Signal transmission method, communication apparatus, storage medium and program product

Abstract

Provided are a signal transmission method, a communication apparatus, a storage medium and a program product. The method comprises: receiving a PDCCH signal, wherein the PDCCH signal comprises a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH signal occupies M symbols, the PDCCH DMRS is carried on N symbols among the M symbols, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are included on the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, only the PDCCH data signal is included on the remaining (M-N) symbols, and the PDCCH data signal has a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, M being an integer greater than 1, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; and demodulating the PDCCH signal. Compared with an OFDM waveform, using a DFT-s-OFDM waveform to carry a PDCCH data signal is conducive to reducing a PAPR, thereby increasing transmit power and improving a coverage range.

Description

Signal transmission method, communication apparatus, storage medium and program product

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411323074.9 filed on September 20, 2024, and entitled "Signal transmission method, communication apparatus, storage medium and program product", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, in particular to a signal transmission method, a communication apparatus, a storage medium and a program product. BACKGROUND

[0003] A demodulation reference signal (DMRS) can be used for channel estimation of a physical channel, and demodulation of a data signal, etc. For example, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) signal includes a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, and the PDCCH signal can occupy one or more symbols. The PDCCH data signal may, for example, carry downlink control information (DCI), and the PDCCH DMRS may, for example, be used for channel estimation of the PDCCH.

[0004] The existing PDCCH signal design has the problem of low transmission power. Specifically, the existing PDCCH signal adopts an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform (or referred to as a "symbol"), and the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS carried thereby are frequency division multiplexed (FDM), i.e., the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS do not overlap. The OFDM waveform has a high peak to average power ratio (PAPR), resulting in a relatively large output backoff power of a power amplifier (PA), and thus a low transmission power. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a signal transmission method, a communication apparatus, a storage medium and a program product, so as to reduce the PAPR of the PDCCH signal, reduce the output backoff power of the PA, and thus improve the transmission power of the PDCCH signal and the coverage range.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a signal transmission method, which can be executed by a first communication device, for example, can be executed by the whole machine itself of the first communication device, or can be executed by a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the first communication device, or can be executed by a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the first communication device, and the present application does not limit this.

[0007] The first communication device may, for example, be a terminal, which may, for example, include but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), etc., and the present application does not limit the specific type of the terminal.

[0008] Exemplarily, the method comprises: receiving a PDCCH signal from a second communication device, the PDCCH signal comprising a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH signal occupying M symbols, the PDCCH DMRS being carried on N symbols of the M symbols, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and only the PDCCH data signal being included in the remaining (M-N) symbols, the PDCCH data signal having a discrete fourier transform spreading OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) waveform, wherein M is an integer greater than 1, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; and demodulating the PDCCH signal.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the PDCCH signal occupies M symbols, of which N symbols include the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and the remaining (M-N) symbols only carry the PDCCH data signal. When N is configured as N<M, both of the following aspects are beneficial to improving the spectral efficiency: the N symbols also carry the PDCCH data signal. When N is configured as N=M, that is, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed in each symbol, which is beneficial to improving the channel estimation performance. On the other hand, the PDCCH data signal is carried in a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, and the DFT-s-OFDM waveform is a kind of single-carrier-like waveform with low PAPR. Therefore, compared with the OFDM waveform, it is beneficial to reduce the PAPR, and thus reduce the output back-off power of the PA, so as to improve the PDCCH signal transmission power and improve the coverage range.

[0010] In the present application, the DFT can also be referred to as transform precoding or conversion precoding, and the present application does not make a specific limitation on the name thereof.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present application provides a signal transmission method, which can be executed by a second communication device, for example, can be executed by the whole machine itself of the second communication device, or can also be executed by a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the second communication device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the second communication device, and the present application does not make a limitation thereon.

[0012] For example, the second communication device can be a network device, for example, including but not limited to: an evolved node B (eNB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a satellite in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc., and the present application does not make a limitation on the specific type of the network device.

[0013] For example, the method comprises: generating a PDCCH signal, the PDCCH signal comprising a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH signal occupying M symbols, the PDCCH DMRS being carried on N symbols of the M symbols, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and only the PDCCH data signal being included in the remaining (M-N) symbols, the PDCCH data signal having a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, wherein M is an integer greater than 1, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; and sending the PDCCH signal to the first communication device.

[0014] In the technical solution, the PDCCH signal occupies M symbols, and the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are included in the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and the remaining (M-N) symbols only carry the PDCCH data signal. When N is configured as N

[0015] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, N

[0016] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the value of N and / or the position of the N symbols is indicated by the second communication device.

[0017] By indicating the value of N and / or the position of the N symbols by the second communication device, different channel environments can be applied. For example, different channel environments can have different requirements for the DMRS, for example, in a channel that changes rapidly over time, the value of N can be increased. By dynamically indicating the value of N and / or the position of the N symbols by the second communication device, transmission parameter adjustment can be performed according to the current channel environment, to improve data transmission efficiency and reliability. The value of N and / or the position of the N symbols can also be predefined, which is beneficial to saving signaling overhead.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH data signal corresponds to a user group, and the user group includes a plurality of users. In other words, the PDCCH data signal is common (for example, the PDCCH data signal is broadcasted), and corresponds to a group of users.

[0020] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, the PDCCH data signal includes a plurality (greater than or equal to 2) of first PDCCH data signals, and the plurality of first PDCCH data signals are multiplexed in one or more of the following manners: time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or code division multiplexing.

[0021] The plurality of first PDCCH data signals can be time division multiplexed, which is beneficial to reduce PAPR of the PDCCH signal and obtain channel frequency selectivity diversity gain corresponding to frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal. The plurality of first PDCCH data signals can also be frequency division multiplexed, and the plurality of first PDCCH data signals can be independently modulated and demodulated, which is beneficial to reduce complexity and reduce latency. The plurality of first PDCCH data signals can also be code division multiplexed, and the number of multiplexed first PDCCH data signals can be independent of a PDCCH DMRS mapping parameter, that is, code division multiplexing can support more first PDCCH data signals than time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing, and channel frequency selectivity diversity gain corresponding to frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal can be obtained.

[0022] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, the time division multiplexing is implemented before DFT.

[0023] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, the frequency division multiplexing is implemented based on an OCC, and the OCC is related to an interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0024] In a possible case, on the N symbols (that is, symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS), the frequency division multiplexing between the plurality of first PDCCH data signals is implemented based on an OCC, and each first PDCCH data signal corresponds to a specific OCC, that is, OCCs corresponding to any two first PDCCH data signals are different. The OCC is related to an interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, including: a length of the OCC is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; and the OCC cannot cause the first PDCCH data signal corresponding to the OCC to be a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the set of subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS can be determined based on the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. Thus, the OCC can be described in relation to the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0026] In another possible case, frequency division multiplexing between the first PDCCH data signals on the M-N symbols (i.e., the symbols not carrying the PDCCH DMRS) is implemented based on OCC, the first PDCCH data signals include A first PDCCH data signals, the first signal includes a first part and a second part, and the first signal is one of the first PDCCH data signals; the first part, the second part, and the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals other than the first signal are one-to-one corresponding to the OCCs; the OCCs are related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0027] The OCCs are related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, including that the length of the OCCs is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; the OCC corresponding to the first part makes the data signal corresponding to the first part a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, while the OCC corresponding to the second part makes the data signal corresponding to the second part a zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, and the remaining OCCs make the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals corresponding thereto zero signals at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; or the OCC corresponding to the first part makes the data signal corresponding to the first part a zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, while the OCC corresponding to the second part makes the data signal corresponding to the second part a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, and the remaining OCCs make the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals zero signals at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the set of subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS can be determined based on the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. Thus, the OCCs can be described in relation to the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0029] In some possible implementation manners, the code division multiplexing is implemented based on time domain OCC or frequency domain OCC.

[0030] In some possible implementation manners, each of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals is dedicated to one user.

[0031] In some possible implementation manners, at least one of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals is common to a user group including a plurality of users.

[0032] In some possible implementation manners, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals correspond to the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0033] In some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH DMRS occupies the same subcarriers in the N symbols. For example, when N is 3, the PDCCH DMRS occupies subcarriers with indexes 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, and the like in the three symbols.

[0034] In some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH DMRS occupies different subcarriers in at least two of the N symbols.

[0035] For example, when N is 3, the PDCCH DMRS occupies different subcarriers in the three symbols. For example, the PDCCH DMRS occupies subcarriers with indexes 1, 13, 25, and the like in the first symbol, subcarriers with indexes 5, 17, 29, and the like in the second symbol, and subcarriers with indexes 9, 21, 33, and the like in the third symbol. The above manner is beneficial to reducing the overhead of the DMRS while ensuring the tracking capability for the time-varying channel.

[0036] In some possible implementation manners, when the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication apparatus are continuous, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in the P subcarriers is equal in the N symbols. P is a positive integer. For example, P can be a positive integer greater than or equal to 6, which is not limited in the present application.

[0037] By uniformly placing the PDCCH DMRS on the N symbols, better channel estimation can be facilitated, and channel estimation performance can be improved.

[0038] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, the PDCCH signal received by the first communication apparatus occupies Q subcarriers, and an offset of a first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to a first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers is associated with a first parameter, where the first parameter is one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication apparatus, a cell identifier, a bandwidth part (BWP) identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index. The Q is a positive integer, and Q is greater than or equal to P.

[0039] By associating the offset of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers with the first parameter on the N symbols, it is possible to reduce the possibility that DMRSs corresponding to different PDCCHs are all allocated on the same subcarriers, and thus it is possible to reduce co-frequency interference.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the offset δ satisfies the following relationship: δ = X mod Δ, where X is calculated based on the first parameter, Δ represents an interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers, and mod represents a modulo operation.

[0041] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, when the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication apparatus are a plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks, an interval between any two adjacent frequency domain subblocks in the plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks is equal; and on the N symbols, each frequency domain subblock includes subcarriers for carrying PDCCH DMRS.

[0042] On symbols other than the N symbols in the M symbols, each frequency domain subblock includes only subcarriers for carrying PDCCH data signals, that is, each frequency domain subblock does not include subcarriers for carrying PDCCH DMRS.

[0043] On the N symbols, the plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks are placed at equal intervals, each frequency domain subblock in the plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks has an equal size, and the relative positions of the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock are fixed, which is equivalent to that the PDCCH DMRS is placed at equal intervals. In this way, better channel estimation can be facilitated, and channel estimation performance can be improved.

[0044] In some possible implementation manners, the index of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain sub-block over the N symbols is associated with a second parameter, the second parameter being one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication device, a cell identifier, a BWP identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

[0045] By associating the position of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain sub-block over the N symbols with the second parameter, it is helpful to reduce the possibility that DMRSs corresponding to different PDCCHs are all allocated on the same subcarrier, and thus to reduce co-frequency interference.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the index γ satisfies the following relationship: γ=YmodK, where Y is calculated based on the second parameter, K represents the number of subcarriers included in one frequency domain sub-block, and mod represents a modulo operation.

[0047] In some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH DMRS is generated based on a low PAPR sequence. By generating the PDCCH DMRS by using a low PAPR sequence, it is helpful to reduce the PAPR of the PDCCH signal, to reduce the output back-off power of the PA, to improve the transmission power, and to improve the coverage range.

[0048] In some possible implementation manners, the PDCCH DMRS is generated based on a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, and the Zadoff-Chu sequence is an example of a low PAPR sequence.

[0049] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, so that the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is implemented, or so that the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect is implemented. The device includes corresponding modules for performing the above method. The modules included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. The processor can be used to execute a computer program in a memory, so that the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is implemented, or so that the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect is implemented.

[0051] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive a signal from another communication apparatus other than the apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor, or send a signal from the processor to another communication apparatus other than the apparatus. For example, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or another type of communication interface.

[0052] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory. The memory is configured to store program instructions and data.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, and the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is performed, or the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect is performed.

[0054] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product includes: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), when the computer program is executed, the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is performed, or the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect is performed.

[0055] In a seventh aspect, a chip system is provided, and the chip system includes at least one processor, which is configured to support the functions in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or support the functions in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, for example, receiving or processing data involved in the method.

[0056] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is configured to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located in the processor or outside the processor.

[0057] The chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, and the communication system includes a first communication apparatus and a second communication apparatus, wherein the first communication apparatus is configured to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and the second communication apparatus is configured to implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0059] It should be understood that the third aspect to the eighth aspect of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect and the second aspect of the present application, and the beneficial effects obtained by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation manners are similar, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system suitable for the method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an amplitude modulation-amplitude modulation curve provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0062] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the flow of OFDM provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between PDCCH, control channel element (CCE) and resource element group (REG) provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0064] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement rule of REG index provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0065] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of the signal transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the frequency division multiplexing of PDCCH data signal and PDCCH DMRS with DFT-s-OFDM waveform provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of PDCCH DMRS occupying N symbols provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a frequency domain sub-block provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the time division multiplexing between multiple first PDCCH data signals on a symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the time division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals on a symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0071] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the frequency division multiplexing between multiple first PDCCH data signals on a symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the frequency division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals on a symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0073] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of frequency division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on OCC on symbols carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of frequency division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on OCC on symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of code division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on time domain OCC on symbols carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of code division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on time domain OCC on symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of code division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on frequency domain OCC on symbols carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of subcarriers occupied by PDCCH DMRS in the above N symbols according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG. 21 is another schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0082] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are first made:

[0083] First, to facilitate clear description of the technical solutions provided by the present application, in the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects are distinguished by using "first", "second", etc. For example, the first communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus are merely to distinguish different communication apparatuses, and do not limit the sequence. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution sequence, and "first", "second", etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0084] Secondly, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but does not rule out the case that the associated objects before and after it represent an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in combination with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0085] Thirdly, in the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, not limited to time, and also does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented. It also does not mean that there are other limitations.

[0086] Fourthly, in the present application, "B corresponding to A" or "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A. "Determining B according to A" does not mean that B is determined only according to A, but also can be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0087] Fifthly, in the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to the first communication device" can be understood as the destination of the information being the first communication device, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, or indirect transmission through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from the second communication device" can be understood as the source of the information being the second communication device, which can include direct reception from the second communication device through the air interface, or indirect reception from the second communication 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.

[0088] In other words, sending and receiving can be between communication devices, such as between the second communication device and the first communication device; or it can be within the communication device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the communication device through buses, wires or interfaces.

[0089] It can be understood that the information can be processed as necessary before being sent by the source end to the destination end, such as encoding, modulation, etc., and the destination end can also perform corresponding processing after receiving the information from the source end, such as decoding, demodulation, etc., so as to interpret the effective information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0090] Sixth, the scheme provided by the application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: NTN communication system, internet of things (IoT) system, device to device (D2D) communication system, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system, machine to machine (M2M) communication system, machine type communication (MTC) system, LTE system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), 5G mobile communication system, new radio (NR) system or future communication system, etc.

[0091] Seventh, in this application, the network device can be a device capable of communicating with the terminal, or a device providing a wireless communication function service. The network device can also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device or an access network device. The radio access network device includes but is not limited to: eNB in the LTE system, radio network controller (RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), home evolved NodeB (or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), transmission reception point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), base transceiver station (BTS), etc., gNB in the 5G communication system, base station in the future communication system, access node in the wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, etc. The network device can also be a wireless controller in the cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a satellite in the NTN, and a network device in the future evolution network, etc.

[0092] In a network structure, the radio access network device can be assisted by multiple RAN nodes to implement wireless access for the terminal, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or 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 a radio frequency unit, such as a radio frequency remote unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0093] The wireless access network device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors; can also be deployed in the air, such as on an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, and the like.

[0094] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the wireless access network can be a wireless access network device; can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the wireless access network device to implement the corresponding functions, such as a chip system, a communication module, or a modem, and the like, which can be installed in the wireless access network device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the wireless access network device.

[0095] Eighthly, in the present application, the terminal can be a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), and the like, which can be an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals, such as a mobile phone. The terminal includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a computing device with wireless communication function. Exemplarily, the terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiving function. The terminal can also be a wireless terminal in VR, AR, industrial control, unmanned driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart city, smart home, and the like. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as D2D communication, V2X communication, MTC, IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, and the like.

[0096] The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water, such as on a ship, and the like; can also be deployed in the air, such as on an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, and the like.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the terminal can be a terminal; can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal to implement the functions, such as a chip system, or a communication module, or a modem, and the like, which can be installed in the terminal. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The present application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0098] To make the signal transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application easy to understand, the system architecture of the signal transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below. It can be understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0099] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system can include at least one network device, such as the network device 111, the network device 112, and the network device 113 shown in FIG. 1. The communication system can also include at least one terminal, such as the terminal 121, the terminal 122, the terminal 123, the terminal 124, the terminal 125, the terminal 126, and the terminal 127 shown in FIG. 1.

[0101] Communication can be performed between the network devices and the terminals. An example is the multi-site transmission shown in FIG. 1, such as the network device 112 and the network device 113 can communicate with the terminal 124. Another example is the eMBB transmission shown in FIG. 1, such as the network device 112 can communicate with the terminal 121, the terminal 122, and the terminal 123.

[0102] Communication can also be performed between the network devices, such as the backhaul shown in FIG. 1, such as the network device 111 can communicate with the network device 112 and the network device 113.

[0103] Communication can also be performed between the terminals, such as the D2D transmission shown in FIG. 1, such as the terminal 122 can communicate with the terminal 125.

[0104] It should be understood that the above-mentioned FIG. 1 is only an example, and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. For example, more or fewer network devices can be included in the communication system shown in FIG. 1, and the corresponding terminals under each network device can also be other numbers.

[0105] The signal transmission method described below in the present application can be applicable to the transmission between the network devices and the terminals, such as the first communication apparatus can be a terminal and the second communication apparatus can be a network device.

[0106] In order to better understand the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application will be briefly described below.

[0107] 1、PA: The signal will pass through the PA to improve the signal power before being transmitted through the antenna. The amplitude modulation (AM)-AM and AM-phase modulation (PM) of the PA can describe the PA behavior.

[0108] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the amplitude modulation-amplitude modulation curve provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0109] As shown in Figure 2, the units of input power and output power are decibel relative to one milliwatt (dBm), and the output power of the PA can be a function of the input power. The PA has a linear operating region (such as the linear region in the figure), in which the output power of the PA increases linearly with the input power, which can also be understood as the PA gain (i.e. the ratio of the PA output power and the input power) remaining unchanged, or the AM-AM curve slope remaining unchanged. With the continuous increase of the input power, the PA enters the nonlinear region, and the output power no longer increases linearly with the input power, the gain is compressed, or the AM-AM curve slope decreases. When the saturation output power is reached, that is, the output power no longer increases with the increase of the input power, the slope is 0.

[0110] The influence of this nonlinear characteristic of the PA on the transmitted signal is manifested as in-band distortion and out-of-band distortion. The in-band distortion mainly manifests as the distortion of the signal in amplitude and phase, which deteriorates the signal demodulation / detection performance. The out-of-band distortion mainly manifests as signal spectrum expansion / regeneration, which will increase the interference to the adjacent channel users. In order to reduce the influence of the PA nonlinearity, the power of the input signal can be appropriately reduced, which can be called input backoff (IBO) or output backoff (OBO), so that the PA works as much as possible in the linear region.

[0111] 2、PAPR: Refers to the ratio of peak power to average power. For a signal x(t), the peak power of the signal in a certain time interval (such as t0 to t1) is and the average power is The PAPR can be expressed as: The unit is decibel (dB).

[0112] The communication signal (such as an OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM signal) is a random signal, the average power of which can be regarded as a fixed value, and the peak power is indeed a random variable. Therefore, the PAPR is also a random variable. In statistics, the value of a random signal at a certain time is often described by a probability density function. Therefore, in the communication industry, the PAPR can be described by a complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) curve: the probability that the instantaneous power exceeds the average power xxdB is y, or the proportion of time that the instantaneous power exceeds the average power xxdB in the total time is y. For example, it can be expressed by the following formula:

[0113] Where p(·) represents the probability. The higher the PAPR of the PA input signal x(t), the greater the range of input power fluctuation, and the more power value needs to be backed off to ensure that the signal is in the linear region. Correspondingly, the lower the PAPR of the PA input signal x(t), the less power value needs to be backed off, the greater the transmit power, and the greater the coverage range.

[0114] 3. OFDM: a multicarrier modulation technology widely used in wireless communication systems, the process of which mainly includes multiple steps such as serial-to-parallel (S / P) conversion, subcarrier mapping (also known as subcarrier modulation), subcarrier inverse mapping (also known as subcarrier demodulation), parallel-to-serial conversion, and cyclic prefix (CP) addition. The process of OFDM will be explained in detail below in conjunction with FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the process of OFDM according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0115] First, the process of the sending end will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, at the sending end, the serial-to-parallel (S / P) conversion module is used to convert M consecutive data S(kM), S(kM+1), …, S(kM+M-1) into an M-dimensional data block S k = [S(kM), S(kM+1), …, S(kM+M-1)] T , where the subscript k represents the OFDM symbol index, [■] T represents transposition.

[0116] The subcarrier mapping module is used to modulate the M data carried by S k onto N sc subcarriers of the N subcarriers, where N sc =M, and the remaining (N-N sc) subcarriers can be understood as being modulated by data 0. It can be understood that after subcarrier mapping, an N-dimensional data vector X k is obtained, where N represents the number of points of inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT) transformation.

[0117] N sc may represent the number of subcarriers within a transmission bandwidth. In the foregoing, N sc =M. It should be understood that N sc may also be greater than M. For example, a sequence S k of length M can be expanded in sequence, and it is assumed that the length of the expanded sequence is equal to N sc , at which time N sc ≥M.

[0118] In the present application, S k may include modulation symbols and / or redundant signal sampling points. The modulation symbols can be modulation symbols obtained by modulating a (coded) bit stream. The modulation method can include pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), phase shift keying (PSK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), or amplitude phase shift keying (APSK), etc.

[0119] The redundant signal sampling points can include phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) sampling points, DMRS, tone reservation signals, etc.

[0120] The N-point IDFT module is used to convert the above N-dimensional data vector X k into a group of N complex time domain sampling points x k =[x k (0), x k (1), …, x k (N-1)]. Wherein, n=0, 1, …, N-1. Wherein, X k (n') represents the output of the subcarrier mapping module, n'=0, 1, …, N-1, e represents Euler's constant, j represents the imaginary unit, and j 2 =-1. Exemplarily, the subcarrier mapping rule is as follows:

[0121] n0 is an integer, S k (l) is S kthe lth element of x, l = 0, 1, …, N sc -1.

[0122] Optionally, in the present application, when the transform point number N satisfies a preset condition, such as N being a power of 2, 3, 5, the IDFT can also be implemented by an efficient inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT). Correspondingly, the DFT can also be implemented by a fast fourier transform (FFT). In the present application, IDFT and IFFT can be interchangeable, and DFT and FFT can be interchangeable.

[0123] The CP adding module is configured to insert a guard interval at the start position of an OFDM symbol, so as to reduce inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by multipath propagation (a propagation phenomenon in which a radio signal reaches a receiving end through two or more paths). For example, the guard interval is obtained by adding a CP at the start position of an OFDM symbol. One possible implementation is to copy the last G sampling points of x k and attach them at the start position of x k , to obtain a time-domain OFDM signal Therefore, one OFDM symbol contains valid data x k and a cyclic prefix (which can be regarded as redundant data).

[0124] The digital-to-analog converter (DAC) module is configured to convert a digital signal into an analog signal.

[0125] The sending end sends a signal through a channel, and correspondingly, the receiving end receives the signal. The process of the receiving end will be described in detail below.

[0126] At the receiving end, the OFDM signal is demodulated by inverse processing. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) module is configured to convert an analog signal into a digital signal. The CP removing module is configured to remove the first G sampling points in the received signal, and after removing the CP, a data block containing N sampling points without ISI is obtained. After removing the cyclic prefix, the received time-domain signal can be expressed as a cyclic convolution of the OFDM symbol x k and the channel impulse response.

[0127] The N-point DFT module is configured to convert the cyclic convolution into frequency-domain point multiplication, and then utilize frequency-domain single-tap equalization to complete channel equalization.

[0128] The subcarrier inverse mapping module is configured to restore the modulation information carried on the equalized subcarriers into an original bit stream.

[0129] In FIG. 3, the steps shown in the dashed box can be referred to as DFT-s-OFDM. DFT-s-OFDM defines a data block s k That is, an additional DFT process is added before the OFDM processing process, that is, an M-point DFT operation is performed on each data block s k containing M data, to obtain S k Through this operation, x k has a DFT-s-OFDM waveform. The DFT-s-OFDM waveform can be regarded as a kind of single-carrier waveform, and the PAPR is smaller than that of the OFDM waveform. Thus, using the DFT-s-OFDM waveform can reduce the output back-off power, improve the transmission power, and improve the coverage.

[0130] s k may include modulation symbols and / or redundant signal sampling points. The modulation symbols can be modulation symbols obtained by modulating a (coded) bit stream. The modulation method can include PAM, PSK, QAM, offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM), or APSK, etc.

[0131] The redundant signal sampling points can include PTRS sampling points, unique words, or zeros, etc.

[0132] 4, binary phase shift keying (BPSK) (π / 2-BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), and QAM: QSPK can also be referred to as 4QAM.

[0133] For example, the BPSK modulation mapper can map the i th bit b(i) to the i th BPSK symbol d(i) according to the following formula:

[0134] For example, the π / 2-BPSK modulation mapper can map the i th bit b(i) to the i th π / 2-BPSK symbol d(i) according to the following formula:

[0135] where mod denotes a modulo operation. As can be seen from the above equation, there is only a 90-degree phase jump between two adjacent π / 2-BPSK symbols in a π / 2-BPSK symbol sequence, for example, if the current symbol is 0 degree, the next symbol can only be 90 degrees or 270 degrees (phase jump 90 degrees); if the current symbol is 180 degrees, the next symbol can only be 270 degrees or 90 degrees (phase jump 90 degrees).

[0136] Another example, a QPSK modulation mapper can map two consecutive bits into one QPSK symbol, and the mapping is as follows:

[0137] where b(2i) and b(2i+1) represent the 2i-th and 2i+1-th bits respectively, and d(i) represents the i-th QPSK symbol.

[0138] Yet another example, a 16QAM modulation mapper can map four consecutive bits into one 16QAM symbol, and the mapping is as follows:

[0139] where b(4i), b(4i+1), b(4i+2) and b(4i+3) represent the 4i-th, 4i+1-th, 4i+2-th and 4i+3-th bits respectively, and d(i) represents the i-th 16QAM symbol.

[0140] It should be understood that in future communication systems, bit mapping schemes such as π / 2-BPSK, QSPK and QAM can also be implemented in other ways, and the present application does not limit the specific mapping scheme.

[0141] 5、Resource Element (RE), Resource Block (RB) and REG are units used to describe the allocation of wireless resources.

[0142] where RE is the smallest resource unit, representing the combination of one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain.

[0143] One RB contains a plurality of frequency-domain continuous subcarriers. In NR, one RB contains 12 subcarriers.

[0144] REG is usually used for resource allocation of PDCCH. In 5G NR, one REG represents the combination of one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one RB in the frequency domain.

[0145] 6、PDCCH: a channel used for transmitting DCI. The DCI mainly includes physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission resource scheduling information, and can also include power control commands, time slot format indications, etc. The PDCCH will be explained in detail below in combination with FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

[0146] A PDCCH is transmitted on several consecutive CCEs or several CCEs are aggregated into a PDCCH, and the number of CCEs aggregated into the PDCCH is the aggregation level (AL). The aggregation level supported in NR is 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. The network can dynamically configure the size of the aggregation level. For example, when transmitting a PDCCH signal, the specific AL can be determined according to the actual wireless channel environment. When the wireless channel environment is relatively poor, a large aggregation level can obtain better demodulation performance. When the wireless channel environment is good, a small aggregation level is used.

[0147] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the PDCCH, CCE, and REG provided by the embodiments of the present application. In FIG. 4, the PDCCH includes two CCEs as an example.

[0148] As shown in a) of FIG. 4, a PDCCH includes two CCEs, and a CCE includes six REGs. As shown in b) of FIG. 4, a REG occupies one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one RB in the frequency domain, or in other words, a REG includes 12 REs (located in the same symbol and occupying 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain). Of the 12 REs, three REs are used to carry DMRS, and the remaining nine REs are used to carry data signals (such as DCI).

[0149] The number of OFDM symbols occupied by the PDCCH can be indicated by the indication in the control resource set (CORESET). The number of RBs occupied by the PDCCH can be indicated by the indication in the CORESET.

[0150] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement rule of the REG index provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0151] As shown in a) of FIG. 5, when the PDCCH includes two CCEs, the REG index of the PDCCH is arranged as shown in the figure. When (i.e., when the PDCCH occupies one OFDM symbol in the time domain), the indexes of the REGs are arranged from low to high in the frequency domain, starting from 0; as shown in b) of FIG. 5, when the PDCCH occupies multiple OFDM symbols in the time domain (for example, the PDCCH occupies 2 OFDM symbols in the time domain in the figure), the indexes of the REGs are arranged in the order of time domain first and then frequency domain.

[0152] It can be understood that, in the following embodiments, mainly related to M is an integer greater than 1 (i.e., a multi-symbol PDCCH, or in other words, the PDCCH occupies multiple symbols in the time domain).

[0153] 7、DMRS: can be used for channel estimation. Except for the random access channel (PRACH), other NR physical channels have accompanying DMRS distributed in their respective resources. For example, PDCCH DMRS, PDSCH DMRS or PUSCH DMRS, etc. For example, the PDCCH DMRS can be used for channel estimation of the PDCCH.

[0154] The PDCCH signal includes a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS. The existing PDCCH signal design has the problem of low transmission power. Specifically, the existing PDCCH signal adopts an OFDM waveform (or referred to as a "symbol"), and the carried PDCCH data signal and PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed, that is, the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS do not overlap. The OFDM waveform has a relatively high PAPR, resulting in a relatively large output backoff power of the PA, and thus a relatively low transmission power.

[0155] Therefore, the signal transmission method provided by the present application is provided. The PDCCH signal occupies M (M is an integer greater than 1) symbols, and the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are included in the form of frequency division multiplexing on N symbols, and the remaining (M-N) symbols only carry the PDCCH data signal. When N is configured as N

[0156] The signal transmission method provided by the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following describes the method by way of an example of interaction between a network device and a terminal, without constituting any limitation on the present application. The network device can be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. The terminal can be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal. The network device is an example of a second communication apparatus, and the terminal is an example of a first communication apparatus.

[0157] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 shown in FIG. 6 includes steps 610 to 630. Each step in the method 600 will be described in detail below.

[0158] In step 610, the network device generates a PDCCH signal including a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal having a DFT-s-OFDM waveform.

[0159] The PDCCH signal occupies M (M is an integer greater than 1) symbols, N (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M) of the M symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and only the PDCCH data signal being included in the remaining (M-N) symbols. In the present application, the symbol may, for example, be a DFT-s-OFDM symbol (or simply an OFDM symbol).

[0160] When N<M, the N symbols also carry the PDCCH data signal while the (M-N) symbols carry the PDCCH data signal, which is beneficial to improving the spectral efficiency. When N=M, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed in each symbol, which is beneficial to improving the channel estimation performance.

[0161] The PDCCH signal refers to a signal transmitted on the PDCCH. The PDCCH data signal carries DCI, for example. The PDCCH DMRS can be used for channel estimation of the PDCCH. In the case where the PDCCH data signal has a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS can be included in a frequency division multiplexing manner. In this case, the data signal FDMed with the PDCCH DMRS is obtained by performing DFT on the data carried by the PDCCH data signal. The DFT can also be referred to as transform precoding or conversion precoding. The present application does not limit the name of the DFT.

[0162] Optionally, the PDCCH DMRS can be generated based on a low PAPR sequence. For example, the PDCCH DMRS can be generated based on a Zadoff-Chu sequence, which is an example of a low PAPR sequence. However, the present application does not limit the PDCCH DMRS to the Zadoff-Chu sequence. The PDCCH DMRS can also use other low PAPR sequences.

[0163] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of frequency division multiplexing of a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS with a DFT-s-OFDM waveform according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0164] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the data signal FDMed with the PDCCH DMRS is obtained by performing DFT on the data carried by the PDCCH data signal before subcarrier mapping, thereby realizing a DFT-s-OFDM waveform of the PDCCH data signal.

[0165] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a PDCCH DMRS occupying N symbols according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 8, each box represents an RE, i.e., each box represents a symbol in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain. In addition, in FIG. 8, the PDCCH signal occupies 3 symbols (i.e., 3 subframes), for example, but the present application does not limit the number of symbols occupied by the PDCCH signal. For example, the PDCCH signal can occupy more or fewer symbols. In FIG. 8, a) shows that the PDCCH DMRS occupies all of the 3 symbols, and b) shows that the PDCCH DMRS occupies part of the 3 symbols (2 symbols, for example).

[0166] As shown in a) of FIG. 8, the first, second and third symbols all carry PDCCH DMRS, that is, on the three symbols, PDCCH data signals and PDCCH DMRS are both included, and the PDCCH data signals and PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed on the three symbols.

[0167] As shown in b) of FIG. 8, only the first and third symbols carry PDCCH DMRS. It should be understood that b) of FIG. 8 is only an example and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. For example, when , only the first and second symbols can carry PDCCH DMRS, or only the second and third symbols can carry PDCCH DMRS. For another example, when , only the first symbol carries PDCCH DMRS, or only the second symbol carries PDCCH DMRS, or only the third symbol carries PDCCH DMRS. On the symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signals are frequency division multiplexed.

[0168] The PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signals are frequency division multiplexed, which can also be understood as the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signals do not overlap. For example, on the symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS, an example of frequency division multiplexing of PDCCH DMRS and PDCCH data signals is shown in b) of FIG. 4, part of the 12 REs (such as REs with indexes 1, 5, 9) are used to carry PDCCH DMRS, and the other part is used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0169] In step 620, the network device sends a PDCCH signal, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the PDCCH signal.

[0170] For example, the network device sends a PDCCH signal on a PDCCH, and the PDCCH signal includes PDCCH data signals and PDCCH DMRS, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the PDCCH signal.

[0171] In step 630, the terminal demodulates the PDCCH signal.

[0172] For example, after receiving the PDCCH signal, the terminal demodulates the PDCCH signal.

[0173] In the technical solution, the PDCCH signal occupies M symbols, and the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are included in the N symbols in a frequency division multiplexing manner, and the remaining (M-N) symbols only carry the PDCCH data signal. When N is configured as N

[0174] A possible design of the N symbols is that N For example, M=4 and N=2, the first and third symbols can carry the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signal; or the second and fourth symbols can carry the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signal, or the first and fourth symbols can carry the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signal, which is beneficial to capture the change of the channel over time and improve the channel estimation performance. Among them, the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signal can be frequency division multiplexed on the N symbols. The (M-N) symbols can only include the PDCCH data signal.

[0175] The distribution of the PDCCH DMRS on the N symbols will be explained in detail below.

[0176] It can be understood that a possible design of the PDCCH signal received by the terminal is that the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is continuous, or in other words, the REG to CCE mapping mode on the PDCCH is non-interleaved mapping, that is, the REG is sequentially mapped to the CCE without interleaving; another possible design is that the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is discontinuous, or in other words, the REG to CCE mapping mode on the PDCCH is interleaved mapping. The distribution of the PDCCH DMRS in the above two possible designs will be explained in detail below.

[0177] Design 1: The frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH received by the terminal is continuous.

[0178] On the N symbols, it is assumed that the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS include P subcarriers. P is a positive integer, and P can be, for example, a positive integer greater than or equal to 6. The present application does not limit the value of P.

[0179] On the N symbols, for the P subcarriers, one possible design is that the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers is equal, that is, the PDCCH DMRS is uniformly distributed in the frequency domain resources (that is, the PDCCH DMRS is uniformly placed), or that there is a subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS every fixed number of subcarriers. The interval between the two adjacent subcarriers can be considered as the difference between the indexes of the two adjacent subcarriers. In addition, the subcarriers other than the P subcarriers in a carrier can be used to carry the PDCCH data signal. It can be seen that, assuming that the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers is Δ, or that there is a subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS every (Δ-1) subcarriers, the overhead of the PDCCH DMRS is 1 / Δ.

[0180] In FIG. 8, taking Δ=4 as an example, that is, on the N symbols, there is a subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS every three subcarriers.

[0181] As shown in a) of FIG. 8 and b) of FIG. 8, on the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, there is a subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS every three subcarriers, or the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in at least one subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS is 4. For example, on the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the indexes of the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS are 1, 5, and 9 (the subcarriers are numbered from 0), and the remaining REs are used to carry the PDCCH data signal.

[0182] In the present application, carrying the PDCCH DMRS and carrying the PDCCH DMRS expressed by the PDCCH DMRS have the same meaning and can be replaced; similarly, not carrying the PDCCH DMRS and not carrying the PDCCH DMRS have the same meaning and can be replaced.

[0183] It should be understood that, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH DMRS includes P subcarriers, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers is equal, then the index λ of each subcarrier in the P subcarriers can be obtained according to the following formula: λ = δ + a Δ, wherein δ represents the offset of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q (Q is a positive integer, Q is greater than or equal to P) subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH, Δ represents the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers, and a takes the value of 0, 1,..., P-1. Assuming that the subcarriers are numbered from 0, the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH can also be regarded as subcarrier 0 in the Q subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH. Taking P = 3, Δ = 4, and δ = 1 as an example (see FIG. 8), the indexes of the three subcarriers are 1 + 0 x 4 = 1, 1 + 1 x 4 = 5, and 1 + 2 x 4 = 9, respectively.

[0184] On the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the offset δ of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers, one possible implementation is that the offset δ of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers is related to a first parameter, the first parameter is one or more of the following: a terminal identifier, a cell identifier, a BWP identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index. Wherein, the terminal is an example of the first communication device.

[0185] An example, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the offset δ of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers is related to the terminal identifier. For example, in the same cell, the terminal identifiers of user 1 and user 2 are different, then the positions of the first subcarriers in at least one subcarrier occupied by the corresponding PDCCH DMRS of user 1 and user 2 can be different.

[0186] Another example, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the offset δ of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers is related to the cell identifier. For example, the cell identifiers of cell 1 and cell 2 are different, then the positions of the first subcarriers in at least one subcarrier occupied by the corresponding PDCCH DMRS of cell 1 and cell 2 can be different.

[0187] Another example is that, on a symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS, the offset δ of the first subcarrier among the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier among the Q subcarriers is related to the terminal identifier and the cell identifier. For instance, if User 1 and User 2 have different terminal identifiers and different cell identifiers, then the position of the first subcarrier in at least one subcarrier occupied by their corresponding PDCCH DMRS may be different. These will not be listed individually here.

[0188] The offset δ of the first subcarrier among the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier among the Q subcarriers is related to the first parameter. One possible design is that the offset δ satisfies the following relationship: δ = X mod Δ, where X is calculated based on the first parameter, Δ represents the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers among the P subcarriers, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0189] for example, in This refers to the signage indicating the residential area. For example,

[0190] Here, c(i) represents a pseudo-random sequence, such as a gold sequence or a longest linear shift register sequence (also known as an m-sequence). When considering the common PDCCH, the initial value of the pseudo-random sequence is c. init It can be When considering a dedicated PDCCH, c init It can be used as a terminal identifier. This indicates the number of OFDM symbols contained in a slot. This indicates that the subcarrier spacing is 15.2 μ The intra-slot index at kilohertz (kHz), where μ is a non-negative integer. l represents the symbol index of the PDCCH symbol within a slot.

[0191] It is understood that the formula satisfied by the above offset δ is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of this application. For example, simple variations based on the above formula should also fall within the protection scope of this application, such as δ=XmodΔ+L, where L is a positive integer.

[0192] Design 2: The frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the above terminal are discontinuous.

[0193] As an example but not limitation, the PDCCH signal received by the terminal occupies a plurality of non-continuous frequency domain sub-blocks, the interval between any two adjacent frequency domain sub-blocks in the plurality of non-continuous frequency domain sub-blocks is equal, and in the N symbols (i.e. the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS), each frequency domain sub-block includes subcarriers for carrying the PDCCH DMRS, and the subcarriers in each frequency domain sub-block except the subcarriers for carrying the PDCCH DMRS can be used for carrying the PDCCH data signal. For example, in the N symbols, each frequency domain sub-block includes K subcarriers, K1 (K1 is less than or equal to K) subcarriers are used for carrying the PDCCH DMRS, and the remaining (K-K1) subcarriers are used for carrying the PDCCH data signal.

[0194] In the M symbols except the N symbols, each frequency domain sub-block only includes subcarriers for carrying the PDCCH data signal, i.e. each frequency domain sub-block does not include subcarriers for carrying the PDCCH DMRS.

[0195] It can be understood that the interval between any two adjacent frequency domain sub-blocks in the plurality of non-continuous frequency domain sub-blocks is equal, and in the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, if the frequency domain sub-block size is also equal (or the number of subcarriers included in each frequency domain sub-block is equal), and the relative position of the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain sub-block is the same, then the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS is equal. In each frequency domain sub-block, the position of the subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS relative to the first subcarrier in the frequency domain sub-block can be fixed, such as in each frequency domain sub-block, the PDCCH DMRS occupies the first subcarrier in the frequency domain sub-block.

[0196] The interval between any two adjacent frequency domain sub-blocks in the plurality of non-continuous frequency domain sub-blocks can be considered as the interval between the subcarriers with the same position in the two adjacent frequency domain sub-blocks.

[0197] The distribution of the frequency domain sub-blocks and the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the PDCCH data signal in each frequency domain sub-block will be explained in detail below in combination with FIG. 9.

[0198] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the frequency domain sub-blocks provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0199] In FIG. 9, each frequency domain sub-block includes 2 sub-carriers and 3 sub-carriers as an example, FIG. 9a) and FIG. 9b) show the case that each frequency domain sub-block includes 2 sub-carriers, and FIG. 9c), FIG. 9d), FIG. 9e) and FIG. 9f) show the case that each frequency domain sub-block includes 3 sub-carriers. It can be understood that FIG. 9a) to FIG. 9e) show the distribution of frequency domain sub-blocks on the symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS and the case that PDCCH DMRS and PDCCH data signals occupy sub-carriers in each frequency domain sub-block, and FIG. 9f) shows the case that PDCCH data signals occupy sub-carriers in each frequency domain sub-block on the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS.

[0200] As shown in FIG. 9a), each frequency domain sub-block includes 2 sub-carriers, the 0th sub-carrier in each frequency domain sub-block is used to carry PDCCH data signals, and the 1st sub-carrier is used to carry PDCCH DMRS. The interval between the 0th sub-carrier in the first frequency domain sub-block and the 0th sub-carrier in the second frequency domain sub-block can be considered as the interval between the adjacent two frequency domain sub-blocks. Similarly, the interval between the 1st sub-carrier in the first frequency domain sub-block and the 1st sub-carrier in the second frequency domain sub-block can be considered as the interval between the adjacent two frequency domain sub-blocks.

[0201] As shown in FIG. 9b), each frequency domain sub-block includes 2 sub-carriers, the 0th sub-carrier in each frequency domain sub-block is used to carry PDCCH DMRS, and the 1st sub-carrier is used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0202] As shown in FIG. 9c), each frequency domain sub-block includes 3 sub-carriers, the 0th sub-carrier in each frequency domain sub-block is used to carry PDCCH DMRS, and the 1st sub-carrier and the 2nd sub-carrier are used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0203] As shown in FIG. 9d), each frequency domain sub-block includes 3 sub-carriers, the 1st sub-carrier in each frequency domain sub-block is used to carry PDCCH DMRS, and the 0th sub-carrier and the 2nd sub-carrier are used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0204] As shown in FIG. 9e), each frequency domain sub-block includes 3 sub-carriers, the 2nd sub-carrier in each frequency domain sub-block is used to carry PDCCH DMRS, and the 0th sub-carrier and the 1st sub-carrier are used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0205] As shown in FIG. 9f), each frequency domain sub-block includes 3 sub-carriers, all the sub-carriers in each frequency domain sub-block are used to carry PDCCH data signals.

[0206] It should be understood that the above takes an example that the PDCCH DMRS occupies one subcarrier in each frequency domain subblock, but this should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. For example, the PDCCH DMRS can also occupy more subcarriers in each frequency domain subblock.

[0207] On the N symbols, the position of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock can adopt the following design: the index γ of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to a second parameter, which is one or more of the following: a terminal identifier, a cell identifier, a BWP identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

[0208] An example, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the index γ of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to the terminal identifier. For example, in the same cell, the terminal identifiers of user 1 and user 2 are different, so the index of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS corresponding to user 1 and user 2 in each frequency domain subblock can be different.

[0209] Another example, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the index γ of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to the cell identifier. For example, the cell identifiers of cell 1 and cell 2 are different, so the index of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS corresponding to cell 1 and cell 2 in each frequency domain subblock can be different.

[0210] Still another example, on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the index γ of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to the terminal identifier and the cell identifier. For example, the terminal identifiers of user 1 and user 2 are different, and the cell identifiers are also different, so the index of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS corresponding to user 1 and user 2 in each frequency domain subblock can be different. Here, it is not listed one by one.

[0211] Optionally, the index γ of the first subcarrier of the at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock satisfies the following relationship: γ = Y mod K, where Y is calculated based on the second parameter, K represents the number of subcarriers included in one frequency domain subblock, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0212] The process of calculating Y based on the second parameter can refer to the process of calculating X based on the first parameter, which will not be described in detail here.

[0213] It can be understood that the above formula satisfied by γ is only an example, and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. For example, based on a simple transformation of the above formula, it should also fall within the protection scope of the present application, such as γ = Y mod K + H, H is a positive integer.

[0214] When some of the above M symbols do not carry PDCCH DMRS, some algorithms can be used to obtain the channel estimation value of the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS from the channel estimation value obtained from the symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS. The above algorithm can be an interpolation algorithm, for example. The channel estimation of the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS can be obtained by time direction channel estimation extrapolation (also known as extrapolation) and / or interpolation.

[0215] An example is when , assuming that only the first symbol carries PDCCH DMRS, the channel estimation at the second symbol can be obtained by extrapolating the channel estimation obtained from the first symbol.

[0216] Another example is when , assuming that only the first symbol carries PDCCH DMRS, the channel estimation at the second and third symbols can be obtained by extrapolating the channel estimation obtained from the first symbol.

[0217] Still another example is when , assuming that only the first and third symbols carry PDCCH DMRS, the channel estimation at the second symbol can be obtained by interpolating the channel estimation obtained from the first and third symbols.

[0218] Optionally, the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS can be predefined or indicated by the network device. An example is that the network device sends first indication information indicating which one or more symbols of the PDCCH occupied symbols do not carry PDCCH DMRS.

[0219] Another example is that it is predefined which one or more symbols of the PDCCH signal occupied symbols do not carry PDCCH DMRS. For example, it is predefined that the first and third symbols do not carry PDCCH DMRS.

[0220] It can be understood that the terminal can determine the symbol carrying PDCCH DMRS according to the PDCCH signal occupied symbol and the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS.

[0221] In another possible implementation, the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS can also be predefined or indicated by the network device. In one example, the network device sends second indication information indicating which one or more of the symbols occupied by the PDCCH carries the PDCCH DMRS.

[0222] In another example, it is predefined which one or more of the symbols occupied by the PDCCH signal carries the PDCCH DMRS. For example, it is predefined that the first and third symbols carry the PDCCH DMRS.

[0223] Optionally, the number of symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS is related to the channel environment. The network device can configure the number of N according to the channel environment, for example.

[0224] One possible implementation is that, in the case of , if the rate of change of the channel environment over time (such as the available Doppler frequency or the ratio of the Doppler frequency to the subcarrier spacing) is greater than or equal to a threshold value, all symbols can need to carry the PDCCH DMRS; if the rate of change of the channel environment over time is less than the threshold value, some symbols can not carry the PDCCH DMRS.

[0225] It can be understood that if the rate of change of the channel environment over time is greater than or equal to the threshold value, more symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS can help improve the channel estimation performance, and if the rate of change of the channel environment over time is less than the threshold value, some symbols can not carry the PDCCH DMRS to increase the RE carrying the data signal and thus improve the spectral efficiency. Optionally, in the case that some symbols do not carry the PDCCH DMRS, the density of the PDCCH DMRS can be improved, that is, the interval Δ between the PDCCH DMRS is reduced to improve the channel estimation performance. For example, let Δ = 3.

[0226] Optionally, the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user, or the PDCCH data signal corresponds to a user group including multiple users.

[0227] When the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user, the PDCCH data signal is dedicated; when the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user group, the PDCCH data signal is common, for example, the PDCCH data signal is broadcast. For example, the PDCCH data signal can be a DCI, the DCI can correspond to one user or one user group (the user group includes multiple users), when the DCI corresponds to one user group, the DCI is common, for example, the DCI is scrambled by a system information radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI).

[0228] Optionally, the PDCCH data signal in the PDCCH signal includes multiple first PDCCH data signals (it can also be understood that the PDCCH data signal corresponds to a group of first PDCCH data signals), and the multiple first PDCCH data signals use one or more of the following multiplexing methods: time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or code division multiplexing.

[0229] A possible design is that each of the multiple first PDCCH data signals can correspond to one user, that is, each of the multiple first PDCCH data signals is dedicated. For example, the multiple first PDCCH data signals include DCI 1 to DCI 3, each of DCI 1 to DCI 3 corresponds to one user.

[0230] Another possible design is that at least one of the multiple first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one user, and the user group includes multiple users, that is, at least one of the multiple first PDCCH data signals is common, for example, the first PDCCH data signal is broadcast. For example, the multiple first PDCCH data signals include DCI 1 to DCI 3, DCI 1 corresponds to one user group, DCI 2 corresponds to one user, and DCI 3 corresponds to one user. That is, DCI 1 is common and corresponds to one user group, DCI 2 and DCI 3 are dedicated and each corresponds to one user. For another example, the multiple first PDCCH data signals include DCI 1 to DCI 3, DCI 1 corresponds to one user group, DCI 2 corresponds to one user group, and DCI 3 corresponds to one user. That is, DCI 1 and DCI 2 are common and each corresponds to one user group, and DCI 3 is dedicated and corresponds to one user.

[0231] Optionally, the multiple first PDCCH data signals correspond to the same MCS.

[0232] For example, the multiple first PDCCH data signals include multiple DCIs, each of the multiple DCIs can correspond to one user, or at least one of the multiple DCIs corresponds to one user group, the multiple DCIs can use the same DMRS, i.e., are transmitted from the same antenna port, and thus experience the same (approximately) channel environment, for example, the users and / or user groups corresponding to the multiple DCIs can be located in the same beam. Since the multiple DCIs experience the same (approximately) channel environment, the multiple DCIs can use the same MCS.

[0233] The multiplexing manner of the multiple first PDCCH data signals will be explained in detail below.

[0234] For example, the multiplexing manner of the multiple first PDCCH data signals can use any one or more of the following designs (design A (time division multiplexing), design B (frequency division multiplexing), design C (code division multiplexing)):

[0235] Design A: the multiple first PDCCH data signals are time division multiplexed.

[0236] That is, the multiple first PDCCH data signals occupy the same frequency domain resources and do not overlap in the time domain.

[0237] For example, on the N symbols, the multiple first PDCCH data signals are time division multiplexed, and then frequency division multiplexed with the PDCCH DMRS. When the multiple first PDCCH data signals and the PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed, there is a PDCCH DMRS every fixed number of subcarriers, and the remaining subcarriers carry the first PDCCH data signal. For specific designs, refer to the detailed description of the distribution of the PDCCH DMRS on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS in the foregoing, which will not be repeated here.

[0238] For example, on the (M-N) symbols, no PDCCH DMRS is carried, i.e., the multiple first PDCCH data signals are time division multiplexed.

[0239] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of time division multiplexing between multiple first PDCCH data signals on a symbol carrying a PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0240] As shown in FIG. 10, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals are time-division multiplexed, and after DFT, are placed in the frequency domain with PDCCH DMRS (that is, the time-division multiplexing of the plurality of PDCCH data signals is implemented before DFT), and then undergo IFFT. The specific process of IFFT and the subsequent steps can be referred to FIG. 3. The frequency domain interleaving placement refers to the aforementioned fixed number of subcarriers, one of which is used to carry PDCCH DMRS (including the case of continuous and non-continuous PDCCH signal occupied frequency domain resources), and the data signal is placed between the PDCCH DMRS. For details, please refer to the foregoing, which will not be repeated here.

[0241] For symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals are time-division multiplexed, but do not need to be frequency-division multiplexed with PDCCH DMRS.

[0242] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of time-division multiplexing of a plurality of first PDCCH data signals on symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0243] As shown in FIG. 11, DCI 1 to DCI 3 are time-division multiplexed, and after DFT, are mapped to subcarriers, and then undergo IFFT. Thus, the PDCCH data signal adopts DFT-s-OFDM waveform, which has a lower PAPR. On the other hand, DCI 1 to DCI 3 can use the same MCS, which also helps to reduce the PAPR of the PDCCH signal.

[0244] Design B: The plurality of first PDCCH data signals are frequency-division multiplexed.

[0245] That is, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals occupy the same time domain resources and do not overlap in the frequency domain.

[0246] Exemplarily, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals and the PDCCH DMRS are frequency division multiplexed on the symbol carrying the PDCCH DMRS. In a case that the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is continuous and the interval between two adjacent subcarriers carrying the PDCCH DMRS is △, the maximum number of frequency division first PDCCH data signals is (△-1). One implementation of the maximum number of frequency division first PDCCH data signals being (△-1) is that, for each first PDCCH data signal, there is a subcarrier carrying the first PDCCH data signal every (△-1) subcarriers. That is, for the same first PDCCH data signal, the interval between two adjacent subcarriers carrying the first PDCCH data signal is also △.

[0247] It can be understood that, in the above example, applied to the DFT-s-OFDM shown in FIG. 3, for each first PDCCH data signal, a DFT output is mapped every (△-1) subcarriers, that is, the DFT outputs are discontinuously mapped.

[0248] It can be understood that, in the above example, applied to the DFT-s-OFDM shown in FIG. 3, for each first PDCCH data signal, a DFT output is mapped every (△-1) subcarriers, that is, the DFT outputs are discontinuously mapped.

[0249] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of frequency division multiplexing between a plurality of first PDCCH data signals on a symbol carrying a PDCCH DMRS provided by an embodiment of the present application. a) of FIG. 12 shows a case that the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is continuous, and b) of FIG. 12 shows a case that the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal includes a plurality of non-continuous frequency domain subblocks.

[0250] As shown in a) of FIG. 12, △=4, and the plurality of first PDCCH data signals include three first PDCCH data signals, i.e., DCI 1 to DCI 3 shown in a) of FIG. 12. For any one DCI, the interval between two adjacent subcarriers carrying the DCI is 4, that is, for each DCI, a DFT output is mapped every 3 subcarriers.

[0251] As shown in b) of FIG. 12, K=3, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals includes 2 first PDCCH data signals, i.e., DCI 1 and DCI 2 shown in b) of FIG. 12. For any one DCI, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the subcarriers carrying the DCI is L. That is, for each DCI, one DFT output is mapped every (L-1) subcarriers.

[0252] For the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS, it is assumed that the number of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals is A. When the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signals received by the first communication device are continuous, A is less than or equal to Δ-1, and Δ represents the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers used to carry PDCCH DMRS; when the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signals received by the first communication device are a plurality of non-continuous frequency domain subblocks, A is less than or equal to K-1, and K represents the number of subcarriers included in one frequency domain subblock. When A is equal to Δ-1 or K-1, the A first PDCCH data signals frequency division multiplexed include: the bandwidth ratio of the first signal is The bandwidth ratio of each of the remaining (A-1) first PDCCH data signals other than the first signal in the plurality of first PDCCH data signals is The first signal is one of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals. The bandwidth ratio refers to the ratio of the bandwidth occupied by a certain first PDCCH data signal to the total bandwidth.

[0253] A part of the REs occupied by the first signal correspond to the same subcarriers as the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. It is emphasized here that the PDCCH DMRS and the first signal are located in different symbols.

[0254] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the frequency division multiplexing of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals on the symbol not carrying PDCCH DMRS provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0255] In FIG. 13, Δ=4, A=3, and the 3 first PDCCH data signals are taken as examples of DCI 1 to DCI 3, the bandwidth ratio of DCI 1 is 0.5, and the bandwidth ratios of DCI 2 and DCI 3 are both 0.25. For any one of DCI 1 to DCI 3, one DCI is mapped every fixed number of subcarriers.

[0256] It can be understood that design A and design B can be used in combination, in other words, the above-mentioned multiple first PDCCH data signals can be time-division and frequency-division. Exemplarily, taking a) in FIG. 12 as an example, DCI 1 and DCI 2 are time-division multiplexed, and then frequency-division multiplexed with DCI 3. It should be understood that after DCI 1 and DCI 2 are time-division multiplexed, the size of the DFT also needs to be adjusted accordingly.

[0257] Optionally, the frequency-division multiplexing between the above-mentioned multiple first PDCCH data signals is implemented based on OCC, and the OCC is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. The difference between this way and the above-mentioned example is that the DFT output no longer needs to be mapped according to a certain interval, but is continuously mapped, that is, mapped to all subcarriers.

[0258] A possible case is that on the above-mentioned N symbols (that is, the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS), the frequency-division multiplexing between the above-mentioned multiple first PDCCH data signals is implemented based on OCC, and each first PDCCH data signal corresponds to a specific OCC, that is, the OCCs corresponding to any two first PDCCH data signals are different. The OCC is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, including: the length of the OCC is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; the OCC cannot make the first PDCCH data signal corresponding thereto be a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0259] As an example, when the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is continuous, the length of the OCC is equal to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. When the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is not continuous (that is, the case that the above-mentioned PDCCH includes multiple non-continuous frequency domain subblocks), the length of the OCC is equal to the interval between the adjacent two frequency domain subblocks. It can be understood that when the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH signal is not continuous, if the size of each frequency domain subblock is the same, and the relative position of the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is fixed, the length of the OCC can also be considered to be equal to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the set of subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS can be determined based on the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. Thus, the OCC can be described in relation to the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0261] In another possible case, frequency division multiplexing between the first PDCCH data signals on the M-N symbols (i.e., the symbols not carrying the PDCCH DMRS) is implemented based on OCC. Assuming that the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signals are continuous, and the number of the first PDCCH data signals is A, the first signal includes a first part and a second part, and the first signal is one of the first PDCCH data signals; the first part, the second part, and the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals other than the first signal are one-to-one corresponding to the OCCs; the OCCs are related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0262] The OCCs are related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, including that the length of the OCCs is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; the OCC corresponding to the first part makes the data signal corresponding to the first part a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, while the OCC corresponding to the second part makes the data signal corresponding to the second part a zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, and the remaining OCCs make the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals corresponding thereto zero signals at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS; or the OCC corresponding to the first part makes the data signal corresponding to the first part a zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, while the OCC corresponding to the second part makes the data signal corresponding to the second part a non-zero signal at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS, and the remaining OCCs make the remaining A-1 first PDCCH data signals zero signals at the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0263] In a possible implementation, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and the set of subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS can be determined based on the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS. Thus, the OCCs can be described in relation to the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0264] The OCC-based frequency division multiplexing of the multiple first PDCCH data signals on the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS and the OCC-based frequency division multiplexing of the multiple first PDCCH data signals on the symbols not carrying the PDCCH DMRS will be described in detail respectively.

[0265] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the OCC-based frequency division multiplexing of the multiple first PDCCH data signals on the symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0266] As shown in FIG. 14, the DCI 1 to the DCI 3 are frequency division multiplexed based on the OCC, and the DFT output no longer needs to be mapped with the interval Δ, but is mapped continuously, i.e., on all subcarriers. Taking the example of Δ = 4 and δ = 1, the OCC applied by the DCI 1 is [1, -j, -1, j], the OCC applied by the DCI 2 is [1, -1, 1, -1], and the OCC applied by the DCI 3 is [1, 1, 1, 1].

[0267] For the symbols not carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the OCC can also be used to realize the frequency division multiplexing between the multiple first PDCCH data signals.

[0268] Exemplarily, the bandwidth ratio of one of the multiple first PDCCH data signals (denoted as the first signal) is 2 / Δ, and the bandwidth ratio of each of the remaining (Δ-2) first PDCCH data signals is 1 / Δ. The first signal corresponds to two OCCs, and each of the remaining (Δ-2) first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one OCC. In more detail, the DCI corresponding to the first signal can be divided into two equal-length parts, and each part is processed based on one OCC. Assuming that the DCI is represented by a time-domain sequence x = {x(n)} of length N, n = 0, 1, …, N-1, after being divided into two equal-length parts, the first part can be represented as {x(0), x(1), …, x(N / 2-1)}, and the second part can be represented as {x(N / 2), x(N / 2+1), …, x(N-1)}. Alternatively, the first part can be represented as {x(0), x(2), …, x(N-2)}, and the second part can be represented as {x(1), x(3), …, x(N-1)}. The above division manners are only examples and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. For example, other division manners can also be used as long as the lengths of the two parts are equal.

[0269] In this way, the first part of the DCI of the first signal corresponds to one OCC, the second part of the DCI of the first signal corresponds to one OCC, and each of the remaining (Δ-2) first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one OCC. Thus, the frequency division can be realized based on the Δ OCCs.

[0270] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of implementing frequency division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals based on OCC on symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 15, △ = 4, the bandwidth ratio of DCI 1 is 0.5, and the bandwidth ratios of DCI 2 and DCI 3 are both 0.25. DCI 1 to DCI 3 are frequency division multiplexed based on OCC, and the DFT output no longer needs to be mapped with an interval Δ, but is mapped continuously, i.e., mapped to all subcarriers. As shown in FIG. 15, the OCC applied to the first part of DCI 1 is [1, -j, -1, j], the OCC applied to the second part of DCI 1 is [1, j, -1, -j], the OCC applied to DCI 2 is [1, -1, 1, -1], and the OCC applied to DCI 3 is [1, 1, 1, 1].

[0271] Design C: code division multiplexing between the multiple first PDCCH data signals.

[0272] The multiple first PDCCH data signals can also be code division multiplexed, and the number of multiplexed first PDCCH data signals can be independent of the PDCCH DMRS mapping parameters, i.e., code division multiplexing can support more first PDCCH data signals than time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing, while obtaining the channel frequency selectivity diversity gain corresponding to the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signals

[0273] The code division multiplexing can be implemented based on time domain OCC or frequency domain OCC. The code division multiplexing based on time domain OCC is explained in detail below.

[0274] One possible implementation is that the code division multiplexing of the multiple first PDCCH data signals on symbols carrying PDCCH DMRS can be implemented based on time domain OCC, and each first PDCCH data signal corresponds to an OCC, and the length of the OCC can be equal to the number of the multiple first PDCCH data signals. The OCC is independent of δ and γ.

[0275] Exemplarily, assuming that DCI is represented by a time domain sequence x0={x0(n)} of length N, n=0, 1, …, N-1, and the OCC is [1, 1, 1, 1], when frequency division multiplexing is implemented based on the OCC, the output obtained after processing based on the OCC is {x0(0), x0(1), …, x0(N-1), x0(0), x0(1), …, x0(N-1), x0(0), x0(1), …, x0(N-1), x0(0), x0(1), …, x0(N-1)}, and when code division multiplexing is implemented based on the OCC, the output obtained after processing based on the OCC is {x0(0), x0(0), x0(0), x0(0), x0(1), x0(1), x0(1), x0(1), …, x0(N-1), x0(N-1), x0(N-1), x0(N-1)}.

[0276] FIG. 16 is a schematic view of code division multiplexing of a plurality of first PDCCH data signals on a symbol carrying a PDCCH DMRS based on time domain OCC according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 16, the outputs obtained after time domain OCC of each DCI are added together and then input into a DFT module, and the DFT is interleaved and mapped with a DMRS sequence. For the PDCCH DMRS, a PDCCH DMRS is mapped every (△-1) subcarriers.

[0277] Assuming that DCI 1 is represented by a time domain sequence x1={x1(n)} of length N, n=0, 1, …, N-1, and the OCC is [1, 1, 1], DCI 2 is represented by a time domain sequence x2={x2(n)} of length N, n=0, 1, …, N-1, and the OCC is [1, e -j2π / 3 -j4π / 3 ], and DCI 3 is represented by a time domain sequence x3={x3(n)} of length N, n=0, 1, …, N-1, and the OCC is [1, e -j4π / 3 -j8π / 3 ], the output x={x(m)} of the addition module in FIG. 16, m=0, 1, …, 3N-1, is represented as: x1(0)+x2(0)+x3(0), x1(0)+e -j2π / 3 x2(0)+e -j4π / 3 x3(0), x1(0)+e -j4π / 3 x2(0)+e -j8π / 3 x3(0), x1(1)+x2(1)+x3(1), x1(1)+e -j2π / 3 x2(1)+e -j4π / 3 x3(1), x1(1)+e -j4π / 3 x2(1)+e -j8π / 3 ​​x3(N-1), x1(N-1)+e -j2π / 3 x2(N-1)+e -j4π / 3 x3(N-1), x1(N-1)+e -j4π / 3 x2(N-1)+e -j8π / 3 x3(N-1)}

[0278] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of code division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals on symbols not carrying PDCCH DMRS based on time domain OCC according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0279] As shown in Figure 17, the outputs of each DCI after OCC are added together and then input to the DFT module. Assume that DCI 1 is represented by a time domain sequence x1 = {x1(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, 1, 1], DCI 2 is represented by a time domain sequence x2 = {x2(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, e -j2π / 3 ,e -j4π / 3 ], and DCI 3 is represented by a time domain sequence x3 = {x3(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, e -j4π / 3 ,e -j8π / 3 ], the output of the addition module can be referred to the description of Figure 16.

[0280] Code division multiplexing based on frequency domain OCC is similar to code division multiplexing based on time domain OCC, except that OCC is implemented in the frequency domain, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0281] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of code division multiplexing of multiple first PDCCH data signals on symbols carrying PDCCH DMRS based on frequency domain OCC according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0282] As shown in Figure 18, for a single DCI, OCC is applied after DFT processing, and finally interleaved and mapped with the DMRS sequence. Assume that DCI 1 is represented by a time domain sequence x1 = {x1(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, 1, 1], DCI 2 is represented by a time domain sequence x2 = {x2(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, e -j2π / 3 ,e -j4π / 3 ], and DCI 3 is represented by a time domain sequence x3 = {x3(n)}, n = 0, 1,..., N-1 of length N, OCC is [1, e -j4π / 3 ,e -j8π / 3 ].

[0283] The subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in the N symbols are the same. For example, as shown in a) of FIG. 8, N=3, and the subcarrier indexes occupied by the PDCCH DMRS on the 3 symbols are 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, and so on.

[0284] Optionally, the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS on at least two of the N symbols are different.

[0285] For example, the subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS on the N symbols are all different.

[0286] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of subcarriers occupied by a PDCCH DMRS in N symbols according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0287] As shown in FIG. 19, N=3, the subcarrier indexes occupied on the 1st symbol are 1, 13, 25, and so on, the subcarrier indexes occupied on the 2nd symbol are 5, 17, 29, and so on, and the subcarrier indexes occupied on the 3rd symbol are 9, 21, 33, and so on. In this design, the DMRS overhead on each DMRS symbol is 1 / 12. The total number of DMRS REs on the 3 symbols is equal to the number of DMRS REs when there is only one DMRS symbol and the DMRS overhead is 1 / 4. Therefore, the above method is advantageous in reducing the DMRS overhead.

[0288] The above describes in detail the method provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with the drawings. The following describes in detail the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with the drawings.

[0289] FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0290] As shown in FIG. 20, the communication apparatus 2000 includes a processing module 2010 and a transceiver module 2020.

[0291] The transceiver module 2020 can implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver module 2020 can also be referred to as an input / output interface or a communication unit. The processing module 2010 can be configured to perform processing operations. It should be understood that if the apparatus 2000 is a component, such as a chip, configured in a network device or a terminal, the transceiver module 2020 can be an input / output interface.

[0292] Optionally, the transceiver module 2020 can include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is configured to perform the sending operations of the network device or the terminal in FIG. 6, and the receiving module is configured to perform the receiving operations of the network device or the terminal in FIG. 6.

[0293] It should be noted that when the apparatus 2000 is a component configured in a network device or a terminal, such as a chip, the sending module can be an output interface, and the sending operation involved in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the output interface; the receiving module can be an input interface, and the receiving operation involved in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the input interface.

[0294] Optionally, the apparatus 2000 can further include a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 2010 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module, so that the apparatus implements the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6.

[0295] In a possible design, the apparatus 2000 can be used to implement functions of a terminal in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6, or the apparatus 2000 can include units for implementing any function or operation of a terminal in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6. These units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0296] When the apparatus 2000 is used to implement functions of a terminal in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6, the transceiver module 2020 (specifically, the receiving module) can be used to perform step 620 in FIG. 6, and receive a PDCCH signal from a network device, where the PDCCH signal includes a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal has a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, and the PDCCH signal occupies M symbols, and the PDCCH DMRS is carried on N symbols of the M symbols, and the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS are included in a frequency division multiplexing manner on the N symbols, and only the PDCCH data signal is included on the remaining (M-N) symbols, where M is an integer greater than 1, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; and the processing module 2010 is configured to perform step 630, and demodulate the PDCCH signal.

[0297] In another possible design, the apparatus 2000 can be used to implement functions of a network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6, or the apparatus 2000 can include units for implementing any function or operation of a network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6. These units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0298] When the apparatus 2000 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the transceiver module 2020 (concretely, a sending module) can be used to perform step 620 in FIG. 6, and send a PDCCH signal to the terminal, the PDCCH signal including a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal having a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, the PDCCH signal occupying M symbols, the PDCCH DMRS being carried on N symbols of the M symbols, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in a frequency division multiplexing manner on the N symbols, and only the PDCCH data signal being included on the remaining (M-N) symbols, wherein M is an integer greater than 1, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M. The processing module 2010 is used to perform step 610, and generate the PDCCH signal.

[0299] Optionally, the value of N and / or the position of the N symbols is indicated by the second communication device.

[0300] Optionally, the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user, or the PDCCH data signal corresponds to a user group including a plurality of users.

[0301] Optionally, the PDCCH data signal includes a plurality of first PDCCH data signals, and the plurality of first PDCCH data signals adopt one or more multiplexing manners: time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or code division multiplexing.

[0302] Optionally, each of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one user.

[0303] Optionally, at least one of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals corresponds to a user group including a plurality of users.

[0304] Optionally, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals correspond to the same MCS.

[0305] Optionally, the time division multiplexing is implemented before DFT.

[0306] Optionally, the frequency division multiplexing is implemented based on OCC, and the OCC is related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

[0307] Optionally, the code division multiplexing is implemented based on time domain OCC or frequency domain OCC.

[0308] Optionally, the PDCCH DMRS occupies different subcarriers in at least two of the N symbols.

[0309] Optionally, when the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication device are continuous, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in the N symbols is equal.

[0310] Optionally, the PDCCH signal received by the first communication device occupies Q subcarriers, and the offset δ of the first subcarrier in the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier in the Q subcarriers is related to a first parameter, which is one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication device, a cell identifier, a BWP identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

[0311] Optionally, the offset δ satisfies the following relationship: δ = X mod Δ, where X is calculated based on the first parameter, Δ represents the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers in the P subcarriers, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0312] Optionally, when the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication device are a plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks, the interval between any two adjacent frequency domain subblocks in the plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks is equal; and in the N symbols, each frequency domain subblock includes subcarriers for carrying the PDCCH DMRS.

[0313] Optionally, in the N symbols, the index γ of the first subcarrier in at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to a second parameter, which is one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication device, a cell identifier, a BWP identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

[0314] Optionally, the index γ satisfies the following relationship: γ = Y mod K, where Y is calculated based on the second parameter, K represents the number of subcarriers included in a frequency domain subblock, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0315] Optionally, the PDCCH DMRS is generated based on a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

[0316] For more detailed descriptions of the processing module 2010 and the transceiver module 2020, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 directly.

[0317] It should be noted that the transceiver module can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, or the like. The processing module can also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing unit, or a processing device, or the like. Alternatively, the transceiver module can be used to perform the sending operation and the receiving operation of the terminal device or the network device in the above method, and the device in the communication module used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as a receiving module, and the device in the communication module used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a sending module, that is, the transceiver module includes the receiving module and the sending module.

[0318] In addition, in a possible design, the foregoing transceiver module and / or processing module can be implemented by a virtual module, for example, the processing module can be implemented by a software function module or a virtual device, and the transceiver module can be implemented by a software function module or a virtual device. In another possible design, the processing module or the transceiver module can also be implemented by an entity device, for example, if the device is implemented by a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver module can be an input output circuit and / or a communication interface, and performs an input operation (corresponding to the foregoing receiving operation) and an output operation (corresponding to the foregoing sending operation); and the processing module is an integrated processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit.

[0319] It should be understood that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is merely a logical function division, and another division manner can be used in actual implementation. In addition, each function module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processor, or can be physically separated, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function module.

[0320] FIG. 21 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device 2100 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The device 2100 can be a chip system, or can also be a device configured with a chip system, and used to implement the method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0321] As shown in FIG. 21, the device 2100 can include a processor 2110, which can be used to execute a computer program or instruction in a memory, to implement the steps performed by a terminal or the steps performed by a network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6.

[0322] Optionally, the apparatus 2100 further includes a communication interface 2120. The communication interface 2120 can be configured to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, thereby enabling the apparatus 2100 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 2120 can include, for example, a transceiver, a interface, a bus, a circuit, or a combination thereof. The processor 2110 can input / output data via the communication interface 2120 and can implement the methods described in the embodiments shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the apparatus 2100 can be configured to implement the functions of the network device or terminal in the above method embodiments.

[0323] When the apparatus 2100 is configured to implement the method shown in FIG. 6, the processor 2110 can be configured to implement the functions of the processing module 2010, and the communication interface 2120 can be configured to implement the functions of the transceiver module 2020.

[0324] Optionally, the apparatus 2100 further includes at least one memory 2130 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 2130 is coupled to the processor 2110. In the embodiments of the present application, the coupling between the apparatuses, units or modules is indirect coupling or communication connection between the apparatuses, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information interaction between the apparatuses, units or modules. The processor 2110 can operate in cooperation with the memory 2130. The processor 2110 can execute program instructions stored in the memory 2130. At least one of the at least one memory can be included in the processor.

[0325] It should be understood that the coupling between the apparatuses, units or modules in the embodiments of the present application is indirect coupling or communication connection between the apparatuses, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information interaction between the apparatuses, units or modules. The processor 2110 can operate in cooperation with the memory 2130. The specific connection medium between the processor 2110, the communication interface 2120 and the memory 2130 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In FIG. 21, the processor 2110, the communication interface 2120 and the memory 2130 are connected through a bus 2140. The connection mode between the other components in FIG. 21 is only schematically illustrated and is not limited thereto. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG. 21, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0326] It should be understood that when the communication apparatus 2100 is a chip applied to a terminal, the chip implements functions of the terminal in the method embodiments. The chip of the terminal receives signals from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and the signals can be sent by a network device to the terminal. Alternatively, the chip of the terminal sends signals to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and the signals can be sent by the terminal to the network.

[0327] When the communication apparatus 2100 is a chip applied to a network device, the chip implements functions of the network device in the method embodiments. The chip of the network device receives signals from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the signals can be sent by a terminal to the network device. Alternatively, the chip of the network device sends signals to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the signals can be sent by the network device to the terminal.

[0328] It should be noted that when the communication apparatus 2100 is a terminal or a network device, the communication interface 2120 can be a transceiver, which can specifically include a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter is configured to send signals, and the receiver is configured to receive signals. When the communication apparatus 2100 is a chip applied to a terminal or a network device, the communication interface 2120 can be an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interface input / output circuits, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be used for receiving, and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0329] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can be implemented.

[0330] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can be implemented.

[0331] The present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal and a network device as described above.

[0332] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, the steps of the above method embodiments can be completed by an integrated logic circuit or an instruction in the form of software in the processor. The processor mentioned above can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The disclosed methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware code processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor for execution. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

[0333] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the system and method described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0334] The terms "unit", "module" and the like used in the specification can be used to represent a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. The units and modules in the embodiments of the present application have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

[0335] Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The choice of hardware or software, or combinations of both, would be dependent on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application. In several embodiments provided in the present application, it will be apparent that the disclosed devices, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described device embodiments are merely illustrative all along. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, another division can be adopted. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0336] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e. they can be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments.

[0337] In addition, the functional units in each of the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0338] In the above embodiments, the functions of the various functional units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the functions can be implemented in whole or in part as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more available media sets. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0339] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that make a contribution to the technology or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for making a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, characterized by, The method applied to a first communication device comprises: receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) signal from a second communication device, the PDCCH signal comprising a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the PDCCH signal occupying M symbols, N of the M symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in a frequency-division multiplexing manner on the N symbols, the PDCCH data signal only being included on the remaining (M-N) symbols, the PDCCH data signal having a discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) waveform, wherein the M is an integer greater than 1, the N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; demodulating the PDCCH signal.

2. A signal transmission method characterized by, The method applied to a second communication device comprises: generating a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) signal, the PDCCH signal comprising a PDCCH data signal and a PDCCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the PDCCH signal occupying M symbols, N of the M symbols carrying the PDCCH DMRS, the PDCCH data signal and the PDCCH DMRS being included in a frequency-division multiplexing manner on the N symbols, the PDCCH data signal only being included on the remaining (M-N) symbols, the PDCCH data signal having a discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) waveform, wherein the M is an integer greater than 1, the N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N≤M; sending the PDCCH signal to a first communication device.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The value of the N and / or the position of the N symbols are indicated by the second communication device.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user, or the PDCCH data signal corresponds to one user group, the user group comprising a plurality of users.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The PDCCH data signal comprises a plurality of first PDCCH data signals, the plurality of first PDCCH data signals adopting one or more multiplexing manners: time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, or code-division multiplexing.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, Each of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one user.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, At least one of the plurality of first PDCCH data signals corresponds to one user group, the user group comprising a plurality of users.

8. The method of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein, The plurality of first PDCCH data signals correspond to the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

9. The method of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein, The time-division multiplexing is implemented before discrete Fourier transform (DFT).

10. The method of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein, The frequency-division multiplexing is implemented based on an orthogonal cover code (OCC), the OCC being related to the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS and / or the frequency-domain resource occupied by the PDCCH DMRS.

11. The method of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein, The code-division multiplexing is implemented based on a time-domain OCC or a frequency-domain OCC.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein, The subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS on at least two of the N symbols are different.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein, When the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication device are continuous, the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers of the P subcarriers occupied by the PDCCH DMRS on the N symbols is equal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The PDCCH signal received by the first communication device occupies Q subcarriers, and the offset δ of the first subcarrier of the P subcarriers relative to the first subcarrier of the Q subcarriers is related to a first parameter, the first parameter being one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication device, a cell identifier, a bandwidth part (BWP) identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The offset δ satisfies the following relationship: δ = X mod Δ, where X is calculated based on the first parameter, Δ represents the interval between any two adjacent subcarriers of the P subcarriers, and mod represents a modulo operation.

16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein, When the frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH signal received by the first communication device are a plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks, the interval between any two adjacent frequency domain subblocks of the plurality of non-contiguous frequency domain subblocks is equal. And, on the N symbols, each frequency domain subblock includes a subcarrier for carrying the PDCCH DMRS.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, On the N symbols, the index γ of the first subcarrier of at least one subcarrier occupied by the PDCCH DMRS in each frequency domain subblock is related to a second parameter, the second parameter being one or more of the following: an identifier of the first communication device, a cell identifier, a bandwidth part (BWP) identifier, a frame index, a subframe index, a slot index, or a symbol index.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The index γ satisfies the following relationship: γ = Y mod K, where Y is calculated based on the second parameter, K represents the number of subcarriers included in a frequency domain subblock, and mod represents a modulo operation.

19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein, The PDCCH DMRS is generated based on a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

20. A communications device, characterized by A unit or module for implementing the method of any one of claims 1, 3-19, or a unit or module for implementing the method of any one of claims 2-19.

21. A communications device, characterized by A processor for invoking a computer program in a memory so that the method of any one of claims 1, 3-19 is executed, or so that the method of any one of claims 2-19 is executed.

22. The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein, Also comprising the memory.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1, 3-19, or implement the method of any one of claims 2-19.

24. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1, 3-19, or implement the method of any one of claims 2-19.

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