Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving configuration information from a network device, the configuration information being used for indicating a transmission resource of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the configuration information being further used for indicating the number R of streams transmitted on a first DMRS port or M DMRSs, R being an integer greater than 1, M being an integer greater than 1, and the first DMRS port being a DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource; and transmitting or receiving on the transmission resource R DMRSs by means of the first DMRS port, or transmitting or receiving on the transmission resource the M DMRSs by means of the first DMRS port. The present application can support data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams without causing extra DMRS overheads.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 12, 2023, with application number 202311717026.3, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “A Communication Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Currently, in the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) channel detection method, DMRS can occupy one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or two OFDM symbols. Each OFDM symbol supports up to 12 DMRS ports (i.e., supports up to 12 stream transmissions), which means that two OFDM symbols can support up to 24 stream transmissions.

[0004] As antenna arrays scale from low frequencies (sub-6 GHz) to high frequencies (above 6 GHz), the number of spatial transmission streams increases. This has increased fivefold from 10 to 20, peaking at nearly 100. To ensure data transmission performance, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by DMRS can be increased, for example, from two OFDM symbols to eight, supporting up to 96 streams. However, this approach leads to a linear increase in DMRS overhead, which occupies a significant amount of air interface resources in scenarios with hundreds of streams, significantly impacting data transmission capacity.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application proposes a communication method and a communication device. Based on the method described in the present application, data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams can be supported without increasing additional DMRS overhead.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: receiving configuration information from a network device; the configuration information is used to indicate a transmission resource of a demodulation reference signal DMRS, and the configuration information is also used to indicate the number of streams R or M DMRS transmitted on a first DMRS port, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource; sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource.

[0008] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the multiple streams of the terminal device can reuse a DMRS port, and each DMRS port corresponds to a scalar sequence with a length equal to the number of streams for distinguishing different transmission streams, thereby supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams and improving data transmission capacity without increasing additional DMRS overhead.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is 1; or the M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is less than 1. This approach facilitates differentiation between different transmission streams without adding additional DMRS overhead.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource has a comb-tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; sending or receiving the R DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, includes: sending or receiving the R DMRSs on each comb tooth in the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs on each comb tooth in the transmission resource through the first DMRS port. Based on this approach, data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams can be supported.

[0011] In one possible implementation, each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources. Based on this approach, data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams can be supported.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0013] Where q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource has a non-comb structure and includes multiple code domain resources. The R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources. Based on this approach, data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams can be supported.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0016] Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R, and the Z(R).

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: sending configuration information to a terminal device; the configuration information is used to indicate the transmission resource of the demodulation reference signal DMRS, and the configuration information is also used to indicate the number of streams R or M DMRS transmitted on the first DMRS port, R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource; sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the possible implementation of the second aspect can be found in the beneficial effects of the possible implementation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0021] In a possible implementation, there is one terminal device, R DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device is 1.

[0022] In one possible implementation, there are multiple terminal devices, and the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R, the R DMRSs are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs is 1; the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices, and M is less than R.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a comb tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, including: sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0024] In a possible implementation, each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0026] Where q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a non-comb structure, and the transmission resource includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0029] Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R, and the Z(R).

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, and the processor and the memory are coupled; the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor, a memory and a transceiver, and the processor and the memory are coupled; the transceiver is used to send and receive data, and the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and an interface, wherein the processor and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to receive or output signals, and the processor is used to execute code instructions so that the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect is implemented.

[0037] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, and the network device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0038] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of a type 1 DMRS pilot pattern used in PDSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of a type 2 DMRS pilot pattern used in PDSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a process of PDSCH channel estimation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a design of a pilot signal for removing ambiguity provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of a transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG6C is a schematic diagram of a single-symbol DMRS pilot pattern in a non-comb-tooth structure provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6D is a schematic diagram of a dual-symbol DMRS pilot pattern in a non-comb structure provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG9 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG10A is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG10B is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG11A is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG11B is a schematic diagram of another transmission resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0062] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0063] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0064] To better understand the embodiments of the present application, the following first introduces the system architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application:

[0065] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and traditional mobile communication systems. Among them, satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems (i.e., terrestrial communication systems). Mobile communication systems include, for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), and other future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) systems, and also support communication systems that integrate multiple wireless technologies. For example, it can also be applied to systems where non-terrestrial networks (NTN) such as drones, satellite communication systems, and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications integrate terrestrial mobile communication networks. In addition, it can also be applied to low-frequency (sub 6GHz) and high-frequency (above 6GHz) communication scenarios. It is understandable that the system architecture described in the embodiment of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0066] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. FIG1 takes a network device and multiple terminal devices as an example. These multiple terminal devices can be cellular phones, smart phones, portable computers, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radio devices, global positioning systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and / or any other suitable devices for communicating on a wireless communication system, and all can be connected to the network device. The terminal devices are all capable of communicating with the network device. In addition, communication can also be performed between terminal devices, such as device-to-device (D2D) transmission. Of course, the number of terminal devices and network devices in FIG1 is only an example, and can also be less or more. The terminal devices and network devices involved in the communication system in FIG1 are described in detail below.

[0067] 1. Terminal Equipment

[0068] The terminal device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, specifically user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. The terminal device may also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a PDA, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a communication device carried on a high-altitude aircraft, a wearable device, a drone, a robot, a terminal in D2D communication, a terminal in vehicle to everything (V2X), a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, or a terminal device in a future communication network, etc., and this application does not impose any restrictions. In addition, in this application, unless otherwise specified, "terminal device" may refer to the terminal device itself or a component in the terminal device, such as a chip system, SoC, which may be installed in the terminal device.

[0069] 2. Network Equipment

[0070] The network devices mentioned in the embodiments of the present application have wireless transceiver functions and are used to communicate with terminals. Specifically, they may refer to base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation base stations (next generation NodeBs, gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, next-generation base stations in sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems, access network devices or modules of access network devices in open access networks (open RAN, ORAN) systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems. The network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some of the functions of a base station. For example, the network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc., as described below. Among them, in the ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU, DU can also be called open (open, O)-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CUP-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Exemplarily, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, next generation base stations (gNodeB, gNB), transmission and receiving points (transmitting and receiving points, TRP), transmitting points (transmitting points, TP), mobile switching centers, and can also be devices that undertake wireless access functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) communications. In addition, in this application, unless otherwise specified, "network device" can refer to the network device itself or a component in the network device, such as a chip system, a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which can be installed in the network device.

[0071] To facilitate understanding of the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following describes the relevant concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application:

[0072] 1. Demodulation reference signal (DMRS)

[0073] DMRS is used to estimate the equivalent channel matrix of the data channel or control channel, thereby being used for data detection and demodulation. Exemplarily, the data channel can be a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Exemplarily, the control channel can be a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Taking the data channel PDSCH as an example, DMRS is usually precoded in the same way as the transmitted data signal, ensuring that DMRS and data experience the same equivalent channel.

[0074] Assume that the DMRS vector sent by the transmitter is s, and the data signal (or data symbol) vector sent is x. The DMRS and data are precoded in the same way (for example, multiplied by the same precoding matrix P). The precoded data signal and DMRS are transmitted simultaneously and through the same channel. The corresponding received signal vector at the receiver can be expressed as:

[0075] data:

[0076] DMRS:

[0077] Where y represents the data signal vector received by the receiving end, r represents the DMRS vector received by the receiving end, H represents the channel actually experienced by the data signal and DMRS, P represents the precoding matrix, and n represents the noise signal vector.

[0078] Since the equivalent channels experienced by data and DMRS are Therefore, the receiving end can use a channel estimation algorithm to obtain an estimate of the equivalent channel based on the known DMRS vector s, where the DMRS vector is composed of DMRS symbols corresponding to multiple DMRS ports; furthermore, the receiving end can complete data detection and demodulation based on the equivalent channel. The channel estimation algorithm can be, for example, a least square (LS) channel estimation algorithm, a minimum mean square error (MMSE) channel estimation algorithm, or a delay domain channel estimation algorithm based on discrete Fourier transform (DFT) / inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT).

[0079] 2. DMRS port

[0080] A port may refer to an antenna port, which may be understood as a transmitting antenna identified by the receiving end, or a transmitting antenna that can be distinguished in space. A port may be configured for each virtual antenna, and each virtual antenna may be a weighted combination of multiple physical antennas. A port used to send a reference signal may be called a reference signal port, and the reference signal may be, for example, a DMRS, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), without specific limitation. Taking a DMRS port as an example, different DMRS ports may be distinguished by different indexes (or port numbers).

[0081] In the embodiment of the present application, the port will be described as a DMRS port. It can be understood that the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is not only applicable to the DMRS port, but also to other possible reference signal ports, such as CSI-RS port and SRS port.

[0082] 3. DMRS configuration type

[0083] The configuration types of DMRS may include configuration type 1 (type 1) and configuration type 2 (type 2). Different configuration types support different numbers of orthogonal DMRS ports and time-frequency resource mapping rules.

[0084] When multiple parallel data streams are transmitted simultaneously on the same time-frequency resources, each data stream can be called a spatial layer, spatial stream, or transport stream, and a DMRS port can correspond to a spatial layer or transport stream. The time domain symbol length occupied by a DMRS port (or the number of time domain symbols occupied by a DMRS port) can be 1 or 2. When the time domain symbol length occupied by a DMRS port is 1, it can be called a single-symbol DMRS; when the time domain symbol length occupied by a DMRS port is 2, it can be called a dual-symbol DMRS.

[0085] For type 1, single-symbol DMRS can support up to 4 orthogonal DMRS ports, and dual-symbol DMRS can support up to 8 orthogonal DMRS ports. For type 2, single-symbol DMRS can support up to 6 orthogonal DMRS ports, and dual-symbol DMRS can support up to 12 orthogonal DMRS ports. For example, if X transmission streams include transmission stream 0 and transmission stream 1, when the network device assigns the DMRS port index "0, 1" to the terminal device, transmission stream 0 corresponds to DMRS port 0, and transmission stream 1 corresponds to DMRS port 1. When the network device assigns the DMRS port index "2, 3" to the terminal device, transmission stream 0 corresponds to DMRS port 2, and transmission stream 1 corresponds to DMRS port 3.

[0086] With the continuous development of communication technology, 12 DMRS ports are increasingly unable to meet communication requirements. Therefore, in the Release 18 version, the number of DMRS ports has been expanded (or extended). As one approach, type 1 DMRS can be enhanced. After type 1 enhancement, the upper limit of the number of DMRS ports corresponding to single-symbol DMRS can be 8, and the upper limit of the number of DMRS ports corresponding to dual-symbol DMRS can be 16. As another approach, type 2 DMRS can be enhanced. After type 2 enhancement, the upper limit of the number of DMRS ports corresponding to single-symbol DMRS can be 12, and the upper limit of the number of DMRS ports corresponding to dual-symbol DMRS can be 24.

[0087] Each transmission stream of each UE corresponds to a DMRS port, and several DMRS ports constitute a group. Each group of DMRS ports transmits DMRS on the same REs, occupying one or more OFDM symbols per time slot in the time domain. In the frequency domain, transmission is performed at regular intervals, forming a comb-tooth structure. Different groups of ports are distinguished in the frequency domain by using different comb teeth.

[0088] For example, as shown in FIG2A , FIG2A is a schematic diagram of a type 1 DMRS pilot pattern used for PDSCH transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application. For single-symbol DMRS in the PDSCH DMRS type 1 pilot pattern, the first group of DMRS ports includes ports 0, 1, 8, and 9, and the second group of DMRS ports includes ports 2, 3, 10, and 11. The first group of DMRS ports and the second group of DMRS ports use different comb teeth to distinguish them in the frequency domain; for double-symbol DMRS in the PDSCH DMRS type 1 pilot pattern, the first group of DMRS ports includes ports 0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 13, and the second group of DMRS ports includes ports 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, and 15. The first group of DMRS ports and the second group of DMRS ports use different comb teeth to distinguish them in the frequency domain.

[0089] For example, as shown in FIG2B , FIG2B is a schematic diagram of a type 2 DMRS pilot pattern used for PDSCH transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application. For the single-symbol DMRS in the PDSCH DMRS type2 pilot pattern, the first group of DMRS ports includes ports 0, 1, 12, and 13, the second group of DMRS ports includes ports 2, 3, 14, and 15, and the third group of DMRS ports includes ports 4, 5, 16, and 17. The first group of DMRS ports, the second group of DMRS ports, and the third group of DMRS ports use different comb teeth to distinguish them in the frequency domain; for the double-symbol DMRS in the PDSCH DMRS type2 pilot pattern, the first group of DMRS ports includes ports 0, 1, 6, 7, 12, 13, 18, and 19, the second group of DMRS ports includes ports 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, 15, 20, and 21, and the third group of DMRS ports includes ports 4, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17, 22, and 23. The first group of DMRS ports, the second group of DMRS ports, and the second group of DMRS ports use different comb teeth to distinguish them in the frequency domain.

[0090] 3. Time-frequency resource mapping of DMRS ports

[0091] A DMRS port may correspond to one or more DMRS signal symbols (also referred to as DMRS modulation symbols, or simply DMRS symbols). To perform channel estimation for different time-frequency resources, multiple DMRS symbols corresponding to the DMRS port may be transmitted across multiple time-frequency resources. Furthermore, to ensure the quality of channel estimation, different DMRS ports are typically orthogonal to avoid interference between them.

[0092] The multiple DMRS symbols corresponding to a DMRS port can correspond to a DMRS sequence, and a DMRS sequence includes multiple DMRS sequence elements. The DMRS sequence corresponding to a DMRS port can be mapped to the corresponding time-frequency resource after multiplying it with the corresponding mask sequence according to the time-frequency resource mapping rules. For example, for DMRS port p, the mth DMRS sequence element r(m) in its corresponding DMRS sequence can be mapped to the index (k, l) according to the time-frequency resource mapping rules. p,μ The resource element (RE) of the resource element is (k, l). p,μ The RE may correspond to a time domain symbol with index l in a time slot in the time domain and to a subcarrier with index k in the frequency domain. The time-frequency resource mapping rule may satisfy the following formula (1):

[0093] In formula (1), k′=0,1,2,3 n=0,1,2,... p=0,1,2,...

[0094] Wherein, μ represents the subcarrier spacing parameter; k represents the frequency domain position (i.e., subcarrier index) where DMRS is sent; l represents the time domain position (i.e., OFDM symbol index) where DMRS is sent. Indicates mapping to index (k,l) p,μ The DMRS modulation symbol corresponding to port p on the RE; l represents the symbol index of the starting OFDM symbol occupied by the DMRS modulation symbol or the symbol index of the reference OFDM symbol; r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence; Δ represents the comb tooth number occupied by the current port group, and different port groups occupy different comb teeth in the frequency domain for frequency division multiplexing; w f (k′) represents the frequency domain spreading sequence of DMRS port p (i.e., the frequency domain mask element corresponding to the subcarrier indexed as k′); w t (l′) represents the time domain spreading sequence of DMRS port p (ie, the time domain mask element corresponding to the OFDM symbol indexed as l′). Each port in the current port group is code-division multiplexed on the same RE by using a different spreading sequence.

[0095] 4. Channel Estimation

[0096] Channel estimation is the process of estimating the model parameters of a hypothetical channel model from the received data. The terminal device can perform channel estimation through the DMRS received by the above RE. The commonly used detection process is shown in Figure 3. For example, Figure 3 is a flow chart of a PDSCH channel estimation process provided by an embodiment of the present application. For one RE, the DMRS received by the terminal device can be written as formula (2):

[0097] In formula (2), A j (k, l) represents the equivalent channel with precoding; N p (k, l) represents noise and other interference. Since an orthogonal time domain spreading sequence is used, the terminal device first performs despreading to obtain formula (3): y′ p (k) = A p (k)r(4n+k′)+N′ p (k) (3)

[0098] Then use LS to estimate the equivalent channel A at each comb tooth on each OFDM symbol p (k). For an OFDM symbol, the frequency domain received signal model is formula (4): Y p =A p X p +N p(4)

[0099] Channel estimation at RE using DMRS The channel estimation result on the data RE can be obtained by frequency domain filtering and time domain linear interpolation Used for subsequent MIMO equalization and data restoration.

[0100] Based on the above, in current DMRS channel detection methods, DMRS can occupy one or two OFDM symbols. Each OFDM symbol supports up to 12 DMRS ports (i.e., supports up to 12 stream transmissions), which means that two OFDM symbols can support up to 24 stream transmissions. As frequencies evolve from low frequencies (sub-6 GHz) to high frequencies (above 6 GHz), the number of spatial transmission streams increases with the expansion of antenna array size. The number of spatial data transmission streams has increased fivefold from 10 to 20, with a peak number approaching 100 streams. To ensure data transmission performance, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by DMRS can be increased, for example, from two OFDM symbols to eight OFDM symbols, thereby supporting up to 96 stream transmissions. However, this approach results in a linear increase in DMRS overhead, which will occupy a large amount of air interface resources in scenarios with 100 streams, severely impacting data transmission capacity.

[0101] In order to support data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams without increasing additional DMRS overhead, the present application provides a communication method and a communication device. The communication method and the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below.

[0102] 1. Multiple streams of a terminal device occupy the same time-frequency resources.

[0103] 1. Downlink transmission

[0104] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the communication method includes the following steps S401 and S402. For a terminal device, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 4 can be a terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 4 can be a chip in the terminal device and a chip in the network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 illustrates the example of the terminal device and the network device as the execution subject of the method. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking the pilot signal being DMRS as an example.

[0105] S401: A network device sends configuration information to a terminal device, where the configuration information indicates DMRS transmission resources and the number of streams transmitted on a first DMRS port, R. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0106] S402: The network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives R DMRSs from the network device.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, based on the above description, assuming the frequency domain received signal model is Y = AX + N, a feasible approach to reducing DMRS overhead is to use the received data signal to assist in channel estimation. For example, blind detection is a type of method that does not require DMRS pilots. Its principle is to use the constellation information carried by the modulated data signal to perform channel estimation.

[0108] Taking maximum likelihood (ML) detection as an example, for the n-stream transmission problem, assuming that the noise obeys a complex Gaussian distribution, the ML detector is used to jointly estimate the equivalent channel A and the data signal X. The channel estimation problem is defined as: Where G is the transmit constellation diagram.

[0109] Due to the symmetry of G, the blind detection method has the problem of detection ambiguity. Taking the quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellation as an example, its n-stream constellation is a high-dimensional negative space C n A complex cube with an outer contour of order n and a set of points symmetric about the coordinate axes and the center. Directly using blind detection methods, the resulting channel estimate cannot distinguish between axisymmetric and centrosymmetric transformations. For example, from Y = AX = (-A)(-X), it is impossible to distinguish between (A, X) and (-A, -X) as the correct estimate.

[0110] In order to remove the above ambiguity, the pilot signal needs to provide additional information. This application proposes a method to remove the blind detection ambiguity, as shown in Figure 5. Assuming that the initial pilot signal is p and has R flow, the initial pilot signal can be regarded as the restored pilot signal Uq. First, sort by absolute value to obtain the permutation matrix T perm , and then get the flip matrix T according to the positive and negative elements flip The obtained value is T flip T perm Uq=p, thus the ambiguity problem existing in the blind detection method can be eliminated. Therefore, the focus of this application is on the design of the pilot signal for eliminating the ambiguity.

[0111] Taking the pilot signal being DMRS as an example, the mapping pattern of DMRS to physical resources (ie, the transmission resource of DMRS) can adopt a comb-tooth structure or a non-comb-tooth structure. DMRS in different situations is described in detail below.

[0112] Case 1: DMRS transmission resources are in a comb-tooth structure (i.e., the mapping pattern of DMRS to physical resources adopts a comb-tooth structure)

[0113] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS transmission resource has a comb-tooth structure, the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the first DMRS port occupies one time-frequency resource and is multiplexed by R DMRSs of a terminal device (e.g., the first terminal device). In this case, the DMRS needs to satisfy the following formula (5).

[0114] Where q(s) represents a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

[0115] Based on the DMRS design in formula (5), R DMRSs can be determined. Taking a terminal device as an example, the network device needs to send configuration information to the terminal device. This configuration information needs to indicate the DMRS transmission resource and the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port. In this way, the network device can send R DMRSs to the terminal device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, and the terminal device can receive these R DMRSs on the corresponding transmission resource through the first DMRS port. This enables multi-stream multiplexing of one DMRS port for one terminal device, supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0116] Where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource. It can be understood that the first DMRS port is any DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the number of streams transmitted on each DMRS port indicated by the configuration information is R. For example, the configuration information indicates that the number of streams transmitted on each DMRS port is 4.

[0117] It can also be understood that the first DMRS port is a specific DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the number of streams transmitted on the specific DMRS port indicated by the configuration information is R. In this way, the number of streams transmitted on each DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource can be the same or different, which is conducive to improving the flexibility of configuring the number of transmission streams. For example, the configuration information indicates that the number of streams transmitted on DMRS port 1 is 4. For another example, the number of streams transmitted on DMRS port 2 is 2.

[0118] In a possible implementation, the transmission resource includes multiple comb teeth, and R DMRSs may be code-division multiplexed on each comb tooth, or may not be code-division multiplexed. These two implementations are described below.

[0119] Method 1: R DMRSs are not code-division multiplexed on each comb tooth

[0120] That is, when the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0121] Correspondingly, when the terminal device receives R DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the terminal device receives R DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0122] As shown in Figure 6A, the DMRS transmission resources adopt a comb-tooth structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, assuming that the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port is 4, the transmission resource corresponding to the first DMRS port has 4 comb teeth (i.e., comb tooth 0, comb tooth 1, comb tooth 2, comb tooth 3). The network device can send 4 DMRS (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, DMRS 3) on each of the 4 comb teeth to terminal device 0. Correspondingly, terminal device 0 can receive 4 DMRS from the network device on each comb tooth.

[0123] Optionally, for a terminal device, the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is 1. This means that the R DMRSs of a terminal device occupy the same time domain resources. To distinguish different transmission streams, the R DMRSs must be different. Furthermore, to avoid additional pilot overhead, the pilot signal on the same time domain resource is split into multiple pilot signals for use. Therefore, the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to a terminal device must be 1. Experiments have shown that this can reduce DMRS overhead by up to 75% while supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0124] Method 2: R DMRS are code-division multiplexed on each comb tooth

[0125] That is, when the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0126] Correspondingly, when the terminal device receives R DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the network device receives R DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0127] Each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources, and R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0128] As shown in Figure 6B, the transmission resources of DMRS adopt a comb tooth structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, assuming that the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port is 4, the transmission resources corresponding to the first DMRS port have 4 comb teeth (i.e., comb tooth 0, comb tooth 1, comb tooth 2, comb tooth 3), and each comb tooth has 4 code domain resources (i.e., code domain resource 0, code domain resource 1, code domain resource 2, code domain resource 3).

[0129] The network device can send four DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, and DMRS 3) to terminal device 0 on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth. Correspondingly, terminal device 0 can receive four DMRSs from the network device on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth.

[0130] The network device may also send four DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 1 on the code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 1 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth;

[0131] The network device may also send four DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 2 on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 2 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth;

[0132] The network device can send 4 DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 3 on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 3 can receive 4 DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth.

[0133] In summary, the R DMRSs of a terminal device occupy the same time domain resources and code domain resources in each comb tooth.

[0134] Optionally, for a terminal device, the R DMRSs corresponding to that terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of these R DMRSs corresponding to that terminal device is 1. This means that the R DMRSs for a terminal device occupy the same time domain resources. To distinguish different transmission streams, these R DMRSs must be different. Furthermore, to avoid adding additional pilot overhead, the pilot signal on the same time domain resource is split into multiple pilot signals. Therefore, the sum of the powers of these R DMRSs corresponding to a terminal device must be 1. Experiments have shown that this can reduce DMRS overhead by up to 75% while supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0135] Case 2: DMRS transmission resources are non-comb-tooth structures (i.e., the mapping pattern of DMRS to physical resources adopts a non-comb-tooth structure)

[0136] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS transmission resource is a non-comb structure, taking the first DMRS port as an example, the first DMRS port occupies one time-frequency resource and is multiplexed by R DMRSs of a terminal device (such as the first terminal device). In this case, the DMRS needs to satisfy the following formula (6).

[0137] Wherein, q(s) represents a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

[0138] In addition, for the non-comb structure, the pilot pattern for sending DMRS needs to be redefined, that is, in formula (6): s=0,1,...,R-1 n=0,1,... j=0,1,...,v-1

[0139] Here, k represents the frequency domain position (i.e., subcarrier index) of the DMRS; l represents the time domain position (i.e., OFDM symbol index) of the DMRS. Indicates the symbol index of the starting OFDM symbol occupied by the DMRS modulation symbol or the symbol index of the reference OFDM symbol; j is the port number, v represents the total number of ports, represents a blind estimation unit (eg, a PRG).

[0140] Assume that the DMRS port is defined as p j =0,1,2,3,..., the following are descriptions of single-symbol DMRS and double-symbol DMRS:

[0141] (1) For configuration type 1 (i.e., single-symbol DMRS): l′=0

[0142] Maximum support ports, total The specific DMRS pilot pattern is shown in FIG6C .

[0143] (2) For configuration type 2 (i.e., dual-symbol DMRS):

[0144] Maximum support common The specific DMRS pilot pattern is shown in FIG6D .

[0145] Based on the DMRS design in formula (6), R DMRSs can be determined. Taking a terminal device as an example, the network device needs to send configuration information to the terminal device. This configuration information needs to indicate the DMRS transmission resource and the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port. In this way, the network device can send R DMRSs to the terminal device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, and the terminal device can receive these R DMRSs on the corresponding transmission resource through the first DMRS port. This enables multi-stream multiplexing of one DMRS port for one terminal device, supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0146] Here, R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource. It can be understood that the first DMRS port is any DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, i.e., the number of streams transmitted on each DMRS port indicated by the configuration information is R. It can also be understood that the first DMRS port is a specific DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, i.e., the number of streams transmitted on the specific DMRS port indicated by the configuration information is R. In this way, the number of streams transmitted on each DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource can be the same or different, which helps to improve the flexibility of the configuration of the number of transmission streams.

[0147] In a possible implementation, the R DMRSs may be code-division multiplexed on the transmission resource, or may not be code-division multiplexed. These two implementations are described below.

[0148] Mode a: No code division multiplexing on the transmission resource

[0149] That is, the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource.

[0150] As shown in Figure 7A, the transmission resource of DMRS adopts a non-comb structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, assuming that the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port is 4, the transmission resource corresponding to the first DMRS port is an RE resource in the blind estimation unit (for example, a PRG). The network device can send 4 DMRS (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, DMRS 3) to the terminal device 0 on RE0. Correspondingly, the terminal device 0 can receive 4 DMRS from the network device on this transmission resource. The network device can send 4 DMRS (i.e., DMRS 0, DMRS 1, DMRS 2, DMRS 3) to the terminal device 4 on RE4. Correspondingly, the terminal device 4 can receive 4 DMRS from the network device on this transmission resource.

[0151] Mode b: Code division multiplexing exists on the transmission resource

[0152] That is, the transmission resource includes multiple code domain resources, and the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0153] As shown in Figure 7B, the transmission resources of DMRS adopt a non-comb structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, assuming that the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port is 4, the transmission resource corresponding to the first DMRS port is an RE resource within a blind estimation unit (for example, a PRG), and the transmission resource has 4 code domain resources (i.e., code domain resource 0, code domain resource 1, code domain resource 2, and code domain resource 3).

[0154] The network device may send four DMRSs to the terminal device 0 on the code domain resource 0 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 0 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 0 in the transmission resource;

[0155] The network device may also send four DMRSs to the terminal device 1 on the code domain resource 1 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 1 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 1 in the transmission resource;

[0156] The network device may also send four DMRSs to the terminal device 2 on the code domain resource 2 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 2 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 2 in the transmission resource;

[0157] The network device may send four DMRSs to the terminal device 3 on the code domain resource 3 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 3 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 3 in the transmission resource;

[0158] In summary, the R DMRSs of each terminal device occupy one code domain resource in the transmission resource.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the DMRS may be a real number sequence or a complex number sequence. The two cases are described in detail below.

[0160] Case 1: DMRS is a real number sequence

[0161] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS is a real number sequence, q(s) is a real number pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and R and Z(R) have a first association relationship.

[0162] Optionally, the first association relationship may be represented by a first mapping table, which includes the following Table 1:

[0163] Table 1

[0164] Of course, the first mapping relationship may also be expressed in other ways, which are not limited here.

[0165] Case 2: DMRS is a complex sequence

[0166] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS is a complex sequence, there is a second association relationship between q(s), R and Z(R).

[0167] Optionally, the second association relationship may be represented by a second mapping table, which includes the following Table 2:

[0168] Table 2

[0169] Of course, the second mapping relationship may also be expressed in other ways, which are not limited here.

[0170] It can be seen that based on the method described above, the network device sends R DMRSs to the terminal device through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource. Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive R DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. It can be understood that the multi-stream multiplexing of a terminal device uses one DMRS port, and each DMRS port corresponds to a scalar sequence with a length of the number of streams for distinguishing different transmission streams, thereby supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams and improving the data transmission capacity without increasing additional DMRS overhead.

[0171] 2. Uplink transmission

[0172] Figure 8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the communication method includes the following steps S801 and S802. For a terminal device, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 8 can be a terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 8 can be a chip in the terminal device and a chip in the network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 illustrates the example of the terminal device and the network device as the execution subject of the method. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking the pilot signal being DMRS as an example.

[0173] S801: A network device sends configuration information to a terminal device, where the configuration information indicates DMRS transmission resources and the number of streams transmitted on a first DMRS port, R. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0174] In this embodiment of the present application, R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource.

[0175] S802: The terminal device sends R DMRSs to the network device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. Correspondingly, the network device receives R DMRSs from the terminal device.

[0176] Taking a terminal device as an example, the main difference between the method described in FIG4 and the method described in FIG8 is that the execution entity of sending R DMRS is different. FIG4 is a diagram of the network device sending R DMRS to the terminal device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, and FIG8 is a diagram of the terminal device sending R DMRS to the network device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port. The specific implementation of steps S801 and S802 can refer to the specific implementation of steps S401 and S402 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0177] It can be seen that based on the method described above, the terminal device sends R DMRSs to the network device through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource. Correspondingly, the network device can receive R DMRSs from the terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. It can be understood that the multi-stream multiplexing of a terminal device uses one DMRS port, and each DMRS port corresponds to a scalar sequence with a length of the number of streams for distinguishing different transmission streams, thereby supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams, and improving the data transmission capacity without increasing additional DMRS overhead.

[0178] 2. Multiple streams of multiple terminal devices occupy the same time-frequency resources.

[0179] 1. Downlink transmission

[0180] Figure 9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the communication method includes the following steps S901 and S902. For multiple terminal devices, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 9 can be a first terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 9 can be a chip in the first terminal device and a chip in the network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 illustrates the first terminal device and the network device as the execution subject of the method as an example. It should be noted that the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices. The embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking the pilot signal being DMRS as an example.

[0181] S901: A network device sends configuration information to a first terminal device, where the configuration information indicates DMRS transmission resources and M DMRSs transmitted on a first DMRS port. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0182] S902: The network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the M DMRSs from the network device.

[0183] In the embodiments of this application, similar to the method described in FIG4 , the focus of this application is also on the design of pilot signals to resolve ambiguity. Taking the DMRS pilot signal as an example, the mapping pattern of the DMRS to physical resources (i.e., the DMRS transmission resource) can adopt a comb-tooth structure or a non-comb-tooth structure. The following details the DMRS in different scenarios.

[0184] Case 1: DMRS transmission resources are in a comb-tooth structure (i.e., the mapping pattern of DMRS to physical resources adopts a comb-tooth structure)

[0185] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS transmission resource has a comb-tooth structure, the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the first DMRS port occupies one time-frequency resource and can be multiplexed by R DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices (e.g., the first terminal device and the second terminal device). In this case, the DMRS needs to satisfy the above formula (5).

[0186] According to the DMRS design of the above formula (5), R DMRSs can be determined. For the first terminal device among the multiple terminal devices, the network device needs to send configuration information to the first terminal device. The configuration information needs to indicate the transmission resource of the DMRS and also needs to indicate the M DMRSs transmitted on the first DMRS port. Among them, these M DMRSs are M DMRSs among the R DMRSs. M is less than R. In this way, the network device can send M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, and the first terminal device can receive these M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the corresponding transmission resource.

[0187] It can be understood that the main difference between the method described in Figure 9 and the method described in Figure 4 is that the configuration information in the method described in Figure 4 indicates the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port, while the configuration information in the method described in Figure 8 directly indicates the M DMRSs transmitted by the first terminal device on the first DMRS port, that is, directly indicates M DMRS sequences. In other words, the network device directly indicates the M DMRSs that the first terminal device needs to receive, so that when the network device sends M DMRSs, the first terminal device can receive the M DMRSs.

[0188] Of course, the network device can also send the configuration information to other terminal devices. For example, the network device can send the configuration information to the second terminal device. The total number of DMRSs corresponding to all terminal devices is R. In this way, multiple terminal devices can multiplex multiple streams on a single DMRS port, supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0189] For example, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) transmitted on the first DMRS port; after the network device sends the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 0, terminal device 0 can receive the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) from the network device through the first DMRS port.

[0190] For another example, the network device indicates to the terminal device 1 the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) transmitted on the first DMRS port; after the network device sends the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 1, the terminal device 1 can receive the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) from the network device through the first DMRS port.

[0191] Wherein, R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than R. The first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource. It can be understood that the first DMRS port is any DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the configuration information indicates M DMRSs transmitted on each DMRS port. For example, the configuration information indicates 2 DMRSs transmitted on each DMRS port.

[0192] It can also be understood that the first DMRS port is a specific DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the M DMRSs transmitted on the specific DMRS port indicated by the configuration information. In this way, the number of DMRSs transmitted on different DMRS ports corresponding to the transmission resource can be the same or different, which is conducive to improving the flexibility of configuring the number of transmission streams. For example, the configuration information indicates 2 DMRSs transmitted on DMRS port 1. For another example, the configuration information indicates 4 DMRSs transmitted on DMRS port 2.

[0193] It should be noted that the number of DMRSs transmitted by different terminal devices among the multiple terminal devices on the first DMRS port may be the same or different, that is, the number of DMRSs corresponding to different terminal devices may be the same or different.

[0194] For example, the network device indicates to terminal device 0 the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) transmitted on the first DMRS port; after the network device sends the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 0, terminal device 0 can receive the two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) from the network device through the first DMRS port. The network device indicates to terminal device 1 the three DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2, DMRS 3, and DMRS 4) transmitted on the first DMRS port; after the network device sends the three DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2, DMRS 3, and DMRS 4) to terminal device 1, terminal device 1 can receive the three DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2, DMRS 3, and DMRS 4) from the network device through the first DMRS port.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the transmission resource includes multiple comb teeth, and the M DMRSs of a terminal device may be code-division multiplexed on each comb tooth, or may not be code-division multiplexed. These two implementations are described below.

[0196] Method 1: M DMRSs are multiplexed on each comb tooth without code division multiplexing

[0197] That is, when the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0198] Correspondingly, when the first terminal device receives M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the first terminal device receives M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0199] As shown in Figure 10A, the DMRS transmission resources adopt a comb-tooth structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to two terminal devices (terminal device 0 and terminal device 1) is 4. Assuming that the first terminal device is terminal device 0, terminal device 0 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, and the transmission resources corresponding to the first DMRS port have 4 comb teeth (i.e., comb tooth 0, comb tooth 1, comb tooth 2, comb tooth 3), the network device can send 2 DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 0 on each of the 4 comb teeth. Correspondingly, terminal device 0 can receive 2 DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) from the network device on each comb tooth. Of course, assuming that the terminal device 1 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, the network device can send 2 DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 1 on each of the 4 comb teeth, and accordingly, the terminal device 1 can receive 2 DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) from the network device on each comb tooth.

[0200] Optionally, for multiple terminal devices, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R, the R DMRSs are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs is 1. The M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices, and M is less than R.

[0201] It can be understood that the R DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices can reuse the same DMRS port, and one terminal device can transmit M DMRSs out of the R DMRSs on the DMRS port. Since the R DMRSs occupy the same time domain resources, in order to distinguish different transmission streams, it is necessary to ensure that the R DMRSs are different, that is, the M DMRSs are also different. In order not to increase additional pilot overhead, the pilot signal on the original same time domain resource is split into multiple pilot signals for use. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device is less than 1. Experiments have shown that while supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams, the DMRS overhead can be reduced by up to 75%.

[0202] For example, assuming that R is 4, the terminal device includes a first terminal device and a second terminal device, the first terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs, and the second terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs. The 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device are different. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, and the sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is less than 1. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device plus the sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the 4 DMRSs corresponding to the two terminal devices is 1.

[0203] For another example, assuming that R is 5, the terminal devices include a first terminal device and a second terminal device, the first terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs, and the second terminal device corresponds to 3 DMRSs. The 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device are different. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, and the sum of the powers of the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is less than 1. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device plus the sum of the powers of the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the 5 DMRSs corresponding to the two terminal devices is 1.

[0204] Method 2: M DMRSs are code-division multiplexed on each comb tooth

[0205] That is, when the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0206] Correspondingly, when the first terminal device receives M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, the specific implementation method may be: the first terminal device receives M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0207] Each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources, and M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0208] As shown in Figure 10B, the DMRS transmission resources adopt a comb-tooth structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to eight terminal devices (terminal device 0, terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, terminal device 4, terminal device 5, terminal device 6, and terminal device 7) is 16. Assuming that the first terminal device is terminal device 0, terminal device 0 transmits two DMRSs on the first DMRS port. The transmission resources corresponding to the first DMRS port have four comb teeth (i.e., comb tooth 0, comb tooth 1, comb tooth 2, and comb tooth 3), and each comb tooth has four code domain resources (i.e., code domain resource 0, code domain resource 1, code domain resource 2, and code domain resource 3).

[0209] The network device can send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 0 on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth; accordingly, terminal device 0 can receive two DMRSs from the network device on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth; the network device can also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to terminal device 1 on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth; accordingly, terminal device 1 can receive two DMRSs from the network device on code domain resource 0 in each comb tooth;

[0210] The network device may also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 2 on code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth; accordingly, terminal device 2 may receive two DMRSs from the network device on code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth; the network device may also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to terminal device 3 on code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth; accordingly, terminal device 3 may receive two DMRSs from the network device on code domain resource 1 in each comb tooth;

[0211] The network device may also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to the terminal device 4 on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 4 may receive two DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth; the network device may also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 5 on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 5 may receive two DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 2 in each comb tooth;

[0212] The network device can also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to the terminal device 6 on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 6 can receive two DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth; the network device can also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to the terminal device 7 on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth; accordingly, the terminal device 7 can receive two DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 3 in each comb tooth.

[0213] In summary, the M DMRSs corresponding to one of the multiple terminal devices occupy the same time domain resource and code domain resource in each comb tooth. The total number of DMRSs corresponding to different terminal devices can be the same or different, and the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R.

[0214] Optionally, for multiple terminal devices, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R, the R DMRSs are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs is 1. The M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices, and M is less than R.

[0215] It can be understood that the R DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices can reuse the same DMRS port, and one terminal device can transmit M DMRSs out of the R DMRSs on the DMRS port. Since the R DMRSs occupy the same time domain resources, in order to distinguish different transmission streams, it is necessary to ensure that the R DMRSs are different, that is, the M DMRSs are also different. In order not to increase additional pilot overhead, the pilot signal on the original same time domain resource is split into multiple pilot signals for use. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device is less than 1. Experiments have shown that while supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams, the DMRS overhead can be reduced by up to 75%.

[0216] For example, assuming that R is 4, the terminal device includes a first terminal device and a second terminal device, the first terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs, and the second terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs. The 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device are different. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, and the sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is less than 1. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device plus the sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the 4 DMRSs corresponding to the two terminal devices is 1.

[0217] For another example, assuming that R is 5, the terminal devices include a first terminal device and a second terminal device, the first terminal device corresponds to 2 DMRSs, and the second terminal device corresponds to 3 DMRSs. The 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device are different. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, and the sum of the powers of the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is less than 1. The sum of the powers of the 2 DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device plus the sum of the powers of the 3 DMRSs corresponding to the second terminal device is 1, that is, the sum of the powers of the 5 DMRSs corresponding to the two terminal devices is 1.

[0218] Case 2: DMRS transmission resources are non-comb-tooth structures (i.e., the mapping pattern of DMRS to physical resources adopts a non-comb-tooth structure)

[0219] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS transmission resource is a non-comb structure, taking the first DMRS port as an example, the first DMRS port occupies one time-frequency resource and is multiplexed by R DMRSs of multiple terminal devices (e.g., the first terminal device and the second terminal device). In this case, the DMRS needs to satisfy the above formula (6).

[0220] According to the DMRS design of the above formula (6), R DMRSs can be determined. For the first terminal device among the multiple terminal devices, the network device needs to send configuration information to the first terminal device. The configuration information needs to indicate the transmission resource of the DMRS and also needs to indicate the M DMRSs transmitted by the first terminal device on the first DMRS port. Among them, these M DMRSs are M DMRSs among the R DMRSs. M is less than R. In this way, the network device can send M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, and the first terminal device can receive these M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the corresponding transmission resource.

[0221] It can be understood that the main difference between the method described in Figure 9 and the method described in Figure 4 is that the configuration information in the method described in Figure 4 indicates the number of streams R transmitted on the first DMRS port, while the configuration information in the method described in Figure 8 directly indicates the M DMRSs transmitted by the first terminal device on the first DMRS port, that is, directly indicates M DMRS sequences. In other words, the network device directly indicates the M DMRSs that the first terminal device needs to receive, so that when the network device sends M DMRSs, the first terminal device can receive the M DMRSs.

[0222] Of course, the network device can also send the configuration information to other terminal devices. For example, the network device can send the configuration information to the second terminal device. The total number of DMRSs corresponding to all terminal devices is R. In this way, multiple terminal devices can multiplex multiple streams on a single DMRS port, supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams.

[0223] Wherein, R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than R. The first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource. It can be understood that the first DMRS port is any DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the configuration information indicates M DMRSs transmitted on each DMRS port. For example, the configuration information indicates 2 DMRSs transmitted on each DMRS port.

[0224] It can also be understood that the first DMRS port is a specific DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource, that is, the M DMRSs transmitted on a specific DMRS port indicated by the configuration information. In this way, the number of DMRSs transmitted on each DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource can be the same or different, which is conducive to improving the flexibility of the configuration of the number of transmission streams.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the M DMRSs may be code-division multiplexed on the transmission resource, or may not be code-division multiplexed. These two implementations are described below.

[0226] Mode a: M DMRS are not code-division multiplexed on the transmission resource

[0227] That is, the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives M DMRSs from the network device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource.

[0228] As shown in FIG11A , the DMRS transmission resources adopt a non-comb structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to two terminal devices (terminal device 0 and terminal device 1, or terminal device 2 and terminal device 3) is 4. Assume that terminal device 0 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, terminal device 1 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, terminal device 2 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, and terminal device 3 transmits 2 DMRSs on the first DMRS port.

[0229] The transmission resource corresponding to the first DMRS port is an RE resource within a blind estimation unit (e.g., a PRG). The network device can send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 0 on RE0, and send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to terminal device 1 on RE0. Correspondingly, terminal device 0 can receive two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) from the network device on the transmission resource, and terminal device 1 can receive two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) from the network device on the transmission resource.

[0230] The network device may also send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) to terminal device 2 on RE4, and send two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) to terminal device 3 on RE4. Accordingly, terminal device 2 may receive two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 0 and DMRS 1) from the network device on the transmission resource, and terminal device 3 may receive two DMRSs (i.e., DMRS 2 and DMRS 3) from the network device on the transmission resource.

[0231] Mode b: M DMRS are code-division multiplexed on the transmission resource

[0232] That is, the transmission resource includes multiple code domain resources, and M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0233] As shown in Figure 11B, the transmission resources of DMRS adopt a non-comb structure. Taking the first DMRS port as an example, the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the four terminal devices (terminal device 0, terminal device 1, terminal device 2 and terminal device 3) is 16. Assume that terminal device 0 transmits 4 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, terminal device 1 transmits 4 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, terminal device 2 transmits 4 DMRSs on the first DMRS port, and terminal device 3 transmits 4 DMRSs on the first DMRS port. The transmission resource corresponding to the first DMRS port is an RE resource within a blind estimation unit (for example, a PRG), and the transmission resource has 4 code domain resources (i.e., code domain resource 0, code domain resource 1, code domain resource 2, and code domain resource 3).

[0234] The network device may send four DMRSs to the terminal device 0 on the code domain resource 0 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 0 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 0 in the transmission resource;

[0235] The network device may also send four DMRSs to the terminal device 1 on the code domain resource 1 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 1 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 1 in the transmission resource;

[0236] The network device may also send four DMRSs to the terminal device 2 on the code domain resource 2 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 2 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 2 in the transmission resource;

[0237] The network device may send four DMRSs to the terminal device 3 on the code domain resource 3 in RE0; accordingly, the terminal device 3 may receive four DMRSs from the network device on the code domain resource 3 in the transmission resource;

[0238] In summary, the M DMRSs of each terminal device occupy one code domain resource in the transmission resource. The total number of DMRSs corresponding to different terminal devices may be the same or different, and the total number of DMRSs corresponding to multiple terminal devices is R.

[0239] In a possible implementation, the DMRS may be a real number sequence or a complex number sequence. The two cases are described in detail below.

[0240] Case 1: DMRS is a real number sequence

[0241] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS is a real number sequence, q(s) is a real number pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and R and Z(R) have a first association relationship.

[0242] Optionally, the first association relationship may be represented by a first mapping table, and the first mapping table includes the above-mentioned Table 1. Of course, the first mapping relationship may also be represented by other methods, which are not limited here.

[0243] Case 2: DMRS is a complex sequence

[0244] In a specific implementation, when the DMRS is a complex sequence, there is a second association relationship between q(s), R and Z(R).

[0245] Optionally, the second association relationship may be represented by a second mapping table, and the second mapping table includes the above-mentioned Table 2. Of course, the second mapping relationship may also be represented by other methods, which are not limited here.

[0246] It can be seen that based on the method described above, the network device can send M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource, and accordingly, the first terminal device can receive M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource; similarly, the network device can send M DMRSs to the second terminal device through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource, and accordingly, the second terminal device can receive M DMRSs from the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. It can be understood that multiple streams of multiple terminal devices multiplex one DMRS port, and each DMRS port corresponds to a scalar sequence with a length of the number of streams for distinguishing different transmission streams, thereby supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams and improving data transmission capacity without adding additional DMRS overhead.

[0247] 2. Uplink transmission

[0248] Figure 12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the communication method includes the following steps S1201 and S1202. For multiple terminal devices, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 12 can be a first terminal device and a network device. Alternatively, the execution subject of the method shown in Figure 12 can be a chip in the first terminal device and a chip in the network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 12 is illustrated by taking the first terminal device and the network device as the execution subject of the method as an example. It should be noted that the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices. The embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking the pilot signal being DMRS as an example.

[0249] S1201: A network device sends configuration information to a first terminal device, where the configuration information indicates DMRS transmission resources and M DMRSs transmitted on a first DMRS port. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device.

[0250] In this embodiment of the present application, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource.

[0251] S1202: The first terminal device sends M DMRSs to the network device via the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. Correspondingly, the network device receives the M DMRSs from the first terminal device.

[0252] Among them, taking the case where there are multiple terminal devices, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices. The main difference between the method described in Figure 12 and the method described in Figure 9 is that the execution entity of sending M DMRSs is different. Figure 9 is that the network device sends M DMRSs to the first terminal device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, and Figure 12 is that the first terminal device sends M DMRSs to the network device through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource. The specific implementation of steps S1201 and S1202 can refer to the specific implementation of steps S901 and S902 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0253] It can be seen that based on the method described above, the first terminal device can send M DMRSs to the network through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource, and accordingly, the network device can receive M DMRSs from the first terminal device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port; similarly, the second terminal device can send M DMRSs to the network device through the first DMRS port on the DMRS transmission resource, and accordingly, the network device can receive M DMRSs from the second terminal device on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port. It can be understood that multiple streams of multiple terminal devices multiplex one DMRS port, and each DMRS port corresponds to a scalar sequence with a length of the number of streams for distinguishing different transmission streams, thereby supporting data transmission with a higher number of spatial streams and improving data transmission capacity without adding additional DMRS overhead.

[0254] Please refer to Figure 13, which shows a structural diagram of a communication device 1300 of an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in Figure 13 can be a terminal device or a network device, or it can be a device in a terminal device or a network device, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a terminal device or a network device. Specifically, as shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 may include a communication unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302. Among them, the processing unit 1302 is used to perform data processing. The communication unit 1301 is used for communication. Optionally, the communication unit 1301 integrates a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit 1301 can also be called a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 1301 can also be split into a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0255] In one embodiment, the communication device 1300 may be a terminal device, or a device in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device, wherein:

[0256] Communication unit 1301 is configured to receive configuration information from a network device; the configuration information is used to indicate a transmission resource of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); the configuration information is further used to indicate the number of DMRS streams (R) or M DMRSs transmitted on a first DMRS port, where R is an integer greater than 1 and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource;

[0257] The communication unit 1301 is further configured to send or receive the R DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or to send or receive the M DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port.

[0258] In one possible implementation, the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is 1; or, the M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is less than 1.

[0259] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a comb tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; the communication unit 1301, when sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, is specifically used to: send or receive the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource, or send or receive the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0260] In a possible implementation, each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0261] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0262] Where q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t(l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a non-comb structure, and the transmission resource includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0264] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0265] Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

[0266] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

[0267] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R, and the Z(R).

[0268] In one embodiment, the communication device 1300 may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device, wherein:

[0269] Communication unit 1301 is configured to send configuration information to a terminal device; the configuration information is used to indicate a transmission resource of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). The configuration information is further used to indicate the number of DMRS streams (R) or M DMRSs transmitted on a first DMRS port, where R is an integer greater than 1 and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource.

[0270] The communication unit 1301 is further configured to send or receive the R DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or to send or receive the M DMRSs on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port.

[0271] In a possible implementation, there is one terminal device, R DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to one terminal device is 1.

[0272] In one possible implementation, there are multiple terminal devices, and the total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R, the R DMRSs are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs is 1; the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices, and M is less than R.

[0273] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a comb tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; the communication unit 1301, when sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, is specifically used to: send or receive the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource, or send or receive the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

[0274] In a possible implementation, each comb tooth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0275] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0276] Where q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

[0277] In one possible implementation, the transmission resource is a non-comb structure, and the transmission resource includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the DMRS satisfies:

[0279] Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

[0280] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

[0281] In a possible implementation, the q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R, and the Z(R).

[0282] Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device. The communication device 1400 can be a terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment, or can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal device or network device to implement the above method. This communication device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiment.

[0283] The communication device 1400 may include one or more processors 1401. The processor 1401 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU may be used to control the communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU or a CU), execute software programs, and process software program data.

[0284] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may include one or more memories 1402, on which instructions 1404 may be stored. The instructions may be executed on the processor 1401, causing the communication device 1400 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 1402 may also store data. The processor 1401 and memory 1402 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0285] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1405 and an antenna 1406. The transceiver 1405 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 1405 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, and is configured to implement a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, and is configured to implement a transmitting function. The processing unit 1302 shown in FIG. 13 may be the processor 1401. The communication unit 1301 may be the transceiver 1405.

[0286] In another possible design, processor 1401 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0287] In another possible design, processor 1401 may optionally store instructions 1403. Instructions 1403, when executed on processor 1401, may cause communication device 1400 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Instructions 1403 may be fixed in processor 1401. In this case, processor 1401 may be implemented by hardware.

[0288] In another possible design, the communication device 1400 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (nMetal-oxide-semiconductor, NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (Bipolar Junction Transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0289] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a terminal device or a network device, but the scope of the communication device described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited to FIG14. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0290] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0291] (2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including a storage component for storing data and instructions;

[0292] (3) ASIC, such as modem (MSM);

[0293] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0294] (5) Receivers, terminals, smart terminals, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0295] (6)Others, etc.

[0296] In the case where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the chip structure diagram shown in Figure 15. The chip 1500 shown in Figure 15 includes a processor 1501 and an interface 1502. Optionally, it may also include a memory 1503. The number of processors 1501 can be one or more, and the number of interfaces 1502 can be multiple.

[0297] For the case where the chip is used to implement a terminal device or a network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0298] The interface 1502 is used to receive or output signals;

[0299] The processor 1501 is configured to execute data processing operations of a terminal device or a network device.

[0300] It is understandable that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0301] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component.

[0302] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0303] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the functions of any of the above method embodiments are implemented.

[0304] The present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which enables a computer to implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when the computer reads and executes the computer program product.

[0305] The present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device; wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above embodiment, and the network device is used to execute the method executed by the network device in the above embodiment.

[0306] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0307] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive configuration information from a network device; the configuration information is used to indicate a transmission resource of a demodulation reference signal DMRS, and the configuration information is also used to indicate the number of streams R or M DMRS transmitted on a first DMRS port, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is a DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource; The R DMRSs are sent or received on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or the M DMRSs are sent or received on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal devices are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to the terminal devices is 1; or, The M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the terminal device is less than 1.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The transmission resource is a comb-tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; The sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or the sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, includes: The R DMRSs are sent or received through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource, or the M DMRSs are sent or received through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Each of the comb teeth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The DMRS satisfies: Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The transmission resources are of a non-comb-tooth structure, and the transmission resources include multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The DMRS satisfies: Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

8. The method according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that: The q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

9. The method according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that: The q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R and the Z(R).

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Send configuration information to the terminal device; the configuration information is used to indicate the transmission resource of the demodulation reference signal DMRS, and the configuration information also Used to indicate the number of streams R or M DMRS transmitted on the first DMRS port, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the first DMRS port is the DMRS port corresponding to the transmission resource; The R DMRSs are sent or received on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port, or the M DMRSs are sent or received on the transmission resource through the first DMRS port.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that There is one terminal device, the R DMRSs corresponding to the one terminal device are different, and the sum of the powers of the R DMRSs corresponding to the one terminal device is 1.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that There are multiple terminal devices, a total number of DMRSs corresponding to the multiple terminal devices is R, the R DMRSs are different, and a sum of powers of the R DMRSs is 1; The M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device are different, the sum of the powers of the M DMRSs corresponding to the first terminal device is less than 1, the first terminal device is one of the multiple terminal devices, and the M is less than the R.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The transmission resource is a comb-tooth structure, and the frequency domain intervals between two adjacent comb teeth in the transmission resource are the same; The sending or receiving the R DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, or the sending or receiving the M DMRSs through the first DMRS port on the transmission resource, includes: The R DMRSs are sent or received through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource, or the M DMRSs are sent or received through the first DMRS port on each comb tooth in the transmission resource.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that Each of the comb teeth includes multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The DMRS satisfies: Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents the normalization coefficient, s represents the sth DMRS, and w f (k′) represents the spreading sequence of the first DMRS port in the frequency domain, w t (l′) represents the spread spectrum sequence of the first DMRS port in the time domain, and r(4n+k′) represents the frequency domain sequence of the transmission resource.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The transmission resources are of a non-comb-tooth structure, and the transmission resources include multiple code domain resources; the R DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources, or the M DMRSs occupy one code domain resource among the multiple code domain resources.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The DMRS satisfies: Wherein, q(s) is a real pilot sequence or a complex pilot sequence, R represents the number of streams transmitted on the first DMRS port, Z(R) represents a normalization coefficient, and s represents the sth DMRS.

18. The method according to claim 15 or 17, characterized in that The q(s) is a real pilot sequence, q(s)=2R-2s-1, and the R and the Z(R) have a first correlation relationship.

19. The method according to claim 15 or 17, characterized in that: The q(s) is a complex pilot sequence, and there is a second correlation relationship between the q(s), the R and the Z(R).

20. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a terminal device and a network device; wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, and the network device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 10-19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are coupled, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

23. A chip, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface, the processor and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to receive or output signals, and the processor is used to execute code instructions so that the method described in any one of claims 1 to 9 is executed, or so that the method described in any one of claims 10 to 19 is executed.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when called by the computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or enable the computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 10 to 19.

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