Random access method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a random access method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving a broadcast message, the broadcast message being sent by a network device by means of a first serving cell, and the broadcast message comprising first configuration information associated with at least one second serving cell; and, on the basis of the first configuration information, the terminal device sending random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

Description

Random access method and device Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies. Background Art

[0002] As a crucial component of new global infrastructure, 5G communication networks have experienced rapid development in recent years. As networks expand, operators' energy consumption continues to rise. For example, data released by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology indicates that energy consumption will increase by approximately 80% between 2015 and 2022.

[0003] With the development of 5G and the large-scale commercial use of 5G active antenna units (AAUs), energy consumption will increase exponentially compared to the remote radio units (RRUs) used primarily in 3G and 4G, due to the higher power consumption of AAUs. 5G defines three major service types: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type of communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). This will lead to an increase in bursty small packet traffic and 24 / 7 base station operation. The average daily energy consumption of 5G sites will be more than double that of 4G.

[0004] In the 5G era, 3GPP has introduced key technologies such as Massive MIMO and increased RF bandwidth. 5G supports higher data rates and greater data traffic, requiring more transmission bandwidth. High-frequency bands will be the primary frequency band for future 5G expansion. However, the transmission characteristics of high-frequency bands limit site coverage, leading to denser deployment of 5G sites. The increased energy consumption will also place significant pressure on operators' operating costs. Therefore, network energy conservation is crucial for reducing operating costs, and energy conservation in 5G networks is a pressing issue.

[0005] To achieve energy conservation, network devices can implement energy conservation in the time, frequency, spatial, and / or energy domains, depending on network load. For example, in the spatial and energy domains, network devices can power down some antennas when the load is low. In the time domain, network devices can implement cell-level discontinuous transmission / reception technology, which prevents network devices from transmitting and / or receiving signals during certain sleep periods.

[0006] It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is merely intended to provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of this application and facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Simply because these solutions are described in the background technology section of this application, it should not be assumed that the above technical solutions are well known to those skilled in the art.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The inventors discovered that while network devices can reduce energy consumption using various energy-saving technologies, this can also have negative consequences. For example, when network devices disable certain cells and stop transmitting common reference signals / channels (SSBs and SIBs) on these cells, terminal devices may be unable to quickly access these cells, increasing access latency.

[0009] To address at least one of the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide a random access method and apparatus.

[0010] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access method is provided, including:

[0011] The terminal device receives a broadcast message sent by the network device through the first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0012] The terminal device sends random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0013] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access apparatus is provided, configured in a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

[0014] A receiving unit configured to receive a broadcast message sent by a network device through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0015] A sending unit, configured to send random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0016] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access method is provided, including:

[0017] The network device sends a broadcast message through the first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0018] The network device receives random access information sent in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0019] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access apparatus is provided, configured in a network device, the apparatus comprising:

[0020] A sending unit, configured to send a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0021] A receiving unit is configured to receive random access information sent in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0022] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication system is provided, including:

[0023] A network device, which sends a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0024] A terminal device sends random access information in the first service cell or the second service cell according to the first configuration information.

[0025] One of the beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application is that even in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), the terminal device can select the cell for initial access based on the configuration information, thereby not only reducing the access delay of the terminal device, but also achieving load balancing to a certain extent.

[0026] With reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, indicating the manner in which the principles of the present application can be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited in scope. Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the embodiments of the present application include many variations, modifications and equivalents.

[0027] Features described and / or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with features in other embodiments, or substituted for features in other embodiments.

[0028] It should be emphasized that the term "include / comprising" when used herein refers to the presence of features, integers, steps or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The elements and features described in one figure or one embodiment of the present application can be combined with the elements and features shown in one or more other figures or embodiments. In addition, in the accompanying drawings, similar reference numerals represent corresponding parts in several figures and can be used to indicate corresponding parts used in more than one embodiment.

[0030] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a random access method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG3 is an example diagram of random access according to an embodiment of the present application

[0033] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a random access method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a random access device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a random access device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The above and other features of the present application will become apparent through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description and the accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, which illustrate some embodiments in which the principles of the present application can be adopted. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the described embodiments. On the contrary, the present application includes all modifications, variations and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0039] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish different elements from the name, but do not indicate the spatial arrangement or temporal order of these elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms. The term "and / or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terms "comprising", "including", "having", etc. refer to the presence of the stated features, elements, components or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components or components.

[0040] In the embodiments of this application, the singular forms "a," "the," etc. include plural forms and should be broadly understood to mean "a" or "a type" rather than being limited to "one." Furthermore, the term "said" should be understood to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the term "according to" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", and the term "based on" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "communication network" or "wireless communication network" may refer to a network that complies with any of the following communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A, LTE-Advanced), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), etc.

[0042] Furthermore, communication between devices in the communication system may be carried out according to communication protocols of any stage, for example, including but not limited to the following communication protocols: 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G and 5G, New Radio (NR), future 6G, etc., and / or other communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "network device" refers to, for example, a device in a communication system that connects a terminal device to the communication network and provides services to the terminal device. Network devices may include, but are not limited to, the following devices: base station (BS), access point (AP), transmission reception point (TRP), broadcast transmitter, mobile management entity (MME), gateway, server, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), etc.

[0044] Base stations may include, but are not limited to, NodeBs (NBs), evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs or eNBs), 5G base stations (gNBs), IAB hosts, and more. They may also include remote radio heads (RRHs), remote radio units (RRUs), relays, or low-power nodes (e.g., femeto, pico, etc.). The term "base station" may include some or all of their functions, and each base station may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. The term "cell" may refer to a base station and / or its coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0045] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "user equipment" (UE) or "terminal equipment" (TE) refers to, for example, a device that accesses a communication network through a network device and receives network services. A terminal device can be fixed or mobile and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a terminal, a subscriber station (SS), an access terminal (AT), a station, and so on.

[0046] Among them, terminal devices may include but are not limited to the following devices: cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, machine-type communication devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, smart phones, smart watches, digital cameras, etc.

[0047] For another example, in scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the terminal device can also be a machine or device for monitoring or measurement, including but not limited to: machine type communication (MTC) terminal, vehicle-mounted communication terminal, device-to-device (D2D) terminal, machine-to-machine (M2M) terminal, and so on.

[0048] In addition, the term "network side" or "network device side" refers to one side of the network, which can be a base station or one or more network devices as described above. The term "user side" or "terminal side" or "terminal device side" refers to the user or terminal side, which can be a UE or one or more terminal devices as described above. Unless otherwise specified herein, "device" can refer to either network equipment or terminal equipment.

[0049] The following describes the scenarios of the embodiments of the present application through examples, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0050] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, schematically illustrating a situation using a terminal device and a network device as an example. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include a network device 101 and terminal devices 102 and 103. For simplicity, FIG1 illustrates only two terminal devices and one network device as an example, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0051] In the embodiment of the present application, existing services or future services can be transmitted between the network device 101 and the terminal devices 102 and 103. For example, these services may include but are not limited to: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), etc.

[0052] It is worth noting that FIG1 shows that both terminal devices 102 and 103 are within the coverage range of network device 101, but the present application is not limited thereto. Both terminal devices 102 and 103 may not be within the coverage range of network device 101, or one terminal device 102 may be within the coverage range of network device 101 while the other terminal device 103 is outside the coverage range of network device 101.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, the high-layer signaling may be, for example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling; for example, an RRC message, including, for example, an MIB, system information, or a dedicated RRC message; or an RRC information element (RRC IE). The high-layer signaling may also be, for example, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling; or a MAC control element (MAC CE). However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0054] Random access is a key function of the access network, involving protocols such as the physical layer, MAC layer, and RRC layer. The physical layer defines the preamble sequence code, PRACH resources, and timing required for the random access process. The MAC layer defines the overall random access process. In addition to configuring random access parameters, the RRC layer also directly participates in some specific random access procedures.

[0055] In the RRC establishment scenario, the terminal device enters the connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) from the idle state (RRC_IDLE), that is, the terminal device that initially accesses the cell needs to establish a connection with the cell so that signaling and data can be transmitted within the cell. From the perspective of the RRC process, the terminal device needs to complete the RRC establishment process, which is interspersed with the random access process. Because in the idle state, the terminal device receives cell system messages and cannot obtain dedicated signaling, so it uses contention random access. That is, the base station cannot identify the terminal device before the random access contention is resolved.

[0056] The terminal device obtains the parameters for contention-based random access through system information broadcast by the cell. Based on the random access channel (RACH) configuration information notified by the cell broadcast message, the terminal device determines the mapping relationship between the preamble code, PRACH time-frequency resources, synchronization signal block (SSB), and RACH occasion, and sends the preamble code to the base station to initiate the random access process.

[0057] The inventors discovered that, typically, each cell needs to transmit a common reference signal / channel to provide an idle mode for terminal device residence and initial access. The common reference signal / channel includes SSBs and SIBs. Periodic transmission of common reference signals by network devices results in non-negligible static power consumption in idle / low-load conditions.

[0058] The network equipment can turn off / not send the common reference signals / channels of some cells. Accordingly, these cells cannot provide the Idle mode for the terminal device to reside and initially access (for the convenience of description, these cells are referred to as non-anchor cells). The terminal device needs to reside and initially access the cell that sends the common signal / channel (these cells are referred to as anchor cells). If the anchor cell and the non-anchor cell are synchronized and co-located, the terminal device can reside and initially access the anchor cell and use it as the main cell, while activating the non-anchor cell as the secondary cell to send and receive data. The time and frequency synchronization information of the non-anchor cell can be obtained based on the SSB of the anchor cell.

[0059] In network energy-saving scenarios, network equipment disables common reference signals / channels in some non-anchor cells to achieve energy conservation, and all terminal devices reside and initially access anchor cells. In situations where there are few users and the load is light, one or several anchor cells can meet the access needs of all users in the current area.

[0060] However, when the number of users increases suddenly, due to the limited PRACH resources and network load capacity of the anchor cell, it is impossible to ensure that all terminal devices can quickly access the cell, which eventually leads to a long access delay for some terminal devices or failure to initially access the cell. Therefore, the terminal device may not be able to quickly perform random access, thereby reducing the utilization of time-frequency resources and is not conducive to load balancing.

[0061] In the following description, if no confusion is caused, the terms "PDCCH" and "physical downlink control channel" or "downlink control information" may be interchanged, and the terms "PDSCH" and "physical downlink data channel" or "downlink data" may be interchanged.

[0062] In addition, transmitting or receiving PDCCH can be understood as transmitting or receiving downlink control information carried by PDCCH; transmitting or receiving PDSCH can be understood as transmitting or receiving downlink data carried by PDSCH. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "indication", "activation" and "trigger" can be used interchangeably, or any combination of the two or more.

[0063] Embodiments of the first aspect

[0064] The present invention provides a random access method, which is described from the perspective of a terminal device. FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the random access method according to the present invention. As shown in FIG2 , the method includes:

[0065] 201. A terminal device receives a broadcast message sent by a network device through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0066] 202. The terminal device sends random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0067] It is worth noting that FIG2 above is merely a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be removed. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above description, and are not limited to the description of FIG2 above.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first service cell is synchronized and co-located with the second service cell; the synchronization indicates that the first service cell and the second service cell are in the same frequency band (intra-band) or different frequency bands (inter-band), and the co-location indicates that the first service cell and the second service cell are co-located.

[0069] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the SSB of the first service cell, and can obtain time and frequency synchronization of the second service cell based on the SSB of the first service cell.

[0070] In some embodiments, the terminal device is an RRC_IDLE UE or an RRC_INACTIVE UE, and the terminal device can receive common reference signals such as SSBs and SIBs of the first serving cell and reside in the first serving cell. The broadcast message includes master information block (MIB) information and / or system information block (SIB); the present application is not limited thereto.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first service cell is an anchor cell, which sends all common reference signals / channels such as SSB and SIB; the terminal device receives all common reference signals / channels such as SSB and SIB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell.

[0072] In some embodiments, the second serving cell is a non-anchor cell, an energy-saving cell, and does not transmit common reference information / channels such as SSBs and SIBs. The first serving cell and the second serving cell are synchronized and co-located. The terminal device can receive the SSB of the first serving cell and obtain time and frequency synchronization of the second serving cell based on the SSB of the first serving cell.

[0073] In an embodiment of the present application, for example, in a network energy-saving scenario, when an anchor cell and a non-anchor cell are synchronized and co-located, the UE can reside in the anchor cell but initially access the non-anchor cell, thereby supporting the UE's initial access to a cell that does not send a common reference signal / channel (SSB / SIB, etc.).

[0074] Figure 3 is an example diagram of random access in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device receives a broadcast message in the first serving cell, such as SSB, SIB1, etc., and the SIB1 message includes at least first configuration information. According to the first configuration information, the terminal device can perform random access in the first serving cell (as shown by the RACH of the first serving cell in Figure 3), or perform random access in the second serving cell (as shown by the RACH of the second serving cell in Figure 3). As shown in Figure 3, the common reference signal / channel (SSB / SIB, etc.) is not sent in the second serving cell.

[0075] As a result, the terminal device can select the first service cell (for example, a cell that sends SSB / SIB) or the second service cell (for example, a cell that does not send SSB / SIB) for random access according to the configuration information, thereby improving the utilization of time and frequency resources and enhancing energy-saving gains without increasing the terminal access delay, and can also achieve load balancing to a certain extent.

[0076] For example, the terminal device can select an energy-saving related cell (second service cell) that does not send common reference signals (SSB and SIB, etc.) for initial access based on the configuration information, thereby reducing the access delay of the terminal device and sharing traffic for the first service cell to improve the utilization of time-frequency resources and achieve load balancing. The terminal device can also select a non-energy-saving related cell (first service cell) that sends common reference signals (SSB and SIB, etc.) for initial access based on the configuration information, thereby reducing the access delay of the terminal device and improving the energy-saving gain.

[0077] The first configuration information is first described below.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is related to at least one second serving cell. For example, the first configuration information includes at least an identifier of the second serving cell, where the identifier of the second serving cell is different from the cell identifier of the physical cell ID of the first serving cell.

[0079] In some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes at least one of the following: frequency configuration of the second serving cell, initial BWP configuration of the second serving cell, and RACH configuration of the second serving cell. The present application is not limited thereto, and for example, other information may also be included.

[0080] In some embodiments, the RACH configuration of the second serving cell includes at least one of the following: RACH opportunity information of the second serving cell, mapping information between the SSB of the first serving cell and the RACH opportunity of the second serving cell, an RSRP threshold of the SSB of the second serving cell, and RACH time-frequency resource information of the second serving cell. The present application is not limited thereto, and for example, other information may also be included.

[0081] For example, the terminal device receives the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB message in the SIB1 configured by the network device, and the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB parameter includes the uplinkConfigCommonSIB parameter, and the uplinkConfigCommonSIB parameter includes at least the frequency configuration (frequencyInfoUL) of the second serving cell and the initial uplink BWP configuration (initialUplinkBWP) information / parameters, and the initial uplink BWP configuration (initialUplinkBWP) information / parameters include at least the common configuration of the random access channel (RACH) of the second serving cell and other information, wherein the common configuration information / parameters of the random access channel (RACH) include at least the mapping relationship between the SSB and RACH occasion of the second serving cell (ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-Preambles PerSSB), the RSRP threshold of the SSB of the second serving cell (rsrp-ThresholdSSB), and other information. The terminal device performs random access on the RACH occasion of the initial BWP based on the above configuration information.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell.

[0083] For example, the first configuration information / parameter is a new IE in the SIB1 message of the first serving cell, and the first configuration information / parameter is related to a second serving cell, for example, named EsServingCellConfigCommon. The terminal device can receive the first serving cell SIB1 message configured by the network device, and the SIB message at least includes the first configuration information / parameter.

[0084] Table 1 is an example of the first configuration information / parameters of an embodiment of the present application. For simplicity, only part of the configuration is shown as an example.

[0085] Table 1

[0086] As shown in Table 1, the first configuration information / parameter EsServingCellConfigCommon is related to the second serving cell and includes at least a second serving cell ID and second serving cell-related parameters. The second serving cell ID is used to indicate a cell identifier that is different from the physical cell ID (PhysCellId) of the first serving cell, for example, the second serving cell ID is EsphysCellId. The second serving cell-related parameters are used to indicate information such as the frequency configuration, initial BWP configuration, and / or random access channel (RACH) configuration of the second serving cell.

[0087] For example, the random access channel (RACH) configuration information / parameters at least include the RACH occasion time-frequency information of the initial BWP of the second serving cell, the mapping relationship information between the first serving cell SSB and the second serving cell RACH occasion. The second serving cell related parameters are, for example, EsServingCellConfig, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0088] The format of the second serving cell-related parameter EsServingCellConfig is ServingCellConfigCommonSIB. The ServingCellConfigCommonSIB parameter includes an UplinkConfigCommon parameter, whose format is UplinkConfigCommonSIB. The UplinkConfigCommonSIB includes a frequencyInfoUL parameter and an initialUplinkBWP parameter. The frequencyInfoUL parameter is used to indicate frequency-related information of the second serving cell. The initialUplinkBWP parameter includes RACH-configCommon. The RACH-configCommon parameter is used to configure RACH transmission parameter information of the second serving cell, including a mapping relationship parameter between the second serving cell SSB and the RACH occasion of the second serving cell (for example, ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB), an RSRP threshold of the second serving cell SSB, etc.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) in a system information block (SIB1), and the first configuration information is related to multiple second serving cells.

[0090] For example, the first configuration information / parameter is a newly added IE in the SIB message, and the first configuration information / parameter is related to one or more second serving cells. The first configuration information / parameter is, for example, EsServingCellConfigCommonList. The terminal device receives the SIB message of the second serving cell configured by the network device, and the SIB message includes at least the first configuration information / parameter.

[0091] Table 2 is another example of the first configuration information / parameters of an embodiment of the present application. For simplicity, only part of the configuration is shown.

[0092] Table 2

[0093] As shown in Table 2, the first configuration information / parameter is related to one or more second service cells, and the first configuration information / parameter is a parameter list, such as EsServingCellConfigCommonList, but the present application is not limited thereto. Each parameter in the list is related to a second service cell, and each parameter in the list is used to configure at least the second service cell ID and second service cell related information, such as EsServingCellConfigCommon, but the present application is not limited thereto; the maximum number of parameters in the list is configured by the RRC parameter, and the maximum number of list parameters is, for example, maxEsServingCell, but the present application is not limited thereto. The configuration method of the second service cell ID and the second service cell related parameters can also be referred to Table 1.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) of a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommonSIB) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell.

[0095] For example, the first configuration information / parameter is a newly added IE in the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE in the SIB, such as EsUplinkConfigCommon. The terminal device receives the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB parameter of the first serving cell SIB1 message configured by the network device, and the parameter at least includes the first configuration information / parameter.

[0096] Table 3 is another example of the first configuration information / parameters of an embodiment of the present application. For simplicity, only part of the configuration is shown.

[0097] Table 3

[0098] As shown in Table 3, the first configuration information / parameters are related to the second serving cell and include at least a second serving cell ID and second serving cell-related parameters. The second serving cell ID is used to indicate a cell identifier that is different from the physical cell ID (PhysCellId) of the first serving cell. For example, the second serving cell ID is named EsphysCellId, but this application is not limited thereto. The second serving cell-related parameters are used to indicate information such as the frequency configuration and / or initial uplink BWP configuration, random access channel (RACH) configuration, etc. of the second serving cell.

[0099] For example, the random access channel (RACH) configuration information / parameters at least include the RACH occasion time-frequency information of the initial BWP of the second serving cell, the mapping relationship information between the first serving cell SSB and the second serving cell RACH occasion. The second serving cell related parameter is, for example, EsUplinkConfig, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0100] The format of the second serving cell-related parameter EsUplinkConfig is UplinkConfigCommonSIB, which includes a frequencyInfoUL parameter and an initialUplinkBWP parameter. The frequencyInfoUL parameter is used to indicate the uplink frequency-related information of the second serving cell. The initialUplinkBWP parameter includes RACH-configCommon. The RACH-configCommon parameter is used to configure the RACH transmission parameter information of the second serving cell, including the mapping relationship parameters of the second serving cell SSB and the RACH occasion of the second serving cell (for example, ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB), the RSRP threshold of the second serving cell SSB, and the PRACH time-frequency resource parameters of the second serving cell.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) of a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfig CommonSIB) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to multiple second serving cells.

[0102] For example, the terminal device receives the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE of the second serving cell configured by the network device, where the ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE includes at least one second configuration information / parameter list, and each parameter in the list is used to configure at least the second serving cell ID and second serving cell related information.

[0103] Table 4 is another example of the first configuration information / parameters of an embodiment of the present application. For simplicity, only part of the configuration is shown.

[0104] Table 4

[0105] As shown in Table 4, the first configuration information / parameter list is, for example, EsUplinkConfigCommonList, and each parameter in the list is, for example, EsUplinkConfigCommon, but is not limited thereto. The number of parameters in the list is determined by the RRC configuration parameter maxEsUplinkConfig, but is not limited thereto. For the configuration of the second serving cell ID and the second serving cell-related parameters, refer to Table 3.

[0106] In some embodiments, the terminal device may also determine that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell based on the indication information, or the terminal device may determine on its own that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell.

[0107] The first configuration information is schematically described above, and the second configuration information is described below.

[0108] In some embodiments, the broadcast message also includes second configuration information; the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first service cell or the second service cell is a suitable cell / candidate cell / feasible cell / recommended cell / accessible cell, or the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first service cell or the second service cell is an unsuitable cell / non-candidate cell / unfeasible cell / unrecommended cell / inaccessible cell.

[0109] For example, the second configuration information is related to access control. For another example, the second configuration information is included in the first configuration information; for example, the second configuration information is a parameter, a field, a bit, etc. in the first configuration information.

[0110] Therefore, the second configuration information can indicate which cell the terminal device accesses, and the network device can perform access control based on the second configuration information, further playing a role in load balancing.

[0111] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines that the second service cell is an accessible cell based on the second configuration information; and, when the second service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the second service cell for random access.

[0112] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and upon successful access to the second service cell, the first service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0113] For example, if the terminal device receives SSB and SIB and successfully resides in the first service cell, and the terminal device successfully initially accesses the second service cell based on the first configuration information and / or second configuration information in the SIB message of the first service cell, then the first service cell that sends SSB and SIB and successfully resides can be determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0114] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and in the case of successful access to the second service cell, the second service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0115] For example, if the terminal device receives SSB and SIB in the first service cell and successfully resides there, and the terminal device successfully initially accesses the second service cell based on the first configuration information and / or second configuration information in the SIB message of the first service cell, then the second service cell with successful initial access can be determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0116] In some embodiments, if the terminal device fails to successfully access the second service cell, it selects the first service cell for random access.

[0117] Therefore, while taking load balancing into consideration, the reliability of random access can be further improved.

[0118] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines that the first service cell is an accessible cell based on the second configuration information; and, in a case where the first service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the first service cell for random access.

[0119] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and in the case of successful access to the first service cell, the first service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0120] In some embodiments, if the terminal device fails to successfully access the first service cell, it selects the second service cell for random access.

[0121] Therefore, while taking load balancing into consideration, the reliability of random access can be further improved.

[0122] The above embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0123] It can be seen from the above embodiments that even in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), the terminal device can select the initial access cell based on the configuration information, which not only reduces the access delay of the terminal device, but also achieves load balancing to a certain extent.

[0124] Embodiments of the second aspect

[0125] The embodiment of the present application provides a random access method, which is described from the perspective of a network device. The embodiment of the second aspect can be combined with the embodiment of the first aspect, and the same contents as the embodiment of the first aspect will not be repeated.

[0126] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a random access method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0127] 401. A network device sends a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0128] 402. The network device receives random access information sent in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0129] It is worth noting that FIG4 above is merely a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above description, and are not limited to the description of FIG4 above.

[0130] The above embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0131] It can be seen from the above embodiments that even in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), the terminal device can select the initial access cell based on the configuration information, which not only reduces the access delay of the terminal device, but also achieves load balancing to a certain extent.

[0132] Embodiments of the third aspect

[0133] The embodiment of the present application provides a random access device, which may be, for example, a terminal device, or one or more components or assemblies configured in the terminal device, and the same contents as those in the embodiment of the first aspect will not be repeated.

[0134] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a random access device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the random access device 500 includes:

[0135] A receiving unit 501 receives a broadcast message sent by a network device through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0136] The sending unit 502 sends random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0137] In some embodiments, the first service cell is synchronized and co-located with the second service cell; the synchronization indicates that the first service cell and the second service cell are in the same frequency band (intra-band) or different frequency bands (inter-band), and the co-location indicates that the first service cell and the second service cell are co-located.

[0138] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the SSB of the first serving cell and obtains time and frequency synchronization of the second serving cell based on the SSB of the first serving cell.

[0139] In some embodiments, the broadcast message includes Master Information Block (MIB) information and / or System Information Block (SIB).

[0140] In some embodiments, the terminal device is an RRC_IDLE UE or an RRC_INACTIVE UE.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least an identifier of the second serving cell.

[0142] In some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes at least one of the following: a frequency configuration of the second serving cell, an initial BWP configuration of the second serving cell, and a RACH configuration of the second serving cell.

[0143] In some embodiments, the RACH configuration of the second serving cell includes at least one of the following: RACH opportunity (RACH Occasion) information of the second serving cell, mapping information between the SSB of the first serving cell and the RACH opportunity of the second serving cell, the RSRP threshold of the SSB of the second serving cell, and RACH time-frequency resource information of the second serving cell.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to multiple second serving cells.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) of a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommonSIB) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is an information element (IE) of a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfig CommonSIB) in a system information block (SIB), and the first configuration information is related to multiple second serving cells.

[0148] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell based on indication information, or the terminal device determines on its own that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell.

[0149] In some embodiments, the broadcast message further includes second configuration information;

[0150] The second configuration information is used to indicate that the first serving cell or the second serving cell is a suitable cell / candidate cell / feasible cell / recommended cell / accessible cell,

[0151] Alternatively, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first serving cell or the second serving cell is an unsuitable cell / non-candidate cell / unfeasible cell / unrecommended cell / inaccessible cell.

[0152] In some embodiments, the second configuration information is related to access control.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second configuration information is included in the first configuration information.

[0154] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines that the second service cell is an accessible cell based on the second configuration information; and, when the second service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the second service cell for random access.

[0155] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and upon successful access to the second service cell, the first service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and in the case of successful access to the second service cell, the second service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0157] In some embodiments, if the terminal device fails to successfully access the second service cell, it selects the first service cell for random access.

[0158] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines that the first service cell is an accessible cell based on the second configuration information; and, in a case where the first service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the first service cell for random access.

[0159] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and in the case of successful access to the first service cell, the first service cell is determined as the primary cell of the terminal device.

[0160] In some embodiments, if the terminal device fails to successfully access the first service cell, it selects the second service cell for random access.

[0161] It is worth noting that the above description only describes the components or modules related to the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. The random access device 500 may also include other components or modules. For details of these components or modules, reference may be made to related technologies.

[0162] In addition, for simplicity, FIG5 only illustrates the connection relationship or signal path between various components or modules. However, those skilled in the art should be aware that various related technologies such as bus connection can be used. The above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; this application is not limited to this.

[0163] It can be seen from the above embodiments that even in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), the terminal device can select the initial access cell based on the configuration information, which not only reduces the access delay of the terminal device, but also achieves load balancing to a certain extent.

[0164] Embodiments of the fourth aspect

[0165] The embodiment of the present application provides a random access device, which may be, for example, a network device, or one or more components or assemblies configured in the network device, and the same contents as those in the first and second aspects of the embodiment will not be repeated.

[0166] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a random access device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the random access device 600 includes:

[0167] A sending unit 601 is configured to send a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0168] The receiving unit 602 receives random access information sent by the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0169] It is worth noting that the above description only describes the components or modules related to the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. The random access device 600 may also include other components or modules. For details of these components or modules, reference may be made to related technologies.

[0170] In addition, for the sake of simplicity, FIG6 only illustrates the connection relationship or signal direction between various components or modules. However, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various related technologies such as bus connection can be used. The above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; the implementation of this application is not limited to this.

[0171] It can be seen from the above embodiments that even in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), the terminal device can select a cell for random access based on the configuration information, which not only improves the utilization of time-frequency resources and increases energy-saving gains, but also achieves load balancing to a certain extent.

[0172] Embodiments of the fifth aspect

[0173] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, and reference may be made to FIG1 . The contents that are the same as those in the first to fourth aspects of the embodiments will not be repeated.

[0174] In some embodiments, the communication system 100 may include at least:

[0175] A network device, which sends a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0176] A terminal device sends random access information in the first service cell or the second service cell according to the first configuration information.

[0177] An embodiment of the present application further provides a network device, which may be, for example, a base station, but the present application is not limited thereto and may also be other network devices.

[0178] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, network device 700 may include a processor 710 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) and a memory 720; memory 720 is coupled to processor 710. Memory 720 may store various data and may also store an information processing program 730, which is executed under the control of processor 710.

[0179] For example, the processor 710 may be configured to execute a program to implement the random access method as described in the embodiment of the second aspect. For example, the processor 710 may be configured to perform the following control: sending a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and receiving random access information sent in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0180] In addition, as shown in Figure 7, network device 700 may further include: a transceiver 740 and an antenna 750; wherein, the functions of the above components are similar to those in the prior art and are not described here in detail. It is worth noting that network device 700 does not necessarily include all the components shown in Figure 7; in addition, network device 700 may also include components not shown in Figure 7, and reference may be made to the prior art for details.

[0181] The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal device, but the present application is not limited thereto and may also be other devices.

[0182] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8 , terminal device 800 may include a processor 810 and a memory 820. Memory 820 stores data and programs and is coupled to processor 810. It should be noted that this diagram is exemplary; other types of structures may be used to supplement or replace this structure to implement telecommunication or other functions.

[0183] For example, the processor 810 may be configured to execute a program to implement the random access method as described in the embodiment of the first aspect. For example, the processor 810 may be configured to perform the following control: receiving a broadcast message sent by a network device through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and sending random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0184] As shown in Figure 8 , the terminal device 800 may further include: a communication module 830, an input unit 840, a display 850, and a power supply 860. The functions of these components are similar to those in the prior art and are not described in detail here. It is worth noting that the terminal device 800 does not necessarily include all of the components shown in Figure 8 , and these components are not essential. Furthermore, the terminal device 800 may also include components not shown in Figure 8 , for which reference may be made to the prior art.

[0185] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program, wherein when the program is executed in a terminal device, the program causes the terminal device to perform the random access method described in the embodiment of the first aspect.

[0186] An embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a terminal device to execute the random access method described in the embodiment of the first aspect.

[0187] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program, wherein when the program is executed in a network device, the program causes the network device to perform the random access method described in the embodiment of the second aspect.

[0188] An embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a network device to execute the random access method described in the embodiment of the second aspect.

[0189] The above devices and methods of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a combination of hardware and software. The present application relates to such a computer-readable program that, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the devices or components described above, or enables the logic component to implement the various methods or steps described above. The present application also relates to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory, etc.

[0190] The method / device described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. For example, one or more of the functional block diagrams shown in the figure and / or one or more combinations of functional block diagrams can correspond to various software modules of the computer program flow or to various hardware modules. These software modules can respectively correspond to the various steps shown in the figure. These hardware modules can be implemented by solidifying these software modules, for example, using a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0191] The software module may be located in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium; or the storage medium may be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. The software module may be stored in the memory of the mobile terminal or in a memory card that can be inserted into the mobile terminal. For example, if the device (such as a mobile terminal) uses a large-capacity MEGA-SIM card or a large-capacity flash memory device, the software module may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the large-capacity flash memory device.

[0192] One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any appropriate combination thereof for performing the functions described in this application. One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in communication with a DSP, or any other such configuration.

[0193] The present application has been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that these descriptions are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application based on the spirit and principles of the present application, and such modifications and variations are also within the scope of the present application.

[0194] Regarding the implementation methods including the above embodiments, the following additional notes are also disclosed:

[0195] 1. A random access method, comprising:

[0196] The terminal device receives a broadcast message sent by the network device through the first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0197] The terminal device sends random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

[0198] 2. A random access method, comprising:

[0199] The network device sends a broadcast message through the first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; and

[0200] The network device receives random access information sent in the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

[0201] 3. A terminal device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the random access method as described in Note 1.

[0202] 4. A network device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the random access method as described in Note 2.

Claims

1. A random access device, configured in a terminal device, comprising: A receiving unit, configured to receive a broadcast message sent by a network device through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; as well as A sending unit, which sends random access information in the first serving cell or the second serving cell according to the first configuration information.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first service cell is synchronized and co-located with the second service cell; the synchronization means that the first service cell and the second service cell are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and the co-location means that the first service cell and the second service cell are co-located.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal device receives the synchronization signal block of the first service cell, and obtains time and frequency synchronization of the second service cell based on the synchronization signal block of the first service cell.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The broadcast message includes a master information block and / or a system information block; the terminal device is an RRC_IDLE UE or an RRC_INACTIVE UE.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first configuration information includes at least an identifier of the second serving cell; The first configuration information also includes at least one of the following: frequency configuration of the second serving cell, initial BWP configuration of the second serving cell, and RACH configuration of the second serving cell.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The RACH configuration of the second service cell includes at least one of the following: RACH opportunity information of the second service cell, mapping information between the synchronization signal block of the first service cell and the RACH opportunity of the second service cell, the RSRP threshold of the synchronization signal block of the second service cell, and RACH time-frequency resource information of the second service cell.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first configuration information is an information element in a system information block, and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell; Alternatively, the first configuration information is an information element in a system information block, and the first configuration information is related to multiple second serving cells.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first configuration information is an information element of a serving cell configuration in a system information block, and the first configuration information is related to a second serving cell; Alternatively, the first configuration information is an information element of a service cell configuration in a system information block, and the first configuration information is related to a plurality of second service cells.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal device determines that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell based on the indication information, or the terminal device determines on its own that the first service cell or the second service cell is an accessible cell.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The broadcast message also includes second configuration information; The second configuration information is used to indicate that the first serving cell or the second serving cell is a suitable cell / candidate cell / feasible cell / recommended cell / accessible cell, Alternatively, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first serving cell or the second serving cell is an unsuitable cell / non-candidate cell / unfeasible cell / non-recommended cell / inaccessible cell.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein: The second configuration information is related to access control, and / or the second configuration information is included in the first configuration information.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein: The terminal device determines that the second service cell is an accessible cell according to the second configuration information; and, when the second service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the second service cell for random access.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein: The terminal device receives a synchronization signal block in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and upon successful access to the second service cell, determines the first service cell as a primary cell of the terminal device.

14. The device according to claim 12, wherein: The terminal device receives SSB in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and when successfully accessing the second service cell, determines the second service cell as the primary cell of the terminal device.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein: If the terminal device fails to successfully access the second service cell, it selects the first service cell for random access.

16. The device according to claim 10, wherein: The terminal device determines that the first service cell is an accessible cell according to the second configuration information; and, when the first service cell is determined to be an accessible cell, the terminal device selects the first service cell for random access.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein: The terminal device receives a synchronization signal block in the first service cell and resides in the first service cell; and in the case of successfully accessing the first service cell, determines the first service cell as a primary cell of the terminal device.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein: If the terminal device fails to successfully access the first service cell, it selects the second service cell for random access.

19. A random access device, configured in a network device, comprising: A sending unit, configured to send a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; as well as A receiving unit, configured to receive random access information sent by the first serving cell or the second serving cell.

20. A communication system comprising: A network device that sends a broadcast message through a first serving cell; wherein the broadcast message includes first configuration information related to at least one second serving cell; as well as A terminal device sends random access information in the first service cell or the second service cell according to the first configuration information.

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