Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: a network device sends first information to a terminal device, the first information being used for indicating a first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, the first configuration information being used for indicating N + M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports; and receives channel estimation results of the N + M antenna ports sent by the terminal device, the channel estimation results of the N + M antenna ports being obtained on the basis of the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern. According to the described communication method, indication overhead when a network device indicates a CSI-RS pattern can be reduced.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on January 8, 2024, with application number 202410033004.3 and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In mobile communication technology, a terminal device needs to perform channel estimation for each antenna port used by a network device.

[0004] Currently, the method for terminal devices to perform channel estimation is as follows: the terminal device receives a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) pattern sent by a network device, where the CSI-RS pattern can be considered to indicate the resources occupied by the CSI-RS sent by the network device; the terminal device receives the CSI-RS based on the CSI-RS pattern, obtains a channel estimation result for each antenna port, and feeds it back to the network device.

[0005] However, when the above network device indicates a CSI-RS pattern in a scenario where a large number of antenna ports are present and the number of antenna ports changes dynamically, there are problems such as insufficient flexibility and high indication overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, in order to reduce the indication overhead of a network device indicating a CSI-RS pattern in a scenario where the number of antenna ports is large and the number of antenna ports changes dynamically.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be performed by a first communication device, such as a terminal device, or a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions, which is not limited in this application. In this application, the first communication device is described as a terminal device.

[0008] Exemplarily, the communication method includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, where N and M are both positive integers; and performing channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0009] The first information and the first configuration information are both sent by the second communication device to the terminal device. Alternatively, the second communication device may be a network device. Alternatively, the second communication device may be a terminal device. This application describes the technical solution using the example of the second communication device being a network device. However, it should be understood that this does not constitute a limitation of this application.

[0010] In this technical solution, if the network device has sent the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports to the terminal device, at this time, if the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on N+M antenna ports, the network device will only indicate the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports (also called the second CSI-RS resource pattern) to the terminal device when indicating the CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device; accordingly, for the terminal device, based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern, the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports is determined, and then the CSI-RS is received based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports to perform channel estimation for the N+M antenna ports.

[0011] The CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports indicated by the network device can be understood as: the network device generates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports based on the existing CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports, and then excludes the first CSI-RS resource pattern portion corresponding to the N antenna ports. Optionally, the network device generates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports in a method that minimizes resource overhead.

[0012] Among them, the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports determined by the terminal device can be understood as: when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports, the resources occupied by all CSI-RS actually sent by the network device.

[0013] It can be seen that in this technical solution, for the network device, since the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation for N+M antenna ports, it no longer indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports to the terminal device, but only indicates the resource patterns corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports. Therefore, the overhead of indicating the CS-RS resource pattern is reduced.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the above method also includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M antenna ports; the above-mentioned channel estimation of N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern includes: determining the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern; performing channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0015] In this technical solution, when the network device indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to M antenna ports to the terminal device, it will also indicate the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M antenna ports to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern, the second CSI-RS resource pattern and the channel estimation auxiliary information, thereby improving the channel estimation effect of the terminal device.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the above method also includes: receiving third information, where the third information is used to indicate a third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; and receiving fourth information, where the fourth information indicates selecting the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0017] It is understandable that the network device may indicate to the terminal device multiple different CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports, or in other words, the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports indicated by the network device to the terminal device may be of multiple types. It is understandable that in this case, the terminal device needs to determine which type of CSI-RS resource pattern should be used when performing channel estimation for the N+M antenna ports.

[0018] Therefore, in this technical solution, after the network device sends a third CSI-RS resource pattern for indicating the N antenna ports corresponding to the terminal device, and sends a first CSI-RS resource pattern for indicating the N antenna ports corresponding to the terminal device, when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports, the network device will send fourth information to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to select the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern through the fourth information.

[0019] Optionally, the network device may carry the first information and the third information in the same message and send it to the terminal device.

[0020] Optionally, the network device may carry the first information and the third information in different messages and send them to the terminal device.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in certain possible implementations of the first aspect, the above method also includes: receiving second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate N+L antenna ports and a fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, where L is a positive integer; and performing channel estimation on the N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0022] In this technical solution, at this time, when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on each of the N+L antenna ports, the network device will only indicate the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining L antenna ports (also called the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern) to the terminal device when indicating the N+L antenna ports to the terminal device; accordingly, for the terminal device, based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern, the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+L antenna ports is obtained, and then the CSI-RS is received based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+L antenna ports to perform channel estimation of the N+L antenna ports.

[0023] The resource pattern corresponding to the N+L antenna ports can be understood as: when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N+L antenna ports, the resources occupied by all CSI-RSs actually sent by the network device.

[0024] Similarly, in this technical solution, for the network device, the network device no longer indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+L antenna ports to the terminal device, but only indicates the resource patterns corresponding to the remaining L antenna ports, thereby reducing the overhead of indicating the CS-RS resource pattern.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the above method also includes: receiving third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate N+M+K antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, where K is a positive integer; and performing channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0026] Since the network device has sent the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports and the second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports to the terminal device, in this technical solution, when the network device instructs the terminal device to perform channel estimation on N+M+K antenna ports, it indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device, and only indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the remaining K antenna ports (also called the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern); accordingly, the terminal device determines the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports that has been determined previously and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern indicated this time, and then performs channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports.

[0027] The resource pattern corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports can be understood as: when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports, the resources occupied by all CSI-RSs actually sent by the network device.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fifth information, where the fifth information is used to indicate that CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports are reserved.

[0029] Alternatively, the fifth information may be used to instruct the storage of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports. Alternatively, the fifth information may be used to instruct the caching of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports.

[0030] Optionally, the fifth information may carry a first duration, where the first duration is used to indicate the duration for which the terminal device retains the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0031] It can be understood that in this technical solution, the network device will instruct the terminal device to retain the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports; to ensure that when the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on N+M+K antenna ports, if the network device only indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to K antenna ports, the terminal device can obtain the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the above method also includes: sending sixth information, the sixth information indicating the capability information of the terminal device, the capability information including at least one of the following: the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N reserved antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum number of antenna ports supported, and the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0033] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, before the fifth information, the method further includes: receiving seventh information instructing the terminal device to report capability information. Optionally, the seventh information is carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending eighth information, where the eighth information is used to indicate that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing.

[0035] Optionally, after the terminal device indicates to the network device that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing, the network device may indicate the first CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device; accordingly, the terminal device obtains the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0036] Optionally, after the terminal device indicates to the network device that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing, the network device may indicate to the terminal device the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports; accordingly, the terminal device no longer needs to calculate the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern, but directly obtains the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the indication of the network device.

[0037] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device, which can be a network device, or a component configured in the network device (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network device, which is not limited in this application. Alternatively, the second communication device can be a terminal device different from the terminal device described in the first aspect, for example, called a second terminal device, or a component configured in the second terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second terminal device, which is not limited in this application. In this application, the second communication device is described as a network device.

[0038] Exemplarily, the method includes: sending first information, the first information is used to indicate a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; sending first configuration information, the first configuration information is used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, where N and M are both positive integers; receiving the channel estimation results of the N+M antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+M antenna ports are obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: sending second information, where the second information indicates channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: sending third information, where the third information is used to indicate the third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports; and sending fourth information, where the fourth information indicates the selection of the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: sending second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+L antenna ports and L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, where L is a positive integer; and receiving the channel estimation results of the N+L antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+L antenna ports are obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: sending third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M+K antenna ports and K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, where K is a positive integer; and receiving the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports are obtained based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern, and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports is obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fifth information, where the fifth information is used to indicate that CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports are reserved.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: receiving sixth information, the sixth information indicating capability information of the terminal device, the capability information including at least one of the following: the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N reserved antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum number of antenna ports supported, and the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, before receiving the fifth information, the method further includes: sending seventh information, where the seventh information instructs the terminal device to report capability information.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the seventh information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0047] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving eighth information, where the eighth information is used to indicate that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing.

[0048] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device may be a chip or a chip system used in a terminal device.

[0051] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof may be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating between the apparatus and other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0052] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the communication method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device may be a chip or chip system used in a network device.

[0053] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof may be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating between the apparatus and other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a communication device, the program code including instructions for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0055] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a communication device, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0056] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0057] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0058] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect and / or a communication device for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a process of indicating a CSI-RS resource pattern by an existing network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] 6 is a schematic diagram of a process for a network device to obtain a CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to nport antenna ports according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG8 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG9 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG10 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0070] To facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0071] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, 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 items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and (or) c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, indications include explicit indications (also called direct indications) and implicit indications (also called indirect indications). Specifically, explicit indication information A refers to including information A; implicit indication information A refers to indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and direct indication information B. The correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured; or, it can also refer to indicating information A through information B and preset rules.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to a terminal" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the terminal, and can include direct sending through the air interface, and can also include indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from a network device" can be understood as the source end of the information being the network device, and can include direct receiving from the network device through the air interface, and can also include indirect receiving from the network device through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between a terminal and a network device; or it can be carried out within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, a trace or an interface.

[0075] To facilitate understanding of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture and application scenarios of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application are described below. It is understood that the system architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0076] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or integrated systems of multiple systems.

[0077] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems.

[0078] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G).

[0079] A device in a communication system can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals may include information, signaling, or data. The term "device" can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication device, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This application uses devices as an example for description. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. A network device can send downlink signals to a terminal device, and / or a terminal device can send uplink signals to a network device.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0081] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). The terminal equipment in the network (PLMN), etc., is not limited to this in the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0083] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the terminal device is used as an example for description, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0084] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station may broadly cover various names as follows, or replace the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, secondary station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station may also refer to a communication module, modem or chip that is set in the aforementioned equipment or device. The base station may also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the base station function in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in future communication systems, etc. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include a CU, a DU, or both a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), and a DU node. For example, the network devices may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0085] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functionality. For example, a RAN node can be a CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, or RU. The CU and DU can be separate or included in the same network element, such as the BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit, such as an RRU, AAU, or RRH.

[0086] The RAN node may support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, with different fronthaul interfaces corresponding to DUs and RUs with different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is another type of interface, relative to the CPRI, some of the downlink and / or uplink baseband functions, such as precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or one or more of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) for downlink, are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation; and for uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) removal, are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. In one possible implementation, the interface may be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). In the eCPRI architecture, the division between the DU and RU is different, corresponding to different types (category, Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0087] In one possible design, the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the BBU is called a baseband high layer (BBH) unit, and the processing unit for implementing baseband functions in the RRU / AAU / RRH is called a baseband low layer (BBL) unit.

[0088] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the functions of the network device is used as an example to illustrate, and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0090] The network device and / or terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface; it can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network device and the terminal device are located. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or they can be software functions running on dedicated hardware, software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific forms of the terminal device and the network device.

[0091] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include at least one network device, such as the network device 110 shown in FIG1 ; the communication system 100 may also include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 shown in FIG1 . Terminal device 120 and terminal device 130 are both within the network coverage of network device 110, and network device 110 communicates with terminal device 120 and terminal device 130 respectively via a first interface, such as a Uu interface.

[0092] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario of the method applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , a communication system 200 may include at least one network device, such as the network device 210 shown in FIG2 ; the communication system 200 may also include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device 220 and the terminal device 230 shown in FIG2 . The terminal device 220 is within the network coverage of the network device 210, and the terminal device 230 is not within the network coverage of the network device 210. The terminal device 220 and the network device 210 communicate via a first interface, such as a Uu interface, and the terminal device 220 and the terminal device 230 communicate via a second interface, such as a PC5 interface.

[0093] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , communication system 300 may include at least one network device, such as network device 310 shown in FIG3 ; communication system 300 may also include at least one terminal device, such as terminal device 320 and terminal device 330 shown in FIG3 . Terminal device 320 and terminal device 330 are both outside the network coverage of network device 310 , and terminal devices 320 and 330 communicate with each other via a second interface, such as a PC5 interface.

[0094] For the communication systems shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , each communication device may also communicate with each other using a multi-antenna technology.

[0095] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another communication system applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the terminal device includes a processor 411, a memory 412, and a transceiver 413. The transceiver 413 includes a transmitter 4131, a receiver 4132, and an antenna 4133. The network device includes a processor 421, a memory 422, and a transceiver 423. The transceiver 423 includes a transmitter 4231, a receiver 4232, and an antenna 4233.

[0096] The processor 411 , the memory 412 , and the transceiver 413 communicate with each other through an internal connection path, and the processor 421 , the memory 422 , and the transceiver 423 communicate with each other through an internal connection path.

[0097] Receiver 4132 may be configured to receive transmission control information via antenna 4133, and transmitter 4131 may be configured to send transmission feedback information to a network device via antenna 4133. Transmitter 4231 may be configured to send transmission control information to a terminal device via antenna 4233, and receiver 4232 may be configured to receive transmission feedback information sent by the terminal device via antenna 4233.

[0098] It should be noted that Figures 1 to 4 are simplified schematic diagrams for ease of understanding. In actual applications, the communication system may include multiple network devices and multiple terminal devices. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of network devices and terminal devices included in the communication system.

[0099] Currently, for Figures 1 to 4, when two devices in a communication system (for example, communication device 1 and communication device 2) need to communicate, the following scenario will exist: communication device 1 will send a reference signal to communication device 2, and accordingly, communication device 2 will perform channel estimation on each antenna port used by communication device 1 based on the received reference signal, obtain the channel estimation result of each antenna port and feed it back to communication device 1, so that communication device 1 can better send data and / or receive data.

[0100] For example, communication device 1 and communication device 2 are both terminal devices.

[0101] For another example, communication device 1 is a network device, and communication device 2 is a terminal device.

[0102] Optionally, the above reference signal is called a pilot signal or a reference signal.

[0103] Below, to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, communication device 1 is used as a network device and communication device 2 is used as a terminal device as an example for explanation, but it should be understood that this example does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application.

[0104] Specifically, when communication device 1 is a network device and communication device 2 is a terminal device, the process of allowing the terminal device to perform channel estimation is as follows: the network device sends resource information to the terminal device, and the resource information is used to indicate the number of antenna ports of the network device and the resource pattern of the reference signal corresponding to the number of antenna ports. The resource pattern of the reference signal can be considered to be used to indicate to the terminal device the resources occupied by the reference signal sent by the network device, so that the terminal device knows on which resources to receive the reference signal; the terminal device receives the reference signal on the corresponding resource based on the resource pattern of the reference signal, and obtains the channel estimation result of each antenna port based on the received reference signal.

[0105] As an example, the reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Furthermore, the resource pattern of the CSI-RS is referred to as a CSI-RS resource pattern. For ease of understanding, the following description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application uses the CSI-RS as an example of a reference signal.

[0106] In some current implementations, when a network device sends a CSI-RS resource pattern to a terminal device, the CSI-RS indicated by the CSI-RS resource pattern is sent on some antenna ports (it can be understood that the number of CSI-RS sent is less than the number of antenna ports used by the network device); accordingly, for the terminal device, the terminal device receives CSI-RS on some antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern, and then obtains the channel estimation result of each antenna port based on the CSI-RS received on some antenna ports and the channel estimation auxiliary information. The channel estimation auxiliary information can also be understood as follows: it is used for the terminal device to obtain the channel estimation result of some antenna ports based on the CSI-RS received on some antenna ports, and then recover the channel estimation result of all antenna ports of the network device. Optionally, the network device can send the channel estimation auxiliary information to the terminal device after determining the CSI-RS resource pattern, so that the terminal device can obtain the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0107] However, in a scenario where there are a large number of antenna ports and the number of antenna ports changes dynamically, the above implementation method has the problem of high overhead in indicating the CSI-RS pattern.

[0108] For example, as shown in Figure 5, if the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation for 32 antenna ports in time period 1, the network device will send CSI resource information #1 to the terminal device. The #1 CSI resource information indicates the 32 antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource patterns and channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the 32 antenna ports. The network device then sends a CSI-RS signal, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS signal, and obtains channel estimation results for the 32 antenna ports based on the received CSI-RS signal and the channel estimation auxiliary information. Subsequently, if the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation for 64 antenna ports in time period 2, the network device will send CSI resource information #2 to the terminal device. The #2 CSI resource information indicates the 64 antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource patterns and channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the 64 antenna ports. The network device then sends a CSI-RS signal, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS signal, and obtains channel estimation results for the 64 antenna ports based on the received CSI-RS signal and the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0109] That is, when the number of antenna ports of the network device changes, the network device needs to re-indicate the CSI-RS resource pattern and channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the changed antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0110] To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a body communication method, which can reduce the overhead when the network device indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern in a scenario with a large number of antenna ports and a dynamic change in the number of antenna ports.

[0111] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0112] Before introducing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, a method for a network device to obtain the above-mentioned CSI-RS resource pattern and channel estimation auxiliary information is exemplarily introduced in conjunction with Figure 6.

[0113] As shown in FIG6 , the method includes:

[0114] 1) Obtain the CSI-RS resource pattern in the spatial domain.

[0115] First, obtain the channel matrix. Exemplarily, the channel matrix is ​​denoted as H, and the dimension of the channel matrix H is nre×nport, where nre represents the number of REs used to transmit CSI-RS, and nport represents the number of antenna ports for which channel estimation is required. The channel matrix can be, for example, a channel matrix of a downlink channel obtained by estimating the uplink channel based on uplink and downlink reciprocity, or a channel matrix based on a historical period, or a channel matrix predicted by an artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0116] Perform quadrature rectangle (QR) processing on the channel matrix H in the spatial domain to obtain the matrix P port , matrix P port The dimension is nport×rport, which means that rport antenna ports are selected from nport antenna ports to send CSI-RS, that is, through P port The antenna ports involved in the transmitted CSI-RS signal can be known, so the matrix Pport can also be called a CSI-RS resource pattern in the spatial domain.

[0117] Based on the matrix P port , get the spatial matrix P port + , P port + The dimension is rport×nport, which represents the channel estimation auxiliary information in the spatial domain.

[0118] 2) Obtain the CSI-RS resource pattern in the time-frequency domain.

[0119] For channel matrices H and P port The matrix obtained after multiplication is transposed to obtain the matrix H'. The dimension of the matrix H' is rport×nre.

[0120] Perform QR processing on the matrix H' in the time-frequency domain to obtain the matrix P re , matrix P re The dimension is nre×rre, which means that rre REs are selected from nre REs to send CSI-RS. re The time-frequency resources involved in the transmitted CSI-RS signal can be known, so the matrix P is also called re is the CSI-RS resource pattern in the time-frequency domain.

[0121] Based on the matrix P re , get the matrix P re + , represents the channel estimation auxiliary information in the time-frequency domain.

[0122] 3) Processing to obtain the final CSI-RS resource pattern (matrix P) and channel estimation auxiliary information (matrix P + ).

[0123] Specifically, the spatial domain CSI-RS resource pattern and the time-frequency domain CSI-RS resource pattern Pre are combined through the Kronecker product to form a matrix P. The row dimension of the matrix P is nport*nre, and the column dimension of the matrix P is rport*rre. It can be understood that the matrix P is the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the final determined nport antenna port. Through this matrix P, the port of the transmitted CSI-RS signal and the specific time-frequency resources can be obtained.

[0124] Specifically, the channel estimation auxiliary information P in the spatial domain is port + and channel estimation auxiliary information P in time-frequency domain re + Combined together through the Kronecker product to form the matrix P + , matrix P + The row dimension size is rport*rre, the matrix P + The column dimension size is nport*nre. It can be understood that the matrix P + That is, the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the finally determined nport antenna port.

[0125] It should be noted that FIG6 is merely an exemplary description of a method for a network device to obtain a CSI-RS resource pattern and channel estimation auxiliary information, and does not constitute a limitation of the present application. For example, in another optional implementation, a CSI-RS resource pattern in the time-frequency domain may be obtained first, followed by a CSI-RS resource pattern in the spatial domain. Then, based on the CSI-RS resource pattern in the time-frequency domain and the CSI-RS resource pattern in the spatial domain, a final CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the nport antenna port is determined.

[0126] Figure 7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 only describes the method from the perspective of the interaction between a network device and a terminal device, and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiment of the present application. The network device in Figure 7 can be replaced by a component configured in the network device (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device; the terminal device can be replaced by a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0127] The method 700 shown in Figure 7 includes steps 701 to 705. Each step in the method 700 is described in detail below.

[0128] In step 701, a network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate a first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; the terminal device receives the first information.

[0129] In another explanation, the terminal device can be understood as a device that needs to perform channel estimation and feed back the channel estimation results for each antenna port. Correspondingly, the network device is a device that needs to receive the channel estimation results.

[0130] In this embodiment, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports. The first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports can also be described as the first CSI-RS resource pattern for the N antenna ports. It is understandable that the first CSI-RS resource pattern can be used by the terminal device to perform channel estimation for the N antenna ports.

[0131] Optionally, if the network device requires the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N antenna ports, the network device may send indication information to the terminal device to instruct the channel estimation of the N antenna ports; accordingly, the terminal device performs channel estimation on the N antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern based on the indication.

[0132] In step 702, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports; the terminal device receives the first configuration information.

[0133] In this embodiment, when the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, the network device indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports (i.e., the second CSI-RS resource pattern) to the terminal device through the first configuration information. That is, in this embodiment, when the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, the network device indicates to the terminal device not the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0134] Specifically, in this embodiment, the second CSI-RS resource pattern is the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports, in addition to the first CSI-RS resource pattern for the N antenna ports that the network device has configured for the terminal device, when channel estimation is required for N+M antenna ports. It will be understood that this second CSI-RS resource pattern can be used by the terminal device to perform channel estimation for the M antenna ports, and that this second CSI resource pattern will change as the CSI-RS resource pattern changes.

[0135] In one implementation, a method for a network device to determine a second CSI-RS resource pattern based on a first CSI-RS resource pattern includes:

[0136] 1) The network device obtains a projection matrix V corresponding to the channel matrix H (the column dimension of H is N+M) corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0137] For example, V may be obtained by performing singular value decomposition (SVD) on the channel matrix H corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0138] Among them, V H represents the transpose of the matrix V, V represents the projection matrix of the channel matrix H, U represents the matrix composed of the left singular vectors of the channel matrix H, and S represents the matrix composed of the singular values ​​of the channel matrix H.

[0139] 2) Based on the projection matrix V and matrix P N,prior , obtain the undersampling permutation matrix

[0140] Among them, the matrix P N,prior Represents the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the known N antenna ports. N,prior The elements in only include 0 or 1, and the matrix P N,prior Each column has only one 1, and each row has at most one 1. The position of 1 in each column indicates that the corresponding antenna port is selected from the channel matrix H to send the CSI-RS signal.

[0141] Among them, the matrix P M Indicates the resource patterns corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports.

[0142] Understandably, That is, the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports. It should be noted that the matrix The 0 in represents a matrix with all elements set to 0.

[0143] Optionally, the network device may determine the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports. For example, the network device may determine the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the formula: Channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M antenna ports is obtained.

[0144] Step 703: The terminal device performs channel estimation on N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0145] In this embodiment, after the terminal device receives the first configuration information, since the terminal device indicates N+M antenna ports, the terminal device can be informed that channel estimation needs to be performed on the N+M antenna ports. Since the first configuration information indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports, the terminal device will first obtain the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports, and then determine the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports newly indicated by the network device. Then, based on the determined CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS signal sent by the network device, and obtains the channel estimation result of the N+M antenna ports based on the received CSI-RS signal.

[0146] For example, in one implementation, the terminal device obtains the channel estimation results of N+M antenna ports based on the received CSI-RS signal, including: receiving second information sent by the network device, the second information indicating the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports, and obtaining the channel estimation results of the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS signal and the channel estimation auxiliary information sent by the network device.

[0147] For example, the terminal device is based on the formula: Channel estimation is performed on N+M antenna ports to obtain channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, where: It is the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M antenna ports.

[0148] in, represents the channel estimation result of the terminal device for the port corresponding to the CSI-RS signal sent by the network device, and H^ represents the channel estimation result of the terminal device for N+M antenna ports, also known as the channel estimation result of the N+M antenna ports obtained after the terminal device performs LS estimation and interpolation filtering on the channel estimation result of the port corresponding to the CSI-RS sent by the network.

[0149] It is noted that this is only an example of an implementation method for obtaining channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports using a terminal device based on channel estimation auxiliary information, but it should be understood that this implementation method does not constitute a limitation of the embodiments of the present application. For example, after the terminal device determines the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the method provided in this embodiment, it can also determine the channel estimation results for the N+M antenna ports by other means.

[0150] It can be seen that in the communication method provided by this embodiment, when a network device needs channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, if the network device has already sent the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports to the terminal device, then when indicating the CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device, the network device only indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining M antenna ports. Accordingly, for the terminal device, based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the previous N antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports currently indicated by the network device, the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports is obtained, thereby achieving channel estimation for the N+M antenna ports. That is, in this communication method, when the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for the N+M antenna ports, it no longer indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports to the terminal device, but only indicates the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports, thereby reducing the overhead of indicating the CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0151] It should be understood that the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports may be of multiple different types. Specifically, the difference between different types of CSI-RS resource patterns is that the antenna ports and time-frequency resources occupied by the CSI-RS sent by the indicated network device are different. It can be understood that when the network device indicates multiple different types of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N antenna ports to the terminal device, for example, in addition to indicating the first CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device through the above-mentioned first information, the network device also indicates the third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports to the terminal device through the third information, and the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern are different. At this time, after the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the network device, the terminal device needs to know the CSI-RS resource pattern that should be selected from the multiple types of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports.

[0152] To this end, in an embodiment of the present application, optionally, if the network device indicates to the terminal device the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports and the third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports, at this time, the network device will send fourth information to the terminal device, and the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal device to select the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern, so that the terminal device knows that when performing channel estimation for N+M antenna ports, the first CSI-RS resource pattern is used instead of the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0153] Optionally, after the terminal device receives the first configuration information, the terminal device may be unable to obtain the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports. For example, when the time duration of receiving the first configuration information is longer than the time duration of the first communication device receiving the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports, the first communication device automatically deletes the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports. In this case, the terminal device will be unable to obtain the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports, which is also called the missing first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports.

[0154] In an embodiment of the present application, when the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports in the terminal device is missing, the terminal device can send an eighth information to the network device, and the eighth information is used to indicate the missing first CSI-RS resource pattern; accordingly, for the network device, after receiving the eighth information, the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports can be resent to the terminal device, so that the terminal device performs channel estimation based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports; or, the network device can directly send the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device no longer needs to determine the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports, but directly performs channel estimation of the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports indicated by the second communication device.

[0155] Optionally, if the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for N+L antenna ports, as shown in FIG7 , the communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0156] Step 704: The network device sends second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate N+L antenna ports and a fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the L antenna ports.

[0157] Among them, the method for the network device to obtain the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to L antenna ports among N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports can be analogous to the content of the network device obtaining the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports among N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern of N antenna ports, and will not be repeated here.

[0158] S705: The terminal device performs channel estimation on N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0159] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the terminal device learns based on the second configuration information that it needs to perform channel estimation on N+L antenna ports, it first obtains the first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports, and then learns the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the L antenna ports, and determines the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+L antenna ports, and then receives the CSI-RS signal sent by the second communication device based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+L antenna ports, and finally obtains the channel estimation results of the N+L antenna ports with the help of the channel estimation auxiliary information. Optionally, the network device can indicate the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+L antenna ports to the terminal device.

[0160] As an optional embodiment, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may send sixth information to the network device, where the sixth information indicates capability information of the terminal device, and the capability information includes at least one of the following:

[0161] 1) The number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports reserved by the terminal device.

[0162] The number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports reserved by the terminal device is also called the number of sets of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports reserved by the terminal device.

[0163] For example, the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports reserved by the terminal device is 2, indicating that there are two CSI-RS resource patterns that can be used for channel estimation for the N antenna ports.

[0164] The difference between different CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N antenna ports mainly lies in the different ports and time-frequency resources occupied by the transmitted CSI-RS signals.

[0165] Optionally, when there are multiple CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports reserved by the terminal device, the network device first determines the CSI-RS resource pattern to be used (i.e., the first CSI-RS resource pattern), and then indicates the determined CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device.

[0166] For example, when N=64, there are two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports, that is, the terminal device supports two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports. At this time, if the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, if M is less than 64, then the network device can determine the CSI-RS resource pattern that occupies more time-frequency resources among the two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports as the first CSI-RS resource pattern, and then indicate the selected first CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device.

[0167] For example, when N=64, there are two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports, that is, the terminal device supports two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports. In this case, if the network device needs to obtain channel estimation results for N+M antenna ports, if M is greater than 64, then the network device can determine the CSI-RS resource pattern that occupies less time-frequency resources among the two CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the 64 antenna ports as the first CSI-RS resource pattern, and then indicate the selected first CSI-RS resource pattern to the terminal device.

[0168] 2)The maximum value of N.

[0169] For example, N is equal to 64, that is, the terminal device can store CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to 64 antenna ports at most.

[0170] 3) The maximum number of antenna ports supported, and / or the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0171] The maximum number of supported antenna ports indicates the maximum number of antenna ports that can be used by the terminal device for channel estimation.

[0172] For example, when N is equal to 64, channel estimation can be performed on a maximum of 128 antenna ports.

[0173] For another example, when N is equal to 128, channel estimation can be performed on a maximum of 512 antenna ports.

[0174] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how the terminal device reports at least one item of the aforementioned capability information to the network device. For example, in one implementation, the terminal device proactively sends the capability information to the network device. In another implementation, the network device sends seventh information to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device to report the capability information. Accordingly, the terminal device indicates the capability information to the network device in response to the seventh information.

[0175] Optionally, the seventh information is carried in the RRC message.

[0176] The duration for retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern can be understood as the duration for which the terminal device can store the first CSI-RS resource pattern. In some implementations, the duration can be predefined by agreement, for example, 30 seconds. Furthermore, if the network device instructs the terminal device to retain the first CSI-RS resource pattern, the terminal device retains the first CSI-RS resource pattern for 30 seconds. In another implementation, the duration for which the terminal device retains the first CSI-RS resource pattern is indicated by the network device.

[0177] Optionally, based on the above embodiment, if the network device wants to know the channel estimation results of N+M+K antenna ports, at this time, the network device can send a third configuration information to the terminal device, and the third configuration information is used to indicate the N+M+K antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the K antenna ports. Accordingly, for the terminal device, when receiving the third configuration information, channel estimation is performed on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern. That is, in this embodiment, the terminal device performs channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports that has been determined in the embodiment of Figure 7. Below, in conjunction with Figure 8, an embodiment of allowing the terminal device to perform channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern of the determined N+M antenna ports is described.

[0178] As shown in FIG8 , the method may include steps 801 to 806 .

[0179] Step 801: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate a first CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N ports; the terminal device receives the first information.

[0180] In step 802, the network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the M antenna ports; the terminal device receives the first configuration information.

[0181] Step 803: The terminal device performs channel estimation on N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0182] The detailed content of this part can refer to the content of S701 to S703 in the embodiment of FIG. 7 , and will not be described in detail.

[0183] Step 804: The network device sends fifth information to the terminal device, where the fifth information is used to indicate that CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports are reserved.

[0184] Accordingly, for the terminal device, after receiving the fifth information, the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports are retained. Optionally, the fifth information may also indicate the duration for which the terminal device retains the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

[0185] It should be noted that this step is optional. For example, after determining the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports, the terminal device may, by default, save the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M ports for a period of time. Accordingly, if the network device instructs the terminal device to perform channel estimation for N+M+K antenna ports within this period of time, this step may be omitted.

[0186] Step 805: The network device sends third configuration information to the terminal device, where the third configuration information is used to indicate N+M+K antenna ports and a fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the K antenna ports.

[0187] In this embodiment, when the network device needs to obtain the channel estimation results of N+M+K antenna ports, since the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports have been determined before, the network device will determine the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the previous N+M antenna ports, and then indicate the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining K antenna ports to the terminal device in the third configuration information.

[0188] Step 806: The terminal device performs channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0189] In this embodiment, after receiving the third configuration information, the terminal can be informed that channel estimation needs to be performed on N+M+K antenna ports. However, since the third configuration information only indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to K antenna ports, the terminal device knows that it should obtain the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports. And since the terminal device retains the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports previously determined based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern, the terminal device can determine the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the K antenna ports, thereby realizing channel estimation for the N+M+K antenna ports.

[0190] In some implementations, after determining the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports, the terminal device also determines the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports; then, based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS signal sent by the network device, and finally obtains the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports with the help of the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports.

[0191] In other implementations, when the network device indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to K antenna ports to the terminal device, it also indicates the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M+K antenna ports to the terminal device; accordingly, the terminal device no longer needs to calculate the channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports, but directly obtains the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M+K antenna ports and the channel estimation auxiliary information indicated by the network device.

[0192] It can be seen that in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, when the network device needs to obtain the channel estimation results of N+M+K antenna ports, since the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N+M antenna ports have been used to perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports, the network device only indicates the CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the remaining K antenna ports to the terminal device, thereby reducing the overhead when indicating the CSI-RS resource patterns.

[0193] The communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 7 to 8 . The communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 9 and 10 .

[0194] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, as shown in FIG9 , the device 900 includes: a receiving module 901 , a sending module 902 , and a processing module 903 .

[0195] In the first embodiment, the apparatus 900 may be applied to a terminal device.

[0196] Specifically, the receiving module 901 is used to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; the receiving module 901 is used to receive first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, where N and M are both positive integers; and the processing module 903 is used to perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further used to: receive second information, where the second information indicates channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports; the processing module 903 is specifically used to: determine the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern; and perform channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0198] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further used to: receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate the third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports; and receive fourth information, where the fourth information indicates the selection of the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0199] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further used to: receive second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate N+L antenna ports and a fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, where L is a positive integer; and the processing module 903 is further used to perform channel estimation on the N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further used to: receive third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate N+M+K antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, where K is a positive integer; and the processing module 903 is further used to perform channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further configured to: receive fifth information, where the fifth information is used to indicate that CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports are reserved.

[0202] In one possible implementation, the sending module 902 is used to: send sixth information, the sixth information indicates capability information of the terminal device, the capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N reserved antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum number of antenna ports supported, and the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0203] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further configured to: receive seventh information, where the seventh information indicates that the terminal device reports capability information.

[0204] In a possible implementation manner, the seventh information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0205] In a possible implementation, the sending module 902 is configured to: send eighth information, where the eighth information is used to indicate that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing.

[0206] In the second embodiment, the communication apparatus can be applied to a network device or a terminal device.

[0207] Specifically, the sending module 902 is used to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; and to send first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate N+M antenna ports and a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, where N and M are both positive integers. The receiving module 901 is used to receive the channel estimation results of the N+M antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+M antenna ports are obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0208] In a possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further configured to send second information, where the second information indicates channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to N+M antenna ports.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further used to send third information, where the third information is used to indicate the third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N antenna ports; and send fourth information, where the fourth information indicates the selection of the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0210] In one possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further used to send second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the N+L antenna ports and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, where L is a positive integer; the receiving module 901 is further used to receive the channel estimation results of the N+L antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+L antenna ports are obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0211] In one possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further used to send third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate the N+M+K antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, where K is a positive integer; the receiving module 901 is further used to receive the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation results of the N+M+K antenna ports are obtained based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern, and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports is obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further configured to send fifth information, where the fifth information is used to indicate that CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to N+M antenna ports are reserved.

[0213] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is also used to receive sixth information, where the sixth information indicates capability information of the terminal device, and the capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N reserved antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum number of antenna ports supported, and the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

[0214] In a possible implementation, the sending module 902 is further configured to send seventh information, where the seventh information instructs the terminal device to report capability information.

[0215] In a possible implementation manner, the seventh information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 901 is further configured to receive eighth information, where the eighth information is used to indicate that the first CSI-RS resource pattern is missing.

[0217] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device shown in Figure 10 can be used to execute the method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0218] As shown in Figure 10, the apparatus 1000 of this embodiment includes a memory 1001 and a processor 1002. In one implementation, the apparatus 1000 further includes a communication interface 1003 and a bus 1004. The memory 1001, the processor 1002, and the communication interface 1003 are communicatively connected to each other via the bus 1004.

[0219] The memory 1001 may be a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1101 may store a program. When the program stored in the memory 1001 is executed by the processor 1002, the processor 1002 is configured to perform the steps of the method shown in Figures 7 and 8.

[0220] The processor 1002 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits to execute relevant programs to implement the method shown in Figures 7 to 8 of the embodiments of the present application.

[0221] The processor 1002 may also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the method of FIG. 7 to FIG. 8 of the embodiment of the present application may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 902 or by instructions in the form of software.

[0222] The processor 1002 may also 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, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor 1002 may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or a conventional processor.

[0223] The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 1001, and the processor 1002 reads the information in the memory 1001 and, in combination with its hardware, completes the functions required to be performed by the units included in the device of the present application. For example, the various steps / functions of the embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 8 can be executed.

[0224] The communication interface 1003 may use, but is not limited to, a transceiver or other transceiver device to implement communication between the apparatus 1000 and other devices or a communication network.

[0225] The bus 1004 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the device 1000 (eg, the memory 1001 , the processor 1002 , and the communication interface 1003 ).

[0226] It should be understood that the apparatus 1000 shown in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, or a chip configured in an electronic device. The apparatus 1000 can be deployed in a terminal device, or can also be deployed in a network device.

[0227] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be an available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0228] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein simply describes a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A alone, A and B together, or B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, the character " / " as used herein generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. For specific understanding, please refer to the context.

[0229] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "At least one of the following" 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, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0230] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute a limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0231] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0232] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0233] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0234] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0235] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0236] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, including: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; receiving first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports and M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, and both N and M are positive integers; performing channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: receiving second information, where the second information indicates channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports; The performing channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern includes: determining a CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern; performing channel estimation on the N+M antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the channel estimation assistance information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving third information, where the third information is used to indicate a third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; receiving fourth information, where the fourth information indicates selecting the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate a fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+L antenna ports and L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, and L is a positive integer; performing channel estimation on the N+L antenna ports based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The method further includes: receiving third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate a fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M+K antenna ports and K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, and K is a positive integer; performing channel estimation on the N+M+K antenna ports based on the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The method further includes: receiving fifth information, where the fifth information is used to indicate retaining the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending sixth information, where the sixth information indicates capability information of a terminal device, and the capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the retained N antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum supported number of antenna ports, the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein Before sending the sixth information, the method further includes: receiving seventh information, where the seventh information indicates that the terminal device reports capability information.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The seventh piece of information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The method further includes: transmitting an eighth piece of information, where the eighth piece of information is used to indicate the absence of the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, including: transmitting a first piece of information, where the first piece of information is used to indicate a first Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports; transmitting first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate a second CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports and M antenna ports among the N+M antenna ports, and both N and M are positive integers; receiving a channel estimation result of the N+M antenna ports sent by a terminal device; wherein the channel estimation result of the N+M antenna ports is obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further includes: transmitting a second piece of information, where the second piece of information indicates channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: transmitting a third piece of information, where the third piece of information is used to indicate a third CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N antenna ports transmitting a fourth piece of information, where the fourth piece of information indicates selecting the first CSI-RS resource pattern from the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the third CSI-RS resource pattern.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that The method further includes: transmitting second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to indicate a fourth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+L antenna ports and L antenna ports among the N+L antenna ports, and L is a positive integer; receiving a channel estimation result of the N+L antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation result of the N+L antenna ports is obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the fourth CSI-RS resource pattern.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: transmitting third configuration information, where the third configuration information is used to indicate a fifth CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M+K antenna ports and K antenna ports among the N+M+K antenna ports, and K is a positive integer; receiving a channel estimation result of the N+M+K antenna ports sent by the terminal device; wherein the channel estimation result of the N+M+K antenna ports is obtained based on a CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to N+M antenna ports and the fifth CSI-RS resource pattern, and the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports is obtained based on the first CSI-RS resource pattern and the second CSI-RS resource pattern.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: transmitting a fifth piece of information, where the fifth piece of information is used to indicate retaining the CSI-RS resource pattern corresponding to the N+M antenna ports.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving a sixth piece of information, where the sixth piece of information indicates capability information of a terminal device, and the capability information includes at least one of the following: the number of retained CSI-RS resource patterns corresponding to the N antenna ports, the maximum value of N, the maximum number of supported antenna ports, and the duration of retaining the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein Before receiving the fifth information, the method further includes: Sending a seventh information, where the seventh information instructs the terminal device to report capability information.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The seventh information is carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving an eighth information, where the eighth information is used to indicate the absence of the first CSI-RS resource pattern.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A processor, The processor is configured to cause the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 by executing a computer program and / or by using a logic circuit.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A processor, The processor is configured to cause the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 by executing a computer program and / or by using a logic circuit.

23. A communication system, characterized in that, Including the communication device according to claim 21 or claim 22.

24. A computer-readable medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable medium stores program code for computer execution, and the program code includes instructions for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer program code, and when the computer program code runs on a computer, it causes the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20.

26. A chip, characterized in that, Including at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20.

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