Systems and methods for signaling design and configuration

Abstract

This document discloses a system and method for signaling design and configuration. In one embodiment, the system and method are configured to send configuration information from a wireless communication node to a first wireless communication device, wherein the first wireless communication device is a degraded user equipment device, and wherein the configuration information includes a physical random access channel configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications, and more specifically, to systems and methods for signaling design and configuration. Background Technology

[0002] New Radio (NR) is a new radio access technology developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as an air interface standard in radio networks. The frequencies available in NR systems include a first frequency range (FR1) and a second frequency range (FR2). FR1 includes frequencies below 6 GHz, while FR2 includes frequencies within the millimeter wavelength range.

[0003] Compared to other UE devices such as all-NR devices (hereinafter referred to as "traditional UEs"), a reduced-capability user equipment device (UE) can be a UE with lower device complexity and reduced power consumption. Reduced-capability devices may have a reduced number of transmit and / or receive antennas, a reduced minimum required device bandwidth, and a reduced duplex capability (i.e., half-duplex), etc. Reduced-capability devices can be used in wireless sensor applications with low latency (5-10ms) and medium data rates (less than 2Mbps), video transmission capabilities (2-25Mbps), and high data rate wearable devices (5-50Mbps) with long battery life (1-2 weeks).

[0004] Contention-free random access involves the base station (BS) issuing a temporarily valid preamble to the UE. This preamble is dedicated to the UE and therefore requires no contention resolution. In other words, this preamble will not be used by UEs that have not been assigned a dedicated preamble. The preamble issued by the BS can be randomly selected from available preambles.

[0005] The PRACH preamble size can vary depending on the frequency range. Furthermore, different sized PRACH preambles can be used for BS transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments disclosed herein relate to solving problems associated with one or more problems existing in the prior art, and provide other features that will readily become apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Example systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are disclosed herein according to various embodiments. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of illustration rather than limitation, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art reading this disclosure that various modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments that still fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0007] In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node includes sending configuration information from the wireless communication node to a first wireless communication device, wherein the first wireless communication device is a degraded user equipment (UE) device, and wherein the configuration information includes a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration.

[0008] In another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device includes receiving configuration information from a wireless communication node by a first wireless communication device, wherein the first wireless communication device is a degraded user equipment (UE) device, and wherein the configuration information includes a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration.

[0009] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, detailed descriptions and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of this solution is based on the figures and accompanying drawings. The drawings provided are for illustrative purposes only, depicting only exemplary embodiments of this solution to facilitate the reader's understanding. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered as limitations on the breadth, scope, or applicability of this solution. It should be noted that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for clarity and ease of explanation.

[0011] Figure 1 An example cellular communication network is shown, which can implement the techniques and other aspects disclosed herein, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 2 Block diagrams of example base station and user equipment apparatuses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0013] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating an example method for a BS to send configuration information according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method for a UE to receive configuration information with reduced capabilities according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figures 5A-5F An example starting position for PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of a UE with reduced capability, according to some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown. Figure 5A An example of the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a UE with reduced capability is shown, relative to the starting position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission. Figure 5BAn example is shown of the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a UE with reduced capability, relative to the initial bandwidth portion of the conventional UE UL allocated for transmission. Figure 5C An example is shown of the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a UE with reduced capability, relative to the initial bandwidth portion of the conventional UE UL allocated for transmission. Figure 5D An example is shown of the start position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of a UE with reduced capability, relative to the end position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission. Figure 5E An example is shown of the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a UE with reduced capability, relative to the location of the resource block. Figure 5F An example is shown of the start position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a UE with reduced capability, relative to the start or end position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission.

[0016] Figures 6A-6C The example starting position of a UE with reduced initial UL bandwidth allocated for transmission according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown. Figure 6A An example is shown of the starting position of the initial UL bandwidth portion allocated for transmission for a UE with reduced capability, relative to the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of the UE with reduced capability. Figure 6B An example of a UE's starting position with reduced initial UL bandwidth allocated for transmission, relative to the starting position of a conventional UE's initial UL bandwidth portion, is shown. Figure 6C An example is shown of the starting position of the initial bandwidth portion of the UE UL with reduced transmission capacity relative to the location of the resource block.

[0017] Figures 7A-7C Example association patterns in associated time periods according to some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. Figure 7A An example of an association mode is shown that reconfigures different PRACH transmission timings in response to a UE with reduced capabilities compared to a conventional UE. Figure 7B An example of an association pattern is shown that responds to the same PRACH transmission timing of a UE with reduced capabilities compared to a conventional UE. Figure 7C An example of an association pattern determined by the association pattern and factors of a traditional UE is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Various exemplary embodiments of this solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to enable those skilled in the art to create and use this solution. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of this solution after reading this disclosure. Therefore, this solution is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and shown herein. Furthermore, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely an example method. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods or processes can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of this solution. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an exemplary order, and unless otherwise expressly stated, this solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0019] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network and / or system 100, which may implement the techniques disclosed herein, is illustrated according to embodiments of this disclosure. In the following discussion, wireless communication network 100 can be any wireless network, such as an NR network, referred to herein as "network 100". Such an example network 100 includes base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102") and user equipment device 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104") that can communicate with each other via communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. Figure 1 In this context, BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within the corresponding geographical boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating on its allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient radio coverage to its target users.

[0020] For example, BS 102 can operate on the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 can communicate via downlink radio frame 118 and uplink radio frame 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 can be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In this disclosure, BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" that can generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of this solution, such communication nodes are capable of wireless and / or wired communication.

[0021] Figure 2A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some embodiments of this solution is shown. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating characteristics that do not need to be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, as described above, system 200 can be used in applications such as... Figure 1 In a wireless communication environment such as 100, data symbols are communicated (e.g., transmitted and received).

[0022] System 200 typically includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via a data communication bus 220. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled and interconnected with each other as needed via a data communication bus 240. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for the data transmission described herein.

[0023] Those skilled in the art will understand that system 200 may further include, in addition to Figure 2 Any number of modules other than those shown. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are typically described according to their functionality. Whether this functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art, upon which the concepts described herein are skilled, can implement this functionality in a suitable manner for each specific application; however, such implementation decisions should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0024] According to some embodiments, UE transceiver 230, referred to herein as "uplink" transceiver 230, includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each including circuitry coupled to antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-division duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, BS transceiver 210, referred herein as "downlink" transceiver 210, includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each including circuitry coupled to antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to downlink antenna 212 in a time-division duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 can be time-coordinated such that uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to uplink antenna 232 to receive transmissions via wireless transmission link 250 while downlink transmitter is coupled to downlink antenna 212. In some embodiments, there is tight time synchronization between changes in duplex direction, with only the shortest protection time.

[0025] UE transceiver 230 and base transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with RF antenna arrangements 212 / 232 that are appropriately configured to support specific wireless communication protocols and modulation schemes. In some illustrative embodiments, UE transceiver 210 and base transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that this disclosure is not necessarily limited to specific standards and associated protocols in application. Instead, UE transceiver 230 and base transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

[0026] According to various embodiments, for example, BS 202 may be a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a serving gNB, a target gNB, a femtocell, or a picocell. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as mobile phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, laptop computers, wearable computing devices, etc. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or realized using a general-purpose processor, content-addressable memory, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this way, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors coupled with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0027] Furthermore, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be directly embodied in hardware, firmware, software modules executed by processor modules 214 and 236 respectively, or any actual combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 can be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 can be coupled to processor modules 210 and 230 respectively, such that processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234 respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 can also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230 respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also include non-volatile memory for storing instructions executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0028] Network communication module 218 typically represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of base station 102 that enable bidirectional communication between base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with base station 202. For example, network communication module 218 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment, network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface without limitation, allowing base station transceiver 210 to communicate with conventional Ethernet-based computer networks. In this way, network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, the terms “configured for,” “configured as,” and variations thereof indicate devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc., physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0029] As mentioned above, the BS can transmit PRACH preambles of different sizes. For example, there are long preambles and short preambles. Table 1 below describes the transmission bandwidth and resource blocks (RBs) of PRACH preambles for different subcarrier spacings (SCS) of FR1.

[0030] Table 1

[0031]

[0032] Similarly, Table 2 below describes the transmission bandwidth and RB of the short preamble for different SCS of FR2.

[0033] Table 2

[0034]

[0035] In the FR1 example, a traditional PRACH configuration can be sent to a UE with reduced capability. When the eight transmit events are multiplexed together (e.g., a 30kHz SCS configuration for a short preamble or a 5kHz SCS configuration for a long preamble), the total bandwidth is 34.56MHz. This bandwidth is greater than the 20MHz bandwidth of the reduced capability.

[0036] Similarly, in the FR2 example, a legacy PRACH configuration can be sent to a reduced-capacity UE. When the eight transmission events are multiplexed together (e.g., configured with a 120kHz SCS for a short preamble), the total bandwidth is 138.24MHz, greater than the 50 / 100MHz bandwidth of the reduced-capacity UE. Therefore, the bandwidth of the reduced-capacity UE is less than the bandwidth configured for the initial downlink (DL) bandwidth portion and / or the initial uplink (UL) bandwidth portion of the legacy UE. The sizes of the initial UL bandwidth portion and the initial DL bandwidth portion are fixed values ​​in FR1 and FR2.

[0037] In NR, an eight-bit PRACH configuration index can be used to signal PRACH time-domain parameters and PRACH preamble format. The PRACH preamble format in NR includes 0-3, A1, A1 / B1, A2, A2 / B2, B2, A3 / B3, B1, B4, C0, and C2. In some embodiments, twenty-eight PRACH time-domain parameters can be configured for a given PRACH preamble format.

[0038] If the total bandwidth of the RACH timing in the time domain is greater than the bandwidth of a UE with reduced capability, the UE with reduced capability can readjust the Random Access Channel (RACH) timing corresponding to the Optimal Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam to transmit the PRACH preamble. However, the BS does not have information to determine whether the UE is a legacy UE or a UE with reduced capability. Therefore, if the BS transmits a PRACH configuration intended for a legacy UE rather than a UE with reduced capability (hereinafter referred to as "legacy PRACH configuration"), the BS inadvertently schedules the transmission of the UE with reduced capability from the transmission range during the initial access procedure.

[0039] Furthermore, communication disruptions may occur if a large number of Random Access Response (RAR) messages from degraded UEs are scheduled in the same Random Access (RA) Common Search Space (CSS) as traditional UEs.

[0040] Therefore, a dedicated PRACH configuration can be considered for UEs with reduced capabilities. The BS can send configuration information to the UE with reduced capabilities. This configuration information may include PRACH configuration. The UE with reduced capabilities can receive the PRACH configuration through the configuration information.

[0041] Figure 3A flowchart illustrating an example method for a BS to transmit configuration information according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown. As described in 301, the BS may transmit configuration information to a UE with reduced capabilities. The configuration information may include PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH configuration may take into account the start position of PRACH transmission timing, the start position of the initial UL bandwidth portion, the number of PRACH transmission timings, the PRACH transmission timings in the time domain, the PRACH configuration index, and the association mode.

[0042] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an example method for a capability-reduced UE to receive configuration information according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As described in 401, the capability-reduced UE can receive configuration information from a BS. The configuration information may include PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH configuration may take into account the start position of PRACH transmission timing, the start position of the initial UL bandwidth portion, the number of PRACH transmission timings, the PRACH transmission timings in the time domain, the PRACH configuration index, and the association mode.

[0043] 1. Starting position of PRACH transmission timing

[0044] In some embodiments, the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing for a UE with reduced capability may be included in the PRACH configuration information. In some embodiments, the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing for a UE with reduced capability can be determined based on the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing for a conventional UE. In one embodiment, the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for the transmission of a UE with reduced capability may be in the frequency domain. In one embodiment, the offset resource block number may indicate the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing.

[0045] Figure 5A Example 500 illustrates the start position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of a degraded UE, relative to the start position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The degraded UE transmission timing 505 may be located in the degraded UE UL initial bandwidth portion 504. The degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 505 is offset 503 relative to the start position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing 502. The offset 503 may be measured in a resource block. The conventional UE transmission timing 502 is located in the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 501.

[0046] Figure 5BExample 500 illustrates the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a capability-reduced UE relative to the start of the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion allocated for transmission, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The capability-reduced UE PRACH transmission timing 505 may be located within the capability-reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion 504. The capability-reduced UE PRACH transmission timing 505 is relative to the start of the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 501 instead of the conventional UE transmission timing 502 (e.g., ...). Figure 5A (As shown) Offset 1 503. Offset 1 can be measured in the resource block. Furthermore, the reduced UE PRACH transmission timing 505 can be relative to the starting offset 2 506 of the reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion 504. Offset 2 506 can be measured in the resource block.

[0047] Figure 5C Example 500 illustrates the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for a reduced-capacity UE, relative to the initial UL bandwidth portion allocated for transmission of a conventional UE, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Similar to... Figure 5B The reduced UE PRACH transmission timing 505 can be located within the reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion 504. The reduced UE PRACH transmission timing 505 can be at a starting offset 1 503 relative to the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 501. Offset 1 can be measured in a resource block. Furthermore, the reduced UE transmission timing 505 can be at a starting offset 2 506 relative to the reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion 504. Offset 2 506 can be measured in a resource block. In some embodiments, the default offset 2 506 can be a zero resource block. As shown in the figure, Figure 5C The starting position of the UE PRACH transmission timing 505 with reduced indication capability is equal to the starting position of the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 501.

[0048] Figure 5DExample 500 illustrates the start position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of a capability-degraded UE, relative to the end position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The start position of the capability-degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 501 may be a fixed offset relative to the start position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing 502. In an alternative embodiment, the start position of the capability-degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 501 may be a fixed offset to the end position (not shown) of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing. The fixed offset may be measured in a resource block. In some embodiments, the fixed offset may be a zero resource block. In some embodiments, the fixed offset may be equal to the size of the initial bandwidth portion of the capability-degraded UE. As shown, Figure 5D The fixed offset relative to the end position of the traditional UE transmission timing is set to zero.

[0049] In some embodiments, a degraded UE can receive a signal indicator from a BS. In some embodiments, the signal indicator may be 1 bit. In some embodiments, in response to the degraded UE receiving the signal indicator, the degraded UE can determine the start position of the PRACH transmission timing, which is determined by a fixed offset relative to the end position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing. In some embodiments, in response to the degraded UE receiving the signal indicator, the degraded UE can determine the start position of the PRACH transmission timing, which is determined by a fixed offset relative to the start position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing. In some embodiments, the fixed offset may be a zero resource block. In some embodiments, the fixed offset may be equal to the size of the initial bandwidth portion of the degraded UE.

[0050] Figure 5E Example 500 illustrates the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission of a degraded UE relative to the beginning of a resource block, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 502 may be located within the degraded UE UL initial bandwidth portion 501. The degraded UE transmission timing 502 is offset 503 relative to a reference resource block 505. The offset 503 may be measured within the resource block.

[0051] Figure 5FExample 500 illustrates the start position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for the transmission of a PRACH for a degraded UE, relative to the start or end position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing allocated for transmission, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The start position of the degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 501 can be a distance equal to the absolute value of the offset relative to the start position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing. Offset 1 503 shows the absolute value of a negative offset. In some embodiments, the offset can be the absolute value of a positive offset. The absolute value of the offset can be measured in a resource block.

[0052] In an alternative embodiment, the starting position of the reduced-capability UE PRACH transmission timing 501 can be a distance equal to the absolute value of the offset relative to the ending position of the conventional UE PRACH transmission timing. Offset 2 504 shows the absolute value of a positive offset. In some embodiments, the offset can be the absolute value of a negative offset. The absolute value of the offset can be measured in a resource block. As shown in the figure, Figure 5F The absolute value of the offset relative to the start or end position of the traditional UE transmission timing is indicated as zero.

[0053] 2. Starting position of the initial bandwidth portion of UL

[0054] In some embodiments, the starting position of the initial uplink bandwidth portion allocated for transmission may be included in the configuration information. The starting position of the initial uplink bandwidth portion may be in the frequency domain.

[0055] Figure 6A Example 600 of the starting position of the initial UL bandwidth portion allocated for transmission, according to some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown as the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated for the transmission of a reduced-capacity UE. The starting position of the reduced-capacity UE in the initial UL bandwidth portion 604 may be offset 2 603 relative to the starting position of the conventional UE initial UL bandwidth portion 601. Offset 2 603 may be measured in a resource block. In some embodiments, the default offset may be equal to the size of the reduced-capacity UE. Furthermore, the reduced-capacity UE transmission timing 602 may be offset 1 606 relative to the starting position of the reduced-capacity UE in the initial UL bandwidth portion 604. Offset 1 606 may be measured in a resource block. In some embodiments, the default offset may be a zero resource block.

[0056] Figure 6B Example 600 of a UE start position with reduced capability of the initial UL bandwidth portion allocated for transmission relative to the end position of the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion is shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE start position with reduced capability of the UL initial bandwidth portion 602 may be adjacent to the end position of the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion.

[0057] Figure 6C Example 600 illustrates the starting position of a reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion allocated for transmission relative to a resource block, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. The reduced UE UL initial bandwidth portion 601 is offset 602 relative to a reference resource block 603. The offset can be measured within the resource block.

[0058] 3. Number of PRACH transmission opportunities

[0059] In some embodiments, the number of PRACH transmission opportunities allocated for transmission by a UE with reduced capability may be included in the PRACH configuration information. The default number of PRACH transmission opportunities for a UE with reduced capability in the frequency domain may be predefined as 1. In alternative embodiments, the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for a UE with reduced capability may be two or four.

[0060] 4. PRACH transmission timing in the time domain

[0061] In some embodiments, the number of PRACH transmissions in the time domain may be included in the PRACH configuration information. In some embodiments, the PRACH preamble is transmitted during one or more PRACH transmission events.

[0062] In some embodiments, the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for a UE with reduced capability in the time domain can be indicated in the PRACH configuration via a period of reduced capability UE PRACH configuration. In some embodiments, the period of reduced capability UE PRACH configuration can be determined by a traditional UE PRACH configuration index. The PRACH configuration index can indicate a traditional UE PRACH configuration period. In other embodiments, the period of reduced capability UE PRACH configuration can be determined based on a traditional UE PRACH configuration period. The traditional UE PRACH configuration period can be indicated by a traditional UE PRACH configuration index.

[0063] In some embodiments, the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for sending PRACH configuration to a UE with reduced capability is determined based on the PRACH configuration period. The PRACH configuration period for a UE with reduced capability can be found using Equation 1 below.

[0064]

[0065] In Equation 1, X2 is the PRACH configuration period for the UE with reduced capability, X1 is the PRACH configuration period for the traditional UE, N2 is the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for the UE with reduced capability in the frequency domain, and N1 is the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for the traditional UE in the frequency domain. The subframe number of the PRACH transmission for the UE with reduced capability can be obtained from the PRACH configuration index configured for the traditional UE.

[0066] In one example, Table 3 below can be used.

[0067] Table 3

[0068]

[0069] In the example above, PRACH leading format 0 and PRACH configuration index 0 can be configured. If Then, it can be determined that a UE with reduced capabilities can be configured with PRACH configuration index 8. Alternatively, if... Then, it can be determined that the UE with reduced capability can be configured with PRACH configuration index 4.

[0070] In an alternative embodiment, for a UE with reduced capability, the number of PRACH transmission opportunities associated with one SSB used to send a PRACH preamble to the BS can be determined by a repetition requirement. The repetition requirement determined by the BS can indicate the number of PRACH preambles sent from the UE to the BS in consecutive PRACH transmission opportunities associated with the same SSB block.

[0071] Therefore, the PRACH configuration period of the UE with reduced capability can be found in Equation 2 below:

[0072]

[0073] Similar to Equation 1, Equation 2 describes X2 as the PRACH configuration period for the UE with reduced capability, X1 as the PRACH configuration period for the traditional UE, N2 as the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for the UE with reduced capability in the frequency domain, M as the repetition request, and N1 as the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for the traditional UE in the frequency domain. The subframe number of the PRACH transmission for the UE with reduced capability can be obtained from the PRACH configuration index configured for the traditional UE.

[0074] In one example, Table 4 below can be used.

[0075] Table 4

[0076]

[0077] In the example above, PRACH leading format 0 and PRACH configuration index 0 can be configured. If And if M=2, then the UE with reduced capability can be determined to be able to configure PRACH configuration index 12. Or, if Furthermore, if M=4, then the UE with reduced capability can be determined to be able to configure PRACH configuration index 16 for the UE with reduced capability.

[0078] 5. PRACH Configuration Index

[0079] In some embodiments, a relevant PRACH configuration index may be included in the PRACH configuration. The relevant PRACH configuration index may indicate PRACH time-domain parameters corresponding to the PRACH preamble format used in legacy UE devices. In other words, legacy UE PRACH configuration indexes can be reused in degraded UEs. In some embodiments, five bits may be used to indicate the PRACH configuration index.

[0080] In one example, Table 5 can be used.

[0081] Table 5

[0082]

[0083]

[0084] In the example above, PRACH configuration indices 198-218 can indicate the PRACH configuration for PRACH preamble format B4. Related PRACH configuration indices 0-20 can be used to indicate the PRACH time-domain parameters corresponding to the PRACH preamble format. The PRACH preamble format can be a preamble format used for legacy UEs, indicated by an 8-bit PRACH configuration index.

[0085] In some embodiments, the PRACH configuration index of a degraded UE can be determined based on the subframe number of the PRACH transmission from the PRACH configuration index configured for a legacy UE.

[0086] 6. Association Pattern

[0087] In some embodiments, the association pattern may be included in the PRACH configuration information. The association pattern is a mapping rule that maps one or more SSBs transmitted in the DL during the association pattern period of a degraded UE to the PRACH transmission timing of the degraded UE. The PRACH transmission timing of a degraded UE may or may not be located in the same UL bandwidth portion as a traditional UE. Therefore, the association pattern can map one or more SSBs to a PRACH transmission timing dedicated to a degraded UE. A degraded UE can map the association pattern during the association period.

[0088] Figure 7A An example 700 of an association mode, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, is illustrated in response to the reconfiguration of different PRACH transmission times for a UE with reduced capabilities compared to a conventional UE. As shown, the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission times allocated to the reduced-capability UE differs from the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission times allocated to the conventional UE. When the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission times for the reduced-capability UE differs from the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission times for the conventional UE, an association mode can be configured to map SSBs to PRACH transmission times during association mode period 705. The association mode configured during association mode period 704 maps SSBs dedicated to the reduced-capability UE 706 block to the reduced-capability UE transmission time 703 in the reduced-capability UE UL initial bandwidth portion 704. For example, two SSBs (SSB1 and SSB2) dedicated to the reduced-capability UE 706 are mapped to a single reduced-capability UE transmission time (reduced RO 1). Conversely, an SSB used in a conventional UE 704 is mapped to a conventional UE transmission timing 702 in the conventional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 701. For example, an SSB 704 (SSB1) used in a conventional UE is mapped to a conventional UE transmission timing 702 (RO 1).

[0089] In some embodiments, the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities for a degraded UE differs from the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities for a conventional UE. In other embodiments, the total number of frequency PRACH transmission opportunities for a degraded UE differs from the total number of frequency PRACH transmission opportunities for a conventional UE.

[0090] If the total number of time and frequency transmission opportunities for a degraded UE is the same as the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities for a legacy UE, then the same association mode configured for the legacy UE can be reused for the degraded UE. In other words, if the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities for a degraded UE is the same as the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities for a legacy UE, then the degraded UE does not need to be configured with a dedicated association mode. The degraded UE can assume that the association mode to be used is the same as the association mode of the legacy UE. The legacy UE association mode can be predefined.

[0091] Figure 7B An example 700 of an association pattern according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, which is a response to the same PRACH transmission timings of a UE with reduced capabilities compared to a conventional UE. As shown, the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission timings allocated to the UE with reduced capabilities is the same as the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission timings allocated to the conventional UE.

[0092] Within the association period 705, the association pattern that maps the legacy UE PRACH transmission timing 703 in the legacy UE UL initial bandwidth portion 701 to the SSB used in the legacy UE 704 can be reused for the degraded UE. In other words, the degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 702 can be mapped to an SSB dedicated to the degraded UE 706. For example, a legacy UE PRACH transmission timing 703 (RO 1) is mapped to two SSBs (SSB1 and SSB2) used in the legacy UE 704. Similarly, the degraded UE PRACH transmission timing 702 (degraded RO 1) is mapped to two SSBs (SSB1 and SSB2) dedicated to the degraded UE 706.

[0093] Figure 7C Example 700 is shown, illustrating an association pattern determined by a conventional UE and a factor according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure. Equation 3 below describes the association pattern of a UE with reduced capabilities due to the factor.

[0094] Equation 3: N2 = N1 * f

[0095] In Equation 3 above, N2 is the number of SS / PBCH blocks associated with a PRACH transmission timing of a capability-reduced UE, N1 is the number of SS / PBCH blocks associated with a PRACH transmission timing of a legacy UE, and f is a factor. In some embodiments, this factor can be configured by the base station based on the number of PRACH transmission timings configured for the capability-reduced UE and the target association pattern. In some embodiments, the factor f can be configured to 1, 2, 4, or 8.

[0096] As shown in the figure Figure 7C Assume f = 2. The association pattern that maps the traditional UE PRACH transmission timing 703 in the traditional UE UL initial bandwidth portion 701 to the SSB used in the traditional UE 704 within the association period 705 can be reused with a factor for the reduced-capacity UE. In other words, the reduced-capacity UE PRACH transmission timing 702 can be mapped to an SSB dedicated to the reduced-capacity UE 706. For example, a traditional UE PRACH transmission timing 703 (RO 1) is mapped to an SSB (SSB1) used in the traditional UE 704. This factor corrects the association pattern, resulting in a reduced-capacity UE PRACH transmission timing 702 (reduced-capacity RO 1) being mapped to two SSBs (SSB1 and SSB2) dedicated to the reduced-capacity UE 706.

[0097] While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various diagrams may depict example architectures or configurations, provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present solution. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited by any of the illustrative embodiments described above.

[0098] It should also be understood that any reference to elements using designations such as "first," "second," etc., herein does not generally limit the number or order of these elements. Rather, these designations are used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or multiple instances of a single element. Therefore, references to first and second elements do not imply that only two elements can be used, nor do they imply that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

[0099] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols referenced in the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of instruction-containing program or design code (referred to herein as "software" or "software module" for convenience), or any combination of these technologies. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of function. Whether such a function is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these technologies, depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not depart from the scope of this disclosure.

[0101] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented within or executed by integrated circuits (ICs), including general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, or any combination thereof. Logic blocks, modules, and circuits may further include antennas and / or transceivers for communication with various components within a network or device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

[0102] If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, with communication media including any medium capable of transferring a computer program or code from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible to a computer.

[0103] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of such elements for performing the relevant functions described herein. Furthermore, for the purposes of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs the relevant functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

[0104] Additionally, in embodiments of this solution, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be employed. It should be understood that, for clarity, embodiments of this solution have been described above with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable functional distribution among different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains can be used without departing from this solution. For example, a function illustrated as being performed by a separate processing logic element or controller may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, references to specific functional units are merely references to suitable means of providing the described functionality and do not indicate a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0105] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but is to be endowed with the broadest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: A wireless communication node sends configuration information to a first wireless communication device, wherein the first wireless communication device is a degraded user equipment (UE) device, and wherein the configuration information includes a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration, the PRACH configuration including the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion of the PRACH transmission allocated to the first wireless communication device in the frequency domain, and wherein the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion allocated to the first wireless communication device is indicated by the number of offset resource blocks away from the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion allocated to the second wireless communication device.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated to the first wireless communication device is determined by a fixed offset relative to the starting position of the PRACH transmission timing allocated to the second wireless communication device.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein the fixed offset is zero.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein the fixed offset is equal to the size of the initial uplink bandwidth portion of the first wireless communication device.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the PRACH configuration includes a number of PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device in the frequency domain, wherein the number of allocated PRACH transmission opportunities includes one of the following: one PRACH transmission opportunity, two PRACH transmission opportunities, or four PRACH transmission opportunities.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the PRACH configuration includes the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the time domain.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein a PRACH preamble is transmitted at one or more PRACH transmission times.

8. The wireless communication method of claim 7, wherein the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for transmitting the PRACH preamble is determined based on a PRACH configuration period allocated to the first wireless communication device, wherein the PRACH configuration period allocated to the first wireless communication device is determined by multiplying the PRACH configuration period of the second wireless communication device by the quotient between the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the first wireless communication device and the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the second wireless communication device.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 8, wherein the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for transmitting the PRACH preamble is determined by a repetition requirement.

10. The wireless communication method of claim 9, wherein the repetition requirement indicates the number of PRACH preambles transmitted by the first wireless communication device.

11. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the PRACH configuration includes a related PRACH configuration index, the related PRACH configuration index indicating PRACH time-domain parameters corresponding to a PRACH preamble format configured for a second wireless communication device.

12. The wireless communication method of claim 11, wherein the associated PRACH configuration index is indicated using a number of bits, wherein the number of bits is an integer less than or equal to 5.

13. The wireless communication method of claim 6, wherein the time domain is a first PRACH configuration period, the first PRACH configuration period being determined based on a second PRACH configuration period, the second PRACH configuration period being indicated by a PRACH configuration index, the second PRACH configuration index being configured for the second wireless communication device.

14. The wireless communication method of claim 13, wherein the first PRACH configuration period is determined based on the quotient between the second PRACH configuration period multiplied by the quotient of the product of the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the first wireless communication device and the product of the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the second wireless communication device and the repetition requirement.

15. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the PRACH configuration includes an association mode, wherein the association mode maps one or more synchronization signal blocks SSB to PRACH transmission timing during an association mode period of the first wireless communication device.

16. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to a difference in the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device compared to the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

17. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to a difference in the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device compared to the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

18. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to the total number of frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device being different from the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

19. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein the association mode configured for transmission to the first wireless communication device is determined by an association mode and a factor configured for transmission to the second wireless communication device.

20. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein the association mode configured for the first wireless communication device in response to the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device being the same as the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device is based on the second wireless communication device.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the number of offset resource blocks is the absolute value of the number of offset resource blocks.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, wherein the fixed offset is the absolute value of the fixed offset.

23. A wireless communication method, comprising: The first wireless communication device receives configuration information from the wireless communication node, wherein the first wireless communication device is a degraded user equipment (UE) device, and wherein the configuration information includes a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration, the PRACH configuration including the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion of the PRACH transmission allocated to the first wireless communication device in the frequency domain, and wherein the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion allocated to the first wireless communication device is indicated by the number of offset resource blocks away from the starting position of the uplink initial bandwidth portion allocated to the second wireless communication device.

24. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein the first wireless communication device receives a signal indicator.

25. The wireless communication method according to claim 24, wherein the signal indicator is one bit.

26. The wireless communication method of claim 24, wherein in response to the first wireless communication device receiving the signal indicator, a starting position for a PRACH transmission timing allocated to the first wireless communication device is determined, the starting position being determined by a fixed offset relative to a starting position for a PRACH transmission timing allocated to the second wireless communication device.

27. The wireless communication method of claim 26, wherein the fixed offset is zero.

28. The wireless communication method of claim 26, wherein the fixed offset is equal to the size of the uplink initial bandwidth portion of the first wireless communication device.

29. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein the PRACH configuration includes a number of PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device in the frequency domain, wherein the number of PRACH transmission opportunities includes one of the following: one PRACH transmission opportunity, two PRACH transmission opportunities, or four PRACH transmission opportunities.

30. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein the PRACH configuration includes the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the time domain.

31. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein a PRACH preamble is transmitted at one or more PRACH transmission times.

32. The wireless communication method of claim 31, wherein the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for transmitting the PRACH preamble is determined based on a PRACH configuration period allocated to the first wireless communication device, wherein the PRACH configuration period allocated to the first wireless communication device is determined by multiplying the PRACH configuration period of the second wireless communication device by the quotient between the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the first wireless communication device and the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the second wireless communication device.

33. The wireless communication method of claim 31, wherein the number of PRACH transmission opportunities for transmitting the PRACH preamble is determined by a repetition requirement.

34. The wireless communication method of claim 33, wherein the repetition requirement indicates the number of PRACH preambles transmitted by the first wireless communication device.

35. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein the PRACH configuration includes a related PRACH configuration index, the related PRACH configuration index indicating PRACH time-domain parameters corresponding to a PRACH preamble format configured for a second wireless communication device.

36. The wireless communication method of claim 35, wherein the associated PRACH configuration index is indicated using a number of bits, wherein the number of bits is an integer less than or equal to 5.

37. The wireless communication method of claim 30, wherein the time domain is a first PRACH configuration period, the first PRACH configuration period being determined based on a second PRACH configuration period, the second PRACH configuration period being indicated by a PRACH configuration index, the second PRACH configuration index being configured for a second wireless communication device.

38. The wireless communication method of claim 37, wherein the first PRACH configuration period is determined based on the quotient between the second PRACH configuration period multiplied by the quotient of the product of the number of PRACH transmission opportunities in the frequency domain of the first wireless communication device and the number of PRACH transmission opportunities and the repetition requirement in the frequency domain of the second wireless communication device.

39. The wireless communication method of claim 23, wherein the PRACH configuration includes an association mode, wherein the association mode maps one or more SSBs to PRACH transmission timings during an association mode period of the first wireless communication device.

40. The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to a difference in the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device compared to the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

41. The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device being different from the total number of time PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

42. The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the association mode is configured for the first wireless communication device in response to the total number of frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device being different from the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device.

43. The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the association mode configured for the first wireless communication device in response to the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the first wireless communication device being the same as the total number of time and frequency PRACH transmission opportunities allocated to the second wireless communication device is based on the second wireless communication device.

44. The wireless communication method of claim 39, wherein the association mode configured for transmission to the first wireless communication device is determined by an association mode and a factor configured for transmission to the second wireless communication device.

45. The wireless communication method according to claim 23, wherein the number of offset resource blocks is the absolute value of the number of offset resource blocks.

46. ​​The wireless communication method of claim 26, wherein the fixed offset is the absolute value of the fixed offset.

47. A wireless communication device including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 46.

48. A computer program product comprising computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 46.

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