CN108259147B

CN108259147B - Method and device for transmitting and receiving OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbol

Info

Publication number: CN108259147B
Application number: CN201611247737.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄煌; 李赛楠
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-29
Filing date: 2016-12-29
Publication date: 2021-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-29
Also published as: CN108259147A; WO2018121186A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a method and a device for transmitting and receiving an OFDM symbol. The network device generates at least one OFDM symbol; the at least one OFDM symbol comprises a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, and the port numbers and/or the port numbers of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are different; each first resource block carries a beam reference signal; each second resource block carries a PBCH reference signal; the network equipment adopts the transmission beam to transmit at least one OFDM symbol, and the terminal equipment identifies a plurality of beams transmitted by the network equipment according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block; and the terminal equipment demodulates the data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal. The embodiment of the invention can simultaneously meet the requirements of beam identification and PBCH data demodulation, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal on the network equipment side is greatly reduced.

Description

Method and device for transmitting and receiving OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbol

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting and receiving an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

Background

In order to meet the large capacity demand of the next generation communication system, a fifth generation mobile communication system (5) is introduced to perform communication in a high frequency band greater than 6GHz so as to utilize high-bandwidth and high-rate transmission^th-Generation, 5G). Due to high path loss of high-frequency communication, narrow beams are required to ensure propagation distance and high beam gain, however, the coverage of the narrow beams is limited, and narrow beam alignment between network side equipment and terminal equipment is required to ensure communication quality.

The network device needs to Broadcast system information to the terminal device through a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) for the terminal device to access the network and update the network side system information, which is useful data of the PBCH. In addition, when a high-frequency band is introduced for communication, a plurality of narrow beams need to be scanned by the network device and transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to identify the beams, determine which narrow beams sent by the network device are suitable for communication with the terminal device, and feed back the beams to the network device. Therefore, a beam Reference Signal is required to help the terminal device identify the plurality of beams transmitted by the network device, and a PBCH Reference Signal (i.e., Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS) is required to demodulate data of the PBCH.

As shown in fig. 1, a schematic diagram of a transmission configuration of a PBCH reference signal and a beam reference signal in the prior art, the PBCH reference signal in the prior art is completely contained in the beam reference signal. The Resource block of PBCH of each symbol consists of 12 Resource Elements (REs), where 8 REs are beam reference signals and the other 4 REs are useful for transmitting PBCH data. Each symbol supports the transmission of 8 beams simultaneously, each beam transmitting a different beam reference signal on 8 REs. The 8 beam reference signals are transmitted in a code division mode. The terminal equipment detects the beam reference signal on each resource block, so that the quality of the beam on each resource block can be known, and the beam identifier and the corresponding beam quality can be fed back to the network side equipment, so that the network side equipment can schedule the corresponding beam to transmit data to the terminal equipment.

Because the beam quality of the full frequency band needs to be measured, each resource block of 82 PBCH uses 8 REs to transmit the beam reference signal, and only 4 REs to transmit useful PBCH data, so the transmission overhead is very large, which reaches 8/12.

Therefore, how to reduce the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal while satisfying the identification of the beam and the demodulation of the PBCH data is a problem that needs to be solved currently.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a method and a device for sending and receiving OFDM symbols, which are used for reducing the overhead of transmitting beam reference signals and PBCH reference signals while meeting the requirements of beam identification and PBCH data demodulation.

In a first aspect, a method for transmitting an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol is provided, the method including:

the network device generates at least one OFDM symbol;

wherein the at least one OFDM symbol comprises a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, and the port numbers and/or the port numbers of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are different;

each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for a terminal device to identify a plurality of beams sent by the network device; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal, and the reference signal of PBCH is used for demodulating PBCH data;

the network device transmits the at least one OFDM symbol using a transmit beam.

In this implementation, at least one OFDM symbol generated and transmitted by the network device is divided into two types of resource blocks, and the beam reference signal is carried only by a plurality of resource blocks of one type, which can be used for identifying a beam, and the resource block of the other type, which carries the PBCH reference signal, can be used for demodulating the PBCH data, so that the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal is reduced while satisfying the identification of the beam and the demodulation of the PBCH data.

In an implementation manner of the first aspect, the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block is further used to detect a beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each first resource block, and the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block is further used to detect a beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each second resource block by the terminal device.

In this implementation, for a plurality of beams identified by a plurality of resource blocks of one type, full-band beam quality detection is performed in two types of resource blocks included in at least one OFDM symbol, so that the quality of the detected beams can be ensured.

In another implementation manner of the first aspect, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block.

In this implementation, because different beams in the same polarization cover different ranges, the terminal device can only receive a few beams in the same polarization, the beam energy of the ports of the reference signal of the second resource block mainly comes from the few beams, and the reference signal of the second resource block is used to further detect the beam quality of the identified few beams with better beam quality in the second resource block, so that the number of the ports of the second resource block is less than that of the ports of the first resource block, thereby further saving the signaling overhead in the second resource block.

In yet another implementation form of the first aspect, the beam reference signal carried in the first resource block is also used for demodulating PBCH data.

In this implementation, the reference signal in the first resource block may also be used as a PBCH reference signal, so that data of PBCH may be demodulated.

In yet another implementation manner of the first aspect, the reference signals in the plurality of first resource blocks are set in at least one of the following manners: time division, frequency division and code division, and reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks are set in at least one of: time division, frequency division, and code division.

In this implementation, the multiplexing modes of the reference signals in the two types of resource blocks are various, and may be any one of time division, frequency division and code division, or any combination of two or three of them.

In yet another implementation form of the first aspect, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a synchronization signal.

In this implementation, the at least one OFDM symbol may include a synchronization signal, such as a primary synchronization signal and/or a secondary synchronization signal, in addition to the two types of resource blocks.

In yet another implementation manner of the first aspect, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks, and in the plurality of third resource blocks, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are staggered in a frequency domain.

In this implementation, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal may be set in one resource block.

In a second aspect, a network device is provided, which has a function of implementing the network device behavior in the above method. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible implementation, the network device includes:

a generating unit for generating at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol;

a transmitting unit, configured to transmit the at least one OFDM symbol generated by the generating unit by using a transmission beam.

In another possible implementation manner, the network device includes: a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, and a processor; wherein, the memory stores a group of program codes, and the processor is used for calling the program codes stored in the memory and executing the following operations:

generating at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol;

transmitting, by the transmitter, the at least one OFDM symbol with a transmit beam.

Based on the same inventive concept, as the principle and the advantages of the apparatus for solving the problems can be referred to the possible embodiments and the advantages of the first aspect, the method can be referred to for implementation of the apparatus, and repeated details are not repeated.

In a third aspect, a method for receiving an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol is provided, the method including:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives at least one OFDM symbol sent by network equipment by adopting a sending beam, wherein the at least one OFDM symbol comprises a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, the number of ports and/or the number of ports of reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are different, each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and each second resource block carries a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) reference signal;

the terminal equipment identifies a plurality of wave beams sent by the network equipment according to the wave beam reference signal carried by each first resource block;

and the terminal equipment demodulates the data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

In this implementation, in at least one OFDM symbol from a network device received by a terminal device, the at least one OFDM symbol is divided into two types of resource blocks, where a beam reference signal is carried only by one type of resource block, and a PBCH reference signal is carried by another type of resource block, the terminal device identifies multiple beams sent by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by one type of resource block, and demodulates data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal carried by another type of resource block, which can simultaneously satisfy the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal at the network device side is greatly reduced.

In one implementation form of the third aspect, the method further comprises:

the terminal equipment detects the beam quality of the plurality of identified beams in each first resource block according to the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block;

and the terminal equipment detects the beam quality of the plurality of identified beams in each second resource block according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block.

In this implementation, the terminal device performs full-band beam quality detection on multiple beams identified by multiple first-class resource blocks in two classes of resource blocks included in at least one OFDM symbol, so as to ensure the quality of the detected beams.

In another implementation manner of the third aspect, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block.

In this implementation, because different beams in the same polarization cover different ranges, the terminal device can only receive a few beams in the same polarization, the beam energy of the ports of the reference signal of the second resource block mainly comes from the few beams, and the reference signal of the second resource block is used to further detect the beam quality of the identified few beams with better beam quality in the second resource block, so that the number of the ports of the second resource block is less than that of the ports of the first resource block, thereby further reducing the overhead of the network device for transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal.

In yet another implementation manner of the third aspect, each first resource block further carries a PBCH reference signal.

In yet another implementation form of the third aspect, the reference signals in the plurality of first resource blocks are set in at least one of: time division, frequency division and code division, and reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks are set in at least one of: time division, frequency division, and code division.

In yet another implementation form of the third aspect, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a synchronization signal.

In yet another implementation manner of the third aspect, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks, and in the plurality of third resource blocks, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are staggered in a frequency domain.

In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is provided, where the terminal device has a function of implementing the behavior of the terminal device in the above method. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol sent by a network device using a sending beam, where the at least one OFDM symbol includes multiple first resource blocks and multiple second resource blocks, and the port numbers and/or the port numbers of reference signals of the multiple first resource blocks and the multiple second resource blocks are different, where each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal;

an identifying unit, configured to identify, according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block, a plurality of beams sent by the network device;

a demodulation unit, configured to demodulate data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

In another possible implementation manner, the terminal device includes: a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, and a processor; wherein, the memory stores a group of program codes, and the processor is used for calling the program codes stored in the memory and executing the following operations:

receiving, by the receiver, at least one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol transmitted by a network device using a transmission beam, where the at least one OFDM symbol includes multiple first resource blocks and multiple second resource blocks, and the number of ports and/or the number of ports of reference signals of the multiple first resource blocks and the multiple second resource blocks are different, where each first resource block carries a beam reference signal and each second resource block carries a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) reference signal;

identifying a plurality of beams sent by the network equipment according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block;

and demodulating data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission configuration of PBCH reference signals and beam reference signals in the prior art;

fig. 2 is an interaction diagram of transmission and reception of an OFDM symbol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is an interaction diagram of transmission and reception of another OFDM symbol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a transmission configuration of PBCH reference signals and beam reference signals according to an example of the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating another PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration according to an example of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a transmission configuration of a PBCH reference signal and a beam reference signal according to another example of the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a transmission configuration of PBCH reference signals and beam reference signals according to another example of the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a transmission configuration of PBCH reference signals and beam reference signals according to another example of the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention may communicate with one or more core networks through a Radio Access Network (RAN), and the terminal device may refer to an Access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. An access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with Wireless communication capability, a computing device or other processing device connected to a Wireless modem, a vehicle mounted device, a wearable device, a UE in a future 5G network, etc.

The network device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be used to communicate with a terminal device, and the network device may be, for example, a Base Station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, a Base Station (NodeB) in a WCDMA system, an evolved Node B (eNB) or an eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a relay Station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Station, a next-generation communication Base Station, such as a 5G Base Station, a small Station, a micro Station, or a TRP (transmission and reception point); the system can also be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device and the like which work in a high-frequency band.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction between transmission and reception of an OFDM symbol according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the following steps:

s101, the network equipment generates at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol.

The network device needs to broadcast system information to the terminal device via PBCH, for the terminal device to access the network and update the network-side system information, which includes some configuration of the network, such as system characteristics, and which is used as useful data of PBCH, and the system information is carried via OFDM symbols. In addition, when a high-frequency band is introduced for communication, a plurality of narrow beams need to be scanned by the network device and transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to identify the beams, determine which narrow beams sent by the network device are suitable for communication with the terminal device, and feed back the beams to the network device. Thus, beam reference signals are needed to help terminal devices identify the multiple beams transmitted by the network device, and PBCH reference signals are needed to demodulate the PBCH data, which are also included in the OFDM symbols. Thus, the one or more OFDM symbols comprise at least a beam reference signal, a PBCH reference signal and PBCH useful data. Optionally, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a Synchronization Signal, e.g., Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS).

In this embodiment, the generated one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, where the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks is different, the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different, and the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different.

Each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for identifying a plurality of beams sent by network equipment by terminal equipment; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal in it, which is used for demodulating PBCH data. In this embodiment, the network device only carries the beam reference signal through the plurality of first resource blocks, and carries the PBCH reference signal through the plurality of second resource blocks, and uses the PBCH reference signal as the demodulation of the PBCH data, so that the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal is reduced while satisfying the identification of the beam and the demodulation of the PBCH data.

In one implementation, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block. In this implementation, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block, thereby further saving signaling overhead in the second resource block.

Optionally, the beam reference signal carried in the first resource block is further used for demodulating PBCH data. In this way, the reference signals in both the first resource block and the second resource block may be used for demodulating PBCH data.

Further, the reference signals in the plurality of first resource blocks may be set in at least one of the following manners: the time division, the frequency division and the code division, and the reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks may be set in at least one of the following manners: time division, frequency division, and code division. Thus, the multiplexing modes of the reference signals in the two types of resource blocks are various, and can be any one of time division, frequency division and code division or the combination of any two or the combination of the three.

S102, the network equipment adopts a transmission beam to transmit the at least one OFDM symbol.

After the network device generates one or more OFDM symbols, the network device transmits the one or more OFDM symbols to the terminal device using the transmission beam. The transmission mode can be broadcast or unicast, etc. In this embodiment, the network device may generate one OFDM symbol, and the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are located in one OFDM symbol, or the network device may generate a plurality of OFDM symbols, that is, the first resource blocks and the second resource blocks may span a plurality of symbols, but each symbol is transmitted by using a transmission beam. The terminal device receives at least one OFDM symbol transmitted by the network device using the transmit beam.

S103, the terminal equipment identifies a plurality of wave beams sent by the network equipment according to the wave beam reference signal carried by each first resource block.

After the terminal device receives one or more OFDM symbols from the network device, since the plurality of first resource blocks in the symbol carry beam reference signals, which are used for the terminal device to identify a plurality of beams sent by the network device, the terminal device can identify the plurality of beams sent by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block. In particular, each first resource block carries a plurality of beam reference signals, such that a plurality of beams transmitted by the network device may be identified. The specific identification process can refer to the prior art.

S104, the terminal device demodulates the data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

Meanwhile, in one or more OFDM symbols received by the terminal device, a plurality of second resource blocks carry PBCH reference signals, and the PBCH reference signals are used for demodulating PBCH data, so that the terminal device can demodulate the PBCH data carried in the symbol according to the PBCH reference signals carried by each second resource block. The prior art can be referred to for a specific demodulation process.

By adopting the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, one or more OFDM symbols generated and sent by the network equipment comprise two types of resource blocks, a plurality of resource blocks of one type are only used for carrying beam reference signals, while the resource blocks of the other type carry PBCH reference signals, the terminal equipment receives the one or more OFDM symbols, a plurality of beams sent by the network equipment are identified according to the beam reference signals carried in the resource blocks of one type in the one or more OFDM symbols, the data in one or more OFDM symbols are demodulated according to the PBCH reference signals carried in the resource blocks of the other type in the one or more OFDM symbols, the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data can be simultaneously met, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals on the network equipment side is greatly reduced.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an interaction between transmission and reception of another OFDM symbol according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the following steps:

s201, the network device generates at least one OFDM symbol.

each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for a terminal device to identify a plurality of beams sent by the network device; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal, and the PBCH reference signal is used for demodulating PBCH data.

Optionally, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block.

Optionally, the beam reference signal carried in the first resource block is further used for demodulating PBCH data.

Further, the reference signals in the plurality of first resource blocks are set in at least one of the following manners: time division, frequency division sum, code division, and reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks are arranged in at least one of: time division, frequency division, and code division. The multiplexing modes of the reference signals in the two types of resource blocks are various, and can be any one of time division, frequency division and code division or the combination of any two or the combination of the three.

Optionally, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a synchronization signal, e.g., a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal.

S202, the network device transmits the at least one OFDM symbol by using a transmission beam.

In this embodiment, the network device transmits a plurality of OFDM symbols using the same transmission beam to ensure channel consistency.

In another embodiment, multiple OFDM symbols may also be transmitted using different transmit beams.

S203, the terminal equipment identifies a plurality of wave beams sent by the network equipment according to the wave beam reference signal carried by each first resource block.

And S204, the terminal equipment demodulates the data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

Steps S201 to S204 are the same as steps S101 to S104 of the previous embodiment, and are not repeated herein. Unlike the previous embodiment, the present embodiment further includes the following steps S205, S206:

s205, the terminal device detects the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each first resource block according to the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block.

When a high-frequency band is introduced for communication, a plurality of narrow beams need to be scanned by a network device and transmitted to a terminal device, and the terminal device needs to identify the plurality of beams sent by the network device. Meanwhile, the terminal device measures the quality of the narrow beams, determines which narrow beams sent by the network device are suitable for communication with the terminal device, and feeds back the narrow beams to the network side device.

In this embodiment, the beam reference signals carried in the multiple first resource blocks may also be used to detect the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each first resource block, and the terminal device detects the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each first resource block according to the beam reference signals carried in each first resource block. Optionally, the beam reference signal may also be regarded as a PBCH reference signal for demodulating PBCH data.

S206, the terminal device detects the beam quality of the plurality of identified beams in each second resource block according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block.

Furthermore, the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block may be used to demodulate PBCH data, and may also be used to further correct the quality of the beam with better quality detected in each first resource block in each second resource block, and the terminal device detects the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each second resource block according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block, thereby implementing full-band detection of beam quality in the multiple first resource blocks and the multiple second resource blocks, and further ensuring the quality of the detected beam.

The solution of the embodiment of the present invention is described in further detail below by two specific examples:

referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a transmission configuration of PBCH reference signals and beam reference signals according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 4, two types of PBCH resource blocks, namely PBCH1 and PBCH2, are included in the same OFDM symbol, and antenna ports for transmitting reference signals in each resource block are different, for example, the number of ports is different and/or the port number is different. It should be noted that other non-PBCH resource blocks may be located in another OFDM symbol, or may be located in the same OFDM symbol as PBCH1 and PBCH2, where the non-PBCH resource blocks include synchronization signals, such as PSS/SSS. One resource block may include a plurality of resource elements.

In this example, it is assumed that the network device is capable of transmitting dual polarized beams, 4 beams per polarization, polarization 1

transmission beam

0, 2, 4, 6, polarization 2

transmission beam

1, 3, 5, 7. Because different beams in the same polarization cover different directions, the terminal equipment can only receive one beam in the same polarization (determined by an actual scene), and the signal quality of other beams is too poor to be ignored.

The reference signal antenna ports of 8 REs in PBCH1 are ports 0-7 and the reference signal antenna ports of 2 REs in PBCH2 are ports 8 and 9 (i.e., the port numbers and port numbers of PBCH1 and PBCH2 are different). Simultaneous transmission of 8 different beams is supported in one OFDM symbol, one for each of antenna ports 0-7. The antenna port 8 transmits

beams

0, 2, 4, 6, i.e. beams of polarization 1. The antenna port 9 transmits the

beams

1, 3, 5, 7, i.e. the beam of polarization 2. As shown in fig. 4, the reference signals in the antenna ports 0 to 7 and the

antenna ports

8 and 9 may be set by any one of time division, frequency division, and code division, any combination of two of them, and any combination of three of them.

In this example, resource elements 1-8 in the PBCH1 resource block may function as beam reference signals, i.e., for the terminal device to identify the beams sent by the network device (identify beams 0-7) and detect which beams are of better quality, assuming that at most two beams are of better quality, e.g., beam 2 and beam 3. Since most of the energy of the beam of antenna port 8 is from beam 2 and most of the energy of antenna port 9 is from beam 3, the beam quality in PBCH2 of detected beam 2 and beam 3 can be further corrected by

resource particles

1 and 2 in PBCH2 resource block, i.e. full band beam quality detection is guaranteed in all PBCH resource blocks. Meanwhile, the reference signal of each PBCH resource block (including PBCH1 and PBCH2) may be used as a PBCH reference signal for demodulation of PBCH data. Therefore, the present example can simultaneously satisfy the functions of PBCH demodulation and full-band beam quality detection. In PBCH2, only two REs are needed to transmit reference signals, and signaling overhead is reduced from 8/12 of the prior art to 2/12.

For the PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration illustrated in fig. 4, alternatively, two types of PBCH resource blocks may also span multiple symbols, i.e. be included in multiple OFDM symbols, as shown in fig. 5, and fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration illustrated in the embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 5, if the two types of resource blocks adopt a time division or a time division and frequency division/code division multiplexing method, the two types of resource blocks span

symbols

1 and 2.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 6, it is assumed that the network device is capable of transmitting dual polarized beams, 4 beams per polarization, polarization 1

transmitting beams

0, 2, 4, 6, and polarization 2

transmitting beams

1, 3, 5, 7. Since different beams in the same polarization cover different directions, it is assumed that the terminal device can only receive two beams in the same polarization at most (determined by the actual scene), and the quality of other beams is too poor to be ignored. For example, the beams that can be received are: one of the

beams

0, 2, one of the

beams

4, 6, one of the

beams

1, 3, and one of the

beams

5, 7.

In this example, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are placed in different resource blocks, i.e., RS resource block and PBCH resource block, respectively.

In the RS resource block, the RS resource block includes 24 REs (three groups of resource elements with reference numbers 1 to 8, the number of REs is only an example and is not limited), and the RS resource block is only used for transmitting the beam reference signal and is numbered according to 3 groups of 0 to 7. The reference signal antenna ports corresponding to the beam reference signals are 0-7. Simultaneous transmission of 8 different beams is supported in one symbol, one for each of antenna ports 0-7. As shown in fig. 5, the reference signals of the antenna ports 0-7 can be set in a frequency division or code division manner. The beams 0-7 can be identified by the beam reference signal and detected which 4 beams are of better quality,

e.g. beams

2, 3, 5, 6.

In a PBCH resource block, the PBCH resource block includes 4 REs, where the 4 REs are used to transmit PBCH reference signals (e.g., resource elements labeled 1-4 in the figure), and the other 8 REs are used to transmit PBCH data. The

beams

2, 3, 5, 6 with better quality detected by the beam reference signal in the RS resource block can be further corrected in the PBCH resource block by the PBCH reference signal, that is, full-band beam quality detection is performed. Antenna port 8 transmits

beams

0, 2 and antenna port 9 transmits

beams

4, 6. Antenna port 10 transmits

beams

1, 3, antenna port 11 transmits

beams

5, 7, while most of the beam energy of antenna port 8 is from beam 2, most of the beam energy of antenna port 9 is from beam 6, most of the beam energy of port 10 is from beam 3, and most of the beam energy of antenna port 11 is from beam 5, so that the best quality of

beams

2, 3, 5, 6 in the PBCH resource block can be detected by the PBCH reference signal in the PBCH resource block.

Meanwhile, the PBCH reference signal of each PBCH resource block may be used for demodulation of PBCH data. Therefore, the present example can simultaneously satisfy the functions of PBCH demodulation and full-band beam quality detection. The signaling overhead for transmission of reference signals in PBCH resource blocks has been reduced from 8/12 to 4/12.

For the PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration illustrated in fig. 6, alternatively, two types of resource blocks may also span multiple symbols, i.e. be included in multiple OFDM symbols, as shown in fig. 7, and fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of another PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration illustrated in the embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 7, if the two types of resource blocks adopt a time division or a time division and frequency division/code division multiplexing method, the two types of resource blocks span

symbols

1 and 2.

As an implementation manner, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks, and in the plurality of third resource blocks, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are arranged in a staggered manner in a frequency domain.

In this implementation, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal may be set in one resource block. Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating another PBCH reference signal and beam reference signal transmission configuration according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in fig. 8, the PBCH reference signal and the beam reference signal are concentrated in one resource block, wherein the PBCH reference signal and the beam reference signal are staggered in the frequency domain.

By adopting the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, one or more OFDM symbols generated and sent by the network equipment comprise two types of resource blocks, a plurality of resource blocks of one type are only used for carrying beam reference signals, while the resource blocks of the other type carry PBCH reference signals, the terminal equipment receives the one or more OFDM symbols, a plurality of beams sent by the network equipment are identified according to the beam reference signals carried in the resource blocks of one type in the one or more OFDM symbols, the data in one or more OFDM symbols are demodulated according to the PBCH reference signals carried in the resource blocks of the other type in the one or more OFDM symbols, the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data can be simultaneously met, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals on the network equipment side is greatly reduced; the terminal equipment performs full-band beam quality detection on a plurality of beams identified by a plurality of resource blocks of one type in two resource blocks included in one or a plurality of OFDM symbols, so that the quality of the detected beams can be ensured.

It should be noted that, for simplicity of description, the above-mentioned method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combination of acts, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited by the order of acts, as some steps may occur in other orders or concurrently in accordance with the invention.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network device 1000 includes: a generating unit 11 and a transmitting unit 12; wherein:

a generating unit 11 configured to generate at least one OFDM symbol.

The network device needs to broadcast system information to the terminal device via PBCH, for the terminal device to access the network and update the network-side system information, which includes some configuration of the network, such as system characteristics, and which is used as useful data of PBCH, and the system information is carried via OFDM symbols. In addition, when a high-frequency band is introduced for communication, a plurality of narrow beams need to be scanned by the network device and transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to identify the beams, determine which narrow beams sent by the network device are suitable for communication with the terminal device, and feed back the beams to the network device. Thus, beam reference signals are needed to help terminal devices identify the multiple beams transmitted by the network device, and PBCH reference signals are needed to demodulate the PBCH data, which are also included in the OFDM symbols. Thus, the one or more OFDM symbols comprise at least a beam reference signal, a PBCH reference signal and PBCH useful data. Optionally, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a synchronization signal, e.g., a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal.

In this embodiment, the one or more OFDM symbols generated by the generating unit 11 include a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, where the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks is different, the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different, and the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different. Each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for identifying a plurality of beams sent by network equipment by terminal equipment; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal in it, which is used for demodulating PBCH data. In this embodiment, the network device only carries the beam reference signal through the plurality of first resource blocks, and carries the PBCH reference signal through the plurality of second resource blocks, and uses the PBCH reference signal as the demodulation of the PBCH data, so that the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal is reduced while satisfying the identification of the beam and the demodulation of the PBCH data.

As another implementation manner, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks, and in the plurality of third resource blocks, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are arranged in a staggered manner in a frequency domain.

A transmitting unit 12, configured to transmit the at least one OFDM symbol generated by the generating unit by using a transmission beam.

After the generating unit 11 generates one or more OFDM symbols, the transmitting unit 12 transmits the one or more OFDM symbols to the terminal device using the transmission beam. The transmission mode can be broadcast or unicast, etc. In this embodiment, the generating unit 11 may generate one OFDM symbol, and the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are located in one OFDM symbol, and the generating unit 11 may also generate a plurality of OFDM symbols, that is, the first resource blocks and the second resource blocks may span a plurality of symbols, but each symbol is transmitted by using a transmission beam.

In the present embodiment, the transmitting unit 12 transmits a plurality of OFDM symbols using the same transmission beam to ensure channel coincidence.

In another embodiment, the transmitting unit 12 may also transmit a plurality of OFDM symbols using different transmit beams.

According to the network device provided by the embodiment of the invention, one or more OFDM symbols generated and transmitted by the network device are divided into two types of resource blocks, only one type of resource block carries the beam reference signal, the resource block can be used for identifying the beam, and the other type of resource block carries the PBCH reference signal and can be used for demodulating the PBCH data, so that the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal is reduced while the beam identification and the PBCH data demodulation are met.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device 2000 includes: a receiving unit 21, a recognition unit 22, and a demodulation unit 23; wherein:

a receiving unit 21, configured to receive one or more OFDM symbols transmitted by the network device using the transmission beam.

The one or more OFDM symbols received by the receiving unit 21 comprise at least a beam reference signal, a PBCH reference signal and PBCH useful data. Optionally, the one or more OFDM symbols further include synchronization signals, e.g., a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal.

In this embodiment, the one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, where the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks is different, the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different, and the number of ports of the reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks may be different.

Each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for identifying a plurality of beams sent by network equipment by terminal equipment; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal in it, which is used for demodulating PBCH data.

Further, the reference signals in the plurality of first resource blocks may be set in at least one of the following manners: the time division, the frequency division and the code division, and the reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks may be set in at least one of the following manners: time division, frequency division, and code division.

An identifying unit 22, configured to identify, according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block, a plurality of beams sent by the network device.

After the receiving unit 21 receives one or more OFDM symbols from the network device, since the plurality of first resource blocks in the symbol carry beam reference signals, which are used for the terminal device to identify the plurality of beams transmitted by the network device, the identifying unit 22 can identify the plurality of beams transmitted by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block. In particular, each first resource block carries a plurality of beam reference signals, such that a plurality of beams transmitted by the network device may be identified. The specific identification process can refer to the prior art.

A demodulating unit 23, configured to demodulate data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

Meanwhile, in one or more OFDM symbols received by the receiving unit 22, multiple second resource blocks carry PBCH reference signals, and the PBCH reference signals are used for demodulating PBCH data, so that the demodulating unit 23 can demodulate PBCH data carried in the symbol according to the PBCH reference signal carried by each second resource block. The prior art can be referred to for a specific demodulation process.

According to the terminal device provided by the embodiment of the invention, in one or more OFDM symbols received by the terminal device from the network device, the one or more OFDM symbols are divided into two types of resource blocks, a beam reference signal is carried only by one type of resource block, a PBCH reference signal is carried by the other type of resource block, the terminal device identifies a plurality of beams sent by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by one type of resource block in the one or more OFDM symbols, and demodulates data in one or more OFDM symbols according to the PBCH reference signal carried by the other type of resource block in the one or more OFDM symbols, so that the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data can be simultaneously satisfied, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal on the network device side is greatly reduced.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This terminal device 3000 includes: a receiving unit 31, an identifying unit 32, a demodulating unit 33, a first detecting unit 34, and a second detecting unit 35; wherein:

a receiving unit 31, configured to receive at least one OFDM symbol transmitted by the network device using the transmission beam.

An identifying unit 32, configured to identify, according to the beam reference signal carried by each first resource block, a plurality of beams sent by the network device.

A demodulating unit 33, configured to demodulate data in the at least one OFDM symbol according to the PBCH reference signal.

The functions of the receiving unit 31, the identifying unit 32, and the demodulating unit 33 are the same as those of the receiving unit 21, the identifying unit 22, and the demodulating unit 23 of the foregoing embodiments, and are not described again here. Unlike the previous embodiment, the present embodiment further includes a first detection unit 34 and a second detection unit 35:

a first detecting unit 34, configured to detect, according to the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block, a beam quality of the plurality of beams identified by the identifying unit in each first resource block.

In this embodiment, the beam reference signals carried in the plurality of first resource blocks may also be used to detect the beam quality of the identified plurality of beams in each first resource block, and the first detecting unit 34 detects the beam quality of the plurality of beams identified by the identifying unit in each first resource block according to the beam reference signals carried in each first resource block. Optionally, the beam reference signal may also be regarded as a PBCH reference signal for demodulating PBCH data.

A second detecting unit 35, configured to detect, according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block, beam quality of the multiple beams identified by the identifying unit in each second resource block.

Further, the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block may be used to demodulate PBCH data, and may also be used to further correct the quality of the beam with better quality detected in each first resource block in each second resource block, and the second detecting unit 35 detects, according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block, the beam quality of the plurality of beams identified by the identifying unit in each second resource block, so as to implement full-band detection of the beam quality in the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks, thereby further ensuring the quality of the detected beam.

According to the terminal device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, in one or more OFDM symbols received by the terminal device from the network device, the one or more OFDM symbols are divided into two types of resource blocks, a beam reference signal is carried only by one type of resource block, and a PBCH reference signal is carried by another type of resource block, the terminal device identifies a plurality of beams sent by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by one type of resource block in the one or more OFDM symbols, demodulates data in one or more OFDM symbols according to the PBCH reference signal carried by another type of resource block in the one or more OFDM symbols, and can simultaneously satisfy the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data, and the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal at the network device side is greatly reduced; the terminal equipment performs full-band beam quality detection on a plurality of beams identified by a plurality of resource blocks of one type in two resource blocks included in one or a plurality of OFDM symbols, so that the quality of the detected beams can be ensured.

Referring to fig. 12, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another network device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network device 4000 may include a transmitter 41, a receiver 42, a processor 43 and a memory 44, where the transmitter 41, the receiver 42, the processor 43 and the memory 44 are respectively connected to a bus 45.

Processor 43 controls the operation of network device 4000, and processor 43 may also be referred to as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The processor 43 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. The processor 43 may also be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

Wherein the memory 44 stores a set of program codes therein, and the processor 43 is configured to call the program codes stored in the memory 44 for performing the following operations:

In this implementation, one or more OFDM symbols generated and transmitted by the network device are divided into two types of resource blocks, and only one type of resource block carries a beam reference signal, which can be used for identifying a beam, and the other type of resource block carries a PBCH reference signal, which can be used for demodulating PBCH data, so that the overhead of transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal is reduced while the identification of the beam and the demodulation of the PBCH data are satisfied.

In one implementation, the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block is further used for detecting the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each first resource block, and the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block is further used for the terminal device to detect the beam quality of the identified multiple beams in each second resource block.

In this implementation, for a plurality of beams identified by a plurality of resource blocks of one type, full-band beam quality detection is performed in two types of resource blocks included in one or more OFDM symbols, which can ensure the quality of the detected beams.

In another implementation, the number of ports of the second resource block is less than the number of ports of the first resource block.

In this implementation, because different beams in the same polarization cover different ranges, the terminal device can only receive a few beams in the same polarization, the beam energy of the ports of the reference signal of the second resource block mainly comes from the few beams, and the reference signal of the second resource block is used to further detect the beam quality of the identified few beams with better beam quality in the second resource block, so that the number of the ports of the second resource block is less than that of the ports of the first resource block, thereby saving the signaling overhead in the second resource block.

In yet another implementation, the beam-reference signal carried in the first resource block is also used for demodulating PBCH data.

In yet another implementation, the reference signals in the first resource blocks are set in at least one of: time division, frequency division and code division, and reference signals in the plurality of second resource blocks are set in at least one of: time division, frequency division, and code division.

In yet another implementation, the at least one OFDM symbol further includes a synchronization signal.

In yet another implementation, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks, and in the plurality of third resource blocks, the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal are arranged in a staggered manner in a frequency domain.

Referring to fig. 13, fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device 5000 may include a transmitter 51, a receiver 52, a processor 53 and a memory 54, and the transmitter 51, the receiver 52, the processor 53 and the memory 54 are respectively connected to a bus 55.

The processor 53 controls the operation of the terminal device 5000, and the processor 53 may also be referred to as a central processing unit. The processor 53 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. The processor 53 may also be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

Wherein the memory 54 stores a set of program codes therein, and the processor 53 is configured to call the program codes stored in the memory 54 for performing the following operations:

receiving, by the receiver, at least one OFDM symbol transmitted by a network device using a transmission beam, where the at least one OFDM symbol includes a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, and the number of ports and/or the number of ports of reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are different, where each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal;

In this implementation, in one or more OFDM symbols received by a terminal device from a network device, the one or more OFDM symbols are divided into two types of resource blocks, where a beam reference signal is carried only by one type of resource block, and a PBCH reference signal is carried by another type of resource block, the terminal device identifies multiple beams sent by the network device according to the beam reference signal carried by one type of resource block, and demodulates data in one or more OFDM symbols according to the PBCH reference signal carried by another type of resource block, so that the identification of the beams and the demodulation of the PBCH data can be simultaneously satisfied, and the overhead for transmitting the beam reference signal and the PBCH reference signal at the network device side is greatly reduced.

In one implementation, the processor 53 is further configured to perform the following operations:

In this implementation, the terminal device performs full-band beam quality detection on multiple beams identified by multiple first-class resource blocks in two classes of resource blocks included in one or multiple OFDM symbols, so as to ensure the quality of the detected beams.

In yet another implementation, each first resource block further carries a PBCH reference signal.

In this implementation, one or more OFDM symbols may include a synchronization signal, such as a primary synchronization signal and/or a secondary synchronization signal, in addition to two types of resource blocks.

The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc. in the description, claims, and drawings of the present invention are used for distinguishing between different objects and not necessarily for describing a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "include" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those steps or elements listed, but may alternatively include other steps or elements not listed, or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus.

In the foregoing embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments.

From the above description of the embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented by hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions described above may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limiting: the computer-readable medium may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-on Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, the method is simple. Any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, a server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, a fiber optic cable, a twisted pair, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, the fiber optic cable, the twisted pair, the DSL, or the wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the fixation of the medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy Disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol, the method comprising:

the network device generates at least one OFDM symbol;

each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, and the beam reference signal is used for a terminal device to identify a plurality of beams sent by the network device; each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal, the PBCH reference signal is used for demodulating PBCH data, and the number of ports of the second resource block is less than that of the first resource block;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam reference signal carried in each of the first resource blocks is further used for detecting a beam quality of the identified plurality of beams in each of the first resource blocks, and the PBCH reference signal carried in each of the second resource blocks is further used for a terminal device to detect a beam quality of the identified plurality of beams in each of the second resource blocks.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, wherein the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks in which the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals are staggered in frequency domain.

4. A method of receiving an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives at least one OFDM symbol sent by network equipment by adopting a sending beam, wherein the at least one OFDM symbol comprises a plurality of first resource blocks and a plurality of second resource blocks, the number of ports and/or the number of ports of reference signals of the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are different, each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, each second resource block carries a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) reference signal, and the number of ports of the second resource blocks is less than that of the ports of the first resource blocks;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

6. The method of any of claims 4 to 5, the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks combined into a plurality of third resource blocks in which the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals are staggered in the frequency domain.

7. A network device, characterized in that the network device comprises:

8. The network device of claim 7, wherein the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block is further for detecting a beam quality of the identified plurality of beams in the each first resource block, and wherein the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block is further for a terminal device to detect a beam quality of the identified plurality of beams in the each second resource block.

9. The network device of any of claims 7 to 8, wherein the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks in which the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals are staggered in the frequency domain.

10. A terminal device, characterized in that the terminal device comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol sent by a network device using a sending beam, where the at least one OFDM symbol includes multiple first resource blocks and multiple second resource blocks, and the port numbers and/or port numbers of reference signals of the multiple first resource blocks and the multiple second resource blocks are different, where each first resource block carries a beam reference signal, each second resource block carries a physical broadcast channel PBCH reference signal, and the port number of the second resource block is less than the port number of the first resource block;

11. The terminal device of claim 10, wherein the terminal device further comprises:

a first detecting unit, configured to detect, according to the beam reference signal carried in each first resource block, beam quality of the plurality of beams identified by the identifying unit in each first resource block;

a second detecting unit, configured to detect, according to the PBCH reference signal carried in each second resource block, beam quality of the multiple beams identified by the identifying unit in each second resource block.

12. The terminal device of any of claims 10 to 11, wherein the plurality of first resource blocks and the plurality of second resource blocks are combined into a plurality of third resource blocks in which the beam reference signals and the PBCH reference signals are staggered in the frequency domain.