Note: Within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European PatentBulletin, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to that patent, in accordance with theImplementing Regulations. Notice of opposition shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has beenpaid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).

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(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45) Date of publication and mention of the grant of the patent: 27.07.2016 Bulletin 2016/30

(21) Application number: 12823933.2

(22) Date of filing: 20.08.2012

(51) Int Cl.:H04W 72/00 (2009.01) H04L 5/00 (2006.01)

(86) International application number: PCT/CN2012/080355

(87) International publication number: WO 2013/023621 (21.02.2013 Gazette 2013/08)

(54) METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING EXTENDED PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL

VERFAHREN, VORRICHTUNG UND SYSTEM ZUM SENDEN EINES ERWEITERTEN PHYSISCHEN DOWNLINK-STEUERKANALS

PROCÉDÉ, DISPOSITIF ET SYSTÈME DE TRANSMISSION DE CANAL PHYSIQUE DE COMMANDE DE LIAISON DESCENDANTE ÉTENDU

(84) Designated Contracting States: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

(30) Priority: 18.08.2011 CN 20111023780622.03.2012 CN 201210079003

(43) Date of publication of application: 04.06.2014 Bulletin 2014/23

(60) Divisional application: 16163507.3

(73) Proprietor: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.Longgang DistrictShenzhen, Guangdong 518129 (CN)

(72) Inventors: • WU, Qiang

ShenzhenGuangdong 518129 (CN)

• QIAN, YiqunShenzhenGuangdong 518129 (CN)

• LI, YangShenzhenGuangdong 518129 (CN)

• LIU, JianghuaShenzhenGuangdong 518129 (CN)

(74) Representative: Körber, Martin HansMitscherlich PartmbB Patent- und Rechtsanwälte Sonnenstrasse 3380331 München (DE)

(56) References cited: WO-A1-2011/085195 WO-A1-2011/085195WO-A1-2012/109542 CN-A- 102 082 600CN-A- 102 420 685 CN-A- 102 612 094

• SAMSUNG: "Discussion on ePDCCH Design Issues", 3GPP DRAFT; R1-112517 EPDCCH, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG1, no. Athens, Greece; 20110822, 16 August 2011 (2011-08-16), XP050537597, [retrieved on 2011-08-16]

• NOKIA ET AL: "On enhanced downlink control signalling for Rel-11", 3GPP DRAFT; R1-111743, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG1, no. Barcelona, Spain; 20110509, 3 May 2011 (2011-05-03), XP050491341, [retrieved on 2011-05-03]

• NTT DOCOMO: ’DM-RS Design forE-PDCCH in Rel-11’ 3GPP TSG RAN WGL METTING #67, RL-114302 14 November 2011, SAN FRANCISCO, USA, XP050562352

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• LG ELECTRONICS: "Remaining Details on PRB bundling", 3GPP DRAFT; R1-104765_PRB_BUNDLING, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG1, no. Madrid, Spain; 20100823, 18 August 2010 (2010-08-18), XP050450144, [retrieved on 2010-08-18]

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Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to the communications field, and in particular, to a method, a device and a systemfor transmitting an enhanced downlink control channel.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3rd generation partnership project) LTE (long Term Evolution,long term evolution)/LTE-A (LTE-advanced, LTE-advanced) system, an OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division MultipleAccess, orthogonal frequency division multiple access) manner is usually adopted for a downlink multiple access manner.Downlink resources of a system are divided into OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple, orthogonal frequencydivision multiple) symbols in terms of time, and divided into subcarriers in terms of frequency.[0003] According to the LTE Release 8/9/10 standard, a normal downlink subframe, includes two slots (slot), eachslot includes 7 OFDM symbols, a normal downlink subframe includes 14 or 12 OFDM symbols in total, and the size ofan RB (Resource Block, resource block) is defined: an RB includes 12 subcarriers in a frequency domain and is half ofa subframe duration (one slot) in a time domain, that is, it includes 7 or 6 OFDM symbols, where the length symbol ofa normal CP (Cyclic Prefix, Cyclic Prefix) is 7 OFDM symbols and the length symbol of an extended cyclic prefix is 6OFDM symbols. A subcarrier in an OFDM symbol is referred to as an RE (Resource Element, resource element), so anRB includes 84 or 72 REs. In a subframe, a pair of RBs of two slots is referred to as a resource block pair, lamely, anRB pair (RB pair).[0004] For various data carried on a subframe, mappings are organized by dividing physical time-frequency resourcesof the subframe into various physical channels. The various physical channels generally involve two types: a controlchannel and a service channel. Correspondingly, data carried by a control channel may be referred to as control data(or control information), whereas data carried by a service channel may be referred to as service data. The fundamentalobjective of communications is to transmit service data, and the function of a control channel is to aid the transmissionof service data, so in the design of a communication system, resources occupied by a control channel should be minimized.[0005] Generally, resources used for transmitting service data in an OFDMA system are allocated flexibly, that is, toa UE (User Equipment, user equipment), the number of RBs occupied by the service data sent to the UE by eachsubframe, and the initial positions of the RBs in all RBs in the entire system are changeable. Therefore, when servicedata is sent to the UE, the UE needs to be notified at which RBs the UE should receive the service data sent to the UE.Similarly, for a UE, a modulation and coding scheme adopted by each subframe to send the service data to the UE isalso changeable, and also needs to be notified to the UE. Information such as RA (Resource Allocation, resourceallocation) and MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme, modulation and coding scheme) is to aid or control the transmissionof service data, so it is referred to as control information and is transmitted on a control channel.[0006] According to the LTE Release 8/9/10 standard, a control channel in a subframe may occupy the front 3 OFDMsymbols of all RBs in the entire system. By taking a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel, physical downlinkcontrol channel) carrying control information such as scheduling as an example, a complete PDCCH is formed by oneor more CCEs (Control Channel Element, control channel element), a CCE is formed by 9 REGs (Resource ElementGroup, resource element group) and an REG occupies 4 REs. According to the LTE Release 8/9/10, a PDCCH may beformed by 1, 2, 4 or 8 CCEs, which are approximately evenly distributed in time and frequency domains. In the presentLTE Release 8/9/10, the demodulation of the PDCCH is based on a CRS (Common Reference Signal, common referencesignal). In the LTE Release 11, the number of UEs in one cell may increase, so the PDCCH channel needs to beenhanced, and more resources need to be allocated to the PDCCH or the performance of the PDCCH needs to beimproved, so as to adapt to the scheduling of more UEs in one cell. An enhanced PDCCH channel may also be referredto as an E-PDCCH (enhanced-PDCCH).[0007] In the prior art, some RB pairs are separated from the area of a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel,physical downlink shared channel) to serve as an area where E-PDCCH control information is sent, where the granularityis in unit of an RB pair. However, a basic unit of a PDCCH is a CCE, and an RB pair may be equivalent to resources ofmultiple CCEs. Therefore, the granularity of the basic unit using an RB pair as the E-PDCCH is too large, thereby causinga waste of resources.[0008] WO 2011/085195 discloses a method for managing control channel interference. The method includes a firstaccess node transmitting an E-PDCCH, wherein a DM-RS for the E-PDCCH supports channel estimation of the E-PDCCH.[0009] 3GPP draft R1-112517 tiled by "Discussion on ePDCCH Design Issues" discusses some issues related toenhanced DL Control Channel Design Issues.[0010] 3GPP draft R1-111743 tiled by "On enhanced downlink control signaling for Rel-11" examines the basic required

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properties of an enhanced downlink control channel(E-PDCCH) and makes some preferences regarding the importanceof these as well as some basic proposals for the study.[0011] R1-104765 just discloses that the size of a PRG is only determined by the corresponding system bandwidth

SUMMARY

[0012] To solve the problem in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, a device and asystem for transmitting an enhanced downlink control channel.[0013] In one-aspect, a method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including:presetting a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource block, RB, pair, each RB pairincludes enhanced physical downlink control channel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, re-sources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the controlchannel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port; andsending at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equipment UE in at least one control channel elementof the preset multiplexing unit, and sending a DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE on the DM RS resources ofthe preset multiplexing unit,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the number of RBsin the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is determinedaccording to the following table:

[0014] In another aspect, a method for receiving an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including:receiving a signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource block, RB, pair, eachresource block pair includes enhanced physical downlink control. channel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulationreference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channel elements, and an allocationpattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port;performing channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the multiplexing unit; anddemodulating the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexing unit by using a result of the channelestimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing and the number of RBsin the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shown in thefollowing table:

[0015] in another aspect, a base station is provided, including:a configuration module, configured to preset a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resourceblock, RB, pair, each resource block pair includes enhanced physical downlink control channel, E-PDCCH, resourcesand demodulation reference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channel elements,and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port; and

System bandwidth (PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

11 - 26 2

27 - 63 3

64 - 110 2

System bandwidth (PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

11 - 26 2

27 - 63 3

64 - 110 2

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a sending module, configured to send at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equipment UE in atleast one control channel element of the preset multiplexing unit, and send a DM RScorresponding to the at least one UE on the DM RS resources of the preset multiplexing unit,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the number of RBsin the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;

[0016] In another aspect, a user equipment UE is provided, including:a receiving module, configured to receive a signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at leastone resource block, RB, pair, the at least one RB pair includes enhanced physical downlink control channel, E-PDCCH,resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channelelements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port;a channel estimation module, configured to perform channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the multiplexingunit; anda demodulation module, configured to demodulate the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexingunit by using a result of the channel estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH,where the at least one resource block pair is a precoding resource block group PRG, and the number of RBs in the PRGis decided by system bandwidth;wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shown in thefollowing table:

[0017] In another aspect, a system for transmitting an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including thebase station and the user equipment UE.[0018] In another aspect, a method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including:

presetting a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource block, RB, pair, each RBpair includes enhanced downlink control channel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, re-sources, the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the controlchannel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port; andsending at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equipment UE in at least one control channelelement of the preset multiplexing unit, and sending a DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE on the DM RSresources of the preset multiplexing unit.

[0019] In another aspect, a method for receiving an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including receivinga signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource block, RB, pair, each RB pairincludes enhanced downlink control channel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, resources,the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the control channelelements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port; andperforming channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the multiplexing unit; anddemodulating the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexing unit by using a result of the channel

wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shown in the following table:System bandwidth (PRB)

Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

11 - 26 2

27 - 63 3

64 - 110 2

System bandwidth (PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

11 - 26 2

27 - 63 3

64 - 110 2

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estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH.[0020] In another aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a configuration module, configured to preset a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least oneresource block pair, the at least one resource block pair includes enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCHresources and demodulation reference DM RS resources, the E-PDCCH resources include multiple control channelelements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RSport; anda sending module, configured to send at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equipment UE inat least one control channel element of the preset multiplexing unit, and send a DM RAS corresponding to the atleast one UE on the DM RS resources of the preset multiplexing unit.

[0021] In another aspect, a user equipment UE is provided, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes atleast one resource block pair, the at least one resource block pair includes enhanced Downlink control channel E-PDCCH resources and demodulation reference DM RS resources, the E-PDCCH resources include multiple controlchannel elements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to aDM RS port;a channel estimation module, configured to perform channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the mul-tiplexing unit; anda demodulation module, configured to demodulate the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexingunit by using a result of the channel estimation, so as to obtain an, E-PDCCH.

[0022] In another aspect, a method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including:

determining at least two physical resource block pairs in a physical resource block pair group, where the at leasttwo physical resource block pairs are used for sending an enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCH and ademodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH; andprecoding the E-PDCCH and the DM RS on the at least two physical resource block pairs by using the sameprecoding matrix.

[0023] In another aspect, a method for receiving an enhanced downlink control channel is provided, including:

receiving, by a user equipment, an enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCH sent by a base station and ademodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH on at least two physical resource block pairs in aphysical resource block pair group;precoding, by the user equipment, the E-PDCCH and the DM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairsaccording to the same precoding matrix used by the base station, and performing channel estimation on the DMRS of the at least two physical resource block pairs; anddetecting, by the user equipment, according to a result of the channel estimation, the E-PDCCH at predeterminedpositions of the at least two physical resource block pairs.

[0024] In another aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a resource determination unit, configured to determine at least two physical resource block pairs in a physicalresource block pair group, where the at least two physical resource block pairs are used for sending an enhanceddownlink control channel E-PDCCH and a demodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH; anda precoding unit, configured to precode the E-PDCCH and the DM RS on the at least two physical resource blockpairs determined by the resource determination unit by using the same precoding matrix.

[0025] In another aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive an enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCH sent by a base station anda demodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH on at least two physical resource block pairs ina physical resource block pair group;a channel estimation unit, configured to precode the E-PDCCH and the DM RS of the at least two physical resourceblock pairs according to the same precoding matrix used by the base station, and perform channel estimation on

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the DM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairs received by the receiving unit; anda detection unit, configured to detect, according to a result of the channel estimation obtained by the channelestimation unit, the E-PDCCH at predetermined positions of the at least two physical resource block pairs.

[0026] In the method, the device and the system for transmitting an enhanced downlink control channel provided bythe embodiments of the present invention, by dividing a multiplexing unit into multiple control channel elements, andsending at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one UE, for each UE, the granularity of the enhanced downlinkcontrol channel is a control channel element. Compared with the granularity of an RB pair in the prior art, the granularityis reduced, resources are saved, and a downlink control channel is enhanced, thereby providing more control channelsfor the UE to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] To illustrate the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, theaccompanying drawings for describing the embodiments are introduced briefly in the following. Apparently, the accom-panying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and persons ofordinary skill in the art can derive other drawings from the accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG 1 is a flow chart of a method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel according to an embodimentof the present invention;FIG 2 is a flow chart of a method for receiving an enhanced downlink control channel according to an embodimentof the present invention;FIG 3 is another flow chart of the method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel according to anembodiment of the present invention;FIG 4 is a schematic diagram of dividing control channel elements in a multiplexing unit according to an embodimentof the present invention;FIG 5 is a schematic diagram of DM RS resources in an RB pair of a normal CP length;FIG 6 is another schematic diagram of DM RS resources in an RB pair of a normal CP length;FIG 7 is a schematic diagram of time-division multiplexing of two UEs according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;FIG 8 is a schematic diagram of frequency-division multiplexing of two UEs according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;FIG 9a and FIG 9b are schematic diagrams of time-frequency multiplexing of two UEs according to an embodimentof the present invention;FIG 10a, FIG. 10b and FIG. 10c are schematic diagrams of time-frequency multiplexing of 4 UEs according to anembodiment of the present invention;FIG 10d is a schematic diagram of an allocation pattern of control channel elements in a multiplexing unit;FIG 10e is a schematic diagram of a binding relationship between an allocation pattern of the control channelelements in a multiplexing unit and a DM RS port;FIG 10f is another schematic diagram of a binding relationship between an allocation pattern of the control channelelements in a multiplexing unit and a DM RS port;FIG 11 is a structural diagrams of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;FIG 12 is a structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;FIG 13 is a flow chart of another method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel according to an em-bodiment of the present invention;FIG 14 is a structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;FIG 15 is a structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention; andFIG 16 is a structural diagram of a system for transmitting an enhanced downlink control channel according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0028] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more comprehen-sible, the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail in the following with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an enhanceddownlink control channel, which includes the following steps.[0030] 101: Preset a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource block pair, the at

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least one resource block pair includes E-PDCCH resources and DM RS resources, and the E-PDCCH resources includemultiple control channel elements.[0031] 102: Send at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one UE in at least one control channel element ofthe preset multiplexing unit, and send a DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE on the DM RS resources of thepreset multiplexing unit.[0032] The at least one resource block pair is a PRG (Precoding Resource block Group, preceding resource blockgroup), and the number of resource blocks RBs in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth.[0033] The number of multiple control channel elements in the multiplexing unit may be equal or unequal to the numberof UEs, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention. For example, the E-PDCCH resourcesin the multiplexing unit are divided into 4 control channel elements for 4 Ines, that is, UE 1, UE 2, UE 3 and UE 4, toperform multiplexing, and a control channel element is allocated to each UE, or may also for 2 UEs, that is, UE 5 andUE 6, to perform multiplexing, and 2 control channel elements are allocated to each UE.[0034] An executor of the sending method may be a base station, such as an eNB (evolved Node B, evolved basestation).[0035] Referring to FIG 2, another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for receiving an enhanceddownlink control channel, which includes the following steps.[0036] 201: Receive a signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at least one resource blockpair, the at least one resource block pair includes E-PDCCH resources and DM RS resources, and the E-PDCCHresources include multiple control channel elements.[0037] 202: Perform channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the multiplexing unit.[0038] 203: Demodulate the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexing unit by using a result ofthe channel estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH;[0039] The at least one resource block pair is a PRG and the number of resource blocks RBs in the PRG is decidedby the system bandwidth.[0040] An executor of the receiving method may specifically be a UE.[0041] In the foregoing two methods, each UE has its respective E-PDCCH and DM RS, the E-PDCCH is transmittedon the E-PDCCH resources and the DM RS is transmitted on the DM RS resources.[0042] In the method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel and the method for receiving an enhanceddownlink control channel provided by the embodiments of the present invention, by dividing a multiplexing unit intomultiple control channel elements, and sending at least one E-PISCCH corresponding to at least one UE, for each UE,the granularity of the enhanced downlink control channel is a control channel element. Compared with the granularityof an RB pair in the prior art, the granularity is reduced, resources are saved, and the downlink control channel isenhanced, thereby providing more control channels for the UE to use.[0043] Referring to FIG 3, another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for sending an enhanceddownlink control channel, which includes the following steps.[0044] 301: A base station presets a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit is formed by resources other thanPCCCH resources, CRS resources and CSI RS (Channel-State Information Reference Signal, channel-state informationreference signal) resources in at least one resource block RB pair, and divides the multiplexing unit into E-PDCCHresources and DM RS resources, and divides the E-PDCCH resources into multiple control channel elements accordingto time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing.[0045] The multiplexing unit includes at least one RB pair, such as, 2 RB pairs, 3 RB pairs or 4 RB pairs, which is notspecifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention. A division result of the multiplexing unit may be configuredand stored in advance at a base station side in the form of a multiplexing pattern (pattern).[0046] Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the division of multiple control channel elements in amultiplexing unit. DM RS resources are shown in FIG. 4, and only that E-PDCCH resources include multiple controlchannel elements is taken as an example for illustration. 2 RB pairs are used as a multiplexing unit and each RB pairincludes E-PDCCH resources and DM RS resources, where the E-PDCCH resources are divided into 4 control channelelements, for multiplexing by two UEs, for example, UE 1 occupies 2 control channel elements in RB pair 1 and alsooccupies 2 control channel elements in RB pair 2, and UE 2 occupies 2 control channel elements in RB pair 1 and alsooccupies 2 control channel elements in RB pair 2.[0047] In the embodiment of the present invention, the E-PDCCH resources refer to resources other than the DM RSresources. The number of REs included in the DM RS resources in an RB pair is not fixed, so the number of REs includedin the E-PDCCH resources is also not fixed, and the number is related to the number of CRS ports configured by a basestation and the number of REs included in the DM RS resources.[0048] In this embodiment, a CRS port refers to a logical port configured by a base station to transmit a CRS, and thenumber of CRS ports configured by the base station may be 1, 2 or 4, which is not specifically limited. The DM RSresources may include 12 REs or 24 REs, which is not specifically limited. The number of REs included by the DM RSresources may be determined according to the number of DM RS ports. A DM RS port refers to a logical port configured

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by a base station to transmit a DM RS, and the number of CRS ports may be 2 or 4. For example, if the number of DMRS ports is 2, the DM RS resources include 12 REs, and if the number of DM RS ports is 4, the DM RS resources include24 REs.[0049] Referring to Table 1, Table 1 is the correspondence between the number of REs in DM RS resources and aCRS port and the number of REs that may send data in an RB pair. By taking a normal subframe as an example, it isassumed that the front 3 OFDM symbols are PDCCH, and Table 1 shows the number of REs that may send data in anRB pair under different numbers of configured CRS and DM RS ports.

[0050] For example, the number of CRS ports is 4, the DM RS resources have 12 REs, and the front 3 OFDM symbolsof a normal subframe are PDCCH, so an RB pair includes 12 x 14 = 168 REs in total, where the PDCCH occupies 12x 3 = 36 REs of the front 3 OFDM symbols in total, the DM RS occupies 12 REs, and the CRS outside the PDCCH, areaoccupies 16 REs, so the number of REs that may send data in the RB pair is: 168 - 36 - 12 - 16 = 104, as recorded inthe third row of Table 1.[0051] In this embodiment, dividing the E-PDCCH resources according to time-division multiplexing refers to thatmultiple control channel elements obtained after dividing occupy the same carriers on a frequency domain, for example,including 12 carriers, but occupy different OFDM symbols in a time domain. Dividing the E-PDCCH resources accordingto frequency-division multiplexing refers to that the multiple control channel elements obtained after dividing include thesame OFDM symbol in the time domain, but occupy different carriers in the frequency domain. For example, a controlchannel element occupies the front 6 carriers and another control channel element occupies the rear 6 carriers. Dividingthe E-PDCCH resources according to time-frequency multiplexing refers to that the multiple control channel elementsobtained after dividing occupy different carriers in the frequency domain and also occupy different OFDM symbols inthe time domain.[0052] 302: The base station sends at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one UE in at least one controlchannel element of the multiplexing unit.[0053] The at least one UE may be one or more UEs. For example, a base station sends two E-PDCCHs correspondingto one UE, where one is an E-PDCCH used in uplink scheduling, and the other is an E-PDCCH used in downlinkscheduling. In another example, the base station sends 3 E-PDCCHs, corresponding to 3 UEs, respectively; alternatively,the base station sends 3 E-PDCCHs, where two of them are corresponding to UE 1 and another is corresponding to UE 2.[0054] Specifically, when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, the E-PDCCH of the multiple UEs may be sent in atleast two control channel elements of the multiple control channel elements in the multiplexing unit according to time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing, which is not specifically limitedin the embodiment of the present invention.[0055] 303: For each UE in the at least one UE, the base station sends the DM RS of the UE on all DM RS time-frequency resources corresponding to a DM RS port allocated to the UE in the multiplexing unit; or,sends, on the DM RS resources in the RB pair carrying the E-PDCCH of the UE, the DM RS of the UE.[0056] The base station may allocate the DM RS port to the UE in advance, and when sending the DM RS of a UE,the base station sends the DM RS of the UE on all DM RS time-frequency resources corresponding to the DM RS portallocated to the UE. When needing to send the E-PDCCHs of multiple UEs, the base station sends the DM RS of theUE for each UE thereof according to the method. For example, the base station allocates DM RS ports, port 7 and port8, to UE 1 and UE 2, respectively, so the base station sends the DM RS of UE 1 on all DM RS time-frequency resourcesof port 7, and sends the DM RS of UE 2 on all DM RS time-frequency resources of port 8[0057] For a multiplexing unit, the E-PDCCH of a UE may be carried in an RB pair of the multiplexing unit, or may becarried in multiple RB pairs of the multiplexing unit, or even in all RB pairs, so the base station may send the DM RS ofthe UE on the DM RS resources in the RB pair carrying the E-PDCCH of the UE, and does not send the DM RS of theUE in the RB pair that does not carry the E-PDCCH of the UE.

Table 1

CRS port and DM RS configuration The number of REs that may send data in an RB pair

1 CRS port and DM RSs of 12 REs 114

2 CRS ports and DM RSs of 12 REs 108

4 CRS ports and DM RSs of 12 REs 104

1 CRS ports and DM RSs of 24 REs 102

2 CRS ports and DM RSs of 24 REs 96

4 CRS ports and DM RSs of 24 REs 92

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[0058] In this embodiment, furthermore, when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, different DM RS ports may also beallocated to the multiple UEs, or the same DM RS port may be allocated to at least two UEs in the multiple UEs.[0059] If the same DM RS port is allocated to the at least two UEs in the multiple UEs, each UE allocated the sameDM RS port may use different precoding matrixes, but the DM RS port of each UE interferes with each other, and theeffect of channel estimation is poor. Alternatively, the UEs allocated the same DM RS port may also use the sameprecoding matrix for precoding, but cannot perform precoding for each UE by using the optimal precoding matrix, andcannot obtain the optimal beamforming gain (beamforming gain). Therefore, preferably, different DM RS ports areallocated to the multiple UEs. For example, two UEs perform multiplexing, the DM RS port allocated to UE 1 is port 7(port 7), and the DM RS port allocated to UE 2 is port 8 (port 8), which are not specifically limited in the embodiment ofthe present invention. Different UEs use different DM RS ports, so when sending the E-PDCCH to each UE, the basestation may perform precoding for each user by using the optimal precoding matrix.[0060] Referring to FIG 5, FIG 5 is a schematic diagram of a DM RS in an RB pair of a normal CP length. The positionsof DM RS ports 7 and 8 in time and frequency domains are given, and the RB pair includes DM RS resources of 12 REsand supports the DM RSs of two ports: the DM RS ports 7 and 8. Referring to FIG 6, FIG. 6 is another schematic diagramof a DM RS in an RB pair of a normal CP length. The RB pair includes DM RS resources of 24 REs and can supportDM RSs of 8 ports at most. Ports 7, 8, 11 and 13 are sent on the REs of the DM RSs marked as horizontal stripes, andports 9, 10, 12 and 14 are sent on the REs of the DM RSs marked as vertical stripes.[0061] In this embodiment, a spreading sequence used by a base station in a precoding process may be shown inTable 2, and Table 2 is a spreading sequence in normal CP. For example, when the DM RS port is port 8, the length ofa spreading code is 4 and its spreading code is [+1, -1, +1, -1], in the DM RS position of the frequency domain in anOFDM symbol in the 5th time domain in an even-numbered slot, the corresponding DM RS pilot in the DM RS position,is multiplied by we (0) = 1; in the DM RS position of the frequency domain in an OFDM symbol in the 6th time domainin the even-numbered slot, the corresponding DM RS pilot in the DM RS position is multiplied by wp(1) = -1; in the DM

RS position of the frequency domain in an OFDM symbol in the 5th time domain in an odd-numbered slot, the correspondingDM RS pilot in the DM RS position is multiplied by wp(0) =1; and in the DM RS position of the frequency domain in an

OFDM symbol in the 6th time domain in the odd-numbered slot, the corresponding DM RS pilot in the DM RS positionis multiplied by wp(1) = -1.

[0062] Through the positions of the time and frequency domains and the corresponding spreading sequence of theDM RS, ports of different DM RSs are formed.[0063] In this embodiment, in any one of the foregoing division manners for performing time-division multiplexing,frequency-division multiplexing or time-frequency multiplexing on the E-PDCCH resources, the multiple control channelelements obtained after dividing may be distributed in a localized manner or in an alternate manner. Specific examplesare taken for respective illustration as follows.[0064] Referring to FIG. 7, the first example is a schematic diagram of an RB pair of time-division multiplexing of 2UEs. A multiplexing unit includes an RB pair, multiplexing is performed on two UEs, that is, UE 1 and UE 2, the numberof CRS ports is 4, and DM RS resources include 12 REs. 2 control channel elements are obtained by dividing in thetime domain, where the first control channel element occupies the 4th, 6th , 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th OFDM symbols in thetime domain direction, and the second control channel element occupies the 5th , 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th OFDM symbolsin the time domain direction, which belong to alternate distribution. In the frequency domain, both control channel elementsoccupy 12 carriers and have the same carrier resources. The first control channel element is allocated to UE 1, and the

Table 2

Antenna port p [wp(0) wp(1) wp(2) wp(3)]

7 [+1 +1 +1 +1]

8 [+1 -1 +1 -1]

9 [+1 +1 +1 +1]

10 [+1 -1 +1 -1]

11 [+1 +1 -1 -1]

12 [-1 -1 +1 +1]

13 [+1 -1 -1 +1]

14 [-1 +1 +1 -1]

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second control channel element is allocated to UE 2, so as to enhance the PDCCH, so that the E-PDCCH signals ofUE 1 and UE 2 are sent on different OFDM symbols alternately. Furthermore, the DM RS ports of UE 1 and UE 2 maybe configured as different ports, such as port 7 and port 8, respectively.[0065] Referring to FIG. 8, the second example is a schematic diagram of an RB pair of frequency-division multiplexingof 2 UEs.. A multiplexing unit includes an RB pair for multiplexing of two UEs, that is, UE 1 and UE 2, the number ofCRS ports is 4, and DM RS resources include 12 REs. 2 control channel elements are obtained by dividing in thefrequency domain, where the first control channel element occupies the rear 6 carriers in the frequency domain direction,and the second control channel element occupies the front 6 carriers in the frequency domain direction, which belongto localized distribution. In the time domain, both control channel elements occupy 11 same OFDM symbols and havethe same time domain resources. The first control channel element is allocated to UE 1, and the second control channelelement is allocated to UE 2, so as to enhance the PDCCH, so that E-PDCCH signals of UE 1 and UE 2 are sent ondifferent carriers. Furthermore, the DM RS ports of UE 1 and UE 2 may be configured as different ports, such as port 7and port 8, respectively. Of course, the first control channel element may also be allocated to UE 2 to occupy the rear6 frequency domain resources, and the second control channel element may be allocated to UE 1 to occupy the front6 frequency domain resources, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment or the present invention.[0066] Referring to FIG. 9a and FIG 9b, the third example is a schematic diagram of an RB pair of time-frequencymultiplexing of 2 UEs. The difference from the foregoing two examples lies in that, two control channel elements in anRB pair occupy different resources in the time domain, and also occupy different resources in the frequency domain,which belong to alternate distribution. Referring to FIG. 9a, in a resource list of the vertical frequency domain correspondingto each OFDM symbol, in the order from top to bottom with UE 1 coming first and UE 2 coming next, the control channelelements are alternately allocated to the two UEs, that is, in the 12 carriers in each list, except that pilot resources includeCRS resources and DM RS resources, the rest carrier resources are occupied alternately in the order with UE 1 comingfirst and UE 2 coming next. Referring to FIG 9b, in the order from top to bottom in the frequency domain first and thenfrom left to right in the time domain, and in the order with UE 1 coming first and UE 2 coming next, the control channelelements are allocated, that is, starting from the 4th OFDM symbol in FIG 9b, in the order from the 4th to the 14th OFDMsymbol, and in the carrier order from top to bottom in the frequency domain resource list corresponding to each OFDMsymbol, resources except pilot resources are allocated to UE 1 and UE 2 alternately.[0067] Referring to FIG 10a, FIG 10b and FIG 10c, the fourth example is a schematic diagram of an RB pair of time-frequency multiplexing of 4 UEs. The difference from the foregoing 3 examples lies in that, multiplexing is performed for4 UEs, the DM RS includes 24 REs and 4 ports, and the 4 ports are allocated to 4 UEs, respectively. For example, theports allocated to UE 1, UE 2, UE 3 and UE 4 are port 7, port 8, port 9 and port 10, respectively.[0068] Referring to FIG. 10a, similar to the first example, which is time-division multiplexing, 4 control channel elementsare obtained by dividing in the time domain and alternately allocated in the order from UE 1, UE 2, UE 3 to UE 4, wherethe first control channel element allocated to UE 1 occupies the 4th, 8th and 12th OFDM symbols in the time domaindirection, the second control channel element allocated to UE 2 occupies the 5th, 9th and 13th OFDM symbols in thetime domain direction, the third control channel element allocated to UE 3 occupies the 6th, 10th and 14th OFDM symbolsin the time domain direction, and the fourth control channel element allocated to UE 4 occupies the 7th and 11th OFDMsymbols in the time domain direction, which belong to alternate distribution.[0069] Referring to FIG. 10b, similar to the second example, which is time-frequency multiplexing. The frequencydomain resource list where each OFDM symbol is located is divided into two parts, allocated to 2 UEs, respectively, and2 OFDM symbols are taken as a group to be allocated to 4 UEs. Specifically, starting from the 4th OFDM symbol, in theorder from the 4th to the 14th OFDM symbol, for every two adjacent frequency domain resource lists, the first list isallocated to UE 1 and UE 2 and the second list is allocated to UE 3 and UE 4, which are then allocated in sequencealternately.[0070] Referring to FIG 10c, similar to the multiplexing in FIG 9b, which is time-frequency multiplexing. In the orderfrom top to down in the frequency domain first and then from left to right in the time domain, and in the order from UE1, UE 2, UE 3 to UE 4, the control channel elements are allocated, that is, starting from the 4th OFDM symbol in thefigure, in the order from the 4th to the 14th OFDM symbol, and in the carrier order from top to bottom in the frequencydomain resource list corresponding to each OFDM symbol, resources except pilot resources are allocated to UE 1, UE2, UE 3 and UE 4 alternately.[0071] In the embodiment of the present invention, to improve the performance of channel estimation, multiple RBpairs may be used as a multiplexing unit, and on all DM RS resources in the multiplexing unit, including DM RS resourceson each RB pair, pilot signals of the multiple UEs are sent, thereby using the DM RSs of all RB pairs in the multiplexingunit to perform channel estimation. Compared with only using an RB pair to perform channel estimation, the performanceof the channel estimation is improved. By taking FIG 4 as an example, the multiplexing unit includes 2 RB pairs, 4 controlchannel elements are obtained by dividing from each RB pair to be allocated to 2 UEs, and each UE occupies 2 controlchannel elements, so DM RS signals of UE 1 and UE 2 may be sent on DM RS resources of RB pair 1 and RB pair 2.Specifically, different DM RS ports may be used for sending the DM RS signals of UE 1 and UE 2, respectively, for

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example, UE 1 uses DM RS port 7 and UE 2 uses DM RS port 8, and so on.[0072] In this embodiment, the PRG is used as a multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the number of RB pairs in thePRG is decided by the system bandwidth. For the correspondence between the system bandwidth and the precodinggranularity, reference may be made to Table 3.

[0073] In Table 3, the size of a PRG indicates that, in the corresponding system bandwidth, for a UE, several RB pairsare precoded by using the same precoding matrix. For example, when the system bandwidth is 25 RBs, the PRG is 2RB pairs, in 25 RBs of the system bandwidth, every two RB pairs are precoded by using the same precoding matrix, so2 RB pairs in the PRG may be multiplexed as a multiplexing unit. The multiple control channel elements obtained bydividing in the PRG are for multiplexing of multiple UEs, and different UEs occupy different control channel elements.For the DM RS of a UE, as long as the UE transmits the E-PDCCH in the PRG, the DM RS signals of the UE may besent in all RB pairs in the PRG, or, the DM RS signals of the UE are sent only in the RB pair carrying the E-PDCCH ofthe UE in the PRG When the DM RS signals of the UE are sent on each PRB in the PRG, joint channel estimation maybe performed on multiple PRBs, thereby improving the performance of the channel estimation.[0074] In the embodiment of the present invention, the number of control channel elements obtained by dividing frommultiplexing unit, and information such as a control channel element and DM RS port mapped by the UE may be notifiedto the UE by the base station through signaling, and the signaling notification may be an RRC (Radio Resource Control,radio resource control) signaling semi-static notification; or an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in themultiplexing unit may also be bound to the DM RS port, and the binding relationship is allocated and configured at thebase station side and the UE side. For example, by taking FIG 7 as an example, an allocation solution of the pattern isused, UE 1 is bound to the DM RS port 7 and UE 2 is bound to the DM RS port 8, so the base station does not need tonotify the UE again separately.[0075] In an optional implementation manner of this embodiment, an aggregation level of an E-PDCCH may be 1, 2,4 or 8, that is, an E-PDCCH may be transmitted by 1, 2, 4 or 8 control channel elements. The E-PDCCH may be dividedinto a localized (Localized) E-PDCCH and a distributed (Distributed) E-PDCCH. The distributed E-PDCCH may be sentin a transmit diversity manner; and the localized E-PDCCH may be sent in a precoding or beam attachment manner. Inthe implementation manner, the localized E-PDCCH is further discussed.[0076] Referring to FIG 10d, FIG 10d shows an allocation pattern of control channel elements in a multiplexing unit.FIG 10d only shows an RB pair in the multiplexing unit. Each RB pair in the multiplexing unit may include multiple controlchannel elements. For example, the allocation pattern of the control channel elements shown in FIG. 10d includes controlchannel elements eCCE0 to eCCE3. It should be noted that, in the allocation pattern shown in FIG 10d, 12 subcarriersin an RB pair are divided into 4 parts and a part occupies 3 subcarriers. Each control channel element occupies 3subcarriers and occupies k (k is an integer) OFDM symbols in the time domain. However, this embodiment is not limitedto the division of an RB pair into 4 control channel elements, and multiple control channel elements may also be dividedfrom an RB pair.[0077] The binding relationship between the allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unitand the DM RS port may be that: eCCE0 is bound to a DM RS port 7, eCCE is bound to a DM RS port 8, eCCE2 isbound to a DM RS port 9, and eCCE3 is bound to a DM RS port 10. If the aggregation level of an E-PDCCH to be sentis 1, in the allocation pattern of the control channel elements shown in FIG 10d, a first E-PDCCH may be sent on eCCE0,a DM RS corresponding to the first E-PDCCH may be sent on the DM RS port 7; a second E-PDCCH may be sent oneCCE1, a DM RS corresponding to the second E-PDCCH may be sent by the DM RS port 8; and so on.[0078] Considering the same port may be used for an E-PDCCH in an RB pair, and the aggregation level of an E-PDCCH may be greater than 1, for example, the aggregation level may be 2, and the binding relationship between theallocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit and the DM RS port may be that: eCCE0 andeCCE1 are bound to a DM RS port x, and eCCE2 and eCCE3 are bound to a DM RS port y. In this way, if the aggregationlevel of an E-PDCCH, to be sent is 2, in the allocation pattern of the control channel elements shown in FIG 10e, a firstE-PDCCH may be sent on eCCE0 and eCCE1, a DM RS corresponding to the first E-PDCCH may, be sent on the DMRS port x; a second E-PDCCH may be sent on eCCE2 and eCCE3, and a DM RS corresponding to the second E-

Table 3

System bandwidth (PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

11 - 26 2

27 - 63 3

64 - 110

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PDCCH may be sent by the DM RS port y. The DM RS ports x and y may be any one of DM RS ports 7, 8, 9 and 10,and the port x and the port y may be different.[0079] Referring to FIG 10e, FIG. 10e shows a binding relationship between an allocation pattern of control channelelements in a multiplexing unit and a DM RS port. Still by taking that an RB pair includes 4 control channel elements asan example, that is, an RB pair n includes control channel elements eCCE0 to eCCE3, and an RB pair (n + 1) includescontrol channel elements eCCE4 to eCCE7. If the aggregation level of an E-PDCCH is greater than 1, for example, theaggregation level is 4, multiple RB pairs may need to be occupied. Therefore, the binding relationship between theallocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit and the DM RS port may further be that: eCCE0is bound to the DM RS port 7, eCCE1 is bound to the DM RS port 8, eCCE2 to eCCE5 are bound to the DM RS port x,eCCE6 is bound to the DM RS port 9, and eCCE7 is bound to the DM RS port 10. eCCE0, eCCE1, eCCE6 and eCCE7may be used for sending the E-PDCCH whose aggregation level is 1, and sending the DM RS in the correspondingbound DM RS ports 7 to 10. eCCE2 to eCCE5 may be used for sending the E-PDCCH whose aggregation level is 4,and sending the DM RS in the corresponding bound DM RS port x. The DM RS port x may be DM RS port 7, 8, 9 or 10.[0080] For example, when the aggregation level of a user UE 3 is 4, an E-PDCCH of UE 3 may be sent on eCCE2 toeCCE5 of the RB pair n and the RB pair (n + 1). In addition, when the E-PDCCH of the UE1 whose aggregation levelis 1 is sent on eCCE0 of the RB pair n, UE 1 performs channel estimation by using the DM RS received on the DM RSport 7; when the E-PDCCH of UE 2 whose aggregation level is 1 is sent on eCCE1 of the RB pair n, UE 2 performschannel estimation by using the DM RS received by the DM RS port 8; when the E-PDCCH of UE 4 whose aggregationlevel is 1 is sent on eCCE6 of the RB pair (n + 1), UE 4 performs channel estimation by using the DM RS received onthe DM RS port 9; and when the E-PDCCH of UE 5 whose aggregation level is 1 is sent on eCCE7 of the RB pair (n +1), UE 5 performs channel estimation. by using the DM RS received on the DM RS port 10. For UE 3, if the DM RS portbound to eCCE2 to eCCE5 is 7 or 8, UE 3 needs to perform channel estimation by using the DM RS received on theDM RS port 7 or 8, but the DM RS port used by UE 3 is in conflict with the DM RS port of UE 1 or UE 2 in the nth RBpair. If the DM RS port bound to eCCE2 to eCCE5 is 9 or 10, the DM RS port used by UE 3 is in conflict with the DMRS port of UE 4 or UE 5 in the (n+1)th RB pair.[0081] To avoid the foregoing conflict, one method is: if the E-PDCCH of UE 3 whose aggregation level is 4 uses theport 9, the E-PDCCH of other users whose aggregation level is 1 is not carried on eCCE6 of the RB pair (n + 1).[0082] Referring to FIG. 10f, FIG 10f shows a binding relationship between an allocation pattern of control channelelements in another multiplexing unit and a DM RS port. The difference between the binding relationship shown in FIG.10f and the binding relationship shown in FIG. 10e is that eCCE2 to eCCE3 are bound to the DM RS port 9 or 10, andeCCE4 to eCCE5 are bound to the DM RS port 7 or 8. When the aggregation level of a user UE 3 is 4, an E-PDCCH ofUE 3 may be sent on eCCE2 to eCCE5 of the RB pair n and RB pair (n + 1). At this time, the DM RS port 9 or 10 is usedfor sending the DM RSs corresponding to eCCE2 and eCCE3, and the DM RS port 7 or 8 is used for sending the DMRSs corresponding to eCCE4 and eCCE5. In this way, UE 3 is not in conflict with the DM RS ports of other UEs in theRB pairs n and (n + 1).[0083] On the basis of the method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel shown in FIG. 3, the receivingof the enhanced downlink control channel may also be performed by adopting the method shown in FIG 2. A specificprocess is the same as the description in the foregoing embodiments, which is not repeated again herein.[0084] In the method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel provided by the embodiment of the presentinvention, by dividing a multiplexing unit into multiple control channel elements, and sending at least one E-PDCCH ofat least one UE, for each UE, the granularity of the enhanced downlink control channel is a control channel element.Compared with the granularity of an RB pair in the prior art, the granularity is reduced, resources are saved, and thedownlink control channel is enhanced, thereby providing more control channels for the UE to use. The multiplexing unitmay be divided into multiple control channel elements in time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing,or time-frequency multiplexing, the multiple control channel elements may be distributed in a localized manner or in analternate manner in various implementation manners, and the application is flexible and convenient.[0085] The forgoing embodiment is a scenario that the E-PDCCH of a UE is transmitted through one layer only, andthe embodiment of the present invention may further be applied in a scenario that the E-PDCCH of a UE is transmittedthrough multiple layers. For example, in two-layer transmission for UE 1, UE 1 needs the pilots of two DM RS ports toestimate the channels of two layers, respectively, a DM RS port 7 and a DM RS port 8 may be allocated to UE 1, andif other UEs need to multiplex with UE 1, different DM RS ports may be used for other UEs.[0086] Referring to FIG 11, another embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, including:

a configuration module 1101, configured to preset a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includes at leastone resource block pair, the at least one resource block pair includes enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCHresources and demodulation reference DM RS resources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiple controlchannel elements; anda sending module 1102, configured to send at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one UE in at least one

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control channel element of the preset multiplexing unit, and send a DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE onthe DM RS resources of the preset multiplexing unit,where the at least one resource block pair is a PRG, and the number of resource blocks RBs in the PRG is decidedby system bandwidth.

[0087] In this embodiment, the sending module 1102 may include:

a first sending unit, configured to, when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, send E-PDCCHs corresponding to themultiple UEs in at least two control channel elements in the multiple control channel elements according to time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-fiequency multiplexing.

[0088] Alternatively, the sending module 1102 includes:

a second sending unit, configured to, for each UE in the at least one UE, send an DM RS of the UE on all DM RStime-frequency resources corresponding to a DM RS port allocated to the UE in the preset multiplexing unit; or,send, on the DM RS resources in the resource block pair carrying the E-PDCCH of the UE, the DM RS of the UE.

[0089] In this embodiment, furthermore, the configuration module is further configured to, when the at least one UEis multiple UEs, allocate different DM RS ports to the multiple UEs, or allocate the same DM RS port to at least two UEsin the multiple UEs.[0090] When the configuration module allocates different DM RS ports to the multiple UEs, the sending module 1102may include:

a third sending unit, configured to send the DM RSs of the multiple UEs according to frequency-division multiplexing,code-division multiplexing or frequency-division and code-division multiplexing.

[0091] In this embodiment, when the at least one UE is multiple UEs and DM RS ports are allocated to the multipleUEs, the sending module 1102 may further be configured to: notify the DM RS ports allocated to the multiple UEs to themultiple UEs through radio resource control RRC signaling; or, the configuration module is further configured to: configurea binding relationship between a DM RS port and an allocation pattern of the multiplexing unit in advance, where thebinding relationship is also configured at a UE side.[0092] In this embodiment, the configuration module 1101 may be configured to obtain the multiple control channelelements by dividing the E-PDCCH resources according to time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing,or time-frequency multiplexing.[0093] In this embodiment, the multiplexing unit may be formed by resources other than the PDCCH resources, CRSresources and CSI RS resources in at least one resource block pair.[0094] In this embodiment, the number of control channel elements obtained by dividing from a multiplexing unit, andinformation such as a control channel element and DM RS port mapped by the UE may be notified to the UE by thebase station through signaling, the signaling notification may be an RRC signaling semi-static notification; or, an allocationpattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit may also be bound to a DM RS port, and the bindingrelationship is allocated and configured at the base station side and the UE side, so the base station does not need tonotify the UE again separately.[0095] The base station in this embodiment may be an eNB, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of thepresent invention.[0096] In the base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by dividing a multiplexing unit intomultiple control channel elements, and sending at least one E-PDCCH of at least one UE, for each UE, the granularityof the enhanced, downlink control channel is a control channel element Compared with the granularity of an RB pair inthe prior art, the granularity is reduced, resources are saved, and the downlink control channel is enhanced, therebyproviding more control channels for the UE to use. The multiplexing unit may be divided into multiple control channelelements in time-division multiplexing, of frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing, the multiplecontrol channel elements may be distributed in a localized manner or in an alternate manner in various implementationmanners, and the application is flexible and convenient.[0097] Referring to FIG. 12, another embodiment of the present invention provides a user equipment UE, including:

a receiving module 1201, configured to receive a signal on a multiplexing unit, where the multiplexing unit includesat least one resource block pair, the at least one resource block pair includes enhanced downlink control channelE-PDCCH resources and demodulation reference DM RS resources, and the E-PDCCH resources include multiplecontrol channel elements;

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a channel estimation module 1202, configured to perform channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on themultiplexing unit; anda demodulation module 1203, configured to demodulate the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in themultiplexing unit by using a result of the channel estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH,where the at least one resource block pair is a PRG, and the number of resource blocks RBs in the PRG is decidedby system bandwidth.

[0098] The composition and division of the multiplexing unit involved in this embodiment are the same as the descriptionin the foregoing method embodiments, which are not repeated again herein.[0099] In this embodiment, the UE may obtain the number of control channel elements obtained by dividing from amultiplexing unit and information such as a control channel element and DM RS port mapped by the UE by receivingsignaling, for example, RRC signaling, sent by a base station; or an allocation pattern of the control channel elementsin the multiplexing unit may also be bound to the DM RS port in advance, and the binding relationship is allocated andconfigured at the base station side and the UE side, so the base station does not need to notify the UE again separately.[0100] The UE provided by the embodiment of the present invention receives a signal in the multiplexing unit, usesall DM RS signals to perform channel estimation, and uses the result of channel estimation to demodulate the signalreceived on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexing unit, thereby obtaining the E-PDCCH of the UE. The granularityof the enhanced downlink control channel of the UE is the control channel element. Compared with the prior art, thegranularity is reduced, resources are saved, and the downlink control channel is enhanced, thereby providing morecontrol channels for the UE to use.[0101] Referring to FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a flow chart of another method for sending an enhanced downlink controlchannel according to an embodiment of the present invention. For technical terms in this embodiment, reference maybe made to other embodiments of the present invention. The method for sending an enhanced downlink control channelprovided by this embodiment includes the following steps.[0102] 401: A base station determines at least two PRB pairs in a physical resource block (Physical Resource Block,PRB) pair group, where the at least two PRB pairs used for sending an enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCHand a demodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH.[0103] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, the PRB pair group is formed by multiple continuous PRBpairs; or the PRB pair group is a precoding resource block group PRG, and the number of PRBs in the PRG is decidedby system bandwidth.[0104] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, the E-PDCCH may be an E-PDCCH sent to a UE, or maybe an E-PDCCH broadcasted to multiple UEs.[0105] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, the at least two PRB pairs may be discontinuous PRB pairsor continuous PRB pairs in the PRB pair group. For example, the at least two PRB pairs may be RB pair n and RB pair(n + 1) in FIG. 10e or FIG. 10f, and the E-PDCCH, for example, may be an E-PDCCH of UE 3 whose aggregation levelis 4 and which is sent on eCCE2 to eCCE5.[0106] 402: The base station determines a DM RS port sending the DM RS.[0107] Port numbers of the DM RS ports corresponding to the E-PDCCH in the RB pair n and the RB pair (n + 1) maybe the same or may be different. For example, as shown in FIG. 10f, the DM RS used for demodulating the E-PDCCHtransmitted on eCCE2 to eCCE3 is sent on the DM RS port 9 or 10, and the DM RS used for demodulating the E-PDCCHtransmitted on eCCE4 to eCCE5 is sent on the DM RS port 7 or 8. Reference may be made to the forgoing embodimentsfor other examples, and details are not repeated again herein.[0108] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on a single layer, deter-mining the DM RS port sending the DM RS includes: in each PRB pair of the at least two PRB pairs, determining oneDM RS port; when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, determining the DM RS port sending the DM RS includes:in each PRB pair of the at least two PRB pairs, determining a first DM RS port and a second DM RS port.[0109] 403: The base station precodes the E-PDCCH and the DM RS on the at least two PRB pairs by using the sameprecoding matrix.[0110] Specifically, when an E-PDCCH is transmitted on at least two PRB pairs in a PRB pair group, if the E-PDCCHand the DM RS on the at least two PRB pairs are precoded by using the same precoding matrix, the UE may performjoint channel estimation on the DM RS of the at least two PRB pairs. The joint channel estimation may be: after the DMRS channel is obtained on the at least two PRB pairs and when the channel on the data RE is obtained according tothe channel of the DM RS, not only the DM RS channel on the PRB pair where the RE is located is considered, but alsothe DM RS channels of other PRB pairs are considered. That is, by associating the DM RS channels on the at least twoPRB pairs, the channel of each RE on each PRB pair is obtained.[0111] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, precodingthe DM RS of the demodulation reference DM RS port on the at least two PRB pairs by using the same precoding matrixincludes: precoding a DM RS of a first DM RS port on each PRB pair by using a precoding vector in the precoding matrix;

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and precoding a DM RS of a second DM RS port on each PRB pair by using another precoding vector of the sameprecoding matrix.[0112] 404: A UE receives the E-PDCCH sent by the base station and the DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH inthe at least two PRB pairs.[0113] Optionally, before 404, the step may further include: determining, by the UE, a DM RS port used for receivingthe DM RS on each physical resource block pair in the at least two physical resource block pairs. At this time, 404specifically is: receiving, by the UE, the DM RS on each physical resource block pair of the at least two physical resourceblock pairs by using the determined DM RS port. Port numbers of the DM RS ports used for receiving the DM RS maybe different on the at least two physical resource block pairs.[0114] Furthermore, when the E-PDCCH is in transmitted on a single layer, determining, by the UE, the DM RS portused for receiving the DM RS on each physical resource block pair in at least two physical resource block pairs includes:determining, by the UE, a DM RS port used for receiving the DM RS on each physical resource block pair in at leasttwo physical resource block pairs. When the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, determining, by the UE, the DMRS port used for receiving the DM RS on each physical resource block pair in at least two physical resource block pairsincludes: determining, by the UE, a first DM RS port and a second DM RS port that are used for receiving the DM RSon each physical resource block pair in at least two physical resource block pairs.[0115] 405: The UE precodes the E-PDCCH and the DM RS of the at least two PRB pairs according to the sameprecoding matrix used by the base station, and performs channel estimation on the DM RS of the at least two PRB pairs.[0116] Preferably, the UE may consider that the base station precodes the E-PDCCH and the DM RS on the at leasttwo PRB pairs by using the same precoding matrix, that is, the UE considers that the condition of performing joint channelestimation is satisfied, and performs joint channel estimation on the DM RS of the at least two PRB pairs.[0117] Furthermore, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, precoding, by the UE, the E-PDCCH and theDM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairs according to the same precoding matrix used by the base station,and performing channel estimation on the DM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairs includes: precoding,by the UE, the DM RS of the first DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs according to a precodingvector of the same precoding matrix used by the base station, and performing joint channel estimation on the DM RSreceived by the first DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs, and precoding, by the UE, the DM RSof a second DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs according to another precoding vector of thesame precoding matrix used by the base station and performing joint channel estimation on the DM RS received by thesecond DM RS port on the at least two physical resource block pairs.[0118] Precoding, by the UE, the DM RS of the first DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairsaccording to a precoding vector of the same precoding matrix used by the base station refers to that the UE considersthat the condition of performing joint channel estimation on the DM RS received by the first DM RS port on the at leasttwo physical resource block pairs is satisfied: Precoding, by the UE, the DM RS of the second DM RS port of the at leasttwo physical resource block pairs according to another precoding vector of the same precoding matrix used by the basestation refers to that the UE considers that the condition of performing joint channel estimation on the DM RS receivedby the second DM RS port on the at least two physical resource block pairs is satisfied.[0119] 406: The UE detects, according to a result of the channel estimation, the E-PDCCH at predetermined positionsof the at least two physical resource block pairs.[0120] A predetermined position is the position of the RE where the E-PDCCH is located, and the predeterminedposition is known to both the base station and the UE.[0121] Referring to FIG. 14, FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The base station of this embodiment may implement the method provided by the embodiment correspondingto FIG. 13. Related description in other embodiments is also applicable to the base station in this embodiment. The basestation of this embodiment includes:

a resource determination unit 141, configured to determine at least two physical resource block pairs in a physicalresource block pair group, where the at least two physical resource block pairs are used for sending an enhanceddownlink control channel E-PDCCH and a demodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH; anda precoding unit 142, configured to precode, by using the same precoding matrix, the E-PDCCH and the DM RSon the at least two physical resource block pairs determined by the resource determination unit 141.

[0122] In an implementation manner of this embodiment, the physical resource block pair group is formed by multiplecontinuous physical resource block pairs; or the physical resource block pair group is a precoding resource block groupPRG, and the number of physical resource blocks in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth.[0123] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the base station further includes a port determinationunit 143, configured to determine a DM RS port sending the DM RS, where port numbers of DM RS ports on the at leasttwo physical resource block pairs are different.

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[0124] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on a single layer,the port determination unit 143 is configured to determine a DM RS port on each physical resource block pair of the atleast two physical resource block pairs; when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, the port determination unit143 is configured to determine a first DM RS port and a second DM RS port on each physical resource block pair of theat least two physical resource block pairs.[0125] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, theprecoding unit 142 is configured to precode a DM RS of a first DM RS port on each physical resource block pair by usinga precoding vector in a precoding matrix; and precode a DM RS of a second DM RS port on each physical resourceblock pair by using another precoding vector of the same precoding matrix.[0126] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the at least two physical resource block pairs are twocontinuous physical resource block pairs.[0127] Referring to FIG 15, FIG 15 is a structural diagram of a user equipment UE according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The UE of this embodiment may implement the method provided by the embodiment correspondingto FIG. 13. Related description in other embodiments is also applicable to the user equipment in this embodiment. TheUE in this embodiment includes:

a receiving unit 151, configured to receive an enhanced downlink control channel E-PDCCH sent by a base stationand a demodulation reference DM RS for demodulating the E-PDCCH on at least two physical resource block pairsin a physical resource block pair group;a channel estimation unit 152, configured to precode the E-PDCCH and the DM RS of the at least two physicalresource block pairs according to the same precoding matrix used by the base station, and perform channel estimationon the DM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairs received by the receiving unit 151; anda detection unit 153, configured to detect, according to a result of the channel estimation obtained by the channelestimation unit, the E-PDCCH at predetermined positions of the at least two physical resource block pairs.

[0128] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the channel estimation unit 152 is configured to precodethe E-PDCCH and the DM RS of the at least two physical resource block pairs according to the same precoding matrixused by the base station, and perform joint channel estimation on the DM RS of the at least two physical resource blockpairs received by the receiving unit 151.[0129] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the physical resource block pair is formed by multiplecontinuous physical resource block pairs; or the physical resource block pair group is a precoding resource block groupPRG, and the number of resource blocks RB in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth.[0130] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the UE further includes: a determination unit 154,configured to determine a DM RS port used for receiving a DM RS on each physical resource block pair in at least twophysical resource block pairs; and the receiving unit 151 is configured to receive the DM RS on each physical resourceblock pair in the at least two physical resource block pairs by using the determined DM RS port, where port numbers ofthe DM RS ports used by receiving the DM RS in the at least two physical resource block pairs are different.[0131] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on a single layer,the determination unit 154 is configured to determine a DM RS port used for receiving the DM RS on each physicalresource block pair of the at least two physical resource block pairs; and when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on twolayers, the determination unit 154 is configured to determine a first DM RS port and a second DM RS port that are usedfor receiving the DM RS on each physical resource block pair of the at least two physical resource block pairs.[0132] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, when the E-PDCCH is transmitted on two layers, thechannel estimation unit 152 is configured to precode the DM RS of the first DM RS port of the at least two physicalresource block pairs according to a precoding vector of the same precoding matrix used by the base station, performjoint channel estimation on the DM RS received by the first DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs;precode the DM RS of the second DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs according to anotherprecoding vector of the same precoding matrix used by the base station, and perform joint channel estimation on theDM RS received by the second DM RS port of the at least two physical resource block pairs.[0133] In another implementation manner of this embodiment, the at least two physical resource block pairs are twocontinuous physical resource block pairs.[0134] Referring to FIG. 16, another embodiment of the present invention provides a system for transmitting downlinkcontrol information, including a base station 1301 and a UE 1302, where the base station 1301 may be a base stationin any one of the foregoing embodiments, and the UE 1302 may be a UE in any one of the foregoing embodiments. Inthe system, by dividing a multiplexing unit into multiple control channel elements, and sending at least one E-PDCCHcorresponding to at least one UE, for each UE, the granularity of an enhanced downlink control channel is a controlchannel element. Compared with the granularity of an RB pair in the prior art, the granularity is reduced, resources aresaved, and the downlink control channel is enhanced, thereby providing more control channels for the UE to use. The

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multiplexing unit may be divided into multiple control channel elements in time-division multiplexing, or frequency-divisionmultiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing, the multiple control channel elements may be distributed in a localizedmanner or in an alternate manner in various implementation manners, and the application is flexible and convenient.[0135] Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or a part of the steps of the forgoing embodimentsmay be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware. The programmay be stored in a computer readable storage medium and the storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magneticdisk or an optical disk.[0136] The above description is merely about exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but is not intended tolimit the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for sending an enhanced downlink control channel, comprising:

presetting (101) a multiplexing unit, wherein the multiplexing unit comprises at least one resource block, RB,pair, each resource block pair comprises enhanced physical downlink control channel, E-PDCCH, resourcesand demodulation reference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCH resources comprise multiple control channelelements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit is bound to a DMRS port; andsending (102) at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equipment, UE, in at least one controlchannel element of the preset multiplexing unit, and sending a DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE onthe DM RS resources of the preset multiplexing unit,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG, is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the numberof RBs, in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shownin the following table:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to the at least oneuser equipment UE in the at least one control channel element of the preset multiplexing unit comprises:

when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, sending E-PDCCHs corresponding to the multiple UEs in at least twocontrol channel elements in the multiple control channel elements according to time-division multiplexing, orfrequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE, comprises:

for each UE in the at least one UE, sending the DM RS of the UE on all DM RS time-frequency resourcescorresponding to a DM RS port allocated to the UE in the preset multiplexing unit; or,sending, on the DM RS resources in the resource block pair carrying the E-PDCCH of the UE, the DM RS ofthe UE.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, allocating different DM RS ports to the multiple UEs, or allocating thesame DM RS port to at least two UEs in the multiple UEs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the sending, when different DM RS ports are allocated to the multiple

System bandwidth (Physical Resource Block, PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

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UEs, the DM RS corresponding to the at least one UE, comprises:

sending the DM RSs of the multiple UEs according to frequency-division multiplexing, code-division multiplexingor frequency-division and code-division multiplexing.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

notifying the DM RS ports allocated to the multiple UEs to the multiple UEs through radio resource control RRCsignaling; or,configuring a binding relationship between a DM RS port and an allocation pattern of the multiplexing unit inadvance, wherein the binding relationship is also configured at a UE side.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, whereinthe multiple control channel elements are obtained after the E-PDCCH resources are divided according to time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, whereinthe multiplexing unit is formed by resources other than downlink control channel PDCCH resources, common ref-erence signal CRS resources and channel-state information reference signal CSI RS resources in the at least oneresource block pair.

9. A method for receiving an enhanced downlink control channel, comprising:

receiving (201) a signal on a multiplexing unit, wherein the multiplexing unit comprises at least one resourceblock, RB, pair, each resource block pair comprises enhanced physical downlink control channel E-PDCCHresources and demodulation reference DM RS resources, and the E-PDCCH resources comprise multiplecontrol channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in the multiplexing unit isbound to a DM RS port;performing (202) channel estimation by using all DM RSs received on the multiplexing unit; anddemodulating (203) the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources in the multiplexing unit by using a result ofthe channel estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH;wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the numberof RBs in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shownin the following table:

10. A base station, comprising:

a configuration module (1101), configured to preset a multiplexing unit, wherein the multiplexing unit comprisesat least one resource block, RB, pair, each resource block pair comprises enhanced physical downlink controlchannel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCH resourcescomprise multiple control channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elements in themultiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port; anda sending module (1102), configured to send at least one E-PDCCH corresponding to at least one user equip-ment, UE, in at least one control channel element of the preset multiplexing unit, and send a DM RS correspondingto the at least one UE on the DM RS resources of the preset multiplexing unit,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the numberof RBs, in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;

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wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shownin the following table:

11. The base station according to claim 10, wherein the sending module comprises:

a first sending unit, configured to, when the at least one UE is multiple UEs, send E-PDCCHs correspondingto the multiple UEs in at least two control channel elements in the multiple control channel elements accordingto time-division multiplexing, or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing.

12. The base station according to claim 10, wherein the sending module comprises:

a second sending unit, configured to, for each UE in the at least one UE, send the DM RS of the UE on all DMRS time-frequency resources corresponding to a DM RS port allocated to the UE in the preset multiplexing unit;or, send, on the DM RS resources in the resource block pair carrying the E-PDCCH of the UE, the DM RS ofthe UE.

13. The base station according to claim 10, wherein the configuration module is further configured to: when the at leastone UE is multiple UEs, allocate different DM RS ports to the multiple UEs, or allocate the same DM RS port to atleast two UEs in the multiple UEs.

14. The base station according to claim 13, wherein when the configuration module allocates different DM RS ports tothe multiple UEs, the sending module comprises:

a third sending unit, configured to send the DM RSs of the multiple UEs according to frequency-division multi-plexing, code-division multiplexing or frequency-division and code-division multiplexing.

15. The base station according to claim 13, wherein the sending module is further configured to notify the DM RS portsallocated to the multiple UEs to the multiple UEs through radio resource control RRC signaling; or,the configuration module is further configured to configure a binding relationship between a DM RS port and anallocation pattern of the multiplexing unit in advance, wherein the binding relationship is also configured at a UE side.

16. The base station according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the configuration module is configured to obtainthe multiple control channel elements by dividing the E-PDCCH resources according to time-division multiplexing,or frequency-division multiplexing, or time-frequency multiplexing.

17. A user equipment, UE, comprising:

a receiving module (1201), configured to receive a signal in a multiplexing unit, wherein the multiplexing unitcomprises at least one resource block, RB, pair, each resource block pair comprises enhanced physical downlinkcontrol channel, E-PDCCH, resources and demodulation reference, DM RS, resources, and the E-PDCCHresources comprise multiple control channel elements, and an allocation pattern of the control channel elementsin the multiplexing unit is bound to a DM RS port;a channel estimation module (1202), configured to perform channel estimation by using all DM RSs receivedon the multiplexing unit; anda demodulation module (1203), configured to demodulate the signal received on the E-PDCCH resources inthe multiplexing unit by using a result of the channel estimation, so as to obtain an E-PDCCH,wherein a precoding resource block group, PRG is used as the multiplexing unit for multiplexing, and the numberof RBs, in the PRG is decided by system bandwidth;

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wherein the correspondence between the system bandwidth in RBs and the size of the PRG in RBs is shownin the following table:

18. A system for transmitting downlink control information, wherein the system comprises the base station accordingto any one of claims 10 to 16 and the user equipment UE according to claim 17.

Patentansprüche

1. Verfahren zum Senden eines verbesserten Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanals, das die folgenden Schritte aufweist:

Voreinstellen (101) einer Multiplexeinheit, wobei die Multiplexeinheit mindestens ein Ressourcenblock(RB)-Paar aufweist, jedes Ressourcenblockpaar verbesserte physische Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanal (E-PD-CCH)-Ressourcen und Demodulationsreferenz (DM RS)-Ressourcen aufweist und die E-PDCCH-Ressourcenmehrere Steuerkanalelemente aufweisen, und ein Zuteilungsmuster der Steuerkanalelemente in der Multiple-xeinheit an einen DM RS-Port gebunden ist; undSenden (102) mindestens eines E-PDCCH, der mindestens einer Benutzereinrichtung (UE) entspricht, in min-destens einem Steuerkanalelement der voreingestellten Multiplexeinheit und Senden einer DM RS, die dermindestens einen UE entspricht, auf den DM RS Ressourcen der voreingestellten Multiplexeinheit,wobei eine Vorcodierungsressourcenblockgruppe (PRG) als die Multiplexeinheit zum Multiplexen verwendetwird, und die Anzahl von RBs in der PRG durch die Systembandbreite bestimmt wird;wobei die Entsprechung zwischen der Systembandbreite in RBs und der Größe der PRG in RBs in der folgendenTabelle gezeigt wird:

2. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Senden des mindestens einen E-PDCCH, der der mindestens einen Be-nutzereinrichtung (UE) entspricht, in dem mindestens einen Steuerkanalelement der voreingestellten Multiplexein-heit aufweist:

wenn die mindestens eine UE aus mehreren UEs besteht, Senden von E-PDCCHs, die den mehreren UEsentsprechen, in mindestens zwei Steuerkanalelementen der mehreren Steuerkanalelemente gemäß Zeitmul-tiplexen oder Frequenzmultiplexen oder Zeit-Frequenz-Multiplexen.

3. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Senden der DM RS, die der mindestens einen UE entspricht, aufweist:

für jede UE in der mindestens einen UE, Senden der DM RS der UE auf allen DM RS-Zeit-Frequenz-Ressourcen,die einem DM RS-Port entsprechen, der der UE in der voreingestellten Multiplexeinheit zugeteilt ist; oder,Senden auf den DM RS Ressourcen im Ressourcenblockpaar, das den E-PDCCH der UE befördert, der DMRS der UE.

System bandwidth (Physical Resource Block, PRB) Size of PRG in a multiplexing unit (RB pair)

≤10 1

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64 - 110 2

Systembandbreite (physischer Ressourcenblock, PRB) Größe einer PRG in einer Multiplexeinheit (RB-Paar)

<10 1

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4. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, das ferner aufweist:

wenn die mindestens eine UE aus mehreren UEs besteht, Zuteilen unterschiedlicher DM RS-Ports zu denmehreren UEs oder Zuteilen desselben DM RS-Ports zu mindestens zwei UEs der mehreren UEs.

5. Verfahren nach Anspruch 4, wobei das Senden, wenn unterschiedliche DM RS-Ports den mehreren UEs zugewiesenwerden, der DM RS, die der mindestens einen UE entspricht, aufweist:

Senden der DM RSs der mehreren UEs gemäß Frequenzmultiplexen, Codemultiplexen oder Frequenz- undCodemultiplexen.

6. Verfahren nach Anspruch 4, das ferner aufweist:

Melden der den mehreren UEs zugewiesenen DM RS-Ports an die mehreren UEs durch eine "Radio ResourceControl" (RRC)-Signalisierung; oderKonfigurieren einer Bindungsbeziehung zwischen einem DM RS-Port und einem Zuteilungsmuster der Multip-lexeinheit im Voraus, wobei die Bindungsbeziehung auch auf einer UE-Seite konfiguriert wird.

7. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, wobeidie mehreren Steuerkanalelemente erhalten werden, nachdem die E-PDCCH-Ressourcen gemäß Zeitmultiplexenoder Frequenzmultiplexen oder Zeit-Frequenz-Multiplexen aufgeteilt werden.

8. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, wobeidie Multiplexeinheit durch andere Ressourcen als Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanal (PDCCH)-Ressourcen, gemeinsa-me Referenzsignal (CRS)-Ressourcen und Kanalzustandsinformationsreferenzsignal (CSI RS)-Ressourcen in demmindestens einen Ressourcenblockpaar gebildet wird.

9. Verfahren zum Empfangen eines verbesserten Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanals, das die folgenden Schritte aufweist:

Empfangen (201) eines Signals an einer Multiplexeinheit, wobei die Multiplexeinheit mindestens ein Ressour-cenblock (RB)-Paar aufweist, jedes Ressourcenblockpaar verbesserte physische Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanal(E-PDCCH)-Ressourcen und Demodulationsreferenz (DM RS)-Ressourcen aufweist und die E-PDCCH-Res-sourcen mehrere Steuerkanalelemente aufweisen und ein Zuteilungsmuster der Steuerkanalelemente in derMultiplexeinheit an einen DM RS-Port gebunden ist;Durchführen (202) einer Kanalschätzung durch Verwenden aller DM RSs, die an der Multiplexeinheit empfangenwerden; undDemodulieren (203) des an den E-PDCCH-Ressourcen in der Multiplexeinheit empfangenen Signals durchVerwenden eines Resultats der Kanalschätzung, um einen E-PDCCH zu erhalten;wobei eine Vorcodierungsressourcenblockgruppe (PRG) als die Multiplexeinheit zum Multiplexen verwendetwird und die Anzahl von RBs in der PRG durch die Systembandbreite bestimmt wird;wobei die Entsprechung zwischen der Systembandbreite in RBs und der Größe der PRG in RBs in der folgendenTabelle gezeigt wird:

10. Basisstation, die Folgendes umfasst:

ein Konfigurationsmodul (1101), das konfiguriert ist, eine Multiplexeinheit voreinzustellen, wobei die Multiple-xeinheit mindestens ein Ressourcen (RB)-Blockpaar aufweist, jedes Ressourcenblockpaar verbesserte physi-sche Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanal (E-PDCCH)-Ressourcen und Demodulationsreferenz (DM RS)-Ressourcen

Systembandbreite (physischer Ressourcenblock, PRB) Größe einer PRG in einer Multiplexeinheit (RB-Paar)

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aufweist und die E-PDCCH-Ressourcen mehrere Steuerkanalelemente aufweisen, und ein Zuteilungsmusterder Steuerkanalelemente in der Multiplexeinheit an einen DM RS-Port gebunden ist; undein Sendemodul (1102), das konfiguriert ist, mindestens einen E-PDCCH, der mindestens einer Benutzerein-richtung (UE) entspricht, in mindestens einem Steuerkanalelement der voreingestellten Multiplexeinheit zusenden, und eine DM RS, die der mindestens einen UE entspricht, auf den DM RS Ressourcen der voreinge-stellten Multiplexeinheit zu senden,wobei eine Vorcodierungsressourcenblockgruppe (PRG) als die Multiplexeinheit zum Multiplexen verwendetwird, und die Anzahl von RBs in der PRG durch die Systembandbreite bestimmt wird;wobei die Entsprechung zwischen der Systembandbreite in RBs und der Größe der PRG in RBs in der folgendenTabelle gezeigt wird:

11. Basisstation nach Anspruch 10, wobei das Sendemodul aufweist:

eine erste Sendeeinheit, die konfiguriert ist, wenn die mindestens eine UE aus mehreren UEs besteht, E-PDCCHs, die den mehreren UEs entsprechen, in mindestens zwei Steuerkanalelementen in den mehrerenSteuerkanalelementen gemäß Zeitmultiplexen oder Frequenzmultiplexen oder Zeit-Frequenz-Multiplexen zusenden.

12. Basisstation nach Anspruch 10, wobei das Sendemodul aufweist:

eine zweite Sendeeinheit, die konfiguriert ist, für jede UE in der mindestens einen UE die DM RS der UE aufallen DM RS-Zeit-Frequenz-Ressourcen zu senden, die einem DM RS-Port entsprechen, der der UE in dervoreingestellten Multiplexeinheit zugeteilt ist; oder auf den DM RS Ressourcen im Ressourcenblockpaar, dasden E-PDCCH der UE befördert, die DM RS der UE zu senden.

13. Basisstation nach Anspruch 10, wobei das Konfigurationsmodul ferner konfiguriert ist: wenn die mindestens eineUE aus mehreren UEs besteht, unterschiedliche DM RS-Ports zu den mehreren UEs zuzuteilen oder denselbenDM RS-Port den mindestens zwei UEs in den mehreren UEs zuzuteilen.

14. Basisstation nach Anspruch 13, wobei, wenn das Konfigurationsmodul unterschiedliche DM RS-Ports den mehrerenUEs zuteilt, das Sendemodul aufweist:

eine dritte Sendeeinheit, die konfiguriert ist, die DM RSs der mehreren UEs gemäß Frequenzmultiplexen,Codemultiplexen oder Frequenz- und Codemultiplexen zu senden.

15. Basisstation nach Anspruch 13, wobei das Sendemodul ferner konfiguriert ist, den mehreren UEs zugewiesene DMRS-Ports den mehreren UEs durch eine "Radio Resource Control" (RRC)-Signalisierung zu melden; oder,das Konfigurationsmodul ferner konfiguriert ist, eine Bindungsbeziehung zwischen einem DM RS-Port und einemZuteilungsmuster der Multiplexeinheit im Voraus zu konfigurieren, wobei die Bindungsbeziehung auch auf einerUE-Seite konfiguriert wird.

16. Basisstation nach einem der Ansprüche 10 bis 15, wobei das Konfigurationsmodul konfiguriert ist, die mehrerenSteuerkanalelemente durch Teilen der E-PDCCH-Ressourcen gemäß Zeitmultiplexen oder Frequenzmultiplexenoder Zeit-Frequenz-Multiplexen zu erhalten.

17. Benutzereinrichtung (UE), die Folgendes umfasst:

ein Empfangsmodul (1201), das konfiguriert ist, ein Signal in einer Multiplexeinheit zu empfangen, wobei die

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Multiplexeinheit mindestens ein Ressourcenblock (RB)-Paar aufweist, jedes Ressourcenblockpaar verbessertephysische Abwärtsstrecken-Steuerkanal (E-PDCCH)-Ressourcen und Demodulationsreferenz (DM RS)-Res-sourcen aufweist und die E-PDCCH-Ressourcen mehrere Steuerkanalelemente aufweisen, und ein Zuteilungs-muster der Steuerkanalelemente in der Multiplexeinheit an einen DM RS-Port gebunden ist;ein Kanalschätzungsmodul (1202), das konfiguriert ist, eine Kanalschätzung durch Verwenden aller DM RSsdurchzuführen, die an der Multiplexeinheit empfangen werden; undein Demodulationsmodul (1203), das konfiguriert ist, das an den E-PDCCH-Ressourcen in der Multiplexeinheitempfangene Signal durch Verwenden eines Resultats der Kanalschätzung zu demodulieren, um einen E-PD-CCH zu erhalten,wobei eine Vorcodierungsressourcenblockgruppe (PRG) als die Multiplexeinheit zum Multiplexen verwendetwird und die Anzahl von RBs in der PRG durch die Systembandbreite bestimmt wird;wobei die Entsprechung zwischen der Systembandbreite in RBs und der Größe der PRG in RBs in der folgendenTabelle gezeigt wird:

18. System zum Übertragen von Abwärtsstreckensteuerinformationen, wobei das System die Basisstation nach einemder Ansprüche 10 bis 16 und die Benutzereinrichtung (UE) nach Anspruch 17 aufweist.

Revendications

1. Procédé de transmission d’un canal de commande de liaison descendante amélioré, comprenant les étapessuivantes :

prédéfinir (101) une unité de multiplexage, où l’unité de multiplexage comprend au moins une paire de blocsde ressources, RB, chaque paire de blocs de ressources comprend des ressources de canal de commandede liaison descendante physique amélioré, E-PDCCH, et des ressources de référence de démodulation, DMRS, et les ressources E-PDCCH comprennent plusieurs éléments de canal de commande, et un motif d’allocationdes éléments de canal de commande dans l’unité de multiplexage est lié à un port DM RS ; ettransmettre (102) au moins un canal E-PDCCH correspondant à au moins un équipement utilisateur, UE, dansau moins un élément de canal de commande de l’unité de multiplexage prédéfinie, et transmettre une DM RScorrespondant à l’au moins un UE sur les ressources DM RS de l’unité de multiplexage prédéfinie,où un groupe de blocs de ressources de précodage, PRG, est utilisé comme unité de multiplexage pour mul-tiplexer, et le nombre des RB dans le PRG est décidé par la largeur de bande du système ;où la correspondance entre la largeur de bande du système dans les RB et la taille du PRG dans les RB estreprésentée dans le tableau suivant :

2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la transmission de l’au moins un canal E-PDCCH correspondant à

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l’au moins un équipement utilisateur UE dans l’au moins un élément de canal de commande de l’unité de multiplexageprédéfinie comprend les étapes suivantes :

lorsque l’au moins un UE consiste en plusieurs UE, transmettre des E-PDCCH correspondant aux multiplesUE dans au moins deux éléments de canal de commande dans les multiples éléments de canal de commandeselon un multiplexage par répartition dans le temps, ou un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence, ou unmultiplexage temps-fréquence.

3. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la transmission de la DM RS correspondant à l’au moins un UE,comprend les étapes suivantes :

pour chaque UE de l’au moins un UE, transmettre la DM RS de l’UE sur toutes les ressources temps-fréquenceDM RS correspondant à un port DM RS alloué à l’UE dans l’unité de multiplexage prédéfinie ; outransmettre, sur les ressources DM RS dans la paire de blocs de ressources acheminant le canal E-PDCCHde l’UE, la DM RS de l’UE.

4. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre les étapes suivantes :

lorsque l’au moins un UE consiste en plusieurs UE, allouer différents ports DM RS aux multiples UE, ou allouerle même port DM RS à au moins deux UE dans les multiples UE.

5. Procédé selon la revendication 4, dans lequel la transmission, lorsque différents ports DM RS sont alloués auxmultiples UE, de la DM RS correspondant à l’au moins un UE, comprend l’étape suivante :

transmettre les DM RS des multiples UE selon un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence, un multiplexagepar répartition en code ou un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence et par répartition en code.

6. Procédé selon la revendication 4, comprenant en outre les étapes suivantes :

notifier aux multiples UE les ports DM RS alloués aux multiples UE par l’intermédiaire d’une signalisation decontrôle de ressources radio RRC ; ouconfigurer, à l’avance, une relation de liaison entre un port DM RS et un motif d’allocation de l’unité de multi-plexage, où la relation de liaison est également configurée du côté UE.

7. Procédé selon l’une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, dans lequel les multiples éléments de canal de commandesont obtenus après que les ressources E-PDCCH ont été divisées selon un multiplexage par répartition dans letemps, ou un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence, ou un multiplexage temps-fréquence.

8. Procédé selon l’une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, dans lequel l’unité de multiplexage est formée par desressources autres que des ressources PDCCH de canal de commande de liaison descendante, des ressourcesCRS de signal de référence commun et des ressources CSI RS de signal de référence d’informations d’état decanal dans l’au moins une paire de blocs de ressources.

9. Procédé pour recevoir un canal de commande de liaison descendante amélioré, comprenant les étapes suivantes :

recevoir (201) un signal dans une unité de multiplexage, où l’unité de multiplexage comprend au moins unepaire de blocs de ressources, RB, chaque paire de blocs de ressources comprend des ressources de canal decommande de liaison descendante physique amélioré, E-PDCCH, et des ressources de référence de démo-dulation, DM RS, et les ressources E-PDCCH comprennent plusieurs éléments de canal de commande, et unmotif d’allocation des éléments de canal de commande dans l’unité de multiplexage est lié à un port DM RS ;effectuer (202) une estimation de canal en utilisant toutes les DM RS reçues sur l’unité de multiplexage ; etdémoduler (203) le signal reçu sur les ressources E-PDCCH dans l’unité de multiplexage en utilisant un résultatde l’estimation de canal, de manière à obtenir un E-PDCCH ;où un groupe de blocs de ressources de précodage, PRG, est utilisé comme unité de multiplexage pour mul-tiplexer, et le nombre des RB dans le PRG est décidé par la largeur de bande du système ;où la correspondance entre la largeur de bande du système dans les RB et la taille du PRG dans les RB estreprésentée dans le tableau suivant :

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10. Station de base, comprenant :

un module de configuration (1101), configuré pour prédéfinir une unité de multiplexage, où l’unité de multiplexagecomprend au moins une paire de blocs de ressources, RB, chaque paire de blocs de ressources comprenddes ressources de canal de commande de liaison descendante physique amélioré, E-PDCCH, et des ressourcesde référence de démodulation, DM RS, et les ressources E-PDCCH comprennent plusieurs éléments de canalde commande, et un motif d’allocation des éléments de canal de commande dans l’unité de multiplexage estlié à un port DM RS ; etun module de transmission (1102), configuré pour transmettre au moins un canal E-PDCCH correspondant àau moins un équipement utilisateur, UE, dans au moins un élément de canal de commande de l’unité demultiplexage prédéfinie, et transmettre une DM RS correspondant à l’au moins un UE sur les ressources DMRS de l’unité de multiplexage prédéfinie,où un groupe de blocs de ressources de précodage, PRG, est utilisé comme unité de multiplexage pour mul-tiplexer, et le nombre des RB dans le PRG est décidé par la largeur de bande du système ;où la correspondance entre la largeur de bande du système dans les RB et la taille du PRG dans les RB estreprésentée dans le tableau suivant :

11. Station de base selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle le module de transmission comprend :

une première unité de transmission, configurée pour, lorsque l’au moins un UE consiste en plusieurs UE,transmettre des E-PDCCH correspondant aux multiples UE dans au moins deux éléments de canal de com-mande dans les multiples éléments de canal de commande selon un multiplexage par répartition dans le temps,ou un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence, ou un multiplexage temps-fréquence.

12. Station de base selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle le module de transmission comprend en outre :

une deuxième unité de transmission, configurée, pour chaque UE de l’au moins un UE, pour transmettre le DMRS de l’UE sur toutes les ressources temps-fréquence DM RS correspondant à un port DM RS alloué à l’UEdans l’unité de multiplexage prédéfinie ; ou pour transmettre, sur les ressources DM RS dans la paire de blocsde ressources acheminant le canal E-PDCCH de l’UE, la DM RS de l’UE.

13. Station de base selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle le module de configuration est en outre configuré pour :lorsque l’au moins un UE consiste en plusieurs UE, allouer différents ports DM RS aux multiples UE, ou allouer lemême port DM RS à au moins deux UE dans les multiples UE.

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14. Station de base selon la revendication 13, dans laquelle le module de configuration alloue différents ports DM RSaux multiples UE, le module de transmission comprenant :

une troisième unité de transmission, configurée pour transmettre les DM RS des multiples UE selon un multi-plexage par répartition en fréquence, un multiplexage par répartition en code ou un multiplexage par répartitionen fréquence et par répartition en code.

15. Station de base selon la revendication 13, dans laquelle le module de transmission est en outre configuré pournotifier aux multiples UE les ports DM RS alloués aux multiples UE par l’intermédiaire d’une signalisation de contrôlede ressources radio RRC ; oule module de configuration est en outre configuré pour configurer, à l’avance, une relation de liaison entre un portDM RS et un motif d’allocation de l’unité de multiplexage, où la relation de liaison est également configurée du côté UE.

16. Station de base selon l’une quelconque des revendications 10 à 15, dans laquelle le module de configuration estconfiguré pour obtenir les multiples éléments de canal de commande en divisant les ressources E-PDCCH selonun multiplexage par répartition dans le temps, ou un multiplexage par répartition en fréquence, ou un multiplexagetemps-fréquence.

17. Équipement utilisateur, UE, comprenant :

un module de réception (1201), configuré pour recevoir un signal dans une unité de multiplexage, où l’unité demultiplexage comprend au moins une paire de blocs de ressources, RB, chaque paire de blocs de ressourcescomprend des ressources de canal de commande de liaison descendante physique amélioré, E-PDCCH, etdes ressources de référence de démodulation, DM RS, et les ressources E-PDCCH comprennent plusieurséléments de canal de commande, et un motif d’allocation des éléments de canal de commande dans l’unité demultiplexage est lié à un port DM RS;un module d’estimation de canal (1202), configuré pour effectuer une estimation de canal en utilisant toutesles DM RS reçues sur l’unité de multiplexage ; etun module de démodulation (1203), configuré pour démoduler le signal reçu sur les ressources E-PDCCH dansl’unité de multiplexage en utilisant un résultat de l’estimation de canal, de manière à obtenir un E-PDCCH,où un groupe de blocs de ressources de précodage, PRG, est utilisé comme unité de multiplexage pour mul-tiplexer, et le nombre des RB dans le PRG est décidé par la largeur de bande du système ;où la correspondance entre la largeur de bande du système dans les RB et la taille du PRG dans les RB estreprésentée dans le tableau suivant :

18. Système pour transmettre des informations de commande de liaison descendante, où le système comprend lastation de base selon l’une quelconque des revendications 10 à 16, et l’équipement utilisateur UE selon la reven-dication 17.

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REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader’s convenience only. It does not form part of the Europeanpatent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot beexcluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description

• WO 2011085195 A [0008]