Timing advance validation for small data transmission

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to Timing Advance validation for Small Data Transmissions. A first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: receive TA validation configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of the first device from a second device, select a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmissions of the first device, and verify, based at least on the TA validation configuration information and the selected CG resource, TA validity of the first device.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Field of Invention

[0002] The embodiments of this disclosure are generally related to the telecommunications field, and in particular to a method, apparatus, device and computer-readable storage medium for timing advance (TA) verification technology for small data transmission (SDT) used by a user equipment (UE) in an inactive state. [Previous Technology]

[0003] Background of the Invention

[0004] A new standalone Radio Resource Control (RRC) state, called RRC_INACTIVE, was introduced in 3GPP NR Release 15. Complementing the existing RRC_CONNECTED and RRC_IDLE states, it aims to support low signal transmission and high energy efficiency for new radio (NR) services. While this design is specifically conceived for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) / mobile Internet of Things (MIoT) services, it also facilitates the efficient delivery of small or infrequent traffic flows for eMBB and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services.

[0005] Compared to the RRC_IDLE state, the RRC_INACTIVE state allows the UE to more quickly restore the connection and initiate small or sporadic data transmissions with a considerably lower initial access latency and associated signaling overhead. This is primarily due to the reduced control signaling required to request and obtain a reply to a suspended RRC connection, which results in UE power savings. Simultaneously, a UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state can achieve similar power-saving effects as in the RRC_IDLE state, for example, benefiting from a considerably larger Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring (e.g., paging) period and more relaxed measurements compared to the RRC_CONNECTED state. Furthermore, the RRC_INACTIVE state minimizes the mobility of signaling to both the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the core network compared to keeping the UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state. When a UE transitions to the RRC_INACTIVE state via an RRC connection pending message, the UE access layer (AS) context required for fast connection startup (referred to as the UE inactive AS context) will remain on both the UE side and the RAN side, and will be identified by the UE identifier, namely, inactive-RNTI (I-RNTI).

[0006] Although support for SDT services has been established in the non-functional state of the UE, there are still some issues to be resolved regarding how to support such SDT services. [Summary of the Invention]

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for a UE supporting SDT services in the inactive state. More specifically, embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for TA authentication for such SDT services.

[0009] In a first viewpoint, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured with the at least one processor to cause the first device to perform the following operations: receiving TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of the first device from a second device; selecting a CG resource to send a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource.

[0010] In a second viewpoint, a method is provided. The method includes receiving from a second device TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of a first device; selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource.

[0011] In a third viewpoint, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for receiving TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of a first device from a second device; means for selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and means for verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for creating a device to execute at least one method according to the second aspect described above.

[0013] Due to the solution disclosed herein, TA verification can be performed by a UE in an inactive state, thereby enabling the support of such SDT services.

[0014] It should be understood that this summary paragraph is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become more readily understood through the following description.

Implementation Method

[0029] Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0030] The principles of this disclosure will now be explained with reference to certain exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and are not intended to suggest any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0032] In this disclosure, references to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a specific feature, architecture, or characteristic, but not every embodiment needs to include that specific feature, architecture, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a specific feature, architecture, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such features, architecture, or characteristics linked to other embodiments, whether explicitly described or not.

[0033] It should be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various different elements, such elements should not be limited by such terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0034] The terminology used herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well. It should be further understood that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “comprising,” and / or “including” as used herein are specific descriptions of the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or inclusion of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0035] As used in this application, the term “circuit” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) a circuit implementation consisting only of hardware (such as an implementation of analog and / or digital circuits only), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as the case may be): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry having software / firmware, and (ii) any part of a hardware processor having software (including digital signal processors, software, and memory that work together to create a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions), and (c) hardware circuitry and / or processors that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor, but which may be absent if the software is not required for operation.

[0036] The definition of "circuit" applies to this application and is used in any claim. As in another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" also covers an implementation of only one hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its (or its) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit" also covers, for example, and if applicable to the element of that particular claim, a similar integrated circuit for a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit of a mobile device, or a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or networking device.

[0037] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (A-LTE), Wide Bandwidth Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Bandwidth Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between a terminal device and a network device in such a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but 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, and / or any other currently known or future protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to a wide variety of different communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there are naturally future communication technologies and systems that can be embodied in this disclosure. It should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure solely to the aforementioned systems.

[0038] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, referring to accessing the network and receiving services from it via a terminal device. Depending on the terminology and technology used in the application, the network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio probe (RRH), a relay point, a low-power node, such as a femtonode, a piconode, etc.

[0039] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also refer to a communication device, user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a Voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capturing terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and playback device, an in-vehicle wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounting device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable item, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and application (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and application (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless device operating in an industrial and / or automated processing chain), a consumer electronic device, a device operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” are used interchangeably.

[0040] As stated above, it has been acknowledged that the UE used in this inactive state can support SDT services. One convention for this terminal is a second-order or fourth-order random access channel (RACH) solution. Another convention for this terminal is that the UE transmits UL data on pre-configured UL resources when it has a valid TA.

[0041] In NR, UL transmissions can be configured without sending a dynamic grant corresponding to each UL transmission scenario. The configuration of these UL resources, also known as the configuration grant (CG) entity UL shared channel (PUSCH) resources, can be achieved by two possible schemes, namely, via RRC (Type 1) or via a combination of RRC and PDCCH (addressed to CS-RNTI) (Type 2).

[0042] Furthermore, in the NR, the TA adjustment can be completed by a multiple, where μ and μ are the basic time unit of the NR and the subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration, respectively. Table 1 below shows the step granularity and spatial granularity of the TA adjustment for each carrier spacing, where the lower half represents the subcarrier spacing and the upper half represents the value of the spatial granularity. Taking μ=0 as an example, due to the TA adjustment granularity, when the UE moves away from or toward the gNB by more than approximately 78 meters, the gNB only needs to adjust the TA timing of the UE.

[0043] Table 1: TA Adjustment Granularity in Time and Space μ SCS [kilohertz] TA adjusts step size (in seconds). Spatial grain size (meters) 0 15 5.2083e-07 78.0705 1 30 2.6042e-07 39.0352 2 60 1.3021e-07 19.5176 3 120 6.5104e-08 9.7588 4 240 3.2552e-08 4.8794

[0044] The TA adjustment may occur during the RACH procedure (via a timing advance command that allows addressing up to 3846 times, where the objective is to advance the timing of the UE UL transmission) and during normal operation of the UE in RRC connected state (via a timing advance command that allows addressing up to 63 times, where the objective is to perform a good adjustment of the UE's TA due to the movement of the UE).

[0045] Due to the import of pre-configured CG resources by a UE in an inactive state, there may be a problem in verifying whether the UE has a valid TA to allow the use of SDT services for such CG resources.

[0046] Even if a TA timer is specifically imported for TA maintenance of the SDT services for the UE related to such CG resources, the TA timer itself is insufficient to verify whether the UE still has a valid TA. This is because the duration of the configured timer cannot reflect the UE's mobility status, and therefore the UE becomes out of time before the TA timer expires. Furthermore, the UE can still be time-accurate even when the TA timer expires.

[0047] In the pre-configured uplink resources (PUR) of NB-IoT, the TA verification can be achieved based on the reference signal received power (RSRP). That is, a first RSRP value can be measured at the time when a PUR transmission is to be achieved, and a second RSRP value can be measured at the time when the UE has a valid TA (i.e., the reference RSRP). If the change between the first RSRP value and the second RSRP value is above a threshold for increasing / decreasing the configuration difference, the UE is considered to no longer have a valid TA and therefore cannot achieve the PUR transmission.

[0048] However, the same RSRP-style TA verification criteria are insufficient in NR, primarily due to the characteristics associated with the beamforming operation of the NR. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 that can implement an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 100 may include one or more terminal devices, such as a terminal device 110-1 and a terminal device 110-2 (hereinafter also referred to as a first device 110-1 and 110-2, or collectively referred to as a terminal device 110 or a first device 110), and one or more network devices, such as a network device 120 (hereinafter also referred to as a second device 120), which is one of the regions using different frequency bands in both DL and UL. This type of frequency band may also be referred to as an operating frequency band of the corresponding network device. As long as the terminal device 110 is located in the corresponding cell, the terminal device 110 can connect and communicate with the network device 120 in both UL and DL. In the communication system 100, a UL reference is a link in one direction from a terminal device 110 to a network device 120, and a DL reference is a link in one direction from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110.

[0049] In Figure 1, each ellipse can represent the coverage area of ​​a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) projected onto the ground, which can be regarded as an SSB beam projected onto the ground by an SSB signal. It can be seen that the SSB beam can have different radiation coverage areas depending on the distance from the network device 120. For an SSB beam such as SSB beam 101 in Figure 1 that is close to the network device 120, its radiation coverage area is relatively small, and it can also be referred to as inner SSB beam 101. On the other hand, for an SSB beam such as SSB beam 103 in Figure 1 that is far away from the network device 120, its radiation coverage area is relatively large, and it can also be referred to as outer SSB beam 103.

[0050] The SSB signal is a downlink access reference signal used for NR, and the term SSB is used in this disclosure for illustrative purposes. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure is not limited to this particular term, but may cover other downlink access reference signals that have been developed or are to be developed in the future.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1, within the same SSB beam, the terminal device 110-1 can move closer to the network device 120, which reduces path loss but moves further away from the beamforming lobe (i.e., the beamforming gain is at its highest). In this case, the RSRP value of the terminal device 110-1 may not change, and therefore the terminal device 110-1 cannot detect that the TA may no longer be effective. In contrast, the terminal device 110-2 can move between different SSB beams while maintaining the same distance from the network device. In this case, the terminal device 110-2 can observe a change in the measured RSRP value and still have an effective TA.

[0052] In this view, the terminal device 110 needs to provide a solution to verify its TA before executing the SDT using such CG resources to avoid TA inaccuracy.

[0053] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution is provided for supporting SDT services on a terminal device 110 in an inactive state, and more particularly, a solution for TA verification of the SDT services of the terminal device 110. In this solution, the network device 120 can configure TA verification configuration information for the SDT of the terminal device 110 in an inactive state. The TA verification configuration information can be carried in an RRC release message with a pending configuration, which may further include, for example, CG resource configuration for the SDT of the terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 can receive the TA verification configuration information and verify the validity of the TA of the terminal device 110 at least based on the TA verification configuration information. To confirm the SDT of the terminal device 110, three conditions should be met, namely, the amount of data sent via the SDT should be less than a data amount threshold, the CG resources for the SDT should be configured and valid, and the terminal device 110 should have a valid TA. To verify the TA validity of the terminal device 110, TA verification configuration information can be pre-configured and received from the network device 120. As explained below, the disclosure depends on the configuration of the TA verification configuration information and several solutions are available.

[0054] The principles and embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the accompanying drawings are given only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to suggest any limitations. For example, in FIG1, the communication system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices 120 and terminal devices 110 adapted to implement embodiments of this disclosure.

[0055] The communication in the communication system 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), and fifth-generation (5G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Furthermore, the communication can use any suitable wireless communication technology, including, but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Expanded OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other currently known or future-developed technologies.

[0056] Referring now to FIG2, a procedure 200 for performing TA verification is shown according to certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the procedure 200 will be described with reference to FIG1. ​​The procedure 200 may include a terminal device 110 and a network device 120 as illustrated in FIG1. ​​Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure may be described as an example by using the terminal device 110 as the first device and the network device 120 as the second device. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, and in some applicable cases, the first device and the second device may be used interchangeably.

[0057] In the program 200, in block 210, the first device 110 can receive TA verification configuration information for an inactive state of one of the first devices 110 from a second device 120.

[0058] As described above, these SSB beams, depending on their distance from the network device 120, can have different radiation coverage areas, and therefore, movement of the first device 110 in different SSB beams can cause different impacts on TA variation values. In this view, the network device 120 can pre-configure different TA verification configuration information for SSB beams with different radiation coverage areas and TA adjustment spatial granularity, based on the cell code frame digital code μ listed in Table 1 above. In some embodiments, the network device 120 can use dedicated signaling or broadcasting system information carrying this type of TA verification configuration information, which can be a one-bit image, indicating which SSB in a cell can have its TA verification skipped, or even TA verification for all SSBs in that cell can be skipped.

[0059] In one embodiment, the TA verification configuration information may be included in an RRC release message having a suspension configuration. Upon receiving the RRC release message, the first device 110, while maintaining a valid TA offset, may transition from an RRC_CONNECTED state to an RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0060] In one embodiment, the TA verification configuration information may be received along with a CG resource configuration indicating one of the CG resources of the SDT of the first device 110. That is, the CG resource configuration may include multiple CG resources or scenarios for the SDT, so that the first device 110 can select one of them for a specific SDT. Furthermore, different CG resources may be pre-configured by the second device 120 for different SDTs of the first device 110, and thus different CG resource configurations may be pre-configured and sent to different first devices 110.

[0061] In block 220, the first device 110 can select a CG resource to send a data packet to the second device 120 based on the CG resource configuration. As described above, if data is sent using the SDT method when the first device 110 is in an inactive state, the data volume should be lower than a data volume threshold, and the CG resource used for the SDT should be configured and valid. Therefore, in block 220, the first device 110 should verify the data volume and the available CG resources. In particular, the first device 110 can determine the data volume of the data packet to be sent and determine whether the data volume is less than a data volume threshold associated with a CG resource pre-configured by the second device in the CG resource configuration. If the data volume is less than a data volume threshold associated with a CG resource, the first device 110 can select the CG resource to send the data packet.

[0062] In block 230, the first device 110 can verify the TA validity of the first device 110 based at least on the TA verification configuration information received in block 210 and the CG resources selected in block 220.

[0063] Although not shown in FIG2, the first device 110 may further send the data packet in different ways depending on the validity of its TA. In particular, if the first device 110 has successfully verified its TA validity in block 230, then the first device 110 may use the CG resource selected in block 220 to send the data packet. That is, the first device 110 may send the data packet to the second device 120 via an SDT transmission.

[0064] On the other hand, if the first device 110 fails to verify the validity of its TA in block 230, the first device 110 may use a conventional method to send the data packet. For example, the first device 110 may transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state to send the data packet. In another example, the first device 110 may use the RACH-style method described above to send the data packet.

[0065] As described above, block 230 may be executed in different ways as illustrated in Figures 3 to 9 below, depending on the configuration of the TA verification configuration information.

[0066] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 300 performed on the first device 110 according to certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 300 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 3 for simplification.

[0067] In this exemplary method 300, the second device 120 may configure the TA verification configuration information to include a list of SSB beams associated with the CG resources of the SDT used by the first device 110, which will also be described below with reference to a first list of the first SSB beams. If the first device 110 is within the coverage of one of the SSB beams in the SSB beam list, then the first device 110 can be considered to always have a valid TA. Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of the relationship between the SSB beams and the TA adjustment granularity depending on the subcarrier spacing. For example, as described above and illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, the inner SSB beam 101 typically has a smaller radiation coverage, and therefore the first device 110 within the coverage of an inner SSB beam 101 can be considered to always have a valid TA, regardless of its movement within the SSB beam for code frame numbers μ=2 and μ=3 (assuming that the TA is valid for at least 2 units of the TA adjustment granularity). In this viewpoint, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include one of the lists of SSB beams 101. Furthermore, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include separate SSB beam lists, wherein SSB beams in the same list have the same coverage radius toward the second device 120, while SSB beams in different lists have different coverage radii. These separate SSB beam lists can be grouped based on the serving beam of the first device when a valid TA was previously obtained. For example, in Figure 4, SSB beams 101, 102, and 103 can form three separate SSB beam lists based on their distance from the second device 120. Moreover, as detailed below with reference to Figure 10, different SSB beam lists can employ different TA verification methods.

[0068] In block 310 of method 300, the first device 110 can determine a serving SSB beam corresponding to the CG resource selected in block 220. The second device 120 may include information for the synchronization signal information of the first device 110 in relation to the CG resource configured for the first device 110, and therefore the SSB beam, which is a serving SSB beam for the SDT, can be determined from the selected CG resource.

[0069] In block 320 of method 300, the first device 110 may determine whether the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list. For example, the first list of such first SSB beams may include a beam identifier (ID) for each first SSB beam, and therefore the first device 110 may compare the beam ID of the serving SSB beam with the beam ID of the first SSB beam in the first list to determine whether the serving SSB beam is included in the first list.

[0070] If it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list (Yes in block 320), then in block 330, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110. As described above, the first SSB beam list in the TA verification configuration information indicates that the first device 110 can be regarded as having an effective TA for all such SSB beams, such as the inner SSB beam 101 shown in FIG1.

[0071] On the other hand, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the first list (No in block 320), then in block 340, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0072] Alternatively, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the first list (No in block 320), and the TA validity is not verified by failure, the first device 110 may further determine whether its RSRP variation value is within a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for the serving SSB beam, or within a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list. If the first device 110 determines that its RSRP variation value is within a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for the serving SSB beam, or within a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list, then it can also successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0073] In this method, the TA of the first device 110 can be targeted at a predetermined SSB beam, such as the SSB beam 101 shown in Figure 1, which can be easily verified.

[0074] In certain variations of method 300, in addition to the SSB beam list associated with the CG resources of the SDT used by the first device 110, the second device 120 may further configure the TA verification configuration information to include an infinite TAT (Timing Alignment Timer) value for some or all of the SSB beams in the first list. In this case, after determining that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list (yes in block 320), in block 330, the first device 110 may further determine whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value, and only if it is determined that the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value, then the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110. That is, the first device 110 can determine that it has a valid TA not only based on the SSB beam list but also based on an infinite TAT value for such SSB beams, without waiting for the TA to expire.

[0075] In some other variations of the method 300, in addition to the SSB beam list associated with the CG resources of the SDT used by the first device 110, the second device 120 may further configure the TA verification configuration information to include an infinite RSRP variation value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list. In this case, after determining that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list (yes in block 320), in block 330, the first device 110 may further determine whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite RSRP variation value, and only if it is determined that the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite RSRP variation value, then the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110. That is, the first device 110 may determine that it has a valid TA not only based on the SSB beam list but also based on an infinite RSRP variation value for such SSB beams, without having to substantially determine the RSRP variation value.

[0076] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 500 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 500 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 5 for simplification. Furthermore, similar reference numerals 510, 520, 530, and 540 are used to denote blocks 310, 320, 330, and 340 similar to those in Figure 3.

[0077] In this exemplary method 500, the second device 120 may also configure the TA verification configuration information to include a list of SSB beams associated with the CG resources of the SDT used by the first device 110. Hereinafter, this will also be referred to as a second list of second SSB beams, distinguishing it from FIG3. In addition to the SSB beam list, the second device 120 may further configure the TA verification configuration information to include a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the SSB beam list, or a list of predetermined RSRP thresholds for all SSB beams in the list. That is, each SSB beam in the second list is associated with a specific RSRP threshold, or all SSB beams in the list are associated with the same RSRP threshold, so that the TA verification of the first device 110 can be performed not only based on the serving SSB beam itself but also based on the RSRP variation thresholds for the serving SSB beam. In particular, compared to the RSRP threshold value measured during the time when the first device 110 had an effective TA (i.e., the reference RSRP), this specific RSRP threshold value can be an increasing threshold value or a decreasing threshold value. That is, the specific RSRP threshold value for each SSB beam can be a threshold value that limits the RSRP variation of the first device 110 within that SSB beam.

[0078] Similar to method 300, in method 500, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include separate SSB beam lists, and further includes beam-specific RSRP thresholds for the separate SSB beam lists, or separate lists of separate predetermined RSRP thresholds for the separate SSB beam lists. For example, the separate SSB beam lists may include an inner SSB beam list 101, a middle SSB beam list 102, and an outer SSB beam list 103, and the RSRP thresholds for the inner SSB beams 101 can be configured to be greater than the RSRP thresholds for the middle SSB beams 102, and the RSRP thresholds for the middle SSB beams 102 can be configured to be greater than the RSRP thresholds for the outer SSB beams 103.

[0079] In block 510 of method 500, similar to block 310 of method 300, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in the block 220.

[0080] In block 520 of method 500, similar to block 320 of method 300, the first device 110 can determine whether the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the second list. For example, the second list of such second SSB beams may include a beam ID for each second SSB beam, and therefore the first device 110 can compare the beam ID of the serving SSB beam with the beam ID of the second SSB beam in the second list to determine whether the serving SSB beam is included in the second list.

[0081] If it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the second list (Yes in block 520), then in block 522, the first device 110 can further determine the RSRP variation value of the first device 110. In particular, the RSRP variation value can be determined by measuring the RSRP value of the downlink connection reference signal, such as the SSB signal of the first device 110 in the serving SSB beam, and comparing the measured RSRP value with a reference RSRP value of the first device 110. Hereinafter, the reference RSRP value can be measured when the first device 110 last had a valid TA.

[0082] In block 524, the first device 110 can determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or a predetermined RSRP threshold for all SSB beams. The beam-specific RSRP threshold for the serving SSB beam can be searched, for example, from a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds indexed by SSB beam ID.

[0083] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the SSB beam being served, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams (yes in block 524), then in block 530, similar to block 330 of method 300, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0084] On the other hand, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the second list (No in block 520), or if it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is not less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value used for all SSB beams (No in block 524), then in block 540, similar to block 340 of method 300, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0085] In this method, the TA of the first device 110 may be verified for the SSB beam for which the SDT of the first device is determined, depending on the RSRP variation value of the first device in the serving SSB beam and the beam-specific RSRP threshold value for the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams.

[0086] In some variations of method 500, which is not a beam-specific RSRP threshold, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include a beam-specific TAT value for each SSB beam, or a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. In this case, in block 522, the first device can instead check its TAT ​​value, and in block 524, determine whether the TAT value of the first device 110 is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. If in block 524 it is determined that the TAT value of the first device 110 is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams, then in block 530, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0087] In some other variations of the method 500, in addition to a beam-specific RSRP threshold, the second device 120 may configure the TA verification configuration information to include a beam-specific TAT value for each SSB beam, or a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. In this case, if it is determined in block 524 that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the RSRP threshold of the serving SSB beam (Yes in block 524), then the first device 110 may further check its TAT ​​value and determine whether the TAT value of the first device 110 is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams (not shown in FIG. 5). If it is determined that the TAT value of the first device 110 is located in the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or in the predetermined TAT value used for all SSB beams, then the first device 110 in block 530 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0088] Figure 6 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 600 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 600 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 6 for simplification. Furthermore, similar reference numerals 610, 620, 630, and 640 are used to denote blocks 310, 320, 330, and 340 of Figure 3 and blocks 510, 520, 530, and 540 of Figure 5.

[0089] In this exemplary method 600, similar to method 500, the second device 120 may also configure the TA verification configuration information to include a list of SSB beams associated with the CG resources of the SDT of the first device 110. In method 600, the second device 120 may further configure the TA verification configuration information to include a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list. That is, each SSB beam in the list is associated with a specific TA verification flag indicating whether a TA verification for that SSB beam is required or not. In this case, the TA verification of the first device 110 may be performed not only based on the serving SSB beam itself but also based on the TA verification flags for the serving SSB beam. Furthermore, for SSB beams with a positive TA verification flag indicating a required TA verification, the TA verification configuration information may further include a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds or a single predetermined RSRP threshold for performing the TA verification for those SSB beams. That is, all SSB beam systems with a positive TA verification flag are associated with a beam-specific RSRP threshold unique to that SSB beam, or a predetermined RSRP threshold used for all SSB beams.

[0090] Similar to method 300 or 500, in method 600, the second device 120 can assemble the TA verification configuration information to include separate SSB beam lists, separate TA verification flag lists for the separate SSB beam lists, beam-specific RSRP thresholds for SSB beam lists that each have a positive TA verification flag, or separate lists for separate predetermined RSRP thresholds for the separate lists. For example, the separate SSB beam list may include a list of one inner SSB beam 101, a list of one middle SSB beam 102, and a list of one outer SSB beam 103. The RSRP threshold for the inner SSB beam 101 with a positive TA verification flag may be configured to be greater than the RSRP threshold for the SSB beam 102 with a positive TA verification flag, and the RSRP threshold for the middle SSB beam 102 with a positive TA verification flag may be configured to be greater than the RSRP threshold for the outer SSB beam 103 with a positive TA verification flag.

[0091] In block 610 of method 600, similar to block 310 of method 300, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in the block 220.

[0092] In block 620 of method 600, similar to block 320 of method 300, the first device 110 can determine whether the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the SSB beam list. For example, the SSB beam list may include a beam ID for each SSB beam, and therefore the first device 110 can compare the beam ID of the serving SSB beam with the beam ID of the SSB beam in the list to determine whether the serving SSB beam is included in the list.

[0093] If it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the list (Yes in block 620), then in block 622, the first device 110 may further determine whether the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required. For example, the TA verification flag may be set to '1' to indicate that the TA verification is required, and set to '0' to indicate that the TA verification is not required.

[0094] If it is determined that the TA verification flag of the service SSB beam indicates that TA verification is required (Yes in block 622), then in block 624, the first device 110 can determine the RSRP variation value of the first device 110. Similar to block 522 of method 500, the RSRP variation value can be determined by measuring the RSRP value of the synchronization signal of the first device 110 in the service SSB beam and comparing the measured RSRP value with a reference RSRP value of the first device 110. Here, the reference RSRP value can be measured when the first device 110 last had a valid TA.

[0095] In block 626, similar to block 524 of method 500, the first device 110 can determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams. As described above, the beam-specific RSRP threshold value of the serving SSB beam can be searched from a list of beam-specific RSRP threshold values ​​pre-configured by the second device 120 for SSB beams with positive TA verification flags.

[0096] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the SSB beam being served, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams (yes in block 626), then in block 630, similar to block 330 of method 300 and block 530 of method 500, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0097] In some embodiments, if it is determined that the TA verification flag for the service SSB beam indicates that TA verification is not required (No in block 622), then method 600 can directly proceed to block 630 to successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110. In this case, the positive TA verification flag may indicate a forced RSRP-type TA verification, similar to method 500, while the negative TA verification flag may indicate a always correct TA without any further verification operations, similar to method 300.

[0098] On the other hand, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the list (No in block 620), or if it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is not less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam or not less than the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams (No in block 626), then in block 640, similar to block 340 of method 300 and block 540 of method 500, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0099] In this method, the TA of the first device 110 can be more flexibly verified for the service SSB beam of the decision.

[0100] In some variations of method 600, not the RSRP variation value, the second device 120 can further configure the TA verification configuration information to include a beam-specific TAT value for each SSB beam, or a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. In this case, after determining that the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is necessary (Yes in block 622), in block 624, the first device 110 can further check its TAT ​​value, and in block 626 determine whether the TAT value of the first device 110 is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. If it is determined that the TAT value of the first device 110 is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams, then in block 630, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0101] In some other variations of the method 600, in addition to the RSRP variation value, the second device 120 may further configure the TA verification configuration information to include a beam-specific TAT value for each SSB beam, or a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams. In this case, if it is determined in block 626 that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the RSRP threshold value of the serving SSB beam (Yes in block 626), then the first device 110 can further check its TAT ​​value and determine whether the TAT value of the first device 110 is located in the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam or in the predetermined TAT value used for all SSB beams (not shown in Figure 6). If it is determined that the TAT value of the first device 110 is located in the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam or in the predetermined TAT value used for all SSB beams, then in block 630 the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0102] The foregoing describes how the first device 110 performs the TA verification, depending on the content of the TA verification configuration information. In some other embodiments, the first device 110 may be within the coverage of different SSB beams using different TA verification methods, and therefore the methods 300, 500, and 600 may be combined to perform the TA verification. For example, at least two SSB beam lists may be pre-configured in the TA verification configuration information, and different TA verification methods such as the methods 300, 500, or 600 may be performed for different SSB beam lists. Furthermore, the TA verification method performed for a specific SSB beam list may also be pre-configured by the second device 120 through the TA verification configuration information or other separate signals.

[0103] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 700 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 700 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 7 for simplification. Method 700 can be considered as a combination of method 300 and method 500, and for a serving SSB beam, the TA verification can be performed using methods used for such advantageous SSB beams.

[0104] In this exemplary method 700, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources (similar to the SSB beam list that always indicates a valid TA in method 300), a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list (similar to the SSB beam list and the list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds or the list of predetermined RSRP thresholds in method 500, which indicates that the TA verification should be performed based on the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam or the predetermined RSRP threshold for all SSB beams).

[0105] In block 702 of method 700, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in block 220 corresponding to the first device 110.

[0106] In block 704, the first device 110 can determine that it is located within the coverage area of ​​at least one first SSB beam of the first list and at least one second SSB beam of the second list. That is, the first device 110 is located within the coverage area of ​​different SSB beams using different TA verification methods.

[0107] In block 706, the first device 110 can determine whether the first quantity N1 of one of the at least one first SSB beams is greater than the second quantity N2 of one of the at least one second SSB beams.

[0108] If it is determined that the first quantity N1 is greater than the second quantity N2 (in block 706), that is, the first SSB beams are dominant SSB beams, then in block 708, the first device 110 can determine whether the service SSB beams of the first device 110 are included in the first list.

[0109] If it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list (Yes in block 708), then in block 710, the first device 110 can successfully verify the validity of the TA of the first device 110. That is, one serving SSB beam in the first list can indicate a always valid TA.

[0110] On the other hand, if it is determined that the first quantity N1 is not greater than the second quantity N2 (No in block 706), that is, the second SSB beams are dominant SSB beams, then in block 712, the first device 110 can determine whether the service SSB beams of the first device 110 are included in the second list.

[0111] If it is determined that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list (Yes in block 712), then in block 714, the first device 110 may further determine one of the RSRP variation values ​​of the first device 110.

[0112] In block 716, the first device 110 can further determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the service SSB beams, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for one of all SSB beams.

[0113] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the SSB beam being served, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value used for all SSB beams, then method 700 may proceed to block 710 to successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0114] On the other hand, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the first list (No in block 708) or the second list (No in block 712), or the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is not less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value used for all SSB beams (No in block 716), then in block 720, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0115] In method 700, it can be seen that the TA verification can be performed depending on the dominant SSB beam within the coverage area of ​​the first device 110. That is, if the SSB beam in the first list is dominant, then the TA verification method of the first list is used, such as method 300, and if the SSB beam in the second list is dominant, then the TA verification method of the second list is used, such as method 500. In this view, block 708 is similar to block 320 of method 300, and blocks 712, 714, and 716 are similar to blocks 520, 522, and 524 of method 500.

[0116] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 800 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 800 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 8 for simplification. Similar to method 700, method 800 can be considered as another combination of method 300 and method 500, and for a serving SSB beam, the TA verification may depend on the battery level of the first device 110.

[0117] In this exemplary method 800, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources (similar to the SSB beam list indicating a always valid TA in method 300), a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list (similar to the SSB beam list and the list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds or the list of predetermined RSRP thresholds in method 500, indicating that the TA verification should be performed based on the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam or the predetermined RSRP threshold for all SSB beams).

[0118] In block 802 of method 800, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in block 220 corresponding to the first device 110.

[0119] In block 804, the first device 110 can determine that it is located within the coverage area of ​​at least one first SSB beam of the first list and at least one second SSB beam of the second list. That is, the first device 110 is located within the coverage area of ​​different SSB beams using different TA verification methods.

[0120] In block 806, the first device 110 can determine whether one of the battery levels of the first device 110 is greater than a predetermined battery threshold. Here, the predetermined battery threshold can be pre-configured by the second device 120 or determined by the first device 110 itself.

[0121] If it is determined that the battery level of the first device 110 is greater than the predetermined battery threshold (Yes in block 806), then in block 808, the first device 110 may determine whether the service SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list.

[0122] If it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list (Yes in block 808), then in block 810, the first device 110 can successfully verify the validity of the TA of the first device 110. That is, one serving SSB beam in the first list can indicate a always valid TA.

[0123] On the other hand, if it is determined that the battery level of the first device 110 is not greater than the predetermined battery threshold (No in block 806), then in block 812, the first device 110 may determine that the service SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the second list.

[0124] If it is determined that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list (Yes in block 812), then in block 814, the first device 110 may further determine one of the RSRP variation values ​​of the first device 110.

[0125] In block 816, the first device 110 can further determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the service SSB beams, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for one of all SSB beams.

[0126] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the service SSB beam, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for one of all SSB beams, then the method 800 can proceed to block 810 to successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0127] On the other hand, if it is determined that the serving SSB beam of the first device 110 is not included in the first list (No in block 808) or the second list (No in block 812), or the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is not less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value used for all SSB beams (No in block 816), then in block 820, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0128] In method 800, it can be seen that the TA verification can be performed depending on the battery level of the first device 110. That is, if the battery level is low, a more conservative TA verification method, such as method 500, is used, while if the battery level is high, a less conservative TA verification method, such as method 300, is used. In this view, block 808 is similar to block 320 of method 300, and blocks 812, 814, and 816 are similar to blocks 520, 522, and 524 of method 500.

[0129] In some other embodiments, for a first device 110 within the coverage of more than one SSB beam, the TA verification can be performed according to the method 500 with respect to different beam-specific RSRP thresholds depending on the battery level of the first device 110.

[0130] Figure 9 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 900 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 900 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 9 for simplification. The method 900 can be regarded as an improvement on the method 500 of Figure 5, wherein different RSRP thresholds can be used to perform TA verification depending on the battery level of the first device 110.

[0131] In this exemplary method 900, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include one SSB beam list associated with the CG resource and a beam-specific RSRP threshold list, wherein at least two beam-specific RSRP thresholds correspond to each SSB beam in the SSB beam list. That is, for each SSB beam, at least two beam-specific RSRP thresholds can be pre-configured depending on the battery level selection of the first device 110.

[0132] In block 902 of method 900, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in block 220 corresponding to the first device 110.

[0133] In block 904, the first device 110 can determine that the first device 110 is within the coverage of at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

[0134] If it is determined that the first device 110 is within the coverage of at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list, then in block 906, the first device 110 may determine one of the RSRP variation values ​​of the first device 110.

[0135] In block 908, the first device 110 can determine whether one of the battery levels of the first device 110 is greater than a predetermined battery level. Here, the predetermined battery level can be pre-configured by the second device 120 or determined by the first device 110 itself.

[0136] If it is determined that the battery level of the first device 110 is greater than the predetermined battery level (yes in block 908), then in block 910, the first device 110 may determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 determined in block 906 is greater than the first RSRP threshold value of the corresponding service SSB beam.

[0137] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is greater than the first RSRP threshold value (Yes in block 910), then in block 912, the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0138] On the other hand, if it is determined that the battery level of the first device 110 is not greater than the predetermined battery threshold (No in block 908), then in block 914, the first device 110 can determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is greater than a second RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the service SSB beams, wherein the second RSRP threshold value is less than the first RSRP threshold value.

[0139] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device 110 is greater than the second RSRP threshold value (Yes in block 914), then method 900 enters block 912 to successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0140] On the other hand, if it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not greater than the first RSRP threshold (No in block 910) and not greater than the second RSRP threshold (No in block 914), then in block 920, the first device 110 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0141] In this method 900, it can be seen that the TA verification can be performed depending on the battery level of the first device 110. That is, if the battery level is low, a more conservative RSRP threshold is used, and if the battery level is high, a less conservative RSRP threshold is used.

[0142] Figure 10 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 1000 performed on the first device 110 according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the exemplary method 1000 may be illustrated as another embodiment of block 230 of Figure 2, while other blocks such as blocks 210 and 220 are omitted from Figure 10 for simplification. The method 1000 can be regarded as an improvement of the method 300 of Figure 3, wherein at least two SSB beam lists may be included in the TA verification configuration information, and different TA verification methods may be used to perform the TA verification on different SSB beam lists.

[0143] In this exemplary method 1000, the second device 120 can configure the TA verification configuration information to include a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources, a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list for a predetermined RSRP threshold for one of all SSB beams in the second list. For the first SSB beam list, the TA verification method can follow method 300, and for the second SSB beam list, the TA verification method can follow method 500. That is, serving SSB beams in the first list can be considered to always have a valid TA, while serving SSB beams in the second list should be verified based on their RSRP variation values.

[0144] In one embodiment, the separate SSB beam lists may be grouped based on the coverage radius toward the second device 120 and the serving beam of the first device 110 when a valid TA was previously obtained. For example, SSB beams 101, 102 and 103 of FIG4 may form three separate SSB beam lists based on their distance from the second device 120.

[0145] In block 1002 of method 1000, the first device 110 can determine a service SSB beam of the CG resource selected in block 220 corresponding to the first device 110.

[0146] In block 1004, the first device 110 can determine whether the service SSB beam of the first device 110 is included in the first list or the second list.

[0147] If it is determined in block 1004 that the first device 110 is included in the first SSB beam list, then in block 1006, the first device 110 can successfully verify the validity of its TA. That is, the serving SSB beams in the first list will always ensure that the first device 110 has a valid TA.

[0148] In some variations, the TA verification configuration information may further or alternatively include an infinite TAT value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list. In this case, between blocks 1004 and 1006, the first device 110 may further determine whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value, and if it is determined that the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value, then the first device 110 in block 1006 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0149] Alternatively or additionally, the TA verification configuration information may further or alternatively include an infinite RSRP variation value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list. In this case, between blocks 1004 and 1006, the first device 110 may further determine whether the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite RSRP variation value, and if it is determined that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite RSRP variation value, then the first device 110 in block 1006 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0150] If it is determined in block 1004 that the first device 110 is included in the second SSB beam list, then in block 1008, the first device 110 may determine one of the RSRP variation values ​​of the first device, and then in block 1010, the first device 110 may determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than one of the beam-specific RSRP threshold values ​​corresponding to the serving SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value used for all SSB beams in the second list.

[0151] If it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value of one of the serving SSB beams in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams in the second list (Yes in block 1010), then the method 1000 proceeds to block 1006, wherein the first device 110 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0152] In some variations, the TA verification configuration information may further or alternatively include an infinite TAT value for some or all of the SSB beams in the first list. In this case, between blocks 1010 and 1006, the first device 110 may further determine whether the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite TAT value, and if it is determined that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite TAT value, then the first device 110 in block 1006 can successfully verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0153] On the other hand, if it is determined that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not less than the RSRP threshold value of one of the serving SSB beams in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list (No in block 1010), then the first device 110 in block 1020 may fail to verify the TA validity of the first device 110.

[0154] In this method 1000, it can be seen that the TA verification can be performed differently for one of the service SSB beams in different SSB beam lists, so that more flexible TA verification can be achieved.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided capable of performing any of the methods 300 and 500 to 1000. The apparatus may include components for receiving TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of a first device from a second device; components for selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and components for verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource. These components may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, these components may be implemented as a circuit or software module.

[0156] In some exemplary embodiments, the receiving component includes a component for receiving an RRC release message with a suspension configuration that includes the TA verification configuration information.

[0157] In these exemplary embodiments, the receiving component includes a component for receiving the TA verification configuration information and indicating the CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device.

[0158] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information further includes beam-specific TAT values ​​or a predetermined TAT value for the one or more downlink reference beams.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information further includes a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the one or more downlink reference beams.

[0160] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes a synchronization signal block (SSB) as one of the one or more downlink reference beams, a beam list, and the SSB beam list being associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of one of the selected CG resources; components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list.

[0161] In some exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list.

[0162] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component further includes a component for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is located at a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for one of the serving SSB beams or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list, based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list; and a component for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is located at a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for one of the serving SSB beams or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list.

[0163] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information further includes an infinite timing alignment timer, TAT, value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether a serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite TAT value.

[0164] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information further includes an infinite RSRP variation value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite RSRP variation value based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite RSRP variation value.

[0165] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes an SSB beam list associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of beam-specific reference signal received power, RSRP, threshold, or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list corresponding to the SSB beam list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a service SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value of one of the service SSB beams in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list; and components for successfully verifying the TA verification of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value of the service SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

[0166] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the list, or that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or a decision for a predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

[0167] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes, as one or more downlink reference beams, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device, and a list of beam-specific TAT values ​​corresponding to the SSB beam list or a list of predetermined TAT values ​​for all SSB beams in the list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a service SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for checking a TAT value of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether the TAT value of the first device is located in the beam-specific TAT value or the predetermined TAT value of the service SSB beam; and components for successfully verifying the TA verification of the first device based on a determination that the TAT value of the first device is located in the beam-specific TAT value or the predetermined TAT value of the service SSB beam.

[0168] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the TAT value of the first device is not located in the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam or is not located in the predetermined TAT value.

[0169] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information respectively includes, as one or more downlink reference beams, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that TA verification is required based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for determining whether the first device is required based on a determination that the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that TA verification is required. The device includes: a component for determining the RSRP variation value of the first device; a component for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to a serving SSB beam, or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list; and a component for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the measured RSRP value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

[0170] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the TA verification flag for the service SSB beam indicates that the TA verification is not required.

[0171] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list, or that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

[0172] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information respectively includes, as one or more downlink reference beams, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device should correspond to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is necessary based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for indicating whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is necessary based on the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam. TA verification is a necessary decision to check the TAT value of one of the first devices; a component for determining whether the TAT value of the first device is within a beam-specific TAT value of one of the serving SSB beams, or within a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams in the list; and a component for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the TAT value of the first device is within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam, or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams in the list.

[0173] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information respectively includes, as one or more downlink reference beams, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and components for indicating whether a TA verification is required based on the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam. The components include: a necessary decision to determine the RSRP variation value of the first device; a component to determine whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the serving SSB beams, or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams; and a component to successfully verify the TA validity of the first device based on the decision that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the serving SSB beams, or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams.

[0174] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources, serving as the one or more downlink reference beams; a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources; and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a service SSB beam of one of the selected CG resources; components for determining whether the first device is within the coverage area of ​​both at least one first SSB beam of the first list and at least one second SSB beam of the second list; components for determining whether a first number of one of the at least one first SSB beams is greater than a second number of one of the at least one second SSB beams; components for determining whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list based on the determination that the first number is greater than the second number; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on the determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list.

[0175] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list based on a decision that the first quantity is not greater than the second quantity; components for determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list; components for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value.

[0176] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the first list or the second list, or that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold.

[0177] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources, serving as the one or more downlink reference beams; a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources; and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a service SSB beam of one of the selected CG resources; components for determining whether the first device is within the coverage area of ​​both at least one first SSB beam of the first list and at least one second SSB beam of the second list; components for determining whether a battery level of the first device is greater than a predetermined battery threshold; components for determining whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is greater than the predetermined battery threshold; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list.

[0178] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is not greater than the predetermined battery threshold; components for determining one RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list; components for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value.

[0179] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the first list or the second list, or a decision that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam.

[0180] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes, as the one or more downlink reference beams, a list of one of the SSB beams associated with the CG resource, and a beam-specific RSRP threshold list, wherein at least two beam-specific RSRP thresholds correspond to each SS beam in the SSB beam list respectively. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the first device is within the coverage area of ​​at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list; components for determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the first device is within the coverage area of ​​at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list; components for determining whether a battery level of the first device is greater than a predetermined battery threshold; components for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than a first RSRP threshold value of one of the serving SSB beams based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is greater than the predetermined battery threshold value; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than the first RSRP threshold value of the serving SSB beam.

[0181] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than a second RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the serving SSB beams, based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is not greater than the predetermined battery threshold value, wherein the second RSRP threshold value is less than the first RSRP threshold value; and a component for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than the second RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam.

[0182] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not greater than the first RSRP threshold value or the second RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam.

[0183] In some exemplary embodiments, the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources as the one or more downlink reference beams, a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list. In these exemplary embodiments, the verification components include components for determining whether the first device corresponds to a service SSB beam of the selected CG resource; components for determining whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first or second SSB beam list; components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list; components for determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list; components for determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the service SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value; and components for successfully verifying the TA validity of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the service SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value.

[0184] In these exemplary embodiments, the verification component includes a component for failing to verify the effectiveness of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold.

[0185] FIG11 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 1100 suitable for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 can be provided to implement the communication device, such as the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 shown in FIG1. ​​As shown, the apparatus 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memory modules 1120 coupled to the processors 1110, and one or more communication modules 1140 coupled to the processors 1110.

[0186] The communication module 1140 is used for bidirectional communication. The communication module 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network components.

[0187] The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may include one or more of the following elements as non-limiting examples: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application-specific integrated circuit that is time-dependent on one of the clocks synchronized with the main processor.

[0188] The memory 1120 may include one or more non-electrically dependent memories and one or more electrically dependent memories. Examples of such non-electrically dependent memories include, but are not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) 1124, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a cache memory, a hard disk, an optical disc (CD), a digital optical disc (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of such electrically dependent memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 1122 and other electrically dependent memories that will not persist during power-off periods.

[0189] A computer program 1130 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1110. The program 1130 may be stored in memory, such as ROM 1124. By loading the program 1130 into RAM 1122, the processor 1110 may perform any appropriate actions and programs.

[0190] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be executed by the program 1130, enabling the device 1100 to execute any program of this disclosure as described with reference to FIG2, 3, and 5 to 10. The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0191] In some exemplary embodiments, the program 1130 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium (such as memory 1120) included in the device 1100, or in other storage devices accessible to the device 1100. The device 1100 may load the program 1130 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 1122 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-electrical storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a cache memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 12 shows an example of the computer-readable medium 1200 in CD or DVD format. The computer-readable medium 1200 has the program 1130 stored therein.

[0192] In this description, the solution disclosed herein can be illustrated by using the terminal device as the first device and the network device as the second device. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure is not limited thereto, and where applicable, the operation of the terminal device can also be implemented on the network, and vice versa.

[0193] Generally, various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure can be illustrated and explained as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using certain other graphical representations. It should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or certain combinations thereof.

[0194] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes, for example, computer-executable instructions included in a program module, which execute on a device on a target real or virtual processor to implement programs 200, 300, 500 to 1000 as described above with reference to FIG2, 3, and 5 to 10. Generally, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, categories, components, data structures, and the like that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functionality of such program modules can be combined or separated among program modules as described in various different embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program module can execute in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can be placed in both local and remote storage media.

[0195] The program code used to implement the methods disclosed herein may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. Such program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be fully executable on a machine, partially executable on the machine as a stand-alone software package, partially executable on the machine and partially executable on a remote machine, or fully executable on the remote machine or server.

[0196] In the context of this disclosure, the computer code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to allow the device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various programs and operations described above. Examples of such carriers include a signal, a computer-readable medium, and the like.

[0197] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or apparatus, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium will include an electrical connection having one or more lines, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or cache memory), an optical fiber, a portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0198] Furthermore, although the operations are depicted in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or that all depicted operations be performed, in order to achieve the desired result. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing are beneficial. Similarly, although certain specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various different features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately or in any suitable combination in multiple embodiments.

[0199] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological behaviors, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or behaviors described above. Rather, the specific features or behaviors described above are disclosed as exemplary models for implementing the claims. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0015] Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system that can implement an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart of a procedure for performing TA verification according to certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method performed on a first device according to certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the SSB beam and the TA adjustment granularity depending on the subcarrier spacing;

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to certain other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 6 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to some other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to some other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to some other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 9 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to some other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 10 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method performed on the first device according to some other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0027] Figure 12 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium according to certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] In all diagrams, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cooperate with the at least one processor to cause the first apparatus to perform the following operations: receiving timing advance (TA) verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of the first apparatus from a second apparatus; selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second apparatus based on a set of allocation and assignment (CG) resource configurations for small data transmission of the first apparatus; and verifying the TA validity of the first apparatus based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device receives TA verification configuration information for the inactive state of the first device from the second device by: receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) release message with a suspension configuration including the TA verification configuration information.

3. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first device receives TA verification configuration information for the inactive state of the first device from the second device by performing the following actions: receiving the TA verification configuration information and indicating the CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device.

4. The first device as requested in any of items 1 to 3, wherein the TA verification configuration information further includes a beam-specific TAT value or a predetermined TAT value for the one or more downlink reference beams.

5. The first device as requested in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the TA verification configuration information further includes a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the one or more downlink reference beams.

6. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a list of synchronization signal block (SSB) beams associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list.

7. The first device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA of the first device based on a decision that the service SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list.

8. The first device of any of claims 6 to 7, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is within a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for one of the serving SSB beams or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list, based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is within a beam-specific RSRP variation threshold for one of the serving SSB beams or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the list.

9. A first device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the TA verification configuration information further includes an infinite timing alignment timer (TAT) value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list, and wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite TAT value based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite TAT value.

10. A first device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the TA verification configuration information further includes an infinite RSRP variation value for some or all of the SSB beams in the list, and wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining whether the serving SSB beam is associated with an infinite RSRP variation value based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam is associated with the infinite RSRP variation value.

11. The first device of claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of beam-specific reference signal received power (RSRP) thresholds corresponding to the SSB beam list or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list, wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list. The system determines whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to one of the serving SSB beams in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list; and successfully verifies the TA verification of the first device based on the determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list, or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

12. The first device of claim 11, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the list or a decision that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam in the beam-specific RSRP threshold list or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

13. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of beam-specific TAT values ​​corresponding to the SSB beam list or a list of predetermined TAT values ​​for all SSB beams in the list, wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and checking one of the TAT values ​​of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list. The first device's TA verification is successfully verified based on a determination that the TAT value of the first device is within the beam-specific TAT value or the predetermined TAT value of the serving SSB beam.

14. The first device of claim 13, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the TAT value of the first device is not within the beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam or is not within the predetermined TAT value.

15. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes, respectively, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list, and wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and determining an RSRP change value of the first device based on a determination that the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required. The validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified by determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value for one of the serving SSB beams or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list; and by determining whether the measured RSRP value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value for one of the serving SSB beams or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

16. The first device of claim 15, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a decision that the TA verification flag for the service SSB beam indicates that TA verification is not required.

17. The first device of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the SSB beam list or a decision that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for all SSB beams in the SSB beam list.

18. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes, respectively, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list, and wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and checking a TAT value of the first device based on a determination that the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required. The validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified by determining whether the TAT value of the first device is within a beam-specific TAT value of one of the serving SSB beams or within a predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams in the list; and based on the determination that the TAT value of the first device is within a beam-specific TAT value of the serving SSB beam or within the predetermined TAT value for all SSB beams in the list.

19. The first device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes, respectively, a list of SSB beams associated with CG resources used for small data transmission of the first device as one or more downlink reference beams, and a list of TA verification flags for the SSB beam list, and wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; determining whether a TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the SSB beam list; and determining an RSRP change value for the first device based on a determination that the TA verification flag for the serving SSB beam indicates that a TA verification is required. The validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified by determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold value for one of the serving SSB beams or a predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams; and based on the determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold value for one of the serving SSB beams or the predetermined RSRP threshold value for all SSB beams.

20. The first device of claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources as the one or more downlink reference beams, a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list, and wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; determining that the first device is within the coverage of both at least one first SSB beam in the first list and at least one second SSB beam in the second list; and determining whether a first number of the at least one first SSB beam is greater than a second number of the at least one second SSB beam. The determination of whether the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list is based on the decision that the first quantity is greater than the second quantity; and the validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified based on the decision that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list.

21. The first device of claim 20, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list based on a determination that the first quantity is not greater than the second quantity; determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list; determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam.

22. The first device of any of claims 20 to 21, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the first list or the second list, or a decision that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam.

23. The first device of claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources as the one or more downlink reference beams, a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list, and wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; determining that the first device is within the coverage area of ​​both at least one first SSB beam in the first list and at least one second SSB beam in the second list; and determining whether one of the battery levels of the first device is greater than a predetermined battery threshold. Based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is greater than the predetermined battery threshold, the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list; and based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list, the validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified.

24. The first device of claim 23, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is not greater than a predetermined battery threshold; determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the service SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list; determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than a beam-specific RSRP threshold or a predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding service SSB beam; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding service SSB beam.

25. The first device of any of claims 23 to 24, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA based on a decision that the serving SSB beam of the first device is not included in the first list or the second list, or a decision that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not greater than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam.

26. The first device of claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a list of SSB beams associated with the CG resource as one or more downlink reference beams and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds, wherein at least two beam-specific RSRP thresholds correspond to each SS beam in the SSB beam list, and wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to one of the serving SSB beams of the selected CG resource; determining that the first device is within the coverage of at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list; determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the first device is within the coverage of at least two SSB beams in the SSB beam list; and determining whether a battery level of the first device is greater than a predetermined battery threshold. Based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is greater than the predetermined battery threshold, it is determined whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than a first RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam; and based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than the first RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam, the validity of the TA of the first device is successfully verified.

27. The first device of claim 26, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: determining whether the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than a second RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam based on a determination that the battery level of the first device is not greater than a predetermined battery threshold value, wherein the second RSRP threshold value is less than the first RSRP threshold value; and successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is greater than the second RSRP threshold value corresponding to the serving SSB beam.

28. The first device of any of claims 26 to 27, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is not greater than the first RSRP threshold or the second RSRP threshold corresponding to the serving SSB beam.

29. The first device of claim 1, wherein the TA verification configuration information includes a first list of first SSB beams associated with a first group of CG resources as reference beams for the one or more downlinks, a second list of second SSB beams associated with a second group of CG resources, and a list of beam-specific RSRP thresholds corresponding to the second list or a list of predetermined RSRP variation thresholds for one of all SSB beams in the second list, and wherein the first device verifies the validity of the TA by: determining that the first device corresponds to a serving SSB beam of the selected CG resource; determining whether the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list or the second list of SSB beams; successfully verifying the validity of the TA of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the first list; and determining an RSRP variation value of the first device based on a determination that the serving SSB beam of the first device is included in the second list. The validity of the first device's TA is successfully verified based on a determination that the RSRP variation value of the first device is less than one of the beam-specific RSRP threshold values ​​or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold value in the beam-specific RSRP threshold value list for the corresponding serving SSB beam.

30. The first device of claim 29, wherein the first device further verifies the validity of the TA by: failing to verify the validity of the TA based on a determination that the measured RSRP value of the first device is not less than the beam-specific RSRP threshold or the predetermined RSRP variation threshold for the corresponding serving SSB beam.

31. A method comprising: receiving from a second device TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of a first device; selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource.

32. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving TA verification configuration information associated with one or more downlink reference beams for an inactive state of a first device from a second device; means for selecting a CG resource to transmit a data packet to the second device based on a CG resource configuration for small data transmission of the first device; and means for verifying the TA validity of the first device based at least on the TA verification configuration information and the selected CG resource; 33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing a device to perform the method of request 31.

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