Terminal and communication method

Abstract

To clarify the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system.SOLUTION: A terminal includes a receiving unit that receives downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information that designates a resource for a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled, and a control unit that determines a start point for counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on the time when the designation information is received.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal and a communication method in a communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] For NR (New Radio) (also known as "5G"), a wireless communication system based on the 3GPP (registered trademark) standard, and successor systems to NR (e.g., "6G"), technologies that satisfy requirements such as a large-capacity system, high-speed data transmission speed, low latency, simultaneous connection of a large number of terminals, low cost, and power saving are being considered.

[0003] In NR, a network architecture is being considered that includes 5GC (5G Core Network), which corresponds to EPC (Evolved Packet Core), which is the core network in the network architecture of LTE (Long Term Evolution), and NG-RAN (Next Generation - Radio Access Network), which corresponds to E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network), which is the RAN (Radio Access Network) in the network architecture of LTE (e.g., Non-Patent Document 1).

[0004] In addition, in 3GPP Rel-19, in the working items related to NES (Network Energy Saving), adaptation of the physical random access channel (PRACH) in the time domain is being discussed as an item related to common signal / channel transmission. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP TS 38.300 V18.5.0(2025-03) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For additional PRACH resources via DCI-based adaptation, 3GPP has agreed to optionally support semi-static signaling of a PRACH mask to identify a subset of additional PRACH resources.

[0007] However, the procedure for applying the PRACH mask is not clear.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to clarify the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a terminal having a receiving unit that receives downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information that designates a resource for a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled, and a control unit that determines a start point for counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on the time when the designation information is received. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The disclosed technique clarifies the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example (1) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example (2) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example (1) of a PRACH mask. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example (2) of a PRACH mask. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example (3) of a PRACH mask. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example related to Alt. 1 of Example 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example relating to Alt. 3 of Example 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a base station 10 and a network node 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a base station 10 and a terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0013] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, existing technologies are used as appropriate, such as existing LTE or existing NR, but are not limited to existing LTE or NR.

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention described below, terms used in existing LTE, such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even signals used in NR are not necessarily designated as "NR-".

[0015] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, the duplex method may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) method, an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) method, or other methods (for example, Flexible Duplex, etc.).

[0016] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, "configuring" radio parameters and the like may mean that a predetermined value is pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 are configured. Furthermore, in the following description, " / " means "and / or" unless otherwise specified or unless it is clear from the context that a different meaning is intended.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example (1) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. Although Fig. 1 shows one base station 10 and one terminal 20, this is an example, and there may be a plurality of each.

[0018] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of a wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain. The time domain may be defined by the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal and system information to the terminal 20. The synchronization signal is, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is, for example, transmitted via NR-PBCH and is also referred to as broadcast information. The synchronization signal and system information may be referred to as SSB (SS / PBCH block). As shown in FIG. 1 , the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 in the downlink (DL) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 in the uplink (UL). Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of transmitting and receiving signals by performing beamforming. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of applying MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication to the DL or UL. In addition, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may communicate via a secondary cell (SCell: Secondary Cell) and a primary cell (PCell: Primary Cell) using CA (Carrier Aggregation). Furthermore, the terminal 20 may communicate via a primary cell of the base station 10 and a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell: Primary SCG Cell) of another base station 10 using DC (Dual Connectivity).

[0019] The terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in Fig. 1, the terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. The terminal 20 also receives various reference signals transmitted from the base station 10 and measures the propagation path quality based on the reception results of the reference signals.

[0020] Furthermore, various requirements are being considered for the next generation, 6G, such as ultra broadband communication, mission critical communication, ultra massive connection, universal coverage, intelligent connection, ubiquitous sensing, etc.

[0021] Furthermore, the requirements may be ultra-high speed communication, large capacity communication, ultra-extended coverage, ultra-low power consumption, low cost, ultra-low latency, ultra-reliable communication, ultra-multiple connections and sensing, etc.

[0022] To achieve these requirements, new concepts include extensibility (e.g., making it more future-proof), easy-operational, customizable (e.g., making it easier to operate), and sustainability (e.g., reducing costs, having a more robust configuration, and being resilient). Also, guaranteed communication, which always guarantees a minimum level of performance, is being considered.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example (2) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a configuration example of a wireless communication system in which DC (Dual connectivity) is implemented. As shown in Fig. 2, a base station 10A serving as an MN (Master Node) and a base station 10B serving as an SN (Secondary Node) are provided. The base station 10A and the base station 10B are each connected to a core network. The terminal 20 can communicate with both the base station 10A and the base station 10B.

[0024] A cell group provided by base station 10A, which is an MN, is called an MCG (Master Cell Group), and a cell group provided by base station 10B, which is an SN, is called an SCG (Secondary Cell Group). In addition, in a DC, an MCG is composed of one PCell and one or more SCells, and an SCG is composed of one PSCell (Primary SCG Cell) and one or more SCells.

[0025] In addition, in 3GPP Rel-19, in the working items related to NES (Network Energy Saving), adaptation of the physical random access channel (PRACH) in the time domain is being discussed as an item related to common signal / channel transmission.

[0026] Here, for additional PRACH resources via DCI-based adaptation, it is agreed to optionally support semi-static signaling of a PRACH mask to identify a subset of additional PRACH resources.

[0027] In addition, the following two options are being considered for identifying the PRACH mask:

[0028] Option 1: The PRACH mask is obtained from a predetermined PRACH mask table with N (=4 or 8 or 16) rows, where the PRACH mask index is specified by quasi-static signaling.

[0029] Option 2: The PRACH mask is based on configuration parameters, such as a bitmap at the SFN (System Frame Number) level or a periodic time domain window.

[0030] Additionally, the following five options are considered as reference points for availability information of additional PRACH resources indicated by DCI 1_0 (using P-RNTI (Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​in PF (Paging Frame)) for RRC idle / inactive mode UE and RRC connected mode UE respectively:

[0031] Option 1: SFN (System Frame Number) of the first PF from the next I-DRX cycle Option2: SFN of the first PF from the current I-DRX cycle Option 3: From the first frame of the first PRACH association period after the UE receives DCI Option 4: From the first frame of the current SI (System Information) correction period Option 5: From the first frame of the next SI correction period It is also agreed that for DCI-based adaptation of additional PRACH resources, a PRACH mask identifying a subset of additional PRACH resources can be applied on a per PRACH association period basis, and this PRACH mask is applied for all (configured) K (SSB Random Access Occasion (RO)) association pattern periods.

[0032] 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating examples (1) and (2) of PRACH masks. As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, since the timing at which the UE receives the DCI including the PRACH mask instruction is different, the odd / even association pattern (AP) may be different for different UEs.

[0033] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PRACH mask (3). As shown in FIG. 5, for example, three APs designated by a first set and a second set of four APPs (K=4) are enabled.

[0034] Here, it is not clear how the start points of the "K association pattern periods" are determined. Therefore, the odd / even association patterns (APs) may be different for different UEs due to the different timings at which the UEs receive the DCI containing the PRACH mask indication.

[0035] Also, if the UE receives another enablement signaling for additional PRACH resources, it is not clear how the mask is applied.

[0036] (Example) This embodiment clarifies the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system.

[0037] In the first embodiment, a method for determining the time point at which the AP starts counting for each terminal when the terminal receives a signaling for enabling additional PRACH resources, which may be, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0038] In the second embodiment, a method for applying a mask to overlapping enablement signaling for additional PRACH resources is described.

[0039] Example 1: Starting point for counting APs (PRACH-related intervals) for mask application In the first embodiment, a method for determining the time point at which the AP starts counting for each terminal when the terminal receives additional activation signaling for PRACH resources will be described.

[0040] If the terminal 20 is configured with a PRACH mask for additional PRACH resources and the terminal 20 is further instructed to activate the additional PRACH resources, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may determine the starting point of the AP or APP count based on the time of receiving the activation indication, which may assume any of the following Alternatives 1 to 6:

[0041] Alt. 1: APP (PRACH association period pattern) at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 1a: First / last AP in the APP at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction (PRACH association period) Alt. 1b: AP at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 2: The next K APPs after the APP at the time the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 2a: The first / last AP of the K APPs following the APP at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 2b: The next K APs after the AP at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 3: The first / last APP (first AP) in the current / next K I-DRX (Idle mode Discontinuous Reception) periods at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 3a: The first / last AP in the current / next K I-DRX periods at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 4: The first / last APP in the current / next K SI (System Information) correction periods at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 4a: The first / last AP in the current / next K SI correction periods at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 5: The first / last frame in the current / next K I-DRX cycles at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction Alt. 6: The first / last frame in the current / next K SI correction periods at the time when the terminal 20 receives the activation instruction In the above Alt.1 to Alt.6, the value of K may be an integer value of 1 or greater.

[0042] Also, the even / odd count of AP / APP, i.e., the initial AP / APP number, may start from 0 or 1.

[0043] In Alt. 1 to Alt. 6 above, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may assume that all rows of the mask table or bitmap representation of the mask are subject to the above single rule / alternative, or that different rules / alternatives are applied to different rows of the mask table.

[0044] For example, to determine the activation of odd / even APs, the above-mentioned Alternatives 3 / 3a / 4 / 4a may be applied, and to determine the activation of the first N APs, Alternatives 1b / 2b may be applied.

[0045] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example related to Alt. 1 of Example 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the terminal 20 (UE) may start counting from the first AP of the APP for which it has received an activation indication and apply a PRACH mask that activates the resources of odd-numbered APs in K (e.g., 4) APPs. For example, since UE#1 receives an activation indication in the second AP of the first APP in I DRX cycle#0, UE#1 starts counting from that AP and activates the odd-numbered APs. On the other hand, since UE#2 receives an activation indication in the first AP of the second APP in I DRX cycle#0, UE#2 starts counting from that AP and activates the odd-numbered APs. That is, in this example, the APs activated by UE#1 and UE#2 are not aligned.

[0046] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example related to Alt. 3 of Example 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the terminal 20 (UE) may start counting from the first APP (first AP) in the current I DRX cycle #0 at the time of receiving the activation indication, and apply a PRACH mask that activates the resources of odd-numbered APs in K (e.g., 4) APPs. For example, since UE #1 receives an activation indication in the second AP of the first APP in I DRX cycle #0, UE #1 starts counting from the first APP (first AP) in I DRX cycle #0 and activates the odd-numbered APs. Also, since UE #2 receives an activation indication in the first AP of the second APP in I DRX cycle #0, UE #2 starts counting from the first APP (first AP) in I DRX cycle #0 and activates the odd-numbered APs. That is, in this example, the APs activated by UE #1 and UE #2 are aligned.

[0047] Example 2: Masking of overlapping enablement signaling for additional PRACH resources In the second embodiment, a method for applying a mask to overlapping enablement signaling for additional PRACH resources is described.

[0048] If the terminal 20 receives new validation signaling within the validation duration indicated by the previously received validation signaling, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may assume either Alt. 1 or Alt. 2 below.

[0049] Alt.1: The PRACH mask of the previously received activation indication is applied to the new activation indication.

[0050] For example, the PRACH mask of the previously received activation instruction is applied, and based on the previously received activation instruction, the terminal 20 counts APs using the method described in the first embodiment.

[0051] Alternatively, for example, the PRACH mask of the previously received activation instruction is applied, and based on the new activation instruction, the terminal 20 counts APs using the method described in the first embodiment.

[0052] Alt.2: For a new activation instruction, the PRACH mask of the new activation instruction is applied.

[0053] For example, the PRACH mask of the new activation instruction is applied, and based on the previously received activation instruction, the terminal 20 counts APs using the method described in the first embodiment.

[0054] Alternatively, for example, the PRACH mask of the new activation instruction is applied, and based on the new activation instruction, the terminal 20 counts the APs using the method described in the first embodiment.

[0055] Different examples for Alt.1 or Alt.2: For example, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may assume that Alt. 1 or Alt. 2 applies in the case of a mask with an odd / even AP enable indication.

[0056] Alternatively, for example, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may assume that Alt. 1 or Alt. 2 applies in the case of a mask having activation indications for N APs.

[0057] (UE ability) The UE may report the following capabilities: Ability to process the information described in the above examples and alternatives (Alt.) Ability to combine processes described in the above examples and alternatives (Alt.) The UE may report the above capabilities on a per frequency basis. For example, the UE may report capabilities per UE, per FR1, FR2, FR2-1, FR2-2, FR3, per SCS, per band, per BC, per FC, or per Fractional Signal Power Control (FSPC). The UE may report the above capabilities on a cell-by-cell basis. The UE may report capabilities on a per-UE basis, per-cell basis, or for each TDD and FDD.

[0058] (Signal from network to UE) The UE may report information to the network (base station) as the following types: Information via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC messages / LPP messages) MAC CE MAC CE with new LCID in subheader Extending an existing MAC CE (e.g., introducing a new octet) UCI UCI on PUCCH or PUSCH Combination of the above information The UE may also report information to the network (base station) in the following periodic types: ·Opt1: Periodic Opt2: Quasi-periodic (triggered by UE or gNB indication) Opt3: Aperiodic (triggered by UE or gNB indication)

[0059] The above embodiments clarify the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system.

[0060] (Device configuration) Next, a description will be given of examples of functional configurations of the base station 10, network node 30, and terminal 20 that perform the processes and operations described above. The base station 10, network node 30, and terminal 20 include functions for implementing the above-described embodiments. However, the base station 10, network node 30, and terminal 20 may each include only a part of the functions of the embodiments.

[0061] <Base Station 10 and Network Node 30> FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 and the network node 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the base station 10 includes a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in FIG. 8 is merely an example. As long as the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any. Note that the network node 30 may have the same functional configuration as the base station 10. Furthermore, a network node 30 having multiple different functions in the system architecture may be composed of multiple network nodes 30 separated by function.

[0062] The transmitter 110 includes a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 or another network node 30, and transmitting the signal by wire or wirelessly. The receiver 120 includes a function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 or another network node 30, and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signal. A communication unit including the transmitter 110 and the receiver 120 may be configured.

[0063] The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20. The content of the setting information is, for example, information related to the operations described in the embodiments.

[0064] The control unit 140 controls settings, instructions, and notifications related to the operations described in the embodiments. The function unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmitting unit 110, and the function unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the receiving unit 120.

[0065] <Terminal 20> Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of terminal 20 in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 9, terminal 20 has transmitting unit 210, receiving unit 220, setting unit 230, and control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 9 is merely an example. As long as the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any. Transmitting unit 210 and receiving unit 220 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit.

[0066] The transmitter 210 creates a transmission signal from transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiver 220 receives various signals wirelessly and acquires higher layer signals from the received physical layer signals. The receiver 220 also has a function of receiving PSS, SSS, PBCH, DL / UL / SL control signals, etc. transmitted from the base station 10. The setting unit 230 also stores setting information that is set in advance. The setting information includes, for example, information related to the operations described in the embodiments.

[0067] As described in the embodiments, the control unit 240 controls settings, instructions, and notifications related to the operations described in the embodiments. A functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmitting unit 210, and a functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 240 may be included in the receiving unit 220.

[0068] (Hardware configuration) The block diagrams (FIGS. 8 and 9) used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized by using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0069] For example, a base station, a terminal, a network node, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-described base station 10 and terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0070] In the present disclosure, the term "apparatus" may be interchangeable with any two terms selected from a set of terms such as circuit, device, unit, module, chip, means, etc. The hardware configurations of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0071] Each function in the base station 10 and the terminal 20 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001, memory 1002, etc., so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls the reading, writing, or both reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0072] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned baseband signal processing unit 104, call processing unit 105, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001. Although only one processor 1001 is shown in the figure, there may be multiple processors.

[0073] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from the storage 1003, the communication device 1004, or both the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 401 of the terminal 20 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by a single processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line, or may be provided to the computer via the communication device 1004, for example.

[0074] The present disclosure also provides a computer program product including a computer program, which may implement the steps of the methods described in the above embodiments when the computer program is executed by a computer (e.g., the processor 1001).

[0075] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured, for example, as a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a combination of at least two of these. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), or the like. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, and the like for implementing a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, or a combination of at least two of these. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, memory 1002, storage 1003, or a database, server, or other appropriate medium including both memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0077] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via a wired network, a wireless network, or both wired and wireless networks, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, or a combination of at least two of these. For example, the above-mentioned transmission / reception antenna 101, amplifier unit 102, transmission / reception unit 103, transmission path interface 106, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit 103 may be implemented as a transmission unit 103a and a reception unit 103b that are physically or logically separated.

[0078] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from the outside (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, or a combination of at least two of these). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to the outside (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, or a combination of at least two of these). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch panel).

[0079] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0080] Furthermore, base station 10 and terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), or a combination of at least two of these, and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0081] O-CU may be interpreted as CU, control device, communication device, aggregation device, central device, management device, etc. Each of the devices may be interpreted as a unit, node, etc. For example, O-CU may be interpreted as a central unit, aggregation node, etc.

[0082] O-DU may be read as DU, control device, communication device, distribution device, high PHY device, etc. Each of these devices may be referred to as unit, node, etc. For example, O-DU may be read as distribution unit, distribution node, etc.

[0083] O-RU may be interpreted as RU, radio equipment, RF (Radio Frequency) equipment, low PHY equipment, etc. Each equipment may be interpreted as unit, node, etc. For example, O-RU may be interpreted as radio unit, radio node, etc.

[0084] The SMO may be interpreted as a control device, a communication device, or a management device. Each of the devices may be referred to as a unit, a node, or the like. For example, the SMO may be interpreted as a management unit, a management node, or the like.

[0085] The Non-Real Time RIC may be interpreted as a RIC, a non-real time control device, a control device, or a communication device. Each of these devices may be referred to as a unit, a node, or the like. For example, the Non-Real Time RIC may be interpreted as a control unit, a control node, or the like.

[0086] Near-Real Time RIC may be interpreted as RIC, near-real-time control device, control device, or communication device. Each of these devices may be referred to as a unit, a node, or the like. For example, Non-Real Time RIC may be interpreted as a control unit, a control node, or the like.

[0087] <Configuration of this embodiment> (Additional note 1) a receiving unit for receiving downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information for designating a resource of a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled; A control unit that determines a start point of counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on the time when the designation information is received; A terminal having: (Additional note 2) The control unit sets the start point to the first AP in an APP (PRACH association period pattern) at the time when the designation information is received. A terminal as described in appendix 1. (Additional note 3) The control unit sets the start point to the first AP in an APP (PRACH association period pattern) next to an APP at the time when the designation information is received. A terminal as described in appendix 1. (Additional note 4) The control unit sets the start point to a first AP in a first APP in an I-DRX (Idle mode Discontinuous Reception) cycle at the time when the control unit receives the designation information. The terminal of claim 1. (Additional note 5) a receiving unit that receives downlink control information including first designation information that designates a resource of a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled from a base station; a control unit that, when the receiving unit receives second designation information that newly designates the resource during the validity period of the first designation information, applies the first designation information or the second designation information to count an AP (PRACH association period); A terminal having: (Additional note 6) receiving downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information for designating additionally enabled PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) resources; determining a start point for counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on a time when the designation information is received; A communication method that has but executes.

[0088] Any of the above configurations may clarify the procedure for applying a PRACH mask to identify an additional subset of PRACH resources in a wireless communication system.

[0089] (Supplementary explanation of the embodiment) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, and substitutions. While specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention; two or more items may be combined as needed, and items described in one item may apply to items described in another item (unless inconsistent). The boundaries between functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries between physical components. The operations of multiple functional units may be performed by a single physical component, or the operations of a single functional unit may be performed by multiple physical components. The order of the processing steps described in the embodiments may be reversed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of processing description, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams. However, such devices may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may each be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server or any other suitable storage medium.

[0090] The aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure may be categorized as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced), 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G-Advanced (5G-A), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (x is, for example, an integer or a decimal number)), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) (registered trademark), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) (registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Engineers) 802.11, IEEE802.11x (where x is any character string such as b, a, g, n, ac, ax, be, or bn, and when x=n it is called Wi-Fi4, when x=ac it is called Wi-Fi5, when x=ax it is called Wi-Fi6 or Wi-Fi6E, when x=be it is Wi-Fi7, and when x=bn it is called Wi-Fi8, etc. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark.), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark), IEEE802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), network virtualization technology (e.g., NFV (Network Function Virtualization), SFC (Service Function Chaining), SDN (Software Defined Networking)), or LPWA (Low Power Wide Area). Furthermore, each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a system based on a combination of at least two of these technologies. Furthermore, "based on" naturally refers not only to a system that uses the technology, but also to a system that uses an extension or modification of the technology.

[0091] In the present disclosure, any two terms selected from a set of terms such as "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station (fixed station)", "NodeB", "eNodeB (eNB)", "gNodeB (gNB)", "access point (AP)", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "radio unit (RU)", "remote unit (RU)", "control unit (CU)", "distributed unit (DU)", "remote radio head (RRH)", "node", "gateway", "terrestrial base station", "stratospheric base station", "unmanned aerial vehicle", "high altitude platform station (HAPS)", "airborne platform", "panel", "cell", "radio access network (RAN)", and "network" may be used interchangeably.

[0092] Each cell accommodated by a base station may be referred to by terms such as a macro cell, a small cell, a femto cell, a pico cell, a serving cell, or a super cell. In the present disclosure, any two terms selected from a set of terms such as "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," "component carrier," "cluster," "bandwidth part (BWP)," and "carrier bandwidth" may be used interchangeably.

[0093] In the present disclosure, any two terms selected from the set of terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal", "User Equipment (UE)", "Device", "Module" and "Terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0094] A terminal may be referred to as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, router (e.g., home router, mobile router, etc.), TCU (Telematics Control Unit), or some other suitable terminology.

[0095] The base station and the terminal may each be composed of one or more devices. The devices constituting at least a portion of the base station and the terminal may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. Note that the devices constituting at least a portion of the base station and the terminal may be, for example, an object itself, such as a vehicle, a transport vehicle, an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a connected car, an excavator, a bulldozer, a wheel loader, a dump truck, a forklift, a train, a bus, a handcar, a rickshaw, a ship and other watercraft, an airplane, a rocket, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a stratospheric base station (e.g., a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)), an artificial satellite (e.g., a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite, a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite), a drone (registered trademark), a multicopter, a quadcopter, a balloon, or an Internet of Things (IoT) device (e.g., a smart meter, a sensor), or may include, but are not limited to, an object or device mounted on the object. Furthermore, the object may be a moving object (hereinafter referred to as a "moving object"; this does not exclude the case where the moving object is in a stationary state where it is not moving), or may be a fixedly positioned object (hereinafter referred to as a "non-moving object").

[0096] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device) or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)) or communication of a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have at least some of the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "sidelink") or terms corresponding to NTN (for example, feeder link or service link). For example, an uplink channel or a downlink channel may be read as a sidelink channel.

[0097] The present disclosure is also applicable to cases where at least some of the devices constituting the base station and the terminal operate outside the earth (for example, in the atmosphere or outer space).

[0098] In addition, the term "terminal" in the present disclosure may be read as "base station." In this case, the base station 10 may be configured to have the functions of the terminal 20 described above.

[0099] The notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI) and Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB) and System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination of at least two of these. Note that the physical layer signaling may be referred to as Layer 1 (L1) control information. The MAC signaling may be referred to as a MAC Control Element (CE) or a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU), for example. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message or an information element (IE) in the RRC message. The RRC message may be, for example, a message used for controlling an RRC connection (for example, setup, reconfiguration, establishment, reestablishment, release, or resume), mobility, a measurement report, or notification of a terminal's capabilities, or may be an information element within the message. Furthermore, notification of information may be explicit or implicit. Note that explicit notification of certain information means notification of the certain information itself, and implicit notification of certain information may mean notification of information other than the certain information, or may mean that the certain information is considered to have been notified when a certain condition is satisfied.Furthermore, notification of information may include not only notification between the same layers of different devices (e.g., between a lower layer or an upper layer of the base station 10 and the terminal 20) but also notification between different layers in the same or different devices (e.g., between a lower layer and an upper layer in the base station 10 or the terminal 20). Furthermore, notification of information from one device to another device may be performed via one or more devices. Regarding any information (e.g., a variable, a constant, a parameter, a setting) described in the present disclosure, even if not specifically stated in the above embodiments, information indicating / specifying (or related to) the any information (value) may be notified from any first device (e.g., a terminal / base station) to any second device (e.g., a base station / terminal).

[0100] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0101] In the present disclosure, a specific operation described as being performed by a base station may be performed by its upper node or by some of its upper nodes (e.g., CU, RU, or DU, etc.) in some cases. It is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal in a RAN or core network may be performed by at least some of the base station and other network nodes other than the base station. The other network node may be one node or a combination of multiple nodes. The network node is, for example, a node provided in various core networks such as EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and 5GC (5G Core Network), and provides one or more network functions (NF: Network Functions), but is not limited to this.

[0102] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the operation of "a terminal receives information from a base station" accompanies the operation of "the base station transmits the information to the terminal," "the base station generates the information," or both. Similarly, the operation of "a terminal transmits information to a base station" accompanies the operation of "the base station receives the information from the terminal." Furthermore, the operation of "a terminal is configured to ..." or "configure UE to ..." may include the operation of "a base station transmits configuration information regarding the configuration of the terminal" and the operation of "a terminal configures a predetermined operation based on the configuration information."

[0103] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation.

[0104] The present disclosure has been described above, but it is for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present disclosure and its modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present invention and its equivalents.

[0105] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0106] The radio resource may be defined by a combination of resource units in one or more domains, such as the time domain, the frequency domain, the spatial domain, the code domain, and the power domain.

[0107] For example, resources in the time domain may be defined by one or more time units. The one or more time units may include, but are not limited to, a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a symbol, a transmission time interval (TTI), or a combination of at least two of these. The time unit may be a fixed-length time unit independent of numerology, a variable-length time unit dependent on numerology, or both. Examples of fixed-length time units include, but are not limited to, a subframe consisting of one or more slots and a radio frame including multiple subframes. Examples of variable-length time units include, but are not limited to, a symbol and a slot including a fixed number of symbols. A certain time unit may be divided into shorter time units. Examples of shorter time units include, but are not limited to, a minislot consisting of fewer symbols than the number of symbols constituting a slot. The above-described time units may include, for example, time units used as units for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Furthermore, any time unit in the present disclosure may be read as another time unit.

[0108] Numerology is a parameter that defines the physical layer structure, and may be a parameter based on at least one of subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, cyclic prefix length, and sampling time, for example.

[0109] Resources in the frequency domain may be defined, for example, by one or more frequency units. The one or more frequency units may include, for example, subcarriers, resource blocks (RBs), bandwidth parts (BWPs), carrier bandwidths, or a combination of at least two of these, but the terminology of the frequency units is not limited to these. The number of subcarriers included in a frequency unit may be a fixed number regardless of numerology, or may be a variable number that changes depending on numerology. For example, an RB is composed of a predetermined number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain, and the number of subcarriers included in the RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12, but is not limited to this. A BWP may be composed of, for example, one or more consecutive RBs within a certain carrier bandwidth, but is not limited to this. One or more BWPs may be configured within one carrier for terminal 20, and at least one of the BWPs may be activated. Any frequency unit in the present disclosure may be interchangeable with another frequency unit.

[0110] Furthermore, resources in both the time domain and the frequency domain may be defined by one or more time / frequency units each consisting of a time unit and a frequency unit, such as, but not limited to, a resource element (RE) consisting of one symbol and one subcarrier, a resource element group (REG) consisting of a predetermined number of REs, or a control resource set (CORESET) consisting of a predetermined number of symbols and a predetermined number of RBs.

[0111] Furthermore, resources in the spatial domain may be defined, for example, by one or more spatial units, including, but not limited to, a beam, a layer of MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output), an antenna port, or a combination of at least two of these.

[0112] Furthermore, the resources in the code domain may be defined by one or more code units, such as, but not limited to, a cyclic shift (CS), an orthogonal cover code (OCC), or a combination thereof.

[0113] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0114] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 10 base station 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting section 140 Control Unit 20 terminals 210 Transmitter 220 Receiving unit 230 Setting Section 240 Control Unit 1001 processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output Device

Claims

1. a receiving unit for receiving downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information for designating a resource of a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled; A control unit that determines a start point of counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on the time when the designation information is received; A terminal having:

2. The control unit sets the start point to the first AP in an APP (PRACH association period pattern) at the time when the designation information is received. The terminal according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit sets the start point to the first AP in an APP (PRACH association period pattern) next to an APP at the time when the designation information is received. The terminal according to claim 1 .

4. The control unit sets the start point to a first AP in a first APP in an I-DRX (Idle mode Discontinuous Reception) cycle at the time when the control unit receives the designation information. The terminal according to claim 1 .

5. a receiving unit that receives downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including first designation information that designates a resource of a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) to be additionally enabled; a control unit that, when the receiving unit receives second designation information that newly designates the resource during a valid period of the first designation information, applies the first designation information or the second designation information to count an AP (PRACH association period); A terminal having:

6. receiving downlink control information from a base station, the downlink control information including designation information for designating additionally enabled PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) resources; determining a start point for counting an AP (PRACH association period) based on a time when the designation information is received; A communication method that has but executes.

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