Method and apparatus for beam fault recovery

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to multiple beam fault detection reference signal (BFD-RS) set faults in a SPCell. The method performed by a terminal device comprises: initiating a random access procedure for beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure detection reference signal (BFD) RS of a first group of beam failures and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, where the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; receiving a response to the first BFR for the first beam fault, wherein the response indicates a successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam fault; the random access procedure is stopped upon receiving a response to the first BFR of the first beam failure. In this way, an unnecessary random access process can be avoided, and the power of the terminal device can be saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for beam failure recovery (BFR). Background Art

[0002] With the development of communication technology, terminal equipment can be connected to a service cell via multiple transmit and receive points (multi-TRP) in the service cell to improve the communication capacity, robustness and configuration flexibility of the service cell.

[0003] In a multi-TRP scenario, the terminal device is served by multiple TRPs, each TRP is configured with a beam failure detection (BFD)-reference signal (RS) set associated with the beam of the terminal device. The BFD-RS set is configured for fast beam failure detection. When a beam failure associated with a BFD-RS set is detected, beam failure recovery can be triggered. When beam failures associated with all BFD-RS sets of a TRP occur simultaneously, it may be necessary to initiate a random access process to perform beam failure recovery. Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for beam failure recovery in spcells.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to initiate a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; receive a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates that the first BFR for the first beam failure is successfully completed; and stop the random access procedure after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to initiate a random access process for beam failure recovery BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; and in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) of the random access process, include BFR information of the first beam failure and the second beam failure.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method may include: initiating a random access procedure for a beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals (BFD RSs) and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; receiving a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure; and stopping the random access procedure after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method may include: for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, initiating a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; and including BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) in the random access procedure.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include a component for initiating a random access procedure for a beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals (BFD RSs) and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; a component for receiving a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates that the first BFR for the first beam failure is successfully completed; and a component for stopping the random access procedure after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided. The device may include a component for initiating a random access procedure for beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals (BFD RSs) and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; and a component for including BFR information of the first beam failure and the second beam failure in a message A (MsgA) or a message 3 (Msg3) of the random access procedure.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the third to fourth aspects above.

[0012] It should be understood that the abstract is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 An example communication network is shown in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 2 A flowchart showing an example method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 A flowchart showing an example method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 4a An example of an enhanced BFR and a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE with a one-octet Ci field is shown;

[0018] Figure 4b An example of an enhanced BFR and a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE with a four-octet Ci field is shown;

[0019] Figure 5 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the following described methods.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but not every embodiment must include the specific features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a specific feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it should be noted that, whether or not explicitly described, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "including" and / or "comprising" indicate the presence of the features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only (e.g., implementations only in analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

[0028] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0029] (ii) hardware processors and software (including digital signal processors), any parts of software and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuits and / or processors, such as microprocessors or parts of microprocessors, that require software (such as firmware) to operate, but where the software is not required for operation, the software may be absent.

[0030] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. By way of further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation consisting solely of a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit of a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or networking device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0031] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the third generation (3G) and the like. rd The present invention relates to the present invention in accordance with the present invention and the present invention is directed to the present invention in accordance with the present invention. The present invention is directed ...

[0032] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low-power node (e.g., a femto, a pico, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology of the application.

[0033] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), game terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client-premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (such as remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (such as robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0034] As used herein, the term "TRP" refers to a transmit-receive point located at a specific geographical location on the network side with an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements), which can be used to send signals to / from and receive signals from terminal devices. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, TRP may refer to a macrocell, a microcell, an RRH, a repeater, a femtonode, a micronode, etc. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described using two TRPs as an example, these embodiments are only used to illustrate and help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0035] In a multi-TRP scenario, a TRP may be configured with a BFD-RS set for detection by a terminal device, the BFD-RS set being associated with a beam available for the terminal device, and the terminal device may therefore perform beam failure detection by way of the BFD-RS set. In addition, the TRP may be further configured with a candidate beam set corresponding to each BFD-RS set. As used herein, the term "multi-TRP" may refer to a terminal device being served by multiple TRPs, and therefore multiple groups of candidate beams configured with multiple BFD-RS sets and / or multiple TRPs. The term "multi-TRP" may also refer to a TRP that provides services to one or more terminal devices belonging to the same cell.

[0036] In multi-TRP operation, a terminal device can communicate with a serving cell via multiple TRPs. A serving cell can be a primary cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell), and PCell and PSCell may be referred to as special cells (SpCell) hereinafter.

[0037] In some example embodiments, a terminal device may be connected to a network via two TRPs. The two TRPs provide beam sets for the terminal device. At the same time, the TRP sends a reference signal (TS) set for beam fault detection (BFD) associated with the beam set to the terminal device. The BFD RS set is used to detect beam failures. When a beam failure occurs for a set of reference signals or a beam failure is detected for one TRP, the terminal device may continue to communicate with the network via another TRP and report the beam failure associated with one TRP to the network. When beam failures associated with two sets of reference signals occur simultaneously (or successively), the terminal device may initiate a random access process to ensure that communication between the terminal and the network can be maintained.

[0038] However, there may be situations where a random access procedure is triggered or initiated, but a response to a previously reported beam failure is subsequently received. For example, a first beam failure for a first set of reference signals is reported to the network, but no response to the first beam failure is received when a second beam failure for a second set of reference signals is detected. In this case, detection of the second beam failure will trigger the random access procedure, but a response to the first beam failure may be received later during the random access procedure. For this situation, a decision needs to be made on how to perform beam recovery to improve efficiency and / or reduce latency in beam recovery.

[0039] An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam failure recovery solution. In this solution, if a terminal device detects a beam failure of two groups of BFD RSs, the terminal device initiates a random access process for BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of BFD RSs and / or a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs during a random access process. When the terminal device receives a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, it indicates the successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure, and the terminal device may stop the random access process after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure. In this way, unnecessary random access processes can be avoided and UE power can be saved. Alternatively, the terminal device may stop or continue the random access process according to different stages of the random access process. In addition or alternatively, the terminal device may include BFR information for both the first beam and the second beam in MsgA or Msg3 of the random access process. In addition, the terminal device may further determine whether to include BFR information for the first beam and the second beam in MsgA or Msg3 according to the state of the first beam failure recovery and / or the state of the random access process.

[0040] Therefore, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, unnecessary random access procedures can be avoided and terminal device power saving can be achieved. In addition, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device will receive clear information about the beam failure situation in the terminal device, and when both BFD-RS sets fail, the specification on how to encode the enhanced (truncated) BFR MAC CE for the SpCell will be clear. Therefore, system efficiency can be improved.

[0041] The following will refer to Figure 1-6 Example embodiments of the present disclosure for determining concurrent beam failures are described.

[0042] Figure 1 An example environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0043] Environment 100 may be part of a communication network, including a serving cell (e.g., Spcell 101), a first TRP 105, a second TRP 110, a terminal device 120, and a network device 130. It should be understood that the number of TRPs and terminal devices shown in environment 100 is for illustrative purposes only, but does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, environment 100 may include additional TRPs serving terminal device 120 and / or another terminal device.

[0044] In the environment 100, the terminal device 120 can communicate with the Spcell 101 provided by the network device 130 via the TRP 105 (hereinafter also referred to as the "first TRP 105") and the TRP 110 (hereinafter also referred to as the "second TRP 110"). For example, the terminal device 120 can communicate with the Spcell 101 via the beams 131-1 / 131-2 / 131-3 (collectively referred to as the "first beam set 131") provided by the first TRP 105 and the beams 141-1 / 141-2 / 141-3 (collectively referred to as the "second beam set 141") provided by the second TRP 110. At the same time, the first TRP 105 sends a first group of reference signals associated with the first beam set 131 to the terminal device 120, and the second TRP 110 sends a second group of reference signals associated with the second beam set 141 for second beam fault detection to the terminal device 120, each group of reference signals includes a reference signal associated with a single beam in the group of reference signals, for example, the first group of reference signals includes: one or more reference signals associated with one or more beams 131-1, 131-2 and 131-3, respectively.

[0045] In some embodiments, the reference signal may be a beam fault detection (BFD)-reference signal (RS). Thus, a group of reference signals (e.g., a first group or a second group of reference signals) may be a group of BFD-RS. In some embodiments, the first group of reference signals and the second group of reference signals are associated with Spcell 101.

[0046] The reference signal of BFD may be any suitable reference signal. In some embodiments, the reference signal may be a synchronization signal block (SSB). In some embodiments, the reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0047] In some embodiments, a set of reference signals, such as a first set or a second set of reference signals, may include one or more reference signals. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may detect a reference signal in the first set of reference signals to determine that a beam failure has occurred in the first TRP 105, and may detect a reference signal in the second set of reference signals to determine that a beam failure has occurred in the second TRP 110.

[0048] It is understood that the terminal device 120 may also communicate with the Spcell 101 via more than two TRPs. In some embodiments, in addition to the first and second TRPs 105 and TRP 110, another TRP provides another beam set. Similarly, another TRP may also send a set of reference signals associated with another beam set.

[0049] Communications in environment 100 may follow any suitable communication standards or protocols that already exist or will be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communication technology, such as: Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. Machine Type Communication, mMTC), Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication, URLLC, Carrier Aggregation, CA, Dual Connection, DC and New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U technology.

[0050] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example method implemented at the terminal device 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Flowchart 200 is described.

[0051] Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to two TRPs, i.e., the first and second TRPs 105 and TRP 110 within Spell 101 provided by, for example, network device 130, these embodiments are provided only for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0052] In some embodiments, the SpCell is configured with two sets of BFD RSs. For ease of discussion, a set of BFD-RSs corresponding to the first TRP 105 may be referred to as a first set of BFD-RSs, and a set of BFD-RSs corresponding to the second TRP 110 may be referred to as a second set of BFD-RSs. A beam failure corresponding to the first set of BFD-RSs may be referred to as a first beam failure, and a beam failure corresponding to the second set of BFD-RSs may be referred to as a second beam failure.

[0053] At 210, the terminal device 120 initiates a random access procedure for BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of BFD RSs and / or a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure. In other words, further detecting the second beam failure after the first beam failure has been indicated to the network device but not successfully completed may trigger the random access procedure.

[0054] In some embodiments, the BFR information for the first BFR for the first beam failure may be carried by an enhanced BFR MAC CE, or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE, which includes BFR information for a first set of BFD-RSs for, for example, a special cell (SpCell). The enhanced BFR MAC CE and the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE are identified by a MAC subheader with an extended logical channel ID (eLCID). The MAC CE may further include a plurality of fields corresponding to different cells. Fields associated with SpCell 101 may be used to carry BFR information.

[0055] For illustrative purposes only, reference is now made to Figure 4a and Figure 4b Describes in detail the example format of the SpCell BFR MAC CE. Figure 4a shows an example of an enhanced BFR and a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE with a one-octet Ci field, and Figure 4b Another example of an enhanced BFR and a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE with a 4-octet Ci field is shown. When the terminal device is configured with less than or no more than 8 cells, the enhanced BFR MAC CE may be used. Figure 4a If the number of cells is higher than 8, the Figure 4b The format of the description.

[0056] As described, the enhanced BFR MAC CE and the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE have variable sizes. They include the SP field, the Ci bitmap (single octet or 4 octets), the Sj bitmap (0 to 4 octets) and the beam failure recovery information, i.e., an octet including the candidate beam availability indication (AC) for the BFD-RS sets of the SpCell configured with two BFD-RS sets, and are arranged in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex.

[0057] The SP field of the BFR MAC CE indicates the presence of beam failure detection and octet for the SpCell of this MAC entity, and may contain an AC field if the SpCell is configured with multiple BFD-RS sets.

[0058] Ci field (for example, C 1 -C 7 Bit or C 1 To C 31 bit) indicates the index of the failed Cell and contains an AC field regarding whether the candidate beam is available and the candidate beam index (e.g., candidate RS ID field, if any) in the canditebeam-rs-list (e.g., a candidate beam index list of SSB and / or CSI-RS indices).

[0059] The Sk field of the BFR MAC CE corresponds to the kth serving cell in which the SP / Ci field is set to 1 and two BFD-RS sets are configured. This field indicates whether a beam failure is detected for one or both BFD-RS sets and whether there is one or two octets of the AC field containing the serving cell.

[0060] like Figure 4a As shown, the terminal device may indicate in the AC field that a candidate beam is available and indicate a candidate beam or an enhanced BFR MAC CE and a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE, if two BFD-RS sets are configured and the total number of serving cells in which the SP / Ci field is set to 1 is greater than 0 and less than 9, then include an octet Sk bitmap; as Figure 4b As shown, if two BFD-RS sets are configured and the total number of service cells in which the SP / Ci field is set to 1 is greater than 24, a 4-octet Sk bitmap is included; if two BFD-RS sets are configured and the total number of service cells in which the SP / Ci field is set to 1 is 0, the Sk bitmap is not included.

[0061] At 220, the terminal device 120 receives a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure. In other words, the network device receives a report of the first beam failure and provides a response to indicate to the terminal device that the first BFR has been successfully completed.

[0062] In some embodiments, the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure may include physical downlink control channel PDCCH information, which is addressed to the cell radio network temporary identity C-RNTI. The PDCCH information may indicate an uplink grant for a new transmission of a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process, the HARQ process being used for the first transmission of an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE. In some embodiments, if such a PDCCH is received, the BFR process is considered to be successfully completed.

[0063] At 230 , the terminal device 120 stops the random access procedure after receiving the response of the BFR to the first beam failure.

[0064] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may trigger a second BFR for a second beam failure after stopping the random access procedure, wherein the BFR information of the second BFR includes an enhanced BFR MAC CE, or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE including BFR information for the second beam failure. The second BFR triggered for the BFD-RS set for the second failure is still pending and will be sent in a subsequent uplink transmission after the procedure for only one set of failure conditions, i.e., the BFR for the second beam failure may be sent on the beam associated with the first set of BFD RSs. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 triggers a scheduling request for the second BFR for the second beam failure after stopping the random access procedure.

[0065] In some embodiments, after receiving a response from the BFR for the first beam failure, the random access procedure may be stopped unconditionally.

[0066] In some embodiments, when receiving a response to the BFR for the first beam failure, the terminal device may further determine whether to stop the random access procedure based on the state or stage of the random access procedure.

[0067] In some embodiments, after receiving the response to the first BFR of the first beam failure, the terminal device 120 may further determine whether MsgA or Msg3 for carrying beam failure recovery information has been established in the random access process. When MsgA or Msg3 has not been established, the terminal device may stop the random access process. On the other hand, when MsgA or Msg3 has been established, the terminal device may continue the random access process.

[0068] In some embodiments, after receiving the response to the first BFR of the first beam failure, the terminal device 120 may further determine whether MsgA or Msg3 for carrying beam failure recovery information has been sent during the random access process. When MsgA or Msg3 has not been sent, the terminal device may stop the random access process. On the other hand, when MsgA or Msg3 has been sent, the terminal device may continue the random access process.

[0069] In some embodiments, during the random access process, after message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) for carrying BFR information has been established or sent, the terminal device 120 may stop the random access process when a response to a first BFR failure to a first beam failure is received.

[0070] In some embodiments, if a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure is not received, the terminal device 120 may include BFR information of both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE within MsgA or Msg3 during a random access process when establishing MsgA or Msg3. For example, the terminal device 120 may trigger an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE containing BFR information of the first group of BFD-RSs for the first beam failure associated with the first group of BFD RSs. In this case, the terminal device 120 may include an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE for the first beam failure in addition to the BFR information for the second beam failure in MsgA and Msg3 when establishing MsgA and Msg3.

[0071] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing another example method implemented at the terminal device 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Flowchart 300 is described.

[0072] At 310, the terminal device 120 may initiate a random access procedure for BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and / or a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure. In other words, after the first beam failure has been indicated to the network device but has not been successfully completed, when the second beam failure is further detected, the random access procedure may be triggered.

[0073] At 320 , the terminal device 120 may include BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE in MsgA or Msg3 during the random access procedure.

[0074] As mentioned above Figure 4a and Figure 4b The BFR information may be carried in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE in a field associated with the SPcell.

[0075] For example, the terminal device 120 may trigger an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE, which includes BFR information of the first group of BFD-RS for the first beam failure. In this case, when establishing MsgA and Msg3, the terminal device 120 may include an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE for the first beam failure in addition to the BFR information of the second beam failure in MsgA and Msg3.

[0076] In some embodiments, when establishing MsgA or MSG3, BFR information for the first beam failure and / or the second beam failure may be unconditionally included in MsgA or MSG3.

[0077] In some embodiments, the terminal device may determine whether to include BFR information of the first beam failure or the second beam failure based on a state of first beam failure recovery and / or a state of the random access procedure.

[0078] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the BFR of the first beam and the second beam is successfully completed before establishing MsgA or Msg3. When both the first beam and the second beam are not successfully completed, the terminal device 120 may include the BFR information of both the first beam and the second beam in MSG A or MSG 3 during the random access process.

[0079] In some embodiments, when any BFR of the first beam failure or the second beam failure is not successfully completed, the terminal device 120 may include BFR information of both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in MSGA or MSG3 during the random access procedure.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may trigger a second enhanced BFR media access control element MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE, the second enhanced BFR MAC CE or the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE including BFR information for a first beam failure of a first group of BFD RSs, to be included in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) before establishing MsgA or Msg3.

[0081] In some embodiments, when any BFR for a first beam failure or a second beam failure is successfully completed but no suitable candidate beam is indicated, the terminal device 120 may include BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE within MSG A or MSG 3 during a random access process.

[0082] In some embodiments, when a first BFR for a first beam failure has been provided but not confirmed and no suitable candidate beam is indicated, the terminal device 120 may include BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE within MSG A or MSG 3 during a random access process.

[0083] In some embodiments, when a response to a first BFR for a first beam failure has been received before establishing MsgA or Msg3, the terminal device 120 may include BFR information only for the second beam failure in MsgA or Msg3 during a random access process, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0084] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may continue the random access procedure regardless of any response of the first BFR to the first beam failure.

[0085] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may stop the random access procedure before establishing or sending MsgA or Msg3 after receiving a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0086] In some embodiments, after establishing or sending MsgA or Msg3, the terminal device 120 may continue the random access procedure after receiving a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates a successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

[0087] In some embodiments, the BFR information of the first beam failure and the second beam failure may be included in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE in MsgA or message 3Msg3, such as Figure 4a and Figure 4b As described.

[0088] Figure 5 is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 120 and the network device 130 are shown. As shown, the device 500 may include one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processors 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processors 510.

[0089] The communication module 540 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

[0090] Processor 510 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 500 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0091] The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical memories. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power-off period.

[0092] Computer program 530 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 510. Program 530 may be stored in ROM 524. Processor 510 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0093] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 530, so that the device 500 may execute a reference Figures 2 to 4b Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0094] In some embodiments, the program 530 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be contained in the device 500 (e.g., memory 520) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 500. The device 500 may load the program 530 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 522 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0095] Figure 6 An example of a computer readable medium 600 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 530 stored thereon.

[0096] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described in block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0097] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product, which is tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions contained in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above-referenced Figure 2-4b Methods 200 and 300 are described. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0098] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram are realized. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0099] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform the above-mentioned various processes and operations. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0100] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the above devices. More specific examples of computer readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the above devices.

[0101] In addition, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring the operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all the operations described, to achieve the desired result. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of the respective embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0102] Although the present disclosure is described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as forms of examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to: Initiate a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR for a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second group of BFD RS, wherein a first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; receiving a response of the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure; as well as After receiving the response from the first BFR to the first beam failure, stopping the random access procedure.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: After stopping the random access procedure, triggering a second BFR for the second beam failure, The BFR information of the second BFR includes: An enhanced BFR media access control element MAC CE, or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE including BFR information for the second beam failure.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: After stopping the random access procedure, triggering a scheduling request for the second BFR with the second beam failure.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: After receiving the response of the first BFR to the first beam failure, determining whether message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) for carrying BFR information in the random access procedure has been established, Wherein, stopping the random access process comprises: When the MsgA or the Msg3 has not been established, the random access procedure is stopped.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: After receiving the response of the first BFR to the first beam failure, determining whether MsgA or Msg3 for carrying the BFR information in the random access process has been sent, Wherein, stopping the random access process comprises: When the MsgA or Msg3 has not been sent, the random access procedure is stopped.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the stopping of the random access process comprises: After MsgA or Msg3 for carrying BFR information has been established or sent in the random access procedure, when a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure is received, the random access procedure is stopped.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: If a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure is not received, when establishing the MsgA or Msg3, during the random access process, the BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in the enhanced BFR MAC CE or the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE within the MsgA or Msg3.

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the BFR information of the first BFR for the first beam failure comprises: The enhanced BFR MAC CE or the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE includes the BFR information of the first group of BFD-RSs for the special cell SpCell.

9. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the response of the first BFR to the first beam failure comprises: Physical downlink control channel PDCCH information addressed to a cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI, the PDCCH information indicating an uplink grant for a new transmission of a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process as a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, the HARQ process being used for the first transmission of the enhanced BFR MAC CE or the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE.

10. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to: Initiate a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR for a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second group of BFD RS, wherein a first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; as well as In the random access procedure, BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3).

11. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: triggering a second enhanced BFR media access control element MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE, wherein the second enhanced BFR MAC CE or the truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE includes BFR information of the first beam failure for the first group of BFD RSs so as to be included in the MsgA or Msg3 before establishing the MsgA or Msg3.

12. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the BFR information comprises: When any BFR for the first beam failure or the second beam failure is not successfully completed, the BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in the MsgA or Msg3 in the random access procedure.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the BFR information comprises: When any BFR for the first beam failure or the second beam failure is successfully completed but does not indicate any suitable candidate beam, in the random access procedure, the BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in the MSGA or MSG3.

14. The terminal device according to claims 8 to 11, wherein the BFR information comprises: When the first BFR for the first beam failure is provided but not confirmed, and no suitable candidate beam is indicated, in the random access procedure, the BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in the MSGA or MSG3.

15. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the BFR information comprises: When a response to the first BFR for the first beam failure has been received before establishing the MsgA or Msg3, in the random access process, BFR information only for the second beam failure is included in the MsgA or Msg3, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

16. The terminal device according to claims 8 to 13, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The random access procedure continues regardless of any response of the first BFR to the first beam failure.

17. The terminal device according to claims 8 to 13, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: Before establishing or sending the MsgA or Msg3, the random access procedure is stopped after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates a successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

18. The terminal device according to claim 15, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: After establishing or sending the MsgA or Msg3, the random access procedure is continued after receiving the response to the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates a successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure.

19. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in an enhanced BFR MAC CE or a truncated enhanced BFR MAC CE within the MsgA or Msg3.

20. A method at a terminal device, comprising: Initiate a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR for a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second group of BFD RS, wherein a first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; receiving a response of the first BFR for the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure; as well as After receiving the response from the first BFR to the first beam failure, stopping the random access procedure.

21. A method at a terminal device, comprising: Initiate a random access procedure for beam failure recovery BFR for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals BFD RS and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RS, wherein the first BFR of the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; as well as In the random access procedure, BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure is included in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3).

22. An apparatus comprising: means for initiating a random access procedure for beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals (BFD RSs) and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; means for receiving a response from the first BFR to the first beam failure, wherein the response indicates successful completion of the first BFR for the first beam failure; as well as means for stopping the random access procedure upon receiving the response from the first BFR to the first beam failure.

23. An apparatus comprising: means for initiating a random access procedure for beam failure recovery (BFR) for a first beam failure of a first group of beam failure detection reference signals (BFD RSs) and a second beam failure of a second group of BFD RSs, wherein the first BFR for the first beam failure has been triggered before the second beam failure; as well as A means for including BFR information for both the first beam failure and the second beam failure in message A (MsgA) or message 3 (Msg3) during the random access procedure.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to at least claim 20 or 21.

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