A resource set selection method and a communication device

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a resource set selection method and a communication device, relates to the field of communication, is suitable for the random access process of NR, can execute different resource set selection strategies according to different scenes, and is beneficial to the normal performance of random access in each scene. The method comprises the following steps: in the case that the MSG1 sending number is greater than a first threshold, determining whether to back off the current MSG1 repetition number according to the current MSG1 repetition number. Or, in the case that the MSG1 sending number is greater than the first threshold, determining whether to back off the current MSG1 repetition number according to the current MSG1 repetition number and the characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition number. In the case that it is determined to back off the current MSG1 repetition number, selecting a resource set according to the MSG1 repetition number after back off and the characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition number in the current random access characteristics.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The original application has the application number 202480001035.9, the application date is May 28, 2024, and the invention title is "A Resource Set Selection Method and Communication Device". The entire contents of the original application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311014348.1, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 10, 2023, entitled “A Resource Set Selection Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a resource set selection method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0004] Random access is an essential process in a communication system for a user equipment (UE) to establish a wireless link with network-side equipment. Network-side equipment refers to access network devices, such as base stations. Through random access, the user terminal can establish a wireless link with the network-side equipment.

[0005] The random access process includes the user terminal sending MSG1 (message 1) to the network-side equipment. This sending of MSG1 involves multiple attempts, i.e., repeated transmission of MSG1. This MSG1 repetition is one of the important characteristics of the random access process, and there are multiple possible numbers of MSG1 repetitions. When the RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) measured by the user terminal is low, the number of MSG1 repetitions will be backdated from a low number to a high number, and the resource set corresponding to the backdated number of MSG1 repetitions will be selected to improve the success rate of random access.

[0006] However, in NR (New Radio), random access may also include features other than MSG1 repetition, such as MSG3 (message 3) repetition. Therefore, when backing up the number of MSG1 repetitions, all features of random access need to be considered comprehensively to ensure the normal operation of random access. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This application provides a resource set selection method and communication device applicable to the random access process of NR, which can execute different resource set selection strategies according to different scenarios, thus facilitating the normal operation of random access in various scenarios.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions.

[0009] Firstly, a resource set selection method is provided, comprising: if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count; or, if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count and characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition count. If it is determined that the current MSG1 repetition count should be rolled back, a resource set is selected based on the rolled-back MSG1 repetition count and characteristics of the current random access characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition count.

[0010] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count includes: if a resource set associated with a third characteristic exists, determining to roll back the first characteristic. The first characteristic is the current MSG1 repetition count, and the third characteristic is the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes determining not to roll back if there is no resource set associated with the third characteristic.

[0012] In one possible implementation, after determining to roll back the first feature, the method further includes: rolling back the first feature to the third feature.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the resource set is selected based on the MSG1 repetition count after rollback and the characteristics of the current random access features other than the MSG1 repetition count. This includes selecting the first resource set if a first resource set exists that is associated with both the second and third characteristics. The second characteristic is the characteristic of the current random access features other than the MSG1 repetition count.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: when there are resource sets associated with subsets of the second and third characteristics, selecting the resource set based on characteristic priority.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the second characteristic includes a third characteristic. Selecting a resource set based on characteristic priority includes: selecting the resource set associated with the second characteristic when the characteristic priority of the second characteristic is higher than that of the third characteristic; and selecting the resource set associated with the third characteristic when the characteristic priority of the second characteristic is lower than that of the third characteristic.

[0016] In one possible implementation, if a first resource set does not exist, the resource set associated with the third characteristic is selected.

[0017] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count and other characteristics includes: determining to roll back the first characteristic if a second resource set is associated with both a subset of the fourth characteristic and the second characteristic. The first characteristic is the current MSG1 repetition count. The second characteristic is the current random access characteristic excluding the MSG1 repetition count. The fourth characteristic is the number of MSG1 repetitions configured by the access network device that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the method further includes determining not to rollback if there is no resource set associated with both the subset of the fourth characteristic and the second characteristic.

[0019] In one possible implementation, when there are multiple second resource sets, after determining to roll back the first characteristic, the method further includes: rolling back the first characteristic to a fifth characteristic, where the fifth characteristic is a characteristic among the fourth characteristics. The fifth characteristic is the MSG1 repetition count with the lowest repetition count among the MSG1 repetition counts associated with the second resource set.

[0020] In one possible implementation, when there is only one second resource set, after determining to roll back the first feature, the method further includes: rolling back the first feature to the fifth feature, the number of times MSG1 is repeated associated with the second resource set of the fifth feature.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the resource set is selected based on the fallback MSG1 repetition count and the current random access characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition count, including:

[0022] Select the resource set that is associated with both the second and fifth characteristics.

[0023] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count and other characteristics includes: polling to determine if any resource set is associated with the second characteristic and the MSG1 repetition count in the fourth characteristic, based on the ascending order of repetition counts in the fourth characteristic. The second characteristic is the current random access characteristic excluding the MSG1 repetition count. The fourth characteristic is the repetition count of MSG1 configured by the access network device that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count. If yes, it is determined that the first characteristic should be rolled back. The first characteristic is the current MSG1 repetition count. If no, it is determined that no rollback should be performed.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the resource set is selected based on the MSG1 repetition count after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than the MSG1 repetition count. This includes: when polling to the fifth characteristic in the fourth characteristic, determining that there exists a resource set associated with both the second and fifth characteristics, and selecting the resource set associated with the second and fifth characteristics. The fifth characteristic is the MSG1 repetition count with the lowest repetition count among the MSG1 repetition counts associated with the second resource set.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining to roll back the first characteristic when there is no resource set associated with both the subset of the fourth characteristic and the second characteristic, and the third resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with the subset of the fourth characteristic.

[0026] In one possible implementation, when there are multiple third resource sets, after determining to roll back the first characteristic, the method further includes: rolling back the first characteristic to a sixth characteristic, where the sixth characteristic is a characteristic among the fourth characteristics. The sixth characteristic is the MSG1 repetition count with the lowest repetition count among the MSG1 repetition counts associated with the third resource set.

[0027] In one possible implementation, a resource set is selected based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after the fallback and the characteristics in the current random access characteristics other than the number of MSG1 repetitions, including: selecting a resource set in the third resource set that is associated with the sixth characteristic.

[0028] In one possible implementation, when there is only one third resource set, after determining to roll back the first feature, the method further includes: rolling back the first feature to the sixth feature, the number of times MSG1 associated with the third resource set of the sixth feature.

[0029] In one possible implementation, a resource set is selected based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after the fallback and the characteristics of the current random access features other than the number of MSG1 repetitions, including: selecting a third resource set.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining not to roll back when there is no resource set associated with both the subset of the fourth characteristic and the second characteristic, and the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is not associated with the subset of the fourth characteristic.

[0031] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device including a processor and a communication interface, the processor and the communication interface being configured to support the communication device in performing the method as described in any of the first aspects.

[0032] Thirdly, a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any of the first aspects.

[0033] Fourthly, a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any of the first aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a 4-step random access process;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a resource set selection method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an execution method for a first strategy provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a random access scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating yet another random access scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the execution of a second strategy provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating the execution of a third strategy is provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a random access scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating yet another implementation of the third strategy provided in this application embodiment;

[0044] Figure 11 A schematic diagram illustrating an implementation method of a fourth strategy provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 12 A schematic diagram illustrating another implementation method of the fourth strategy provided in this application embodiment;

[0046] Figure 13 A schematic diagram illustrating yet another random access scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 14 This is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] In this application's embodiments, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used to distinguish different objects, not to limit a specific order. Furthermore, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application's embodiments should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0049] The application scenarios of the resource set selection method provided in the embodiments of this application will be introduced first.

[0050] In a communication system, a user equipment (UE) initiates a random access (RA) request from a network-side device (such as a base station) to obtain uplink synchronization or an uplink grant (UL grant). Uplink synchronization refers to the synchronization of uplink signals sent by UEs at different locations within the same cell, using the same time slot, upon arrival at the network-side device. The UL grant determines the uplink signal format transmitted by the UE, which may include resource allocation information, transmission format, etc.

[0051] After completing random access, the user terminal will receive uplink synchronization or UL grant.

[0052] Depending on the service triggering method, random access can be divided into contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA). In contention-based random access, different user terminals share a preamble pool, potentially leading to different terminals selecting the same preamble and resulting in contention. In contention-free random access, the preamble is assigned to each user terminal by the network-side equipment, eliminating contention. Generally, contention-free random access is suitable for handover processes, receiving downlink data in RRC (Radio Resource Control) connections, and location processes in RRC connections. Contention-based random access is suitable for initial RRC connections and RRC connection re-establishment. Because contention-based random access requires time to resolve contention issues, its access latency is higher than that of contention-free random access.

[0053] It should be noted that the random access in the embodiments of this application can refer to either the contention-based random access or the non-contention-based random access, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0054] Depending on the execution process, random access can be divided into 4-step random access (4-step RA) and 2-step random access (2-step RA). It should be understood that 4-step random access completes the random access process in 4 steps, while 2-step random access completes the random access process in 2 steps.

[0055] It should be noted that the resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to both the 4-step random access process and the 2-step random access process, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0056] The following example uses a four-step random access process to illustrate the random access procedure.

[0057] Please refer to Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access process. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the process may include the following steps.

[0058] S101. The user terminal sends MSG1 (message 1) to the network-side device.

[0059] MSG1 may include a preamble, which is used to initiate a random access request to the network-side device.

[0060] S102. Upon receiving MSG1, the network-side device sends MSG2 (message 2) to the user terminal.

[0061] MSG2, also known as a random access response, can include scheduling information for MSG3 (message 3). Specifically, MSG2 can be used to instruct the UE on how to send MSG3.

[0062] S103. Upon receiving MSG2, the user terminal sends MSG3 to the network-side device.

[0063] MSG3 can carry RRC Connection Request messages, RRC Connection Re-establishment Request messages, etc.

[0064] S104. Upon receiving MSG3, the network-side device sends MSG4 (message 4) to the user terminal.

[0065] MSG4 may include a response message to MSG3 determined by the network-side device, which may include relevant information for resolving contention between user terminals.

[0066] Through the above steps S101-S104, the user terminal can complete the four-step random access process.

[0067] The resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to the above-described S101-S104 process or the two-step random access process. For ease of understanding, the random access process is described below.

[0068] Before the user terminal initiates random access to the network-side device, i.e., before S101 mentioned above, the user terminal will first receive configuration information broadcast by the network-side device and initialize itself according to this configuration information. This configuration information may include SSB (Primary Synchronization Signal, Secondary Synchronization Signal, PBCH) information, etc. This configuration information is used for the user terminal to align frequency and time with the network-side device, and also for the user terminal to obtain the parameters required for random access.

[0069] In this embodiment, the configuration information may include thresholds and multiple resource sets. The resource sets include resources available in the user terminal and network-side equipment. The threshold is used by the user terminal to determine the number of MSG1 repetitions. For example, this threshold may be a link quality threshold, such as RSRP (Reference Singular Received Power) threshold, RSSI (Received Singular Strengthen Indicator) threshold, SINR (Signal to Interference & Noise Ratio) threshold, etc. For ease of explanation, in the following embodiments, the threshold in the configuration information broadcast by the network-side equipment will be referred to as the threshold configured by the network-side equipment, and this threshold will be called the link quality threshold, which will not be elaborated further.

[0070] In this application, the configuration information can be described as a random access configuration (prach-Configuration). The network-side device can carry information about multiple (or groups of) resource sets in the configuration information and configure it for the terminal, so that the terminal can select a suitable resource set from the multiple resource sets in the configuration information to initiate random access. Optionally, multiple resource sets in the same configuration information may have the same random access configuration index (prach-ConfigurationIndex).

[0071] The MSG1 repetition count mentioned above is a characteristic of the random access process. The process of a user terminal sending MSG1 to the network-side device involves multiple attempts, and the MSG1 repetition count refers to the number of times MSG1 is repeatedly sent in each attempt. In NR (New Radio), the MSG1 repetition count can be 2, 4, 8, etc. Specifically, an MSG1 repetition count of 2 can be written as MSG1 repetition 2, an MSG1 repetition count of 4 can be written as MSG1 repetition 4, and an MSG1 repetition count of 8 can be written as MSG1 repetition 8.

[0072] During user terminal initialization, the user terminal determines the initial MSG1 repetition count based on the relationship between the currently measured link quality and the link quality threshold. For example, the MSG1 repetition count includes MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG1 repetition 4. The link quality threshold corresponding to MSG1 repetition 2 is A, and the link quality threshold corresponding to MSG1 repetition 4 is B. The link quality currently measured by the user terminal is C, where A is greater than B. In this scenario, when C is less than A and greater than B, the user terminal can determine the initial MSG1 repetition count as MSG1 repetition 2. When C is less than B, the user terminal can determine the initial MSG1 repetition count as MSG1 repetition 4.

[0073] After the user terminal initialization is completed and random access is initiated, the user terminal will select a resource set containing the initial MSG1 repetition count characteristic based on the determined initial MSG1 repetition count for subsequent random access procedures.

[0074] However, due to the mobility of many user terminals, and the fact that the link quality currently measured by a user terminal can change depending on its location, the NR technical standard Rel-18 discusses the MSG1 repetition count backoff. Specifically, if the link quality currently measured by a user terminal deteriorates, causing the number of times the user terminal sends MSG1 (hereinafter referred to as the MSG1 transmission count) to exceed a certain threshold without successful transmission, the user terminal can backoff the current MSG1 repetition count to a higher repetition count, thereby improving the success rate of random access.

[0075] For example, the MSG1 repetition count includes MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, and the current MSG1 repetition count (as described above, the initial MSG1 repetition count) is MSG1 repetition 2. If the MSG1 transmission count exceeds a certain threshold and still fails to transmit successfully, the user terminal can roll back the MSG1 repetition count from MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 4. That is, in this embodiment, MSG1 repetition count rollback refers to rolling back from a low coverage level to a high coverage level, i.e., rolling back from a low MSG1 repetition count to a high MSG1 repetition count.

[0076] In LTE (Long Term Evolution, 3GPP), the random access procedure typically only includes the MSG1 repetition count. Therefore, when rolling back the MSG1 repetition count, if both the user terminal and the network-side equipment support the MSG1 repetition count for the next repetition, the user terminal can directly roll back the MSG1 repetition count to the next repetition.

[0077] However, NR's random access procedure can also support other features, such as MSG3 repetition, SDT (Small Data Transmission), and Reduced Capability (RedCap). Therefore, designing a resource set selection method suitable for NR's random access procedure has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0078] This application provides a resource set selection method applicable to the random access procedure of NR.

[0079] The resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to a variety of communication systems. For example, the communication system can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, a 4th generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) system, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system, a hybrid LTE and NR network system, a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT) system, and other next-generation communication systems.

[0080] The communication systems described above that are applicable to this application are merely illustrative examples, and the application is not limited to these systems. This will be explained in detail here and will not be repeated below.

[0081] Please refer to Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication system includes at least one network-side device 201 and at least one user terminal 202.

[0082] Optionally, user terminals 202 and network-side devices 201 can communicate with each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 2 This is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network-side devices 201, such as wireless repeaters, wireless backhaul devices, core network devices, etc. Figure 2 Not shown in the image. Figure 2 The number of network-side devices 201 and user terminals 202 is merely an example; a communication system may include more than that. Figure 2 The number of network-side devices 201 or user terminals 202 shown may be more or less.

[0083] Optionally, user terminal 202 can refer to a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. User terminal 202 can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), user terminal equipment, access user terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote user terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc. User terminal can be, for example, a user terminal in IoT, V2X, D2D, M2M, 5G networks, or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). User terminal 202 can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and it can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites).

[0084] For example, user terminal 202 can be a drone, IoT device (e.g., sensor, electricity meter, water meter, etc.), V2X device, station (ST) in wireless local area networks (WLAN), cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device (also known as wearable smart device), tablet computer or computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) user terminal 202, wireless user terminal in industrial control, wireless user terminal in self-driving, wireless user terminal in remote medical care, wireless user terminal in smart grid, wireless user terminal in transportation safety, wireless user terminal in smart city, or wireless user terminal in smart home. Wireless user terminals (such as those in the home), vehicle-mounted user terminals, vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities, intelligent connected vehicles, and drones with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to UAV (U2U) communication capabilities, etc. User terminal 202 can be mobile or fixed; this application does not specifically limit its location.

[0085] Optionally, the network-side device 201 is a device that connects the user terminal 202 to the wireless network. It can be a next-generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; a transmission reception point (TRP); a base station in a future PLMN; a broadband network gateway (BNG), aggregation switch, or non-3GPP access device; a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); an access point (AP) in a WiFi system; a wireless relay node or wireless backhaul node; or a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2X, D2D, or M2M. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this. For example, the base station in this application embodiment can include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, etc. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0086] In some possible scenarios, network-side equipment 201 can also be a module or unit capable of implementing some or all of the functions of a base station. For example, network-side equipment 201 can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), CU and DU, CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. CU and DU can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0087] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, network-side device 201 may be a network-side device or a module of a network-side device in an Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) system. In an ORAN system, CU may also be called open (O)-CU, DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0088] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0089] It should be understood that the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, and disclosure of user personal information involved in the technical solution of this application all comply with relevant laws and regulations and do not violate public order and good morals. For example, in the technical solution of this application, the processing of user personal information is carried out with the user's authorization, and this will not be repeated hereafter.

[0090] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0091] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0092] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A. For example, B can be determined based on A. It should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. Furthermore, the term "connection" in the embodiments of this application refers to various connection methods, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of this application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0093] Unless otherwise specified, the term "transmission" in the embodiments of this application refers to bidirectional transmission, encompassing the actions of sending and / or receiving. Specifically, "transmission" in the embodiments of this application includes sending data, receiving data, or both sending and receiving data. In other words, data transmission here includes uplink and / or downlink data transmission. Data may include channels and / or signals; uplink data transmission refers to uplink channel and / or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission refers to downlink channel and / or downlink signal transmission. The terms "network" and "system" in the embodiments of this application refer to the same concept; a communication system is a communication network.

[0094] Based on the above description of the application scenarios and applicable communication systems of this application, the resource set selection method provided in the embodiments of this application is described below. The resource set selection method provided in the embodiments of this application is applied to a user terminal. The user terminal may store a first threshold and a resource set configured by the network-side device. Furthermore, the network-side device can initialize random access access procedure parameters through radio resource control (RRC) messages. The random access access parameters may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0095] numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition,ssb-SharedRO-MaskIndex;

[0096] numberOfRA-PreamblesGroupA

[0097] Furthermore, the resource set selection method of this application can also be applied to scenarios where random access preamble retransmission (or MSG1 retransmission) is performed, and no contention-free random access resources or random access resources for SI requests are provided for the random access procedure. In other words, the resource set selection method provided in this application is executed when the MSG1 repetition feature exists / is used in the random access procedure, and no contention-free random access resources or random access resources for SI requests are provided for the random access procedure.

[0098] Please refer to Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a resource set selection method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 As shown, the method may include the following steps.

[0099] S301. If the number of times MSG1 is sent exceeds the first threshold, determine whether to back off based on the number of times MSG1 is repeated, or determine whether to back off based on the number of times MSG1 is repeated and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition.

[0100] In some possible implementations, the MSG1 repetition count can refer to the current MSG1 repetition count, the next repetition count greater than the current MSG1 repetition count, or a repetition count greater than the current MSG1 repetition count. For example, when the MSG1 repetition count is the current MSG1 repetition count, the above S301 can be described as follows: if the MSG1 transmission count exceeds a first threshold, determine whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count, or determine whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on the current MSG1 repetition count and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition.

[0101] The above scheme can also be implemented by determining whether to rollback when the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, based on the MSG1 repetition-related characteristics or repetition count associated with the resource set; or by determining whether to rollback based on the MSG1 repetition-related characteristics or repetition count associated with the resource set, and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition. In this embodiment, the MSG1 repetition-related characteristics may include MSG1 repetition and / or the number of MSG1 repetitions, that is, the MSG1 repetition-related characteristics may be MSG1 repetition, or the number of MSG1 repetitions, or both MSG1 repetition and the number of MSG1 repetitions.

[0102] In this application, features other than those related to MSG1 repetition may include, but are not limited to: features related to MSG3 repetition, SDT (Small Data Transmission), RedCap (Reduced Capability), Slice, etc. Features related to MSG3 repetition may include MSG1 repetition and / or the number of MSG3 repetitions. Features other than those related to MSG1 repetition may be referred to as non-MSG1 repetition features.

[0103] In this embodiment, rollback refers to: 1) moving from a low coverage level to a high coverage level, or 2) moving from a low MSG1 repetition count to a high MSG1 repetition count, or 3) moving from the current coverage level to the next coverage level, or from the current MSG1 repetition count to the next MSG1 repetition count, where the next MSG1 repetition count refers to the minimum repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, or 4) performing random access related to a high coverage level, or 5) performing random access related to the next coverage level, or 6) performing random access related to the next MSG1 repetition count, or 7) performing random access related to a high MSG1 repetition count (higher than the current MSG1 repetition count). Rollback can be alternatively described as MSG1 repetition count rollback or coverage level rollback.

[0104] "No rollback" means maintaining the current coverage level or MSG1 repetition count. "No rollback" can be replaced with "MSG1 repetition count not rollback" or "coverage level not rollback"; this will not be elaborated further.

[0105] As described in the application scenario above, the process of a user terminal sending MSG1 to the network-side device involves multiple attempts. The MSG1 repetition count refers to the number of times MSG1 is sent in each attempt. The MSG1 transmission count refers to the number of times MSG1 is sent in all attempts corresponding to the current MSG1 repetition count. For example, if the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition 2, and the process of the user terminal sending MSG1 to the network-side device involves 4 attempts, then the MSG1 transmission count corresponding to MSG1 repetition 2 is 8. The MSG1 repetition count can also be referred to as the PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) repetition count.

[0106] In some possible implementations, the current MSG1 repetition count, excluding MSG1 repetition-related characteristics, can be determined by the user terminal based on configuration information sent by the network-side device. In one implementation, the current MSG1 repetition count can be determined by the user terminal based on the currently measured link quality and the threshold in the configuration information. The specific determination method can be found in the description of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0107] In some possible implementations, when configuring a first threshold for a user terminal, the network-side device can configure only one first threshold, which applies to all repetitions of the MSG1 repetition. Alternatively, a corresponding first threshold can be configured for each repetition in the MSG1 repetition, and this first threshold is used to configure the maximum number of preamble transmissions corresponding to each repetition during the random access process of the MSG1 repetition.

[0108] In this application, the maximum number of preamble transmissions, `preambleTransMax-Msg1-Repetition`, refers to the maximum number of attempts to send the preamble using the current Msg1 retransmission count before switching to the next available, higher Msg1 retransmission count. In other words, if the device attempts to send the preamble using a specific retransmission count (e.g., 4 times) and `preambleTransMax-Msg1-Repetition` is set to 3, the device will attempt to send the preamble a maximum of 3 times using this retransmission setting. If the attempt fails after these 3 attempts, the device will switch to the next available, higher retransmission count (e.g., 8 times) and try again.

[0109] In this application, the first threshold is used to configure the maximum number of preamble transmissions, meaning that the maximum number of preamble transmissions can be calculated based on the first threshold, or the first threshold is the maximum number of preamble transmissions.

[0110] Since the preamble is carried in MSG1, the maximum number of times the preamble can be understood or replaced as the maximum number of times MSG1 can be sent or transmitted. The number of times MSG1 can be understood or replaced as the number of times the preamble can be sent or transmitted.

[0111] Optionally, the number of MSG1 transmissions is set to PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER, with a maximum number of preamble transmissions. preambleTransMax For example, the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeding the first threshold can include:

[0112] PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=[ preambleTransMax-Msg1-Repetition ] + 1; or, PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER=2*[ preambleTransMax-Msg1-Repetition ] + 1.

[0113] In this application, if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, the UE can determine whether to back off in the following way: the UE obtains the number of candidate MSG1 repetitions that is greater than the current number of MSG1 repetitions.

[0114] According to the candidate MSG1 repetition count in ascending order, the candidate MSG1 repetition counts are traversed sequentially. It is determined whether there is a resource set related to the candidate MSG1 repetition count. If there is, backtracking is performed. The current candidate MSG1 repetition count is the second MSG1 repetition count. Backtracking is performed to the second MSG1 repetition count.

[0115] If it does not exist, then determine if there is a resource set related to the next MSG1 repetition. If it exists, then backtrack to the next MSG1 repetition. If it does not exist, then traverse the next candidate MSG1 repetition and repeat the above process until all candidate MSG1 repetitions have been traversed.

[0116] If, after traversing all resources, no resource set is found that corresponds to the number of repetitions of any candidate MSG1, then no rollback is performed.

[0117] S302. If a rollback is determined, select a resource set based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after the rollback or the characteristics in the current random access characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetitions.

[0118] It should be noted that the above-mentioned selection of resource set refers to selecting the resource set from the resource set configured for the user terminal by the network-side device, which will not be elaborated on further.

[0119] It should be noted that the current random access characteristics in this application can be described or understood as characteristics related to the current set of random access resources, such as the number of MSG1 repetitions related to the current set of random access resources, as well as characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetitions, combinations of characteristics, etc.

[0120] It should be understood that the above S301-S302 process includes two schemes, referred to as Scheme 1 and Scheme 2 respectively. Scheme 1 is as follows: if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determine whether to back off based on the number of MSG1 repetitions; if back off is determined, select a resource set based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after backoff or the characteristics in the current random access characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetitions.

[0121] Option 2 is as follows: If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determine whether to back off based on the number of MSG1 repetitions and other characteristics besides those related to MSG1 repetitions; if back off is determined, select a resource set based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after back off and other characteristics besides those related to MSG1 repetitions in the current random access characteristics.

[0122] For ease of explanation, the embodiments of this application will... Figure 3 The execution plan following "when the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold" in the illustrated process is called the resource set selection strategy. Thus, S301 and S302 above can be written as: when the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, execute the resource set selection strategy.

[0123] It should be understood that the resource set selection strategy should include a strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count and a strategy for selecting the resource set.

[0124] The following describes some resource set selection strategies provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0125] In some possible implementations, there are one or more resource set selection strategies. When a certain selection condition is met and the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, the corresponding resource set selection strategy is used to select a resource set. For example, multiple resource set selection strategies exist, and the network side can configure these strategies. First, we introduce a resource set selection strategy involving feature priority.

[0126] In the random access process provided in this application embodiment, the configuration information broadcast by the network-side device may include the priorities of different random access features. This priority of the random access feature can also be called feature priority. The feature priority can be used to indicate the priority when selecting a resource set containing the corresponding random access feature. For example, when selecting a resource set, if the current random access feature includes feature X and feature Y, and there is no resource set that includes both feature X and feature Y, only resource sets that include only feature X and resource sets that include only feature Y, then if the priority of feature X is lower than the priority of feature Y, the user terminal will preferentially select the resource set containing feature Y. If there are more than two current random access features, the resource set associated with the highest priority feature will be searched first. If no resource set is found, the resource set associated with the next lower priority feature will be searched. When a resource is found, it is selected; when more than one resource is found, the resource set associated with the next lower priority feature will be searched among these resources, until a resource set is found or no resource set is found.

[0127] The resource set mentioned in this embodiment can be resources with associated characteristics, or a set of resources with associated characteristics. The resource set is a random access resource set.

[0128] In some possible designs, the priority of random access features can be determined by the decoding error rate. Specifically, the higher the decoding error rate of a random access feature, the higher its priority. For example, if the decoding error rate of feature X is lower than that of feature Y, then feature Y can have a higher priority than feature X. In some specific examples, feature X can be the number of MSG1 repetitions, and feature Y can be the number of MSG3 repetitions. In this way, when selecting a resource set, resource sets that include features with higher decoding error rates can be prioritized to reduce the decoding error rate of that feature, thereby improving the success rate of random access.

[0129] It should be noted that the method of selecting resource sets according to feature priority is consistent with the feature priority-based resource set selection method in the existing technology version 38.321V17.2.0, including the feature priority-based resource set selection method in subsequent evolution versions, which will not be elaborated further.

[0130] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a resource set selection strategy. For ease of explanation, this resource set selection strategy will be referred to as the first strategy in the following embodiments. It should be understood that the first strategy includes a strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count and a strategy for selecting the resource set.

[0131] The strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count in the first strategy can be stated as follows: If there exists a resource set associated with a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, or if such a resource set is available, roll back the current MSG1 repetition count to the next higher MSG1 repetition count. If there is no resource set associated with a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, or if such a resource set is unavailable, do not roll back.

[0132] Given that the current MSG1 repetition count will be rolled back to the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, the strategy for selecting the resource set in the first strategy may have two cases, referred to as case 1a and case 1b. The strategy for selecting the resource set in the first strategy can be stated as follows:

[0133] If it is determined that the current MSG1 repetition count will be rolled back to the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, then the current random access characteristics are the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition.

[0134] Case 1a: If there exists a resource set that is associated with the next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current one and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, or if there exists a resource set that is associated with the next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current one and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, then select that resource set.

[0135] Case 1a can be understood as follows: if there exists a resource set that is related to the number of repetitions of the next MSG1 repetition with a higher number than the current one, and to all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, then that resource set is selected.

[0136] Alternatively, case 1a can be described as follows: if there exists a first resource set with the same index as the current random access resource set, and the first resource set is associated with both the second and third characteristics, then the first resource set is selected; the second characteristic is a characteristic or combination of characteristics associated with the current random access resource set, or a characteristic other than the characteristic associated with MSG1 repetition; the third characteristic is the next repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number.

[0137] Case 1b: When there is a resource set associated with a subset of features other than the current MSG1 repetition count and features not related to MSG1 repetition, or when a resource set associated with a subset of features other than the current MSG1 repetition count and features not related to MSG1 repetition is available, the resource set is selected based on the feature priority.

[0138] Case 1b can be understood as follows: when there is no resource set that is related to the next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current one and all other characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, the resource set is selected based on the priority of the characteristics.

[0139] It should be noted that the subset of the above-mentioned "next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and features other than those related to MSG1 repetition" is defined as "next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and features other than those related to MSG1 repetition." In other words, the subset of the "next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and features other than those related to MSG1 repetition" refers to either the next MSG1 repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count or features other than those related to MSG1 repetition.

[0140] In one alternative implementation, the process of selecting a resource set and determining whether a resource set satisfies a certain condition in the embodiments of this application refers to the selection or judgment of a resource set configured for the user terminal by the network-side device, which will not be elaborated further.

[0141] This section explains the concept of the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current one, as stated above. The next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current one should satisfy the following condition: when the configured MSG1 repetition numbers are arranged in ascending or descending order of repetition count, there are no other MSG1 repetition numbers between this current MSG1 repetition number and the current MSG1 repetition number. For example, if the configured MSG1 repetition numbers include MS1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, and the current MSG1 repetition number is MSG1 repetition 2, then the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current one is MSG1 repetition 4. As another example, if the configured MSG1 repetition numbers include MS1 repetition 2 and MSG1 repetition 8, and the current MSG1 repetition number is MSG1 repetition 2, then the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current one is MSG1 repetition 8.

[0142] In this embodiment, for ease of explanation, the current MSG1 repetition count can be referred to as the first characteristic, and the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count can be referred to as the third characteristic. It should be understood that the first characteristic can be an MSG1 repetition characteristic or a repetition count related to MSG1 repetition. In one possible design, both the first and third characteristics can be MSG1 repetition characteristics, where the first and third characteristics correspond to different repetition counts, and the repetition count corresponding to the third characteristic is the next repetition count higher than the repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic. In another possible design, the first and third characteristics can be different characteristics, both being repetition count characteristics, where the third characteristic is the next repetition count higher than the repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic.

[0143] Additionally, characteristics other than MSG1 repetition count or MSG1 repetition can be referred to as second characteristics. The second characteristic refers to other random access characteristics besides (the first characteristic or the characteristic to which the first characteristic belongs). The second characteristic can include one or more random access characteristics, and can be further defined as other random access characteristics besides (the first characteristic or the characteristic to which the first characteristic belongs) during the current random access process; for example, the second characteristic may include, but is not limited to, SDT, slice, MSG3 repetition, RedCap, etc.

[0144] Based on this, the strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count in the first strategy described above can be stated as follows: If a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, or if the resource set associated with the third characteristic is available, roll back to the third characteristic. If no resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, or if the resource set associated with the third characteristic is unavailable, do not roll back.

[0145] The strategy for selecting a resource set in the first strategy can be stated as follows: if it is determined to fall back to the third characteristic, then the current random access characteristic is the third characteristic and the second characteristic.

[0146] Case 1a: If a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics exists, or if a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics is available, then select that resource set.

[0147] Case 1b: When a resource set associated with a subset of the third and second characteristics exists, or when a resource set associated with a subset of the third and second characteristics is available, the resource set is selected based on the priority of the characteristics.

[0148] In the embodiments of this application, the subset of the third characteristic and the second characteristic refers to a proper subset. Specifically, in case 1b, the subset of the third characteristic and the second characteristic is either the third characteristic or the second characteristic, excluding the third characteristic and the second characteristic.

[0149] The following example, using a second characteristic that includes only one characteristic, provides a possible implementation of selecting a resource set based on characteristic priority. It should be understood that this is merely an illustrative example of selecting a resource set based on characteristic priority and does not imply that this application is limited to this.

[0150] If a fallback to the third characteristic is determined, the current random access characteristic is the third characteristic and the second characteristic. If a first resource set exists that is associated with both the second and third characteristics, that first resource set is selected. If a second resource set exists that is associated only with the second characteristic, and no resource set exists that is associated with the third characteristic, the second characteristic has the highest priority, and the second resource set is selected. If a third resource set exists that is associated only with the third characteristic, and no resource set exists that is associated with the second characteristic, the third characteristic has the highest priority, and the third resource set is selected. If both a second resource set and a third resource set exist, the resource set is selected based on the priorities of the second and third characteristics.

[0151] If the current random access feature is only the third feature, then the resource set associated with the third feature is selected.

[0152] In this embodiment, associating a resource set with a feature means that the resource set includes resources corresponding to the feature or that the resource set is configured with the feature indication. For example, a resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 2 includes resources corresponding to MSG1 repetition 2 or that the resource set is configured with the MSG1 repetition 2 indication. When a resource set is associated with a feature, it means that the resource set can be used for the random access procedure of the feature application; if the resource set is not associated with a feature, it cannot be used for the random access procedure of the feature application. In this embodiment, the existence of a resource set means that the corresponding resource set is available. In addition, in this embodiment, before selecting a resource set, the user terminal must first determine whether the resource set to be selected is available, and then select the resource set if it is available, which will not be elaborated further. The availability of a resource set means that the resource set only contains the resource set corresponding to the current random access feature. For example, if the current random access features are MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition, then the resource set containing MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT is not available for the current random access feature.

[0153] Furthermore, in the following embodiments, different MSG1 repetitions, such as MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG1 repetition 4, are treated as random access features. In some possible designs, MSG1 repetitions can also be used as random access features, and the number of repetitions of MSG1 repetitions can be 2, 4, 8, etc. Further details will not be elaborated upon hereafter.

[0154] In some possible embodiments, the MSG1 repetition-related characteristics can be described by levels. For example, taking the MSG1 repetition count as an example, the lower the MSG1 repetition count, the lower the level of the MSG1 repetition count. Thus, the next level of MSG1 repetition count refers to the next MSG1 repetition count, that is, the minimum repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count. In the embodiments of this application, the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count can also be used to describe the MSG1 repetition count of the next level.

[0155] The process of executing the first strategy described above is described below. It should be understood that this execution process is merely exemplary and is used to provide one possible execution process for the first strategy. It should not be construed as a limitation on the first strategy provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0156] Please refer to Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for executing a first strategy according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 As shown, the process may include the following steps.

[0157] S401. Determine if a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists. If yes, proceed to S402a. If no, proceed to S402b.

[0158] For an explanation of the third characteristic, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0159] It should be understood that if no resource set is associated with the third characteristic, then even if the first characteristic is rolled back to the third characteristic, no corresponding resource set will exist when selecting a resource set. Therefore, rollback can be skipped, and S402b can be executed: No rollback. If a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, rollback can be performed on the first characteristic, and S402a can be executed.

[0160] In this application, the third characteristic may include multiple characteristics, such as the number of repetitions that are greater than the current number of MSG1 repetitions. In this case, the third characteristic can be determined by the following polling method:

[0161] The UE acquires multiple third features whose MSG1 repetition count is greater than the current MSG1 repetition count;

[0162] According to the order of the repetition counts corresponding to multiple third characteristics from smallest to largest, the third characteristics are traversed in turn to determine whether there is a resource set related to the third characteristic. If there is, the process is backtracked to the third characteristic.

[0163] If no such resource set exists, check if a resource set related to the next third characteristic exists. If it does, backtrack to the next third characteristic. If not, iterate through the next third characteristic and repeat the above process until all third characteristics have been traversed. If, after traversing all third characteristics, no resource set is found to be related to any of them, no backtracking is performed.

[0164] S402a, Retreat is the third feature.

[0165] It should be understood that "falling back to the third characteristic" specifically means reverting the current random access characteristic, i.e., the first characteristic, to the third characteristic.

[0166] Prior to S402a, the current random access characteristics included the first characteristic and the second characteristic. It should be understood that after S402a, i.e., after the first characteristic is reverted to the third characteristic, the current random access characteristics are the second and third characteristics. For a description of the first and second characteristics, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here. After executing S402a, the user terminal can determine how to select a resource set based on the relationship between the second characteristic, the third characteristic, and the resource set configured by the network-side device. For example, as described in S403a and S403b below.

[0167] S403a. If there is a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics, select that resource set.

[0168] It should be understood that the existence of a resource set that is related to both the third and second characteristics indicates that such a resource set is available, and this will not be elaborated further.

[0169] S403b: When there is a resource set associated with a subset of the third and second characteristics, the resource set is selected according to the priority of the characteristics.

[0170] For an explanation of selecting resource sets based on the priority of characteristics, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0171] It should be noted that, Figure 4This includes multiple complete execution flows. For example, S401 to S402b constitutes one complete execution flow, S401 to S402a to S403a constitutes one complete execution flow, and S401 to S402a to S403b constitutes one complete execution flow. It should be understood that these execution flows are decoupled, meaning that embodiments of this application may execute only one or more of these execution flows without executing the others. All of these complete execution flows should fall within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0172] Thus, the above resource set strategy can be executed. The following example... Figure 5 The scenario shown illustrates the execution of the first policy, where the user terminal's current random access characteristics are MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 4. Resource set 1 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4; resource set 2 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition; resource set 3 includes resources for MSG3 repetition; and resource set 4 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. In this scenario, the priority of MSG3 repetition counts is higher than that of MSG1 repetition counts. The MSG1 repetition counts supported by the user terminal and network-side equipment include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8.

[0173] In the example above, the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, and the second characteristic is MSG3 repetition. Therefore, the next repetition with a higher MSG1 repetition number (i.e., the third characteristic) is MSG1 repetition 4.

[0174] First, the user terminal can determine through S401 that there are resource sets associated with MSG1 repetition 4, namely resource set 1 and resource set 4. Therefore, the user terminal executes S402a to revert MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 4. Thus, the current random access characteristics are determined to be MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition.

[0175] Then, the user terminal can determine that there exists a resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, namely resource set 4. Therefore, the user terminal can select resource set 4. In this way, it can be ensured that other random access features during MSG1 repetition rollback will not be dropped.

[0176] In some possible designs, if for Figure 6 In the scenario shown, the configured resource sets only include resource set 1, resource set 2, and resource set 3. The user terminal can then determine that only resource sets associated with proper subsets of MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition exist, namely resource set 1 and resource set 3. Since the priority of MSG3 repetition counts is higher than that of MSG1 repetition counts, the user terminal can choose resource set 3 associated with MSG3 repetition.

[0177] In some possible designs, if the configured resource set only includes resource set 1 and resource set 2 mentioned above, the user terminal can determine that only resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4 exists, and there is no resource set associated with MSG3 repetition. In this case, MSG1 repetition 4 has a higher priority than MSG3 repetition, so the user terminal can choose resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4.

[0178] In some other possible designs, if the configured resource set only includes resource set 2 and resource set 3 mentioned above, then the user terminal can determine that only resource set 3 exists associated with MSG3 repetition, and there is no resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 4. Therefore, the user terminal can choose to associate resource set 3 with MSG3 repetition.

[0179] Let the first characteristic be called characteristic A, the third characteristic corresponding to the first characteristic at the next level be called characteristic B, and the second characteristic be called characteristic M. The process of executing the first strategy described above is then combined with... Figure 3In the resource set selection method flowchart shown, the resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be described as follows: If the current random access characteristics are characteristics A and M, the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a preset first threshold, and there exists a resource set associated with characteristic B, the next level of characteristic A, then it is determined that characteristic A will be reverted to characteristic B. Therefore, the current random access characteristics are characteristics B and characteristic M. Based on this, if there exists a resource set associated with both characteristic M and characteristic B, then that resource set is selected; if there exists a resource set associated with a subset of characteristics M and characteristic B, then the resource set is selected according to the characteristic priority of characteristics B and characteristic M.

[0180] The following describes another resource set selection strategy provided in an embodiment of this application. For ease of explanation, this resource set selection strategy will be referred to as the second strategy in the following embodiments.

[0181] In random access procedures, the successful transmission of MSG1 by the user terminal is fundamental to successful random access. Therefore, to improve the success rate of random access, when backing up the MSG1 repetition count, the user terminal should prioritize ensuring that the MSG1 repetition count is not discarded, thus guaranteeing successful transmission of MSG1. Additionally, for RedCap (reduced capability) user terminals, efforts should be made to ensure that they are recognized by the network-side equipment when transmitting MSG1; therefore, the MSG1 repetition count should also be prioritized. RedCap user terminals are those that meet any of the following conditions: reduced bandwidth; fewer receiving antennas; and reduced modulation order.

[0182] Based on this, the strategy for determining whether to rollback in the second strategy provided in this application embodiment can be as follows: if there is a resource set associated with a next higher MSG1 repetition count, or if a resource set associated with a next higher MSG1 repetition count is available, rollback will be performed to the next higher MSG1 repetition count. If there is no resource set associated with a next higher MSG1 repetition count, or if a resource set associated with a next higher MSG1 repetition count is unavailable, no rollback will be performed.

[0183] Given that the current MSG1 repetition count will be rolled back to the next repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, the strategy for selecting the resource set in the second strategy may have two cases, referred to as case 2a and case 2b. The strategy for selecting the resource set in the second strategy can be stated as follows:

[0184] If it is determined that the rollback will be to the next number of MSG1 repetitions higher than the current number, then the current random access characteristics are the next number of repetitions higher than the MSG1 repetitions and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetitions.

[0185] Case 2a: If there exists a resource set that is associated with the next number of repetitions higher than MSG1 and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, or if there exists a resource set that is associated with the next number of repetitions higher than MSG1 and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, then select that resource set.

[0186] Case 2b: If there is no resource set associated with the next repetition number higher than MSG1 and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition, or if the next repetition number higher than MSG1 and all characteristics except those related to MSG1 repetition are unavailable, then the resource set associated with the next repetition number higher than MSG1 is selected.

[0187] Case 2b can be understood as prioritizing the repetitive characteristics of MSG1 when selecting resource sets.

[0188] It can be seen that the strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count in the second strategy is the same as the strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count in the first strategy. Case 2a in the strategy for selecting resource sets in the second strategy is the same as case 1a in the strategy for selecting resource sets in the first strategy. Related explanations can be found in the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0189] It should be understood that in this second strategy, when there is no resource set that is related to both the current MSG1 repetition count and other characteristics besides those related to MSG1 repetition, the resource set for initiating random access is not selected based on the priority of the characteristics. Instead, MSG1 repetition is prioritized, and the system falls back to the next MSG1 repetition count that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count. Random access is then initiated based on the resources related to the next MSG1 repetition count. In other words, this method is the same as the first strategy where the priority of MSG1 repetition is set higher than other characteristics besides those related to MSG1 repetition. Both prioritize the resource set related to the second MSG1 repetition count for initiating random access.

[0190] If we follow the definitions of the first, second, and third characteristics in the first strategy, the strategy in the second strategy for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count can be: if a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, or if the resource set associated with the third characteristic is available, roll back the first characteristic to the third characteristic. If no resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, or if the resource set associated with the third characteristic is unavailable, do not roll back.

[0191] The strategy for selecting a resource set in the second strategy can be stated as follows: if it is determined that the first feature will be reverted to the third feature, then the current random access feature is the third feature and the second feature.

[0192] Case 2a: If a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics exists, or if a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics is available, then select that resource set.

[0193] Case 2b: If there is no resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics, or if a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics is unavailable, select the resource set associated with the third characteristic.

[0194] As can be seen, the difference between this second strategy and the first strategy is that the second strategy does not consider the priority of features, but only selects the resource set associated with the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current one. In this way, it can maximize the guarantee that the user terminal can successfully send MSG1, thereby improving the success rate of random access.

[0195] The process of executing the second strategy is described below. It should be understood that this execution process is merely exemplary and is used to provide one possible execution process for the second strategy, and should not be construed as a limitation on the second strategy provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0196] Please refer to Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for executing a second strategy, provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 As shown, the process may include the following steps.

[0197] S701. Determine if a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists. If yes, proceed to S702a. If no, proceed to S702b.

[0198] For an explanation of the third characteristic, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0199] It should be understood that if there is no resource set associated with the third characteristic, then even if the first characteristic is reverted to the third characteristic, there will be no corresponding resource set when selecting a resource set, so no revert is necessary. That is, S702b above means: no revert is performed.

[0200] When a resource set associated with the third characteristic exists, the first characteristic can be rolled back. That is, S702a below.

[0201] Specifically, the execution process of S701 can be referred to in S401, and will not be repeated here.

[0202] S702a, rollback is the third feature.

[0203] Prior to S702a, the current random access characteristics included the first characteristic and the second characteristic. It should be understood that after S702a, i.e., after the first characteristic is reverted to the third characteristic, the current random access characteristics are the second and third characteristics. For a description of the first and second characteristics, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here. After executing S702a, the user terminal can determine how to select a resource set based on the relationship between the second characteristic, the third characteristic, and the resource set configured by the network-side device. For example, as described in S703a and S703b below.

[0204] S703a. When there is a resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics, select that resource set.

[0205] It should be understood that the existence of a resource set that is related to both the third and second characteristics indicates that such a resource set is available, and this will not be elaborated further.

[0206] S703b: When there is no resource set that is associated with both the third and second characteristics, select the resource set associated with the third characteristic.

[0207] For an explanation of selecting resource sets based on the priority of characteristics, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0208] It should be noted that, Figure 7 This includes multiple complete execution flows. For example, S701 to S702b constitutes one complete execution flow, S701 to S702a to S703a constitutes one complete execution flow, and S701 to S702a to S703b constitutes one complete execution flow. It should be understood that these execution flows are decoupled; that is, embodiments of this application may execute only one or more of these execution flows without executing the others. All of these complete execution flows should fall within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0209] Thus, the above resource set strategy can be executed. The following example... Figure 5The scenario shown illustrates the process of executing the second policy, where the user terminal's current random access characteristics are MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 4. Resource set 1 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4; resource set 2 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition; resource set 3 includes resources for MSG3 repetition; and resource set 4 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. In this scenario, the number of MSG1 repetitions supported by the user terminal and network-side equipment includes MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8.

[0210] In the example above, the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, the second characteristic is MSG3 repetition, so the next repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number (i.e., the third characteristic) is MSG1 repetition 4.

[0211] First, the user terminal can determine through S701 that there are resource sets associated with MSG1 repetition 4, namely resource set 1 and resource set 4. Therefore, the user terminal executes S702a to revert MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 4. Thus, the current random access characteristics are determined to be MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition.

[0212] Then, the user terminal determines that there exists a resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, namely resource set 4. Therefore, the user terminal can choose resource set 4. In this way, it can be ensured that other random access features during MSG1 repetition rollback are not dropped.

[0213] In some possible designs, if for Figure 6 In the scenario shown, the configured resource sets only include resource set 1, resource set 2, and resource set 3. Therefore, the user terminal can determine that there is no resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. Thus, the user terminal can choose resource set 1, which is associated with MSG1 repetition 4.

[0214] Let the first characteristic be called characteristic A, the third characteristic be called characteristic B, and the second characteristic be called characteristic M. The process of executing the second strategy described above is then combined with... Figure 3 In the resource set selection method flowchart shown, the resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be described as follows: If the current random access characteristics are characteristics A and M, the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a preset first threshold, and a resource set associated with characteristic B exists, then it is determined to fall back to characteristic B. Therefore, the current random access characteristics are characteristics B and characteristic M. Based on this, if a resource set associated with both characteristic M and characteristic B exists, then that resource set is selected; if no resource set associated with both characteristic M and characteristic B exists, then the resource set associated with characteristic B is selected.

[0215] It should be understood that in the first strategy described above, if the network-side device configures the priority of the first feature to be higher than the priority of the second feature, then the execution result in each scenario will be the same as the execution result of the second strategy in the corresponding scenario. In other words, the first strategy can achieve the same effect as the second strategy by configuring the priority of the first feature to be higher than the priority of the second feature on the network side.

[0216] It should be noted that although the first and second strategies described above are applicable to random access procedures in NR that include multiple characteristics, feature loss may still occur when backing up the MSG1 repetition count. Below, we introduce a resource set selection strategy provided in this application embodiment, which selects the back-up repetition count and the resource set for initiating random access based on the characteristics corresponding to the available resource set; wherein the characteristics corresponding to the available resource set may include whether it is related to a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition, thereby ensuring that feature loss does not occur when selecting the resource set.

[0217] For ease of explanation, the resource set selection strategy in the following embodiments is referred to as the third strategy.

[0218] The strategy for determining whether to roll back in this third strategy can be stated as follows:

[0219] A rollback is performed if a resource set associated with the fourth and second characteristics exists, or if the resource set associated with the fourth and second characteristics is available; otherwise, no rollback is performed.

[0220] The "otherwise" situation refers to the case where there is no resource set associated with the fourth and second characteristics. In the embodiments of this application, the fourth characteristic may include the entire set of the fourth characteristics and a proper subset of the fourth characteristics.

[0221] In the third strategy, if a rollback occurs, it can revert to the features included in the fourth feature.

[0222] In this implementation, the fourth characteristic is a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, and the fourth characteristic can be one or more repetition counts. That is, the repetition count corresponding to the fourth characteristic is higher than the repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic. It can be a repetition count at other levels besides the first characteristic level (where the repetition count corresponding to the fourth characteristic level is higher than the repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic level) or higher than the current MSG1 repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic. In one implementation, the fourth characteristic and the first characteristic can be of the same type, and the fourth characteristic and the first characteristic are different repetition counts under that characteristic. In this case, the repetition count corresponding to the fourth characteristic is higher than the repetition count corresponding to the first characteristic, and the fourth characteristic can be the next MSG1 repetition count with a repetition count higher than the first characteristic. In another implementation, the first characteristic and the fourth characteristic are both MSG1 repetition characteristics, where the first characteristic and the fourth characteristic correspond to different repetition counts. The first characteristic is the first MSG1 repetition count, and the fourth characteristic is the next third MSG1 repetition count higher than the first MSG1 repetition count. For example, if the number of repetitions of MSG1 includes MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, and the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, then the fourth characteristic can be MSG1 repetition 4 and / or MSG1 repetition 8.

[0223] It should be further explained that, in the embodiments of this application, the fourth characteristic can be one or more characteristics, capable of traversing all repetitions with a repetition count greater than that of the first characteristic. In the above example, that is, when the configured MSG1 repetition counts are MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, and the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition 2, the fourth characteristic can be MSG1 repetition 4, MSG1 repetition 8, or both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG1 repetition 8.

[0224] When the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition, the strategy in the third strategy above for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count can be described as follows: If there exists a resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition characteristic greater than the current repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition characteristic; or, if a resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition characteristic greater than the current repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition characteristic is available, then MSG1 repetition rollback is performed. Otherwise, no rollback is performed. The "other than" case means that there is no resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition characteristic greater than the current repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition characteristic; or, a resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition characteristic greater than the current repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition characteristic is unavailable.

[0225] When the first characteristic is the first MSG1 repetition count, the strategy in the third strategy described above for determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count can be described as follows: If there exists a resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition count characteristic greater than the current first MSG1 repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected except for the MSG1 repetition characteristic; or, if a resource set associated with 1) an MSG1 repetition count characteristic greater than the current first MSG1 repetition count and 2) all other characteristics currently selected except for the MSG1 repetition characteristic is available, then MSG1 repetition rollback is performed. Otherwise, no rollback is performed.

[0226] After determining to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count in the third strategy, the first characteristic can be rolled back to the fifth characteristic. The fifth characteristic is the repetition count included in the fourth characteristic. In other words, the fifth characteristic is a repetition count that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count.

[0227] The fifth characteristic is explained here. For ease of explanation, the resource set associated with the fourth and second characteristics will be referred to as the second resource set. In some possible implementations, the fifth characteristic can be any MSG1 repetition count associated with the second resource set. In other possible implementations, the fifth characteristic can be the MSG1 repetition count with the lowest repetition count among the MSG1 repetition counts associated with the second resource set.

[0228] Based on this, the strategy for selecting a resource set in the third strategy can be stated as follows: if it is determined to fall back to the fifth characteristic, then the current random access characteristics are the second and fifth characteristics, and a resource set associated with both the second and fifth characteristics is selected. It should be understood that the strategy in the third strategy for determining whether to fall back the current MSG1 repetition count only determines to fall back if a resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics exists. Since the fifth characteristic is a characteristic within the fourth characteristic, a resource set associated with both the second and fifth characteristics must exist if a fallback is determined.

[0229] Let the first characteristic be called characteristic A, the second characteristic M, the fourth characteristic X, and the fifth characteristic Y. Combine the third strategy with... Figure 3 In the process of the resource set selection method shown, the resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be described as follows:

[0230] If the current random access characteristics are characteristics A and M, and the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a preset first threshold, determine if there is a resource set associated with both characteristics X and M. If so, roll back characteristic A to characteristic Y and select a resource set associated with both characteristics Y and M; otherwise, do not roll back.

[0231] The process of executing the third strategy described above is described below. It should be understood that this execution process is merely exemplary and is used to provide one possible execution process for the third strategy. It should not be construed as a limitation on the third strategy provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0232] In some possible designs, the execution process of this third strategy can be as follows: Figure 8 The steps shown are as follows.

[0233] S801. Determine if a resource set exists that is associated with the fourth and second characteristics. If yes, proceed to S802a. If no, proceed to S802b.

[0234] Similar to the description in the foregoing embodiments, S801 can also be described as: determining whether the resource set associated with the fourth characteristic and the second characteristic is available, which will not be elaborated here.

[0235] It should be understood that if the judgment result of S801 is negative, it means that there is no resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, and therefore no rollback is performed. That is, S802b is: no rollback is performed.

[0236] If the judgment result of S801 is yes, it means that there exists a resource set that is associated with both the fourth and second characteristics. In this case, the subsequent steps of selecting a resource set are performed.

[0237] S802a. Determine whether there is only one resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics. If yes, proceed to S803a. If no, proceed to S803b.

[0238] In some possible implementations, the fourth characteristic in this application embodiment does not refer to a specific MSG1 repetition number, but rather refers to one or more of the following: a repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number. For example, if the configured MSG1 repetition number includes MS1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, and the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, then the fourth characteristic can be MSG1 repetition 4 and / or MSG1 repetition 8.

[0239] If the judgment result of S802a is yes, it means that there is exactly one resource set associated with both the fourth feature and the second feature, so the resource set can be selected. For ease of explanation, when there is exactly one resource set associated with both the fourth feature and the second feature, the resource set is called resource set a. The user terminal then reverts the first feature to the fourth feature associated with resource set a and selects resource set a, as described in S803a below.

[0240] S803a, fall back to the fourth property associated with resource set a, and select resource set a.

[0241] If the judgment result of S802a is negative, it means that there are multiple resource sets associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, and the resource set can be selected through S803b below.

[0242] S803b: Revert the current random access feature to the second and fifth features, and select a resource set associated with both the second and fifth features.

[0243] The fifth characteristic is either the characteristic or the number of repetitions corresponding to the minimum number of repetitions or the next number of repetitions among the fourth characteristics associated with the resource set. For a description of the fifth characteristic, please refer to the foregoing embodiments; it will not be repeated here.

[0244] The first, third, fourth, and fifth characteristics described above can be MSG1 repetition characteristics, MSG1 repetition count characteristics, or MSG1 repetition count.

[0245] In summary, Figure 8The corresponding third strategy can be understood as follows: If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determine whether there exists a resource set associated with an MSG1 repetition feature greater than the current repetition count, and other features besides those related to MSG1 repetition; a) If not, no backoff is performed; b) If it exists, determine whether there is only one resource set: b.1 If there is only one resource set, select the MSG1 repetition count corresponding to that resource set and use that resource set for the subsequent random access process; b.2 If there are two or more resource sets, select the next repetition count after the current repetition count (i.e., the smallest repetition count among the selectable repetition counts), and select the corresponding resource set for the subsequent random access process based on the determined repetition count.

[0246] First, find all resource sets associated with characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition, which are higher than the current repetition count. If there is only one such resource set, select that resource set. If there are more than two, select the resource set associated with the lowest repetition count.

[0247] It should be noted that, Figure 8 This includes multiple complete execution flows. For example, S801 to S802b constitutes one complete execution flow, S801 to S802a to S803a constitutes one complete execution flow, and S801 to S802a to S803b constitutes one complete execution flow. It should be understood that these execution flows are decoupled; that is, embodiments of this application may execute only one or more of these execution flows without executing the others. All of these complete execution flows should fall within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0248] The following is based on Figure 6The scenario shown illustrates a user terminal with random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition, or random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition and MSG3 repetition, where MSG1 repetition has 2 repetitions. The configured MSG1 repetition counts include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 4. Resource set 1 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 4, resource set 2 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition, resource set 3 includes resources from MSG3 repetition, and resource set 4 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. Figure 8 The process of executing the third strategy will be explained.

[0249] In the example above, the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, the second characteristic is MSG3 repetition, the fourth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 4 and / or MSG1 repetition 8, and the fifth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 4.

[0250] First, the user terminal can determine through the above S801 that there exists resource set 2 associated with MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, and resource set 4 associated with MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition. That is, the determination result of S701 is yes, and there are two resource sets available. Therefore, the determination result of the above S802 is no, and S803b is executed.

[0251] Then, the user terminal can use S803b described above to fall back from MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 4, and select resource set 4, which is associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, for the subsequent random access procedure. This selected resource set will not experience the loss of characteristics other than those related to the MSG1 repetition count, which is beneficial for the normal execution of random access.

[0252] In some possible designs, if the configured resource set only includes the above-mentioned resource set 1, resource set 2, and resource set 3, then the execution result of S802a is that the user terminal will fall back from MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 8 and select resource set 2 for the subsequent random access process.

[0253] It should be understood that, Figure 6 In the scenario shown, if the configured resource sets only include resource set 1 and resource set 3, the user terminal can determine through the above S801 that there is no resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, nor is there a resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition. Therefore, the user terminal can execute the above S802b, that is, without performing a rollback.

[0254] Next, let's take... Figure 9 The scenario shown illustrates a user terminal with random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition, or random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition and MSG3 repetition, where MSG1 repetition has 2 repetitions. The configured MSG1 repetition counts include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 5. Resource set 1 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4; resource set 2 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition; resource set 3 includes resources for MSG3 repetition; and resource set 5 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. This example demonstrates the execution of the above... Figure 8 The process of executing the third strategy will be explained.

[0255] In the example above, the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition 2, the second characteristic is MSG3 repetition, the fourth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG1 repetition 8, and the fifth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 4.

[0256] First, the user terminal can determine through the above S801 that there exists a resource set 2 associated with MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition, that is, the judgment result of S801 is yes, and there is one and only one resource set available. Therefore, the judgment result of the above S802a is yes, and S803a is executed.

[0257] Then, the user terminal can use the above S803a to fall back from MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 8, and select resource set 2 for the subsequent random access process.

[0258] In some possible designs, it is also possible to use, for example... Figure 10 The steps shown execute the third strategy. It should be understood that this execution process is merely exemplary, providing one possible execution process for the third strategy, and should not be construed as a limitation on the third strategy provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0259] Please refer to Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another process for executing a third strategy provided in an embodiment of this application. The process may include the following steps.

[0260] S1001. Determine if a resource set exists that is associated with both the second and fourth characteristics. If yes, proceed to S1002a. If no, proceed to S1002b.

[0261] It should be noted that the foregoing embodiments provide two interpretations of the fourth characteristic. The first interpretation defines the fourth characteristic as a general term referring to the number of repetitions higher than the current MSG1 repetition count. The second interpretation defines the fourth characteristic as the next MSG1 repetition count whose repetition count is higher than the first characteristic, which is equivalent to the third characteristic in the foregoing embodiments. Figure 10 In the corresponding embodiments, the second interpretation of the fourth characteristic is adopted, that is, the fourth characteristic is the number of MSG1 repetitions where the next repetition number is higher than the number of repetitions of the first characteristic. In other embodiments, the first interpretation of the fourth characteristic is adopted.

[0262] It should be understood that the fourth characteristic changes when the current MSG1 repetition count changes. For example, if the configured MSG1 repetition counts include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8, then when the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition 2, the fourth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 4. And when the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition 4, the fourth characteristic is MSG1 repetition 8.

[0263] It should be understood that if the judgment result of S1001 is yes, it means that there exists a resource set that is associated with both the second and fourth characteristics, and then the subsequent step of selecting the resource set can be carried out, namely S1002a.

[0264] S1002a, roll back to the fourth characteristic and select a resource set that is associated with both the second and fourth characteristics.

[0265] Thus, the execution of the third strategy is complete.

[0266] If the result of S1001 is negative, it means that there is no resource set that is associated with both the second and fourth characteristics. Then the repetition count of the fourth characteristic can be updated to the next repetition count, and the judgment can continue through S1001, i.e., S1002b below.

[0267] S1002b: Determine if the repetition count of the fourth characteristic is the maximum available repetition count. If yes, proceed to S1003a. If no, update the repetition count of the fourth characteristic to the next repetition count and proceed to S1001.

[0268] It should be understood that if the judgment result of S1002b above is yes, it means that there is no resource set associated with the second characteristic and the characteristic with a higher number of repetitions than the first characteristic, so rollback is not necessary. That is, S1003a is: no rollback is necessary.

[0269] If the judgment result of S1002b is negative, it means that there are still characteristics with a higher repetition count than the first characteristic that have not gone through the judgment process of S1001. Therefore, the repetition count of the fourth characteristic can be updated to the next repetition count, and the polling judgment can continue through S1001.

[0270] It should be noted that, Figure 10 This includes multiple complete execution flows. For example, S1001 to S1002a constitutes one complete execution flow, S1001 to S1002b to S1003a constitutes another, and S1001 to S1002b then loops back to S1001 to form a complete execution flow. It should be understood that these execution flows are decoupled; that is, embodiments of this application may execute only one or more of these execution flows without executing the others. All of these complete execution flows should fall within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0271] In summary, Figure 10The method is as follows: If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, obtain candidate MSG1 repetition counts that are greater than the current MSG1 repetition count; traverse the candidate MSG1 repetition counts in ascending order of their repetition counts, and determine whether there exists a resource set related to the candidate MSG1 repetition count that is also related to characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition. If so, backtrack to that candidate MSG1 repetition count and select that resource set to initiate random access; if not, continue polling the next candidate MSG1 repetition count and repeat the above process. If no resource set is determined after polling, do not backtrack.

[0272] Right now Figure 10 The method shown prioritizes finding a resource set that is associated with the minimum number of repetitions above the current number of repetitions and other characteristics besides those related to MSG1 repetitions, and then directly selects that resource set.

[0273] This section explains whether the repetition count of the fourth characteristic is the highest available repetition count and how to update the repetition count of the fourth characteristic to the next available repetition count. For example, the configured repetition counts for MSG1 include MSG1 repetition2, MSG1 repetition4, and MSG1 repetition8. If the first characteristic is MSG1 repetition2, then when the user terminal executes S1001 for the first time, the fourth characteristic is MSG1 repetition4. After updating the repetition count of the fourth characteristic to the next available repetition count, the fourth characteristic becomes MSG1 repetition8. At this point, the repetition count of the fourth characteristic is 8, which is the highest available repetition count.

[0274] The following is based on the above. Figure 5 The scenario shown illustrates a user terminal with random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition2 and MSG3 repetition, or random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition and MSG3 repetition, where the MSG1 repetition count is 2. The configured MSG1 repetition counts include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 4. Resource set 1 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 4, resource set 2 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition, resource set 3 includes resources from MSG3 repetition, and resource set 4 includes resources from MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. Figure 10 The process of executing the third strategy will be explained.

[0275] In the example above, the first feature is MSG1 repetition 2, the second feature is MSG3 repetition, and the fourth feature of S1001 executed by the user terminal for the first time can be MSG1 repetition 4.

[0276] First, the user terminal determines through the above S1001 that there is a resource set 4 associated with MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, that is, the determination result of S1001 is yes.

[0277] Then, the user terminal can revert MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 4 via S1002a as described above, and select resource set 4 for the subsequent random access procedure. This selection of resource set avoids the loss of features, which is beneficial for the normal execution of random access.

[0278] It should be understood that, Figure 5 In the scenario shown, if the configured resource sets only include resource set 1, resource set 2, and resource set 3, the user terminal can determine through S1001 that there is no resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition. Therefore, the user terminal can execute S1002b to determine whether MSG1 repetition 4 is the MSG1 repetition with the highest repetition count. Obviously, the MSG1 repetition with the highest repetition count is MSG1 repetition 8. Therefore, the result of S1002b is no. Then the user terminal updates the repetition count of MSG1 repetition 4 to the next repetition count, that is, updates the fourth characteristic to MSG1 repetition 8, and executes S1001. The user terminal can determine through S1001 that there is a resource set 2 associated with MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition. Therefore, it can use S1002a to fall back MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 8 and select resource set 2 for the subsequent random access process. The resource set selected in this way will not lose its characteristics, which is conducive to the normal execution of random access.

[0279] Next, let's take... Figure 9The scenario shown illustrates a user terminal with random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition 2 and MSG3 repetition, or random access characteristics of MSG1 repetition and MSG3 repetition, where MSG1 repetition has 2 repetitions. The configured MSG1 repetition counts include MSG1 repetition 2, MSG1 repetition 4, and MSG1 repetition 8. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 5. Resource set 1 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4; resource set 2 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition; resource set 3 includes resources for MSG3 repetition; and resource set 5 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. This example demonstrates the execution of the above... Figure 10 The process of executing the third strategy will be explained.

[0280] In the example above, the first feature is MSG1 repetition 2 and the second feature is MSG3 repetition. Therefore, the first time the user terminal executes the fourth feature of S1001, it can be MSG1 repetition 4.

[0281] First, the user terminal can determine through the above S1001 that there is no resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG3 repetition, that is, the judgment result of S1001 is no.

[0282] Then, the user terminal can determine through S1002b that MSG1 repetition 4 is not the MSG1 repetition with the highest repetition count. Therefore, the user terminal can update the fourth characteristic from MSG1 repetition 4 to MSG1 repetition 8, and determine through S1001 that there exists a resource set 2 that is associated with both MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition.

[0283] Therefore, the user terminal can use S1002a to revert MSG1 repetition 2 to MSG1 repetition 8 and select resource set 2 for the subsequent random access procedure. This selection of the resource set avoids the loss of features, which is beneficial for the normal execution of random access.

[0284] The following example uses MSG1 repetition A as the first characteristic and characteristic M as the second characteristic. Figure 10 The implementation process of the third strategy shown is combined with Figure 4 In the process of the resource set selection method shown, the resource set selection method provided in this application embodiment can be described as follows:

[0285] If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a preset first threshold, a check is performed to determine if a resource set exists that satisfies the following criteria: 1) it is associated with the MSG1 repetition characteristic for the next repetition (excluding already considered repetitions); 2) it is associated with other characteristics (i.e., characteristic M) of the currently selected resource besides the MSG1 repetition characteristic. If such a resource exists, a rollback is performed and that resource is selected; otherwise, no rollback is performed.

[0286] Based on the above description of the third strategy, it can be seen that the third strategy does not back off if a corresponding resource set cannot be found. However, in this scenario, the number of times MSG1 has been sent may have exceeded a preset threshold. Failure to back off may result in MSG1 failing to be sent successfully, causing the random access process to fail and wasting random access resources. To solve this problem, this application embodiment also provides a resource set selection strategy. For ease of explanation, this resource set selection strategy can be referred to as the fourth strategy in the following embodiments.

[0287] As can be seen from the above, in the third strategy, when there is no resource set related to a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and other characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition, the system does not backtrack and continues to initiate random access with the current MSG1 repetition count. To avoid failure in initiating random access with the current MSG1 repetition count and to ensure the success rate of random access, this application also provides an alternative method: when there is no resource set related to a repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count and other characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition, the system searches for a resource set associated with the next repetition count according to characteristic priority. This ensures that the MSG1 repetition characteristic will be selected, and also ensures that when other characteristics other than those related to MSG1 repetition with lower priority are combined with the MSG1 repetition characteristic, the MSG1 repetition characteristic is selected first, while lower priority characteristics are discarded to meet the priority requirements of random access characteristics. Specifically, this method can be the fourth strategy described below.

[0288] The strategy for determining whether to roll back in the fourth strategy can be stated as: roll back when the first condition is met.

[0289] The first condition can be: 1) when there exists a resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, or when a resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics is available; or,

[0290] 2) When there is a resource set associated with a subset of “fourth characteristic and second characteristic” or when a resource set associated with a subset of “fourth characteristic and second characteristic” is available, and the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with the fourth characteristic;

[0291] Otherwise, if the first condition is not met, no rollback will be performed.

[0292] It should be noted that the resource set associated with the subset of "fourth characteristic and second characteristic" should be understood as: the resource set is associated with the fourth characteristic, or the resource set is associated with the second characteristic.

[0293] The above-mentioned "otherwise" situation refers to the situation where the first condition mentioned above is not met.

[0294] In the fourth strategy, after determining to roll back through condition 1), the first characteristic can be rolled back to the fourth characteristic, and a resource set associated with both the second and fourth characteristics can be selected.

[0295] After determining to roll back according to condition 2), the first characteristic can be rolled back to the fourth characteristic mentioned above, and the resource set associated with the subset of "second characteristic and fourth characteristic" can be selected.

[0296] The strategy for selecting a resource set in the fourth strategy can be stated as follows: If rollback is determined by condition 1) in the first condition, the first characteristic can be rolled back to the fourth characteristic, and a resource set associated with both the second and fourth characteristics can be selected. If rollback is determined by condition 2) in the first condition, the first characteristic can be rolled back to the aforementioned fourth characteristic, and a resource set associated with both the second and fourth characteristics can be selected.

[0297] It can be seen that the third and fourth strategies are the same when there is a resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics. Therefore, the implementation method of this part can be found in the description of the third strategy in the foregoing embodiments. The difference is that when there is no resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, the third strategy does not perform a fallback, while the fourth strategy will determine whether the resource set selected according to the characteristic priority is associated with the fourth characteristic. If so, the first characteristic will fall back to the fourth characteristic, and the resource set associated with the fourth characteristic will be selected; otherwise, no fallback will be performed.

[0298] It should be noted that the method of selecting resource sets according to feature priority is consistent with the feature priority-based resource set selection method in the existing technology version 38.321V17.2.0, including the feature priority-based resource set selection method in subsequent evolution versions, which will not be elaborated further.

[0299] The fourth strategy is implemented through various methods, which are illustrated below.

[0300] As mentioned above, when there exists a resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, the implementation method of the fourth strategy is the same as that of the third strategy, and will not be repeated here. The following only introduces the differences between the fourth and third strategies.

[0301] In some possible designs, when there is no resource set associated with both the fourth and second characteristics, the second condition in the first condition of the fourth strategy can be as follows: Figure 11 The steps shown are as follows.

[0302] S1101. Determine whether the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with the fourth characteristic. If yes, proceed to S1102a. If no, proceed to S1102b.

[0303] For a detailed explanation of the fourth characteristic, please refer to the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0304] It should be understood that if the judgment result of S1101 is negative, it means that the resource set selected according to the characteristic priority is not associated with the fourth characteristic, so there is no need to roll back. That is, S1102b can be: no rollback.

[0305] S1102a: Determine whether there is only one resource set associated with the fourth characteristic, or whether the selected resource set is associated with only one characteristic in its fourth characteristic. If yes, execute S1103a. If no, execute S1103b.

[0306] If so, it means that there is only one resource set associated with the fourth characteristic, and the user terminal can select that resource set associated with the fourth characteristic for the subsequent random access procedure. If there is only one fourth characteristic, then all selected resource sets are associated with the same characteristic, and a resource set can be selected from one or more selected resource sets for the subsequent random access procedure.

[0307] S1103a, roll back to the fourth characteristic and select the resource set associated with the fourth characteristic.

[0308] If not, it means that there are multiple resource sets associated with the fourth characteristic in at least one candidate resource set, and the resource set can be selected through S1103b.

[0309] S1103b, roll back to the fifth characteristic and select the resource set associated with the fifth characteristic.

[0310] It should be noted that the judgment step in S1102a above is not mandatory. In some possible implementations, the user terminal may also directly execute S1103a or S1103b based on the result after executing S1101. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0311] The explanation of the fifth characteristic can be found in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0312] In some other possible designs, when at least one resource set does not contain a resource set associated with both the third and second characteristics, the fourth strategy can be implemented as follows: polling to determine whether the candidate resource set is associated with the third characteristic according to the characteristic priority; when the resource set b selected according to the characteristic priority is associated with the third characteristic, the first characteristic is reverted to the third characteristic, and resource set b is selected; if no resource set is found after the polling ends, no reversion is performed.

[0313] This implementation method can be specifically achieved through, for example... Figure 12 The steps shown are implemented. It should be understood that this implementation method is merely exemplary, providing one possible implementation of the fourth strategy, and should not be construed as a limitation on the fourth strategy provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0314] S1201. Select the set of candidate resources according to the priority of characteristics.

[0315] S1202. Determine whether the candidate resource set is associated with the third characteristic.

[0316] If so, execute S1203a.

[0317] If not, execute S1203b.

[0318] It should be noted that when the user terminal executes S1202 for the first time, the third characteristic is the number of repetitions of the next MSG1 repetition that is higher than the current number of repetitions.

[0319] If the determination result of S1202 is yes, that is, the candidate resource set is associated with the third feature, then the user terminal can revert the first feature to the third feature and select the candidate resource set associated with the third feature. In other words, the above S1203a can be: revert the first feature to the third feature and select the candidate resource set associated with the third feature.

[0320] If the result of S1202 is negative, it means that the candidate resource set is not related to the third characteristic, and then S1203b can be executed.

[0321] S1203b: Determine if the number of repetitions for the third characteristic is the maximum number of repetitions available. If yes, proceed to S1204a. If no, update the number of repetitions for the third characteristic to the next number of repetitions and proceed to S1202.

[0322] It should be understood that if the judgment result of S1203b is "yes", it means that all characteristics with a higher repetition count than the first characteristic have gone through the judgment process of S1202, and there is no resource set associated with characteristics with a higher repetition count than the first characteristic. Therefore, rollback is not necessary. That is, S1204a is: no rollback is necessary.

[0323] If the judgment result of S1203b is negative, it means that there are still characteristics with a higher repetition number than the first characteristic that have not gone through the judgment process of S1202. Therefore, the repetition number of the third characteristic can be updated to the next repetition number, and the judgment can continue through S1202.

[0324] It should be noted that, Figure 12 This includes multiple complete execution flows. For example, S1201 to S1202a constitutes one complete execution flow, S1201 to S1203b recurs back to S1202 to form another complete execution flow, and S1201 to S1203b to S1203a constitute yet another complete execution flow. It should be understood that these execution flows are decoupled; that is, embodiments of this application may execute only one or more of these execution flows without executing the others. All of these complete execution flows should fall within the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0325] Based on the above explanation, the implementation method of the fourth strategy can be summarized as follows: if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, repeatedly check whether the resource set selected by the method of selecting resource sets according to feature priority is associated with the next repetition number (excluding the MSG1 repetition repetition number that has already been considered). If so, backtrack and select the resource; otherwise, do not backtrack.

[0326] It should be understood that the above Figure 11 and Figure 12 The examples shown are implementation methods for some strategies within the fourth strategy. The following section provides an overall overview of the implementation methods for the fourth strategy.

[0327] For example, four implementation methods of the fourth strategy are provided here, referred to as the first implementation method, the second implementation method, the third implementation method, and the fourth implementation method, respectively.

[0328] First, let's introduce the first implementation method. The first implementation method can be stated as follows:

[0329] If the number of transmissions of MSG1 exceeds the first threshold, determine whether there is a resource set associated with 1) the MSG1 repetition feature with a number greater than the current repetition count; or 2) any other feature currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition feature.

[0330] A. In cases where a resource exists, determine if there is only one such resource.

[0331] a1. If yes, then select the MSG1 repetition count corresponding to the resource and use that resource for the subsequent random access process.

[0332] a2. If there are more than two resources, select the next repetition number of the current repetition number (i.e., the minimum repetition number among the selectable repetition numbers), and select the corresponding resource for the subsequent random access process based on the determined repetition number.

[0333] B. If not, determine whether the resource set selected by the method of selecting resource sets according to characteristic priority is associated with a repetition count higher than the current repetition count.

[0334] b1. If not, then no rollback will be performed.

[0335] b2. If yes, determine if there is only one resource.

[0336] b2a. If yes, then select the MSG1 repetition count corresponding to the resource and use that resource for the subsequent random access process.

[0337] In the B2B case, if there are two or more resources, the next repetition number (i.e., the minimum repetition number among the repetition numbers) is selected, and the corresponding resource is selected for the subsequent random access process based on the determined repetition number.

[0338] The second implementation method is described below. The second implementation method can be stated as follows:

[0339] The determination of whether a resource set exists and the MSG1 repetition feature for the next repetition are associated with other features currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition feature. This determination excludes MSG1 repetitions that have already been considered.

[0340] A. If at least one resource can be identified, then select that resource.

[0341] B. If not, and all available MSG1 repetition counts have been polled, then select a resource set according to feature priority. Repeat the check to see if the resource set selected by the feature priority method is associated with the next repetition count. This check excludes MSG1 repetition counts that have already been considered.

[0342] b1. If at least one resource can be identified, then select that resource.

[0343] b2. If there is no resource set and all available MSG1 repetitions have been polled, no rollback will be performed.

[0344] As can be seen, if the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition A, and the second characteristic is M, the first and second implementation methods first determine whether all resource sets are associated with characteristics: repetition counts higher than repetition count A and M. If so, backtrack and select that resource. In this process, all resource sets are traversed before selection. If the above traversal method does not find a resource set, it then determines whether the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with a repetition count higher than repetition count A. If so, backtrack and select that resource; otherwise, no backtracking is performed.

[0345] The third implementation method is described below, and can be stated as follows:

[0346] If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determine whether there are resources associated with 1) the MSG1 repetition feature that exceeds the current repetition count; or 2) other features of the currently selected feature besides the MSG1 repetition feature.

[0347] A. In cases where a resource exists, determine if there is only one such resource.

[0348] a1. If yes, then select the MSG1 repetition count corresponding to the resource and use that resource for the subsequent random access process.

[0349] a2. If there are more than two resources, select the next repetition number of the current repetition number (i.e., the minimum repetition number among the selectable repetition numbers), and select the corresponding resource for the subsequent random access process based on the determined repetition number.

[0350] B. If not, determine whether the resource set selected by the method of selecting resource sets according to characteristic priority is associated with a repetition count higher than the current repetition count.

[0351] b1. If this is not the case, and all available resource sets for MSG1 repetition counts have been polled, then no rollback will be performed.

[0352] b2. If yes, determine if there is only one resource. If yes, select the MSG1 repetition count corresponding to that resource and use that resource for the subsequent random access process. If there are two or more resources, select the next repetition count after the current repetition count (i.e., the minimum repetition count among the selectable repetition counts), and select the corresponding resource for the subsequent random access process based on the determined repetition count.

[0353] The fourth implementation method is described below, and can be stated as follows:

[0354] If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determine whether there is a resource set and the MSG1 repetition feature for the next repetition count that are associated with other features currently selected besides the MSG1 repetition feature. This determination excludes MSG1 repetition counts that have already been considered.

[0355] A. If at least one resource can be identified: select the number of repetitions corresponding to that resource, and select that resource for the random access procedure.

[0356] B. If not, select a resource set according to feature priority, and determine whether the resource set selected by the feature priority method is associated with the next repetition number. This determination excludes MSG1 repetition numbers that have already been considered.

[0357] b1. If there is at least one resource, then select that resource.

[0358] b2. If not, and all available resource sets with MSG1 repetition counts have been polled, then no rollback is performed. It can be seen that if the current MSG1 repetition count is MSG1 repetition A, and the second characteristic is M, the third and fourth implementation methods are: first, determine if the resource set and characteristic are associated with the next repetition count higher than A and M. If so, rollback is performed and the resource is selected; otherwise, determine if the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with the next repetition count higher than A. If so, rollback is performed and the resource is selected. If not, and the resource set has been traversed using the above method, no rollback is performed. It should be noted that the first and third implementation methods, the first and fourth implementation methods, the second and third implementation methods, and the second and fourth implementation methods may ultimately select different resource sets due to different execution steps. The following explanation uses the first and fourth implementation methods as examples.

[0359] In this example, the configured resource sets include resource set 7 and resource set 8. Resource set 7 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4 and resources for MSG3 repetition. Resource set 8 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8, resources for MSG3 repetition, and resources for SDT. The current random access feature is MSG1 repetition 2, MSG3 repetition, SDT, or the current random access feature is MSG1 repetition, MSG3 repetition, SDT, where MSG1 repetition is repeated twice. The feature associated with resource set 7 has a higher priority than the feature associated with resource set 8.

[0360] According to the first implementation, since only resource set 8 is associated with MSG1 repetition 8 and also with MSG3 repetition and SDT, resource set 8 can be directly selected in the first step of the judgment.

[0361] According to the fourth implementation method, it will first determine whether there is a resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition and SDT. If no such resource set is found, resource set 7 will be selected according to feature priority. Since resource set 7 is associated with MSG1 repetition 4, the fourth implementation method will select resource set 7.

[0362] The above describes several resource set selection strategies provided in the embodiments of this application. It should be noted that the first, second, third, and fourth strategies described above can be combined to form more new resource set selection strategies, and these new resource set selection strategies should also be within the protection scope of the resource set selection method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0363] The following specific example further illustrates the different resource set selection strategies.

[0364] Please refer to Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another random access scenario provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 13As shown, in this example, the current random access features are MSG1 repetition 2, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. The configured resource sets include resource set 1, resource set 2, resource set 3, and resource set 6. Resource set 1 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 4, resource set 2 includes resources for MSG1 repetition 8 and MSG3 repetition, resource set 3 includes resources for MSG3 repetition, and resource set 6 includes resources for SDT and MSG3 repetition. The features are prioritized from highest to lowest as follows: MSG3 repetition, MSG1 repetition, and SDT.

[0365] This section describes the user terminal using the first strategy. Figure 13 The process of resource set selection in the scenario shown is as follows: First, the user terminal determines that there is a resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4, so MSG1 repetition 2 can be reverted to MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. Then, the user terminal determines that there is both resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4 and resource set 3 associated with MSG1 repetition. Based on the higher priority of MSG3 repetition, the user terminal can select resource set 3 for the subsequent random access procedure. Therefore, the user terminal adopts the first strategy in... Figure 13 In the scenario shown, after selecting a resource set, MSG1 repetition will not occur.

[0366] This section describes the second strategy employed by the user terminal. Figure 13 The process of resource set selection in the scenario shown is as follows: First, the user terminal determines that there is a resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4, so MSG1 repetition 2 can be reverted to MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. Then, the user terminal determines that there is no resource set associated with both MSG1 repetition 4 and MSG1 repetition, so resource set 1 associated with MSG1 repetition 4 will proceed with the subsequent random access process. Therefore, the user terminal adopts the second strategy in... Figure 13 In the scenario shown, the MSG3 repetition feature will be discarded after resource set selection.

[0367] This section describes the use of a third strategy by the user terminal. Figure 13 The process of selecting a resource set in the scenario shown is as follows. The user terminal cannot find a resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 4, MSG3 repetition, and SDT through the third strategy, so no rollback will be performed.

[0368] This section introduces the fourth strategy in Figure 13 The process of determining the resource set in the scenario shown is as follows: First, the user terminal can determine that there is no resource set associated with MSG1 repetition 2, MSG3 repetition, and SDT. Then, the user terminal can determine that resource set 3, selected according to feature priority, is not associated with a repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number (i.e., MSG1 repetition 4), while resource set 2, selected according to feature priority, is associated with a repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number (i.e., MSG1 repetition 4). Therefore, the user terminal can revert MSG1 repetition 2 to MGS1 repetition 8 and select resource set 2.

[0369] Taking MSG1 repetition A as the first characteristic and characteristic M as the second characteristic as an example, based on the above introduction, it can be seen that when determining the number of repetitions of MSG1 after rollback, the first strategy, if there exists a resource set associated with a repetition count greater than A (the next repetition count), will choose to roll back to the smallest repetition count among them. The second strategy, if there exists a resource set associated with both a repetition count greater than A and characteristic M, will choose the smallest repetition count corresponding to that resource set. The third strategy, if there is no resource set associated with both a repetition count greater than A and characteristic M, but there exists a resource set associated with a repetition count greater than A, will choose the smallest repetition count corresponding to that resource set. The fourth strategy, if there is no resource set associated with both a repetition count greater than A and characteristic M, and the resource set selected according to characteristic priority is associated with a repetition count greater than A, will choose the smallest repetition count corresponding to that resource set.

[0370] The method provided in this application includes: if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, determining whether to roll back the current number of MSG1 repetitions based on MSG1 repetitions; or, if the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds the first threshold, determining whether to roll back the current number of MSG1 repetitions based on MSG1 repetitions and characteristics other than MSG1 repetitions; if it is determined that the current number of MSG1 repetitions should be rolled back, selecting random access resources based on the rolled-back number of MSG1 repetitions and the characteristics other than MSG1 repetitions in the current random access characteristics.

[0371] In one possible implementation, MSG1 includes a random access preamble; the fallback includes at least one of the following:

[0372] From low coverage level to high coverage level;

[0373] From low MSG1 repetition count to high MSG1 repetition count;

[0374] From the current MSG1 repetition count to the next MSG1 repetition count, the next MSG1 repetition count refers to the minimum number of repetitions higher than the current MSG1 repetition count;

[0375] Perform random access related to high coverage levels;

[0376] Perform random access related to the next coverage level;

[0377] Perform random access related to the next MSG1 repetition count;

[0378] Perform random access related to a high MSG1 repetition count; the high MSG1 repetition count is the number of MSG1 repetitions that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count.

[0379] In one possible implementation, the first threshold corresponds to the number of MSG1 repetitions; the first threshold is used to configure the maximum number of preamble transmissions corresponding to the number of MSG1 repetitions.

[0380] In one possible implementation, the maximum number of preamble transmissions is the maximum number of preamble transmissions of the current Msg1 retransmission count before switching to the next available high MSG1 retransmission count.

[0381] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on MSG1 repetition includes:

[0382] If there are random access resources associated with a higher MSG1 repetition count than the current MSG1 repetition count, then it is determined to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count.

[0383] In one possible implementation, selecting random access resources based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than MSG1 repetition includes:

[0384] If there exists a random access resource with the same characteristics or a combination of characteristics as the current random access resource, and the random access resource is related to the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number, then the random access resource is selected.

[0385] In one possible implementation, selecting random access resources based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than MSG1 repetition includes:

[0386] If there exists a subset of random access resources that have the same or combined characteristics as the current random access resource, then a random access resource is selected based on the priority of the characteristics.

[0387] The subset of the same characteristic or combination of characteristics includes characteristics that repeat MSG1 or other than those that repeat MSG1.

[0388] In one possible implementation, selecting random access resources based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than MSG1 repetition includes:

[0389] If no random access resource has the same characteristics or combination of characteristics as the current random access resource, then select the random access resource associated with the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number.

[0390] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on MSG1 repetition and other characteristics includes:

[0391] If there exists a first random access resource with the same characteristics or a combination of characteristics as the current random access resource and the first random access resource is associated with a high MSG1 repetition count, wherein the high MSG1 repetition count is an MSG1 repetition count higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, then the current MSG1 repetition count is rolled back.

[0392] In one possible implementation, selecting random access resources based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than MSG1 repetition includes:

[0393] Select a second random access resource that has the same or a combination of characteristics as the current random access resource from the first random access resource;

[0394] Wherein, the second random access resource is a random access resource associated with the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number, or the second random access resource is a random access resource associated with the minimum MSG1 repetition number among the high MSG1 repetition numbers.

[0395] In one possible implementation, if there is one and only one first random access resource, the first random access resource is selected and the number of MSG1 repetitions associated with the first random access resource is rolled back.

[0396] In one possible implementation, determining whether to roll back the current MSG1 repetition count based on MSG1 repetition and other characteristics includes:

[0397] If there exists a subset of first random access resources that have the same characteristics or a combination of characteristics as the current random access resource, and a second random access resource selected from the first random access resource based on characteristic priority is associated with a high MSG1 repetition count, then the current MSG1 repetition count is rolled back.

[0398] Wherein, the high MSG1 repetition count is the MSG1 repetition count that is higher than the current MSG1 repetition count, then the current MSG1 repetition count is rolled back;

[0399] The subset of the same characteristic or combination of characteristics includes characteristics that repeat MSG1 or other than those that repeat MSG1.

[0400] In one possible implementation, selecting random access resources based on the number of MSG1 repetitions after rollback and the current random access characteristics other than MSG1 repetition includes:

[0401] Choose from the second random access resource the random access resource associated with the next MSG1 repetition number higher than the current MSG1 repetition number, or choose the random access resource associated with the minimum MSG1 repetition number among the high MSG1 repetition numbers.

[0402] In one possible implementation, if there is one and only one second random access resource, the second random access resource is selected and the number of MSG1 repetitions associated with the second random access resource is rolled back.

[0403] In one possible implementation, the same characteristic or combination of characteristics includes MSG1 repetition during the current random access process and characteristics other than MSG1 repetition.

[0404] The above primarily describes the solutions provided in this application from the perspective of interactions between various nodes. It is understood that each node, such as a terminal or network device, includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules to execute the aforementioned functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0405] This application embodiment can divide the user equipment into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0406] Figure 14 A structural diagram of a communication device 1400 is shown. This communication device 1400 can be a user terminal, a chip within a user terminal, or a system-on-a-chip. The communication device 1400 can be used to perform the functions of the user terminal involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, Figure 14 The communication device 1400 shown includes: a transmitting unit 1401 and a receiving unit 1402.

[0407] The sending unit 1001 is used to initiate random access to the network-side device.

[0408] The receiving unit 1402 is used to receive configuration information, etc., from network-side devices.

[0409] Specifically, all relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0410] As another feasible approach Figure 14The communication device 1400 shown includes a processing module and a communication module. The processing module controls and manages the operation of the communication device 1400; for example, it can support the communication device 1400 in performing control functions. The communication module can integrate the functions of the sending unit 1401 and the receiving unit 1402, and can be used to support the communication device 1400 in performing various steps in the method embodiments and communicating with other network entities, such as with network-side devices. The communication device 1400 may also include a storage module for storing the program code and data of the communication device 1400.

[0411] The processing module can be a processor or a controller. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computational functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors. The communication module can be a transceiver circuit or a communication interface. The storage module can be a memory.

[0412] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. This program can be stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be a terminal of any of the foregoing embodiments, such as an internal storage unit including a data sending end and / or a data receiving end, like a hard disk or memory of the terminal. The computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk, smart media card (SMC), secure digital (SD) card, flash card, etc., equipped on the terminal. Further, the computer-readable storage medium can include both the internal storage unit and the external storage device of the terminal. The computer-readable storage medium is used to store the computer program and other programs and data required by the terminal. The computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0413] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0414] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0415] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A. For example, B can be determined based on A. It should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. Furthermore, the term "connection" in the embodiments of this application refers to various connection methods, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of this application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0416] Unless otherwise specified, the term "transmission" in the embodiments of this application refers to bidirectional transmission, encompassing the actions of sending and / or receiving. Specifically, "transmission" in the embodiments of this application includes sending data, receiving data, or both sending and receiving data. In other words, data transmission here includes uplink and / or downlink data transmission. Data may include channels and / or signals; uplink data transmission refers to uplink channel and / or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission refers to downlink channel and / or downlink signal transmission. The terms "network" and "system" in the embodiments of this application refer to the same concept; a communication system is a communication network.

[0417] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0418] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of modules or units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0419] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. A component shown as a unit can be one or more physical units; that is, it can be located in one place or distributed in multiple different locations. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0420] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0421] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, essentially, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a device (which may be a microcontroller, chip, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0422] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A resource set selection method, characterized in that, The current random access procedure applies the MSG1 repetition feature and a second feature, where the second feature is a feature other than the MSG1 repetition feature, and the current MSG1 repetition number is the first repetition number. The method includes: If the number of MSG1 transmissions exceeds a first threshold, and if an available resource set is configured that associates the MSG1 repetition characteristic and the second characteristic, and the repetition count of the MSG1 repetition characteristic in the available resource set is the second repetition count, which is greater than the first repetition count, and the available resource set is associated only with the MSG1 repetition characteristic and the second characteristic, then: Random access is performed using the available resource set.

2. The resource set selection method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: If no available resource set is configured that only associates the MSG1 repeatability feature and the second feature, then the first repetition count of the MSG1 repeatability feature will not be rolled back.

3. The resource set selection method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: If an available resource set is configured with an associated MSG1 repeatability feature and a second feature, and the second repeatability number in the available resource set is not greater than the first repeatability number, then the first repeatability number of the MSG1 repeatability feature will not be rolled back.

4. The resource set selection method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The use of the available resource set for random access includes: Random access is performed using the available resource set corresponding to the target second repetition number, where the target second repetition number is the next second repetition number higher than the first repetition number, and the available resource set is associated only with the MSG1 repetition characteristic and the second characteristic.

5. The resource set selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The use of the available resource set for random access includes: The first repetition count of the MSG1 repetition characteristic is rolled back to the second repetition count.

6. The resource set selection method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The rollback includes at least one of the following: From low coverage level to high coverage level; Perform random access related to high coverage levels; Proceed to the next coverage level-related random access.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first threshold corresponds to the first repetition count; the first threshold is used to configure the maximum number of preamble transmissions corresponding to the first repetition count.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The second characteristic includes at least one of the following: MSG3 repeat, slice, small data transfer SDT, and reduced capability RedCap.

9. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor and a communication interface, the processor and the communication interface being used to support the communication device in performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

11. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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