User equipment connection method and user equipment

Abstract

A connection method for a user equipment, wherein the user equipment is in an RRC connection state on a first network and is performing random access when a scheduling interval for a second network occurs, and the user equipment adopts any of the following methods for processing: Method 1: If the user equipment believes that the second network has a higher priority, then when the scheduling interval occurs, the user equipment switches to the second network; otherwise, the user equipment does not switch to the second network but continues the random access process on the first network; Method 2: When the scheduling interval occurs, the user equipment switches to the second network, and a first message is used by the user equipment to send a preamble code to the network. For two-step random access, the first message also includes MSGA. For two-step random access, the second message is MCGB. If it is not two-step random access, the second message is a random access response. For contention-based four-step random access, if an uplink authorization is obtained in the second message, a third message is sent on the uplink authorization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and more particularly, to a method for connecting a user equipment and the user equipment. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, multi-USIM devices have become increasingly popular. For example, a user may install two USIM cards in a multi-USIM-supported phone: one USIM card for personal services and the other for office services. Existing devices that support multi-USIM cards are based on vendor implementations and have not yet been standardized by 3GPP. This results in different implementations by different vendors and varying user equipment (UE) behavior. In existing implementations, if these USIM cards are registered with separate networks (either the same network or with two or more networks), the UE needs to receive paging from each of these networks. Depending on the UE's transceiver capabilities, it is possible that the UE receives a page from another network while receiving a page from the current network, or that the UE is communicating with another network while another network initiates a page. If the UE switches between networks, one result may be that the UE cannot receive data from the current network when it switches to the other network. This can impair network performance, for example, if the network sends a page to the UE but the UE does not receive the page due to switching to the other network, or if the UE cannot receive scheduling from the current network after switching to the other network. Some manufacturers have proposed conducting 3GPP standardization research on the network access behavior of UEs with multiple USIM cards and related networks. The benefit is that network performance can be improved based on predictable UE behavior.

[0003] For the above reasons, in December 2019, at the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) RAN#86 plenary meeting, vivo proposed a work project for multi-SIM card devices in Release 17 (see non-patent document: RP-193263: New WID: Stupport of Multi-SIM devices in Rel-17), which was approved.

[0004] The present invention addresses the following scenario: a UE in the RRC connected state on network A is performing random access, and during this process, the random access procedure overlaps with the scheduling gap for network B. In this case, the UE must either continue the random access procedure on network A or switch to network B within the time specified by the scheduling gap. If the UE switches to network B, the question of how to handle the random access procedure on network A becomes important. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a connection method and user equipment for solving the problem that when a UE in an RRC connected state performs random access in network A, a scheduling interval occurs, and how the UE handles the user equipment that is performing a random access process in network A.

[0006] A connection method for a user equipment of the present invention, the user equipment is in an RRC connection state in a first network, and is performing random access when a scheduling interval for a second network occurs, and the user equipment adopts any one of the following methods for processing: Method 1: If the user equipment believes that the second network has a higher priority, then when the scheduling interval occurs, the user equipment switches to the second network; otherwise, the user equipment does not switch to the second network but continues the random access process of the first network, that is, continues to send the first message / third message or continues to monitor the physical downlink control channel PDCCH of the first network, Method 2: When the scheduling interval occurs, the user equipment switches to the second network, the first message is used by the user equipment to send a preamble code to the network, for two-step random access, the first message also includes MSGA, for two-step random access, the second message is MCGB, if it is not two-step random access, the second message is a random access response, for contention-based four-step random access, if an uplink authorization is obtained in the second message, the third message is sent on the uplink authorization.

[0007] According to the above-mentioned connection method of the user equipment, when the first message conflicts with the scheduling interval, when the first method is adopted, if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, the first message is not sent; if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, the scheduling interval is ignored and the first message is sent; if the second method is adopted, the user equipment switches to the second network without sending the first message.

[0008] According to the connection method of the above-mentioned user equipment, when the second message conflicts with the scheduling interval, when the first method is adopted, if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, it does not monitor the PDCCH of the first network; if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, it ignores the scheduling interval and monitors the PDCCH of the first network to receive the second message; if the second method is adopted, the user equipment switches to the second network without monitoring the PDCCH of the first network.

[0009] According to the connection method of the above-mentioned user equipment, when the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, when the first method is adopted, if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, the third message is not sent or the third message is not retransmitted; if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, the scheduling interval is ignored and the third message is sent or the third message is retransmitted. If the second method is adopted, the user equipment switches to the second network without sending the third message or retransmitting the third message.

[0010] According to the above connection method of the user equipment, when the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the user equipment decides not to send the third message or not to retransmit the third message, the time window ra-ContentionResolutionTimer for monitoring the random access response is started or restarted.

[0011] According to the connection method of the above-mentioned user equipment, when the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the user equipment decides not to send the third message or not to retransmit the third message, the user equipment considers that this round of random access has failed or that the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer has expired; or the user equipment considers that this round of random access has not been performed, and then performs a random access resource selection process; or the user equipment considers that random access has not been performed, and when the user equipment leaves the scheduling interval of the second network and returns to the first network, the random access process will be re-initiated; or the user equipment considers that the conflict resolution is unsuccessful.

[0012] Another user equipment connection method of the present invention, wherein the first network includes a field in an RRC message sent to the user equipment to indicate the user equipment the priority information of the scheduling interval or random access when a conflict occurs between random access and the scheduling interval. If the user equipment is configured to switch to the second network within the scheduling interval or ignore the scheduling interval and stop executing the random access process in the first network, the processing of the random access process executed in the first network can be processed using the above-mentioned user equipment connection method.

[0013] Another connection method for a user equipment of the present invention, wherein a user equipment in an RRC connection state on a first network reports an RRC message including a network preference or a USIM preference of the user equipment to the first network, and after the user equipment reports its network preference or USIM preference, receives confirmation or configuration from the first network. If the user equipment is configured to switch to the second network within the scheduling interval or stop executing the random access process on the first network when a conflict occurs between random access and a scheduling interval, then the processing of the random access process executed on the first network can be processed using the above-mentioned connection method for the user equipment.

[0014] According to another connection method of a user equipment of the present invention, the user equipment indicates a network preference or a USIM preference to the first network through the following steps: step 1: if the user equipment is configured by the base station to provide a network preference or a USIM preference through an RRC message, step 2 is executed; step 2: if the timer is not running and if the user equipment changes its network preference or USIM preference, the timer is started and the value of the timer is set to usimPreferenceProhibitTimer or the value set by usimPreferenceProhibitTimer.

[0015] A user equipment of the present invention includes: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions execute the connection method of the user equipment when executed by the processor.

[0016] Effects of the Invention

[0017] The present invention can effectively solve the following problem, that is, when a UE in an RRC connected state performs random access in network A and a scheduling interval occurs, how does the UE process the random access process being performed in network A? BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 A diagram showing a method for connecting a user equipment according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 1 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 2 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 3 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0023] Figure 5 A diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 A diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7A diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 This is a brief structural block diagram of the user equipment UE involved in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, detailed descriptions of known technologies that are not directly related to the present invention are omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present invention.

[0028] The following describes some of the terms involved in the present invention. For specific meanings of the terms, please refer to the latest relevant 3GPP documents, such as TS38.300, TS38.331, TS36.300, TS36.331, etc.

[0029] NAS: Non-access stratum.

[0030] AS: access stratum.

[0031] RRC: Radio Resource Control.

[0032] RRC_CONNECTED: RRC connected state.

[0033] RRC_INACTIVE: RRC inactive state.

[0034] RRC_IDLE: RRC idle state.

[0035] RAN: Radio Access Network, wireless access layer.

[0036] USIM: Universal Subscriber Identity Module, global user identification card.

[0037] Tx: transmitter.

[0038] Rx: receiver.

[0039] NR: New RAT, new radio access technology.

[0040] Msg3: Message transmitted on UL-SCH containing a C-RNTI MAC CE or CCCH SDU, submitted from upper layer and associated with the UE Contention Resolution Identity, as part of a Random Access procedure.

[0041] MAC CE: Medium Access Control Control Element, media access control control element.

[0042] SDU: Service Data Unit.

[0043] UL-SCH: Uplink shared channel.

[0044] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0045] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel.

[0046] In the present invention, network, base station and RAN can be used interchangeably. The network can be a long-term evolution LTE network, a NR network, an enhanced long-term evolution eLTE network, or other networks defined in subsequent evolution versions of 3GPP.

[0047] In the present invention, user equipment UE may refer to a device that physically supports multiple USIM cards (two or more USIM cards), and the device is equipped with two or more USIM cards, and each USIM card is associated with a network. The multiple USIM cards may come from the same operator or different operators. From the perspective of the network, different USIM cards correspond to different UEs, and each USIM card corresponds to one UE. Unless otherwise specified, the present invention does not make this distinction. Those skilled in the art can easily determine, based on the context, whether UE refers to a UE that supports multiple USIM cards or a UE corresponding to each USIM card in a device that supports multiple USIM cards. A user device configured with multiple USIM cards can receive and / or send data from multiple networks using single reception and single transmission or dual reception and single transmission through time division multiplexing and other methods. For a UE with two Rxs, data can be received from two networks at the same time. In addition, the USIM described in the present invention can be a physical SIM or eSIM (USIM can be a physical SIM or eSIM).

[0048] The embodiment of the present invention takes the configuration of two USIM cards of UE as an example, and those skilled in the art can easily expand it to the case of multiple USIM cards. The user equipment UE with two USIM cards has at least single-receive and single-transmit (Single-Rx / Single-Tx) or dual-receive and single-transmit (Dual-Rx / Single-Tx) capabilities. Different UEs corresponding to the two USIM cards can share a pair of Tx and Rx or share a Tx but have their own Rx. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE is connected to network A through USIM card A and to network B through USIM card B. The switching of the UE between different networks is achieved by switching the working USIM card. The priority of the USIM card is the priority of the network.

[0049] In the present invention, UE (or USIM card A) working on one network (network A, first network) means that the UE is in an RRC connected state on network A, monitors network A (sends / receives data or signaling from network A) and periodically or intermittently leaves network A to monitor another network (network B, second network), for example, to receive a paging message from the network B or measure the signal quality of the service cell of another USIM card (i.e., USIM card B). Network A and network B can be different networks or the same network. The time information when the UE leaves network A to receive a paging message from the network B or measure the signal quality of the service cell of another USIM card is the scheduling interval (Scheduling gap) of the UE on network A or the scheduling interval for network B. During the scheduling interval, the UE does not expect network A to schedule the UE, and the UE stops sending and receiving data on network A and receives a paging message from the network B or measures the signal quality of the service cell of another USIM card (i.e., USIM card B). In other words, the scheduling interval of the UE in network A means that when the UE is operating in network A, during the time period indicated by the scheduling interval, network A will not schedule the UE, or the UE will not receive data from network A or expect to be scheduled by network A during the time period indicated by the scheduling interval. However, it is necessary to consider here that when a UE in the RRC connected state performs random access on network A and a scheduling interval occurs, the UE decides to switch to network B. In this case, how the UE handles the random access procedure being performed on network A is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0050] The following embodiments 1 to 3 are provided to solve this problem.

[0051] The following briefly describes the random access process in the existing 5G / NR system. For details, see 3GPP document TS38.321:

[0052] First, the UE selects random access resources, including the SSB and / or preamble, based on the random access type (two-step random access (2-step RA) or four-step random access (4-step RA). If it is two-step random access, it also needs to select the PUSCH occasion for transmitting the MSGA. It then sends Message 1 (the first message). Message 1 is used by the UE to send the preamble to the network (i.e., the base station). For two-step random access, Message 1 also includes the transmission of the MSGA (or the contents of the MSGA buffer). In other words, in two-step random access, the transmission of Message 1 (or the transmission of the MSGA) includes the transmission of the PRACH preamble and the contents of the MSGA buffer in the PUSCH resource corresponding to the selected PRACH occasion and PREAMBLE INDEX. After sending Message 1 (or the random access preamble), the UE starts the ra-ResponseWindow or the msgB-ResponseWindow (for two-step random access, 2-step RA). During the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow, the UE monitors the PDCCH to receive Message 2 (i.e., the second message). Message 2 is called the random access response. For two-step random access, Message 2 can also be called MCGB. For a non-contention-based random access procedure, the random access procedure ends when the UE successfully receives Message 2 (i.e., successfully receives the random access response). For a contention-based four-step random access procedure, if the UE obtains an uplink grant (UL Grant) in Message 2, it sends Message 3 (the third message, Msg3) based on the uplink grant. After sending Message 3, the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is started. During the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, the UE monitors the PDCCH to receive Message 4 for contention resolution.

[0053] It should be noted that ra-ResponseWindow is the time window to monitor RA response(s), msgB-ResponseWindow is the time window to monit or RA response(s) for 2-step RAtype, and ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is the Contention Resolution Timer. For the specific start times of these timers, see TS 38.321.

[0054] In the embodiment described in the present invention, the scenario targeted is that the UE is in an RRC connected state in network A, so monitoring PDCCH means monitoring the PDCCH of network A, and the scheduling interval is for network B, that is, the UE may leave network A and go to network B to receive data or perform measurements, etc. within the time specified by the scheduling interval.

[0055] Example 1

[0056] In the following, the attached Figure 1 Example 1 of the present invention will be described. Figure 1 This figure shows the connection method adopted by the user equipment of embodiment 1 of the present invention. When a UE in the RRC connected state in network A is performing random access in network A when a scheduling interval for network B occurs, the UE can be defined to handle the situation in any of the following ways:

[0057] Method 1: If the UE believes that network B (or USIM card B) has a higher priority, the UE switches to network B (or USIM card B) when the scheduling interval occurs; otherwise, the UE does not switch to network B (i.e., ignores the scheduling interval) but continues to perform the random access process on network A, that is, continues to send message 1 / message 3 or continues to monitor the PDCCH of network A to receive message 2 or message 4.

[0058] Method 2: When a scheduling interval occurs, the UE switches to network B (or USIM card B).

[0059] The following describes the processing of the random access procedure performed by the UE in network A when the above two processing methods are adopted. Specifically, it includes the processing of message 1 / message 3 sent by the UE in network A and message 2 / message 4 received by the UE in network A when they conflict with the scheduling interval for network B.

[0060] Processing when message 1 conflicts with the scheduling interval:

[0061] In the following, the attached Figure 2 Example 1 of the present invention will be described. Figure 2 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 1 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0062] When Message 1 conflicts with the scheduling interval (i.e., the PRACH occasion for sending the preamble conflicts with the scheduling interval; for two-step random access, the PRACH occasion for sending the preamble overlaps with the scheduling interval in time, or the PUSCH occation for sending the MSGA overlaps with the scheduling interval in time), in the case of method 1, if the UE considers that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, Message 1 is not sent; if the UE considers that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, Message 1 is sent regardless of the scheduling interval (S101).

[0063] When the message 1 conflicts with the scheduling interval, in the case of the second method, the UE switches to the network B without sending the message 1 (S102).

[0064] It should be noted that, for two-step random access, an alternative implementation is that when the PRACH occasion for sending the preamble does not overlap with the scheduling interval in time but the PUSCH occation for sending the MSGA overlaps with the scheduling interval in time, the UE may continue to send the preamble. Optionally, in this case, the UE does not send the MSGA.

[0065] Processing when message 2 conflicts with the scheduling interval:

[0066] In the following, the attached Figure 3 Example 1 of the present invention will be described. Figure 3 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 2 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0067] When Message 2 conflicts with the scheduling interval, in the case of method 1, if the UE believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, it does not monitor the PDCCH of network A; if the UE believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, it ignores the scheduling interval and monitors the PDCCH of network A to receive Message 2 (S111).

[0068] When the message 2 conflicts with the scheduling interval, in the case of the second method, the UE switches to the network B without monitoring the PDCCH of the network A (S112).

[0069] It should be noted that when Message 2 conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the UE decides not to monitor the PDCCH of network A, preferably, if the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow is not started, the UE starts the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow. After the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow is started, within the scheduling interval when the UE switches to network B, the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow continues to run until it expires (expires) or the UE returns to network A to continue detecting the PDCCH to receive Message 2; alternatively, the UE considers that this round of random access has failed, or that the ra-ResponseWindow or msgB-ResponseWindow has expired, or that the UE considers that this round of random access has not been performed, and then performs the random access resource selection process; alternatively, the UE considers that the random access has not been performed, and when the UE leaves the scheduling interval of network B and returns to network A, it will re-initiate the random access process.

[0070] Processing when message 3 conflicts with the scheduling interval:

[0071] In the following, the attached Figure 4 Example 1 of the present invention will be described. Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a process performed when a message 3 of the user equipment connection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention conflicts with a scheduling interval.

[0072] When message 3 conflicts with the scheduling interval, if method 1 is adopted, if the UE believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, it will not send message 3 or retransmit message 3; if the UE believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, it will ignore the scheduling interval and send message 3 or retransmit message 3 (S121).

[0073] When the message 3 conflicts with the scheduling interval, in the case of the second method, the UE switches to the network B without sending the message 3 or retransmitting the message 3 (S122).

[0074] It should be noted that when message 3 conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the UE decides not to send message 3 (i.e., the initial transmission of message 3) or not to retransmit message 3, preferably, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is started or restarted. During the scheduling interval when the UE switches to network B, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer continues to run. If the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is still running when the UE returns to network A after the scheduling interval ends, the UE continues to monitor the PDCCH of network A to receive message 4; when message 3 conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the UE decides not to send message 3 or not to retransmit message 3: alternatively, the UE considers that this round of random access has failed or that the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer has expired; alternatively, the UE considers that this round of random access has not been performed, and then performs the random access resource selection process; alternatively, the UE considers that random access has not been performed, and will re-initiate the random access process when the UE leaves the scheduling interval of network B and returns to network A. Alternatively, the UE considers that the conflict resolution is unsuccessful.

[0075] The processing methods described in Example 1 for messages 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 that conflict with the scheduling interval are independent of each other and can be used as separate embodiments. In addition, the conflict between message 2 / 4 and the scheduling interval means that the PDCCH or PDSCH occation used to transmit message 2 / 4 overlaps with the scheduling interval (or overlaps in the time domain); the conflict between message 3 and the scheduling interval means that the PUS CH occation used to transmit message 3 overlaps with the scheduling interval. In addition, the UE does not monitor the PDCCH of network A, which means that the UE does not monitor the PDCCH of network A within the time specified by the scheduling interval. When the scheduling interval ends, the UE can continue to monitor the PDCCH of network A.

[0076] It should be noted that the priority of the scheduling interval in the present invention is the priority of network B, that is, the priority of USIM card B (which can be called the second USIM card), and the three can be used interchangeably. The priority of network A is the priority of random access, that is, the priority of USIM card A (which can be called the first USIM card), and the three can be used interchangeably. Similarly, a higher priority of the scheduling interval means that the priority of the scheduling interval is higher than the priority of random access. Therefore, a higher priority of the scheduling interval means a lower priority of random access. The two can be used interchangeably, and vice versa. The conflict described in the present invention refers to the overlap in time.

[0077] Example 2

[0078] In the following, the attached Figure 5 Example 2 of the present invention will be described. Figure 5A diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] Network A includes a field in the RRC message sent to the UE to indicate the priority information of the scheduling interval or random access to the UE when a conflict occurs between random access and the scheduling interval. The priority information includes an indication of whether the UE continues the random access process and ignores the scheduling interval or whether to switch to network B within the scheduling interval (i.e., stop executing the random access process in network A) when the random access process (message 1 or message 2 or message 3 or message 4) conflicts with the scheduling interval (S201).

[0080] If the UE is configured to switch to network B or stop executing the random access procedure in network A within the scheduling interval, the random access procedure executed in network A may be processed in the manner described in embodiment 1 (S202).

[0081] In the present disclosure, stopping (or not continuing) the random access procedure in network A means not sending message 1 and / or message 3 in network A and / or not monitoring PDCCH to receive message 2 and / or message 4 in network A.

[0082] Example 3

[0083] When network A is in an RRC connected state, the UE indicates to network A whether the priority of network A is high or low, or the UE indicates to network A whether the priority of network B or USIM card B is high or low, or the UE indicates to network A the priority information of the two when the random access of network A (message 1 or message 2 or message 3 or message 4) conflicts with the scheduling interval. For example, when a conflict occurs, the random access priority is considered to be higher or the scheduling interval priority is considered to be higher. The purpose of the indication is to determine whether the UE continues the current random access of network A (for example, continues the transmission of message 1 or message 3 of network A or continues to monitor the PDCCH of network A, etc.) or switches to network B within the scheduling period without transmitting message 1 and / or message 3 and / or not monitoring the PDCCH of network A. In the present invention, the above-mentioned priority information indicated by the UE to network A is referred to as the network preference or USIM preference of the UE.

[0084] The UE may carry the relevant fields in the RRC message sent to the network (base station), for example, the UE may send a UEAssistanceInformation message to network A, which carries the MUSI MPriority field (filed) to achieve the above purpose.

[0085] In the following, the attached Figure 6 and 7 Example 3 of the present invention will be described. Figure 6 A diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] A user equipment in an RRC connected state on network A reports an RRC message including the network preference or USIM preference of the user equipment to network A (S301).

[0087] After the UE reports its network preference or USIM preference, it receives confirmation or configuration from network A (which can be configured by the network in the manner described in Example 2). If the UE is configured to switch to network B within the scheduling interval or stop executing the random access process on network A when a conflict occurs between the random access and scheduling intervals, the random access process executed on network A can be processed using the method described in Example 1 (S302).

[0088] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing the processing performed by the user equipment connection method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 The method shown is used to enable a user equipment in an RRC connected state in network A to report an RRC message including the network preference or USIM preference of the user equipment to network A.

[0089] Specifically, in step S311, if the UE is configured by the base station to provide network preference or USIM preference through an RRC message, step S312 is executed. Specifically, the base station can instruct the UE to report its USIM preference by carrying a USIMPreferenceConfig field in an RRC message (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message). The USIMPreferenceConfig field is used to configure the UE to notify the network (or base station) about the UE's USIM preference by reporting auxiliary information. The USIMPreferenceConfig field may include a usimPreferenceProhibitTimer field. The usimPreferenceProhibitTimer field is a prohibition timer or prohibition time for reporting network preference or USIM preference auxiliary information, and is used to set the timer value.

[0090] In step S312, if the timer is not running and the UE changes its USIM preference, the timer is started and the timer value is set to usimPreferenceProhibitTimer or the value set by usimPreferenceProhibitTimer. The UEAssistanceInformation message includes a field preferredUSIM for indicating the UE's USIM preference, and the value of the field is set to a value corresponding to the UE's USIM preference, that is, when a conflict occurs between random access and the scheduling interval, the UE prefers to ignore the scheduling interval and continue to perform random access or switch to network B within the scheduling interval.

[0091] It should be noted that when the UE is configured to report its USIM preference or has not reported its USIM preference to the network or the USIM preference has changed, the processes of step 311 and step 312 may be triggered.

[0092] The following describes an embodiment of scheduling interval processing

[0093] During the scheduling interval, the MAC entity performs the following operations: When the ra-ResponseWindow, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, or msgB-ResponseWindow is running, if the scheduling interval has a higher priority, the MAC entity does not monitor the PDCCH, that is, it does not monitor the PDCCH for receiving Messages 2 and 4. If the scheduling interval has a lower priority, the MAC entity monitors the PDCCH and ignores the scheduling interval, that is, it monitors the PDCCH for receiving Messages 2 and 4. When the ra-ResponseWindow, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, or msgB-ResponseWindow is not running, the MAC entity does not monitor the PDCCH and does not receive the DL-SCH.

[0094] The following describes an embodiment of uplink authorization reception:

[0095] Step 401: Receive an uplink grant of a temporary C-RNTI for a MAC entity on a PDCCH of a serving cell or receive a random access response message to obtain an uplink grant.

[0096] Step 402: If an uplink grant for a temporary C-RNTI of the MAC entity is received on the PDCCH of the serving cell or if the received uplink grant comes from a random access response, and if the PUSCH duration of this uplink grant does not overlap with a scheduling interval with a higher priority, then this uplink grant and the associated HARQ information are delivered to the HARQ entity.

[0097] It should be noted that the scheduling interval and the priority of random access may be determined using embodiments 2 / 3, or may be determined by the UE.

[0098] Figure 8 This is a brief structural diagram of the user equipment UE involved in the present invention. Figure 8 As shown, the user equipment UE800 includes a processor 801 and a memory 802. The processor 801 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 802 may include, for example, a volatile memory (such as a random access memory RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a non-volatile memory (such as a flash memory), or other memory. The memory 802 stores program instructions. When executed by the processor 801, the instructions may execute the above-described method performed by the user equipment as described in detail in the present invention.

[0099] In addition, the computer executable instructions or programs running on the device according to the present invention can be programs that enable the computer to implement the functions of the embodiments of the present invention by controlling the central processing unit (CPU). The program or the information processed by the program can be temporarily stored in a volatile memory (such as a random access memory RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a non-volatile memory (such as a flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0100] The computer executable instructions or program for realizing each embodiment of the present invention function can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The corresponding function can be realized by making a computer system read the program recorded on the recording medium and executing these programs. The so-called "computer system" herein can be a computer system embedded in the device, and can include an operating system or hardware (such as a peripheral device). "Computer-readable storage medium" can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-term dynamic storage program recording medium or any other recording medium that is computer-readable.

[0101] The various features or functional modules of the devices used in the above embodiments can be implemented or executed by circuits (e.g., single-chip or multi-chip integrated circuits). The circuits designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above devices. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The above circuits may be digital circuits or analog circuits. In the event that new integrated circuit technologies have emerged to replace existing integrated circuits due to advances in semiconductor technology, one or more embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0102] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as terminal devices or communication devices, such as AV equipment, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, office equipment, vending machines, and other household appliances.

[0103] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention also includes any design changes that do not deviate from the main purpose of the present invention. In addition, various modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, components with the same effect described in the above embodiments can be replaced with each other.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a user equipment, wherein the user equipment is in an RRC connected state on a first network and is performing random access when a scheduling interval for a second network occurs, wherein the user equipment processes the method in the following manner: Method 1: If the user equipment believes that the second network has a higher priority, the user equipment switches to the second network when the scheduling interval occurs; otherwise, the user equipment does not switch to the second network but continues the random access process of the first network, that is, continues to send the first message / third message or continues to monitor the physical downlink control channel PDCCH of the first network. The first message is used by the user equipment to send a preamble to the network. For two-step random access, the first message also includes MSGA. For two-step random access, the second message is MCGB. If it is not two-step random access, the second message is a random access response. For contention-based four-step random access, if an uplink grant is obtained in the second message, the third message is sent on the uplink grant. When the second message conflicts with the scheduling interval, when method one is adopted, if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, it does not monitor the PDCCH of the first network; if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, it ignores the scheduling interval and monitors the PDCCH of the first network to receive the second message; if an uplink grant for the temporary C-RNTI of the MAC entity is received on the PDCCH of the serving cell or if the received uplink grant comes from a random access response, if the PUSCH duration of this uplink grant does not overlap with the scheduling interval with a higher priority, the uplink grant and the associated HARQ information are delivered to the HARQ entity.

2. The method for connecting a user device according to claim 1, wherein: When the first message conflicts with the scheduling interval, in method 1, if the user equipment considers that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, the first message is not sent; if the user equipment considers that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, the scheduling interval is ignored and the first message is sent.

3. The method for connecting a user device according to claim 1, wherein: When the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, when method 1 is adopted, if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a higher priority, the third message will not be sent or the third message will not be retransmitted; if the user equipment believes that the scheduling interval has a lower priority, the scheduling interval will be ignored and the third message will be sent or the third message will be retransmitted.

4. The method for connecting a user equipment according to claim 3, wherein: When the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the user equipment decides not to send the third message or not to retransmit the third message, the time window ra-ContentionResolutionTimer for monitoring the random access response is started or restarted.

5. The method for connecting a user equipment according to claim 3, wherein: When the third message conflicts with the scheduling interval, if the user equipment decides not to send the third message or not to retransmit the third message, The user equipment believes that this round of random access has failed or that the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer has expired; or the user equipment believes that this round of random access has not been performed, and then performs the random access resource selection process; or the user equipment believes that random access has not been performed, and when the user equipment leaves the scheduling interval of the second network and returns to the first network, the random access process will be re-initiated; or the user equipment believes that the conflict resolution is unsuccessful.

6. A method for connecting a user device, wherein: The first network includes a field in an RRC message sent to the user equipment to indicate priority information of the scheduling interval or random access to the user equipment when a conflict occurs between random access and the scheduling interval. If the user equipment is configured to switch to the second network or stop executing the random access procedure in the first network within the scheduling interval, the random access procedure executed in the first network can be processed using the user equipment connection method described in claims 1 to 5.

7. A method for connecting a user device, wherein: The user equipment in the RRC connected state on the first network reports an RRC message including the network preference or USIM preference of the user equipment to the first network, After the user equipment reports its network preference or USIM preference, it receives confirmation or configuration from the first network. If the user equipment is configured to switch to the second network within the scheduling interval or stop executing the random access procedure on the first network when a conflict occurs between the random access and scheduling intervals, then the random access procedure executed on the first network can be processed using the user equipment connection method described in claims 1 to 5. The network preference or USIM preference is whether the priority of the first network is high or low, or whether the priority of the second network or the second USIM card is high or low, or the priority information of the two when the random access of the first network conflicts with the scheduling interval, and the network preference or USIM preference is reported by carrying a domain in the RRC message.

8. The method for connecting a user equipment according to claim 7, wherein: The user equipment indicates the network preference or USIM preference to the first network through the following steps: Step 1: If the user equipment is configured by the base station through an RRC message to provide network preference or USIM preference, proceed to step 2; Step 2: If the timer is not running and if the user equipment changes its network preference or USIM preference, start the timer and set the timer value to the value set by usimPreferenceProhibitTimer or usimPreferenceProhibitTimer.

9. A user equipment comprising: processor; as well as a memory storing instructions; The instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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