Narrowband transmission with finer-grained reservation of resources

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for narrowband transmission with finer-grained reserved resources. A method, performable by a user equipment (UE), includes receiving a configuration indicating first resource elements (REs) in a subframe that are reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; determining, based on the configuration, second resource elements (REs) in the subframe for use in a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and processing the NRS on the second resource elements in the subframe.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for transmitting a narrowband reference signal (NRS) in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions and for processing the NRS in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, and the like). Examples of such multiple-access systems include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

[0003] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at municipal, national, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (e.g., 5G NR) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0004] However, as demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements are needed in NR and LTE technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that adopt them. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The systems, methods and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the disclosure as expressed by the claims that follow, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," one will understand how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages, including improved coexistence of narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications with new radio (NR) communications, including improved channel estimation by NB-IoT devices and more efficient use of transmission resources. Advantages provided also include improved coexistence of long term evolution (LTE) machine type communications (MTC) with new radio (NR) communications, including improved channel estimation by LTE-MTC devices and more efficient use of transmission resources.

[0006] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes receiving a configuration indicating first resource elements (REs) in a subframe that are reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; determining, based on the configuration, second resource elements (REs) in the subframe for use in a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and processing the NRS on the second resource elements in the subframe.

[0007] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a base station (BS). The method generally includes: transmitting a configuration indicating first resource elements (REs) in a subframe that are reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; determining, based on the configuration, a second resource element (RE) in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and transmitting the NRS on the second resource element (RE) in the subframe.

[0008] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes receiving a configuration indicating first resource elements (REs) in a subframe that are reserved for use for machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; determining, based on the configuration, second resource elements (REs) in the subframe for use for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and processing the DMRS on the second resource elements (REs) in the subframe.

[0009] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a base station (BS). The method generally includes: transmitting a configuration indicating first resource elements (REs) in a subframe that are reserved for use for machine type communication (MTC) transmission; determining, based on the configuration, second resource elements (REs) in the subframe for use for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and transmitting the DMRS on the second resource elements (REs) in the subframe.

[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure provide components, devices, processors, and computer-readable media for performing the methods described herein.

[0011] To accomplish the foregoing and related ends, one or more aspects include the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are indicative of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order that the manner in which the above-described features of the present disclosure may be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating designs of example base stations (BSs) and user equipment (UEs), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 3 An example subframe configuration according to previously known techniques is shown.

[0016] Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications by a UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications by a BS, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications by a UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wireless communications by a BS, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 are example subframe configurations in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 are example subframe configurations in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 are example subframe configurations in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 11 are example subframe configurations in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 12 shows that it may include a Figure 4 and Figure 6 The operation of the various components of a communications device is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 13 shows that it may include a Figure 5 and Figure 7 The operation of the various components of the communication device is shown.

[0026] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specific recitation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for improving the coexistence of narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications with new radio (NR) communications, including improving channel estimation performed by NB-IoT devices and more efficiently using transmission resources. In previously known technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, subframe-level resource reservation is supported for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications or for LTE machine type communications (LTE-MTC). That is, the valid subframes for NB-IoT transmission in an LTE communication system can be indicated by a bitmap, and other subframes are considered to be reserved for non-NB-IoT communications. Similarly, the valid subframes for MTC transmission in an LTE communication system can be indicated by a bitmap, and other subframes are considered to be reserved for non-MTC communications. Depending on the deployment mode of the communication system, the bitmap can have a size of 10 milliseconds or 40 milliseconds. Various aspects of the present disclosure can enable NR communication systems to coexist with NB-IoT communications or LTE-MTC communications while using finer-grained resource reservation, such as symbol-level or slot-level resource reservation for NB-IoT communications or for LTE-MTC communications. In an NR communication system that supports finer-grained resource reservation, NB-IoT transmission or LTE-MTC transmission may occur in only a portion of a subframe, rather than the entire subframe as in previously known techniques. In some cases, allowing finer-grained reservation may be useful when NR uses a different parameter set than NB-IoT communication or LTE-MTC communication, such as the 30kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) that NR may occasionally use. In addition, when using previously known subframe-level resource reservation techniques, NB-IoT transmission is not allowed in a subframe in which one of the associated two time slots is used for uplink (UL) and the other time slot is used for downlink (DL).

[0028] In various aspects of the present disclosure, when finer-grained resource reservation is configured, narrowband transmissions on the reserved resources (such as narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH), narrowband physical downlink shared channel (NPDSCH), or long-term evolution machine type communication (LTE-MTC) transmissions) are dropped (i.e., not sent). Various aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for determining whether narrowband reference signals (NRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS) are also dropped if the reserved resources include symbols allocated for transmitting NRS or DMRS.

[0029] According to aspects of the present disclosure, in a typical DL subframe, NRS is sent in symbols 5, 6, 12 and 13 on certain subcarriers. That is, the resource elements (REs) used for NRS appear in symbols 5, 6, 12 and 13 of a typical DL subframe. When one or more NRS symbols (i.e., symbols 5, 6, 12 or 13 in a typical DL subframe) are configured as reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT DL transmission, puncturing NRS on those reserved resources means a significant change to the DL channel estimation based on NRS. For example, the UE can support DL channel estimation based on 2, 4 or 6 NRS REs in a subframe so as to accurately estimate the channel according to the number of available NRS symbols in the subframe. In addition, in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, puncturing NRS may significantly degrade communication performance, in which case channel estimation has a great impact on communication performance.

[0030] The following description provides an example of narrowband transmission with finer-grained reserved resources in a communication system and does not limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. The functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples may omit, replace, or add various processes or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus or method may be implemented using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover an apparatus or method that is implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or in addition to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other aspects.

[0031] In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. RAT can also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency can also be referred to as carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, frequency tone, subband, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, 5G NR RAT networks can be deployed.

[0032] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 is shown in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example, the wireless communication network 100 may be a NR system (e.g., a 5G NR network).

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication network 100 may include multiple base stations (BSs) 110a-z (each base station also individually referred to as BS 110 herein, or collectively referred to as BS 110) and other network entities. BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area (sometimes referred to as a "cell"), which may be fixed or may move based on the location of mobile BS 110. In some examples, BS 110 may be interconnected to each other and / or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 via various types of backhaul interfaces (e.g., direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.) using any suitable transport network. Figure 1 In the illustrated example, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x may be a pico BS for pico cell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BSs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one or more cells. BS 110 communicates with user equipment (UEs) 120a-y (each also referred to herein individually as UE 120 or collectively as UEs 120) in wireless communication network 100. UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile.

[0034] According to certain aspects, BS 110 and UE 120 may be configured to transmit or process narrowband reference signals (NRS) in subframes having resources reserved for use with narrowband transmissions. Figure 1As shown, BS 110a includes NB TX 112 with a fine reservation resource manager. According to aspects of the present disclosure, NB TX 112 with a fine reservation resource manager can be configured to receive a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmission; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and process the NRS on the second RE in the subframe. In some examples, NB TX112 with a fine reservation resource manager can receive a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for machine type communication (MTC) transmission; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and process the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe. As Figure 1 As shown, UE 120a includes NB TX 122 with a fine-grained reservation resource manager. According to aspects of the present disclosure, NB TX 122 with a fine-grained reservation resource manager can be configured to receive a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and process the NRS on the second RE in the subframe. In some examples, NB TX 122 with a fine-grained reservation resource manager can send a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and send the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe.

[0035] The wireless communication network 100 may also include a relay station (e.g., relay station 110r), also known as a relay, etc., which receives transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., BS 110a or UE 120r) and sends transmissions of data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., UE 120 or BS 110), or relays transmissions between UEs 120 to facilitate communication between devices.

[0036] A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs 110 and provide coordination and control for these BSs 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may also communicate with each other (eg, directly or indirectly) via a wireless or wired backhaul.

[0037] Figure 2 BS 110a and UE 120a are shown (e.g., Figure 1 Example components of the wireless communication network 100 of FIG. 1 , which may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

[0038] At BS 110a, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 and control information from a controller / processor 240. The control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), or the like. Data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or the like. The processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols, such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​the data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols (if applicable), and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a-232t. Each modulator 232 can process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator can further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from modulators 232a-232t can be transmitted via antennas 234a-234t, respectively.

[0039] At UE 120a, antennas 252a-252r may receive downlink signals from BS 110a and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 254a-254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators 254a-254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120a to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 280.

[0040] On the uplink, at UE 120a, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 (e.g., for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from a controller / processor 280 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., for a sounding reference signal (SRS)). If applicable, the symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266, further processed by a demodulator in transceivers 254a-254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to BS 110a. At BS 110a, the uplink signal from UE 120a may be received by antenna 234, processed by modulator 232, detected by MIMO detector 236, if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 120a. The receive processor 238 may provide decoded data to a data sink 239 and decoded control information to a controller / processor 240 .

[0041] Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110a and UE 120a, respectively.A scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0042] The controller / processor 280 and / or other processors and modules at the UE 120a may perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniques described herein. Figure 2 As shown, the controller / processor 240 of BS 110a has an NB TX 241 with a fine reservation resource manager, which can be configured to send a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions in accordance with various aspects described herein; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and send the NRS on the second RE in the subframe. According to various aspects described herein, the NB TX 241 with a fine reservation resource manager can also be configured to send a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and send the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe. Figure 2As shown, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120a has an NBTX 281 with a fine-grained reservation resource manager, which, in accordance with various aspects described herein, can be configured to receive a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS); and process the NRS on the second RE in the subframe. According to various aspects described herein, the NBTX 281 with the fine-grained reservation resource manager can also be configured to receive a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; based on the configuration, determine a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); and process the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe. Although shown at the controller / processor, the operations described herein can be performed using other components of UE 120a and BS 110a.

[0043] As described above, in previously known technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, subframe-level resource reservation is supported for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications or for LTE machine type communications (LTE-MTC). That is, the valid subframes for NB-IoT transmission in the LTE communication system can be indicated by a bitmap, and the other subframes are considered to be reserved for non-NB-IoT communications. Similarly, the valid subframes for MTC transmission in the LTE communication system can be indicated by a bitmap, and the other subframes are considered to be reserved for non-MTC communications. Depending on the deployment mode of the communication system, the bitmap can have a size of 10 milliseconds or 40 milliseconds. Various aspects of the present disclosure can enable NR communication systems to coexist with NB-IoT communications or LTE-MTC communications while using finer-grained resource reservation, such as symbol-level or slot-level resource reservation for NB-IoT communications or for LTE-MTC communications. In NR communication systems that support finer-grained resource reservation, NB-IoT transmission or LTE-MTC transmission can occur only in a portion of a subframe, rather than in the entire subframe as in previously known technologies. In some cases, it may be useful to allow finer-grained reservations when NR uses a different set of parameters than NB-IoT communications or LTE-MTC communications, such as the 30kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) that NR may occasionally use. In addition, when using previously known subframe-level resource reservation techniques, NB-IoT transmissions are not allowed in subframes where one of the two associated time slots is used for uplink (UL) and the other time slot is used for downlink (DL).

[0044] In various aspects of the present disclosure, when finer-grained resource reservation is configured, narrowband transmissions on the reserved resources (such as narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH), narrowband physical downlink shared channel (NPDSCH), or long-term evolution machine type communication (LTE-MTC) transmissions) are dropped (i.e., not sent). Various aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for determining whether narrowband reference signals (NRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS) are also dropped if the reserved resources include symbols allocated for transmitting NRS or DMRS.

[0045] Figure 3 Example subframe configurations 300, 320, 340, and 360 according to previously known techniques are shown. As shown in subframe configuration 300, in a typical DL subframe, an NRS is transmitted in the sixth and seventh symbols of each time slot at 302, 304, 306, and 308 on certain subcarriers. That is, the resource elements (REs) used for the NRS occur in the sixth and seventh symbols of each time slot in a typical DL subframe. In a special subframe (SSF), which occurs between a downlink subframe and an uplink subframe in a time division duplex (TDD) communication system, some symbols are not used for DL ​​transmission, so the NRS is transmitted in other symbols of the SSF subframe. As shown in subframe configuration 320, for SSF configurations #3, #4, and #8, the NRS is transmitted in the third and fourth symbols of each time slot at 322, 324, 326, and 328. As shown in subframe configuration 340, for SSF configurations #9 and #10, an NRS is transmitted in the third and fourth symbols of the first time slot at 342 and 344. As shown in subframe configuration 360, for SSF configurations #1, #2, #6, and #7, an NRS is transmitted in the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 362 and 364. For SSF configurations #0 and #5 (not shown), no NRS is transmitted.

[0046] When one or more NRS symbols (i.e., symbols 5, 6, 12, or 13 in a typical DL subframe) are configured as reserved resources not used for NB-IoT DL transmission, puncturing NRS on those reserved resources means a significant change to the DL channel estimation based on NRS. For example, the UE can support DL channel estimation based on 2, 4, or 6 NRS REs in a subframe to accurately estimate the channel based on the number of available NRS symbols in the subframe. In addition, in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, puncturing NRS may significantly degrade communication performance, in which case channel estimation has a great impact on communication performance.

[0047] Therefore, what are needed are techniques and apparatus for sending narrowband reference signals (NRS) in subframes having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions and for processing NRS in subframes having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions.

[0048] Example of narrowband transmission with finer-grained reservation of resources

[0049] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques and apparatus for sending a narrowband reference signal (NRS) in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions and for processing the NRS in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for narrowband transmissions.

[0050] Figure 4 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 400 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 400 may be performed, for example, by a UE (e.g., UE 120a in wireless communication network 100). Operations 400 may be implemented as a process on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Furthermore, the signals sent and received by the UE in operation 400 may be transmitted by, for example, one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the UE may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (eg, controller / processor 280) that obtain and / or output signals.

[0051] Operations 400 may begin at block 405 with the UE receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved from use for narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) transmissions.

[0052] Operations 400 continue at block 410 with the UE determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration.

[0053] Operations 415 continue at block 415 with the UE processing the NRS on a second RE in the subframe.

[0054] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 4 4 (as shown in box 410 of ) may include determining one or more of the first REs as second REs, and the UE may ignore downlink NB-IoT transmissions other than NRS in the same symbol period as the second RE.

[0055] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 4 4) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS, and determining that there are zero NRSs in the subframe based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the NRS. Processing the NRS on the second RE (i.e., as Figure 4 4 (shown in block 415 of ) may include avoiding estimating the channel based on zero NRS in the subframe.

[0056] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 4 4) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS in a slot of a subframe, and determining that there is zero NRS in the slot based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for an NRS in the slot. Processing the NRS on the second RE (i.e., as Figure 4 4 (shown in block 415 of ) may include avoiding estimating the channel based on zero NRS in a time slot.

[0057] In aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 4 410) can be based on the time domain position of the first RE.

[0058] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 4The method of determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot, or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in another time slot in the first time slot and the second time slot. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe. Processing the NRS on the second RE includes avoiding estimating the channel based on the zero second RE.

[0059] In various aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performing operation 400 may receive one or more repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) or a narrowband physical downlink shared channel (NPDSCH) transmission in a subframe and a subsequent subframe. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the UE may then determine, based on a default NRS configuration, a third RE for the subframe and the subsequent subframe for the NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission, wherein the NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

[0060] Figure 5 5 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 500 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 500 may be performed, for example, by a BS (e.g., BS 110a in wireless communication network 100). Operations 500 may be complementary operations to operations 400 performed by a UE for a BS. Operations 500 may be implemented as a process on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Furthermore, the signals sent and received by the BS in operation 500 may be transmitted by, for example, one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In some aspects, transmission and / or reception of signals by the BS may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (eg, controller / processor 240) that obtain and / or output signals.

[0061] Operations 500 may begin at block 505 with the BS sending a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved from use for narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) transmissions.

[0062] Operations 500 continue at block 510 by the BS determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration.

[0063] At block 515, operations 500 continue with the BS transmitting an NRS on a second RE in the subframe.

[0064] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the second RE is determined (i.e., as described above in Figure 5 The BS may include determining one or more of the first REs as the second REs. The BS may then discard downlink NB-IoT transmissions other than the NRS scheduled in the same symbol period as the second REs.

[0065] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, as described above in Figure 55) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS, and determining that there are zero NRSs in the subframe based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the NRS.

[0066] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the second RE is determined (i.e., as described above in Figure 5 ) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS in a time slot of a subframe, and determining that there is zero NRS in the time slot based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the NRS in the time slot.

[0067] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, as described above in Figure 5) may be based on the time domain position of the first RE. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may include: when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe, determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. In aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot, or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe.

[0068] In various aspects of the present disclosure, a BS performing operation 500 may transmit one or more repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) or a narrowband physical downlink shared channel (NPDSCH) transmission in a subframe and subsequent subframes. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the BS may then determine, based on a default NRS configuration, a third RE for the subframe and subsequent subframes for NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission, wherein the transmission of the NB-PDCCH or NB-PDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

[0069] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques and apparatus for transmitting a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for MTC transmissions and for processing the DMRS in a subframe having resources reserved from being used for MTC transmissions.

[0070] Figure 6 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 600 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 600 may be performed, for example, by a UE (e.g., UE 120a in wireless communication network 100). Operations 600 may be implemented as a process on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Furthermore, the signals sent and received by the UE in operation 600 may be transmitted by one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the UE may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (eg, controller / processor 280) that obtain and / or output signals.

[0071] Operations 600 may begin at block 605 with the UE receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved from use for machine type communication (MTC) transmission.

[0072] Operations 600 continue at block 610 with the UE determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration.

[0073] Operations 615 continue at block 615 with the UE processing the DMRS on a second RE in the subframe.

[0074] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 6 6) may include determining one or more of the first REs as second REs, and the UE may ignore downlink MTC transmissions other than DMRS in the same symbol period as the second REs.

[0075] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 6 Processing the DMRS on the second RE (i.e., as shown in block 610 of FIG. 5 ) may include determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS, and determining that there is zero DMRS in the subframe based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the DMRS. Figure 6 615) may include ignoring MTC transmissions in the subframe.

[0076] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 6 ) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS in a time slot of a subframe, and determining that there is zero DMRS in the time slot based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the DMRS in the time slot. Processing the DMRS on the second RE (i.e., as Figure 6 6) may include receiving an MTC transmission in the time slot of the subframe and the other time slot based on a DMRS in another time slot of the subframe.

[0077] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 6 610) can be based on the time domain position of the first RE.

[0078] According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, Figure 6The method of determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot, or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe. Processing the DMRS on the second RE may include ignoring MTC transmissions in the subframe.

[0079] In various aspects of the present disclosure, a UE performing operation 600 may receive one or more repetitions of an MTC physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or an MTC physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission in a subframe and a subsequent subframe. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the UE may then determine, based on a default DMRS configuration, a third RE for the subframe and the subsequent subframe for MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH transmission, wherein the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH transmission in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

[0080] Figure 7 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 700 for wireless communication in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operations 700 may be performed, for example, by a BS (e.g., BS 110a in wireless communication network 100). Operations 700 may be complementary operations to operations 600 performed by a UE for a BS. Operations 700 may be implemented as a process on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Furthermore, the signals sent and received by the BS in operation 700 may be transmitted by, for example, one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 2 In some aspects, transmission and / or reception of signals by the BS may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (eg, controller / processor 240) that obtain and / or output signals.

[0081] Operations 700 may begin at block 705 with the BS sending a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved from use for machine type communication (MTC) transmission.

[0082] Operations 700 continue at block 710 by the BS determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration.

[0083] At block 715, operations 700 continue with the BS transmitting a DMRS on a second RE in the subframe.

[0084] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the second RE is determined (i.e., as described above in Figure 7 The BS may include determining one or more of the first REs as the second REs. The BS may then discard downlink NB-IoT transmissions other than the DMRS scheduled in the same symbol period as the second REs.

[0085] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, as described above in Figure 77 ) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS, and determining that there is zero DMRS in the subframe based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the DMRS.

[0086] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the second RE is determined (i.e., as described above in Figure 7 ) may include determining that a first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS in a time slot of a subframe, and determining that there is zero DMRS in the time slot based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the DMRS in the time slot.

[0087] In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE (ie, as described above in Figure 77 (described in block 710 of ) may be based on the time domain position of the first RE. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may include: when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe, determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. In aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may further include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot, or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. In various aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot, the fourth symbol in the first time slot, the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; and when the first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; determining that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot, but not in the other of the first time slot and the second time slot. According to aspects of the present disclosure, determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE may also include: when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and when the first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe.

[0088] In various aspects of the present disclosure, a BS performing operation 700 may transmit one or more repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) or a narrowband physical downlink shared channel (NPDSCH) transmission in a subframe and subsequent subframes. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the BS may then determine, based on a default DMRS configuration, a third RE for the subframe and subsequent subframes for NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission, wherein the transmission of the NB-PDCCH or NB-PDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

[0089] According to aspects of the present disclosure, three techniques are provided for NRS or DMRS transmission and NRS or DMRS processing in subframes with finer granularity reserved resources.

[0090] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, NRS is sent in the same REs as NRS in subframes without finer granularity reserved resources. In this technique, DL transmissions other than NRS on reserved resources are dropped.

[0091] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, DMRS is transmitted in the same REs as DMRS in subframes without finer granularity reserved resources. In this technique, DL transmissions other than DMRS on the reserved resources are dropped.

[0092] Figure 8 800 is an example subframe configuration according to aspects of the present disclosure. In the example subframe configuration 800, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 802 and 804 are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmissions. Other resources shown in white at 812 and 814 are not reserved and can be used for NB-IoT transmissions, such as NPDCCH and NPDSCH. On certain subcarriers, such as in subframes without finer granularity reserved resources, NRS are sent in the sixth and seventh symbols of each time slot at 802, 804, 806, and 808, as discussed in the embodiments above (see also Figure 3 Example subframe configuration 300 in FIG. 3 ). Although Figure 8 It is shown with NRS and discussed with respect to NPDCCH or NPDSCH, but it also applies to DMRS and MTC transmissions. That is, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 802 and 804 can be considered as reserved resources that are not used for MTC transmissions. The other resources shown in white at 812 and 814 are not reserved and can be considered as available for MTC transmissions, such as MTC PDCCH and MTC PDSCH. DMRS can be sent in the sixth and seventh symbols of each time slot at 802, 804, 806 and 808 on certain subcarriers, such as in subframes without finer granularity reserved resources, as discussed in the embodiments above (see also Figure 3 Example subframe configuration 300 in ).

[0093] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the reserved resources include one or more NRS symbols, no NRS transmission is performed in the subframe. Therefore, due to the lack of NRS, a UE receiving the subframe will not estimate a narrowband channel based on the subframe.

[0094] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the reserved resources include one or more DMRS symbols, no DMRS transmission is performed in the subframe. Therefore, due to the lack of DMRS, a UE receiving the subframe will ignore the MTC transmission in the subframe.

[0095] Figure 9 is an example subframe configuration 900 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In the example subframe configuration 900, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 902 and 904 are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmission. Other resources shown in white at 912 and 914 are not reserved and can be used for NB-IoT transmission, such as NPDCCH and NPDSCH. As described in the above embodiments, because NRS is scheduled in the reserved resources, NRS is not sent in the example subframe configuration. Although Figure 9 This is shown with NRS and discussed with respect to NPDCCH or NPDSCH, but it also applies to DMRS and MTC transmissions. That is, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 902 and 904 can be considered as reserved resources that are not used for MTC transmissions. The other resources shown in white at 912 and 914 are not reserved and can be considered as available for MTC transmissions, such as MTC PDCCH and MTCPDSCH. As described in the above embodiment, because DMRS is scheduled in the reserved resources, DMRS is not transmitted in the example subframe configuration, and due to the lack of DMRS, the UE receiving the subframe will ignore the MTC transmission in the subframe.

[0096] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the reserved resources in a time slot of a subframe include one or more NRS symbols, then no NRS is transmitted in the time slot of the subframe. Therefore, due to the lack of an NRS in that time slot, a UE receiving the subframe will not estimate the narrowband channel based on the time slot lacking the NRS. If another time slot of the subframe contains an NRS, the UE can still estimate the narrowband channel based on that other time slot.

[0097] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the reserved resources in a time slot of a subframe include one or more DMRS symbols, no DMRS transmission is performed in that time slot. Therefore, if another time slot of the subframe includes DMRS, a UE receiving the subframe can receive MTC transmissions in that time slot and the other time slot of the subframe.

[0098] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the NRS may be configurable, depending on which OFDM symbols in a subframe are available for NB-IoT transmission (i.e., not reserved for non-NB-IoT transmission). In some of these embodiments, if the sixth and seventh symbols of both time slots are available, the NRS is sent on the sixth and seventh symbols of both time slots. Otherwise, if the third and fourth symbols of both time slots are available, the NRS is sent on the third and fourth symbols of both time slots. Otherwise, if the sixth and seventh symbols of a time slot are available, the NRS is sent on the sixth and seventh symbols of that time slot and not in the other time slot. Otherwise, if the third and fourth symbols of a time slot are available, the NRS is sent on the third and fourth symbols of that time slot and not in the other time slot. Otherwise, the NRS is not sent in the subframe.

[0099] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, DMRS may be configurable, depending on which OFDM symbols in a subframe are available for MTC transmission (i.e., not reserved for non-MTC transmission). In some of these embodiments, if the sixth and seventh symbols of both time slots are available, DMRS are transmitted on the sixth and seventh symbols of both time slots. Otherwise, if the third and fourth symbols of both time slots are available, DMRS are transmitted on the third and fourth symbols of both time slots. Otherwise, if the sixth and seventh symbols of a time slot are available, DMRS are transmitted on the sixth and seventh symbols of that time slot and not in the other time slot. Otherwise, if the third and fourth symbols of a time slot are available, DMRS are transmitted on the third and fourth symbols of that time slot and not in the other time slot. Otherwise, DMRS is not transmitted in the subframe.

[0100] Figure 10 is an example subframe configuration 1000 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In the example subframe configuration 1000, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 1002 and 1004 are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmission. Other resources shown in white at 1022 and 1024 are not reserved and can be used for NB-IoT transmission, such as NPDCCH and NPDSCH. As described in the above embodiment, because the sixth and seventh symbols in the first time slot are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmission, NRS is not sent in these symbols. Also as described in the above embodiment, because the third and fourth symbols of the two time slots are not reserved resources, NRS is sent in the third and fourth symbols of each time slot at 1012, 1014, 1016 and 1018. Although Figure 10It is shown with NRS and discussed with respect to NPDCCH or NPDSCH, but it also applies to DMRS and MTC transmissions. That is, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 1002 and 1004 can be considered as reserved resources that are not used for MTC transmission. The other resources shown in white at 1022 and 1024 are not reserved and can be considered as available for MTC transmission, such as MTCPDCCH and MTC PDSCH. As described in the above embodiment, because the sixth and seventh symbols in the first time slot are reserved resources that are not used for MTC transmission, DMRS is not sent in these symbols. Also as described in the above embodiment, because the third and fourth symbols of the two time slots are not reserved resources, DMRS can be sent in the third and fourth symbols of each time slot at 1012, 1014, 1016 and 1018.

[0101] According to aspects of the present disclosure, for NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmitted with repetition or cyclic repetition, RE mapping in subframes with finer granularity reserved resources is based on the following to support coherent combining across subframes with and without finer granularity reserved resources:

[0102] 1) The resource mapping in a subframe with partial resources (i.e., a subframe with some reserved resources) is the same as the resource mapping in a typical DL subframe without reserved resources, and the partial NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission mapped to the reserved resources is punctured; i.e., the reserved resources are counted but not used for RE mapping.

[0103] 2) Because different NRS patterns may be used in subsequent typical DL subframes that transmit repetitions of NPDCCH or NPDSCH, REs that transmit NRS in typical DL subframes are not used for RE mapping, and REs containing NRS in subframes with partial resources are counted but not used for RE mapping. That is, NRS in subframes with partial resources punctures the NPDCCH or NPDSCH on those REs.

[0104] 3) Count the number of times NPDSCH or NPDCCH is repeated, and count the subframes with partial resources.

[0105] Similarly, according to aspects of the present disclosure, for MTC PDCC H S or MTCP DSC H S transmitted with repetition or cyclic repetition, RE mapping in subframes with finer granularity reserved resources is based on the following to support coherent combinations between subframes with and without finer granularity reserved resources:

[0106] 1) Resource mapping in a subframe with partial resources (i.e., a subframe with some reserved resources) is the same as resource mapping in a typical DL subframe without reserved resources, where part of the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH transmission mapped to the reserved resources is punctured; that is, the reserved resources are counted but not used for RE mapping.

[0107] 2) Since different DMRS patterns can be used in repeated subsequent typical DL subframes in which the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH is transmitted, the REs in which the DMRS is transmitted in the typical DL subframe are not used for RE mapping, and the REs containing the DMRS in the subframe with partial resources are counted but not used for RE mapping. That is, the DMRS in the subframe with partial resources punctures the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH on those REs.

[0108] 3) For the number of times that the MTC PDSCH or MTC PDCCH is repeated, the subframes with partial resources are counted.

[0109] Figure 11 1100 is an example subframe configuration 1100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In the example subframe configuration 1100, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 1102 and 1104 are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmission. As described in the above embodiments, because the sixth and seventh symbols in the first time slot are reserved resources that are not used for NB-IoT transmission, no NRS is sent in these symbols. Also as described in the above embodiments, because the third and fourth symbols of the two time slots are not reserved resources, NRS is sent in the third and fourth symbols of each time slot at 1112, 1114, 1116 and 1118. As described above, for the NPDCCH or NPDSCH that is repeatedly transmitted in the subframe shown, the REs 1120 containing the NRS in the subframe are counted for the mapping of the NPDCCH or NPDSCH, but the NRS punctures the NPDCCH or NPDSCH on those REs. As also described above, for the mapping of NPDCCH or NPDSCH, REs in the reserved resources at 1102 and 1104 are counted, but NPDCCH or NPDSCH is punctured on those reserved resources. Also, as described above, RE 1130 where NRS is transmitted in a typical DL subframe is not used for mapping of NPDCCH or NPDSCH. Although Figure 11It is shown with NRS and discussed with respect to NPDCCH or NPDSCH, but it also applies to DMRS and MTC transmissions. That is, the sixth and seventh symbols of the first time slot at 1102 and 1104 can be considered as reserved resources not used for MTC transmission. As described in the above embodiment, because the sixth and seventh symbols in the first time slot are reserved resources not used for MTC transmission, DMRS is not sent in these symbols. Also as described in the above embodiment, because the third and fourth symbols of the two time slots are not reserved resources, DMRS can be sent in the third and fourth symbols of each time slot at 1112, 1114, 1116 and 1118. As described above, for the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH that is repeatedly transmitted in the subframe shown, the REs 1120 containing DMRS in the subframe are counted for the mapping of the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH, but the DMRS punctures the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH on those REs. As described above, for the mapping of the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH, the REs in the reserved resources at 1102 and 1104 are counted, but the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH is punctured in those reserved resources. Also, as described above, the REs 1130 in which the DMRS is transmitted in a typical DL subframe are not used for mapping of the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH.

[0110] Figure 12 The diagram shows a method that may include a method configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 and Figure 6 1 and 2. The communication device 1200 includes various components (e.g., corresponding to means plus function components) of the communication device 1200 and the operations shown in FIG. 1. The communication device 1200 includes a processing system 1202 coupled to a transceiver 1208. The transceiver 1208 is configured to transmit and receive signals, such as the various signals described herein, for the communication device 1200 via an antenna 1210. The processing system 1202 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1200, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1200.

[0111] The processing system 1202 includes a processor 1204 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1212 via a bus 1206. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1212 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the processor 1204, cause the processor 1204 to perform Figure 4 and Figure 6The operations shown, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for processing an NRS in a subframe having resources reserved for use exempt from narrowband transmissions. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1212 stores code 1213 for receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use exempt from narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; code 1214 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration; code 1215 for processing the NRS on the second RE in the subframe; code 1216 for receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use exempt from machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; code 1217 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration; and code 1218 for processing the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe. In certain aspects, the processor 1204 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1212. Processor 1204 includes a circuit 1220 for receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmission; a circuit 1221 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration; a circuit 1222 for processing the NRS on the second RE in the subframe; a circuit 1223 for receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved and exempted from being used for machine type communication (MTC) transmission; a circuit 1221 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration; and a circuit 1222 for processing the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe.

[0112] Figure 13 The diagram shows a method that may include a method configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein (such as Figure 5 and Figure 7 13. The communication device 1300 includes various components (e.g., corresponding to means plus function components) of the communication device 1300 and the operations shown in FIG. 13. The communication device 1300 includes a processing system 1302 coupled to a transceiver 1308. The transceiver 1308 is configured to transmit and receive signals, such as the various signals described herein, for the communication device 1300 via an antenna 1310. The processing system 1302 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1300, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1300.

[0113] The processing system 1302 includes a processor 1304 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1312 via a bus 1306. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the processor 1304, cause the processor 1304 to perform Figure 5 and Figure 7 The operations shown, or other operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein for transmitting a narrowband reference signal (NRS) in a subframe having resources reserved for transmission exempt from narrowband transmission. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1312 stores code 1313 for transmitting a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for transmission exempt from narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT); code 1314 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration; code 1315 for transmitting the NRS on the second RE in the subframe; code 1316 for transmitting a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for transmission exempt from machine type communication (MTC); code 1317 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration; and code 1318 for transmitting the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe. In certain aspects, the processor 1304 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1312. Processor 1304 includes circuitry 1320 for sending a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmissions; circuitry 1321 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) based on the configuration; circuitry 1322 for sending the NRS on the second RE in the subframe; circuitry 1323 for sending a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) in a subframe that is reserved for use in machine type communication (MTC) transmissions; circuitry 1324 for determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) based on the configuration; and circuitry 1325 for sending the DMRS on the second RE in the subframe.

[0114] The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, and the like. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, and others. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communication technology under development.

[0115] The techniques described herein can be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies described above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, although various aspects may be described herein using terms typically associated with 3G, 4G, and / or 5G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other generation-based communication systems.

[0116] In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the coverage area of ​​a Node B (NB) and / or NB subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the terms "cell" and "base station," next-generation Node B (gNB or gNodeB), access point (AP), distributed unit (DU), carrier, or transmit / receive point (TRP) are used interchangeably. A base station (BS) can provide communication coverage for macrocells, picocells, femtocells, and / or other types of cells. A macrocell can cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and can allow unrestricted access to UEs with a service subscription. A picocell can cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access to UEs with a service subscription. A femtocell can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and can allow restricted access to UEs associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs in a home, etc.). A base station for a macrocell can be referred to as a macro BS. A base station for a picocell can be referred to as a pico BS. A base station for a femtocell can be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS.

[0117] A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, customer premises equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate over a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. For example, a wireless node can provide connectivity to or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs can be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which can be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0118] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as frequency tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (called a "resource block" (RB)) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (e.g., 6 RBs), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively. In LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration is a 1 millisecond subframe.

[0119] NR can utilize OFDM with CP on both the uplink and downlink and includes support for half-duplex operation using TDD. In NR, a subframe is still 1 millisecond, but the basic TTI is called a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, ... slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing. An NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR can support a basic subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and other subcarrier spacings can be defined relative to the basic subcarrier spacing, such as 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. Symbol and slot lengths vary with the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing. Beamforming can be supported, and the beam direction can be dynamically configured. MIMO transmission with precoding can also be supported. In some examples, MIMO configurations in the DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas, up to 8 streams per UE, and multi-layer DL transmission with up to 2 streams. In some examples, multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per UE can be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells can be supported by up to 8 serving cells.

[0120] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled. A scheduling entity (e.g., a BS) allocates resources for communications between some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. A scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, allocating, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communications, subordinate entities utilize the resources assigned by the scheduling entity. The base station is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity and may schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and other UEs may utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communications. In some examples, a UE may act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or a mesh network. In the mesh network example, UEs may communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity.

[0121] In some examples, two or more slave entities (e.g., UEs) can communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-world applications of such sidelink communications may include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relay, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoT communications, mission-critical meshing, and / or various other suitable applications. Generally, a sidelink signal can refer to a signal transmitted from one slave entity (e.g., UE1) to another slave entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying the communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though the scheduling entity may be used for scheduling and / or control purposes. In some examples, the sidelink signals can be transmitted using licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks that typically use unlicensed spectrum).

[0122] The method disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the method. The method steps and / or actions may be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0123] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other order of a, b, and c).

[0124] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a variety of actions. For example, "determine" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. Furthermore, "determine" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc. Furthermore, "determine" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0125] The foregoing description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are given the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically stated otherwise, but rather "one or more." Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or will later be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be exclusively for the public, regardless of whether the disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims. According to 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), no claim element shall be interpreted unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "components for..." or, in the case of a method claim, the element is stated using the phrase "step for..."

[0126] The various operations of the above method can be performed by any suitable component capable of performing the corresponding function. The component may include various hardware and / or software components (multiple) and / or modules (multiple), including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors. Generally, when there are operations shown in the figures, these operations can have corresponding corresponding parts plus function components with similar numbers.

[0127] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a DSP and a microprocessor, a combination of multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0128] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used to connect a network adapter, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the user terminal 120 (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (e.g., keyboard, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and will not be described further. The processor may be implemented using one or more general and / or special purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuits that can execute software. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality for a processing system based on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0129] If implemented in software, these functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes or transmitted on a computer-readable medium. Software shall broadly refer to instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including the execution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. As an example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any portion thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as may be the case with a cache and / or general register file. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include, for example, RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage media or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0130] A software module may include a single instruction or many instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, between different programs, and across multiple storage media. A computer-readable medium may include multiple software modules. The software modules include instructions that, when executed by a device such as a processor, cause a processing system to perform various functions. Software modules may include a sending module and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. For example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard drive into RAM. During execution of a software module, the processor may load some instructions into a cache to increase access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into a general register file for execution by the processor. When reference is made below to the functionality of a software module, it will be understood that the functionality is implemented by the processor when instructions from that software module are executed.

[0131] Furthermore, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and optical disc. Optical disks, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, and optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Thus, in some aspects, computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Furthermore, for other aspects, computer-readable media may include transitory computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above are also intended to be within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0132] Thus, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and / or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein, such as for performing the operations described herein and in Figures 4 to 7 The operation instructions are shown in .

[0133] In addition, it should be understood that the modules and / or other appropriate components for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the user terminal and / or base station (if applicable). For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of components for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage device (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or a floppy disk), so that the user terminal and / or base station can obtain the various methods when the storage component is coupled or provided to the device. In addition, any other suitable technology for providing the methods and techniques described herein to a device can be used.

[0134] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components shown above, and that various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element RE reserved for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmission in a subframe; Based on the configuration, determining a second RE for a narrowband reference signal NRS in the subframe, wherein determining the second RE comprises determining one or more REs in the first REs as the second REs; and The NRS is processed on the second RE in the subframe.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The reservation for the first RE is a slot-level reservation.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive one or more repetitions of narrowband physical downlink control channel NPDCCH or narrowband physical downlink shared channel NPDSCH transmissions in the subframe and subsequent subframes.

4. The method according to claim 3 also includes determining the third RE of the subframe and the subsequent subframe for the transmission of the NPDCCH or the NPDSCH based on a default NRS configuration, wherein the transmission of the NPDCCH or the NPDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

5. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element RE reserved for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmission in a subframe; Based on the configuration, determining a second RE for a narrowband reference signal NRS in the subframe, wherein determining the second RE includes: determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS; and determining, based on the first RE including one or more symbols for an NRS, that there is zero NRS in the subframe; and The NRS is processed on the second RE, the processing including avoiding estimating a channel based on the zero NRS.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: Determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS comprises determining that the first RE includes the one or more symbols for an NRS in a slot of the subframe; and Determining that there is zero NRS in the time slot comprises determining that there is zero NRS in the time slot based on the first RE including one or more symbols for NRS in the time slot; as well as Avoiding estimating a channel based on the zero NRSs includes avoiding estimating a channel based on the zero NRSs in the time slot.

7. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element RE reserved for narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmission in a subframe; as well as Based on the configuration and the time domain position of the first RE, determine the second RE for the narrowband reference signal NRS in the subframe, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE includes: when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe, determine that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: the first RE comprising at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; The second RE is determined to be in a third symbol and a fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include a third symbol and a fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; as well as Determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe, wherein processing the NRS on the second REs includes avoiding estimating a channel based on the zero second REs.

12. A method for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: Sending a configuration of a first resource element RE in an indication subframe that is reserved and exempted from narrowband Internet of Things NB-IoT transmission; Based on the configuration, determining a second RE for a narrowband reference signal NRS in the subframe, wherein determining the second RE comprises determining one or more REs in the first REs as the second REs; Dropping downlink NB-IoT transmissions other than the NRS scheduled in the same symbol period as the second RE; and The NRS is sent on the second RE in the subframe.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The reservation for the first RE is a slot-level reservation.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Send one or more repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel NPDCCH or a narrowband physical downlink shared channel NPDSCH transmission in the subframe and subsequent subframes.

15. The method according to claim 14 also includes determining the third RE of the subframe and the subsequent subframe for the NPDCCH or NPDSCH transmission based on a default NRS configuration, wherein the transmission of the NB-PDCCH or the NB-PDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second RE.

16. A method for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: Sending a configuration of a first resource element RE in an indication subframe that is reserved and exempted from narrowband Internet of Things NB-IoT transmission; determining, based on the configuration, a second RE for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) in the subframe, wherein determining the second RE comprises determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for the NRS and determining that there is zero NRS in the subframe based on the first RE including the one or more symbols for the NRS; as well as The NRS is sent on the second RE in the subframe.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for an NRS comprises determining that the first RE includes the one or more symbols for an NRS in a slot of the subframe; as well as Determining that there are zero NRSs includes determining that there are zero NRSs in the time slot based on the first REs including one or more symbols for the NRS in the time slot.

18. A method for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: Sending a configuration of a first resource element RE in an indication subframe that is reserved and exempted from narrowband Internet of Things NB-IoT transmission; Determining a second RE for a narrowband reference signal (NRS) in the subframe based on the configuration and the time domain position of the first RE, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE comprises: when the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot of the subframe, determining that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; as well as The NRS is sent on the second RE in the subframe.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: the first RE comprising at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; The second RE is determined to be in a third symbol and a fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include a third symbol and a fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; It is determined that there are zero second REs in the subframe.

23. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration indicating a first resource element (RE) reserved for MTC transmission in a subframe; Based on the configuration, determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); as well as The DMRS is processed on the second RE in the subframe.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: Determining the second RE includes determining one or more of the first REs as the second RE; and The method further comprises: Downlink MTC transmissions other than the DMRS in the same symbol period as the second RE are ignored.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein: Determining the second RE includes: determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS; and determining, based on the first RE including one or more symbols for the DMRS, that there is zero DMRS in the subframe; and Processing the DMRS on the second RE includes ignoring MTC transmissions in the subframe.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein: Determining the second RE includes: determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS in a time slot of the subframe; and determining, based on the first RE including one or more symbols for the DMRS in the time slot, that there is zero DMRS in the time slot; and Processing the DMRS on the second RE includes receiving an MTC transmission in the time slot of the subframe and the other time slot based on the DMRS in the other time slot of the subframe. The method of claim 23 , wherein determining the second RE is based on a time domain location of the first RE.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE comprises: When the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first slot and the second slot of the subframe, the second RE is determined to be in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first slot and the second slot.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: the first RE comprising at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; The second RE is determined to be in a third symbol and a fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; as well as Determining that there are zero second REs in the subframe, wherein processing the DMRS on the second REs includes ignoring MTC transmissions in the subframe.

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising: One or more repetitions of an MTC physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or an MTC physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission in the subframe and subsequent subframes are received.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising determining third REs of the subframe and the subsequent subframe for transmission of the MTC PDCCH or the MTC PDSCH based on a default DMRS configuration, wherein transmission of the MTC PDCCH or the MTC PDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second REs.

35. A method for wireless communication by a base station, comprising: Sending a configuration indicating a first resource element RE reserved for MTC transmission in a subframe; Based on the configuration, determining a second RE in the subframe for a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); as well as The DMRS is sent on the second RE in the subframe.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: Determining the second RE includes determining one or more of the first REs as the second RE; and The method further comprises: Downlink MTC transmissions other than the DMRS scheduled in the same symbol period as the second RE are dropped.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein: Determining the second RE includes: determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS; and Based on the first RE including one or more symbols for the DMRS, it is determined that there is zero DMRS in the subframe.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein: Determining the second RE includes: determining that the first RE includes one or more symbols for a DMRS in a time slot of the subframe; and Based on the first RE including one or more symbols for the DMRS in the time slot, it is determined that there is zero DMRS in the time slot. The method of claim 35 , wherein determining the second RE is based on a time domain location of the first RE.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE comprises: When the first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first slot and the second slot of the subframe, the second RE is determined to be in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in each of the first slot and the second slot.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: the first RE comprising at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the third symbol and the fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot; The second RE is determined to be in a third symbol and a fourth symbol in each of the first time slot and the second time slot.

42. The method of claim 41 , wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot, the seventh symbol in the first time slot, the sixth symbol in the second time slot, or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the sixth symbol and the seventh symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of a third symbol in the first time slot, a fourth symbol in the first time slot, a third symbol in the second time slot, or a fourth symbol in the second time slot; and The first RE does not include a third symbol and a fourth symbol in one of the first time slot and the second time slot; It is determined that the second RE is in the third symbol and the fourth symbol in the one of the first slot and the second slot, but not in the other of the first slot and the second slot.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein determining the second RE based on the time domain position of the first RE further comprises: When: The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the first time slot or the seventh symbol in the first time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the sixth symbol in the second time slot or the seventh symbol in the second time slot; The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the first time slot or the fourth symbol in the first time slot; and The first RE includes at least one of the third symbol in the second time slot or the fourth symbol in the second time slot; It is determined that there are zero second REs in the subframe.

45. The method of claim 35, further comprising: One or more repetitions of an MTC physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or an MTC physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission in the subframe and subsequent subframes are transmitted.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, further comprising determining third REs of the subframe and the subsequent subframe for transmission of the MTC PDCCH or MTC PDSCH based on a default DMRS configuration, wherein transmission of the MTC PDCCH or the MTC PDSCH in the subframe is punctured on the second REs.

47. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processing system configured to perform any of the methods of claims 1-11, and a memory coupled to the processing system.

48. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processing system configured to perform any of the methods of claims 12-22, and a memory coupled to the processing system.

49. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processing system configured to perform any of the methods of claims 23-34, and a memory coupled to the processing system.

50. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processing system configured to perform any of the methods of claims 35-46, and a memory coupled to the processing system.

51. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any of the methods of claims 1-11.

52. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any of the methods of claims 12-22.

53. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any of the methods of claims 23-34.

54. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any of the methods of claims 35-46.

55. A computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a processing system of a user equipment, cause the processing system to perform operations including any one of the methods of claims 1-11.

56. A computer-readable storage medium for wireless communications, comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a user equipment, cause the processing system to perform operations including any one of the methods of claims 12-22.

57. A computer-readable storage medium for wireless communications, comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a user equipment, cause the processing system to perform operations including any one of the methods of claims 23-34.

58. A computer-readable storage medium for wireless communications, comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a user equipment, cause the processing system to perform operations including any of the methods of claims 35-46.

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