Method, apparatus and system for estimating channels
A method, an apparatus and a system for estimating channels are disclosed. A method for estimating channels includes: receiving, by a User Equipment (UE), downlink signals sent by two or more Access Points (APs), wherein no common reference signal is comprised in any data channel symbol domain except a preset symbol domain in the downlink signals; and performing, by the UE, channel estimation according to the downlink signals. The technical solution disclosed herein eliminates the interference between the reference signal and the data signal, enables the UE to estimate the channel value between the UE and the cooperative APs accurately, and improves the UE performance.
1. A channel estimation method, comprising:
receiving, by a User Equipment (UE), a downlink signal sent by a first Access Point (AP), wherein a first common reference signal is sent by the first AP in a preset symbol domain in the downlink signal, and data signals from the first AP are excluded from being sent in a specific time-frequency lattice of the preset symbol domain designated for utilization by a second AP for sending a second common reference signal;
receiving, by the UE, the second common reference signal; and
performing, by the UE, channel estimation according to the first common reference signal and the second common reference signal.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the preset symbol domain is configured to be occupied by a control channel.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downlink signal includes a control channel symbol domain and a data channel symbol domain, and if the control channel symbol domain is smaller than the preset symbol domain, the preset symbol domain includes data channel symbols.
4. A channel estimation apparatus, comprising:
a receiver, configured to:
receive a first downlink signal sent by a first Access Point (AP), including a first common reference signal sent in a preset symbol domain in the first downlink signal; and
receive a second downlink signal sent by a second AP, including a second common reference signal sent in a preset symbol domain in the second downlink signal; and
an estimating unit, configured to perform channel estimation according to the first common reference signal and the second common reference signal, wherein the estimating unit further comprises:
a first estimating unit, configured to regard a data signal in each of the first downlink signal and the second downlink signal as an interference signal against the channel estimation;
a second estimating unit, configured to estimate the interference signal; and
a third estimating unit, configured to eliminate the interference signal from each of the first downlink signal and the second downlink signal according to a result of estimating the interference signal.
5. A channel estimation apparatus, comprising:
a receiver, configured to:
receive a downlink signal sent by a first Access Point (AP), wherein a first common reference signal is sent by the first AP in a preset symbol domain in the downlink signal, and data signals are excluded from being sent in a specific time-frequency lattice of the preset symbol domain in the downlink signal, the specific time-frequency lattice of the preset symbol domain being designated for utilization by a second AP for sending a second common reference signal;
receive the second common reference signal; and
an estimating unit, configured to perform channel estimation according to the first common reference signal and the second common reference signal.
6. The channel estimation apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the downlink signal includes a control channel symbol domain and a data channel symbol domain, and if the control channel symbol domain is smaller than the preset symbol domain, the preset symbol domain includes data channel symbols.