CN112020889A

CN112020889A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN112020889A
Application number: CN201980014056.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李晓卡; 李军; 王俊伟
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-30
Filing date: 2019-03-30
Publication date: 2020-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-30
Also published as: CN112020889B; WO2020199063A1

Abstract

A communication method and device are provided, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a first reference signal, and performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal; in the embodiment of the present application, on one hand, since the time-frequency offset compensation value used for time-frequency offset compensation of the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, therefore, the first reference signal is compensated based on the configured time frequency offset compensation value, the problem that the time frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated first reference signal is inaccurate due to unreasonable configuration time of the time frequency offset compensation value is avoided, on the other hand, the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time frequency compensation value for the first time, since the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured before the second reference signal which first uses the time-frequency offset compensation value is received, therefore, the subsequent reference signals can be compensated based on the time frequency offset compensation value, and the accuracy of the time frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated subsequent reference signals is effectively ensured.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

The 5th generation (5G) communication system will use higher carrier frequency (generally, greater than 6 GHz), such as 28GHz, 38GHz, or 72GHz frequency band, to realize wireless communication with larger bandwidth and higher transmission rate. Due to the higher carrier frequency, the transmitted wireless signal experiences more severe fading during the spatial propagation process, and even the wireless signal is difficult to detect at the receiving end. Therefore, in the 5G system, a Beamforming (BF) technique is used to obtain a gain with good directivity, increase power in the transmission direction, and improve a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) at the receiving end.

By adopting the beamforming technology, the transmitting end device and the receiving end device can communicate on different beams. Since the coverage direction and coverage area of different beams may be different, such as beam 1, beam 2 and beam 3 illustrated in fig. 1a, the coverage direction and coverage area of beam 1, beam 2 and beam 3 may be different, which may cause differences in large-scale parameter characteristic parameters (such as average delay, doppler shift) of signals transmitted on beam 1, beam 2 and beam 3. If there is a difference in the average delay of the signals transmitted on beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3, a time offset may be caused; if there is a difference in the doppler shift of the signals transmitted on beam 1, beam 2 and beam 3, a frequency shift may result. Time offset and frequency offset (referred to as time-frequency offset for short) cause that a receiving end device cannot correctly analyze received signals, and to solve the problem, corresponding time-frequency offset compensation needs to be performed on signals transmitted on different beams by using a time-frequency offset compensation value. However, since the time-frequency offset compensation value is dynamically changed, further research is still needed to configure the time-frequency offset compensation value.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a communication method and apparatus, which are used to solve the technical problem that a time-frequency offset estimation result is not accurate enough due to an unreasonable configuration time of a time-frequency offset compensation value.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes:

receiving a first reference signal; performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal;

wherein a time-frequency offset compensation value used for performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time-frequency offset compensation value for the first time.

With the above method, on one hand, since the time-frequency offset compensation value used for time-frequency offset compensation of the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, therefore, the first reference signal is compensated based on the configured time frequency offset compensation value, the problem that the time frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated first reference signal is inaccurate due to unreasonable configuration time of the time frequency offset compensation value is avoided, on the other hand, the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time frequency compensation value for the first time, since the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured before the second reference signal which first uses the time-frequency offset compensation value is received, therefore, the subsequent reference signals can be compensated based on the time frequency offset compensation value, and the accuracy of the time frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated subsequent reference signals is effectively ensured.

In one possible design, the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at a start time of a first slot in which the first reference signal is located.

In one possible design, the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at a start time of a first time slot before a first time slot in which the first reference signal is located.

In one possible design, the time slot in which the second reference signal is located includes the first time slot and a second time slot, and the second time slot is adjacent to and before the first time slot; the second reference signal is a reference signal for time-frequency offset estimation; the method further comprises the following steps: and abandoning the time frequency offset compensation value to perform time frequency offset compensation on the second reference signal.

By adopting the above method, since the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured between two time slots where the second reference signal is located, if the second reference signal is received and the time-frequency offset compensation is performed on the second reference signal, part of the signals (located in the second time slot) of the second reference signal are compensated by using the time-frequency offset compensation value before configuration, and the other part of the signals (located in the first time slot) are compensated by using the time-frequency offset compensation value before configuration, so that the time-frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated second reference signal is inaccurate. Therefore, a method provided in this embodiment of the present application may abandon the time-frequency offset compensation value to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the second reference signal, or may also be understood as abandoning the reception of the second reference signal in the second time slot and the first time slot, so as to avoid the problem that the time-frequency offset estimation value is inaccurate and may cause the inaccuracy. In this case, the specific processing manner can be referred to the description in the specific embodiment. Alternatively, in other possible cases, the second reference signal may also be received, but at this time, the signal located on the second time slot needs to be corrected, which may be specifically described in the detailed description.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes:

receiving configuration information of N reference signals for time-frequency offset estimation, wherein the configuration information of the N reference signals is used for indicating time domain resources in which the plurality of reference signals are located; the plurality of reference signals comprise a first reference signal; furthermore, according to the time domain resources where the multiple reference signals are located, configuring, at a first time, a time-frequency offset compensation value for performing time-frequency offset compensation on M reference signals in the N reference signals; m, N are integers and M is less than or equal to N;

wherein a first reference signal does not exist in the M reference signals, and the first time is located between a start time and an end time of a time domain resource of the first reference signal.

In one possible design, the first reference signal is present in reference signals of the N reference signals other than the M reference signals; the method further comprises the following steps: forgoing time-frequency offset estimation for the first reference signal. The foregoing time-frequency offset estimation on the first reference signal is abandoned, and it may also be understood that the time-frequency offset compensation value is abandoned to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal, or the first reference signal is abandoned to be received.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method is applied to a receiving end device, and the method includes:

receiving a first reference signal sent by sending end equipment; performing time frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal by adopting an ith time frequency offset compensation value, calculating a first time frequency offset estimation value of the first reference signal after the time frequency offset compensation according to the first reference signal after the time frequency offset compensation, and generating an i +1 th time frequency offset compensation value according to the first time frequency offset estimation value if the first time frequency offset estimation value is greater than a preset threshold value; updating the ith time frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value according to the time unit where the N reference signals are located, wherein i is a positive integer; the N reference signals are reference signals for time-frequency offset estimation, the N reference signals include the first reference signal, and N is an integer greater than 1.

In the embodiment of the application, when the ith time frequency offset compensation value is updated to the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, the time units of the N reference signals are fully considered, so that the ith time frequency offset compensation value can be updated to the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value at a proper moment.

In one possible design, updating the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value according to a time unit corresponding to N reference signals includes: according to the time unit where the N reference signals are located, if at least one alternative moment is determined to exist in a set time period after the moment when the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value is generated, updating the (i) th time frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value at the alternative moment closest to the moment when the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value is generated;

wherein each alternative time in the at least one alternative time meets the following condition:

the starting position of the second time unit or the ending position of the first time unit; for each of the N reference signals, if the time unit in which the reference signal is located includes the first time unit, the second time unit is not included, or if the time unit includes the second time unit, the first time unit is not included.

In one possible design, the method further includes: according to the time unit where the N reference signals are located, if it is determined that the alternative time meeting the condition does not exist in the set time period after the time of generating the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value, updating the (i) th time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value at the first time;

the first time is the ending position of a third time unit or the starting position of a fourth time unit; the N reference signals include a second reference signal, and a time unit in which the second reference signal is located includes the third time unit and the fourth time unit.

In one possible design, the method further includes:

forgoing receiving the second reference signal at the third time unit and the fourth time unit.

In one possible design, the method further includes:

receiving the second reference signal sent by the sending end device, where the second reference signal includes a first partial signal located in the third time unit and a second partial signal located in the fourth time unit;

performing first time frequency offset compensation on the first part of signals by adopting an ith time frequency offset compensation value, performing second time frequency offset compensation on the first part of signals subjected to the first time frequency offset compensation by adopting a difference value of the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value and the ith time frequency offset compensation value, and performing time frequency offset compensation on the second part of signals by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value;

and calculating to obtain a second time frequency offset estimation value according to the first part signal after the second time frequency offset compensation and the second part signal after the time frequency offset compensation.

In one possible design, after the calculating the second time-frequency offset estimation value, the method further includes:

receiving a second target signal which is transmitted by the transmitting terminal equipment and has QCL relation with the second reference signal;

and performing first time frequency offset compensation on the second target signal by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, performing second time frequency offset compensation on the second target signal subjected to the first time frequency offset compensation by adopting the second time frequency offset estimation value, and further analyzing the second target signal subjected to the second time frequency offset compensation.

In one possible design, after the updating the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value, the method further includes:

receiving a first target signal which is transmitted by the transmitting terminal equipment and has a QCL relation with the first reference signal; and performing time frequency offset compensation on the first target signal by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, and analyzing the first target signal after the time frequency offset compensation.

In one possible design, a third reference signal is further included in the N reference signals;

after the updating the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value, the method further includes:

receiving a third reference signal sent by the sending end device; and performing time frequency offset compensation on the third reference signal by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, and calculating a third time frequency offset estimation value of the time frequency offset-compensated third reference signal.

In one possible design, after the calculating the third time-frequency offset estimation value of the time-frequency offset compensated third reference signal, the method further includes:

receiving a third target signal which is transmitted by the transmitting terminal device and has a QCL relationship with the third reference signal;

and performing first time frequency offset compensation on the third target signal by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, performing second time frequency offset compensation on the third target signal subjected to the first time frequency offset compensation by adopting the third time frequency offset estimation value, and analyzing the third target signal subjected to the second time frequency offset compensation.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus, which may be a terminal device or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the terminal device. The apparatus has the function of implementing various possible designs of the first to third aspects described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application includes: a processor and a memory; the processor is adapted to execute instructions stored on the memory, which when executed, cause the apparatus to perform the method as in any one of the possible designs of the first to third aspects above.

In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed, implement the method in any possible design of the above aspects or aspects.

In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the method in any possible design of the above aspects or aspects is implemented.

Drawings

FIG. 1a is a schematic view of coverage directions and coverage areas of different beams;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a system architecture suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of another system architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2a is a schematic view of resources occupied by a TRS according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2b is a schematic diagram of an implementation process of implementation 1 in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2c is a schematic diagram of an implementation process of implementation 2 in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2d is an exemplary diagram of a time unit occupied by a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for updating a time-frequency offset compensation value according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating another example of a time unit occupied by a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating another example of a time unit occupied by a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4c is a diagram illustrating another example of a time unit occupied by a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a possible exemplary block diagram of the devices involved in the embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained so as to be easily understood by those skilled in the art.

(1) The terminal equipment: the device with the wireless transceiving function can be deployed on land, and comprises an indoor or outdoor device, a handheld device, a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in home (smart home), and the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios. A terminal device may also be sometimes referred to as a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE apparatus, etc.

(2) A network device: may be a device, such as a base station or base station controller, etc., that communicates with the terminal device. A network device may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area and may communicate with terminal devices located within that coverage area (cell). The network device may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a base station (NodeB, NB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, an evolved base station (evolved NodeB, eNB, or eNodeB) in an LTE system, a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or the network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future 5G network, for example, a base station (G or NB) or a receiving point (TRP) in a new radio Network (NR), or a public mobile network (TRP, or eNodeB), PLMN) network device in the network, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

(3) Beam (beam): one of the main problems of high frequency communication is that signal energy drops sharply with transmission distance, resulting in short signal transmission distance. In order to overcome the problem, the high-frequency communication adopts an analog beam technology, the weighting processing is carried out through a large-scale antenna array, the signal energy is concentrated in a smaller range, and a signal (called an analog beam, called a beam for short) similar to a light beam is formed, so that the transmission distance is increased.

A beam is a communication resource and may be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other type of beam. The technique of forming the beam may be a beamforming technique or other technical means. The beamforming techniques may be embodied as digital beamforming techniques, analog beamforming techniques, hybrid digital/analog beamforming techniques, and the like. Different beams may be considered different communication resources and the same information or different information may be transmitted through different beams. Alternatively, a plurality of beams having the same or similar communication characteristics may be considered as one beam, and one beam may include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and the like. It is to be understood that the one or more antenna ports forming a beam may also be regarded as a set (or group) of antenna ports, and the beam may also be referred to as a spatial filter.

(4) The various numbers of the first, second, etc. mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, nor to indicate the sequence. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. "at least one" means one or more. At least two means two or more. "at least one," "any," or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one ) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

Fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of a system architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1b, the architecture includes one or more network devices (such as network device 101) and one or more terminal devices (such as terminal device 102) located within the coverage area of network device 101. In the system architecture shown in fig. 1b, the network device 101 may communicate with the terminal device 102 through a wireless air interface.

Fig. 1c is a schematic diagram of another system architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1c, the architecture includes a plurality of network devices (e.g., first network device 1031, second network device 1032) and one or more terminal devices (e.g., terminal device 104). The first network device 1031, the second network device 1032 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area within which the terminal device 104 is located. In the system architecture shown in fig. 1c, both the first network device 1031 and the second network device 1032 may communicate with the terminal device 102 over a wireless air interface. Further, the system architecture illustrated in fig. 1c may support coordinated multi-point (COMP) transmission, that is, the first network device 1031 and the second network device 1032 may transmit downlink data to the terminal device 104 in a coordinated multi-point transmission manner.

It should be understood that the system architectures illustrated in fig. 1b and 1c may be applied to communication systems of various radio access technologies, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, 5G communication systems, and other possible communication systems.

Fig. 1b and fig. 1c are only schematic diagrams of an architecture of a communication system, and in this embodiment, the number of network devices and the number of terminal devices in the communication system are not limited, and the communication system to which this embodiment of the present invention is applied may further include other devices, such as a core network device, a wireless relay device, a wireless backhaul device, and the like, besides the network devices and the terminal devices, and this embodiment of the present invention is also not limited. In addition, the network device in the embodiment of the present application may integrate all functions into one independent physical device, or may distribute the functions over a plurality of independent physical devices, which is not limited to the embodiment of the present application. In addition, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be connected to the network device in a wireless manner.

The system architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

Taking the system architecture illustrated in fig. 1c as an example, in a coordinated multipoint transmission scenario, the first network device may be a serving network device, and the second network device may be a coordinated network device; alternatively, the first network device may be a cooperative network device and the second network device may be a serving network device. It should be noted that in a coordinated multipoint transmission scenario, there may be multiple coordinated network devices, and only one coordinated network device is illustrated in fig. 1 c.

The coordinated multi-point transmission scenario may support multiple scheduling manners, for example, the serving network device may send a control signaling to the terminal device, and the coordinated network device may send data to the terminal device; alternatively, the serving network device may send control signaling to the terminal device, and the serving network device and the cooperating network device may send data to the terminal device at the same time, or the serving network device and the cooperating network device may send control signaling to the terminal device at the same time, and the serving network device and the cooperating network device may send data to the terminal device at the same time. The present embodiment is not particularly limited to this. Further, communication may be performed between the serving network device and the cooperating network devices and between the cooperating network devices, such as the transfer of control messages via the X2 interface. Therefore, the coordinated multi-point transmission scene can support the joint scheduling of the network equipment and can also support the independent scheduling of the network equipment. In the individual scheduling of the network devices, the two network devices individually transmit control signaling, respectively, and the two network devices jointly transmit data. In joint scheduling of network devices, one of the network devices may send control signaling, and two network devices jointly send data.

Taking joint scheduling of network devices as an example, in one possible scenario, a first network device may send a target signal 1 to a terminal device through a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), where the target signal 1 may include a control signal, such as Downlink Control Information (DCI), where the PDCCH may be located on a resource indicated by a control-resource set (core) (such as core-1) that is configured for the terminal device in advance by the first network device; and the first network device may transmit a target signal 2 to the terminal device through a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), where the target signal 2 may include, for example, a data signal and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (e.g., DMRS-1), and the second network device may transmit a target signal 3 to the terminal device through the PDSCH, and the target signal 3 may include, for example, a data signal and a DMRS (e.g., DMRS-2).

Further, in a 5G communication system, DMRS may be transmitted through beams formed by DMRS antenna port groups (DMRS groups), where the DMRS groups may be configured through higher layer signaling, e.g., the higher layer signaling configuration divides 12 antenna ports (e.g., DMRS antenna ports 1000-: one set of antenna ports { 100010021004100610081010 } and another set of antenna ports { 100110031005100710091011 }; alternatively, the antenna ports {1000-1005} are grouped, and the antenna ports {1006-1011} are grouped. As such, in one example, the DMRS-1 described above may be transmitted through a beam formed by a DMRS group1 (e.g., antenna port { 100010021004100610081010 }), such as beam 2 illustrated in fig. 1a, and DMRS-2 may be transmitted through a beam formed by a DMRS group2 (e.g., antenna port { 100110031005100710091011 }), such as beam 3 illustrated in fig. 1 a.

In one example, if the first network device transmits PDCCH (CORESET-1) via beam 1 as illustrated in fig. 1a and PDSCH (DMRS-1) via beam 2 as illustrated in fig. 1a, and the second network device transmits PDSCH (DMRS-1) via beam 3 as illustrated in fig. 1a, in this case, the first network device may configure the terminal device with corresponding reference signals for time-frequency offset tracking in order to ensure that the target signals transmitted via these channels can be correctly received by the terminal device. In an example, the reference signal may be a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), or other signals that may be used for time-frequency offset estimation, which is not limited in particular.

Further, taking the reference signal as the TRS as an example, the first network device may send configuration information of the TRS to the terminal device, where the configuration information of the TRS may include a TRS period, a TRS length, a TRS symbol number, and further may include a TRS bandwidth, a TRS frequency domain interval, and a TRS time domain interval, which is not limited specifically. Wherein, the TRS period indicates a period of TRS, and may be set to Y, for example, and the unit is ms; the TRS length indicates a length of the TRS in each TRS period, and may be set to X, for example, and may be in units of slots (slots), where each slot may include 14 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, for example; the number of TRS symbols represents the number of OFDM symbols contained in TRS in each time slot; the TRS bandwidth indicates a bandwidth of a TRS band, and for example, a unit may be a Resource Block (RB) number; TRS frequency domain spacing means the subcarrier spacing of the TRS in the frequency domain within each RB; the TRS time domain interval indicates an interval of the TRS in the time domain within each RB.

Referring to fig. 2a, an example of a TRS is shown. In fig. 2a, each small square can be understood as a Resource Element (RE), the TRS length is 2 slots, and the TRS includes 2 symbols (6 th symbol and 11 th symbol, respectively) in each slot. If the TRS period is 3ms, when the duration of each timeslot is 0.5ms, the TRS of the next period may be located in timeslot n +6 and timeslot n + 7.

In this embodiment of the application, the first network device may configure multiple reference signals for the terminal device to perform time-frequency offset tracking, see table 1 for an example of a relationship between the reference signals configured for the first network device and the target signal.

Table 1: example of reference Signal versus target Signal

Target channel (target signal)

Reference signal

PDSCH(DMRS-1)	TRS1
PDSCH(DMRS-2)	TRS2
PDCCH (control signal)	SSB5

In table 1, the antenna port of the TRS1 has a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship with the DMRS Goup1 of the PDSCH, that is, the beam direction of transmitting the TRS1 is consistent with the beam direction of transmitting the DMRS-1 of the PDSCH. The antenna port of the TRS2 has QCL relationship with the DMRS Goup2 of PDSCH, i.e. the beam direction of transmitting TRS2 is consistent with the beam direction of transmitting DMRS-2 of PDSCH. There is a QCL relationship between the antenna port of the SSB5 and the antenna port of the control signal of the PDCCH, i.e., the beam direction in which the SSB5 is transmitted coincides with the beam direction in which the control signal of the PDCCH is transmitted.

For example, when the antenna port a and the antenna port B are referred to as having a QCL relationship, the large-scale characteristic parameters of the channel estimated from the signal 1 at the antenna port a are also suitable for the signal 2 at the antenna port B. In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna port a and the antenna port B have a QCL relationship, which may also be described as that the signal 1 and the signal 2 have a QCL relationship. Wherein the large-scale feature parameters include one or more of: delay spread, doppler shift, average channel gain, average delay, etc. In a 5G communication system, the large-scale feature parameters may further include spatial domain information, such as one or more of angle of arrival (AOA), angle of arrival extension (AAS), angle of departure spread (AOD), Angle of Departure Spread (ADS), and spatial correlation (spatial correlation).

It should be noted that, taking PDSCH (DMRS-1) as an example, the first network device may configure one or more reference signals having a QCL relationship with PDSCH (DMRS-1) for the terminal device, when configuring multiple reference signals, the configuration information of the multiple reference signals may be different, and the multiple reference signals may be used to perform time-frequency offset estimation on PDSCH in different dimensions. The embodiment of the present application will be described by taking a case where the TRS1 is configured as an example.

In one possible implementation (abbreviated as implementation 1), time-frequency offset compensation may be performed on each target signal based on each reference signal, for example, as shown in fig. 2b, the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS1 may be used for time-frequency offset compensation of DMRS-1 of PDSCH, the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS2 may be used for time-frequency offset compensation of DMRS-2 of PDSCH, and the time-frequency offset estimation result of the SSB5 may be used for time-frequency offset compensation of control signals of PDCCH. That is, after receiving the DMRS-1 of the PDSCH, the terminal device may perform time-frequency offset compensation on the DMRS-1 based on the time-frequency offset compensation value a1 (the time-frequency offset compensation value a1 is generated according to the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS1), and further analyze the DMRS-1, so as to obtain a channel estimation value of the PDSCH transmitting the DMRS-1, where the channel estimation value may be used to demodulate data transmitted in the PDSCH; after receiving the DMRS-2 of the PDSCH, the terminal device may perform time-frequency offset compensation on the DMRS-2 based on the time-frequency offset compensation value a2 (the time-frequency offset compensation value a2 is generated according to the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS 2), and further analyze the DMRS-2, thereby obtaining a channel estimation value of the PDSCH transmitting the DMRS-2, where the channel estimation value may be used to demodulate data transmitted in the PDSCH; after receiving the control signal of the PDCCH, the terminal device may perform time-frequency offset compensation on the control signal based on the time-frequency offset compensation value a3 (the time-frequency offset compensation value a3 is generated according to the time-frequency offset estimation result of the SSB5), and further analyze the control signal.

It should be noted that, in implementation 1, taking a loop corresponding to the TRS1 as an example, the time-frequency offset compensation value may be continuously updated, for example, in an initial situation, the time-frequency offset compensation value may be a preset value a00, if the TRS1 (referred to as TRS1-1 for convenience of description) is received in the 1 st TRS1 period, the time-frequency offset compensation may be performed on the TRS1-1 by using a00, and a time-frequency offset estimation value of the TRS1-1 after the time-frequency offset compensation is calculated, if the time-frequency offset estimation value is greater than a preset threshold, the time-frequency offset compensation value a01 is generated, and the time-frequency offset compensation value of the loop corresponding to the TRS1 is updated to a 01; if the TRS1-2 is received in the 2 nd TRS1 cycle, a01 may be adopted to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the TRS1-2, and a time-frequency offset estimation value of the TRS1-2 after the time-frequency offset compensation is calculated, if the time-frequency offset estimation value is greater than a preset threshold, a time-frequency offset compensation value a02 is generated, and the time-frequency offset compensation value of the loop corresponding to the TRS1 is updated to a 02; if the TRS1-3 is received in the 3 rd TRS1 cycle, a02 may be adopted to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the TRS1-3, and a time-frequency offset estimation value of the TRS1-3 after the time-frequency offset compensation is calculated, where if the time-frequency offset estimation value is less than or equal to a preset threshold, the time-frequency offset compensation value of the loop corresponding to the TRS1 is unchanged and still a 02; and so on. The preset threshold may be set by a person skilled in the art according to actual needs, and is not limited specifically.

In yet another possible implementation (referred to as implementation 2 for short), to save cost, one of the reference signals may be selected, for example, the TRS1 is selected, at this time, a loop corresponding to the TRS1 is used as a main loop for time-frequency offset compensation, and the time-frequency estimation result of the TRS1 may compensate the time-frequency offsets of all the signals. In this case, referring to fig. 2c, the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS1 is used for time-frequency offset compensation of the DMRS-1 of the PDSCH, DMRS-2 of the PDSCH and the control signal of the PDCCH; the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS2 is used for correcting the difference value between the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS1 and the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS 2; the time-frequency offset estimate of the SSB5 is used to correct the difference between it and the time-frequency offset estimate of the TRS 1. That is, after receiving the DMRS-1 of the PDSCH, the terminal device may perform a first time of time-frequency offset compensation on the DMRS-1 based on the time-frequency offset compensation value b1 (the time-frequency offset compensation value b1 is generated according to the time-frequency offset estimation result of the TRS1), and further analyze the DMRS-1, so as to obtain a channel estimation value of the PDSCH transmitting the DMRS-1, where the channel estimation value may be used to demodulate data transmitted in the PDSCH; after receiving the DMRS-2 of the PDSCH, the terminal device may perform first time-frequency offset compensation on the DMRS-2 based on the time-frequency offset compensation value b1, perform second time-frequency offset compensation on the DMRS-2 based on the time-frequency offset compensation value b2 (the time-frequency offset compensation value b2 is used to correct a difference between time-frequency offset estimation results of the TRS2 and the TRS1), further analyze the DMRS-2, and obtain a channel estimation value of the PDSCH transmitting the DMRS-2, where the channel estimation value may be used to demodulate data transmitted in the PDSCH; after receiving the control signal of the PDCCH, the terminal device may perform a first time of time-frequency offset compensation on the control signal based on the time-frequency offset compensation value b1, perform a second time of time-frequency offset compensation on the control signal based on the time-frequency offset compensation value b3 (the time-frequency offset compensation value b3 is used to correct a difference between time-frequency offset estimation results of the SSB5 and the TRS1), and further analyze the control signal.

It should be noted that, in implementation 2, taking the first time-frequency offset compensation as an example, the time-frequency offset compensation value may be continuously updated, and the updating manner is described in implementation 1 above.

However, in the implementation 1, the time-frequency offset compensation is performed on each target signal based on the reference signal on each loop, so the time-frequency offset compensation value on each loop is independent, and in the implementation 2, the time-frequency offset compensation of the main loop is directly applied to other loops, so that when the time-frequency offset compensation value is updated, if the updating time is not reasonable, the time-frequency offset estimation value on other loops may be not accurate enough, and thus the signal cannot be accurately received.

In the following, taking the frequency offset estimation as an example, the analysis is as follows:

Δ θ ═ 2 × pi ×. Δ f × t … … formula 1

Where Δ θ represents a phase deviation, t represents time, and Δ f represents a frequency offset.

According to the formula 1, under the condition of a certain frequency offset, the phase deviation is a function of time, so that the frequency offset can be calculated according to the phase deviation.

The steps of performing phase offset estimation based on TRS will be described below with reference to the resource distribution of TRS as illustrated in fig. 2 a. In fig. 2a, the 4 columns of TRSs are distributed in the 6 th and 10 th symbols of slot n and the 6 th and 10 th symbols of slot n + 1.

Wherein, the phase deviation Delta theta can be obtained by the cross product operation between the 6 th symbol and the 10 th symbol in the time slot n₁Further, according to the above formula 1, it can be known that:

Δθ ₁＝2π*Δf _x*Δt ₁… … equation 2

Wherein, Δ t₁Representing the time difference, af, between the 6 th symbol and the 10 th symbol within the slot n_xIndicating the frequency offset between the 6 th symbol and the 10 th symbol within slot n.

Further, it is possible to obtain:

in the same way, the frequency offset between the 10 th symbol of slot n and the 6 th symbol of slot n +1 is:

wherein, Delta theta₁Indicating the phase deviation, at, between the 10 th symbol of time slot n and the 6 th symbol of time slot n +1₂Representing the time difference, af, between the 10 th symbol and the 6 th symbol within the slot n_yIndicating the frequency offset between the 10 th symbol and the 6 th symbol within slot n.

The basic assumptions for frequency offset estimation are: the frequency offsets among the multiple symbols are the same, and the frequency offsets obtained among different symbols are combined to obtain a frequency offset estimation value. Therefore, the above-mentioned Δ f is adjusted_xAnd Δ f_yAnd combining to obtain a frequency offset estimation value of the TRS. There are various ways of combining, such as averaging.

It should be noted that, in the above, the frequency offset between the 6 th symbol and the 10 th symbol in the time slot n and the frequency offset between the 10 th symbol of the time slot n and the 6 th symbol of the time slot n +1 are only combined to obtain the frequency offset estimation value of the TRS, in other possible manners, the frequency offset between the 6 th symbol in the time slot n and the 10 th symbol of the time slot n +1 may also be obtained, and then the three frequency offsets are combined to obtain the frequency offset estimation value of the TRS.

According to the above analysis, for example, as shown in fig. 2d, the TRS1 is located in the time slot n and the time slot n +1, the TRS2 is located in the time slot n +2 and the time slot n +3, and the SSB5 is located in the time slot n +4 and the time slot n +5, after the terminal device receives the TRS1 and generates a new time-frequency offset compensation value in the time slot n and the time slot n +1, if the time-frequency offset compensation value is updated at the end time of the time slot n +2, the result of frequency offset estimation of the TRS2 may be inaccurate, and similarly, the result of time-frequency estimation of the TRS2 may be inaccurate.

Based on this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, so as to solve the technical problem that a time-frequency offset estimation value is not accurate enough due to an unreasonable configuration time of a time-frequency offset compensation value. The method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to receiving end equipment. In this embodiment, the sending end device may be the network device 101 illustrated in fig. 1b, and the receiving end device may be the terminal device 102 illustrated in fig. 1 b; alternatively, the sending end device may include the network device 1031 and the network device 1032 illustrated in fig. 1c, and the receiving end device may be the terminal device 104 illustrated in fig. 1 c; and is not particularly limited.

Specifically, the method may comprise: receiving a reference signal a, and performing time-frequency offset compensation on the reference signal a; the reference signal a is a reference signal using the time-frequency offset compensation value for the first time.

Therefore, on one hand, the time-frequency offset compensation value used for performing the time-frequency offset compensation on the reference signal a is configured before receiving the reference signal a, so that the reference signal a is compensated based on the configured time-frequency offset compensation value, and the problem that the time-frequency offset estimation value calculated based on the compensated reference signal a is inaccurate due to unreasonable configuration time of the time-frequency offset compensation value is avoided.

In one example, the time-frequency offset compensation value may be configured at the start time of the first slot in which the reference signal a is located.

In yet another example, the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at the start time of the first slot before the first slot in which the reference signal a is located. In this case, if the time slot in which the reference signal b is located includes a first time slot and a second time slot, the second time slot is adjacent to and before the first time slot; if the reference signal b is a reference signal for time-frequency offset estimation, the time-frequency offset compensation can be abandoned for the reference signal b. It should be noted that, in other possible embodiments, the time-frequency offset compensation value may also be received and used to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the reference signal b, and the specific implementation may be as follows.

It should be noted that the reference signals 1 and 2 described above may be reference signals other than the reference signal (such as the TRS1 described above) on the main loop, and are not limited in particular.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3, which includes configuring a time-frequency offset compensation value (or updating the time-frequency offset compensation value) and implementing the time-frequency offset compensation.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

step 301, receiving a first reference signal sent by a sending end device.

Here, the loop corresponding to the first reference signal may be a main loop for time-frequency offset compensation.

Step 302, performing time frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal by using the ith time frequency offset compensation value, calculating a first time frequency offset estimation value of the first reference signal after the time frequency offset compensation according to the first reference signal after the time frequency offset compensation, and if the first time frequency offset estimation value is greater than a preset threshold value, generating an i +1 th time frequency offset compensation value according to the first time frequency offset estimation value. The preset threshold may be set by a person skilled in the art according to actual needs, and is not limited specifically.

Step 303, updating the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value according to the time unit in which the N reference signals are located, where i is a positive integer. The N reference signals are signals used for time-frequency offset estimation, and may be TRS or SSB, for example; the N reference signals may include a first reference signal.

Here, none of the N reference signals may have a quasi co-located QCL relationship (such as TRS1, TRS2, SSB5 illustrated in table 1), or, in other possible cases (such as configuring multiple reference signals with QCL relationship for a certain channel, multiple reference signals may be used for time-frequency offset estimation of different dimensions), some of the N reference signals may also have a quasi co-located QCL relationship. The following description will be mainly given by taking the case where N reference signals do not have a quasi-co-located QCL relationship.

Specifically, the receiving end device may receive configuration information of the N reference signals sent by the sending end device, where the configuration information is used to indicate time units in which the N reference signals are located, and thus, the receiving end device may obtain the time units in which the N reference signals are located, where the time units may be time slots. The specific content included in the configuration information may be referred to the description above.

Further, the receiving end device may update the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value at an alternative time closest to the time of generating the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value if it is determined that at least one alternative time exists within a set time period after the time of generating the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value according to the time unit in which the N reference signals are located; the set time period after the time of generating the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value may be a time length from the time of generating the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value to a starting time of a time unit in which the first reference signal of a next period is located. For example, as shown in fig. 4a, the period of the first reference signal is a time length of 6 time units, the time unit in which the currently received first reference signal is located includes time unit 1 and time unit 2, and the time unit in which the first reference signal of the next period is located includes time unit 7 and time unit 8, so that the time length from the time point of generating the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value to the starting time point of the time unit 7 is the set time period.

In the embodiment of the present application, each alternative time in the at least one alternative time meets the following condition: the starting position of the second time unit or the ending position of the first time unit; for each of the N reference signals, if the time unit in which the reference signal is located includes the first time unit, the time unit does not include the second time unit, or if the time unit includes the second time unit, the time unit does not include the first time unit. For example, referring to fig. 4b, the N reference signals include a first reference signal, a reference signal 2, and a reference signal 3, where a time unit of the first reference signal includes a time unit 1 and a time unit 2, a time unit of the reference signal 2 includes a time unit 3 and a time unit 4, and a time unit of the reference signal 3 includes a time unit 5 and a time unit 6, and the candidate time instants meeting the condition may be: the start time of time unit 3 (or the end time of time unit 2), the start time of time unit 5 (or the end time of time unit 4), the start time of time unit 7 (or the end time of time unit 6).

If the receiving end device determines that there is no candidate time meeting the condition in the set time period after the time at which the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value is generated, for example, as shown in fig. 4c, the N reference signals include a first reference signal, a reference signal 2, a reference signal 3, and a reference signal 4, the time unit in which the first reference signal is located includes a time unit 1 and a time unit 2, the time unit in which the reference signal 2 is located includes a time unit 2 and a time unit 3, the time unit in which the reference signal 3 is located includes a time unit 3 and a time unit 4, and the time unit in which the reference signal 4 is located includes a time unit 4 and a time unit 5, in this case, the receiving end device may update the i-th time-frequency offset compensation value to the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value at the first time. The first time is an ending position of a third time unit or a starting position of a fourth time unit, the time unit in which the second reference signal is located includes the third time unit and the fourth time unit, and the second reference signal may be reference signal 2, reference signal 3, or reference signal 4. When the second reference signal is the reference signal 2, the first time may be a starting time of the time unit 3 (or an ending time of the time unit 2); when the second reference signal is the reference signal 3, the first time may be a starting time of the time unit 4 (or an ending time of the time unit 3); when the second reference signal is the reference signal 4, the first time may be a starting time of the time unit 5 (or an ending time of the time unit 4).

Further, in a possible implementation manner, the receiving end device may abandon receiving the second reference signal in the third time unit and the fourth time unit, so as to avoid inaccurate time-frequency offset estimation results of the second reference signal received in the third time unit and the fourth time unit. Subsequently, after receiving the second target signal having a QCL relationship with the second reference signal and sent by the sending end device, the receiving end device may perform compensation by using the last time-frequency offset estimation result.

In yet another possible implementation manner, the receiving end device may receive a second reference signal on a third time unit and a fourth time unit, where the second reference signal includes a first partial signal located in the third time unit and a second partial signal located in the fourth time unit, and the receiving end device may perform first time frequency offset compensation on the first partial signal by using an ith time frequency offset compensation value, perform second time frequency offset compensation on the first partial signal after the first time frequency offset compensation by using a difference between an i +1 time frequency offset compensation value and the ith time frequency offset compensation value, and perform time frequency offset compensation on the second partial signal by using the i +1 time frequency offset compensation value; and then, calculating to obtain a second time frequency offset estimation value according to the first part signal after the second time frequency offset compensation and the second part signal after the time frequency offset compensation. Because the first part of signals are subjected to time frequency offset compensation twice, namely the i +1 th time frequency offset compensation value is adopted to perform time frequency offset compensation on the first part of signals, the second time frequency offset estimation value obtained by calculation is more accurate. Subsequently, after receiving the second target signal having a QCL relationship with the second reference signal and sent by the sending end device, the receiving end device may perform first time frequency offset compensation on the second target signal by using the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, perform second time frequency offset compensation on the second target signal after the first time frequency offset compensation by using the second time frequency offset estimation value, and further demodulate the second target signal after the second time frequency offset compensation. For a specific implementation process of performing time-frequency offset compensation on the second target signal, see fig. 2c, the second target signal may be DMRS-2 of PDSCH in fig. 2c, or may also be a control signal of PDCCH in fig. 2 c.

Exemplarily, taking the second reference signal as the reference signal 2 illustrated in fig. 4c as an example, after the receiving end device updates the ith time-frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time-frequency offset compensation value, the method further includes: receiving a third reference signal sent by the sending end equipment; and performing time frequency offset compensation on the third reference signal by adopting the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, and calculating a third time frequency offset estimation value of the time frequency offset-compensated third reference signal. Subsequently, if the receiving end device receives a third target signal which is sent by the sending end device and has a QCL relationship with the third reference signal, the i +1 th time-frequency offset compensation value may be used to perform a first time of time-frequency offset compensation on the third target signal, and the third time-frequency offset estimation value may be used to perform a second time of time-frequency offset compensation on the third target signal after the first time of time-frequency offset compensation, so as to analyze the third target signal after the second time of time-frequency offset compensation. As shown in fig. 2c, a specific implementation process of performing time-frequency offset compensation on the third target signal may be shown in fig. 2c, and if the second target signal is DMRS-2 of the PDSCH in fig. 2c, the third target signal may be a control signal of the PDCCH in fig. 2 c; if the second target signal is a control signal of the PDCCH in fig. 2c, the third target signal may be DMRS-2 of the PDSCH in fig. 2 c.

In this embodiment, after the receiving end device updates the ith time frequency offset compensation value to the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value, if a first target signal having a QCL relationship with the first reference signal and sent by the sending end device is received, the (i + 1) th time frequency offset compensation value may be used to perform time frequency offset compensation on the first target signal, and the first target signal after the time frequency offset compensation is analyzed. For a specific implementation process of performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first target signal, see fig. 2c, the first target signal is the DMRS-1 of the PDSCH in fig. 2 c.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between the sending end device and the receiving end device. It is to be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the sending end device or the receiving end device may include a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In case of integrated units (modules), fig. 5 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the apparatus involved in the embodiments of the present application, which apparatus 500 may be in the form of software. The apparatus 500 may comprise: a processing unit 502 and a communication unit 503. The processing unit 502 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the apparatus 500. The communication unit 503 is used to support the communication between the apparatus 500 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 503, also referred to as a transceiving unit, may comprise a receiving unit and/or a transmitting unit for performing receiving and transmitting operations, respectively. The apparatus 500 may further comprise a storage unit 501 for storing program codes and/or data of the apparatus 500.

The processing unit 502 may be, among other things, a processor or controller that may implement or execute the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiment disclosure of the present application. The communication unit 503 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, or the like, wherein the communication interface is generally referred to, and in a specific implementation, the communication interface may include a plurality of interfaces. The storage unit 501 may be a memory.

The apparatus 500 may be the receiving end device in any of the above embodiments, or may also be a semiconductor chip disposed in the receiving end device. The processing unit 502 may enable the apparatus 500 to perform the actions of the receiving end device in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 502 mainly performs the internal actions of the receiving end device in the method example, and the communication unit 503 may support communication between the apparatus 500 and other devices.

Specifically, in one embodiment, a communication unit is configured to receive a first reference signal; the processing unit is used for performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal; wherein a time-frequency offset compensation value used for performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time-frequency offset compensation value for the first time.

In one possible design, the time slot in which the second reference signal is located includes the first time slot and a second time slot, and the second time slot is adjacent to and before the first time slot; the second reference signal is a reference signal for time-frequency offset estimation;

and the processing unit abandons the time frequency offset compensation value to perform time frequency offset compensation on the second reference signal.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the unit (module) is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. Each functional module in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each module may exist alone physically, or two or more modules are integrated into one module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode.

The integrated module, if implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be essentially implemented or make a contribution to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, and including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The storage medium may be any of various media that can store program codes, such as a memory.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 600, which includes a processor 610, a memory 620 and a transceiver 630. In one example, the apparatus 600 may implement the functions of the apparatus 500 illustrated in fig. 5, and in particular, the functions of the communication unit 503 illustrated in fig. 5 may be implemented by a transceiver, the functions of the processing unit 502 may be implemented by a processor, and the functions of the storage unit 501 may be implemented by a memory. In another example, the apparatus 600 may be a terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, and the apparatus 600 may be configured to implement the method corresponding to the terminal device described in the foregoing method embodiment, and specifically refer to the description in the foregoing method embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. For convenience of explanation, fig. 7 shows only main components of the terminal device. As shown in fig. 7, the terminal device 700 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input-output means. The terminal device 700 can be applied to the system architecture shown in fig. 1b and 1c, and performs the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

The processor is mainly configured to process the communication protocol and the communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute a software program, process data of the software program, and control the terminal device to perform the actions described in the above method embodiments. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together, which may also be called a transceiver, are mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user.

When the terminal device is turned on, the processor can read the software program in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instruction of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit after performing baseband processing on the data to be sent, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 7 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

As an alternative implementation manner, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit, where the baseband processor is mainly used to process a communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used to control the whole terminal device, execute a software program, and process data of the software program. The processor in fig. 7 integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors, and are interconnected through a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device may include a plurality of baseband processors to accommodate different network formats, the terminal device may include a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing capability, and various components of the terminal device may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor may also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to realize the baseband processing function.

The terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7 is capable of implementing various processes involving the terminal device in the method embodiment illustrated in fig. 3. The operations and/or functions of the modules in the terminal device 700 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

In implementation, the steps of the method provided by this embodiment may be implemented by hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof; or a combination that performs a computing function, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It will be appreciated that the memory or storage units in the embodiments of the application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted over a computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a Solid State Disk (SSD).

The various illustrative logical units and circuits described in this application may be implemented or operated upon by design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, 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, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in the embodiments herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software element executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC, which may be disposed in a terminal device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a terminal device.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Although the embodiments of the present application have been described with reference to specific features, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of embodiments of the application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the embodiments of the application.

Claims

A method of communication, the method comprising:

receiving a first reference signal;

performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal;

wherein a time-frequency offset compensation value used for performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time-frequency offset compensation value for the first time.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at the starting moment of the first time slot of the first reference signal.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at the starting moment of a first time slot before the first time slot of the first reference signal.
The method of claim 3, wherein:

the time slot in which the second reference signal is located comprises the first time slot and a second time slot, and the second time slot is adjacent to the first time slot and is located before the first time slot; the second reference signal is a reference signal for time-frequency offset estimation;

the method further comprises the following steps: and abandoning the time frequency offset compensation value to perform time frequency offset compensation on the second reference signal.
A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a communication unit for receiving a first reference signal;

a processing unit, configured to perform time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal;

wherein a time-frequency offset compensation value used for performing time-frequency offset compensation on the first reference signal is configured before receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal using the time-frequency offset compensation value for the first time.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein:

the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at the starting moment of the first time slot of the first reference signal.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein:

the time-frequency offset compensation value is configured at the starting moment of a first time slot before the first time slot of the first reference signal.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the time slot in which the second reference signal is located comprises the first time slot and a second time slot, and the second time slot is adjacent to the first time slot and is located before the first time slot; the second reference signal is a reference signal for time-frequency offset estimation;

and the processing unit abandons the time frequency offset compensation value to perform time frequency offset compensation on the second reference signal.
A communications apparatus, comprising a processor and a memory, the processor to execute instructions stored on the memory which, when executed, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 4.
A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, implement the method of any of claims 1 to 4.
A computer program product, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4.