Reference Signal Transmission Method and Apparatus

• US 20160112173A1
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honor Device Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wang, Jianguo, Zhou, Yongxing
• Granted Patent: US 9,800,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/04 using two or more spaced independent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames

Abstract

Embodiments disclose a reference signal transmission method and an apparatus. The method includes receiving reference signal resource configuration information sent by a base station, where the reference signal resource configuration information includes antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index. The method also includes determining a reference signal configuration from a reference signal configuration set according to the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index. The method also includes obtaining, according to the determined reference signal configuration, positions of the resource elements REs that are used to send the reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set, and receiving reference signals according to the positions of the REs.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving reference signal resource configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the reference signal resource configuration information comprises antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index;

determining a reference signal configuration from a reference signal configuration set according to the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index, wherein the reference signal configuration is used to indicates position information of resource elements (RE) that are used to send reference signals on antenna ports in an antenna port set, the reference signal configuration set comprises the reference signal configuration, and an antenna port set corresponding to the reference signal configuration comprises a plurality of antenna port subsets, wherein an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a first antenna port subset is located in a first resource block (RB) pair, an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a second antenna port subset is located in a second RB pair, and the first RB pair is different from the second RB pair;

obtaining, according to the determined reference signal configuration, positions of the REs that are used to send a reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set; and

receiving the reference signal according to the positions of the REs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first RB pair and the second RB pair are separately located at different frequency domain positions in a same subframe or located in a same subband of different subframes.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_i1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_i2, wherein REG_i1 ∈

A, REG_i2 ∈

A, and i₁≠

i₂;

the set is A={REG_i|i=0,1, . . . , M−

1}, M≧

2, i₁,i₂ ∈

{0, . . . , M−

1}, wherein i_iand i₂ are indexes of the resource element groups (REGs) used in the first RB pair and the second RB pair respectively; and

each resource element group in the set A represents a set of position triplets (k′

,l′

,n_smod2)of resource elements (RE)s in an RB pair that are used to send reference signals, relative to the RB pair in which the resource elements REs are located, wherein k′

represents an index of a subcarrier of the resource element RE, in the RB pair in which the RE is located, l′

represents an index of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the resource element, in the RB pair in which the resource element is located, n_s represents an index of a timeslot to which the resource element belongs, mod represents a modulo operation, and n_s mod 2 represents a computed value resulting from a modulo 2 operation on n_s.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the reference signal configuration set comprises a second reference signal configuration, an antenna port set corresponding to the second reference signal configuration comprises the first antenna port subset and the second antenna port subset, a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_j1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_j2, wherein REG_j1 ∈

A, REG_j2 ∈

A, j₁≠

j₂, j₁,j₂ −

{0,1, . . . , M−

1}, and i₁,i₂, j₁ and j₂ meet one or more of the following relationships;

j₁=(i₁+n)mod M, j₂=(i₂+n)mod M, and j₁=j₂, j₂=i₁ wherein n represents a shift whose value is an integer.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein when a cyclic prefix (CP) is a normal CP, the resource element group set A comprises two or more of the following resource element groups:

REG₀^NCP={(9,5,0), (9,6,0), (8,5,0), (8,6,0), (3,5,0), (3,6,0), (2,5,0), (2,6,0)};

REG₁^NCP={(11,2,1), (11,3,1), (10,2,1), (10,3,1), (5,2,1), (5,3,1), (4,2,1), (4,3,1)};

REG₂^NCP={(9,2,1), (9,3,1), (8,2,1), (8,3,1), (3,2,1), (3,3,1), (2,2,1), (2,3,1)};

REG₃^NCP={(7,2,1), (7,3,1), (6,2,1), (6,3,1), (1,2,1), (1,3,1), (0,2,1), (0,3,1)};

an

REG₄^NCP={(9,5,1), (9,6,1), (8,5,1), (8,6,1), (3,5,1), (3,6,1), (2,5,1), (2,6,1)}.

6. A method, comprising:

sending reference signal resource configuration information to a user apparatus, wherein the reference signal resource configuration information comprises antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index, and the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index are used to indicate a reference signal configuration in a reference signal configuration set, wherein the reference signal configuration is used to indicate position information of resource elements (REs) that are used to send reference signals on antenna ports in an antenna port set, the reference signal configuration set comprises at least one first reference signal configuration, and an antenna port set corresponding to the first reference signal configuration comprises two antenna port subsets, wherein an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a first antenna port subset is located in a first resource block (RB) pair, an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a second antenna port subset is located in a second RB pair, and the first RB pair is different from the second RB pair;

determining, according to the reference signal configuration indicated by the reference signal resource configuration information, positions of the resource elements (REs) that are used to send a reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set corresponding to the reference signal configuration; and

sending the reference signal to the user apparatus at the positions.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first RB pair and the second RB pair are separately located at different frequency domain positions in a same subframe or located in a same subband of different subframes.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_i1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_i2, wherein REG_i1 ∈

A, REG_i2 ∈

A, and i₁≠

i₂;

the set is A={REG_i|i=0,1, . . . , M−

1}, M≧

2, i₁i₂ ∈

{0, . . . , M−

1}, wherein i_iand i₂ are indexes of the resource element groups (REGs) used in the two RB pairs respectively; and

each resource element group in the set A represents a set of position triplets (k′

,l′

,n_s mod

     2) of REs in an RB pair that are used to send reference signals, relative to the RB pair in which the REs are located, wherein k′

represents an index of a subcarrier of the RE, in the RB pair in which the RE is located, l′

represents an index of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the resource element, in the RB pair in which the resource element is located, n_s represents an index of a timeslot to which the resource element belongs, mod represents a modulo operation, and n_s mod 2 represents a computed value resulting from a modulo 2 operation on n_s.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the reference signal configuration set comprises a second reference signal configuration, an antenna port set corresponding to the second reference signal configuration comprises the first antenna port subset and the second antenna port subset, a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_j1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_j2, wherein REG_j1 ∈

A, REG_j2 ∈

A, j₁≠

j₂, j₁,j₂ ∈

{0,1, . . . , M−

1}, and i₁,i₂, j₁ and j₂ meet one or more of the following relationships;

j₁=(i₁+n)mod M, and j₁=i₂, j₂=i₁, wherein n represents a shift whose value is an integer.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein when a cyclic prefix (CP) is a normal CP, the resource element group set A comprises two or more of the following resource element groups:

REG₀^NCP={(9,5,0), (9,6,0), (8,5,0), (8,6,0), (3,5,0), (3,6,0), (2,5,0), (2,6,0)};

REG₁^NCP={(11,2,1), (11,3,1), (10,2,1), (10,3,1), (5,2,1), (5,3,1), (4,2,1), (4,3,1)};

REG₂^NCP={(9,2,1), (9,3,1), (8,2,1), (8,3,1), (3,2,1), (3,3,1), (2,2,1), (2,3,1)};

REG₃^NCP={(7,2,1), (7,3,1), (6,2,1), (6,3,1), (1,2,1), (1,3,1), (0,2,1), (0,3,1)}; and

REG₄^NCP={(9,5,1), (9,6,1), (8,5,1), (8,6,1), (3,5,1), (3,6,1), (2,5,1), (2,6,1)}.

11. A user apparatus, comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive reference signal resource configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the reference signal resource configuration information comprises antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index; and

a processor, configured to;

determine a reference signal configuration from a reference signal configuration set according to the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index received by the receiver, wherein the reference signal configuration is used to indicate position information of resource elements (REs) that are used to send reference signals on antenna ports in an antenna port set, the reference signal configuration set comprises a first reference signal configuration, and an antenna port set corresponding to the first reference signal configuration comprises two antenna port subsets, wherein an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a first antenna port subset is located in a first resource block (RB) pair, an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a second antenna port subset is located in a second RB pair, and the first RB pair is different from the second RB pair; and

obtain, according to the determined reference signal configuration, positions of the resource elements (REs) that are used to send a reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set;

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive the reference signal according to the positions of the REs obtained by the processor.

12. The user apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first RB pair and the second RB pair are separately located at different frequency domain positions in a same subframe or located in a same subband of different subframes.

13. The user apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_i1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_i2, wherein REG_i1 ∈

A, REG_i2 ∈

A, and i₁≠

i₂;

the set is A={REG_i|i=0,1, . . . , M−

1}, M≧

2, i₁,i₂ ∈

{0, . . . , M−

1}, wherein i₁ and i₂ are indexes of the resource element groups (REGs) used in the two RB pairs respectively; and

each resource element group in the set A represents a set of position triplets (k′

,l′

,n_s mod

     2) of REs in an RB pair that are used to send reference signals, relative to the RB pair in which the REs are located, wherein k′

represents an index of a subcarrier of the RE, in the RB pair in which the RE is located, l′

represents an index of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the resource element, in the RB pair in which the resource element is located, n_s represents an index of a timeslot to which the resource element belongs, mod represents a modulo operation, and n_s mod 2 represents a computed value resulting from a modulo 2 operation on n_s.

14. The user apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the reference signal configuration set comprises a second reference signal configuration, an antenna port set corresponding to the second reference signal configuration comprises the first antenna port subset and the second antenna port subset, a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_j1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_j2, wherein REG_j1 ∈

A, REG_j2 ∈

A, j₁≠

j₂, j₁, j₂ ∈

{0,1, . . . , M−

1}, and i₁,i₂j₁ and j₂ meet one or more of the following relationships;

j₁=(i₁+n)mod M, j₂=(i₂+n)mod M, and j₁=j₂, j₂=i₁, wherein n represents a shift whose value is an integer.

15. The user apparatus according to claim 13, wherein when a cyclic prefix (CP) is a normal CP, the resource element group set A comprises two or more of the following resource element groups:

REG₀^NCP={(9,5,0), (9,6,0), (8,5,0), (8,6,0), (3,5,0), (3,6,0), (2,5,0), (2,6,0)};

REG₁^NCP={(11,2,1), (11,3,1), (10,2,1), (10,3,1), (5,2,1), (5,3,1), (4,2,1), (4,3,1)};

REG₂^NCP={(9,2,1), (9,3,1), (8,2,1), (8,3,1), (3,2,1), (3,3,1), (2,2,1), (2,3,1)};

REG₃^NCP={(7,2,1), (7,3,1), (6,2,1), (6,3,1), (1,2,1), (1,3,1), (0,2,1), (0,3,1)}; and

REG₄^NCP={(9,5,1), (9,6,1), (8,5,1), (8,6,1), (3,5,1), (3,6,1), (2,5,1), (2,6,1)}.

16. A base station, comprising:

a transmitter, configured to send reference signal resource configuration information to user apparatus, wherein the reference signal resource configuration information comprises antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index, and the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index are used to indicate a reference signal configuration in a reference signal configuration set, wherein the reference signal configuration is used to indicate position information of resource elements (REs) that are used to send reference signals on antenna ports in an antenna port set, the reference signal configuration set comprises a first reference signal configuration, and an antenna port set corresponding to the first reference signal configuration comprises two antenna port subsets, wherein a resource element (RE) that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a first antenna port subset is located in a first resource block RB pair, an RE that is used to send a reference signal on an antenna port in a second antenna port subset is located in a second RB pair, and the first RB pair is different from the second RB pair; and

a processor, configured to determine, according to the reference signal configuration indicated by the reference signal resource configuration information sent by the transmitter, positions of the resource elements (REs) that are used to send a reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set corresponding to the reference signal configuration;

wherein the transmitter is further configured to send the reference signal to the user apparatus at the positions determined by the processor.

17. The base station according to claim 16, wherein the first RB pair and the second RB pair are separately located at different frequency domain positions in a same subframe or located in a same subband of different subframes.

18. The base station according to claim 16, wherein a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_i1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_i2, wherein REG_i1 ∈

A, REG_i2 ∈

A, and i₁≠

i₂;

the set is A={REG_i|i=0, . . . , M−

1}, M≧

2, i₁,i₂ ∈

{0, . . . , M−

1}, wherein i₁and i₂ are indexes of the resource element groups (REGs) used in the two RB pairs respectively; and

each resource element group in the set A represents a set of position triplets (k′

,l′

,n_s mod

     2) of resource elements (REs) in an RB pair that are used to send reference signals, relative to the RB pair in which the REs are located, wherein k′

represents an index of a subcarrier of the resource element RE, in the RB pair in which the RE is located, l′

represents an index of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the resource element, in the RB pair in which the resource element is located, n_s represents an index of a timeslot to which the resource element belongs, mod represents a modulo operation, and n_s mod 2 represents a computed value resulting from a modulo 2 operation on n_s.

19. The base station according to claim 18, wherein the reference signal configuration set comprises a second reference signal configuration, an antenna port set corresponding to the second reference signal configuration comprises the first antenna port subset and the second antenna port subset, a resource element group used by the first antenna port subset in the first RB pair is REG_j1, and a resource element group used by the second antenna port subset in the second RB pair is REG_j2, wherein REG_j1 ∈

A, REG_j2 ∈

A, j₁≠

j₂, j₁, j₂ ∈

{0,1, . . . , M−

1}, and i₁,i₂, j₁ and j₂ meet one or more of the following relationships;

j₁=(i₁+n) mod M, j₂=(i₂+n)mod M, and j₁=i₂, j₂=i₁, wherein n represents a shift whose value is an integer.

20. The base station according to claim 18, wherein when a cyclic prefix (CP) is a normal CP, the resource element group set A comprises two or more of the following resource element groups:

REG₀^NCP={(9,5,0), (9,6,0), (8,5,0), (8,6,0), (3,5,0), (3,6,0), (2,5,0), (2,6,0)};

REG₁^NCP={(11,2,1), (11,3,1), (10,2,1), (10,3,1), (5,2,1), (5,3,1), (4,2,1), (4,3,1)};

REG₂^NCP={(9,2,1), (9,3,1), (8,2,1), (8,3,1), (3,2,1), (3,3,1), (2,2,1), (2,3,1)};

REG₃^NCP={(7,2,1), (7,3,1), (6,2,1), (6,3,1), (1,2,1), (1,3,1), (0,2,1), (0,3,1)}; and

REG₄^NCP={(9,5,1), (9,6,1), (8,5,1), (8,6,1), (3,5,1), (3,6,1), (2,5,1), (2,6,1)}.