CN111917671B

CN111917671B - Apparatus and method for wireless communication

Info

Publication number: CN111917671B
Application number: CN202010793032.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈晋辉; 徐湛; 苏中
Original assignee: Beijing Information Science and Technology University
Current assignee: Beijing Information Science and Technology University
Priority date: 2020-08-07
Filing date: 2020-08-07
Publication date: 2023-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-07
Also published as: CN111917671A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for wireless communication, the apparatus for wireless communication comprising: one or more processors configured to: generating Q antenna pair sets based on an arrangement mode of antenna elements in a first antenna array, wherein the first antenna array is not limited to be a uniform linear array; generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; q space correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, the values of the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals and are used for data receiving and transmitting processing in wireless communication.

Description

Apparatus and method for wireless communication

Technical Field

The present application relates to an apparatus and method in a wireless communication system.

Background

In the current multi-antenna wireless communication system, the spatial correlation matrix can be used for multi-antenna receiving, multi-user scheduling, transmitting precoding and the like by a receiving end, so that the spectrum utilization rate is improved, and the throughput of the system is increased. Because the space correlation coefficient is a statistic value, in the traditional space correlation matrix estimation method, the estimation of the space correlation coefficient between every two antenna elements needs to collect the channel coefficient estimation which corresponds to the two antenna elements and is implemented by multiple channels in the time domain, thereby causing the problems of pilot frequency overhead, time-frequency resource overhead and time delay which are used for estimating the space correlation matrix.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary of the application in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the application. It should be understood that this summary is not an exhaustive overview of the application. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the application or to delineate the scope of the application. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.

The inventor finds through research that due to the regularity of the arrangement of the antenna elements in the antenna array, the number of similar antenna pairs can be used for increasing the statistical samples of the space correlation coefficient, so that the pilot frequency cost, the time-frequency resource cost and the time delay used for estimating the space correlation matrix are effectively reduced.

According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: one or more processors configured to: generating Q antenna pair sets based on an arrangement mode of antenna elements in a first antenna array, wherein the first antenna array is not limited to be a uniform linear array; generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; q space correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, the values of the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: and generating an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix based on the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, wherein the first spatial covariance matrix estimate is an estimated value of the first spatial covariance matrix corresponding to the wireless channel experienced by the one or more reference signals.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to put antenna pairs consisting of two antenna elements that are equal or approximately in the same polarization direction and the distance between them into the same set of antenna pairs.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: the first antenna pair set is any one of the Q antenna pair sets, and is used for generating a first spatial correlation coefficient estimation, and the first antenna pair set includes N antenna pairs, where N pairs of channel coefficient estimates corresponding to the N antenna pairs are respectively used for generating N sample values for obtaining the first spatial correlation coefficient estimation value, and N is a natural number.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: and multiplying the channel coefficient estimation corresponding to one antenna element in one antenna pair by the conjugate of the channel coefficient corresponding to the other antenna element to obtain one sample value.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: generating a data detection result based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate and the data signals received by the first antenna array; or, processing the data signal to be transmitted by the first antenna array based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the one or more reference signals are within the same subframe as the data signal.

According to one aspect of the application, wherein the first antenna array is not a uniform linear array.

According to one aspect of the application, the apparatus further comprises a transceiver unit configured to: receiving a reference signal; a data signal is transmitted or received.

According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for wireless communication, comprising: generating Q antenna pair sets based on an arrangement mode of antenna elements in a first antenna array, wherein the first antenna array is not limited to be a uniform linear array; generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; q space correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, the values of the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals.

In one embodiment, the method is characterized by generating an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix based on the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, the first spatial covariance matrix estimate being an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix corresponding to a wireless channel experienced by the one or more reference signals.

In one embodiment, the above method is characterized in that antenna pairs consisting of two antenna elements with equal or similar distances in the same polarization direction are put into the same set of antenna pairs.

In an embodiment, the above method is characterized in that the first set of antenna pairs is any one of the Q sets of antenna pairs, the first set of antenna pairs is used to generate a first spatial correlation coefficient estimate, the first set of antenna pairs comprises N antenna pairs, N pairs of channel coefficient estimates corresponding to the N antenna pairs are used to generate N sample values for obtaining the first spatial correlation coefficient estimate, respectively, the N being a natural number.

In an embodiment the method is characterized in that the channel coefficient estimate corresponding to one antenna element of an antenna pair is multiplied by the conjugate of the channel coefficient corresponding to the other antenna element to obtain one of said sample values.

In one embodiment, the above method is characterized by generating a data detection result based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate and the data signals received with the first antenna array; or, processing the data signal to be transmitted by the first antenna array based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate.

In an embodiment, the above method is characterized in that the one or more reference signals are within the same subframe as the data signal.

In one embodiment, the above method is characterized in that the first antenna array is not a uniform linear array.

In an embodiment, the above method is characterized in that the apparatus further comprises a transceiver unit configured to: receiving a reference signal; a data signal is transmitted or received.

The apparatus and method for wireless communication according to the present application can achieve a plurality of sample values corresponding to one spatial correlation coefficient through one channel estimation by utilizing the characteristic that there are a plurality of antennas in one antenna array that the corresponding spatial correlation coefficients are the same or similar, thereby achieving at least one of the following effects: reducing pilot overhead for spatial correlation coefficient estimation; reducing the time delay for obtaining a more accurate space correlation coefficient estimated value; the accuracy of the space correlation coefficient estimation is improved; the implementation of the apparatus and method is not limited by the morphology of the antenna array.

The foregoing and other advantages of the application will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the application, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings:

to further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present application, a more particular description of the application will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, together with the detailed description below. Elements having the same function and structure are denoted by the same reference numerals. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical examples of the application and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one specific implementation of an apparatus for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a clustered linear antenna array in accordance with one embodiment of the application;

fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the application;

fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of the schematic configuration of a base station;

fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a first application example of a user equipment:

fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a second application example of the user equipment; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary architecture of a general-purpose personal computer in which methods and/or apparatus and/or systems according to embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

The specific embodiment is as follows:

exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the interest of clarity and conciseness, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-and business-related constraints, and that these constraints will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

It should be noted here that, in order to avoid obscuring the present application due to unnecessary details, only the device structures and/or processing steps closely related to the solution according to the present application are shown in the drawings, while other details not greatly related to the present application are omitted.

< first embodiment >

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus 100 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application, the apparatus 100 including: one or more processors 101 configured to: generating Q antenna pair sets based on an arrangement mode of antenna elements in a first antenna array, wherein the first antenna array is not limited to be a uniform linear array; generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; q space correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, the values of the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals.

In the wireless communication system in which the apparatus 100 is located, the communication device at the receiving end is provided with an antenna array for improving the communication rate, increasing the communication throughput, improving the reliability of communication, or positioning. The spatial correlation coefficient refers to a statistical value indicating correlation between channels to which two receiving antenna elements respectively correspond. The spatial correlation coefficient of two antenna elements in the same polarization direction is not 0 if they are closer. The spatial correlation coefficients may be used to generate a spatial covariance matrix. The spatial covariance matrix refers to a two-dimensional matrix formed by statistics of spatial correlation coefficients, channel coefficient averages, and channel coefficient variances of the antenna elements in the antenna array with respect to each other. If the antenna array is composed of M antenna elements, the dimension of its corresponding spatial covariance matrix is m×m. And estimating the corresponding space covariance matrix, and utilizing the estimated value to help to improve the detection performance of the receiving end, assist the base station end to carry out multi-user scheduling and the like. In addition, in practical deployment, due to physical space limitation, the arrangement of the antenna elements in the antenna array is possible in many ways, and is not limited to a uniform linear array. Therefore, estimating a spatial covariance matrix corresponding to an antenna array that is not limited to a uniform linear array is a fundamental requirement of a plurality of wireless communication algorithms based on spatial covariance matrix estimation values.

In this embodiment and the following embodiments, the apparatus 100 may be implemented as a base station. The base station may include: a body (also referred to as a base station module) configured to control wireless communication; and one or more Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) disposed at a different location than the main body. In addition, various types of terminal devices may operate as a base station by temporarily or semi-permanently performing base station functions. In addition, the apparatus 100 may be implemented as any type of server, such as a tower server, a rack server, and a blade server. The apparatus 100 may be a control module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single wafer, and a card or blade inserted into a slot of a blade server) mounted on a server. For example, the communication system in which the apparatus 100 is located applies the C-RAN technology, where the apparatus 100 may be implemented as a server set in a core network or in a baseband cloud, and the apparatus 100 generates Q sets of antenna pairs based on an arrangement manner of antenna elements in a first antenna array of an RRH within a management range of the server, where the first antenna array is not limited to a uniform linear array; generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; q space correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, the values of the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals. In the following description, the apparatus 100 is mainly described as being implemented as a base station, and it is understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The communication device served by the base station may be implemented as a user device, such as a mobile terminal served by the base station (such as a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/dongle type mobile router, and a digital camera device) or a vehicle-mounted terminal (such as a car navigation device), and the user device may also be implemented as a terminal performing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also referred to as a Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal). Further, the user equipment may be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single die) mounted on each of the above terminals.

Further, in some alternative examples, the communication devices served/managed by the base station may be implemented as, for example, relay base stations, small enbs, etc., infrastructure that need to communicate with the base station over a wireless interface and make channel measurements. In the following description, a user equipment is mainly taken as an example for illustration, and it is understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The processor 101 may be, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) having data processing capabilities, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit module, or the like.

Further, as indicated by the dashed box in fig. 1, in one example of the apparatus 100, when the apparatus 100 is a base station, the apparatus 100 may further include a transceiver unit 102 configured to receive a reference signal; a data signal is transmitted or received.

Accordingly, fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a specific implementation of apparatus 100 (identified as apparatus 200 in fig. 2), and the function and structure of apparatus 200 will be described in detail below with reference to the block diagram. As shown in fig. 2, the apparatus 200 includes: a parameter configuration module 201 configured to generate Q antenna pair sets based on an arrangement manner of antenna elements in a first antenna array, the first antenna array not being limited to a uniform linear array; a channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array; the channel statistics estimation generation module 203 is configured to generate Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates based on the Q antenna pair sets, where the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates have different values, and Q is a natural number, and the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q spatial correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels undergone by the one or more reference signals.

In one example, the first antenna array is not a uniform linear array.

In one example, the first antenna array is a clustered planar array.

In one example, the first antenna array is a spherical array.

In one example, the parameter configuration module 201 is configured to receive a message regarding the arrangement of antenna elements in the first antenna array.

In one example, the parameter configuration module 201 is configured to put an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements that are equal or similar in the same polarization direction and the distance between them into the same set of antenna pairs.

In one example, the parameter configuration module 201 is configured to put an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements with a distance greater than a certain distance in or between orthogonal polarization directions into the same antenna pair set, and the spatial correlation coefficient estimate corresponding to the antenna pair set is set to 0.

In one example, the channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 is configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on an uplink reference signal.

In one example, the channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 is configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on a sounding reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal, SRS).

In one example, the channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 is configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on the demodulation reference signal (Demodulation Reference Signal, DMRS).

In one example, the channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 is configured to generate the channel coefficient estimates using a minimum variance channel estimation algorithm (Least Square Channel Estimation).

In one example, the channel statistics estimate generation module 203 is configured to: and generating an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix based on the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, wherein the first spatial covariance matrix estimate is an estimated value of the first spatial covariance matrix corresponding to the wireless channel experienced by the one or more reference signals.

In one example, the channel statistics estimate generation module 203 is configured to: the first antenna pair set is any one of the Q antenna pair sets, and is used for generating a first spatial correlation coefficient estimation, and the first antenna pair set includes N antenna pairs, where N pairs of channel coefficient estimates corresponding to the N antenna pairs are respectively used for generating N sample values for obtaining the first spatial correlation coefficient estimation value, and N is a natural number.

In one example, the channel statistics estimate generation module 203 is configured to: and multiplying the channel coefficient estimation corresponding to one antenna element in one antenna pair by the conjugate of the channel coefficient corresponding to the other antenna element to obtain one sample value.

In one example, the first spatial correlation coefficient estimated value is obtained by stacking the N sample values and then averaging the N sample values.

In one example, there is no one antenna pair belonging to both of the Q sets of antenna pairs.

In one example, the first antenna array is comprised of M antenna elements, and the set of Q antenna pairs together comprise M (M-1)/2 antenna pair combinations.

In one example, the first antenna pair array is made up of M antenna elements, the set of Q antenna pairs includes K antenna pair combinations altogether, and the M (M-1)/2-K antenna pairs are considered to be antenna pairs made up of spatially uncorrelated or low correlated antenna elements.

In one example, the first spatial correlation matrix estimate is used to describe an estimate of channel statistics between antenna elements in the first antenna array and a single transmit antenna element for reception.

In one example, the first spatial correlation matrix estimate is used to describe estimates of channel statistics between antenna elements and a plurality of transmit antenna elements in the first antenna array for reception.

In one example, the apparatus 200 may further include a data processing module 204 configured to generate a data detection result based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate and the data signals received with the first antenna array.

In one example, the data processing module 204 is configured to demodulate the received data based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate.

In one example, the data processing module 204 is configured to employ a minimum mean square error (Minimum Mean Squared Error, MMSE) equalization algorithm for data reception based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate.

In one example, the apparatus 200 may further comprise a data processing module 204 configured to process data signals to be transmitted by the first antenna array based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate.

In one example, the data processing module 204 is configured to select users with more orthogonal eigenvectors for multi-user scheduling based on eigenvectors corresponding to covariance matrix estimation.

In one example, the one or more reference signals and the processed data signal based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate are in one subframe.

In one example, the one or more reference signals and the processed data signal based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate are in one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, OFDM) symbol.

In one example, the one or more reference signals and the processed data signal based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate are in an inseparable time unit.

In one example, the apparatus 200 may further include a transceiver module 205 configured to receive a reference signal; a data signal is transmitted.

In one example, the apparatus 200 may further include a transceiver module 205 configured to receive a reference signal; a data signal is received.

In summary, the apparatuses 100 and 200 may increase samples for estimating the channel correlation coefficient based on the arrangement of the antenna elements in the receiving antenna array, thereby reducing pilot overhead for estimating the spatial covariance matrix; reducing the time delay for obtaining a more accurate space covariance matrix estimation value; the accuracy of the space covariance matrix estimation is improved; the implementation of the apparatus and method is not limited by the morphology of the antenna array.

< second embodiment >

In this embodiment, the reference signal is a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

The parameter configuration module 201 is configured to: receiving a message about an arrangement mode of antenna elements in the first antenna array, for example, the number of antenna elements included in the first antenna array, a space between antenna elements, etc., the first antenna array is not limited to a uniform linear array; the first antenna array is composed of M antenna elements, and M antenna elements are formed into M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs in pairs; placing an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements with a distance greater than a certain distance in the orthogonal polarization direction into the same antenna pair set, setting the antenna channel correlation coefficient estimation corresponding to the antenna pair set to 0, and if no antenna pair meeting the above condition exists, then the antenna pair set does not exist; placing the rest antenna pairs consisting of two antenna elements with equal or similar distances in the same polarization direction into the same antenna pair set; the M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs are partitioned as previously described into Q sets of antenna pairs that are used to generate Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, respectively.

The channel coefficient estimate generation module 202 is configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS); a minimum variance channel estimation method is used to generate channel coefficient estimates.

For the first antenna array, the channel coefficients of the first channel realizations of the M receiving antenna elements 0, …, M-1 and the transmitting antenna element k are respectively identified as h _0，k (l)，h _1，k (l)，…，h _M-1，k (l) Their corresponding channel coefficient estimates are identified ash _1，k (l)，…，h _M-1，k (l) A. The invention relates to a method for producing a fibre-reinforced plastic composite Assume that the channel coefficient h corresponding to the first channel realization is estimated _m，k (l) Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) of (1)Number s _m，k (l) M is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to M-1, and the corresponding received signal adopts minimum variance to estimate the channel coefficient, so that the channel coefficient h _m，k (l) Is estimated as (1)

The channel statistics estimate generation module 203 is configured to: for transmitting antenna k, the Q antenna pairs are grouped into a set P ₀ ，P ₁ ，…，P _Q-1 Based on the estimated channel correlation degree, the channel correlation values are arranged to correspond to Q channel correlation coefficient values rho respectively _0，k ，ρ _1，k ，…，ρ _Q-1，k If ρ _q，k If not 0 or not considered 0, the spatial correlation coefficient ρ is generated as follows _q，k Estimate of (2)

Where L is used to generate a spatial correlation estimateNumber of channel realizations, M _q Is the antenna pair set P _q The number of antenna pairs included in the antenna pattern.

Assume that for transmit antenna k, h _m，k Is the average value of mu _k Sum of variances ofChannel statistics estimation generation module 203 generates mean estimates +.>Sum of variances estimation->

The first spatial covariance matrix is an M x M two-dimensional matrix describing statistical characteristics between wireless channels formed by M receiving antenna elements and transmitting antenna elements k, and the first spatial covariance matrix estimate is an estimate generated for the first spatial covariance matrix, identified asMarked as->Is composed of matrix elements, wherein ∈>At the position ofThe coordinates of (i, j). The channel statistics estimate generation module 203 generates the first spatial covariance matrix estimate as follows,

in one example, the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates are generated in a one-time channel implementation.

In one example, the one or more reference signals are in one subframe.

In one example, the first antenna array is a clustered linear array of M antenna elements as shown in fig. 3, each cluster of which consists of two clustersAntenna element composition of orthogonal polarization directions, antenna elements 0,2, …, M-2 in one polarization direction, antenna elements 1,3, …, M-1 in the other polarization direction. The spatial correlation coefficient corresponding to two antenna elements in the orthogonal polarization direction is considered to be 0. Lambda is used to denote the wavelength. The spatial correlation coefficient corresponding to two antenna elements with a distance between them greater than 4λ in the same polarization direction is also considered to be 0. The physical length of the antenna array is nλ, and n is a natural number greater than 4. Antenna cluster spacing d ₀ Is that

The number Q of the antenna pair sets is

Q antenna pair sets P ₀ ，P ₁ ，…，P _Q-1 The generation is according to the following rule: when two antenna elements are in orthogonal polarization directions, or both are in the same polarization direction but at a distance exceeding 4λ, the antenna pair consisting of the two antenna elements is put into the antenna pair set P ₀ The corresponding spatial correlation coefficient is 0, and thus its corresponding spatial correlation coefficient is estimated to be 0. In two identical polarization directions and at a distance d _q The antenna elements of are grouped into a set of antenna pairs P _q ，

In one example, the data processing module 204 is configured to estimate based on the first spatial covariance matrixData reception is performed using a minimum mean square error equalization algorithm (Minimum Mean Squared Error, MMSE).

In one example, the numberThe data processing module 204 is configured to estimate based on the first spatial covariance matrixAnd (3) carrying out downlink data transmission scheduling on a plurality of user equipment by adopting a channel capacity maximization principle.

The apparatus 100 (or 200) according to this embodiment implements regularity of antenna element arrangement using an antenna array based on the existing mean square error matrix estimation algorithm, increases statistical samples for channel correlation coefficient estimation, thereby reducing delay and pilot overhead for obtaining accurate channel correlation coefficient estimation, improving system performance, and being applicable to antenna arrays in which multiple antenna elements are regularly arranged.

< third embodiment >

In describing the apparatus for wireless communication in the above embodiments, it is apparent that some processes or methods are also disclosed. Hereinafter, an outline of these methods is given without repeating some of the details discussed above, but it should be noted that although these methods are disclosed in the course of describing an apparatus for wireless communication, these methods do not necessarily employ or are not necessarily performed by those components described. For example, embodiments of an apparatus for wireless communication may be implemented partially or entirely using hardware and/or firmware, while methods for wireless communication discussed below may be implemented entirely by computer-executable programs, although such methods may also employ hardware and/or firmware of an apparatus for wireless communication.

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the application, the method comprising: generating a set of Q antenna pairs (S11) based on an arrangement of antenna elements in a first antenna array, the first antenna array not being defined as a uniform linear array; generating channel coefficient estimates based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array (S13); q spatial correlation coefficient estimates are generated based on the Q antenna pair sets (S14), wherein the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates are different in value, Q is a natural number, and the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q spatial correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels experienced by the one or more reference signals.

In step S11, an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements that are equal or similar in the same polarization direction and the distance between them may be put into the same antenna pair set.

In step S11, the first antenna array may be a uniform linear array.

In step S14, the first antenna pair set may be any one of the Q antenna pair sets, where the first antenna pair set is used to generate a first spatial correlation coefficient estimate, and the first antenna pair set includes N antenna pairs, where N pairs of channel coefficient estimates corresponding to the N antenna pairs are used to generate N sample values for obtaining the first spatial correlation coefficient estimate, respectively, and N is a natural number.

In step S14, the sample value may be obtained by multiplying the channel coefficient estimation corresponding to one antenna element in one antenna pair by the conjugate of the channel coefficient corresponding to the other antenna element.

In one example, the receiving of the one or more reference signals (S12) is also included as indicated by the dashed box.

In one example, the method further comprises generating an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix based on the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates (S15), the first spatial covariance matrix estimate being an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix corresponding to a wireless channel experienced by the one or more reference signals, as indicated by the dashed box.

In one example, generating a data detection result based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate and the data signals received with the first antenna array, as indicated by the dashed box; alternatively, data signals to be transmitted by the first antenna array are processed based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate (S16).

In one example, the data after the reception or transmission process shown by the dotted line box is also included (S17).

Note that the above-described respective methods may be used in combination or alone, and the details thereof have been described in detail in the first and second embodiments and are not repeated here.

< fourth embodiment >

An example of a base station to which the techniques of the present disclosure are applied will be given in this embodiment.

(first application example)

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied. Base station 800 includes one or more antennas 810 and a base station module 820. The base station module 820 and each antenna 810 may be linked to each other via RF cables.

Each of the antennas 810 includes a single or multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna, and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals by the base station module 820. As shown in fig. 5, the base station 800 includes a plurality of antennas 810. For example, the plurality of antennas 810 may be compatible with a plurality of frequency bands used by the base station 800. Although fig. 5 shows an example in which the base station 800 includes a plurality of antennas 810, the base station 800 may also include a single antenna 810.

The base station module 820 includes a controller 821, a memory 822, a network interface 823, and a wireless communication interface 825.

The controller 821 may be, for example, a CPU or DSP, and operates various functions of higher layers of the base station module 820. For example, the controller 821 generates data packets from data in signals processed by the wireless communication interface 825 and delivers the generated packets via the network interface 823. The controller 821 may bundle data from a plurality of baseband processors to generate a bundle packet and transfer the generated bundle packet. The controller 821 may have logic functions controlled as follows: such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control and scheduling. The control may be performed in conjunction with a nearby base station or core network node. The memory 822 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 821 and various types of control data (such as a terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

The network interface 823 is a communication interface for connecting the base station module 820 to the core network 824. The controller 821 may communicate with the core network node or another base station via the network interface 823. In this case, the base station 800 and the core network node or other base stations may be connected to each other through logical interfaces such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface. The network interface 823 may also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul. If the network interface 823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 823 may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 825.

The wireless communication interface 825 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced and 5G, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in a cell of the base station 800 via the antenna 810. The wireless communication interface 825 may generally include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 826 and RF circuitry 827. The BB processor 826 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and performs various types of signal processing of layers such as L1, medium Access Control (MAC), radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). Instead of the controller 821, the bb processor 826 may have some or all of the above-described logic functions. The BB processor 826 may be a memory storing a communication control program, or a module including a processor configured to execute a program and associated circuits. The update procedure may cause the functionality of the BB processor 826 to change. The module may be a card or blade that is inserted into a slot of the base station module 820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 827 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 810.

As shown in fig. 5, the wireless communication interface 825 may include a plurality of BB processors 826. For example, the plurality of BB processors 826 may be compatible with a plurality of frequency bands used by the base station 800. As shown in fig. 5, the wireless communication interface 825 may include a plurality of RF circuits 827, for example, the plurality of RF circuits 827 may be compatible with a plurality of antenna elements. Although fig. 5 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 826 includes a plurality of BB processors 826 and a plurality of RF circuits 827, the wireless communication interface 825 may also include a single BB processor 826 or a single RF circuit 827.

(second application example)

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied. Base station 830 includes one or more antennas 840, base station module 850, and RRH 860. The RRH 860 and each antenna 840 can be linked to each other via RF cables. Base station module 850 and RRH 860 can be connected to each other via high-speed lines, such as fiber optic cables.

Each of the antennas 840 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for the RRH 860 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in fig. 6, the base station 830 may include multiple antennas 840, for example, the multiple antennas 840 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the base station 830. Although fig. 6 shows an example in which the base station 830 includes multiple antennas 840, the base station 830 may include a single antenna 840.

Base station module 850 includes a controller 851, memory 852, a network interface 853, a wireless communication interface 855, and a connection interface 857. The controller 851, memory 852, and network interface 853 are the same as the controller 821, memory 822, and network interface 823 described with reference to fig. 5.

Wireless communication interface 855 supports any cellular communication schemes, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced, and 5G, and provides wireless communication via RRH860 and antenna 840 to terminals located in a sector corresponding to RRH 860. The wireless communication interface 855 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 856. The BB processor 856 is identical to the BB processor 826 described with reference to fig. 5, except that the BB processor 856 is connected to the RF circuit 864 of the RRH860 via connection interface 857. As shown in fig. 6, wireless communication interface 855 may include a plurality of BB processors 856. For example, multiple BB processors may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by base station 830. Although fig. 6 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 855 includes a plurality of BB processors 856, the wireless communication interface 855 may also include a single BB processor 856.

Connection interface 857 is an interface for connecting base station module 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to RRH 860. Connection interface 857 may also be a communication module for connecting base station module 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to communications in the above-described high-speed lines of RRH 860.

RRH 860 includes connection interface 861 and wireless communication interface 863.

Connection interface 861 is an interface for connecting RRH 860 (wireless communication interface 863) to base station module 850. The connection interface 861 may also be a communication module for communication in the high-speed line described above.

Wireless communication interface 863 transmits and receives wireless signals via antenna 840. Wireless communication interface 863 may generally include, for example, RF circuitry 864. The RF circuit 864 may include, for example, mixers, filters, and amplifiers, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 840. As shown in fig. 6, wireless communication interface 863 may include a plurality of RF circuits 864. For example, multiple RF circuits 864 may support multiple antenna elements. Although fig. 6 shows an example in which wireless communication interface 863 includes multiple RF circuits 864, wireless communication interface 863 may also include a single RF circuit 864.

In the base station 800 and the base station 830 shown in fig. 5 and 6, for example, the transceiver units and transceiver modules described in fig. 1 and 2 may be implemented with a wireless communication interface 825 and a wireless communication interface 855 and/or a wireless communication interface 863. At least a portion of the functionality may also be implemented by controller 821 and controller 851. For example, the controllers 821 and 851 may perform functions of generating Q antenna pair sets, generating channel coefficient estimates, generating Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, generating an estimate of a spatial covariance matrix, and processing a data signal to be received or transmitted based on the estimate of the spatial covariance matrix by performing the functions of the parameter configuration module 201, the channel coefficient estimation module 202, the channel statistics estimate generation module 203, and the data processing module 204.

< fifth embodiment >

An example of a user equipment to which the techniques of the present disclosure are applied will be given in this embodiment.

(first application example)

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smart phone 900 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage device 903, an external connection interface 904, an imaging device 906, a sensor 907, a microphone 908, an input device 909, a display device 910, a speaker 911, a wireless communication interface 912, one or more antenna switches 915, one or more antennas 916, a bus 917, a battery 918, and an auxiliary controller 919.

The processor 901 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC) and controls functions of an application layer and additional layers of the smartphone 900. The memory 902 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 901. The storage 903 may include storage media such as semiconductor memory and hard disk. The external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting external devices such as a memory card and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device to the smart phone 900.

The image pickup device 906 includes an image sensor such as a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensor 907 may include a set of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. Microphone 908 converts sound input to smartphone 900 into an audio signal. The input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, or switches configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 910, and accepts an operation or information input from a user. The display device 910 includes a screen such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smart phone 900. The speaker 911 converts audio signals output from the smart phone 900 into sound.

The wireless communication interface 912 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE, LTE-advanced, and 5G), and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 912 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 913 and RF circuitry 914. The BB processor 913 can perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 915 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 916. The wireless communication interface 912 may be one chip module on which the BB processor 913 and the RF circuit 914 are integrated. As shown in fig. 7, the wireless communication interface 912 may include a plurality of BB processors 913 and a plurality of RF circuits 914. Although fig. 7 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 912 includes a plurality of BB processors 913 and a plurality of RF circuits 914, the wireless communication interface 912 may also include a single BB processor 913 or a single RF circuit 914.

Further, the wireless communication interface 912 may support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near-field communication scheme, and a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) scheme, in addition to the cellular communication scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 912 may include a BB processor 913 and an RF circuit 914 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 915 switches a connection destination of the antenna 916 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 912 (e.g., circuits for different wireless communication schemes).

Each of the antennas 916 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for the wireless communication interface 912 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in fig. 7, the smart phone 900 may include a plurality of antennas 916. Although fig. 7 shows an example in which the smart phone 900 includes multiple antennas 916, the smart phone 900 may also include a single antenna 916.

Further, the smart phone 900 may include an antenna 916 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 915 may be omitted from the configuration of the smart phone 900.

The bus 917 connects the processor 901, the memory 902, the storage device 903, the external connection interface 904, the imaging device 906, the sensor 907, the microphone 908, the input device 909, the display device 901, the speaker 911, the wireless communication interface 912, and the auxiliary controller 919 to each other. The battery 918 provides power to the various blocks of the smartphone 900 shown in fig. 7 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dashed line in the figure. The secondary controller 919 operates minimal essential functions of the smart phone 900, for example, in a sleep mode.

In the smart phone 900 shown in fig. 7, the transceiver unit, transceiver module, such as described in fig. 1 and 2, may be implemented with a wireless communication interface 912. At least a portion of the functionality may also be implemented by the processor 901 or the secondary controller 919. For example, the processor 901 or the secondary controller 919 may perform the functions of generating Q sets of antenna pairs, generating channel coefficient estimates, generating Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, generating an estimate of a spatial covariance matrix, and processing a data signal to be received or transmitted based on the estimate of the spatial covariance matrix by performing the functions of the parameter configuration module 201, the channel coefficient estimation module 202, the channel statistics estimate generation module 203, and the data processing module 204.

(second application example)

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 920 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 920 includes a processor 921, a memory 922, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 924, a sensor 925, a data interface 926, a content player 927, a storage medium interface 928, an input device 929, a display device 930, a speaker 931, a wireless communication interface 933, one or more antenna switches 936, one or more antennas 937, and a battery 938.

The processor 921 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the navigation function and additional functions of the car navigation device 920. The memory 922 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 921.

The GPS module 924 uses GPS signals received from GPS satellites to measure the location (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 920. The sensor 925 may include a set of sensors such as a gyroscopic sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 926 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network 941 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

The content player 927 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as CD and DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 928. The input device 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 930, and accepts an operation or information input from a user. The display device 930 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display, and displays images of navigation functions or reproduced content. The speaker 931 outputs sounds of the navigation function or reproduced contents.

The wireless communication interface 933 supports any of the cellular communication schemes (such as LTE, LTE-advanced, and 5G), and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 912 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 934 and RF circuitry 935. The BB processor 934 can perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and performs various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 935 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via the antenna 937. Wireless communication interface 933 may be one chip module with BB processor 934 and RF circuitry 935 integrated thereon. As shown in fig. 8, wireless communication interface 933 may include a plurality of BB processors 934 and a plurality of RF circuits 935. Although fig. 8 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 933 includes a plurality of BB processors 934 and a plurality of RF circuits 935, the wireless communication interface 933 may also include a single BB processor 934 or a single RF circuit 935.

Further, the wireless communication interface 933 may support another type of wireless communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) scheme, in addition to the cellular communication scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 933 may include a BB processor 934 and RF circuitry 935 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 936 switches the connection destination of the antenna 937 between a plurality of circuits (e.g., circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 933.

Each of the antennas 937 includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (such as a plurality of antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna), and is used for the wireless communication interface 933 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in fig. 8, the car navigation device 920 may include a plurality of antennas 937 although fig. 8 shows an example in which the smart phone 920 includes a plurality of antennas 937, the smart phone 920 may include a single antenna 937.

Further, the car navigation device 920 can include an antenna 937 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 936 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 920.

The battery 938 provides power to the various blocks of the car navigation device 920 shown in fig. 8 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dashed line in the figure. The battery 938 accumulates electric power supplied from the vehicle.

In the car navigation device 920 shown in fig. 8, the transceiver unit, transceiver module, such as described in fig. 1 and 2, may be implemented with a wireless communication interface 933. At least a portion of the functionality may also be implemented by the processor 921. For example, the processor 921 may perform the functions of the parameter configuration module 201, the channel coefficient estimation module 202, the channel statistics estimation generation module 203, the data processing module 204 to generate Q sets of antenna pairs, generate channel coefficient estimates, generate Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, generate an estimate of a spatial covariance matrix, and process a data signal to be received or transmitted based on the estimate of the spatial covariance matrix.

The techniques of this disclosure may also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 940 that includes one or more of a car navigation device 920, an in-vehicle network 941, and a vehicle module 942. The vehicle module 942 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the on-board network 941.

While the basic principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific embodiments, it should be noted that all or any steps or components of the methods and apparatus of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art to be embodied in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, either in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which will be accomplished by one skilled in the art with the basic circuit design knowledge or programming skills of one skilled in the art upon reading the description of the invention.

Moreover, the invention proposes a program product storing instruction codes readable by a machine. The instruction codes, when read and executed by a machine, may perform the method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above.

Accordingly, a program product carrying the above machine-readable instruction code is provided. The instruction codes, when read and executed by a machine, may perform the method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above.

Accordingly, a storage medium for carrying the above-described program product having stored thereon machine-readable instruction code is also included in the present disclosure. Including but not limited to floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.

In the case of implementing the present invention by software or firmware, a program constituting the software is installed from a storage medium or a network to a computer (for example, general-purpose computer 1900 shown in fig. 9) having a dedicated hardware structure, and the computer can execute various functions and the like when various programs are installed.

In fig. 9, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1901 executes various processes according to a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1902 or a program loaded from a storage section 1908 to a Random Access Memory (RAM) 1903. In the RAM 1903, data required when the CPU 1901 executes various processes and the like is also stored as needed. The CPU 1901, ROM 1902, and RAM 1903 are connected to each other via a bus 1904. An input/output interface 1905 is also connected to the bus 1904.

The following are connected to the input/output interface 1905: an input portion 1906 (including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like), an output portion 1907 (including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker, and the like), a storage portion 1908 (including a hard disk, and the like), and a communication portion 1909 (including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, and the like). The communication section 1909 performs communication processing via a network such as the internet. The driver 1910 may also be connected to the input/output interface 1905 as needed. A removable medium 1911 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is installed on the drive 1910 as needed, so that a computer program read out therefrom is installed into the storage portion 1908 as needed.

In the case of implementing the above-described series of processes by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 1911.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such a storage medium is not limited to the removable medium 1911 shown in fig. 9 in which the program is stored, which is distributed separately from the apparatus to provide the program to the user. Examples of the removable medium 1911 include magnetic disks (including floppy disks (registered trademark)), optical disks (including compact disk read only memories (CD-ROMs)), and Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), magneto-optical disks (including Mini Disks (MDs) (registered trademark)), and semiconductor memories. Alternatively, the storage medium may be a hard disk or the like contained in the ROM 1902, the storage section 1908, in which a program is stored, and distributed to users together with a device containing them.

It is also noted that in the apparatus, methods and systems of the present invention, components or steps may be separated and/or recombined. These decompositions and/or recombinations should be considered equivalents of the present invention. Also, the steps of executing the series of processes described above may naturally be executed in chronological order in the order of description, but are not necessarily executed in chronological order. Some steps may be performed in parallel or independently of each other.

Finally, it is also intended that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, without further limitation, the element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article or apparatus that comprises the element.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention and not limiting the present invention. Various modifications and alterations to the above described embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more processors configured to

Generating Q antenna pair sets based on the arrangement mode of antenna elements in the first antenna array;

generating a channel coefficient estimate based on one or more reference signals received with the first antenna array;

generating Q space correlation coefficient estimates based on the Q antenna pair sets respectively, wherein the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are different in value, Q is a natural number, and the Q space correlation coefficient estimates are estimated values of Q space correlation coefficient values corresponding to wireless channels experienced by the one or more reference signals;

wherein the one or more processors are further configured to

Generating an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix based on the Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, the first spatial covariance matrix estimate being an estimate of a first spatial covariance matrix corresponding to a wireless channel experienced by the one or more reference signals;

the first spatial covariance matrix is an m×m two-dimensional matrix for describing statistical characteristics between wireless channels formed by M receiving antenna elements and transmitting antenna elements k, the first spatial covariance matrix estimate is an estimate generated for the first spatial covariance matrix, and the expression of the first spatial covariance matrix is:

Wherein,a sign representing a first spatial covariance matrix, the first spatial covariance matrix being represented by the sign +.>Matrix element of->At->The coordinates of (i, j); />Representing the generation of spatial correlation coefficient estimates, +.>The set of representations is represented by a set,representing variance estimation +.>Representing a mean estimate of the first space;

when the apparatus for wireless communication is a base station, the apparatus includes a transceiver unit configured to receive a reference signal; transmitting or receiving a data signal;

the processor is further configured to generate a data detection result based on the first spatial covariance matrix estimate and the data signals received with the first antenna array;

the processor is further configured to receive a message regarding an arrangement of antenna elements in the first antenna array, a number of antenna elements included in the first antenna array, a spacing between antenna elements, the first antenna array consisting of M antenna elements, the M antenna elements forming M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs two by two; placing an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements with a distance greater than a certain distance in the orthogonal polarization direction into the same antenna pair set, setting the antenna channel correlation coefficient estimation corresponding to the antenna pair set to 0, and if no antenna pair meeting the above condition exists, then the antenna pair set does not exist; placing the rest antenna pairs consisting of two antenna elements with equal or similar distances in the same polarization direction into the same antenna pair set; dividing M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs into Q sets of antenna pairs for generating Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, respectively, as described above;

The processor is further configured to generate a channel coefficient estimate based on the sounding reference signal SRS; a minimum variance channel estimation method is used to generate channel coefficient estimates;

for the first antenna array, the channel coefficients of the first channel realizations of the M receiving antenna elements 0, …, M-1 and the transmitting antenna element k are respectively identified as h _0，k (l)，h _1，k (l)，…，h _M-1，k (l) The corresponding channel coefficient estimates are identified as h respectively _0，k (l)，…，h _M-1，k (l) The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the For estimating the channel coefficient h corresponding to the first channel realization _m，k (l) Is S _m，k (l) M is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to M-1, and the corresponding received signal adopts minimum variance to estimate the channel coefficient, so that the channel coefficient h _m，k (l) Is estimated as:

wherein,representing the first signal sample received by the mth receive antenna from transmit antenna k,/>Representing the complex conjugate of the first signal sample transmitted by transmit antenna k; the channel statistics estimate generation module is configured to: for transmitting antenna k, the Q antenna pairs are grouped into a set P ₀ ，P ₁ ，…，P _Q-1 Based on the estimated channel correlation degree, the channel correlation values are arranged to correspond to Q channel correlation coefficient values rho respectively _0，k ，ρ _1，k ，…，ρ _Q-1，k If ρ _q，k If not 0 or not considered 0, the spatial correlation coefficient ρ is generated as follows _q，k Estimate of +.>；

Where L is used to generate a spatial correlation estimate Number of channel realizations, M _q Is the antenna pair set P _q The number of pairs of antennas included in the antenna pattern;

for transmitting antennas k, h _m，k Is the average value of mu _k Sum of variances ofThe channel statistics estimate generating module generates the mean estimate +.>Sum of variances estimation->；

。

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to

The first antenna pair set is any one of the Q antenna pair sets, and is used for generating a first spatial correlation coefficient estimation, and the first antenna pair set includes N antenna pairs, where N pairs of channel coefficient estimates corresponding to the N antenna pairs are respectively used for generating N sample values for obtaining the first spatial correlation coefficient estimation value, and N is a natural number.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to

And multiplying the channel coefficient estimation corresponding to one antenna element in one antenna pair by the conjugate of the channel coefficient corresponding to the other antenna element to obtain one sample value.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more reference signals are within a same subframe as the data signal.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first antenna array is not a uniform linear array.

6. A method for wireless communication, comprising

Wherein,a representation of a first spatial covariance matrix, the first spatial covariance matrix being represented by a representation of +.>Matrix element of->At->The coordinates of (i, j); />Representing the generation of spatial correlation coefficient estimates, +.>Representing the collection->Representing variance estimation +.>Representing a mean estimate of the first space;

receiving a message about an arrangement mode of antenna elements in the first antenna array, wherein the number of the antenna elements and the spacing between the antenna elements are included in the first antenna array, the first antenna array consists of M antenna elements, and the M antenna elements are formed into M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs in pairs; placing an antenna pair consisting of two antenna elements with a distance greater than a certain distance in the orthogonal polarization direction into the same antenna pair set, setting the antenna channel correlation coefficient estimation corresponding to the antenna pair set to 0, and if no antenna pair meeting the above condition exists, then the antenna pair set does not exist; placing the rest antenna pairs consisting of two antenna elements with equal or similar distances in the same polarization direction into the same antenna pair set; dividing M (M-1)/2 antenna pairs into Q sets of antenna pairs for generating Q spatial correlation coefficient estimates, respectively, as described above;

Generating a channel coefficient estimate based on the sounding reference signal SRS; a minimum variance channel estimation method is used to generate channel coefficient estimates;

wherein,representing the first signal sample received by the mth receive antenna from transmit antenna k,/>Representing the complex conjugate of the first signal sample transmitted by transmit antenna k; for transmitting antenna k, the Q antenna pairs are grouped into a set P ₀ ，P ₁ ，…，P _Q-1 Based on the estimated channel correlation degree, the channel correlation values are arranged to correspond to Q channel correlation coefficient values rho respectively _0，k ，ρ _1，k ，…，ρ _Q-1，k If ρ _q，k If not 0 or not considered 0, the spatial correlation coefficient ρ is generated as follows _q，k Estimate of +.>；

Where L is used to generate a spatial correlation estimateNumber of channel realizations, M _q Is the antenna pair set P _q The number of pairs of antennas included in the antenna pattern;

For transmitting antennas k, h _m，k Is the average value of mu _k Sum of variancesFor uniformly distributed random variables, channel statistics estimation generation generates mean estimates, respectively, in the following manner>Sum of variances estimation->；

。