Patent ID: 9270496
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: H04B,H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method for an access node to perform channel estimation, comprising: when a user equipment (UE) and at least one relay node are present in a cell with the access node, the access node receiving a first demodulation reference signal (DMRS) from the UE in a resource block containing both data and control information and receiving a second DMRS from the at least one relay node in a resource block containing only the data and the second DMRS, wherein the DMRS from the UE is orthogonal to the DMRS from the at least one relay node; the access node performing a first channel estimation based on the DMRS that was transmitted by the UE; the access node performing a second channel estimation based on the DMRS that was transmitted by the at least one relay node; the access node adding the first channel estimation to the second channel estimation to derive a combined channel estimation; the access node using the first channel estimation to demodulate the control information received from only the UE; and the access node using the combined channel estimation to demodulate the data received from both the UE and the at least one relay node.