Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can support flexible changes in the number of ports for reference signals in scenarios where RF channels are dynamically turned off. A network device transmits a reference signal to a terminal on a benchmark reference signal resource, wherein the benchmark reference signal resource can be used for transmitting reference signals of a maximum of M ports and supports the estimation of channels of a maximum of K ports, and the reference signals are reference signals of m1 ports among the M ports. The terminal may estimate channels of k1 ports among the K ports on the basis of benchmark channel estimation assistance information and the reference signals, and then determine and transmit CSI. In the method, m1 is less than M, and k1 is less than K, but greater than or equal to m1. That is, the terminal may use benchmark channel estimation assistance information to estimate channels of a majority of ports on the basis of reference signals of a minority of ports. As the number of ports for transmitting reference signals over an air interface decreases, port reuse is taken into consideration, and the overhead of the air interface caused by the reference signals is also 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 202410030025.X and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In massive multiple input multiple output (Massive MIMO), a large number of antennas are used to improve wireless capacity and coverage. In order to send and receive data, obtain system synchronization, and feedback channel state information, the importance of channel estimation becomes increasingly apparent. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing or restoring the received signal in order to compensate for the signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise fading. It uses a reference signal known in advance at both ends of the transmitter and receiver to track the time and frequency domain changes of the channel. This reference signal is also called a reference signal (RS), or a pilot. Currently commonly used reference signals include, for example, the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for measuring the downlink channel, the sounding reference signal (SRS) for measuring the uplink channel, and so on.

[0004] In some scenarios, such as energy-saving scenarios, radio frequency (RF) channels can be dynamically shut down based on service needs. This requires support for a large number of antenna ports that can change dynamically. However, current standards cannot support large-scale port counts and dynamically change the number of ports as RF channels are shut down, making them inflexible. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device to flexibly adjust the number of ports of a reference signal, thereby supporting dynamic changes in the number of ports as the RF channel is dynamically shut down.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a communication device. The communication device can be, for example, a terminal device, or a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application is not limited to this.

[0007] Exemplarily, the method includes: receiving a first reference signal on a first reference reference signal resource, where the first reference reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of up to M ports, and the reference signals of the M ports support channel estimation of a maximum of K ports, the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports, the m1 ports come from the M ports, m1 is less than M, M is less than or equal to K, and m1, M, and K are positive integers; determining first channel state information (CSI) based on the first reference signal and first channel estimation auxiliary information, where the first CSI corresponds to channels of k1 ports; wherein the first channel estimation auxiliary information is determined based on reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate channels of the K ports based on channel measurement results of the M ports, the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate channels of the k1 ports based on the channel measurement results of the m1 ports, the k1 ports come from the K ports, and k1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K; and sending the first CSI.

[0008] In summary, we can obtain the following relationship: k1≤K, m1<M, m1≤k1, and M≤K.

[0009] It is not difficult to see that there is a nested relationship between the m1 port and the M ports, and between the k1 port and the K ports. This nested relationship can be applied to the first channel estimation auxiliary information and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the first channel estimation auxiliary information can be obtained from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0010] Based on the above scheme, the network equipment can flexibly select a reference signal with less than M ports for channel estimation based on the first baseline reference signal resources and business requirements. The terminal can obtain the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information based on the m1 ports corresponding to the received first reference signal, and then estimate the channel with K or less ports. This can support flexible changes in the number of ports in the scenario where the RF channel is dynamically shut down. Since the number of ports m1 of the first reference signal can be less than M, and M is less than or equal to K, the channels of the majority of ports can be estimated based on the reference signals of a few ports. As the number of ports of the reference signal sent by the air interface decreases, and considering port multiplexing, the air interface overhead brought by the reference signal is also reduced.

[0011] It should be understood that in this application, for the sake of ease of distinction and explanation, the reference reference signal resource is defined as a time-frequency resource to distinguish it from a spatial domain resource (such as a port). In another implementation, the reference reference signal resource can also be defined as a resource in three dimensions: time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain. In this case, the resource used to transmit the first reference signal can be part or all of the resources in the first reference reference signal resource. The above method can also be expressed as follows:

[0012] A first reference signal is received on a first resource, where the first resource comes from a first reference reference signal resource, the first resource includes k1 ports, the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports among the k1 ports, the first reference reference signal resource includes K ports, and the first reference reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of at most M ports, the k1 ports are from the K ports, the m1 port is from the M ports, and the M ports are from the K ports, k1 is greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K, M is greater than m1 and less than or equal to K, and m1, M, k1 and K are positive integers; first channel state information CSI is determined based on the first reference signal and the first channel estimation auxiliary information, and the first CSI corresponds to the channels of the k1 ports; wherein the first channel estimation auxiliary information is determined based on the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of the K ports based on the channel measurement results of the M ports, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of the k1 ports based on the channel measurement results of the m1 ports; and the first CSI is sent.

[0013] In this article, for ease of understanding and explanation, time-frequency resources are referred to as resources unless otherwise specified.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following for each of the T reference reference signal resources: a resource pattern, a port pattern, a maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; wherein the t-th reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources is used to transmit a maximum of M t The reference signal transmitted through the t-th reference signal resource supports the maximum estimation K t The channel estimation of K ports t is the maximum number of ports supported by the t-th reference signal resource for channel estimation, M t is less than or equal to K t A positive integer, t is a positive integer from 1 to T; the resource pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource indicates the M t The mapping relationship between the reference signal of each port and the time-frequency resource in the ports, the port pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource indicates the M t ports in the K t The reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference reference signal resource is used to estimate the reference channel according to the M t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate the K t The channel of the port.

[0015] That is, the terminal can obtain one or more of the following based on the first information: a resource pattern, a port pattern, a maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information. The resource pattern can be used by the terminal to determine the time-frequency position of receiving the first reference signal, the port pattern can be used to determine the index of the m1 ports of the first reference signal among the M ports, and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information can be used by the terminal to determine the first channel estimation auxiliary information. The reference channel estimation auxiliary information can also be used to determine the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation by the first reference reference signal resource.

[0016] All of the above items can be configured by the network device, or some of them can be configured by the network device. The terminal determines other items based on the partial items indicated by the network device, or all of them can be determined by the terminal itself, such as based on prior information. This application does not limit this.

[0017] Further, when the first information is used to indicate the resource pattern and port pattern of each reference reference signal resource, the first information indicates the resource pattern and port pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource as the matrix P t Instructions to meet: Among them, P port,trepresents the port pattern of the t-th reference signal resource, P RE,t A resource pattern representing the t-th reference signal resource.

[0018] That is, through the indicator matrix P t , can indicate both port pattern and resource pattern. Matrix P t They can be collectively referred to as patterns.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, T is greater than 1, and any two of the T reference reference signal resources satisfy: the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals is different, and / or the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation is different.

[0020] When the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation is consistent, using more reference signal ports for transmission results in more accurate channel estimation; using fewer reference signal ports results in less air interface overhead. Therefore, appropriate reference signal resources can be selected based on different service requirements.

[0021] Therefore, by configuring multiple reference signal resources that meet the above conditions, different business requirements can be met.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of the first reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources.

[0023] By indicating the identifier of the first reference reference signal resource, it is convenient for the terminal to determine the reference reference signal resource actually used for transmission of the reference signal.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first CSI is a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result, and the channel estimation result indicates the channels of the k1 ports.

[0025] In this application, the term "channel estimation result" refers to the result of channel estimation and is used to indicate a channel, such as the channel for k1 ports in this example. The term "PMI" refers to the precoding matrix, such as the precoding matrix corresponding to the channel for k1 ports in this example. Unless otherwise specified, the terms "channel estimation result" and "PMI" should be understood in the same manner as described herein.

[0026] Whether the terminal indicates the PMI or the channel estimation result through the first CSI can be determined by the terminal itself, configured by the network device, or predefined by the protocol, and this application does not limit this.

[0027] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource based on the index of the m1 port in the M ports, and the index of the k1 port in the K ports.

[0028] The index of the m1 port in the M ports and the index of the k1 port in the K ports mentioned here are a manifestation of the nested relationship between the m1 port and the M ports, and between the k1 port and the K ports mentioned above. Based on this nested relationship, the terminal can determine the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel auxiliary information.

[0029] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving third information, where the third information is used to indicate indexes of the k1 ports in the K ports.

[0030] The terminal may determine the port of the channel for which channel estimation needs to be performed according to the index indicated by the third information.

[0031] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate indexes of the m1 ports in the M ports.

[0032] The terminal may obtain the index of the m1 port among the M ports according to the fourth information.

[0033] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate an extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

[0034] The terminal can determine the indexes of the m1 ports among the M ports based on the extraction rule, and further determine which rows of the reference channel estimation auxiliary information the first channel estimation auxiliary information comes from. In fact, the terminal does not necessarily need to determine the indexes of the m1 ports among the M ports based on the extraction rule. The terminal can directly extract the m1 rows from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information based on the extraction rule.

[0035] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving a second reference signal on the first benchmark reference signal resource, the second reference signal being a reference signal of m2 ports, the m2 ports coming from m1 port, and m2 being a positive integer less than or equal to m1; determining a second CSI based on the second reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information, the second CSI corresponding to the channels of k2 ports; the second channel estimation auxiliary information being used to estimate the channels of the k2 ports based on the channel measurement results of the m2 ports, the k2 ports coming from the k1 port, and k2 being a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2; and sending the second CSI.

[0036] In summary, we can obtain the following relationship: m2≤m1, k2≤k1, and k2≥m2.

[0037] It is not difficult to see that there is also a nested relationship between the m2 ports and the m1 ports, and between the k2 ports and the k1 ports. This nested relationship can be applied to the second channel estimation auxiliary information and the first channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the second channel estimation auxiliary information can be derived from the first channel estimation auxiliary information. This reduces computational overhead and improves execution efficiency. Furthermore, since there is a nested relationship between the m1 ports and the M ports, and between the k1 ports and the K ports, there is also a nested relationship between the m2 ports and the M ports, and between the k2 ports and the K ports. This nested relationship can be applied to the second channel estimation auxiliary information and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the second channel estimation auxiliary information can also be derived from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. This eliminates the need for the terminal to store the first channel estimation auxiliary information, reducing storage overhead.

[0038] In addition, the network device can reuse the same reference reference signal resource in multiple channel estimations, for example, reuse the first reference reference signal resource. In this way, the network device does not need to indicate the reference reference signal resource actually used through the second information before each channel estimation, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending capability information of the terminal, the capability information being used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, the number of configured reference reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports extraction rules, whether the terminal pre-stores reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource patterns and port patterns corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each channel estimation related information supported by the terminal; the extraction rules are used to extract part or all of the ports from multiple ports.

[0040] The information related to each channel estimation includes, but is not limited to, channel estimation auxiliary information used in each channel estimation, such as the first channel estimation auxiliary information, the second channel estimation auxiliary information, and the like.

[0041] The terminal can report its capability information to the network device so that the network device can dynamically configure or adjust the reference signal resources that match the terminal's capabilities based on the terminal's capability information, thereby successfully completing channel estimation and achieving higher spectrum efficiency.

[0042] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a communication device. The communication device can be, for example, a network device, or a component configured in the network device (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. This application is not limited to this.

[0043] Exemplarily, the method includes: sending a first reference signal on a first reference reference signal resource, the first reference reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of a maximum of M ports, and the reference signals of the M ports support channel estimation of a maximum of K ports, the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports, the m1 ports come from the M ports, m1 is less than M, M is less than or equal to K, m1, M and K are positive integers; receiving a first CSI, the first CSI is obtained based on the first reference signal, the first CSI corresponds to channels of k1 ports, the k1 ports come from the K ports, and k1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K.

[0044] In summary, the following relationship can be obtained: k1≤K, m1<M, m1≤k1, and M≤K. Regarding the relationship between the m1 port and the M ports, between the k1 port and the K ports, and between the first channel estimation auxiliary information and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0045] Based on the above scheme, the network equipment can flexibly select reference signals of M or fewer ports for channel estimation based on the reference reference signal resources and business requirements. The terminal can obtain the first channel estimation auxiliary information based on the reference channel estimation auxiliary information based on the port of the received reference signal, and then estimate the channel of K or fewer ports. This can support flexible changes in the number of ports in the scenario where the RF channel is dynamically shut down. Since the number of ports m1 of the first reference signal can be less than M, and M is less than or equal to K, the channels of the majority of ports can be estimated based on the reference signals of a few ports. As the number of ports of the reference signal sent over the air interface decreases, and considering port multiplexing, the air interface overhead brought by the reference signal is also reduced.

[0046] It should be understood that in this application, for the sake of ease of distinction and explanation, the reference reference signal resource is defined as a time-frequency resource to distinguish it from a spatial domain resource (such as a port). In another implementation, the reference reference signal resource can also be defined as a resource in three dimensions: time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain. In this case, the resource used to transmit the first reference signal can be part or all of the resources in the first reference reference signal resource. The above method can also be expressed as follows:

[0047] A first reference signal is sent on a first resource, where the first resource comes from a first benchmark reference signal resource, the first resource includes k1 ports, the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports among the k1 ports, the first benchmark reference signal resource includes K ports, and the first benchmark reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of a maximum of M ports, the k1 ports are from the K ports, the m1 port is from the M ports, and the M ports are from the K ports, k1 is greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K, M is greater than m1 and less than or equal to K, and m1, M, k1, and K are positive integers; a first CSI is received, where the first CSI is obtained based on the first reference signal, and the first CSI corresponds to channels of the k1 ports.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following for each of the T reference reference signal resources: a resource pattern, a maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; wherein the t-th reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources is used to transmit a maximum of M t The reference signal of the port, the M t The reference signal of the ports supports the maximum estimation K t The channel estimation of K ports t is the maximum number of ports supported by the t-th reference signal resource for channel estimation, Mt is less than or equal to K t A positive integer, t is a positive integer from 1 to T; the resource pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource indicates the M t The mapping relationship between the reference signal of each port in the M ports and the time-frequency resource, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference reference signal resource is used to estimate the reference channel according to the M t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate the K t The channel of the port.

[0049] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, when the first information is used to indicate the resource pattern and port pattern of each reference reference signal resource, the first information indicates the resource pattern and port pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource as a matrix P t Instructions to meet: Among them, P port,t represents the port pattern of the t-th reference signal resource, P RE,t A resource pattern representing the t-th reference signal resource.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, T is greater than 1, and at least two of the T reference reference signal resources satisfy: the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals is different, and / or the maximum number of ports supporting channel estimation is different.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of the first reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources.

[0052] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first CSI is a PMI corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result, and the channel estimation result indicates the channels of the k1 ports.

[0053] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending third information, where the third information is used to indicate indexes of the k1 ports in the K ports.

[0054] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate the index of the m1 ports in the M ports, or an extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

[0055] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending a second reference signal on the first benchmark reference signal resource, the second reference signal is a reference signal of m2 ports, the m2 ports come from m1 port, and m2 is a positive integer less than or equal to m1; receiving a second CSI, the second CSI is obtained based on the second reference signal, the second CSI corresponds to a channel of k2 ports, the k1 port comes from the k1 port, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2.

[0056] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving capability information of the terminal, the capability information being used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, the number of configured reference reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports extraction rules, whether the terminal pre-stores reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource patterns and port patterns corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each channel estimation related information supported by the terminal; the extraction rules are used to extract part or all of the ports from multiple ports.

[0057] For details on possible implementation methods of the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description in the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0058] 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. Each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0059] In a fourth 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 and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0060] 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 methods described in the above aspects 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.

[0061] Illustratively, the apparatus in the third aspect or the fourth aspect is a terminal device, or a component in the terminal device, such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, for example, receiving or processing the information involved in the above-mentioned method.

[0063] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located inside or outside the processor.

[0064] The chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0065] In a sixth 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. Each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0066] In a seventh 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 and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0067] 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 methods described in the above aspects 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.

[0068] Illustratively, the apparatus in the sixth or seventh aspect is a network device, or a component in a network device, such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.

[0069] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, for example, receiving or processing the information involved in the above-mentioned method.

[0070] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located inside or outside the processor.

[0071] The chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0072] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method in the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0073] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when run, enables a computer to execute the method in the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0074] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including the aforementioned terminal and network device.

[0075] The third to eleventh aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first and second aspects of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0076] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application;

[0077] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing how the air interface overhead of CSI-RS varies with the number of ports;

[0078] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of channel estimation auxiliary information provided by the present application;

[0079] FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a terminal determining first channel estimation auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of reference channel estimation auxiliary information and first channel estimation auxiliary information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] 7 is a schematic diagram of channels of m1 ports measured by a terminal and channels of k1 ports estimated according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of channels of m2 ports measured by a terminal and channels of k2 ports estimated according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG10 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The technical solution provided by this application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0089] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained:

[0090] First, in this 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 directly indicating 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.

[0091] Second, in this application, information C is used to determine information D, which includes both information D being determined solely based on information C and information D being determined based on information C and other information. Furthermore, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, when information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0092] Third, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means 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 mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists 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, but it does not exclude the situation where the previous and next associated objects are in an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context. "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, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0093] Fourth, in this application, prefixes such as "first" and "second" are used solely to distinguish between different items belonging to the same category and do not constrain the order, size, or quantity of the items. For example, "first information" and "second information" are simply different pieces of information; there is no temporal, size, or priority relationship between them.

[0094] Fifth, the "sending" and "receiving" in this application 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, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes 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, which can include direct receiving from the network device through the air interface, and also includes 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.

[0095] In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a terminal and a network device; or it can be performed within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0096] Sixth, in the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, which does not limit the time, and does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0097] Seventh, in this application, words such as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0098] Eighth, this document uses CSI-RS as an example of a reference signal to describe the method provided in this application. However, this should not limit the scenarios in which this solution is applicable. This solution can also be applied to other downlink reference signals or uplink reference signals, such as SRS, demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. Based on the same concept, those skilled in the art can make simple changes to obtain solutions for applying the solution provided in this application to other reference signals. For the sake of brevity, they are not listed here one by one.

[0099] Ninth, for the convenience of explanation, this article will represent each piece of information through a matrix. For example, the channel can be represented by the matrix H, and the resource pattern can be represented by the matrix P. RE To represent, the port pattern can be represented by the matrix P port To express, the base station channel estimation auxiliary information can be expressed by the matrix P +To represent, and so on, and so on, are not listed here. It should be understood that the matrix is ​​only one possible mathematical expression of this information and should not constitute any limitation to this application. For example, it can also be represented by vectors, arrays or other forms, and matrix operations can also be converted into other forms of operations, such as vector operations, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0100] Tenth, for ease of distinction and explanation, this document will refer to time-frequency resources as simply "resources" to distinguish them from spatial resources (such as ports). For example, a reference reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals for one or more ports. Specifically, the time-frequency resources occupied by the reference signals for one or more ports are referred to as reference reference signal resources. Unless otherwise specified, reference reference signal resources are understood to refer to time-frequency resources.

[0101] In another implementation, resources can also be defined as resources in the time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain. For example, base reference signal resources include not only time-frequency resources but also spatial domain resources. Those skilled in the art can make simple modifications based on the method provided in this application to obtain other possible solutions, all of which should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0102] Eleventh, for ease of description herein, when referring to an index or identifier, the associated numbering may start at 1. For example, T reference reference signal resources include the 1st through the Tth reference reference signal resources. Of course, the specific implementation is not limited to this. For example, the numbering may start consecutively from 0, in which case the T reference reference signal resources include the 0th through the (T-1)th reference reference signal resources.

[0103] Twelfth, channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing or restoring the received signal in order to compensate for signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise fading. It uses the reference signal known in advance at both ends of the transmitter and receiver to track the time and frequency domain changes of the channel. In this article, the reference signal is a reference signal, such as CSI-RS. The transmitter of CSI-RS can be a network device, and the receiver of CSI-RS can be a terminal. For the convenience of explanation, the process of sending a reference signal (such as CSI-RS) from a network device to a terminal and feeding back CSI based on the received reference signal will be referred to as a channel estimation below.

[0104] Of course, the reference signal can also be other reference signals, such as SRS. In this case, the transmitter of SRS can be the terminal, and the receiver of SRS can be the network device. The process of sending a reference signal (such as SRS) from the terminal to the network device and feeding back CSI based on the received reference signal is also recorded as a channel estimation.

[0105] Thirteenth, this application involves channel estimation results and channel measurement results. A channel measurement result refers to a channel obtained based on the measurement of a reference signal. For example, a channel with m1 ports can be obtained by measuring a reference signal with m1 ports. A channel estimation result refers to a channel estimated based on a channel measurement result, typically a channel with more ports. For example, a channel with k1 ports (k1 ≥ m1) can be estimated based on an m1 port channel (or channel measurement result).

[0106] Furthermore, for ease of understanding and explanation, the CSI indications are distinguished by channel measurement results, channel estimation results, and PMI. The distinction between channel measurement results and channel estimation results has been explained above and will not be repeated here. PMI is used to indicate a precoding matrix, such as the precoding matrix corresponding to a channel with k1 ports.

[0107] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, sidelink (SL) communication system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system or new radio access technology (NR). Among them, the 5G mobile communication system may include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA). The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems. This application is not limited to this.

[0108] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 via a wireless connection. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 via a wireless or wired connection. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates the core network logical functions and the radio access network logical functions.

[0109] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0110] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, is part of a communication system that facilitates wireless access for terminals. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0111] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node may be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0112] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0113] 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. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. 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.

[0114] Terminals can also be referred to as terminal devices, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, or mobile terminals. They can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, and smart home appliances.

[0115] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal and network device can be hardware devices, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. The present application does not limit the specific form of the terminal and network device.

[0116] Wireless communication systems have undergone a remarkable evolution and research process, from first-generation analog communications to 5G NR and the current 6G technologies. Throughout this complex evolution, high throughput and massive connections have always been core challenges for wireless communication networks. Among the various solutions for 5G NR and 6G, Massive MIMO, which significantly increases system capacity, will continue to be a key technology to meet high-speed transmission requirements. This technology leverages spatial resources to achieve array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing system bandwidth, exponentially increasing communication system capacity and spectral efficiency.

[0117] In Massive MIMO, using a large number of antennas can improve wireless capacity and coverage. To ensure system performance, both the transmitter and receiver use reference signals for channel estimation and measurement. As the number of antennas increases, the air interface overhead associated with reference signals also increases dramatically.

[0118] Taking CSI-RS as an example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 rd Release 15 (R15) of the 3GPP standard supports CSI-RS ports in the following numbers: {1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32}. The mapping between the reference signal and time-frequency resources for each port is defined using a resource pattern. CSI-RS signals from multiple ports can reuse a set of time-frequency resources using code division, frequency division, or time division. Release 19 is considering expanding the number of CSI-RS ports to a maximum of 64. As can be seen, the increasing number of ports also increases the use of air interface resources.

[0119] Figure 2 shows how the air interface overhead of CSI-RS varies with the number of ports. Assuming a CSI-RS frequency-domain density of 0.5 RE / port / RB, a duration of 10 transmission time intervals (TTIs), a 1:4 uplink / downlink subframe ratio, and 30 UEs, the air interface overhead increases dramatically with the number of CSI-RS ports. As shown in the figure, the air interface overhead for 32 CSI-RS ports is as follows: 1.2% for cell-specific overhead and 35.7% for UE-specific overhead. When the number of CSI-RS ports is increased to 64, the air interface overhead is as follows: 2.4% for cell-specific overhead and 71.4% for UE-specific overhead. When the number of CSI-RS ports is increased to 90, the air interface overhead is as follows: 3.3% for cell-specific overhead and 100.4% for UE-specific overhead. It can be seen that if you want to implement a larger number of CSI-RS ports (such as 128 / 256 / 512 / 1024 / ...), the air interface overhead will increase dramatically, and the traditional evolution path will be difficult to sustain.

[0120] On the other hand, in some scenarios, such as energy-saving scenarios, RF channels can be dynamically shut down based on service needs. This requires a large number of antenna ports that can change dynamically. However, current standards cannot support large-scale port counts and dynamically change the number of ports as RF channels are shut down. Therefore, it is not flexible enough.

[0121] In view of this, the present application provides a method that can flexibly adjust the ports and number of reference signals according to demand. The method defines a benchmark reference signal resource and corresponding channel estimation auxiliary information. The network device can transmit the reference signal of a small number (such as a maximum of M) ports through the benchmark reference signal resource, and the terminal can estimate the channel of the majority (such as a maximum of K, K≥M) ports based on the channel estimation auxiliary information. In this way, the network device can flexibly select the reference signal of any number of ports within M ports for channel estimation based on the benchmark reference signal resource and business requirements, so as to estimate the channel of any number of ports within K ports, thereby supporting the flexible change of the number of ports in the scenario where the RF channel is dynamically shut down. In addition, since the number of reference signal ports can be less than or equal to M, that is, it is not limited to M, the number of ports can also be reduced according to business needs, and the air interface resource overhead of the reference signal is also reduced. Furthermore, since the benchmark reference signal resources are pre-configured, the network equipment does not need to adjust the time and frequency resources used to transmit the reference signal while reducing the number of ports for the reference signal. Therefore, it is not necessary to configure the time and frequency resources for transmitting the reference signal to the terminal every time the reference signal is sent, thereby avoiding a large amount of signaling overhead caused by resource configuration.

[0122] The method provided by this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0123] In order to better understand the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application are briefly explained below.

[0124] 1. Antenna port: This can be shortened to port and is a logical concept. An antenna port does not directly correspond to a physical antenna. Antenna ports are usually associated with reference signals, and their meaning can be understood as a transceiver interface on the channel that the reference signal travels through. For low-frequency systems, an antenna port may correspond to one or more antenna elements, which jointly transmit reference signals. The receiver can treat them as a whole without distinguishing between these elements. For high-frequency systems, an antenna port may correspond to a beam. Similarly, the receiver only needs to regard this beam as an interface without distinguishing between each element.

[0125] 2. Channel estimation auxiliary information: can be used to assist channel estimation. In this application, it can be used to assist the terminal in estimating the channel of the majority port based on the reference signal of the minority port.

[0126] Channel estimation auxiliary information can be obtained based on the channel. For example, the channel is recorded as a matrix H, which can be called a channel matrix. For each receiving port, the channel matrix H includes N TX columns, N TXIndicates the number of transmission ports, that is, the number of ports for reference signals. For example, the dimension of the channel matrix H is N RE ×N TX , N RE Indicates the number of REs used to transmit the reference signal. The channel can be obtained based on prior information, for example, it can be a downlink channel obtained by estimating the uplink channel based on uplink and downlink reciprocity, or it can be a channel in a historical period, or it can be a channel predicted by an artificial intelligence (AI) model, and this application does not limit this.

[0127] FIG3 exemplarily shows the channel estimation auxiliary information. For example, the channel matrix H is subjected to singular value decomposition (SVD) to obtain the spatial projection matrix V of the channel H , matrix V H The dimension is R×N TX , that is, including N TX column vectors, each of which is N TX The spatial basis vector corresponding to one of the ports. The matrix V H It is a matrix composed of R row vectors in the right unitary matrix obtained by performing SVD on the channel matrix H, where R is the rank of the channel. However, this application is not limited to this. The matrix V H It can also be determined based on prior information in a predefined codebook. TX code words, the N TX Each codeword in the N codewords is TX The spatial basis vector corresponding to one of the ports.

[0128] From the matrix V H Obtain a maximum linearly independent group of column vectors, which includes, for example, R column vectors. Considering a certain amount of redundancy, the maximum linearly independent group can be obtained from the matrix V H Select N aug (N aug is an integer greater than or equal to R) column vector, the N aug The column vectors contain the above R column vectors (that is, the maximal linearly uncorrelated group). aug The subscript aug indicates augmented. aug column vectors in V H The position in the matrix P can be obtained aug , whose dimension is N TX ×N aug , N aug is less than or equal to N TXAs shown in the figure, the matrix P aug In each row of the matrix P, the number of non-zero elements (such as "1") does not exceed 1. aug In each column of , the number of non-zero elements (such as "1") is 1. The matrix P aug Including N aug non-zero elements (such as "1"), each non-zero element is located in the matrix P aug In a column, all other elements are zero, indicating that TX Select the more important N aug ports are used to send reference signals. The matrix P aug Chinese N aug The positions of the non-zero elements in their respective columns are the same as the above N aug Column in V H The position in corresponds to that in N aug Ports in N TX The index in the port, so the matrix P can also be called aug is a port pattern used to indicate a reference signal.

[0129] By matrix V H and the matrix P aug Channel estimation auxiliary information P can be obtained + , P + Satisfy: (V H P aug ) -1 V H , whose dimension is N aug ×N TX Among them, P + A column vector in is N TX Based on the channel estimation auxiliary sub-information, the network device can realize the channel estimation of the N ports of the maximum linearly uncorrelated group. aug N corresponding to the spatial basis vectors aug The terminal sends a reference signal based on the channel estimation auxiliary information P + and received from the N aug The reference signal of the ports is estimated to be N TX The channel of the port.

[0130] Specifically, the reference signal received by the terminal is transmitted by the network device through N aug The reference signal sent by the port is N, so the reference signal received by the terminal has undergone N aug The reference signal of the channel corresponding to the port. The terminal can measure the channel H' based on the reference signal, and H' satisfies: H'=H·P aug , the dimension of H' is N TX×N aug Then the channel H' is combined with the channel estimation auxiliary information P + Multiplying them, we get N TX The estimated value of the channel of the port satisfy:

[0131] It is not difficult to see that although the number of ports N sending the reference signal aug Can be less than or equal to N TX However, due to the calculation of V H The maximum linearly uncorrelated group of N aug ports, so the remaining ports are the same as the N aug At least one of the N ports is relevant, so aug The channel estimation auxiliary information P + Satisfy: (V H P aug ) -1 V H , just like V H The terminal performs a matrix division operation. When performing channel estimation, the terminal obtains the channel (i.e., HP aug ) multiplied by the channel estimation auxiliary information P + , we can get: HP aug (V H P aug ) -1 V H , from which we can get the V H The corresponding channel matrix H, that is, N can be reconstructed TX The channel of the port.

[0132] It should be understood that the above-mentioned channel estimation method based on channel estimation auxiliary information is a channel estimation method based on sparse theory.

[0133] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 describes the method by taking the interaction between a network device and a terminal as an example. The network device in Figure 4 can also 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 can be replaced by a component configured in the terminal (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.

[0134] The communication method 400 shown in Figure 4 includes steps 401 to 410. Each step in the method 400 is described in detail below.

[0135] In step 401, a network device sends first information to a terminal, where the first information is used to configure T reference signal resources. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first information from the network device.

[0136] Exemplarily, in a RAN deployed with CU, DU, and RU, step 401 may be specifically implemented as follows: the CU-CP generates the first information and sends the first information to the terminal through the DU and the RU; in an ORAN, step 401 may be specifically implemented as follows: the O-CU-CP generates the first information and sends the first information to the terminal through the O-DU and the O-RU.

[0137] In this embodiment, T may be a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In other words, the first information may be used to configure one or more reference signal resources.

[0138] For ease of understanding, the following takes the t-th reference reference signal resource as an example to introduce the reference reference signal resource. It should be understood that the t-th reference reference signal resource can be one of the at least one reference reference signal resource mentioned above, and t can be any integer from 1 to T. The t-th reference reference signal resource can be used to transmit a maximum of M t That is, the number of ports of the reference signal transmitted through the t-th reference reference signal resource can be less than or equal to M t . And the M t The reference signal of each port can support a maximum of K t The channel estimation of the M ports, that is, t The reference signal of each port can be used to obtain the maximum K t The channel of the port, or the M t The number of ports of the reference signal that can be used to obtain the channel can be less than or equal to K t In other words, the maximum number of ports supported by the first reference signal for channel estimation is K t .

[0139] From the above, it can be seen that each reference signal resource involves two port numbers: the maximum number of ports for transmitting the reference signal (for the convenience of explanation, it is recorded as the maximum number of ports for the reference signal, such as the above M t ) and the maximum number of ports of the estimated channel (for the convenience of explanation, it is recorded as the maximum number of ports supported by the channel estimation, or simply the maximum number of ports supported, such as the above K t ). In the present application, for each reference signal resource, the number of ports used for transmitting the reference signal may be less than or equal to the maximum number of ports supported, and the number of ports of the estimated channel may be less than or equal to the maximum number of ports for the reference signal.

[0140] It should be noted that the “maximum number of ports for reference signals” used for transmission of the reference signal resource can be understood as follows: According to the above description in combination with the channel estimation auxiliary information, the matrix for indicating the port pattern of the reference signal (that is, the matrix P above) can be determined by the maximum linearly uncorrelated group of the spatial projection matrix of the channel. aug ), the number of non-zero elements in the matrix is ​​recorded as the maximum number of ports for the reference signal transmitted by the above-mentioned reference reference signal resource. Each non-zero element in the matrix is ​​located in a column, and each column corresponds to a port. In other words, the maximum number of ports for the reference signal transmitted by the reference reference signal resource can be the number of columns in the matrix. Taking the t-th reference reference signal resource as an example, the maximum number of ports for the reference signal transmitted is M t , that is, the matrix for indicating the port pattern of the reference signal includes M t It should be understood that this does not mean that network equipment can only use M t ports to send reference signals, network devices can also use more than M t The number of ports used to send reference signals is not very large, but may cause air interface overhead, so it is not necessary.

[0141] Correspondingly, the "maximum number of ports supported" by the reference reference signal in channel estimation can be the number of rows of the matrix used to indicate the port pattern of the reference signal. If resources are defined as resources in the time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain, the "maximum number of ports supported" by the reference reference signal resource in channel estimation can be referred to as the number of ports contained in the reference reference signal resource. Taking the tth reference reference signal resource as an example, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation is K t , that is, the t-th reference signal resource includes K t ports.

[0142] When T is greater than 1, any two reference reference signal resources among the T reference reference signal resources may satisfy the following conditions: the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals is different, and / or the maximum number of ports for supporting channel estimation is different.

[0143] For example, the maximum number of ports for the reference signal of reference reference signal resource #1 is 100, and the maximum number of ports supported is 1024; the maximum number of ports for the reference signal of reference reference signal resource #2 is 200, and the maximum number of ports supported is 1024; the maximum number of ports for the reference signal of reference reference signal resource #3 is 50, and the maximum number of ports supported is 256; the maximum number of ports for the reference signal of reference reference signal resource #4 is 50, and the maximum number of ports supported is 128; and so on, which are not listed here.

[0144] As can be seen, reference signal resources #1 and #2 support the same maximum number of ports, but different maximum numbers of reference signal ports. Reference signal resource #1 reduces air interface overhead, while reference signal resource #2 provides more accurate channel estimation due to its greater number of reference signal observation ports. A similar relationship exists between reference signal resources #3 and #4, and will not be further described. Network devices can select the appropriate reference signal resource based on service requirements.

[0145] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following in each of the T reference reference signal resources: a resource pattern, a port pattern, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0146] The following description still takes the t-th benchmark reference signal resource as an example.

[0147] Resource pattern:

[0148] Since the tth reference signal resource can be used to transmit up to M t The resource pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource may indicate the M t The mapping relationship between the reference signal of each port and the time-frequency resources of each port can be determined based on the resource pattern. In other words, based on the resource pattern, it can be determined to which time-frequency resources (more specifically, which REs) the reference signal of each port is mapped, so that the terminal can receive it at the corresponding position.

[0149] Port pattern:

[0150] Since the tth reference signal resource can be used to transmit up to M t The reference signal of the ports is estimated to obtain the maximum K t The M t The ports are included in the K t The port pattern can indicate the M t ports in K t It can be understood that the port pattern implicitly indicates the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals and the maximum number of ports for supporting channel estimation for the t-th reference reference signal resource.

[0151] When the first information is used to indicate the resource pattern and the port pattern, a possible implementation method is to perform the matrix P t To indicate the resource pattern and port pattern. t satisfy: P port,t represents the port pattern of the tth reference signal resource, P RE,t The resource pattern representing the t-th reference signal resource.

[0152] The matrix P is described in detail below. port,t and P RE,t .

[0153] For example, the number of REs included in the tth reference signal resource is N RE,t , the maximum number of ports supported is K t For each receiving port, the observable channel is represented as a channel with dimension N RE,t ×K t The matrix H t The matrix P port,t and P RE,t It can be obtained by processing the channel in the spatial domain and the time-frequency domain respectively.

[0154] 1) Airspace processing:

[0155] The network device can be based on the channel matrix H t Perform quadrature rectangle (QR) decomposition of the spatial domain to obtain the matrix P port,t , matrix P port,t The dimension is K t ×M t , including M t non-zero elements, and the rest are zero. t non-zero elements in the matrix P port,t M t columns, that is, each non-zero element is located in the matrix P port,t The M t The non-zero elements correspond to M t ports, the position of each non-zero element in the column indicates the corresponding port in K t This means that from K t Select the more important M t For example, if a non-zero element (such as "1") is in the first row of the column, it means that the port corresponding to the non-zero element is K. t The first port among the ports can also determine the index of the port. It should be understood that the matrix P port,t The matrix P in the above terminology introduction of channel estimation auxiliary information aug are equivalent.

[0156] The channel matrix H t Right multiplication matrix P port,t , we can get the matrix H t ', H t '=H t ·P port,t The matrix Ht 'The dimension is N RE,t ×M t , that is, the number of ports is K t Reduced to M t It is like achieving port dimensionality reduction in the spatial domain through precoding.

[0157] 2) Time-frequency domain processing:

[0158] Further, the matrix H t 'The transpose of the time domain QR decomposition can be obtained by matrix P RE,t , matrix P RE,t The dimension is M t ×N' RE,t , N' RE,t Less than N RE,t The matrix P RE,t Contains N' RE,t non-zero elements, and the rest are zero. RE,t non-zero elements in the matrix P RE,t N' RE,t columns, that is, each non-zero element is located in the matrix P RE,t The N' RE,t The non-zero elements correspond to N' RE,t REs, the position of each non-zero element in the column indicates the corresponding RE in N RE,t This means the index from N RE,t Select the more important N' from RE RE,t This can reduce the resource overhead of the reference signal in the time and frequency domains.

[0159] It should be understood that the matrix P is described above by taking the spatial domain processing as an example and then the time-frequency domain processing as an example. port,t and P RE,t (or port pattern and resource pattern) acquisition process, but this should not constitute any limitation to this application. In the actual processing process, the network device can also first calculate the channel matrix H t Perform QR decomposition in the time-frequency domain and then in the spatial domain to obtain P port,t and P RE,t , and then get P t Alternatively, the network device may also obtain the port pattern and resource pattern in other ways, which is not limited in this application. The network device may obtain the matrix {P corresponding to each reference signal resource based on the above process. t}, and indicate it to the terminal through the first information.

[0160] It should also be understood that the indication of the port pattern and resource pattern can also be obtained by port,t and PRE,t It is achieved by the instruction of , and not necessarily by the matrix P t To indicate.

[0161] In another implementation, the network device may not indicate the resource pattern and port pattern of each reference reference signal resource through the first information, but the terminal may determine it. The terminal may also obtain the matrix {P corresponding to each reference reference signal resource based on the above process. t}, or obtain the matrix {P corresponding to each reference signal resource port,t} and {P RE,t}, or, obtain a resource pattern and a port pattern corresponding to each benchmark reference signal resource; or, the terminal may also obtain a historical port pattern and a resource pattern of the reference signal resources occupying the same position as each benchmark reference signal resource, which is not limited in this application.

[0162] Alternatively, the network device can port,t or P RE,t The first information is used to indicate the terminal, and the terminal determines another item based on the received first information.

[0163] Reference channel estimation auxiliary information:

[0164] The channel estimation auxiliary information has been introduced in the previous terminology. In this embodiment, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is named only for the convenience of distinguishing it from the first channel estimation auxiliary information and the second channel estimation auxiliary information described later. The reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponds to the reference reference signal resource. For the t-th reference reference signal resource, the corresponding reference channel estimation auxiliary information is used to calculate the channel estimation auxiliary information according to M. t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate K t The channels of the ports. t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate K t The channel of a port can specifically refer to, according to M t The channel measurement result obtained by measuring the reference signal of the ports is M t The channel matrix of the ports, and then according to the M t The channel matrix of the ports and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information reconstruct K t The number of channels of ports. t The channel matrix of ports can also be replaced by other forms, such as M t The channel vector of each port, and so on.

[0165] The network device may indicate the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to each reference reference signal resource to the terminal through the first information, or may not indicate the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to each reference reference signal resource through the first information. The terminal may also independently determine the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to each reference reference signal resource. The terminal may also calculate the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to each reference reference signal resource based on the method provided in the above terminology. Alternatively, the terminal may obtain historical channel estimation assistance information for a reference signal resource occupying the same location as each reference reference signal resource.

[0166] Maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation: The maximum number of ports that can be estimated using the reference signal transmitted by the reference reference signal resource. For example, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation by the tth reference reference signal resource is K. t That is, the t-th reference signal resource can be used to estimate a value less than or equal to K t The channel of the port.

[0167] Since the dimension of the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is related to the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, the number of columns in the reference channel estimation auxiliary information can be the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation. Therefore, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation can be indicated by the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. In other words, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is one possible form of indicating the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation.

[0168] It should be understood that the above-mentioned T reference reference signal resources can also be predefined. For example, the resource pattern, port pattern and reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the T reference reference signal resources have been pre-stored before the equipment leaves the factory, and there is no need for the network device to indicate to the terminal through the first information. In other words, the above-mentioned step 401 is an optional step.

[0169] In step 402, the network device sends a first reference signal on a first reference reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first reference signal on the first reference reference signal resource.

[0170] Exemplarily, in a RAN deployed with CU, DU, and RU, step 402 may be specifically implemented as follows: the CU-CP generates a first reference signal, and sends the first reference signal to the terminal through the DU and the RU; in an ORAN, step 402 may be specifically implemented as follows: the O-CU-CP generates a first reference signal, and sends the first reference signal to the terminal through the O-DU and the O-RU.

[0171] It should be understood that the first reference reference signal resource may be any one of the T reference reference signal resources mentioned above, and the present application does not limit which reference reference signal resource the network device selects to transmit the reference signal.

[0172] Because the first resource is from the first baseline reference signal resource, and the maximum number of ports for the reference signal of the first baseline reference signal resource is M, the first resource can be used to transmit reference signals for no more than M ports. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the first resource can be used to transmit reference signals for m1 ports. In other words, the first reference signal transmitted on the first resource is a reference signal for m1 ports, where m1 is a positive integer less than M. It can be understood that the m1 ports are from the M ports, or in other words, the m1 ports are included in the M ports, or in other words, the m1 ports are part of the M ports.

[0173] In summary, we can obtain the following relationship: k1≤K, m1<M, m1≤k1, and M≤K.

[0174] It should be understood that, in this application, for the sake of ease of distinction and explanation, the reference reference signal resource is defined as a time-frequency resource to distinguish it from a spatial domain resource (such as a port). In another implementation, the reference reference signal resource can also be defined as a resource in three dimensions: time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain. In this case, the resource used to transmit the first reference signal can be part of the first reference reference signal resource. Step 402 can also be expressed as: receiving the first reference signal on the first resource, the first resource coming from the first reference reference signal resource. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first reference signal on the first resource.

[0175] In this article, for ease of understanding and explanation, time-frequency resources are referred to as resources unless otherwise specified.

[0176] It can be understood that since the first reference signal resource is one of the T reference signal resources, the maximum number of ports M of the reference signal corresponding to it can be M1 to M1 above. T The maximum number of ports K supported can be one of K1 to K above. T Since the following mainly uses the reference signal received on the first reference reference signal resource as an example to describe this embodiment, for the convenience of explanation, the subscripts used to distinguish the reference reference signal resources in each parameter are omitted, that is, the channel matrix is ​​H and the dimension is N RE ×K, the maximum number of ports of the reference signal corresponding to the first reference signal resource is M, the maximum number of ports supported is K, and the number of REs contained in the first reference signal resource is N RE .

[0177] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal measures the received first reference signal transmitted via the first reference signal resource, and the channel measurement results that can be obtained are as follows: H·P #1 Among them, P #1It is a matrix of dimension K×m1, which can be used to reduce the channel dimension from K ports to m1 ports, or to select m1 ports from K ports. #1 satisfy: Indicates the use of For the matrix P port Perform weighted dimensionality reduction. Among them, P port is a matrix of dimension K×M, representing the port pattern, used to indicate the index of M ports among K ports; is a weighted dimensionality reduction matrix obtained based on the extraction rule, with a dimension of M×m1, which is used to reduce the dimension of the first reference signal from M ports to m1 ports, or in other words, to select m1 ports from M ports. port Right multiplication The number of ports can be reduced from M to m1.

[0178] Among them, it is used to estimate the auxiliary information P of the channel + The extraction rule for extraction may be, for example, to obtain information about P + The maximum linearly uncorrelated group of row vectors, or, it can be based on P + The 2-norms of the row vectors are arranged from large to small, and several rows that reach a preset threshold are extracted, and so on. This application does not limit this.

[0179] Optionally, the method further includes: the network device sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of a first reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information.

[0180] When T is greater than 1, each reference reference signal resource can be distinguished by a different identifier. The network device can indicate the identifier of the reference reference signal resource actually used (e.g., the first reference reference signal resource) through the second information. The terminal can determine the first reference reference signal resource based on the second information and then receive the first reference signal on the first reference reference signal resource.

[0181] It is understandable that when T is equal to 1, even if the network device does not indicate the identifier of the reference signal resource, the terminal can still determine the first reference signal resource according to the configuration information. Therefore, the network device does not necessarily have to send the second information.

[0182] In addition, the network device may also instruct the terminal through signaling when switching the reference reference signal resource, and may not additionally instruct through signaling when switching the reference reference signal resource is not required. For example, if the resources used by the network device when sending the reference signal last time came from the first reference reference signal resource, and the resources required for sending the reference signal next time also come from the first reference reference signal resource, then the network device may not need to send the second information. For another example, if the resources used by the network device when sending the reference signal last time came from the first reference reference signal resource, and the resources required for sending the reference signal next time come from the second reference reference signal resource, then the network device may self-indicate the identifier of the second reference reference signal resource through the second information. In this way, unnecessary signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0183] In step 403, the terminal determines first channel estimation auxiliary information according to the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource.

[0184] As previously mentioned, the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource is used to estimate the channels of K ports based on the channel measurement results of M ports. In this embodiment, the m1 port of the first reference signal comes from M ports. It is not difficult to see that there is a nested relationship between the m1 port and the M ports, and between the k1 port and the K ports. This nested relationship can also be applied to the first channel estimation assistance information and the reference channel estimation assistance information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the terminal can determine the channel estimation assistance information used to obtain the channel corresponding to the port to be estimated based on the reference channel estimation assistance information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource.

[0185] According to the index of the port corresponding to the channel to be estimated in the K ports, and the index of the m1 port in the M ports, the terminal may determine the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0186] For example, assuming that the channel of k1 ports needs to be estimated, the terminal can estimate the auxiliary information P of the reference channel according to the index of the k1 port in the K ports. + Perform column extraction to extract the columns corresponding to k1 ports from the K columns to form the matrix P + (:,{k1}). P + (:,{k1}) represents the matrix P + Extract k1 columns from the K columns of the matrix P according to the k1 columns + The matrix obtained by sorting and combining in has a dimension of M×k1.

[0187] The terminal can obtain the matrix P according to the index of the m1 port in the M ports. sub, whose dimension is m1×M. The matrix P sub The matrix P contains m1 non-zero elements (e.g., "1"). The positions of the m1 non-zero elements in the M columns (i.e., the column numbers) can be determined by the indexes of the m1 ports in the M ports. For example, if the indexes of the m1 ports in the M ports are 1 and 3, then the matrix P sub It includes two non-zero elements, located at row 1, column 1 and row 2, column 3 respectively.

[0188] The terminal can be based on P sub , and get the matrix This formula represents the use of P sub P + (:,{k1}) performs row extraction, and the matrix obtained after extraction The dimension is m1×k1. That is, from the matrix P + Extract m1 row vectors from the M row vectors of (:,{k1}) and add them to the matrix P according to the m1 row vectors. + The matrix obtained by sorting and combining (:,{k1}). It can be understood that the matrix P sub The column numbers of the m1 non-zero elements are the matrix The m1 row vectors in the matrix P + The row number in (:,{k1}).

[0189] Thus, the first channel estimation auxiliary information can be obtained satisfy:

[0190] Optionally, the port of the channel that the terminal needs to estimate may be indicated by the network device, or may be determined by the terminal itself.

[0191] In one possible implementation manner, the network device may determine the port of the channel that needs to be estimated and indicate it to the terminal through third information.

[0192] Optionally, the method further includes: the network device sending third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate the index of the k1 ports among the K ports. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the third information from the network device.

[0193] In one possible design, the index of the k1 ports in the K ports can be indicated by a bitmap of K bits. For example, the port numbers of the K ports are arranged in ascending order, corresponding one-to-one to the K bits in the bitmap, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the corresponding port is selected. As an example, assuming that the value of the bit corresponding to the selected port is set to "1", and the value of the bit corresponding to the unselected port is set to "0", K is 12, k1 is 4, and the bitmap can be represented as "001111000000". The bitmap can be regarded as an explicit indication of the index of the k1 port in the K ports.

[0194] In another possible design, the index of the k1 ports among the K ports can also be indicated by the value k1. For example, the network device and the terminal can pre-agreed on a rule for selecting ports for the estimated channel from the K ports. This rule can, for example, be to select a number of ports in ascending order of port number. In this case, the network device only needs to indicate the number of ports to be estimated, k1, to the terminal, and the terminal can determine the index of the k1 ports among the K ports. Therefore, the value k1 can also be considered an implicit indication of the index of the k1 port among the K ports.

[0195] It should be understood that the manner in which the third information indicates the index of the k1 port in the K ports is not limited to the two methods listed above, and the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the third information indicates the index of the k1 port in the K ports.

[0196] Optionally, the index of the m1 port in the M ports may be indicated by the network device, or may be determined by the terminal itself.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal, where the fourth information is used to indicate the index of the m1 port among the M ports. Accordingly, the terminal receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0198] That is, the network device can determine m1 relatively important ports from the M ports for sending reference signals, and indicate the m1 ports to the terminal. The network device can determine m1 relatively important ports from the M ports based on a predefined extraction rule, and indicate the index of the m1 port in the M ports to the terminal. One possible way for the network device to indicate the index of the m1 port in the M ports to the terminal is to use the matrix P sub Instruct the terminal. sub For the description of determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information, please refer to the above description of determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information, which will not be repeated here.

[0199] It should be understood that the specific process of the network device determining m1 ports from M ports has been described in detail in step 402 above, and reference may be made to the above related description, which will not be repeated here.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal, where the fourth information is used to indicate a rule for extracting m1 ports from the M ports. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0201] In other words, the network device can also delegate the extraction task to the terminal. The network device can instruct the terminal on the specific extraction rule to be used. The extraction rule can, for example, be to sort the matrix row vectors from largest to smallest in terms of their 2-norm and extract rows that meet a preset threshold, or to extract rows based on a maximal linearly uncorrelated group of matrix row vectors, or other rules, which are not limited in this application.

[0202] For example, the terminal can obtain the matrix P based on the extraction rule indicated by the network device. sub For example, the extraction rule is based on the matrix P + The terminal can extract the maximum linearly uncorrelated group of row vectors of (:,{k1}). + The row vector of (:,{k1}) calculates the maximum linearly uncorrelated group and obtains the matrix P sub .

[0203] Matrix P sub There are m1 non-zero elements, and the column number where the m1 non-zero elements are located is the index of the m1 port in the M ports.

[0204] It should be understood that the extraction rules illustrated above are only examples. For example, the extraction rules can also be based on the matrix P + The 2-norms of the row vectors of (:,{k1}) are arranged from large to small, and several rows that reach a preset threshold are extracted. The present application includes but is not limited to this.

[0205] It should also be understood that the extraction rule for the terminal to extract m1 row vectors from M row vectors should be the same as the extraction rule for the network device to extract m1 ports from M ports. For example, both can be based on obtaining a maximally linearly uncorrelated group, or the extraction can be performed in descending order of the vector's 2-norm.

[0206] Furthermore, the network device may also determine, based on the capabilities of the terminal, whether to directly indicate the index of the m1 port among the M ports to the terminal or to indicate the extraction rule to the terminal. For example, when the terminal has high computing power, the network device may select an extraction rule supported by the terminal and provide it to the terminal. When the terminal has low computing power, the network device may directly indicate the index of the m1 port among the M ports through the fourth information, without handing over the extraction task to the terminal. The reporting of terminal capability information will be described in detail later and will not be described in detail here.

[0207] For ease of understanding, (a) and (b) in FIG5 exemplarily provide two possible implementations of step 403 .

[0208] Referring to (a) in FIG5 , the network device can send third information to the terminal to indicate the index of the k1 port among the K ports. The network device can extract m1 ports from the M ports according to the extraction rule and send fourth information to the terminal to indicate the index of the m1 port among the M ports. Based on the third and fourth information, the terminal can determine the index of the k1 port among the K ports and the index of the m1 port among the M ports, and can then use this information to determine the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource.

[0209] The process shown in FIG5(b) differs from FIG5(a) in that the network device indicates the extraction rule to the terminal via the fourth information, and the terminal extracts m1 ports from the M ports. Therefore, the fourth information is used to indicate the extraction rule, rather than to indicate the index of m1 port within the M ports. The other steps in FIG5(b) are the same as those in FIG5(a), and can be referred to above and will not be repeated here.

[0210] To better understand the relationship between the reference channel estimation auxiliary information and the first channel estimation auxiliary information, Figure 6 exemplarily illustrates the reference channel estimation auxiliary information and the first channel estimation auxiliary information. As shown in the figure, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information can be represented as a matrix of dimensions M (maximum number of ports of the reference signal) × K (maximum number of ports supported). This matrix can be used to estimate the channels of K ports based on the channel measurement results of M ports. It can be understood that the M ports are contained in the K ports, meaning that the channels of the K ports are estimated based on the channels of some of the K ports. The first channel estimation auxiliary information is k1 columns and m1 rows extracted from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. This means that the first channel estimation auxiliary information is obtained through column extraction and then row extraction. It is not difficult to see that the k1 columns are extracted from the K columns, so the k1 ports are contained in the K ports. The m1 rows are extracted from the M rows, so the m1 port is contained in the M ports. Furthermore, since the M ports are contained in the K ports, the m1 port is also contained in the K ports. Furthermore, since the reference signals of the m1 ports are used to estimate the reference signals of the k1 ports, the m1 ports are further included in the k1 ports.

[0211] In step 404, the terminal determines first CSI according to the first reference signal and the first channel estimation auxiliary information, where the first CSI corresponds to channels of k1 ports.

[0212] Here, k1 is a positive integer less than or equal to K and greater than or equal to m1.

[0213] In this embodiment, the first CSI may be a PMI corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or may be a channel estimation result indicating the channels corresponding to the k1 ports.

[0214] Optionally, the first CSI is a channel estimation result, where the channel estimation result indicates channels of k1 ports.

[0215] That is, the terminal obtains channels corresponding to a larger number of ports (ie, k1 ports) based on the received reference signals of the m1 ports. The terminal can indicate the quantized k1 ports through the channel estimation result.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the terminal may measure and obtain channels corresponding to the m1 ports according to the reference signals of the m1 ports, and then obtain channels corresponding to the k1 ports based on the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0217] First, the terminal can obtain the channel corresponding to the m1 port based on the reference signal measurement of the m1 port. The channel can be represented by the channel matrix H', which satisfies: H'=H·P #1, the channel matrix H' is the channel matrix corresponding to m1 ports.

[0218] Thereafter, the terminal obtains the channel matrix corresponding to the k1 ports based on the first channel estimation auxiliary information The process can be expressed by the formula as follows: Where H' is the channel matrix through the m1 ports mentioned above, For the first channel estimation auxiliary information mentioned above, H' and Expand and substitute into the above formula, we can get:

[0219] For ease of understanding, Figure 7 shows the channels of the m1 ports measured by the terminal and the channels of the k1 ports estimated. As shown in Figure 7, the channel matrix of the m1 ports measured by the terminal based on the reference signal of the m1 ports is Estimating auxiliary information P according to the first channel sub ·P + (:,{k1}), the channel matrix of k1 ports can be estimated

[0220] Another possible implementation is that the terminal can measure the channel matrix corresponding to the m1 ports based on the reference signal of the m1 ports, and then obtain the channel matrix corresponding to the k1 ports using the least square method or interpolation method. Since the least square method and interpolation are both existing technologies, they are not described in detail here.

[0221] It can be seen from this that the terminal can estimate the channels of the majority of ports (such as k1) based on the reference signals of a few ports (such as m1), and can estimate the channels of any number of ports within the maximum number of ports K supported by the first benchmark reference signal resource, that is, the number of ports of the estimated channel can be any integer less than or equal to K.

[0222] Optionally, the first CSI is a PMI corresponding to channels of k1 ports.

[0223] The terminal can use the method provided above to estimate the channels of k1 ports, then perform SVD on the channel matrix of the k1 ports to obtain a precoding matrix adapted thereto. The precoding matrix can then be quantized using the PMI, for example using the Type I or Type II codebook feedback method defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.214. Because the methods for obtaining the precoding matrix based on the channel and quantizing the precoding matrix by the terminal are both existing technologies, they are not described in detail here.

[0224] It should be noted that the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to determine the first CSI. Therefore, in some implementations, the above steps 403 and 404 can both be regarded as the process of determining the first CSI. In this article, the determination of the first channel estimation auxiliary information and the determination of the first CSI are described separately for the convenience of understanding and explanation.

[0225] In step 405, the terminal sends the first CSI. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first CSI.

[0226] For example, in a RAN deployed with a CU, DU, and RU, the specific implementation of step 405 may be: the RU receives the first CSI and forwards the received first CSI to the DU for processing; in an ORAN, the specific implementation of step 405 may be: the O-RU receives the first CSI and forwards the first CSI to the O-DU for processing after partial physical layer processing.

[0227] The terminal may use uplink resources to send the first CSI to the network device. Exemplarily, the first CSI is carried in uplink control information (UCI).

[0228] The network device may determine a precoding matrix corresponding to a channel of k1 ports based on the received first CSI.

[0229] As shown in step 403, the first CSI determined by the terminal based on the first reference signal can be the PMI corresponding to the channel of k1 ports, or it can be the channel estimation result indicating the channel corresponding to k1 ports, or it can be the channel measurement result indicating the channel corresponding to m1 ports. Based on the different contents of the first CSI, the operation of the network device in determining the precoding matrix is ​​also different.

[0230] If the first CSI is the PMI corresponding to the channels of k1 ports, the network device may directly determine the precoding matrix according to the PMI.

[0231] If the first CSI is a channel estimation result indicating a channel of k1 ports, the network device may determine the channel of k1 ports according to the channel estimation result, and may also determine a precoding matrix corresponding to the channel of k1 ports according to the channel.

[0232] If the first CSI is a channel measurement result indicating the channel of m1 ports, the network device can determine the channel of m1 ports based on the channel measurement result, and then determine the channel of k1 ports in combination with the channel estimation auxiliary information. It can also determine the precoding matrix corresponding to the channel of k1 ports based on the channel of k1 ports.

[0233] It should be understood that the specific method of determining the corresponding precoding matrix based on the channel of k1 ports can refer to the existing technology. For example, SVD can be performed on the channel of k1 ports, and the conjugate transpose of the obtained right unitary matrix can be determined as the precoding matrix, etc. The specific process is not described in detail here.

[0234] It should be understood that the network device determines the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource, and estimates the channel of the k1 port based on the channel of the m1 port and the first channel estimation auxiliary information, and then determines the precoding matrix adapted thereto from the channel of the k1 port. This process is similar to the implementation process of the terminal determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information in step 403 above and the terminal determining the first CSI in step 404. Please refer to the relevant description above and no further details will be given.

[0235] It can be understood that if the terminal uses the channel measurement result of the channel indicating m1 ports as the first CSI, the terminal can directly determine the first CSI based on the received first reference signal without having to determine the first channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, the network device may not need to indicate the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource to the terminal.

[0236] Based on the above steps 402 to 405, the network device can obtain the channels of k1 ports, thereby completing a channel estimation.

[0237] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal is pre-configured with a first baseline reference signal resource, which can estimate the channels of a maximum of K (K≥M) ports through reference signals of a maximum of M ports; the network device can select some ports from the M ports to transmit reference signals as needed to estimate the channels of some or all of the K ports. In this way, the network device can flexibly select reference signals of any number of ports within M ports for channel estimation based on the baseline reference signal resource and service requirements to estimate the channels of any number of ports within K ports, thereby supporting flexible changes in the number of ports in the scenario where the RF channel is dynamically shut down. Since the number of ports m1 of the first reference signal can be less than M, and M is less than or equal to K, the channels of the majority of ports can be estimated based on the reference signals of a few ports. As the number of ports of the reference signal sent by the air interface decreases, and considering port multiplexing, the air interface overhead brought by the reference signal is also reduced.

[0238] In addition, the terminal can be pre-configured with multiple reference reference signal resources including a first reference reference signal resource, and different reference reference signal resources have different maximum numbers of ports for transmitting reference signals, and / or different reference reference signal resources support different maximum numbers of ports for channel estimation. The network device can select appropriate reference reference signal resources to transmit reference signals according to needs. For example, when the number of ports to be estimated is small, a reference reference signal resource with a smaller maximum number of ports supported can be selected; when the number of ports to be estimated is small but a higher estimation accuracy is required, a reference reference signal resource with a smaller maximum number of ports supported and a larger number of ports for transmitting reference signals can be selected; and so on. It can be seen that the network device can flexibly select reference reference signal resources to transmit reference signals according to needs, thereby meeting different business needs and ensuring system performance.

[0239] In this embodiment, two adjacent channel estimations can use the same reference signal resource to transmit reference signals, and the previous channel estimation can also serve as a reference for the next channel estimation. When the network device sends the reference signal the next time, it can select and reuse the reference signals of some or all ports from the previously transmitted reference signal. Therefore, the terminal can also reuse the first channel estimation auxiliary information determined by the previous channel estimation to perform the next channel estimation.

[0240] Optionally, the method further includes steps 406 to 409, which are specifically as follows:

[0241] In step 406, the network device sends the second reference signal on the first reference reference signal resource. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second reference signal on the first reference reference signal resource.

[0242] Similar to step 402, in a RAN deployed with CU, DU and RU, step 402 may be specifically implemented as follows: the CU-CP generates a second reference signal and sends the second reference signal to the terminal through the DU and RU; in an ORAN, step 402 may be specifically implemented as follows: the O-CU-CP generates a second reference signal and sends the second reference signal to the terminal through the O-DU and O-RU.

[0243] The second reference signal is a reference signal for m2 ports, where m2 ports are derived from m1 ports, and m2 is a positive integer less than or equal to m1. In other words, the reference signal for m2 ports is a reference signal corresponding to some or all of the m1 ports. Alternatively, the reference signal for m2 ports is a multiplex of the reference signals for some or all of the m1 ports.

[0244] As mentioned in step 402, for ease of distinction and explanation, in this application, the reference reference signal resource is defined as a time-frequency resource to distinguish it from a spatial domain resource (such as a port). In another implementation, the reference reference signal resource can also be defined as a resource in three dimensions: time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain. In this case, the resources used to transmit the second reference signal can be part or all of the resources in the first reference reference signal resource. Step 406 can also be expressed as: receiving the second reference signal on the second resource, the second resource being derived from the first reference reference signal resource. Accordingly, the terminal receives the second reference signal on the second resource.

[0245] It should be understood that although the first resource and the second resource both originate from the first baseline reference signal resource, the number of ports they include may be different, and therefore they are distinguished and named as the first resource and the second resource. In addition, although the first resource and the second resource include different numbers of ports, the time-frequency resources can both be determined based on the resource pattern corresponding to the first baseline reference signal resource, and therefore the mapping relationship between each port and the time-frequency resource remains unchanged. Considering that the ports included in the second resource are derived from the ports included in the first resource, and that different ports reuse time-frequency resources, the time-frequency resources of the first resource and the time-frequency resources of the second resource can be the same.

[0246] In step 407, the terminal determines second channel estimation auxiliary information according to the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0247] The second channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate channels of k2 ports based on the channel measurement results of m2 ports, where m2 is a positive integer less than or equal to m1, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2. In this embodiment, since the m2 ports are derived from the m1 ports and the k2 ports are derived from the k1 ports, the second channel estimation auxiliary information can be determined from the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0248] In summary, the following relationship can be obtained: m2≤m1, k2≤k1, and k2≥m2. It is not difficult to see that there is also a nested relationship between the m2 ports and the m1 ports, and between the k2 ports and the k1 ports. This nested relationship can also be applied to the second channel estimation auxiliary information and the first channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the second channel estimation auxiliary information can be obtained from the first channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0249] The terminal may determine the second channel estimation auxiliary information from the first channel estimation auxiliary information according to the index of the port corresponding to the channel to be estimated in the k1 ports and the index of the m2 port in the m1 port.

[0250] For example, the number of ports corresponding to the channel to be estimated is k2, and the terminal can calculate the matrix representing the auxiliary information of the first channel estimation according to the index of the k2 ports in the k1 ports. Perform column extraction to extract the columns corresponding to k2 ports from the k1 columns to form a matrix (P sub ·P + (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}). (P sub ·P + (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}) represents the matrix Extract k2 columns from the k1 columns and add the k2 columns in the matrix The matrix obtained by sorting and combining in has a dimension of m1×k2.

[0251] The terminal can obtain the matrix P based on the index of the m2 port in the m1 port sub，1→2 , whose dimension is m2×m1. The terminal is obtained by the index of m2 ports in m1 ports. sub，1→2 The process is the same as that in step 403 above, where the matrix P is obtained by indexing the m1 ports in the M ports. sub The process is similar, please refer to the relevant instructions above and I will not repeat them here.

[0252] The terminal can be based on P sub，1→2 Get the matrix This formula represents the use of P sub，1→2 P sub ·P + (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}) performs row extraction, and the matrix obtained after extraction The dimension is m2×k2. That is, from the matrix (P sub ·P + (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}) extract m2 row vectors from the m1 row vectors and add the m2 row vectors to the matrix (P sub ·P + The matrix obtained by sorting the combinations in (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}).

[0253] Thus, the first channel estimation auxiliary information can be obtained

[0254] The process of determining the second channel estimation auxiliary information from the first channel estimation auxiliary information is similar to the process of the terminal determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information in step 403. For more specific details, please refer to the relevant description of step 403 above and will not be repeated here. Among them, the index of the m2 port in the m1 port and the index of the k2 port in the k1 port can be indicated by the network device through signaling, or can be determined by the terminal according to the extraction rule indicated by the network device. For details, please refer to the relevant description of the third information and the fourth information above and will not be repeated here.

[0255] Since there is a nested relationship between the m1 port and the M ports, and between the k1 port and the K ports, there is also a nested relationship between the m2 port and the M ports, and between the k2 port and the K ports. This nested relationship can be applied to the second channel estimation auxiliary information and the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. Therefore, based on this nested relationship, the second channel estimation auxiliary information can also be obtained from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information. The terminal can determine the second channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information based on the index of the k2 port in the K ports and the index of the m2 port in the M ports. The specific process is similar to the process of determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information and is not described in detail here for the sake of brevity.

[0256] In step 408, the terminal determines a second CSI according to the second reference signal and the second channel estimation auxiliary information, where the second CSI is used to determine a precoding matrix corresponding to a channel with k2 ports.

[0257] Similar to the first CSI, the second CSI may be a channel estimation result indicating the channels of k2 ports, or a PMI corresponding to the channels of k2 ports, or a channel measurement result indicating the channels of m2 ports.

[0258] For ease of understanding, Figure 8 shows the channels of the m2 ports measured by the terminal and the channels of the k2 ports estimated. As shown in Figure 8, the channels of the m2 ports measured by the terminal based on the reference signals of the m2 ports are Estimation of auxiliary information P according to the second channel sub,1→2 ·(P sub ·P + (:,{k1}))(:,{k2}), the channel of k2 ports can be estimated

[0259] The process of the terminal determining the second CSI is similar to the process of the terminal determining the first CSI according to the first reference signal and the first channel estimation auxiliary information in step 404. Please refer to the relevant description above and it will not be repeated here.

[0260] In 409, the terminal sends the second CSI to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the second CSI from the terminal.

[0261] Similar to step 405, in a RAN deployed with a CU, DU, and RU, the specific implementation of step 409 may be: the RU receives the second CSI and forwards the received second CSI to the DU for processing; in an ORAN, the specific implementation of step 409 may be: the O-RU receives the second CSI and forwards the second CSI to the O-DU for processing after partial physical layer processing.

[0262] The specific process of step 409 is similar to that of step 405. Please refer to the relevant description of step 405 above and it will not be repeated here.

[0263] This completes another channel estimation.

[0264] Because the network device can use the same reference signal resource to transmit the reference signal in two or more adjacent channel estimations, the network device does not need to indicate the reference signal transmission resource for each channel estimation, which can save signaling overhead. In addition, because the port of the reference signal transmitted in the latter transmission is a subset of the port of the reference signal transmitted in the previous transmission, the terminal can use the previous channel estimation as a reference for the next channel estimation. For example, the terminal can use the first channel estimation auxiliary information determined in the previous channel estimation process to determine the second channel estimation auxiliary information. This reduces the amount of calculation and improves execution efficiency compared to directly determining the second channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information.

[0265] Because different terminals may have different configurations, and different configurations may correspond to different capabilities, or computing power, terminals can report their capabilities to network devices so that the network devices can configure reference signal resources that are appropriate for their capabilities.

[0266] Optionally, the method further includes step 410: the terminal sends capability information to the network device, where the capability information is used to indicate one or more of the following: an allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, a number of reference reference signal resources that can be configured for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports extraction rules, whether the terminal pre-stores reference channel estimation auxiliary information, port patterns, and resource patterns corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or a supported storage time for each channel estimation-related information. Accordingly, the network device receives the capability information from the terminal.

[0267] After accessing the network device, the terminal may send capability information to the network device so that the network device can configure the reference signal resources based on the capabilities of the terminal. The terminal may also send capability information to the network device when its status changes, such as when the battery level is low (e.g., below a certain threshold), or when a system version update is performed. This allows the network device to determine whether to adjust the configuration of the reference signal resources for the terminal. One possible design is to perform step 410 before step 401 of this embodiment.

[0268] The following describes each item in the capability information.

[0269] The maximum allowed value of the number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, that is, the maximum allowed value of the number of ports for channels that the terminal can estimate. This allowed value can be one or more. For example, the capability information can be used to indicate that the allowed values ​​of the maximum allowed value of the number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal include {128, 256, 512, 1024}. That is, K in the above text can be 128, 256, 512, or 1024.

[0270] The number of reference reference signal resources that can be configured for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation. In other words, the number of reference reference signal resources that the terminal supports configuring for each allowed value. For example, if the capability information indicates that this number is 2, it means that two reference reference signal resources can be configured for each allowed value. Configuration of each reference reference signal resource includes configuration of one or more of the following: a resource pattern, a port pattern, and reference channel estimation assistance information.

[0271] Based on the allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, and the number of reference reference signal resources supported for configuration for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, the network device can determine how many reference reference signal resources to configure for the terminal, and which reference reference signal resources, that is, it can determine the T reference reference signal resources configured through the first information.

[0272] In one example, the capability information indicates that the allowed values ​​of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal include {128, 256, 512, 1024}, and supports configuring two reference reference signal resources for each allowed value. The network device can configure for the terminal: two reference reference signal resources with a maximum number of ports of 128, two reference reference signal resources with a maximum number of ports of 256, two reference reference signal resources with a maximum number of ports of 512, and two reference reference signal resources with a maximum number of ports of 1024, for a total of eight reference reference signal resources.

[0273] Whether the terminal has pre-stored reference channel estimation auxiliary information, port pattern, and resource pattern corresponding to each allowed value of the above-mentioned maximum number of ports helps the network device determine whether it is necessary to indicate to the terminal the reference channel auxiliary information, port pattern, and resource pattern corresponding to each reference reference signal resource. If the terminal has pre-stored one or more of the reference channel estimation auxiliary information, port pattern, or resource pattern corresponding to each allowed value of the above-mentioned maximum number of ports, the network device does not need to indicate the corresponding item when configuring T reference reference signal resources for the terminal through the first information. For example, if the terminal has pre-stored reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to each allowed value of the above-mentioned maximum number of ports, the network device may indicate the port pattern and resource pattern corresponding to each reference reference signal resource when configuring T reference reference signal resources for the terminal through the first information.

[0274] Whether the terminal supports the extraction rule, that is, whether the terminal can automatically extract some or all ports from the K ports. Whether the terminal supports the extraction rule can be used by the network device to determine whether the fourth information is used to indicate the extraction rule or to indicate the index of the k1 ports in the K ports.

[0275] The terminal supports a maximum storage duration for each channel estimation, that is, the maximum time the terminal can locally store the relevant information obtained from each channel estimation. This channel estimation-related information may include, but is not limited to, channel estimation auxiliary information. By storing the relevant information obtained from each channel estimation, the terminal can use the relevant information from the previous channel estimation to calculate the relevant information required for the next channel estimation. In this way, the aforementioned extraction rules can be recursively applied to obtain the relevant information required for the next channel estimation.

[0276] By indicating its capability information to the network device, the terminal facilitates the network device to configure appropriate benchmark reference signal resources for the terminal. In the channel estimation process, the terminal's computing power can be combined to arrange the executor and extraction rules of the port extraction, thereby facilitating the smooth progress of channel estimation and achieving higher spectrum efficiency.

[0277] Figures 9 to 12 are schematic block diagrams of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal or network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5, or it can be a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the terminal or network device, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement some or all of the functions of the terminal or network device.

[0278] A communication device provided in this application is shown in FIG9 . The communication device 900 includes a transceiver unit 910 and a processing unit 920 .

[0279] In one possible design, the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5. For example, the device 900 may correspond to the terminal in Figure 4 or Figure 5.

[0280] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to receive a first reference signal on a first reference reference signal resource, the first reference reference signal resource being used to transmit reference signals of up to M ports, and the reference signals of the M ports supporting channel estimation of K ports at most, the first reference signal being a reference signal of m1 ports, the m1 ports being from the M ports, m1 being less than M, M being less than or equal to K, and m1, M, and K being positive integers; the processing unit 920 being configured to determine first channel state information CSI based on the first reference signal, the first CSI being related to the k ports. 1 port; wherein the first channel estimation auxiliary information is determined according to the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource; the reference channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of the K ports according to the channel measurement results of the M ports, and the first channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of k1 ports according to the channel measurement results of the m1 ports, the k1 ports come from the K ports, and k1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K; the transceiver unit 910 is also used to send the first CSI.

[0281] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following for each of the T reference reference signal resources: a resource pattern, a port pattern, a maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; wherein the t-th reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources is used to transmit a maximum of M t The reference signal transmitted through the t-th reference signal resource supports the maximum estimated K t The channel estimation of K ports t M is the maximum number of ports supported by the channel estimation of the t-th reference signal resource. t is less than or equal to K t A positive integer, t is a positive integer from 1 to T; the resource pattern of the t-th reference signal resource indicates the M t The mapping relationship between the reference signal of each port and the time-frequency resource in the ports, the port pattern of the t-th reference reference signal resource indicates the M t The ports in this K tThe reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference reference signal resource is used to estimate the reference channel according to the M t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate the K t The channel of the port.

[0282] Optionally, T is greater than 1, and any two of the T reference reference signal resources meet the following conditions: the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals is different, and / or the maximum number of ports supporting channel estimation is different.

[0283] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of the first reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources.

[0284] Optionally, the first CSI is a PMI corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result, and the channel estimation result indicates the channels of the k1 ports.

[0285] Optionally, the processing unit 920 is further configured to determine first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference reference signal resource based on an index of the m1 port in the M ports and an index of the k1 port in the K ports.

[0286] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate indexes of the k1 ports in the K ports, or an extraction rule for extracting the k1 ports from the K ports.

[0287] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate an index of the m1 ports in the M ports, or an extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

[0288] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is also used to receive a second reference signal on the first benchmark reference signal resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal of m2 ports, where the m2 ports come from m1 port, and m2 is a positive integer less than m1; the processing unit 920 is also used to determine a second CSI based on the second reference signal and the second channel estimation auxiliary information, where the second CSI corresponds to the channels of k2 ports; the second channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of k2 ports based on the channel measurement results of the m2 ports, where the k2 ports come from the k1 port, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2; the transceiver unit 910 is also used to send the second CSI.

[0289] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is also used to send capability information of the terminal, where the capability information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, the number of configured reference reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports extraction rules, whether the terminal pre-stores reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource patterns and port patterns corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each channel estimation related information supported by the terminal; the extraction rules are used to extract some or all of the ports from multiple ports.

[0290] A more detailed description of the transceiver unit 910 and the processing unit 920 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 , and is not repeated here.

[0291] Another possible design is that the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5. For example, the device 900 may correspond to the network device in Figure 4 or Figure 5.

[0292] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 910 is used to send a first reference signal on a first reference reference signal resource, where the first reference reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of up to M ports, and the reference signals of the M ports support channel estimation of a maximum of K ports, and the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports, where the m1 ports come from the M ports, m1 is less than M, M is less than or equal to K, and m1, M, and K are positive integers; the transceiver unit 910 is also used to receive first channel state information CSI, where the first CSI is obtained based on the first reference signal, where the first CSI corresponds to channels of k1 ports, where the k1 ports come from the K ports, and k1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K.

[0293] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to send first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following for each of the T reference reference signal resources: a resource pattern, a port pattern, a maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; wherein the t-th reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources is used to transmit a maximum of M t The reference signal transmitted through the t-th reference signal resource supports the maximum estimated K t The channel estimation of K ports t M is the maximum number of ports supported by the channel estimation of the t-th reference signal resource. t is less than or equal to K t A positive integer, t is a positive integer from 1 to T; the resource pattern of the t-th reference signal resource indicates the Mt The mapping relationship between the reference signal of each port and the time-frequency resource in the M ports, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference reference signal resource is used to t The channel measurement results of the ports estimate the K t The channel of the port.

[0294] Optionally, T is greater than 1, and at least two of the T reference reference signal resources meet the following conditions: the maximum number of ports for transmitting reference signals is different, and / or the maximum number of ports supporting channel estimation is different.

[0295] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to send second information, where the second information is used to indicate an identifier of the first reference reference signal resource among the T reference reference signal resources.

[0296] Optionally, the first CSI is a PMI corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result, and the channel estimation result indicates the channels of the k1 ports.

[0297] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to send third information, where the third information is used to indicate indexes of the k1 ports in the K ports, or an extraction rule for extracting the k1 ports from the K ports.

[0298] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to send fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate an index of the m1 ports in the M ports, or an extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

[0299] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is also used to send a second reference signal on the first benchmark reference signal resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal of m2 ports, where the m2 ports come from m1 ports, and m2 is a positive integer less than m1; the transceiver unit 910 is also used to receive a second CSI, where the second CSI is obtained based on the second reference signal, where the second CSI corresponds to a channel of k2 ports, where the k1 port comes from the k1 port, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2.

[0300] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is also used to receive capability information of the terminal, where the capability information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the terminal, the number of configured reference reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports extraction rules, whether the terminal pre-stores reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource patterns and port patterns corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each channel estimation related information supported by the terminal; the extraction rules are used to extract some or all of the ports from multiple ports.

[0301] A more detailed description of the transceiver unit 910 and the processing unit 920 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 , and is not repeated here.

[0302] It should be noted that the transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing module, or processing device. Optionally, the transceiver unit is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal or network device side in the above method. The device used to implement the receiving function in the communication module can be considered the receiving unit, and the device used to implement the sending function in the communication module can be considered the sending unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes the receiving unit and the sending unit.

[0303] It should also be noted that, in one possible design, the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit may be implemented through a virtual module. For example, the processing unit may be implemented through a software function unit or a virtual device, and the transceiver unit may be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. In another possible design, the processing unit or the transceiver unit may also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface that performs input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0304] The division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various examples of the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0305] Another communication device provided by the present application is shown in FIG10 , which includes a processor 1010. The processor 1010 can be used to execute computer programs or instructions in a memory to implement the steps performed by the terminal or the steps performed by the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG5 .

[0306] Optionally, the device 1000 further includes a communication interface 1030. The processor 1010 and the communication interface 1030 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication interface 1030 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the device 1000 further includes an antenna 1040, and the communication interface 1030 may implement the transceiver functions of the communication device 1000 via the antenna 1040.

[0307] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1020 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1010 or storing input data required by the processor 1010 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1010 runs instructions.

[0308] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the method shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5, the processor 1010 is used to perform the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit, and the communication interface 1030 is used to perform the functions of the above-mentioned receiving unit and / or transmitting unit. Whether the communication interface 1030 and the antenna 1040 are used for transmission or reception can be determined by whether they are used for transmission or reception in the scheme implemented by the communication device 1000.

[0309] When the communication device 1000 is a chip used in a terminal, the chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The chip of the terminal receives signals from other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the signals may be sent to the terminal by a network device; or the chip of the terminal sends signals to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the signals may be sent to the network device by the terminal.

[0310] When the communication device 1000 is a chip used in a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the network device receives signals from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the signals may be sent by a terminal to the network device; or the chip of the network device sends signals to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the signals may be sent by the network device to the terminal.

[0311] It is understood that when the communication device 1000 is a terminal or network device, the communication interface 1030 may be a transceiver, specifically including a transmitter and a receiver, where the transmitter is used to transmit signals and the receiver is used to receive signals. When the communication device 1000 is a chip used in a terminal or network device, the communication interface 1030 may be an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other type of communication interface, where the input circuit of the input / output circuit can be used for receiving, and the output interface can be used for transmitting.

[0312] It should be understood that in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG. 10 , the processor 1010 may correspond to the processing unit 920 in the above communication device 900 , and the communication interface 1030 and the antenna 1040 may correspond to the transceiver unit 910 in the above communication device 900 .

[0313] It should also be understood that the coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1010 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1020. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific connection media between the processor 1010 and the communication interface 1030, the memory 1020, and the communication interface 1030 and the antenna 1040.

[0314] Optionally, the processor 1010, the communication interface 1030, and the memory 1020 are interconnected via a bus. The bus may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.

[0315] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 11, the terminal 1100 can be applied to the system shown in Figure 1 to perform the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiment. As shown in the figure, the terminal 1100 includes a processor 1101 and a transceiver 1102. Optionally, the terminal 1100 also includes a memory 1103. Among them, the processor 1101, the transceiver 1102 and the memory 1103 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. The memory 1103 is used to store computer programs, and the processor 1101 is used to call and run the computer program from the memory 1103 to control the transceiver 1102 to send and receive signals. Optionally, the terminal 1100 may also include an antenna 1104 for sending the uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1102 through a wireless signal.

[0316] The processor 1101 and the memory 1103 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 1101 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 1103 to implement the aforementioned functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 1103 may also be integrated into the processor 1101 or independent of the processor 1101. The processor 1101 may correspond to the processing unit in FIG. 9 or the processor in FIG. 10 .

[0317] The transceiver 1102 may correspond to the transceiver unit in FIG. 9 or the communication interface in FIG. 10 , and may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. The transceiver 1102 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

[0318] It should be understood that terminal 1100 shown in FIG11 is capable of implementing the various terminal-related processes in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 or FIG5 . The operations and / or functions of the various modules in terminal 1100 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the aforementioned method embodiments; to avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0319] The processor 1101 can be used to execute the actions implemented by the terminal as described in the previous method embodiments, and the transceiver 1102 can be used to execute the actions of the terminal sending to or receiving from the network device as described in the previous method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the previous method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0320] Optionally, the terminal 1100 may further include a power supply 1105 for providing power to various devices or circuits within the terminal. In this embodiment of the present application, a rectifier may be connected between the power supply 1105 and the antenna 1104. After the electromagnetic wave signal is received by the antenna 1104 and converted into an alternating current signal, it may be further converted into a direct current signal by the rectifier and then output to the power supply 1105.

[0321] In addition, in order to make the functions of the terminal more complete, the terminal 1100 may also include one or more of an input unit 1106, a display unit 1107, an audio circuit 1108, a camera 1109 and a sensor 1110, and the audio circuit may also include a speaker 1108a, a microphone 1108b, etc.

[0322] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided by an example of the present application, for example, a base station. The base station 1200 shown in Figure 12 can be used in the system shown in Figure 1 to perform the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. As shown in the figure, the base station 1200 may include one or more of the following: one or more (DU+RU) units 1210 and one or more CUs 1220. The CU 1220 can communicate with the next generation core (NG core). The DU may include at least one antenna 1211, at least one radio frequency unit 1212, at least one processor 1213, and at least one memory 1214. The DU portion is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals, converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, and performing partial baseband processing. The CU 1220 may include at least one processor 1222 and at least one memory 1221. The CU 1220 and the DU can communicate via an interface. The control plane (CP) interface may be an Fs-C, such as F1-C, and the user plane (UP) interface may be an Fs-U, such as F1-U. The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the physical (PHY) layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions and RF functions in the PHY layer. The high-layer functions in the PHY layer may include a part of the functions of the PHY layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the PHY layer may include another part of the functions of the PHY layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0323] The CU 1220 is primarily used for baseband processing and base station control. The DU and CU 1220 may be physically located together or physically separated, i.e., a distributed base station. The CU 1220 is the control center of the base station and may correspond to the processing unit in FIG9 or the processor in FIG10 , and may also be referred to as a processing unit, primarily for performing baseband processing functions. For example, the CU 1220 may be used to control the base station to execute the operational procedures for the access network device in the above-described method embodiment.

[0324] Specifically, baseband processing on the CU and DU can be divided according to the protocol layers of the wireless network. For example, the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above are set in the CU, while the functions of the protocol layers below PDCP, such as the RLC layer and the MAC layer, are set in the DU. For another example, the CU implements the functions of the RRC layer and the PDCP layer, while the DU implements the functions of the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer.

[0325] In addition, optionally, the base station 1200 may include one or more radio frequency units (RUs), one or more DUs, and one or more CUs. The DU may include at least one processor 1213 and at least one memory 1214, the RU may include at least one antenna 1211 and at least one radio frequency unit 1212, and the CU may include at least one processor 1222 and at least one memory 1221.

[0326] In one example, the CU 1220 may be composed of one or more single boards, and the multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as a 5G network), or may respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 1221 and the processor 1222 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board. The DU may be composed of one or more single boards, and the multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as a 5G network), or may respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 1214 and the processor 1213 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board.

[0327] It should be understood that base station 1200 shown in Figure 12 is capable of implementing the various processes involving network devices in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4 or 5 . The operations and / or functions of the various modules in base station 1200 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments. For details, please refer to the descriptions in the aforementioned method embodiments; to avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0328] The BBU 1220 can be used to perform the actions implemented within the network device described in the previous method embodiments, while the RRU 12910 can be used to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments in which the network device sends or receives data to or from the terminal. For details, please refer to the description in the previous method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0329] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0330] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0331] The present application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned network device and terminal.

[0332] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when executed, enables a computer to execute the method executed by a terminal or the method executed by a network device in the embodiment shown in FIG4 or FIG5 .

[0333] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the computer executes the method executed by the terminal or the method executed by the network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5.

[0334] The terms "unit," "module," and the like used in this specification may be used to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.

[0335] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using 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. Professionals and technicians may 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. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices, equipment, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only 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 performed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0336] 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 the units may be selected to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0337] 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.

[0338] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it 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 (programs). When the computer program instructions (program) are loaded and 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., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0339] If this function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it 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 various embodiments 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 ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0340] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Receiving a first reference signal on a first reference signal resource for a reference signal of up to M ports, where the reference signal of the M ports supports channel estimation for up to K ports, the first reference signal being a reference signal of m1 ports, the m1 ports being from the M ports, m1 < M, M ≤ K, and m1, M, and K being positive integers; Determining first channel state information CSI according to the first reference signal and first channel estimation auxiliary information, the first CSI corresponding to the channels of k1 ports; wherein, the first channel estimation auxiliary information is determined according to the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource, the reference channel estimation auxiliary information being used to estimate the channels of the K ports according to the channel measurement results of the M ports, the first channel estimation auxiliary information being used to estimate the channels of the k1 ports according to the channel measurement results of the m1 ports, the k1 ports being from the K ports, and k1 being a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K; Transmitting the first CSI.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first reference signal resource is one of T reference signal resources; Before receiving the first reference signal on the first reference signal resource, the method further includes: Receiving first information for indicating one or more of the following for each of the T reference signal resources: resource pattern, port pattern, maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; Among them, the t-th reference signal resource among the T reference signal resources is used to transmit reference signals of at most M t ports. The reference signals transmitted through the t-th reference signal resource support channel estimation of up to K t ports. K t is the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the t-th reference signal resource, and M t is a positive integer less than or equal to K t . t is a positive integer from 1 to T. The resource pattern of the t-th reference signal resource indicates the mapping relationship between the reference signals of each of the M t ports and time-frequency resources. The port pattern of the t-th reference signal resource indicates the indices of the M t ports among the K t ports. The reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference signal resource is used to estimate the channels of the K t ports according to the channel measurement results of the M t ports.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein T > 1, and any two of the T reference signal resources satisfy: the maximum number of ports of the reference signal for transmission is different, and / or, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation is different.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Before receiving the first reference signal on the first reference signal resource, the method further includes: Receiving second information for indicating the identity of the first reference signal resource among the T reference signal resources.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first CSI is a precoding matrix indicator PMI corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result indicating the channels of the k1 ports.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information according to the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource includes: Determining the first channel estimation auxiliary information from the reference channel estimation auxiliary information corresponding to the first reference signal resource according to the indices of the m1 ports among the M ports and the indices of the k1 ports among the K ports.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving third information for indicating the indices of the k1 ports among the K ports.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving fourth information for indicating the indices of the m1 ports among the M ports or the extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second reference signal on the first reference signal resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal of m2 ports, and the m2 ports are from the m1 ports, and m2 is a positive integer less than or equal to m1; Determine a second CSI according to the second reference signal and second channel estimation auxiliary information, where the second CSI corresponds to the channels of k2 ports; the second channel estimation auxiliary information is used to estimate the channels of the k2 ports according to the channel measurement results of the m2 ports, and the k2 ports are from the k1 ports, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2; Transmit the second CSI.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Transmit the capability information of the terminal, where the capability information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal for channel estimation, the number of configured reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports the extraction rule, whether the terminal pre-stores the reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource pattern, and port pattern corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each piece of channel estimation-related information supported by the terminal; the extraction rule is used to extract some or all of the ports from multiple ports.

11. A communication method, characterized in that Includes: Transmit a first reference signal on a first reference signal resource, where the first reference signal resource is used to transmit reference signals of at most M ports, and the reference signals of the M ports support channel estimation of at most K ports, the first reference signal is a reference signal of m1 ports, the m1 ports are from the M ports, m1 is less than M, M is less than or equal to K, and m1, M, and K are positive integers; Receive a first channel state information CSI, where the first CSI is obtained based on the first reference signal, and the first CSI corresponds to the channels of k1 ports, and the k1 ports are from the K ports, and k1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to m1 and less than or equal to K.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first reference signal resource is one of T reference signal resources. Before transmitting the first reference signal on the first reference signal resource, the method further includes: Transmit first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following for each of the T reference signal resources: resource pattern, port pattern, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation, and reference channel estimation auxiliary information; Among them, the t-th reference signal resource among the T reference signal resources is used to transmit reference signals of at most M t ports. The reference signals transmitted through the t-th reference signal resource support channel estimation of up to K t ports. K t is the maximum number of ports for channel estimation supported by the t-th reference signal resource, and M t is a positive integer less than or equal to K t . t is a positive integer from 1 to T. The resource pattern of the t-th reference signal resource indicates the mapping relationship between the reference signals of each of the M t ports and the time-frequency resources. The reference channel estimation auxiliary information of the t-th reference signal resource is used to estimate the channels of the K t ports according to the channel measurement results of the M t ports.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that T is greater than 1, and at least two of the T reference signal resources satisfy: the maximum number of ports of the reference signals for transmission is different, and / or, the maximum number of ports supported for channel estimation is different.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein Before transmitting the first reference signal on the first reference signal resource, the method further includes: Transmit second information, where the second information is used to indicate the identifier of the first reference signal resource among the T reference signal resources.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that The first CSI is a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) corresponding to the channels of the k1 ports, or the first CSI is a channel estimation result, and the channel estimation result indicates the channels of the k1 ports.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: transmitting third information, where the third information is used to indicate the indices of the k1 ports among the K ports.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that The method further includes: transmitting fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate the indices of the m1 ports among the M ports, or the extraction rule for extracting the m1 ports from the M ports.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: transmitting a second reference signal on the first reference signal resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal of m2 ports, and the m2 ports are from the m1 ports, and m2 is a positive integer less than or equal to m1; receiving a second CSI, where the second CSI is obtained based on the second reference signal, and the second CSI corresponds to the channels of k2 ports, and the k2 ports are from the k1 ports, and k2 is a positive integer less than or equal to k1 and greater than or equal to m2.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that The method further includes: receiving the capability information of the terminal, where the capability information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the allowed value of the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal for channel estimation, the number of configured reference signal resources supported for each allowed value of the maximum number of ports for channel estimation, whether the terminal supports the extraction rule, whether the terminal pre-stores the reference channel estimation auxiliary information, resource pattern, and port pattern corresponding to each allowed value of the maximum number of ports, or the storage time of each piece of information related to channel estimation supported by the terminal; the extraction rule is used to extract some or all of the ports from multiple ports.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, including a module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or including a module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, including a processor and a communication interface, where the communication interface is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 through logic circuits or by executing code instructions, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 19 is executed.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that, including a computer program, and when the computer program is run, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 19 is executed.

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