Early assistance information reporting method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide an early assistance information reporting method and apparatus. The method comprises: receiving, from a base station, configuration information related to early assistance information reporting; and on the basis of the configuration information, sending a media access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) to the base station, wherein the MAC PDU comprises a specific MAC sub-header carrying an early assistance information field.

Description

A method and device for reporting early auxiliary information

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure is based on Chinese patent application CN202311275815.6, filed on September 28, 2023, entitled “A method and device for reporting early auxiliary information”, and claims the priority of the patent application, and all the contents disclosed therein are incorporated into this disclosure by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a method and device for reporting early auxiliary information. Background Art

[0004] In current wireless communication systems, after being connected to a network, a user equipment (UE) reports auxiliary information (such as UE capabilities) to the network to help better schedule the UE.

[0005] On the one hand, although UE capability reporting usually occurs after establishing a connection to the network, it is sometimes necessary to report capabilities during the Random Access Channel (RACH) process. For example, in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the network needs to know whether the UE supports automatic retransmission of Msg4 or MsgB, so it is necessary to specify that the UE report this capability before scheduling Msg4 or MsgB, that is, to transmit this information in the Msg3 or MsgA payload. On the other hand, since the size of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) message will affect the overall coverage of the Random Access Channel (RACH), the UE needs to transmit UE capability information through the PUSCH without increasing the size of a single message.

[0006] In the related art, a logical channel identifier (LCID) can be used in Msg3 / MsgA to indicate auxiliary information, but this method also has many defects: First, according to the current standards formulated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the number of code points reserved for LCID is limited. As the requirements for UE to report auxiliary information during the RACH process continue to increase, the remaining LCID code points may be quickly exhausted. Second, since LCID contains two different sizes of common control channels (CCCH), in order to distinguish between these two situations, two LCIDs are needed to indicate one type of auxiliary information. Third, considering that multiple types of auxiliary information may need to be indicated in Msg3 / MsgA in the future, in order to support the combination of all auxiliary information, assuming that there are x types of auxiliary information, a maximum of 2^x-1 additional code points may be required for indication, which will accelerate the consumption of the remaining LCID code points. The flexibility is poor when indicating the combination of multiple groups of auxiliary information.

[0007] In summary, there is no good solution to the problem that the existing logical channel identification bits are used to indicate auxiliary information during random access in related technologies, the number of coding points of the logical channel identification bits is limited, and the flexibility is poor.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for reporting early auxiliary information, so as to at least solve the problem in the related art of using a logical channel identifier to indicate auxiliary information during a random access process, and the limited number of coding points of the logical channel identifier and poor flexibility.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early auxiliary information is provided, which is applied to a terminal. The method includes: receiving configuration information related to early auxiliary information reporting from a base station; and sending a media access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

[0011] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early auxiliary information is provided, which is applied to a base station, and the method includes: sending configuration information related to early auxiliary information reporting to a terminal; receiving a media access control protocol data unit MAC PDU sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early assistance information is provided, which is applied to a terminal. The method includes: receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station; and sending an early assistance message carrying early assistance information to the base station according to the configuration information.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early assistance information is also provided, which is applied to a base station. The method includes: sending configuration information related to early assistance information reporting to a terminal; and receiving an early assistance message carrying early assistance information sent by the terminal according to the configuration information.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, which is configured to receive configuration information related to early auxiliary information reporting from a base station; and send a medium access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

[0015] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station is provided, which is configured to send configuration information related to early auxiliary information reporting to a terminal; and receive a media access control protocol data unit MAC PDU sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, configured to receive configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station; and send an early assistance message carrying early assistance information to the base station according to the configuration information.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station is provided, configured to send configuration information related to early assistance information reporting to a terminal; and receive an early assistance message carrying early assistance information sent by the terminal according to the configuration information.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above method embodiments are executed.

[0019] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to perform the steps in any one of the above method embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG1 is a hardware structure block diagram of a method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG2 is a flowchart (I) of a method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG3 is a flowchart (II) of a method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG4 is a flowchart of a contention-based random access procedure with four steps according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG5 is a flowchart of a contention-based random access procedure with two steps according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (I);

[0026] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (II);

[0027] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (III);

[0028] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (IV);

[0029] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (V);

[0030] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (VI);

[0031] FIG12 is a flowchart (III) of a method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG13 is a flow chart of a 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG14 is a flow chart of a 2-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG15 is a flowchart of a 4-step RACH according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a MAC subheader of a MAC CE identifying a C-RNTI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0037] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present disclosure and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0038] The method embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed in a mobile terminal, a computer terminal or a similar computing device. Taking running on a mobile terminal as an example, FIG1 is a hardware structure block diagram of the method for reporting early auxiliary information in the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , the hardware board may include one or more (only one is shown in FIG1 ) processors 12 (the processor 12 may include but is not limited to a processing device such as a microprocessor MCU or a programmable logic device) and a memory 14 for storing data, wherein the above-mentioned mobile terminal may also include a transmission device 16 and an input and output device 18 for communication functions. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the structure shown in FIG1 is only for illustration and does not limit the structure of the above-mentioned mobile terminal. For example, the mobile terminal may also include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG1 , or have a configuration different from that shown in FIG1 .

[0039] The memory 14 can be used to store computer programs, for example, software programs and modules of application software, such as the computer program corresponding to the method for reporting early auxiliary information in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor 12 executes various functional applications and the method for reporting early auxiliary information by running the computer program stored in the memory 14, that is, implementing the above-mentioned method. The memory 14 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory. In some embodiments, the memory 14 may further include a memory remotely located relative to the processor 12, and these remote memories may be connected to the mobile terminal via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0040] The transmission device 16 is used to receive or send data via a network. Specific examples of the aforementioned network may include a wireless network provided by a communications provider. In one embodiment, the transmission device 16 includes a network interface controller (NIC), which can be connected to other network devices via a base station to enable communication with the Internet. In another embodiment, the transmission device 16 may be a radio frequency (RF) module, which is used to communicate with the Internet wirelessly.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early auxiliary information is provided, which is applied to a terminal. FIG2 is a flow chart (I) of the method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the flow includes the following steps:

[0042] Step S202: receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station;

[0043] Step S204: Send a media access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a specific MAC subheader for indicating early auxiliary information is designed through the above steps S202 to S204. The terminal can set the fields in the specific MAC subheader based on the network configuration according to whether the terminal supports each feature, thereby solving the problem in the related art of using logical channel identifiers to indicate auxiliary information during random access, and the limited number of coding points of logical channel identifiers and poor flexibility.

[0045] In some embodiments, the MAC subheader is used to identify Common Control Channel (CCCH) messages, which are sent by User Equipment (UE) to the base station via the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The UE can set a field (i.e., the Early Assistance Information field) in the MAC subheader that identifies the CCCH message to indicate whether the UE supports each feature.

[0046] In some embodiments, a specific MAC subheader carrying early assistance information may also be used to identify a DCCH message.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station needs to send configuration information to the UE so that the UE knows that the base station can decode a specific MAC subheader used to indicate early auxiliary information, or the base station allows the UE to use the specific MAC subheader to identify the CCCH message, wherein the specific MAC subheader contains an early auxiliary information field (such as one or more UE capability-related information).

[0048] In this embodiment, the user equipment is a terminal, including but not limited to a mobile terminal, a computer terminal, etc.

[0049] In some embodiments, the early assistance information may include information related to one or more UE capabilities. The UE capability indicates whether the UE supports a feature or a function. The present disclosure does not limit the specific content of the early assistance information.

[0050] Furthermore, the early auxiliary information may also be replaced by other terms, such as early terminal information, early terminal identification, early terminal indication, etc., which is not limited in the present disclosure.

[0051] In some embodiments, the early assistance information may include, but is not limited to, any one or any combination of the following information:

[0052] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK;

[0053] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (e.g., RedCap UE);

[0054] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with enhanced reduction capability (e.g., eRedCap UE);

[0055] Indication information used to indicate whether UE capabilities are temporarily restricted;

[0056] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE supports a specific UE capability;

[0057] Indication information used to indicate that the RACH process is triggered by a specific reason;

[0058] Indication information used to indicate that the initial access process is triggered due to a specific reason.

[0059] In this embodiment, Msg4 is the fourth step message in the four-step random access process, HARQ-ACK is a hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation message (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-ACKnowledgement, referred to as HARQ-ACK), and PUCCH is a physical uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control CHannel, referred to as PUCCH).

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, indicating whether UE capabilities are temporarily restricted can be used in a scenario where the UE supports multiple SIM cards. In this scenario, the UE's capabilities (such as supported frequency band combinations and the ability to support dual connectivity) may be temporarily restricted under certain conditions. For example, when the UE has established a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with NW1 in one SIM card and the UE is using another SIM card to establish or restore an RRC connection with NW2, the capabilities of a Multiple Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM) UE that supports MUSIM may be temporarily restricted.

[0061] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes: an explicit indication and / or an implicit indication for indicating whether to enable the specific MAC subheader.

[0062] In an exemplary embodiment, the explicit indication may include an explicit indication for indicating whether the UE is allowed to use the above-mentioned specific MAC subheader.

[0063] In some embodiments, the implicit indication includes at least one of the following:

[0064] Msg4 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Confirmation HARQ-ACK automatic repeat configuration information;

[0065] Configuration information related to temporary capability restrictions of Multi-User Identity SIM (MUSIM) terminals;

[0066] Reduced capability RedCap terminal configuration information;

[0067] Enhanced and reduced eRedCap terminal configuration information;

[0068] Random access channel (RACH) resource configuration information dedicated to early auxiliary information reporting;

[0069] The mapping relationship between specific MAC subheader formats and RACH resources;

[0070] Terminal capability information;

[0071] Random access process trigger information (such as triggering reason);

[0072] Initial access process triggering information (such as triggering reason, purpose of initiating the process).

[0073] In an exemplary embodiment, explicit indication and implicit indication may be used in combination, wherein the explicit indication may be used to enable a specific MAC subheader, and the implicit indication may be used to assist the UE in determining the content of related early assistance information reported in the specific MAC subheader.

[0074] In an exemplary embodiment, the automatic retransmission configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0075] The automatic retransmission enable indication is used to indicate whether the UE is allowed to send an early indication to support or request automatic retransmission of HARQ-ACK. Exemplarily, sending the early indication may be limited to during the random access procedure.

[0076] The repetition factor of automatic retransmission is used to indicate the number of automatic retransmissions of the acknowledgment message that the UE can choose when sending HARQ-ACK. For example, the candidate values ​​of the repetition factor of automatic retransmission can be {1, 2, 4, 8}.

[0077] In an exemplary embodiment, the temporary capability restriction information of the MUSIM UE may be applied to all RRC states, or may be limited to certain RRC procedures, for example, during the RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery process.

[0078] In an exemplary embodiment, Reduced Capability (RedCap) is a bandwidth reduction technology, and RedCap terminal configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0079] RedCapUE indication, used to indicate whether a RedCapUE can use an RRC message to indicate that it is a RedCapUE during a RACH process. The RRC message may be specially designed for providing early assistance information during a RACH process.

[0080] The cell barring indication is used to indicate whether the cell is barred from access by RedCap UEs with one or two Rx frequency bands. Alternatively, it is used to indicate whether the cell is barred from access by RedCap UEs with one or two Rx frequency bands.

[0081] The half-duplex indication is used to indicate whether the current cell supports half-duplex frequency division duplex (FDD) RedCapUE.

[0082] In an exemplary embodiment, Enhanced Reduced Capability (eRedCap) is an enhanced bandwidth reduction technology, and the eRedCap terminal configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0083] eRedCapUE indication, used to indicate whether the eRedCap UE can indicate that it is an eRedCap UE during the RACH procedure.

[0084] The cell barring indication is used to indicate whether the cell is barred from access by eRedCap UEs with one or two Rx bands. Alternatively, it is used to indicate whether the cell is barred from access by eRedCap UEs with one or two Rx bands.

[0085] Half-duplex indication, used to indicate whether the current cell supports half-duplex FDD eRedCapUE.

[0086] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, through the implicit indication in any of the above embodiments, the terminal can be implicitly notified that the cell allows the UE to use a specific MAC subheader related to early auxiliary information to identify the service data unit (Media Access Control Service Data Unit, MAC SDU for short) of the media access control layer.

[0087] In some embodiments, the configuration information may be cell-based configuration information, RACH resource-based configuration information, or RACH resource set-based configuration information (such as RACH resources associated with a control unit feature combination), that is, configuration is performed at a cell granularity, or configuration information is provided based on different RACH resources, or configuration information is provided based on different RACH resource sets.

[0088] In some embodiments, the UE selects a corresponding RACH resource according to the triggering event based on its own capabilities (such as functional features supported by the UE) and / or the triggering cause of this RACH process.

[0089] In some embodiments, step S202 of receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station includes at least one of the following:

[0090] Receiving system information carrying the configuration information from the base station, wherein the system information includes at least one SIB1 message or at least one system information block (SIBx), where x is a system information block number, such as x being 22, which refers to system information block SIB22;

[0091] receiving a broadcast message carrying the configuration information from the base station;

[0092] receiving a multicast message carrying the configuration information from the base station;

[0093] receiving, from the base station, radio resource control (RRC) signaling carrying the configuration information;

[0094] receiving a non-access stratum (NAS) message carrying the configuration information from the base station;

[0095] receiving a paging message carrying the configuration information from the base station;

[0096] receiving a short message carrying the configuration information from the base station;

[0097] receiving, from the base station, MAC layer signaling carrying the configuration information;

[0098] Physical layer signaling carrying the configuration information is received from the base station.

[0099] In an exemplary embodiment, when system information (SI) is used to transmit configuration information, it can be one or more SIB1 messages or SIBx information elements (IEs), where x in SIBxIE is a positive integer starting from 2, and SIBxIE can be one or more existing system information blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2 to SIB21) or an introduced new SIB (e.g., SIB22).

[0100] In an exemplary embodiment, a common SIBx may be used to indicate one or more indications in the above embodiments, wherein x in SIBx may be any positive integer, such as SIB1, SIB22.

[0101] In another embodiment, the configuration information in any of the above embodiments may be indicated by multiple different system information (SIB1 messages or one or more SIBx IEs). For example, SIB1 may include configuration information for RedCap UEs, configuration information for eRedCap UEs, configuration information for MUSIM terminals, or an explicit indication to enable the terminal to use a specific MAC subheader carrying an Early Assistance Information field. For example, SIB19 may include automatic retransmission configuration information for HARQ-ACK.

[0102] In some embodiments, the specific MAC subheader includes at least one of the following:

[0103] The flag bit of the specific MAC subheader;

[0104] Message type field of common control channel CCCH message;

[0105] The early assistance information field.

[0106] In an exemplary embodiment, the flag bit is used to distinguish a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field from other common MAC subheaders that do not carry an early assistance information field.

[0107] In an exemplary embodiment, the flag bit can be a one-bit indicator field, such as a C_flag field, used to indicate that the MAC subheader includes an early assistance information field. For example, setting the C_flag field to 1 can indicate that the MAC subheader includes an early assistance information field, and setting the C_flag field to 0 can indicate that the MAC subheader does not include an early assistance information field. The reverse is also possible, and the present disclosure does not limit this. In some embodiments, this field can only be placed in the first position on the left to distinguish it from a subheader used to identify a MAC sub-PDU carrying an indefinite-length MAC sub-PDU.

[0108] In some embodiments, the message type of the CCCH message includes at least one of the following and possible combinations:

[0109] 48-bit CCCH or 64-bit CCCH1;

[0110] CCCH for reduced capability RedCap terminals or CCCH for non-RedCap terminals.

[0111] In an exemplary embodiment, CCCH messages may be categorized differently, for example, according to message size, they may be categorized into 48-bit CCCH and 64-bit CCCH1. Alternatively, according to whether the UE supports RedCap, CCCH messages may be categorized into CCCH messages for RedCapUE and CCCH messages for non-RedCapUE, where RedCapUE refers to a terminal that supports RedCap and non-RedCapUE refers to a terminal that does not support RedCap.

[0112] In an exemplary embodiment, the message type of the CCCH message may be a one-bit indication field. Exemplarily, the field is set to 0 to indicate that the CCCH type is CCCH, and the field is set to 1 to indicate that the CCCH type is CCCH1. The reverse is also possible, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0113] In an exemplary embodiment, the message type of the CCCH message can be a two-bit indication field to allow differentiation between CCCH messages for ReCap UEs and non-RedCap UEs, as well as the CCCH message size. The two-bit indication field can indicate four values ​​{00, 01, 10, and 11}, where each value can be mapped one-to-one to {CCCH for non-RedCap UEs, CCCH1 for non-RedCap UEs, CCCH for RedCap UEs, and CCCH1 for RedCap UEs}. The mapping rules can be as shown in Table 1 below, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0114] Table 1:

[0115] In some embodiments, the indication manner of the early assistance information field includes at least one of the following:

[0116] The early auxiliary information field includes at least one bit of information, wherein each bit of information represents one early auxiliary information;

[0117] The value of the early assistance information field is determined by a formula of the early assistance information field including at least one subfield, wherein each subfield represents one piece of the early assistance information, and the formula of the early assistance information field is determined based on the value of the at least one subfield and the number of candidate values ​​for each of the subfields;

[0118] The early assistance information field indicates a logical channel identification index, where the logical channel identification index is used to indicate one or more early assistance information.

[0119] In some embodiments, the early assistance information field may further include one or more reserved bits for future expansion, and the value of each reserved bit is 0.

[0120] In some embodiments, the early assistance information field may include n bits, each bit identifying one early assistance information (such as information related to UE capabilities). For example, each bit may indicate whether the UE supports a feature or function.

[0121] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the network side successfully receives the information reported by the UE, it can reversely infer the value of each subfield (each feature) based on different indication methods and the value of the corresponding early auxiliary information field, and then infer the content of the early auxiliary information reported by the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of indicating the early auxiliary information through the MAC subheader.

[0122] In some embodiments, the formula for the early assistance information field includes:

[0123] The value of the early auxiliary information field = the value of the first subfield + the value of the second subfield * the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield + the value of the third subfield * (the number of candidate values ​​of the second subfield + the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield) + ... + the value of the nth subfield * (the number of candidate values ​​of the n-1th subfield + ... + the number of candidate values ​​of the second subfield + the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield)), where n is a positive integer.

[0124] In some embodiments, the early assistance information includes at least one of the following:

[0125] Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal supports or requests automatic retransmission of the physical uplink control channel PUCCH for Msg4 hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation HARQ-ACK;

[0126] Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal capability of the terminal is temporarily restricted;

[0127] Indication information for indicating whether the terminal supports reduced capability RedCap;

[0128] Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal supports enhanced redundancy capability eRedCap.

[0129] In some embodiments, the MAC PDU includes multiple MAC sub-PDUs, wherein each of the MAC sub-PDUs is composed of one of the following:

[0130] MAC subheader;

[0131] MAC subheader and media access control layer service data unit MAC SDU;

[0132] MAC subheader and media access control layer control unit MAC CE;

[0133] MAC subheader and padding.

[0134] In this embodiment, when early assistance information needs to be transmitted, any MAC subheader in the MAC PDU may be a specific MAC subheader carrying the early assistance information field.

[0135] In some embodiments, the specific MAC subheader may be a MAC subheader for identifying a service data unit (SDU) of a media access control layer (MAC), and is sent in a public control logical channel.

[0136] In some embodiments, the specific MAC subheader may be a MAC subheader used to identify a control element (CE) of a media access control layer (MAC) for early auxiliary information reporting.

[0137] In some embodiments, the MAC CE used for early assistance information reporting may only carry the specific MAC subheader without carrying a payload.

[0138] In some embodiments, the MAC subheader carries an indication for identifying the MAC CE used for early assistance information reporting. In this case, the early assistance information field may be included in the payload of the MAC sub-PDU, ie, the content of the MAC CE, rather than in the MAC subheader.

[0139] In some embodiments, the MAC subheader carries an indication for identifying the MAC SDU used for early assistance information reporting. In this case, the early assistance information field can be included in the payload of the MAC sub-PDU, that is, in the content of the MAC SDU, rather than in the MAC subheader.

[0140] In some embodiments, sending a media access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) to the base station according to the configuration information includes:

[0141] In the third step of the four-step random access (such as Msg3), or in the first step of the two-step random access (such as in the payload of MsgA), a media access control protocol data unit MAC PDU is sent to the base station according to the configuration information.

[0142] Through the embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE can set a specific MAC subheader (such as a MAC subheader used to identify the CCCH message) to indicate whether the terminal can support each feature in the auxiliary information, and transmit early auxiliary information through the PUSCH without increasing the message size, thereby solving the problem in the related technology of using logical channel identifiers to indicate auxiliary information during random access, and the limited number of coding points of logical channel identifiers and poor flexibility.

[0143] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early auxiliary information is provided, which is applied to a base station.

[0144] FIG3 is a flowchart (II) of a method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes the following steps:

[0145] Step S302: Sending configuration information related to early assistance information reporting to the terminal;

[0146] Step S304: Receive a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field.

[0147] In some embodiments, the UE may send a CCCH message in an uplink transmission during a random access channel (RACH) procedure, including a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field.

[0148] In an exemplary embodiment, the CCCH message may specifically include a payload in Msg3 or MsgA. The following description is made in conjunction with two contention-based random access procedures. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the technical solutions of the present disclosure may also be implemented in non-contention-based random access procedures.

[0149] FIG4 is a flow chart of a four-step contention-based random access process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 , the process includes the following steps:

[0150] Step 0: The UE receives configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station;

[0151] Step 1: The UE sends a random access preamble (Msg1) to the base station;

[0152] Step 2: The UE receives a random access response (Msg2) from the base station.

[0153] Step 3: The UE sends Msg3 to the base station based on network scheduling;

[0154] Step 4: The UE receives Msg4 from the base station for contention resolution.

[0155] In this embodiment, Msg3 includes a CCCH message, and the CCCH message in Msg3 can be identified through the MAC subheader.

[0156] In this embodiment, a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field is provided to implement reporting of early assistance information, such as indicating whether the terminal supports certain capabilities or functions.

[0157] In some embodiments, the network (NW) configuration provided by the base station to the terminal includes, in addition to the configuration information related to the early assistance information report in step 0, a RACH configuration. The RACH configuration may be sent together with or separately from the configuration information for the early assistance information report, and this disclosure does not limit this. In some embodiments, NW may be used to refer to a base station, a core network, some network elements of a base station (such as a distributed unit, a centralized unit), or functional entities in the network, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), an operation and maintenance management (OAM), etc.

[0158] FIG5 is a flow chart of a two-step contention-based random access process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the process includes the following steps:

[0159] Step 0: The UE receives configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station;

[0160] Step A: The UE sends a random access preamble and a PUSCH payload (MsgA) containing a CCCH message to the base station.

[0161] Step B: The UE receives MsgB from the base station for contention resolution.

[0162] In this embodiment, the CCCH message included in MsgA may be identified by the MAC subheader.

[0163] In this embodiment, a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field is provided to implement reporting of early assistance information, such as indicating whether the terminal supports certain capabilities or functions.

[0164] In some embodiments, the NW configuration further includes a RACH configuration. The RACH configuration may be sent together with or separately from the configuration information for early assistance information reporting, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

[0165] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may send configuration information to the terminal through system information SIB1.

[0166] In this embodiment, the structure of the system information SIB1 is as follows:

[0167] In this embodiment, SIB1-vnnmm refers to SIB1 defined in the standard. v represents the implemented standard version, nn represents the published standard version number, and mm represents the mmth revision of the nnth version, i.e., the mmth sub-version of the nnth version. For example, SIB1-v1800 refers to SIB1 based on revision 00 of version 18 of the standard.

[0168] In this embodiment, the new control unit subheaderForUECapAllowed-rnn (subheader for allowing UE capabilities) is a new field to be introduced in a future standard version.

[0169] In this embodiment, the presence of the subheaderForUECapAllowed field is used to indicate that the UE is allowed to use a specific MAC subheader containing an early assistance information field, wherein the early assistance information field is a field related to early assistance information specified in the TS38.321 standard.

[0170] In this embodiment, the subheaderForUECapAllowed field is only an example, and other examples may also be earlyUEIndicationAllowed, etc. The present disclosure does not limit the field name of the configuration information.

[0171] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the early assistance information field in a specific MAC subheader may include n bits, each bit of which may indicate whether the UE supports a feature or function (equivalent to the above-mentioned bit information).

[0172] In an exemplary embodiment, the feature is whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK. A one-bit subfield (such as the pucchRep field) can be used in the early auxiliary information field to indicate the UE. Exemplarily, a subfield value of 0 indicates that the UE does not support or request automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK, and a subfield value of 1 indicates that the UE can support or request automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK. The opposite is also possible, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0173] In an exemplary embodiment, the feature is whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (e.g., a RedCap UE). A one-bit subfield (e.g., a RedCap field) may be used in the early assistance information field to indicate the UE. For example, a subfield value of 0 indicates that the UE is not a RedCap UE, and a subfield value of 1 indicates that the UE is a RedCap UE. The reverse is also possible, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0174] In some embodiments, when the base station or the network has indicated that the current cell supports RedCapUE, this indication is optional.

[0175] In an exemplary embodiment, the characteristic is whether the UE is a UE with enhanced downgraded capabilities (e.g., an eRedCap UE). A one-bit subfield (e.g., an eRedCap field) may be used in the early assistance information field to indicate the UE. For example, a subfield value of 0 indicates that the UE is not an eRedCap UE, and a subfield value of 1 indicates that the UE is an eRedCap UE. The reverse is also possible, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0176] In some embodiments, when the base station or the network has indicated that the current cell supports eRedCapUE, this indication is optional.

[0177] In an exemplary embodiment, the characteristic is whether the UE capabilities (e.g., MUSIM UE capabilities) are temporarily restricted. A one-bit subfield may be used in the early assistance information field to indicate the UE. For example, a subfield value of 0 indicates that the UE capabilities (e.g., MUSIM UE capabilities) are unrestricted, and a subfield value of 1 indicates that the UE capabilities (e.g., MUSIM UE capabilities) are temporarily restricted. The reverse is also possible, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0178] In an exemplary embodiment, a subfield value of 0 indicates that the temporary restriction of UE capabilities (such as MUSIM UE capabilities) is removed, and a subfield value of 1 indicates that the UE capabilities (such as MUSIM UE capabilities) are temporarily restricted. The reverse is also possible, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0179] In some embodiments, when the base station or the network has indicated whether the UE is temporarily restricted in the current cell, the indication is optional.

[0180] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the value of the early assistance information field may be determined by a formula determined based on the values ​​of n subfields and the number of candidate values ​​for each subfield.

[0181] In an exemplary embodiment, assuming that the early assistance information field is m bits, the field may have a maximum value of 2^m if the initial value starts from 1, or may have a maximum value of 2^m-1 if the initial value is zero.

[0182] In an exemplary embodiment, the formula for an early assistance information field having n subfields is:

[0183] The value of the early auxiliary information field=sub_field_1+sub_field_2*numOfsub_field_1+sub_field_3*(numOfsub_field_2+numOfsub_field_1)+...+sub_field_n*(numOfsub_field_n-1+...+numOfsub_field_2+numOfsub_field_1).

[0184] Wherein, sub_field_1 is the value of the first subfield associated with the first early auxiliary information, and the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield is numOfsub_field_1; sub_field_2 is the value of the second subfield associated with the second early auxiliary information, and the number of candidate values ​​thereof is numOfsub_field_2; and so on, sub_field_n-1 is the value of the n-1th subfield associated with the n-1th early auxiliary information, and the number of candidate values ​​thereof is numOfsub_field_n-1; sub_field_n is the value of the nth subfield associated with the nth early auxiliary information, and the number of candidate values ​​thereof is numOfsub_field_n.

[0185] In an exemplary embodiment, the early assistance information field includes the following three subfields related to UE capabilities:

[0186] The first subfield is "Device Type." The candidate values ​​are {0, 1, 2}, each representing one of the device types {eRedCapUE, RedCapUE, and a UE that is both non-RedCap and non-eRedCap}. For example, 0 represents a UE that is neither eRedCap nor RedCapUE, 1 represents a RedCapUE, and 2 represents an eRedCapUE. Other correspondences are acceptable, as long as each value uniquely corresponds to each candidate device type, and this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0187] Second subfield: MuSIM Indication, indicating whether the MUSIM UE's capabilities are temporarily restricted. Candidate values ​​are 1 or 0. For example, this indication is set to 1 to indicate that the MUSIM UE's capabilities are temporarily restricted, and is set to 0 to indicate that the MUSIM UE's capabilities are not temporarily restricted. The reverse is also true, but this disclosure does not limit this.

[0188] The third subfield: Msg4ACK automatic retransmission indication, indicating whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE does not support or request automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE can support or has requested automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK. Vice versa, this disclosure does not limit this.

[0189] In this embodiment, based on the above three subfields, the formula of the early auxiliary information field can be:

[0190] The value of the early assistance information field = the value of the device type + the value indicated by MuSIM*3 (the number of candidate values ​​for the device type) + the value indicated by Msg4ACK automatic retransmission*3 (the number of candidate values ​​for the device type)*2 (the number of candidate values ​​indicated by MuSIM).

[0191] The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the order of the subfields, as long as the final equation complies with the above formula of the early auxiliary information field with n subfields.

[0192] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the early assistance information field may further indicate one or more early assistance information through a logical channel identification index, wherein one logical channel identification index uniquely points to an early assistance information feature or an early assistance information feature combination.

[0193] In this embodiment, a logical channel identifier (LCID) field may be used, which is specifically used to identify different logical channels for CCCH messages. Exemplarily, this field may be represented by LCID_CCCH.

[0194] In an exemplary embodiment, the message category of a CCCH message may include at least one of the following: CCCH1, CCCH, or other CCCH. LCID_CCCH may have a fixed length of n bits, where n is a positive integer. LCID_CCCH may indicate an index corresponding to any value in the range of 0 to (2^n-1), and each index may be used to identify a logical channel type.

[0195] In an exemplary embodiment, each index may uniquely indicate any one or more combinations of the following UE capability information, and the UE capability information may include at least one of the following:

[0196] Whether the UE is capable of or has requested automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK;

[0197] Whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (such as RedCapUE);

[0198] Whether the UE is a UE with enhanced redundancy capability (such as eRedCap UE);

[0199] Whether the capabilities of the UE (such as MUSIM UE) are temporarily restricted.

[0200] In this embodiment, the above four types of UE capability information can be arbitrarily combined. For example, the UE can be a RedCap UE and supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK.

[0201] In an exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the logical channel identification field is specifically used to identify different logical channels for CCCH messages, and an example is given in which the logical channel identification field has a length of 5 bits, as shown in Table 2 and Table 3.

[0202] Table 2:

[0203] In Table 2, the message type field used to identify CCCH messages is included in a specific MAC subheader with a logical channel identifier field, rather than being represented by a logical channel identifier. The message type field is a single bit with a value of 0 or 1, corresponding to the message type being CCCH or CCCH1. For example, a value of 0 indicates CCCH, and a value of 1 indicates CCCH1. The reverse is also true, but this disclosure does not limit this.

[0204] Table 3:

[0205] In Table 3, the distinction between message categories (such as CCCH and CCCH1) of CCCH messages is indicated by the logical channel identification field, rather than using a separate field in the MAC subheader.

[0206] The unique mapping between the logical channel identification index / code point and the auxiliary information combination in Tables 2 and 3 above is only an example. Other mapping modes are also possible. As long as each unique index / code point is mapped only to one unique auxiliary information or one unique auxiliary information combination, the present disclosure does not limit this. The length of the logical channel identification field in the above example is only an example. Other field lengths are also possible (such as 6 bits), and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0207] In other embodiments, one or more of all the fields in the above embodiments may alternatively be placed in the payload of the MAC SDU or as part of the MAC CE content. Exemplarily, in a MAC CE for early assistance information reporting, the content of the MAC CE is octet-aligned, i.e., the length of the MAC CE is an integer number of bytes, each byte is 8 bits long, and the MAC CE may include an early assistance information field and at least one R bit, or it may include an early assistance information field, a CCCH message type field, and at least one R bit.

[0208] The following lists some exemplary embodiments of specific MAC subheaders that include an Early Assistance Information field. In the following exemplary embodiments, the early assistance information discussed is UE capability information, but other information is also contemplated. The placement of each field is provided as an example only and may vary. The length of each field and the corresponding terminology are also exemplary and are not intended to be limiting in this disclosure.

[0209] In some embodiments, the MAC subheader may be a MAC subheader identifying a MAC CE for reporting early assistance information.

[0210] In one embodiment, the MAC CE for reporting early assistance information may only include a MAC subheader (the payload of the MAC CE is 0 bytes).

[0211] In another embodiment, a specific MAC subheader may include an R / LCID field, and the early assistance information field in the above embodiment is included in the MAC payload (such as a MAC CE). In this embodiment, an LCID index may be used to indicate that this is a MAC CE for early assistance information reporting.

[0212] In some embodiments, the specific MAC subheader may be a MAC subheader used to identify a MAC SDU containing a CCCH message.

[0213] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of a specific MAC subheader including an early auxiliary information field calculated based on the equation is also provided. The position and length of the fields given in the examples of the present disclosure can be changed, and the present application does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0214] In some embodiments, the MAC sub-PDU carrying early assistance information may include at least one of the following fields:

[0215] A field used to indicate a specific MAC subheader containing an Early Assistance Information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, set to 1 to indicate that the MAC subheader contains a field for Early Assistance Information reporting, and set to zero otherwise. In some embodiments, this field can only be placed first on the left to distinguish it from a subheader used to identify a MAC sub-PDU carrying an indefinite-length MAC sub-PDU.

[0216] A field used to indicate a specific MAC CE containing an Early Assistance Information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, set to 1 to indicate that the MAC CE contains a field for Early Assistance Information reporting; otherwise, it is set to zero. In some embodiments, this field can only be placed in the first position on the left to distinguish it from a subheader used to identify a MAC sub-PDU carrying an indefinite length.

[0217] Used to indicate whether the message type of the CCCH message identified by the MAC subheader is CCCH (CCCH message with a size of 48 bits) or CCCH1 (CCCH message with a size of 64 bits). Exemplarily, the CCCH_ID field is set to 0 to indicate CCCH, or set to 1 to indicate CCCH1. The reverse is also possible.

[0218] A field for indicating early assistance information, used to indicate early assistance information reported from the UE to the base station. In some embodiments, the value of this field may be determined by the formula of the early assistance information field described in the present invention. In other embodiments, this field may include one or more auxiliary information bits, where each auxiliary information bit is used to indicate a specific auxiliary information, such as whether the UE has the ability to support a certain feature or whether the UE requests a certain function. In some other embodiments, this field may be a logical channel identifier (LCID) field, which is specifically used to identify different logical channels.

[0219] Reserved field. This field is 1 bit and has a value of 0. In some embodiments, the size of the MAC sub-PDU is always an integer multiple of 8 bits. In order to meet this rule, some bits that currently have no specific functions can be set as reserved bits. Therefore, based on the length of the field in different embodiments, the number of reserved fields can be 0 to multiple. For example, a MAC subheader of a specific length of 8 bits, assuming that it contains 1 bit for indicating a field of a specific MAC subheader containing an early auxiliary information field, contains a 6-bit early auxiliary information field, then in order to make up the 8 bits, the remaining bit can be set as a reserved bit.

[0220] FIG6 is a schematic diagram (I) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0221] C_flag field, CCCH_ID field, early auxiliary information field, reserved field (R).

[0222] C_flag field: This field is used to indicate the specific MAC subheader that contains the Early Assistance Information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, which is set to 1 to indicate that the MAC subheader contains a field for Early Assistance Information reporting, and is set to zero otherwise. In some embodiments, this field can only be placed first on the left to distinguish it from the subheader used to identify MAC sub-PDUs with variable lengths.

[0223] CCCH_ID field: This field is used to indicate whether the message type of the CCCH message identified by the MAC subheader is CCCH (CCCH message with a size of 48 bits) or CCCH1 (CCCH message with a size of 64 bits). Exemplarily, the CCCH_ID field is set to 0 to indicate CCCH, or set to 1 to indicate CCCH1. The reverse is also possible.

[0224] Early Assistance Information Field: This field is used to indicate that early assistance information is reported from the UE to the base station. Exemplarily, this field has a length of 5 bits. This information includes at least information related to the UE's capabilities. The UE sets the value of the Early Assistance Information field based on the formula for the Early Assistance Information field with n subfields in the above embodiment. The following example assumes three capability-related fields:

[0225] Field 1: Device type, candidate values ​​are {0, 1, 2}, where each value represents one of the device types {eRedCap UE, RedCap UE, and UE that is non-RedCap or non-eRedCap}. For example, 0 represents non-eRedCap and non-RedCap UE, 1 represents RedCap UE, and 2 represents eRedCap UE, and the UE sets the value of this field based on its device type.

[0226] Field 2: MuSIM Indication, used to indicate whether the capabilities of the MuSIM UE are temporarily restricted. The value can be 1 or 0. For example, the UE sets this indication to 1 to indicate that the capabilities of the MuSIM UE are temporarily restricted, and sets this indication to 0 to indicate that the capabilities of the MUSIM UE are not temporarily restricted. The reverse is also true, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0227] Field 3: Msg4HARQ-ACK automatic retransmission indication, used to indicate whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK. This indication may have a value of 1 or 0. Exemplarily, the UE sets this field to a value of 0 to indicate that the UE does not support or request automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK, and the UE sets this field to a value of 1 to indicate that the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission for the PUCCH of Msg4HARQ-ACK. Vice versa, this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0228] In this embodiment, based on the above three fields, the formula for calculating the value of the early auxiliary information field is as follows:

[0229] The value of the early assistance information field = device type + MuSIM indication * 3 + Msg4ACK automatic retransmission indication * 3 * 2.

[0230] The UE sets each field according to the field description given above. It should be noted that the order of the above fields can be switched arbitrarily as long as the final equation follows the above formula for the early assistance information field with n subfields.

[0231] In another exemplary embodiment, the field may have other lengths, such as 6 bits, and this disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. It is sufficient to ensure that the final value obtained by the formula for calculating the value of the early auxiliary information field based on the subfield value according to the solution of the present invention does not exceed the maximum value that the field can indicate, such as (2^(the length of the field in bits)). It should be noted that when the field is 6 bits, the reserved bits in the example Figure 5 no longer appear to ensure that the MAC subheader length is one byte (i.e., the subheader contains C_flag, CCCH_ID, and early auxiliary information fields).

[0232] Reserved field (R), the value is 0.

[0233] FIG7 is a schematic diagram (II) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0234] C_flag field, early auxiliary information field, reserved field (R).

[0235] This embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that the fields in the MAC subheader do not carry a field indicating the CCCH type (such as CCCH_ID). In this embodiment, the CCCH_ID used to indicate the CCCH message type can be regarded as a subfield used to calculate the value of the early assistance information field. The rest is the same as the previous embodiment.

[0236] In this embodiment, the early assistance information field may include the following subfields:

[0237] Field 1: CCCH message type (CCCH_Type): Select from the values ​​{0, 1}, where each value corresponds to one of the CCCH message types {CCCH, CCCH1}. For example, a value of 0 indicates a 48-bit CCCH message (CCCH), and a value of 1 indicates a 64-bit CCCH message (CCCH1). The reverse is also true, but this disclosure does not limit this.

[0238] Field 2: Device type, candidate values ​​are {0, 1, 2}, where each value represents one of the device types {eRedCap UE, RedCap UE, and UE that is non-RedCap or non-eRedCap}. For example, 0 represents non-eRedCap and non-RedCap UE, 1 represents RedCap UE, and 2 represents eRedCap UE, and the UE sets the value of this field based on its device type.

[0239] Field 3: MuSIM Indication, used to indicate whether the capabilities of the MuSIM UE are temporarily restricted. The value can be 1 or 0. For example, the UE sets this indication to 1 to indicate that the capabilities of the MuSIM UE are temporarily restricted, and sets this indication to 0 to indicate that the capabilities of the MUSIM UE are not temporarily restricted. The reverse is also true, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0240] Field 4: Msg4ACK automatic retransmission indication, used to indicate whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4HARQ-ACK. This indication may have a value of 1 or 0. Exemplarily, the UE sets this field to a value of 0 to indicate that the UE does not support or request automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4HARQ-ACK, and the UE sets this field to a value of 1 to indicate that the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4HARQ-ACK. Vice versa, this disclosure is not limited to this.

[0241] In this embodiment, the value of the early auxiliary information field including the above-mentioned subfields may be calculated based on the following formula:

[0242] The value of the early assistance information field = the value of the CCCH message type + the value of the device type * 2 + the value of the MuSIM indication * 2 * 3 + the value of the Msg4ACK automatic retransmission indication * 2 * 3 * 2.

[0243] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an auxiliary information field can be added to a specific MAC subheader, and the value of the early auxiliary information field can be calculated based on the value of each subfield and through a formula. After the network side successfully receives the information reported by the UE, the value of each subfield can be reversed based on the value of the early auxiliary information field, and then the content of the early auxiliary information reported by the UE can be calculated, thereby achieving the purpose of indicating the early auxiliary information through the MAC subheader, and thus solving the problem in the related art of using a logical channel identifier to indicate auxiliary information during random access, and the limited number of coding points of the logical channel identifier and poor flexibility.

[0244] In another exemplary embodiment, the Early Assistance Information field may have another length, such as 6 bits, which is not limited in this disclosure. It should be noted that when this field is 6 bits, only one reserved bit is required in FIG. 7 to ensure that the MAC subheader length is one byte (i.e., the subheader includes the C_flag, the reserved bits, and the Early Assistance Information field).

[0245] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a specific MAC subheader including an early assistance information field is provided, wherein each feature can be indicated separately in the early assistance information field.

[0246] FIG8 is a schematic diagram (III) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0247] C_flag field, CCCH_ID field, early auxiliary information field, reserved field (R).

[0248] C_flag field: This field is used to indicate a specific MAC subheader containing an early assistance information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, which is set to 1 to indicate that the MAC subheader contains a field for early assistance information reporting, otherwise it is set to zero.

[0249] CCCH_ID field: This field is used to indicate whether the message type of the CCCH message identified by the MAC subheader is CCCH (CCCH message with a size of 48 bits) or CCCH1 (CCCH message with a size of 64 bits). Exemplarily, the CCCH_ID field is set to 0 to indicate CCCH, or set to 1 to indicate CCCH1. The reverse is also possible.

[0250] Reserved field (R): The value is 0.

[0251] The Early Assistance Information field has 4 bits, where each bit indicates whether the UE has the capability to support the following features:

[0252] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE supports or has requested support or request for automatic retransmission of PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE does not support or request automatic retransmission of PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK. Vice versa.

[0253] RedCap indication is used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (such as RedCap UE). For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE is not a RedCap UE, while a value of 1 indicates that the UE is a RedCap UE. Vice versa.

[0254] The eRedCap indicator is used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with enhanced redundancy capability (such as an eRedCap UE). For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE is not an eRedCap UE, while a value of 1 indicates that the UE is an eRedCap UE. Vice versa.

[0255] The MuSIM indicator is used to indicate whether the UE's capabilities are temporarily restricted or unrestricted. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE's capabilities are unrestricted, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE's capabilities are temporarily restricted. The reverse is also true. In another example, a value of 0 indicates that the temporary restriction on the UE's capabilities has been removed, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE's capabilities are temporarily restricted. The reverse is also true. This disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0256] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, each UE capability characteristic can be individually indicated in a specific MAC subheader, thereby realizing the indication of early auxiliary information through the MAC subheader, thereby solving the problem in the related art of using logical channel identifiers to indicate auxiliary information during random access, and the limited number of coding points of logical channel identifiers and poor flexibility.

[0257] FIG9 is a schematic diagram (four) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0258] C_flag field, early auxiliary information field, reserved field.

[0259] Compared with the previous embodiment, this embodiment does not include CCCH_ID for indicating the CCCH message type in the MAC subheader, and the rest is the same as the above embodiment.

[0260] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a specific MAC subheader including an Early Assistance Information field is provided. The Early Assistance Information field indicates a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, which is specifically used to identify different logical channels for CCCH messages. Exemplarily, this field can be represented by LCID_CCCH. In another exemplary embodiment, this field can also be represented by other names, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

[0261] FIG10 is a schematic diagram (V) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG10 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0262] C_flag field, reserved field (R), CCCH_ID field, and LCID_CCCH field.

[0263] In this embodiment, the LCID_CCCH field is actually used to indicate early auxiliary information, so it can also be called an early auxiliary information field, or other names, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0264] C_flag field: This field is used to indicate a specific MAC subheader containing an early assistance information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, which is set to 1 to indicate that the MAC subheader contains a field for early assistance information reporting, otherwise it is set to zero.

[0265] Reserved field (R): The value is 0.

[0266] CCCH_ID field: This field is used to indicate whether the message type of the CCCH message identified by the MAC subheader is CCCH (CCCH message with a size of 48 bits) or CCCH1 (CCCH message with a size of 64 bits). Exemplarily, the CCCH_ID field is set to 0 to indicate CCCH, or set to 1 to indicate CCCH1. The reverse is also possible.

[0267] LCID_CCCH field: used to indicate a unique logical channel identifier defined according to the CCCH message content. Exemplarily, each index value of the logical channel identifier can uniquely indicate any one or more combinations of early auxiliary information (such as UE capability information). The mapping relationship between an exemplary index value and early auxiliary information can be as shown in Table 2 in the above embodiment. In another exemplary embodiment, the field may also have other lengths, such as 6 bits, which is not limited by the present disclosure. It should be noted that when the field is 6 bits, the reserved bits in Figure 10 above no longer appear to ensure that the MAC subheader length is one byte (that is, the MAC subheader contains C_flag, CCCH_ID and LCID_CCCH fields).

[0268] FIG11 is a schematic diagram (VI) of the structure of a specific MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11 , the specific MAC subheader is one octet, i.e., 8 bits, and includes the following fields:

[0269] C_flag field, reserved field (R), and LCID_CCCH field.

[0270] In this embodiment, the LCID_CCCH field is actually used to indicate early auxiliary information, so it can also be called an early auxiliary information field, or other names, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0271] Compared with the previous embodiment, this embodiment does not include CCCH_ID for indicating the CCCH message type in the MAC subheader, and the rest is the same as the above embodiment.

[0272] C_flag field: This field is used to indicate a specific MAC subheader containing an early assistance information field. Exemplarily, this field is 1 bit, which is set to 1 to indicate that the MAC subheader contains a field for early assistance information reporting, otherwise it is set to zero.

[0273] Reserved field (R): The value is 0.

[0274] LCID_CCCH field: used to indicate a unique logical channel identifier defined according to the CCCH message content. Exemplarily, each index value of the logical channel identifier can uniquely indicate any one or more combinations of early auxiliary information (such as UE capability information). The mapping relationship between an exemplary index value and early auxiliary information can be as shown in Table 3 in the above embodiment. In another exemplary embodiment, the field may also have other lengths, such as 6 bits, which is not limited by the present disclosure. It should be noted that when the field is 6 bits, there is only one reserved bit (R) in Figure 11 to ensure that the MAC subheader length is one byte (that is, the subheader contains C_flag, R and LCID_CCCH fields).

[0275] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by setting a logical channel identifier in a specific MAC subheader and setting a mapping relationship between the logical channel identifier and the early auxiliary information, it is possible to indicate early auxiliary information through the MAC subheader, thereby solving the problem in the related art of using the logical channel identifier to indicate auxiliary information during random access, the limited number of coding points of the logical channel identifier, and poor flexibility.

[0276] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, an early assistance message specifically used for transmitting early assistance information is provided.

[0277] In some embodiments, the early assistance message may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or an RRC message segment carrying early assistance information.

[0278] In some embodiments, the early assistance message may also be a MAC CE or a MAC SDU or a MAC SDU segment carrying early assistance information.

[0279] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for reporting early auxiliary information is also provided, which is applied to a terminal. FIG12 is a flowchart (III) of the method for reporting early auxiliary information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG12 , the process includes the following steps:

[0280] Step S402: receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station;

[0281] Step S404: Send an early assistance message carrying early assistance information to the base station according to the configuration information.

[0282] In this embodiment, the configuration information related to the early assistance information report in step S402 is used to let the UE know that the NW can decode the early assistance message, or the NW has requested or allowed the UE to report the early assistance information through the early assistance message during the random access process, and the NW needs to provide some relevant configuration information to the UE.

[0283] In some embodiments, the early assistance message may be an RRC message, an RRC message segment, a MAC CE or a MAC SDU or a MAC SDU segment.

[0284] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by introducing an early assistance message specifically used to provide early assistance information to the UE, the problem in the related art of using a logical channel identifier to indicate assistance information during random access, the limited number of coding points of the logical channel identifier, and poor flexibility can be solved.

[0285] In some embodiments, the early assistance message is a specific RRC message carrying early assistance information, and can be described as RRC Early Assistance Message (RRC Early Information). In some examples, other message names may also be used, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0286] In some embodiments, the early assistance information may include information related to one or more UE capabilities. UE capability refers to whether the UE supports a feature or a function. The present disclosure does not limit the specific content of the early assistance information.

[0287] In some embodiments, the early assistance information may include any one or any combination of the following information:

[0288] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK;

[0289] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (e.g., RedCap UE);

[0290] Indication information used to indicate whether the UE is a UE with enhanced reduction capability (e.g., eRedCap UE);

[0291] Indication information used to indicate whether UE capabilities are temporarily restricted;

[0292] MUSIM auxiliary information;

[0293] UE identification information;

[0294] Alternate fields;

[0295] Reserved fields;

[0296] Key extension field.

[0297] In some embodiments, the configuration information in step S402 includes: at least one of an explicit indication or an implicit indication for indicating whether early assistance information can be reported in the random access procedure.

[0298] In an exemplary embodiment, the explicit indication may include an explicit indication for indicating whether the UE is allowed to use the early assistance message. Exemplarily, the explicit indication is that the UE can use the RRC early assistance message (RRCEarlyInformation) to report the early assistance information.

[0299] In some embodiments, the implicit indication includes at least one of the following:

[0300] Msg4 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Confirmation HARQ-ACK automatic repeat configuration information;

[0301] Configuration information related to temporary capability restrictions of Multi-User Identity Module (MUSIM) terminals;

[0302] Reduced capability RedCap terminal configuration information;

[0303] Enhanced and reduced eRedCap terminal configuration information;

[0304] Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) configuration information;

[0305] Search space configuration information;

[0306] Control resource set (CORESET) configuration information;

[0307] Random access process trigger information (such as triggering reason);

[0308] Initial access process triggering information (such as triggering reason, purpose of initiating the process).

[0309] In an exemplary embodiment, the automatic retransmission configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0310] The automatic retransmission enable indication is used to indicate whether the UE is allowed to send an early indication to support or request automatic retransmission of HARQ-ACK. Exemplarily, sending the early indication may be limited to during the random access procedure.

[0311] The repetition factor of automatic retransmission is used to indicate the number of automatic retransmissions of the acknowledgment message that the UE can choose when sending HARQ-ACK. For example, the candidate values ​​of the repetition factor of automatic retransmission can be {1, 2, 4, 8}.

[0312] In an exemplary embodiment, the temporary capability restriction information of the MUSIM UE may be applied to all RRC states, or may be limited to certain RRC procedures, for example, during the RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery process.

[0313] In an exemplary embodiment, Reduced Capability (RedCap) is a bandwidth reduction technology, and RedCap terminal configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0314] RedCapUE indication, used to indicate whether a RedCapUE can use an RRC message to indicate that it is a RedCapUE during a RACH process. The RRC message may be specially designed for providing early assistance information during a RACH process.

[0315] The cell barring indication is used to indicate whether the cell is barred for RedCap UEs with one or two Rx frequency bands or whether the cell is barred for RedCap UEs with one or two Rx frequency bands from accessing.

[0316] The half-duplex indication is used to indicate whether the current cell supports half-duplex frequency division duplex (FDD) RedCapUE.

[0317] In an exemplary embodiment, Enhanced Reduced Capability (eRedCap) is an enhanced bandwidth reduction technology, and the eRedCap terminal configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0318] eRedCapUE indication, used to indicate whether the eRedCap UE can indicate that it is an eRedCap UE during the RACH procedure.

[0319] Cell barring indication, used to indicate whether the cell is barred for eRedCap UEs with 1 or 2 Rx bands or whether the cell is barred for eRedCap UEs with 1 or 2 Rx bands from accessing.

[0320] Half-duplex indication, used to indicate whether the current cell supports half-duplex FDD eRedCapUE.

[0321] In an exemplary embodiment, the RNTI configuration information is used to monitor downlink control information (DCI) scheduling RRC messages for early assistance information. The RNTI configuration information may include at least one of the following:

[0322] The RNTI offset value used for the temporary cell RNTI (TC-RNTI) is used. If the network provides this configuration, the UE uses the modified TC-RNTI to monitor and receive DCI scheduling RRC early assistance messages after sending Msg3 carrying an indication of requesting the transmission of early assistance information. The modified TC-RNTI is generated based on the RNTI offset value used for the TC-RNTI and the TC-RNTI value received in the random access response scheduling Msg3. Exemplarily, the modified TC-RNTI is equal to the sum of the TC-RNTI value and the RNTI offset of the TC-RNTI.

[0323] RNTI offset value for MsgB-RNTI. If the network provides this configuration, the UE uses the modified MsgB-RNTI to monitor and receive DCI scheduling RRC early assistance messages after sending MsgA carrying an indication of requesting the transmission of early assistance information. The modified MsgB-RNTI is generated based on the RNTI offset value, and the MsgB-RNTI is generated based on the RACH resource selected for sending MsgA, as specified in standard 38.321. Exemplarily, the value of the modified MsgB-RNTI is equal to the sum of the value of the Msg-RNTI and the RNTI offset of the MsgB-RNTI.

[0324] In an exemplary embodiment, search space configuration information is used to configure a dedicated search space for a UE to monitor and receive downlink control information (DCI) that schedules RRC early assistance messages. The search space configuration may include at least time domain and frequency domain resource configurations. Exemplarily, at least one of the time domain, frequency domain, or code domain resources of the search space (configured to search for DCI for scheduling early assistance messages) may be different from a common search space configured to monitor DCI for scheduling messages not used for early assistance information.

[0325] In an exemplary embodiment, a control resource set (CORESET) is configured to configure a dedicated control resource set for a UE to listen to and receive downlink control information (DCI) scheduling an RRC early assistance message. The CORESET configuration includes at least time domain and frequency domain resource configurations. Exemplarily, at least one of the time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or code domain resources of the CORESET resources (configured to search for downlink control information (DCI) scheduling an early assistance message) may be different from a common CORESET configured for the UE to listen to DCI for scheduling messages not used for early assistance information.

[0326] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, through the implicit indication in any of the above embodiments, the terminal can be implicitly notified that the cell allows the UE to use an early assistance message specifically used for the UE to provide early assistance information to the NW, and report the early assistance information during the random access process or after the random access ends.

[0327] In some embodiments, the configuration information in step S402 may be transmitted in any of the following ways: system information, broadcast message, multicast message, radio resource control RRC signaling, non-access stratum NAS message, paging, short message, MAC layer signaling, physical layer signaling.

[0328] In an exemplary embodiment, when system information (SI) is used to transmit configuration information, it can be delivered via a system message consisting of a SIB1 message and / or one or more SIBx information elements (IEs), where x in the SIBx IE is a positive integer starting from 2, and the SIBx IE can be one or more existing system information blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2 to SIB21) or an introduced new SIB (e.g., SIB22).

[0329] In an exemplary embodiment, a common SIBx may be used to indicate one or more indications in the above embodiments, wherein x in SIBx may be any positive integer, such as SIB1, SIB22.

[0330] In another embodiment, the configuration information in any of the above embodiments may be indicated by multiple different system information (SIB1 messages or one or more SIBx IEs). For example, SIB1 may include configuration information for RedCap UEs, configuration information for eRedCap UEs, configuration information for MUSIM terminals, or an explicit indication to enable the terminal to use a specific MAC subheader carrying an Early Assistance Information field. For example, SIB19 may include automatic retransmission configuration information for Msg4 HARQ-ACK.

[0331] In some embodiments, an RRC Early Assistance Message may provide early assistance information from the UE to the NW during a RACH procedure. The RRC Early Assistance Message may be sent during a RACH procedure, illustratively including at least one RACH procedure triggered by any of the RRC establishment, RRC recovery, RRC reestablishment, RRC reconfiguration procedures, or other use cases. Alternatively, the RRC Early Assistance Message may be transmitted based on network scheduling after the RACH procedure is completed. The following uses the example of an RRC Early Assistance Message providing early assistance information from the UE to the NW during a RACH procedure.

[0332] In some embodiments, in a 4-step RACH process, the RRC Early Assistance Message may be sent after the transmission of Msg3 and before the transmission of Msg4, or in a 2-step RACH process, the RRC Early Assistance Message may be sent after the transmission of MsgA and before the transmission of MsgB. For example, to distinguish the RRC Early Assistance Message from the existing Msg3 specified in the standard, the message containing the RRC Early Assistance Message may be described as Msg3bis or subsequent Msg3. The above terms such as RRC Early Information, Msg3bis, and subsequent Msg3 are used to simplify the description and are not limited in this disclosure.

[0333] FIG13 is a flow chart of a 4-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG13 , the flow includes the following steps:

[0334] Step 0: The UE receives configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station;

[0335] Step 1: The UE sends a random access preamble (Msg1) to the base station;

[0336] Step 2: The UE receives a random access response (Msg2) from the base station.

[0337] Step 3a: The UE sends the first part of the uplink message (e.g., Msg3) based on network scheduling;

[0338] Step 3b: After sending the first part of the uplink message (e.g., Msg3), the UE monitors the downlink control information (DCI) used to schedule early assistance information, and sends the second part of the scheduled transmission based on the base station's scheduling, that is, sends early assistance information (e.g., Msg3bis) to the base station based on the scheduling information received in the DCI;

[0339] Step 4: The UE receives Msg4 from the base station for contention resolution.

[0340] In some embodiments, the uplink message in step 3a may include an indication indicating the existence of the second part of the scheduled transmission. The uplink message may also include information indicating the size of the buffered data to be transmitted.

[0341] In some embodiments, before step 1, the UE may select a RACH opportunity or a RACH packet resource based on the size of the to-be-sent data buffer or the potential CCCH size.

[0342] FIG14 is a flow chart of a 2-step RACH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG14 , the flow includes the following steps:

[0343] Step 0: The UE receives configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station;

[0344] Step A1: The UE sends a random access preamble and PUSCH payload (MsgA) to the base station;

[0345] Step A2: After sending the PUSCH payload, the UE monitors the DCI for scheduling early assistance information and sends early assistance information (such as MsgAbis) to the NW based on the scheduling information received in the DCI;

[0346] Step B: The UE receives MsgB from the base station for contention resolution.

[0347] In some embodiments, the uplink message (PUSCH payload) in step A1 may include an indication for indicating the presence of MsgAbis. The uplink message may also include buffer size information for data to be sent.

[0348] In some embodiments, before step 1, the UE may select a RACH opportunity or a RACH packet resource based on the size of the to-be-sent data buffer or the size of the potential CCCH.

[0349] FIG15 is a flowchart of a 4-step RACH according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG15 , the process includes the following steps:

[0350] Step 0: The UE receives configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from the base station;

[0351] Step 1: The UE sends a random access preamble (Msg1) to the base station;

[0352] Step 2: The UE receives a random access response (Msg2) from the base station.

[0353] Step 3a: The UE sends a first part of a CCCH message (such as the first part of a CCCH message or a first CCCH message) to the base station as an uplink message (e.g., Msg3) scheduled based on the NW;

[0354] Step 4: The UE receives Msg4 from the base station for contention resolution.

[0355] Step 5: The UE monitors the dynamic scheduling from the base station and transmits the second part of the CCCH message (such as the second part of the CCCH message or the second CCCH message) according to the received scheduling information.

[0356] In this embodiment, the radio resource control layer may segment the CCCH message into a first CCCH message part and a second CCCH message part, or the radio resource control layer may generate two CCCH messages: a first CCCH message and a second CCCH message. Compared to conventional CCCH messages, this embodiment may transfer part of the information to the second CCCH message part or the second CCCH message to reduce the size of a single CCCH message.

[0357] In some embodiments, the configuration information to be sent in step 0 further includes RACH configuration. The RACH configuration may be sent together with or separately from the configuration information of the early assistance information report.

[0358] In some embodiments, the base station waits to receive the first part and the second part of the CCCH message (or the first CCCH message and the second CCCH message) before starting to combine the received CCCH messages.

[0359] Through the embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission scheduling is divided into two parts and sent during the random access process, which can reduce the size of a single CCCH message and perform early auxiliary information reporting without increasing the size of the CCCH message. This solves the problem in the related art of using logical channel identifiers to indicate auxiliary information during random access, the limited number of coding points of logical channel identifiers, and poor flexibility.

[0360] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may send configuration information to the terminal through system information SIB1.

[0361] In this embodiment, the structure of the system information SIB1 is as follows:

[0362] In this embodiment, SIB1-vnnmm refers to SIB1 defined in the standard. v represents the implemented standard version, nn represents the published standard version number, and mm represents the mmth revision of the nnth version, i.e., the mmth sub-version of the nnth version. For example, SIB1-v1800 refers to SIB1 based on revision 00 of version 18 of the standard.

[0363] In this embodiment, the new control element rrcEarlyInformationAllowed-rnn (allowing the UE to provide early assistance information to the NW during RACH) is a new field to be introduced in future standard versions. For example, the specific RRC message RRCEarlyInformation (RRC Early Assistance Message) that is allowed to carry early assistance information is an information element in the SIB1 message.

[0364] In this embodiment, the presence of the rrcEarlyInformationAllowed field may be used to indicate that the UE is allowed to provide early assistance information to the NW during RACH.

[0365] In this embodiment, the rrcEarlyInformationAllowed field is only an example, and other fields may also be used, such as the commonCapabilityallowed field, the assistanceInformationDuringRACHAllowed field, the rrcEarlyAssistingInformationAllowed field, the rrcEarlyInformationAllowed field, or the rrcEarlyIndicationAllowed field, etc. This disclosure does not limit the field names of the configuration information.

[0366] In another embodiment, the RRC early assistance message for providing early assistance information during the RACH process is sent from the UE to the NW using the logical channel CCCH2 (i.e., the second CCCH message). Therefore, the RRC early assistance message activation indication information may be equivalent to the indication information of activating the logical channel CCCH2.

[0367] In this embodiment, the structure of the system information SIB1 is as follows:

[0368] In this embodiment, the presence of the ccch2allowed field may be used to indicate that the cell supports the UE reporting early assistance information to the NW via CCCH2 during the RACH procedure.

[0369] In some embodiments, a Boolean indication may be used instead of an explicit indication. For example, the IE discussed in the two examples above may be a Boolean indication. For example, a value of 1 may indicate that the cell supports the UE using the RRC Early Assistance message to provide assistance information to the NW during the RACH process, while a value of 0 indicates that the cell does not support the UE using the RRC Early Assistance message to provide assistance information to the NW during the RACH process. The reverse is also true, and this disclosure is not limited to this.

[0370] In the first two embodiments, ccch2allowed and rrcEarlyInformationAllowed-rnn are both explicit indications in the configuration information. In addition, the configuration information can also be an implicit indication to implicitly notify the cell that it supports the use of RRC early assistance messages to transmit assistance information to the NW.

[0371] In an exemplary embodiment, it may be specified that explicit indication is only required for RedCap UE, while implicit indication is used for other use cases.

[0372] In some embodiments, the structure of the system information SIB1 is as follows:

[0373] In this embodiment, the presence of the rrcEarlyInformationAllowedRedCap-rnn field may be used to indicate that the cell supports RedCapUE delivering assistance information to the NW through an RRC early assistance message.

[0374] In this embodiment, if the RedCap UE does not support the introduction of RRC Early Assistance Message during RACH, the RedCap UE will not use RRC messages to transmit early assistance information. If the RedCap UE supports the use of RRC Early Assistance Messages to report assistance information during the RACH process (such as the capability of the UE supporting other features), the RedCap UE can send assistance information to the NW via RRC Early Assistance Messages.

[0375] In some embodiments, when explicit indication (configuration information) is provided through system information, changes in configuration content will result in changes in the system message value tag, thereby leading to an update process of the system information.

[0376] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may also send configuration information to the terminal through a new system information block SIBx.

[0377] In this embodiment, SIBx contains information related to evaluating whether the UE is allowed to provide early assistance information to the NW during the RACH process, such as whether the UE is allowed to report early assistance information to the base station via a message dedicated to providing early assistance information (such as an RRC early assistance message). In this embodiment, x in SIBx can be an integer starting from 22, indicating newly introduced system information.

[0378] In some embodiments, the information unit design of SIBx is as follows:

[0379] In this embodiment, the fields in SIBx are described as shown in Table 4 below:

[0380] Table 4:

[0381] In this embodiment, the nonCriticalExtension field in the information element of SIBx is used to introduce a new field in a future version of the standard. This field can also be replaced by other tags, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0382] In another embodiment, separate system information (SIB1 message or one or more SIBx IEs) may be used to indicate the configuration information in any of the above embodiments. For example, SIB1 may include configuration information for RedCap UE, configuration information for eRedCap UE, configuration information for MUSIM terminal, or an explicit indication. SIB19 may include automatic retransmission configuration information for HARQ-ACK. SIB22 may include an explicit indication for enabling RRC early assistance messages from the UE to the NW.

[0383] In the disclosed embodiments, after receiving the configuration information, the UE needs to notify the base station that it wants to provide early assistance information in an RRC message (or RRC message segment, MAC SDU, MAC SDU segment). This process can be implemented in step 3a of the above-mentioned 4-step RACH or step A1 of the 2-step RACH, so that the base station can schedule uplink resources accordingly after receiving the request, so that the UE can send the corresponding early assistance information (e.g., RRC early assistance message).

[0384] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may be instructed to send early assistance information (e.g., via RRC early assistance message reporting) in at least one of the following ways:

[0385] Method 1 is to use a specific reserved LCID code point for indication. The LCID code point is used to identify the CCCH / CCCH1 message and indicates that after the CCCH / CCCH1 message, the UE needs to send an early assistance message to the NW.

[0386] Method 2: The reserved bit R in the MAC subheader of the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) MAC CE is used to indicate whether the UE needs to send an early assistance message to the NW.

[0387] In an exemplary embodiment, the LCID table values ​​in the above-mentioned method 1 are shown in Table 5:

[0388] Table 5:

[0389] In this embodiment, the indexes m1 and m2 in Table 5 are any two reserved indexes in the LCID table, and the values ​​are any integers in [47 or 37 to 42], and m1 and m2 are different.

[0390] In this embodiment, if the UE intends to transmit early assistance information in an RRC message, it may set the LCID field used to identify the CCCH message in Msg3 or MsgA to a value in the range [47 or 37-42]. When the base station receives the Msg3 / MsgA containing this LCID, the base station knows that the UE has requested resources to send the RRC early assistance message.

[0391] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a MAC subheader of a MAC CE identifying a C-RNTI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG16 , there are two R bits in the MAC subheader.

[0392] In this embodiment, the reserved one or two R bits in the MAC subheader of the MAC CE identifying the C-RNTI can be used to indicate that the UE wants to send early assistance information to the network side, that is, the above-mentioned method 2.

[0393] In an exemplary embodiment, the first R bit may be set to 1 to indicate that the UE wants to send early assistance information to the network side (eg, based on an RRC early assistance message).

[0394] In another exemplary embodiment, the second R bit may be set to 1 to indicate that the UE wants to send early assistance information to the network side (eg, based on an RRC early assistance message).

[0395] In an exemplary embodiment, the above-mentioned method 1 and method 2 can be used in combination. For example, when Msg3 or MsgA contains a CCCH message, the above-mentioned method 1 is used for indication, and when Msg3 or MsgA contains a MAC CE of a C-RNTI, the above-mentioned method 2 is used for indication.

[0396] In the disclosed embodiment, after the UE issues the above-mentioned instruction to the base station, it will provide early assistance information in an RRC message (or RRC message segment, MAC SDU, or MAC SDU segment). This process can be implemented in step 3b of the above-mentioned 4-step RACH or step A2 of the above-mentioned 2-step RACH. For example, if it is based on an RRC message or RRC message segment, the UE can implement it by sending an RRC early assistance message to the NW. The following will be explained in conjunction with the content of the early assistance information.

[0397] As shown below, the early assistance information content may include at least one of the following information related to UE capabilities or UE types.

[0398] In some embodiments, the indication information for indicating whether the UE supports or requests automatic retransmission of the PUCCH for Msg4 HARQ-ACK may be provided in the following manner:

[0399] The indication is performed through a one-bit indication information of a Boolean type. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE does not support or request PUCCH automatic retransmission for Msg4 HARQ-ACK, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE supports or has requested PUCCH automatic retransmission for Msg4 HARQ-ACK. Vice versa, the present disclosure does not limit this. For example, if the base station has configured PUCCH automatic retransmission configuration information (such as repetition factor) for Msg4 HARQ-ACK in the system information, this indication is optional.

[0400] The presence of the indication field indicates that the UE supports this capability. For example, the presence of the indication field indicates that the UE can or has requested automatic PUCCH retransmission for Msg4 HARQ-ACK, and the absence of the indication field indicates that the UE does not support or does not request automatic PUCCH retransmission for Msg4 HARQ-ACK.

[0401] In some embodiments, the indication information indicating whether the UE is a UE with reduced capabilities (e.g., RedCap UE) may be provided in the following manner:

[0402] The indication is performed by a one-bit indication information of a Boolean type. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE is not a RedCap UE, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE is a RedCap UE. Vice versa, the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0403] The presence of the indication field indicates that the UE supports the capability. For example, the presence of the indication field indicates that the UE is a RedCap UE, and the absence of the indication field indicates that the UE is not a RedCap UE.

[0404] In some embodiments, the indication information indicating whether the UE is a UE with enhanced reduction capability (e.g., eRedCap UE) may be provided in the following manner:

[0405] The indication is performed by a one-bit indication information of a Boolean type. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE is not an eRedCap UE, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE is an eRedCap UE. Vice versa, this disclosure does not limit this.

[0406] The presence of the indication field indicates that the UE supports the capability. For example, the presence of the indication field indicates that the UE is an eRedCap UE, and the absence of the indication field indicates that the UE is not an eRedCap UE.

[0407] In some embodiments, the indication information for indicating whether the UE capability is temporarily restricted may be used for terminals with multiple user identity modules (MUSIM). When the UE is a terminal with activated MUSIM capability, the UE capability (e.g., supported frequency band combinations, dual connectivity capability) may be temporarily restricted. The indication information may be provided in the following manner:

[0408] The indication is performed by a one-bit indication information of a Boolean type. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the UE capability is not restricted or the temporary restriction of the UE capability is lifted, and a value of 1 indicates that the UE capability is temporarily restricted. Vice versa, this disclosure does not limit this.

[0409] The presence of the indication field indicates that the UE supports the capability. For example, the presence of the indication field indicates that the UE capability is temporarily restricted, and the absence of the indication field indicates that the UE capability is not restricted or the temporary restriction of the UE capability is lifted.

[0410] In some embodiments, the MUSIM assistance information includes at least one of the following: a MUSIM gap priority preferred by the UE, a maximum number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers preferred by the UE, frequency band combinations and bandwidths supported by the UE, and capability information that can be supported when the UE capability is temporarily restricted.

[0411] In some embodiments, the capability information that can be supported when the UE capability is temporarily limited includes at least one of the following: supported frequency band combinations and supported bandwidths on the maximum number of MIMO layers, supported MUSIM gaps, and supported MUSIM gap priorities.

[0412] In some embodiments, UE identification information is used to allow the NW to identify the UE from which the RRC message is sent. The UE identification information may be generated based on the UE identification included in msg3 during the RACH process, and the UE identification information may include at least one of the following:

[0413] The UE identity included in the RRC message for requesting RRC establishment (e.g., RRC Setup message);

[0414] The UE identity included in an RRC message for requesting RRC recovery (e.g., an RRC Recovery Request or an RRC Recovery Request 1 message);

[0415] UE identity included in an RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message) for requesting RRC reestablishment;

[0416] C-RNTI.

[0417] In some embodiments, the UE identification information may be a bit string of variable length or a bit string of fixed length X.

[0418] In some embodiments, when the UE identification information is a bit string of variable length, the identification may be the same as the UE identification in msg3 sent during the RACH process.

[0419] In an exemplary embodiment, for an RRC establishment procedure, the UE identification information may be the UE identification included in an RRC message for requesting RRC establishment (e.g., an RRC Setup Request message). Alternatively, for an RRC recovery procedure, the UE identification information may be the UE identification included in an RRC message for requesting RRC recovery (e.g., an RRC Recovery Request or an RRC Recovery Request 1 message). Alternatively, for an RRC re-establishment procedure, the UE identification information may be the UE identification included in an RRC message for requesting RRC re-establishment (e.g., an RRC Reconfiguration message). Alternatively, for other situations where a C-RNTI is available (e.g., for an RRC reconfiguration procedure), the UE identification information is the C-RNTI.

[0420] In another exemplary embodiment, the C-RNTI may also be considered as UE identification information in the RRC re-establishment process.

[0421] In some embodiments, when the UE identification information is a fixed-length bit string, it is assumed that its length is X bits, where X is a positive integer. The following different scenarios can be considered to generate the UE identification information based on the UE identification included in the Msg3 sent during the RACH process.

[0422] In an exemplary embodiment, when X is equal to the bit string length of the UE identifier included in Msg3, the UE identifier information has the same value as the UE identifier included in Msg3; when X is greater than the bit string length of the UE identifier included in Msg3, the UE identifier information may be equal to a combination of the UE identifier included in Msg3 and a random value of length Y bits generated by the UE. The Y-bit random value may be placed to the right or left of the UE identifier. The number Y is equal to X minus (the bit string length of the UE identifier included in Msg3). In this way, the total bit string length of the UE identifier information remains X. When X is less than the bit string length of the UE identifier included in Msg3, the UE identifier information may be the X least significant bits (LSBs) and / or X most significant bits (MSBs) of the UE identifier included in Msg3 transmitted during the RACH procedure.

[0423] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a spare bit is an unused bit reserved for future use. When early assistance information is transmitted using RRC layer signaling, this field is included in the RRC message. A reserved bit is a bit reserved for future use. This field is included in the MAC CE when early assistance information is transmitted using MAC layer signaling. A key extension field can be used when key extension is required in the future.

[0424] In some embodiments, the early assistance information may be sent in an RRC message or an RRC message segment or a MAC CE or a MAC SDU or a MAC SDU segment.

[0425] In this embodiment, the logical channel used to transmit the specific RRC message carrying early assistance information can be a common control channel (CCCH) or a dedicated control channel (DCCH). When the CCCH logical channel is used, the signaling radio bearer (SRB) type used to send the specific RRC message is SRB0. When the DCCH logical channel is used, the SRB type can be SRB1.

[0426] In some embodiments, if a specific RRC message is used to provide early assistance information, the RRC message may be a fixed-length RRC message or a variable-length RRC message. If the CCCH logical channel is used for a specific RRC message, the CCCH logical channel category may be different depending on the RRC message size. Exemplarily, if the specific RRC message is a 48-bit RRC message, it may be sent from the UE to the network on the uplink CCCH logical channel. If it is a 64-bit RRC message, it may be sent from the UE to the network on the uplink CCCH1 logical channel. If the specific RRC message is a fixed-length RRC message and its size is a value different from 48 bits and 64 bits, a new uplink common control channel (UL-CCCH) category (e.g., CCCH2) in addition to CCCH and CCCH1 may be used to send the specific RRC message.

[0427] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, taking the example of early assistance information including UE identification information, the UE provides the early assistance information to the base station (or NW) via a specific RRC message. The configuration of the RRC message is as follows:

[0428] Signaling radio bearer: SRB0

[0429] RLC-SAP:TM

[0430] Logical channel: CCCH

[0431] Direction: UE to network

[0432] In this embodiment, a specific RRC message (such as an RRC Early Assistance Message) is a fixed 48-bit RRC message that can be sent from the UE to the NW using the logical channel CCCH. The Radio Link Control (RLC) mode used for the specific RRC message is the Transparent Mode (TM) mode. The signaling radio bearer used to carry the specific RRC message is SRB0.

[0433] In this embodiment, the content of the RRC early assistance message (RRCEarlyInformation) is as follows:

[0434] The field names, field positions, and field sizes involved in this embodiment are examples and are not limited in this disclosure. The content included in the embodiment is not limited to the content currently described, that is, other fields may also be included.

[0435] In this embodiment, the information element fields in the RRC early assistance message are shown in Table 6:

[0436] Table 6:

[0437] In this embodiment, the spare field in the RRC Early Assistance Message (RRCEarlyInformation) is n bits, which are not currently used and can be used for other purposes in the future. The number n is the number of remaining bits currently unused in the 48-bit RRC message.

[0438] In an exemplary embodiment, assuming that the length of the truncatedUE-Identity field is equal to the length of the C-RNTI, the truncated UE identity field may include the following cases:

[0439] For the RRC setup procedure, the truncated UE identity refers to the least significant X bits of the InitialUE-Identity field included in the RRCSetupRequest message.

[0440] For the RRC resumption procedure, the truncated UE identity refers to the least significant X bits of the resumeIdentity included in the RRCResumeRequest or RRCResumeRequest1 message.

[0441] For the RRC re-establishment procedure, it refers to the least significant X bits of the ReestablishedUE-Identity included in the RRCReestablishmentRequest message.

[0442] For other cases where C-RNTI is available, it may be equal to the C-RNTI value.

[0443] In another exemplary embodiment, the truncated UE identification information discussed above for the RRC re-establishment process may be the most significant X bits of the ReestablishabUE-Identity contained in the RRCReestablishmentRequest message, and the rest is the same as in the above embodiment.

[0444] In another exemplary embodiment, for other situations when C-RNTI is available, it can be used to replace the truncated UE identification information of the RRC re-establishment process, where C-RNTI is the C-RNTI value included in the ReestablishabUE-Identity in the RRCReestablishmentRequest message, and the rest is the same as the above embodiment.

[0445] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, taking the example of early assistance information not including UE identification information, the UE provides early assistance information to the base station (or NW) via a specific RRC message. The configuration of the RRC message is as follows:

[0446] Signaling radio bearer: SRB0

[0447] RLC-SAP:TM

[0448] Logical channel: CCCH

[0449] Direction: UE to network

[0450] In this embodiment, a specific RRC message (such as an RRC Early Assistance Message) is a fixed 48-bit RRC message that can be sent from the UE to the NW using the logical channel CCCH. The radio link control (RLC) mode used for the specific RRC message is the transparent mode (TM mode). The signaling radio bearer used to carry the specific RRC message is SRB0.

[0451] In this embodiment, the content of the RRC early assistance message (RRCEarlyInformation) is as follows:

[0452] In this embodiment, the information element fields in the RRC early assistance message are shown in Table 7:

[0453] Table 7:

[0454] In this embodiment, the spare field in the RRC Early Assistance Message (RRCEarlyInformation) is n bits, which are not currently used and can be used for other purposes in the future. The number n is the number of remaining bits currently unused in the 48-bit RRC message.

[0455] In some embodiments, early assistance information may also be transmitted in MAC layer signaling.

[0456] In an exemplary embodiment, an Early Assistance Information MAC CE (Media Access Control Element) may be used to report early assistance information (e.g., information related to UE capabilities) from the UE to the NW. The Early Assistance Information MAC CE is octet-aligned, meaning that the length of the MAC CE is an integer number of bytes, each byte being 8 bits long. In some examples, the MAC CE may be of variable length. In another example, the MAC CE has a fixed length. In yet another example, the MAC CE may be a MAC subheader without a MAC payload, meaning that the MAC CE carries only a MAC subheader with a zero-byte payload.

[0457] In this embodiment, the early assistance information MAC CE may include at least one of the early assistance information fields discussed in step 3 or step A in any of the above embodiments.

[0458] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, reporting of early assistance information may be implemented through an RRC early assistance message.

[0459] In some embodiments, in order to enable the NW to distinguish the RRC message (such as the RRC early assistance message) or RRC message segment (alternatively, MAC CE or MAC SDU or MAC SDU segment) providing early assistance information in the embodiments of the present disclosure from other scheduled uplink transmissions specified in the current standard, a reserved LCID index can be selected in the LCID reserved bit to identify the RRC message or RRC message segment (alternatively, MAC CE or MAC SDU or MAC SDU segment) containing the early assistance information.

[0460] In an exemplary embodiment, when early assistance information is sent using RRC layer signaling, the value of the LCID that can be used to identify the UL-SCH of the RRC message carrying the early assistance information is as shown in Table 8 below:

[0461] Table 8:

[0462] In another exemplary embodiment, when MAC layer signaling is used to send early assistance information, the value of the LCID that can be used to identify the UL-SCH of the MAC CE carrying the early assistance information is shown in the following Table 9:

[0463] Table 9:

[0464] In some embodiments, dedicated resources may be configured to monitor DCI for scheduling early assistance information.

[0465] In some embodiments, after sending a Msg3 or MsgA for transmitting a message carrying a request for early assistance information reporting, the UE searches for downlink control information (DCI) in the configured PDCCH resources and performs subsequent transmission based on the scheduling information included in the downlink control information (DCI), such as transmitting an RRC message (such as an RRC early assistance message) or an RRC message segment (alternatively, a MAC CE or a MAC SDU or a MAC SDU segment) carrying early assistance information.

[0466] In an exemplary embodiment, a system contains UEs that support or do not support early assistance message reporting capabilities. These UEs may share the same common physical layer RACH resource configuration. In this case, the scheduling information contained in the DCI used to schedule early assistance information may be different from that contained in the DCI not used to schedule early assistance information. Therefore, to ensure that only UEs that have sent a request to report early assistance information receive the corresponding DCI scheduling for early assistance information transmission, at least one of the following options may be adopted:

[0467] Option 1: Configure a dedicated search space (SS) for the UE to monitor the DCI that schedules early assistance message transmission.

[0468] Exemplarily, after the UE transmits a request indicating that it wants to send early assistance information, it monitors DCI on a dedicated SS, which is specifically configured to monitor DCI that schedules transmission of early assistance messages.

[0469] Option 2: A dedicated CORESET resource configuration may be configured for the UE to monitor the DCI that schedules the early assistance message.

[0470] Illustratively, after the UE transmits a request indicating that it wants to send early assistance information, it monitors DCI on a CORESET that is specifically configured to monitor DCI that schedules transmission of early assistance messages.

[0471] Option 3: monitor DCI-scheduled RRC early assistance messages using different RNTI value ranges.

[0472] Exemplarily, it may include at least one of the following:

[0473] If a UE receives a TC-RNTI in a random access response for a scheduled Msg3 transmission, and the Msg3 includes a request to send an Early Assistance Information message, it may use an enhanced TC-RNTI to monitor DCI-scheduled RRC Early Assistance Messages. For example, the enhanced TC-RNTI value is equal to the TC-RNTI received in the random access response for the scheduled Msg3 transmission plus the RNTI offset. If the enhanced TC-RNTI value is in a different range from the original TC-RNTI value, it ensures that only UEs that requested reporting of Early Assistance Messages will receive the DCI scheduling Early Assistance Message transmissions.

[0474] For example, if a UE previously sent an MsgA message containing an indication requesting early assistance information reporting, the UE monitors the PDCCH using an enhanced MsgB-RNTI. For example, the enhanced MsgB-RNTI value is equal to the MsgB-RNTI plus the RNTI offset. If the enhanced MsgB-RNTI value is within a different range than the original MsgB-RNTI value, this ensures that only UEs that requested early assistance information reporting will receive the DCI scheduling the transmission of the early assistance information.

[0475] In some embodiments, the DCI format used to schedule early assistance message transmission may include at least one of the following information:

[0476] Success feedback information indicating that the NW has successfully received a previously scheduled Early Assistance Message. Exemplarily, this field may be a single bit, indicating whether the NW has successfully received the Early Assistance Message transmitted by the UE. For example, a value of 1 indicates that the NW has successfully received the previously scheduled Early Assistance Message, while a value of 0 means that the NW has not received the previously scheduled Early Assistance Message. The reverse is also true, and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0477] Information indicating whether an Early Assistance Message is scheduled. For example, this field may be one bit, where a value of 1 indicates that the DCI scheduled is a transmission carrying Early Assistance Information, while a value of zero indicates that the DCI scheduled is a transmission without Early Assistance Information. The reverse is also true, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0478] Information indicating whether the NW is scheduling the UE for a new transmission or a retransmission. Exemplarily, if the value indicated in this field has changed compared to the last received DCI scheduling the same HARQ process, the UE considers this to be a new transmission. Exemplarily, if this is the first time the UE has received DCI scheduling an Early Assistance Message transmission, the UE always considers this to be a new transmission, regardless of the value indicated in this field.

[0479] Time domain resource information is used to indicate when the UE is scheduled to transmit.

[0480] Frequency domain resource information is used to indicate the frequency and bandwidth on which the UE is scheduled to transmit.

[0481] The HARQ process ID is used to indicate the HARQ process used for scheduling transmission.

[0482] In some embodiments, a UE buffer may be defined for storing early assistance message data (eg, RRC Early Assistance Information messages). The buffer allows for temporary storage of early assistance message data for retransmission of the early assistance information.

[0483] In some embodiments, the conditions for cleaning or flushing the cache may include at least one of the following:

[0484] Receiving positive feedback from the NW indicating that a previously sent RRC Early Assistance Message has been successfully received by the NW;

[0485] The RACH process is completed;

[0486] A DCI for instructing the UE to perform new transmission on the HARQ process in which the RRC early assistance message is sent is received from the NW.

[0487] Through the embodiments of the present disclosure, a specific MAC subheader or MAC CE or MAC SDU or MAC SDU segment or a specific RRC message or RRC message segment can be set to provide early auxiliary information for the base station. Without increasing the message size, the early auxiliary information is transmitted through the PUSCH, thereby solving the problem in the related technology of using logical channel identifiers to indicate auxiliary information during random access, and the limited number of coding points of logical channel identifiers and poor flexibility.

[0488] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, which is configured to receive configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station; and send a media access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early assistance information field.

[0489] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may execute the steps in any of the above-mentioned terminal-side method embodiments.

[0490] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station is provided, which is configured to send configuration information related to early auxiliary information reporting to a terminal; receive a media access control protocol data unit MAC PDU sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

[0491] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may execute the steps in any of the above-mentioned base station side method embodiments.

[0492] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above method embodiments are executed.

[0493] In an exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store computer programs, such as a USB flash drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0494] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to perform the steps in any one of the above method embodiments.

[0495] In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device may further include a transmission device and an input / output device, wherein the transmission device is connected to the processor, and the input / output device is connected to the processor.

[0496] For specific examples in this embodiment, reference may be made to the examples described in the above embodiments and exemplary implementation modes, and this embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0497] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the modules or steps of the present disclosure described above can be implemented using a general-purpose computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed across a network composed of multiple computing devices, they can be implemented using program code executable by the computing device, and thus, they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described can be performed in a different order than herein, or they can be fabricated into separate integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps can be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.

[0498] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and variations. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the principles of the present disclosure shall be within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for reporting early auxiliary information, applied to a terminal, the method comprising: receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station; A media access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU is sent to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration information includes: an explicit indication and / or an implicit indication for indicating whether to enable the specific MAC subheader.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The implicit indication includes at least one of the following: Msg4 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Confirmation HARQ-ACK automatic repeat configuration information; Configuration information related to temporary capability restrictions of multi-user identity module (MUSIM) terminals; Reduced capability RedCap terminal configuration information; Enhanced the ability to reduce eRedCap terminal configuration information; Random access channel RACH resource configuration information dedicated to early auxiliary information reporting; The mapping relationship between specific MAC subheader formats and RACH resources; Terminal capability information; Random access process trigger information; Initial access process trigger information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration information is cell-based configuration information, RACH resource-based configuration information, or RACH resource set-based configuration information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station includes at least one of the following: Receiving system information carrying the configuration information from the base station, wherein the system information includes at least one SIB1 message or a SIBx information unit, and the SIBx information unit includes at least one system information block; receiving a broadcast message carrying the configuration information from the base station; receiving a multicast message carrying the configuration information from the base station; A radio resource control (RRC) signaling carrying the configuration information is received from the base station.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The specific MAC subheader includes at least one of the following: The flag bit of the specific MAC subheader; The message type field of the common control channel CCCH message; The early assistance information field.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The message type of the CCCH message includes at least one of the following: 48-bit CCCH or 64-bit CCCH1; For use with reduced capacity RedCap terminals or for use with non-RedCap terminals.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The indication method of the early auxiliary information field includes at least one of the following: The early auxiliary information field includes at least one bit of information, wherein each bit of information represents one early auxiliary information; The value of the Early Aid Information field is determined by a formula for an Early Aid Information field that includes at least one subfield, where: Each of the subfields represents one of the early auxiliary information, and the formula of the early auxiliary information field is determined based on the value of the at least one subfield and the number of candidate values ​​of each of the subfields; A logical channel identification index, wherein the logical channel identification index is used to indicate one or more of the early auxiliary information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The formula for the early auxiliary information field includes: The value of the early auxiliary information field = the value of the first subfield + the value of the second subfield * the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield + the value of the third subfield * (the number of candidate values ​​of the second subfield + the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield) + ... + the value of the nth subfield * (the number of candidate values ​​of the n-1th subfield + ... + the number of candidate values ​​of the second subfield + the number of candidate values ​​of the first subfield)), where n is a positive integer.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The early auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal supports or requests automatic retransmission of the physical uplink control channel PUCCH of Msg4 hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation HARQ-ACK; Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal capability of the terminal is temporarily restricted; Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal supports reduced capability RedCap; Indication information used to indicate whether the terminal supports enhanced reduction capability eRedCap.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The MAC PDU includes multiple MAC sub-PDUs, wherein each of the MAC sub-PDUs is composed of one of the following: MAC subheader; MAC subheader and media access control layer service data unit MAC SDU; MAC subheader and control unit MAC CE of the media access control layer; MAC subheader and padding.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Sending a media access control protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information includes: In the third step of the four-step random access, or in the first step of the two-step random access, a medium access control protocol data unit MAC PDU is sent to the base station according to the configuration information.

13. A method for reporting early auxiliary information, applied to a base station, the method comprising: Sending configuration information related to early assistance information reporting to the terminal; A medium access control protocol data unit MAC PDU is received, which is sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein the MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

14. A terminal, the terminal being configured to receive configuration information related to early assistance information reporting from a base station; and to send a medium access control layer protocol data unit MAC PDU to the base station according to the configuration information, wherein: The MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

15. A base station, the base station being configured to send configuration information related to early assistance information reporting to a terminal; and receive a medium access control protocol data unit MAC PDU sent by the terminal according to the configuration information, wherein: The MAC PDU includes a specific MAC subheader carrying an early auxiliary information field.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored in the storage medium, wherein: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed.

17. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein: A computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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