methods. This function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions; for example, the transceiver module can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing modules, can be replaced by processors, which respectively execute the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0445] In addition, the transceiver module 11 can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing module can be a processing circuit.

[0446] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device 20 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 20 includes a processor 21, which is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 22, or to read data / signaling stored in the memory 22, to perform the methods in the above-described method embodiments. Optionally, there may be one or more processors 21.

[0447] Optionally, such as Figure 15 As shown, the device 20 also includes a memory 22 for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21 or may be disposed separately. Optionally, there may be one or more memories 22.

[0448] Optionally, such as Figure 15As shown, the device 20 also includes a transceiver 23, which is used for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, the processor 21 is used to control the transceiver 23 to receive and / or transmit signals. The transceiver 23 may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, the receiver being used for receiving signals and the transmitter for transmitting signals; if the communication device 20 is a chip, then the transceiver 23 is the chip's input / output interface, where the output corresponds to transmitting and the input corresponds to receiving.

[0449] As one option, the device 20 is used to implement the operations performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0450] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0451] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0452] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0453] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0454] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 30 (or processing system) includes logic circuitry 31 and an input / output interface 32.

[0455] The logic circuit 31 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 30. The logic circuit 31 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 30 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 32 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 30, outputting processed information from the chip system 30, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 30 for processing.

[0456] As one option, the chip system 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0457] For example, logic circuit 31 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 32 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0458] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the methods executed by the device in the above-described method embodiments.

[0459] For example, when the computer program is executed by the computer, it enables the computer to implement the methods executed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the various embodiments of the above methods.

[0460] This application also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above-described method embodiments.

[0461] This application also provides a communication system, including the aforementioned first communication device and second communication device.

[0462] The explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the devices provided above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0463] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0464] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs). For example, the aforementioned available media include, but are not limited to, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks, and other media capable of storing program code.

[0465] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for channel estimation, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Receive a first reference signal from the second communication device; Receive a second reference signal from the second communication device; If a first quasi-co-addressable (QCL) condition is met between the first reference signal and the second reference signal, channel estimation information of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal is determined based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal. The information of the first channel is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy the following conditions: The first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of the same type; or, The first reference signal and the second reference signal are reference signals of different types; or, the number of spatial resources of the first reference signal is greater than 1, and the number of spatial resources of the second reference signal is greater than 1.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Receiving the first reference signal from the second communication device includes: Receive the first reference signal from the second communication device on the first resource; Receiving the second reference signal from the second communication device includes: Receive the second reference signal from the second communication device on the second resource; Wherein, the number of resources in the first resource is greater than the number of resources in the second resource; or, the resource density of the first resource is greater than the resource density of the second resource.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The spatial resources corresponding to the second resource are distributed non-equally spaced in the spatial domain, and / or the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second resource are distributed non-equally spaced in the frequency domain.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The process of determining the channel estimation information of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal based on the information of the first channel and the second reference signal includes: Measurement information of the second channel is obtained based on the second reference signal; Based on the information from the first channel and the measurement information from the second channel, the channel estimation information for the second channel is determined. Wherein, the measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficient of a first number of spatial resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficient of a second number of spatial resources; or The measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficients of a first number of frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficients of a second number of frequency domain resources; or, The measurement information of the second channel is the channel coefficients of a first number of spatial-frequency domain resources, and the channel estimation information is the channel coefficients of a second number of spatial-frequency domain resources. The second quantity is greater than the first quantity.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The information of the first channel includes the basis matrix of the first channel and / or the interpolation matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel. The interpolation matrix of the first channel includes at least one of the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel. The basis matrix and / or interpolation matrix of the first channel are obtained by matrix decomposition of the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel based on the first reference signal.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate information of the first channel, including any of the following: The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the second resource, the information used to determine the first channel includes any of the following: The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial-frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial-frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel. The second resource is the resource for receiving the second reference signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel has n1 rows and r1 columns. The spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel has n2 rows and r2 columns. The spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel has n3 rows and r3 columns. Wherein, n1 is the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r1 is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; Wherein, n2 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, n2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the first reference signal, and r2 is less than or equal to the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal. Wherein, if the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmission port of the second reference signal is equal, then n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmission ports of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is not equal, n3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and r3 is less than or equal to the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that, The frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel has n4 rows and t1 columns. The spatial domain interpolation matrix of the first channel has n5 rows and t2 columns. The spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel has n6 rows and t3 columns. Wherein, n4 is the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t1 is the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; Wherein, n5 is the number of transmitting ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the number of transmitting ports of the second reference signal; or, n5 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the first reference signal, and t2 is the product of the number of transmitting ports and the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal. Wherein, if the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmission port of the second reference signal is equal, then n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to each transmitting port of the second reference signal is equal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is unequal, n6 is the product of the number of frequency domain resources and the number of transmission ports of the first reference signal, and t3 is the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmission ports of the second reference signal; or, When the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to at least two transmission ports of the second reference signal is not equal, n6 is the product of the number of receiving ports, the number of transmitting ports, and the number of frequency domain resources of the first reference signal, and t3 is the product of the number of receiving ports of the second reference signal and the sum of the number of frequency domain resources corresponding to multiple transmitting ports.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that, When the information of the first channel is the basis matrix of the first channel, determining the channel estimation information based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel includes: The first coefficient is determined based on the measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and the first matrix; The second channel is estimated based on the basis matrix of the first channel and the first coefficients to determine the channel estimation information. The first matrix is ​​used to indicate the location of the second resource from which the second reference signal is transmitted.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The measurement information of the second channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, the information of the first matrix, and the first coefficients satisfy the following relationship: S=((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) H *H RS2 Where S represents the first coefficient, P represents the first matrix, U represents the basis matrix of the first channel, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information of the second channel.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The basis matrix of the first channel, the first coefficients, and the channel estimation information satisfy the following relationship: Y = U*S Where Y represents the channel estimation information, S represents the first coefficient, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel.

14. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 13, characterized in that, When the information of the first channel is the interpolation matrix of the first channel, determining the channel estimation information based on the information of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel includes: The interpolation matrix of the first channel is determined based on the basis matrix and the first matrix of the first channel; The second channel is estimated based on the interpolation matrix of the first channel and the measurement information of the second channel to determine the channel estimation information. The first matrix is ​​used to indicate the location of the second resource from which the second reference signal is transmitted.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The interpolation matrix of the first channel, the basis matrix of the first channel, and the first matrix satisfy the following relationship: X=U((PU) H (PU)) -1 (PU) H Where X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, P represents the first matrix, and U represents the basis matrix of the first channel.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The interpolation matrix of the first channel, the measurement information of the second channel, and the channel estimation information satisfy the following relationship: Y=X*H RS2 Where Y represents the channel estimation information, X represents the interpolation matrix of the first channel, and H... RS2 This indicates the measurement information of the second channel.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives first transmission configuration information from the second communication device, the first transmission configuration information including the identifier of the first reference signal and the type information of the first QCL. Wherein, the type of the first QCL is a new QCL type other than QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C and QCL type D.

18. A communication method for channel estimation, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Send a first reference signal to the first communication device; Send a second reference signal to the first communication device; Wherein, the first reference signal and the second reference signal satisfy the first quasi-co-address QCL representation: the information of the first channel and the second reference signal are used to determine the channel estimation information of the second channel corresponding to the second reference signal, and the information of the first channel is generated based on the channel coefficients obtained by estimating the first channel using the first reference signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending first indication information to the first communication device, the first indication information indicating information of the first channel includes any of the following: The frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial domain basis matrix of the first channel, the spatial frequency domain basis matrix of the first channel, the frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel, the spatial interpolation matrix of the first channel, or the spatial frequency domain interpolation matrix of the first channel.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first transmission configuration information to the first communication device, the first transmission configuration information including the identifier of the first reference signal and the type information of the first QCL. Wherein, the type of the first QCL is a new QCL type other than QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C and QCL type D.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17; or it includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, said at least one processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17 to be performed; or to cause the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 20 to be performed.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, characterized in that, The device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions; and / or, The device further includes a communication interface coupled to the at least one processor, the communication interface being used for inputting and / or outputting information.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program or instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20 to be performed.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20 to be performed.

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