Patent Description:
A reference signal (Reference Signal, RS) is also referred to as a pilot (Pilot) or a training sequence, and is known to a transmit end device and a receive end device. The reference signal has a plurality of purposes. Based on specific purposes, the reference signal may be classified into a plurality of types, for example but not limited to, a reference signal used to obtain channel state information (Channel State Information, CSI), a reference signal used to demodulate a received signal, and a reference signal used for beam management (Beam management). Particularly, some reference signals may have a plurality of purposes. A manner of transmitting the reference signal and configuration of a resource for carrying the reference signal may vary according to a purpose of the reference signal.

In the prior art, a reference signal is usually arranged according to a fixed resource distribution pattern. <FIG> is a schematic diagram of an example of a resource distribution pattern <NUM> of an existing reference signal. As shown in <FIG>, resource elements (Resource Element, RE) occupied by a reference signal R corresponding to an antenna port are distributed in two resource blocks (Resource Block) <NUM> and <NUM> included in a resource block pair <NUM>. In the resource block pair <NUM>, the resource elements for carrying the reference signal have fixed locations.

It can be easily learned that, such a manner of arranging a reference signal according to a fixed resource distribution pattern is quite inflexible, and cannot meet requirements in different scenarios.

<CIT> discloses a downlink channel decoding method and a downlink information transmission method, in which a DMRS pattern used for downlink transmission is determined according to priorities of different channels and/or signals, which can ensure optimal performance of a high-priority channel and/or signal, and can further improve downlink transmission performance.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide a method for sending a reference signal, to flexibly arrange the reference signal.

In addition, an apparatus for sending a reference signal is provided, to flexibly arrange the reference signal.

The dependent claims provide advantageous embodiments.

It is noted that the method for obtaining a reference signal of <FIG> and the apparatus for obtaining the reference signal of <FIG> and <FIG> are not according to the invention, and are present as helpful examples for illustration purposes.

In technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention, a corresponding basic pattern is set for a reference signal, and a plurality of different arrangement manners of the reference signal in a physical layer transmission unit can be designed by adjusting a resource occupied by at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, to meet different requirements on the reference signal in different scenarios. It can be learned that, according to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention, arrangement of the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit can be flexibly set. The following describes the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to corresponding accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of an example of a wireless communications network <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the wireless communications network <NUM> includes base stations <NUM> to <NUM> and terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> to <NUM> may communicate with each other over backhaul (backhaul) links (shown by straight lines between the base stations <NUM> to <NUM>). The backhaul link may be a wired backhaul link (for example, an optical fiber or a copper cable), or may be a wireless backhaul link (for example, microwave). The terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> may communicate with the corresponding base stations <NUM> to <NUM> over radio links (shown by polygonal lines between the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> and the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM>).

The base stations <NUM> to <NUM> are configured to provide a wireless access service for the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM>. Specifically, each base station corresponds to a service coverage area (which may also be referred to as a cell, and is shown by each elliptical area in <FIG>). A terminal device that enters the area may communicate with the base station by using a radio signal, to accept the wireless access service provided by the base station. Service coverage areas of base stations may overlap, and a terminal device in an overlapping area may receive radio signals from a plurality of base stations. Therefore, the plurality of base stations may serve the terminal device. For example, the plurality of base stations may serve the terminal device in the overlapping area by using a coordinated multipoint (Coordinated multipoint, CoMP) technology. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an overlapping area exists between service coverage areas of the base station <NUM> and the base station <NUM>, and the terminal device <NUM> is in the overlapping area. Therefore, the terminal device <NUM> may receive radio signals from the base station <NUM> and the base station <NUM>, and both the base station <NUM> and the base station <NUM> may serve the terminal device <NUM>. For another example, as shown in <FIG>, a common overlapping area exists among service coverage areas of the base station <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the base station <NUM>, and the terminal device <NUM> is in the overlapping area. Therefore, the terminal device <NUM> may receive radio signals from the base station <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the base station <NUM>, and the base station <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the base station <NUM> may all serve the terminal device <NUM>.

Depending on a used wireless communications technology, the base station may also be referred to as a NodeB (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (evolved NodeB, eNodeB), an access point (Access Point, AP), or the like. In addition, based on sizes of coverage areas of provided services, the base stations may be classified as a macro base station configured to provide a macro cell (Macro cell), a micro base station configured to provide a micro cell (Pico cell), or a femto base station configured to provide a femto cell (Femto cell). With continuous evolution of wireless communications technologies, a future base station may have another name.

The terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> may be various wireless communications devices having a wireless communication function, for example but not limited to, a mobile cellular phone, a cordless telephone set, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a smartphone, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a wireless data card, a wireless modem (Modulator-demodulator, Modem), and a wearable device such as a smartwatch. With rise of the Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT) technology, an increasing quantity of devices that previously do not have a communication function, for example but not limited to, household appliances, vehicles, tools, service devices, and service facilities, begin to obtain the wireless communication function with a wireless communications unit configured, so that the devices can access a wireless communications network and be remotely controlled. Such devices have the wireless communication function because they are configured with the wireless communications unit, and therefore also fall within a scope of wireless communications devices. In addition, the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> each may also be referred to as a mobile station, a mobile device, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a handheld device, a client, or the like.

The base stations <NUM> to <NUM> and the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> may all have a plurality of antennas configured, to support a MIMO (multiple input multiple output, Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology. Further, the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> may support a single-user MIMO (Single-User MIMO, SU-MIMO) technology, and may also support multi-user MIMO (Multi-User MIMO, NW-MIMO). The MU-MIMO may be implemented based on a space division multiple access (Space Division Multiple Access, SDMA) technology. Because of the plurality of configured antennas, the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> and the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> may further flexibly support a single input single output (Single Input Single Output, SISO) technology, a single input multiple output (Single Input Multiple Output, SIMO) technology, and a multiple input single output (Multiple Input Single Output, MISO) technology, to implement various diversity (for example but not limited to, transmit diversity and receive diversity) and multiplexing technologies. The diversity technology may include, for example but not limited to, a transmit diversity (Transmit Diversity, TD) technology and a receive diversity (Receive Diversity, RD) technology. The multiplexing technology may be a spatial multiplexing (Spatial Multiplexing) technology. Moreover, the foregoing technologies may further include a plurality of implementation solutions. For example, current common transmit diversity may include diversity manners, for example but not limited to, space-time transmit diversity (Space-Time Transmit Diversity, STTD), space-frequency transmit diversity (Space-Frequency Transmit Diversity, SFTD), time switched transmit diversity (Time Switched Transmit Diversity, TSTD), frequency switched transmit diversity (Frequency Switched Transmit Diversity, FSTD), orthogonal transmit diversity (Orthogonal Transmit Diversity, OTD), and cyclic delay diversity (Cyclic Delay Diversity, CDD), and diversity manners obtained after derivation, evolution, and combination of the foregoing diversity manners. For example, in a current LTE (Long Term Evolution, Long Term Evolution) standard, transmit diversity manners such as space time block coding (Space Time Block Coding, STBC), space frequency block coding (Space Frequency Block Coding, SFBC), and the CDD are used.

Moreover, the base station <NUM> may communicate with the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> by using various wireless communications technologies, for example but not limited to, a Time Division Multiple Access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA) technology, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (Frequency Division Multiple Access, FDMA) technology, a Code Division Multiple Access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA) technology, a Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access, TD-SCDMA) technology, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (Orthogonal FDMA, OFDMA) technology, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (Single Carrier FDMA, SC-FDMA) technology, a space division multiple access (Space Division Multiple Access, SDMA) technology, and technologies evolved and derived from these technologies. The foregoing wireless communications technologies are adopted as a radio access technology (Radio Access Technology, RAT) in numerous wireless communications standards, to construct various wireless communications systems (or networks) nowadays widely known to people, including but not limited to, a Global System for Mobile Communications (Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM) system, a CDMA2000, a Wideband CDMA (Wideband CDMA, WCDMA), Wi-Fi defined in the <NUM> series standard, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), and systems evolved from these wireless communications systems. The wireless communications network shown in <FIG> may be any system or network in the foregoing wireless communications systems. Unless otherwise stated, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the foregoing wireless communications technologies and wireless communications systems. In addition, the terms "system" and "network" can be interchanged with each other.

It should be noted that, the wireless communications network <NUM> shown in <FIG> is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the technical solutions of the present invention. A person skilled in the art should understand that, in a specific implementation process, the wireless communications network <NUM> further includes another device, for example but not limited to, a base station controller (Base Station Controller, BSC), and quantities of the base stations and the terminal devices may be configured based on a specific requirement.

<FIG> is an example flowchart of a method <NUM> for sending a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, the method <NUM> may be performed by a transmit end device. The transmit end device may be, for example but not limited to, the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> or the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> in <FIG>.

Step <NUM>: Determine, based on a resource that is allocated to a reference signal in a basic pattern corresponding to the reference signal and a resource that is allocated to at least one basic pattern in a physical layer transmission unit, a resource occupied by the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit.

Step <NUM>: Send the reference signal through the determined resource.

In the method <NUM>, the basic pattern may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In addition, in the basic pattern, the reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In other words, the resource that is allocated to the reference signal in the basic pattern corresponding to the reference signal may include at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may include at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. More specifically, the at least one OFDM symbol occupied by the reference signal in the basic pattern in time domain may be a plurality of consecutive OFDM symbols.

It should be noted that, in a specific implementation process, the OFDM symbol may be replaced with a time unit or a time domain resource in another form, and the subcarrier may be replaced with a frequency unit or a frequency domain resource in another form.

The reference signal is used for at least one of the following objectives:.

A typical example of a reference signal used to determine channel state information is a channel state information reference signal (Channel State Information Reference Signal, CSI-RS) used in an LTE standard. A typical process of determining the CSI based on the CSI-RS is: A base station transmits the CSI-RS, and the CSI-RS is received by a terminal device through propagation on a channel. The terminal device compares the received CSI-RS with the CSI-RS transmitted by the base station (the CSI-RS transmitted by the base station is known to the terminal device), to perform channel estimation and obtain channel information, such as a channel matrix. Based on the channel information, a codebook, and other information, the terminal device may further determine the channel state information, including, for example but not limited to, a precoding matrix indicator (Precoding Matrix Indicator, PMI), a channel quality indicator (Channel Quality Indicator, CQI), and a rank indication (Rank Indication, RI).

A typical example of a reference signal used to demodulate a received signal is a demodulation reference signal (Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS) used in the LTE standard. Because the DMRS and data are precoded by using a same precoding matrix, channel estimation may be performed on a precoded channel (also referred to as an equivalent channel) based on the DMRS, and the data may be demodulated based on a result of the channel estimation.

In a <NUM> wireless communications system currently in a design stage, data is transmitted by using a high-frequency radio signal. The high-frequency radio signal fades relatively fast. Therefore, a beamforming (Beamforming) technology, for example but not limited to, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, or hybrid beamforming, needs to be used to improve received signal quality. In a process of transmitting data based on a beam, a reference signal needs to be used in many processes, for example but not limited to, beam sweeping, beam selection, and beam tracking. The reference signal used during implementation of the processes may be referred to as a reference signal used for beam management. A related function of the reference signal is clearly described in the prior art, for example but not limited to, a proposal submitted by a vendor in the industry at a standard organization meeting.

In a specific implementation process, a same type of reference signal may have a plurality of different purposes. A typical example of this type of reference signal is a cell-specific reference signal (Cell-specific Reference Signal, CRS) used in the LTE standard. The CRS is a common reference signal, and all user equipments in a cell may use a CRS of the cell. The CRS can be used to obtain channel state information, and can also be used to demodulate a received signal. Similarly, a reference signal is described in the prior art, for example but not limited to, in a proposal submitted by a vendor in the industry at a standard organization meeting. The reference signal can be used to determine channel state information, and can also be used for beam management. For specific details of the reference signal, refer to the related proposal.

It should be noted that, the foregoing described specific examples of reference signals and objectives of specific processes are intended to use examples to describe principles of the functions of the reference signals and the specific processes of implementing the functions, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Actually, a person skilled in the art should understand that, in addition to the specific examples and specific processes described above, a reference signal having a corresponding function may alternatively be another existing or redesigned reference signal, and a corresponding process may alternatively be another existing or redesigned process. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention should be understood as including all reference signals having the functions and all processes of implementing the functions.

In addition, a person skilled in the art should understand that in addition to the foregoing objectives, the reference signal in the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention may be a reference signal used for another objective.

It may be readily understood that different basic patterns may be designed for different reference signals. Different basic patterns may include different resources, and a resource occupied by one reference signal in a basic pattern of the reference signal may be different from a resource occupied by another reference signal in a basic pattern of the another reference signal. It should be noted that, different reference signals may be reference signals used for different objectives, or may be reference signals used for a same objective. For simplicity, different reference signals may be understood as reference signals corresponding to different antenna ports. In addition, a same basic pattern may correspond to a plurality of reference signals, and these reference signals may share, in a manner such as time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or code division multiplexing, a resource included in the basic pattern. In addition, a basic pattern of a reference signal should be known to a transmit end device of the reference signal and a receive end device of the reference signal. In a specific implementation process, the basic pattern of the reference signal may be predefined in a design specification of a communications standard or a communications system. In this case, in a process of manufacturing the transmit end device and the receive end device, the basic pattern of the reference signal may be prestored in the devices, or in a process of deploying the devices, the basic pattern of the reference signal may be configured for the devices, or in a communications network access process of the devices, the basic pattern of the reference signal may be dynamically configured by using various communication messages. For related technical solutions that various communication parameters are configured for the transmit end device and the receive end device, refer to the prior art.

The physical layer transmission unit may be, for example but not limited to, a physical layer frame, a slot, a resource element, or a combination of a plurality of resource elements. For a quantity of time-frequency resources included in the transmission unit, refer to a provision in the existing LTE standard. For example, for the physical layer frame, refer to a subframe or a frame in the LTE standard; for the slot, refer to a slot in the LTE standard; for the resource element, refer to a resource block in the LTE standard; and for a combination of the plurality of resource elements, refer to a resource block pair or a resource block group in the LTE standard. In addition, the physical layer transmission unit may be adjusted based on the foregoing unit described in the existing LTE standard, or may be reset based on a requirement of a system design.

In a specific implementation process, the basic pattern may be expressed in a plurality of forms such as a formula or a lookup table. For a specific expression form of the basic pattern, refer to the prior art.

In a specific implementation process, in step <NUM>, the transmit end device sends the reference signal to the receive end device through the determined resource. To enable the receive end device to learn the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, the method <NUM> may further include a step that the transmit end device notifies the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. In a specific implementation process, the transmit end device may notify the information by using various types of signaling, for example but not limited to, physical layer signaling, media access control (Media Access Control, MAC) layer signaling, and radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling. The information may carry, for example but not limited to, an index of a basic pattern, a quantity of basic patterns, and a location of a time-frequency resource occupied by each basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit.

The physical layer signaling may also be referred to as Layer <NUM> (Layer <NUM>, L1) signaling, and may usually be carried by a control portion of the physical layer transmission unit (for example, a physical layer frame). A typical example of the L1 signaling is downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI) carried in a physical downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH) defined in an LTE standard. In some cases, the L1 signaling may alternatively be carried by a data portion of the physical layer frame. It can be easily learned that, a transmission period or a signaling period of the L1 signaling is usually a period of the physical layer frame. Therefore, the signaling is usually used to implement some dynamic control.

The media access control layer signaling belongs to Layer <NUM> (Layer <NUM>) signaling, and may usually be carried by, for example but not limited to, a frame header of a Layer <NUM> frame. The frame header may further carry information, for example but not limited to, information such as a source address and a destination address. In addition to the frame header, the Layer <NUM> frame usually further includes a frame body. In some cases, the L2 signaling may alternatively be carried by the frame body of the Layer <NUM> frame. A typical example of the Layer <NUM> signaling is signaling carried in a frame control (Frame Control) field in a frame header of a MAC frame in the <NUM> series standard, or a MAC control entity (Control Entity, MAC) defined in some protocols. The Layer <NUM> frame may usually be carried in a data portion in a physical layer frame. Alternatively, the foregoing information may be sent by using another type of Layer <NUM> signaling other than the media access control layer signaling.

The radio resource control signaling belongs to Layer <NUM> (Layer <NUM>) signaling, and is usually some control messages. The L3 signaling may usually be carried in a frame body of a Layer <NUM> frame. The L3 signaling usually has a relatively long transmission period or control period, and is suitable for sending some information that does not frequently change. For example, in some existing communications standards, the L3 signaling is usually used to carry some configuration information. Alternatively, the foregoing information may be sent by using another type of Layer <NUM> signaling other than the RRC signaling.

The foregoing is merely principle description of the physical layer signaling, the MAC layer signaling, the RRC signaling, the Layer <NUM> signaling, the Layer <NUM> signaling, and the Layer <NUM> signaling. For specific details about the three types of signaling, refer to the prior art. Details are not described herein in this specification.

In addition, in a specific implementation process, the information transferred through the signaling may specifically include a quantity of basic patterns of a reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit and a resource occupied by each basic pattern.

It can be easily learned that, arrangement of the reference signal carried in the basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit can be set by adjusting a quantity of basic patterns carried in the physical layer transmission unit and a location of a resource occupied by each basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. It can be learned that, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, compared with a fixed reference signal arrangement manner in the prior art, arrangement of the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit can be flexibly set. Therefore, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, based on a specific requirement, for example but not limited to, received signal quality of the receive end device, a channel state, a moving speed, a quantity of data streams for which spatial multiplexing is performed, a processing capability, a quantity of simultaneously scheduled receive end devices, a related design parameter of beam management, or system bandwidth, the transmit end device adjusts the quantity of basic patterns carried in the physical layer transmission unit and the location of the resource occupied by each basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, to flexibly adjust arrangement of the reference signal carried in the basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit.

The basic pattern provided in this embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a physical layer transmission unit <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> carries basic patterns corresponding to four reference signals: a basic pattern <NUM> corresponding to a reference signal R1, a basic pattern <NUM> corresponding to a reference signal R2, a basic pattern <NUM> corresponding to a reference signal R3, and a basic pattern <NUM> corresponding to a reference signal R4. In addition, the reference signal R1 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, the reference signal R2 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, the reference signal R3 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, and the reference signal R4 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>. Therefore, the basic pattern <NUM> may also be referred to as a basic pattern corresponding to the antenna port <NUM>, the basic pattern <NUM> may also be referred to as a basic pattern corresponding to the antenna port <NUM>, the basic pattern <NUM> may also be referred to as a basic pattern corresponding to the antenna port <NUM>, and the basic pattern <NUM> may also be referred to as a basic pattern corresponding to the antenna port <NUM>. Actually, the antenna port and the reference signal are usually in a one-to-one correspondence, and can refer to each other. Therefore, the antenna port and the reference signal can be used interchangeably. For example, in the existing LTE standard, reference signals such as a CSI-RS, a CRS, and a DMRS separately correspond to different antenna ports, and these reference signals and these antenna ports can usually refer to each other or replace each other. A relationship between an antenna port and a reference signal is clearly described in the prior art. Therefore, details are not described herein.

Moreover, for the reference signal R1, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> carries two basic patterns of the reference signal; for the reference signal R2, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> carries one basic pattern of the reference signal; for the reference signal R3, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> carries two basic patterns of the reference signal; and for the reference signal R4, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> carries one basic pattern of the reference signal. In the physical layer transmission unit <NUM>, the two basic patterns <NUM> of the reference signal R1 are non-consecutive in time domain. In other words, OFDM symbols on which the two basic patterns <NUM> are located are non-consecutive in time domain. In addition, in the physical layer transmission unit <NUM>, the two basic patterns <NUM> of the reference signal R3 are consecutive in frequency domain. In other words, subcarriers on which the two basic patterns <NUM> are located are consecutive in frequency domain.

It should be noted that, a person skilled in the art should understand that, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM> shown in <FIG> is merely intended to use an example to describe a manner of carrying a basic pattern of a reference signal in a physical layer transmission unit, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of this embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, a quantity of reference signals corresponding to a basic pattern carried in the physical layer transmission unit, a quantity of basic patterns of each reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit, and a resource occupied by the basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit may be set based on a specific requirement. Actually, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, one physical layer transmission unit may carry a basic pattern of at least one reference signal. In addition, one physical layer transmission unit may carry one or more basic patterns of a same reference signal. Moreover, a resource occupied by each basic pattern of each reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit may be set based on a specific requirement. In other words, a location of each basic pattern of each reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit may be set based on a specific requirement. For example, in the physical layer transmission unit <NUM>, the two basic patterns <NUM> of the reference signal R1 may be consecutively arranged in time domain. In addition, the two basic patterns <NUM> of the reference signal R3 may be non-consecutively arranged in frequency domain.

As shown in <FIG>, the basic pattern <NUM> of the reference signal R1 occupies one OFDM symbol in time domain, and occupies a plurality of consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain; the basic pattern <NUM> of the reference signal R2 occupies two consecutive OFDM symbols in time domain, and occupies a plurality of consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain; the basic pattern <NUM> of the reference signal R3 occupies a plurality of consecutive OFDM symbols in time domain, and occupies one subcarrier in frequency domain; and the basic pattern <NUM> of the reference signal R4 occupies a plurality of consecutive OFDM symbols in time domain, and occupies three consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain.

It should be noted that, a person skilled in the art should understand that, the basic patterns of the reference signals shown in <FIG> are merely intended to use an example to describe a resource occupied by a basic pattern of a reference signal, and are not intended to limit the protection scope of this embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, a quantity of OFDM symbols occupied by the basic pattern of the reference signal in time domain, a quantity of subcarriers occupied by the basic pattern of the reference signal in frequency domain, and a resource occupied by the reference signal in the basic pattern of the reference signal may be set based on a specific requirement. Actually, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the basic pattern of the reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain, the at least one OFDM symbol may be consecutive, and the at least one subcarrier may also be consecutive. In the basic pattern, the reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. For simplicity, the basic pattern of the reference signal may be set based on a specific requirement. For example, the quantity of OFDM symbols occupied by the basic pattern of the reference signal in time domain, the quantity of subcarriers occupied by the basic pattern of the reference signal in frequency domain, and the resource occupied by the reference signal in the basic pattern of the reference signal may be all set based on a specific requirement.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a physical layer transmission unit <NUM>' according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM>' carries a basic pattern <NUM>', the basic pattern <NUM>' carries reference signals R5, R6, R7, and R8, and the basic pattern corresponds to the reference signals R5, R6, R7, and R8. The reference signal R5 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, the reference signal R6 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, the reference signal R7 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>, and the reference signal R8 corresponds to an antenna port <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in the basic pattern <NUM>', the reference signals R5, R6, R7, and R8 occupy different time-frequency resources, for example, occupy different resource elements. However, a person skilled in the art should understand that, in a specific implementation process, different reference signals may occupy a same time-frequency resource through manners, for example but not limited to, code division multiplexing.

It should be noted that, a person skilled in the art should understand that, the physical layer transmission unit <NUM>' shown in <FIG> is merely intended to use an example to describe a manner of carrying a basic pattern in a physical layer transmission unit, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of this embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, a quantity of basic patterns in the physical layer transmission unit and a resource occupied by the basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit may be set based on a specific requirement. Actually, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, one physical layer transmission unit may carry at least one basic pattern. In addition, a resource occupied by the basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit may be set based on a specific requirement.

As shown in <FIG>, in the basic pattern <NUM>', the reference signal R5 occupies four consecutive OFDM symbols in time domain, and occupies one subcarrier in frequency domain; the reference signal R6 occupies two non-consecutive OFDM symbols in time domain, and occupies one subcarrier in frequency domain; the reference signal R7 occupies one OFDM symbol in time domain, and occupies two non-consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain; and the reference signal R8 occupies one OFDM symbol in time domain, and occupies two consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain.

It should be noted that, a person skilled in the art should understand that, the basic pattern <NUM>' shown in <FIG> is merely intended to use an example to describe a resource occupied by a basic pattern and a resource occupied by each reference signal in the basic pattern, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of this embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, a quantity of OFDM symbols occupied by the basic pattern in time domain, a quantity of subcarriers occupied by the basic pattern in frequency domain, and the resource occupied by each reference signal in the basic pattern may be set based on a specific requirement. Actually, according to the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the basic pattern may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain, the at least one OFDM symbol may be consecutive, and the at least one subcarrier may also be consecutive. In the basic pattern, each reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain, and the occupied OFDM symbol and subcarrier may be consecutive, or may be non-consecutive. For simplicity, the basic pattern may be set based on a specific requirement. For example, the quantity of OFDM symbols occupied by the basic pattern in time domain, the quantity of subcarriers occupied by the basic pattern in frequency domain, and the resource occupied by each reference signal in the basic pattern may be all set based on a specific requirement.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a method <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, the method <NUM> may be performed by a receive end device. The receive end device may be, for example but not limited to, the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> or the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> in <FIG>.

Step <NUM>: Determine, based on a resource that is allocated to the reference signal in a basic pattern corresponding to a reference signal and a resource that is allocated to at least one basic pattern in a physical layer transmission unit , a resource occupied by the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit.

Step <NUM>: Obtain the reference signal through the determined resource.

In a specific implementation process, to enable the receive end device to learn the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, a transmit end device may also notify the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. Therefore, the method <NUM> may further include a step that the receive end device obtains the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. Related technical details that the transmit end device notifies the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unitare described above with reference to the method <NUM>, and therefore are not described herein again.

The method <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal shown in <FIG> is a receive side method corresponding to the method <NUM> for sending a reference signal shown in <FIG>, and technical features related to the method <NUM> are described above in detail with reference to accompanying drawings, for example but not limited to <FIG> and <FIG>, and therefore are not described herein again.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of an apparatus <NUM> for sending a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, the apparatus <NUM> may be a transmit end device. The transmit end device may be, for example but not limited to, the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> or the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a determining module <NUM> and a sending module <NUM>.

The determining module <NUM> is configured to determine, based on a resource that is allocated to the reference signal in a basic pattern corresponding to a reference signal and a resource that is allocated to at least one basic pattern in a physical layer transmission unit, a resource occupied by the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit.

The sending module <NUM> is configured to send the reference signal through the determined resource.

The basic pattern may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In addition, in the basic pattern, the reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In other words, the resource that is allocated to the reference signal in the basic pattern corresponding to the reference signal may include at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may include at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. More specifically, the at least one OFDM symbol occupied by the reference signal in the basic pattern in time domain may be a plurality of consecutive OFDM symbols.

In a specific implementation process, the transmit end device sends the reference signal to a receive end device through the determined resource. To enable the receive end device to learn the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, the transmit end device may also notify the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. In a specific implementation process, such an operation may be performed by the sending module <NUM>. Related technical details that the transmit end device notifies the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit are described above with reference to the method <NUM>, and therefore are not described herein again.

The apparatus <NUM> is configured to perform the method <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Technical features related to the apparatus <NUM> are described above in detail with reference to accompanying drawings, for example but not limited to <FIG> and <FIG>, and therefore are not described herein again.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of an apparatus <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a specific implementation process, the apparatus <NUM> may be a receive end device. The receive end device may be, for example but not limited to, the terminal devices <NUM> to <NUM> or the base stations <NUM> to <NUM> in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a determining module <NUM> and an obtaining module <NUM>.

The obtaining module <NUM> is configured to obtain the reference signal through the determined resource.

The basic pattern may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In addition, in the basic pattern, the reference signal may occupy at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may occupy at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. In other words, the resource that is allocated to the reference signal in the basic pattern corresponding to the reference signalmay include at least one OFDM symbol in time domain, and may include at least one subcarrier in frequency domain. More specifically, the at least one OFDM symbol occupied by the reference signal in the basic pattern in time domain may be a plurality of consecutive OFDM symbols.

In a specific implementation process, a transmit end device sends the reference signal to the receive end device by using the determined resource. To enable the receive end device to learn the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, the transmit end device may also notify the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. In a specific implementation process, the determining module <NUM> may obtain the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. Alternatively, a receiving module (not shown) may obtain the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit. Related technical details that the transmit end device notifies the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit are described above with reference to the method <NUM>, and therefore are not described herein again.

The apparatus <NUM> is a receive side apparatus corresponding to the apparatus <NUM>, and is configured to perform the method <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Technical features related to the apparatus <NUM> are described above in detail with reference to accompanying drawings, for example but not limited to <FIG> and <FIG>, and therefore are not described herein again.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an apparatus <NUM> for sending a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a plurality of antennas <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, an I/O (input/output, Input/Output) interface <NUM>, and a bus <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> further includes a transmitter <NUM> and a receiver <NUM>. The memory <NUM> is further configured to store an instruction <NUM> and data <NUM>. In addition, the processor <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, and the I/O interface <NUM> are in communication connection with each other by using the bus <NUM>, and the plurality of antennas <NUM> are connected to the transceiver <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may be a general purpose processor, for example but not limited to, a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), or may be a special purpose processor, for example but not limited to, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA). In addition, the processor <NUM> may alternatively be a combination of a plurality of processors. Particularly, in the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the processor <NUM> may be configured to perform, for example, step <NUM> in the method <NUM> for sending a reference signal shown in <FIG>, and an operation performed by the determining module <NUM> in the apparatus <NUM> for sending a reference signal shown in <FIG>. The processor <NUM> may be a processor specially designed to perform the foregoing step and/or operation, or may be a processor that performs the foregoing step and/or operation by reading and executing the instruction <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may need to use the data <NUM> when performing the foregoing step and/or operation.

The transceiver <NUM> includes the transmitter <NUM> and the receiver <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> is configured to send a signal by using at least one of the plurality of antennas <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> is configured to receive a signal by using at least one of the plurality of antennas <NUM>. Particularly, in the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter <NUM> may be specifically configured to perform, for example, step <NUM> and the step of notifying the receive end device of the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit in the method <NUM> for sending a reference signal shown in <FIG>, and an operation performed by the sending module <NUM> in the apparatus <NUM> for sending a reference signal shown in <FIG>, by using at least one of the plurality of antennas <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> may be various types of storage media, for example, a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a non-volatile RAM (Non-Volatile RAM, NVRAM), a programmable ROM (Programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable PROM (Erasable PROM, EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (Electrically Erasable PROM, EEPROM), a flash memory, an optical memory, and a register. The memory <NUM> is specifically configured to store the instruction <NUM> and the data <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may perform the foregoing step and/or operation by reading and executing the instruction <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM>, and may need to use the data <NUM> when performing the foregoing step and/or operation.

The I/O interface <NUM> is configured to receive an instruction and/or data from a peripheral device, and output an instruction and/or data to the peripheral device.

It should be noted that, in a specific implementation process, the apparatus <NUM> may further include other hardware devices, which are not enumerated in this specification.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an apparatus <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a plurality of antennas <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, an I/O (input/output, Input/Output) interface <NUM>, and a bus <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> further includes a transmitter <NUM> and a receiver <NUM>. The memory <NUM> is further configured to store an instruction <NUM> and data <NUM>. In addition, the processor <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, and the I/O interface <NUM> are in communication connection with each other by using the bus <NUM>, and the plurality of antennas <NUM> are connected to the transceiver <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may be a general purpose processor, for example but not limited to, a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), or may be a special purpose processor, for example but not limited to, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA). In addition, the processor <NUM> may alternatively be a combination of a plurality of processors. Particularly, in the technical solution provided in this embodiment of this application, the processor <NUM> is configured to perform, for example, step <NUM>, step <NUM>, and the step of obtaining the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit in the method <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal shown in <FIG>, and operations performed by the determining module <NUM> and the obtaining module <NUM> in the apparatus <NUM> for obtaining a reference signal shown in <FIG>. The processor <NUM> may be a processor specially designed to perform the foregoing step and/or operation, or may be a processor that performs the foregoing step and/or operation by reading and executing the instruction <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may need to use the data <NUM> when performing the foregoing step and/or operation.

The transceiver <NUM> includes the transmitter <NUM> and the receiver <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> is configured to send a signal by using at least one of the plurality of antennas <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> is configured to receive a signal by using at least one of the plurality of antennas <NUM>. Particularly, in the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the receiver <NUM> may be configured to perform an operation performed by the receiving module in the apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The foregoing descriptions are merely examples of embodiments of the present invention. For example, when the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention are applied to a particular scenario or a particular condition, all other processing steps added before, during, and/or after steps of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present invention and other processing modules added to the apparatuses provided in the embodiments of the present invention to complete additional processing should be considered as further improvements made based on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention, and therefore fall within the scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean particular execution sequences in the embodiments of the present invention. The execution sequences of the processes should be determined based on functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of the present invention.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.

In addition, function units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

When the functions are implemented in a form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) for sending a reference signal, comprising:
determining (<NUM>) , based on a resource that is allocated to a reference signal in a basic pattern corresponding to the reference signal and a resource that is allocated to at least one basic pattern in a physical layer transmission unit, a resource occupied by the reference signal in the physical layer transmission unit; and
sending (<NUM>) the reference signal through the determined resource;
wherein the method (<NUM>) further comprises:
sending information that indicates the resource that is allocated to the at least one basic pattern in the physical layer transmission unit, and the information is sent through radio resource control, RRC, signaling.