WO2021159472A1

WO2021159472A1 - Beyond-bandwidth part (bwp) sounding reference signal (srs) transmissions

Info

Publication number: WO2021159472A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/075287
Authority: WO
Inventors: Min Huang; Chao Wei; Qiaoyu Li; Jing Dai; Hao Xu; Jing LEI; Huilin Xu; Peter Pui Lok Ang
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2020-02-14
Filing date: 2020-02-14
Publication date: 2021-08-19

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. Generally, a base station may transmit, and a UE may receive, an indication of a first BWP (e.g., a serving BWP) for communicating with the base station. The UE may also receive, from the base station, SRS configuration information, which may indicate one or more SRS resources located in one or more BWPs that are different from the first BWP. The UE may determine a virtual SRS resource (e.g., may combine the SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information), and may transmit one or more SRSs over one or more REs of the virtual SRS resource.

Description

BEYOND-BAND WIDTH PART (BWP) SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SRS)

TRANSMISSIONS

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0001] The following relates generally to wireless communications and more specifically to beyond-bandwidth part (BWP) sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple- access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE). In some examples, a UE may transmit one or more sounding reference signals (SRSs) to a base station.

SUMMARY

[0003] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support beyond-bandwidth part (BWP) sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions. Generally, a base station may transmit, and a UE may receive, an indication of a first BWP (e.g., a serving BWP) for communicating with the base station. The UE may also receive, from the base station, SRS configuration information, which may indicate one or more SRS resources located in one or more BWPs that are different from the first BWP. The UE may determine a virtual SRS resource (e.g., may combine the SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information), and may transmit one or more SRSs over one or more REs of the virtual SRS resource.

[0004] A method of wireless communications at a UE is described. The method may include receiving, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receiving, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determining, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmitting one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0005] An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0006] Another apparatus for wireless communications at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receiving, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determining, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmitting one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0007] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0008] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource includes transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the subset of the resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0009] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, where identifying the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource may be based on the sounding reference signal configuration information.

[0010] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

[0011] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part. [0012] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part may be non-overlapping in frequency.

[0013] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, determining the virtual sounding reference signal resource may include operations, features, means, or instructions for combining the one or more sounding reference signal resources based on a respective frequency range associated with each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources.

[0014] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for comparing the respective frequency ranges associated with the one or more sounding reference signal resources, where the combining includes ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency values or descending frequency values. [0015] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a set of frequency segment indices corresponding to a set of frequency segments of the one or more sounding reference signal resources, where the combining includes ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency segment indices or descending frequency segment indices.

[0016] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, to the base station, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE may be capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

[0017] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources includes subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE. [0018] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources may have a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

[0019] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals includes transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

[0020] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0021] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying, based on the periodicity, a current time index, and calculating, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information and the current time index, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals may be based on the calculating.

[0022] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from the base station, control signaling including a trigger for the periodic sounding reference signal transmissions, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals may be based on receiving the control signaling.

[0023] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources, identifying at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, where the second set of contiguous frequency resources may be non-contiguous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources, and ignoring at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals including transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0024] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value, identifying at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that may be different than the first subcarrier spacing value, and ignoring at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals including transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0025] A method of wireless communications at a base station is described. The method may include transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmitting, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitoring, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receiving, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0026] An apparatus for wireless communications at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0027] Another apparatus for wireless communications at a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmitting, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitoring, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receiving, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0028] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a base station is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0029] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, where the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, and where monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals may be based on the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal.

[0030] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

[0031] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part. [0032] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part may be non-overlapping in frequency.

[0033] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from the UE, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE may be capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

[0034] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources includes subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE.

[0035] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources may have a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

[0036] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, where receiving the one or more sounding reference signals includes receiving the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

[0037] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, and where monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals may be based on the periodicity.

[0038] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, to the UE, control signaling including a trigger for the periodic sounding reference signals, where receiving the one or more sounding reference signals may be based on transmitting the control signaling.

[0039] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, receiving the one or more sounding reference signals may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources, and failing to receive the one or more reference signals during a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, where the second set of contiguous frequency resources may be non-contiguous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources.

[0040] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, receiving the one or more sounding reference signals may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value, and failing to receive the one or more reference signals during at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that may be different than the first subcarrier spacing value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0041] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports beyond-BWP (BWP) sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [0043] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an SRS resource allocation scheme that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an SRS resource allocation scheme that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIGs. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of devices that support beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [0048] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0049] FIGs. 10 and 11 show block diagrams of devices that support beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [0050] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports beyond- BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIGs. 14 through 17 show flowcharts illustrating methods that support beyond- BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In some examples of a wireless communications system, a base station may communicate with a UE (User Equipment). The base station may configure the UE with one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) resources. In some examples, the base station may transmit an SRS resource configuration message to the UE, which may indicate parameters for each SRS resource (time-domain position, frequency domain position, cyclic shift, comb offset, frequency hopping mode, sequence hopping mode, spatial relation, etc.). Upon receiving the SRS resource configuration message from the base station, the UE may transmit SRSs over configured SRS resources. The base station may then use received SRSs to perform uplink scheduling. Thus, efficient uplink scheduling by the base station may be dependent on the reception of SRSs over SRS resources.

[0054] In some cases, a UE may be a low-cost UE, or may otherwise have one or more limited capabilities (e.g., may be an NR-light UE). In such examples, the UE may support communications over a smaller bandwidth (such as 5-20 MHz) than that of a more costly UE (such as 100 MHz) at a serving BWP.

[0055] A base station 105 may expect the UE to be able to communicate over frequencies outside the serving BWP of the UE. The base station may rely on SRSs transmitted over a broad range of frequencies (e.g., outside the serving BWP of the UE) to estimate the quality of various uplink channels. However, in some examples, the UE may be configured to transmit SRSs over SRS resources within its serving BWP. In such example, the base station may not receive SRSs outside of the UE’s serving BWP. Without these SRSs, the base station may be unable to efficiently schedule uplink communications outside of the serving BWP, which may result in a loss in frequency diversity. To increase frequency coverage for the UE (e.g., an NR-light UE) the UE may transmit SRSs over SRS resources outside the frequency domain of its serving BWP by performing a BWP switch. During the BWP switch, the base station may reconfigure the UE with a new serving BWP to cover SRS resources outside the frequency domain of the original serving BWP. The UE may terminate a connection over the old serving BWP, establish a new connection for communications outside the old serving BWP, and then terminate the old connection and re-establish the new connection over the new serving BWP. Performing such BWP switching may result in increased processing latency, data transfer interruption, increased power expenditures, and decreased user experience.

[0056] In some examples, a UE may transmit SRSs over one or more SRS resources located outside the of the serving BWP without performing a full BWP switch. For example, a UE may change its carrier frequency temporarily to transmit SRSs over SRS resources outside the frequencies of the BWP and then return to the carrier frequency of its serving BWP. In such example, the base station may configure the UE with a serving BWP for communicating with the base station. The base station may also transmit an SRS resource configuration message indicating one or more SRS resources located outside the serving BWP with respect to frequency. The SRS resource configuration message may also indicate one or more resource elements (REs) over which the UE is to transmit one or more SRSs (e.g., a scope of SRS resource units). For example, the SRS resource configuration message may include information such as a starting point value, a length value, one or more resource indices, one or more segment indices, or the like.

[0057] A UE may receive the SRS resource configuration message and may identify the one or more SRS resources based thereon. In some examples, the UE may combine the SRS resources into a virtual SRS resource. For instance, the UE may stack each of the SRS resources and order them according to frequency (e.g., ascending or descending frequency), and may merge overlapping portions of some SRS resources. The UE may treat the virtual SRS resource as a single SRS resource, and may identify which REs within the virtual SRS resource over which to transmit SRSs. The SRS resource configuration message may indicate a one-shot SRS transmission or a periodic SRS transmission. The UE may temporarily change its carrier frequency and may transmit SRSs over the identified REs of the virtual SRS resource while retaining its connection over the original serving BWP. Upon completing transmission of one or more SRSs over the virtual SRS resource, the UE may revert its carrier frequency back to the serving BWP. As a result, the UE may transmit SRSs outside the frequency range of the serving BMP without performing a BWP switch.

[0058] Particular aspects of the subject matter described herein may be implemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniques may support improvements in system efficiency such that some UEs (e.g., NR-light UEs) may transmit SRSs outside of their serving BWP. Base stations may thus efficiently schedule uplink transmissions across a broad range of frequencies without costly delays at the UEs due to performing BWP switches, and excessive power expenditures. The described techniques may thus promote increased frequency diversity while saving power and avoiding increased latency. As such, supported techniques may include improved network operations and, in some examples, may promote device and network efficiencies and power savings, among other benefits.

[0059] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to SRS resource allocation schemes and process flows. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to beyond-BWP SRS transmissions.

[0060] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE- Advanced (LTE- A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. [0061] The base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which the UEs 115 and the base station 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a base station 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0062] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, the base stations 105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown in FIG. 1.

[0063] The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 through one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an SI, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 105 may communicate with one another over the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links 120 may be or include one or more wireless links.

[0064] One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next- generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology.

[0065] A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a multimedia/entertainment device (e.g., a radio, a MP3 player, a video device, etc.), a camera, a gaming device, a navigation/positioning device (e.g., GNSS (global navigation satellite system) devices based on, for example, GPS (global positioning system), Beidou,

GLONASS, or Galileo, a terrestrial-based device, etc.), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, , a netbook, a smartbook, a personal computer, a smart device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, virtual reality goggles, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet)), a drone, a robot/robotic device, a vehicle, a vehicular device, a meter (e.g., parking meter, electric meter, gas meter, water meter), a monitor, a gas pump, an appliance (e.g., kitchen appliance, washing machine, dryer), a location tag, a medical/healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples.

[0066] The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0067] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi -carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers.

[0068] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers.

A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by the UEs 115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode where initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the UEs 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode where a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology).

[0069] The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).

[0070] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of determined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., the base stations 105, the UEs 115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communications over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 or UEs 115 that support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating over portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.

[0071] Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi -carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT- S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE 115. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.

[0072] One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, where a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (D/) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE 115 may be restricted to one or more active BWPs.

[0073] The time intervals for the base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T_s =

1 /( f_{max '} Nf) seconds, where D f_max may represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and Nf may represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0074] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.

[0075] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0076] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE 115.

[0077] Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or others). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the base station 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping with geographic coverage areas 110, among other examples.

[0078] A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered base station 105, as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted access to the UEs 115 having an association with the small cell (e.g., the UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), the UEs 115 associated with users in a home or office). A base station 105 may support one or multiple cells and may also support communications over the one or more cells using one or multiple component carriers.

[0079] In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access for different types of devices.

[0080] In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0081] The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.

[0082] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that makes use of the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction- based business charging. In an aspect, techniques disclosed herein may be applicable to MTC or IoT UEs. MTC or IoT UEs may include MTC/enhanced MTC (eMTC, also referred to as CAT-M, Cat Ml) UEs, NB-IoT (also referred to as CAT NB1) UEs, as well as other types of UEs. eMTC and NB-IoT may refer to future technologies that may evolve from or may be based on these technologies. For example, eMTC may include FeMTC (further eMTC), eFeMTC (enhanced further eMTC), mMTC (massive MTC), etc., and NB-IoT may include eNB-IoT (enhanced NB-IoT), FeNB-IoT (further enhanced NB-IoT), etc.

[0083] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.

[0084] The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof.

For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more mission critical services such as mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo), or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission critical functions may include prioritization of services, and mission critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical, and ultra-reliable low- latency may be used interchangeably herein.

[0085] In some examples, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1 :M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station 105.

[0086] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations 105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.

[0087] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the base stations 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the network operators IP services 150. The network operators IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.

[0088] Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with the UEs 115 through one or more other access network transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station 105).

[0089] The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0090] The wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs 115 and the base stations 105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a device. The propagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.

[0091] The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples. [0092] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MEMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MEMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MEMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.

[0093] The base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MEMO techniques include single-user MEMO (SU-MEMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MEMO (MU-MEMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

[0094] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

[0095] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beam forming operations. For example, a base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station 105 multiple times in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a base station 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the base station 105.

[0096] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions and may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.

[0097] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a base station 105 to a UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The base station 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station 105, a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

[0098] A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may try multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals.

For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0099] The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP -based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a base station 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

[0100] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

[0101] In some examples, a base station 105 may transmit, and a UE 115 may receive, an indication of a first BWP (e.g., a serving BWP) for communicating with the base station 105. The UE 115 may also receive, from the base station 105, SRS configuration information, which may indicate one or more SRS resources located in one or more BWPs that are different from the first BWP. The UE 115 may determine a virtual SRS resource (e.g., may combine the SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information), and may transmit one or more SRSs over one or more REs of the virtual SRS resource to the base station 105.

[0102] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wireless communications system 200 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. Base station 105-a and UE 115-a may be examples of similar devices described with reference to wireless communications system 100. [0103] In some examples, wireless communications system 200 may include a base station 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may be examples of corresponding devices as discussed with respect to FIG. 1. The base station 105-a may transmit data and control information to UE 115-a via downlink 205, and UE 115-a may transmit data and control information to the base station 105-a via uplink 210. In some examples, base station 105-a may transmit SRS configuration message 215 to UE 115-a, which may configure one or more SRS resources for transmitting SRSs 225 by UE 115-a.

[0104] In some examples, UE 115-a may transmit one or more SRSs 225 to base station 105-a via uplink 210. Base station 105-a may use the SRSs 225 to determine uplink channel conditions, and may determine uplink scheduling for UE 115-a or other UEs 115 based thereon. For instance, base station 105-a may determine beamforming direction, radio resource assignment, transport format, or the like for communicating with UE 115-a, based on receiving SRSs 225 from UE 115-a.

[0105] UE 115-a may transmit one or more SRSs 225 to base station 105-a over one or more SRS resources. Base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with one or more SRS resources. For instance, base station 105-a may transmit an SRS configuration message 215 to UE 115-a via downlink 205. SRS configuration message 215 may indicate one or more SRS resources. SRS configuration message 215 may also include SRS configuration information, such as one or more configuration parameters. For example, SRS configuration message 215 may also indicate, for each configured SRS resource, a time domain position of the SRS resource or various REs within the SRS resource, a frequency domain position for the SRS resource or various REs within the SRS resource, a cyclic shift, a comb pattern (indicating a pattern of REs within the SRS resource over which to transmit SRSs 225), a comb offset, an indication of a frequency hopping mode and a frequency hopping pattern, an indication of a sequence hopping mode and a sequence hopping pattern, spatial relation information, or the like. In some examples, wireless communications system 200 (e.g., an NR system) may support SRS resources that span a number of symbols (e.g., 1 symbol, 2 adjacent symbols, 4, adjacent symbols, or the like) with up to some number (e.g., four) ports per SRS resource. UE 115-a may sound each port for an SRS resource in each symbol. An SRS resource set may contain a set of SRS resources for transmission by a single UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-a). UE 115-a may transmit an SRS 225 over SRS resource or SRS resource sets aperiodically (e.g., viaDCI signaling), semi-persistently, or periodically. [0106] In some examples, UE 115-a may operate at a lower cost than other UEs 115, at reduced capability with respect to other UEs 115, or a combination thereof. For instance, UE 115-a may be a low-cost UE (e.g., an NR-light UE). In such examples, UE 115-a may function with a reduced transmission and reception bandwidth capacity. For instance, UE 115-a may be capable of supporting a bandwidth of 5MHz to 20 MHz at a serving bandwidth part (BWP), while other UEs 115 may be capable of supporting a bandwidth of 100 MHz at a serving BWP. Such UEs 115, capable of supporting standard capabilities, such as a bandwidth of 100 MHz, may be referred to as premium UEs 115. UE 115-a may be an NR- light UE 115, and may communicate with base station 105-a (e.g., in an IoT use case), or may be a wearable device, an industrial sensor, a video surveillance device, a phone or other smart device, or the like.

[0107] Base station 105-a may rely on SRSs 225 from UE 115-a to schedule uplink transmissions. Base station 105-a may expect UE 115-a to be capable of transmitting on various frequencies, including frequencies outside of a serving BWP. By adjusting its carrier frequency, UE 115-a may be capable of similar or equal coverage as a premium UE 115.

Base station 105-a may expect SRSs 225 across a range of frequencies, in order to schedule uplink transmissions outside of the serving BWP, which may result in an increase in frequency diversity gain. UE 115-a may be capable of communicating simultaneously across multiple frequencies; however, UE 115-a may be constrained by its maximum supported bandwidth. That is, although UE 115-a may be capable of transmitting or receiving outside of its serving BWP, UE 115-a may be restricted to simultaneously use no more than its maximum supported bandwidth (e.g., no more than twenty MHz).

[0108] In some examples, UE 115-a may be configured to transmit SRSs 225 within a serving BWP, and not outside of the serving BWP. If UE 115-a only transmits SRSs 225 within the serving BWP, then base station 105-a may not have information for additional frequencies, and may not be able to efficiently schedule UE 115-a across additional frequencies. That is, without receiving SRSs 225 at frequencies beyond the serving BWP, base station 105-a may not be able to determine uplink channel statuses for those frequencies, and may not be able to make efficient scheduling determinations for uplink data transfers outside of the serving BWP. Such restrictions may disable UE 115-a from using frequencies outside of the serving BWP for uplink data transfers, which may result in frequency diversity loss and further loss of uplink coverage. [0109] To provide SRSs 225 across more frequencies, UE 115-a may perform a BWP switch. That is, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with a serving BWP, and may communicate with UE 115-a over the serving BWP. To transmit SRSs outside of the serving BWP, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with additional resources in another BWP. To communicate using the additional resources, UE 115-a may have to change its connection context. For instance, UE 115-a may break its connection with base station 105-a, and re establish a connection with base station 105-a over the additional resources. Upon transmitting SRSs 225 over the additional resources, UE 115-a may break the new connection, and establish a new connection with base station 105-a over the serving BWP. Re-establishing new connections outside the serving BWP may result in increased system latency, processing latency at UE 115-a, data transfer interruption, or the like.

[0110] To provide increased frequency diversity without introducing delays due to BWP changes, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a to transmit SRSs 225 outside of its serving BWP without performing a complete BWP switch, as described herein. UE 115-a may change its carrier frequency temporarily to send SRSs 225 outside of its serving BWP, and then return to the carrier frequency of its original serving BWP. In such examples, UE 115-a may retain its connection context at the original serving BWP, instead of acquiring new connection context for a new serving BWP. In such examples, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with a first frequency domain resource (e.g., resources in or equal to a first BWP for communicating with base station 105-a). For instance, base station 105-a may transmit BWP configuration message 220, which may indicate the serving BWP for communicating with base station 105-a. Base station 105-a may also transmit an SRS configuration message 215 to UE 115-a. Base station 105-a may transmit SRS configuration message 215 as an RRC message, a MAC-CE, a DCI, or a combination thereof.

[0111] SRS configuration message 215 may include SRS configuration information. The SRS configuration information may indicate one or more SRS resources (e.g., one or more second frequency domain resources for SRS transmission). Each SRS resource may not overlap, may partially overlap, or may fully overlap with the first frequency domain resource (e.g., with the serving BWP). In some examples, each of the SRS resources may be located outside of the serving BWP. The SRS configuration information may also indicate a scope of frequency resource units. In some examples, the SRS configuration information (e.g., the scope of the frequency resource units) may indicate REs (e.g., individual REs, resource blocks (RBs)) or the like) within the SRS resources over which to transmit the SRSs 225.

Such scope information may include an indication of a starting position value, a length value, an index of REs, an index of resource segments within the one or more SRS resources (e.g., each SRS resource may include one or more resource segments), an index of BWPs, or the like.

[0112] In some examples, each of the SRS resources may be located within a respective BWP (e.g., the serving BWP or a different BWP). In such examples, the respective BWP may be referred to as the SRS BWP for UE 115-a. Transmissions of SRSs 225, in such cases, may be restricted to the SRS BWP. UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 in the SRS BWP, and may retain its connection context at the original serving BWP.

[0113] In some examples, base station 105-a may select preconfigured SRS resources and include the selected SRS resources in the SRS configuration information. For instance, base station 105-a may communicate with UE 115-a (e.g., via higher layer signaling, dynamic signaling, or the like) to configure one or more SRS resources. In some examples, one or more SRS resources may be preconfigured or standardized, and may be available for one or more UEs 115. Base station 105-a may be aware of all of the available SRS resources, and may transmit an SRS configuration message 215 to UE 115-a to indicate which of the available SRS resources to use for transmitting SRSs. In some examples, to improve system efficiency, one or more SRS resources may partially or completely overlap with respect to time, frequency, or both. Base station 105-a may use different SRS resources for communicating with different devices (e.g., a first SRS resources with a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) for a first UE 115 having a first SCS capability, and a second SRS resource with a second SCS for a second UE 115 having a second SCS capability, etc.). However, in some cases, to achieve out-of-BWP SRS transmissions as described herein, base station 105-a may assign one or more SRS resources (e.g., including partially overlapping SRS resources) to the same UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-a). Base station 105-a may select SRS resources that are within the same BWP, or that span one or more BWPs. In some examples, base station 105-a may select SRS resources that fall within a maximum bandwidth capacity for UE 115-a. For instance, if UE 115-a is capable of simultaneous transmissions over no more than 20 MHz, then base station 105-a may only select simultaneous SRS resources for UE 115-a that fall within a range of 20 MHz. [0114] Upon receiving the SRS configuration information, UE 115-a may determine a virtual SRS resource, as described in greater detail with reference to FIGs. 3-5. UE 115-a may determine virtual SRS resource (virtual frequency domain resource) by combining the one or more SRS resources. For instance, UE 115-a may combine the SRS resources by frequency, in ascending or descending order. In some examples, UE 115-a may combine the SRS resources such that the virtual SRS resource is indexed continuously (e.g., based on frequency) from low frequency to high frequency, or in order of segment index order (e.g., from high to low).

[0115] UE 115-a may determine one or more REs of the virtual SRS resource over which to transmit one or more SRSs. For instance, UE 115-a may identify one or more frequency domain resource units (e.g., REs, RBs, or the like) or resource segments in the virtual SRS resource. UE 115-a may determine the REs for transmitting SRSs based on scope information (e.g., REs indicated) in the SRS configuration information. Upon determining the REs of the SRS resource, UE 115-a may transmit one or more SRS over the identified REs. In some examples, the identified REs may include one or more sets of continuous REs within the virtual SRS resource, a pattern of REs within the SRS resource (e.g., a comb pattern, with or without frequency hopping), or the like. The REs may be indicated by a starting RE index, a length value, a pattern indication, or the like. In some examples, a starting position value, plus an indicated length value, may be constrained to not exceed the boundaries of the virtual SRS resource. The indicated length value or length of indicated frequency segments may be constrained not to exceed the total bandwidth of the serving BWP (e.g., the number of frequency units or REs of the first frequency domain resource (serving BWP).

[0116] In some cases, base station 105-a may indicate one or more SRS BWPs to UE 115-a. In some such cases the virtual SRS resource may be located within a single SRS BWP (e.g., the serving BWP). Base station 105-a may transmit the SRS configuration information to UE 115-a indicating one or more SRS BWPs. In such examples, SRS configuration information may include an index of a used SRS BWP, scope information (e.g., indicating REs over which to transmit the one or more SRSs within the SRS BWP), or the like. UE 115- a may transmit the one or more SRSs over the indicated REs of the SRS BWP.

[0117] SRS resources may have the same SCS or different SCS. For example, each SRS resource indicated in the SRS configuration information may have the same SCS (e.g., the same SCS as the SCS of the serving BWP). In some examples, one or more of the SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information may have the same SCS (e.g., the same SCS as the SCS of the serving BWP), while one or more additional SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information may have different SCSs. In some examples, one set of SRS resources may have a first SCS and another set of SRS resources may have a second, different SCS. In such examples, the SRS configuration information may indicate different groups of SRS resources, and the SCS of each group (e.g., an indication that all SRS resources have the same SCS, or an indication of a first SCS for a first group of SRS resources, a second SCS for a second group of SRS resources, a third SCS for a third group of SRS resources, etc.).

[0118] In some examples, UE 115-a may indicate an SCS capability to base station 105- a. For instance, UE 115-a may transmit (e.g., prior to receiving SRS configuration message 215), an SCS capability report. The SCS capability report may indicate one or more SCS values supported by UE 115-a. That is, UE 115-a may determine which SCS values it can use to transmit SRSs, compile a list of the determined SCS values, and include the list in the SCS capability report. In some examples, the SCS values may include a set of indices corresponding to a preconfigured or standardized list of SCS values. In some examples, UE 115-a may generate a bitstream specifying SCS values that it supports. Upon receiving the SCS capability report, base station 105-a may identify one or more SRS resources having SCS values supported by UE 115-a. In some examples, base station 105-a may only include SRS resources that have SCS values supported by UE 115-a in the SRS configuration information. In some examples, base station 105-a may include at least a minimum number of SRS resources that have SCS values supported by UE 115-a in the SRS configuration information. If UE 115-a receives SRS configuration information indicating SRS resources that have SCS values not supported by UE 115-a, then UE 115-a may ignore those SRS resources (e.g., may determine the virtual SRS resource, and may transmit SRSs over REs within the virtual SRS resource that have supported SCS values and refrain from transmitting SRSs over REs within the virtual SRS resource that have non-supported SCS values).

[0119] UE 115-a may merge part or all of one or more SRS resources to determine the virtual SRS resource. For instance, UE 115-a may merge overlapping regions of SRS resources in the virtual SRS resource. That is, part of a first SRS resource may overlap partially with a second SRS resource. In such examples, at least some REs of the first SRS resource may be identical to (e.g., may be the same as) at least some REs of the second SRS resource. UE 115-a may combine the SRS resources when determining the virtual SRS resource, and may merge the overlapping regions of the two SRS resources into a single portion of the virtual SRS resource.

[0120] UE 115-a may transmit the one or more SRSs 225 as a one-shot SRS transmissions, based on the SRS configuration information. For example, SRS configuration message 215 may be a DCI message. The DCI message may include the SRS configuration information, indicating the SRS resources, and the REs within a virtual SRS resource over which to transmit SRSs. In response to the DCI message, UE 115-a may send a one-shot SRS transmission to base station 105-a using the indicated REs of a virtual SRS resource. Upon transmitting the one-shot SRS transmissions, UE 115-a may refrain from transmitting SRSs until it receives another SRS configuration message 215.

[0121] UE 115-a may transmit the one or more SRSs 225 periodically, based on the SRS configuration information. In some examples, the SRS configuration message 215 may indicate periodic SRS transmission. Base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with a period that is larger than the minimum amount of time used by UE 115-a to change its carrier frequency to transmit the SRSs 225 and return to the carrier frequency of the serving BWP.

In some examples, UE 115-a may report the amount of time needed to base station 105-a, and base station 105-a may configure the period accordingly. In some examples, a threshold time needed to change the carrier frequency may be standardized or preconfigured. The SRS configuration information included in the SRS configuration message 215 may include scope information (e.g., REs within the virtual SRS resource), and may further include a period value. The scope information may include starting values, length values, segment indices, BWP indices, RE indices, or the like. In some examples, the scope information may be different for a given time value. That is, starting values, length values, patterns of REs, or the like, may be dependent upon a particular time value. When each period ends, UE 115-a may calculate a current scope (e.g., identify the REs of the virtual SRS resource) based on the scope information and the current time value (e.g., a frame index, a slot index, a symbol index, or the like). That is, UE 115-a may insert a current time value into the scope information, and may generate a set of REs for transmitting periodic SRSs 225 within the virtual SRS resource. UE 115-a may then wait for another iteration of the period as indicated in the SRS configuration information. When the next period ends, UE 115-a may determine its new current time value, insert the current time value into the scope information, and generate another set of REs (e.g., the same or different frequency resources as before) for transmitting periodic SRSs 225. In some examples, calculating current scope information may be based on pre-configured information such as a pre-configured time-domain pattern (e.g., a time-domain pattern indicated by base station 105-a or regulated by one or more standards). For example, UE 115-a may identify a formula to generate REs (e.g., scope information) from a particular parameter (e.g., a starting point) of the scope information based on a current time value.

[0122] Base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a with periodic SRS resources, and may activate or deactivate periodic transmissions of SRSs 225 via control signaling. For instance, base station 105-a may send SRS resource configuration information to UE 115-a via RRC signaling. UE 115-a may identify SRS resources and determine one or more periodic virtual SRS resources based on the RRC signaling. Base station 105-a may subsequently transmit control signaling (e.g., a MAC CE), which may activate or deactivate periodic transmissions of SRSs 225. That is, the MAC CE may trigger UE 115-a to transmit SRSs 225 periodically, according to the SRS configuration information including period and SRS resources. UE 115- a may continue to transmit SRSs 225 periodically, according to the SRS configuration information, until receiving additional control signaling (e.g., another MAC-CE) that trigger UE 115-a to refrain from periodically transmitting SRSs 225.

[0123] UE 115-a may transmit, or refrain from transmitting, SRSs 225 on some subsets of REs of the virtual SRS resources based on transmission capability. For example, UE 115-a may be capable of transmitting SRSs 25 over discontinuous frequency resources. In such examples, UE 115-a may determine the virtual SRS resource including one or more SRS resources that are discontinuous, and may transmit SRSs 225 over identified REs of the virtual SRS resource. However, in some examples, UE 115-a may not be capable of simultaneously transmitting SRSs 225 over discontinuous frequency resources. In such examples, UE 115-a may determine that at least some of the frequency resources of the virtual SRS resource are discontinuous. For example, the virtual SRS resource may include a first SRS resource having a first continuous frequency range, and a second SRS resource having a second frequency range that is not continuous with the first frequency range. In such examples, UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over a first set of continuous frequency resources, and may refrain from transmitting SRSs 225 over noncontinuous frequency resources. For instance, UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over the first SRS resource of the virtual SRS resource, but may refrain from transmitting SRSs 225 over the second SRS resource of the virtual SRS resource. UE 115-a may determine which SRS resources of the virtual SRS resource over which to transmit SRSs 225 based on frequencies of the virtual SRS resources. For instance, UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over all continuous frequency resources of the virtual SRS resource starting at the highest frequency value, the lowest frequency value, or a frequency resource value indicated by the SRS configuration information. In some examples, UE 115-a may refrain from transmitting on the virtual SRS resource if any frequency resources of the virtual SRS resource are noncontinuous. In some examples, UE 115-a may report its transmission capabilities to base station 105 -a, and base station 105-a may select SRS resources accordingly (e.g., may only select SRS resources having continuous frequency resources, or may select a threshold number of SRS resources that have continues frequency resources to increase the likelihood of a sufficiently large range of frequencies over which to transmit SRSs 225).

[0124] UE 115-a may transmit, or refrain from transmitting, SRSs 225 on some subsets of REs of the virtual SRS resources based on SCS capability. For example, UE 115-a may be capable of transmitting SRSs 225 over frequency resources having different SCS values. In such examples, regardless of the SCS values of the SRS resources in the virtual SRS resource, UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over each indicated RE of the virtual SRS resource. However, in some example, UE 115-a may not be capable of transmitting SRSs 225 over frequency resources that do not have the same SCS value. In such examples, if base station 105-a configures UE 115-a with a virtual SRS resource that includes frequency resources with different SCS values, then UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over frequency resources having the same SCS value as the serving BWP and may refrain from transmitting SRSs 225 over frequency resources having different SCS values. For example, UE 115-a may identify a first SRS resource having a first SCS value and a second SRS resource having a second SCS value. UE 115-a may determine the virtual SRS resource including both the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource. In such examples, UE 115-a may determine that the first SRS resource has the same SCS value as the serving BWP. UE 115-a may transmit SRSs 225 over the first SRS resource of the virtual SRS resource, and may refrain from transmitting SRSs 225 over the second SRS resource of the virtual SRS resource. In some examples, if frequency resources of the virtual SRS resource have different SCS values, UE 115-a may refrain from transmitting any SRSs 225 over any portion of the virtual SRS resource.

[0125] As described herein, out-of-BWP SRS transmissions may enable some UEs 115 (e.g., an NR-light UE 115) to transmit SRSs 225 over frequency resources beyond the bandwidth of a serving BWP, without performing a complete BWP switch (e.g., while maintaining connection context of an initial connection over the BWP with base station 105- a). By receiving SRSs 225 over additional frequency resources outside of the serving BWP, base station 105-a may be able to schedule uplink data transmissions outside of the serving BWP, which may improve frequency diversity gain for uplink data transmissions, and may thus improve uplink coverage for an NR-light UE 115. Examples of out-of-bandwidth transmissions of SRSs 225 are described in greater detail with reference to FIGs. 3 and 4.

[0126] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an SRS resource allocation scheme 300 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, SRS resource allocation scheme 300 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. In some examples, abase station 105, a UE 115, or both, may implement aspects of SRS resource allocation scheme 300, and may be examples of similar devices described with reference to wireless communications systems 100 and 200.

[0127] In some examples, a base station 105 may communicate with a UE 115. Base station 105 may configure UE 115 with a serving BWP, for communicating with base station 105. In some examples, base station 105 may configure UE 115 with first resource 305. First resource 305 may be the same as, or located within, a serving BWP. Base station 105 may configure UE 115 with one or more additional (e.g., second) resources. For instance, base station 105 may transmit SRS configuration information to UE 115. The SRS configuration information may include an indication of one or more SRS resources 310. As illustrated with reference to FIG. 3, base station 105 may configure UE 115 with SRS resource 310-a, SRS resource 310-b, and SRS resource 310-c. In some examples, each of the SRS resources 310 may be located outside of the frequency resources of first resource 305.

[0128] UE 115 may combine SRS resources 310 to determine a virtual SRS resource 315. For example, UE 115 may combine SRS resource 310-a, SRS resource 310-b, and SRS resource 310-c to determine virtual SRS resource 315. SRS resource 310-b may partially overlap with SRS resource 310-c. That is, the frequency resources of overlapping portion 320 may be identical. In such examples, UE 115-a may merge the frequency resources of overlapping portion 320 in virtual SRS resource 315. Each SRS resource 310 may cover a range of frequency resources (e.g., may include one or more REs 325). Each frequency resource or RE 325 may be indexed. From index 0 to index fc_l and from index k₂ to index k₃ , frequencies of virtual SRS resource 315 may be continuous. However, between index k^ and index k₂ , frequencies may not be continuous (e.g., due to the frequency resources of SRS resource 310-a being lower than the frequency resources of first resource 305, and the frequency resources of SRS resource 310-b being higher than the frequency resources of first resource 305). In such examples, UE 115 may transmit SRSs over the entirety of virtual SRS resource 315 if it is capable of simultaneous transmissions over noncontinuous frequency resources. However, if UE 115 is not capable of simultaneous transmissions over noncontinuous frequency resources, then UE 115 may only transmit SRSs over a portion of the virtual SRS resource 315. For instance, UE 115 may start at the highest frequency value (e.g., the top of SRS resource 310-c) and may transmit SRSs over various REs (according to scope information) from index k₃ to index k₂ (including the frequency resources of SRS resource 310-c and SRS resource 310-b). However, UE 115 may refrain from transmitting SRSs over the frequency resources of index k₂ to index 0.

[0129] UE 115 may determine which REs over which to transmit SRSs within virtual SRS resource 315 based on the SRS configuration information. For example, base station 105 may indicate, in the SRS configuration information, a starting position value (e.g., index 0), and a length value L (e.g., length 330) spanning a number of REs. UE 115 may determine, based on the starting position value and the length value L , one or more REs over which to transmit SRSs (e.g., over frequency resources from index 0 to index L- 1). L may cover a subset of one SRS resource 310 (e.g., SRS resource 310-a) or may span multiple SRS resources 310. L and the starting position value may be constrained to ensure that the REs over which SRSs are to be transmitted do not extend beyond the upper and lower boundaries of virtual SRS resource 315. Base station 105 may further indicate a pattern (e.g., a comb pattern) of REs within virtual SRS resources 315, one or more frequency segment indices, SRS resource 310 indices, one or more specific frequency indices, BWP indices, or a combination thereof. Such information may be referred to as scope information, and may define which REs within virtual SRS resource 315 over which to transmit SRSs to base station 105. UE 115 may transmit the SRSs over the determined REs of virtual SRS resource 315.

[0130] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an SRS resource allocation scheme 400 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, SRS resource allocation scheme 400 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. In some examples, abase station 105, a UE 115, or both, may implement aspects of SRS resource allocation scheme 400, and may be examples of similar devices described with reference to wireless communications systems 100 and 200.

[0131] In some examples, a base station 105 may communicate with a UE 115. Base station 105 may configure UE 115 with a serving BWP, for communicating with base station 105. In some examples, base station 105 may configure UE 115 with first resource 405. First resource 405 may be the same as, or located within, a serving BWP. Base station 105 may configure UE 115 with one or more additional (e.g., second) resources. For instance, base station 105 may transmit SRS configuration information to UE 115. The SRS configuration information may include an indication of one or more SRS resources 410. As illustrated with reference to FIG. 4, base station 105 may configure UE 115 with SRS resource 410-a, SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and SRS resource 410-d. In some examples, each of the SRS resources 410 may be located outside of the frequency resources of first resource 405.

[0132] UE 115 may combine SRS resources 410 to determine a virtual SRS resource 415. For example, UE 115 may combine SRS resource 410-a, SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and SRS resource 410-d to determine virtual SRS resource 415. None of SRS resource 410-a, SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and SRS resource 410-d, may overlap. In some examples, SRS resource 410-a may include a set of continuous frequency resources (e.g., continuous REs 425), and SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and SRS resource 410-d may include another set of continuous frequency resources (e.g., continuous REs 425). In some examples, each SRS resource 410 may be the same size (e.g., span the same range of frequency resources) as first resource 405. Each SRS resource 410 may be indexed (e.g., SRS resource 410-a may have a first index value, SRS resource 410-b may have a second index value, etc.).

[0133] Each frequency resource or RE 425 may be indexed. From index 0 to index /cq, and from index k₂ to index k₃ , frequencies of virtual SRS resource 415 may be continuous. However, between index k₁ and index k₂, frequencies may not be continuous (e.g., due to the frequency resources of SRS resource 410-a being lower than the frequency resources of first resource 405, and the frequency resources of SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and being higher than the frequency resources of first resource 405). In such examples, UE 115 may transmit SRSs over the entirety of virtual SRS resource 415 if it is capable of simultaneous transmissions over noncontinuous frequency resources. However, if UE 115 is not capable of simultaneous transmissions over noncontinuous frequency resources, then UE 115 may only transmit SRSs over a portion of the virtual SRS resource 415. In some examples, UE 115 may refrain from transmitting SRSs over the frequency resources of index k to index 0.

[0134] UE 115 may determine which REs over which to transmit SRSs within virtual SRS resource 415 based on the SRS configuration information. For example, base station 105 may indicate, in the SRS configuration information, a starting position value (e.g., index 0), and a length value L (e.g., length 330) spanning a number of REs. UE 115 may determine, based on the starting position value and the length value L , one or more REs over which to transmit SRSs (e.g., over frequency resources from index 0 to index L- 1). L may cover a subset of one SRS resource 410 (e.g., SRS resource 410-a) or may span multiple SRS resources 410. L and the starting position value may be constrained to ensure that the REs over which SRSs are to be transmitted do not extend beyond the upper and lower boundaries of virtual SRS resource 415. Base station 105 may further indicate a pattern (e.g., a comb pattern) of REs within virtual SRS resources 415, one or more frequency segment indices, SRS resource 410 indices, one or more specific frequency indices, BWP indices, or a combination thereof. Such information may be referred to as scope information, and may define which REs within virtual SRS resource 415 over which to transmit SRSs to base station 105. UE 115 may transmit the SRSs over the determined REs of virtual SRS resource 415.

[0135] In some cases, base station 105 may indicate one or more SRS resources 410 to UE 115 for a current SRS transmission. For instance, base station 105 may indicate, in SRS configuration information, an index corresponding to SRS resource 410-a. The SRS configuration information may be included in a DCI message. UE 115 may transmit, over each RE 425 of SRS resource 410-a. In some examples, the SRS configuration information may further indicate a starting position (e.g., index 0) and a length L. Based on the starting position and L value, UE 115 may transmit SRSs over each of the REs 425 indicated within Length 420. After transmitting SRSs over one or more REs 425 of SRS resource 410-a, UE 115-a may wait for additional SRS configuration information. Another DCI message may include another indication of another SRS resource 410 (e.g., SRS resource 410-b, or both SRS resource 410-b and SRS resource 410-c). UE 115 may identify one or more REs 425 within the indicated SRS resources 410, and may transmit another one or more SRSs to base station 105.

[0136] In some cases, base station 105 may indicate a time-domain pattern of indexed SRS resources 410-b to UE 115. The pattern may, for example, SRS resource 410-a at a first time period, SRS resource 410-b at a second time period, SRS resource 410-c at a third time period, and SRS resource 410-d at a fourth time period, etc. At the first time period, UE 115 may identify the index corresponding to SRS resource 410-a, and may transmit one or more SRSs over SRS resource 410-a. In some examples, UE 115 may identify one or more REs 425 within SRS resource 410-a based on the SRS configuration information. At the second time period, UE 115 may identify the index corresponding to SRS resource 410-b, and may transmit one or more SRSs over SRS resource 410-b. In some examples, UE 115 may identify one or more REs 425 within SRS resource 410-b based on the SRS configuration information. In some examples, base station 105 may configure a combination of SRS resources 410 for each time period (e.g., SRS resource 410-a and SRS resource 410-b for the first time period, SRS resource 410-c and SRS resource 410-d for the second time period, etc.).

[0137] In some examples, UE 115 may transmit SRSs within virtual SRS resource 415 based on SCS capability. For example, UE 115 may not be capable of simultaneously transmitting SRSs over frequency resources having different SCS values. In some examples, UE 115 may transmit an SCS capability report to base station 105. Based on the SCS capability report, base station 105 may determine that UE 115 is not capable of transmitting SRSs over frequency resources having different SCS values. In such examples, base station 105 may select SRS resource 410-a, SRS resource 410-b, SRS resource 410-c, and SRS resource 410-d, where each SRS resource 410 has the same SCS value. In some examples, base station 105 may indicate, in the SRS configuration information, SCS values for each SRS resource 410. For example, SRS resource 410-a, SRS resource 410-b, and SRS resource 410-c may have the same SCS value as first resource 405, and SRS resource 410-d may have a different SCS value. In such examples, UE 115 may transmit SRSs over SRS resource 410- a, SRS resource 410-b, and SRS resource 410-c. Or, UE 115 may refrain from transmitting any SRSs over virtual SRS resource 415.

[0138] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process flow 500 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 500 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. Base station 105-b and UE 115-b may be examples of similar devices described with reference to wireless communications systems 100 and 200.

[0139] At 505, a UE 115-b may receive, from a base station 105-b, an indication of a first BWP for communicating with the base station.

[0140] At 510, UE 115-b may receive, from base station 105-b, configuration information. The configuration information may indicate one or more SRS resources located in one or more BWPs that are different than the first BWP. The configuration information may contain one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual SRS resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof. Such configuration information may be referred to as scope information, and may identify one or more REs of the SRS resources for use in transmitting SRSs to base station 105-b. Base station 105-b may transmit the configuration information as a DCI message, a media access control control element (MAC-CE), an RRC message, a system information message (e.g., system information block (SIB), master information block (MIB), a remaining minimum system information (RMSI), or a combination thereof.

[0141] In some examples, the configuration information may indicate a first time period for an SRS transmission. In such examples, base station 105-b may dynamically schedule UE 115-b for a single-shot SRS transmission. In some cases, the configuration information may indicate a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more SRSs. In such examples, UE 115-b may periodically transmit SRSs at 525 according to the periodic SRS configuration information.

[0142] In some cases, UE 115-b may transmit, to base station 105-b, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which UE 115-b is capable of transmitting SRSs. In such example, each of the one or more SRS resources may include subcarrier spacing values supported by UE 115-b. In some examples, at least one of the one or more SRS resources may have the same subcarrier spacing value as the first BWP.

[0143] At 515, UE 115-b may determine, based at least in part on the one or more SRS resources, a virtual SRS resource. A virtual SRS resource may be defined as a combination of a set of SRS resources indicated in the SRS configuration information. In some examples, UE 115-b may determine the virtual SRS resource by combining the one or more SRS resources based in part on a respective frequency range associated with each of the one or more SRS resources. For instance, UE 115-b may determine the virtual SRS resource by comparing the respective frequency ranges associated with the one or more SRS resources and combining the one or more SRS resources according to ascending frequency values or descending frequency values. UE 115-b may also determine the virtual SRS resource by identifying, based in part on the SRS configuration message, a set of frequency segments corresponding to a set of frequency segments of the one or more SRS resource, and combining the one or more SRS resources according to ascending frequency segment indices or descending frequency segment indices.

[0144] In some examples, the one or more BWPs, where the one or more SRS resources are located, may partially overlap or completely overlap in frequency with the first BWP. In some example, the one or more BWPs in which the one or more SRS resources are located in may not overlap in frequency with the first BWP.

[0145] In some examples, UE 115-b may determine, from the SRS configuration information received at 510, a virtual SRS resource or a portion thereof for a single-shot SRS transmission. For instance, the SRS configuration information may be included in a DCI message. In such examples, UE 115-b may determine a first time period for transmitting the SRS resource, and may transmit the SRSs at 525 accordingly.

[0146] In some examples, UE 115-b may determine, from the SRS configuration information received at 510, a virtual SRS resource or a portion thereof for periodic SRS transmissions. In such examples, the SRS configuration information may indicate one or more REs of the virtual SRS resource for transmitting periodic SRSs based on a current time index, and a period at which to transmit the periodic SRSs. In such example, UE 115-b may identify a current time index using the periodicity indicated in the SRS configuration information, and may calculate a subset of REs of the virtual SRS resource using the current time index along with SRS configuration information. At 525, UE 115-b may transmit the periodic SRSs according to the calculated subset of REs.

[0147] At 520, base station 105-b may monitor for one or more SRSs over the virtual SRS resource. Base station 105-b may monitor the one or more SRSs based in part on the periodicity indicated by the configuration message, if the SRSs are configured for periodic SRS transmissions.

[0148] At 525, UE 115-b may transmit, to base station 105-b, the one or more SRS signals over the virtual SRS resource. In some examples, UE 115-b may transmit the one or more SRSs over the identified subset of the REs of the virtual SRS resource.

[0149] In some examples, UE 115-b may transmit the SRSs over only a portion of the virtual SRS resource. For example, UE 115-b may not be capable of transmitting SRSs over non-contiguous frequency resources. In such examples, UE 115-b may identify a first portion of the SRS virtual resource that spans a first set of contiguous frequency resources and a second portion of the virtual resource that spans a second set of contiguous frequency resources that are not contiguous with the first set of contiguous resources. UE 115-b may ignore the second portion of the virtual SRS and transmit the one or more SRSs over the first portion of the virtual SRS resource. Thus, base station 105-b may receive the one or more reference signals during the first portion of the virtual SRS resource and fail to receive the one or more SRSs during the second portion of the virtual SRS resource.

[0150] In some examples, UE 115-b may transmit the SRSs over only a portion of the virtual SRS resource based on an SCS capability. In some examples, UE 115-b may not be capable of simultaneously transmitting SRSs over frequency resources that are not contiguous. In such examples, UE 115-b may identify a first portion of the virtual SRS resource having a first subcarrier spacing value (e.g., the same SCS value as the first resource) and a second portion of the virtual SRS resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value. In such examples, UE 115-b may ignore the second portion of the virtual SRS resource and transmit the one or more SRSs over the first portion of the virtual SRS resource. Thus, base station 105-b may receive the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual SRS resource having a first subcarrier spacing value and fail to receive the one or more reference signals during second portion of the virtual SRS resource.

[0151] At 530, base station 105-b may utilize received SRSs to check channel quality and schedule uplink data transmission.

[0152] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a communications manager 615, and a transmitter 620. The device 605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0153] The receiver 610 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beyond-BWP SRS transmissions, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0154] The communications manager 615 may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource. The communications manager 615 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 910 described herein.

[0155] The communications manager 615, or its sub -components, may be implemented in hardware, software (e.g., executed by a processor), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 615, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0156] The communications manager 615, or its sub -components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager 615, or its sub -components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager 615, or its sub -components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0157] The transmitter 620 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 605. In some examples, the transmitter 620 may be collocated with a receiver 610 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 620 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The transmitter 620 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0158] In some examples, the communications manager 615 may be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and the receiver 610 and transmitter 620 may be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled with the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception over one or more bands.

[0159] The communications manager 615 as described herein may be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow the device to transmit SRSs outside a serving BWP, which may result in increased power savings, decreased system latency due to BWP switching, increased efficiency in computational resource use, or the like.

[0160] Based on techniques for efficiently communicating maximum number of layers for a device as described herein, a processor of a UE 115 (e.g., controlling the receiver 610, the transmitter 620, or a transceiver 920 as described with respect to FIG. 9) may increase system efficiency and decrease unnecessary processing at a device.

[0161] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of a device 605, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a communications manager 715, and a transmitter 740. The device 705 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0162] The receiver 710 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beyond-BWP SRS transmissions, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. [0163] The communications manager 715 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 615 as described herein. The communications manager 715 may include a bandwidth part manager 720, a SRS configuration information manager 725, a virtual SRS resource manager 730, and a SRS manager 735. The communications manager 715 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 910 described herein. [0164] The bandwidth part manager 720 may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station.

[0165] The SRS configuration information manager 725 may receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part.

[0166] The virtual SRS resource manager 730 may determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0167] The SRS manager 735 may transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource. [0168] The transmitter 740 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 705. In some examples, the transmitter 740 may be collocated with a receiver 710 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 740 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The transmitter 740 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0169] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a communications manager 805 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 805 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 615, a communications manager 715, or a communications manager 910 described herein. The communications manager 805 may include a bandwidth part manager 810, a SRS configuration information manager 815, a virtual SRS resource manager 820, a SRS manager 825, a SCS capability manager 830, and a SRS timing manager 835. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0170] The bandwidth part manager 810 may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. In some cases, at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part. In some cases, the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non overlapping in frequency.

[0171] The SRS configuration information manager 815 may receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, where identifying the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource is based on the sounding reference signal configuration information. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof. [0172] The virtual SRS resource manager 820 may determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource. In some examples, identifying, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource includes transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the subset of the resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0173] In some examples, the virtual SRS resource manager 820 may combine the one or more sounding reference signal resources based on a respective frequency range associated with each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources. In some examples, comparing the respective frequency ranges associated with the one or more sounding reference signal resources, where the combining includes ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency values or descending frequency values. In some examples, identifying, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a set of frequency segment indices corresponding to a set of frequency segments of the one or more sounding reference signal resources, where the combining includes ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency segment indices or descending frequency segment indices.

[0174] The SRS manager 825 may transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource. In some examples, the SRS manager 825 may identify a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources. In some examples, the SRS manager 825 may identify at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, where the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-conti guous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources. In some examples, the SRS manager 825 may ignore at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals including transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource. [0175] The SCS capability manager 830 may transmit, to the base station, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals. In some examples, the SCS capability manager 830 may identify a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value. In some examples, the SCS capability manager 830 may identify at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value. In some examples, the SCS capability manager 830 may ignore at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals including transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource. In some cases, each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources includes subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE. In some cases, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

[0176] The SRS timing manager 835 may identify, based on the periodicity, a current time index n some examples, the SRS timing manager 835 may calculate, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information and the current time index, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based on the calculating. In some examples, the SRS timing manager 835 may receive, from the base station, control signaling including a trigger for the periodic SRS transmissions, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based on receiving the control signaling. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals includes transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0177] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of or include the components of device 605, device 705, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 905 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager 910, an I/O controller 915, a transceiver 920, an antenna 925, memory 930, and a processor 940. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 945).

[0178] The communications manager 910 may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0179] The I/O controller 915 may manage input and output signals for the device 905. The I/O controller 915 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 905. In some cases, the I/O controller 915 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 915 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 915 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 915 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 905 via the I/O controller 915 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 915.

[0180] The transceiver 920 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 920 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 920 may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

[0181] In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 925. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 925, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. [0182] The memory 930 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 930 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 935 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 930 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0183] The processor 940 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 940. The processor 940 may be configured to execute computer- readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beyond-BWP SRS transmissions).

[0184] The code 935 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code 935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 935 may not be directly executable by the processor 940 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

[0185] FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a communications manager 1015, and a transmitter 1020. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0186] The receiver 1010 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beyond-BWP SRS transmissions, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference to FIG. 13. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0187] The communications manager 1015 may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals. The communications manager 1015 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 1310 described herein.

[0188] The communications manager 1015, or its sub -components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 1015, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0189] The communications manager 1015, or its sub -components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager 1015, or its sub -components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager 1015, or its sub -components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (EO) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0190] The transmitter 1020 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the transmitter 1020 may be collocated with a receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1020 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference to FIG. 13. The transmitter 1020 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0191] FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of aspects of a device 1005, or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a communications manager 1115, and a transmitter 1140. The device 1105 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0192] The receiver 1110 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beyond-BWP SRS transmissions, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1105. The receiver 1110 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference to FIG. 13. The receiver 1110 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0193] The communications manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 1015 as described herein. The communications manager 1115 may include a bandwidth part manager 1120, a SRS configuration information manager 1125, a monitoring manager 1130, and a SRS manager 1135. The communications manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 1310 described herein.

[0194] The bandwidth part manager 1120 may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station.

[0195] The SRS configuration information manager 1125 may transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part.

[0196] The monitoring manager 1130 may monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0197] The SRS manager 1135 may receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals. [0198] The transmitter 1140 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1105. In some examples, the transmitter 1140 may be collocated with a receiver 1110 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1140 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference to FIG. 13. The transmitter 1140 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0199] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of a communications manager 1205 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 1205 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 1015, a communications manager 1115, or a communications manager 1310 described herein. The communications manager 1205 may include a bandwidth part manager 1210, a SRS configuration information manager 1215, a monitoring manager 1220, a SRS manager 1225, a SCS capability manager 1230, and a SRS timing manager 1235. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0200] The bandwidth part manager 1210 may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. In some cases, at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part. In some cases, the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non-overlapping in frequency.

[0201] The SRS configuration information manager 1215 may transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, where the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, and where monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based on the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal. [0202] In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information includes a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, where receiving the one or more sounding reference signals includes receiving the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period. In some cases, the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, and where monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based on the periodicity.

[0203] The monitoring manager 1220 may monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource.

[0204] The SRS manager 1225 may receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals. In some examples, the SRS manager 1225 may receive the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources. In some examples, the SRS manager 1225 may fail to receive the one or more reference signals during a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, where the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-conti guous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources.

[0205] The SCS capability manager 1230 may receive, from the UE, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals. In some examples, the SCS capability manager 1230 may receive the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value. In some examples, the SCS capability manager 1230 may fail to receive the one or more reference signals during at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value. In some cases, each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources includes subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE. In some cases, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part. [0206] The SRS timing manager 1235 may transmit, to the UE, control signaling including a trigger for the periodic sounding reference signals, where receiving the one or more sounding reference signals is based on transmitting the control signaling.

[0207] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system 1300 including a device 1305 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be an example of or include the components of device 1005, device 1105, or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1305 may include components for bi directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1310, a network communications manager 1315, a transceiver 1320, an antenna 1325, memory 1330, a processor 1340, and an inter-station communications manager 1345. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1350).

[0208] The communications manager 1310 may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource, and receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

[0209] The network communications manager 1315 may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 1315 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

[0210] The transceiver 1320 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1320 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1320 may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas. [0211] In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1325. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1325, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

[0212] The memory 1330 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1330 may store computer-readable code 1335 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 1340) cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1330 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0213] The processor 1340 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general- purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1340 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1340. The processor 1340 may be configured to execute computer- readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1330) to cause the device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beyond-BWP SRS transmissions).

[0214] The inter-station communications manager 1345 may manage communications with other base station 105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communications manager 1345 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager 1345 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations 105.

[0215] The code 1335 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code 1335 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1335 may not be directly executable by the processor 1340 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

[0216] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

[0217] At 1405, the UE may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. The operations of 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a bandwidth part manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0218] At 1410, the UE may receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part. The operations of 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a SRS configuration information manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0219] At 1415, the UE may determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by a virtual SRS resource manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0220] At 1420, the UE may transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by an SRS manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9. [0221] FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

[0222] At 1505, the UE may receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a bandwidth part manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0223] At 1510, the UE may receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by an SRS configuration information manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0224] At 1515, the UE may determine, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1515 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by a virtual SRS resource manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0225] At 1520, the UE may identify, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information, one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof. The operations of 1520 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1520 may be performed by a virtual SRS resource manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0226] At 1525, the UE may identify, based on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals. The operations of 1525 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1525 may be performed by an SRS configuration information manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0227] At 1530, the UE may transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource, where transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource includes transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the subset of the resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1530 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1530 may be performed by an SRS manager as described with reference to FIGs. 6 through 9.

[0228] FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

[0229] At 1605, the base station may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed by a bandwidth part manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0230] At 1610, the base station may transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by an SRS configuration information manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0231] At 1615, the base station may monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed by a monitoring manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0232] At 1620, the base station may receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals. The operations of 1620 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1620 may be performed by an SRS manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0233] FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 that supports beyond-BWP SRS transmissions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1700 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally, or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

[0234] At 1705, the base station may transmit, to a UE, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station. The operations of 1705 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1705 may be performed by a bandwidth part manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0235] At 1710, the base station may transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part, where the sounding reference signal configuration information includes one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, where the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, and where monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based on the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal. The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed by an SRS configuration information manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0236] At 1715, the base station may monitor, based on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed by a monitoring manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0237] At 1720, the base station may receive, from the UE based on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals. The operations of 1720 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1720 may be performed by an SRS manager as described with reference to FIGs. 10 through 13.

[0238] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

[0239] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0240] Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0241] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, 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 processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0242] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer- readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0243] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random- access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, 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, 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 computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0244] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.” As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.

[0245] In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

[0246] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0247] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; receiving, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; determining, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and transmitting one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource comprises transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the subset of the resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, wherein identifying the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource is based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non-overlapping in frequency.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the virtual sounding reference signal resource comprises: combining the one or more sounding reference signal resources based at least in part on a respective frequency range associated with each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: comparing the respective frequency ranges associated with the one or more sounding reference signal resources, wherein the combining comprises ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency values or descending frequency values.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: identifying, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a set of frequency segment indices corresponding to a set of frequency segments of the one or more sounding reference signal resources, wherein the combining comprises ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency segment indices or descending frequency segment indices.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, to the base station, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources comprises subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprises transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying, based at least in part on the periodicity, a current time index; and calculating, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information and the current time index, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the calculating.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from the base station, control signaling comprising a trigger for the periodic SRS transmissions, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on receiving the control signaling.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources; identifying at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, wherein the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-contiguous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources; and ignoring at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprising transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value; identifying at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value; and ignoring at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprising transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

19. A method for wireless communications at a base station, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; transmitting, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; monitoring, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and receiving, from the UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, and wherein monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non-overlapping in frequency.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources comprises subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals comprises receiving the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

28. The method of claim 19, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, and wherein monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the periodicity.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, control signaling comprising a trigger for the periodic sounding reference signals, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on transmitting the control signaling.

30. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals comprises: receiving the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources; and failing to receive the one or more reference signals during a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, wherein the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-conti guous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources.

31. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals comprises: receiving the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value; and failing to receive the one or more reference signals during at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value.

32. An apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor, memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; determine, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource comprises transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the subset of the resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, wherein identifying the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource is based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part.

37. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non-overlapping in frequency.

38. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions to determine the virtual sounding reference signal resource are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: combine the one or more sounding reference signal resources based at least in part on a respective frequency range associated with each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: the instructions to compare the respective frequency ranges associated with the one or more sounding reference signal resources, wherein the combining is executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to order the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency values or descending frequency values.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information, a set of frequency segment indices corresponding to a set of frequency segments of the one or more sounding reference signal resources, wherein the combining comprises ordering the one or more sounding reference signal resources according to ascending frequency segment indices or descending frequency segment indices.

41. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the base station, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources comprises subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE.

43. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

44. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprises transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

45. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify, based at least in part on the periodicity, a current time index; and calculate, based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration information and the current time index, a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource on which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the calculating.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the base station, control signaling comprising a trigger for the periodic SRS transmissions, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on receiving the control signaling.

48. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources; identify at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, wherein the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-contiguous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources; and ignore at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprising transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

49. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value; identify at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value; and ignore at least the second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, wherein transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals comprising transmitting the one or more sounding reference signals over the first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

50. An apparatus for wireless communications at a base station, comprising: a processor, memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to a user equipment (UE), an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; monitor, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and receive, from the UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises one or more resource element indices, one or more bandwidth part indices, one or more segments of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, a starting value indicating a first resource element, a length value indicating a number of resource elements, or a combination thereof, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal resource, and wherein monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the subset of resource elements of the virtual sounding reference signal.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information comprises a downlink control information message, a media access control control element, a radio resource control message, a system information message, or a combination thereof.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein at least one of the one or more bandwidth parts partially overlaps in frequency with the first bandwidth part.

54. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the one or more bandwidth parts and the first bandwidth part are non-overlapping in frequency.

55. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the UE, a subcarrier spacing capability report indicating subcarrier spacing values with which the UE is capable of transmitting sounding reference signals.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein each of the one or more sounding reference signal resources comprises subcarrier spacing values supported by the UE.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal resources has a same subcarrier spacing value as the first bandwidth part.

58. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a first time period for a sounding reference signal transmission, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals comprises receiving the one or more sounding reference signals during the first time period.

59. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information indicates a periodicity at which to transmit the one or more sounding reference signals, and wherein monitoring for the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on the periodicity.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the UE, control signaling comprising a trigger for the periodic sounding reference signals, wherein receiving the one or more sounding reference signals is based at least in part on transmitting the control signaling.

61. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the instructions to receive the one or more sounding reference signals are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a first set of contiguous frequency resources; and fail to receive the one or more reference signals during a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource spanning a second set of contiguous frequency resources, wherein the second set of contiguous frequency resources is non-conti guous with the first set of contiguous frequency resources.

62. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the instructions to receive the one or more sounding reference signals are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the one or more reference signals during a first portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a first subcarrier spacing value; and fail to receive the one or more reference signals during at least a second portion of the virtual sounding reference signal resource having a second subcarrier spacing value that is different than the first subcarrier spacing value.

63. An apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; means for receiving, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; means for determining, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and means for transmitting one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

64. An apparatus for wireless communications at a base station, comprising: means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; means for transmitting, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; means for monitoring, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and means for receiving, from the UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.

65. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to: receive, from a base station, an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; receive, from the base station, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; determine, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and transmit one or more sounding reference signals over the virtual sounding reference signal resource.

66. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a base station, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to: transmit, to a user equipment (UE), an indication of a first bandwidth part for communicating with the base station; transmit, to the UE, sounding reference signal configuration information indicating one or more sounding reference signal resources located in one or more bandwidth parts that are different than the first bandwidth part; monitor, based at least in part on the one or more sounding reference signal resources, for one or more sounding reference signals over a virtual sounding reference signal resource; and receive, from the UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the one or more sounding reference signals.