Patent Description:
The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a reference signal sending method and a transmitter.

Minimum mean square error-interference rejection combining (Minimum Mean Square Error-Interference Rejection Combining, MMSE-IRC) signal processing is a practical receiver technology in a multiple-input multiple-output (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, MIMO) communications system. Generally, to achieve a desired effect, in interference rejection combining (Interference Rejection Combining, IRC), an interference covariance correlation matrix needs to be estimated by using a pilot, and it is assumed that an interference characteristic on a pilot symbol is consistent with an interference characteristic on a data symbol. In a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, for a physical uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH), a pilot location needs to be fixed in a subframe, and pilot locations in all cells are the same. Therefore, for the LTE system, it is feasible to enable MMSE-IRC.

In a fifth-generation communications standard New Radio (New Radio, NR), a demodulation reference signal (Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS) pilot symbol and a data symbol are flexibly designed. A pilot location on the data symbol is indicated by network signaling, and a pilot location of a neighboring cell may be inconsistent with a pilot location of a target cell. If it is also assumed that an estimated interference correlation matrix estimated on the pilot is consistent with interference on the data symbol, performance of an MMSE-IRC receiver cannot be ensured.

In conclusion, resource allocation among multiple cells in the NR system is very flexible, so that a DMRS of the target cell is not interfered with by the neighboring cell, and a service data part of the target cell is interfered by a neighboring cell. In this case, a serious error exists in a result of interference measurement performed by using the DMRS, which cannot represent a case in which the service data part is interfered with by a real neighboring cell, and consequently receive performance is degraded.

<CIT> provides an interference measurement method for eliminating and rejecting interference existing in demodulation of data channel and control channel. In detail, the network side device sends interference measurement indication information to the target terminal to indicate the target terminal to perform interference measurement. The interference measurement indication information includes parameter configuration information used for interference measurement. The parameter configuration information includes one or more of the following: CRS port for interference measurement, resources of data channel and/or control channel used for interference measurement, information indicating a physical cell ID of the interfering cell and/or a virtual cell ID of the interfering user equipment, information for indicating the transmission mode of interfering UE, and information for indicating transmission power of the interfering cell. The network side device sends a zero power signal on the RE corresponding to the resources for interference measurement, the target terminal performs interference measurement by using the signal received on the resource.

<CIT> provides an interference measurement method to improve the interference measurement effect on data channels and control channels. In detail, the network sends interference measurement indication information to a terminal to indicate the terminal to perform interference measurement. The interference measurement indication information is used for indicating one or more kinds of the following information: interference measurement modes used for performing interference measurement, and parameter configuration information used for interference measurement. The interference measurement modes includes one or more kinds of the following modes: performing interference measurement through orthogonal demodulation reference signal DMRS ports; performing interference measurement through pseudo-orthogonal DMRS ports; performing interference measurement through specified resource element REs, where the mode is, by transmitting a zero-power signal to the terminal on the specified REs, the terminal performing interference measurement through a received signal on the specified REs; "power subtraction" interference measurement, where the mode is to perform interference measurement by subtracting useful signals from a total received signal or subtracting received powers of the useful signals from a total received signal power. The parameter configuration information used for interference measurement comprises one or more kinds of the following information: DMRS initialization parameters used for interference measurement; and DMRS ports used for interference measurement.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a reference signal sending method and a transmitter, to resolve a problem in the prior art that a serious error exists in a result of interference measurement performed only by using a DMRS, and a case in which a service data part is interfered with by a real neighboring cell cannot be represented.

To resolve the foregoing technical problem, the present invention is implemented as follows: A reference signal sending method performed by a transmitter is provided, which is defined in claim <NUM>.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a transmitter, which is defined in claim <NUM>.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is defined in claim <NUM>.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a target reference signal used for interference measurement is provided, to resolve an interference measurement problem in an NR system. Further, by increasing time domain density of a time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal, a tracking range of neighboring cell interference is increased. By increasing frequency domain density of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal, interference measurement accuracy is improved.

To describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of the present invention.

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

In the embodiments of the present invention, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate an example, an instance, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "an example" in the embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as being preferable or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to present related concepts in a specific manner.

The terminal provided in the embodiments of the present invention may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer, UMPC), a netbook, a wearable device (Wearable Device), a vehicle-mounted device, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), or the like. It should be noted that a specific type of the terminal is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiments of the present invention, an LTE system and an NR system are used as examples, but this system is not limited. The technical solution provided in the present invention may be applied to another system that has a same problem.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention provides a reference signal sending method, performed by a transmitter (the transmitter may be a transmitter of a terminal or a transmitter of a base station, which is not specifically limited herein), and including:.

An interference correlation matrix measured on the target reference signal is used to represent an interference correlation matrix on a current symbol.

This embodiment of the present invention proposes a method for inserting some pilots into a symbol occupied by a data signal, to measure interference, instead of merely relying on an DMRS in an NR system to perform interference measurement.

Optionally, overheads of the target reference signal in a time domain dimension and a frequency domain dimension need to be minimized while performance is ensured. To avoid a case that neighboring cell interference measured on the target reference signal is inconsistent with a neighboring cell interference characteristic to which the data signal is subjected, distribution of the target reference signal in time domain should be sufficiently dense (that is, a quantity of symbols occupied by the target reference signal in time domain is greater than or equal to a threshold, or a quantity of symbols spaced apart in time domain of the target reference signal is less than or equal to a threshold, and the threshold is related to neighboring cell data scheduling), so that regardless of a quantity of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, OFDM) symbols occupied by interference transmitted from a neighboring cell to a target cell, it can be ensured that the target reference signal or a DMRS exists in an OFDM symbol area interfered by the neighboring cell.

Optionally, the method further includes:
avoiding the target reference signal by performing rate matching or puncturing on a data signal on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured.

Further, in a case that the target reference signal is sent by using zero power (preferably, the transmitter is a transmitter of a terminal), the method further includes:
performing power compensation on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured.

When the target reference signal is sent by using zero power, the transmitter does not send another signal at a corresponding location of the target reference signal, and the data signal on the symbol avoids the target reference signal through rate matching or puncturing. Further, when the transmitter is a terminal, because the target reference signal is configured on some OFDM symbols, and the target reference signal is not configured on some other OFDM symbols, transmit power between different symbols is different. Therefore, to ensure that data signals have the same transmit signal power, the terminal needs to perform power compensation on the OFDM symbol on which the target reference signal is configured.

According to the invention, the performing power compensation on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured in step <NUM> includes:.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present invention, a pilot signal used for another measurement purpose may also be sent on the OFDM symbol on which the target reference signal is located. In this case, power compensation may not be performed, which is not specifically limited herein.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal in step <NUM> is mainly determined in two manners. In a first manner, the transmitter performs determining based on a predefined rule. In a second manner (the transmitter is a transmitter of the terminal), a network side device is configured for the terminal, and the terminal performs determining based on an indication of the network side device.

Specifically, in the first manner, step <NUM> includes:
determining the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal based on reference information, where the reference information includes at least one of the following:.

For example, a time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern may be related to an MCS transmitted on a current service channel, a type of a DMRS, a length of a symbol occupied by the DMRS, a quantity of symbols occupied by the DMRS, a location of the symbol occupied by the DMRS, a quantity of symbols occupied by data, a quantity of symbols included in the current service channel, and a location of the symbol included in the current service channel. The frequency domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern may be related to a modulation and coding scheme MCS for current traffic channel transmission and a precoding frequency domain granularity for current traffic channel transmission.

To accurately measure neighboring cell interference, the frequency domain location and the time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal are further related to a cell ID. For example, for different cells, time-frequency resource patterns of target reference signals have different offsets on frequency domain resources, or have different offsets on time domain resources.

Optionally, in the first manner, before the determining a time-frequency resource pattern of a target reference signal based on reference information, the method further includes:
receiving first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal activates the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal.

Specifically, whether to activate the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal may be configured by using RRC signaling (the RRC signaling carries the first indication information). For example, enable means "activate", and disable means "not activate". Specifically, the network side device may further separately notify, by using the RRC signaling, an uplink or a downlink whether the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal is activated, which is not specifically limited herein.

Specifically, in the second manner, step <NUM> includes:.

Optionally, the second indication information is carried by using radio resource control RRC signaling; and/or
the third indication information is carried by using a media access control control element MAC CE or downlink control information DCI.

For example, multiple time-frequency resource patterns are pre-configured by using the RRC signaling, and one of the time-frequency resource patterns is activated by using the MAC CE or the DCI and indicated to the terminal. It should be noted that the DCI indication may be notified, in a manner of group common DCI, to one group of terminals or multiple groups of terminals to use a corresponding IMRS pattern.

In an optional embodiment, the time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by using a bitmap. For example, a <NUM>-bit bitmap is used to indicate OFDM symbols on which the target reference signal is distributed, <NUM> indicates that the target reference signal occupies a corresponding OFDM symbol, and <NUM> indicates that there is no target reference signal.

The frequency domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by using a bitmap. For example, a <NUM>-bit bitmap is used to indicate subcarriers on which the target reference signal is distributed, <NUM> indicates that the target reference signal occupies a corresponding subcarrier, and <NUM> indicates that there is no target reference signal.

It should be noted that the bitmap indicating the time domain location and the frequency domain location may be pre-configured by using RRC signaling.

In still another optional embodiment, the time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by a pre-configured time domain start location and time domain density. For example, a time domain start location may be pre-configured by using RRC signaling, or may be related to a location of a start symbol of a service channel.

The frequency domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by a pre-configured frequency domain start location and frequency domain density. For example, the frequency domain start location may be configured by using RRC signaling, or may be related to a terminal ID or a cell ID.

It should be noted that the time domain density and/or the frequency domain density may be pre-configured by using RRC, or may be predefined, which is not specifically limited herein.

In still another optional embodiment, the method further includes:
in a case that the target reference signal collides with a pre-configured demodulation reference signal DMRS on a target symbol, sending the DMRS on the target symbol and ignoring the target reference signal. In other words, the target reference signal collides with the DMRS, sending of the target reference signal cannot affect sending of the DMRS.

In another optional embodiment, when the transmitter receives two or more service channels in one slot, respective time-frequency resource patterns are independently configured for different service channels. Different traffic channels (PDSCH or PUSCH) use a same time-frequency resource pattern or different time-frequency resource patterns.

Alternatively, in a case that the transmitter is a terminal, when the terminal is in a multi-transmit/receive point (Multi-TRP) scenario, respective time-frequency resource patterns are independently configured for communication links between different sending and receiving nodes and the terminal. A same time-frequency resource pattern or different time-frequency resource patterns are used for the communication links between different sending and receiving nodes and the terminal. When different time-frequency resource patterns are configured for different sending and receiving nodes, the corresponding time-frequency resource patterns may be related to control resource set indexes (different sending and receiving nodes correspond to different control resource set indexes).

It should be noted that the target reference signal provided in this embodiment of the present invention may be a newly introduced interference measurement reference signal, which may be referred to as an interference measurement reference signal (Interference Measurement Reference Signal, IMRS); or may be an existing DMRS or a phase tracking reference signal PTRS, which is not specifically limited herein.

It is assumed that data of a target cell occupies seven OFDM symbols, and a mapping manner of TypeA (type A) is used, where the DMRS is located in a third OFDM symbol, and interference transmitted by a neighboring cell to the target cell is three or four OFDM symbols, and a mapping manner of TypeB (type B) is used, where the DMRS is located in a first OFDM symbol.

In this case, if neighboring cell interference overlaps with the first three symbols of the last four OFDM symbols of data of the target cell (the solution <NUM> shown in <FIG>), or overlaps with the last three OFDM symbols (the solution <NUM> shown in <FIG>), or overlaps with all the four OFDM symbols of data of the current cell (the solution <NUM> shown in <FIG>), accurate interference measurement cannot be performed by using the DMRS in the third OFDM symbol of the data of the target cell, that is, a case in which the DMRS is not interfered by the neighboring cell occurs, but a service data part is interfered by the neighboring cell, resulting in inconsistent interference characteristics. In this case, an MMSE-IRC receiver will not work effectively.

<FIG> and <FIG> are schematic diagrams of the time domain location and the frequency domain location of the target reference signal. The target reference signal shown in <FIG> is distributed on each OFDM symbol in time domain (when colliding with the DMRS, the target reference signal is not placed), and frequency domain density is <NUM>; in other words, one target reference signal is placed on every four subcarriers, and a placement location in frequency domain may be offset according to a configuration offset of a higher layer, for example, an offset of one subcarrier is performed in <FIG>. One target reference signal shown in <FIG> is placed in every two OFDM symbols in time domain. When colliding with the DMRS, the target reference signal is not placed. Configuration of a remaining parameter is similar to <FIG>, and frequency domain density is <NUM>, and a placement location in frequency domain may be offset according to a configuration offset of a higher layer, for example, an offset of one subcarrier is performed in <FIG>. Compared with the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal in <FIG>, reference signal overheads of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal in <FIG> are less, but performance of interference estimation may be poorer than that of the time-frequency resource pattern in <FIG>.

In conclusion, the time domain density of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal is increased, so that a tracking range of neighboring cell interference can be increased; and frequency domain density of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal is increased, so that interference measurement accuracy is improved.

The foregoing two types of time-frequency resource patterns can ensure that the target reference signal definitely exists in an OFDM symbol area interfered with by the neighboring cell. Therefore, the two types of time-frequency resource patterns may be used for effective measurement of neighboring cell interference, and a problem that interference cannot be correctly measured in an NR system is resolved.

In conclusion, a flexible resource allocation design is used in the NR system. However, while pursuing flexibility, uncertainty of intra-system interference is increased. An embodiment of the present invention provides a target reference signal used for interference measurement, to resolve an interference measurement problem in the NR system.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a transmitter <NUM>, including:.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter further includes:
a first processing module, configured to avoid the target reference signal by performing rate matching or puncturing on a data signal on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured.

In the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter further includes:
a second processing module, configured to: in a case that the target reference signal is sent by using zero power, perform power compensation on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured.

In the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the processing module includes:.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the pattern determining module includes:
a first pattern determining sub-module, configured to determine the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal based on reference information, where the reference information includes at least one of the following:.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter further includes:
a first receiving module, configured to receive first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal activates the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the pattern determining module includes:.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the second indication information is carried by using radio resource control RRC signaling; and/or
the third indication information is carried by using a media access control control element MAC CE or downlink control information.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, a time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by using a bitmap; or a time domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by a pre-configured time domain start location and time domain density.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, a frequency domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by using a bitmap; or a frequency domain location of the time-frequency resource pattern is indicated by a pre-configured frequency domain start location and frequency domain density.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter further includes:
a collision module, configured to: in a case that the target reference signal collides with a pre-configured demodulation reference signal DMRS on a target symbol, send the DMRS on the target symbol and ignoring the target reference signal.

Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention,.

The transmitter provided in this embodiment of the present invention can implement processes implemented by the transmitter in the method embodiments of <FIG>. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

In conclusion, in the embodiments of the present invention, a target reference signal used for interference measurement is provided. By increasing time domain density of a time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal, a tracking range of neighboring cell interference is increased. By increasing frequency domain density of the time-frequency resource pattern of the target reference signal, interference measurement accuracy is improved. In this way, an interference measurement problem in an NR system is resolved.

It should be noted that the transmitter provided in this embodiment of the present invention is a transmitter that can perform the foregoing reference signal sending method. Therefore, all embodiments of the foregoing reference signal sending method are applicable to the transmitter, and a same or similar beneficial effect can be achieved.

In a case that the transmitter is a transmitter of a terminal, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal for implementing the embodiments of the present invention. The terminal <NUM> includes but is not limited to components such as a radio frequency unit <NUM>, a network module <NUM>, an audio output unit <NUM>, an input unit <NUM>, a sensor <NUM>, a display unit <NUM>, a user input unit <NUM>, an interface unit <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and a power supply <NUM>. A person skilled in the art may understand that a structure of the terminal shown in <FIG> does not constitute a limitation on the terminal, and the terminal may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine some components, or have different component arrangements. In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, an in-vehicle terminal, a wearable device, a pedometer, and the like.

The processor <NUM> is configured to determine a time-frequency resource pattern of a target reference signal used for interference measurement, where the time-frequency resource pattern is used to indicate a time domain location and a frequency domain location of the target reference signal.

The radio frequency unit <NUM> is configured to send the target reference signal by using zero power or non-zero power based on the time-frequency resource pattern.

It should be noted that the terminal provided in this embodiment of the present invention is a terminal that can perform the foregoing reference signal sending method. Therefore, all embodiments of the foregoing reference signal sending method are applicable to the terminal, and a same or similar beneficial effect can be achieved.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the present invention, the radio frequency unit <NUM> may be configured to receive and send information or receive and send a signal in a call process. Specifically, after downlink data from a base station is received, the processor <NUM> processes the downlink data. In addition, uplink data is sent to the base station. Generally, the radio frequency unit <NUM> includes but is not limited to an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the radio frequency unit <NUM> may further communicate with a network and another device by using a wireless communication system.

The terminal provides wireless broadband Internet access for a user by using a network module <NUM>, for example, helping the user send and receive an email, browsing a web page, and accessing streaming media.

The audio output unit <NUM> may convert audio data received by the radio frequency unit <NUM> or the network module <NUM> or stored in the memory <NUM> into an audio signal and output as sound. In addition, the audio output unit <NUM> may further provide audio output (for example, call signal receiving sound or message receiving sound) related to a specific function performed by the terminal <NUM>. The audio output unit <NUM> includes a loudspeaker, a buzzer, a telephone receiver, and the like.

The input unit <NUM> is configured to receive an audio or time frequency signal. The input unit <NUM> may include a graphics processing unit (Graphics Processing Unit, GPU) <NUM> and a microphone <NUM>. The graphics processing unit <NUM> processes image data of a static picture or a video obtained by an image capture apparatus (such as a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. A processed image frame may be displayed on the display unit <NUM>. The image frame processed by the graphics processing unit <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM> (or another storage medium) or sent by using the radio frequency unit <NUM> or the network module <NUM>. The microphone <NUM> may receive sound and can process such sound into audio data. The processed audio data may be output by being converted into a format that may be sent to a mobile communications base station by using the radio frequency unit <NUM> in a telephone call mode.

The terminal <NUM> further includes at least one sensor <NUM>, such as an optical sensor, a motion sensor, and another sensor. Specifically, the optical sensor includes an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor may adjust luminance of the display panel <NUM> based on brightness of ambient light, and the proximity sensor may disable the display panel <NUM> and/or backlight when the terminal <NUM> approaches an ear. As a type of the motion sensor, an accelerometer sensor may detect magnitude of an acceleration in each direction (generally three axes), and may detect magnitude and a direction of gravity when being static. The accelerometer sensor may be used for recognizing a terminal gesture (for example, horizontal and vertical screen switching, a related game, or magnetometer posture calibration), a function related to vibration recognition (for example, a pedometer or a strike), or the like. The sensor <NUM> may further include a fingerprint sensor, a pressure sensor, an iris sensor, a molecular sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, an infrared sensor, and the like. This is not described herein.

The display unit <NUM> is configured to display information entered by the user or information provided for the user. The display unit <NUM> may include a display panel <NUM>, and the display panel <NUM> may be configured in a form of a liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display, LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (Organic Light-Emitting Diode, OLED), or the like.

The user input unit <NUM> may be configured to receive input digit or character information and generate key signal input related to user setting and function control of a terminal. Specifically, the user input unit <NUM> includes a touch panel <NUM> and another input device <NUM>. The touch panel <NUM>, also referred to as a touchscreen, may collect a touch operation performed by the user on or near the touch panel <NUM> (for example, an operation performed by the user on or near the touch panel <NUM> by using any suitable object or accessory such as a finger or a stylus). The touch panel <NUM> may include two parts: a touch detection apparatus and a touch controller. The touch detection apparatus detects a touch location of the user, detects a signal brought by the touch operation, and transmits the signal to the touch controller. The touch controller receives touch information from the touch detection apparatus, converts the touch information into contact coordinates, sends the contact coordinates to the processor <NUM>, and can receive and execute a command sent by the processor <NUM>. In addition, the touch panel <NUM> may be implemented by using a plurality of types such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared ray, and a surface acoustic wave. The user input unit <NUM> may include another input device <NUM> in addition to the touch panel <NUM>. Specifically, the another input device <NUM> may include but is not limited to one or more of a physical keyboard, a function key (such as a volume control key or an on/off key), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and the like.

Further, the touch panel <NUM> may cover the display panel <NUM>. After detecting the touch operation on or near the touch panel <NUM>, the touch panel <NUM> transmits the touch operation to the processor <NUM> to determine a type of a touch event, and then the processor <NUM> provides corresponding visual output on the display panel <NUM> based on the type of the touch event. In <FIG>, the touch panel <NUM> and the display panel <NUM> are used as two independent components to implement input and output functions of the terminal. However, in some embodiments, the touch panel <NUM> and the display panel <NUM> may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the terminal. This is not specifically limited herein.

The interface unit <NUM> is an interface connecting an external apparatus to the terminal <NUM>. For example, the external apparatus may include a wired or wireless headset port, an external power supply (or battery charger) port, a wired or wireless data port, a storage card port, a port configured to connect to an apparatus having an identification module, an audio input/output (I/O) port, a time frequency I/O port, a headset port, and the like. The interface unit <NUM> may be configured to receive input (for example, data information and power) from the external apparatus and transmit the received input to one or more elements in the terminal <NUM>, or may be configured to transmit data between the terminal <NUM> and the external apparatus.

The memory <NUM> may be configured to store a software program and various data. The memory <NUM> may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system, an application program required by at least one function (such as a sound play function or an image play function), and the like. The data storage area may store data (such as audio data or an address book) or the like created based on use of the mobile phone. In addition, the memory <NUM> may include a high-speed random access memory, and may further include a non-volatile memory such as at least one magnetic disk storage component, a flash memory component, or another volatile solid-state storage component.

The processor <NUM> is a control center of the terminal, and is connected to all parts of the entire terminal by using various interfaces and lines, and performs various functions of the terminal and processes data by running or executing the software program and/or the module that are stored in the memory <NUM> and invoking the data stored in the memory <NUM>, to implement overall monitoring on the terminal. The processor <NUM> may include one or more processing units. Preferentially, the processor <NUM> may be integrated with an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, an application program, and the like, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication. It may be understood that the modem processor may alternatively not be integrated into the processor <NUM>.

The terminal <NUM> may further include a power supply <NUM> (such as a battery) that supplies power to each component. Preferentially, the power supply <NUM> may be logically connected to the processor <NUM> by using a power management system, to implement functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management by using the power management system.

In addition, the terminal <NUM> includes some function modules not shown, and details are not described herein.

In a case that the transmitter is a transmitter of a network side device, <FIG> is a structural diagram of the network side device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can implement details of the foregoing information sending method and achieve a same effect. As shown in <FIG>, a network side device <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a bus interface.

The processor <NUM> is configured to read a program in the memory <NUM> and perform the following process:.

It should be noted that the network side device provided in this embodiment of the present invention is a network side device that can perform the foregoing reference signal sending method. Therefore, all embodiments of the foregoing reference signal sending method are applicable to the network side device, and a same or similar beneficial effect can be achieved.

In <FIG>, a bus architecture may include any quantity of interconnected buses and bridges, and is specifically linked by various circuits of one or more processors represented by the processor <NUM> and a memory represented by the memory <NUM>. The bus architecture may further link various other circuits such as a peripheral device, a voltage regulator, and a power management circuit together. These are all well-known in the art, and therefore are not further described in this specification. The bus interface provides interfaces. The transceiver <NUM> may be multiple elements, in other words, includes a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit configured to communicate with various other apparatuses on a transmission medium.

Preferably, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communications device, and the communications device includes a transmitter. The communications device further includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, processes of the embodiment of the reference signal sending method are implemented, and a same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium. A computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When being executed by a processor, processes of the embodiment of the reference signal sending method are implemented, and a same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein. The computer-readable storage medium includes a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, an optical disc, or the like.

It should be noted that in this specification, the term "include", "including", or any other variant is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements that are not explicitly listed, or includes elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of more restrictions, an element defined by the statement "including a. " does not exclude another same element in a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

According to the descriptions of the foregoing implementations, a person skilled in the art may clearly understand that the foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by using software and a required universal hardware platform, or certainly may be implemented by using hardware. However, in many cases, the former is a better implementation. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention essentially or the part contributing to existing technologies may be implemented in a form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as a ROM/RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc) and includes several instructions for instructing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention.

Claim 1:
A reference signal sending method, performed by a transmitter and comprising:
determining (<NUM>) a time-frequency resource pattern of a target reference signal used for interference measurement, wherein the time-frequency resource pattern is used to indicate a time domain location and a frequency domain location of the target reference signal; and
sending (<NUM>), according to the time-frequency resource pattern, the target reference signal by using zero power;
wherein the method is characterized by further comprising:
performing, by using a compensation factor β, power compensation on a symbol on which the target reference signal is configured, wherein the compensation factor is <MAT> and
sum_RE represents a total quantity of resource elements REs in a resource allocated to the symbol, and sum_IMRS represents a quantity of REs occupied by the target reference signal on the symbol.