Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which are applied to the field of communications. In the technical solution of the present application, on a plurality of time domain resources, reference signals are transmitted on frequency domain resources at different positions by means of an antenna port, so that the frequency domain resources of the reference signals can be increased, more channel estimation results can be obtained, and more accurate channel information on a communication bandwidth can be obtained on the basis of the more channel estimation results. In addition, on the plurality of time domain resources, reference signals are transmitted on frequency domain resources at the same position by means of the antenna port, so that time-varying information of a channel can be obtained, and more accurate channel information on a communication bandwidth can be obtained on the basis of the time-varying information.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411464468.6, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 18, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to communication methods and communication devices. Background Technology

[0003] In a communication system, user data is transmitted through multiple antenna ports. Each antenna port has a corresponding physical channel. After receiving the data sent by each antenna port, the user equipment needs to obtain the channel status information of that antenna port for data demodulation.

[0004] Currently, demodulation reference signals (DMRS), or pilot signals, are commonly used for physical channel estimation, and data is demodulated based on the channel estimation results. The demodulation performance of the data is strongly correlated with the accuracy of the channel estimation; the more accurate the channel estimation, the better the data demodulation performance. The accuracy of the channel estimation is related to the pilot density; the higher the pilot density, the more accurate the channel estimation. However, to allocate more time-frequency resources to data transmission, pilot overhead is usually limited.

[0005] As the number of antenna ports increases and pilot overhead is limited, the frequency domain resource density of the pilot becomes sparse, and the accuracy of channel estimation decreases. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The communication method and communication apparatus provided in this application can improve the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0007] Firstly, this application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a communication device. This communication device can be a communication equipment, or one or more of the following: a module, apparatus, chip, or circuit configured for use in or in conjunction with a communication equipment. The communication device is a transmitter of a reference signal. In some implementations, the aforementioned communication equipment is a network device, such as a base station, or it can be a terminal. The communication method includes: transmitting a reference signal on a first time-frequency resource through a first antenna port, the first time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource; and transmitting the reference signal on a second time-frequency resource through the first antenna port, the second time-frequency resource including the first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and a third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource, wherein the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource is different from the frequency domain position of the second frequency domain resource.

[0008] In the above method, when transmitting a reference signal through the antenna port, two types of frequency domain resources are allocated to the antenna port. One type of frequency domain resource is fixed, meaning that the antenna port can transmit the reference signal on this frequency domain resource in different reference signal transmission periods. The other type of frequency domain resource is variable, meaning that the antenna port transmits the reference signal on different frequency domain resources in different reference signal transmission periods.

[0009] For example, when transmitting a reference signal through the first antenna port on both the first and second time domain resources, the reference signal can also be transmitted on the first frequency domain resource. When transmitting a reference signal through the first antenna port on the first time domain resource, a reference signal is also transmitted on the second frequency domain resource, but not on the third frequency domain resource; the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource is different from that of the second frequency domain resource. Similarly, when transmitting a reference signal through the first antenna port on the second time domain resource, a reference signal is also transmitted on the third frequency domain resource, but not on the second frequency domain resource. Here, the first frequency domain resource is a fixed frequency domain resource, while the third and second frequency domain resources are variable frequency domain resources.

[0010] In this communication method, the communication device can transmit reference signals on different time-domain resources and different frequency-domain resources through the same antenna port. From the perspective of multiple time-domain resources, this means that reference signals are transmitted on more frequency-domain resources through the antenna port. This provides the receiving end with reference signals on more frequency-domain resources corresponding to that antenna port, allowing the receiving end to measure the channel state information of the reference signals on more frequency-domain resources corresponding to that antenna. Furthermore, because the channel state information of reference signals on more frequency-domain resources can lead to a more accurate channel estimation result, the communication method of this application ultimately improves the channel estimation result.

[0011] Furthermore, in this communication method, the communication device can transmit reference signals on the same frequency domain resource through the same antenna port on different time domain resources. That is, the antenna port transmits reference signals on fixed frequency domain resources, which can provide the receiving end with reference signals of the same antenna port on different time domain resources and the same frequency domain resources. This allows the receiving end to obtain the time-varying information of the signal based on the reference signals on the same frequency domain resources and different time domain resources, and then achieve more accurate channel estimation based on the time-varying information.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the first time-domain resource contains one or more time slots, or the first time-domain resource contains one or more symbols.

[0013] In some possible implementations, the second time-domain resource contains one or more time slots, or the second time-domain resource contains one or more symbols.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the first frequency domain resource comprises one or more frequency domain resource units.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the second frequency domain resource comprises one or more frequency domain resource units.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the third frequency domain resource comprises one or more frequency domain resource units.

[0017] In some possible implementations, a frequency domain resource element comprises one or more subcarriers.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0019] In this implementation, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and the relevant information of the frequency domain resource unit in the second time-frequency resource satisfy a preset relationship, that is, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource is associated with the relevant information of the frequency domain resource unit in the second time-frequency resource. This helps to reduce the probability of conflict between the frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource and the resource units in the second frequency domain resource, and improves the rationality of resource allocation.

[0020] Optionally, the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource element can be its index among all frequency domain resource elements included in the system bandwidth or the frequency domain resources for transmitting reference signals at multiple antenna ports. Alternatively, the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource element can be the offset between its index and a reference index among all frequency domain resource elements included in the system bandwidth or the frequency domain resources for transmitting reference signals at multiple antenna ports. Optionally, the reference index can be the index of the first frequency domain resource element.

[0021] The implementation method of using the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit as an index is more direct in indicating the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit than the implementation method of using the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit as an offset. This can improve the efficiency of indicating the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit, and thus improve the processing efficiency of the communication device in performing related operations based on the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit.

[0022] The implementation method of using the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit as an offset is more flexible than the implementation method of using the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit as an index.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource element in the first frequency domain resource and the first information satisfy the following preset relationship: A n ={(L+1)*β*n+L*β+Δ}

[0024] Among them, A n β represents the frequency domain position of the (n+1)th frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource, β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource, Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource, and n is a non-negative integer.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the second information. The second information includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain position offset of the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, the frequency domain position offset of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0026] In this implementation, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource is associated with the second information. Compared with associating it with other information, this can improve the rationality of the configuration of the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource.

[0027] In some implementations, the first information and the second information contain the same information, that is, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource are associated with the same information. This helps to reduce the probability of conflict between the frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource and the resource units in the second frequency domain resource, and improves the rationality of resource allocation.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource element in the second frequency domain resource and the second information satisfy the following preset relationship:

[0029] Among them, B m This represents the frequency domain position of the (m+1)th frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource; β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource; L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource; Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource; m is a non-negative integer; and "%" represents the modulo operation. This indicates a floor operation, where k represents the frequency domain position increment of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource.

[0030] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes: receiving or sending third information, the third information indicating at least one of the following: the frequency domain position offset of the first frequency domain resource element in the second frequency domain resource, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource elements in the second frequency domain resource, the frequency domain position offset of the frequency domain resource element in the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the first frequency domain resource.

[0031] In this implementation, the information associated with the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and / or the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource unit is unified by the communication peer through information transmission. Under the premise of ensuring the consistency of the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit determined by the communication peer, the first frequency domain resource and / or the second frequency domain resource can be flexibly configured.

[0032] Secondly, this application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a communication device. The communication device can be a communication equipment, or one or more of the following: modules, devices, chips, or circuits configured for use in or in conjunction with a communication equipment. The communication device is a receiver of a reference signal. In some implementations, the communication equipment is a network device, such as a base station, or it can be a terminal. The communication method includes: receiving a reference signal transmitted by a first antenna port of a transmitting end on a first time-frequency resource, the first time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource; and receiving the reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and a third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource, the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource being different from the frequency domain position of the second frequency domain resource.

[0033] In this communication method, the receiving end receives the reference signal transmitted by the antenna port of the transmitting end. The receiving end receives the reference signal transmitted by the same antenna port on two frequency domain resources. One frequency domain resource is fixed, that is, the reference signal transmitted by the antenna port is received on the fixed frequency domain resource during different reference signal transmission periods. The other frequency domain resource is variable, that is, the reference signal transmitted by the antenna port is received on different frequency domain resources during different reference signal transmission periods.

[0034] For example, when receiving a reference signal transmitted from the first antenna port on both the first and second time domain resources, the reference signal can also be received on the first frequency domain resource. When receiving a reference signal transmitted from the first antenna port on the first time domain resource, the reference signal is also received on the second frequency domain resource, but not on the third frequency domain resource; the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource is different from that of the second frequency domain resource. Similarly, when receiving a reference signal transmitted from the first antenna port on the second time domain resource, the reference signal is also received on the third frequency domain resource, but not on the second frequency domain resource. Here, the first frequency domain resource is a fixed frequency domain resource, while the third and second frequency domain resources are variable frequency domain resources.

[0035] In this communication method, because reference signals are received on different time-domain resources and different frequency-domain resources, channel state information of the reference signals on more frequency-domain resources can be measured. Furthermore, because more channel state information of the reference signals on more frequency-domain resources can lead to more accurate channel estimation results, the communication method of this application ultimately improves the channel estimation results.

[0036] Furthermore, in this communication method, because reference signals are received on the same frequency domain resources on different time domain resources, the receiver can obtain the time-varying information of the signal based on the reference signals on the same frequency domain resources but different time domain resources, and then achieve more accurate channel estimation based on the time-varying information.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes: receiving or sending third information, the third information indicating at least one of the following: the frequency domain position offset of the first frequency domain resource element in the second frequency domain resource, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource elements in the second frequency domain resource, the frequency domain position offset of the frequency domain resource element in the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the first frequency domain resource.

[0038] The first and second time-frequency resources in this communication method can be referred to the relevant content in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device. This communication device may include modules corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in any possible implementation of the first aspect. These modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0040] In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving actions in the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect above, while the processing module is used to perform the processing actions involved in the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect above.

[0041] In one design, the communication device can be a network device, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0042] In one design, the communication device can be a terminal, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal.

[0043] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device. This communication device may include modules corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in any possible implementation of the second aspect. These modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0044] In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving actions in the method described in any possible implementation of the second aspect above, while the processing module is used to perform the processing actions involved in the method described in any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

[0045] In one design, the communication device can be a network device, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0046] In one design, the communication device can be a terminal, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal.

[0047] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device including a processor, wherein instructions are executed by the processor to cause the method as described in any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented.

[0048] Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage medium that stores the instructions executed by the processor.

[0049] In some implementations, the storage medium is integrated with the processor, for example, the storage medium is integrated into the processor.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication device including a processor, wherein instructions are executed by the processor to cause the method as described in any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0051] Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage medium that stores the instructions executed by the processor.

[0052] In some implementations, the storage medium is integrated with the processor, for example, the storage medium is integrated into the processor.

[0053] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a chip including a processing circuit for running a program or instructions to implement the method as described in any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0054] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0055] Optionally, the chip may also include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0056] Eighthly, this application provides a chip including processing circuitry for running programs or instructions to implement methods as described in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0057] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0058] Optionally, the chip may also include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0059] A ninth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a method as described in any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented.

[0060] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the method as described in any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0061] In one aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that, when executed, cause the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented.

[0062] In a twelfth aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that, when executed, cause the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0063] In a thirteenth aspect, this application provides a communication system for performing the methods described in any possible implementation of the first aspect above and the methods described in any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

[0064] It is understood that the technical effects in any of the second to thirteenth aspects can be referenced from the technical effects in the first and second aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0065] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a channel estimation method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a channel estimation method according to another embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figures 5 to 9 are schematic diagrams of resource patterns from various embodiments of this application;

[0070] FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are schematic structural diagrams of communication devices according to multiple embodiments of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0071] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. For example, the first value and the second value are only used to distinguish different values, and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply differences.

[0073] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item)" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0075] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100, wherein the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes can be interconnected via wired or wireless means. The communication system may also include a core network 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 via wireless or wired means. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network equipment and the logical functions of the RAN node. The communication system may also include the Internet 300.

[0076] RAN100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system as defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), or it can be a WiFi system. RAN100 can also include two or more of the above-mentioned different radio access systems. RAN100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0077] RAN nodes, also known as radio access network devices, network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes, are used to help terminals access communication systems wirelessly. In one application scenario, an RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. RAN nodes can be macro base stations (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), micro base stations or indoor stations (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), relay nodes, or donor nodes.

[0078] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing different functions of the base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU performs the functions of the base station's Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and can also perform the functions of the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the base station's Radio Link Control (RANC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For specific descriptions of these protocol layers, refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement radio frequency signal transmission and reception. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes or integrated into the same RAN node, such as within a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0079] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and an RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN nodes in the embodiments of this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. For example, a RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software modules. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the RAN nodes. For ease of description, a base station is used as an example of a RAN node in the following description.

[0080] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, capable of sending signals to or receiving signals from a base station. Terminals are also known as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, intelligent transportation, and smart cities.

[0081] As examples, terminals can be: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, smart glasses, etc.), in-vehicle equipment (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), satellite terminals, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, point-of-sale (POS) machines, customer-premises equipment (CPE), light user equipment (UE), reduced capability user equipment (REDCAP UE), wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), smart robots, robotic arms, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, and flying equipment (such as smart robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), etc. The terminal device can also be a vehicle device, such as a complete vehicle device, an in-vehicle module, an in-vehicle chip, an on-board unit (OBU), or a telematics box (T-BOX). The terminal device can also be other devices with terminal functions; for example, it can be a device that functions as a terminal in D2D communication. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal.

[0082] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base stations and terminals.

[0083] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, terminal 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0084] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0085] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0086] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a radio connection on a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a radio connection is called the terminal's serving cell. When the terminal communicates with this serving cell, it is also susceptible to interference from signals from neighboring cells.

[0087] In the embodiments of this application, the time-domain symbol can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. Unless otherwise specified, the symbols in the embodiments of this application refer to time-domain symbols.

[0088] In some scenarios, the transmitting end transmits user data through multiple antenna ports, each with a corresponding physical channel. After receiving the user data transmitted from each antenna port, the receiving end needs to demodulate the data based on the channel state information of that antenna port.

[0089] In communication systems, a reference signal (RS) is typically used for channel estimation of the physical channel. One example of a reference signal used for channel estimation of the physical channel in a communication system is the demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0090] For the RS (Remote Switch) to perform channel estimation and data demodulation correctly, the communication system needs to ensure the orthogonality of the RS and the data to avoid interference. Therefore, the RS needs to occupy independent time-frequency resources. The demodulation performance of the data is strongly correlated with the accuracy of the channel estimation; the more accurate the channel estimation, the better the data demodulation performance. The accuracy of the channel estimation is related to the density of the frequency domain resources occupied by the RS; the greater the density of the frequency domain resources occupied by the RS, the more accurate the channel estimation. However, in order to allocate more time-frequency resources for data transmission, the frequency domain resource overhead that can be allocated to the RS is usually limited.

[0091] Since each antenna port requires an orthogonal RS for channel estimation, as the total number of antenna ports in the communication system increases and the frequency domain resource overhead of the RS is limited, the frequency domain resource density of the RS will become sparse, and the accuracy of channel estimation will decrease.

[0092] For example, in large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication scenarios, as the number of antenna ports increases, the frequency domain resource overhead of the RS becomes limited, resulting in a sparser frequency domain resource density and a decrease in the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0093] As shown in Figure 2, exemplarily, the communication system includes antenna port 0 and antenna port 1, and the frequency domain resources that can be allocated to antenna port 0 and antenna port 1 include 12 subcarriers, sc0 to sc11. Specifically, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 0 include sc0, sc2, sc4, sc6, sc8, and sc10, and the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 1 include sc1, sc3, sc5, sc7, sc9, and sc11. In this embodiment, sc represents the abbreviation for subcarrier.

[0094] Taking antenna port 0 as an example, the transmitting end transmits reference signals through antenna port 0 on sc0, sc2, sc4, sc6, sc8, and sc10. After receiving the reference signals on sc0, sc2, sc4, sc6, sc8, and sc10, the receiving end can perform channel estimation to obtain the channel information corresponding to sc0, sc2, sc4, sc6, sc8, and sc10, denoted as H0, H2, H4, H6, H8, and H10, respectively. Interpolation is then performed to obtain the channel information corresponding to sc1, sc3, sc5, sc7, sc9, and sc11, denoted as H1, H3, H5, H7, H9, and H11, respectively. Thus, the final channel information corresponding to antenna ports on sc0, sc1, sc2, sc3, sc4, sc5, sc6, sc7, sc8, sc9, and sc11 can be obtained.

[0095] As shown in Figure 3, the communication system includes antenna ports 0 to 5, and the frequency domain resources that can be allocated to antenna ports 0 to 5 include 12 subcarriers, sc0 to sc11. Specifically, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 0 include sc0 and sc6, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 1 include sc1 and sc7, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 2 include sc2 and sc8, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 3 include sc3 and sc9, the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 4 include sc4 and sc10, and the frequency domain resources allocated to antenna port 5 include sc5 and sc11.

[0096] Taking antenna port 0 as an example, the transmitting end transmits reference signals on sc0 and sc6 through antenna port 0. After receiving the reference signals on sc0 and sc6, the receiving end can perform channel estimation to obtain the channel information corresponding to sc0 and sc6, which are denoted as H0 and H6 respectively; and perform interpolation to obtain the channel information corresponding to sc1, sc2, sc3, sc4, sc5, sc7, sc8, sc9, sc10 and sc11, which are denoted as H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H7, H8, H9, H10 and H11 respectively.

[0097] As can be seen from the comparison between Figure 2 and Figure 3, Figure 2 has fewer interpolation points than Figure 3. Therefore, the channel information obtained on the 12 subcarriers is closer to the real channel information, that is, the channel information obtained by channel estimation is more accurate.

[0098] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a novel technical solution. The solution defines two frequency domain resources for the antenna port: one with a fixed frequency domain position, and the other with a frequency domain position that changes during different reference signal transmission periods. The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrates a communication method for transmitting reference signals from the antenna port based on these two frequency domain resources provided in this application.

[0099] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 4, this communication method includes steps S410 and S420.

[0100] S410, the transmitting end transmits a reference signal on a first time-frequency resource through a first antenna port. The first time-frequency resource includes a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the reference signal transmitted by the transmitting end's first antenna port on the first time-frequency resource.

[0101] In this embodiment, the transmitting end is the transmitting end of the reference signal, which can be a wireless access network device or a terminal.

[0102] In this embodiment, the receiving end is the receiving end of the reference signal, which can be a wireless access network device or a terminal.

[0103] In one possible implementation, the reference signal in this embodiment is a reference signal used for channel estimation. As an example, the reference signal may be a DMRS, a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS), or other reference signals, which are not limited in this application.

[0104] As an example, when the reference signal is used for channel estimation of the uplink channel, the transmitter is a terminal and the receiver is a radio access network device.

[0105] As another example, when the reference signal is used for channel estimation of the uplink channel, the receiver is a wireless access network device, and the receiver is a terminal.

[0106] In this embodiment, the antenna port is a logical port, a logical concept related to the physical layer. Signals passing through different channels are considered to have passed through different antenna ports.

[0107] In this embodiment, the transmitting end includes multiple antenna ports, and the first antenna port is one of the multiple antenna ports.

[0108] In some implementations, the transmitting end transmits reference signals through each of these multiple antenna ports in the same way as the first antenna port. That is, the frequency domain resources corresponding to each antenna port include both frequency domain resources with fixed frequency domain positions and frequency domain resources with frequency domain position transformations.

[0109] In some implementations, the transmitting end transmits reference signals through some of the multiple antenna ports in the same way as the first antenna port. That is, in this part of the antenna ports, the frequency domain resources corresponding to each antenna port include both frequency domain resources with fixed frequency domain positions and frequency domain resources with frequency domain position changes. The other part of the antenna ports transmits reference signals in the same way as the first antenna port. For example, in this part of the antenna ports, the frequency domain position of the frequency domain resources corresponding to each antenna port is always fixed in different reference signal transmission periods.

[0110] In this embodiment, only the first antenna port among the plurality of antenna ports is described as an example.

[0111] In this embodiment, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource allocated to the first antenna port for transmitting the reference signal. The first time-domain resource includes a first time-domain resource in the time dimension and a first frequency-domain resource and a second frequency-domain resource in the frequency dimension.

[0112] In some implementations, the first time-domain resource comprises one or more time-domain resource units.

[0113] In some implementations, a time-domain resource unit contains one or more time slots, or a time-domain resource unit contains one or more symbols.

[0114] In some implementations, the first frequency domain resource contains one or more frequency domain resource units, and the second frequency domain resource contains one or more frequency domain resource units.

[0115] In some implementations, a frequency domain resource element contains one or more subcarriers.

[0116] The frequency domain location of the first frequency domain resource is different from that of the second frequency domain resource. For example, the subcarriers contained in the first frequency domain resource are not the same subcarriers contained in the second frequency domain resource.

[0117] S420, the transmitting end transmits a reference signal on a second time-frequency resource through a first antenna port. The second time-frequency resource includes a first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and a third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource. The frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource is different from that of the second frequency domain resource. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port on the second time-frequency resource.

[0118] In this embodiment, the second time-domain resource is the time-domain resource allocated to the first antenna port for transmitting the reference signal. The second time-domain resource includes a second time-domain resource in the time dimension and a first frequency-domain resource and a third frequency-domain resource in the frequency dimension.

[0119] In some implementations, the second time-domain resource comprises one or more time-domain resource units.

[0120] In some implementations, the third frequency domain resource comprises one or more frequency domain resource units.

[0121] An example where the frequency domain location of the third frequency domain resource differs from that of the second frequency domain resource is as follows: the subcarriers contained in the second frequency domain resource are not the same subcarriers contained in the third frequency domain resource.

[0122] In some implementations, in this embodiment, the first antenna port transmits a reference signal on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource. The first time-frequency resource includes the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, and the second time-frequency resource includes the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource. This can be understood as follows: the first antenna port transmits a reference signal on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource. The time domain positions of the time domain resources contained in the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource are different. The frequency domain positions of a portion of the frequency domain resources contained in the first time-frequency resource are the same as the frequency domain positions of a portion of the frequency domain resources contained in the second time-frequency resource, and the frequency domain positions of another portion of the frequency domain resources contained in the first time-frequency resource are different from the frequency domain positions of another portion of the frequency domain resources contained in the second time-frequency resource.

[0123] In this embodiment, for the same antenna port, the frequency domain resources corresponding to different time domain resources with fixed frequency domain positions are called fixed frequency domain resources; the frequency domain resources other than the fixed frequency domain resources among all the frequency domain resources corresponding to different time domain resources are called variable frequency domain resources. In other words, a resource that is used for transmitting a reference signal for one antenna port on one time domain resource but not on another time domain resource is called a variable frequency domain resource.

[0124] For example, for the first antenna port, the fixed frequency domain resources include the first frequency domain resources, and the variable frequency domain resources include the second frequency domain resources and the third frequency domain resources.

[0125] In some implementations, after obtaining the channel information corresponding to these frequency domain resources, the receiving end can use this information as a reference to acquire the channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources. For example, the channel information corresponding to these frequency domain resources can be used as known points, and interpolation can be performed to obtain interpolation points to acquire the channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources. Alternatively, the channel information corresponding to these frequency domain resources can be input into a trained artificial intelligence / machine learning model to obtain the channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources.

[0126] In some implementations, the receiver can determine the correlation between channel information acquired on the same fixed frequency domain resource across different time domain resources. This allows it to determine the degree of channel state fluctuation over time. This fluctuation, termed time-varying information, indicates, characterizes, or measures the degree or pattern of channel state change over time in the current communication environment. Based on this fluctuation level, it can be determined whether channel information from reference signals on frequency domain resources of earlier time domain resources across different time domain resources can be used to estimate channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources within the communication bandwidth. For example, if the fluctuation level is less than or equal to a threshold, the channel information from reference signals on frequency domain resources of earlier time domain resources across different time domain resources can be used to estimate channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources within the communication bandwidth; if the fluctuation level is greater than the threshold, the channel information from reference signals on frequency domain resources of earlier time domain resources across different time domain resources is not used to estimate channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources within the communication bandwidth.

[0127] If it is determined that the channel information of the reference signal on the frequency domain resource on the prior time domain resource can be used, optionally, the channel information corresponding to the frequency domain resource on the subsequent time domain resource can be determined based on the fluctuation level and the channel information corresponding to the frequency domain resource on the prior time domain resource.

[0128] In this communication method, because the antenna port can transmit reference signals on different frequency domain resources at different time domain resources, from the perspective of multiple time domain resources, the antenna port transmits reference signals on more frequency domain resources. The receiving end can receive reference signals on more frequency domain resources, thereby measuring channel state information of the reference signals on more frequency domain resources. Furthermore, because the channel state information of reference signals on more frequency domain resources serves as a reference, a more accurate channel estimation result can be estimated. Therefore, the communication method of this embodiment ultimately improves the channel estimation result.

[0129] Furthermore, in this communication method, the antenna port can transmit reference signals on the same frequency domain resource even when it is on different time domain resources. That is, it can transmit reference signals on fixed frequency domain resources. In this way, the receiver can receive reference signals on different time domain resources but the same frequency domain resource. Thus, it can obtain the time-varying information of the signal based on the reference signals on the same frequency domain resource but different time domain resources, and then achieve more accurate channel estimation based on the time-varying information.

[0130] Taking Figure 5 as an example, for time-domain resource 1, the first antenna port transmits reference signals on sc0 and sc6; for time-domain resource 2, the first antenna port transmits reference signals on sc2 and sc6. Here, sc0 and sc2 are frequency-domain resources whose frequency domain positions change, while sc6 is a frequency-domain resource with a fixed frequency domain position. The receiver obtains channel estimation results H0 and H6-1 based on the reference signals received on time-domain resource 1, and obtains channel estimation results H2 and H6-2 based on the reference signals received on time-domain resource 2. The receiver can calculate time-varying information based on H6-1 and H6-2, determine H0-1 based on this time-varying information and H0, and interpolate H1, H3, H4, H5, H7, H8, H9, H10, and H11 based on H0-1, H2, and H6-2.

[0131] As can be seen from the comparison between Figure 5 and Figure 3, compared to Figure 3 which can only obtain the channel estimation results corresponding to sc0 and sc6, the technical solution of this embodiment can obtain the channel estimation results corresponding to sc0, sc2 and sc6, that is, it can obtain channel estimation results on more frequency domain resources. In this way, when obtaining channel information corresponding to other frequency domain resources, there is more channel information that can be referenced, and the interpolation results are more accurate.

[0132] Furthermore, since H0-1 is closer to the true state of the current channel than H0, interpolation based on H0-1, H2, and H6-2 can yield more accurate channel information than interpolation based on H0, H2, and H6-2.

[0133] In some implementations, this embodiment further includes: the transmitting end transmitting a reference signal on a third time-frequency resource through a first antenna port. The third time-frequency resource includes a first frequency domain resource on the third time domain resource and a fourth frequency domain resource on the third time domain resource. The frequency domain position of the fourth frequency domain resource is different from the frequency domain positions of both the second and third frequency domain resources. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port on the third time-frequency resource.

[0134] As shown in Figure 6, for time-domain resource 3, the first antenna port transmits reference signals on sc5 and sc6. sc5 is a frequency-domain resource whose frequency domain position changes, and sc6 is a frequency-domain resource whose frequency domain position is fixed. The receiver can obtain more channel information corresponding to the frequency-domain resources, that is, the channel information corresponding to sc5, thereby improving the accuracy of the interpolated channel information. Specifically, the receiver can calculate time-varying information based on H6-1, H6-2, and H6-3, and determine H0-1 based on this time-varying information and H0, determine H2-1 based on this time-varying information and H2, and obtain H1, H3, H4, H7, H8, H9, H10, and H11 by interpolation based on H0-1 and H2-1, H5 and H6-3.

[0135] For sc6 with a fixed frequency domain position, more channel information can be obtained, namely H6-3, which can obtain more accurate time-varying information and thus obtain more accurate channel information.

[0136] It is understandable that in Figure 6, the number of subcarriers between sc5 and sc2 is not equal to the number of subcarriers between sc2 and sc0; this is merely an example. In some implementations, the number of subcarriers between sc5 and sc2 can be equal to the number of subcarriers between sc2 and sc0.

[0137] It is understandable that in some implementations, the first antenna port can transmit reference signals on more time-domain resources, including different time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources with fixed frequency-domain positions, and frequency-domain resources with varying frequency-domain positions.

[0138] In some implementations, the first antenna port transmits reference signals on more time-domain resources. The more frequency-domain resources with varying frequency-domain positions, the more channel information corresponding to those resources can be measured, which can improve the accuracy of channel estimation results for frequency-domain resources across the entire bandwidth.

[0139] In some implementations, the first antenna port transmits reference signals over more time-domain resources. For frequency-domain resources at fixed frequency-domain locations, more channel information can be measured, resulting in more accurate time-varying information. This improves the accuracy of channel estimation results for frequency-domain resources across the entire bandwidth.

[0140] In this embodiment, the mapping relationship between the antenna port and the frequency domain resources for transmitting the reference signal can be represented in various ways, such as through tables, diagrams, or formulas.

[0141] The following example uses four antenna ports in the transmitting end to illustrate, in conjunction with Tables 1 to 4, a table showing the mapping relationship between the antenna ports and the frequency domain resources of the transmitted reference signal in this application.

[0142] Table 1

[0143] Table 2

[0144] Table 3

[0145] Table 4

[0146] In Tables 1 to 4, for antenna ports 0 to 4, offsets 0, 1, 3, and 4 are frequency domain resources with varying positions, while offsets 2 and 5 are frequency domain resources with fixed positions. Tables 1 to 4 correspond one-to-one with the four time domain resources. When transmitting a reference signal on each time domain resource through these four antenna ports, the corresponding tables are consulted to determine the frequency domain resource.

[0147] The following example, using four antenna ports in the transmitting end and subcarriers as the unit of frequency domain resources, is illustrated in conjunction with Figure 7 to show a diagram illustrating the mapping relationship between the antenna ports and the frequency domain resources of the transmitted reference signal in this application.

[0148] In Figure 7, each small square represents a subcarrier, and the number in each square represents the antenna port number that transmits the reference signal on the corresponding subcarrier.

[0149] The pattern shown in Figure 7 contains 24 subcarriers, denoted as sc0 to sc23; and four time-domain resources, denoted as time-domain resource 1, time-domain resource 2, time-domain resource 3 and time-domain resource 4.

[0150] In time domain resource 1, the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 0 include sc0, sc4, sc8, sc12, sc16 and sc20; the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 1 include sc1, sc5, sc9, sc13, sc17 and sc21; the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 2 include sc2, sc6, sc10, sc14, sc18 and sc22; and the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 3 include sc3, sc7, sc11, sc15, sc19 and sc23.

[0151] In time domain resource 2, the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 0 include sc1, sc5, sc8, sc13, sc17 and sc20, the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 1 include sc2, sc6, sc9, sc14, sc18 and sc21, the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 2 include sc3, sc7, sc10, sc15, sc19 and sc22, and the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 3 include sc0, sc4, sc11, sc12, sc16 and sc23.

[0152] In time-domain resource 3, the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 0 include sc2, sc6, sc8, sc14, sc18 and sc20; the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 1 include sc3, sc7, sc9, sc15, sc19 and sc21; the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 2 include sc0, sc4, sc10, sc12, sc16 and sc22; and the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 3 include sc1, sc5, sc11, sc13, sc17 and sc23.

[0153] In time-domain resource 4, the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 0 include sc3, sc7, sc8, sc15, sc19 and sc20; the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 1 include sc0, sc4, sc9, sc12, sc16 and sc21; the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 2 include sc1, sc5, sc10, sc13, sc17 and sc22; and the frequency-domain resources corresponding to antenna port 3 include sc2, sc6, sc11, sc14, sc18 and sc23.

[0154] The arrows in Figure 7 illustrate the changes in the frequency domain resources corresponding to antenna port 0 between adjacent time domain resources. The dashed boxes in Figure 7 represent the fixed subcarriers corresponding to these four antenna ports.

[0155] It is understandable that the mapping relationship shown in Figure 7 is the same as the mapping relationship shown in Tables 1 to 4, only the form of representation is different.

[0156] In some implementations, for a time-domain resource (e.g., a first time-domain resource or a second time-domain resource), the frequency-domain position of the frequency-domain resource unit in the fixed frequency-domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: the frequency-domain position of the first frequency-domain resource unit, the interval between the frequency-domain positions of two adjacent frequency-domain resource units in the variable frequency-domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency-domain resource units in the variable frequency-domain resource to the total number of frequency-domain resource units in the fixed frequency-domain resource.

[0157] As an example, the first frequency domain resource element is one of all the frequency domain resource elements corresponding to these multiple antenna ports. It can be understood that the first frequency domain resource elements corresponding to different antenna ports may not be the same. Conversely, the first frequency domain resource elements corresponding to the same antenna port on different time domain resources can be the same.

[0158] The frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource element is: the index of the first or last subcarrier contained in the first frequency domain resource element, or the offset of the index of the first or last subcarrier contained in the first frequency domain resource element relative to the index of the reference subcarrier. The reference subcarrier can be a predefined subcarrier.

[0159] For example, in Figure 7, for time domain resource 1, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 0 is sc0, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 1 is sc1, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 2 is sc2, and the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 3 is sc3; in time domain resources 1 to time domain resources 4, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port is sc0, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 1 is sc1, the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 2 is sc2, and the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 3 is sc3.

[0160] As an example, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in a variable frequency domain resource can be understood as: the number of frequency domain resource units between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in a variable frequency domain resource after removing the frequency domain resources with fixed frequency domain positions corresponding to these multiple antenna ports from all frequency domain resources.

[0161] Taking Figure 7 as an example, all frequency domain resources corresponding to the four antenna ports include sc0 to sc23, of which the fixed-position frequency domain resources include sc8 to sc11 and sc20 to sc23. Specifically, for antenna port 0, one time domain resource is time domain resource 1, the fixed frequency domain resources include sc8 and sc20, and the variable frequency domain resources include sc0, sc4, sc12, and sc16.

[0162] As shown in Figure 8, after removing sc8 to sc11 and sc20 to sc23, sc0 to sc7 and sc12 to sc19 are included. In Figure 8, for antenna port 0, among the variable frequency domain resources including sc0, sc4, sc12 and sc16, sc0 and sc4 are separated by 4 subcarriers, sc12 and sc4 are separated by 4 subcarriers, and sc16 and sc12 are separated by 4 subcarriers.

[0163] Since knowing the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resources allows us to know the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resources to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources, in some implementations, the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resources can be replaced with the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources in the fixed frequency domain resources. In the preset formula, the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resources can be replaced with the reciprocal of the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resources to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resources.

[0164] As an example, for a time-domain resource (e.g., a first time-domain resource or a second time-domain resource), the frequency domain position of the frequency-domain resource element in the fixed frequency-domain resource satisfies the following preset relationship with the first information: A n ={(L+1)*β*n+L*β+Δ}

[0165] Among them, A n β represents the frequency domain position of the (n+1)th frequency domain resource unit in the fixed frequency domain resource, β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resource, and the relevant content about the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resource can be referred to the above description, L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the variable frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the fixed frequency domain resource, Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit, and n is a non-negative integer.

[0166] Where n ranges from 0 to N-1, and N is the number of frequency domain resource units contained in the fixed frequency domain resource.

[0167] In some implementations, the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource element is the offset of the first frequency domain resource element relative to the reference frequency domain resource element among all frequency domain resource elements corresponding to multiple antenna ports. As an example, the reference frequency domain resource element is the resource element with the smallest index.

[0168] Taking Figure 7 as an example, for time domain resource 1, the reference frequency domain resource unit is sc0, the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 0 is 0, the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 1 is 1, the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 2 is 2, and the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit corresponding to antenna port 3 is 3.

[0169] In some implementations, for a time-domain resource (e.g., a first time-domain resource or a second time-domain resource), the frequency-domain position of the frequency-domain resource element in the variable frequency-domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the second information. The second information includes at least one of the following: the frequency-domain position of the first frequency-domain resource element, the interval between the frequency-domain positions of two adjacent frequency-domain resource elements in the variable frequency-domain resource, the frequency-domain position offset between the first frequency-domain resource element and the first frequency-domain resource element in the variable frequency-domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency-domain resource elements in the variable frequency-domain resource to the total number of frequency-domain resource elements in the fixed frequency-domain resource.

[0170] In some implementations, for the same antenna port, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource element in the frequency domain resource changes on different time domain resources and the first frequency domain resource element corresponding to the antenna port is not equal.

[0171] Taking Figure 7 as an example, for antenna port 0, the first frequency domain resource unit is sc0; for time domain resource 1, the first frequency domain resource unit in the changed frequency domain resource of antenna port 0 is sc0, that is, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit is 0; for time domain resource 2, the first frequency domain resource unit in the changed frequency domain resource of antenna port 0 is sc1, that is, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit is 1; for time domain resource 3, the first frequency domain resource unit in the changed frequency domain resource of antenna port 0 is sc2, that is, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit is 2; for time domain resource 4, the first frequency domain resource unit in the changed frequency domain resource of antenna port 0 is sc3, that is, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit is 3.

[0172] In some implementations, for a time-domain resource (e.g., a first time-domain resource or a second time-domain resource), the frequency domain position of the frequency-domain resource element in the varying frequency-domain resource satisfies the following preset relationship with the second information:

[0173] Among them, B m This represents the frequency domain position of the (m+1)th frequency domain resource element in the variable frequency domain resource; β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource elements in the variable frequency domain resource; L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the variable frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource elements in the fixed frequency domain resource; Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource element; m is a non-negative integer; and "%" represents the modulo operation. This indicates a floor operation, where k represents the frequency domain offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit in the variable frequency domain resource.

[0174] Where m ranges from 0 to M-1, and M is the number of frequency domain resource units contained in the variable frequency domain resource.

[0175] As an example, the number of antenna ports is 4, β is 4, L is 2, the first frequency domain resource element corresponding to antenna port 0 is sc0, the first frequency domain resource element corresponding to antenna port 1 is sc1, the first frequency domain resource element corresponding to antenna port 2 is sc2, and the first frequency domain resource element corresponding to antenna port 3 is sc3. In the first time-frequency resource, the frequency offset between the first frequency domain resource elements is 0 subcarriers; in the second time-frequency resource, the frequency offset between the first frequency domain resource elements is 1 subcarrier; in the third time-frequency resource, the frequency offset between the first frequency domain resource elements is 2 subcarriers; and in the fourth time-frequency resource, the frequency offset between the first frequency domain resource elements is 3 subcarriers. Figure 7 illustrates an example of the mapping relationship between each antenna port and the fixed and variable frequency domain resources.

[0176] In some implementations, the value of β is equal to the number of antenna ports. For example, when each time-domain resource contains one symbol, the value of β is equal to the number of antenna ports.

[0177] In some implementations, β is equal to half the number of antenna ports. For example, when each time-domain resource contains two symbols, β is equal to half the number of antenna ports.

[0178] In some implementations of this embodiment, all or part of the information in the first information and / or the second information can be predefined, or it can be sent from the wireless access network device to the terminal.

[0179] In some implementations, the transmitting end and the receiving end predefine all the information in the first information and / or the second information according to the provisions of the communication protocol. The transmitting end and the receiving end can determine the fixed frequency domain resources and / or variable frequency domain resources corresponding to the antenna port based on the predefined information and preset relational formulas, respectively.

[0180] In some implementations, the transmitting end and the receiving end predefine a portion of the first information and / or the second information based on the provisions of the communication protocol. The transmitting end and the receiving end can negotiate another portion of the information. In this way, the transmitting end and the receiving end can determine the fixed frequency domain resources and / or variable frequency domain resources corresponding to the antenna port based on the first information and / or the second information, respectively.

[0181] In some implementations, all information in the first and / or second information is obtained through negotiation between the sender and receiver.

[0182] One way to negotiate all or part of the information between the sender and receiver is for the sender to indicate all or part of the information to the receiver.

[0183] In some implementations, the communication protocol specifies the value range of all or part of the first and / or second information, and the sending end indicates to the receiving end that the all or part of the information includes: the sending end instructs the receiving end on the specific values ​​of all or part of the first and / or second information within the specified value range.

[0184] In some implementations, the mapping relationship or pattern between the antenna port and fixed frequency domain resources and variable frequency domain resources can be repeated on multiple time domain resources.

[0185] In some implementations, the fixed frequency domain resources and variable frequency domain resources corresponding to the antenna port support code division orthogonality. Figure 9 shows an example of code division orthogonality between the fixed frequency domain resources and variable frequency domain resources corresponding to the antenna port.

[0186] In Figure 9, the horizontal direction represents time, and the vertical direction represents frequency. Each cell in the horizontal direction represents a time-domain resource unit (e.g., a symbol), and each cell in the vertical direction represents a frequency-domain resource unit (a resource block). Antenna port 0 and antenna port 1 can orthogonally multiplex the frequency-domain resources at the same location using code division multiplexing (CDM), and antenna port 1 and antenna port 2 can also orthogonally multiplex the frequency-domain resources at the same location. As an example, the first four and last four frequency-domain resource units in the vertical direction are variable frequency-domain resources, while the middle four frequency-domain resource units are fixed frequency-domain resources.

[0187] In some implementations of this embodiment, in an environment with different time-varying information, the transmitting end transmits reference signals on fixed and variable frequency resources across multiple time-domain resources via an antenna port. The receiving end receives the reference signals transmitted by the antenna port on these fixed and variable frequency resources, estimates the channel information on the fixed and variable frequency resources, and obtains the actual channel information on other frequency resources (or communication bandwidth). Based on the channel information on the fixed and variable frequency resources and the actual channel information on other frequency resources (or communication bandwidth), the mapping relationship between the channel information on the fixed and variable frequency resources and the channel information on other frequency resources (or communication bandwidth) is determined. The association between the time-varying information and the mapping relationship is recorded. As an example, the mapping relationship between the channel information on the fixed and variable frequency resources and the channel information on other frequency resources (or communication bandwidth) is an interpolation matrix.

[0188] Thus, in some implementations, the receiver can store the association between the time-varying information and this mapping relationship. In practical channel estimation scenarios, the receiver can first determine the time-varying information, and based on the time-varying information, determine the mapping relationship between channel information on fixed frequency domain resources and variable frequency domain resources and channel information on other frequency domain resources (or communication bandwidth). Then, based on this mapping relationship and the channel information on fixed frequency domain resources and variable frequency domain resources, the receiver can determine the channel information on other frequency domain resources (or communication bandwidth).

[0189] In some implementations, the transmitting end stores the association between time-varying information and this mapping relationship. In practical channel estimation scenarios, the transmitting end determines the time-varying information and indicates the corresponding mapping relationship to the receiving end. In this way, the receiving end can know the mapping relationship between channel information on fixed and variable frequency domain resources and channel information on other frequency domain resources (or communication bandwidth), and thus determine the channel information on other frequency domain resources (or communication bandwidth) based on this mapping relationship and the channel information on fixed and variable frequency domain resources.

[0190] In this embodiment, it can be understood that frequency domain resources can be referred to as frequency resources.

[0191] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the receiving end and the transmitting end include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0192] Figures 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams of the communication devices according to embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the receiving end or the transmitting end in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be the transmitting end in the aforementioned method embodiments, or the receiving end in the aforementioned method embodiments, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied in the transmitting end or the receiving end.

[0193] As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes a processing unit 1010 and a transceiver unit 1020. The communication device 1000 is used to implement the functions of the receiving end or the transmitting end in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 above.

[0194] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the transmitting end in the method embodiment shown in FIG4: the transceiver unit 1020 is used to transmit a reference signal on a first time-frequency resource through a first antenna port, the first time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, and is used to transmit a reference signal on a second time-frequency resource through a first antenna port, the second time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and a third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource, the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource being different from the frequency domain position of the second frequency domain resource; the processing unit 1010 is used to determine the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource.

[0195] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the receiving end in the method embodiment shown in FIG4: the transceiver unit 1020 is used to receive the reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port of the transmitting end on the first time-frequency resource, and to receive the reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port on the second time-frequency resource; the processing unit 1010 is used to determine the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource.

[0196] For a more detailed description of the above-mentioned processing unit 1010 and transceiver unit 1020, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0197] As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. The processor 1110 and the interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1120 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may also include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1110, or storing input data required by the processor 1110 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1110 executes instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 1120 can also be understood as part of the processor 1110, in which case the communication device 1100 includes the processor 1110.

[0198] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the method shown in FIG4, the processor 1110 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1010, and the interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1020.

[0199] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0200] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the base station (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information being sent down to other modules in the base station (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0201] In this application, entity A sends information to entity B, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Similarly, entity B receives information from entity A, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Entities A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. Information transmission and reception can be between RAN nodes and terminals, such as between a base station and a terminal; between two RAN nodes, such as between a CU and a DU; or between different modules within a single device, such as between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0202] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit, or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0203] In this embodiment of the application, the processor may include one or more of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural processing unit (NPU).

[0204] In this embodiment, the memory (e.g., memory 1730, memory 1820) may include, but is not limited to, cache, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code having an instruction or data structure form and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in this embodiment may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions for storing computer programs or instructions, and / or data.

[0205] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, optical discs, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or terminal.

[0206] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0207] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method includes: A reference signal is transmitted through the first antenna port on the first time-frequency resource, the first time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource; A reference signal is transmitted through the first antenna port on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource including the first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and the third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource, the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource being different from the frequency domain position of the second frequency domain resource.

2. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method includes: The reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port of the transmitting end is received on the first time-frequency resource, the first time-frequency resource including a first frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource and a second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource; The reference signal transmitted by the first antenna port is received on the second time-frequency resource, which includes the first frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource and the third frequency domain resource on the second time domain resource, wherein the frequency domain position of the third frequency domain resource is different from that of the second frequency domain resource.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, A frequency domain position of a frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and the first information satisfy the following relationship: A n = {(L+1)*β*n+L*β+Δ} Among them, A n β represents the frequency domain position of the (n+1)th frequency domain resource unit in the first frequency domain resource, β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource, Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit, and n is a non-negative integer.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource satisfies a preset relationship with the second information. The second information includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain position of the first frequency domain resource unit, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The frequency domain position of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource and the second information satisfy the following relationship: Among them, B m This represents the frequency domain position of the (m+1)th frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource; β represents the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource; L represents the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource; Δ represents the frequency domain offset of the first frequency domain resource unit; m is a non-negative integer; and "%" represents the modulo operation. This indicates a rounding down operation, and k represents the frequency domain position offset between the first frequency domain resource unit and the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive or send third information, the third information indicating at least one of the following: the frequency domain position offset of the first frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource, the interval between the frequency domain positions of two adjacent frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource, the frequency domain position offset of the frequency domain resource unit in the second frequency domain resource on the first time domain resource, or the ratio of the total number of frequency domain resource units in the second frequency domain resource to the total number of frequency domain resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

8. A communications device, characterized by Includes modules or units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A communication device, characterized by include: A processor coupled to a memory for storing a computer program, wherein when the processor invokes the computer program, the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store a computer program, the computer program including instructions for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising instructions embodied therein, wherein: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

12. A communication system, characterized by It includes a communication device for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1, 3 to 7, and a communication device for implementing the method according to any one of claims 2 to 7.

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