Method and apparatus for prach resource determination and ra-rnti calculation in wireless communication

Abstract

Aspects herein relate to wireless devices, circuitry, and methods for determining a PRACH resource mapping including a starting symbol position within a reference time slot, where the starting symbol position is determined based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing configuration of PRACH resources of a wireless network in which the wireless device is operating; and transmitting a RACH preamble and associated RA-RNTI via the determined PRACH resource mapping using a radio. Other aspects herein relate to devices, circuitry, and methods for transmission or reception of data over a wireless network using a modified RA-RNTI, where the wireless network has a subcarrier spacing configuration of PRACH resources, where the size of the subcarrier spacing configuration of PRACH resources results in a super range RA-RNTI value being calculated using a conventional RA-RNTI equation in unmodified form, where the range of allowable RA-RNTI values is from 0 to 2 16 -1.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless devices and wireless networks, including devices, circuits, and methods for determining Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources and calculating Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RA-RNTI) in wireless communication systems. Background Technology

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now offer access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and can operate complex applications that utilize these capabilities. Furthermore, many different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and BLUETOOTH. TM wait.

[0003] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions into wireless communication devices necessitates continuous improvement of both wireless communication and the devices themselves. In addition to the aforementioned communication standards, there are wireless communication technologies under development to increase coverage and better serve the growing demands and scope of intended uses of wireless communication, including fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication. Therefore, improvements are needed to support this development and design. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The NR specifications, developed in 3GPP Release-15 and Release-16, define wireless communication operation for frequencies up to 52.6 GHz, where all physical layer channels, signals, procedures, and protocols are designed to be optimized for use at 52.6 GHz. To utilize available and unlicensed spectrum above 52.6 GHz (e.g., including so-called NR-U unlicensed spectrum) to operate with NR systems, the Release-17 research project has been commissioned to investigate NR support from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz.

[0005] However, frequencies above 52.6 GHz present more significant challenges, such as higher phase noise, greater propagation loss due to atmospheric absorption, and lower power amplifier efficiency. More specifically, to mitigate the higher phase noise, the maximum subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be increased, for example from 120 kHz to 480 kHz or even higher (e.g., 960 kHz). However, as discussed and summarized in conventional NR system design, for higher SCS, such as 480 / 960 kHz SCS, data processing time and HARQ-ACK feedback timing may not scale linearly compared to conventional SCS.

[0006] Therefore, there is a clear need to develop solutions for RA-RNTI determination (and other parameters) in frequency bands above 52.6 GHz with 480 kHz or 960 kHz SCS. Additionally, new solutions are needed to support PRACH symbol location determination using 480 kHz SCS and / or 960 kHz (or higher) SCS, while balancing signaling overhead with initial access delay performance.

[0007] According to certain aspects of this disclosure, a reference subcarrier spacing can be introduced to number the PRACH slots in the PRACH. According to certain aspects of this disclosure, various methods can be considered to determine the symbol position of the PRACH timing (PO) within the so-called "reference SCS" slot. According to certain aspects of this disclosure, different solutions can also be employed to determine the RA-RNTI value to address out-of-range value problems that may occur when calculating equations using existing (i.e., conventional) RA-RNTI.

[0008] The aspects disclosed herein relate to wireless devices, circuits, and methods for determining a PRACH resource map, wherein the determined PRACH resource map includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot, and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating; and using radio components to transmit a RACH preamble and an associated RA-RNTI via the determined PRACH resource map.

[0009] According to other aspects, a network device, circuit, and method are provided for receiving a RACH preamble and associated RA-RNTI from a wireless device using radio components via a determined PRACH resource map, wherein the determined PRACH resource map includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot, and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating; and for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) messages scrambled with the received RA-RNTI to the wireless device using radio components.

[0010] Other aspects disclosed herein relate to apparatus, circuits, and methods for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless network using a modified RA-RNTI, wherein the wireless network has a subcarrier spacing configuration of PRACH resources, wherein the size of the PRACH resource subcarrier spacing configuration results in the calculation of out-of-range RA-RNTI values ​​using the conventional RA-RNTI equation in its unmodified form, wherein the permissible range of RA-RNTI values ​​is from 0 to 2. 16 -1, that is, a value as high as 65,535.

[0011] The technologies described herein can be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of cellular phones, wireless devices, wireless base stations, tablets, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0012] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subjects described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are merely illustrative and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or substance of the subjects described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subjects described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0013] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of the various aspects in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown according to some aspects.

[0015] Figure 2 A base station (BS) is shown communicating with a user equipment (UE) device according to some aspects.

[0016] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE is shown, based on some aspects.

[0017] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a BS is shown, based on some aspects.

[0018] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit is shown, according to some aspects.

[0019] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of network elements based on some aspects is shown.

[0020] Figure 7 A timeline illustrating an exemplary reference slot for PRACH is shown, according to some aspects.

[0021] Figures 8A to 8C Various timelines are shown, illustrating exemplary PRACH slot locations within reference SCS slots for different SCSs, according to several aspects.

[0022] Figure 9 An exemplary predetermined order for determining the PRACH timing index value based on several aspects is shown, which can be used to calculate the modified RA-RNTI.

[0023] Figure 10 This is a flowchart detailing a method for wireless devices to determine PRACH resource mappings, based on several aspects.

[0024] Figure 11 It is a flowchart detailing, based on some aspects, of a method by which network devices receive RACH preambles and RA-RNTI via a defined PRACH resource mapping.

[0025] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for calculating a modified RA-RNTI value using a modified RA-RNTI equation, based on detailed descriptions of several aspects, in order to transmit or receive data via a wireless network.

[0026] Although the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternatives, their specific aspects are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0027] In 5G / NR systems, the following conventional equation is used to calculate RA-RNTI: 1 + s_id + (14 × t_id) + (14 × 80 × f_id) + (14 × 80 × 8 × ul_carrier_id), where s_id is the index of the first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the PRACH timing (0 ≤ s_id < 14), t_id is the index of the first slot of the PRACH timing in the system frame (0 ≤ t_id < 80), the subcarrier spacing used to determine t_id is based on the value of μ specified in Clause 5.3.2 of Technical Specification 38.211, f_id is the index of the PRACH timing in the frequency domain (0 ≤ f_id < 8), and ul_carrier_id is the uplink (UL) carrier used for random access (RA) preamble transmission (a value of 0 is used for normal UL carriers, and a value of 1 is used for supplementary UL carriers).

[0028] For frequencies of 52.6 GHz or higher, increasing the SCS of PRACH resources to 480 / 960 kHz may result in RA-RNTI shortages or "out-of-range" issues. In Rel-15 / 16, the range of RA-RNTI for Msg-2 scheduling is 1 to 17,920, which is within the range that can be represented by 16 bits of information, i.e., less than the value 2. 16 -1 or 65,535. Similarly, for MsgB RNTI, the range is from 17,920 to 35,840, which is also less than 65,535. However, if SCS of 480kHz or even 960kHz (or higher) is supported, the maximum possible value for the associated RA-RNTI will increase to 71,680 (i.e., 17920*4 for 480kHz SCS) or even 143,360 (i.e., 17920*8 for 960kHz SCS). Clearly, the requested range of RA-RNTI values ​​will far exceed the 16-bit width of RA-RNTI in the current system. Similarly, for MsgB-RNTI, the range will further increase to 286,720, also exceeding the 16-bit range of the current system.

[0029] Therefore, for 480kHz or 960kHz (or other) SCS in frequency bands above 52.6GHz, it is clear that a solution for RA-RNTI determination needs to be developed. Furthermore, another fundamental problem that needs to be addressed to support 480kHz and 960kHz SCS is how to determine the PRACH symbol location while balancing signaling overhead with initial access delay performance.

[0030] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:

[0031] Memory media—any device of any type of nontransitory memory device or storage device. The term "memory media" is intended to include mounting media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, e.g., hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of nontransitory memory or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory media may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory media" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations on different computer systems connected via a network, for example. Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., representing a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0032] Carrier medium—the storage medium as described above, as well as the physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission medium for transmitting signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0033] Programmable hardware elements—including a variety of hardware devices comprising multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0034] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, networked appliances, internet-connected appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations thereof. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0035] User equipment (UE) (also known as “user equipment” or “UE device”) — any of a variety of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone-based). TM AndroidTM Telephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) TM PlayStation Portable TM Gameboy Advance TM iPhone TM This includes laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, dashboards, head-up displays (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashboard moving equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine control units (ECUs), electronic / engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" appliances, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Generally, the term "UE" or "UE device" or "user equipment" can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications equipment (or a combination of such equipment) that is easily transportable by the user (or vehicle) and capable of wireless communication.

[0036] A wireless device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in a location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0037] A communication device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or it may be stationary or fixed in a location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0038] Base station—The terms “base station,” “wireless base station,” or “wireless site” have the full range of their common meaning and at least include wireless communication stations installed in a fixed location for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if a base station is implemented in an LTE environment, it may alternatively be referred to as an “eNodeB” or “eNB.” If a base station is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may alternatively be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB.” Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., may also refer to one or more wireless nodes serving a cell to provide wireless connectivity between user equipment and a generally wider network, and the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB,” “gNB,” “nodeB,” “base station,” “NB,” etc., are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular wireless technology, and the concepts discussed can be applied to any wireless system.

[0039] Node—As used herein, the term “node” or “wireless node” can refer to one or more devices associated with a cell that provides a wireless connection between a user equipment and a typically wired network.

[0040] A processing element (or processor) is a component or combination of components capable of performing the functions of a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. A processing element may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions or circuitry of individual processor cores, an entire processor core, a single processor, a processor array, circuitry such as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware components such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and any combination thereof.

[0041] A channel is a medium used to transmit information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that because the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary depending on different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein can be considered to be used in a standard manner consistent with the type of device to which the term is referenced. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0042] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full range of its general meaning and includes at least a segment of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0043] Automatic—refers to actions or operations performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform the action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatic" contrasts with actions performed or specified manually by the user (where the user provides input to directly perform the action). An automatic process may be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0044] Approximately—means a value close to the correct or precise value. For example, approximately can refer to a value within 1% to 10% of the precise (or expected) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can vary depending on the application. For instance, in some respects, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or expected value, while in various other respects, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0045] Concurrency refers to the parallel execution or implementation of tasks, processes, or programs in a manner that at least partially overlaps. For example, concurrency can be achieved using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed in parallel (at least partially) on corresponding computing elements; or using “weak parallelism,” where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., through time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0046] "Configured as"—Various components can be described as being "configured as" to perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured as" is a broad expression generally meaning "having" a "structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently performing one (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect one module to another, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured as" can also be a broad expression generally meaning a structure that "has" a "circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently powered on. Typically, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured as" can include hardware circuitry.

[0047] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Statements describing a component as configured to perform one or more tasks are explicitly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 USC §112(f) for that component.

[0048] Exemplary wireless communication system

[0049] Now go to Figure 1 This illustrates a simplified example of a wireless communication system based on some aspects. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The system described herein is merely one example of a possible system, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0050] As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A, 106B to 106N, etc., via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0051] Base station (BS) 102A may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (“cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UE 106A to UE 106N.

[0052] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with air interfaces such as WCDMA or TD-SCDMA), LTE, LTE-A Advanced, 5G New Radio (5G-NR), HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE environment, its alternative location can be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, its alternative location can be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0053] In some aspects, UE 106 can be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity Service (ProSe), or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor network, or IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. As an example, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) may utilize ProSe features using a PC5 interface to communicate directly between devices. The IoT UE may also execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0054] As shown in the figure, UE 106 (such as UE 106A and UE 106B) can directly exchange communication data via PC5 interface 108. For example, PC5 interface 105 may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Side Link Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Side Link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), and Physical Side Link Feedback Channel (PSFCH).

[0055] In a V2X scenario, one or more base stations in base station 102 may be roadside units (RSUs) or act as RSUs. The term RSU can refer to any transport infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable radio node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU," and so on. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs (vUEs). An RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU can operate on the 5.9 GHz Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) band to provide extremely low-latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance and traffic warnings. Alternatively, the RSU can operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. Alternatively, the RSU can operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's radio frequency circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant package suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide wired connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) to traffic signal controllers and / or backhaul networks.

[0056] As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, the core network of a cellular service provider, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Therefore, base station 102A can facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0057] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0058] Therefore, although base station 102A can act as such Figure 1The diagram shows the "serving cell" of UEs 106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals (and possibly within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. These cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pecimen" cells, and / or any other cells of various other granularities providing service area size. For example, in Figure 1 Base stations 102A to 102B shown can be macro cells, while base station 102N can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0059] In some respects, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In some respects, the gNB may connect to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmission, enabling UE 106 to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as... Figure 1 As shown, both base station 102A and base station 102C are shown as serving UE 106A.

[0060] It should be noted that UE 106 can communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee—Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)) and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0061] Exemplary User Equipment (UE)

[0062] Figure 2 User equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 is shown according to some aspects. UE 106 can be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0063] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may perform any of the methods described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include programmable hardware elements, such as any of an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), integrated circuit, and / or various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the methods described herein or any portion thereof.

[0064] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Typically, the radio components may include any combination of baseband processors, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio components may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among various wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0065] In some aspects, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therein. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0066] In some respects, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmission from any of the base stations in base station 102 to UE 106, while uplink transmission can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid can include multiple resource blocks that describe the mapping from a specific physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0067] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 106. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries information such as transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It can also inform UE 106 of transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 102 within the cell) can be performed at any base station in base station 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs in UE 106. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., allocated to) each UE in the UE.

[0068] PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to a set of four physical resource elements (REGs) of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. Four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0069] Exemplary communication device

[0070] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some aspects is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is merely one example of possible communication devices. Depending on the aspects, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 300 may be implemented as individual components or groups of components for various purposes. This set of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuitry of the communication device 106.

[0071] For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connection to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with or external to communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0072] The wireless communication circuit 330 may (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) be coupled to one or more antennas, such as one or more antennas 335 as shown in the figure. The wireless communication circuit 330 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or medium-to-short-range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0073] In some aspects, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more receive chains of multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Furthermore, in some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR). (NR) and can communicate with dedicated receive chains and shared transmit chains. In some respects, the second RAT can operate at millimeter-wave frequencies. Because millimeter-wave systems operate at frequencies higher than those typically found in LTE systems, signals in the millimeter-wave frequency range are severely attenuated due to environmental factors. To help address this attenuation issue, millimeter-wave systems typically utilize beamforming and include more antennas compared to LTE systems. These antennas can be organized into antenna arrays or panels consisting of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays can be coupled to a radio link.

[0074] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include any of a variety of components such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0075] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more general purpose integrated circuit cards) 345.

[0076] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and a display circuit 304. The processor executes program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuit performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 360. One or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or coupled to other circuitry or devices (such as the display circuit 304, wireless communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some aspects, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0077] As described above, communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0078] Furthermore, as described in this invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0079] Furthermore, as described herein, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit 330. Therefore, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330.

[0080] Exemplary base station

[0081] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some aspects is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuitry or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0082] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide access rights as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The telephone network described herein includes multiple devices such as UE device 106.

[0083] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0084] In some respects, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In such respects, base station 102 may connect to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, UEs capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0085] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio component 430 via communication link 432. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0086] Base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. When base station 102 supports millimeter wave, the 5G NR radio component may be coupled to one or more millimeter wave antenna arrays or panels. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0087] As further described herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, the processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the features described herein.

[0088] Furthermore, as described in this invention, one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0089] Furthermore, as described in this invention, the radio component 430 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, the radio component 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430.

[0090] Exemplary cellular communication circuit

[0091] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some aspects is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuits; other circuits, such as those including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using independent antennas, or those including or coupled to fewer antennas, such as those that can be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As mentioned above, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, notebook computer, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of these devices.

[0092] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-b and 336 as shown in the figure. In some aspects, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as... Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0093] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 communicating with the processors 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front-end 530. The RF front-end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 530 may include a receiver circuitry (RX) 532 and a transmitter circuitry (TX) 534. In some aspects, the receiver circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front-end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0094] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 communicating with the processors 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front-end 540. The RF front-end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 540 may include receiving circuitry 542 and transmitting circuitry 544. In some aspects, the receiving circuitry 542 may communicate with a DL front-end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335b.

[0095] In some aspects, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 534 to uplink (UL) front-end 572. Additionally, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 544 to UL front-end 572. UL front-end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Therefore, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported by first modem 510), switch 570 may be switched to a first state allowing first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 534 and UL front-end 572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported by second modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second state allowing second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 544 and UL front-end 572).

[0096] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) or as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by combining with one or more of other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0097] Furthermore, as described herein, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522.

[0098] In some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 520, RF front-end 540, DL front-end 560, and / or antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 510, RF front-end 530, DL front-end 550, and / or antenna 335a. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also not include switch 570, and RF front-end 530 or RF front-end 540 may communicate with UL front-end 572, for example, through direct communication.

[0099] Exemplary network element

[0100] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a network element 600 is shown according to some aspects. According to some aspects, the network element 600 may implement one or more logical functions / entities of a cellular core network, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Access and Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Network Slice Quota Management (NSQM) function, etc. It should be noted that... Figure 6Network element 600 is merely one example of a possible network element 600. As shown, core network element 600 may include one or more processors 604 capable of executing program instructions for core network element 600. Processor 604 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 640 (which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 604 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 660 and read-only memory (ROM) 650)) or to other circuitry or devices.

[0101] Network element 600 may include at least one network port 670. Network port 670 may be configured to be coupled to one or more base stations and / or other cellular network entities and / or devices. Network element 600 may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNB / gNB) and / or other network entities / devices by means of any of a variety of communication protocols and / or interfaces.

[0102] As further described herein, network element 600 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting embodiments of the features described herein. The processor 604 of the core network element 600 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively, processor 604 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or configured as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) or a combination thereof.

[0103] Symbol position determination of the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) timing (PO) within the reference time slot

[0104] Now go to Figure 7 According to some aspects, a timeline illustrating an exemplary reference slot 700 for PRACH is shown. According to certain aspects of this disclosure, the following values ​​can be used for PRACH resource mapping and determination. A “reference” subcarrier spacing can be introduced to number PRACH slots in the time domain for PRACH resource determination. In some designs, the reference subcarrier spacing Δ ref =60kHz or 120kHz can be used for slot numbering purposes for PRACH slot index determination. For PRACH resource SCSs with larger values ​​(e.g., 240kHz, 480kHz, or 960kHz, etc.), the starting position of the PRACH preamble is... (various examples are in) Figure 7 (As shown at 7051, 7052, 7053, and 7054 in the equation) can be defined relative to a reference time slot (e.g., a 60kHz or 120kHz reference time slot) and is given by the following equation:

[0105] in

[0106] (When l = 0), and

[0107] (When l = other values). It can be assumed that the reference time slot begins at t = 0. Assume a timing advance value N. TA It is 0. and As defined in Rel-15, it can be reused based on the SCS configuration parameter μ (where, for example, μ=4 corresponds to a 240kHz SCS, μ=5 corresponds to a 480kHz SCS, μ=6 corresponds to a 960kHz SCS, etc.). In some respects, the symbol position l can also be a function configured for the SCS, as will be described in more detail below.

[0108] For example, according to the first aspect, Table 6.3.3.2-4 for random access configuration in technical specification 38.211 can be reused. However, for Δf ra For frequencies of 240kHz, 480kHz, or 960kHz, the value of the current column labeled "Number of RACH slots within a 60kHz slot" (denoted as "P") can be alternatively redefined as "Number of RACH slots within a reference SCS slot." In some designs, for a new SCS in frequency range 2 (FR2), the reference SCS can be hardcoded in the specification as 60kHz (or 120kHz). Furthermore, the symbol position l can be given as follows: Where l0 is given by the parameter "Starting Symbol" in Table 6.3.3.2-4, It refers to the PRACH transmission timing within the PRACH time slot, starting from 0 to... The ascending sequence numbering, where Also given in Table 6.3.3.2-4, and The duration of PRACH is given in Table 6.3.3.2-4.

[0109] Various techniques can be used to determine The value, i.e., the number of PRACH opportunities in the reference time slot. According to the first aspect, The value can be restricted to 0 or 1, which will provide the same Δf as in the current system design for 60kHz or 120kHz within the reference SCS time slot (e.g., 60kHz or 120kHz SCS). ra The same number of PRACH timings are used for the value.

[0110] In the second aspect, for example, for Δf at 240kHz, 480kHz, or 960kHz ra value, The value can be defined as l×Δ s , where Δ s =(Δf ra / (Δ ref ×P)), where l is in the range of 0, ..., P-1, where Δ ref It is the reference SCS, and P is the "number of PRACH time slots within the reference SCS time slot", and is provided by refactoring the "number of PRACH time slots within the 60kHz SCS time slot" column from Table 6.3.3.2-4, as described above. For example, one advantage of the method of this second aspect compared to the first aspect above is that it can distribute the PRACH timings more evenly across the time slots within the reference SCS time slot.

[0111] In the third aspect, for example, for Δf at 240kHz, 480kHz, or 960kHz ra The value indicates that all time slots within the reference SCS time slot can be used as PRACH time slots and can be used for PRACH transmission. According to this third aspect, the system's PRACH capability increases with Δf. ra With Δ ref The ratio between them increases linearly. The sign position l can then be given as follows: Where K is in 0, 1, ..., ((Δf) ra / Δ ref Within the range of )-1).

[0112] Figures 8A to 8C Various timelines are shown, illustrating exemplary PRACH slot locations within reference SCS slots for different SCSs, according to several aspects. Figure 8A The timeline 800 illustrates the first aspect mentioned above. Time is shown across the horizontal axis 810, representing time with Δ... ref =The duration of reference SCS time slot 820 at 60kHz. The descent along vertical axis 805 is for having Δf raThe exemplary symbol positions (and by extension, the slot positions) of the PRACH timings for the SCS at 60kHz, 120kHz, 240kHz, 480kHz, and finally 960kHz (in the bottom row of timeline 800) are determined. As shown, in the case of the 120kHz SCS, the reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into two slots, 8220 and 8221. Similarly, in the case of a 240kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into four slots, the first two of which, 8240 and 8241, can be used for PRACH timing; in the case of a 480kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into eight slots, the first two of which, 8260 and 8261, can be used for PRACH timing; and in the case of a 960kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into sixteen slots, the first two of which, 8280 and 8281, can be used for PRACH timing. As can now be understood, with each increase in the SCS of the PRACH resource, the corresponding slot length will decrease linearly (e.g., with each doubling of the SCS, the PRACH slot duration is halved, reaching a final value with the slot length of the 960kHz SCS (815) having the shortest illustrated PRACH slot length). According to the first aspect shown in timeline 800, for each possible SCS, there are only 2 PRACH slots per reference slot, and they are concentrated at the earliest slot in time within the reference slot.

[0113] Now go to Figure 8B The timeline at 830 illustrates the second aspect mentioned above. Similarly, time is shown across the horizontal axis, and using a Δ... ref =60kHz reference SCS time slot. The descent along the vertical axis is also for applications with Δf raExemplary symbol positions for PRACH timings at SCSs of 60kHz, 120kHz, 240kHz, 480kHz, and finally 960kHz (in the bottom row of timeline 830) are determined. As shown, in the case of a 120kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 is again divided into two slots, 8220 and 8221. In the case of a 240kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into four slots, of which the first slot 8320 and the third slot 8321 can be used for PRACH timings; in the case of a 480kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into eight slots, of which the first slot 8340 and the fourth slot 8341 can be used for PRACH timings; and in the case of a 960kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into sixteen slots, of which the first and eighth slots 8360 and 8361 can be used for PRACH timings. According to the second aspect shown in timeline 830, for each possible SCS, there are also only 2 PRACH slots per reference slot, but they are evenly distributed in time across the available PRACH slots within the reference slot, which can improve the latency performance of the UE's initial access. In particular, a given UE may be operating in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode, i.e., causing the UE to lose power at different times, so concentrating all PRACH timings at the beginning of the slot may not be optimal (as shown in timeline 800).

[0114] As mentioned above, Figure 8B The PRACH timing positions shown are merely exemplary, and other schemes for uniformly distributing a selected number of PRACH slots per reference slot according to the second aspect described above are also possible. For example, in the case of a 480 kHz SCS, where reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into eight slots, a given implementation may alternatively use the fifth and eighth positions (i.e., 8342 and 8343) to uniformly distribute the PRACH timings, instead of using the first and fourth positions (i.e., 8340 and 8341) for PRACH timings. Other distributions are also possible. For example, if a given implantation uses four PRACH slots per reference slot, odd-numbered positions (i.e., first, third, fifth, and seventh) may be used for PRACH timings, or alternatively, even-numbered symbolic positions (i.e., second, fourth, sixth, and eighth), etc., may be used.

[0115] Similarly, in the case of a 960kHz SCS, where reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into sixteen slots, in a given implementation, the eighth and sixteenth symbol positions (i.e., 8362 and 8363) can be used instead of the first and ninth positions (i.e., 8360 and 8361) to uniformly distribute the PRACH timings. In other words, regardless of how many “parts” the reference SCS slot is divided into, i.e., based on the determined number of PRACH timings to be uniformly distributed across the reference slots, the PRACH timings can be placed at any desired position index within a given part of the reference SCS, such as the first index position of each part (i.e., as in 8360 and 8361), the last index position of each part (i.e., as in 8362 and 8363), the second index position of each part, the fourth index position of each part, and so on.

[0116] Now go to Figure 8C The timeline at 860 illustrates the third aspect mentioned above. Similarly, time is shown across the horizontal axis, and using a Δ... ref =60kHz reference SCS time slot. The descent along the vertical axis is also for applications with Δf ra The exemplary symbol positions for PRACH timings at SCSs of 60kHz, 120kHz, 240kHz, 480kHz, and finally 960kHz (in the bottom row of timeline 860) are determined. As shown, in the case of a 120kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 is again divided into two slots, 8220 and 8221. However, in the case of a 240kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into four slots, each of which can be used for PRACH timing; in the case of a 480kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into eight slots, each of which can be used for PRACH timing; and in the case of a 960kHz SCS, reference PRACH slot 820 can be divided into sixteen slots, 8660-8666. 15 Each time slot in the reference time slot can be used for a PRACH timing. According to the third aspect shown in timeline 860, for each possible SCS, each PRACH time slot in the reference time slot can be used as a PRACH timing, which can increase the PRACH capability by 4x, 8x, 16x, etc. compared to the number available in the reference 60kHz SCS configuration. This can be used to accommodate requests from a large number of IoT devices attempting to connect to the gNB (e.g., in an industrial warehouse) and / or in the case of beam management for PRACH access.

[0117] Figure 9 An exemplary predetermined order for determining the PRACH timing index value, based on several aspects, is shown, which can be used to calculate the modified RA-RNTI. Reference will be made below. Figure 12 In more detail, different solutions can be used to determine the modified RA-RNTI value to address the out-of-range problem inherent in the traditional RA-RNTI equation, for example, when operating with an SCS configuration greater than 120 kHz. Figure 9 In the example shown, the RA-RNTI value can be determined based on counting the actual PRACH opportunities, for example, according to the following equation: RA-RNTI = 1 + P_id, where P_id represents the index number of the actual PRACH opportunity within system radio frame 900. Because PRACH slots are sparsely configured in the time domain, the aforementioned RA-RNTI value out-of-range problem can be avoided by counting only the index of the actual PRACH opportunity in the radio frame, for example, according to a predetermined sorting scheme.

[0118] like Figure 9 As shown, radio frame 900 includes multiple time slots 905 spanning the horizontal axis of the radio frame, each time slot having a time slot index 910 whose value increases from left to right across the horizontal axis of radio frame 900. The actual PRACH timings 915 within each time slot are marked in ascending order using an index 920 (i.e., the aforementioned P_id value).

[0119] According to some aspects, the predetermined order for counting PRACH opportunities can be defined as follows: First, according to the ascending order of the frequency resource index of the frequency reuse PO (e.g., as... Figure 9 (As shown in P_id 0-3); Second, according to the ascending order of the time resource index of the time multiplexing PO within the PRACH time slot ( Figure 9 (not shown in the image); third, in ascending order of the PRACH slot index (e.g., as shown in the image). Figure 9 (This is followed by P_id 4-7 after P_id 0-3, then P_id 9-12, etc.); and fourth, starting from the normal uplink carrier, if there is a supplementary uplink carrier, then it is followed by the supplementary uplink carrier ( Figure 9 (Not shown in the image).

[0120] Exemplary UE Method for RACH Start Symbol Determination

[0121] First go to Figure 10A flowchart 1000 is shown, detailing an exemplary method for determining a PRACH resource mapping by a wireless device, according to several aspects. Method 1000 may begin with the wireless device determining a PRACH resource mapping, wherein the determined PRACH resource mapping includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot (and, by extension, a start PRACH time slot position), and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating (step 1002). In some aspects, for example, the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources includes at least one of the following: a 480 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources and a 960 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources.

[0122] According to some aspects, at step 1004, the method may further include determining the number of PRACH opportunities (POs) within a reference time slot (e.g., more than two POs) based at least in part on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources, and wherein the start symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the determined number of POs within the reference time slot.

[0123] According to other aspects, at step 1006, the method may also include determining the starting symbol position based at least in part on a reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0124] Depending on other aspects, at step 1008, the method may also include a determined number of POs that are uniformly distributed over time within a reference time slot.

[0125] According to other aspects, at step 1010, the method may further include determining the starting symbol position based at least in part on the ratio between the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource and the reference subcarrier spacing configuration.

[0126] Finally, at step 1012, the method may continue by the wireless device transmitting, for example, the RACH preamble and the associated random access radio network temporary identifier RA-RNTI to the gNB via the PRACH resource mapping determined from step 1002. After the transmission at step 1012, method 1000 may terminate.

[0127] Exemplary Network Method for RACH Start Symbol Determination

[0128] Figure 11This is a flowchart of method 1100, which details a method by which a network device receives a RACH preamble and RA-RNTI via a determined PRACH resource map. Method 1000 may begin with the network device receiving a RACH preamble and associated RA-RNTI from a radio device via a determined PRACH resource map, wherein the determined PRACH resource map includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot, and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the radio network on which the radio device is operating (step 1102). In some aspects, for example, the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources includes at least one of the following: a 480 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources and a 960 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources.

[0129] According to some aspects, at step 1104, the method may further include determining the number of PRACH opportunities (POs) within a reference time slot (e.g., more than two POs) based at least in part on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources, and wherein the start symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the determined number of POs within the reference time slot.

[0130] According to other aspects, at step 1106, the method may further include determining the starting symbol position based at least in part on a reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0131] Depending on other aspects, at step 1108, the method may also include a determined number of POs that are uniformly distributed over time within a reference time slot.

[0132] According to other aspects, at step 1110, the method may further include determining the starting symbol position based at least in part on the ratio between the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource and the reference subcarrier spacing configuration.

[0133] Finally, at step 1112, the method can continue by transmitting a downlink control information (DCI) message scrambled with the received RA-RNTI from the network device to the wireless device. After the transmission at step 1112, method 1100 can terminate.

[0134] Exemplary method for modified RA-RNTI calculation

[0135] Figure 12This is a flowchart detailing, based on several aspects, a method 1200 for calculating a modified RA-RNTI value using a modified RA-RNTI equation to transmit or receive data over a wireless network. As mentioned above, using a larger SCS configuration for PRACH may result in an out-of-range RA-RNTI value using the unmodified form of the conventional RA-RNTI equation. Method 12000 may begin with a device using the modified RA-RNTI equation to transmit or receive data over a wireless network, wherein the wireless network has a subcarrier spacing configuration for PRACH resources (step 1202).

[0136] According to some aspects, at step 1204, the method may further include a subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources that is large enough to cause an out-of-range RA-RNTI value to be calculated using the unmodified form of the conventional RA-RNTI equation, wherein the permissible range of RA-RNTI values ​​is from 0 to 2. 16 -1.

[0137] According to some of these aspects (step 1206), the traditional RA-RNTI equation mentioned in step 1204 in its unmodified form includes:

[0138] RA-RNTI = 1 + s_id + (14 × t_id) + [14 × (10 × SCS / 15) × f_id] + [14 × (10 × SCS / 15) × 8 × ul_carrier_id], where s_id is the index of the first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the physical random access channel (PRACH) (0 ≤ s_id < 14), and t_id is the index of the first slot of the specified PRACH in the system frame (according to the unmodified form of traditional RA-RNTI). The equation (0 ≤ t_id < 80) is used, where SCS is the subcarrier spacing configuration for PRACH resources (SCS = 120 kHz, according to the traditional RA-RNTI equation in its unmodified form), where f_id is the index of the specified PRACH in the frequency domain (0 ≤ f_id < 8, according to the traditional RA-RNTI equation in its unmodified form), and where ul_carrier_id is the UL carrier used for Msg1 transmission (where 0 is used for normal uplink and 1 is used for supplementary uplink carrier).

[0139] According to other aspects, at step 1208, the method may further include calculating a modified RA-RNTI by applying a modulo operation to the output of the conventional RA-RNTI equation, for example, where the divisor of the modulo operation includes the value 2. 16 -1. This will ensure that the modified RA-RNTI is never greater than 2. 16 -1.

[0140] According to other aspects, at step 1210, the method may further include calculating the modified RA-RNTI by redefining the t_id value from the conventional RA-RNTI equation as the cumulative index value of the first slot of the specified PRACH in the system frame, wherein only the slots configured with PRACH resources are counted toward the cumulative index value of the redefined t_id value. In other words, according to the technique mentioned in step 1210, instead of indexing the RA-RNTI based on the slot index within the radio frame, the existing parameter t_id can be redefined by incrementing the cumulative index only for the slots actually configured with PRACH resources, according to the conventional RA-RNTI equation. The fixed value "8" unnecessarily increases the range of RA-RNTI values ​​according to the conventional RA-RNTI equation. Then, in some aspects, another parameter n may be introduced to avoid wasting RA-RNTI values. The value of n may be equal to the value of "msg1-FDM" configured by the SIB1 message. In one example, if msg-FDM is set to "2" in the SIB1 configuration, then n = 2. Therefore, the newly modified RA-RNTI equation according to some aspects may include:

[0141] RA-RNTI = 1 + s_id + (14 × t_id) + [14 × q × f_id] + [14 × q × n × ul_carrier_id], where t_id is the cumulative index redefined above, n is as defined above, and q is the total number of slots with PRACH resources within the system frame.

[0142] According to other aspects, at step 1212, the method may further include calculating a modified RA-RNTI by redefining the f_id value from a conventional RA-RNTI equation that separately defines the subcarrier spacing configuration based on the PRACH resources of the wireless network. For example, the maximum allowed value of the redefined f_id value from the conventional RA-RNTI equation is inversely proportional to the size of the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH resources of the wireless network. As two examples, the maximum f_id for a 480kHz SCS can be set to 4, while the maximum f_id for a 960kHz SCS can be set to 2.

[0143] Finally, according to other aspects, at step 1214, the method may further include: based on a predetermined order (such as the one referenced above). Figure 9 The modified RA-RNTI is calculated by counting the POs within a radio frame in a predetermined order (as illustrated and described).

[0144] It should be understood that in some cases, the network device mentioned in method 1200 may include a UE, wherein the UE transmits modified RA-RNTI information through a wireless network, while in other cases, the network device mentioned in method 1200 may include a wireless station, wherein the wireless station receives modified RA-RNTI information through a wireless network.

[0145] It should also be noted that in this application Figures 10 to 12 The dashed box in the diagram indicates the arbitrariness of such steps or features. Furthermore, one or more optional steps or features can be combined with each other in any desired manner.

[0146] Example

[0147] Further exemplary aspects are provided in the following sections.

[0148] According to Embodiment 1, a wireless device is disclosed, the wireless device comprising: a radio component; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component, wherein the processor is configured to: determine a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource map, wherein the determined PRACH resource map includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot, and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating; and use the radio component to transmit a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble and an associated Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) via the determined PRACH resource map.

[0149] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource includes at least one of the following: a 480kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource; and a 960kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource.

[0150] Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the number of PRACH opportunities (PO) within the reference slot, at least in part, based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources.

[0151] Example 4 includes the subject of Example 3, wherein the determined number of POs within the reference time slot is greater than two.

[0152] Example 5 includes the subject matter of Example 3, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the determined number of POs within the reference time slot.

[0153] Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 5, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0154] Example 7 includes the subject of Example 3, wherein the determined number of POs are evenly distributed over time within the reference time slot.

[0155] Example 8 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein all time slots within the reference time slot can be used as PO.

[0156] Example 9 includes the subject matter of Example 8, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the ratio between the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources in the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating and a reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0157] According to Embodiment 10, a network device is disclosed, the network device comprising: a radio component; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component, wherein the processor is configured to: receive, using the radio component, a random access channel (RACH) preamble and an associated random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) from the radio device via a determined physical random access channel (RACH) resource map, wherein the determined PRACH resource map includes a start symbol position within a reference time slot, and wherein the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources of the wireless network on which the radio device is operating; and transmit, using the radio component, a downlink control information (DCI) message scrambled with the received RA-RNTI to the radio device.

[0158] Example 11 includes the subject matter of Example 10, wherein the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource includes at least one of the following: a 480 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource; and a 960 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource.

[0159] Example 12 includes the subject of Example 10, wherein the number of PRACH opportunities (PO) within the reference slot is determined at least in part based on the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resource.

[0160] Example 13 includes the subject of Example 12, wherein the determined number of POs within the reference time slot is greater than two.

[0161] Example 14 includes the subject of Example 12, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the determined number of POs within the reference time slot.

[0162] Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined based at least in part on the reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0163] Example 16 includes the subject of Example 12, wherein the determined number of POs are distributed uniformly in time within the reference time slot.

[0164] Example 17 includes the subject matter of Example 10, wherein all time slots within the reference time slot can be used as PO.

[0165] Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the starting symbol position is further determined at least in part based on the ratio between the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources in the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating and a reference subcarrier spacing configuration of the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating.

[0166] According to embodiment 19, a network device is disclosed, the network device comprising: a radio component; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit or receive data over a wireless network using a modified random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI), wherein the wireless network has a subcarrier spacing configuration of physical random access channel (PRACH) resources, wherein the size of the subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources results in the calculation of an out-of-range RA-RNTI value using a conventional RA-RNTI equation in an unmodified form, wherein the permissible range of RA-RNTI values ​​is from 0 to 2^16-1.

[0167] Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the conventional RA-RNTI equation in its unmodified form includes: RA-RNTI = 1 + s_id + (14 × t_id) + [14 × (10 × SCS / 15) × f_id] + [14 × (10 × SCS / 15) × 8 × ul_carrier_id], where s_id is the index of the first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the specified physical random access channel (PRACH) (0 ≤ s_id < 14), and t_id is the index of the first time slot of the specified PRACH in the system frame (…). According to the unmodified form of the traditional RA-RNTI equation, 0 ≤ t_id < 80), where SCS is the subcarrier spacing configuration for the PRACH resource (SCS = 120 kHz, according to the unmodified form of the traditional RA-RNTI equation), where f_id is the index of the specified PRACH in the frequency domain (0 ≤ f_id < 8, according to the unmodified form of the traditional RA-RNTI equation), and where ul_carrier_id is the UL carrier for Msg1 transmission (where 0 is used for normal uplink and 1 is used for supplementary uplink carrier).

[0168] Example 21 includes the subject of Example 19, wherein the modified RA-RNTI is calculated by applying modulo operations to the conventional RA-RNTI equation.

[0169] Example 22 includes the subject of Example 21, wherein the divisor of the modulo operation includes the value 216-1.

[0170] Example 23 includes the subject of Example 20, wherein the modified RA-RNTI is computed by redefining the t_id value from the conventional RA-RNTI equation as the cumulative index value of the first slot of the specified PRACH in the system frame, wherein only the slots configured with PRACH resources are counted toward the cumulative index value of the redefined t_id value.

[0171] Example 24 includes the subject of Example 20, wherein the modified RA-RNTI is calculated by redefining the f_id value from the conventional RA-RNTI equation, which separately defines the subcarrier spacing configuration based on the PRACH resources of the wireless network.

[0172] Example 25 includes the subject of Example 24, wherein the maximum allowed value of the f_id value redefined from the conventional RA-RNTI equation is inversely proportional to the size of the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH resource of the wireless network.

[0173] Example 26 includes the subject of Example 20, wherein the modified RA-RNTI is calculated based on an index determined by counting the PRACH timings (PO) within a radio frame according to a predetermined order.

[0174] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, wherein the predetermined order is defined as follows: first, in ascending order of the frequency resource index of the frequency reuse PO; second, in ascending order of the time resource index of the time reuse PO within the PRACH slot; third, in ascending order of the index of the PRACH slot; and fourth, starting with the normal uplink carrier, if an auxiliary uplink carrier exists, then the auxiliary uplink carrier follows.

[0175] Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 20, wherein the network device includes user equipment (UE), and wherein the UE transmits the modified RA-RNTI information over the wireless network.

[0176] Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 20, wherein the network device includes a wireless station, and wherein the wireless station receives the modified RA-RNTI information via the wireless network.

[0177] Another exemplary aspect may include a method comprising performing any or all of the foregoing embodiments.

[0178] Another exemplary aspect may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium that includes program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to perform any or all portions of any of the embodiments described above.

[0179] Another exemplary aspect may include a computer program that includes instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the embodiments described above.

[0180] Another exemplary aspect may include an apparatus comprising components for performing any or all elements of any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0181] Another exemplary aspect may include an apparatus that includes a processor configured to cause the apparatus to perform any or all elements of any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0182] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0183] Various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some aspects may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. Other aspects may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other aspects may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0184] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any method aspect of the methods described herein, or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0185] In some aspects, the device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102, network element 600) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and wherein the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method aspects described herein (or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspects of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0186] Although the foregoing aspects have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the foregoing disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A wireless device, the wireless device comprising: Radio components; and A processor, the processor being operatively coupled to the radio component, The processor is configured as follows: Determine the physical random access channel (PRACH) resource mapping, wherein the determined PRACH resource mapping includes the start symbol position within the reference time slot. The starting symbol position is determined, at least in part, based on the 480 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources used by the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating, and Wherein, the number of PRACH opportunities is less than or equal to two, and they are evenly distributed in time within the reference time slot, with at least one PRACH opportunity in the last index position of the reference time slot; as well as During at least one of the number of PRACH opportunities, the radio component is used to transmit the random access channel RACH preamble and the associated random access radio network temporary identifier RA-RNTI via the determined PRACH resource map.

2. A network device, the network device comprising: Radio components; and A processor, the processor being operatively coupled to the radio component, The processor is configured as follows: Using the aforementioned radio component, via a defined Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource mapping, and during at least one PRACH timing, the random access channel (RACH) preamble and the associated random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) are received from the radio device. The determined PRACH resource mapping includes the start symbol position within the reference time slot, and the start symbol position is determined at least in part based on the sub-960kHz carrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources used by the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating; and The number of PRACH opportunities is less than or equal to two, and they are evenly distributed in time within the reference time slot, with at least one PRACH opportunity located at the last index position of the reference time slot; as well as The radio component is used to transmit downlink control information (DCI) messages, scrambled with the received RA-RNTI, to the wireless device.

3. A method for communication, comprising: The physical random access channel (PRACH) resource mapping is determined by the wireless device, wherein the determined PRACH resource mapping includes the start symbol position within the reference time slot. The starting symbol position is determined, at least in part, based on the 480 kHz subcarrier spacing configuration of the PRACH resources used by the wireless network on which the wireless device is operating, and The number of PRACH opportunities is less than or equal to two, and they are evenly distributed in time within the reference time slot, with at least one PRACH opportunity located at the last index position of the reference time slot; as well as During at least one of the number of PRACH opportunities, the wireless device transmits the random access channel RACH preamble and the associated random access radio network temporary identifier RA-RNTI to the network device via the determined PRACH resource map.

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