Resource mapping for low-latency RACH

Abstract

According to some example embodiments, a method may include generating, by a network entity, at least one staggered mapping pattern. The method may also include sending, by the network entity, at least one staggered mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving, by the network entity, at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined staggered mapping pattern.

Description

Background Art Technical Field

[0001] Certain example embodiments may relate to communication systems.For example, some example embodiments may relate to preamble transmission.

[0002] Description of related technology:

[0003] 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.889 describes 4-step and 2-step Random Access Channel (RACH) procedures, which are intended to be supported under New Radio in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). 2-step RACH refers to a process that can accomplish contention-based RACH (CBRA) in two steps as explained below. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to some example embodiments, the method may include generating, by a network entity, at least one staggered mapping pattern. The method may also include sending, by the network entity, the at least one staggered mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving, by the network entity, at least one PUSCH according to the determined at least one staggered mapping pattern.

[0005] According to some example embodiments, the apparatus may include means for generating at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The apparatus may also include means for sending the at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The apparatus may also include means for receiving at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0006] According to some example embodiments, the apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to cause the apparatus to at least generate at least one interlaced mapping pattern through the at least one processor. The at least one memory and the computer program code may also be configured to cause the apparatus to at least send at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment through the at least one processor. The at least one memory and the computer program code may also be configured to cause the apparatus to at least receive at least one PUSCH according to the determined at least one interlaced mapping pattern through the at least one processor.

[0007] According to some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may be encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, may perform a method. The method may include generating at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The method may also include sending at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0008] According to some example embodiments, a computer program product may perform a method. The method may include generating at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The method may also include sending the at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0009] According to some example embodiments, the apparatus may include circuitry configured to generate at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The circuitry may also send the at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The circuitry may also receive at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0010] According to some example embodiments, a method may include receiving, by a user equipment, at least one staggered mapping pattern from a network entity. The method may also include determining, by the user equipment at a first level, at least one association between at least one MsgA RA time instance and at least one MsgA PUSCH time instance. The method may also include determining, by the user equipment at a second level, at least one association between at least one MsgA RA opportunity and at least one MsgA PUSCH opportunity. The method may also include sending, by the user equipment, at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined staggered mapping pattern. The method may also include determining, by the user equipment, at least one association between at least one MsgA RA preamble within at least one MsgA RA opportunity and / or at least one MsgA PUSCH resource unit within at least one MsgA PUSCH resource.

[0011] According to some example embodiments, an apparatus may include means for receiving at least one interlaced mapping pattern from a network entity. The apparatus may also include means for determining at a first level at least one association between at least one MsgA RA time instance and at least one MsgA PUSCH time instance. The apparatus may also include means for receiving at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0012] According to some example embodiments, the apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to cause the apparatus to at least generate at least one interlaced mapping pattern through the at least one processor. The at least one memory and the computer program code may also be configured to cause the apparatus to at least send at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment through the at least one processor. The at least one memory and the computer program code may also be configured to cause the apparatus to at least receive at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern through the at least one processor.

[0013] According to some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may be encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, may perform a method. The method may include generating at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The method may also include sending at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0014] According to some example embodiments, a computer program product may perform a method. The method may include generating at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The method may also include sending the at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern.

[0015] According to some example embodiments, the apparatus may include circuitry configured to generate at least one interlaced mapping pattern. The circuitry may also send the at least one interlaced mapping pattern to a user equipment. The circuitry may also receive at least one PUSCH according to the at least one determined interlaced mapping pattern. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] For a proper understanding of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 (a) illustrates an example of a 4-step RACH procedure in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0018] Figure 1 (b) illustrates an example of a 2-step RACH procedure in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0019] Figure 2 Illustrated are examples of mapping between synchronization signal blocks and physical random access channels in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0020] Figure 3 Illustrated are examples of MsgA physical uplink shared channel resources associated with MsgA radio access opportunities in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0021] Figure 4 An example of a signaling diagram is illustrated in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0022] Figure 5 Illustrated are examples of mapping radio access opportunities and preamble sets to physical uplink shared channel resources in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0023] Figure 6 Another example of mapping radio access opportunities and preamble sets to physical uplink shared channel resources is illustrated in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0024] Figure 7 Another example of mapping radio access opportunities and preamble sets to physical uplink shared channel resources is illustrated in accordance with certain example embodiments.

[0025] Figure 8 An example of a method performed by a network entity according to some example embodiments is illustrated.

[0026] Fig. 9 An example of a method performed by a user equipment according to some example embodiments is illustrated.

[0027] Fig.10 An example of a system in accordance with certain example embodiments is illustrated.

[0028] Fig.11 An example of mapping preambles associated with SSBs within a RO to PUSCH opportunities is illustrated in accordance with certain example embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Compared to the traditional 4-step random access procedure (RACH), 3GPP RAN#82 proposes a random access procedure. For example, this involves a MsgA transmitted from the user equipment to a base station (such as a gNB). The base station can then respond to the user equipment with MsgB. As an example, Figure 1 (a) illustrates the basic steps of the 4-step RACH process. Figure 1 (b) illustrates the basic steps of the 2-step RACH procedure. The 2-step RACH procedure provides lower signaling overhead and lower latency, which is preferred for New Radio (NR) use cases such as Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) and enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB).

[0030] 3GPP RP-182894 discusses that 2-step RACH can be used for all radio resource controls (RRC), and the triggers for 4-step RACH can also be applied to 2-step RACH, except for beam failure recovery (BFR). Therefore, 2-step RACH can be used for RRC state transitions from RRC IDLE / RRC INACTIVE to RRC CONNECTED and uplink (UL) synchronization reestablishment for RRC CONNECTED.

[0031] MsgA in 2-step RACH may include a preamble sequence and a data block. For example, the preamble sequence is transmitted in a configured PRACH resource (such as an RA opportunity). The UE may randomly select a preamble sequence from a sequence pool to notify the base station of the requirement to access the network. In addition, the data block is transmitted in a configured MsgA PUSCH resource. For example, it may include an RRC setup request, a scheduling request, or a data payload, depending on the usage scenario. In addition, MsgB in the second step may be transmitted from the base station to the user equipment. It may be transmitted based on the scheduling of the base station and may include the equivalent content of Msg2 and Msg4 in 4-step RACH.

[0032] 5G NR defines the mapping between SSB and PRACH preambles and timing. The mapping rule can start with the preamble, followed by frequency, time, and time slot. Figure 2 An example of how 8 SSBs may be mapped to a series of RA opportunities is illustrated, where each box in the PRACH represents a RA opportunity.

[0033] When the UE accesses the network, it can determine the best SSB through measurement, which can correspond to the best downlink beam. Then, the UE can determine the RA timings through predefined mapping rules, which are associated with this SSB for PRACH preamble transmission. The mapping scheme ensures that PRACH can be received from the best receive beam.

[0034] For msgA, the base station may need to configure resources for PRACH preamble and msgA PUSCH. The resource configuration may be similar to the resource configuration of the traditional 4-step RACH. Specifically, the time instance configured for the msgA preamble transmission is the msgA RA time instance. The MsgA RA time instance refers to the time instance in the 2-step RA preamble transmission, wherein one RA time instance includes at least one MsgA RA opportunity according to at least one configuration. The MsgA RA opportunity may be a time-frequency resource for at least one MsgA preamble transmission. For one msgA RA time instance, the base station may configure one or more RA opportunities. The time instance containing the resources of msgA PUSCH is the msgA PUSCH time instance. The msgA PUSCH time instance may include a 2-step RA time instance, wherein one PUSCH time instance includes at least one PUSCH resource based on at least one configuration. The MsgA PUSCH resources may include at least one time-frequency resource for the MsgA PUSCH transmission. For one msgA PUSCH time instance, the base station may configure one or more msgA PUSCH resources. The msgA RA time instance and the msgA PUSCH time instance may be mutually related. In addition, at least one MsgA PUSCH resource (time-frequency resource) may include at least one PUSCH resource element, wherein the PUSCH resource element may correspond to at least one DMRS port and / or at least one DMRS sequence. Figure 3 An example is illustrated where the msgA RA time instance and the msgA PUSCH time instance are combined together. 2-step RACH PUSCH transmission in msgA can be contention based. When two or more UEs transmit msgA PUSCH in the same resource unit at the same time, interference may occur and the msgA PUSCH detection performance may be degraded.

[0035] Certain example embodiments described herein may have various benefits and / or advantages. For example, some example embodiments may enable signals from different beams to be sent from different UEs in the same resources, thereby reducing interference between data signals and improving the reliability of 2-step RACH. Therefore, certain example embodiments relate to improvements in computer-related technologies, in particular by saving network resources and reducing power consumption of network entities and / or user equipment located within the network.

[0036] Figure 4 An example of a signaling diagram is illustrated, which shows the communication between NE 420 and UE 430. NE 420 may be similar to NE 1010, and UE 430 may be similar to UE 1020, both of which are in Fig.10 is shown in the figure.

[0037] In step 401, NE 420 may generate at least one staggered mapping pattern. For example, at least one staggered mapping pattern may include at least one association between at least one msgA RA opportunity and at least one PUSCH resource so that signals from separate beams are mapped to different beams in the same resource. Alternatively, at least one association may be between at least one preamble and a PUSCH resource element. In some example embodiments, at least one staggered mapping pattern may be associated with at least one capability of NE 420, the at least one capability being related to how many beams NE 420 can recover from signals from one MsgA PUSCH resource. At least one staggered mapping pattern may be configured to configure UE 430 with respect to how many RA opportunities corresponding to different beams may be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource.

[0038] In some example embodiments, the granularity of at least one staggered mapping pattern may be determined based on the number of RA opportunities corresponding to different beams that may be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource and / or the number of RA opportunities. For example, at least one staggered mapping pattern may have a granularity of m, where m corresponds to RA opportunities k, k+m, k+2m, etc. mapped to the same resource.

[0039] In various example embodiments, if there are more than one MsgA RA time instances configured to be associated with the same MsgAPUSCH opportunity in the first level association, at least one RA opportunity in the RA time instance may be numbered sequentially. Then, at least one staggered mapping mode may be applied to the at least one RA opportunity.

[0040] In some example embodiments, wherein K RA opportunities are associated with N PUSCH resources in at least one uplink time slot corresponding to a MsgA PUSCH time instance, and wherein the NE 420 can recover at most P beam signals in a single resource, the number X of preamble sets in each RA opportunity is determined as X=N*P / K preamble sets, wherein each preamble set has the same number of preambles. Additionally or alternatively, at least one staggered mapping pattern of P RA opportunities may be mapped to the same resource, wherein the gap m of identifiers of RA opportunities mapped to the same PUSCH resource may be determined as m=K / P. In the case of N>=K / P, at least one staggered mapping pattern may be configured so that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth preamble set from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSCH resource. The NE may configure at least one of a value P, a value X, a value m, a value N, and / or a value K for the UE. For some parameters, at least one of these values ​​may not be directly configured, but determined by other configured parameters, such as the number of RA time instances and the product of the number of RA opportunities and each RA time instance. The mapping pattern can then be determined at the NE and UE accordingly so that there is a common understanding of how the interleaved mapping pattern and preamble set are determined in the NE and UE.

[0041] In certain example embodiments, the preambles for each RA opportunity may be divided into multiple sets when the granularity of the interleaving mapping pattern is greater than 1 and the number of MsgA PUSCH resources is not less than the number of RA opportunities. As an example, at least one interleaving mapping pattern may be configured such that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with the same group of k, k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth set of preambles from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSH resource.

[0042] Figure 5 An example of a base station is shown, capable of receiving PUSCH from P=2 different beams simultaneously, where N=4 MsgA PUSCH resources are associated with K=4 RA opportunities, where the mapping of RA opportunities and preamble sets to MsgA PUSCH resources is as follows:

[0043] PUCCH resource index RA Timing Index Preamble Set Index Resource 1 RA timing 1, 3 Preamble Set 1 Resource 2 RA timing 2, 4 Preamble Set 1 Resource 3 RA timing 1, 3 Preamble Set 2 Resource 4 RA timing 2, 4 Preamble Set 2

[0044] Figure 6 An example of a base station is shown, capable of receiving PUSCH from P=2 different beams simultaneously, where N=4 MsgA PUSCH resources are associated with K=8 RA opportunities, where the mapping of RA opportunities and preamble sets to MsgA PUSCH resources is as follows:

[0045] PUCCH resource index RA Timing Index Preamble Set Index Resource 1 RA timing 1, 5 Preamble Set 1 Resource 2 RA timing 2, 6 Preamble Set 1 Resource 3 RA timing 3, 7 Preamble Set 1 Resource 4 RA timing 4, 8 Preamble Set 1

[0046] However, if the base station is configured to recover 4 beam data signals, PUSCH from P = 4 different beams are received simultaneously, where N = 4 MsgA PUSCH resources are associated with K = 8 RA opportunities, where the mapping of RA opportunities and preamble sets to MsgA PUSCH resources is as follows:

[0047] PUCCH resource index RA Timing Index Preamble Set Index Resource 1 RA timing 1, 3, 5, 7 Preamble Set 1 Resource 2 RA timing 2, 4, 6, 8 Preamble Set 1 Resource 3 RA timing 1, 3, 5, 7 Preamble Set 2 Resource 4 RA timing 2, 4, 6, 8 Preamble Set 2

[0048] Figure 7 An example of a base station is shown, capable of receiving PUSCH from P=2 different beams simultaneously, where N=4 MsgA PUSCH resources are associated with K=2 RA opportunities, where the mapping of RA opportunities and preamble sets to MsgA PUSCH resources is as follows:

[0049] PUCCH resource index RA Timing Index Preamble Set Index Resource 1 RA timing 1, 2 Preamble Set 1 Resource 2 RA timing 1, 2 Preamble Set 2 Resource 3 RA timing 1, 2 Preamble Set 3 Resource 4 RA timing 1, 2 Preamble Set 4

[0050] In step 403, NE 420 may transmit at least one staggered mapping pattern to UE 430. In step 405, UE 430 may determine at a first level at least one association between at least one MsgA RA time instance and at least one MsgA PUSCH time instance.

[0051] In step 407, UE 430 may determine at the second level at least one association between at least one MsgA RA opportunity and at least one MsgA PUSCH resource by configuring UE 430 with at least one of value P, value X, value m, value N, and / or value K. In step 409, UE 430 may transmit at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interleaving mapping mode.

[0052] Figure 8 The diagram shows the Fig.10 An example of a method performed by a NE1010 in FIG. 801. In step 801, the NE may generate at least one staggered mapping pattern. For example, the at least one staggered mapping pattern may include at least one association between at least one msgA RA opportunity and at least one PUSCH resource, so that signals from separate beams are sent from different UEs in the same resource. Alternatively, the at least one association may be between at least one preamble and a PUSCH resource element. In some example embodiments, at least one staggered mapping pattern may be associated with at least one capability of the NE, which is related to how many beams the NE can recover from a signal from one MsgA PUSCH resource. At least one staggered mapping pattern may be configured to configure the UE with respect to how many RA opportunities corresponding to different beams can be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource.

[0053] In some example embodiments, the granularity of at least one staggered mapping pattern may be determined based on the number of RA opportunities corresponding to different beams that may be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource and / or the number of RA opportunities. For example, at least one staggered mapping pattern may have a granularity of m, where m corresponds to RA opportunities k, k+m, k+2m, etc. mapped to the same resource.

[0054] In various example embodiments, if there are more than one MsgA RA time instances configured to be associated with the same MsgAPUSCH opportunity in the first level association, at least one RA opportunity in the RA time instance may be numbered sequentially. Then, at least one staggered mapping mode may be applied to the at least one RA opportunity.

[0055] In some example embodiments, wherein K RA opportunities are associated with N PUSCH resources in at least one uplink time slot corresponding to a MsgA PUSCH time instance, and wherein NE 420 can recover at most P beam signals in a single resource, the number X of preamble sets in each RA opportunity is determined as X=N*P / K preamble sets, wherein each preamble set has the same number of preambles. Additionally or alternatively, at least one staggered mapping pattern of P RA opportunities may be mapped to the same resource, wherein the gap m of identifiers of RA opportunities mapped to the same PUSCH resource may be determined as m=K / P. In the case where N>=K / P, at least one staggered mapping pattern may be configured so that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth preamble set from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSCH resource.

[0056] In certain example embodiments, the preambles for each RA opportunity may be divided into multiple sets when the granularity of the interleaving mapping pattern is greater than 1 and the number of MsgA PUSCH resources is not less than the number of RA opportunities. As an example, at least one interleaving mapping pattern may be configured such that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with the same group of k, k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth set of preambles from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSH resource.

[0057] In step 803, the NE may transmit at least one interleaving mapping pattern to the UE, such as Fig.10 UE 1020 in the NE. In step 805, the NE may receive at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interlaced mapping mode.

[0058] Fig. 9 The diagram shows a UE (such as Fig.10In step 901, the UE may receive a message from a NE (such as Fig.10 1010 in the NE). For example, the at least one staggered mapping mode may include at least one association between at least one msgA RA opportunity and at least one PUSCH resource and / or at least one association between at least one MsgA PRACH preamble and at least one MsgA PUSCH resource element, so that signals from separate beams are sent from different UEs in the same resource. In some example embodiments, the at least one staggered mapping mode may be associated with at least one capability of the NE, the at least one capability being related to how many beams the NE can recover from a signal from one MsgA PUSCH resource. The at least one staggered mapping mode may be configured to configure the UE 430 with respect to how many RA opportunities corresponding to different beams can be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the granularity of at least one staggered mapping pattern may be determined based on the number of RA opportunities corresponding to different beams that may be mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource and / or the number of RA opportunities. For example, at least one staggered mapping pattern may have a granularity of m, where m corresponds to RA opportunities k, k+m, k+2m, etc. mapped to the same resource.

[0060] In various example embodiments, if there are more than one MsgA RA time instances configured to be associated with the same MsgAPUSCH opportunity in the first level association, at least one RA opportunity in the RA time instance may be numbered sequentially. Then, at least one staggered mapping mode may be applied to the at least one RA opportunity.

[0061] In some example embodiments, wherein K RA opportunities are associated with N PUSCH resources in at least one uplink time slot corresponding to a MsgA PUSCH time instance, and wherein the NE 420 can recover at most P beam signals in a single resource, the number X of preamble sets in each RA opportunity is determined as X=N*P / K preamble sets, wherein each preamble set has the same number of preambles. Additionally or alternatively, at least one staggered mapping pattern of P RA opportunities may be mapped to the same resource, wherein the gap m of identifiers of RA opportunities mapped to the same PUSCH resource may be determined as m=K / P. In the case where N>=K / P, at least one staggered mapping pattern may be configured such that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth preamble set from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSCH resource.

[0062] In certain example embodiments, the preambles of each RA opportunity may be divided into multiple sets when the granularity of the interleaving mapping pattern is greater than 1 and the number of MsgA PUSCH resources is not less than the number of RA opportunities. As an example, at least one interleaving mapping pattern may be configured such that for the nth PUSCH resource associated with the same group of k, k+m, k+2m RA opportunities, the nth set of preambles from each RA opportunity may be mapped to the PUSH resource.

[0063] In step 903, the UE may determine at least one association between at least one MsgA RA time instance and at least one MsgAPUSCH time instance at the first level. In step 905, the UE may determine at least one association between at least one MsgA RA opportunity and at least one MsgA PUSCH resource at the second level. In step 907, the UE may determine at least one association between at least one preamble and at least one PUSCH resource unit at the third level. In step 909, the UE may transmit at least one PUSCH according to at least one determined interleaving mapping mode.

[0064] In some embodiments, support may be provided for one-to-one and many-to-one mappings between preambles in each RO and the associated PUSCH resource unit. Specifically, a configurable number of preambles (including one or more) may be mapped to one PUSCH resource unit. With one-to-one mapping, PUSCH resource reservation may be high because each preamble may require a separate PUSCH resource unit. For example, with 64 SSBs, each RO may contain a preamble associated with 4 SSBs. In this case, there may be a total of 16 ROs covering all 64 SSBs. Since each RO contains 64 preambles, there are a total of 1024 preambles. Alternatively, in the case of one-to-one mapping, the total number of PUSCH resource units required is 1024 PUSCH resource units. If each PUSCH opportunity has 8 PUSCH resource units, the number of PUSCH opportunities is 128. If each PUSCH opportunity has 16 PUSCH resource units, the number of PUSCH opportunities is 64. In both cases, PUSCH resource reservation is quite high.

[0065] In the case of many-to-one mapping, multiple preambles (e.g., P preambles) can be mapped to the same PUSCH resource element. Using the example in paragraph

[0059] , where P = 4, if each PUSCH has 8 PUSCH resource elements, the number of PUSCH opportunities is 32. If each PUSCH opportunity has 16 PUSCH resource elements, the number of PUSCH opportunities is 16. With many-to-one mapping, the number P of preambles mapped to the same PUSCH resource element can be a configurable value, where P = 1 is a special case corresponding to a one-to-one mapping of preambles and PUSCH resource elements.

[0066] With respect to many-to-one mapping, if multiple preambles are mapped to the same PUSCH resource element, and if more than one such preamble is transmitted, the PUSCH resources corresponding to the transmitted preambles may interfere with each other, resulting in decoding errors. In order to reduce interference between PUSCH transmissions corresponding to preambles mapped to the same PUSCH resource element, spatial separation between PUSCH transmissions may be exploited, as this minimizes the interference caused by each PUSCH transmission to other PUSCH transmissions on the same resources.

[0067] Preambles corresponding to different SSBs and / or different ROs may be mapped to the same PUSCH resource unit. Since the PUSCH transmissions for each preamble correspond to different SSB beam directions, the PUSCH transmissions may be spatially separated in the receiver and may be decoded with minimal interference with each other.

[0068] Fig.11 An example with 2 PRACH opportunities and 4 PUSCH opportunities is illustrated. Each PRACH opportunity has 64 preambles and 2 SSBs are mapped to the PRACH opportunity. Each PUSCH opportunity has 8 PUSCH resource elements. There are a total of 4 SSBs on 2 ROs, each with 32 preambles. The preambles for each SSB are divided into 4 groups, each with 8 preambles. Each group is mapped to a different PUSCH opportunity, where each preamble in the group is mapped to a PUSCH resource element. In this example, there are a total of 128 preambles and 32 PUSCH resource elements, each with 4 preambles mapped to different SSBs associated with it.

[0069] In various embodiments, preambles corresponding to different SSBs and / or ROs may be mapped to the same PUSCH resource unit. In the example, there are K ROs, and each RO has K1 preambles. Therefore, the total number of available preambles is K*K1. In addition, with respect to N PUSCH opportunities, each has N1 PUSCH resource units. Therefore, the total number of available resource units is N*N1. In addition, P=(K*K1) / (N*N1), where P may be an integer, such as P preambles mapped to the same PUSCH resource unit. The preambles on all ROs may be numbered sequentially from 0, 1, ..., k..., K*K1-1. The PUSCH resource units on all PUSCH opportunities may be numbered sequentially from 0, 1, ..., n..., N*N1-1.

[0070] In the example, to determine the PUSCH resource unit of the preamble k, consider m=mod(k,N*N1), where the preambles are separated by N*N1 indices with the same m value. n=rev_digits(m), where N*N1 is a power of 2 and n is the reverse bit of m. If N*N1 is not a power of 2, it is decomposed into prime components, and the value of m is represented by the number of digits of these prime components, starting with the smallest prime number as the least significant digit. For example, if N*N1=12=3*2^2, m is represented as 3 digits, the first digit takes the value 0, 1, the second digit takes the value 0, 1, and the third digit takes the value 0, 1, 2. For example, 9 can be represented as 201 (=2*4+0*2+1*1). The number of reverse digits is (102=1*6+0*3+2*1=8). This alternative simply considers the mapping of the preambles continuously, regardless of the RO in which they are located.

[0071] In an example, K1 / N (average) preambles in the same RO or (mapped to the same SSB in the RO) can be mapped to different PUSCH opportunities. Then, the preambles can be continuously mapped to different PUSCH resource units in the same PUSCH opportunity. For example, the mapping rule of preamble k1 in RO k to PUSCH opportunity n and PUSCH resource unit n1 can be:

[0072]

[0073] where frac(x) is the fractional part of x. These equations can distribute the preambles in each RO as evenly as possible between PUSCH opportunities.

[0074] In an embodiment, there may be L SSBs per RO (L>1). For mapping purposes, the preamble of each SSB may be mapped to a PUSCH opportunity. The same equation as that of paragraph

[0066] may be used, where K1 is replaced by K1 / L and K is replaced by K*L. k is the SSB number, where the SSBs are numbered sequentially across all ROs, and k1 is the preamble number in the SSB starting from index 0 in each SSB.

[0075] As mentioned above, Fig.11 2 PRACH opportunities and 4 PUSCH opportunities are shown. Each PRACH opportunity has 64 preambles and 2 SSBs are mapped to the PRACH opportunity. Each PUSCH opportunity has 8 PUSCH resource elements. There are a total of 4 SSBs on 2 ROs, each with 32 preambles. The preambles for each SSB are divided into 4 groups, each with 8 preambles. Each group is mapped to a different PUSCH opportunity, where each preamble in the group is mapped to a PUSCH resource element. In this example, there are a total of 128 preambles and 32 PUSCH resource elements, each PUSCH resource element as 4 preambles mapped to different SSBs associated with it.

[0076] In some embodiments, where a group of M consecutive preambles are mapped to the same PUSCH resource element, k1 is replaced by floor(k1 / M) and K1 is replaced by K1 / M, and the equation of paragraph

[0066] can be reused. In various embodiments, where a group of M consecutive preambles are all mapped to the same PUSCH resource element. Each RO has L SSBs (L>1). In this case, k1 is replaced by floor(k1 / M), K1=K1 / (M*L) and K=K*L, and the equation of paragraph

[0066] is reused. k is the SSB number, k1 is the preamble group number for each SSB in the SSB starting from index 0 (the preamble group has M preambles and is mapped to PUSCH resource elements).

[0077] Fig.10 An example of a system according to some example embodiments is illustrated.In an example embodiment, a system may include a plurality of devices, such as, for example, a network entity 1010 and / or a user device 1020 .

[0078] The network entity 1010 may be one or more base stations, such as millimeter wave antennas, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) or 5G or new radio Node Bs (gNBs), serving gateways, servers, and / or any other access nodes or combinations thereof. In addition, the network entity 1010 and / or the user equipment 1020 may be one or more citizen wide radio service devices (CBSDs).

[0079] User device 1020 may include one or more mobile devices, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer or portable media player, a digital camera, a pocket video camera, a video game console, a navigation unit (such as a global positioning system (GPS) device), a desktop or laptop computer, a single location device (such as a sensor or smart meter), or any combination thereof.

[0080] One or more of these devices may include at least one processor, indicated as 1011 and 1021, respectively. Processors 1011 and 1021 may be embodied by any computing or data processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or comparable device. The processor may be implemented as a single controller or multiple controllers or processors.

[0081] At least one memory may be provided in one or more devices indicated as 1012 and 1022. The memory may be fixed or removable. The memory may include computer program instructions or computer codes contained therein. The memories 1012 and 1022 may be independently any suitable storage device, such as a non-transient computer readable medium. A hard disk drive (HDD), random access memory (RAM), flash memory or other suitable memory may be used. The memory may be combined as a processor on a single integrated circuit or may be separated from one or more processors. In addition, the computer program instructions stored in the memory and that may be processed by the processor may be computer program codes in any suitable form, such as a compiled or interpreted computer program written in any suitable programming language. The memory may be removable or non-removable.

[0082] Processors 1011 and 1021 and memories 1012 and 1022 or a subset thereof may be configured to provide Figures 1 to 9 The various blocks of the method correspond to the method. Although not shown, the device may also include positioning hardware, such as GPS or micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) hardware, which can be used for positioning the device. Other sensors are also allowed and can be included to determine location, altitude, orientation, etc., such as a barometer, compass, etc.

[0083] like Fig.10As shown in , transceivers 1013 and 1023 may be provided, and one or more devices may also include at least one antenna, illustrated as 1014 and 1024, respectively. The device may have many antennas, such as an antenna array configured for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication or multiple antennas for multiple wireless access technologies. Other configurations of these devices may be provided. Transceivers 1013 and 1023 may be transmitters, receivers, or both transmitters and receivers or may be configured for transmission and reception units or devices.

[0084] The processor, memory and computer program instructions of a specific device may be configured to cause a hardware device (such as a user device) to perform any of the following processes (see, for example, Figures 1 to 9 ). Thus, in certain example embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with computer instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process, such as one of the processes described herein. Alternatively, certain example embodiments may be performed entirely in hardware.

[0085] In certain example embodiments, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to perform Figures 1 to 9 . For example, the circuit system may be a pure hardware circuit implementation, such as an analog and / or digital circuit system. In another example, the circuit system may be a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as a combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software or firmware and / or a combination of any portion of (multiple) hardware processors with software (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software and at least one memory, which work together to enable the device to perform various processes or functions. In yet another example, the circuit system may be (multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions of (multiple) microprocessors, including software, such as firmware for operation. When the operation of the hardware does not require software in the circuit system, such software may not exist.

[0086] The features, structures, or characteristics of certain example embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, throughout this specification, the use of the phrases "certain example embodiments," "some example embodiments," "other example embodiments," or other similar language refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with an example embodiment may be included in at least one example embodiment of the present invention. Thus, throughout this specification, the appearance of the phrases "in certain example embodiments," "in some example embodiments," "in other example embodiments," or other similar language does not necessarily refer to the same group of example embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments.

[0087] Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that some of the example embodiments described above may be practiced using steps in a different order and / or hardware elements in a configuration different from that disclosed. Therefore, certain modifications, variations, or alternative configurations are apparent to those skilled in the art, but are still within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, reference should be made to the appended claims in order to determine the boundaries and limits of the present invention.

[0088] Partial Glossary

[0089] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0090] 5G Fifth Generation Wireless System

[0091] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0092] DL Downlink

[0093] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0094] gNB 5G base station

[0095] GPS Global Positioning System

[0096] NE Network Entity

[0097] NR New Radio

[0098] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0099] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0100] RA Random Access

[0101] RACH Random Access Channel

[0102] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0103] Rx Receiver

[0104] SSB Synchronous Signal Block

[0105] Tx Transmitter

[0106] UE User Equipment

[0107] UL Uplink

[0108] URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: generating at least one interleaving mapping pattern by a network entity, wherein the at least one staggered mapping pattern defines a granularity of random access (RA) opportunities mapped to the same time-frequency resources and comprises at least one association between at least one msgA RA opportunity and at least one PUSCH resource and / or at least one association between at least one preamble and at least one PUSCH resource element, such that signals from separate beams are transmitted from different user equipments in the same time-frequency resources; The network entity sends the at least one interleaved mapping mode to a user equipment; as well as At least one PUSCH is received by the network entity according to the determined at least one interlaced mapping mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one staggered mapping mode is associated with at least one capability of the network entity, the at least one capability relating to how many beams the network entity can recover from a signal from one MsgA PUSCH resource.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one staggered mapping mode can be configured to configure the user equipment with respect to how many RA opportunities corresponding to different beams are mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the granularity of the at least one staggered mapping pattern can be determined according to the number of RA opportunities corresponding to different beams, and the different beams are mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resources and / or the number of RA opportunities.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein if there are more than one MsgA RA time instances configured to be associated with the same MsgAPUSCH opportunity in the first level association, the at least one RA opportunity within the RA time instance is numbered sequentially.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein K RA opportunities are associated with N PUSCH resources in an uplink timeslot, and wherein the network entity can recover at most P beam signals in a single resource, and the number X of preamble sets in each RA opportunity is determined as X=N*P / K preamble sets. 7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one staggered mapping pattern of P RA opportunities is mapped to the same resource, wherein a gap m of identifiers of the RA opportunities mapped to the same PUSCH resource may be determined as m=K / P.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the granularity of the staggered mapping pattern is greater than 1 and the number of MsgA PUSCH resources is not less than the number of RA opportunities, the preamble code points of each RA opportunity are divided into multiple sets.

9. A method of communication, comprising: receiving, by a user equipment, at least one interleaving mapping pattern from a network entity, wherein the at least one staggered mapping pattern defines a granularity of random access (RA) opportunities mapped to the same time-frequency resources and comprises at least one association between at least one msgA RA opportunity and at least one PUSCH resource and / or at least one association between at least one preamble and at least one PUSCH resource element, such that signals from separate beams are transmitted from different user equipments in the same time-frequency resources; determining, by the user equipment at a first level, at least one association between at least one MsgA RA time instance and at least one MsgA PUSCH time instance; determining, by the user equipment at a second level, at least one association between at least one MsgA RA opportunity and at least one MsgA PUSCH resource; and At least one PUSCH is sent by the user equipment according to the determined at least one interlaced mapping mode.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one staggered mapping mode is associated with at least one capability of the network entity, the at least one capability relating to how many beams the network entity can recover from a signal from one MsgA PUSCH resource.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one staggered mapping mode can be configured to configure the user equipment with respect to how many RA opportunities corresponding to different beams are mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resource.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the granularity of the at least one staggered mapping pattern can be determined according to the number of RA opportunities corresponding to different beams, and the different beams are mapped to the same MsgA PUSCH resources and / or the number of RA opportunities.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein if there are more than one MsgA RA time instances configured to be associated with the same MsgAPUSCH opportunity in the first level association, the at least one RA opportunity within the RA time instance is numbered sequentially.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein K RA opportunities are associated with N PUSCH resources in an uplink time slot, and wherein the network entity can recover at most P beam signals in a single resource, and the number X of preamble sets in each RA opportunity is determined as X=N*P / K preamble sets. 15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one staggered mapping pattern of P RA opportunities is mapped to the same resource, wherein a gap m of identifiers of the RA opportunities mapped to the same PUSCH resource may be determined as m=K / P. 16 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein when the granularity of the staggered mapping pattern is greater than 1 and the number of MsgAPUSCH resources is not less than the number of the RA opportunities, the preamble code of each RA opportunity is divided into multiple sets.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the user equipment is configured for one-to-one and many-to-one mapping between preambles in each RO and associated PUSCH resource elements.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a configurable number of at least one preamble is mapped to one PUSCH resource element.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein for many-to-one mapping, the PUSCH transmissions are configured for spatial separation.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one preamble is mapped to the same PUSCH resource element corresponding to different SSBs and / or different ROs.

21. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one PUSCH transmission is spatially separated in the receiver and decoded with minimal mutual interference.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one group of preambles is mapped to different PUSCH opportunities.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one preamble corresponds to at least one different SSB and / or RO mapped to the same PUSCH resource element.

24. An apparatus for communication, configured to perform a process according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoding instructions which, when executed in hardware, perform a process according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

26. An apparatus for communication comprising means for performing a procedure according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

27. An apparatus for communication, comprising circuitry configured to cause the apparatus to perform a process according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

28. A computer program product encoded with instructions for performing a process according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

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