Method and communication device for reporting TA

Abstract

A communications device includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The processor may be coupled to the transceiver and configured to: establish a wireless connection with an NTN network node via the transceiver; and transmit a TA report to the network node via the transceiver. The processor may be configured to automatically compensate for time delays in signaling and may indicate a TA value in the TA report. By utilizing the present invention, TA reporting can be improved.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 022,625, filed May 11, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to mobile communications, and more particularly to reporting timing advance (TA) of a user equipment (UE) in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications. Background Art

[0004] Unless otherwise indicated, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0005] In wireless communications, such as in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 rd In mobile communications under the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specifications, timing advance (TA) corresponds to the time it takes for a signal to travel from the user equipment (UE) to the base station (e.g., gNB). In an NTN system, where NTN nodes (e.g., satellites) are located hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface, TA can be very large.

[0006] For UEs with automatic delay spread compensation capabilities using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or other methods, the base station may not know the TA. For Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) half-duplex systems and Time Division Duplexing (TDD), unless the base station knows the TA used by the UE, the base station's downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) scheduling may conflict on the UE side.

[0007] In order to avoid timing misalignment, a solution is needed to enable the UE to report the TA to the base station in NTN communication. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. That is, this summary is provided to introduce the concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious technologies described herein. Preferred embodiments will be further described in the detailed description. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify the essential features of the claimed subject matter nor to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] One of the objectives of the present invention is to propose solutions or proposals to solve the above problems. In particular, the various proposals proposed in the present invention are related to UE reporting TA in NTN communication.

[0010] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a communication device for reporting timing advance includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The processor is coupled to the transceiver and configured to: establish a wireless connection with a network node of a non-terrestrial network via the transceiver; and transmit a timing advance report to the network node via the transceiver. The processor is configured to automatically compensate for signaling time delays and indicate a timing advance value in the timing advance report.

[0011] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for reporting timing advance includes: establishing, by a processor of a communication device, a wireless connection with a network node of a wireless network, wherein the communication device is capable of automatically compensating for signaling time delays; and sending, by the processor, a timing advance report to the network node. The timing advance report indicates a timing advance value, and a trigger for sending the timing advance report is initiated at the network node or at the communication device.

[0012] By utilizing the present invention, TA reporting can be better performed.

[0013] It is worth noting that although the description of the present invention may be in the context of a specific radio access technology, network and network topology (such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5G thThe present invention is provided in the context of 5G (5th Generation), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT), Narrow Band-IoT (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and NTN. However, the concepts, solutions, and any variations or derivatives thereof proposed in the present invention can be used in, implemented by, or used in other types of radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples described in the present invention.

[0014] The above and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 An exemplary network environment in which various solutions proposed according to the present invention can be implemented is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 2 An exemplary communication device and an exemplary network device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0017] Figure 3 An exemplary hysteresis-based mechanism based on actual TA values ​​according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0018] Figure 4 An exemplary hysteresis-based mechanism based on a quantized TA value KI according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0019] Figure 5 An exemplary TA reporting Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0020] Figure 6 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in a 4-step Random Access Channel (RACH) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0021] Figure 7 Another exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0022] Figure 8 Another exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0023] Figure 9 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in two-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0024] Figure 10 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting through a new information element (IE) in an existing Radio Resource Control (RRC) message according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0025] Figure 11 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting via a new RRC message according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0026] Figure 12 An exemplary timing diagram for TA reporting when there are no available UL resources according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated.

[0027] Figure 13 An exemplary process of a method for reporting TA in NTN communication according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention discloses detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter. However, it should be understood that the embodiments and implementations disclosed by the present invention are merely illustrations of the claimed subject matter, and the claimed subject matter can be implemented in various forms. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations described by the present invention. On the contrary, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that the description of the present invention is thorough and complete, and the scope of the present invention can be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. In the following description, well-known features and technical details may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations of the present invention.

[0029] Overview

[0030] Embodiments according to the present invention may relate to various technologies, methods, schemes, and / or solutions related to UE TA reporting in NTN communications. According to the present invention, multiple possible solutions may be implemented individually or in combination. In other words, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one or more combinations.

[0031] Figure 1An exemplary network environment 100 is illustrated in which various aspects of the present invention may be implemented. Network environment 100 may include a UE 110 and a wireless network 120 (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, a NR network, an IoT network, a NB-IoT network, an IIoT network, an NTN network, or any combination thereof). UE 110 may communicate with wireless network 120 via a network node 125. In some cases, network node 125 may be a non-terrestrial (NT) network node (e.g., a satellite) of the NTN. In these cases, network node 125 may also communicate with a terrestrial network node (e.g., a base station (BS) such as a gNB, eNB, or a transmission / reception point (TRP)) in wireless network 120 to relay wireless signals received from UE 110 to the terrestrial network node, or relay wireless signals received from the terrestrial network node to UE 110. In some cases, network node 125 may be a terrestrial network node (e.g., a base station such as a gNB, eNB, or TRP). Each of the UE 110 and the network node 125 may be configured to perform operations related to TA reporting of the UE 110 under various schemes proposed according to the present invention as described below.

[0032] According to the solution proposed in the present invention, in order to allow the network node 125 to schedule the UE 110 without conflicts between DL transmissions and UL transmissions, the UE 110, which is capable of automatically compensating for signaling time delays, can report the TA to the network node 125. The UE 110 can provide a TA report to the network node 125 to indicate the TA value. For example, the UE 110 can provide the TA report by sending the TA report in a MAC CE. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 110 can provide the TA report to the network node 125 via UL control information (e.g., in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission). Alternatively or additionally, the UE 110 can provide the TA report to the network node 125 via upper layer signaling (e.g., via RRC signaling).

[0033] According to the proposed scheme, a TA report may be transmitted as part of a RACH procedure (also known as a random access (RA) procedure). For example, when UE 110 detects that network 120 is an NTN and network node 125 is a satellite, UE 110 may send a TA report to network node 125 in a RACH procedure (e.g., in Message 3 (Msg3), Message 5 (Msg5), or Message A (MsgA) in a 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure). Furthermore, according to the proposed scheme, UE 110 may be configured to autonomously send a TA report to network node 125 periodically or aperiodically. Alternatively, UE 110's TA report may be triggered or requested (e.g., based on a trigger signal or request from network node 125) or according to a UE protocol. For example, UE 110 may be configured to send a TA report to network node 125 in response to a TA value deviating from a threshold by at least a predetermined amount. As another example, UE 110 may be configured to send a TA report to network node 125 based on a timer (e.g., upon expiration of the timer, the timer may be reset to begin counting down again upon expiration). As another example, UE 110 may be configured to send a TA report to network node 125 in response to a TA report request received from network node 125.

[0034] According to the solution proposed in the present invention, the TA report received by the network node 125 from the UE 110 can be used by the network node 125 to configure the offset value (K) specific to the UE 110. offset ). K offset It can be used to extend K1 and / or K2. K1 can be the offset between the DL time slot in which data is scheduled on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and the UL time slot in which Acknowledgement / Negative Acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) feedback is sent for the scheduled PDSCH data. K2 can be the offset between the DL time slot in which the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)) for UL scheduling is received by UE 110 and the UL time slot in which UL data is sent on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Under the proposed scheme, the network node 125 can configure the UE 110-specific K based on the TA report received from the UE 110.offset , to expand the value range of K1 and / or K2. Under the proposed scheme, when configuring UE-specific K offset When the network node 125 can offset is sent to UE 110 for UL scheduling and other processes. Under the proposed scheme, K offset Initially, it can be based on the maximum round trip time (RTT) on the beam (e.g., cell 130) of the coverage area where UE 110 is located. When UE 110 has established a wireless connection with network node 125, network node 125 can send a UE-specific K to UE 110. offset , the K offset Can be configured based on the TA value indicated in the TA report.

[0035] Exemplary Implementations

[0036] Figure 2 An exemplary communication device 210 and an exemplary network device 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention are illustrated. The communication device 210 and the network device 220 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described in the present invention related to TA reporting of UEs in NTN communications, including the aforementioned scenarios / schemes and the following processes.

[0037] The communication device 210 may be part of an electronic device, wherein the electronic device may be a UE, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 210 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device (such as a tablet, a laptop, or a notebook computer). The communication device 210 may also be part of a machine-type device, wherein the machine-type device may be an IoT, NB-IoT, IIoT, or NTN device, such as a fixed or static device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 210 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the communication device 210 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as including but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. The communication device 210 may include Figure 2At least some of the components shown, such as processor 212. The communication device 210 may also include one or more other components not related to the solution proposed by the present invention (such as an external power supply, a display device and / or a user interface device), so for the sake of brevity, such components of the communication device 210 are not included in the following. Figure 2 It is not shown in the figure and is not described below.

[0038] The network device 220 may be part of an electronic device / site, where the electronic device may be a network node, such as a base station, a cell, a router, a gateway, or a satellite. For example, the network device 220 may be implemented in an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE, or in a next generation Node B (gNB) in a satellite in a 5G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, IIoT, or NTN network. Alternatively, the network device 220 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. The network device 220 may include Figure 2 At least some of the components shown, such as processor 222. Network device 220 may also include one or more other components not related to the solution proposed by the present invention (such as an external power supply, a display device and / or a user interface device), so for the sake of brevity, such components of network device 220 are not included in the following. Figure 2 It is not shown in the figure and is not described below.

[0039] In one aspect, each processor 212 and processor 222 can be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the present invention may use the singular term "processor" to refer to processor 212 and processor 222, in some embodiments, each processor 212 and processor 222 may include multiple processors and in other embodiments include a single processor. On the other hand, each processor 212 and processor 222 can be implemented in the form of hardware (and firmware, optionally) having electronic components, wherein the electronic components include but are not limited to one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactors, which can be configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to the present invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each processor 212 and processor 222 can be a dedicated machine specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks according to various embodiments of the present invention, wherein the above tasks may include reducing power consumption in devices (such as communication device 210) and networks (such as network device 220), avoiding timing misalignment, etc.

[0040] In some embodiments, the communication device 210 may also include a transceiver 216, which may be coupled to the processor 212 and may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, the communication device 210 may also include a storage medium 214, which may be coupled to the processor 212 and may be accessed by the processor 212 and may store data therein. In some embodiments, the network device 220 may also include a transceiver 226, which may be coupled to the processor 222 and may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, the network device 220 may also include a storage medium 224, which may be coupled to the processor 222 and may be accessed by the processor 222 and may store data therein. Accordingly, the communication device 210 and the network device 220 may wirelessly communicate with each other via the transceiver 216 and the transceiver 226, respectively.

[0041] Each communication device 210 and network device 220 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using the solutions proposed in accordance with the present invention. To facilitate better understanding, the following description of the operations, functions, and capabilities of the communication device 210 and the network device 220 may be provided in the context of a mobile communication environment, wherein the communication device 210 may be implemented as or in a communication device or UE (such as UE 110), and the network device 220 may be implemented as or in a network node or base station (such as network node 125) of a communication network (such as network 120). However, this is merely exemplary and not restrictive. It is also worth noting that although the exemplary embodiments described below are provided in the context of an NTN, the present invention may also be implemented in other types of networks.

[0042] In the solution related to TA reporting by a UE in NTN communications according to the present invention, wherein communication device 210 may be implemented in or as UE 110, and network device 220 may be implemented in or as network node 125 in network environment 100, communication device 210 is capable of automatically compensating for signaling time delays, for example, with the assistance of GNSS or other means. Processor 212 may establish a wireless connection with network device 220, which is a network node (e.g., network node 125) of a wireless network (e.g., network 120), via transceiver 216. Processor 212 may send a TA report to network device 220 via transceiver 216.

[0043] TA Report

[0044] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA report reported by the UE may include a TA value, which may be an actual TA value calculated or measured by the processor 212 or an index KI of a quantized TA value.

[0045] Specifically, in some embodiments of the present invention, the processor 212 may quantize the TA value by using a quantization step Δ. The quantization step Δ may be defined in seconds, for example, Δ=0.1 us. Alternatively or additionally, the quantization step Δ may be defined as Δ=k*Ts relative to the sampling time Ts or as Δ=k*Tc relative to the chip time Tc, where k is an integer. The sampling time Ts and the chip time Tc may be preconfigured values ​​and / or may be defined in the 3GPP specification. Alternatively or additionally, the quantization step Δ may be a constant defined in the specification or sent to the UE.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA report may correspond to: reported TA = t0 + KI * Δ, where t0 may be a commonly configured bias, for example, corresponding to a beam common TA, and the index KI may be an integer sent in the TA report. In one embodiment, the index KI may be restricted to be either negative or positive. In another embodiment, the index KI may take unrestricted positive and negative values.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present invention, the index KI can be calculated from the actual TA value used by the UE according to the following formula: floor((TA-t0) / Δ), where the floor operation can be replaced by a ceiling or round operation, and other variations of the quantization formula are also possible. The above exemplary operation is not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0048] Triggering of TA report

[0049] The trigger for sending the TA report may be initiated at the network node or the communication device.

[0050] In some implementations, the triggering of the TA report may be initiated by the network node 125 (eg, the network device 220 ).

[0051] There are multiple options for network-initiated reporting, including: using a PDCCH command, by paging the UE, by sending a MAC CE to the UE to request a report, and by sending an RRC message to the UE to request a report, one or more of which may be applied in embodiments of the present invention.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the network node 125 initiates contention-based random access using a PDCCH command (e.g., the preamble index sent is 000000), the UE may know that a TA report is triggered, and the processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report in response to the PDCCH command signaling received from the network node 125.

[0053] In some embodiments of the present invention, in response to a contention-based random access initiated by the network node 125 using a PDCCH order, the processor 212 may send a TA report in message 3 (Msg3), message 5 (Msg5), or message A (MsgA) of a 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure.

[0054] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the network node 125 initiates contention-free random access using a PDCCH command (e.g., the preamble index sent is not equal to 000000), the UE may know that a TA report is triggered, and the processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report in response to the PDCCH command signaling received from the network node 125.

[0055] In some embodiments of the invention, in response to a contention-free random access initiated by the network node 125 using a PDCCH order, the processor 212 may send a TA report using a UL grant in a message 2 (Msg2).

[0056] In some embodiments of the present invention, a new field may be introduced or added to a paging message to indicate a TA report request, and the processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report in response to a paging message received from a network node. In response to a paging message from the network node 125 having a TA report request indication field, the processor 212 may trigger an RA process and send a TA report in Message 3 (Msg3), Message 5 (Msg5), or Message A (MsgA).

[0057] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the UE is in connected mode, the network node 125 may send a MAC CE for a TA report request, and the UE may respond with a MAC CE with a TA report. For example, the processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report in response to receiving a TA report request from the network node 125 in a MAC CE.

[0058] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the UE is in connected mode, the network node 125 may send an RRC message to request a report, and the UE may send an RRC message in response. For example, the processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report in response to a TA report request received from the network node 125 via an RRC message or RRC signaling.

[0059] In some implementations, the triggering of the TA report may be initiated by the UE 110 (eg, the communication device 210 ).

[0060] There may also be multiple options for UE-initiated reporting, including: hysteresis-based or threshold-based, timer-based, and process-based, one or more of which may be applied in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present invention, hysteresis may be directly based on the TA or a quantized version of the TA (i.e., the aforementioned KI) being used by the UE. Processor 212 may monitor the TA / KI value and, when the TA / KI value is outside the hysteresis range, or when the TA / KI value is greater than or less than a predetermined threshold, or when the TA / KI value deviates from the threshold by at least a predetermined amount, UE 110 may initiate a TA report. For example, in response to the TA value deviating from the threshold by at least a predetermined amount, processor 212 may be configured to perform an operation of sending a TA report.

[0062] Figure 3 An exemplary hysteresis-based mechanism based on the actual TA value according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In some embodiments of the present invention, at time t1, if the current TA value (i.e., the actual TA value currently calculated or measured) deviates from the previous TA value TA_old (reported at time t0) by at least a predetermined amount, such as TA>=TA_old+Delta_hys or TA<=TA_old-Delta_hys, then the UE may send a new TA report, where Delta_hys is the Delta hysteresis. The Delta hysteresis value may be specified in the specification or pre-configured.

[0063] Figure 4 An exemplary hysteresis-based mechanism based on a quantized TA value KI according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In this example, similar to the TA value, Delta hysteresis may also be defined as a quantized value. In some embodiments of the present invention, at time t1, if the current KI value deviates from the previous KI value KI_old (reported at time t0) by at least a predetermined amount, e.g., KI >= KI_old + Delta_hys or KI <= KI_old - Delta_hys, then the UE may send a new TA report. In this example, Delta_hys may be set to 1.

[0064] In some embodiments of the present invention, UE 110 may initiate a TA report when a predetermined timer expires. In the timer-based approach, UE 110 may periodically or aperiodically send a TA report to network node 125 in response to expiration of the timer.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present invention, even if the RA process has been initiated due to another event (such as initial access from RRC idle, RRC connection reestablishment, handover, DL / UL data arrival when "out of sync", or for positioning), the UE 110 may always report the TA in the RA process. For example, the processor 212 may be configured to perform the operation of autonomously sending the TA report in a predetermined process (such as the aforementioned RA process).

[0066] In some embodiments of the invention, UE 110 may report TA for specific RA procedures, for example, the following subsets may be reported: initial access from RRC idle, RRC connection re-establishment, handover, or DL / UL arrival when "out of sync", and positioning.

[0067] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, processor 212 may send the TA report in response to determining that network device 220 is a satellite of NTN.

[0068] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, the processor 212 may send the TA report in response to determining that the TA has not been reported before (eg, upon initial access to the wireless network).

[0069] Report TA to the network

[0070] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, the processor 212 may send the TA report in a MAC CE.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present invention, a new MAC CE (eg, TA reporting MAC CE) may be introduced, and currently unused (reserved) logical channel identifier (LCID) values ​​may be used.

[0072] Figure 5 An exemplary TA report MAC CE according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. TA information (eg Figure 5 The "TA Report" in the ) can include 8 bits.

[0073] In some embodiments of the present invention, for example, the priority of the TA Report MAC CE may be lower than: the Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) MAC CE or data from the UL Common Control Channel (CCCH); and / or higher than: data from any logical channel, except data from the UL-CCCH. As an option, the priority of the TA Report MAC CE may be higher than any other MAC CE (except the C-RNTI MAC CE), so that the TA Report MAC CE can be prioritized to establish a reliable connection with the network.

[0074] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, the processor 212 may send the TA report in UL control information.

[0075] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, the processor 212 may send the TA report via higher-layer signaling (eg, RRC signaling).

[0076] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA may be reported in a new RRC message (eg, RRCTimingAdvanceReport).

[0077] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA may be reported in a new IE in an existing RRC message. For example, the new IE may be added to the following RRC message in italics:

[0078] For LTE / NB-IoT:

[0079] Measurement Report

[0080] RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete / RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete-NB

[0081] RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete / RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete-NB

[0082] RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest / RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest-NB

[0083] RRC Connection Request (RRCConnectionRequest) / RRC Connection Request-NB (RRCConnectionRequest-NB)

[0084] RRCConnectionResumeComplete / RRCConnectionResumeComplete-NB

[0085] RRCConnectionResumeRequest / RRCConnectionResumeRequest-NB

[0086] RRCConnectionSetupComplete / RRCConnectionSetupComplete-NB

[0087] RRC Data Advance Request (RRCEarlyDataRequest) / RRC Data Advance Request-NB (RRCEarlyDataRequest-NB)

[0088] UL Information Transfer / UL Information Transfer-NB

[0089] For NR:

[0090] Measurement Report

[0091] RRC reestablishment complete (RRCReestablishmentComplete)

[0092] RRC Reestablishment Request (RRCReestablishmentRequest)

[0093] RRC reconfiguration completed (RRCReconfigurationComplete)

[0094] RRC recovery complete (RRCResumeComplete)

[0095] RRC recovery request (RRCResumeRequest) / RRCResumeRequest1

[0096] RRC Setup Complete (RRCSetupComplete)

[0097] RRC Setup Request (RRCSetupRequest)

[0098] UL Information Transfer

[0099] In some implementations, when sending the TA report, the processor 212 may send the TA report in a RACH procedure. In some implementations, when sending the TA report in a RACH procedure, the processor 212 may send the TA report in message 3 (Msg3), message 5 (Msg5), or message A (MsgA) in a 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure.

[0100] In some embodiments of the present invention, as described above, in response to the TA value deviating from a threshold by at least a predetermined amount or in response to the expiration of a timer, when the UE is in idle mode, as described above, the UE may initiate a RA process and send a TA report in Msg3 or MsgA, send a TA report in a MAC CE, or send it in an RRC message; when the UE is in connected mode, the UE may send a MAC CE or RRC message with a TA report (if the UE has no UL resources to send the MAC CE, the UE may send a Scheduling Request (SR)).

[0101] In some embodiments of the present invention, when UE 110 is configured to always report TA in the RA procedure, the UE may send the TA report in Msg3 or MsgA, in a MAC CE or an RRC message.

[0102] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the UE is in idle mode, the UE may report its autonomously determined TA in the spare bit of Msg3 during the RA process.

[0103] Signaling from the network to initiate TA reporting

[0104] In some implementations, the network node 125 may trigger the TA report by sending a UE MAC CE or an RRC message.

[0105] In some embodiments of the present invention, a new MAC CE (e.g., a TA report request MAC CE) may be introduced, and a currently unused (reserved) LCID value may be used. The MAC CE may have no payload (only one LCID may be allocated, and the size of the MAC CE may be 0 bits).

[0106] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA report request may be sent through or using a new RRC message (eg, RRCTimingAdvanceReportRequest).

[0107] In some embodiments of the present invention, the TA report request may be sent in a new IE in an existing RRC message. For example, the new IE may be added to the following RRC message in italics:

[0108] For LTE / NB-IoT:

[0109] Paging / Paging-NB

[0110] RRCConnectionReconfiguration / RRCConnectionReconfiguration-NB

[0111] RRCConnectionReestablishment / RRCConnectionReestablishment-NB

[0112] RRC Connection Resume (RRCConnectionResume) / RRCConnectionResume-NB

[0113] RRC Connection Setup (RRCConnectionSetup) / RRCConnectionSetup-NB

[0114] For NR:

[0115] Paging

[0116] RRC Reestablishment

[0117] RRC Reconfiguration

[0118] RRC recovery (RRCResume)

[0119] RRC Setup (RRCSetup)

[0120] TA report transmission mechanism

[0121] In some embodiments, when the UE is in connected mode, the TA report can be sent in Msg3 or MsgA of the RA process (in MAC CE or RRC message), in an RRC message (e.g., Msg5) after the RA process is completed, or in any UL MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) (e.g., hysteresis-based or threshold-based, timer-based, periodic, and process-based).

[0122] Figure 6 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In this example, the UE may send a TA report in Msg3.

[0123] Figure 7 Another exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in a 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In this example, when the network node 125 (e.g., eNB / gNB or satellite) initiates contention-based random access using a PDCCH command (e.g., the preamble index sent is 000000), the UE may send a TA report in Msg3.

[0124] Figure 8 Another exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In this example, the UE may send a TA report in Msg5.

[0125] Figure 9 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting in two-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. In this example, the UE may send a TA report in MsgA.

[0126] In some embodiments, the TA report may be transmitted in an RRC message.As described above, the TA may be reported in a new IE in an existing RRC message. Figure 10 The embodiment of the present invention can be exemplified by a new IE in an existing RRC message (for example, Figure 10 Alternatively, as described above, the TA reporting request may be sent in a new IE in an existing RRC message (e.g., as shown in FIG. Figure 10 TA Report Request IE in the RRCConnectionSetup shown).

[0127] Additionally, as described above, the TA may be reported in a new RRC message. Figure 11 An exemplary timing diagram of TA reporting via a new RRC message according to an embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated. The TA report may be included in a new UL RRC message (e.g., Figure 11 Optionally, the TA report request may be included in a new DL RRC message (e.g., as shown in the RRCTAReport IE). Figure 11 RRCTAReportRequest shown).

[0128] In some embodiments, in connected mode, when the UE is UL synchronized but has no available UL resources, if a TA report is triggered (eg, due to a timer expiration), the UE may send a scheduling request to the network to request UL resources.

[0129] Figure 12 An exemplary timing diagram for TA reporting when no UL resources are available according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The UE may send a scheduling request to the network to request UL resources and receive a UL grant from the network. When the UE obtains UL resources, it may send a TA report in a MAC CE within a UL MAC PDU.

[0130] In some embodiments, the processor 212 may perform additional operations. For example, in the solution proposed by the present invention regarding reporting TA by UE in NTN communication, the processor 212 may receive a device-specific (e.g., UE-specific) offset configuration (K) from the network device 220 via the transceiver 216. offset ). In other words, the offset may be specific to the apparatus 210 and may be different for other UEs that wirelessly communicate with the network. In addition, the processor 212 may utilize the offset to perform UL scheduling or UL transmission via the transceiver 216.

[0131] In some embodiments, the offset may initially be based on the maximum RTT on the beam. In this case, after network device 220 receives the TA report from device 210, network device 220 may apply a device-specific offset configuration based on the TA value indicated in the TA report.

[0132] Exemplary Processing

[0133] Figure 13 An exemplary process 1300 of a method for reporting TA in NTN communications according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Part or all of the process may represent an exemplary embodiment of the scheme related to UE reporting TA in NTN communications according to the present invention described above. The process may represent one aspect of an embodiment of the features of the communication device 210. The process may include one or more operations, actions, or functions illustrated by one or more steps 310 and 320. Although illustrated as separate steps, the various steps of the process may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the steps of the process may be performed as described above. Figure 13 The processing may be performed in the order shown, or may be performed in a different order. The processing may be performed by communication device 210 or any suitable UE or machine-type device. The processing is described below in the context of communication device 210 and network device 220, but this is merely illustrative and not restrictive. The processing may begin at step S310.

[0134] Step S310 : The processor 212 of the communication device 210 (capable of automatically compensating for signaling time delay) may establish a wireless connection with the network device 220 which is a network node (eg, network node 125 ) of a wireless network (eg, network 120 ).

[0135] Step S320: The processor 212 may send a TA report to the network node via the transceiver 216, wherein the TA value may be indicated in the TA report. In the solution related to TA reporting by the UE in NTN communication proposed according to the present invention, the trigger for sending the TA report may be initiated at the network node or the communication device.

[0136] The detailed embodiments and implementation methods have been described in the specification, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here. Please refer to the above content.

[0137] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and adjustments can be made to the above-described apparatus and method while retaining the teachings of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention should be interpreted as being limited by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication device for reporting timing advance, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; as well as A processor is coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the following operations: establishing a wireless connection with a network node of a non-terrestrial network via the transceiver; and sending a timing advance report to the network node via the transceiver, The processor is configured to automatically compensate for a time delay of signaling and indicate a timing advance value in the timing advance report. The processor is configured to perform the operation of sending the timing advance report in response to the timing advance value deviating from a threshold by at least a predetermined amount or in response to expiration of a timer.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processor is configured to perform the operation of sending the timing advance report in response to physical downlink control channel command signaling received from the network node.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processor is configured to perform the operation of sending the timing advance report in response to a paging message received from the network node.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processor is configured to perform the operation of sending the timing advance report in response to a timing advance report request received from the network node.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein The timing advance report request is sent in a control unit of a medium access control.

6. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein The timing advance report request is sent via radio resource control signaling.

7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processor is configured to perform the operation of autonomously sending the timing advance report in a predetermined process.

8. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein When sending the timing advance report, the processor is configured to perform one or more of the following: sending the timing advance report in a control unit of a medium access control; and The timing advance report is sent through radio resource control signaling.

9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein When sending the timing advance report, the processor is configured to send the timing advance report in a random access channel process, wherein when sending the timing advance report in the random access channel process, the processor is configured to send the timing advance report in message 3, message 5 or message A in a 2-step or 4-step random access channel process.

10. A method for reporting timing advance, comprising: establishing, by a processor of a communication device, a wireless connection with a network node of a wireless network, wherein the communication device is capable of automatically compensating for a time delay of signaling; as well as sending, by the processor, a timing advance report to the network node; The timing advance report indicates a timing advance value, a trigger for sending the timing advance report is initiated at the communication device, and sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in response to the timing advance value deviating from a threshold by at least a predetermined amount or in response to expiration of a timer.

11. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: The triggering of sending the timing advance report is initiated at the network node, and sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in response to physical downlink control channel command signaling received from the network node.

12. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: The triggering of sending the timing advance report is initiated at the network node, and sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in response to a paging message received from the network node.

13. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: The triggering of sending the timing advance report is initiated at the network node, and sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in response to a timing advance report request received from the network node.

14. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 13, wherein: The timing advance report request is sent in a control unit of a medium access control.

15. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 13, wherein: The timing advance report request is sent via radio resource control signaling.

16. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: Sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in a control unit of a medium access control.

17. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: Sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent through radio resource control signaling.

18. The method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10, wherein: Sending the timing advance report includes: The timing advance report is sent in message 3, message 5 or message A in a 2-step or 4-step random access channel procedure. 19 . A storage medium storing program instructions, wherein when the program instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform the steps of the method for reporting timing advance according to claim 10 .

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