Transmission of payload during RA

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to transmission of a payload in a random access (RA) process. A first device performs transmission of a random access preamble to a second device as a first part of a random access message, and performs multiple transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message. The first device monitors a response to the random access message from the second device. The second device decodes the payload based on at least one of the multiple transmissions of the payload received from the first device, and sends a response to the random access message to the first device based on the result of the decoding.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for transmission of a payload in a random access (RA) procedure. Background Art

[0002] With the development of communication systems, new technologies have been proposed. The third generation partnership project (3GPP) version (Rel)-16 includes a research project on how the fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) standard supports the deployment of non-terrestrial networks (NTN), which uses satellites and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) to provide connections over a wide service area. In many NTN deployment scenarios, the round-trip time (RTT) for signal propagation may be much longer than that intended for terrestrial networks for NR interfaces. Long propagation delays may pose challenges to communication between devices (including message transmission during RA). Therefore, it is desirable to improve the RA process in scenarios with long RTT delays (such as in NTN). Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for transmission of payload in a random access RA procedure. Embodiments that do not belong to the scope of the claims, if any, shall be construed as examples that are helpful for understanding the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform a transmission of a random access preamble to a second device as a first part of a random access message; perform multiple transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message; and monitor a response to the random access message from the second device.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the second device to receive a transmission of a random access preamble from a first device as a first part of a random access message; receive at least one of multiple transmissions of a payload from the first device as a second part of the random access message; decode the payload based on at least one of the multiple transmissions of the payload received from the first device; and send a response to the random access message to the first device based on the result of the decoding.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes performing, at a first device, a transmission of a random access preamble to a second device as a first part of a random access message, performing multiple transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message, and monitoring a response to the random access message from the second device.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a second device, a transmission of a random access preamble from a first device as a first part of a random access message; receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload from the first device as a second part of the random access message; decoding the payload based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device; and sending a response to the random access message to the first device based on a result of the decoding.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes means for performing a transmission of a random access preamble to a second apparatus as a first part of a random access message, means for performing a plurality of transmissions of a payload to the second apparatus as a second part of the random access message, and means for monitoring a response to the random access message from the second apparatus.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes a component for receiving a transmission of a random access preamble from a first device as a first part of a random access message; a component for receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload from the first device as a second part of the random access message; a component for decoding the payload based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device; and a component for sending a response to the random access message to the first device based on a result of the decoding.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes program instructions, and the program instructions are used to cause an apparatus to at least execute the method according to any one of the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to determine the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 shows a signaling flow for transmission of a payload in a RA procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 3 shows an example association of a transmission configuration with an RA preamble group according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 A flowchart of a process for sending an RA message implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 5 An example of a time-based pattern for transmission and reception of RA preambles, payloads, and responses in a RA procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 6 A flowchart of a process implemented at a second device for performing an RA process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 8 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Fig. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] Fig.10 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0026] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0027] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0028] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0030] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0031] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0032] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0033] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software, including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s), which work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0034] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), which requires software (e.g., firmware)

[0035] The software can be non-existent when no operation is needed.

[0036] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0037] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0038] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto, a micro), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) located at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE to a parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station to a next-hop IAB node.

[0039] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop vehicle-mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0040] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", resource block, "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the space domain, a source in the code domain, or any other resource capable of communication. In the following, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0041] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , two types of communication networks are shown, including a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network (which has one or more NTN network devices or non-ground network devices for providing communication coverage), and a terrestrial network (TN) or ground network (which has one or more terrestrial or ground network devices for providing communication coverage). In the following, NTN is referred to as NTN network, and TN is referred to as TN network to improve readability, although "network" is redundant.

[0042] In an NTN network, a first device 110-1 and a second device 120-1 can communicate with each other. In this example, the first device 110-1 is shown as a terminal device, and the second device 120-1 is shown as an NTN network device serving the terminal device. The service area of ​​the second device 120-1 is referred to as a cell 102-1. In a TN network, a first device 110-2 and a second device 120-2 can communicate with each other. In this example, the first device 110-2 is shown as a terminal device, and the second device 120-2 is shown as a TN network device serving the terminal device. The service area of ​​the second device 120-2 is referred to as a cell 102-2. For ease of discussion, hereinafter, the first device 110-1 and 110-2 are collectively or individually referred to as the first device 110, the second device 120-1 and 120-2 are collectively or individually referred to as the second device 120, and the cell 102-1 and 102-2 are collectively or individually referred to as the cell 102.

[0043] It should be understood that the number of the first device and the second device is only for illustrative purposes, without any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the environment 100. Note that, although shown as a network device, the second device 120 may be a device other than a network device. Although shown as a terminal device, the first device 110 may be a device other than a terminal device.

[0044] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any (multiple) appropriate communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G) and fifth generation (5G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0045] In the communication environment 100, the first device 110 and the second device 120 can transmit data and control information to each other. In the case where the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is called an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0046] Before receiving communication services from the wireless communication system, the first device 110 may need to initiate an RA process to establish a connection with the second device 120. The random access (RA) process refers to a process for a device to establish, or reestablish, a connection with a network. The RA process may include a slow RA type, a fast RA type, and the like. Examples of slow RA types include a four-step RA (or 4-step RA), in which the first device 110 sends an RA preamble to the second device 120 in a first message (sometimes represented as "MSG1"), and the following steps are then performed depending on whether the RA process is contention-based or contention-free. For example, if a 4-step contention-based RA is performed, at least three additional messages are exchanged between the first device 110 and the second device 120. If 4-step contention-free is performed, the first device 110 may send an additional message as a response to MSG1.

[0047] Examples of fast RA types include two-step RA (or 2-step RA), in which the first device 110 sends both the RA preamble and the payload to the second device 120 in one RA message (sometimes denoted as "MSGA"). Therefore, MSG1 and MSG3 in the 4-step RA are combined into a single message. The second device 120 typically sends a response message (sometimes denoted as "MSGB") to the MSGA in a contention-based or contention-free process. In the 4-step RA, MSGB is considered to be a combination of MSG2 and MSG4. The advantage of 2-step RA over 4-step RA is that one round trip is required between sending MSGA and receiving MSGB, rather than two round trips between sending MSG1 and receiving MSG4. Therefore, compared to 4-step RA, both delay and signaling overhead are reduced. Recently, a fast RA type has been proposed to enable fast access of a first device (e.g., a terminal device) to a second device (e.g., a network device) in some cases.

[0048] Some communication networks (such as NTN) may involve long round-trip delays for communication between devices. For example, the estimated RTT for NTN networks is as high as 12.89ms (for LEO-based NTN) and 541ms (for GEO-based NTN), which is different from the situation in current terrestrial cellular deployments. Therefore, in communication networks with long RTT, it would be more advantageous to apply fast RA (such as 2-step RA) to reduce delay and signaling overhead.

[0049] Currently, potential enhancements to the RA process have been proposed, especially to accommodate NTN environments where the coverage area is large and the RTT delay is increased. Some exemplary potential enhancements are to include more auxiliary information in the RA message from the terminal device to the network device, such as in the payload of the MSGA of the 2-step RA. For example, the value of the timing advance (TA) applied by the terminal device and the buffer status report (BSR) can be included by the terminal device in the RA message sent to the network device. As a possible solution to the ambiguity problem of preamble reception on the network side, an index of the system frame number (SFN) can also be included in the RA message to help the network device link the received RA preamble to the corresponding random access channel (RACH) opportunity (RO).

[0050] As more information is added in the RA message, the payload size of the RA message will be increased. For example, for typical data included in MSGA for 2-step RA, the minimum payload size is 56 or 72 bits, the content of which includes the same information that can be transmitted in MSG3 for 4-step RA. If additional auxiliary information is added, the index of the SFN information may require about 10 bits, and the long BSR information may require about (8+8*number of LCGs) bits, with a maximum of 72 bits if LCG#=8, where LCG represents a logical channel group. Due to the large coverage area (for example, an NTN UE may need to support up to 541ms TA), the TA value may require about 12 bits for 2ms in legacy NR, and may require more bits in NTN.

[0051] In order to support the increased payload size of RA messages, the inventors have found that one problem that needs to be solved is the coverage of RA messages. For some slow RA types, such as 2-step RA, the decoding capability of MSGA includes both decoding of the RA preamble and decoding of the payload. If the coverage of the RA preamble is different from the coverage of the payload, the network device can detect the RA preamble but cannot correctly decode the payload. In this case, the network device can command the terminal device to fall back to a slow RA, such as a 4-step RA, by sending the required authorization for transmitting MSG3 with a fallback indication in MSGB. Therefore, such a fallback will not reduce the delay in the RA process.

[0052] Therefore, to achieve latency gain in fast RA, the coverage of the payload needs to be kept similar to that of the RA preamble. The coverage of the message can be defined in terms of the maximum coupling loss (MCL) based on the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a target block error rate (BLER). An increased payload size in the RA message can reduce the coverage of the payload but has no impact on the coverage of the RA preamble.

[0053] Conventionally, a terminal device may encode the payload within a transport block (TB) allocated for transmission of the payload using redundancy version number 0 (RV0). This means that there is only one transmission of the payload after the transmission of the RA preamble with RV0. Potential retransmission(s) of the payload may be performed only in MSG3 of a 4-step RA if a backoff indication is received.

[0054] In order to achieve similar coverage for RA preamble and payload with increased size, one possible approach is to allocate more resource elements (REs) to the terminal device for payload transmission, for example, to increase the number of physical resource blocks (RPBs) allocated for the payload of MSGA using RV0. The allocation of more REs enables the selection of a lower and robust modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to support a larger TB set (TBS) with different sets of RA preambles. However, from a resource management perspective, this approach is ineffective because the allocated REs are only used when RA is triggered (not often).

[0055] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, an improved solution for transmission of a payload in an RA process is provided to enhance the coverage of the payload. In the solution, when sending an RA message to a second device, a first device performs transmission of an RA preamble and multiple transmissions of the payload. The second device can decode the payload based on at least one of the multiple transmissions of the payload received from the first device (e.g., based on a combination of the multiple transmissions).

[0056] With this solution, coverage enhancement of the payload can be achieved by retransmitting the payload multiple times. Multiple transmissions of the payload in the time domain can avoid the side effect of large resource reservations in a single transmission time interval (which would occur if only one payload transmission followed the RA preamble), thereby maintaining scheduling flexibility for the second device.

[0057] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] Reference now Figure 2 , Figure 2 A signaling flow 200 for transmission of a payload in an RA process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For ease of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Describe the signaling flow 200. The signaling flow 200 involves such Figure 1 A first device 110 and a second device 120 are shown.

[0059] The following embodiments are not limited to NTN networks and may be applied to any communication network, in particular to a network in which a long round trip delay is observed during the RA process and / or a payload with an increased size is to be sent. For example, the signaling flow 200 may involve the first device 110-1 and the second device 120-1, or may involve the following: Figure 1 A first device 110 - 2 and a second device 120 - 2 in the communication environment 100 are shown.

[0060] In signaling flow 200, first device 110 performs a RA procedure with second device 120 to access second device 120. The RA procedure involves sending a RA preamble and a payload within a RA message. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may perform a fast RA for second device 120, such as a 2-step RA.

[0061] As shown, the first device 110 performs 205 a transmission of an RA preamble to the second device 120. The RA preamble is sent as a portion of the RA message 202 (referred to as the "first portion" or preamble portion for the purposes of discussion). When sending the RA message 202, the first device 110 further performs 210 a plurality of transmissions of a payload to the second device 120. The payload is sent as another portion of the RA message 202 (referred to as the "second portion" or payload portion for the purposes of discussion). In an example where a 2-step RA is performed, the RA message 202 may include the MSGA in the 2-step RA.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the transmission of the RA preamble may be followed by multiple transmissions of the payload. The first device 110 may perform a RA procedure with the second device 120, wherein the RA preamble and the payload are sent in a single RA message for the purpose of fast random access. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may perform a fast RA, such as a 2-step RA.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the RA preamble may be sent via a physical random access channel (PRACH) using resources used for the RA preamble (such as in the RO). In some example embodiments, the payload may be sent via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), for example, using resources used for the payload (such as at a PUSCH opportunity).

[0064] The payload may include any information, including data information, auxiliary information, control information, and / or any other type of information to be sent to the second device 120 during the RA process. For example, the auxiliary information may include a TA value, a BSR, an index of a SFN, and the TA value is applied by the first device 110.

[0065] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the payload in the RA message 202 may be sent multiple times. Coverage enhancement of the payload may be achieved by repetition of the payload.

[0066] In some example embodiments, multiple transmissions of the payload may be performed using continuous resources in the time domain. In some example embodiments, multiple transmissions of the payload may be dispersed in time by using discontinuous resources in the time domain. In an example embodiment, the dispersed transmissions of the payload may follow a specific pattern. Resources (e.g., PUSCH resources) for transmission of the payload may be allocated by the second device 120, which will be described in more detail below.

[0067] In some example embodiments, in multiple transmissions, the payload may be sent using the same redundancy version or different redundancy versions. The first device 110 may perform multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version (or "RV" for short) mode, where the redundancy version mode may indicate one or more RVs for the transmission of the payload. Different RVs of the payload may include the same information bits but different parity bits (or different numbers of parity bits). There may be multiple RVs available for transmission. For example, in LTE and NR communication systems, there may be four RVs defined for Turbo codes and low-density parity-check codes (LDPC). The corresponding index of the RV may be referred to as RV0, RV1, RV2, or RV3, for example. In some example embodiments, the RV mode used at the first device 110 may be configured by the second device 120, or may be predefined or pre-specified at the first device 120.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the RV pattern may indicate a single RV to be used for each transmission in the transmission of the payload. A single RV may be selected as an RV that can support correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits. In one example, the RV pattern for the transmission of the payload may indicate RV0. In some example embodiments, the RV pattern may indicate two or more RVs to be used for the transmission of the payload, wherein different RVs are used in corresponding different transmissions, or one RV may be repeated for two or more transmissions. As a specific example, the RV pattern may indicate RV0, RV2, RV3, and RV1 of four transmissions of the payload, respectively, and thus the first device 110 may send the payload accordingly by using the corresponding RV in each transmission. Other RV patterns may also be defined and used by the first device 110.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the (re)transmission of the payload may be configured or defined via a transmission configuration. In the case where the payload is sent via PUSCH, such a transmission configuration may also be referred to as a PUSCH transmission configuration. In some example embodiments, there may be a plurality of different transmission configurations selectable by the first device 110.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration of the payload may indicate the number of transmissions of the payload. For example, one transmission configuration may indicate that the payload may be sent once, another transmission configuration may indicate two transmissions of the payload, and another transmission configuration may indicate a different number (three or more) of transmissions of the payload.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration may additionally or alternatively indicate a corresponding parameter set for performing a corresponding transmission of the payload. For example, the transmission configuration may indicate one or more MCSs for (multiple) transmissions of the payload to specify a coding rate, a modulation scheme, and / or other transmission parameters. In an example embodiment, if multiple transmissions of the payload are to be performed by the first device 110, the transmission configuration may indicate the MCS for each transmission. The MCS for each transmission may be configured to be the same or different from each other. In some examples, the same MCS may be applied to all transmissions of the payload.

[0072] In some example embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of the number of transmissions and parameter sets of the payload, the transmission configuration may also indicate resources used for respective transmissions of the payload, such as, for example, the PRBs used for each transmission.

[0073] Different transmission configurations may differ in the number of transmissions of the payload, parameter sets, and / or resources used for the respective transmissions of the payload. By setting the MCS and / or PRB for each transmission of the payload, the TBS used for each transmission may be the same or different than other transmissions, since the TBS is determined by the MCS and PRB. In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration may indicate other configurations for transmission of the payload, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration for the payload in the RA message may be associated with the RA preamble or a RA preamble group. Thus, by selecting the RA preamble for transmission to the second device 120, the transmission configuration of the payload may also be determined. Figure 3As shown, multiple RA preambles can be divided into different N groups of preambles, including RAGroup1 311, RA Group2 312, RA Group3 313, ..., and RA GroupN 31N, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Each of these groups can be associated with or mapped to multiple different N transmission configurations (denoted as "TX Cog."), including TX Cog.1 321, TX Cog.2 322, TX Cog.3 323, ..., and TX Cog.N 32N.

[0075] Although the association of transmission configurations with RA preamble groups is illustrated and described above, in other examples, respective transmission configurations may be associated with different RA preambles.For example, a transmission configuration may indicate an RV mode for multiple transmissions of a payload.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration(s) for the payload and the association of the transmission configuration(s) with the RA preamble(s) or a set(s) of RA preambles may be determined by the second device 120 and signaled, for example, in system information block (SIB) information or radio resource control (RRC) signaling to the first device 110. The signaling of the transmission configuration(s) for the payload and the association may be implemented in a broadcast manner or in any other suitable manner.

[0077] The determination of the transmission configuration(s) for the payload at the second device 120 side will be discussed in more detail below. The second device 120 may determine the transmission configuration for the payload such that the coverage of the payload and the associated RA preamble are similar. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send one or more transmission configurations to the first device 110, which may be associated with the RA preamble(s) or a group(s) of RA preambles assigned for use by the first device 110, among all possible transmission configurations. For example, in Figure 3 In the embodiment, not all N transmission configurations, but some of the transmission configurations are signaled to the first device 110 .

[0078] Table 1 shows an example of possible transmission configurations in the specification to indicate multiple transmissions of the payload in a RA message, such as MSGA in a 2-step RA.

[0079] Table 1

[0080]

[0081]

[0082] In Table 1, 'msgA-PUSCH-ResourceGroupAPUSCHRepetition-r16' and 'msgA-PUSCH-ResourceGroupBPUSCHRepetition-r16' are included to indicate resources allocated to two groups of RA preambles (ie, group A and group B), and 'msgA-Transmissionnumber-xy' is included to indicate the number of transmissions of a payload.

[0083] Table 2 shows an example of possible RA preamble groups associated with a transmission configuration.

[0084] Table 2

[0085]

[0086]

[0087] In Table 2, "numberofRA-PreamblesPUSCHRepetitionGroupA" and "numberofRA-PreamblesPUSCHRepetitionGroupB" are included to indicate corresponding RA preambles in group A and group B by listing the indexes of the RA preambles. Group A and group B having the listed RA preambles are associated with corresponding transmission configurations indicating multiple transmissions (e.g., repetitions) of a payload.

[0088] In operation, to send the RA message 202, the first device 110 may determine a transmission configuration for performing transmission(s) of the payload. Figure 4 A flow chart of a process 400 for sending an RA message according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. At block 410, the first device 110 selects an RA preamble to be sent in order to send the RA message 202. In example embodiments where an RA preamble or a group of RA preambles is associated with a transmission configuration of a payload, the selection of the RA preamble is to determine how the payload is sent.

[0089] First device 110 may select an RA preamble based on various factors. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may estimate a potential size of a payload to be sent in RA message 202 and select an RA preamble from a plurality of RA preambles based on the potential size of the payload. The potential size of the payload may be determined based on data available to be sent to second device 120 as a payload in the RA message. In some examples, the potential size of the payload may also be determined by considering one or more media access control (MAC) subheaders and one or more MAC control elements (CEs) (if required).

[0090] In some examples, the first device 110 may select an RA preamble or RA preamble group associated with a transmission configuration indicating a sufficiently large TBS for sending a payload of at least a potential size. As described above, the TBS may be determined by both the MCS and the PRB. In some example embodiments, if there is no such transmission configuration indicating a sufficiently large TBS, the first device 110 may select an RA preamble or RA preamble group associated with a transmission configuration indicating a TBS closer to the expected TBS for sending a payload of a potential size. For example, if it is found that the RA preamble or RA preamble group is associated with a transmission configuration indicating a TBS with a minimum gap to the expected TBS, the first device 110 may select the RA preamble or the group.

[0091] In addition to the potential size of the payload, or as an alternative, the first device 110 may also consider other characteristics when selecting the RA preamble code or the RA preamble code group. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may select the RA preamble code based on the channel characteristics of the communication channel between the first device 110 and the second device 120. The channel characteristics may include, for example, the signal quality over the communication channel, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference and noise ratio (SNIR), etc. In some examples, the channel characteristics may alternatively or additionally include a path loss over the communication channel.

[0092] In some example embodiments, channel characteristics (such as signal quality and / or path loss) may be measured by the range of the coverage area (e.g., cell 102) of second device 120. A larger range of the coverage area generally indicates potentially lower signal quality or higher path loss. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may determine to transmit the payload of RA message 202 multiple times if lower signal quality or higher path loss is observed over the communication channel. In this case, first device 110 may select an RA preamble or RA preamble group associated with a transmission configuration indicating multiple transmissions of the payload in order to achieve coverage enhancement for the payload.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the channel characteristics may also include a logical channel (LCH) that triggers random access to second device 120. In some examples, repetition of a payload in RA message 202 may be allowed for specific radio bearer(s) or specific LCH(s). Thus, first device 110 may determine whether the LCH is allowed for repetition of the payload or corresponds to a radio bearer that is allowed for repetition. If the LCH is allowed or the corresponding radio bearer is allowed, first device 110 may determine an RA preamble associated with a transmission configuration indicating multiple transmissions of the payload.

[0094] In some example embodiments, alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may select the RA preamble based on the service characteristics of the payload, for example, the characteristics of the service with the data to be transmitted as the payload. As described above, the repetition of the payload can help achieve coverage enhancement in fast RA, which can avoid falling back to slow RA and thereby reduce the delay of random access. Therefore, if the service characteristics of the payload indicate that the service is time-critical, for example, the permitted delay of the payload is relatively low (e.g., below a threshold), the first device 110 may determine that an RA preamble or RA preamble group associated with a transmission configuration indicating multiple transmissions of the payload should be selected. In some examples, if the service characteristics of the payload indicate that the service is delay-tolerant, the first device 110 may determine that an RA preamble or RA preamble group associated with a transmission configuration indicating non-repeated payloads should be selected. It should be understood that in addition to the requirements related to delay, the service characteristics may also include one or more other characteristics of the service, which may also be used to select the RA preamble.

[0095] In some example embodiments, where a transmission configuration is associated with a corresponding RA preamble group, first device 110 may select a RA preamble from the group if the RA preamble group is determined to be associated with an expected transmission configuration.

[0096] In the event that a RA preamble is selected, the first device 110 determines a transmission configuration for the payload associated with the selected RA preamble at block 420. In the event that the RA preamble is selected from a group of RA preambles, the first device 110 may determine a transmission configuration associated with the group.

[0097] At block 430, the first device 110 sends the RA message 202, the RA message 202 including the selected RA preamble and the payload. As described above, the first device 110 performs a transmission of the selected RA preamble. The first device 110 transmits the payload according to the determined transmission configuration. If the determined transmission configuration indicates multiple transmissions of the payload, the first device 110 performs multiple transmissions of the payload. The first device 110 may also use parameters for the corresponding transmissions and resources indicated by the transmission configuration.

[0098] Reference again Figure 2 In the signaling flow 200, the first device 110 monitors 215 for a response to the RA message 202 from the second device 120 using the RA preamble and payload sent in the RA message 202. From the perspective of the second device 120, it receives 220 a transmission of the RA preamble from the first device 110 and receives 225 at least one of a plurality of transmissions of the payload from the first device 100. The second device 120 may perform reception of the RA preamble and payload on resources allocated to the first device 110 to perform transmission of the RA preamble and payload.

[0099] The second device 120 may attempt to decode the RA preamble based on the transmission of the RA preamble received from the first device 110. If the RA preamble is successfully decoded, the second device 120 decodes 230 the payload based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device 110.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may attempt to decode the payload while performing a transmission of the payload received from the first device 110. If the payload can be successfully decoded from the first transmission received from the first device 110, the second device 120 may stop receiving (multiple) subsequent transmissions. If the payload cannot be successfully decoded from the first transmission, and / or if two or more transmissions of the payload are received, the second device 120 may combine the signals received from two or more of the multiple transmissions to decode the payload. For example, the second device 120 may apply a soft combination of two or more of the multiple transmissions of the payload. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive each of the multiple transmissions of the payload from the first device 110, and decode the payload based on the multiple transmissions. Due to the repetition of the payload and the coverage enhancement achieved, the probability of successfully decoding the payload may be increased.

[0101] Based on the decoding result of the payload, the second device 120 sends 235 a response to the RA message 202. In the example where a 2-step RA is performed, the response may be sent in MSGB. The first device 110 may receive the response for monitoring the signal from the second device 120 for a certain period of time.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may monitor the response by starting a timer indicating a time window. The response may be monitored during the time window. In one example, in the case of a 2-step RA, the first device 110 may start a timer "msgB-ResponseWindow" to monitor MSGB. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may start monitoring the response, for example, after the last transmission of multiple transmissions of the payload has been performed, starting the timer. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may start monitoring the response after an offset from the last transmission, for example, starting a timer. This is particularly beneficial in the case where the RTT between the first device 110 and the second device 120 is large. In some example embodiments, the offset may be determined based on an estimated RTT between the first device 110 and the second device 120, for example, may be set to the estimated RTT.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the duration of the transmission of the payload may be relatively small compared to the large RTT between the first device 110 and the second device 120. Therefore, the first device 110 may start monitoring for a response after the first transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the payload has been performed, for example, after an offset from the first transmission. The offset from the first transmission may also be determined based on the estimated RTT between the first device 110 and the second device 120, and may be determined to be the same as or different from the offset from the last transmission. In some cases, the second device 120 may successfully decode the payload from the first transmission or one or more first transmissions. The second device 120 may send a response instead of waiting for all transmissions from the first device 110 to be received. In this case, the first device 110 may be able to receive a response from the second device 120 by starting a timer from the offset of the first transmission.

[0104] It should be understood that, among all transmissions of the payload, any other predetermined transmission except the first transmission or the last transmission may be determined as an anchor transmission, and the timer for monitoring a response may be started from the anchor transmission.

[0105] Figure 5An example of a time-based pattern for transmission and reception of RA preambles, payloads, and responses according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, the first device 110 sends an RA preamble at T0 and sends the payload multiple times at T1, T2, ..., T3 to complete the transmission of the RA message. In one example, the first device 110 may start a timer for the RA message at T8 after an offset (denoted as "Offset1") from the first transmission of the payload. The timer may indicate a time window 502 for monitoring responses. As another example, the first device 110 may start a timer at T9 after an offset (denoted as "Offset2") from the last transmission of the payload to monitor responses to the RA message. The timer may indicate a time window 504 for monitoring responses.

[0106] On the second device 120 side, due to the RTT, the second device 120 receives a transmission of the RA preamble from the first device 110 at T4 and decodes the RA preamble. The second device 120 also receives multiple transmissions of the payload at T5, T6, ..., T7, respectively. If the RA preamble is successfully decoded, the second device 120 can decode the payload based on the received transmission of the payload. In some examples, if the second device 120 is able to successfully decode the payload from the first transmission of the payload received at T5, it can send a response to the RA message after the payload is successfully decoded. In this case, the first device 110 can start monitoring for a response at T1 after an offset "Offset1" from the first transmission. If "Offset1" is set to RTT, the first device 110 may be able to receive a response in the time window 502.

[0107] In some examples, the second device 120 may send a response after all multiple transmissions of the payload have been received and a successful or failed decoding of the payload is complete. In this case, regardless of whether the first device 110 can start a timer after an offset from the first transmission or the last transmission, it may be able to receive the response in time window 502 or 504.

[0108] As described above, the response sent by the second device 120 depends on the decoding of the payload, and the decoder of the payload may depend on the successful decoding of the RA preamble. To better understand the operation at the second device 120, Figure 6 A flow chart of a process 600 for performing a RA process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0109] At block 610, the second device 120 determines whether the RA preamble is successfully decoded based on the transmission of the RA preamble received from the first device 110. If the RA preamble is successfully decoded, then at block 615, the second device 120 determines whether the payload is successfully decoded based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device 110. If the payload is not successfully decoded, then at block 620, the second device 120 sends a response to the first device 110 including a backoff indication.

[0110] In some example embodiments, contention-free random access (CFRA) or contention-based random access (CBRA) may be employed. CFRA is performed by the first device 110 based on a specific RA resource allocated by the second device without competing with other devices. CBRA may result in a situation where multiple first devices (e.g., terminal devices) attempt to access the second device 120 through an RA process using the same RA resource, and thus contention resolution is required. In process 600, if the payload is not successfully decoded, then at block 625, the second device 120 determines whether the first device 110 performs CFRA. If this is not CFRA, the first device 110 will fall back to a slow RA, e.g., a 4-step RA. Therefore, at block 630, the second device 120 continues to perform a slow RA with the first device 110. In this case, the first device 110 that receives a response including a fallback indication may continue to perform a slow RA. Otherwise, if this is CFRA, then at block 635, the second device 120 determines that the current RA process is successfully completed. In this case, the first device 110 may also determine contention for the RA process.

[0111] If it is determined at block 615 that the payload is successfully decoded, the second device 120 determines at block 640 whether the first device 110 performs a CBRA. If this is a CBRA, the second device 120 determines at block 645 whether contention resolution is successful. If contention resolution is successful, the second device 120 sends a response indicating a successful RA to the first device 110 at block 650. If it is determined at block 640 that this is a CFRA, not a CBRA, the second device 120 also continues to send a response indicating a successful RA at block 650. After sending the response indicating a successful RA, the second device 120 determines at block 635 that the current RA procedure is successfully completed. In this case, the first device 110 may also determine contention for the RA procedure.

[0112] If it is determined at block 645 that the contention resolution is unsuccessful, and if it is determined at block 610 that the RA preamble is not successfully decoded, then at block 655, the second device 120 may send a response to trigger a retransmission process of the RA message 202. In this case, after receiving the response, the first device 110 may send a response message in the same manner as the reference message 202. Figure 2The RA message 202 is retransmitted in a similar manner as described by the signaling flow 200 .

[0113] It should be understood that Figure 6 600 is an example process implemented at the second device 120, and the process 600 is provided for illustration only. In the process 600, one or more different operations may be added, and one or more of the operations shown may be omitted, or their order may be changed.

[0114] As described above, one or more transmission configurations for the payload in the RA message may be determined by the second device 120. Some example embodiments of how the transmission configurations may be determined will now be discussed. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine one or more estimated sizes of the payload to be sent by the first device 110 in the RA message during a particular type of RA procedure, e.g., in a MSGA of a 2-step RA.

[0115] The estimated size(s) of the payload may be determined based on the size of the payload to be included in a conventional RA message, which may be known to the second device 120, such as the size of the payload in MSG3 of a 4-step RA sent from the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine that one or more types of auxiliary information may be included in the payload of the RA message. The auxiliary information may include, for example, a TA value, a BSR, an index of a SFN, etc. applied by the first device 110. The second device 120 may determine the size of the corresponding type of auxiliary information. The second device 120 may additionally determine the estimated size of the payload based on the size of the corresponding type of auxiliary information (e.g., based on the sum of the sizes). In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may estimate multiple possible sizes of the payload.

[0116] In the event that the estimated size(s) of the payload is determined, the second device 120 determines one or more transmission configurations for the first device 110 based on the estimated size(s) to perform the payload transmission. In some example embodiments, for each estimated size of the payload, one or more transmission configurations may be determined. As described above, the transmission configuration may indicate the number of transmissions of the payload, the corresponding parameter sets for performing the corresponding transmissions of the payload, the resources for the corresponding transmissions of the payload, and / or the like. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may define the transmission configurations such that the number, parameters, and resources of the transmissions of the payload may allow for substantially equivalent coverage of the payload compared to the coverage of the RA preamble.

[0117] Second device 120 may provide one or more transmission configurations to first device 110, for example, via a SIB or RRC. In some example embodiments, second device 120 may associate each transmission configuration with an RA preamble or RA preamble group assigned to first device 110. Different transmission configurations may be associated with different RA preambles or different RA preamble groups. Second device 120 may send information to first device 110 indicating an association of a respective transmission configuration with a respective RA preamble or a respective RA preamble group.

[0118] In the above example embodiments, first device 110 performs a RA procedure in which the RA preamble and payload are sent in one RA message, which may be considered a fast RA procedure. In some example embodiments, before initiating the RA procedure, first device 110 may determine which RA type to initiate.

[0119] There may be multiple RA types selectable by the first device 110, including one or more relatively fast RA types, and one or more relatively slow RA types. Fast RA types typically require fewer messages to be exchanged between the two devices than slow RA types. Example fast RA types include 2-step RAs, which typically require two messages (e.g., MSGA and MSGB) to be exchanged between the first device 110 and the second device 120 to complete the RA. Example slow RA types include 4-step RAs, which typically require up to four messages (e.g., MSG1, MSG2, MSG3, and MSG4) to be exchanged between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0120] The first device 110 may select an RA type from a plurality of available RA types to perform an RA procedure with the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may select an RA type based on a quality of service (QoS) requirement of the payload, more specifically a QoS requirement of a service associated with the payload. For example, some payloads may be associated with time-critical services, while some payloads may be associated with delay-tolerant services. Since the QoS requirements may vary for different first devices, the first device 110 may adaptively select between different RA types based on their QoS requirements. In some example embodiments, the QoS-based RA type selection may be performed per radio bearer, per access category, per access class, or per QoS flow.

[0121] Multiple RA types may differ in terms of latency. For example, some fast RA types may have lower latency than slow RA types. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may select a RA type for use based on the latency requirements in the QoS requirements. If the first device 110 determines that the QoS requirements indicate a low permitted delay for the payload, for example, a permitted delay below a threshold, it may select a fast RA type to perform the RA process to meet the latency requirements. In some examples, in the case of a low permitted delay for the payload, the first device 110 may select a 2-step RA, which may be associated with a time-critical service. In some examples, in the case of a large permitted delay for the payload, the first device 110 may select a slow RA, such as a 4-step RA, which may be associated with a delay-tolerant service.

[0122] It should be understood that in addition to latency requirements, other requirements (such as reliability requirements for payload) may be used by the first device 110 to guide the selection of RA type. In the case where the payload in the RA message of the fast RA type is sent multiple times as discussed in the above example embodiments, more resources may be allocated for sending the payload compared to payload transmissions in other RA types. RA type selection based on QoS may help balance overall resource surplus and meet QoS requirements.

[0123] In some example embodiments, in addition to QoS requirements, first device 110 may also consider signal quality, such as RSRP, RSRQ, etc., when selecting the RA type. For example, a signal quality threshold, such as an RSRP or RSRQ threshold, may be used to determine whether to select a fast RA type or a slow RA type. In some examples, a fast RA type may be selected when the signal quality is high (e.g., above a signal quality threshold).

[0124] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 7500 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to the first device 110 from its perspective. Figure 1 Method 700 is described.

[0125] At block 710, the first device 110 performs a transmission of a RA preamble as a first part of a RA message to the second device 120. At block 720, the first device 110 performs a plurality of transmissions of a payload as a second part of a RA message to the second device 120.

[0126] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may select an RA preamble from a plurality of RA preambles based on at least one of a potential size of a payload, a channel characteristic of a communication channel between first device 110 and second device 120, and a service characteristic of the payload.

[0127] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may determine a transmission configuration associated with an RA preamble or an RA preamble group including an RA preamble. The transmission configuration indicates at least one of the number of transmissions of the payload, multiple sets of parameters for performing the respective transmissions of the payload, and resources for the respective transmissions of the payload. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may perform multiple transmissions of the payload based on the determined transmission configuration.

[0128] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may receive at least one transmission configuration from second device 120, and determine the transmission configuration based on an association of the at least one transmission configuration with at least one RA preamble or at least one RA preamble group.

[0129] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may perform multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version for the multiple transmissions of the payload. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may perform multiple transmissions of the payload using resources that are continuous or discontinuous in the time domain.

[0130] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may select an RA type from a plurality of available RA types based on a quality of service requirement of the payload, and transmission of the RA preamble and multiple transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined RA type.

[0131] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the quality of service requirement indicates that an allowable delay for the payload is below a threshold, the first device 110 may select the two-step RA type from a plurality of available RA types.

[0132] At block 730, first device 110 monitors for a response to the RA message from second device 120. In some example embodiments, first device 110 may start a timer after an offset from a first or last transmission in a plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window to monitor for a response.

[0133] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to the second device 120 from its perspective. Figure 1 Method 800 is described.

[0134] At block 810, the second device 120 receives a transmission of a RA preamble as a first portion of a RA message from the first device 110. At block 820, the second device 120 receives at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload from the first device 110 as a second portion of the RA message.

[0135] At block 830, second device 120 decodes the payload based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from first device 110. In some example embodiments, if two or more of the plurality of transmissions of the payload are received from first device 110, second device 120 may decode the payload by combining the two or more of the plurality of transmissions of the payload. At block 840, second device 120 sends a response to the RA message to first device 110 based on the result of the decoding.

[0136] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may determine at least one estimated size of a payload to be sent by first device 110 in the RA message, and based on the at least one estimated size, determine at least one transmission configuration for first device 110 to perform transmission of the payload. Second device 120 may send the at least one transmission configuration to first device 110.

[0137] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may associate at least one transmission configuration with at least one RA preamble or at least one RA preamble group assigned to first device 110. Second device 120 may send to first device 110 information indicating the association of at least one transmission configuration with at least one RA preamble or at least one RA preamble group.

[0138] In some example embodiments, each transmission configuration of the at least one transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a number of transmissions of the payload, a plurality of sets of parameters for performing the respective transmissions of the payload, and resources for the respective transmissions of the payload.

[0139] In some example embodiments, a first device (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing any of method 700 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The first device may be implemented as first device 110 or included in first device 110.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: a component for performing a transmission of a random access preamble to a second apparatus (e.g., implemented as or included in second device 120) as a first part of a random access message; a component for performing multiple transmissions of a payload to the second apparatus as a second part of the random access message; and a component for monitoring a response to the random access message from the second apparatus.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first device may further include means for selecting a random access preamble from a plurality of random access preambles based on at least one of: a potential size of the payload, a channel characteristic of a communication channel between the first device and the second device, and a service characteristic of the payload.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the first device may further include means for determining a transmission configuration associated with the random access preamble or a random access preamble group including the random access preamble, the transmission configuration indicating at least one of the following: the number of transmissions of the payload, multiple sets of parameters for performing the corresponding transmissions of the payload, and resources for the corresponding transmissions of the payload. In some example embodiments, the multiple transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined transmission configuration.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the means for determining the transmission configuration includes means for receiving at least one transmission configuration from a second device; and means for determining the transmission configuration based on an association of the at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group.

[0144] In some example embodiments, means for performing the multiple transmissions of the payload comprises means for performing the multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version for the multiple transmissions of the payload.

[0145] In some example embodiments, means for performing multiple transmissions of the payload comprises means for performing the multiple transmissions of the payload using resources that are contiguous or non-contiguous in the time domain.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the means for monitoring for a response comprises means for starting a timer after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for selecting a random access type from a plurality of available random access types based on a quality of service requirement of the payload.In some example embodiments, the transmission of the random access preamble and the plurality of transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined random access type.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the means for determining the random access type includes means for determining that a permitted delay for the quality of service requirement indication payload is below a threshold to select a two-step random access type from a plurality of available random access types.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 700. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the above-mentioned execution of the first apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0150] In some example embodiments, a second device (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing any of method 800 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 800. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device may be implemented as second device 120 or included in second device 120.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes a component for receiving a transmission of a random access preamble as a first part of a random access message from a first apparatus (e.g., implemented as or included in first device 110); a component for receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload as a second part of the random access message from the first apparatus; a component for decoding the payload based on at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first apparatus; and a component for sending a response to the random access message to the first apparatus based on a result of the decoding.

[0152] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for decoding includes means for decoding the payload by combining two or more of the plurality of transmissions of the payload in response to two or more of the plurality of transmissions of the payload being received from the first device.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the second device also includes components for determining at least one estimated size of a payload to be sent by the first device in a random access message; components for determining at least one transmission configuration for the first device to perform payload transmission based on the at least one estimated size; and components for sending the at least one transmission configuration to the first device.

[0154] In some example embodiments, each transmission configuration of the at least one transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a number of transmissions of the payload, a plurality of sets of parameters for performing the respective transmissions of the payload, and resources for the respective transmissions of the payload.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes means for associating at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group assigned to the first device; and means for sending information indicating the association of at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group to the first device.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 800. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the above-mentioned execution of the second device together with the at least one processor.

[0157] Fig. 9 900 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processor 910.

[0158] The communication module 940 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 940 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 940 may include at least one antenna.

[0159] Processor 910 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0160] The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0161] The computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in a memory, such as in the ROM 924. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into the RAM 922.

[0162] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930 so that the device 900 may execute a reference Figures 2 to 8 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig.10 An example of a computer readable medium 1000 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium has a program 930 stored thereon.

[0164] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0165] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figures 5 to 7 Any method described herein. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0166] The program code for executing the disclosed method can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code causes the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0167] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0168] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a computer readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0169] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be interpreted as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0170] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: performing transmission of a random access preamble to the second device as a first part of a random access message; performing a plurality of transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message; as well as monitoring a response to the random access message from the second device; The first device is caused to perform the multiple transmissions of the payload in the following manner: performing the plurality of transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version to be used for the plurality of transmissions of the payload, different redundancy versions of the payload comprising the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundancy version pattern indicates a single redundancy version to be used for each of the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the single redundancy version being selected as a redundancy version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits; The first device is caused to monitor the response in the following manner: A timer is started after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored.

2. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: The random access preamble is selected from a plurality of random access preambles based on at least one of: the potential size of the payload, a channel characteristic of a communication channel between the first device and the second device, and The service characteristics of the payload.

3. The first device of claim 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: determining a transmission configuration associated with the random access preamble, or a random access preamble group including the random access preamble, the transmission configuration indicating at least one of the following: the number of transmissions of the payload, a plurality of sets of parameters for performing corresponding transmissions of said payloads, and resources for said corresponding transmission of said payload; and Wherein the plurality of transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined transmission configuration.

4. The first device of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine the transmission configuration by: receiving at least one transmission configuration from the second device; and The transmission configuration is determined based on an association of at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group.

5. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform the plurality of transmissions of the payload by: The multiple transmissions of the payload are performed using resources that are continuous or non-contiguous in the time domain.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: selecting a random access type from a plurality of available random access types based on a quality of service requirement of the payload, and wherein the transmission of the random access preamble and the multiple transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined random access type.

7. The first device of claim 6, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine the random access type by: A two-step random access type is selected from the plurality of available random access types based on determining that the quality of service requirement indicates that an allowed delay for the payload is below a threshold.

8. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receiving a transmission of a random access preamble from a first device as a first part of a random access message; receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload sent from the first device as a second part of the random access message; decoding the payload based on the at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device; as well as Based on a result of the decoding, sending a response to the random access message to the first device, wherein the first device monitors the response by: starting a timer after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored; The second device is caused to decode the payload by: the second device attempting to decode the payload while performing transmissions of the payload received from the first device; if the payload can be successfully decoded from the first transmission received from the first device, the second device stopping reception of a plurality of subsequent transmissions; if the payload cannot be successfully decoded from the first transmission, and / or if two or more transmissions of the payload are received, the second device decoding the payload by combining the two or more transmissions of the plurality of transmissions of the payload; wherein the multiple transmissions include: the first device performing the multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundant version pattern, the redundant version pattern indicating at least one redundant version used for the multiple transmissions of the payload, different redundant versions of the payload including the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundant version pattern indicates a single redundant version to be used for each of the multiple transmissions of the payload, the single redundant version being selected as a redundant version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits.

9. The second device of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: determining at least one estimated size of a payload to be sent by the first device in the random access message; determining, based on the at least one estimated size, at least one transmission configuration for the first device to perform a transmission of the payload; and The at least one transmission configuration is sent to the first device.

10. The second device of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to: associating the at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group assigned to the first device; and Information indicating the association of the at least one transmission configuration with the at least one random access preamble or the at least one random access preamble group is sent to the first device.

11. The second device according to claim 9, wherein each of the at least one transmission configuration indicates at least one of the following: The number of payloads transmitted, multiple sets of parameters for performing corresponding transmissions of the payload, and The resources used for the corresponding transmission of the payload.

12. A method comprising: At the first device, performing a transmission of a random access preamble to the second device as a first part of a random access message; performing a plurality of transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message; as well as monitoring a response to the random access message from the second device; Wherein performing the plurality of transmissions of the payload comprises: performing the plurality of transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version to be used for the plurality of transmissions of the payload, different redundancy versions of the payload comprising the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundancy version pattern indicates a single redundancy version to be used for each of the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the single redundancy version being selected as a redundancy version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits; Wherein monitoring the response comprises: A timer is started after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: The random access preamble is selected from a plurality of random access preambles based on at least one of: the potential size of the payload, a channel characteristic of a communication channel between the first device and the second device, and The service characteristics of the payload.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: determining a transmission configuration associated with the random access preamble, or a random access preamble group including the random access preamble, the transmission configuration indicating at least one of the following: the number of transmissions of the payload, a plurality of sets of parameters for performing corresponding transmissions of said payloads, and resources for said corresponding transmission of said payload; and Wherein the plurality of transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined transmission configuration.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the transmission configuration comprises: receiving at least one transmission configuration from the second device; as well as The transmission configuration is determined based on an association of at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: selecting a random access type from a plurality of available random access types based on a quality of service requirement of the payload, and wherein the transmission of the random access preamble and the multiple transmissions of the payload are performed based on the determined random access type.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the random access type comprises: A two-step random access type is selected from the plurality of available random access types based on determining that the quality of service requirement indicates that an allowed delay for the payload is below a threshold.

18. A method comprising: receiving, at the second device, a transmission of a random access preamble from the first device as a first part of a random access message; receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload as a second part of the random access message from the first device; decoding the payload based on the at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device; as well as Based on a result of the decoding, sending a response to the random access message to the first device, wherein the first device monitors the response by: starting a timer after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored; Wherein decoding the payload comprises: the second device attempting to decode the payload while performing transmissions of the payload received from the first device; if the payload can be successfully decoded from the first transmission received from the first device, the second device stopping reception of a plurality of subsequent transmissions; if the payload cannot be successfully decoded from the first transmission, and / or if two or more transmissions of the payload are received, the second device decoding the payload by combining the two or more transmissions of the plurality of transmissions of the payload; The plurality of transmissions include: The first device performs the multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version for the multiple transmissions of the payload, different redundancy versions of the payload comprising the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundancy version pattern indicates a single redundancy version to be used for each of the multiple transmissions of the payload, the single redundancy version being selected as a redundancy version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: determining at least one estimated size of a payload to be sent by the first device in the random access message; determining, based on the at least one estimated size, at least one transmission configuration for the first device to perform a transmission of the payload; as well as The at least one transmission configuration is sent to the first device.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: associating the at least one transmission configuration with at least one random access preamble or at least one random access preamble group assigned to the first device; as well as Information indicating the association of the at least one transmission configuration with the at least one random access preamble or the at least one random access preamble group is sent to the first device.

21. A first device, comprising: means for performing transmission of a random access preamble to the second device as a first part of a random access message; means for performing a plurality of transmissions of a payload to the second device as a second part of the random access message; as well as means for monitoring a response to the random access message from the second device; wherein the means for performing a plurality of transmissions of a payload comprises: performing the plurality of transmissions of the payload according to a redundancy version pattern, the redundancy version pattern indicating at least one redundancy version to be used for the plurality of transmissions of the payload, different redundancy versions of the payload comprising the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundancy version pattern indicates a single redundancy version to be used for each of the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the single redundancy version being selected as a redundancy version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits; Wherein the means for monitoring the response comprises means for starting a timer after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored.

22. A second device, comprising: means for receiving a transmission of a random access preamble from a first device as a first part of a random access message; means for receiving at least one of a plurality of transmissions of a payload from the first device as a second portion of the random access message; means for decoding the payload based on the at least one of the plurality of transmissions of the payload received from the first device; as well as means for sending a response to the random access message to the first device based on a result of the decoding, wherein the first device monitors the response by: starting a timer after an offset from a first transmission or a last transmission in the plurality of transmissions of the payload, the timer indicating a time window during which the response is monitored; wherein the means for decoding comprises: means for attempting to decode the payload while performing receiving a transmission of the payload from the first device, wherein if the payload can be successfully decoded from a first transmission received from the first device, the second device stops receiving a plurality of subsequent transmissions; if the payload cannot be successfully decoded from the first transmission, and / or if two or more transmissions of the payload are received, the second device decodes the payload by combining the two or more transmissions of the plurality of transmissions of the payload; wherein the multiple transmissions include: the first device performs the multiple transmissions of the payload according to a redundant version pattern, the redundant version pattern indicating at least one redundant version used for the multiple transmissions of the payload, different redundant versions of the payload including the same information bits but different numbers of parity bits, wherein the redundant version pattern indicates a single redundant version to be used for each of the multiple transmissions of the payload, the single redundant version being selected as a redundant version capable of supporting correct self-decoding of information bits using its parity bits.

23. A computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are used to cause an apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17 or the method according to any one of claims 18 to 20.

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