Configuration for random access response timers

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to beam correspondence. The terminal device obtains a first configuration and a second configuration for the RAR timer during the RA process. The terminal device also applies a first configuration for the RAR timer during the RA procedure to the at least one RAR window. The terminal device also applies a second configuration for the RAR timer during the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window comprises at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for the given SSB. In this manner, when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, the terminal device may maintain its beam mode and maintain the beam mode for subsequent use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for configuration of a Random Access Response (RAR) timer. Background Art

[0002] The beam correspondence (BC) requirement ensures that a downlink (DL) beam can be reused for an uplink (UL) within a power threshold. Currently, BC requirements are only defined in connected mode in 3GPP. BC testing also needs to be provided for devices in idle mode or inactive mode. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for the configuration of a RAR timer. Specifically, a solution is provided for the beam correspondence test process in idle mode and inactive mode.

[0004] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include: one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to enable the terminal device to: obtain a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer during a random access RA process; apply the first configuration of the RAR timer during the RA process to at least one RAR window; and apply the second configuration of the RAR timer during the RA process to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block SSB of the RA process.

[0005] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include: one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured to enable the network device to: determine a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block SSB; and transmit the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method at a terminal device is provided. The method may include: obtaining a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer used during a random access RA procedure; applying the first configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA procedure to at least one RAR window; and applying the second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block SSB.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method at a network device is provided. The method may include: determining a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA procedure, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block SSB; and transmitting the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include: a component for acquiring a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA process at a terminal device; a component for applying the first configuration of the RAR timer for the RA process to at least one RAR window at the terminal device; and a component for applying the second configuration of the RAR timer for the RA process to at least one other RAR window at the terminal device, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block SSB of the RA process.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include: a component for determining, at a network device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block (SSB); and a component for transmitting the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to: obtain a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer during a random access RA process; apply the first configuration of the RAR timer during the RA process to at least one RAR window; and apply the second configuration of the RAR timer during the RA process to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block SSB of the RA process.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the network device to: determine a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block SSB; and transmit the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute a method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to at least: obtain a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer used during a random access RA process at a terminal device; apply the first configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA process to at least one RAR window at the terminal device; and apply the second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA process to at least one other RAR window at the terminal device, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block SSB.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to at least: determine, at a network device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block SSB; and transmit the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include: an acquisition circuit system configured to acquire a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer used during a random access RA process; a first application circuit system configured to apply the first configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA process to at least one RAR window; and a second application circuit system configured to apply the second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA process to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block SSB of the RA process.

[0016] In a thirteenth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include: a determination circuit system configured to determine a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block SSB; and a transmission circuit system configured to transmit the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0017] It should be understood that the invention summary 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

[0018] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1A An example network environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0020] Figure 1B An example schematic diagram of a 4-step RACH according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 1C An example schematic diagram of a 2-step RACH according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 1D An example schematic diagram of an RA process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 shows an example signaling process for beam correspondence according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 3 An example flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 4 An example flow chart of a method implemented at a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 An example block diagram illustrating a process for power increase and RAR timer according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 6 An example flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 7 An example schematic diagram showing a selection panel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 8 An example schematic diagram showing beam refinement according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] Fig. 9A An example block diagram showing a process for a UE process for beam correspondence requirements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] Fig. 9B An example block diagram illustrating a process for a UE process for beam tolerance according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] Fig.10 An example simplified block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0033] Fig.11 An example block diagram illustrating an example computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to the methods described below, the disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways.

[0036] 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.

[0037] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0038] 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, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0039] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing 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 will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or parts, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, parts, and / or combinations thereof.

[0040] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but in which the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0041] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example and if applicable to the particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0042] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network is performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0043] 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), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (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 (such as a femto, a pico), etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0044] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IOT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automatic 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.

[0045] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink (UL) resource" or "downlink (DL) resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, a resource in a combination of more than one domain, or any other combination for achieving communication. Hereinafter, some example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with resources in the time domain (such as a subframe) as an example of transmission resources. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0046] As used herein, the term "beam" may refer to a communication resource. Different beams may be considered different resources. A beam may also be represented as a spatial domain filter. The technology used to form a beam may be a beamforming technology or another technology. The beamforming technology may specifically be a digital beamforming technology, an analog beamforming technology, or a hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. A communication device (including a terminal device and a network device) may communicate with other communication devices via one or more beams. A beam may include one or more antenna ports and may be configured for a data channel, a control channel, and the like. One or more antenna ports forming a beam may also be considered as an antenna port set. A beam may be configured with a resource set or a resource set for measurement, and a beam may be represented by, for example, a reference signal and / or associated resources for a reference signal. A beam may also be represented by a reference cell identifier or a resource identifier.

[0047] In millimeter wave (mmW) (e.g., FR2 and above), both the gNB and UE have spatial filtering with antenna arrays, which increases the gain on each side by affecting the reliability of the link when the beam is misaligned. Currently, FR2 is deployed with analog beamforming on the UE, i.e., single beam transmission at the Tx spherical coverage with temporal filtering and spatial filtering. Typically, the UE beam covers up to 90 degrees in the azimuth plane per panel and can be refined to 22 degrees for a 1x4 linear array. The front-to-back antenna gain variation on the UE can be as high as 10dB-15dB, i.e., not using the correct panel may result in the UE being unable to receive or transmit with the gNB.

[0048] In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 16 (Rel-16), beam correspondence was introduced. The BC requirement ensures that DL gNB beams can be reused for UL within a power threshold. However, BC was defined only for connected mode in Rel-16 as well as Rel-17. In Release 18 (Rel-18), the RAN4 requirements for BC for idle mode and inactive mode have been discussed. Rel-18 focuses on ensuring good random access channel (RACH) performance and UL coverage through UE beam correspondence requirements during radio resource control idle (RRC_IDLE) and radio resource control inactive (RRC_INACTIVE), possibly including small data transfer (SDT) during random access, which provides great potential for UE power saving opportunities and also provides improvements in latency and signaling overhead reduction. Therefore, BC testing may also be required for the UE in RRC IDLE / INACTIVE mode.

[0049] In the random access (RA) process, after the UE sends a first message (e.g., preamble) transmission to the network, the UE waits for a response from the network. When there is no feedback on the random access response (RAR) window, a second message (e.g., preamble) will be sent at a higher power, which is calculated according to some formula (e.g., the formula for the power increase step). This process continues until the UE receives a response from the network or the maximum number of transmissions is exhausted. If the maximum number of transmissions is exhausted and the UE does not receive a response from the network, the random access failure is declared.

[0050] In IDLE mode or inactive mode, the UE can only make measurements using the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) reference signal. It is not currently defined how frequently and accurately the UE needs to perform BC related measurements. Additionally, the UE beam locking functionality is a test functionality defined in the specifications for Frequency Range 2 (FR2) UEs to lock the antenna pattern for subsequent testing. So far, this has only been defined for connected mode (or state) and there are no specified Radio Access Network 4 (RAN4) requirements for BC in inactive and idle. Since now 3GPP will define BC requirements for IDLE mode and INACTIVE mode, tests for it also need to be defined. For meaningful measurements during testing, the UE needs to train its beam pattern in a specific direction for a long duration.

[0051] There are some issues in the beam correspondence test problem, such as how to enable the UE to refine its beam in idle mode or inactive mode for BC requirements. Another example problem could be how to ensure that the UE maintains the same refined beam during idle or inactive BC testing when the beam locking functionality is only active in connected mode.

[0052] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a solution for UEs in idle mode and inactive mode so that the UE can maintain its beam pattern long enough to perform subsequent tests for BC.

[0053] The example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a mechanism to solve the above problems, especially when enabling the sensors of the network device and which areas the sensors of the network device are to scan. The example embodiments of the present disclosure can improve the resource utilization efficiency perceived by the network device and can also reduce the impact on the communication performance of the network device. The principles and some example embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0054] Figure 1AAn example of a network environment 100 in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. In the description of the example embodiments of the present disclosure, the network environment 100 may also be referred to as a communication system 100 (e.g., a portion of a communication network). For illustrative purposes only, various aspects of the example embodiments will be described in the context of one network device and one terminal device that communicate with each other. However, it should be understood that the description herein may apply to other types of devices or other similar devices referenced using other terms.

[0055] like Figure 1A As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110 (hereinafter may also be referred to as a user equipment 110 or UE 110). The communication network 100 may also include a network device 120 and a network device 130. Each of these network devices may manage one or more cells. As an example, the cell 140 may be managed by the network device 120. In addition, the network device 120 is configured with a plurality of beams that provide coverage for the cell 140.

[0056] A terminal device (eg, UE 110) may have several panels, such as panel 111 and panel 112. Each panel may correspond to several beams. The beams may be refined (eg, from a wide beam to a narrow beam) during the RA process and thus achieve a target transmission power.

[0057] Both the network equipment 120 and the UE 110 have spatial filtering with antenna arrays, which increases the gain on each side, although the reliability of the link is affected when the beam is misaligned. Currently, FR2 is deployed on the UE with analog beamforming, i.e., single beam transmission at the time filtering and spatial filtering for Tx spherical coverage.

[0058] Rel-16 and Rel-17 define beam correspondence and beam locking functions only for UEs in connected mode. However, for UEs in idle mode or inactive mode, there is no beam correspondence and beam locking function. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a solution for UEs to maintain refined beams in idle mode or inactive mode.

[0059] It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is given for illustrative purposes only, without any limitation being implied. System 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more terminal devices may be located in environment 100.

[0060] refer to Figure 1B and Figure 1C . Figure 1B An example schematic diagram of a 4-step RACH according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1CAn example schematic diagram of 2-step RACH according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0061] It defines two types of random access procedures, namely, 4-step RACH and 2-step RACH. The main motivation for introducing 2-step RACH in Rel-16 is to reduce overhead signaling and latency (due to round trip time). The traditional 4-step RACH has 4 message exchange procedures between UE 110 and network device 120. The 2-step RACH combination is shown in the figure below: ● Message 1 and Message 3 sent by the UE as a single msg A ● Messages 2 and 4 are sent by gNodeB as a single msg B

[0062] Since PUSCH is transmitted together with preamble data, Msg A of 2-step RACH has a higher payload.

[0063] In RRC_INACTIVE mode and IDLE mode, UE 110 may perform a random access procedure. Depending on UE capabilities and network configuration, the random access procedure may be a conventional 4-step RACH or a 2-step RACH.

[0064] refer to Figure 1D , which shows an example schematic diagram of the RA process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] For the random access procedure, there are certain parameters that the UE uses to determine the target power, namely the time to wait for a response from the network, ra-ResponseWindow, the maximum number of retransmissions, preamleTransMax, powerRampingStep, and preamleReceivedTargetPower, which is the target power circled in red in the current RACH configuration, where: preambleTransMax: Maximum number of RA preamble transmissions performed before declaring failure ra-ResponseWindow: The Msg 2 (RAR) window length in the number of time slots. powerRampingStep: Power increase step size for PRACH preambleReceivedTargetPower: Target power level on the network receiver side

[0066] The AUE 110 determines the transmission power for the physical random access channel (PRACH) as: P PRACH,b,f,c (i) = min{P CMAX,f,c(i),P PRACH,target,f,c +PL b,f,c} Among them, P CMAX,f,c (i) is the maximum output power configured by the UE for carrier f of serving cell c in transmission opportunity i as defined in the 3GPP standard specification, P PRACH,target,f,c is the PRACH target received power PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER provided by higher layers [11, TS 38.321] for the active UL BWPb of carrier f of serving cell c, and PL b,f,c is the pathloss for the active UL BWPb for carrier f, which is based on the DL RS associated with the PRACH transmission on the active DL BWP of serving cell c and is calculated by the UE in dB as referenceSignalPower–higher layer filtered RSRP in dBm, where RSRP and higher layer filter configurations are defined in the standard specification.

[0067] In real network deployment, PL is applied, but in the proposed beam correspondence test setup in a controlled environment, PL is omitted from the calculation. The PRACH preamble power increase is controlled by the MAC layer, which updates the P according to the power increase step size (PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_COUNTER). PRACH,target , as shown below: P PRACH,target (2)=PreambleReceivedTarget+DELTA_PREAMBLE+ (PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_COUNTER-1)x PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_STEP Among them, for the second PRACH transmission, PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_COUNTER=2.

[0068] After sending the first message transmission, the UE 110 waits for a response from the network. When there is no feedback regarding the ra-Responsewindow, a second message is sent at a higher power, which is calculated according to the above formula. This process continues until the UE receives a response from the network or the maximum number of transmissions is exhausted. In the event that the maximum number of transmissions is exhausted and the UE does not receive a response from the network, a random access failure is declared, or the UE may start the RA process again on the same or another beam. The gNB configures the maximum number of preambles that the UE can transmit during the RACH process, and if the UE does not receive msg 2 for the transmitted RACH preamble, it waits for the random access response timer to expire and triggers the RACH again. After "n" attempts, if there is no response, the UE may declare a RACH failure or start a RACH process gain. If the UE does not detect msg 2 with RA-RNTI before the RAR timer expires, the UE may declare msg 2 reception failure.

[0069] refer to Figure 2 , which shows an example signaling process for beam correspondence according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 In the example process, UE 110 is taken as an example to illustrate the example process, however, it is only for illustration purposes and does not limit the present disclosure in any way.

[0070] At box 202, the network device 120 determines a first configuration and a second configuration for a RAR timer during a RA procedure, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, the at least one other RAR window including at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given SSB.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the first configuration and the second configuration may each include a parameter indicating a time length of the RAR window. In some example embodiments, the second configuration may indicate a time length for the RAR window that is longer than the first configuration. In some example embodiments, the second configuration may apply only to the last RAR window of the RA process. In some example embodiments, the second configuration is not applicable to all RAR windows.

[0072] As an example, network device 120 determines the field of ra-ResponseWindow as a first configuration. Network device 120 determines the field of ra-ResponseWindow-test as a second configuration. One of the example configuration tables is shown in Table 1 below (where ra-ResponseWindow-test is in bold). All values ​​are examples. Table 1

[0073] In an embodiment, the RAR timer configured with ra-ResponseWindow-test is valid only for the last preamble transmission. Keeping this RAR timer to a sufficiently large value will ensure that the UE keeps its beam for a long period of time while waiting for the RAR response from the network, which will enable the beam correspondence test or other tests to be performed in idle mode and inactive mode in the absence of the BEALOCK function. Thus, extending the last RAR window in the idle / inactive state (by using the second configuration) simulates the beam locking function of the connected state.

[0074] At block 204, the network device 120 transmits (220) the first configuration and the second configuration to the terminal device 110. On the other side of the transmission, the UE 110 receives (230) the first configuration and the second configuration.

[0075] At block 206, the UE 110 obtains a first configuration and a second configuration for a RAR timer during the RA procedure. At block 208, the UE 110 applies the first configuration for the RAR timer during the RA procedure to at least one RAR window. At block 210, the UE 110 applies the second configuration for the RAR timer during the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given SSB of the RA procedure. For example, the UE uses an extended timer length for the last RAR window based on the second configuration.

[0076] As an example, there are a certain number of preamble transmissions (up to preamleTransMax=N), and between each of these transmissions, UE 110 must wait for RAR during the RAR window. The first configuration is applied to the preambles of N-1 transmissions, and the second configuration is applied to the preamble of the last transmission. Thus, instead of the RAR timer being associated with a RAR window for the entire RA procedure, two RAR windows are associated with different preamble transmissions.

[0077] Through the scheme proposed in this article, when the terminal device is in idle mode or inactive mode, the terminal device can keep its beam mode and maintain the beam mode for subsequent use without slowing down each step of the RA process.

[0078] In some embodiments, the UE 110 may maintain the beam pattern of the terminal device in one direction within the last RAR window, wherein the transmission power associated with the last RAR window is determined based on at least one power increase step during the RA process. In some embodiments, the RA process may be performed for the purpose of beam correspondence testing. In some embodiments, the UE 110 may maintain the beam pattern within the last RAR window for at least one subsequent test.

[0079] In some embodiments, the subsequent test may be one or more of the following: One or more of the following is measured within the last RAR window and at the maximum increasing power: Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) and spherical coverage for UE conformance testing; Equivalent isotropic sensitivity (EIS) for DL; and EIRP for UL.

[0080] In some embodiments, the UE consistency test may be minimum peak EIRP, EIRP spherical coverage, EIS spherical coverage, Refsens, beam correspondence tolerance.

[0081] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may also be caused to comply with a beam tolerance test comprising one or more of: transmitting a last preamble before a last RAR window; transitioning from an idle mode or inactive mode to a connected mode; and performing uplink beam scanning.

[0082] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may also be caused to perform at least one of: performing an EIS spherical coverage test during the last RAR window; performing an EIRP test during the last transmitted preamble of the RA; and performing an EIRP spherical coverage test during the last transmitted preamble of the RA.

[0083] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may also be caused to perform: determining a first uplink power when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, wherein the first uplink power is based on a last preamble sent by the terminal device before a last RAR window timer is triggered; converting the terminal device to a connected mode; determining a second received uplink power when the terminal device is in the connected mode, wherein the second received uplink power is based on a highest received power during beam scanning performed by the terminal device in the connected mode; and performing a beam tolerance test by comparing the first uplink power and the second uplink power. And the second uplink power.

[0084] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine a first SSB parameter indicating an SSB period; and apply the indicated SSB period for performing alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine a second SSB parameter indicating the number of SSBs per synchronization signal burst SS-burst; and apply the indicated number of SSBs for performing alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam. In some embodiments, the indicated number of SSBs per SS-burst exceeds 2, and each SSB is associated with a dedicated index. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine the number of beams to be tested based on the number of SSBs.

[0085] As an example, the network device 120 determines the fields for the SSB period and the number of SSBs per SS-burst. The network device 120 determines the fields for the SS / PBCH block index and the symbol number containing the SSB. One of the example configuration tables is shown below in Table 2. All values ​​are examples. Table 2

[0086] As is known, SSB is the only reference signal available for UEs in inactive and idle states, so it is necessary to introduce SSB-based tests for beam correspondence for random access. The values ​​stated in the above table are indicative, and the actual values ​​and detailed test procedures need to be determined in RAN4 / 5. In one example, the SSB period is set to 5ms. In another example, the SS / PBCH block index has four possible values, namely 0, 1, 2, and 3. In another example, the number of SSBs per SS-burst is set to 4.

[0087] In some embodiments, UE 110 may determine the number of SSBs to determine the number of beams to be tested.

[0088] In some embodiments, the UE 110 may acquire the second configuration by receiving a radio resource control, RRC, message including the second configuration from the network device.In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0089] refer to Figure 3 , which shows an example flow chart of a method 300 implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the method 300 may be combined with the signaling flow 200 or performed in addition to the signaling flow 200. In the method 300, a solution for enabling beam correspondence at the terminal device is provided.

[0090] At block 302, the terminal device obtains a first configuration and a second configuration of a RAR timer for a random access RA procedure. At block 304, the terminal device applies the first configuration of the RAR timer for the RA procedure to at least one RAR window. At block 306, the terminal device applies the second configuration of the RAR timer for the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given SSB of the RA procedure.

[0091] Through the method 300, when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, the terminal device can keep its beam pattern and maintain the beam pattern for subsequent use.

[0092] refer to Figure 4 , which shows an example flow chart of a method 400 implemented at a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the method 400 can be combined with the signaling flow 200 or performed in addition to the signaling flow 200. In the method 400, a solution for enabling beam correspondence at a network device is provided.

[0093] At 402, the network device determines a first configuration and a second configuration for a RAR timer during a RA procedure, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, the at least one other RAR window including at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given SSB.

[0094] At 404 , the network device transmits the first configuration and the second configuration to the terminal device.

[0095] Through the method 400, when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, the terminal device can keep its beam pattern and maintain the beam pattern for subsequent use.

[0096] refer to Figure 5 , which shows an example block diagram of a process 500 for power increase and RAR timer according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figures 1A to 5 Process 500 is illustrated. During process 500, UE 110 is in an inactive mode or idle mode.

[0097] At 502, UE 110 starts RA. At 504, UE 110 sends RA message. In one example, in case of 4-step RACH, UE 110 sends message 1. In another example, in case of 2-step RACH, UE 110 sends message A. In some embodiments, the present disclosure proposes a solution for beam correspondence requirement, which will be referred to hereinafter. Figures 6 to 8Give a description.

[0098] At 506, PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_COUNTER is set to 1. UE 110 starts a RAR timer. The length of the RAR timer is configured with the ra-ResponseWindow. UE 110 waits until the RAR timer expires. At 508, it is determined that the UE has not received the RAR. At 510, PREAMBLE_POWER_RAMPING_COUNTER is incremented by 1. At 512, UE 110 sends the RA MSG again. UE 110 starts the RAR timer. The length of the RAR timer is still configured with the ra-ResponseWindow. UE 110 waits until the RAR timer expires. At 514, it is determined that the UE still has not received the RAR. At 516, the UE checks what the counter value related to the preamble TransMax number (referred to as N) is. If the counter value is less than N-1, the process 500 continues to 510. If the counter value is N-1, the process continues to 518. At 518, UE 110 sends the RA message again. UE 110 starts a RAR timer. The length of the RAR timer is configured with ra-ResponseWindow-test (i.e., based on the second configuration defining ra-ResponseWindow-test). At 520, EIRP, spherical coverage is tested. At 522, UE 110 receives RAR. At 524, UE 110 tests EIS. At 526, process 500 ends.

[0099] Through process 500, since the last RAR window can be configured with a sufficiently large value, the terminal device can maintain its beam waiting RAR for a long time, which will enable subsequent beam correspondence tests or other tests to be performed in idle mode or inactive mode without beam locking function.

[0100] Reference now Figure 6 , which shows an example flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 involves an association between a random access type and a beam correspondence requirement level.

[0101] In order for the UE to successfully perform RA in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE, different beam correspondence requirements can be introduced according to the RA type. RAN4 requires the accuracy of the UE beam direction to be set for each random access type. For example, it is necessary to have stricter requirements for 2-step RACH and 4-step RACH because 2-step RACH has a higher payload, i.e., PUSCH included in Msg A.

[0102] On the other hand, Small Data Transfer (SDT) is a procedure that allows data and / or signaling transmission while remaining in the RRC_INACTIVE state (i.e., not transitioning to the RRC_CONNECTED state). SDT is enabled on a radio bearer basis and is initiated by the UE only when less than a configured amount of UL data is pending for transmission across all radio bearers for which SDT is enabled, the DL RSRP is above a configured threshold, and valid SDT resources are available.

[0103] SDT can be used to send information about, for example, positioning, to the network. Specific examples of small and infrequent data traffic include the following use cases: Smartphone applications: oTraffic from instant messaging services oHeartbeat / keep-alive traffic from IM / email clients and other applications oPush notifications from various apps Non-smartphone applications: oTraffic from wearable devices (periodic positioning information, etc.) oSensors (industrial wireless sensor networks transmit temperature, pressure readings, etc. periodically or in an event-triggered manner) oSmart meters and smart meter networks that send periodic meter readings

[0104] It should be understood that block 602 corresponds to block 302. Block 604 corresponds to block 304. Block 606 corresponds to block 306. For the purpose of simplicity, similar blocks are not described in detail.

[0105] At block 608, the UE 110 receives from the network device at least one of a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA procedure or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA procedure, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure. At block 610, the UE 110 determines whether the RA procedure to be applied is the 2-step RA procedure or the 4-step RA procedure. At block 612, the UE 110 applies the corresponding beam correspondence requirement to the RA procedure.

[0106] For example, if the UE is to perform a 2-step RA procedure, the UE applies the BC requirement of the 2-step RA procedure during the RA procedure.

[0107] As Figure 6 In one implementation example, the UE receives all configurations for RA and BC. Then, the UE determines the application power control parameters, RAR window parameters / configurations, and which BC requirements to apply. Thereafter, the UE performs a 2-step RA or a 4-step RA to meet the BC requirements with a 2-step RA or a 4-step RA. That is, Figure 6 The order of the steps in may vary depending on the implementation.

[0108] In some embodiments, the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure, and the requirements differ in at least one of the following: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA procedure.

[0109] As an example, since it is known that message A of 2-step RACH has a higher payload due to the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) being sent along with the preamble data, the benefits of 2-step RACH over 4-step RACH include one or more of the following: One round trip between sending Msg A and receiving Msg B, instead of two round trips between sending Msg 1 and receiving Msg 4; Reduced latency; and Reduce signaling overhead.

[0110] To achieve beam correspondence, when the UE has to perform RA in idle mode or perform RA in inactive mode for small data transmission (SDT), the following options can be performed: Option 1: Relax the time it takes for the UE to measure the DL Rx beam and infer the UL Tx beam. Option 2: Increase UE Tx power in UL to compensate for UL Tx UE beam misalignment.

[0111] Alternatively, a combination of both Option 1 and Option 2 may be performed in either of the RACH procedures (i.e., 4-step or 2-step). The Rel-18 UE FR2 beam correspondence requirements for RACH on RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE may be defined based on metrics (EIRP, spherical coverage), but with enhancements corresponding to different requirements for different types of RA procedures. The UE behavior applies to RACH for RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE. Therefore, an embodiment introduces new granularity in the BC requirements to distinguish between a 2-step RACH procedure and a 4-step RACH procedure for RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE.

[0112] In some embodiments, method 600 is applicable to different BC levels for one or more or a combination of the following use cases: · 4-step RA for idle to connected · 2-step RA for idle to connected · 4-step RA for inactivity of SDT · Inactive 2-step RA for SDT · 4-step RA from inactive to connected · 2-step RA from inactive to connected

[0113] For the current Rel-18, since SSB is the only measurement means for UE in IDLE and INACTIVE, the L1-RSRP measurement condition based on SSB will no longer be a side condition applied based on certain criteria. Instead, these will be the main conditions met in INACTIVE and IDLE.

[0114] In some embodiments, the method 600 proposes to relax the minimum SSB_RP (SSB reference point) required for beam correspondence by 6dB in case of 4-step random access in IDLE mode or INACTIVE mode compared to CONNECTED mode. In some embodiments, the method 600 proposes to relax the minimum SSB_RP required for beam correspondence by 3dB in case of 2-step random access in IDLE mode or INACTIVE compared to CONNECTED mode.

[0115] In some embodiments, Table 3 shows an example configuration table for a canonical 4-step RA, where the example values ​​below are marked in bold. All numerical values ​​are examples. Table 3

[0116] In some embodiments, Table 4 shows an example configuration table for a canonical 2-step RA, where the following tentative values ​​are marked in bold. All numerical values ​​are examples. Table 4

[0117] In the scenarios of RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE, the beam correspondence tolerance cannot be based on the UL received power difference, which is the difference between the case where the UE scans its Tx beam and the case where the UE autonomously finds its best Tx beam, because there is no UE Tx beam scanning in idle mode and inactive mode. Therefore, method 600 proposes a new beam correspondence tolerance definition, which is based on the difference between the peak EIRP in connected mode and idle mode or inactive mode.

[0118] In some embodiments, the beam correspondence tolerance requirement ΔEIRP for RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE for power class 3 UEs is BC_INACTIVE, is the ΔEIRP over the link angle based on a subset of the spherical coverage grid points BC_INACTIVE = EIRP2-EIRP1 The percentiles of the distribution are defined such that: - EIRP1 is the total EIRP in dBm, which is calculated based on the UE's autonomous selection of the beam (corresponding beam) for transmission in the direction of the incoming DL signal, which is based on beam correspondence in idle mode or inactive mode and does not rely on UL beam scanning. - EIRP2 is the total EIRP in dBm, which is calculated based on the UE's autonomous selection of the beam (corresponding beam) for transmission in the direction of the incoming DL signal, based on beam correspondence relying on UL beam scanning in connected mode. - The link angle is the link angle corresponding to the top N percentiles of EIRP2 measurements over the entire sphere, where the value of N is based on the test point for the EIRP spherical coverage requirement for power class 3, ie N=50.

[0119] In some embodiments, for power class 3 UEs, this requirement is met if the corresponding UL beam of the UE meets the maximum limits in Table 5 and Table 6.

[0120] Table 5 proposes UE beam correspondence tolerance for PC3 of 4-step RA. Table 5

[0121] Table 6 is proposed for UE beam correspondence tolerance of PC3 for 2-step RA. Table 6

[0122] In some embodiments, the 2-step random access procedure and the 4-step random access procedure from the idle state or the inactive state are applicable to the following scenarios in FR2: 4-step random access for idle to connected mode transition · 2-step random access for idle to connected mode transition 4-step random access in inactivity for small data transfers · 2-step random access in inactivity for small data transfers 4-step random access for inactive to connected mode transition Two-step random access for inactive to connected mode transition

[0123] In some embodiments, the granularity required is finer, such as grouping the use cases listed above into the following 4 categories: a. 2-step RA for SDT b. 4-step RA for SDT c.2-step RA (for idle to connected and inactive to connected) d.4-step RA (for idle to connected and inactive to connected)

[0124] The above classification of requirements is listed from the group requiring the best beam correspondence (a.) to the group accepting the maximum relaxation (d.). The proposed prioritization is based on the results of UL transmission failure in each of these categories. That is, a 2-step RA for SDT is used, for example, to send positioning data for the UE, where the payload is sent in Msg A together with the preamble. The UE then returns to inactivity. Therefore, losing Msg A means not receiving the corresponding data. Therefore, it is reasonable to justify stricter requirements for this situation. Therefore, the BC requirements for the RA process carrying SDT are stricter than those for the RA process without SDT. The SDT-related requirements can reject or be combined with an embodiment in which the BC requirements for the 2-step RA process are stricter than for the 4-step RA process.

[0125] Figure 7 An example schematic diagram of a selection panel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 8 An example schematic diagram of beam refinement according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 7 and Figure 8 are combined to describe the processes that a UE can perform to meet the beam correspondence requirements.

[0126] In some embodiments, although the SS bursts may have different periods (e.g., 5 ms as described above), for illustration purposes, a default period of 20 ms is used in this example. In some embodiments, the UE may meet the beam correspondence requirement in one of the following ways: 1. Use the gyroscope to estimate the rotation of the UE during sleep periods and estimate the correct panel to use when waking up. 2. Have a UE RF architecture including splitters to all panels to be able to transmit. Also on all panels ensure the correct orientation is also covered. 3. Monitor SS bursts on all panels during sleep periods.

[0127] In some embodiments, with respect to option 3 above, some details about the UE behavior are provided. As a baseline, the UE may perform three steps. Although RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE are essentially power saving states, to ensure accurate beam correspondence, the UE may need to perform measurements periodically or at least before the next scheduled UL.

[0128] Step 1. Figure 7 As shown, UE 110 measures the SS bursts on each of its panels and decides the best panel based on the L1RSRP measurements. The UE best panel may be the panel that receives the highest RSRP value among all SSBs of the SS burst.

[0129] Step 2. Figure 8 As shown, assuming that UE 110 determines that P1 may be its best panel based on L1 RSRP measurement, UE 110 uses this panel to scan only the narrow beam of this panel, thereby performing beam refinement.

[0130] Step 3. The UE decides the best serving SSB beam from step 2 based on the L1 RSRP measurement. Assume that the RSRP measurement is equal to the first value RSRP_1. As long as RSRP is equal to RSRP_1, the UE keeps measuring periodically on this narrow beam. When a change in the RSRP measurement above a threshold is found, the UE first measures with a wide beam on the same panel. If the wide beam measurement does not change (+ / -1dB), the UE knows that the same panel is still the best panel and only the narrow beam of the panel needs to be adjusted. The narrow beam is then checked, i.e., step 2 is performed again. Otherwise, if the wide beam measurement has changed significantly, the UE infers that the panel itself is no longer aligned. It will then skip all narrow beams for that panel and find another panel among the remaining panels with the best RSRP value (step 1), and then select the narrow beam of that panel (step 2). Note that for a 1x4 array, there is typically a 6dB gain difference between wide and narrow beams. For larger arrays, this difference becomes larger (+3dB each time the number of elements in the array doubles).

[0131] The above method 600 aims to find the beam correspondence with the narrow beam at the UE, which may increase the latency because the UE needs to measure on all its panels in turn and then measure on all narrow beams of at least one panel. Based on the latency requirements, the available power headroom of the UE and the mobility, there may be two scenarios. Scenario 1: The UE has enough time to align its panel and beam (e.g., enough measurement time of the SSB period before SDT transmission), and the UE is power limited (e.g., cell edge UE), then the UE chooses to prioritize beam accuracy to meet the beam correspondence requirement. Scenario 2: The UE does not have enough time to align its panel and beam and has enough power margin to compensate for the misalignment (e.g., the UE is close to the gNB), and then the UE chooses to skip beam refinement (step 2) and compensate for it by transmitting at a higher power.

[0132] The amount of power required for transmission depends on whether the UE uses 2-step RA or 4-step RA, because 2-step RA includes the payload in Msg A. When the number of PRBs is doubled, the UE needs to transmit with 3dB more power to maintain spectral efficiency.

[0133] With the method 600, it has a power saving impact on the UE and it is a tradeoff of cost, design choice and power consumption.

[0134] refer to Fig. 9A , which shows an example block diagram of a process 900 for a UE process for beam correspondence requirements according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. At 902, process 900 starts. At 904, UE 110 uses a wide beam to measure on each panel. At 906, UE 110 selects the best panel (hereinafter referred to as Px). At 908, UE 110 uses 2-step RACH or 4-step RACH. If UE 110 uses 2-step RACH, it continues to 912. If UE 110 uses 4-step RACH, it continues to 910. At 910, UE 110 transmits at a higher power. At 912, UE 110 uses Px to scan narrow beams. At 914, UE 110 determines the best SS beam = SS Y , SS Y RSRP threshold = R1. At 916, UE 110 determines SS Y Is it equal to or greater than R1. If SS Y is equal to or greater than R1, the process continues to 918. At 918, UE 110 performs measurements with the current narrow beam. Y is less than R1, the process continues to 920. At 920, UE 110 determines the condition “R1-6db is less than SS Y , where SS Y Is "less than R1" true? If true, the process continues to 912. If false, the process continues to 922. At 922, UE 110 uses Px to measure on the wide beam.

[0135] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of executing method 300 (e.g., terminal device 110) may include a component for executing the corresponding steps of method 300. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: means for acquiring, at a terminal device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) procedure; means for applying, at the terminal device, the first configuration of the RAR timer for the RA procedure to at least one RAR window; and means for applying, at the terminal device, the second configuration of the RAR timer for the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block (SSB) of the RA procedure.

[0137] In some example embodiments, each configuration includes a parameter indicating a time length of the RAR window, wherein the second configuration indicates a longer time length for the RAR window than the first configuration.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the second configuration applies only to the last RAR window of the RA process.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for maintaining a beam pattern of the terminal device in one direction within a last RAR window, wherein a transmission power associated with the last RAR window is determined based on at least one power increase step during the RA process.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for maintaining the beam pattern within the last RAR window for at least one subsequent test.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes: means for determining a first SSB parameter indicating an SSB period; and means for applying the indicated SSB period for performing alignment between the receive beam and the transmit beam.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for determining a second SSB parameter indicating the number of SSBs per synchronization signal burst SS-burst; and a component for applying the indicated number of SSBs for performing alignment between the receive beam and the transmit beam.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the indicated number of SSBs per SS-burst exceeds 2, with each SSB being associated with a dedicated index.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a number of beams to be tested based on the number of SSBs.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving at least one of the following from a network device: a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA process or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA process, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA process is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA process; a component for determining whether the RA process to be applied is a 2-step RA process or a 4-step RA process; and a component for applying the corresponding beam correspondence requirement to the RA process.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure, and wherein the requirement differs in at least one of: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA procedure.

[0147] In some example embodiments, means for acquiring the second configuration includes means for receiving, from the network device, an RRC message including the second configuration.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the RA process is performed for the purpose of beam correspondence testing, which includes alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for measuring within the last RAR window one or more of: effective isotropic radiated power EIRP and spherical coverage for UE conformance testing; equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS for downlink DL; and EIRP for uplink UL.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting a last preamble before a last RAR window; means for transitioning from an idle mode or an inactive mode to a connected mode; and means for performing uplink beam scanning.

[0152] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., network device 120) may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for determining, at a network device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) process during a random access (RA) process, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA process, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA process, the at least one other RAR window including at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block (SSB); and a component for transmitting the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

[0154] In some example embodiments, each configuration includes a parameter indicating a time length of the RAR window, wherein the second configuration indicates a longer time length for the RAR window than the first configuration.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the second configuration applies only to the last RAR window of the RA process.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the beam pattern of the terminal device is maintained in one direction within a last RAR window, wherein the transmission power associated with the last RAR window is determined based on at least one power increase step during the RA procedure.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for determining a first SSB parameter indicating an SSB period for performing alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam for a terminal device; and a component for transmitting the first SSB parameter to the terminal device.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a component for determining a second SSB parameter indicating the number of SSBs for each synchronization signal burst SS-burst used by a terminal device to perform alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam; and a component for transmitting the second SSB parameter to the terminal device.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the indicated number of SSBs per SS-burst exceeds 2, with each SSB being associated with a dedicated index.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for transmitting to a terminal device at least one of: a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA process or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA process, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA process is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA process; a component for determining whether the RA process to be applied is a 2-step RA process or a 4-step RA process; and a component for applying the corresponding beam correspondence requirement to the RA process.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure, and wherein the requirement differs in at least one of: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA procedure.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the second configuration comprises means for transmitting a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message comprising the second configuration to the terminal device.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the RA process is performed for the purpose of beam correspondence testing.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for performing an EIS spherical coverage test during a last RAR window; means for performing an EIRP test during a preamble of a last transmission of an RA; and means for performing an EIRP spherical coverage test during a preamble of a last transmission of an RA.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a component for determining a first uplink power when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, wherein the first uplink power is based on a last preamble sent by the terminal device before a last RAR window timer is triggered; a component for converting the terminal device to a connected mode; a component for determining a second received uplink power when the terminal device is in a connected mode, wherein the second received uplink power is based on a highest received power during a beam scan performed when the terminal device is in the connected mode; and a component for performing a beam tolerance test by comparing the first uplink power and the second uplink power.

[0166] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of executing method 600 (e.g., terminal device 110) may include a component for executing the corresponding steps of method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for acquiring, at a terminal device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) process; a component for applying, at the terminal device, the first configuration of the RAR timer for the RA process to at least one RAR window; a component for applying, at the terminal device, the second configuration of the RAR timer for the RA process to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least the last RAR window of the RA process for a given synchronization signal block (SSB); a component for receiving from a network device at least one of the following: a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA process or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA process, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA process is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA process; a component for determining whether the RA process to be applied is a 2-step RA process or a 4-step RA process; and a component for applying the corresponding beam correspondence requirement to the RA process.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure, and wherein the requirement differs in at least one of: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA procedure.

[0169] Fig. 9B An example block diagram of a process for a UE process for beam tolerance according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0170] At 930, a network (NTW) configuration with a timer 380 (T380) is performed for the UE to transition from idle / inactive to connected. At 932, the UE is inactive. At 934, the UE sends MSG 1 or MSG A during RA. At 936, the network measures and records the EIRP from the UE (peak and spherical coverage of the last MSG 1 or MSG A). At 938, the UE RAR timer expires. At 940, the UE declares a RA failure. At 942, when T380 expires, the network triggers the UE to transition to connected mode (e.g., paging). At 944, the UE is in connected mode and performs UL beam scanning. At 946, the network compares the UL power from the beam scanning in connected mode with the UL power from inactive mode. At 948, the beam margin requirement is calculated.

[0171] Fig.10 1 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1AThe terminal device 1010 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1040 can be coupled to the processor 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 can be coupled to the processor 1010.

[0172] The communication module 1040 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements, for example, the communication interface may be a wireless or wired connection to other network elements, or a software-based interface for communication.

[0173] As non-limiting examples, processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for a 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. Device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0174] The memory 1020 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) 1024, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memories that will not last for the duration of a power outage.

[0175] Computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 1010. Program 1030 may be stored in ROM 1024. Processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 1030 into RAM 1022.

[0176] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by means of a program so that the device 1000 can execute the following steps: Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed in Figure 9. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0177] In some embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 1000 (e.g., memory 1020) or other storage device accessible to the device 1000. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 1022 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig.11 An example of a computer readable medium 1100 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 1030 stored thereon.

[0178] Generally, 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 executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0179] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above-referenced Figure 3 , Figure 4 or Figure 6 Method 300, 400 or 600 described herein. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functionality of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0180] The program code for performing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that the program code causes the implementation of the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0181] 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 various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0182] Computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Computer readable medium can include but is not limited to electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage medium will include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer 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 foregoing. As used herein, the term "non-transient" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), rather than a limitation to data storage persistence (e.g., RAM to ROM).

[0183] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring the specific order shown or in a sequential order to perform these operations, or to perform all described operations, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Similarly, although several 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 should be construed as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment are also implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0184] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: Acquire a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer used during a random access RA procedure; applying the first configuration of the RAR timer for use during the RA procedure to at least one RAR window; as well as The second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA procedure is applied to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block SSB. 2 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein each configuration includes a parameter indicating a time length of the RAR window, wherein the second configuration indicates a longer time length for the RAR window than the first configuration. 3 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the second configuration is only applicable to the last RAR window of the RA process.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The beam pattern of the terminal device is maintained in one direction within the last RAR window, wherein a transmission power associated with the last RAR window is determined based on at least one power increase step during the RA procedure.

5. The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: Within the last RAR window, the beam pattern is maintained for at least one subsequent test.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: determining a first SSB parameter indicative of an SSB period; and The indicated SSB period is applied for performing alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: determining a second SSB parameter, wherein the second SSB parameter indicates the number of SSBs per synchronization signal burst SS-burst; and The indicated number of SSBs is applied for performing the alignment between the receive beam and the transmit beam.

8. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the indicated number of SSBs per SS-burst exceeds 2, each SSB being associated with a dedicated index.

9. The terminal device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: Based on the number of SSBs, the number of beams to be tested is determined.

10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: receiving, from a network device, at least one of: a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA procedure or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA procedure, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure; determining whether the RA process to be applied is a 2-step RA process or a 4-step RA process; and The corresponding beam correspondence requirement is applied to the RA process.

11. A terminal device according to claim 10, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA process is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA process, and wherein the requirement is different in at least one of the following: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA process.

12. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the terminal device is further configured to obtain the second configuration in the following manner: A radio resource control (RRC) message including the second configuration is received from a network device.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

14. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the RA process is performed for the purpose of a beam correspondence test, the beam correspondence test including alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam.

15. The terminal device according to claim 14, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: Within said last RAR window, measure one or more of the following: Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) and spherical coverage for UE conformance testing; Equivalent isotropic sensitivity EIS for downlink DL; and EIRP for uplink UL.

16. The terminal device of claim 15, wherein the terminal device is further caused to comply with a beam tolerance test, the beam tolerance test comprising: Transmitting a last preamble before the last RAR window; transition from idle mode or inactive mode to connected mode; as well as Perform uplink beam scanning.

17. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to: Determining a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response RAR timer for a random access RA procedure, wherein the first configuration is applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration is applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least a last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block SSB of the RA procedure; as well as The first configuration and the second configuration are transmitted to a terminal device.

18. The network device of claim 17, wherein each configuration includes a parameter indicating a time length of a RAR window, wherein the second configuration indicates a longer time length for the RAR window than the first configuration.

19. The network device according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the second configuration is only applicable to the last RAR window of the RA process.

20. A network device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein within the last RAR window, the beam pattern at the terminal device is maintained in one direction, and wherein the transmission power associated with the last RAR window is determined based on at least one power increase step during the RA process.

21. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the network device is further configured to: determining a first SSB parameter indicating an SSB period for the terminal device to perform alignment between a receive beam and a transmit beam; and Transmit the first SSB parameter to the terminal device.

22. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the network device is further configured to: determining a second SSB parameter indicating a number of SSBs for each synchronization signal burst SS-burst used by the terminal device to perform the alignment between the receive beam and the transmit beam; and Transmit the second SSB parameter to the terminal device.

23. The network device of claim 22, wherein the indicated number of SSBs per SS-burst exceeds 2, each SSB being associated with a dedicated index.

24. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the network device is further configured to: transmitting to the terminal device at least one of: a first indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 2-step RA procedure or a second indication of a beam correspondence requirement for a 4-step RA procedure, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA procedure is different from the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA procedure; determining whether the RA procedure to be applied is a 2-step RA procedure or a 4-step RA procedure; and The corresponding beam correspondence requirement is applied to the RA process.

25. A network device according to claim 24, wherein the beam correspondence requirement for the 2-step RA process is stricter than the beam correspondence requirement for the 4-step RA process, and wherein the requirement differs in at least one of the following: the time required by the terminal device to measure the downlink beam and infer the uplink beam, or the uplink transmission power required to transmit at least one RA message during the RA process.

26. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the network device is further caused to transmit the second configuration by: A Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including the second configuration is transmitted to the terminal device.

27. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 26, wherein the RA procedure is performed for the purpose of beam correspondence testing.

28. The network device of claim 27, wherein the network device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Perform an EIS spherical coverage test during the last RAR window; Performing an EIRP test during the preamble of the last transmission of the RA; and The EIRP spherical coverage test is performed during the preamble of the last transmission of the RA.

29. The network device according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the network device is further configured to perform: Determining a first uplink power when the terminal device is in an idle mode or an inactive mode, wherein the first uplink power is based on a last preamble sent by the terminal device before a last RAR window timer is triggered; Converting the terminal device into a connection mode; determining a second received uplink power when the terminal device is in a connected mode, wherein the second received uplink power is based on a highest received power during beam scanning performed by the terminal device in the connected mode; as well as A beam margin test is performed by comparing the first uplink power and the second uplink power.

30. A method comprising: Acquire, at a terminal device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer used during a random access (RA) procedure; applying, at the terminal device, the first configuration of the RAR timer for use during the RA procedure to at least one RAR window; as well as The second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA procedure is applied at the terminal device to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block SSB.

31. A method comprising: Determining, at a network device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) procedure during a random access (RA) procedure, wherein the first configuration is applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration is applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, wherein the at least one other RAR window includes at least a last RAR window for a given synchronization signal block (SSB) of the RA procedure; as well as The first configuration and the second configuration are transmitted to a terminal device.

32. An apparatus comprising: A means for obtaining, at a terminal device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response (RAR) timer for a random access (RA) procedure during a random access (RA) procedure; means for applying, at the terminal device, the first configuration of the RAR timer for use during the RA procedure to at least one RAR window; as well as means for applying, at the terminal device, the second configuration of the RAR timer used during the RA procedure to at least one other RAR window, wherein the at least one other RAR window comprises at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block SSB.

33. An apparatus comprising: means for determining, at a network device, a first configuration and a second configuration of a random access response, RAR, timer for a random access, RA, procedure, the first configuration being applicable to at least one RAR window during the RA procedure, and the second configuration being applicable to at least one other RAR window during the RA procedure, the at least one other RAR window comprising at least a last RAR window of the RA procedure for a given synchronization signal block, SSB; as well as Means for transmitting the first configuration and the second configuration to a terminal device.

34. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to claim 30 or 31.

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