Patent Description:
In the forthcoming <NUM> mobile communication system, the DMRS may be used for not only the demodulation of the traffic channel and the control channel but also be used for the channel measurement. The DMRS pattern may be dynamically changed with the scene requirements such as the different services, the numerical configurations, the DMRS functions. Therefore, the DMRS pattern needs to be indicated through the specific control information. Additionally, since in the forthcoming <NUM> mobile communication system, the DMRS pattern may be changed dynamically and frequently, the significant signaling indication overheads may be brought out, thus causing the service transmission rate to be lowered.

<NPL>) discloses that, in a flexible physical layer design where DM-RS patterns are adapted to a certain use case, or to a particular radio link condition, the DM-RS from one TRP may not collide with DM-RS transmitted from other TRPs.

<CIT> discloses that a method for user equipment decoding an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) in the wireless communication system comprises the steps of: determining a quasi co-location (QCL) of an antenna port of the EPDCCH; and decoding the EPDCCH based on the QCL with respect to the antenna port of the EPDCCH. The user equipment can determine a QCL assumption between an antenna port of an EPDCCH demodulation reference signal and an antenna port of a different reference signal based on the type of a QCL assumption with respect to a PDSCH.

Scope of the present invention is to provide mower blade assembly which improves the states of art indicated above. This scope is achieved by the mower blade assembly according to one or more of the appended claims.

A reference signal indication method, a network device and a terminal device are provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, so as to address technical problems that a bit overhead for the system is large and a service transmission rate is low due to a dynamic change of reference signal patterns in the related art.

In this way, beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are as follow. The network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions, so that the transmission times of system information are reduced under a premise that a reference signal pattern is accurately indicated, thereby reducing a bit overhead for the system information and increasing a service transmission rate.

In order to more clearly illustrate technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure, drawings used in description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly discussed hereinafter. Obviously, following figures in the description only relate to some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and one skilled in the art may derive other figures based on these figures without paying any creative labor.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in details hereinafter in conjunction with drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in various ways, and the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments of the present disclosure are provided for sake of understanding the present disclosure more thoroughly, and conveying the scope of the present disclosure to one of ordinary skills in the art completely.

In some optional embodiments, a reference signal indication method at a network device side may be described briefly in this embodiment in combination with the drawings. Specifically, referring to <FIG>, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a reference signal indication method. The reference signal indication method includes following steps <NUM>-<NUM>.

Step <NUM>: configuring a target reference signal pattern to be used for a terminal device in later transmission occasions.

In the forthcoming fifth-generation (<NUM>) mobile communication system, in order to satisfy the scene requirements such as different numerical configurations and dynamically-changed reference signal functions, reference signal patterns may be changed dynamically. Thus, in a scene having the same number of flows and the same beamforming, different reference signal patterns may also be designed. The target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions is one selected from multiple different predefined reference signal patterns.

Step <NUM>: not transmitting reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is a default reference signal pattern.

In order to reduce transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in case of using the default reference signal pattern. That is, in order to reduce indication overheads brought due to dynamic changes of the reference signal pattern, the default reference signal pattern needs to be defined. In case of indication, the system uses the default reference signal pattern to receive or transmit signals. The above step <NUM> is a way for reducing the transmission times of the reference signal indication information. Another way for reducing the transmission times of the reference signal indication information is introduced below.

Step <NUM>: not transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information.

In order to reduce the transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the reference signal pattern is not changed. That is, the target reference signal pattern is the same as a most recent reference signal pattern, until new indication information for indicating a change of reference signal patterns is received. In an example of using a most recent DMRS pattern, if the terminal device uses a k-th DMRS pattern to receive or transmit signals at a time t0 and the terminal device does not receive any information for indicating the change of the DMRS pattern between a time t0+<NUM> and a time t0+p, then a User Equipment (UE) may receive and transmit signals using the k-th DMRS pattern from t0+<NUM> to t0+p, until the indication information for indicating the change of the DMRS pattern is received at t0+p+<NUM>, and UE stops using the k-th DMRS pattern.

The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions, so that the transmission times of system information is reduced under a premise that a reference signal pattern is accurately indicated, thereby reducing a bit overhead for the system information and increasing a service transmission rate.

A brief introduction is made to the reference signal indication method of the present disclosure through some embodiments. The reference signal indication method is further described hereinafter in combination accompanying drawings and specific application scenarios.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the reference signal indication method provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure specifically includes following steps <NUM>-<NUM>.

The target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions is one selected from multiple different reference signal patterns.

The target reference signal pattern may be a Demodulation Reference Signal Pattern (DMRS pattern), a Channel-State-Information Reference Signal pilot pattern (CSI-RS pattern), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal pattern (PTRS pattern), or a Sounding Reference Signal pattern (SRS pattern). Reference signals may be divided into downlink reference signals and uplink reference signals. Correspondingly, the reference signal patterns may be grouped into downlink reference signal patterns and uplink reference signal patterns. The downlink reference signal patterns include the DMRS pattern, the CSI-RS pattern and the PTRS pattern; the uplink reference signal pattern includes the DMRS pattern, the SRS pattern and the PTRS pattern. Further, in a case that the network device successfully configures the target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions, a transmission of the reference signal is performed by using transmission resources corresponding to the target reference signal pattern. The transmission above includes downlink transmission and uplink transmission. Specifically, in a case that the reference signal pattern is the downlink reference signal pattern, the network device performs transmission of the downlink reference signal by using transmission resources corresponding to the downlink reference signal pattern; in a case that the reference signal pattern is the uplink reference signal pattern, the terminal device performs transmission of the uplink reference signal by using transmission resources corresponding to the uplink reference signal pattern. The embodiment is illustrated by way of the DMRS pattern.

Step <NUM>: not transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the default reference signal pattern.

In order to reduce the transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in case of using the default reference signal pattern. That is, in order to reduce an overhead of a high-layer Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and/or physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information caused by the dynamic change of the DMRS pattern, the default DMRS pattern needs to be defined. In a case that the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE and/or the physical-layer DCI information does not exist, the system uses the default DMRS pattern for transmitting or receiving signals.

Step <NUM>: not transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as a reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information.

In order to reduce the transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information, i.e., in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as the reference signal pattern used in a current transmission occasions, in other words, in a case that the reference signal (such as the DMRS) pattern is not changed,. That is, in order to reduce the overhead of the high-layer Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and/or the physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information caused by the dynamic change of the DMRS pattern, the system uses the most recent DMRS pattern for transmitting or receiving signals in a case that the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE and/or the physical-layer DCI information does not exist, until a new high-layer RRC signaling, a new MAC CE and/or a new physical-layer DCI for indicating the change of the DMRS pattern is received. If the terminal device uses the k-th DMRS pattern to receive or transmit signals at a time t0, and the terminal device does not receive any one of the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information for indicating the change of the DMRS-pattern between time t0+<NUM> and time t0+p, then the UE may receive and transmit signals using the k-th DMRS pattern from the time t0+<NUM> to the time t0+p, until a new indication for indicating the change of the DMRS-pattern is received at time t0+p+<NUM>, and the UE stops using the k-th DMRS pattern.

Step <NUM>: in a case that the target reference signal pattern satisfies a predefined condition, determining the reference signal indication information used for indicating the target reference signal pattern.

The predefined condition herein is a condition for transmitting the reference signal indication information. The predefined condition corresponds to a condition for not transmitting the reference signal indication information. The predefined condition is a condition that reference signal patterns other than the default reference signal pattern is to be used; or a condition that a reference signal pattern different from the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information is to be used. That is, in a case that the condition for not transmitting the reference signal indication information is a condition that the default reference signal pattern is used, the condition for transmitting the reference signal indication information is a condition that patterns other than the default reference signal pattern is used; or in a case that the condition for not transmitting the reference signal indication information is a condition that a reference signal pattern to be used is the same as the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions, the condition for transmitting the reference signal indication information is a condition that a reference signal pattern to be used is different from the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions.

Further, different DMRS patterns may correspond to different reference signal indication information; or different dynamic changes of the DMRS patterns correspond to different pieces of reference signal indication information. For example, a specific bit value in the reference signal indication information represents one of all DMRS patterns. Specifically, the reference signal indication information includes N bits, wherein <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of the all reference signal patterns, and N is a positive integer. In a case that the <NUM>N is equal to the number of the all DMRS patterns, different values of the N bits represent different DMRS patterns. Further, for sake of reducing an overhead of bits in the reference signal indication information and saving transmission resources for the system, following manners may be used for the reference signal indication information to indicate the DMRS patterns.

A first manner: a first value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; a second value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

The M transmission occasions is a window along a time axis, the window is dynamically changed with time elapsing. Furthermore, a configuration of the M is related to a value of the N. Generally, the larger the N is, the larger the M is. That is, the more the number of indication bits in the reference signal indication information is, types of patterns capable of being indicated are more, and the wider the window capable of being indicated is. Specific N bits exist in the reference signal indication information (the <NUM>N is smaller than the number of the all reference signal patterns, i.e., N is smaller than the number of bits needed for indicating all DMRS patterns). A first value represented by the N bits represents a K-th DMRS pattern used in one of the previous M transmission occasions closest to or farthest away from a current transmission occasion, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N, a second value represented by the N bits represents any of the DMRS patterns used in previous transmission occasions is not used. For example, there are <NUM> DMRS patterns in all; if the reference signal indication information is directly used to indicate the patterns, four bits are need; in order to save the bit overhead of the system, three bits may be used, wherein seven values (such as <NUM>-<NUM>) of all values represented by the three bits represent a first to a seventh DRMS patterns in previous seven transmission occasions are used respectively, a remaining value (such as <NUM>) of the all values represented by the three bits represents any of the reference signal patterns used in the previous transmission occasions is not used. In this way, in a case that the seventh DMRS pattern used in previous transmission occasions is determined to be used in later transmission occasions, the network device determines that a value of the three bits in the reference signal indication information is correspondingly to be <NUM>. If DMRS patterns used previously are used consistently, the above manner may be continuously used until any of the DMRS patterns used previously is not used any longer, the value of the three bits in the reference signal indication information is determined to be <NUM>. Further, after any of the DMRS patterns used previously is determined to not be used any longer, a new DMRS pattern to be used may be indicated through other bit information. Thus, although any of the DMRS patterns used previously is not used any longer and more bits are needed to indicate the new DMRS pattern, an occurrence probability of this scene is relatively low since the M transmission occasions are continuously updated dynamically. Even if this scene occurs occasionally, significant bit overhead may not be generated. Therefore, indicating reference signal patterns in this way may reduce the bit overhead of system information to some extent and increase the service transmission rate. It should be noted that, a position of a field in which additional bits used for indicating the new reference signal (such as the DMRS) pattern is located is different from a position of a field in which the N bits used for indicating the dynamic change of the reference signal (such as the DMRS) patterns is located; or bearing information corresponding to the additional bits used for indicating the new reference signal (such as the DMRS) pattern is different from bearing information corresponding to the N bits used for indicating the dynamic change of the reference signal (such as the DMRS) patterns.

A second way: the reference signal indication information includes P bits. A value of the P bits is used to any one of <NUM>P different reference signal patterns.

That is, specific P bits (wherein <NUM>P is equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, P is equal to the number of bits needed for indicating the all DMRS patterns) in the reference signal indication information. Although the number of bits needed for this manner is the same as the number of bits in indication information in the related art, transmission times for the indication information are reduced in the present disclosure, and thus may save the bit overhead of the system to some extent.

Step <NUM>: transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device.

Since the network device may select a reference signal pattern corresponding to a service transmission scenario, the reference signal indication information capable of indicating a reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions needs to be transmitted to the terminal device, so that the terminal device may obtain the reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions based on the reference signal indication information.

Step <NUM> specifically includes: transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device by incorporating the reference signal indication information in the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer downlink control indicator (DCI) information.

That is to say, a change of DMRS patterns may be informed to the terminal device through the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE and/or the physical-layer DCI information, i.e. N bits are added or specified in the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information to indicate the DMRS pattern to be used.

The network device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure enables the terminal device to obtain the reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions, through transmitting the reference signal indication information used for indicating the reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions, so that the dynamic change of the reference signal patterns may be obtained accurately and therefore channel detection and channel measurement may be performed accurately and a service transmission performance may be ensured. Further, N bits are used in the reference signal indication information to indicated a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous transmission occasions, or any of the reference signal patterns used in the previous transmission occasions is not used; or M bits are used to indicate the reference signal pattern to be used, so as to reduce the bit overhead of the system information and increase the service transmission rate.

The reference signal indication method of the present disclosure is introduced above based on different scenarios through some embodiments. A network device corresponding to the reference signal indication method is further described hereinafter in combination the accompanying drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, the network device <NUM> in the embodiments of the present disclosure may: configure the target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions for the terminal device; in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the default reference signal pattern, not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device; or in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information, not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device. The network device may implement details of the above reference signal indication method, and may achieve same technical effects. The target reference signal pattern is one selected from a plurality of predefined reference signal patterns. The network device <NUM> specifically includes following modules: a configuration module <NUM> configured to select a target reference signal pattern to be used for the terminal device in later transmission occasions, wherein the target reference signal pattern is one selected from the plurality of predefined reference signal patterns; a first processing module <NUM>, configured to not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the target reference signal pattern is a default reference signal pattern; or a second processing module <NUM>, configured to not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information.

As shown in <FIG>, the network device <NUM> further includes a first determination module <NUM>, configured to determine the reference signal indication information used to indicate the target reference signal pattern, in a case that the target reference signal pattern satisfies a predefined condition, wherein the predefined condition is a condition that reference signal patterns other than the default reference signal pattern is used; or the predefined condition is a condition that a reference signal pattern different from the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information is used; a transmission module <NUM>, configured to transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device.

The transmission module <NUM> specifically includes: a transmission unit <NUM>, configured to transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device by incorporating the reference signal indication information in the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information.

Specifically, the reference signal indication information includes N bits, wherein <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, and N is a positive integer.

A first value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; a second value represented by the N bits is used for indicating the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

The target reference signal pattern may be at least one of a Demodulation Reference Signal Pattern (DMRS pattern), a Channel-State-Information Reference Signal pattern (CSI-RS pattern), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal pattern (PTRS pattern), or a Sounding Reference Signal pattern (SRS pattern).

It should be noted that the reference signal indication method in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a method corresponding to the network device, and all implementations of the method and technical effects of the implemenations are all applicable to the embodiment of the network device. The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions, so that transmission times of system information is reduced under a premise that a reference signal pattern is indicated accurately, thereby reducing a bit overhead for the system information and increasing the service transmission rate.

In order to implement the above technical purpose in a better way, as shown in <FIG>, some embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a network device. The network device includes a processor <NUM>, a storage <NUM> connected to the processor <NUM> through a bus interface, and a transceiver <NUM> connected to the processor <NUM> through the bus interface. The storage <NUM> is used to store programs and data used when the processor executes operations; the transceiver <NUM> transmits data information or pilots, and receives a uplink control channel. When the processor <NUM> invokes and executes the programs and the data stored in the storage <NUM>, the processor <NUM> is specifically used to perform following functions: configure a target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions for the terminal; in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the default reference signal pattern, not transmit reference signal indication information to the terminal device; or in a case that the target reference signal pattern is the same as a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information, not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device. The target reference signal pattern is a reference signal pattern selected from a plurality of predefined reference signal patterns; the transceiver <NUM> is configured to transmit and receive data under a control of the processor <NUM>, and is specifically configured to transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device.

In <FIG>, the bus interface may include any number of buses and bridges connected together. Specifically, a plurality of processors such as the processor <NUM> and a plurality of storages such as the storage <NUM> are connected together. The bus interface may also cause any other circuit such as a peripheral circuit, a voltage regulator and a power management circuit to be connected together. The circuits are known in the art, and thus detailed descriptions thereof are not further provided herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver <NUM> may include a plurality of elements such as receivers, transmitters, and units for communicating with other devices through a transmission medium. The processor <NUM> takes charge of managing the bus interface and general processings. The storage <NUM> may store data used by the processor <NUM> when the processor <NUM> performs operations.

The processor <NUM> is further configured to: in a case that the target reference signal pattern satisfies a predefined condition, determine the reference signal indication information used for indicating the target reference signal pattern; and control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device. The predefined condition is a condition that reference signal patterns other than the default reference signal pattern are used; or is a condition that a reference signal pattern different from the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information is used.

Specifically, the transceiver <NUM> is further configured to transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device by incorporating the reference signal indication information in the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information.

A first value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; a second value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

Further, the target reference signal pattern may be at least one of a Demodulation Reference Signal Pattern (DMRS pattern), a Channel-State-Information Reference Signal pattern (CSI-RS pattern), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal pattern (PTRS pattern), or a Sounding Reference Signal pattern (SRS pattern).

The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the terminal device uses the default reference signal pattern or uses the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions, so that transmission times of system information are reduced under a premise that a reference signal pattern is indicated accurately, thereby reducing a bit overhead for the system information and increasing a service transmission rate.

The reference signal indication method of the present disclosure is introduced above from a perspective of the network device through some embodiments. The reference signal indication method at a terminal device side is further described hereinafter in combination the accompanying drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure.

Step <NUM>: receiving reference signal indication information transmitted by a network device.

The reference signal indication information is used to indicate a target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions.

In the forthcoming fifth-generation (<NUM>) mobile communication system, in order to satisfy scene requirements such as different numerical configurations and dynamically-changed reference signal functions, reference signal patterns may be changed dynamically. Thus, in a scene having the same number of flows and the same beamforming, different reference signal patterns may also be designed. The network device needs to configure that different pieces of reference signal indication information corresponds to different reference signal patterns; or different dynamic changes of the reference signal patterns correspond to different pieces of reference signal indication information. The target reference signal pattern is a reference signal pattern selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns.

Step <NUM>: in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determining the target reference signal pattern to be a default reference signal pattern, and transmitting corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern.

In order to reduce transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in case of using the default reference signal pattern. Thus, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received by the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the network device uses the default reference signal pattern, and the terminal device transmits corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern.

Step <NUM>: in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determining the target reference signal pattern to be a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device, and transmitting corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device.

In order to reduce transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the DMRS pattern is not changed. Thus, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received by the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the network device uses the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device, and corresponding reference signals are transmitted in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information.

Further, the target reference signal pattern may be a Demodulation Reference Signal Pattern (DMRS pattern), a Channel-State-Information Reference Signal pattern (CSI-RS pattern), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal pattern (PTRS pattern), or a Sounding Reference Signal pattern (SRS pattern). The downlink reference signal patterns include the DMRS pattern, the CSI-RS pattern and the PTRS pattern; the uplink reference signal pattern includes the DMRS pattern, the SRS pattern and the PTRS pattern. The embodiment is illustrated by way of the DMRS pattern. After the terminal device receives the reference signal indication information, the terminal device analyzes the reference signal indication information, and obtains a DMRS pattern to be used, wherein different DMRS patterns are mapped to different transmission resources. After the terminal device obtains the DMRS pattern to be used, corresponding reference signals are transmitted through corresponding transmission resources. The transmission above includes downlink transmission and uplink transmission. Specifically, in a case that the reference signal pattern is the downlink reference signal pattern, the network device transmits downlink reference signals by using transmission resources corresponding to the downlink reference signal pattern; in a case that the reference signal pattern is the uplink reference signal pattern, the terminal device transmits the uplink reference signals by using transmission resources corresponding to the uplink reference signal pattern.

The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions; in a case that the terminal device fails to receive the reference signal indication information, the terminal device determines that the default reference signal pattern or the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions is to be used, and thus the bit overhead of the system information is reduced and a service transmission rate is increased under a premise that the reference signal pattern is accurately indicated.

A brief introduction is made to the reference signal indication method of the present disclosure through the above embodiments. The reference signal indication is further described hereinafter in combination accompanying drawings and specific application scenarios.

Step <NUM>: receiving a high-layer RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information transmitted by a network device.

A change of DMRS patterns may be informed to the terminal device through the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE and/or the physical-layer DCI information by the network device, i.e. M bits or N bits are added or specified in the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information to indicate the DMRS pattern to be used.

Step <NUM>: analyzing the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information, to obtain the reference signal indication information indicating the target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions.

The terminal device receives and analyzes the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information to obtain the added or the specified N bits, and to obtain the DMRS pattern to be used.

In order to reduce transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in case of using the default reference signal pattern,. Thus, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received by the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the network device uses the default reference signal pattern, and transmits corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern.

Further, in order to reduce the transmission times of the reference signal indication information, the network device does not transmit the reference signal indication information to the terminal device in a case that the DMRS pattern is not changed. Thus, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received by the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the network device transmits corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device.

Step <NUM>: after the reference signal indication information is received, determining the target reference signal pattern based on the received reference signal indication information.

After the terminal device receives the reference signal indication information, the terminal device analyzes the reference signal indication information to obtain the DMRS pattern to be used. Specifically, the step includes analyzing the reference signal indication information to obtain N bits, wherein <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, N is a positive integer; in a case that a value represented by the N bits is the first value, determining that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; in a case that the value represented by the N bits is the second value, determining that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

Step <NUM>: transmitting corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the target reference signal pattern.

Different DMRS patterns are mapped to different transmission resources. After the terminal device obtains the DMRS pattern to be used, corresponding reference signals are transmitted through corresponding transmission resources.

The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions; in a case that the terminal device fails to receive the reference signal indication information, the terminal device determines that the default reference signal pattern or the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions is to be used, and thus the bit overhead of the system information is reduced and the service transmission rate is increased. Further, the terminal device receives and analyzes the reference signal indication information transmitted by the network device and used to indicate the reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions, so that the terminal device obtains the reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions, thus the dynamic change of the reference signal patterns may be obtained accurately and therefore channel detection and channel measurement may be performed accurately and a service transmission performance may be ensured.

The reference signal indication method of the present disclosure is introduced above based on different scenarios through some embodiments. A terminal device corresponding to the reference signal indication method is further described hereinafter in combination the accompanying drawings.

As shown in <FIG>, the terminal device <NUM> provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may implement details in the embodiments of the above reference signal indication method applied to the terminal device and achieve same technical effects, the details include: receiving the reference signal indication information transmitted by the network device; in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determining the target reference signal pattern to be the default reference signal pattern, and transmitting corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern; or in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determining the target reference signal pattern to be a reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device, and transmitting corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device. The reference signal indication information is used to indicate the target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions, the target reference signal pattern is one selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns. The terminal device <NUM> includes following modules: a reception module <NUM>, configured to receive the reference signal indication information transmitted by the network device, wherein the reference signal indication information is used to indicate a target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions, and the target reference signal pattern is a reference signal pattern selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns; a third processing module <NUM>, configured to, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be the default reference signal pattern, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern; or a fourth processing module <NUM>, configured to, in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, the terminal device <NUM> further includes: a second determination module <NUM>, configured to, after receiving the reference signal indication information, determine the target reference signal pattern according to the received reference signal indication information; a transmission module <NUM>, configured to transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the target reference signal pattern.

Specifically, the second determination module <NUM> includes: a first analysis unit <NUM>, configured to analyze the reference signal indication information to obtain N bits, wherein <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, N is a positive integer; a first determination unit <NUM>, configured to, in a case that a value represented by the N bits is the first value, determine that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; a second determination unit <NUM>, configured to, in a case that the value represented by the N bits is the second value, determine that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

The reception module <NUM> includes a reception unit <NUM>, configured to receive a high-layer RRC signaling, a MAC CE or physical-layer Downlink Control Indicator (DCI) information transmitted by the network device; a second analysis unit <NUM>, configured to analyze the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information, to obtain the reference signal indication information indicating the target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions.

It should be noted that the terminal device in the embodiments of the present disclosure is a terminal device corresponding to the reference signal indication method applied to the terminal device and all implementations and technical effects of the method are all applicable to the embodiment of the terminal device. The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions; in a case that the terminal device fails to receive the reference signal indication information, the terminal device determines that the default reference signal pattern or the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions is to be used, and thus the bit overhead of the system information is reduced and a service transmission rate is increased under a premise that the reference signal pattern is accurately indicated.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a terminal device <NUM> in the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the terminal device includes at least one processor <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, and a user interface <NUM>. Various components of the terminal device <NUM> are connected through a bus system <NUM>. It may be understood that the bus system <NUM> is used to implement communication among the components. The bus system <NUM> includes a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for sake of clear illustration, all buses in <FIG> are marked as the bus system <NUM>.

The user interface <NUM> may include a display, or a pointing device (such as a touch panel or a touch screen).

It may be understood that the storage <NUM> in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a volatile storage or a non-volatile storage, or may include both a volatile storage and a non-volatile storage. The non-volatile storage may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a Random Access Memory (RAM) which is used as an external cache. By way of example, not limited illustration, many forms of RAM may be used, such as a Static RAM (SRAM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), an Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a Sync link DRAM, SLDRAM), and a Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The storage <NUM> in the device and the method described in the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, these or any other suitable types of storages.

In some embodiments, the storage <NUM> stores following elements: executable modules or data structure, or subsets thereof, or expanded sets thereof: an operation system <NUM> and application programs <NUM>.

The operation system <NUM> includes various system programs, such as a frame layer, a core library layer, a driver layer, and the like, configured for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks. The application programs <NUM> include various application programs, such as a Media Player, a Browser, configured for implement various application functions. Programs for implementing the method of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be included in the application programs <NUM>.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, programs or instructions stored in the storage <NUM> and being invoked may be programs or instructions stored in the application programs <NUM>. The processor <NUM> is configured to receive the reference signal indication information transmitted by the network device; in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be a default reference signal pattern, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern; or in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal; wherein the reference signal indication information is used to indicate the target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions, and the target reference signal pattern is one selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns.

The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in the processor <NUM>, or be implemented by the processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be an integrated-circuit chip provided with a signal processing function. In the implementation, the steps of the method may be implemented by integrated circuits in the processor <NUM> or implemented by instructions in a form of software. The processor <NUM> may be a general processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The method, the steps and the logic blocks in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented or executed by the processor. The general processor may be a microprocessor or may be any general processor. The steps of the method disclosed by the embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied directly as hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. Software modules may be located in known storage mediums in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read only memory, a programmable read only memory or an electrically erasable and programmable memory and register. The storage medium is in the storage <NUM>, and the processor <NUM> reads the information in the storage <NUM> and completes the steps in the above method by combining the information with hardware in the processor <NUM>.

It may be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcodes, or a combination thereof. In case of implementation through hardware, the processing units may be implemented in one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a DSP Device (DSPD), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a general processor, a controller, a micro controller, a microprocessor, other electronic units capable of performing the function of the present disclosure, or a combination of the above.

In case of implementation through software, modules (such as processors, functions) capable of performing the functions of the present disclosure may be used to implement the techniques in the present disclosure. Software codes may be stored in the storage and executed by the processor. The storage may be implemented in a processor or implemented outside of the processor.

Specifically, the processor is further configured to: after the reference signal indication information is received, determine the target reference signal pattern based on the received reference signal indication information; transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the target reference signal pattern.

Specifically, the processor <NUM> is further configured to analyze the reference signal indication information to obtain N bits, wherein <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, N is a positive integer; in a case that a value represented by the N bits is the first value, determine that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, wherein the K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N; in a case that the value represented by the N bits is the second value, determine that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.

Specifically, the proecessor1001 is further configured to: receive the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information transmitted by the network device; analyze the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information, to obtain the reference signal indication information indicating the target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions.

The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure does not transmit the reference signal indication information in case of using the default reference signal pattern or using the same reference signal pattern as that used in the previous transmission occasions in the later transmission occasions; in a case that the terminal device fails to receive the reference signal indication information, the terminal device determines that the default reference signal pattern or the reference signal pattern used in the previous transmission occasions is to be used, and thus the bit overhead of the system information is reduced and the service transmission rate is increased under a premise that the reference signal pattern is accurately indicated.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of the terminal device provided in some other embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, the terminal device <NUM> in <FIG> may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or an on-board computer.

The terminal device <NUM> in <FIG> includes a power source <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, an input unit <NUM>, a display unit <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, a Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) module <NUM>, an audio circuit <NUM>, and a Radio Frequency (RF) circuit <NUM>.

The input unit <NUM> may be configured to receive information inputted by a user, and generate signal inputs related with user settings and functional control of the terminal device <NUM>. Specifically, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the input unit <NUM> may include a touch panel <NUM>. The touch panel <NUM>, also called a touch screen, may collect touch operations made by a user (such as a user uses a finger, a stylus or any other suitable articles or attachments to touch the touch panel <NUM>) on the touch panel <NUM> or near the touch panel <NUM>, and drive a corresponding connected device according to predetermined programs. Optionally, the touch panel <NUM> may include a touch detection device and a touch controller. The touch detection device detects a touch position of a user and detects a signal from a touch operation, and transmits the signal to the touch controller; the touch controller receives touch information from the touch detection device, and transforms the touch information into touch position coordinates, and transmits the touch position coordinates to the processor <NUM>, and receives a command from the processor <NUM> and executes the command. In addition, the touch panel <NUM> may also be implemented in various types such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared ray type or a surface acoustic wave type. Beside the touch panel <NUM>, the input unit <NUM> may further include other input devices <NUM>. The other input devices <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a physical keyboard, a functional key (such as a volume control key, a switch button, or the like), a track ball, a mouse, an operation stick, or the like.

The display unit <NUM> may be used to display information inputted from a user or information provided to the user, and various menu interfaces of the terminal device. The display unit <NUM> may include a display panel <NUM>. Optionally, the display panel <NUM> may be configured by using a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED).

It should be noted that, the touch panel <NUM> may cover the display panel <NUM>, and form a touch display screen together with the display panel <NUM>. When the touch display screen detects the touch operation on or near the touch display screen, the touch display screen transmits the touch operation to the processor <NUM> to determine a type of a touch event, and thereby the processor <NUM> provides a visual output on the touch display screen based on the type of the touch event.

The touch display screen includes an application interface display region and a common widget display region. An arrangement of the application interface display region and the common widget display region is not limited, and may be an arrangement capable of distinguishing the two display regions, such as an up-down arrangement, a left-right arrangement, or the like. The application interface display region may be used to display interfaces of applications. Each of the interfaces may include desktop elements such as an icon of at least one application and/or a widget desktop control. The application interface display region may also be an empty interface not containing contents. The common widget display region is used to display widgets used frequently, such as application icons including setting button, interface numbers, scroll bars, a phonebook icon, or the like.

The processor <NUM> is a control center of the terminal device, and is connected to various parts of the mobile terminal through various interfaces and lines. Through executing or performing software programs and/or modules in the first storage <NUM> and invoking data stored in the second storage <NUM>, the processor executes various functions and processes data for the terminal device, and thereby monitors comprehensively events of the terminal device. Optionally, the processor <NUM> may include one or more processing units.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, through invoking programs and/or modules stored in the first storage <NUM> and/or data stored in the second storage <NUM>, the processor <NUM> is configured to: receive the reference signal indication information transmitted by the network device; in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be a default reference signal pattern, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the default reference signal pattern; or in a case that the reference signal indication information is not received, determine the target reference signal pattern to be a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device, and transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information received by the terminal device; wherein the reference signal indication information is used to indicate the target reference signal pattern to be used in later transmission occasions, and the target reference signal pattern is one selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns.

Specifically, the processor <NUM> is further configured to: after the reference signal indication information is received, determine the target reference signal pattern based on the received reference signal indication information; transmit corresponding reference signals in transmission resources corresponding to the target reference signal pattern.

Specifically, the processor <NUM> is further configured to: receive the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information transmitted by the network device; analyze the high-layer RRC signaling, the MAC CE or the physical-layer DCI information, to obtain the reference signal indication information indicating the target reference signal pattern to be used in the later transmission occasions.

It may be understood by one of ordinary skills in the art, modules, algorithms, or steps described in the embodiments of present disclosure may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the computer software and the electronic hardware. Whether the implementation is through the electronic hardware or through the computer software is determined by a specific application scenario and design constraints of technical solutions. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described modules or steps according to a specific application scenario, and such implementation does not go beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

One of ordinary skills in the art may clearly understand that, for sake of easy and brief description, a specific operation flow in the above-identified system, device and units may be obtained by referring to corresponding processes in the above process embodiments, and will not be repeated.

It should be understood that, in the several embodiments provided in the present disclosure, the disclosed device and method can be implemented in other ways. The apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, a division of a unit may be only one logically functional division. There may be other divisions in actual implementations, e.g., multiple units and components can be combined or integrated in another system, or some features may be omitted or not executed. Additionally, couplings, or direct couplings, or communication connections between displayed or discussed components may be via some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical or other forms of connections.

Modules or submodules described as separated parts may be integral or physically separated; parts displayed as modules may be or may not be physical units, may be located in the same place or be dispersed at multiple network units. Some or all of the modules described above may be used to implement the technical solution of the present disclosure according to actual requirements.

The functional units described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated in one processing unit or may be separated physically, or two or more of the units may be integrated in one unit.

The above functions of the present disclosure may be stored in a computer readable storage medium if they are implemented in forms of software functional modules or are sold or used as separate products. Based on such understandings, essentials of technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure or parts that the present disclosure contributes to the relevant art, or a part of the technical solution of the present disclosure may be embodied in computer software products. The computer software products are stored in a storage medium including instructions for causing a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device or the like) to perform some or parts of the method of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The above storage medium may include various medium capable of storing programs and codes such as a flash disk, a removable storage device, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or a compact disk.

It should be understood by one skilled in the art that all or any of steps or components of the method and device in the present disclosure may be implemented in any computing device (including a processor, a storage, or the like) or in any network including computing devices, or implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, after one skilled in the art reads the present disclosure and uses his basic programming skills.

Claim 1:
A reference signal indication method, applied to a network device side and comprising:
determining (<NUM>) a target reference signal pattern to be used for a terminal device in later transmission occasions following a current transmission occasion, wherein the target reference signal pattern is a reference signal pattern selected from multiple predefined reference signal patterns; and
not transmitting (<NUM>) the reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is same as a default reference signal pattern; or
not transmitting (<NUM>) the reference signal indication information to the terminal device, in a case that the target reference signal pattern is same as a reference signal pattern indicated by a previous piece of reference signal indication information;
wherein after the determining (<NUM>) the target reference signal pattern to be used for the terminal device in the later transmission occasions following the current transmission occasion, the method further comprises:
in a case that the target reference signal pattern satisfies a predefined condition, determining the reference signal indication information used for indicating the target reference signal pattern, wherein, the predefined condition is a condition that reference signal patterns other than the default reference signal pattern is to be used, or the predefined condition is a condition that a reference signal pattern different from a reference signal pattern indicated by the previous piece of reference signal indication information is to be used;
transmitting the reference signal indication information to the terminal device;
wherein, the reference signal indication information comprises N bits, <NUM>N is smaller than or equal to the number of all reference signal patterns, and N is a positive integer;
wherein a first value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is a K-th reference signal pattern used in previous M transmission occasions, K is smaller than or equal to <NUM>N;
a second value represented by the N bits is used for indicating that the target reference signal pattern is not any of reference signal patterns used in the previous M transmission occasions.