Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, belongs to the technical field of communication, and is used for realizing that terminal equipment of an eRedCap and terminal equipment of the RedCap share a random access resource set of the terminal equipment of the RedCap. In the method, under the condition that a random access resource set suitable for the characteristics of a current random access process does not exist, a first type of terminal equipment can determine the random access resource set according to the characteristics of a second type of terminal equipment, or the first type of terminal equipment can be used as or fallback to the second type of terminal equipment. According to the embodiment of the invention, the terminal equipment of the eRedCap and the terminal equipment of the RedCap can share the random access resource set of the terminal equipment of the RedCap, so that the utilization rate of the random access resources can be improved, and the flexible selection of the random access resource set is realized.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 10, 2023, with application number 202311011308.1 and application name “Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] In the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) release 18 (R18), enhanced reduced capability (eRedCap) terminal devices were introduced. Compared with the reduced capability (RedCap) terminal devices in R17, the eRedCap terminal devices further reduce the size of the baseband bandwidth.

[0004] However, when there is no random access resource set available for the characteristics of the eRedCap terminal device in the current random access process, how to realize that the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device share the random access resource set of the RedCap terminal device is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for enabling an eRedCap terminal device and a RedCap terminal device to share a random access resource set of the RedCap terminal device.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: in the absence of a random access resource set suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, the terminal device determines a first random access resource set according to the characteristics of a second type of terminal device, and uses the first random access resource set to perform a random access process. The first type of terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device.

[0008] Based on the method described in the first aspect, it can be known that in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, the first type of terminal device can determine the random access resource set based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, or in other words, the first type of terminal device can act as or fall back to the second type of terminal device, and then perform the selection process of the random access resource set. Therefore, it is possible for the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device to share the random access resource set of the RedCap terminal device, so that while improving the utilization rate of the random access resources, the network device can at least identify the eRedCap UE according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE. In this way, on the basis of realizing the flexible selection of the random access resource set, the access success rate of the eRedCap UE is improved.

[0009] In a possible design scheme, the method of the first aspect may further include: the terminal device receives first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, thereby enhancing the control of the random access resource set used by the first type of terminal device by the network device, improving the flexibility of the network device in configuring random access resources, and avoiding the situation in which the network device cannot identify the first type of terminal device in advance in the future.

[0010] In a possible design scheme, the method of the first aspect may also include: the terminal device receives second indication information. The second indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use the second random access resource set, the second random access resource set is related to the second type of terminal, and the first random access resource set is one of the second random access resource sets allowed to be used by the first type of terminal device. That is, when the random access resource set is related to the second type of terminal and the network device indicates that the first type of terminal device can use the random access resource set, the first type of terminal device can use the random access resource set, such as the second random access resource set. In this way, the network device can further enhance the control of the random access resource set used by the first type of terminal device, improve the flexibility of the network device in configuring random access resources, and avoid the situation in which the network device cannot identify the first type of terminal device in advance in the future.

[0011] In a possible design, the method of the first aspect may further include: in the absence of a random access resource set applicable to the characteristics of the current random access procedure, if the terminal device is not a first-type terminal device, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access procedure. That is, when there is no random access resource set available for the characteristics of the current random access procedure of the non-first-type terminal device, the non-first-type terminal device directly selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics for use in a subsequent random access procedure.

[0012] In a possible design scheme, the method of the first aspect may also include: the terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process based on the association indication of the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process. The indication associated with the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set. In this way, a terminal device, such as a first type of terminal device, can determine whether there is a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, so as to subsequently determine whether it is necessary to perform the random access resource set selection process based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0013] In a possible design, the first type of terminal device is an enhanced terminal device with reduced capability eRedCap, or any other possible terminal device, without limitation. The second type of terminal is a terminal device with reduced capability RedCap, or any other possible terminal device, without limitation.

[0014] In one possible design scheme, the characteristics include at least one of the following: RedCap terminal equipment, small packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or RedCap terminal equipment to meet the characteristic requirements of triggering the current random access process in different scenarios.

[0015] In a possible design solution, the method of the first aspect may further include:

[0016] If the terminal device is a first type terminal device, and the random access resource set corresponding to the bandwidth part BWP selected by the terminal device only includes a two-step random access resource set, the terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type terminal device, and uses the first random access resource set to perform the random access process. Among them, the first type terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type terminal device. In this way, the first type terminal device can directly determine the random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type terminal device, or in other words, the first type terminal device can directly act as or fall back to the second type terminal device to perform the random access resource set selection process without first performing the random access resource set selection process as the first type terminal device. The operation is simpler, which can reduce resource waste and improve the utilization rate of random access resources.

[0017] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and there is a third random access resource set, the terminal device selects the third random access resource set, and uses the third random access resource set to perform a random access process. The third random access resource set is only associated with an indication of a second type of terminal, and the first type of terminal device is a terminal device that reduces the terminal device capability relative to the second type of terminal device.

[0018] Based on the method described in the second aspect, it can be known that in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the network device is configured with a random access resource set that is only associated with the indication of the second type of terminal, such as a third random access resource set, then the first type of terminal device can directly use the third random access resource set to perform the random access process. Therefore, it is possible for eRedCap's terminal devices and RedCap's terminal devices to share the random access resource set of RedCap's terminal devices, thereby improving the utilization rate of random access resources and achieving flexible selection of random access resource sets. At the same time, the network device can clearly determine which access resource sets are the random access resource sets shared by eRedCap's terminal devices and RedCap's terminal devices, which can enhance the network device's control over the random access resource sets used by the first type of terminal devices and improve the flexibility of the network device in configuring random access resource sets.

[0019] In a possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect may further include: the terminal device receives third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set, thereby further enhancing the control of the random access resource set used by the first type of terminal device by the network device, improving the flexibility of the network device in configuring the random access resource set, and avoiding the situation in which the network device cannot identify the first type of terminal device in advance in the future.

[0020] In a possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect may also include: when there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process and the first condition is met, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access process. The first condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal device is not a first type terminal device, or there is no random access resource set configured with only a second type terminal indication, and the indication of the second type terminal is used to characterize that non-second type terminal devices cannot use the random access resource set in the random access process. That is, when there is no random access resource set available for the characteristics of the current random access process of non-first type terminal devices, or there is no random access resource set configured with only a second type terminal indication, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics for use in subsequent random access processes.

[0021] In a possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect may also include: the terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process according to the indication associated with the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process. The indication associated with the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set.

[0022] In a possible design, the first type of terminal device is an enhanced reduced-capability eRedCap terminal device, and the second type of terminal device is a reduced-capability RedCap terminal device.

[0023] In one possible design, the features include at least one of the following: RedCap terminal equipment, small packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or eRedCap terminal equipment.

[0024] In a possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect may further include: if the terminal device is a first type terminal device, the RACH resource set corresponding to the bandwidth part BWP selected by the terminal device only includes a two-step RACH resource set, and there is a third random access resource set, then the terminal device selects the third random access resource set, and uses the third random access resource set to perform a random access process. In this way, the first type terminal device can directly use the third random access resource set to perform a random access process without first performing a RACH resource set selection process as a first type terminal device, which is simpler to operate, can reduce resource waste, and improve the utilization rate of random access resources.

[0025] In a possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect may further include: if the terminal device is a first type terminal device, the RACH resource set corresponding to the bandwidth part BWP selected by the terminal device only includes a two-step RACH resource set, and there is no random access resource set configured with only the third random access resource set, then the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform a random access process. That is, when the network does not configure a random access resource set indicated by only the second type of terminal, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics for a subsequent random access process.

[0026] In addition, other technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0027] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or can also be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: when the second condition is met, the terminal device considers that the fourth characteristic is applicable to the current random access process. Among them, the second condition includes one or more of the following: no random access resource set meets all the characteristics that trigger the current random access process; there are one or more random access resource sets that meet a subset of the characteristics that trigger the current random access process; the third characteristic is applicable to the current random access process; the random access resource set identified by the terminal device using the third characteristic does not have a random access resource set associated with the third characteristic. The third characteristic is a characteristic of a first type of terminal device, and the fourth characteristic is a characteristic of a second type of terminal device. The first type of terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device.

[0028] Based on the method described in the third aspect, it can be known that when the second condition is met, the terminal device expands the characteristics applicable to the current random access process from the third characteristic to include the fourth characteristic, so that the terminal device can use the third characteristic to select a random access resource set while increasing the possibility of the terminal device selecting a suitable random access resource set.

[0029] In a possible design scheme, the method of the third aspect may also include: the terminal device selects a random access resource set according to characteristics applicable to the current random access process.

[0030] In a possible design scheme, the method of the third aspect may further include: the terminal device receives fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to consider that the fourth characteristic is applicable to the current random access process, thereby enhancing the control of the network device over the random access resource set used by the first type of terminal device, improving the flexibility of the network device in configuring random access resources, and avoiding the situation in which the network device cannot identify the first type of terminal device in advance in the future.

[0031] In a possible design scheme, the method of the third aspect may further include: when the second condition is not met, the terminal device does not consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process. If the terminal device can select a random access resource set that satisfies the triggering of the current random access process using the third characteristic, or the terminal device can select a random access resource set associated with the third characteristic using the third characteristic, the terminal device may not use the fourth characteristic for selection, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal device selecting the random access resource set.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or can also be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: when the third condition is met, the terminal device selects a fourth random access resource set. When the third condition is not met and the fourth condition is met, the terminal device selects a fifth random access resource set. Among them, the third condition is that the terminal device is provided with a first resource and a fourth random access resource set, and the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. The first resource is a non-competition-based random access resource. The fourth random access resource set is a random access resource set associated only with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device. The fourth condition is that the terminal device is provided with a first resource and a fifth random access resource set, and the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. The fifth random access resource set is a random access resource set associated only with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0033] Based on the method described in the fourth aspect, it can be known that when the network device does not provide a set of random access resources with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device, the first type of terminal device can still select random access resources with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, so that the network device schedules or processes the terminal device according to the second type of terminal device, thereby improving the success rate of random access of the terminal device.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or can also be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: the terminal device receives fifth indication information. The terminal device selects a random access resource set according to the fifth indication information. The fifth indication information is used to determine the availability of a sixth random access resource set, and the sixth random access resource set is a random access resource set configured with a characteristic indication of a second type of terminal device.

[0035] Based on the method described in the fifth aspect, it can be known that the network device can instruct the terminal device to select the random access resource set through the fifth indication information, or control the availability of the random access resource set to the terminal device, thereby increasing the network's control over the random access resource set and avoiding the result of random access resource selection that is not expected by the network. In the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a module for executing the method described in the first aspect above, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module. Among them, the transceiver module can be used to implement the function of the device to send and receive messages. The processing module can be used to implement functions of the device other than sending and receiving messages.

[0036] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the sixth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the sixth aspect.

[0037] Optionally, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the first aspect.

[0038] It should be noted that the communication device described in the sixth aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0039] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a module for executing the method described in the second aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can be used to implement the function of the device to send and receive messages. The processing module can be used to implement functions of the device other than sending and receiving messages.

[0041] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the seventh aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the seventh aspect.

[0042] Optionally, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the second aspect.

[0043] It should be noted that the communication device described in the seventh aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the terminal device, or a device including a terminal device, and this application does not limit this. In addition, the technical effect of the communication device described in the seventh aspect can refer to the technical effect of the communication method described in the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a module for executing the method described in the third aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can be used to implement the function of the device to send and receive messages. The processing module can be used to implement functions of the device other than sending and receiving messages.

[0045] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the eighth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the eighth aspect.

[0046] Optionally, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the third aspect.

[0047] It should be noted that the communication device described in the eighth aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0048] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the eighth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the third aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a module for executing the method described in the fourth aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can be used to implement the function of the device to send and receive messages. The processing module can be used to implement functions of the device other than sending and receiving messages.

[0050] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the ninth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the ninth aspect.

[0051] Optionally, the communication device described in the ninth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the fourth aspect.

[0052] It should be noted that the communication device described in the ninth aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0053] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the ninth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the fourth aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0054] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a module for executing the method described in the fifth aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can be used to implement the function of the device to send and receive messages. The processing module can be used to implement functions of the device other than sending and receiving messages.

[0055] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the tenth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the tenth aspect.

[0056] Optionally, the communication device described in the tenth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or an instruction. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the fifth aspect.

[0057] It should be noted that the communication device described in the tenth aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0058] In addition, the technical effect of the communication device described in the tenth aspect can refer to the technical effect of the communication method described in the fifth aspect, which will not be repeated here. In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor, the processor is used to execute the method described in any one of the implementation modes of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0059] In a possible design solution, the communication device described in the eleventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the eleventh aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0060] In a possible design scheme, the communication device described in the eleventh aspect may further include a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be separately provided. The memory may be used to store the computer program and / or data involved in the method described in any one of the implementation modes of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0061] In the present application, the communication device described in the eleventh aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that may be arranged in the terminal device, or a device including the terminal device.

[0062] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the eleventh aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0063] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the implementation modes of the first to fifth aspects.

[0064] In a possible design scheme, the communication device described in aspect 12 may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in aspect 12 to communicate with other communication devices.

[0065] In the present application, the communication device described in the twelfth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0066] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the twelfth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0067] In the thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the communication device executes the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects.

[0068] In a possible design scheme, the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0069] In the present application, the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0070] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0071] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; the processor is used to couple with a memory, and after reading a computer program in the memory, execute a method as described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects according to the computer program.

[0072] In a possible design solution, the communication device described in aspect 14 may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in aspect 14 to communicate with other communication devices.

[0073] In the present application, the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that may be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0074] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0075] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal device and the network device described in the above aspects.

[0076] In the sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising: a computer program or instructions; when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fifth aspects.

[0077] In the seventeenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any one of the implementations of the first to fifth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access process based on CBRA;

[0079] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a two-step random access process based on CBRA;

[0080] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for performing a random access procedure for a UE;

[0081] Figure 4 A flow chart of performing a RACH resource set selection process for a UE;

[0082] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 6 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 1 ;

[0084] Figure 7 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 2 ;

[0085] Figure 8 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 3 ;

[0086] Fig. 9 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 4 ;

[0087] Fig.10 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 5 ;

[0088] Fig.11 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 6 ;

[0089] Fig.12 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 7 ;

[0090] Fig.13 A flow diagram of a communication method provided for the implementation of this application Figure 8 ;

[0091] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided for the implementation of this application Figure 1 ;

[0092] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided for the implementation of this application Figure 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are first introduced below.

[0094] 1. Random Access Channel (RACH)

[0095] The terminal device can access the network through the random access process, thereby achieving uplink synchronization and normal communication with the network equipment. The random access process refers to the process from the terminal device sending a random access preamble to try to access the network to establishing a basic signaling connection with the network. The random access process can be triggered by some events, for example, the terminal device can perform initial access from the idle state, or perform the radio resource control layer (RRC) connection recovery process from the inactive state, or perform the RRC connection reestablishment process, etc.

[0096] At present, the random access process can be divided into two types: a four-step random access process and a two-step random access process. Both the four-step random access process and the two-step random access process can support contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA). Among them, in CBRA, a terminal device under a cell selects a random access resource from a public random access resource to initiate a random access, that is, a terminal device has the risk of selecting the same random access resource as another terminal device, and may subsequently experience a conflict. The network device uses a contention resolution mechanism to handle this type of access request. In this process, the result of random access is uncertain, and not all random accesses are successful. In CFRA, terminal devices have dedicated / independent random access resources, so there is no conflict between terminal devices. That is to say, in the four-step random access and two-step random access based on CFRA, since the network device allocates dedicated random access resources to the terminal device, the terminal device can use the dedicated random access resources to initiate random access. The network device can confirm which terminal device initiates the random access based on the random access resources used by the terminal device, so there is no need to perform contention resolution. The following is a detailed introduction to the four-step random access process and the two-step random access process based on CBRA.

[0097] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the four-step random access process based on CBRA, such as Figure 1 As shown, the process may include:

[0098] S101, the terminal device sends a message (message, Msg) 1 to the network device.

[0099] The terminal device selects a random access resource from the shared random access resources, such as a random access channel occasion (RA channel occasions, RO) to send MSG1. The MSG1 includes a preamble. The preamble is used to notify the network device that there is a random access request and enable the network device to calculate the transmission delay between it and the terminal device, so that the network device can calibrate the uplink timing (uplink timing) and inform the terminal device of the calibration information through the timing advance (TA) time adjustment information.

[0100] It can be understood that before step S101, the terminal device needs to perform the selection of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, SSB), and select the RO / preamble code based on the selected SSB and the mapping relationship between the SSB and the RO / preamble code, which is configured by the network device.

[0101] S102, the network device sends Msg2 to the terminal device.

[0102] Based on the received preamble, the network device sends Msg2 to the terminal device, which can also be called a random access response (RAR). RAR can contain the preamble identifier, TA time adjustment information, uplink grant (UL grant) and temporary cell wireless network equipment temporary identifier (temporary C-RNTI, TC-RNTI), etc. UL grant is used to indicate the transmission resources of Msg3.

[0103] S103, the terminal device sends Msg3 to the network device.

[0104] The terminal device sends Msg3 on the transmission resources indicated / scheduled by the UL grant. Msg3 may include layer 2 (layer 2, L2) information and / or layer 3 (layer 3, L3) information, such as RRC setup request message (RRC setup request), RRC resume request (RRC resume request), beam failure recovery (beam failure recovery, BFR), media access control (media access control, MAC) control element (control element, CE), etc.

[0105] S104, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device.

[0106] Among them, Msg4 may include a contention resolution message, which includes the identifier (ID) of the terminal device. When it is judged from Msg3 that the random access is a contention-based random access, the information of the terminal devices that need to compete is saved. When the contention is resolved through Msg4, the contention of these competing terminal devices will be resolved.

[0107] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application Figure 1This is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. For a specific description of the four-step random access process based on CBRA, reference can be made to the relevant introduction in the 3GPP protocol and will not be repeated here.

[0108] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a two-step random access process based on CBRA, such as Figure 2 As shown, the process may include:

[0109] S201, the terminal device sends MsgA to the network device.

[0110] MsgA may include a preamble, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) payload, etc. The UE sends a random access preamble on a PRACH resource or an RO, or in other words, MsgA includes the contents of Msg1 and Msg3 in the above four-step random access based on CBRA.

[0111] It can be understood that, unlike the four-step random access process, in the two-step random access process, the terminal device will send the PUSCH payload at the same time as sending the preamble code.

[0112] S202, the network device sends MsgB to the terminal device.

[0113] MsgB may include a successful RAR (successRAR) or a fallback RAR (fallbackRAR), for example, a contention resolution response, a fallback indication, and a backoff indication.

[0114] It can be understood that if the network device successfully receives and decodes the MsgA (i.e., the preamble code and PUSCH payload) sent by the terminal device, the network device can reply a successful RAR to the terminal device, wherein the successful RAR may include a terminal device contention resolution identifier, TA time adjustment information, a cell wireless network equipment temporary identifier (C-RNTI), etc.

[0115] If the network device successfully receives and decodes the preamble sent by the terminal device, but fails to successfully receive and decode the PUSCH payload sent by the terminal device, the network device may reply with a fallback RAR to the terminal device, where the fallback RAR may include a preamble identifier, TA time adjustment information, uplink authorization, TC-RNTI, etc.

[0116] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application Figure 2 This is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute any limitation on the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. For the specific description of the two-step random access process based on CBRA, please refer to the relevant introduction in the 3GPP protocol and will not be repeated here.

[0117] 2. Random Access Channel (RACH) resource allocation

[0118] In 3GPP Rel-17, there are multiple features / topics that require the division of independent PRACH resources so that network devices can identify the features in advance and perform corresponding processing operations. The following features are used as examples for detailed introduction.

[0119] 1) Reduced capability (RedCap)

[0120] Reduced capability terminal equipment (RedCap user equipment, RedCap UE) can refer to the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the UE being reduced, such as the baseband bandwidth of the RedCap UE being 20MHz, or the number of antennas of the UE being reduced. It can be understood that since the bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE is smaller than that of the traditional UE, the network device needs to identify the RedCap UE in advance in Msg1, so that the network device can perform special processing on the RedCap UE in the subsequent RACH process. For example, the uplink resources of Msg3 scheduled in the RAR do not exceed the maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCap UE, and the RedCap UE is appropriately configured in Msg4.

[0121] It is understandable that the network device may not identify the RedCap UE in advance in Msg1, but may identify the RedCap UE through Msg3. For example, when the initial uplink bandwidth (bandwidth part, BWP) configured by the network device does not exceed 20MHz, the network device may identify the RedCap UE through Msg3.

[0122] It should be noted that RedCap should be understood as a type of terminal device. In order to unify the description with the following three characteristics, the "characteristic" description can also be used below, that is, RedCap can be understood as the characteristics supported by the terminal device.

[0123] 2) Small data transmission (SDT)

[0124] UE in RRC_INACTIVE state can transmit small packets based on RACH, that is, UE also sends small packet data when sending Msg3, and UE can transmit cell data without entering the connected state, thereby saving power consumption. Therefore, UE needs to report UE request for small packet data transmission in Msg1, so that the network equipment can schedule larger Msg3 transmission resources for UE in RAR.

[0125] 3) Coverage enhancement (CovEnh)

[0126] CovEnh studies how to improve the coverage performance of Msg3, that is, the UE can report the need for coverage enhancement in Msg1, so the network device can schedule the repetition of Msg3.

[0127] 4) RAN slicing

[0128] The wireless access network slice takes into account that some services or users have a higher priority. The network device can provide dedicated RACH resources for the service or user, thereby indicating the high priority of the slice to the network device and realizing RACH resource isolation.

[0129] It can be understood that the network equipment may not only need to configure independent RACH resources for the above four features, but also need to configure independent RACH resources for the feature combinations between the above features. For example, if the RedCap UE triggers a small packet transmission based on RACH, the network needs to identify the UE as a RedCap UE in Msg1, so as to perform special treatment on the RedCap UE in the subsequent RACH process; the network also needs to identify in Msg1 that the UE requests SDT transmission, so as to consider the transmission of small packet data when configuring Msg3 resources. At this time, the network equipment needs to configure independent RACH resources for the scenario where the RedCap UE triggers a small packet transmission based on RACH, which can be expressed as a feature combination of RedCap+SDT.

[0130] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific names of the feature combinations. The feature combinations can include multiple features. The connection between the features in the feature combination can be represented by "+", "and", any other possible connectors, or no connector symbol, without limitation. For example, the above SDT+RedCap can be directly represented as SDT, RedCap.

[0131] Therefore, in the configuration of the network device, the network device may configure dedicated RACH resources for all characteristics or characteristic combinations (such as the above-mentioned four characteristics, the combination of the four characteristics, the combination of the characteristics or characteristic combinations and two-step random access, etc.), or may configure dedicated RACH resources only for some characteristics or characteristic combinations. The dedicated or independent RACH resources for each characteristic or characteristic combination may be called a RACH partition, or a set of RACH resources.

[0132] The network device can indicate the availability (or applicability) of the RACH resource set, or the characteristics associated with the RACH resource set, through the feature combination field. Each RACH resource set corresponds to a feature combination field, which may include the following parameters (also referred to as feature indications): redCap, smallData, Msg3-Repetitions, spare, etc. Among them, when redCap-r17 is set to true (true), it means that non-RedCap UE cannot use the RACH resource set; when smallData-r17 is set to true, it means that the RACH resource set cannot be used by the RACH process triggered by non-SDT; when msg-Repetitions-r17 is set to true, it means that the RACH resource set cannot be used by the RACH process that is not applicable to Msg3 repetition (i.e., CovEnh).

[0133] For example, in the feature combination field corresponding to RACH resource set #1, redCap-r17 and smallData-r17 are set to true, then the RACH-based small packet transmission triggered by the RedCap UE can use RACH resource set #1, that is, the feature combination associated with RACH resource set #1 is RedCap+SDT, or the features associated with RACH resource set #1 are RedCap and SDT.

[0134] 3. Random access process

[0135] Figure 3 A flow chart of a method for performing a random access process for a UE, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0136] S301, UE starts a random access process.

[0137] S302: UE performs a carrier selection process.

[0138] The UE may select a carrier in a normal uplink (NUL) or a supplementary uplink (SUL) for subsequent random access.

[0139] S303: The UE performs a BWP operation.

[0140] If there is no PRACH configuration on the currently activated BWP of the UE, the UE performs the RACH process on the initial BWP.

[0141] S304, the UE performs a RACH resource set selection process.

[0142] The specific implementation of this step can refer to the following Figure 4 The process diagram shown is not repeated here.

[0143] S305: The UE selects an RA type.

[0144] The UE can determine whether to perform a four-step random access or a two-step random access process. If the RACH resource set selected by the UE includes two-step and four-step RACH resource sets, the UE determines whether to select a four-step RA type or a two-step RA type based on the downlink path loss; if the RACH resource set selected by the UE includes only two-step RACH resources, the UE selects the two-step RA type; otherwise, if the RACH resource set selected by the UE includes only four-step RACH resources, the UE selects the four-step RA type without limitation.

[0145] S306: The UE selects RACH resources.

[0146] The UE may select corresponding RACH resources in the RACH resource set according to the selected RA type, for example, selecting a preamble and a RO, without limitation.

[0147] S307: The UE performs random access.

[0148] It can be understood that the specific implementation of this step can refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The implementation process described above will not be repeated here.

[0149] The specific implementation process of step S304 is introduced below. Figure 4 A flow chart of performing a RACH resource set selection process for a UE, such as Figure 4 As shown, the process may include:

[0150] S401, the UE starts a RACH resource set selection process.

[0151] S402, the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0152] The RACH resource set is a resource set configured by the network device for the UE to perform random access. The characteristics of the current RACH process may include at least one of the following: RedCap, SDT, CovEnh, or RAN slicing.

[0153] The UE should determine in each four-step RACH resource set and each two-step RACH resource set configured by the network: if redCap-17 of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that is not applicable to the RedCap feature cannot use the RACH resource set; if smallData-17 of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process triggered by non-RACH-based SDT cannot use the RACH resource set; if the RACH resource is configured with an associated slice list, it means that the RACH process triggered by a slice not in the slice list cannot use the RACH resource set; if msg3-Repetitions of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that is not applicable to Msg3 repetition cannot use the RACH resource set.

[0154] The UE can determine whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process through the characteristic combination field associated with each RACH resource set.

[0155] The UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, which can also be understood as whether the characteristic associated with the RACH resource set is a subset or a full set of the characteristics of the current RACH process. It can be understood that step S402 can include case 1 and case 2, which are described in detail below.

[0156] Case 1: If no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, S403 is executed: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristic.

[0157] The RACH resource set not associated with any characteristic may be understood as: the RACH resource set is not configured with a characteristic combination field, or in other words, the RACH resource set is a common RACH resource set.

[0158] For example, the five RACH resource sets and the associated characteristics (or characteristic combinations) configured by the network device are: the characteristic associated with RACH resource set #1 is Redcap, the characteristic combination associated with RACH resource set #2 is RedCap+SDT, the characteristic combination associated with RACH resource set #3 is SDT+slicing, the characteristic combination associated with RACH resource set #4 is RedCap+CovEnh, and the characteristic combination associated with RACH resource set #5 is SDT+CovEnh+slicing. If the characteristic that triggers (or applies to) the current RACH process #1 is SDT+CovEnh, at this time, there is no RACH resource set applicable to SDT+CovEnh among the five RACH resource sets, and the UE can select a RACH resource set without an associated characteristic.

[0159] Case 2: If there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, then S404 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource process.

[0160] There is a RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource set, which can also be understood as the characteristics (or characteristic combinations) associated with the RACH resource set are the characteristics (or characteristic combinations) that trigger the current RACH process, or in other words, the characteristics (or characteristic combinations) associated with the RACH resource set are completely consistent with the characteristics (or characteristic combinations) of the current RACH process.

[0161] It can be understood that step S404 may include case 2.1 and case 2.2a, which are described in detail below.

[0162] Case 2.1: If there is a RACH resource set that is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, then S405 is executed: the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0163] For example, continuing to take the 5 RACH resource sets configured by the above network device as an example, if the characteristic of the current RACH process #2 is RedCap+CovEnh, at this time, RACH resource set #4 among the 5 RACH resource sets can meet all the characteristics of the current RACH process #2, and the UE can select RACH resource set #4.

[0164] Case 2.2: If no RACH resource set is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S406 is executed: the UE selects from one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority.

[0165] It can be understood that the network device can configure the priority of each feature through the feature priority field, and the feature priority field may include: RedCap priority (redCapPriority), SDT priority (sdt-Priority), msg3 repetition priority (msg3-Repetitions-Priority), slicing priority (slicingPriority), etc. The value range of redCapPriority, sdt-Priority, msg3-Repetitions-Priority-r17, and slicingPriority-r17 can be 0 to 7, and the smaller the value, the higher the priority.

[0166] For example, the value of redCapPriority-r17 is 0, the value of sdt-Priority-r17 is 2, the value of msg3-Repetitions-Priority-r17 is 5, and the value of slicingPriority-r17 is 4. At this time, the priorities of the above features are: RedCap>SDT>RAN slicing>CovEnh.

[0167] The available RACH resource set can be understood as a subset of the characteristics associated with the RACH resource set for the current RACH process. The UE can select a RACH resource set from one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority, which is described in detail below.

[0168] (1) The UE may first identify a RACH resource set associated with the characteristic with the highest priority in the current RACH process.

[0169] (2) The UE may identify a RACH resource set associated with the characteristic from among the identified RACH resource sets according to the characteristic of the second highest priority.

[0170] And so on, until the UE identifies only one RACH resource set, the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0171] For example, the priority order of the characteristics configured by the network device is: redCap>SDT>RAN slicing>CovEnh, if the characteristics of the current RACH process #3 are RedCap+CovEnh+slicing+SDT, for example. Since there are RACH resource sets (i.e., RACH resource sets #1 to RACH resource sets #5) applicable to the current RACH process #3 among the above five RACH resource sets, and there is no RACH resource set applicable to all the characteristics of the current RACH process #3, firstly, the UE can identify three RACH resource sets from the five available RACH resource sets according to the highest priority RedCap in the current RACH process #3, namely, RACH resource set #1, RACH resource set #2, and RACH resource set #4; secondly, the UE can identify one RACH resource set from the above three RACH resource sets according to the second highest priority SDT in the current RACH process #3, namely, RACH resource set #2, so the UE can select RACH resource set #2.

[0172] It should be noted that the random access process and the random access channel process in the embodiment of the present application can be replaced with each other and will not be described in detail later.

[0173] Currently, in order to further reduce the complexity of terminal equipment and thus further reduce costs, eRedCap has been introduced in 3GPP Rel-18. Compared with RedCap UE, eRedCap UE has further reduced terminal equipment capabilities. The further reduced capabilities include the size of the baseband bandwidth. For example, the maximum baseband bandwidth of RedCap UE is 20MHz, while the maximum baseband bandwidth of eRedCap UE is reduced to 5MHz. During the RACH process, in order to enable the network device to identify the eRedCap UE in advance, so that it can perform corresponding operations on the eRedCap UE during RAR scheduling, such as increasing the interval between the RAR reception time and the sending time of the RAR scheduled Msg3, the network device can also configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE.

[0174] Whether the RACH resource set is associated with the characteristics of the eRedCap UE can be indicated by using the reserved bit in the above-mentioned characteristic combination field. For example, the reserved bit can be used as an eRedCap indication (eRedCap indication, such as eRedCap-r18). The eRedCap indication is used to characterize that eRedCap is part of the characteristic combination associated with the RACH resource set. If the eRedCap indication associated with the RACH resource set is set to true, it means that non-eRedCap UEs cannot use the RACH resource set. It can be understood that the network device cannot set the redCap-17 and eRedCap indications to true at the same time, that is, a RACH resource set cannot be used by RedCap UE and eRedCap UE at the same time. This is because from the perspective of the RedCap UE, when a reserved bit (such as the reserved bit used by the eRedCap indication) is set to true, the RedCap UE should ignore the RACH resource set. Therefore, although the network device sets the redCap-17 and eRedCap indications of a RACH resource set to true at the same time, the RedCap UE cannot use the RACH resource set.

[0175] It can be understood that whether the RACH resource set is associated with the characteristic of the eRedCap UE may also be indicated by any other possible field or parameter without limitation.

[0176] The feature priority of eRedCap UE can be indicated by using the above feature priority field, that is, the network device can indicate the priority of RedCap, eRedCap, SDT, CovEnh and RAN slicing through the feature priority field. It can be understood that the feature priority of eRedCap UE can also be indicated by any other possible field or parameter, and can also be combined with other features to indicate the priority, which is not limited here.

[0177] Currently, in the four-step random access process, the network device may configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE, or may not configure a dedicated RACH resource set, but in the two-step random access process, the network device cannot configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE. In the case where the network device does not configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE, the eRedCap UE can share the RACH resource set of the RedCap UE with the RedCap UE. However, considering that the RACH resource set of the RedCap UE can be configured and used in combination with other features, how to enable the eRedCap UE and the RedCap UE to share the random access resource set of the RedCap UE when the network device does not configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE is an issue that needs to be solved urgently.

[0178] In response to the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions to enable the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device to share the random access resource set of the RedCap terminal device.

[0179] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0180] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, 4G, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5G, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems.

[0181] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. In addition, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

[0182] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0183] In the embodiments of the present application, "information", "signal", "message", "channel" and "signaling" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings to be expressed are matched. "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings to be expressed are matched. In addition, the " / " mentioned in the present application can be used to indicate an "or" relationship. It can be understood that in the present application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication and implicit indication. When describing a certain indication information used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0184] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc., or the information to be indicated can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved with the help of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as specified by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0185] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in this application. Among them, the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, pre-defined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0186] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0187] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first Figure 5 The communication system shown in the example is used to describe in detail the communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0188] like Figure 5 As shown, the communication system mainly includes: network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0189] Among them, the network device can be multiple, such as a first network device, a second network device, a third network device, etc. The network device can be a device with wireless transceiver functions, or it can also be a chip or chip system arranged in the device, located in the access network (AN) of the communication system, and used to provide access services for the terminal. For example, the network device can be called a radio access network device (RAN) device, which can specifically be a next-generation mobile communication system, such as a 6G access network device, such as a 6G base station, or in the next-generation mobile communication system, the network device can also have other naming methods, which are all covered within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the present application does not make any limitation on this. Alternatively, the network device may also include 5G, such as a gNB in ​​a new radio (NR) system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in 5G, or a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission point (TRP or transmission point, TP) or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), an RSU with base station function, or a wired access gateway, or a core network element of 5G, etc. Alternatively, the network device may also include: an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc.

[0190] Among them, CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, and CU can also be divided into a network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0191] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are described as examples in this application. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0192] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device for realizing the function of the network device can be the network device; or it can be a device that can support the network device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device.

[0193] The terminal device may be one or more, such as a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a third terminal device, etc. The terminal device may be a terminal device with a transceiver function, or may be a chip or a chip system provided in the terminal device. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station (MS), mobile station, remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, user terminal device, terminal device, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a smart home device (for example, a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, a workshop equipment, a wireless terminal device in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a smart home, etc. The terminal device of the present application may also be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal device functions, for example, the terminal device may also be a device that functions as a terminal device in D2D communication.

[0194] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the terminal device. The device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that can support the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0195] In the communication system, in the absence of a random access resource set suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, the first type of terminal device can determine the random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, or the first type of terminal device can be used as or fall back to the second type of terminal device, and then perform the random access resource set selection process. Therefore, the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device can share the RedCap terminal device's random access resource set, thereby improving the utilization rate of the random access resources and realizing the flexible selection of the random access resource set.

[0196] Understandably, Figure 5 The simplified schematic diagram is provided for ease of understanding. The communication system may also include other network devices and / or other terminal devices. Figure 5 Not drawn.

[0197] For ease of understanding, the following will combine Figure 6-Figure 13 The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0198] For example, Figure 6 A communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. Figure 1 The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system.

[0199] Specifically, Figure 6 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0200] S601: In the absence of a random access resource set suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, the terminal device determines a first random access resource set according to the characteristics of a second type of terminal device.

[0201] One possible approach is that the first type of terminal device first performs a random access resource set selection process according to the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or as the first type of terminal device. If the result of the random access resource set selection process is that no random access resource set is suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, the first type of terminal device considers that the second type of terminal device is suitable for the current random access process, and performs the random access resource set selection process again.

[0202] The fact that there is no random access resource set applicable to the characteristics of the current random access process can be understood as: no random access resource set can be applicable to any characteristics of the current RACH process, or in other words, there is no random access resource set associated with a characteristic that is a subset or a full set of characteristics of the current RACH process.

[0203] The first type of terminal device may be a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device, wherein the first type of terminal device may be an eRedCap UE, and the second type of terminal device may be a RedCap UE. For a specific description, please refer to the relevant description in the above technical terms, which will not be repeated here. It is understood that eRedCap UE and RedCap UE may also have other names. It is understood that the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device may also be any other possible terminal device, without limitation.

[0204] The terminal device determines the first random access resource set based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, which can be understood as the terminal device regards itself as / as the second type of terminal device and determines the first random access resource set, or the terminal device believes that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process and determines the first random access resource set. Optionally, the terminal device determines the first random access resource set based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, which can also be understood as the terminal device uses the characteristics of the second type of terminal device instead of the characteristics of the first type of terminal device, believes that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process and determines the first random access resource set, without limitation.

[0205] The terminal device determines the first random access resource set, which can be understood as the terminal device performing the random access resource set selection process and selecting the first random access resource set. The terminal device regards itself as / as a second type of terminal device, or considers that the second type of terminal device characteristics are applicable to the current random access process, and re-executes the random access resource set selection process. It can be understood that the specific description of the random access resource set selection process can be found in the above Figure 4 , I will not go into details here.

[0206] Exemplarily, if the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, or in other words, the eRedCap UE is applicable to the current random access process, and there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, the eRedCap UE has not selected a random access resource set that meets the characteristics of the current random access process. At this time, the eRedCap UE can be based on the characteristics of the RedCap UE, or the eRedCap UE can regard itself as / act as a RedCap UE, or the eRedCap UE can fall back to a RedCap UE, or the terminal device uses the eRedCap characteristics instead of the RedCapte characteristics, and then performs the RACH resource set selection process to determine the first random access resource set.

[0207] The first random access resource set can be understood as a random access resource set available to the second type of terminal device, or the first random access resource set can be a random access resource set configured by the network device for the second type of terminal device, or the indication corresponding to the second type of terminal device characteristic in the characteristic combination field of the first random access resource set is set to true.

[0208] Exemplarily, the first random access resource set is a random access resource set available for the RedCap feature, or the first random access resource set is a random access resource set allocated by the network device to the RedCap UE, or the redCap-r17 in the feature combination field of the first random access resource set is set to true. That is, the eRedCap UE can share the random access resource set pre-allocated to the RedCap UE by the network device with the RedCap UE.

[0209] In one possible design scheme, the characteristics of the current random access process may include at least one of the following: eRedCap UE, small packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or RedCap UE. For the specific introduction of each of the above characteristics, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above technical terms, which will not be repeated here. It can be understood that when the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, the characteristics of the current random access process will at least include eRedCap UE.

[0210] For example, the four RACH resource sets and associated characteristics configured by the network device are: RACH resource set #a1 (eRedCap+CovEnh), RACH resource set #a2 (RedCap+SDT), RACH resource set #a3 (CovEnh) and RACH resource set #a4 (CovEnh+slicing). If the characteristic that triggers the current RACH process #4 is eRedCap+SDT, at this time, when the eRedCap UE selects a random access resource set, there is no RACH resource set suitable for eRedCap+SDT among the four configured RACH resource sets. The eRedCap UE can treat itself as / regard itself as a RedCap UE, or fall back to a RedCap UE, then the eRedCap in the characteristic that triggers the current RACH process can be replaced with RedCap, that is, the characteristic that triggers the current RACH process #4 becomes RedCap+SDT. In this case, the terminal device performs the RACH resource selection process again, and the eRedCap UE can select RACH resource set #a2 (i.e., the first random access resource set mentioned above) for subsequent random access.

[0211] It should be noted that the first type of terminal device can be replaced by the first characteristic, the second type of terminal device can be replaced by the second characteristic, and the terminal device can be replaced by the first characteristic applicable to the current random access process if it is a first type of terminal device. The terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, which can be replaced by the terminal device determining the first random access resource set according to the second characteristic. That is, the scheme of the embodiment of the present application can be replaced by, in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the first characteristic is applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the second characteristic; the terminal device uses the first random access resource set to perform the random access process. In this implementation, the first characteristic and the second characteristic are no longer limited to the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device, but can be any other possible characteristics. Optionally, the first characteristic and the second characteristic can be an evolutionary relationship, for example, the first characteristic is an enhancement of the second characteristic.

[0212] S602: The terminal device uses a first random access resource set to perform a random access process.

[0213] It can be understood that the terminal device uses the first random access resource set, and the specific implementation of the random access process can refer to the relevant introduction in the above S305-S307, which will not be repeated here.

[0214] In summary, in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, the first type of terminal device can perform a random access resource set selection process based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device and determine the random access resource set. In other words, the first type of terminal device can act as or fall back to a second type of terminal device and then perform a random access resource set selection process. This can enable eRedCap terminal devices and RedCap terminal devices to share the random access resource set of RedCap terminal devices, thereby improving the utilization rate of random access resources and achieving flexible selection of random access resource sets.

[0215] In combination with the above embodiment, optionally, the above method may further include:

[0216] S603, the network device sends first indication information, and the terminal device receives the first indication information.

[0217] The first indication information may be used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device. In other words, the first indication information may be used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device when there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process.

[0218] That is, when no random access resource set is applicable to any characteristics of the current random access process and the first indication information indicates that the first type of terminal device is allowed to select a random access resource set as a second type of terminal device, the terminal device can determine the first random access resource set based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0219] Exemplarily, when there is no RACH resource applicable to the current RACH process of the eRedCap UE and the network device indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to select the RACH resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE, the eRedCap UE can determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE; in other words, when the eRedCap UE does not have any available RACH resources and the network device indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to select the RACH resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE, the eRedCap UE can replace the characteristics of the eRedCap with the characteristics of the RedCap to determine the first random access resource set; in other words, when there is no RACH resource applicable to the current RACH process of the eRedCap UE and the network device indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to act as / be regarded as a RedCap UE, the eRedCap UE can determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE; in other words, when the eRedCap UE does not have any available RACH resources and the network device indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to fall back to a RedCap UE, the eRedCap UE can replace the characteristics of the eRedCap with the characteristics of the RedCap to determine the first random access resource set. The first random access resource set is determined based on the characteristics of the UE. In this way, the control of the network device on the use of the RACH resource set by the eRedCap UE can be enhanced, and the flexible configuration of the RACH resource set can be achieved.

[0220] The first indication information may also be used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is not allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, and the first type of terminal device selects a random access resource set that is not associated with any characteristics. For example, at this time, the eRedCap UE cannot determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE, and the eRedCap UE may select a random access resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0221] It can be understood that the naming of the above-mentioned first indication information is only an example, and the first indication information can also be called indication information #1, indication information #a, etc. without limitation.

[0222] Optionally, the above method may further include:

[0223] S604, the network device sends second indication information, and the terminal device receives the second indication information.

[0224] The second indication information may be used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use a second random access resource set, where the second random access resource set is a random access resource set that is allowed to be used by the first type of terminal device.

[0225] Exemplarily, the second indication information can be used to indicate that the eRedCap UE is allowed to use a second random access resource set, where the second random access resource set is related to the RedCap UE, that is, the characteristics associated with the second random access resource set may include the RedCap UE, or in other words, the second random access resource set is a random access resource set configured by the network device for the RedCap UE to use.

[0226] The second indication information may be specific to the second random access resource set configuration, that is, the second indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use a specific second random access resource set. The second indication information may indicate whether each second random access resource set (indication of per second random access resource set granularity) is allowed to be used by the first type of terminal. That is, the network device may indicate whether at least one second random access resource set is allowed to be used by an eRedCap UE through at least one second indication information.

[0227] For example, the random access resource set related to the RedCap UE is recorded as the random access resource set to be selected, and the random access resource set to be selected may include RACH resource set #b1, RACH resource set #b2, RACH resource set #b3 and RACH resource set #b4. The network device may indicate through indication information #b1 that RACH resource set #b1 is not allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE, through indication information #b2 that RACH resource set #b2 is allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE, through indication information #b3 that RACH resource set #b3 is allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE, and through indication information #b4 that RACH resource set #b4 is not allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE. At this time, the second random access resource set may be RACH resource set #b2 or RACH resource set #b3.

[0228] It can be understood that the above-mentioned indication information #b1, indication information #b2, indication information #b3 and indication information #b4 can be the same information, that is, the network device can indicate multiple random access resource sets to be selected through one indication information; or, the above-mentioned indication information #b1, indication information #b2, indication information #b3 and indication information #b4 can be different information, that is, each random access resource set to be selected corresponds to one indication information, without limitation.

[0229] In the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type terminal device, the terminal device performs a random access resource set selection process based on the characteristics of the second type terminal device, and determines the first random access resource set in the second random access resource set that the second indication information indicates is allowed to be used by the second type terminal device.

[0230] It can be understood that the first random access resource set is one of the second random access resource sets allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE, that is, the eRedCap UE selects a random access resource set that meets the characteristics of the current random access process from one or more second random access resource sets allowed to be used by the eRedCap UE according to the selection process of the RACH resource set, and the random access resource set is the first random access resource set. For example, the first random access resource set can be: a RACH resource set suitable for the current random access process in the above-mentioned RACH resource set #b2 and RACH resource set #b3.

[0231] If the network device indicates through the second indication information that each second random access resource set does not allow a second random access resource set, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0232] In this way, the network device can clearly determine which of the random access resource sets associated with the RedCap UE are the random access resource sets that can be used by the eRedCap UE, that is, the network device can determine which random access resources are the random access resource sets shared by the eRedCap UE and the RedCap UE. Therefore, the network device can make corresponding scheduling and identification according to whether the random access resource set used by the received preamble is a shared access resource set, thereby enhancing the network device's control over the use of the RACH resource set by the eRedCap UE. It can be understood that the naming of the second indication information above is only an example, and the second indication information can also be called indication information #2a, indication information #2b, etc., without limitation.

[0233] Optionally, the above method may further include:

[0234] In the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the terminal device is not a first type of terminal device, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics and performs the random access process.

[0235] That is, if the terminal device is not an eRedCap UE and there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access procedure, the terminal device directly selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics. For example, if the terminal device is a RedCap UE, at this time, if there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to triggering the current RACH procedure, the RedCap UE selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0236] It can be understood that according to the above steps S603-S604, when there is no random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, if the terminal device is an eRedCap UE and meets at least one of the following conditions, the terminal device can directly select a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access process.

[0237] Among them, at least one of the following conditions may include: the first indication information indicates that the first type of terminal device is not allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device; or the second indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to use the second random access resource set. For example, if the eRedCap UE does not select a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, and the network device indicates through the first indication information that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the RedCap UE, then the eRedCap UE directly selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0238] For another example, continuing with the above-mentioned random access resource set to be selected, if the network device indicates through indication information #c1 that RACH resource set #b1 is not allowed to be used by eRedCap UE, indicates through indication information #c2 that RACH resource set #b2 is not allowed to be used by eRedCap UE, indicates through indication information #c3 that RACH resource set #b3 is not allowed to be used by eRedCap UE, and indicates through indication information #c4 that RACH resource set #b4 is not allowed to be used by eRedCap UE, then, the random access resource sets associated with RedCap UE are not allowed to be used by eRedCap UE. In this case, the eRedCap UE directly selects the random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the required random access process.

[0239] Optionally, the above method may further include:

[0240] The terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process based on the indication associated with the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process.

[0241] Among them, the indication associated with the random access resource set can be used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set, and the characteristics associated with the random access resource set can be indicated by various parameters in the corresponding feature combination field. The terminal device can determine whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process according to whether the characteristics associated with the random access resource set are the full set or subset of the characteristics of the current random access process. For a specific introduction, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above technical terms, which will not be repeated here.

[0242] For example, continuing with the four RACH resource sets in the above embodiment: RACH resource set #a1 (eRedCap+CovEnh), RACH resource set #a2 (RedCap+SDT), RACH resource set #a3 (CovEnh) and RACH resource set #a4 (CovEnh+slicing) as an example, if the characteristic of the current random access process is eRedCap+CovEnh, then RACH resource set #a1 and RACH resource set #a3 can be applied to the current random access process; if the characteristic of the current random access process is eRedCap+CovEnh+slicing, then RACH resource set #a1, RACH resource set #a3 and RACH resource set #a4 can be applied to the current random access process; if the characteristic of the current random access process is eRedCap+SDT+CovEnh, then RACH resource set #a1 and RACH resource set #a3 can be applied to the RACH resource set of the current random access process.

[0243] Optionally, the above method may further include:

[0244] If the terminal device is a first type terminal device, and the random access resource set corresponding to the bandwidth part BWP selected by the terminal device only includes a two-step random access resource set, the terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type terminal device.

[0245] It can be understood that the terminal device needs to perform the operation of selecting BWP before selecting the RACH resource set. According to the introduction in the above technical terms, in the two-step random access process, the network device cannot configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE. At this time, if the random access resource set corresponding to the BWP selected by the terminal device only includes the two-step random access resource set, the eRedCap UE can directly determine the first random access resource set based on the characteristics of the RedCap UE, that is, the eRedCap UE can directly use itself as / as a RedCap UE to execute the RACH resource set selection process.

[0246] It can be understood that compared with the above-mentioned step S601, the UE does not need to first perform the RACH resource set selection process according to the identity of the eRedCap UE. The eRedCap UE can directly perform the RACH resource set selection process as the eRedCap UE, thereby improving the utilization rate of random access resources and realizing flexible selection of random access resource sets.

[0247] If the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP includes not only a two-step random access resource set, for example, the random access resource set corresponding to the BWP selected by the terminal device includes: a two-step random access resource set and a four-step random access resource set, or only includes a four-step random access resource set. At this time, the terminal device still first performs the RACH resource set selection process according to the identity of the eRedCap UE. When there is no random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process, the eRedCap UE determines the first random access resource set according to the above step S601.

[0248] For example, continuing with the four RACH resource sets in the above embodiment: RACH resource set #a1 (eRedCap+CovEnh), RACH resource set #a2 (RedCap+SDT), RACH resource set #a3 (CovEnh) and RACH resource set #a4 (CovEnh+slicing) as an example, if the characteristics of the current RACH process are eRedCap+SDT, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP only includes a two-step random access resource set, at this time, the eRedCap UE regards itself as a RedCap UE and executes the RACH resource set selection process. At this time, the characteristics of the current RACH process can be regarded as RedCap+SDT.

[0249] The UE determines whether any of the four RACH resource sets has any characteristics applicable to RedCap+SDT. At this time, RACH resource set #a2 can meet all the characteristics of the current RACH process, and the UE directly selects RACH resource set #a2 for subsequent random access procedures.

[0250] The above is combined with the method embodiment to introduce the process of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application as a whole. For ease of understanding, the above method is introduced in two specific scenarios below:

[0251] Scenario 1: Figure 7 As shown, the method may include:

[0252] S701: UE starts to perform a RACH resource set selection process.

[0253] S702, the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0254] The characteristics of the current RACH process may include at least one of the following: RedCap, eRedCap, SDT, CovEnh, or RAN slicing.

[0255] The UE shall determine each four-step RACH resource set and each two-step RACH resource set configured by the network: if the redCap-17 of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that does not apply to the RedCap feature cannot use the RACH resource set; if the eRedCap indication of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that does not apply to the eRedCap feature cannot use the RACH resource set; if the smallData-17 of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that is not triggered by the SDT based on RACH cannot use the RACH resource set; if the RACH resource is configured with an associated slice list, it means that the RACH process triggered by a slice that is not in the slice list cannot use the RACH resource set; if the msg3-Repetitions of the RACH resource is set to true, it means that the RACH process that does not apply to msg3 repetition cannot use the RACH resource set. The UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set that applies to any feature of the current RACH process through the feature combination field associated with each RACH resource set.

[0256] It can be understood that step S702 may include case a and case b, which are described in detail below.

[0257] Case a: If no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, execute S703: determine whether the UE is an eRedCap UE.

[0258] It can be understood that step S703 may include case a1 and case a2, which are described in detail below.

[0259] Case a1: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, execute S704: the eRedCap UE acts as a RedCap UE and then executes the RACH resource set selection process, that is, the eRedCap UE executes step S702 again as a RedCap UE.

[0260] It can be understood that the UE being an eRedCap UE can be understood as: the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the first indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to be / regarded as a RedCap UE. Optionally, when the eRedCap UE performs step S702 as a RedCap UE, if the network device indicates through the second indication information that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use the second random access resource set, the eRedCap UE can select a random access resource set from the second random access resource set that the second indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to use.

[0261] If the network device indicates through the first indication information that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to be / regarded as a RedCap UE, or indicates through the second indication information that the first type of terminal device is not allowed to use the second random access resource set, the eRedCap UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0262] Case a2: If the UE is not an eRedCap UE, execute S705: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0263] It can be understood that the UE is not an eRedCap UE can be understood as the UE is not an eRedCap UE, or the first indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to be / regarded as a RedCap UE, or the second indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE cannot use the second random access resource set.

[0264] Case b: If there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, then S706 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource set.

[0265] It can be understood that step S706 may include case b1 and case b2, which are described in detail below.

[0266] Case b1: If there is a RACH resource set that is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S707 is executed: the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0267] Case b2: If no RACH resource set is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S708 is executed: the UE selects one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority. For a detailed introduction, please refer to the relevant introduction of the technical terminology section above, which will not be repeated here.

[0268] Scenario 2: If Figure 8 As shown, the method may include:

[0269] S801: UE starts to perform a RACH resource set selection process.

[0270] S802, the UE determines whether it is a RedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP only includes a two-step random access resource set.

[0271] It can be understood that step S802 may include case c and case d, which are described in detail below.

[0272] Case c: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP includes only a two-step random access resource set, then S803 is executed: the UE regards itself as a RedCap UE, and S804 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0273] Case d: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP includes only the two-step random access resource set, S804 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0274] It can be understood that step S804 may include case e and case f, which are described in detail below.

[0275] Case e: If no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, execute S805: determine whether the UE is an eRedCap UE.

[0276] It can be understood that step S805 may include case e1 and case e2, which are described in detail below.

[0277] Case e1: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, execute S806: the eRedCap UE acts as a RedCap UE and then executes the RACH resource set selection process, that is, the eRedCap UE executes step S802 again as a RedCap UE.

[0278] Case e2: If the UE is not an eRedCap UE, execute S807: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0279] Case f: If there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, then S808 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource set.

[0280] It can be understood that step S808 may include case f1 and case f2, which are described in detail below.

[0281] Case f1: If there is a RACH resource set that is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S809 is executed: the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0282] Case f2: If no RACH resource set is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S810 is executed: the UE selects from one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority.

[0283] It can be understood that in the above situation c, when the UE executes step S804, if the UE determines that no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, the UE directly executes S807, that is, the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristic. For a specific introduction, please refer to the relevant introduction of the above technical terms, which will not be repeated. It should be understood that the specific implementation process of the above steps S804-S810 is similar to the above steps S702-S708, which can be referred to for understanding, and will not be repeated.

[0284] For example, Fig. 9 A communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. Figure 4 The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system.

[0285] Specifically, Fig. 9 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0286] S901, when there is no random access resource set suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device and there is a third random access resource set, the terminal device selects the third random access resource set.

[0287] For the random access resource set that does not have characteristics applicable to the current random access process, reference can be made to the relevant introduction in the above step S601, which will not be repeated here.

[0288] The first type of terminal device may be a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device, wherein the first type of terminal device may be an eRedCap UE, and the second type of terminal device may be a RedCap UE. For a specific description, please refer to the relevant description in the above technical terms, which will not be repeated here. It can be understood that the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device may also be any other possible terminal device, without limitation.

[0289] The third random access resource set may be associated only with the indication of the second type of terminal, and the indication of the second type of terminal may be used to indicate that non-second type of terminal devices cannot use the random access resource set during the random access process, or the indication of the second type of terminal may be used to indicate that the second type of terminal characteristic is part of the characteristic combination associated with the random access resource set. In addition to the indication of the second type of terminal, the third random access resource set is not associated with indications of other characteristics.

[0290] Exemplarily, the third random access resource set is only associated with the RedCap characteristic, or in other words, only RedCap-r17 is set to true in the characteristic combination field corresponding to the third random access resource set, or in other words, the third random access resource set is only configured with RedCap-r17, and the third random access resource set can be recorded as a RedCap (RedCap-only) random access resource set.

[0291] When the eRedCap UE does not select a random access resource set that is suitable for the characteristics of the current random access process, if the network device is configured with a RedCap-only RACH resource set, the eRedCap UE can directly use the RedCap-only RACH resource set.

[0292] In one possible design scheme, the characteristics of the current random access process may include at least one of the following: eRedCap UE, small packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or RedCap UE. For the specific introduction of each of the above characteristics, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above technical terms, which will not be repeated here. It can be understood that when the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, the characteristics of the current random access process will at least include eRedCap UE.

[0293] For example, the four RACH resource sets and associated characteristics configured by the network device are: RACH resource set #c1 (eRedCap+CovEnh), RACH resource set #c2 (RedCap), RACH resource set #c3 (eRedCap+CovEnh+slicing) and RACH resource set #c4 (CovEnh+SDT). If the characteristic of the current RACH process is eRedCap+SDT, at this time, there is no RACH resource set suitable for eRedCap+SDT among the four RACH resource sets, and RACH resource set #c2 is an indication of a RACH resource set associated only with the second type of terminal. In this case, the eRedCap UE can select RACH resource set #c2 (i.e., the third random access resource set mentioned above) for subsequent random access.

[0294] It should be noted that the first type of terminal device can be replaced by the first characteristic, the second type of terminal device can be replaced by the second characteristic, and the terminal device can be replaced by the first characteristic applicable to the current random access process if it is a first type of terminal device. The terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, which can be replaced by the terminal device determining the first random access resource set according to the second characteristic. That is, the scheme of the embodiment of the present application can be replaced by, in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the first characteristic is applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device determines the first random access resource set according to the second characteristic; the terminal device uses the first random access resource set to perform the random access process. In this implementation, the first characteristic and the second characteristic are no longer limited to the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device, but can be any other possible characteristics. Optionally, the first characteristic and the second characteristic can be an evolutionary relationship, for example, the first characteristic is an enhancement of the second characteristic.

[0295] S902: The terminal device uses a third random access resource set to perform a random access process.

[0296] It can be understood that the terminal device uses the RedCap-only RACH resource set, and the specific implementation of the random access process can refer to the relevant introduction in the above S305-S307, which will not be repeated here.

[0297] In summary, in the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the network device is configured with a random access resource set that is only associated with the indication of the second type of terminal, such as the third random access resource set, the first type of terminal device can directly use the third random access resource set to perform the random access process, and the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device can share the RedCap terminal device's random access resource set, thereby improving the utilization of random access resources and achieving flexible selection of random access resource sets. At the same time, the network device can clearly determine which access resource sets are the random access resource sets shared by the eRedCap terminal device and the RedCap terminal device, which can enhance the network device's control over the random access resource sets used by the first type of terminal devices.

[0298] In combination with the above embodiment, optionally, the above method may further include:

[0299] S903, the network device sends third indication information, and the terminal device receives the third indication information.

[0300] The third indication information may be used to indicate that the first type terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set, or the third indication information may be used to indicate that the first type terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set when there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process.

[0301] Exemplarily, when no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristics of the current RACH process, and there is a RedCap-only RACH resource set, the eRedCap UE can select the RedCap-only RACH resource set only if the network device indicates that the eRedCap UE is allowed to use the RedCap-only RACH resource set. In this way, the network device can determine that the eRedCap UE can only use the RedCap-only random access resource set, that is, the network device can determine that the RedCap-only random access resources are the random access resource set shared by the eRedCap UE and the RedCap UE. Therefore, the network device can make corresponding scheduling and identification based on whether the random access resource set used by the received preamble is a shared access resource set, thereby enhancing the network device's control over the eRedCap UE's use of the RACH resource set.

[0302] The third indication information can also be used to indicate that the first type of terminal is not allowed to use the third random access resource set. At this time, the eRedCap UE cannot use the RedCap-only RACH resource set, and the eRedCap UE can select a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0303] It can be understood that the naming of the third indication information mentioned above is only an example, and the third indication information can also be called indication information #3, indication information #c, etc. without limitation.

[0304] Optionally, the above method may further include:

[0305] When there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process and the first condition is met, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics and performs the random access process.

[0306] The first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0307] The terminal device is not a first type terminal device, or there is no random access resource set configured with only second type terminal indications.

[0308] That is, if the terminal device is not an eRedCap UE and no random access resource set is applicable to the characteristics of the current random access process, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics. For example, if the terminal device is a RedCap UE, at this time, no random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process, and the RedCap UE selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0309] Alternatively, the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, and no random access resource set is applicable to the characteristics of the current random access process, but the network device is not configured with a RedCap-only random access resource set. In this case, the eRedCap UE selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0310] Optionally, the first condition may also include: the third indication information indicates that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to use the RedCap-only random access resource set. At this time, the terminal device is an eRedCap UE, and the network device is configured with a RedCap-only random access resource set, but the network device indicates through the third indication information that the eRedCap UE is not allowed to use the RedCap-only random access resource set. In this case, the eRedCap UE also needs to select a random access resource set without associated characteristics.

[0311] Optionally, the above method may further include: the terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process according to an indication associated with the random access resource set and characteristics of the current random access process.

[0312] The indication of the association of the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics of the association of the random access resource set.

[0313] The implementation process of this step can refer to the above Figure 6 The relevant introduction in the method shown will not be repeated here.

[0314] Optionally, the above method may also include: if the terminal device is a first type terminal device, the RACH resource set corresponding to the bandwidth part BWP selected by the terminal device only includes a two-step RACH resource set, and there is a third random access resource set, then the terminal device selects the third random access resource set.

[0315] It can be understood that the terminal device needs to perform the BWP selection operation before selecting the RACH resource set. According to the introduction in the above technical terms, in the two-step random access process, the network device cannot configure a dedicated RACH resource set for the eRedCap UE. At this time, if the random access resource set corresponding to the BWP selected by the terminal device only includes the two-step random access resource set and is configured with a RedCap-only RACH resource set, the eRedCap UE can directly select the RedCap-only RACH resource set.

[0316] It can be understood that compared with the above-mentioned step S901, the UE does not need to first perform the RACH resource set selection process according to the identity of the eRedCap UE. The eRedCap UE can directly use the RedCap-only RACH resource set to perform random access, thereby improving the utilization rate of random access resources and realizing flexible selection of random access resource sets.

[0317] The above is combined with the method embodiment to introduce the process of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application as a whole. For ease of understanding, the above method is introduced in two specific scenarios below:

[0318] Scenario 3: If Fig.10 As shown, the method may include:

[0319] S1001, UE starts to execute the RACH resource set selection process.

[0320] S1002, the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0321] It can be understood that step S1002 may include case g and case h, which are described in detail below.

[0322] Case g: If no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, execute S1003: determine whether the UE is an eRedCap UE.

[0323] It can be understood that step S1003 may include case i and case j, which are described in detail below.

[0324] Case i: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, execute S1004: the UE determines whether a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured.

[0325] It can be understood that step S1004 may include case i1 and case i2, which are described in detail below.

[0326] Case i1: If a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1005: the UE selects a RedCap-only RACH resource set.

[0327] It can be understood that the UE selects the RACH resource set configured with RedCap-only, which can be understood as: when the network device indicates through the third indication information that the first type of terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set, the UE selects the RACH resource set configured with RedCap-only. If the RACH resource set with RedCap-only is configured, and the third indication information indicates that the first type of terminal is not allowed to use the third random access resource set, the UE selects the RACH resource set without any associated characteristics.

[0328] Case i2: If no RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1006: the UE selects a RACH resource set without any associated characteristics.

[0329] Case j: If the UE is not an eRedCap UE, execute S1007: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0330] Case h: If there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, then S1008 is executed: the UE determines whether there is any RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource set.

[0331] It can be understood that step S1008 may include case h1 and case h2, which are described in detail below.

[0332] Case h1: If there is a RACH resource set that is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S1009 is executed: the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0333] Case h2: If no RACH resource set is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S1010 is executed: the UE selects from one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority.

[0334] Scenario 4: Fig.11 As shown, the method may include:

[0335] S1101, the UE starts to perform a RACH resource set selection process.

[0336] S1102, determining whether the UE is an eRedCap UE, and whether the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP only includes a two-step random access resource set.

[0337] It can be understood that step S1102 may include case k and case l, which are described in detail below.

[0338] Case k: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP includes only a two-step random access resource set, then S1103 is executed: the UE determines whether a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured.

[0339] It can be understood that step S1103 may include case k1 and case k2, which are described in detail below.

[0340] Case k1: If a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1104: the UE selects a RedCap-only RACH resource set.

[0341] Case k2: If no RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1105: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0342] Case 1: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the random access resource set corresponding to the selected BWP includes only the two-step random access resource set, S1106 is executed: the UE determines whether there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process.

[0343] It can be understood that step S1106 may include case m and case n, which are described in detail below.

[0344] Case m: If no RACH resource set is applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, execute S1107: determine whether the UE is an eRedCap UE.

[0345] It can be understood that step S1107 may include case o and case p, which are described in detail below.

[0346] Case o: If the UE is an eRedCap UE, execute S1108: the UE determines whether a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured.

[0347] It can be understood that step S1108 may include case o1 and case o2, which are described in detail below.

[0348] Case o1: If a RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1109: the UE selects a RedCap-only RACH resource set.

[0349] Case o2: If no RedCap-only RACH resource set is configured, execute S1110: the UE selects a RACH resource set without any characteristic association.

[0350] Case p: If the UE is not an eRedCap UE, execute S1111: the UE selects a RACH resource set that is not associated with any characteristics.

[0351] Case n: If there is a RACH resource set applicable to any characteristic of the current RACH process, then S1112 is executed: the UE determines whether there is any RACH resource set applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH resource set.

[0352] It can be understood that step S1112 may include case n1 and case n2, which are described in detail below.

[0353] Case n1: If there is a RACH resource set that is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S1113 is executed: the UE selects the RACH resource set.

[0354] Case n2: If no RACH resource set is applicable to all characteristics of the current RACH process, S1114 is executed: the UE selects from one or more available RACH resource sets according to the characteristic priority.

[0355] It should be understood that the specific implementation process of the above steps S1106-S1114 is similar to the above steps S1002-S1010, which can be used as a reference for understanding and will not be repeated here.

[0356] At present, one method to achieve random access resource sharing is: if a random access resource set is associated with the characteristics of a first type of terminal device, then the random access process associated with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and / or the second type of terminal device can consider the random access resource set to be applicable. However, it is not enough to simply change the availability of the random access resource set. If the first type of terminal device does not consider the characteristics of the second type of terminal device as available during the selection process of the random access resource set, then the first type of terminal device cannot use the characteristics of the second type of terminal device to screen or identify the random access resource set. However, if the first type of terminal device considers the characteristics of the second type of terminal device to be applicable when or before starting the selection process of the random access resource set, then the first type of terminal device cannot identify the random access resource set that meets all the characteristics that trigger the current random access process. This is because a random access resource set will not be applicable to the characteristics of the first type of terminal and the characteristics of the second type of terminal at the same time. In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides the following embodiments.

[0357] For example, Fig.12A communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. Figure 7 The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system.

[0358] Specifically, Fig.12 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0359] S1201: When the second condition is met, the terminal device considers that the fourth characteristic is applicable to the current random access process.

[0360] The second condition may include one or more of the following: no random access resource set satisfies all the characteristics for triggering the current random access procedure, or there are one or more random access resource sets that satisfy a subset of the characteristics for triggering the current random access procedure, or the third characteristic is applicable to the current random access procedure, or there is no random access resource set associated with the third characteristic among the random access resource sets identified by the terminal device using the third characteristic.

[0361] The third characteristic is a characteristic of a first type of terminal device, the fourth characteristic is a characteristic of a second type of terminal device, and the first type of terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device.

[0362] One possible approach is that the first type of terminal device first performs a random access resource set selection process according to the characteristics of the first type of terminal device. During the random access resource set selection process, if the second condition is met, the first type of terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, and continues to perform the random access resource set selection process.

[0363] Exemplarily, when the second condition is met, it may be that no random access resource set meets all the characteristics that trigger the current random access procedure, and the third characteristic is applicable to the current random access procedure. This example can also be understood as when there are one or more random access resource sets applicable to the characteristics of the current random access procedure, but no random access resource set is applicable to all the characteristics that trigger the current random access procedure, if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access procedure, then the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access procedure.

[0364] Exemplarily, when the second condition is met, it may be that there are one or more random access resource sets that meet a subset of the characteristics that trigger the current random access procedure, and the third characteristic is applicable to the current random access procedure. This example can also be understood as when there are only one or more random access resource sets that meet a subset of the characteristics that trigger the current random access procedure, but no random access resource set is applicable to all the characteristics that trigger the current random access procedure, if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access procedure, then the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access procedure.

[0365] Exemplarily, when the second condition is met, it may be that there is no random access resource set associated with the third characteristic in the random access resource set identified by the terminal device using the third characteristic. This example can also be understood as when there is no random access resource set associated with the characteristic of the first type of terminal device in the random access resource set identified by the terminal device using the characteristic of the first type of terminal device, the terminal device considers that the characteristic of the second type of terminal device is applicable to the current random access process.

[0366] Optionally, the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, which can be understood as that in addition to the currently applicable characteristics, the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are also applicable to the current random access process. For example, the first type of terminal device considers that the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are both applicable to the current random access process.

[0367] The first type of terminal device is applicable to the current random access process, which can also be understood as the terminal device being the first type of terminal device. Similarly, the second type of terminal device is considered to be applicable to the current random access process, which can also be understood as the terminal device considering itself as the second type of terminal device.

[0368] Optionally, when the second condition is not met, the terminal device does not consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process. That is, when the second condition is not met, the terminal device continues to perform the random access resource selection process, for example, selecting a random access resource set according to the characteristic priority of the characteristics of the current random access process.

[0369] Optionally, the first type of terminal device may be an eRedCap UE, and the second type of terminal device may be a RedCap UE.

[0370] S1202: The terminal device selects a random access resource set according to characteristics applicable to the current random access process.

[0371] Optionally, the terminal device selects a random access resource set according to a characteristic priority order of characteristics applicable to the current random access process.

[0372] In a possible implementation, during the process of executing random access resources, the terminal device determines the characteristics applicable to the current random access process according to S1201, and selects or continues to select the random access resource set according to the determined characteristics. For example, the terminal device selects or continues to select the random access resource set according to the characteristic priority of the determined characteristics.

[0373] Exemplarily, when no random access resource set satisfies all characteristics that trigger the current random access process, if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. After determining that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are also applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device determines all characteristics of the current random access process. The terminal device selects a random access resource set based on the determined characteristics of the current random access process. At this time, the characteristics of the current random access process include the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0374] Exemplarily, in the case where there are one or more random access resource sets that satisfy a subset of the characteristics that trigger the current random access process, if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. After determining that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are also applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device determines all the characteristics of the current random access process. The terminal device selects a random access resource set based on the determined characteristics of the current random access process. At this time, the characteristics of the current random access process include the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0375] Exemplarily, when the terminal device does not have a random access resource set associated with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device in the random access resource set identified by the terminal device using the characteristics of the first type of terminal device, the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. It can be understood that, in the process of selecting a random access resource set using the characteristic priority of the characteristics of the current random access process, if the terminal device does not have a random access resource set associated with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device in the random access resource set identified by the terminal device using the characteristics of the first type of terminal device, the terminal device considers that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, and continues to select a random access resource set according to the characteristic priority.

[0376] Optionally, S1203, the terminal device receives fourth indication information. Correspondingly, the network device sends fourth indication information.

[0377] The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process. Optionally, it can also be understood that the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process when the second condition is met.

[0378] Optionally, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is not allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process. Optionally, it can also be understood that the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is not allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process when the second condition is met.

[0379] Exemplarily, before step S1201, the terminal device receives fourth indication information from the network device. The terminal device determines whether to execute step S1201 according to the fourth indication information. For example, when the fourth indication information indicates that the terminal device is allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device executes step S1201. For another example, when the fourth indication information indicates that the terminal device is not allowed to consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device does not execute step S1201.

[0380] In summary, through the above embodiments, when the second condition is met, the terminal device expands the characteristics applicable to the current random access process from the third characteristic to include the fourth characteristic, so that the terminal device can increase the possibility of selecting a suitable random access resource set while using the third characteristic to select a random access resource set. When the second condition is not met, the terminal device does not consider the fourth characteristic to be applicable to the current random access process, so that when the terminal device can select a random access resource set that meets the requirements of triggering the current random access process by using the third characteristic, or when the terminal device can select a random access resource set associated with the third characteristic by using the third characteristic, the terminal device may not use the fourth characteristic for selection, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal device selecting a random access resource set.

[0381] At present, the selection process of the random access resource set is mainly applicable to the contention-based random access process. If it is a non-contention-based random access process, the network device can identify the terminal device through a dedicated random access resource, so there is no need to identify it through a random access resource set. However, in the case where the network device is configured with non-contention-based random access resources, the terminal device cannot always perform a non-contention-based random access process. For example, in the absence of a SSB that meets the conditions, the terminal device should perform a contention-based random access process. The SSB that meets the conditions may be an SSB whose quality is greater than or equal to a threshold. In this case, since the terminal device has selected a random access resource set (for example, a random access resource set that is not associated with any characteristics), the terminal device can only select a random access opportunity in the previously selected random access resource set and send a preamble at the selected random access opportunity. At this time, the network device cannot identify the terminal device by receiving the preamble, which will cause random access failure.

[0382] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a method in the following embodiment. The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system, including:

[0383] When the third condition is met, the terminal device selects a fourth random access resource set.

[0384] The third condition is that the terminal device is provided with the first resource and the fourth random access resource set, and the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. The first resource is a non-competition-based random access resource. The fourth random access resource set is a random access resource set associated only with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device.

[0385] Optionally, the fourth random access resource set is a random access resource set associated only with characteristics of the first type of terminal device. It can also be understood that the fourth random access resource set is a random access resource set configured with characteristic indications of the first type of terminal device only.

[0386] When the third condition is not met but the fourth condition is met, the terminal device selects the fifth random access resource set.

[0387] The fourth condition is that the terminal device is provided with the first resource and the fifth random access resource set, and the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process. The fifth random access resource set is a random access resource set associated only with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

[0388] That is to say, not meeting the third condition and meeting the fourth condition can be understood as the terminal device being provided with the first resource and the fifth random access resource set, and the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, and the terminal device is not provided with the fourth random access resource set.

[0389] Optionally, the network device provides the first resource and at least one of a fourth random access resource set and a fifth random access resource set to the terminal device.

[0390] Optionally, when the third condition is not met and the fourth condition is not met, the terminal device selects a random access resource set that is not associated with any characteristic. For example, when the terminal device is provided with the first resource but is not provided with the fourth random access resource set and the fifth random access resource set, the terminal device selects a random access resource set that is not associated with any characteristic.

[0391] Optionally, the first type of terminal device has a lower terminal device capability than the second type of terminal device. For example, the first type of terminal device may be an eRedCap UE, and the second type of terminal device may be a RedCap UE.

[0392] Optionally, in the case of performing a contention-based random access procedure, the terminal device selects a random access resource from a selected random access resource set, and sends a preamble code to the network device on the selected random access resource.

[0393] In summary, through the above embodiments, when the first type of terminal device is provided with a non-competitive random access resource, it can still select a random access resource set associated with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or a random access resource set associated with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, so that the network device can identify the terminal device as a first type of terminal device or a second type of terminal device, thereby performing special configuration for the terminal device during the random access process, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process. Moreover, when the network device does not provide a random access resource set with the characteristics of the first type of terminal device, the terminal device can still select a random access resource with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device, so that the network device schedules or processes the terminal device according to the second type of terminal device, thereby also improving the success rate of random access of the terminal device.

[0394] For example, Fig.13 A communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. Figure 8 The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system.

[0395] S1301, the terminal device receives fifth indication information. Correspondingly, the network device sends fifth indication information.

[0396] Optionally, the fifth indication information is used to indicate a manner in which the terminal device selects a random access resource set. The terminal device determines a manner in which the terminal device selects a random access resource set according to the fifth indication information.

[0397] Exemplarily, the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device selects a first manner for selecting a random access resource set. The first manner is that if the random access resource set is configured with a characteristic indication of a second type of terminal device, then the random access resource set is applicable to a random access procedure to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable. In other words, the first manner is that if the random access resource set is configured with a characteristic indication of a second type of terminal device, then the random access resource set is not applicable to a random access procedure to which the characteristics of both the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are not applicable. In other words, the first manner is that if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access procedure, then the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are also applicable to the current random access procedure.

[0398] Exemplarily, the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device selects the random access resource set in the second manner. The second manner is that if the random access resource set is configured with a characteristic indication of the second type of terminal device under the fifth condition, the random access resource set is applicable to the random access process to which the characteristic of the first type of terminal device or the characteristic of the second type of terminal device is applicable. In other words, the second manner is that if the random access resource set is configured with a characteristic indication of the second type of terminal device under the fifth condition, the random access resource set is not applicable to the random access process to which the characteristic of the first type of terminal device and the characteristic of the second type of terminal device are not applicable. In other words, the second manner is that if the characteristic of the first type of terminal device is applicable to the current random access process under the fifth condition, the characteristic of the second type of terminal device is also applicable to the current random access process. The fifth condition is related to the configured random access resource set, and / or the characteristic that triggers the current random access process. Optionally, the fifth condition is related to the random access resource set configured with the characteristic indication of the first type of terminal device. For example, the fifth condition may include that the characteristic of the first type of terminal device is applicable to the current random access process, and / or there is no random access resource set configured with the characteristic indication of the first type of terminal device.

[0399] Exemplarily, the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device selects the third mode of random access resource set. The third mode is that when there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, the terminal device selects the random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device. That is, the third mode is Figure 6 The described method will not be repeated here.

[0400] Optionally, the fifth indication information is used to determine the availability of the sixth random access resource set. For example, the fifth indication information is used to determine the availability of the sixth random access resource set for the first type of terminal device. For another example, the fifth indication information indicates the availability of the sixth random access resource set for a random access process applicable to the characteristics of the first type of terminal. The sixth random access resource set is a random access resource set configured with a characteristic indication of the second type of terminal device.

[0401] In a possible implementation, the fifth indication information indicates that the sixth random access resource set is not applicable to the random access procedure to which the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are not applicable. At this time, the fifth indication information indicates the first value. It can also be understood that when the fifth indication information indicates the first value, the sixth random access resource set is not applicable to the random access procedure to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable.

[0402] In another possible implementation, the fifth indication information indicates that the sixth random access resource set is applicable to the random access process to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable. At this time, the fifth indication information indicates the second value. Optionally, when the fifth indication information indicates the second value, and when the fifth condition or the sixth condition is met, the sixth random access resource set is applicable to the random access process to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable. In other words, when the fifth indication information indicates the second value, and when the fifth condition is met, the sixth random access resource set is not applicable to the random access process to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are not applicable. The sixth condition is that there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, and / or the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process.

[0403] In the above examples, whether the fifth indication information indicates the first value or the second value is just an example. The availability of the sixth random access resource set can also be indicated by whether the fifth indication information is configured, which is not limited here.

[0404] S1302: The terminal device selects a random access resource set according to the fifth indication information.

[0405] Optionally, the terminal device determines the availability of the random access resource set according to the manner of selecting the random access resource set indicated by the fifth indication information, and further selects the random access resource set from the random access resource sets available for the current random access process.

[0406] Optionally, the terminal device determines the availability of the sixth random access resource set based on the availability of the sixth random access resource set indicated by the fifth indication information, and further selects a random access resource set from the random access resource sets available for the current random access process.

[0407] In summary, through the above embodiments, the network device can instruct the terminal device to select a random access resource set through the fifth indication information, or control the availability of the random access resource set by the terminal device, thereby increasing the network's control over the random access resource set and avoiding the occurrence of random access resource set selection results that are not expected by the network.

[0408] Exemplarily, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the above communication system, including:

[0409] When the fifth condition is met, the sixth random access resource set is applicable to the random access process applicable to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device. In other words, when the fifth condition is met, the first type of terminal device believes that the characteristics of the second type of terminal device meet the current random access process.

[0410] Among them, the fifth condition is related to the configured random access resource set, and / or the characteristics that trigger the current random access process. Preferably, the fifth condition is related to the random access resource set configured with the characteristic indication of the first type of terminal device. For example, the fifth condition may include that the characteristics of the first type of terminal device are applicable to the current random access process, and / or there is no random access resource set configured with the characteristic indication of the first type of terminal device. The sixth random access resource set is a random access resource set configured with the characteristic indication of the second type of terminal device.

[0411] In the case where the fifth condition is not met, the sixth random access resource set is applicable to the random access process to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device or the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are applicable. In other words, in the case where the fifth condition is not met, the sixth random access resource set is not applicable to the random access process to which the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device are not applicable. In other words, in the case where the fifth condition is not met, the first type of terminal device believes that the characteristics of the first type of terminal device and the characteristics of the second type of terminal device meet the current random access process.

[0412] In summary, through the above embodiments, the terminal device can also consider the random access resource set associated with the characteristics of the second type of terminal device as available, which increases the possibility of the terminal device selecting a suitable random access resource set.

[0413] Combination of the above Figure 6-Figure 13 The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail. The steps in each embodiment can be used in combination. Figure 14-15 A communication device for executing the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0414] Fig.14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 For example, Fig.14 As shown, the communication device 1400 includes: a transceiver module 1401 and a processing module 1402. For ease of description, Fig.14 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0415] In some embodiments, the communication device 1400 may be adapted to Figure 5 In the communication system shown in , the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device are performed.

[0416] The transceiver module 1401 can be used to execute the functions of the terminal device to send and receive messages, such as the functions in the above steps S603, S604, S903, S1203, S1301, etc. The processing module 1402 can execute the functions of the terminal device other than sending and receiving messages, such as the functions in the above steps S601, S602, S901, S902, S1201, S1202, S1302, etc.

[0417] Optionally, the transceiver module 1401 may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device 1400 , and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device 1400 .

[0418] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a storage module, which stores a program or instruction. When the processing module 1402 executes the program or instruction, the communication device 1400 may execute the above communication method.

[0419] It should be noted that the communication device 1400 can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device, which is not limited in this application.

[0420] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1400 can refer to the technical effects of the above-mentioned communication method, which will not be repeated here.

[0421] For example, Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 The communication device may be a terminal, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be arranged in the terminal. Fig.15 As shown, the communication device 1500 may include a processor 1501. Optionally, the communication device 1500 may further include a memory 1502 and / or a transceiver 1503. The processor 1501 is coupled with the memory 1502 and the transceiver 1503, such as being connected via a communication bus.

[0422] Combine the following Fig.15 The components of the communication device 1500 are described in detail:

[0423] The processor 1501 is the control center of the communication device 1500, and may be a processor or a general term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1501 is one or more central processing units (CPUs), or may be application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or may be configured to implement one or more integrated circuits of the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0424] Optionally, the processor 1501 may execute various functions of the communication device 1500 by running or executing a software program stored in the memory 1502 and calling data stored in the memory 1502, such as executing the above Figure 6-Figure 13 The communication method shown.

[0425] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1501 may include one or more CPUs, such as Fig.15 CPU0 and CPU1 are shown in FIG.

[0426] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1500 may also include multiple processors, such as Fig.15 1501 and 1504 are shown in FIG. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0427] The memory 1502 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1501. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0428] Optionally, the memory 1502 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1502 may be integrated with the processor 1501, or may exist independently and be communicated to the processor 1501 through the interface circuit ( Fig.15 1502 is coupled to the processor 1501, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0429] The transceiver 1503 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if the communication device 1500 is a terminal, the transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with a network device, or with another terminal device. For another example, if the communication device 1500 is a network device, the transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with a terminal, or with another network device.

[0430] Optionally, the transceiver 1503 may include a receiver and a transmitter ( Fig.15 The receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a sending function.

[0431] Optionally, the transceiver 1503 may be integrated with the processor 1501, or may exist independently and communicate with the processor 1501 through the interface circuit ( Fig.15 1502 is coupled to the processor 1501, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0432] It should be noted that Fig.15The structure of the communication device 1500 shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. The actual communication device may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0433] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1500 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0434] The present application embodiment provides a communication system. The communication system may include: a terminal device and a network device

[0435] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0436] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0437] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (such as circuits), firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state hard disk.

[0438] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. Please refer to the context for specific understanding.

[0439] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can be represented by: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0440] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0441] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0442] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0443] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0444] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0445] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0446] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0447] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The device applied to the terminal device or in the terminal device includes: In the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, the terminal device determines a first random access resource set according to characteristics of a second type of terminal device; wherein the first type of terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device; The terminal device uses the first random access resource set to perform a random access process.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device receives first indication information; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to determine the first random access resource set based on the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device receives second indication information; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use a second random access resource set, and the first random access resource set is one of the second random access resource sets allowed to be used by the first type of terminal device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: In the absence of a random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, if the terminal device is not the first type of terminal device, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access process.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process based on the indication of the association of the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process; wherein the indication of the association of the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics of the association of the random access resource set.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first type of terminal device is an enhanced reduced capability eRedCap terminal device, and the second type of terminal device is a reduced capability RedCap terminal device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The characteristics include at least one of the following: RedCap's terminal equipment, small packet transmission, radio access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or RedCap's terminal equipment.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: The device applied to the terminal device or in the terminal device includes: In the case where there is no random access resource set applicable to the characteristics of the current random access process, if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device and there is a third random access resource set, the terminal device selects the third random access resource set; wherein the third random access resource set is associated only with an indication of a second type of terminal, and the first type of terminal device is a terminal device with a reduced terminal device capability relative to the second type of terminal device; The terminal device uses the third random access resource set to perform a random access process.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device receives third indication information; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access procedure and the first condition is met, the terminal device selects a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access procedure; The first condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal device is not a terminal device of the first type, or, There is no random access resource set configured with only the second type terminal indication.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The terminal device determines whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process based on the indication associated with the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process; wherein the indication associated with the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that The indication of the second type of terminal is used to indicate that terminal devices other than the second type cannot use the random access resource set during a random access process.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that: The first type of terminal device is an enhanced reduced capability eRedCap terminal device, and the second type of terminal device is a reduced capability RedCap terminal device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that: The characteristics include at least one of the following: RedCap terminal equipment, packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or eRedCap terminal equipment.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a processing module; wherein, The processing module is configured to determine, if there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access process, a first random access resource set according to characteristics of a second type of terminal device if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device; wherein the first type of terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities relative to the second type of terminal device; The processing module is also used to use the first random access resource set to perform a random access process.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The device also includes: a transceiver module; wherein, The transceiver module is used to receive first indication information; wherein, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to determine the first random access resource set according to the characteristics of the second type of terminal device.

17. The device according to claim 16, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used to receive second indication information; wherein, the second indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal device is allowed to use a second random access resource set, the second random access resource set is related to the second type of terminal, and the first random access resource set is one of the second random access resource sets allowed to be used by the first type of terminal device.

18. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The processing module is also used to select a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform a random access process if there is no random access resource set with characteristics suitable for the current random access process and if the terminal device is not the first type of terminal device.

19. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The processing module is also used to determine whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process according to the indication associated with the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process; wherein the indication associated with the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set.

20. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that The first type of terminal device is an enhanced reduced capability eRedCap terminal device, and the second type of terminal device is a reduced capability RedCap terminal device.

21. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 20, characterized in that The characteristics include at least one of the following: RedCap's terminal equipment, small packet transmission, radio access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or RedCap's terminal equipment.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a processing module; wherein, The processing module is configured to select, if there is no random access resource set applicable to the characteristics of the current random access process, the third random access resource set if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device and there is a third random access resource set; wherein the third random access resource set is associated only with an indication of a second type of terminal, and the first type of terminal device is a terminal device with a reduced terminal device capability relative to the second type of terminal device; The processing module is further configured to perform a random access process using the third random access resource set.

23. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that The device also includes: a transceiver module; wherein, The transceiver module is further used to receive third indication information; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate that the first type of terminal is allowed to use the third random access resource set.

24. The device according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that The processing module is further configured to select a random access resource set without associated characteristics to perform the random access procedure if there is no random access resource set with characteristics applicable to the current random access procedure and the first condition is met; The first condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal device is not a terminal device of the first type, or, There is no random access resource set configured with only the second type terminal indication.

25. The device according to any one of claims 22 to 24, characterized in that The processing module is also used to determine whether the random access resource set is applicable to the current random access process according to the indication associated with the random access resource set and the characteristics of the current random access process; wherein the indication associated with the random access resource set is used to characterize the characteristics associated with the random access resource set.

26. The device according to any one of claims 22 to 25, characterized in that The indication of the second type of terminal is used to indicate that terminal devices other than the second type cannot use the random access resource set during a random access process.

27. The device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized in that The first type of terminal device is an enhanced reduced capability eRedCap terminal device, and the second type of terminal device is a reduced capability RedCap terminal device.

28. The device according to any one of claims 22 to 27, characterized in that The characteristics include at least one of the following: RedCap terminal equipment, packet transmission, wireless access network slicing, coverage enhancement features, or eRedCap terminal equipment.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: a processor; wherein, The processor is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

30. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

31. A communication chip, characterized in that: Instructions are stored therein, and when the chip runs on a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is implemented.

32. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system comprises: at least one device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium includes a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises: a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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