Communication methods, devices, and computer storage media

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. The terminal device stores information on the RA procedure and transmits it to the network device. The information on the RA procedure includes any of the information on the RA partition, the information on the repetition of Msg3, the information on the TA report, or the SSB associated with the CG resource for SDT, which does not have an RSRP exceeding the threshold power, or is triggered by the recovery of the consistent LBT failure, or by the activation of the SCG, or by the BFR for two sets of BFD-RS. At least one of the information on the RA procedure is included. In this way, the RA setting can be optimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to a communication method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for enhancing a self-organizing network (SON).

Background Art

[0002] SON includes solutions for network self-configuration and self-optimization, and has been introduced to support system deployment and performance optimization. One SON function is to report RA-related information to the network so that the network can adjust the random access (RA) configuration for performance improvement. In recent years, the RA procedure has been enhanced by multiple work items (WIs), and RA partitions spanning multiple WIs have also been introduced. Therefore, the SON function requires some further enhancement regarding the reporting of RA-related information.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for reporting RA information for SON enhancement.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In the first embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes, in a terminal device, storing information about a random access procedure and transmitting the information about the random access procedure to a network device. The information about the random access procedure includes at least one of the following: first information about a random access partition; second information about the repetition of message 3; third information about a random access procedure triggered because neither the synchronization signal nor the physical broadcast channel block associated with a setting grant resource for small data transmission has reference signal reception power exceeding a threshold power; fourth information about a random access procedure triggered by the recovery of a consistent Listen Before Talk fault; fifth information about a random access procedure triggered by the activation of a secondary cell group; sixth information about a random access procedure triggered by beam fault recovery for two sets of beam fault detection reference signals; or seventh information about a timing advance report.

[0005] In a second embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes a network device receiving information about random access procedures from a terminal device. The information about random access procedures includes at least one of the following: first information about random access partitions; second information about repetition of message 3; third information about random access procedures triggered because neither the synchronization signal nor the physical broadcast channel block associated with a setting grant resource for small data transmission has reference signal reception power exceeding a threshold power; fourth information about random access procedures triggered by recovery of a consistent Listen Before Talk fault; fifth information about random access procedures triggered by activation of a secondary cell group; sixth information about random access procedures triggered by beam fault recovery for two sets of beam fault detection reference signals; or seventh information about a timing advance report.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor configured to cause the device to perform a method relating to either the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided on which instructions are stored. When executed on at least one processor, the instructions cause at least one processor to perform a method according to either the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] Other features of this disclosure should be easily understood through the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] The above and other purposes, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become clearer as some embodiments of this disclosure are described in more detail in the attached drawings.

[0010] [Figure 1] This disclosure shows exemplary communication networks that can implement several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0011] [Figure 2] A schematic diagram illustrating the communication process for reporting RA information according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0012] [Figure 3] This document illustrates exemplary communication methods implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] [Figure 4] This document describes exemplary communication methods implemented by network devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] [Figure 5] This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] Throughout all drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] The principles of this disclosure will be described with reference to several embodiments. These embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and should be understood as helpful to those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and should not be considered as limiting the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0017] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0018] As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include User Equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cell phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDA), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment for V2X communication (where X represents pedestrians, vehicles, or infrastructure / networks), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), High Altitude Platforms (HAP) including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), and devices in spacecraft or aircraft in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including satellites, as well as XR (Extended Reality) devices that include different types of reality such as Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR). Examples of such devices include, but are not limited to, Reality devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, devices on high-speed trains (HSTs), imaging devices such as digital cameras, sensors, game consoles, music storage and playback devices, or internet devices that enable wireless / wired internet access and browsing.The “Terminal device” may also have multicast / broadcast capabilities and support public safety, mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, wireless software distribution, group communications, and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs. The term “Terminal device” may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber equipment, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0019] The term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage from which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, Node B (NodeB or NB), Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), Transmission / Reception Point (TRP), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), IAB Node, Femtonode, Piconode and other low-power nodes, and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS).

[0020] Terminal devices or network devices may have artificial intelligence (AL) or machine learning capabilities. Generally, this includes models that can be used to predict certain information by learning from a large amount of data collected for a specific function.

[0021] The terminal device or network device may function in multiple frequency ranges, such as, for example, FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands higher than 100 GHz, terahertz (THz), etc. Further, it can function in licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have multiple connections with the network device in a scenario applicable to multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC). The terminal device or network device can function in full-duplex, flexible-duplex, and cross-divided duplex modes.

[0022] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in test devices such as, for example, signal generators, signal analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, test terminal devices, test network devices, channel emulators, etc.

[0023] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some embodiments, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be transmitted from at least one of the first network device or the second network device to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be directly transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device or transmitted via the first network device. In some embodiments, information related to the settings of the terminal device, set by the second network device, may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related to the resetting of the terminal device, set by the second network device, may be directly transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device or transmitted via the first network device.

[0024] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "comprising" and variations thereof are to be construed as an open-ended term meaning "including, but not limited to". The term "based on" is to be construed as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be construed as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be construed as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different objects or the same object. There may be other explicit and implicit definitions included in the following content.

[0025] In some examples, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as “optimal,” “lowest,” “highest,” “minimum,” “maximum,” etc. Such descriptions are intended to indicate that a choice is possible from among several functional alternatives, and it should be understood that such a choice does not necessarily have to be superior, smaller, higher, or more desirable than the others.

[0026] In recent years, the purpose of study items (SIs), core part WIs, or test part WIs has been to define enhanced data collection in new radio (NR) for the purpose of minimizing drive tests (MDT). The specific objectives of these WIs are as follows: - Supports data collection for SON functions. SON functions include the "remaining" functions (i.e., MR-DC conditional PSCell change (CPC) or conditional PSCell addition (CPA), maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO), PSCell change success reports, master cell group (MCG) fast recovery, new radio in unlicensed spectrum (NR-U), and MRO enhancements for inter-system handover voice fallback. - Defines the necessary UE reporting to enhance the adjustment of mobility parameters. - Defines inter-node information exchange, including possible enhancements to the interface. - Supports SON / MDT enhancement for RA enhancement.

[0027] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for reporting RA information for SON enhancement. In this solution, the terminal device stores and reports RA information. The RA information includes at least one of the following: RA partition information, message 3 (Msg3) repetition information, timing advance (TA) report information, information on RA procedures triggered because neither the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) associated with a configured grant (CG) resource for small data transmission (SDT) has reference signal receiving power (RSRP) above a threshold power, information on RA procedures triggered by recovery from a consistent Listen Before Talk (LBT) failure, information on RA procedures triggered by activation of a secondary cell group (SCG), or information on RA procedures triggered by beam failure recovery (BFR) relating to two sets of reference signals for beam failure detection (BFD-RS).

[0028] In this way, RA information can be reported to the network in a more comprehensive manner, and RA settings can be optimized accordingly.

[0029] The principles and implementation of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Examples of communication networks

[0030] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 that can implement several embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication network 100 may include terminal devices 110 and network devices 120. The network device 120 may provide a cell 121 that provides services to one or more terminal devices. In this example, terminal device 110 is located in cell 121 and receives services from network device 120.

[0031] The number of devices and cells in Figure 1 are for illustrative purposes only and should not be interpreted as implying any limitation to this disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any appropriate number of network devices and / or terminal devices and / or cells suitable for implementing the disclosure.

[0032] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 may communicate with each other via a channel such as a wireless communication channel in an air interface (e.g., a Uu interface). The wireless communication channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random-access channel (PRACH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Naturally, any other suitable channel is also possible.

[0033] Communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any appropriate standard, which includes, but is not limited to, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), new radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in accordance with any generation of communication protocols that are currently known or will be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced Network, or sixth-generation (6G) networks.

[0034] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may initiate an RA procedure to network device 120. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may perform a two-step RA procedure to network device 120. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may perform a four-step RA procedure to network device 120. In these embodiments, once the RA procedure is successfully completed, terminal device 110 may send an RA report to network device 120. The RA report may include information about the RA procedure. The information about the RA procedure may include RA common information and the purpose of the RA. The RA common information may indicate physical layer configuration information for the RA procedure, such as information related to message 1 (Msg1) configuration and information related to message A (MsgA) configuration. The RA common information may also indicate information about each RA attempt during the RA procedure. The purpose of the RA may indicate the reason or scenario for which the RA procedure is triggered.

[0035] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may initiate a RA procedure to establish a connection with the network device 120. If the connection establishment fails, the terminal device 110 may send a connection establishment failure report to the network device 120. The connection establishment failure report may include information on each RA attempt during the RA procedure.

[0036] In some embodiments, in the event of a radio link failure (RLF) or handover failure, the terminal device 110 may send an RLF report to the network device 120. RLF or handover failure may occur due to a problem or failure in the RA procedure. The RLF report may include RA information related to the RLF or handover failure. The RA procedure information may include common RA information.

[0037] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may initiate an RA procedure for a successful handover, and terminal device 110 may send a success handover report (SHR) to network device 120. The SHR report may include information about the RA procedure during the successful handover. The RA procedure information may include common RA information.

[0038] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for reporting RA information for SON enhancement. A more detailed description of this solution will be given with reference to Figure 2. Implementation of an example of RA information reporting

[0039] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication process 200 for reporting RA information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1. The process 200 may involve the terminal device 110 and network device 120 shown in Figure 1.

[0040] As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 110 may store RA procedure information (210). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about RA partitions (for convenience, also referred to as first information). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about Msg3 repetitions (for convenience, also referred to as second information). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about RA procedures triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power (for convenience, also referred to as third information). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about RA procedures triggered by recovery from a consistent LBT failure (for convenience, also referred to as fourth information). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about RA procedures triggered by SCG activation (for convenience, also referred to as fifth information). In some embodiments, the RA procedure information may include information about RA procedures triggered by BFRs on two sets of BFD-RSs (for convenience, also referred to as sixth information). In some embodiments, the information in the RA procedure may include information in the TA report (also referred to for convenience as the seventh piece of information). It should be understood that any combination of the above information with any other appropriate information is also possible.

[0041] Referring to Figure 2, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information to the network device 120 (220). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in an RA report. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in a connection establishment failure report. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in an RLF report. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in an SHR. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in an information element (IE) of RA common information.

[0042] For illustrative purposes, several exemplary embodiments will be described in relation to Embodiments 1 to 7. Embodiment 1

[0043] In some scenarios, RA partitioning is considered for several functions to enable early functional identification in the network device 120. The network device 120 may associate sets of RA resources with functions applicable to RA procedures. A set of RA resources associated with a function is valid only for RA procedures applicable to that function, and a set of RA resources associated with multiple functions is valid only for RA procedures that have at least all of these functions. After selecting the uplink carrier (i.e., normal uplink (NUL) or supplementary uplink (SUL)) and bandwidth part (BWP), and before selecting the RA type, the terminal device 110 may select the applicable set of RA resources as follows: 1. If contention-free random access (CFRA) resources are available for the current RA procedure, or if the RA procedure has not been initiated for any function, only a set of RA resources that are not associated with any function may be used. 2. If a set of RA resources exists that is associated with all the functions applicable to the current RA procedure, that set of RA resources will be used. 3. If there are no associated RA resources for a function applicable at the start of the current RA procedure, the terminal device 110 may consider a subset of functions and their associated RA resource sets based on the priority set for the functions by the network device 120. The first subset in priority for which an associated RA resource set exists is selected. 4. If there are no RA resources associated with any of the functions applicable to the current RA procedure, a set of RA resources that are not associated with any function will be used.

[0044] As an example (which will also be referred to here as Example 1 for convenience), the functions applicable to the RA procedure are RedCap (Reduced Capability) + SDT. The configured priorities (from highest to lowest) are Coverage Enhancement (CovEnh) > RedCap > Slice Group (SliceX) > SDT. The configured RA resource sets are the legacy resource set, the RA resource set for RedCap, the RA resource set for RedCap + SliceX + SDT, the RA resource set for SliceX + SDT, the RA resource set for SliceX, or the RA resource set for SDT. Assume that no available CFRA resources exist. It can be understood that there is no set of RA resources associated with both RedCap and SDT. Since RedCap has a higher priority than SDT, the RA procedure will select the RA resource set configured for RedCap.

[0045] Currently, RA information stored by terminal devices and reported to the network does not include RA partition-related information. Therefore, the network cannot optimize the RA partition settings.

[0046] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information concerning RA partitions (i.e., first information). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report information concerning RA partitions for RA reports, connection establishment reports, RLF reports, or SHRs. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may also store and report first information for any other appropriate report.

[0047] In some embodiments, information about an RA partition may include a set of functions associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure. In some embodiments, the functions in the set of functions may be SDT, RedCap, CovEnh, or a list of slice groups. Referring to Example 1 above, the set of functions associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure includes RedCap. In some embodiments, the set of functions is referred to as a combination of functions.

[0048] The set of features associated with the set of RA resources selected for the RA procedure allows the network to recognize the combination of features associated with the RA resources, thereby optimizing the RA configuration for that particular combination of features or RA partition.

[0049] In some embodiments, information regarding the RA partition may include a set of functions that are applicable to an RA procedure but are not associated with a set of RA resources selected for that procedure. Referring to Example 1 above, the set of functions that are applicable to an RA procedure but are not associated with a set of RA resources selected for that procedure includes SDT.

[0050] If the network is unable to provide an RA partition with all the features required by terminal devices due to a set of features that are applicable to the RA procedure but are not associated with the set of RA resources selected for the RA procedure, and many terminal devices report this, an additional RA partition providing the missing features may be added.

[0051] In some embodiments, information regarding the RA partition may include a set of features applicable to the RA procedure. Referring to Example 1 above, the set of features applicable to the RA procedure includes RedCap and SDT.

[0052] The set of features applicable to the RA procedure allows the network to know that it is not possible to provide an RA partition with all the features required by terminal devices, and if many terminal devices report this, an additional RA partition providing the missing features may be added.

[0053] Please understand that the first piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above. Embodiment 2

[0054] In some scenarios, multi-slot aggregation with transport block (TB) repetition of Msg3 transmission may be supported for both NUL and SUL, and is applicable to contention-based random access (CBRA) of the 4-step RA type. If configured, terminal device 110 may request Msg3 repetition via a separate PRACH resource if the RSRP of the downlink (DL) path loss reference is lower than the configured RSRP threshold. In other words, an RSRP threshold is configured for the terminal device to determine whether Msg3 repetition is applied to the RA procedure. If the measured RSRP is below the RSRP threshold, Msg3 repetition can be applied. However, the RSRP threshold configured by the network may not be very appropriate. For example, RA failures may occur frequently on terminal devices that measure RSRP above the RSRP threshold.

[0055] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information regarding the repetition of Msg3 (i.e., second information). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report information regarding the repetition of Msg3 for RA reports, connection establishment reports, RLF reports, or SHRs. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may store and report second information for any other appropriate report.

[0056] In some embodiments, information regarding the repetition of Msg3 may include the measured RSRP of the downlink path loss reference obtained when determining whether the repetition of Msg3 is applicable to the RA procedure.

[0057] Please understand that the second piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above.

[0058] In this way, the network can recognize the RSRP value when a repetition of Msg3 is determined. Furthermore, based on other reported information, such as whether the RA procedure involving the repetition of Msg3 was successful, the network may adjust the RSRP threshold set for the repetition of Msg3. Embodiment 3

[0059] Currently, during the subsequent transmission phase of a CG-based SDT, if none of the SSBs associated with one CG resource for SDT exceed the RSRP threshold for SSB selection (also referred to here as the threshold power), the terminal device may trigger an RA procedure. Alternatively, if none of the SSBs associated with one CG resource for SDT exceed the RSRP threshold for SSB selection, and there is uplink (UL) data available for transmission, the terminal device may trigger an RA procedure. However, the current RA information stored and reported by the terminal device cannot distinguish this scenario from the others.

[0060] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information (i.e., third information) regarding RA procedures triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report third information for RA reports, connection establishment reports, or RLF reports. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may store and report third information for any other appropriate reports.

[0061] In some embodiments, the third piece of information may include a statement indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power. For example, a new RA objective may be introduced to indicate that the RA procedure scenario is when none of the SSBs associated with one of the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP threshold for SSB selection. In this way, the network can distinguish the relational scenarios of the RA procedure from other scenarios.

[0062] In some embodiments, the third information may include instructions indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power and there is UL data available for transmission. For example, a new RA objective may be introduced to indicate that the RA procedure scenario is when none of the SSBs associated with one of the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP threshold for SSB selection and there is UL data available for transmission. In this way, the network can similarly distinguish the relational scenarios of the RA procedure from other scenarios.

[0063] In some embodiments, the third information may include an index of CG resources that do not have associated SSBs above a threshold power level. In some embodiments, the third information may include information on SSBs associated with CG resources that do not have associated SSBs above a threshold power level. In this way, the network can recognize which CG resources are unavailable during CG-based SDT of a terminal device and which SSBs associated with a CG resource are below a threshold power level. The network can then further adjust the settings for CG-based SDT of the terminal device.

[0064] In some embodiments, the third piece of information may include the measured RSRP of the SSB associated with the CG resource at the time the RA procedure is triggered. In this way, the network can recognize the state of the SSB and adjust the RSRP threshold for SSB selection during CG-based SDT.

[0065] Please understand that the third piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above. Embodiment 4

[0066] In some scenarios, if a terminal device detects a consistent LBT failure, an RA procedure may be initiated to recover from the consistent LBT failure. However, the current RA information stored and reported by the terminal device does not indicate the scenario for this RA procedure.

[0067] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information (i.e., fourth information) regarding RA procedures triggered by the recovery of a consistent LBT failure. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report the fourth information for an RA report. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may store and report the fourth information for any other appropriate report.

[0068] In some embodiments, the fourth piece of information may include a statement indicating that the RA procedure was triggered by the recovery of a consistent LBT failure. For example, a new RA objective may be introduced to indicate that the RA procedure scenario is one in which the RA procedure was initiated for the recovery of a consistent LBT failure.

[0069] Please understand that the fourth piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above.

[0070] In this way, the network can distinguish the scenario of RA procedures triggered by a consistent LBT failure from other scenarios. Embodiment 5

[0071] In some scenarios, the network device 120 may activate and deactivate the configured SCG. SCG activation / deactivation is introduced for power saving purposes. When activating the SCG, if a beam fault occurs or the TAT timer is not running at the time of receiving the SCG activation instruction, the terminal device may have to initiate the RA procedure using the SCG's PSCell. However, the current RA information stored and reported by the terminal device cannot indicate the scenario and detailed information of the RA procedure in this case.

[0072] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information (i.e., fifth information) related to RA procedures triggered by SCG activation. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report fifth information for an RA report or an RLF report. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may store and report fifth information for any other appropriate report.

[0073] In some embodiments, the fifth piece of information may include an indication that the RA procedure was triggered by SCG activation. For example, a new RA objective may be introduced to indicate that the RA procedure scenario is one in which the RA procedure was initiated for SCG activation. In this way, the network can distinguish the scenario of an RA procedure triggered for SCG activation from other scenarios.

[0074] In some embodiments, the fifth piece of information may include an indication of whether a beam failure occurred when the RA for SCG activation was triggered. A beam failure means BFI_COUNTER ≥ beamFailureInstanceMaxCount. In some embodiments, the fifth piece of information may include an indication of whether the TAT (Time Alignment Timer) had expired or whether uplink asynchronous had occurred when the RA procedure for SCG activation was triggered. In this way, the network can recognize why the RA procedure for SCG activation was triggered.

[0075] Please understand that the fifth piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above. Embodiment 6

[0076] In some scenarios, two BFD-RS sets may be configured for the BFD of terminal device 110. If a beam fault is detected in both BFD-RS sets, an RA procedure may be initiated for the BFR of the two BFD-RS sets. However, the current RA information stored and reported by the terminal device cannot indicate the scenario of the RA procedure in this case.

[0077] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information (i.e., sixth information) regarding BFR-triggered RA procedures relating to two sets of BFD-RS. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report sixth information for an RA report or an RLF report. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may store and report sixth information for any other appropriate report.

[0078] In some embodiments, the sixth piece of information may include a statement indicating that the RA procedure was triggered by a BFR involving two sets of BFD-RS. For example, a new RA objective may be introduced to indicate that the RA procedure scenario is one in which the RA procedure was initiated for BFR recovery involving two sets of BFD-RS.

[0079] In some embodiments, the sixth piece of information may include the identity of a non-serving cell associated with one of the two sets of BFD-RS (e.g., an additional physical cell identifier (PCI)).

[0080] In this way, the network can distinguish between scenarios of RA procedures triggered for BFR recovery involving two sets of BFD-RS and recognize information about non-serving cells.

[0081] Please understand that the sixth piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above. Embodiment 7

[0082] In non-terrestrial network (NTN) scenarios, a Timing Advance (TA) report may be triggered by the terminal device 110 when an RA procedure is initiated by initial access from RRC idle, RRC connection reactivation procedure from RRC inactivity, RRC connection re-establishment procedure, or reconfiguration with sync, if configured by the network device 120. For the TA report, a TA report MAC CE may be generated and sent to the network device 120. The TA report MAC CE may indicate an integer number of slots greater than or equal to the TA value. If the RA procedure ultimately fails, the failure may be due to an inappropriate TA compensation value provided by the network, or the network being unable to recognize an appropriate TA value.

[0083] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information relating to TA reports (i.e., seventh information). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may store and report information relating to TA reports for connection establishment reports or RLF reports. It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may also store and report seventh information for any other suitable reports.

[0084] In some embodiments, the seventh piece of information may include the TA value. In some embodiments, the seventh piece of information may include the number of integer slots greater than or equal to the TA value.

[0085] Please understand that the seventh piece of information may include any other appropriate piece of information or combination of information, and is not limited to the examples given above. Example implementation of the method

[0086] In accordance with the above, embodiments of this disclosure provide communication methods implemented between terminal devices and network devices. These methods will be described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0087] Figure 3 shows an exemplary communication method 300 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 300 may be implemented in a terminal device 110 as shown in Figure 1. For discussion purposes, method 300 will be described below with reference to Figure 1. It should be understood that method 300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some blocks shown may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0088] In block 310, the terminal device 110 stores RA procedure information. The RA procedure information may include at least one of the following: first information regarding RA partitions, second information regarding the repetition of Msg3, third information regarding RA procedures triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have RSRPs exceeding a threshold power, fourth information regarding RA procedures triggered by the recovery of a consistent LBT failure, fifth information regarding RA procedures triggered by the activation of the SCG, sixth information regarding RA procedures triggered by BFRs related to two sets of BFD-RSs, or seventh information regarding TA reports.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one of the following: a set of functions associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure; a set of functions applicable to an RA procedure but not associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure; or a set of functions applicable to an RA procedure.

[0090] In some embodiments, the second information may include the measured RSRP of the downlink path loss reference obtained when determining whether the repetition of Msg3 is applicable to the RA procedure.

[0091] In some embodiments, the third information may include at least one of the following: an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power; an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power and there is UL data available for transmission; an index of the CG resources; information about the SSBs associated with the CG resources; or the measured RSRP of the SSBs associated with the CG resources at the time the RA procedure was triggered.

[0092] In some embodiments, the fifth piece of information may include at least one of the following: an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered by SCG activation; an instruction indicating whether a beam fault occurred when the RA for SCG activation was triggered; or an instruction indicating whether the TAT (Time Alignment Timer) had expired or uplink asynchronous had occurred when the RA procedure for SCG activation was triggered.

[0093] In some embodiments, the sixth piece of information may include at least one of the following: an indication that the RA procedure was triggered by a BFR relating to two sets of BFD-RSs, or the identity of a non-serving cell associated with one of the two sets of BFD-RSs.

[0094] In some embodiments, the seventh piece of information may include at least one of the TA value or the number of integers in the slots that are greater than or equal to the TA value.

[0095] In block 320, the terminal device 110 transmits RA procedure information to the network device 120.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit RA procedure information in at least one of the following: RA report, connection establishment failure report, RLF report, or SHR.

[0097] In this way, the newly introduced features allow RA information to be reported to the network in a more comprehensive manner, making it easier to optimize RA settings.

[0098] Figure 4 shows an exemplary communication method 400 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 400 may be implemented in a network device 120 as shown in Figure 1. For discussion purposes, method 400 will be described below with reference to Figure 1. It should be understood that method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some blocks shown may be omitted, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0099] In block 410, the network device 120 receives RA procedure information from the terminal device 110. The RA procedure information may include at least one of the following: first information regarding RA partitions, second information regarding the repetition of Msg3, third information regarding RA procedures triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have RSRPs exceeding a threshold power, fourth information regarding RA procedures triggered by the recovery of a consistent LBT failure, fifth information regarding RA procedures triggered by the activation of the SCG, sixth information regarding RA procedures triggered by BFRs related to two sets of BFD-RS, or seventh information regarding TA reports.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one of the following: a set of functions associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure; a set of functions applicable to an RA procedure but not associated with a set of RA resources selected for an RA procedure; or a set of functions applicable to an RA procedure.

[0101] In some embodiments, the second information may include the measured RSRP of the downlink path loss reference obtained when determining whether the repetition of Msg3 is applicable to the RA procedure.

[0102] In some embodiments, the third information may include at least one of the following: an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power; an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because none of the SSBs associated with the CG resources for SDT have an RSRP above a threshold power and there is UL data available for transmission; an index of the CG resources; information about the SSBs associated with the CG resources; or the measured RSRP of the SSBs associated with the CG resources at the time the RA procedure was triggered.

[0103] In some embodiments, the fifth piece of information may include at least one of the following: an instruction indicating that the RA procedure was triggered by SCG activation; an instruction indicating whether a beam fault occurred when the RA for SCG activation was triggered; or an instruction indicating whether the TAT (Time Alignment Timer) had expired or uplink asynchronous had occurred when the RA procedure for SCG activation was triggered.

[0104] In some embodiments, the sixth piece of information may include at least one of the following: an indication that the RA procedure was triggered by a BFR relating to two sets of BFD-RSs, or the identity of a non-serving cell associated with one of the two sets of BFD-RSs.

[0105] In some embodiments, the seventh piece of information may include at least one of the TA value or the number of integers in the slots that are greater than or equal to the TA value.

[0106] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may receive RA procedure information in at least one of the following: RA report, connection establishment failure report, RLF report, or SHR.

[0107] In this way, the network can obtain RA information about newly introduced features and optimize its RA settings.

[0108] Please understand that the procedures for Methods 300 and 400 are the same as those described in relation to Figure 2, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, other details will not be repeated here. Exemplary Implementation of Devices and Apparatuses

[0109] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 500 suitable for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparatus 500 can be considered another exemplary embodiment of the terminal device 110 or network device 120 shown in Figure 1. Thus, apparatus 500 can be implemented in, or at least as part of, the terminal device 110 or network device 120.

[0110] As shown in the figure, the device 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 520 coupled to the processor 510, appropriate transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) 540 coupled to the processor 510, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 540. The memory 510 stores at least a portion of the program 530. The TX / RX 540 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice the access node described herein may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between gNBs or eNBs, an S1 / NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and an eNB / gNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between a gNB / eNB and a terminal device.

[0111] The program 530 is deemed to include program instructions, and when the program is executed by the associated processor 510, it enables the device 500 to operate according to embodiments of the disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented by computer software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware that can be executed by the processor 510 of the device 500. The processor 510 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Alternatively, a combination of the processor 510 and memory 520 may constitute processing means 550 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0112] Memory 520 may be of any type suitable for the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology (e.g., computer-readable non-temporary storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and movable memory, etc.). Although only one memory 520 is shown in device 500, device 500 may have multiple physically different memory modules. Processor 510 may be of any type suitable for the local technical network and may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor configurations. Device 500 may have multiple processors, for example, application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0113] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to store random access procedure information and transmit the random access procedure information to the network device. The random access procedure information includes at least one of the following: first information regarding random access partitions; second information regarding the repetition of message 3; third information regarding random access procedures triggered because neither the synchronization signal associated with the setting grant resource for small data transmission nor the physical broadcast channel block has reference signal reception power exceeding a threshold power; fourth information regarding random access procedures triggered by the recovery of a consistent Listen Before Talk fault; fifth information regarding random access procedures triggered by the activation of a secondary cell group; sixth information regarding random access procedures triggered by beam fault recovery for two sets of beam fault detection reference signals; or seventh information regarding a timing advance report.

[0114] In some embodiments, the second terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive random access procedure information from the terminal device. The random access procedure information includes at least one of the following: first information regarding random access partitions; second information regarding the repetition of message 3; third information regarding random access procedures triggered because neither the synchronization signal associated with the setting grant resource for small data transmission nor the physical broadcast channel block has reference signal reception power exceeding a threshold power; fourth information regarding random access procedures triggered by the recovery of a consistent Listen Before Talk fault; fifth information regarding random access procedures triggered by the activation of a secondary cell group; sixth information regarding random access procedures triggered by beam fault recovery for two sets of beam fault detection reference signals; or seventh information regarding a timing advance report.

[0115] As used herein, the term “circuit” may mean a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of an analog hardware circuit and / or a digital hardware circuit and software / firmware. As a further example, a circuit may be any part of a software-equipped hardware processor, such as a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a terminal or network device to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or processor such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor that requires software / firmware for operation, but where the software may not be present when not needed for operation. As used herein, the term “circuit” also encompasses a mere hardware circuit or processor, or a part of a hardware circuit or processor, and the implementation of its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0116] Typically, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented by hardware, while others may be implemented by firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or by any other pictorial representation, and it will be understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented by, for example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof, but are not limited thereto.

[0117] This disclosure further provides at least one computer program product stored tangibly on a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions contained within a program module. These instructions are executed on a device on a target real or virtual processor, performing the processes or methods described above with reference to Figures 1-4. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-readable instructions of a program module may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0118] Program code for performing the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations defined in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are performed. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a standalone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0119] The program code described above may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program used by an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, or a program used in conjunction with such a system or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include electrical connections containing one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and writable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0120] While the operations have been described in a specific order, it should not be understood that, in order to obtain the desired results, these operations must be performed in a specific order or sequence, or that all of the operations shown must be performed. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, the above discussion includes some specific implementation details, which should be interpreted not as limitations on the scope of this disclosure, but as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be implemented in combination in one embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of one embodiment may be implemented separately or in any suitable secondary combination in multiple embodiments.

[0121] While this disclosure has been described using terminology specific to structural features and / or methodological behavior, it should be understood that this disclosure, as defined by the attached claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or behaviors described above. Rather, the specific features and behaviors described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method for a user terminal (UE: User Equipment), If the Random Access (RA) procedure completes successfully, the RA report will be configured with first functional information indicating multiple functions, including RedCap (Reduced Capability) and SDT (Small Data Transaction). The first functional information indicates a plurality of functions applicable to the random access procedure, The second functional information associated with the random access resource used in the aforementioned random access procedure is set in the RA report. The aforementioned RA report is transmitted to the network. method.

2. At least one function indicated by the second functional information is different from the plurality of functions indicated by the first functional information. The method according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of functions include at least one of slicing and coverage extension, The method according to claim 1.

4. The at least one function indicated by the second functional information includes at least one of SDT (Small Data Transmission), RedCap (Reduced Capability), slice group, and coverage extension. The method according to claim 3.

5. If a UE initiates a Random Access Channel (RACH) due to a constant Listen Before Talk (LBT) failure, the RA report will include purpose information, including the purpose for which the random access procedure was triggered. The method according to claim 1.

6. A user equipment (UE), A means for setting first functional information in the RA report, which indicates multiple functions including RedCap (Reduced Capability) and SDT (Small Data Transaction), when a random access (RA) procedure is successfully completed, Means for setting second functional information associated with the random access resource used in the aforementioned random access procedure in the RA report, Means for transmitting the aforementioned RA report to the network, Equipped with, The aforementioned multiple functions are applicable to the RA procedure. UE.

7. At least one function indicated by the second functional information is different from the plurality of functions indicated by the first functional information. The UE according to claim 6.

8. The plurality of functions include at least one of slicing and coverage extension, The UE according to claim 6.

9. The at least one function indicated by the second functional information includes at least one of SDT (Small Data Transmission), RedCap (Reduced Capability), slice group, and coverage extension. The UE according to claim 8.

10. When a UE initiates a Random Access Channel (RACH) due to a constant Listen Before Talk (LBT) failure, the RA report includes purpose information, including the purpose of triggering the Random Access procedure. The UE according to claim 6.

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