Access method, device and related equipment

By carrying beam identifiers in the PRACH message, the network side device determines whether the target beam corresponds to the received beam, solving the problem of waste of random access resources in the cell overlap area terminals, and improving system resource usage efficiency and communication performance.

CN120263362APending Publication Date: 2025-07-04CHINA SATELLITE NETWORK SYSTEM CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202410002102.0
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-01-02
Publication Date
2025-07-04

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In a mobile communication system, when a terminal in the cell overlapping area performs random access, the PRACH message may be received by multiple cells, resulting in invalid occupation of random access resources and waste of resources.

Method used

By carrying the beam identification of the target beam selected by the terminal in the PRACH message, the network side device determines whether the target beam corresponds to the first beam. If otherwise, the PRACH message will be discarded to avoid performing subsequent random access procedures.

Benefits of technology

It improves the efficiency of system resource usage, avoids misjudgment of beam access, reduces the waste of random access resources, and improves the performance of the communication system.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

Provided in an embodiment of the present invention are an access method, device and related equipment, the method comprising: receiving a physical random access channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal through a first beam, the PRACH message carrying a beam identifier of a target beam to which the terminal selects to access; judging whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; and if not, discarding the PRACH message. Therefore, the network side equipment does not perform a subsequent random access process on the random access request of which the expected beam is not the beam for receiving the PRACH message, so that invalid occupation of random access resources is avoided.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to an access method, apparatus, and related equipment. Background Art

[0002] For a mobile communication system, when a terminal in a cell overlapping area performs random access, a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) message may be received by multiple cells. Among the cells that simultaneously receive the PRACH message, only one cell will complete the random access.

[0003] During this process, the random access resources will be occupied by invalid requests for a long time, resulting in waste of random access resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide an access method, apparatus, and related equipment, so as to enable a network-side device not to perform subsequent random access procedures on a random access request whose desired beam is not the beam that receives the PRACH message, and avoid invalid occupation of random access resources.

[0005] The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect of the present application, an access method is provided, which is applied to a network-side device. The method includes:

[0007] Receiving a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal through a first beam, where the PRACH message carries a beam identifier of a target beam selected by the terminal for access;

[0008] Determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

[0009] Optionally, if so, responding to the random access of the terminal or caching the PRACH message.

[0010] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0011] Sending a system message, where the system message carries beam identifier information of the beam that sends the system message.

[0012] Optionally, the system information block (SIB) message included in the system message carries the beam identifier information.

[0013] Optionally, a bit representing the beam identifier of the target beam is included in the MAC PDU of the PRACH message.

[0014] Optionally, beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in the beam set are carried in the PRACH message;

[0015] Wherein, the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal according to the system message signal strength of different beams received, the operation trajectory information of the network side device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

[0016] Optionally, determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam includes:

[0017] Determining whether the first beam is in the beam set, if not, discarding the PRACH message.

[0018] Optionally, it further includes:

[0019] If the first beam is in the beam set, determining whether the first beam is the highest priority, if not, caching the PRACH message.

[0020] Optionally, it further includes:

[0021] If the first beam is the highest priority, determining whether to allow the terminal to access according to the network load condition;

[0022] If so, responding to the random access of the terminal;

[0023] If not, sending an indication message to the beam of the next priority, where the indication message is used to indicate whether the beam of the next priority allows the terminal to access.

[0024] Optionally, it further includes:

[0025] After receiving the indication message, determining whether to allow the terminal to access according to the cached PRACH message and the network load condition;

[0026] If so, responding to the random access of the terminal;

[0027] If not, determining whether the beam for receiving the PRACH message is the beam with the lowest priority in the beam set included in the PRACH message, if so, discarding the PRACH message; if not, sending the indication message to the beam of the next priority.

[0028] In a second aspect of the present application, an access method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes:

[0029] Receiving system messages sent by a network side device in at least one beam direction, where beam identifiers of the beams for sending the system messages are carried in the system messages;

[0030] Select a target beam for access according to the system message, and send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device can determine whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message. If so, respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0031] Optionally, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

[0032] Optionally, the PRACH message carries the beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in a beam set.

[0033] Wherein, the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal according to the system message signal strength of different beams received, the operating trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

[0034] In a third aspect of the present application, an access device is provided, which is applied to a network-side device. The device includes:

[0035] A first receiving module, configured to receive a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal through a first beam. The beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message.

[0036] A judgment module, configured to judge whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0037] In a fourth aspect of the present application, an access device is provided, which is applied to a terminal. The device includes:

[0038] A second receiving module, configured to receive system messages sent by a network-side device in at least one beam direction. The beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message.

[0039] A first sending module, configured to select a target beam for access according to the system message, and send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device can determine whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message. If so, respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0040] In a fifth aspect of the present application, there is provided a network-side device, including a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, where the processor, the communication interface, and the memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus;

[0041] The memory is used for storing a computer program;

[0042] The processor is configured to, when executing the program stored on the memory, implement any of the above method steps applied to the network side.

[0043] In a sixth aspect of the present application, there is provided a terminal, including a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, where the processor, the communication interface, and the memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus;

[0044] The memory is used for storing a computer program;

[0045] The processor is configured to, when executing the program stored on the memory, implement any of the above method steps applied to the terminal.

[0046] In a seventh aspect of the present application, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, any of the above method steps is implemented.

[0047] Beneficial effects of the application embodiments:

[0048] It can be seen that for the access method, device, and related equipment provided in the embodiments of the present application, a physical random access channel PRACH message sent by a terminal is received through a first beam, and a beam identifier of a target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message; it is determined whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, the PRACH message is discarded.

[0049] The terminal can parse the system message to determine the beam corresponding to the system message, and then determine the target beam expected to be accessed from it. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message sent by the terminal. The network-side device decides whether to execute the subsequent process of random access for the terminal by determining whether the beam identifier belongs to the first beam for receiving the PRACH message sent by the terminal. Only when the network-side device determines that the beam expected to be accessed by the terminal is the first beam, will it execute the subsequent random access process. Thus, misjudgment of beam access is avoided, that is, it is avoided that the network-side device directly executes the subsequent random access process, but the terminal finally fails to access, resulting in waste of random access resources, thereby improving the system resource utilization efficiency and the performance of the communication system.

[0050] Of course, when implementing any product or method of the present invention, it is not necessarily required to achieve all the above-mentioned advantages at the same time. Description of the Drawings

[0051] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art can also obtain other embodiments based on these drawings.

[0052] Figure 1 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for access applied to a network-side device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 2 It is a signaling interaction diagram of an access method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 It is another schematic flowchart of a method for access applied to a network-side device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for access applied to a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of an access device applied to a network side provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of an access device applied to a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of a network-side device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0060] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on this application belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0061] The random access process refers to the process from when the terminal sends a random access preamble to start attempting to access the network until a basic signaling connection is established with the network.

[0062] The main purposes of random access are for the terminal to obtain uplink time synchronization and obtain uplink resources.

[0063] For a mobile communication system, when a terminal in a cell overlap area performs random access, the PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) message may be received by multiple cells. Among the cells that receive the PRACH message simultaneously, only one cell will complete the random access.

[0064] In this process, the random access resources will be occupied by invalidity for a long time, resulting in waste of random access resources.

[0065] The above problems are more obvious in non-terrestrial network communication systems.

[0066] To solve the problem of low utilization efficiency of random access resources, an access method is provided in an embodiment of the present application. Refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is a schematic flowchart of an access method applied to the network side provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0067] S101: Receive a Physical Random Access Channel PRACH message sent by a terminal through a first beam. The PRACH message carries a beam identifier of a target beam selected by the terminal for access.

[0068] In an embodiment of the present application, the network side device is a device that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices, and can also be called a radio access network (RAN) device, etc. Network devices include but are not limited to: next generation node B (gNB) in 5G, evolved node B (eNB), baseband unit (BBU), transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), etc. The network side device can also be a non-terrestrial network node that bears access node functions, such as satellites, drones, spacecraft, etc.

[0069] Specifically, the network side device sends system messages, which may include MIB and SIB1. The above system messages are transmitted downlink in a broadcast manner. Among them, MIB can be broadcast through a broadcast channel, and MIB carries some necessary parameters in the random access process. After obtaining the MIB, the terminal needs to obtain the SIB1 message. The SIB1 message can be broadcast on the PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), and mainly includes: access control parameters, channel configurations related to initial access, system message request configurations, scheduling information of other system messages, etc.

[0070] As an example, the MIB is broadcast together with the SSB, and the terminal can obtain the SSB message and the MIB through blind detection. The search space of the PDCCH of SIB1 is obtained through the MIB, and then SIB1 is obtained by detecting this PDCCH.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal usually receives system messages in multiple beam directions. For each system message, it can be parsed to obtain the beam identifier.

[0072] When the terminal receives system messages in multiple beam directions, it can select one of the multiple system messages for response.

[0073] As an example, the basis for selection can be the signal strength. That is, the terminal can determine the beam corresponding to the system message with the maximum signal strength as the target beam, and then send a PRACH message uplink for this system message. The beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in this message.

[0074] The network-side device receives the physical random access channel PRACH message sent by the terminal through the first beam.

[0075] S102: Determine whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, discard the PRACH message.

[0076] The network-side device receives the message carried on the PRACH channel sent by the terminal through the first beam. The identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal is carried in this message. The network-side device can determine whether the terminal identifier corresponds to the first beam by identifying the identifier. That is, it determines whether the system message responded by the terminal is in the direction of the first beam. If not, it indicates that the target beam selected by the terminal is not the first beam, and then the PRACH message can be directly discarded without performing the subsequent processes of random access, and no random access resources will be allocated to the terminal.

[0077] It can be seen that in the access method applied to the network-side device provided by the embodiments of the present application, the network-side device receives the physical random access channel PRACH message sent by the terminal through the first beam. The beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message; it is determined whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, the PRACH message is discarded.

[0078] It can be seen that the terminal can identify the beam for sending system messages. When receiving system messages from multiple beams, the terminal can determine the target beam for expected access from them, and the beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message sent by the terminal. The network-side device decides whether to execute the subsequent procedures of random access for the terminal by determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam for receiving the PRACH message. Only when the network-side device determines that the beam expected by the terminal for access is the first beam, will it execute the subsequent random access procedures. Thus, misjudgment of beam access is avoided, that is, it is avoided that the network-side device directly executes the subsequent random access procedures, but the terminal finally cannot access, resulting in waste of random access resources, thereby improving the system resource utilization efficiency and the performance of the communication system.

[0079] In one embodiment of the present application, if the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam, then respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message.

[0080] If the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam, it indicates that the target beam selected by the terminal is the first beam for receiving the PRACH message. Thus, the network-side device can respond to the random access of the terminal and execute the subsequent procedures of random access.

[0081] As an example, the subsequent procedures of random access may include: allocating random access resources for the terminal, and the terminal receiving a random access response (i.e., Message 2, Msg2) on the PDCCH / PDSCH; the terminal sending Message 3 (i.e., Message 3, Msg3) on the PUSCH; the terminal receiving a contention resolution message (i.e., Message 4, Msg4) on the PDSCH. For details, reference can be made to the related art and will not be elaborated here.

[0082] In one embodiment of the present application, the method further includes:

[0083] Sending a system message, and the beam identifier information of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message.

[0084] Specifically, the information carried in the system message is expanded, and the beam identifier information of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message. Among them, the beam identifier information may be the ID information of the beam.

[0085] Thus, the terminal can parse the system message to determine the beam identifier information of the beam for sending the system message.

[0086] In one embodiment of the present application, the beam identifier is carried in the system information block SIB message included in the system message.

[0087] As described above, the system message may include an MIB message and an SIB message. In the embodiments of the present application, the content carried in the SIB message may be expanded so that the SIB message carries a beam identifier.

[0088] In one embodiment of the present application, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

[0089] Specifically, the MAC PDU format of the PRACH is changed to expand the field of the beam ID, that is, a fixed number of bits is used in the PRACH MAC PDU to identify the beam ID of the target beam selected by the terminal for access.

[0090] The access method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be further introduced below in conjunction with the signaling interaction diagram. See Figure 2 , Figure 2 which is a signaling interaction diagram of the access method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0091] As Figure 2 shown, it includes the following steps:

[0092] S201: The network-side device broadcasts broadcast information and SIB messages.

[0093] The network-side device periodically broadcasts broadcast information. After receiving the broadcast information, the terminal can parse out the information about the SIB resources, and then receive the SIB message on the corresponding resources. Among them, the SIB message carries a beam identifier.

[0094] S202: The terminal synchronizes and parses the broadcast information and SIB messages.

[0095] Since the terminal may be within the coverage of multiple beams, the terminal usually receives system messages from multiple beams. For each system message, it can be parsed to obtain the beam identifier.

[0096] When the terminal receives system messages from multiple beams, it can select one of the multiple system messages for response. The selection basis may be the signal strength, that is, the terminal can determine the beam corresponding to the system message with the maximum signal strength as the target beam.

[0097] S203: The terminal uplink-transmits a PRACH message.

[0098] After the terminal determines the target beam, for the system message corresponding to the target beam, it uplink-transmits a PRACH message, and the message carries the beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access.

[0099] S204: The network-side device receives the PRACH message through the first beam and parses out the beam identifier carried by the PRACH.

[0100] S205: The network device determines whether the PRACH message is sent to the first beam.

[0101] Specifically, the network device makes a judgment based on the parsed beam identifier. By determining whether the beam identifier corresponds to the first beam, it can be determined whether the PRACH is sent to the first beam, that is, whether the beam expected to be accessed by the terminal is the first beam. If so, S206 is executed. If not, the PRACH message is discarded and no subsequent processing is performed.

[0102] S206: The network device allocates random access resources.

[0103] S207: The network device sends random access response information downlink.

[0104] Specifically, this message can be an RAR (Random Access Response) message, also known as Message 2 (Msg2).

[0105] S208: The terminal performs subsequent random access procedures according to the resource information carried in the random access response message.

[0106] Specifically, the subsequent random access procedures may include: the terminal sends Message 3 (i.e., Message 3, Msg3) on the PUSCH; the terminal receives a contention resolution message (i.e., Message 4, Msg4) on the PDSCH. For details, reference can be made to the related art and will not be elaborated here.

[0107] It can be seen that the terminal can parse the system message, determine the beam corresponding to the system message, and then determine the target beam expected to be accessed therefrom. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message sent by the terminal. The network device decides whether to execute the subsequent procedures of random access for the terminal by determining whether the beam identifier belongs to the first beam for receiving the PRACH message sent by the terminal. Only when the network device determines that the beam expected to be accessed by the terminal is the first beam, will it execute the subsequent random access procedures. Thus, misjudgment of beam access is avoided, that is, it is avoided that the network device directly executes the subsequent random access procedures, but the terminal finally fails to access, resulting in waste of random access resources, thereby improving the system resource utilization efficiency and the performance of the communication system.

[0108] In an embodiment of the present application, the beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in the beam set are carried in the PRACH message; wherein, the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal according to the signal strength of the system messages of different beams received, the operation trajectory information of the network device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

[0109] Among them, the operation trajectory information may be ephemeris information.

[0110] Specifically, when the terminal receives system messages from different beams, it can determine multiple candidate beams from them to form a beam set. Among them, the number of beams included in the beam set can be preset.

[0111] The candidate beams have different priorities, and the priority of a candidate beam represents the expectation of the terminal to access this beam. The higher the priority, the higher the expectation of the terminal to access this beam.

[0112] When determining the priority of a candidate beam, the terminal can comprehensively consider the signal strength of the system message of the beam, the running trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, and the beam service duration.

[0113] The signal strength of the system message of the beam can directly reflect the expected communication quality of the terminal accessing this beam.

[0114] According to the running trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, it can be calculated that in the next period of time, the network-side device gradually moves away from the terminal or gradually approaches the terminal, which can also reflect to a certain extent the expected communication quality of the terminal accessing this beam.

[0115] In addition, the longer the beam service duration, the higher the expected communication quality of the terminal accessing this beam.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, the above multiple factors can be comprehensively considered. For example, corresponding weighting weights are set for the above different factors, the expected communication quality of the terminal accessing each beam is calculated, and the priority of the beam is determined according to the expected communication quality.

[0117] Correspondingly, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message contains bit positions for characterizing the beam identifiers of the candidate beams in the beam set, and the MAC PDU format of the PRACH is changed to expand the field of the beam ID, that is, a fixed number of bits are used in the PRACH MAC PDU to identify the beam ID of the candidate beams in the beam set.

[0118] In addition, the priority of each candidate beam needs to be reflected. As an example, the priority of the beam can be characterized according to the order of the beam identifier in the MAC PDU.

[0119] In an embodiment of the present application, the network-side device determines whether the beam identifier corresponds to the first beam. Specifically: it determines whether the first beam is in the beam set. If not, the PRACH message is discarded.

[0120] In an embodiment of the present application, if the first beam is in the beam set, it determines whether the first beam is the highest priority. If not, the PRACH message is cached.

[0121] In one embodiment of the present application, if the first beam is of the highest priority, it is determined whether to allow the terminal to access according to the network load condition; if allowed, the random access of the terminal is responded to;

[0122] If not allowed, an indication message is sent to the beam of the next priority, and the indication message is used to indicate whether the beam of the next priority allows the terminal to access.

[0123] In one embodiment of the present application, if the indication message is received, it is determined whether to allow the terminal to access according to the cached PRACH message and the network load condition;

[0124] If so, the random access of the terminal is responded to;

[0125] If not, it is determined whether the beam for receiving the PRACH message is the beam of the lowest priority in the beam set included in the PRACH message. If so, the PRACH message is discarded; if not, the indication message is sent to the beam of the next priority.

[0126] Specifically, the random access process of the network side device is introduced below in conjunction with Figure 3 See Figure 3 , Figure 3 which is another schematic flowchart of the access method applied to the network side device provided by the embodiment of the present application, and includes the following steps:

[0127] S301: Receive a PRACH message through the first beam.

[0128] S302: Parse the PRACH message to determine a beam set composed of candidate beams.

[0129] S303: Determine whether the first beam is in the beam set. If so, execute S304; if not, execute S305.

[0130] S304: Determine whether the first beam is of the highest priority. If so, execute S306; if not, execute S307.

[0131] S305: Discard the PRACH message.

[0132] S306: Determine whether to allow the terminal to access according to the network load condition. If so, execute S308; if not, execute S309.

[0133] S307: Cache the PRACH message.

[0134] S308: Respond to the random access of the terminal.

[0135] S309: Send an indication message to the beam of the next priority.

[0136] After executing S307, if an indication message sent by a beam of the previous priority is received, step S310 is triggered. The indication message is used to indicate whether the beam of the next priority allows the terminal to access.

[0137] S310: Determine whether to allow the terminal to access according to the cached PRACH message and the network load condition. If yes, execute S311; if no, execute S312.

[0138] S311: Respond to the random access of the terminal.

[0139] S312: Determine whether the beam for receiving the PRACH message is the beam with the lowest priority in the beam set included in the PRACH message. If yes, execute S313; if no, execute S314.

[0140] S313: Discard the PRACH message.

[0141] S314: Send an indication message to the beam of the next priority.

[0142] It can be seen that in this embodiment, the beam set is carried in the PRACH message sent by the terminal. The beam set includes beam identifiers of multiple candidate beams, and the priorities of the candidate beams are different. The priority of the candidate beam represents the expectation of the terminal to access the beam. The higher the priority, the higher the expectation of the terminal to access the beam.

[0143] The network side device first determines whether the first beam is in the beam set. If not, the PRACH message can be directly discarded to avoid invalid occupation of random access resources.

[0144] If the network side device determines that the first beam is in the beam set and is the highest priority, it indicates that the terminal has the highest expectation to access the first beam. The network side device determines whether to allow the terminal to access the first beam according to the resource occupation condition. If the resource occupation of the network side device is large and cannot support the terminal to access the first beam, an indication message is sent to the beam of the next priority. The indication message is used to indicate whether the beam of the next priority allows the terminal to access.

[0145] If the network-side device determines that the first beam is in the beam set but its priority is not the highest, the network-side device caches the PRACH message, and the caching time of the message can be set according to requirements. During the caching of the message, if the above indication information is received, indicating that all beams with a priority higher than its own do not support terminal access due to resource constraints, at this time, the network-side device can determine whether the beam receiving the PRACH message allows the terminal to access. If it allows, it responds to the random access of the terminal. If not, it determines whether the beam receiving the PRACH message is the beam with the lowest priority in the beam set included in the PRACH message. If so, it directly discards the PRACH; if not, it continues to send the indication information to the beam with the next lower priority.

[0146] It can be seen that by setting a beam set including candidate beams with different priorities, when the high-priority beam cannot allow the terminal to access due to resource constraints, the lower-priority beam can also perform a fallback judgment and respond to the random access request of the terminal when the resources are not limited. This is beneficial to the terminal to access the network-side device efficiently and quickly.

[0147] In an embodiment of the present application, the network-side device is a non-terrestrial network node device carrying an access network.

[0148] That is, the access method provided by the present application can be applied not only to a terrestrial network communication system but also to a non-terrestrial network communication system. For a non-terrestrial network communication system, the transmission distance is relatively long and the coverage area of the beam is relatively large, so the cross-coverage situation of the beams is inevitable and more. As a result, the situation where the same PRACH message is received by multiple beams simultaneously is more serious, and the invalid occupation of random access resources is more serious. At the same time, due to the relatively large transmission delay, the timeout release period of the resources is longer, and the resource utilization efficiency is lower.

[0149] Applying the access method provided by the embodiment of the present application can effectively reduce the situation of invalid occupation of random access resources caused by the relatively serious beam cross-coverage situation, and greatly improve the resource utilization efficiency of the network-side device. It can be seen that the access method provided by the embodiment of the present application can well adapt to the non-terrestrial network communication system and effectively solve a pain point in the non-terrestrial network communication system.

[0150] The embodiment of the present application also provides an access method applied to a terminal. Refer to Figure 4 , and the method includes the following steps:

[0151] S401: Receive the system message sent by the network-side device in at least one beam direction, where the beam identifier of the beam sending the system message is carried in the system message.

[0152] S402: Select the target beam for access according to the system message, and send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device can determine whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message. If so, respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0153] It can be seen that for the access method applied to the terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application, the system message sent by the network-side device in at least one beam direction is received, and the beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message. According to the system message, select the target beam for access and send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message uplink. The beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device can determine whether the beam identifier belongs to the beam for receiving the PRACH message. If so, respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0154] Therefore, misjudgment of beam access is avoided, that is, the network-side device is prevented from directly executing the subsequent random access process, but the terminal cannot finally access, resulting in waste of random access resources, thereby improving the system resource utilization efficiency and the performance of the communication system.

[0155] In one embodiment of the present application, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

[0156] In one embodiment of the present application, the beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in the beam set are carried in the PRACH message;

[0157] wherein, the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal according to the system message signal strength of different beams, the running trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

[0158] The embodiments of the present application also provide an access device applied to the network side. Refer to Figure 5 , including:

[0159] A first receiving module 501, configured to receive a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by the terminal through a first beam. The beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message;

[0160] A judgment module 502, configured to judge whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam. If not, discard the PRACH message.

[0161] By using the access device applied to the network side provided in the embodiments of the present application, misjudgment of beam access can be avoided, that is, the network side device is prevented from directly executing the subsequent random access process, but the terminal cannot finally access, resulting in waste of random access resources. Therefore, the system resource utilization efficiency is improved, and the performance of the communication system is improved.

[0162] In one embodiment of the present application, the beam identifier is carried in the system information block SIB message included in the system message.

[0163] In one embodiment of the present application, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

[0164] The embodiments of the present application further provide an access device applied to a terminal. Refer to Figure 6 , including:

[0165] A second receiving module 601, configured to receive a system message sent by a network side device in at least one beam direction, where the beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message;

[0166] A first sending module 602, configured to select a target beam for access according to the system message, and send a physical random access channel PRACH message, where the beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network side device determines whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message; if so, respond to the random access of the terminal, or cache the PRACH message; if not, discard the PRACH message.

[0167] By using the access device applied to the terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application, misjudgment of beam access can be avoided, that is, the network side device is prevented from directly executing the subsequent random access process, but the terminal cannot finally access, resulting in waste of random access resources. Therefore, the system resource utilization efficiency is improved, and the performance of the communication system is improved.

[0168] In one embodiment of the present application, the beam identifier is carried in the system information block SIB message included in the system message.

[0169] In one embodiment of the present application, the MAC PDU of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

[0170] The embodiments of the present application further provide a network side device. The network side device may be an electronic device. As Figure 7 shown, it includes a processor 701, a communication interface 702, a memory 703, and a communication bus 704. Among them, the processor 701, the communication interface 702, and the memory 703 complete communication with each other through the communication bus 704.

[0171] A memory 703 for storing a computer program;

[0172] A processor 701, when executing the program stored in the memory 703, implements the following steps:

[0173] Receiving a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal through a first beam, where the beam identifier of a target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message;

[0174] Determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

[0175] An embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal, which may be an electronic device, such as Figure 8 As shown, it includes a processor 801, a communication interface 802, a memory 803, and a communication bus 804. Among them, the processor 801, the communication interface 802, and the memory 803 communicate with each other through the communication bus 804.

[0176] A memory 803 for storing a computer program;

[0177] A processor 801, when executing the program stored in the memory 803, implements the following steps:

[0178] Receiving system messages sent by a network-side device in at least one beam direction, where the beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message;

[0179] According to the system message, selecting a target beam for access and sending a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message, where the beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device determines whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message; if so, responding to the random access of the terminal or caching the PRACH message; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

[0180] The communication bus mentioned in the above electronic device may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of simplicity, only a thick line is used in the figure to represent it, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0181] The communication interface is used for communication between the above-mentioned electronic device and other devices.

[0182] The memory may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), or may also include a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor.

[0183] The aforementioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), etc.; it may also be a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0184] In another embodiment provided by the present invention, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above access methods are implemented.

[0185] In another embodiment provided by the present invention, there is also provided a computer program product containing instructions, which when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the access methods in the above embodiments.

[0186] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0187] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise", or any other variation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including a..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device that includes the element.

[0188] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. For the same or similar parts among the embodiments, reference can be made to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and reference can be made to the corresponding parts of the method embodiments for the relevant content.

[0189] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention are all included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An access method, characterized in that, Applied to a network-side device, the method includes: Receiving a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal via a first beam, where the beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message; Determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: If so, responding to the random access of the terminal or caching the PRACH message.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Sending a system message, where the beam identifier information of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The beam identifier information is carried in the System Information Block (SIB) message included in the system message.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of the PRACH message includes bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The PRACH message carries the beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in a beam set; wherein the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal based on the signal strength of the system messages of different beams received, the operation trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The determining whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam includes: Determining whether the first beam is in the beam set; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein It further includes: If the first beam is in the beam set, determining whether the first beam is the highest priority; if not, caching the PRACH message.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein It further includes: If the first beam is the highest priority, determining whether to allow the terminal to access according to the network load condition; If so, responding to the random access of the terminal; If not, sending an indication message to the beam of the next priority, where the indication message is used to indicate whether the beam of the next priority allows the terminal to access.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein It further includes: After receiving the indication message, determining whether to allow the terminal to access based on the cached PRACH message and the network load condition; If so, responding to the random access of the terminal; If not, determining whether the beam for receiving the PRACH message is the lowest priority beam in the beam set included in the PRACH message; if so, discarding the PRACH message; If not, sending the indication message to the beam of the next priority.

11. An access method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal, the method includes: Receiving system messages sent by a network-side device in at least one beam direction, where the beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message; According to the system message, selecting a target beam for access and sending a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message, where the beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device determines whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message; if so, responding to the random access of the terminal or caching the PRACH message; if not, discarding the PRACH message.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein Bits for characterizing the beam identifier of the target beam are included in the MAC PDU of the PRACH message.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The beam identifiers of beams with different priorities in the beam set are carried in the PRACH message. Among them, the priority of the beam is determined by the terminal according to the system message signal strength of different received beams, the operating trajectory information of the network-side device to which the beam belongs, and / or the beam service duration.

14. An access device, applied to a network-side device, characterized in that The device includes: A first receiving module, configured to receive a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message sent by a terminal through a first beam, where the beam identifier of the target beam selected by the terminal for access is carried in the PRACH message. A judgment module, configured to judge whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the first beam; if not, discard the PRACH message.

15. An access device, applied to a terminal, characterized in that, The device includes: A second receiving module, configured to receive system messages sent by a network-side device in at least one beam direction, where the beam identifier of the beam for sending the system message is carried in the system message. A first sending module, configured to select a target beam for access according to the system message and send a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) message, where the beam identifier of the target beam is carried in the PRACH message, so that the network-side device judges whether the beam identifier of the target beam corresponds to the beam for receiving the PRACH message; if so, respond to the random access of the terminal or cache the PRACH message; if not, discard the PRACH message.

16. A network-side device, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus. Among them, the processor, the communication interface, and the memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus. The memory is used for storing computer programs. When the processor is configured to execute the programs stored on the memory, it implements the method steps described in any one of claims 1-10.

17. A terminal, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus. Among them, the processor, the communication interface, and the memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus. The memory is used for storing computer programs. When the processor is configured to execute the programs stored on the memory, it implements the method steps described in any one of claims 11-13.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method steps described in any one of claims 1-10 or 11-13.