Timing advance measurement method and timing advance (TA) measurement device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a timing advance measurement method, an apparatus, and a storage medium. The method includes a step, performed by a terminal, of determining to initiate a random access procedure toward a candidate cell that does not include a random access response (RAR) execution process, where the random access procedure without the RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurement on the candidate cell. The technical solution provided by the present disclosure enables a terminal to initiate a random access procedure toward a candidate cell for performing TA measurement on the candidate cell, and the random access procedure is configured to not include an RAR execution process, thereby simplifying the process of performing TA measurement based on the random access procedure, reducing the time overhead of TA measurement, and avoiding a situation where the TA measurement has a relatively large impact on data transmission between a user and a current serving cell, thereby improving user experience.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a timing advance (TA) measurement method, device, and storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] In a related technology, a network device can send a TA command to notify a terminal to transmit an uplink signal with an appropriate timing advance so that signals from different terminals are aligned within a cyclic prefix (CP) range when they arrive at a base station.

[0003] TA is divided into TA during the random access procedure and TA updated during service provision. If multiple candidate cells are configured for the terminal, the time overhead of performing TA measurements of the candidate cells through the random access procedure may be large, which may affect data transmission between the user and the current serving cell. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To overcome the problems existing in the related art, the present disclosure provides a timing advance measurement method, apparatus, and storage medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement method, the method being performed by a terminal, comprising: The method includes a step of determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process toward a candidate cell, wherein the random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell.

[0006] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement method, the method being performed by a network device, comprising: The method includes a step of determining, with a terminal, to perform a random access procedure that does not include a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process, and a step of performing TA measurements on a candidate cell based on the random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process.

[0007] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement apparatus, comprising: The method includes: a processing unit configured to determine to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process toward a candidate cell, wherein the random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement apparatus, comprising: The method includes a processing unit configured to determine to perform a random access procedure that does not include a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process with a terminal, and to perform TA measurements on a candidate cell based on the random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement apparatus, comprising: a processor; a memory that stores instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to perform the method of the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a Timing Advance (TA) measurement apparatus, comprising: a processor; a memory that stores instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to perform the method of the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a storage medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions in the storage medium being executed by a processor of a terminal to enable the terminal to perform a method according to the first aspect or any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, the storage medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions in the storage medium being executed by a processor of a terminal to enable the terminal to perform a method according to the second aspect or any of the embodiments of the second aspect.

[0013] The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention may have the following beneficial effects: A terminal initiates a random access procedure to a candidate cell to perform TA measurement of the candidate cell, and the random access procedure is configured not to include an RAR execution process, thereby simplifying the process of performing TA measurement based on RA, reducing the time overhead of TA measurement, and avoiding a situation in which TA measurement has a relatively large impact on data transmission between the user and the current serving cell, thereby improving user experience.

[0014] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an example embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a network device that maintains multiple candidate cells for a user, according to an example embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an example embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of random access resources configured for a terminal by a network device according to an example embodiment; [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an example embodiment; [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an example embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an example embodiment. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to perform a random access procedure that does not include a terminal and an RAR execution process according to an exemplary embodiment; [Figure 14] 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining to perform a random access procedure that does not include a terminal and an RAR execution process according to an exemplary embodiment; [Figure 15A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a procedure for realizing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a procedure for realizing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a procedure for realizing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] 1 is a block diagram of a timing advance (TA) measurement device according to an example embodiment. [Figure 18] 1 is a block diagram of a timing advance (TA) measurement device according to an example embodiment. [Figure 19] 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for measuring timing advance (TA) according to an example embodiment. [Figure 20] 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for measuring timing advance (TA) according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017]

[0023] Exemplary embodiments are described in detail herein using examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When referring to the drawings in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary examples do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.

[0018] The communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to the wireless communication system shown in Figure 1. Referring to Figure 1, the wireless communication system includes a network device and a terminal. The terminal connects to the network device through wireless resources and performs data transmission.

[0019] It should be understood that the wireless communication system illustrated in Fig. 1 is merely an example, and the wireless communication system may also include other network devices, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices, and wireless backhaul devices, which are not illustrated in Fig. 1. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the number of network devices and terminals included in this wireless communication system.

[0020] Furthermore, it should be understood that the wireless communication system of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a network that provides wireless communication functions. The wireless communication system may employ various communication technologies, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CMS). Depending on other factors such as the capacity, speed, and latency of different networks, networks can be classified into 2G networks, 3G networks, 4G networks, or future evolution networks such as 5G networks, which are also referred to as New Radio (NR) networks. For convenience of explanation, in this disclosure, a wireless communication network may be simply referred to as a network.

[0021] Furthermore, a network device referred to in this disclosure may be referred to as a radio access network device. This radio access network device may be a base station, an evolved node B (Evolved Node B), a home base station, an access point (AP) in a Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP) in an NR system, or a component or part of a device constituting a base station. It should be understood that the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to specific technologies or specific device forms adopted by the network device. In this disclosure, a network device provides communication coverage in a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminals within this coverage area (cell). In addition, in the case of a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system, the network device may be an in-vehicle device.

[0022] Furthermore, the terminal referred to in this disclosure may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT), and is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. For example, a terminal may be a handheld device or an in-vehicle device with wireless connectivity. Currently, examples of terminals include smartphones, customer premises equipment (CPE), pocket personal computers (PPC), handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, tablets, wearable devices, or in-vehicle devices. Furthermore, in the case of a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system, the terminal device may be an in-vehicle device. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a specific technology or a specific device configuration employed for the terminal.

[0023] A related technology, Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2)-based inter-cell mobility (LTM), has been proposed. As shown in Figure 2, a network device can maintain multiple candidate cells for a user. Here, UE (terminal) is a terminal, also called a user device, but the distinction is not made here. TRP (Trusted Route Processor) is a network device, cell 1 is a serving cell, and cells 2 and 3 are different candidate cells. When a switch is required when a user device moves, one cell is selected as a target cell from the multiple candidate cells, and the user device can switch to the selected target cell. Unlike traditional cell switch methods, to reduce switch delay and complete the switch as quickly as possible, the decision to perform a cell switch is based on L1 measurement results, and the switch signaling may be designed as dynamic signaling. It is also necessary to consider measuring the TA value of the user device for each candidate cell in advance.

[0024] The TA value can be measured in advance by a network device. The network device obtains the TA value by measuring an uplink signal received from the terminal. In some embodiments, the TA measurement of the candidate cell can be performed based on a random access procedure. Here, the TA measurement of the candidate cell performed based on the random access procedure can be performed based on a random access channel (RACH) triggered by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order. In some other embodiments, the TA measurement of the candidate cell performed based on the random access procedure can also be performed based on the terminal triggering the RACH. However, the random access procedure usually involves a large time overhead. When the number of candidate cells is large, the time overhead for measuring multiple candidate cells can be excessive, which may have a significant impact on data transmission between the terminal and the current serving cell.

[0025] In view of the above, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the TA measurement procedure of the candidate cell performed based on the random access procedure can be enhanced to reduce the time overhead of the TA measurement of the candidate cell and to avoid the TA measurement of the candidate cell having a relatively large impact on data transmission between the user and the current serving cell.

[0026] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a TA measurement method, in which a terminal initiates a random access procedure to a candidate cell to perform TA measurement of the candidate cell, and the random access procedure is configured not to include the execution of a Random Access Response (RAR) process, thereby enhancing the TA measurement procedure of the candidate cell based on the random access procedure.

[0027] A random access procedure without an RAR execution process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be understood as a procedure in which a terminal transmits a random access preamble sequence on a random access channel (RACH) toward a candidate cell, but a network device does not transmit an RAR message, and the terminal does not receive an RAR message. This can also be understood as a newly introduced random access procedure. The newly introduced random access procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is used to perform TA measurements of the candidate cell.

[0028] Note that the random access procedure referred to hereinafter in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process and is used to perform TA measurements of candidate cells.

[0029] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by configuring a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process to perform TA measurements on candidate cells, the process of performing TA measurements based on the random access procedure can be simplified, the time overhead of TA measurements can be reduced, and a situation in which TA measurements have a relatively large impact on data transmission between the user and the current serving cell can be avoided, thereby improving the user experience.

[0030] 3 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the method performed by a terminal includes the following steps:

[0031] In step S11, it is decided to initiate a random access procedure toward the candidate cell, which does not include the RAR execution process.

[0032] The random access procedure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure does not include the RAR execution process and is used to perform TA measurements on candidate cells.

[0033] According to the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal initiates a random access procedure to a candidate cell to perform TA measurement of the candidate cell, and this random access procedure is configured not to include an RAR execution process, thereby simplifying the process of performing TA measurement based on RA, reducing the time overhead of TA measurement, avoiding a situation in which TA measurement has a relatively large impact on data transmission between the user and the current serving cell, and improving user experience.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal determines, based on the network device, whether the random access procedure initiated for the candidate cell includes an RAR execution process.

[0035] In an exemplary embodiment, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can determine whether the random access procedure initiated for the candidate cell includes a RAR execution process based on the indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the random access procedure includes a RAR execution process.

[0036] 4 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the method includes the following steps:

[0037] In step S21, instruction information sent from a network device is received, and the instruction information indicates a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication information sent from the network device indicates a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process, and the terminal determines that the random access procedure initiated for the candidate cell does not include an RAR execution process.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication information transmitted from the network device may be information for triggering TA measurements of the candidate cell, for example, downlink control information (DCI) in a random access procedure triggered based on a PDCCH command.

[0040] In the TA measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, if the terminal determines, based on the indication information sent from the network device, to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell, the random access procedure triggered by the PDCCH command may be determined by default to not include a RAR execution process, that is, if the cell corresponding to the random access procedure indicated by the indication information is the candidate cell, it may be determined to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward the candidate cell.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication information sent by the network device may be used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, that is, the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process to the candidate cell.

[0042] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for ease of explanation, the indication information for implicitly instructing a terminal to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process for a candidate cell is referred to as first indication information. The first indication information indicates a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier implicitly indicates that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0043] 5 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps:

[0044] In step S31, receive first indication information sent from a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate candidate cell identifiers.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first indication information sent from the network device to the terminal includes a cell identifier (cell ID). If the cell ID is a candidate cell identifier, it implicitly indicates that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process. That is, when the terminal determines that the network device has instructed a random access procedure for performing TA measurement on the candidate cell, the terminal defaults by determining that the random access procedure does not include a RAR execution process.

[0046] Here, this first indication information may be carried by a DCI. Table 1 shows an example of a DCI. As shown in Table 1, this DCI includes a frequency domain resource allocation information field, a random access preamble index information field, a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel signal block index information field, and a physical random access channel mask index information field. This DCI also includes a cell ID field indicating a candidate cell identifier.

[0047] (Table 1) JPEG2026506736000002.jpg46162

[0048] In the TA measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device explicitly instructs the terminal to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward the candidate cell, which can also be understood as the instruction information transmitted from the network device being information that explicitly instructs the terminal to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward the candidate cell.

[0049] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for ease of description, the indication information sent from the network device to explicitly instruct the terminal to initiate a random access procedure without performing a RAR process toward the candidate cell is referred to as second indication information, where the second indication information may be, for example, DCI in the random access procedure triggered based on the PDCCH command.

[0050] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second indication information may include a first information field used to indicate a cell identifier and a second information field used to indicate whether the random access procedure includes an RAR execution process. Here, the second information field can also be understood as a newly introduced RAR indication field. Here, the second information field can indicate whether the RAR execution process is included based on a specific bit value. For example, a 1-bit is introduced, and a bit value of 1 indicates that the random access procedure does not include an RAR execution process. A bit value of 0 indicates that the random access procedure includes an RAR execution process. The same is true in reverse.

[0051] 6 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes the following steps:

[0052] In step S41, receive second indication information sent from the network device, where the second indication information includes a first information field and a second information field, where the first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR message execution process.

[0053] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the cell ID indicated by the first information field in the second indication information received by the terminal from the network device includes the cell ID of a candidate cell, and the bit value indicated by the second information field is a specific value (e.g., 1 or 0) indicating that the RAR execution process is not included, the terminal can determine that this random access procedure does not include the RAR execution process.

[0054] In the TA measurement method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication of whether the RAR execution process is included can be made for multiple candidate cells.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication of whether the RAR execution process for multiple candidate cells is included may be based on a single second information field or multiple second information fields. That is, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second information field in the second indication information may be a single information field or multiple information fields. When the second information field is a single information field, the single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedure corresponding to candidate cells identified by multiple candidate cell identifiers includes the RAR execution process. When the second information field is multiple information fields, each of the multiple information fields is used to individually indicate whether the random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by each candidate cell identifier among the multiple candidate cell identifiers includes the RAR execution process. In other words, the terminal can determine whether the random access procedure initiated for a cell corresponding to each cell ID includes the RAR execution process based on one or more RAR indication fields corresponding to multiple cell IDs included in the second indication information.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second indication information is used to trigger the terminal to initiate a random access procedure to the candidate cell, and the second indication information may be carried in a DCI in the random access procedure triggered based on the PDCCH command. Table 2 shows an example of a DCI. As shown in Table 2, the DCI includes a frequency domain resource allocation information field, a random access preamble index information field, a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel signal block index information field, and a physical random access channel mask index information field. The DCI also includes a cell ID field, also referred to as a first information field, which is used to indicate a cell identifier corresponding to the random access resource. The cell ID field may include one or more bits. The DCI also includes an RAR field, also referred to as a second information field, which is used to indicate whether the random access procedure performed using the random access resource indicated by the DCI includes a RAR execution process. The RAR field may include one bit, and a value of 1 indicates whether the random access procedure performed using the random access resource indicated by the DCI includes a RAR execution process, and vice versa.

[0057] (Table 1) JPEG2026506736000003.jpg63161

[0058] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first information field in the second indication information is used to indicate cell IDs of multiple candidate cells, and is also used to indicate the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells, random access resources corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells, and synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells.

[0059] Here, the second indication information indicates multiple cell IDs, RO resources of the multiple cells, and SSB indexes. By default, the terminal initiates a random access procedure for measuring TA values ​​for the multiple cells without performing an RAR process. Alternatively, the second indication information also includes an RAR field indicating whether the initiated random access procedure for each cell needs to perform an RAR reception procedure. Alternatively, the second indication information includes RAR indication fields corresponding to the multiple cells, indicating whether the initiated random access procedure for each cell needs to perform a reception procedure.

[0060] The second indication information indicates multiple cell IDs, but does not indicate random access resources corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells or SSB indices corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells. The user selects the beam and RO resource for the random access initiated by the terminal for each cell. By default, the terminal initiates a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process for measuring the TA value. Alternatively, the second indication information further includes an RAR indication field corresponding to the multiple cells, indicating whether the initiated random access procedure for each cell needs to perform an RAR reception procedure.

[0061] If the first information field indicates only the cell IDs of multiple candidate cells, the terminal can select by itself the random access resource to be used when initiating a random access procedure for each candidate cell. In this case, the terminal initiates a random access procedure without an RAR execution process for one or more candidate cells by default, and the RA is used for TA measurement. Alternatively, the second indication field of the second indication information can indicate whether the random access procedure initiated by the terminal for each candidate cell includes an RAR execution process.

[0062] If the first information field indicates cell IDs of multiple candidate cells, random access resources corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells, and SSB indices corresponding to the cell IDs of the multiple candidate cells, the terminal can initiate a random access procedure to the candidate cells on the corresponding random access resources according to the instructions in the second indication information. In this case, the terminal can initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process for one or more candidate cells by default, and this RA is used for TA measurement. Alternatively, the second indication field of the second indication information can indicate whether the random access procedure initiated by the terminal for each candidate cell includes a RAR execution process.

[0063] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a solution in which a terminal and a network device perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process to perform TA measurement on a candidate cell, the network device configures random access resources for the terminal, which include at least random access resources of the candidate cell, that is, the network device configures random access resources for the terminal for performing the random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device can configure random access resources of candidate cells for a terminal based on Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0065] In one embodiment provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal can determine whether the random access procedure includes an RAR execution process based on the random access resources of the candidate cells configured for the terminal by the network device.

[0066] In one embodiment, the terminal determines to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward the candidate cell based on instruction information for configuring random access resources of the candidate cell transmitted from the network device. For ease of explanation, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the instruction information for configuring random access resources of the candidate cell is referred to as third instruction information. The third instruction information is used to configure the random access resources of the candidate cell. The random access resources of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information are used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process. That is, the random access procedure for TA measurement of the candidate cell that the terminal performs does not include a RAR execution process by default.

[0067] 7 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes the following steps:

[0068] In step S51, third instruction information sent from the network device is received, and the third instruction information is used to configure a random access resource of a candidate cell. The random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0069] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the network device to the terminal based on the third indication information is used to select an appropriate random access resource for the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process, and to perform TA measurement of the candidate cell.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the third indication information sent by the network device to the terminal may be information for configuring random access resources of the candidate cell, for example, RRC signaling.

[0071] In one embodiment, the terminal selects a random access resource based on the third indication information and initiates a random access procedure to the candidate cell, and determining that the random access procedure initiated toward the candidate cell does not include a RAR execution process may be understood as determining to initiate a random access procedure toward the candidate cell that does not include a RAR execution process based on a default rule. Here, the default rule may be that the random access procedure initiated by the terminal toward the candidate cell is determined as a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process by default. The terminal can obtain information about the candidate cell by various known methods, which are not limited to those herein.

[0072] In another embodiment, since the network device needs to configure random access resources for the terminal via RRC signaling, the network device can configure non-contention random access resources for each candidate cell when performing resource configuration. When initiating a random access procedure using these non-contention random access resources, only TA measurements are performed and the RAR execution process is not included. In this case, if the random access resources used by the terminal to initiate the random access procedure correspond to the non-contention random access resources, i.e., resources that do not include the RAR execution process, the random access procedure initiated by the terminal toward the candidate cell is determined to be a random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process.

[0073] In the TA measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the network device configures the random access resource of the candidate cell for the terminal through the third signaling, it may further explicitly indicate whether the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third signaling is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process. Hereinafter, the information that explicitly indicates whether the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third signaling is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process is referred to as the fourth indication information.

[0074] 8 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the method includes the following steps:

[0075] In step S61, receive fourth indication information sent from the network device, and the fourth indication information is used to explicitly indicate whether the random access resource of the candidate cell is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth indication information may be transmitted in RRC signaling used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell, where, when configuring the random access resource of the candidate cell through RRC signaling, an RAR identifier may be introduced into the RRC signaling to indicate whether the random access procedure initiated using the random access resource configured through RRC signaling includes an RAR execution process.

[0077] In each of the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal determines whether the random access procedure initiated toward the candidate cell includes an RAR execution process based on the indication information from the network device.

[0078] Another method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process for a candidate cell may be determined based on the terminal itself.

[0079] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the random access resource configured for the terminal is divided into two parts, one being a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include the RAR execution process, and the other being a random access resource used to perform a procedure that includes the RAR execution process.

[0080] 9 is a schematic diagram of random access resources configured for a terminal by a network device according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, RO1 to RO8 are random access resources configured for a terminal by a network device, where one SSB corresponds to every two rows of RO resources, including SSB0, SSB1, and SSB2. RO1 to RO4 are used as random access resources for executing procedures that do not include the RAR execution process, and RO5 to RO8 are used as random access resources for executing procedures that include the RAR execution process.

[0081] 10 is a flowchart of a method for determining to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the method includes the following steps:

[0082] In step S71, in response to the terminal determining to initiate a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure not including an RAR execution process, it is determined to initiate a random access procedure not including an RAR execution process towards a candidate cell.

[0083] In the TA measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal and the network device can determine whether the random access procedure initiated for the candidate cell includes an RAR execution process based on the random access resource used.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a terminal initiates a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include a RAR execution process, the terminal and the network device may by default determine to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell.

[0085] Continuing with the above example, if the terminal initiates a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include a RAR execution process, for example if the terminal selects resource RO2 for transmitting a preamble to a candidate cell, the terminal and the network device may by default decide to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process towards the candidate cell.

[0086] In one embodiment, the terminal may send indication information to the network device indicating whether the random access resource used by the terminal is a random access resource for performing a procedure that does not include an RAR execution process or a random access resource for performing a procedure that includes an RAR execution process.

[0087] For example, when the terminal initiates a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process, the terminal may send fifth indication information to the network device, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the random access procedure in which the terminal transmits a preamble to the candidate cell using resource RO2 does not include an RAR execution process, and therefore the network device does not need to transmit an RAR message to the terminal. When the terminal initiates a random access resource on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that includes an RAR execution process, for example, when the terminal selects resource RO5 to transmit a preamble to the candidate cell, the terminal may send sixth indication information to the network device, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the random access procedure in which the terminal transmits a preamble to the candidate cell using resource RO5 includes an RAR execution process, and therefore the network device needs to transmit an RAR message to the terminal.

[0088] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a solution in which a terminal and a network device perform a random access procedure without a RAR execution process to perform TA measurement of a candidate cell, the network device configures random access resources for the terminal, where the random access resources include at least the random access resources of the candidate cell, that is, the network device configures the random access resources of the candidate cell for the terminal to perform the random access procedure without a RAR execution process.

[0089] Here, the network device may configure the random access resources of the candidate cells based on the RRC signaling.

[0090] 11 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the method includes the following steps:

[0091] In step S81, receive random access resource configuration information sent from a network device, and the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of a candidate cell.

[0092] Here, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process based on the random access resource of the candidate cell.

[0093] It should be understood that the solution for configuring the random access resource of a candidate cell based on the random access resource configuration information sent by the network device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the TA measurement method according to each of the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal may determine the random access resource configured for the candidate cell based on RRC signaling, and may determine whether to perform a random access procedure without an RAR execution process based on DCI signaling (the first indication information or the second indication information). As another example, the third indication information and the fourth indication information in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be random access resource configuration information for configuring the random access resource of the candidate cell, such as RRC signaling. That is, the terminal determines whether to perform a random access procedure without an RAR execution process based on the RRC signaling (the third indication information and the fourth indication information).

[0094] By using the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the random access procedure triggered by the network device and the random access procedure triggered by the terminal itself are determined to be the random access procedure used only for TA measurement and not including the RAR execution process, so that when the TA measurement is performed based on the random access procedure between the terminal and the candidate cell, the time overhead of the TA measurement can be reduced and the user experience can be improved.

[0095] 12 is a flowchart of a TA measurement method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the TA measurement is performed by a network device and includes the following steps:

[0096] In step S91, it is determined that the terminal performs a random access procedure that does not include an RAR message execution process.

[0097] In step S92, TA measurements are performed on the candidate cells based on a random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process.

[0098] In one embodiment, the step of determining to perform a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process with the terminal includes a step of sending, to the terminal, indication information used to indicate a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process.

[0099] 13 is a flowchart of a method for determining to perform a random access procedure that does not involve a terminal and a RAR execution process according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the method includes the following steps:

[0100] In step S101, indication information used to instruct a random access procedure not including an RAR execution process is sent to a terminal.

[0101] In one embodiment, the indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0102] In one embodiment, the indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information includes a first information field and a second information field, where the first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0103] In one embodiment, the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, or the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, random access resources corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers, and Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers. The second information field is a single information field or multiple information fields, where the single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by the multiple candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process, and each of the multiple information fields is used individually to indicate whether the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cells identified by each of the multiple candidate cell identifiers includes a RAR execution process.

[0104] In one embodiment, the indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to configure a random access resource of the candidate cell, and the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third indication information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0105] In one embodiment, the instruction information further includes fourth instruction information, and the fourth instruction information is used to explicitly indicate that the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0106] 14 is a flowchart of a method for determining to perform a random access procedure that does not involve a terminal and an RAR execution process according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, the method includes the following steps:

[0107] In step S111, in response to receiving a random access procedure initiated by the terminal on a random access resource used to perform a procedure not including an RAR execution process, it is determined to perform a random access procedure not including an RAR execution process with the terminal.

[0108] Here, receiving a random access procedure initiated by a terminal on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include a RAR execution process may be understood as receiving a random access preamble transmitted by the terminal on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0109] In one embodiment, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device transmits random access resource configuration information, and the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell.

[0110] By using the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the random access procedure triggered by the network device and the random access procedure triggered by the terminal itself are determined to be the random access procedure used only for TA measurement and not including the RAR transmission process, so that when TA measurement is performed based on the random access procedure between the terminal and the candidate cell, the time overhead of TA measurement can be reduced and the user experience can be improved.

[0111] It is understood that the technical implementations related to the procedure for TA measurement by a network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to the procedure for TA measurement by a terminal in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, for the technical implementations of the procedure for TA measurement by a network device that are not described in detail, reference may be made to the relevant description related to the implementation of TA measurement by a terminal, and redundant descriptions will be omitted here.

[0112] It is understood that the TA measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to a procedure for performing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device. In the procedure for performing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device, the terminal and the network device respectively have the relevant functions included in the above examples. The following description is given using examples, and for parts that are insufficient in detail, reference can be made to the description of the relevant embodiments, and redundant descriptions related to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted here.

[0113] FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram of a procedure for achieving TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0114] As shown in Figure 15A, the network device sends random access resource configuration information to the terminal, which is used to configure resources of the candidate cell.

[0115] In one embodiment, the network device transmits first indication information to the terminal. The first indication information implicitly indicates a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process. Here, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier. The network device determines that a random access procedure for TA measurement performed with the terminal does not include a RAR execution process. The terminal receives the first indication information transmitted from the network device and determines by default that a random access procedure for TA measurement initiated toward the candidate cell does not include a RAR execution process.

[0116] FIG. 15B is a schematic diagram of a procedure for achieving TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0117] As shown in Figure 15B, the network device sends random access resource configuration information to the terminal, which is used to configure resources of the candidate cell.

[0118] In another embodiment, the network device transmits second indication information to the terminal, and through the second indication information, explicitly indicates a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process. The second indication information includes a first information field and a second information field. The first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include an RAR message execution process. The network device determines that the random access procedure for TA measurement performed with the terminal does not include an RAR execution process. The terminal receives the second indication information transmitted by the network device and determines that the random access procedure for TA measurement initiated toward the candidate cell does not include an RAR execution process.

[0119] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a procedure for achieving TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 16, the network device transmits third instruction information to the terminal, where the third instruction information is used to configure random access resources of the candidate cell. Here, the random access resources of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information are used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process. The network device determines that the random access procedure for TA measurement performed between the terminal and the network device does not include a RAR execution process. The terminal receives the third instruction information transmitted by the network device, selects random access resources based on the third instruction information to initiate a random access procedure to the candidate cell, and determines that the random access procedure initiated toward the candidate cell does not include a RAR execution process.

[0121] Here, the third indication information may be random access resource configuration information used to configure a random access resource, and the random access resource configuration information may be RRC signaling.

[0122] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, fourth indication information may be further introduced into the random access resource configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal, which explicitly indicates whether the random access resource of the candidate cell is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0123] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal receives fourth indication information sent from a network device, and if the terminal determines that the random access resource of the candidate cell indicated by the fourth indication information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process, determines that the random access procedure initiated toward the candidate cell does not include an RAR execution process.

[0124] Here, the fourth indication information shown in FIG. 16 is optional and may or may not be included.

[0125] It is understood that Figures 15A, 15B, and 16 are merely schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a procedure for realizing TA measurement through interaction between a terminal and a network device. Actual implementation is not limited to the above example. For example, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a schematic diagram is provided in which the terminal itself decides to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0126] Here, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, when TA measurement is realized through interaction between a terminal and a network device, the terminal itself may decide to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process. The terminal decides to initiate a random access procedure on a random access resource that does not include a RAR execution process, and determines to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell. The network device receives the random access procedure initiated by the terminal on a random access resource that does not include a RAR execution process, and determines to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process with the terminal.

[0127] It is understood that the random access procedure not including the RAR execution process described in the above embodiments of the present disclosure can be performed in such a way that the random access preamble sequence is transmitted, but the network device does not transmit the RAR message, and the terminal does not receive the RAR message. The network device receives the random access procedure initiated by the terminal and performs TA measurements towards the candidate cell.

[0128] It should be noted that those skilled in the art will understand that various embodiments / examples included in the examples of the present disclosure can be used in combination with the aforementioned examples or independently. The implementation principles are the same regardless of whether these implementations are used independently or in combination with the aforementioned examples. In the examples of the present disclosure, some of the examples will be described using examples in which these implementations are used in combination. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that such examples do not limit the examples of the present disclosure.

[0129] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a TA measurement device.

[0130] It is understood that the TA measurement device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes a hardware structure and / or software modules that perform the respective functions to realize the above-described functions. In combination with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented 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 may implement the described functions using different methods depending on each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0131] 17 is a block diagram of a TA measurement device according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 17, the device 100 includes a processing unit 110.

[0132] The processing unit 110 is configured to determine to initiate a random access procedure not including a RAR execution process towards the candidate cell, where the random access procedure not including the RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell.

[0133] In one embodiment, the processing unit 110 determines to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward the candidate cell by receiving indication information sent by the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate the random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0134] In one embodiment, the indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0135] In one embodiment, the indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information includes a first information field and a second information field.

[0136] The first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0137] In one embodiment, the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, or the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, random access resources corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers, and Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers. The second information field is a single information field or multiple information fields.

[0138] Here, a single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by the multiple candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process, and multiple information fields are used to individually indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by each of the multiple candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process.

[0139] In one embodiment, the indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to configure a random access resource of the candidate cell, and the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third indication information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0140] In one embodiment, the instruction information further includes fourth instruction information, and the fourth instruction information is used to explicitly indicate that the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0141] In one embodiment, the processing unit 110 determines to initiate a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell in the following manner.

[0142] That is, in response to the terminal deciding to initiate a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure that does not include an RAR execution process, the terminal decides to initiate a random access procedure that does not include an RAR execution process toward a candidate cell.

[0143] In one embodiment, the processing unit 110 is further configured to receive random access resource configuration information sent by the network device, where the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell.

[0144] By using the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal initiates a random access procedure to a candidate cell for TA measurement, and the random access procedure is configured not to include an RAR execution process, thereby simplifying the RA-based TA measurement process, reducing the time overhead of TA measurement, avoiding a situation where the TA measurement has a relatively large impact on data transmission between the user and the current serving cell, and improving user experience.

[0145] 18 is a block diagram of a TA measurement device according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 18, the device 200 includes a processing unit 210.

[0146] The processing unit 210 is configured to determine to perform a random access procedure that does not include a random access response (RAR) message execution process with the terminal, and to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell based on the random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process.

[0147] In one embodiment, the processing unit 210 determines to perform a random access procedure that does not include a random access response (RAR) execution process with the terminal in the following manner: sending indication information to the terminal, where the indication information is used to indicate the random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0148] In one embodiment, the indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly indicate that the random access procedure corresponding to the candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0149] In one embodiment, the indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information includes a first information field and a second information field, where the first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

[0150] In one embodiment, the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, or the first information field is used to indicate multiple candidate cell identifiers, random access resources corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers, and Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the multiple candidate cell identifiers. The second information field is a single information field or multiple information fields.

[0151] Here, a single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by the multiple candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process, and multiple information fields are used to individually indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by each of the multiple candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process.

[0152] In one embodiment, the indication information includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to configure a random access resource of the candidate cell, and the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third indication information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0153] In one embodiment, the instruction information further includes fourth instruction information, and the fourth instruction information is used to explicitly indicate that the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

[0154] In one embodiment, the processing unit 210 determines to perform a random access procedure not including an RAR execution process with the terminal in the following manner: in response to receiving a terminal-initiated random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure not including an RAR execution process with the terminal.

[0155] The processing unit 210 is further configured to send random access resource configuration information, where the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell.

[0156] By using the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal initiates a random access procedure for TA measurement to a candidate cell, and the random access procedure is configured not to include a process of transmitting an RAR message, thereby simplifying the process of TA measurement based on RA, reducing the time overhead of TA measurement, avoiding a situation where TA measurement has a relatively large impact on data transmission between a user and a current serving cell, and improving user experience.

[0157] Regarding the apparatus in the above-described embodiment, the specific method by which each module performs an operation has been described in detail in the method embodiment, and therefore, a duplicated description will be omitted here.

[0158] 19 is a block diagram of a TA measurement device 300 according to an exemplary embodiment. The device 300 can be provided as a terminal. For example, the device 300 can be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, etc.

[0159] Referring to FIG. 19, the device 300 may include one or more components: a processing component 302, a memory 304, a power component 306, a multimedia component 308, an audio component 310, an input / output (I / O) interface 312, a sensor component 314, and a communication component 316.

[0160] The processing component 302 typically controls the overall operation of the device 300, including operations related to the display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operation, and video recording operations. The processing component 302 may include one or more processors 320 that execute instructions to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described above. Additionally, the processing component 302 may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 302 and other components. For example, the processing component 302 may include a multimedia module that facilitates interaction between the multimedia component 308 and the processing component 302.

[0161] Memory 304 is configured to store various types of data to support operation on device 300. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods executed on device 300, contact data, phone book data, messages, images, videos, etc. Memory 304 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk, or a combination thereof.

[0162] The power supply component 306 provides power to the various components of the device 300. The power supply component 306 includes a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the device 300.

[0163] The multimedia component 308 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 300 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). When the screen includes a touch panel, the screen is implemented as a touchscreen that receives input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors that detect touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors not only detect the boundaries of a touch or swipe action, but also the time interval and pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 308 includes a front camera and / or a rear camera. When the device 300 is in an operating mode, such as a photo mode or a video mode, the front camera and / or the rear camera can receive external multimedia data. The front camera and the rear camera may each have a fixed optical lens system or may have focus and optical zoom capabilities.

[0164] The audio component 310 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 310 may include a microphone (MIC) and be configured to receive external audio signals when the device 300 is in an operational mode such as a call mode, a recording mode, or a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in the memory 304 or transmitted via the communication component 316. In some embodiments, the audio component 310 further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

[0165] The I / O interface 312 provides an interface between the processing component 302 and a peripheral interface module such as a keyboard, click wheel, buttons, etc. The buttons include, but are not limited to, a home button, volume buttons, start button, lock button, etc.

[0166] The sensor component 314 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessment of various aspects of the device 300. For example, the sensor component 314 can detect whether the device 300 is open or closed, the relative position of components (e.g., the display and keypad of the device 300), changes in the position of the device 300 or one of its components, the presence or absence of a user's contact with the device 300, the orientation or acceleration / deceleration of the device 300, and changes in the temperature of the device 300. The sensor component 314 can include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of a nearby object without physical contact. The sensor component 314 can also include an optical sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 314 can also include an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[0167] The communication component 316 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device 300 and other devices. The device 300 can access a wireless network using a communication standard such as WiFi, 2G, 3G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 316 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 316 further includes a near-field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module can be implemented using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[0168] In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 300 may be implemented using one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the above-described methods.

[0169] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, such as memory 304 containing instructions, is also provided, which may be executed by processor 320 of device 300 to complete the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc.

[0170] 20 is a block diagram of an apparatus 400 for timing advance (TA) measurement, according to an example embodiment. For example, the apparatus 400 may be provided as a network device. Referring to FIG. 20, the apparatus 400 includes a processing component 422 including one or more processors and a memory resource represented by a memory 432 for storing instructions, such as an application executable by the processing component 422. The application stored in the memory 432 may include one or more modules, each corresponding to an instruction set. Furthermore, the processing component 422 is configured to execute instructions for performing the aforementioned method.

[0171] The device 400 may further include a power component 426 configured to perform power management for the device 400, a wired or wireless network interface 450 configured to connect the device 400 to a network, and an input / output (I / O) interface 458. The device 400 may operate based on an operating system (e.g., Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, etc.) stored in the memory 432.

[0172] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, such as memory 432 containing instructions, is also provided. These instructions are executable by processing component 422 of device 400 to implement the methods described above. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, or an optical data storage device.

[0173] It should further be noted that in this disclosure, "plurality" refers to two or more, and similarly for other quantifiers. "And / or" denotes a relationship between related objects, indicating that there are three possible relationships. For example, "A and / or B" means that A exists alone, A and B exist together, or B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that related objects are in an "or" relationship. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0174] Furthermore, it should be understood that the meaning of terms such as "depending on" and "if" in this disclosure may vary depending on the context and actual usage. For example, the term "depending on" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "if."

[0175] Furthermore, while terms such as "first" and "second" are used to describe various types of information, it should be understood that such information is not limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish between similar types of information and do not imply any particular order or importance. In fact, terms such as "first" and "second" are completely interchangeable. For example, first information could be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information could be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0176] Additionally, although the figures in the embodiments of the present disclosure illustrate operations in a particular order, it should be understood that this should not be construed as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order illustrated, or sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to achieve desired results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0177] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure in accordance with the general principles of the present disclosure, including techniques that are common knowledge or customary in the art but are not disclosed herein.

[0178] It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact configuration described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof, which is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A timing advance (TA) measurement method performed by a terminal, comprising: determining to initiate a random access procedure without a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process toward a candidate cell, wherein the random access procedure without a RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell; A timing advance (TA) measurement method characterized by:

2. The step of determining to initiate a random access procedure toward the candidate cell, which does not include a RAR execution process, comprises: receiving indication information sent from a network device, the indication information being used to indicate a random access procedure not including the RAR execution process; 2. The method of claim 1 .

3. The indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly indicate that a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

3. The method of claim 2.

4. the instruction information includes second instruction information, the second instruction information including a first information field and a second information field; The first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR message execution process.

3. The method of claim 2.

5. The first information field is used to indicate a plurality of candidate cell identifiers, or the first information field is used to indicate a plurality of candidate cell identifiers, random access resources corresponding to the plurality of candidate cell identifiers, and synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the plurality of candidate cell identifiers; the second information field is a single information field or a plurality of information fields; The single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by the plurality of candidate cell identifiers include a RAR message execution process; Each of the plurality of information fields is used to individually indicate whether a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by each of the plurality of candidate cell identifiers includes a RAR execution process.

5. The method of claim 4.

6. The instruction information includes third instruction information, the third instruction information is used to configure a random access resource of a candidate cell, and the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

3. The method of claim 2.

7. The indication information further includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to explicitly indicate that the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third indication information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

7. The method of claim 6.

8. The step of determining to initiate a random access procedure toward the candidate cell, which does not include a RAR execution process, comprises: In response to the terminal determining to initiate a random access procedure on a random access resource used to perform a procedure not including a RAR execution process, determining to initiate a random access procedure not including a RAR execution process toward a candidate cell.

2. The method of claim 1 .

9. Further comprising receiving random access resource configuration information sent from a network device, wherein the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. 1. A Timing Advance (TA) measurement method performed by a network device, comprising: a terminal and determining to perform a random access procedure that does not include a Random Access Response (RAR) message execution process; performing TA measurements on candidate cells based on a random access procedure that does not include the RAR execution process; A timing advance (TA) measurement method characterized by:

11. The step of determining to perform a random access procedure with the terminal, the random access procedure not including a random access response (RAR) execution process, sending, to a terminal, indication information used to instruct a random access procedure not including the RAR execution process; 11. The method of claim 10.

12. The indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the candidate cell identifier is used to implicitly indicate that a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

12. The method of claim 11 .

13. the instruction information includes second instruction information, the second instruction information including a first information field and a second information field; The first information field is used to indicate a candidate cell identifier, and the second information field is used to explicitly indicate that a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by the candidate cell identifier does not include a RAR execution process.

12. The method of claim 11 .

14. The first information field is used to indicate a plurality of candidate cell identifiers, or the first information field is used to indicate a plurality of candidate cell identifiers, random access resources corresponding to the plurality of candidate cell identifiers, and synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) indices corresponding to the plurality of candidate cell identifiers; the second information field is a single information field or a plurality of information fields; The single information field is used to uniformly indicate whether the random access procedures corresponding to the candidate cells identified by the plurality of candidate cell identifiers include a RAR execution process; Each of the plurality of information fields is used to individually indicate whether a random access procedure corresponding to a candidate cell identified by each of the plurality of candidate cell identifiers includes a RAR execution process.

14. The method of claim 13.

15. The instruction information includes third instruction information, the third instruction information is used to configure a random access resource of a candidate cell, and the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third instruction information is used to implicitly instruct the terminal to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

12. The method of claim 11 .

16. The indication information further includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to explicitly indicate that the random access resource of the candidate cell configured by the third indication information is used to perform a random access procedure that does not include a RAR execution process.

16. The method of claim 15.

17. The step of determining to perform a random access procedure with the terminal that does not include a RAR execution process includes: In response to receiving a random access procedure initiated by the terminal on a random access resource used to perform a procedure not including a RAR execution process, determining to perform a random access procedure not including a RAR execution process with the terminal; 11. The method of claim 10.

18. Further comprising: transmitting random access resource configuration information, wherein the random access resource configuration information is used to configure the random access resource of the candidate cell; 18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

19. a processing unit configured to determine to initiate a random access procedure without a Random Access Response (RAR) execution process toward a candidate cell, wherein the random access procedure without a RAR execution process is used to perform TA measurements on the candidate cell; A timing advance (TA) measurement device characterized by:

20. a processing unit configured to determine to perform a random access procedure not including a random access response (RAR) execution process with a terminal, and to perform TA measurement on a candidate cell based on the random access procedure not including the RAR execution process; A timing advance (TA) measurement device characterized by:

21. A timing advance (TA) measurement device, comprising: a processor; a memory that stores instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18. A timing advance (TA) measurement device characterized by:

22. A storage medium, instructions stored in the storage medium, which, when executed by a processor of the terminal, enable the terminal to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 18; A storage medium characterized by:

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