FIELD
5 [0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication,
and more particularly, to a solution for coverage enhancement.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The latest developments of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards
are referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and
10 Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access
Network (E-UTRAN), also commonly termed as '4G.' In addition, the term '5G New Radio
(NR)' refers to an evolving communication technology that is expected to support a variety of
applications and services. The 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution
promulgated by the 3GPP to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability,
15 security, scalability (for example, with Internet of Things), and other requirements. Some
aspects of the 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards.
[0003] In the 5G NR, coverage is one of the key factors that an operator considers when
commercializing cellular communication networks due to its direct impact on service quality
as well as Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operating Expense (OPEX). Despite the
20 importance of coverage on the success of NR commercialization, a thorough coverage
evaluation and a comparison with legacy RATs considering all NR specification details have
not been done up to now.
SUMMARY
[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for
25 coverage enhancement.
[0005] In a first aspect, there is provided a method for communication. The method
comprises receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, information on an inferring
relation between a first channel associated with a first slot and a second channel associated
with a second slot. The method also comprises determining, based on the information,
1
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
whether the first and second channels are to be inferable from each other. The method
further comprises in accordance with a determination that the first and second channels are to
be inferable from each other, performing communications with the network device on the first
and second channels based on the inferring relation.
5 [0006] In a second aspect, there is provided a method for communication. The method
comprises receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, an indication of an early
termination of a plurality of transmissions of same data between the terminal device and the
network device. The method also comprises in accordance with a determination that the
plurality of transmissions are not completed, determining that the rest of the plurality of
10 transmissions are to be stopped.
[0007] In a third aspect, there 1s provided a method for communication. The method
comprises determining, at a network device, whether a first channel associated with a first slot
and a second channel associated with a second slot are to be inferable from each other. The
method also comprises transmitting, to a terminal device, information on an inferring relation
15 between the first channel and the second channel. The method further comprises in
accordance with a determination that the first and second channels are to be inferable from
each other, performing communications with the terminal device on the first and second
channels based on the inferring relation.
[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method for communication. The method
20 comprises determining, at a network device, that a plurality of transmissions of same data
between the network device and a terminal device are not completed and the rest of the
plurality of transmissions are to be stopped. The method also comprises transmitting, to the
terminal device, an indication of an early termination of the plurality of transmissions.
[0009] In an fifth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises
25 a processor and a memory storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are
configured, with the processor, to cause the terminal device to perform the method according
to the first or second aspect.
[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises
a processor and a memory storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are
30 configured, with the processor, to cause the network device to perform the method according
to the third or fourth aspect.
[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions
2
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause
the device to perform the method according to the first or second aspect.
[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions
stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause
5 the device to perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.
[0013] It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or
essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to
limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will
become easily comprehensible through the following description.
10 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure
in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:
[0015] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication environment m which some
15 embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;
[0016] Fig. 2 illustrates an example communication process between a network device and a
terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0017] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of resource patterns for transmitting reference signals in
different slots in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
20 [0018] Fig. 4 illustrates another example of resource patterns for transmitting reference
signals in different slots in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0019] Fig. 5 illustrates a further example of resource patterns for transmitting reference
signals in different slots in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0020] Fig. 6 illustrates another example communication process between a network device
25 and a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0021] Fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0022] Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of another example method in accordance with some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
3
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
[0023] Fig. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a further example method in accordance with some
embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0024] Fig. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a still further example method in accordance with
some embodiments of the present disclosure; and
5 [0025] Fig. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing
some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0026] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same
or similar elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
10 [0027] Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some
example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for
the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the
present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The
disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones
15 described below.
[0028] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and
scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
[0029] As used herein, the term "network device" or "base station" (BS) refers to a device
20 which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can
perform communications. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node
B (NodeB or NB), an Evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), an
infrastructure device for a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, a
Transmission/Reception Point (TRP), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a
25 remote radio head (RRH), a low power node such as a femto node, a pica node, and the like.
[0030] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or
wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited
to, user equipment (UE), vehicle-mounted terminal devices, devices of pedestrians, roadside
units, personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal
30 digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, image capture devices such as digital cameras,
gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling
4
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. For the purpose of discussion,
in the following, some embodiments will be described with reference to UEs as examples of
terminal devices and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used
interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.
5 [0031] In some embodiments, a terminal device may be connected with a first network device
and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network
device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network
device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs).
In some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second
10 network device may be a second RAT device.
an eNB and the second RAT device is a gNB.
In some embodiments, the first RAT device is
Information related to different RATs may be
transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the second
network device. In some embodiments, first information may be transmitted to the terminal
device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the
15 terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In
some embodiments, information related to configuration for the terminal device configured by
the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first
network device. Information related to reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by
the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network
20 device directly or via the first network device.
[0032] As used herein, the term "transmission reception point," "transmission/reception point,"
or "transmission and reception point" may generally indicate a station communicating with
the user equipment. However, the transmission and reception point may be referred to as
different terms such as a base station (BS), a cell, a Node-B, an evolved Node-B (eNB), a next
25 generation NodeB (gNB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a sector, a site, a base
transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), a relay node (RN), a remote radio head
(RRH), a radio unit (RU), an antenna, and the like.
[0033] That is, in the context of the present disclosure, the transmission and reception point,
the base station (BS), or the cell may be construed as an inclusive concept indicating a portion
30 of an area or a function covered by a base station controller (BSC) in code division multiple
access (CDMA), aNode-Bin WCDMA, an eNB or a sector (a site) in LTE, a gNB or a TRP
in NR, and the like. Accordingly, a concept of the transmission and reception point, the base
station (BS), and/or the cell may include a variety of coverage areas such as a mega-cell, a
5
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
macro-cell, a micro-cell, a pica-cell, a femto-cell, and the like. Furthermore, such concept
may include a communication range of the relay node (RN), the remote radio head (RRH), or
the radio unit (RU).
[0034] In the context of the present disclosure, the user equipment and the
5 transmission/reception point may be two transmission/reception subjects, having an inclusive
meaning, which are used to embody the technology and the technical concept disclosed herein,
and may not be limited to a specific term or word. Furthermore, the user equipment and the
transmission/reception point may be uplink or downlink transmission/reception subjects,
having an inclusive meaning, which are used to embody the technology and the technical
10 concept disclosed in connection with the present disclosure, and may not be limited to a
specific term or word. As used herein, an uplink (UL) transmission/reception is a scheme in
which data is transmitted from user equipment to a base station. Alternatively, a downlink
(DL) transmission/reception is a scheme in which data is transmitted from the base station to
the user equipment.
15 [0035] As used herein, the term "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block,"
"physical resource block," "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any
resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal
device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency
domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource
20 enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, a resource in both frequency
domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing
some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that embodiments of the present
disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.
[0036] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the
25 plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "includes" and
its variants are to be read as open terms that mean "includes, but is not limited to." The term
"based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" and "an
embodiment" are to be read as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment"
is to be read as "at least one other embodiment." The terms "first," "second," and the like
30 may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be
included below.
[0037] In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as "best," "lowest,"
6
WO 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
"highest," "minimum," "maximum," or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions
are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made,
and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other
selections.
5 [0038] As mentioned, coverage is one of the key factors that an operator considers when
commercializing cellular communication networks due to its direct impact on service quality
as well as CAPEX and OPEX. Despite the importance of coverage on the success of NR
commercialization, a thorough coverage evaluation and a comparison with legacy RATs
considering all NR specification details have not been done up to now.
10 [0039] Compared to LTE, NR is designed to operate at much higher frequencies such as
280Hz or 390Hz in frequency range 2 (FR2). Furthermore, many countries are making
available more spectrums on frequency range 1 (FR1), such as 3.50Hz, which is typically in
higher frequencies than for LTE or 30. Due to the higher frequencies, it is inevitable that
the wireless channel will be subject to higher path-loss making it more challenging to
15 maintain an adequate quality of service that is at least equal to that of legacy RATs. One key
mobile application of particular importance is voice service for which a typical subscriber will
always expect a ubiquitous coverage wherever he is.
[0040] For FR1, NR can be deployed either in newly allocated spectrums, such as 3.50Hz, or
in a spectrum re-farmed from a legacy network, for example, 30 and 40. In either case,
20 coverage will be a critical issue considering the fact that these spectrums will most likely
handle key mobile services such as voice and low-rate data services. For FR2, coverage was
not thoroughly evaluated during the self-evaluation campaign towards IMT-2020 submission
and not considered in Rel-16 enhancements. In these regards, a thorough understanding of
NR coverage performance is needed while taking into account the support of latest NR
25 specification.
[0041] In RAN#86, NR coverage enhancement was identified as one RAN work area for
Rel-17. For FR 1: Urban scenario (outdoor gNB serving indoor UEs ), and rural scenario
(including extreme long distance rural scenario, for example ISD=30km), should be taken into
account for coverage enhancement. VoiP and eMBB service should be taken into account
30 for coverage enhancement. Both DL and UL should be taken into account for coverage
enhancement. The coverage enhancement for UL (including PUSCH and PUCCH) should
be prioritized. The target data rates were identified as: (1) Urban scenario: DL 10Mbps, UL
7
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
1Mbps; and (2) Rural scenario: DL 1Mbps, UL lOOkbps.
[0042] For FR2: Indoor scenario (indoor gNB serving indoor UEs) and urban/suburban
(including outdoor gNB serving outdoor UEs and outdoor gNB serving indoor UEs) scenario
should be taken into account for coverage enhancement. eMBB is considered for coverage
5 enhancement, and VoiP as second priority. Both DL and UL should be taken into account for
coverage enhancement. And which channels should be considered depends on evaluation
results. The target data rates were identified as: (1) Indoor scenario: DL 25Mbps, UL 5Mbps;
(2) Urban scenario: DL [25Mbps], UL [5Mbps]; and (3) Suburban scenario: DL [1Mbps], UL
[50kbps].
10 [0043] Regarding coverage enhancement, the following are some facts known from current
3GPP specifications. Coverage is one of key metrics since LTE rel-8. TTl-bundling since
rel-8 is for coverage enhancement, but only for FDD case. After rel-8, more HARQ
repetitions on TTl-bundling and TTl-bundling for TDD were introduced. Besides
specification enhancement, implementation enhancements are effective for coverage
15 enhancement too, such as joint channel estimation between multiple slots. In NR, signals
had the flexibility on HARQ indication. It supports more HARQ repetitions on
TTl-bundling and TTl-bundling for TDD since rel-15 NR. In LTE, channel responses on
different subframes are associated with the same antenna port, while it's different in NR.
[0044] In addition, as specified in current 3GPP specifications, an antenna port is defined
20 such that the channel over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed can be inferred
from the channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed. Two
antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located if the large-scale properties of the channel over
which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which
a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. The large-scale properties include one or
25 more of delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial
receiving parameters.
[0045] Moreover, if intra-slot frequency hopping is not enabled by higher layer parameter for
a physical channel, the UE transmission shall be such that the channel over which a symbol
on the antenna port used for uplink transmission is conveyed can be inferred from the channel
30 over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed if the two symbols
correspond to the same slot.
[0046] If intra-slot frequency hopping is enabled by higher layer parameter for a physical
8
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
channel, the UE transmission shall be such that the channel over which a symbol on the
antenna port used for uplink transmission is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over
which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed only if the two symbols
correspond to the same frequency hop, regardless of whether the frequency hop distance is
5 zero or not.
[0047] In view of the foregoing state of the art, by now it is unclear how to support a joint
channel estimation of a plurality of channels associated with different slots between a network
device and a terminal device. It is also unclear how to indicate transmissions in a slot
without reference signals (such as, DMRS-less transmissions) between a network device and
10 a terminal device. Further, it is unclear how to early terminate PUSCH repetitions if a
network device already successfully receives the PUSCH from a terminal device.
[0048] In order to solve the above technical problems and potentially other technical
problems in conventional solutions, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution
for coverage enhancement. In some embodiments, a network device can inform a terminal
15 device of inferring relations between a plurality of channels associated with different slots, for
example, using downlink control information (DCI) indication or a radio resource control
(RRC) indication. In some other embodiments, a network device can inform a terminal
device of a slot in which no reference signals are to be transmitted (such as a DMRS-less slot),
for example, using a DCI indication or an RRC indication. In some further embodiments, a
20 network device can inform a terminal device of an early termination of a plurality of
transmissions of same data, for example, using a new UL grant to overwrite a previous UL
grant for the plurality of transmissions.
[0049] With embodiments of the present disclosure, joint channel estimations can be done
on the same port across multiple slots, a slot without reference signals (such as a DMRS-less
25 slot) may have more resources for data transmission and may increase the throughput of
communication, and a UE can early terminate UL repetitions and resources can be used for
new transmissions to increase UL communication throughput. Therefore, embodiments of
the present disclosure effectively enhance coverage of communications, thereby improving
communication performance. Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will
30 be described in detail below.
[0050] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication environment 100 in which some
embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in Fig. 1, the
9
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
communication environment 100, which may also be referred to as the communication
network 100, includes a network device 110 serving a terminal device 120 located in a cell
105 of the network device 110. In particular, the terminal device 120 may communicate
with the network device 110 via a communication channel 115. For transmissions from the
5 network device 110 to the terminal device 120, the communication channel 115 may be
referred to as a downlink channel, whereas for transmissions from the terminal device 120 to
the network device 110, the communication channel115 may alternatively be referred to as an
uplink channel.
[0051] In some embodiments, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may
10 communicate with each other based on time slots (or slots for short) as defined in the 3GPP
specifications. For example, for subcarrier spacing configuration J.-L, slots are numbered
fJ.. E {O Nsubframe,f.J.. _ 1 }
ns ' ···' slot Ill
. .
an mcreasmg order within
fJ.. {O Nframe,f.J.. 1 } . ns,f E , ... , slot - m an increasing order within a frame.
a subframe
There are
and
Nslot
symb
consecutive Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a slot where
15 N:;:: depends on the cyclic prefix as given in related 3GPP specifications. The start of slot
n~ in a subframe is aligned in time with the start of OFDM symbol n; N:;;bt in the same
subframe. Other related definitions and information of slots can be found in existing or
future 3GPP specifications.
[0052] In communications with the terminal device 120, the network device 110 (for example,
20 an eNB or a gNB) may transmit downlink reference signals (RSs) such as Demodulation
Reference Signal (DMRS), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Phase
Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS), fine time and frequency Tracking Reference Signal (TRS)
and the like. The terminal device 120 (for example, user equipment) in the communication
network 100 may receive the downlink RSs on allocated resources. In addition, the terminal
25 device 120 may also transmit uplink RSs to the network device 110 on corresponding
allocated resources. For indicating the allocated resources and/or other necessary
information for the RSs, the network device 110 may transmit RS configurations to the
terminal device 120 prior to the transmissions of the RSs.
[0053] As used herein, a RS is a signal sequence (also referred to as "RS sequence") that is
30 known by both the network device 110 and the terminal device 120. For example, a RS
sequence may be generated and transmitted by the network device 110 based on a certain rule
10
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
and the terminal device 120 may deduce the RS sequence based on the same rule. In
transmission of downlink and uplink RSs, the network device 110 may allocate corresponding
resources (also referred to as "RS resources") for the transmission and/or specify which RS
sequence is to be transmitted.
5 [0054] In some scenarios, both the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 are
equipped with multiple antenna ports (or antenna elements) and can transmit specified RS
sequences with the antenna ports (antenna elements). A set of RS resources associated with
a number of RS ports are also specified. A RS port may be referred to as a specific mapping
of part or all of a RS sequence to one or more resource elements (REs) of a resource region
10 allocated for RS transmission in time, frequency, and/or code domains. Such resource
allocation information may be indicated to the terminal device 120 prior to the transmission of
the RSs.
[0055] It is to be understood that the number of the terminal devices and the number of the
network devices as shown in Fig. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting
15 any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of
terminal devices, any suitable number of network devices, and any suitable number of other
communication devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0056] In addition, it would be appreciated that there may be various wireless
communications as well as wireline communications (if needed) among all the
20 communication devices. Moreover, it is noted that although the network device 110 is
schematically depicted as a base station and the terminal device 120 is schematically depicted
as a mobile phone in Fig. 1, it is understood that these depictions are only for example
without suggesting any limitation. In other embodiments, the network device 110 may be
any other wireless network device, and the terminal device 120 may be any other wireless
25 communication device.
[0057] The communications in the communication environment 100 may conform to any
suitable standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM), Extended Coverage Global System for Mobile Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT),
Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code
30 Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (COMA), GSM EDGE
Radio Access Network (GERAN), and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be
performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to
11
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not
limited to, the first generation (lG), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third
generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication
protocols.
5 [0058] Fig. 2 illustrates an example communication process 200 between the network device
110 and the terminal device 120 in accordance with some embodiments of the present
disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the communication process 200 will be described
with reference to Fig. 1. However, it would be appreciated that the communication process
200 may be equally applicable to any other communication scenarios where a network device
10 and a terminal device communicate with each other.
[0059] As shown in Fig. 2, the network device 110 determines 210 whether a first channel
associated with a first slot and a second channel associated with a second slot are to be
inferable from each other. As used herein, the first channel may refer to the channel between
the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 during the first slot, and the second
15 channel may refer to the channel between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120
during the second slot. In general, since the channel between the network device 110 and the
terminal device 120 may vary over time, the first channel associated with the first slot may be
different from the second channel associated with the second slot.
[0060] For example, the difference between the first and second channels may be due to a
20 change over time in a physical wireless channel between the network device 110 and the
terminal device 120, a change over time in transmitting/receiving components (such as, RF
components) of the network device 110, a change over time in transmitting/receiving
components (such as, RF components) of the terminal device 120, or the like. Therefore, the
network device 110 and the terminal device 120 normally cannot consider the first and second
25 channels associated with different slots as inferable from each other. As a result, the first
and second channels cannot be used as a uniform combined channel for performing
communications between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120. For example,
the first and second channels may need to be estimated separately by the network device 110
or the terminal device 120.
30 [0061] In order to solve this issue, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure,
a new state between channels in different slots (or between different slots) may be introduced
and called as "inferable," which means that a channel in one slot can be inferred from another
12
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
channel in another slot. With the new inferable state, if the network device 110 determines
and informs the terminal device 120 that the first and second channels are inferable from each
other, both the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 should not to change their
transmitting/receiving parameters across the first and second slots. In the meanwhile, both
5 the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can consider the physical wireless
channel between them is unchanged. As such, the first and second channels may be
considered as the same or similar, such that each of the first and second channels can be
inferred from the other.
[0062] More particularly, with the new inferable state, in case intra-slot frequency hopping is
10 not enabled, the UE transmission may be such that the channel over which a symbol on the
antenna port used for an uplink transmission is conveyed can be inferred from the channel
over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed, if the two symbols
correspond to the same slot or the two symbols correspond to different slots indicated as
inferable.
15 [0063] Alternatively, in case intra-slot frequency hopping is enabled, the UE transmission
may be such that the channel over which a symbol on the antenna port used for an uplink
transmission is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol on the
same antenna port is conveyed, only if the two symbols correspond to the same frequency hop,
regardless of whether the frequency hop distance is zero or not or the two symbols correspond
20 to the same frequency hop index in different slots indicated as inferable.
[0064] Continuing with reference to Fig. 2, after determining 210 whether there is an inferring
relation between the first and second channels, the network device 110 transmits 220
information 225 to the terminal device 120. The information 225 can indicate that if the first
channel and the second channel are configured by the network device 110 to be inferable from
25 each other. For example, if the network device 110 determines 210 that the first and second
channels are to be inferable from each other, the information 225 may indicate that there is an
inferring relation between the first and second channels. Alternatively, if the network device
110 determines 210 that the first and second channels are to be not inferable from each other,
the information 225 may indicate that there is no inferring relation between the first and
30 second channels. In other embodiments, in addition to the inferring relation between the
first and second channels, the information 225 may also indicate inferring relations between
other channels. Examples of such information 225 will be described in more detail later.
13
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
[0065] In general, the network device 110 can transmit the information 225 to the terminal
device 120 in any suitable manner. For instance, the information 225 may be transmitted to
the terminal device 120 using a specially designed signaling, such as a newly defined
specialized message. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may use existing
5 signaling between a network device and a terminal device to carry the information 225. For
example, the information 225 may be included in a DCI from the network device 110 to the
terminal device 120. As another example, an RRC message from the network device 110 to
the terminal device 120 can include the information 225. These examples are also described
in more detail later.
10 [0066] Continuing with reference to Fig. 2, after receiving 230 the information 225 from the
network device 110, the terminal device 120 determines 240 whether the first and second
channels are to be inferable from each other based on the information 225. In particular, if
the information 225 indicates that the first and second channels are to be inferable from each
other, the terminal device 120 can determine that there is an inferring relation between the two
15 channels. In such case, the terminal device 120 may not change its transmitting/receiving
parameters across the first and second slots, so as to ensure that the two channels are inferable
from each other. On the contrary, if the information 225 indicates that the first and second
channels are not to be inferable from each other, the terminal device 120 can determine that
there is no inferring relation between the two channels. In this event, the terminal device
20 120 may use different transmitting/receiving parameters during the second slot compared to
that during the first slot, if needed.
[0067] In the case that the first and second channels are determined 240 as inferable from
each other, the terminal device 120 performs 260 communications 255 with the network
device 110 on the first and second channels based on the inferring relation. From a
25 perspective of the network device 110, it can also be said that the network device 110
performs 250 the communications 255 with the terminal device 120 on the first and second
channels based on the inferring relation. For example, the first and second channels may be
used by the network device 110 and the second device 120 as a uniform combined channel to
perform the communications 255 between them, so as to simplify communication procedures
30 or improve the performance of the communications 255.
[0068] It should be noted that the communications 255 may include both uplink transmissions
from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 and downlink transmissions from the
network device 110 to the terminal device 120. That is, if the first and second channels are
14
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
uplink channels from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110, the terminal device
120 can perform uplink transmissions to the network device 110 based on the inferring
relation between the first and second channels.
[0069] As an example of such uplink transmissions, the terminal device 120 can transmit a set
5 of reference signals, such as DMRSs, to the network device 110 in either or both of the first
and second slots. Upon receiving the set of reference signals from the terminal device 120
in either or both of the first and second slots, the network device 110 may perform a joint
channel estimation on the first and second channels based on the set of reference signals.
[0070] As used herein, the joint channel estimation generally has the meaning known in the
10 art, which for example means that the reference signals in the first and second slots can be
collectively used to perform a channel estimation on either or both of the first and second
channels. In contrast, if the first and second channels cannot be inferred from each other, a
joint channel estimation of the first and second channels is not possible, meaning that the
reference signals in the first and second slots cannot be collectively used and the first and
15 second channels need to be estimated separately.
[0071] There are various possible manners for the terminal device 120 to transmit the set of
reference signals to the network device 110 in either or both of the first and second slots, as
well as other reference signals in other slots. For example, the terminal device 120 may
transmit the set of reference signals in one of the first and second slots, and transmit no
20 reference signals in the other slot. As another example, the terminal device 120 may
transmit some reference signals using zero power. As a further example, the terminal device
120 can transmit more reference signals in some slots. In a still further example, part of
available frequency domain resources is used to transmit the set of reference signals. All
these examples will be described in more detail later.
25 [0072] On the other hand, if the first and second channels are downlink channels from the
network device 110 to the terminal device 120, the network device 110 can perform downlink
transmissions to the terminal device 120 based on the inferring relation between the first and
second channels. As an example of such downlink transmissions, the network device 110
may transmit a set of reference signals to the terminal device 120 in either or both of the first
30 and second slots. Upon receiving the set of reference signals from the network device 110 in
either or both of the first and second slots, the terminal device 120 may perform a joint
channel estimation on the first and second channels based on the set of reference signals.
15
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
[0073] With the communication process 200, the network device 110 or the terminal device
120 can do joint channel estimations across multiple slots, for example, on the same antenna
port, such that the performance of the communications 255 between the network device 110
and the terminal device 120 may be improved. In the following, various more embodiments
5 of the present disclosure will be described with examples of uplink communications between
the terminal device 120 and the network device 110. However, it should be appreciated that
embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to downlink communications
between the terminal device 120 and the network device 110.
[0074] As described above, in some embodiments, the information 225 may be included in a
10 DCI from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120. In this way, the inferring
relations between the first and second channels as well as possible other channels associated
with different slots may be configured by the network device 110 in a relative dynamic
manner. For example, such a DCI may be the DCI scheduling the terminal device 120 to
perform a transmission to the network device 110 in one of the first and second slots. In
15 other words, the network device 110 uses the DCI to instruct the terminal device 120 to
perform an uplink transmission to the network device 110 in the first slot. Alternatively, the
network device 110 uses the DCI to instruct the terminal device 120 to perform an uplink
transmission to the network device 110 in the second slot. In either case, the DCI may
include the information 225 to indicate whether the first and second channels are to be
20 inferable from each other.
[0075] In some embodiments, the information 225 may be indicated by a bit in the DCI. For
example, one bit in a DCI scheduling a current slot may be used to indicate the inferable state
between the current slot and the previous slot or the next slot. In particular, the value "0" of
the bit may indicate that the current slot is inferable from the previous slot or that the next slot
25 is inferable from the current slot. The value "1" of the bit may indicate that the current slot
is not inferable from the previous slot or that the next slot is not inferable from the current slot.
It is to be understood that the specific values of the bit are only for the purpose of illustration
without suggesting any limitations. In other embodiments, any other suitable values of a bit
can be used to indicate any other inferable state between channels or slots.
30 [0076] In case that the information 225 is included in the DCI associated with the first or
second slot, after receiving the DCI from the network device 110, the terminal device 120 can
determine whether the first and second channels are to be inferable from each other based on
the bit in the DCI. In this way, the inferring relation between every two adjacent slots can be
16
WO 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
configured in a flexible way. In addition, a series of slots can be indicated as inferable from
each other using such information included in a series of DCis scheduling the series of slots,
thereby avoiding an indication of inferring relations among more than two slots.
[0077] In some other embodiments, instead of using one bit in a DCI, the information 225
5 may be indicated by a number of bits in a DCI from the network device 110 to the terminal
device 120. In particular, the bits can indicate a target inferring relation configuration of a
plurality of inferring relation configurations indicated in an RRC message. The plurality of
inferring relation configurations may indicate inferring relations between a plurality of
channels associated with different slots including the first and second channels. The target
10 inferring relation configuration may indicate whether the first and second channels are to be
inferable from each other.
[0078] For example, the network device 110 can use x bits in the DCI to indicate the target
inferring relation configuration, and x can be configured via a RRC message. As such, the
overhead of the bitmap for indicating the target inferring relation configuration can be flexibly
15 controlled through the RRC message. In particular, the bit width for this bitmap (or field)
may be determined as logz(I) bits, where I may be the number of entries in a higher layer
parameter "pusch-SlotinferableList" if the higher layer parameter is configured. For
instance, the parameter "pusch-SlotlnferableList" can be made of "pusch-Slotlnferable"
entries which enumerate configured inferable patterns. In some embodiments, the function
20 of a "pusch-Slotinferable" is like, for example the next n slots are inferable from the current
slot, the inferable information is indicated in another DCI, or the like.
[0079] In the case that the information 225 is indicated by a number of bits in a DCI, upon
receiving the DCI from the network device 110, the terminal device 120 may determine the
target inferring relation configuration based on the bits in the DCI, and then determine
25 whether the first and second channels are inferable from each other based on the target
inferring relation configuration. In this way, a more complex indication of inferring relations
among a plurality of channels or slots can be realized.
[0080] As described above, in some embodiments, instead of using a DCI, the information
225 can be alternatively included in an RRC message, thereby achieving a relative static
30 indication of inferring relations between the first and second channels as well as other
possible channels associated with different slots. For example, the information 225 in the
RRC message may indicate that all channels associated with different slots between the
17
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
terminal device 120 and the network device 110 are inferable from each other. More
particularly, the information 225 in the RRC message may indicate that all UL slots associated
with the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 are inferable. In this way, the
inferring relations among channels associated with different slots can be greatly simplified.
5 [0081] Alternatively, the information 225 in the RRC message may indicate that a set of
channels associated with different slots between the terminal device 120 and the network
device 110 are inferable from each other. For example, the information 225 in the RRC
message may indicate that some sets of UL slots associated with the terminal device 120 and
the network device 110 are inferable from each other. In this way, the flexibility of the
10 inferring relations among channels associated with different slots can be improved.
[0082] Alternatively, the information 225 in the RRC message may indicate that a plurality of
channels associated with a plurality of slots scheduled by an uplink grant are inferable from
each other. For example, the information 225 in the RRC can indicate that only slots in one
UL grant are inferable from each other, and the slots in one UL grant are not inferable from
15 other slots in another UL grant. The UL grant can be a dynamic grant or a configured grant,
and an aggregation (repetition) or a multiple slot scheduling can be granted in the UL grant.
In this way, a plurality of slots to be used for transmissions scheduled in a same grant can be
configured to be inferable from each other, so as to improve the performance of the
transmissions.
20 [0083] As indicated above, under the condition that the first and second channels as well as
other possible channels associated with different slots are inferable from each other, the
terminal device 120 can transmit a set of reference signals (such as DMRSs) in either or both
of the first and second slots in one of various possible manners. For example, less or no
DMRSs may be transmitted in some slots. As a result, DMRS overhead reduction enables
25 more resources and energy for data channel and benefits coverage. More particularly, the
UE behavior can be specified for the BS using DMRSs of consecutive slots for one PUSCH
demodulation, which can also allow DMRS overhead reduction per slot.
[0084] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can transmit the set of
reference signals in only one of the first and second slots and does not transmit any reference
30 signals in the other slot. For example, the terminal device 120 may transmit the set of
reference signals in the first slot without transmitting reference signals in the second slot.
Accordingly, the network device 110 may receive the set of reference signals in the first slot
18
WO 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
and no reference signals in the second slot. In this way, the second slot may have more
resources for data transmission and may increase the throughput.
[0085] In case the reference signals are DMRSs, the slot in which no DMRSs are transmitted
may be referred to as a DMRS-less slot. Although no DMRS is transmitted in the
5 DMRS-less slot, the channel associated with the DMRS-less slot can be inferred by another
slot, which may be indicated using an inferable indication between the slots. Alternatively,
if a slot is configured to be a DMRS-less slot, the channel in the DMRS-less slot is implicitly
configured to be inferable from its adjacent slots.
[0086] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit an indication to the
10 terminal device 120 to indicate that no reference signal is to be transmitted in one or more
slots, for example, the second slot of the aforementioned first and second slots. Accordingly,
the terminal device 120 may receive the indication from the network device 110, and then
transmit the set of reference signals only in the first slot without transmitting any reference
signals in the second slot. In this way, the presence and position of a slot without reference
15 signals can be configured and managed by the network device in an effective way.
[0087] For example, such an indication of slots without reference signals can be included in
an RRC message, so as to achieve a relative static indication. More particularly, a PUSCH
transmission in a slot of a multi-slot PUSCH transmission can be configured by a DMRS-less
pattern, for example a bitmap, to indicate some slot(s) in multi-slot PUSCH transmission is
20 DMRS-less. The RRC indication of the DMRS-less slots implies the channels of slots in the
multi-slot PUSCH transmission are inferable from each other. In this way, a same RRC
message can indicate the slots to be used for performing transmissions and also indicate
which of these slots are to be slots without reference signals. Example of such indication
included in a RRC message will be described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 3.
25 [0088] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of resource patterns 300 for transmitting reference signals
in different slots 310, 320, and 330 in accordance with some embodiments of the present
disclosure. In Fig. 3, the horizontal axis represents time domain and the vertical axis
represents frequency domain. As shown, the slot 310, the slot 320, and the slot 330 each
include a plurality of resources, and each resource is represented by a block in the figure. In
30 some embodiments, the resource may be a resource element as defined in the 3GPP
specifications, which may correspond to an OFDM symbol in time domain and a subcarrier in
frequency domain.
19
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
[0089] In the example of Fig. 3, it is assumed that the slot 310 is the aforementioned first slot,
the slot 320 is the aforementioned second slot, and the slot 330 may be referred to as a third
slot. It is also assumed that the network device 110 schedules the terminal device 120 to
perform uplink transmissions in the first slot 310, the second slot 320, and the third slot 330.
5 In this event, the network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, an RRC
message indicating the first slot 310, the second slot 320, and the third slot 330 in which the
terminal device 120 is to perform a plurality of transmissions to the network device 110.
Moreover, the RRC message may include a bitmap indicating the second slot 320, which is
configured as a slot without reference signals by the network device 110. As an example,
10 the bitmap may be { 1, 0, 1} in the scenario of Fig. 3. It is to be understood that the specific
values of the bitmap are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations.
In other embodiments, any other suitable values may be possible.
[0090] Accordingly, the terminal device 120 may receive the RRC message from the network
device 110, and then obtain the bitmap (for example, bitmap { 1, 0, 1}) from the RRC message.
15 Based on the bitmap, the terminal device 120 can know that reference signals are to be
transmitted in the first and third slots 310 and 330, and no reference signal is to be transmitted
in the second slot 320. Afterwards, the terminal device 120 may transmit reference signals
(such as DMRSs) using the set of resources 311 in the first slot 310, transmit reference signals
(such as DMRSs) using the set of resources 331 in the third slot 330, and transmit no
20 reference signals in the second slot 320. It is to be understood that the specific sets of
resources 311 and 331 for transmitting the reference signals are only for the purpose of
illustration without suggesting any limitations. In other embodiments, any other suitable set
of resources in a slot can be used for transmitting reference signals.
[0091] In some other embodiments, the indication of slots without reference signals can be
25 included in a DCI from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120, so as to achieve a
relative dynamic indication. For example, an unused value of an existing field of the DCI
can be used to indicate a slot without reference signals. More particularly, the table
associated with antenna port(s) as defined in the 3GPP specifications can be redefined by
reusing the bits for the antenna port(s), which is shown in Table 1 as below. In Table 1, the
30 values "1," "2," and "3" of the field "Number of DMRS CDM group(s) without data" refers
to CDM groups {0}, {0,1}, and {0, 1, 2}, respectively, and the newly defined value "0" of the
field may refer to a slot without reference signals, such as a DMRS-less slot. As such, the
impact on the existing standards due to the indication of a slot without reference signals can
20

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method for communication, comprising:
receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, information on an inferring
relation between a first channel associated with a first slot and a second channel associated
5 with a second slot;
determining, based on the information, whether the first and second channels are to be
inferable from each other; and
in accordance with a determination that the first and second channels are to be
inferable from each other, performing communications with the network device on the first
10 and second channels based on the inferring relation.
15
20
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is included in downlink control
information, DCI.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether the first and second
channels are to be inferable from each other comprises:
determining that the first and second channels are to be inferable from each other,
based on a bit in the DCI scheduling the terminal device to perform a transmission to the
network device in one of the first and second slots.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether the first and second
channels are to be inferable from each other comprises:
determining, based on a number of bits in the DCI, a target inferring relation
configuration of a plurality of inferring relation configurations indicated in a radio resource
25 control, RRC, message, the plurality of inferring relation configurations indicating inferring
relations between a plurality of channels associated with different slots including the first and
second channels; and
30
determining that the first and second channels are to be inferable from each other
based on the target inferring relation configuration.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the number of bits is indicated by the RRC
message.
38
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is included in an RRC message
and indicates one of the following:
all channels associated with different slots between the terminal device and the
network device are inferable from each other;
5 a set of channels associated with different slots between the terminal device and the
10
15
20
25
30
network device are inferable from each other; and
a plurality of channels associated with a plurality of slots scheduled by an uplink grant
are inferable from each other.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the communications comprises:
transmitting a set of reference signals to the network device in at least one of the first
and second slots, such that the network device performs a joint channel estimation on the first
and second channels based on the set of reference signals.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting the set of reference signals
compnses:
transmitting the set of reference signals in the first slot without transmitting reference
signals in the second slot.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
receiving, from the network device, an indication that no reference signal is to be
transmitted in the second slot.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the indication comprises:
receiving, from the network device, an RRC message indicating a plurality of slots in
which the terminal device is to perform a plurality of transmissions to the network device; and
obtaining, from the RRC message, a bitmap indicating the second slot of the plurality
of slots.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the indication comprises:
receiving, from the network device, a DCI scheduling the terminal device to perform a
transmission to the network device in the second slot; and
determining an unused value of an existing field or a predefined value of a bit in the
DCI, the unused value or the predefined value indicating that no reference signal is to be
39
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
transmitted in the second slot.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting the set of reference signals
compnses:
5 transmitting, to the network device, a subset of the set of reference signals in the
second slot using zero power.
13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:
receiving, from the network device, an indication of further time domain resources in
10 at least one of the first and second slots for the terminal device to transmit further reference
signals in addition to the set of reference signals to the network device; and
15
transmitting, to the network device, the further reference signals in at least one of the
first and second slots using the further time domain resources.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting the set of reference signals
compnses:
in accordance with receiving, from the network device, an indication of a first set of
frequency domain resources within the first slot for the terminal device to transmit a first
subset of the set of reference signals to the network device, transmitting, to the network
20 device, the first subset of reference signals in the first slot using the first set of frequency
domain resources.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
receiving, from the network device, an indication of a second set of frequency domain
25 resources within the second slot for the terminal device to transmit a second subset of the set
of reference signals to the network device, the second set of frequency domain resources
being different from the first set of frequency domain resources; and
30
transmitting, to the network device, the second subset of reference signals m the
second slot using the second set of frequency domain resources.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the communications comprises:
receiving a set of reference signals from the network device in at least one of the first
and second slots; and
performing a joint channel estimation on the first and second channels based on the set
40
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
of reference signals.
17. A method for communication, comprising:
receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, an indication of an early
5 termination of a plurality of transmissions of same data between the terminal device and the
network device; and
10
in accordance with a determination that the plurality of transmissions are not
completed, determining that the rest of the plurality of transmissions are to be stopped.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication includes one of the following:
a DCI scheduling the terminal device to perform a new transmission to the network
device in a first period overlapping a second period for performing the rest of the plurality of
transmissions;
a DCI indicating a same hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process number and
15 a toggled new data indicator, NDI, compared to a previous DCI scheduling the plurality of
20
transmissions;
a positive feedback indicating a successful reception of the data of the plurality of
transmissions; and
an explicit termination indication for early terminating the plurality of transmissions.
19. A method for communication, comprising:
determining, at a network device, whether a first channel associated with a first slot
and a second channel associated with a second slot are to be inferable from each other;
transmitting, to a terminal device, information on an inferring relation between the
25 first channel and the second channel; and
30
in accordance with a determination that the first and second channels are to be
inferable from each other, performing communications with the terminal device on the first
and second channels based on the inferring relation.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the information is included in downlink control
information, DCI.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information is indicated by a bit in the DCI
scheduling the terminal device to perform a transmission to the network device in one of the
41
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
first and second slots.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein:
the information is indicated by a number of bits in the DCI, the bits indicating a target
5 inferring relation configuration of a plurality of inferring relation configurations indicated in a
radio resource control, RRC, message, the plurality of inferring relation configurations
indicating inferring relations between a plurality of channels associated with different slots
including the first and second channels; and
the target inferring relation configuration indicates that the first and second channels
10 are to be inferable from each other.
15
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the number of bits is indicated by the RRC
message.
24. The method of claim 19, wherein the information is included in an RRC message
and indicates one of the following:
all channels associated with different slots between the terminal device and the
network device are inferable from each other;
a set of channels associated with different slots between the terminal device and the
20 network device are inferable from each other; and
25
30
a plurality of channels associated with a plurality of slots scheduled by an uplink grant
are inferable from each other.
25. The method of claim 19, wherein performing the communications comprises:
receiving a set of reference signals from the terminal device in at least one of the first
and second slots; and
performing a joint channel estimation on the first and second channels based on the set
of reference signals.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein rece1vmg the set of reference signals
compnses:
receiving the set of reference signals in the first slot and no reference signals in the
second slot.
42
5
10
15
20
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:
transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication that no reference signal is to be
transmitted in the second slot.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein transmitting the indication comprises:
transmitting, to the terminal device, an RRC message indicating a plurality of slots in
which the terminal device is to perform a plurality of transmissions to the network device, the
RRC message including a bitmap indicating the second slot of the plurality of slots.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein transmitting the indication comprises:
transmitting, to the terminal device, a DCI scheduling the terminal device to perform a
transmission to the network device in the second slot, an unused value of an existing field or a
predefined value of a bit in the DCI indicating that no reference signal is to be transmitted in
the second slot.
30. The method of claim 25, further comprising:
estimating interference signals in resources used by the terminal device to transmit a
subset of the set of reference signals in the second slot with zero power.
31. The method of claim 25, further comprising:
transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication of further time domain resources in
at least one of the first and second slots for the terminal device to transmit further reference
signals in addition to the set of reference signals to the network device; and
receiving, from the terminal device, the further reference signals in at least one of the
25 first and second slots using the further time domain resources.
32. The method of claim 25, wherein rece1vmg the set of reference signals
compnses:
in accordance with transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication of a first set of
30 frequency domain resources within the first slot for the terminal device to transmit a first
subset of the set of reference signals to the network device, receiving, from the terminal
device, the first subset of reference signals in the first slot using the first set of frequency
domain resources.
43
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:
transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication of a second set of frequency domain
resources within the second slot for the terminal device to transmit a second subset of the set
of reference signals to the network device, the second set of frequency domain resources
5 being different from the first set of frequency domain resources; and
receiving, from the terminal device, the second subset of reference signals in the
second slot using the second set of frequency domain resources.
34. The method of claim 19, wherein performing the communications comprises:
10 transmitting a set of reference signals to the terminal device in at least one of the first
15
20
25
and second slots, such that the terminal device performs a joint channel estimation on the first
and second channels based on the set of reference signals.
35. A method for communication, comprising:
determining, at a network device, that a plurality of transmissions of same data
between the network device and a terminal device are not completed and the rest of the
plurality of transmissions are to be stopped; and
transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication of an early termination of the
plurality of transmissions.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the indication includes one of the following:
a DCI scheduling the terminal device to perform a new transmission to the network
device in a first period overlapping a second period for performing the rest of the plurality of
transmissions;
a DCI indicating a same hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process number and
a toggled new data indicator, NDI, compared to a previous DCI scheduling the plurality of
transmissions;
a positive feedback indicating a successful reception of the data of the plurality of
transmissions; and
30 an explicit termination indication for early terminating the plurality of transmissions.
37. A terminal device, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing instructions,
44
wo 2021/146892 PCT/CN2020/073423
the memory and the instructions being configured, with the processor, to cause the
terminal device to perform the method of any of claims 1-18.
38. A network device, comprising:
5 a processor; and
a memory storing instructions,
the memory and the instructions being configured, with the processor, to cause the
network device to perform the method of any of claims 19-36.
10 39. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions,
when executed on at least one processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method
of any of claims 1-18.
40. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions,
15 when executed on at least one processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method
of any of claims 19-36.