Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and apparatus, which are used for implementing coverage enhancement on messages, such as Msg4. The method comprises: sending at least one of the following information: a preamble and a logical channel identifier, wherein the information is used for requesting a network device for sending, in a repeated transmission mode, a first message which carries conflict resolution information in a random access process; and receiving the first message. In the present application, the repeated transmission of a first message is requested from a network device by means of a preamble or a logical channel identifier, such that the coverage enhancement of the first message is implemented, thereby increasing the success rate of random access, shortening the communication delay, and further expanding the coverage range of a terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311292753.X and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] Currently, it is proposed to expand the coverage of network equipment by reducing the edge rate. However, after reducing the rate, some channels will have signal loss, such as message 2 (Msg2), physical uplink share channel (PUSCH), message 4 (Msg4), etc. Among them, the existing protocol already supports coverage enhancement of Msg2 and PUSCH channels. The PUSCH channel can support multiple repetitions through the time domain resource assignment (TDRA) configuration of the downlink control information (DCI) to achieve coverage enhancement. The Msg2 channel can achieve transmission block scaling through the transmission block (TB) scaling field, thereby improving coverage. However, other messages such as Msg4 currently have no definition in the protocol on how to perform coverage enhancement.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for enhancing coverage of messages such as Msg4.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, wherein the executing subject of the method may be a terminal device or a chip, chip system or circuit located in the terminal device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: sending a first message, wherein the first information is used to request the network device to send a first message carrying conflict resolution information during a random access process by repeated transmission, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: a preamble code or a logical channel identifier; and receiving the first message.

[0008] The present application requests the network device to retransmit the first message through preamble or logical channel identifier, thereby achieving coverage enhancement of the first message, improving the success rate of random access, reducing communication delay, and improving the coverage range of the terminal device.

[0009] In one possible design, the first information is used to request the network device to use repeated transmission to send the first message in the random access process, including: the first information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method can save signaling overhead by requesting repeated transmission of the first message through the preamble.

[0010] In one possible design, the first preamble belongs to a preamble set, which may also include a second preamble. The second preamble is used to indicate repeated transmission of a second message in the random access process, and the second message is carried via a physical uplink shared channel. This approach allows for flexible scheduling of repeated transmission of the first or second message.

[0011] In one possible design, the first preamble is also used to request the sending of a second message during the random access process by repeated transmission, with the second message carried by a physical uplink shared channel. This method allows the first message and the second message to be scheduled simultaneously and repeatedly, saving signaling overhead.

[0012] In one possible design, the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process by repeated transmission, including: the first information is carried on a first random access resource, and the first random access resource is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method can save signaling overhead by requesting repeated transmission of the first message through the random access resource.

[0013] In one possible design, the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process by repeated transmission, including: the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, and the first logical channel identifier is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method requests repeated transmission of the first message by using the logical channel identifier, which can save signaling overhead.

[0014] In one possible design, the value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

[0015] In one possible design, before sending the first information, the method also includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0016] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0017] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0018] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0019] In one possible design, the second message is Msg3.

[0020] In one possible design, after sending the first information, the method also includes: receiving downlink control information (DCI), the DCI is encrypted by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI), the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and receiving the first message according to the configuration information.

[0021] By using TC-RNTI encrypted DCI to configure repeated transmission of the first message, the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0022] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during the random access process, including: a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in the DCI indicates the number of repeated transmissions of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by reusing the MCS field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0023] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, including: part of the high-order bits (MSBs) of the MCS field indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted.

[0024] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: a downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0025] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0026] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: 1 bit in the downlink allocation index field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0027] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0028] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0029] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: the most significant 1 bit of the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0030] In one possible design, the DCI format is format 1-0.

[0031] In one possible design, after sending the first information, the method also includes: receiving a random access response uplink grant (RAR UL grant), the RAR UL grant indicating configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, the first message carrying conflict resolution information; receiving the first message according to the configuration information.

[0032] By configuring the repeated transmission of the first message through the RAR UL grant, the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of the repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0033] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the time domain resource allocation field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0034] In one possible design, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0035] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0036] In one possible design, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicating the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits including at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0037] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the network device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving first information, the first information being used to request the network device to transmit a first message in a random access process using repeated transmission, the first message carrying conflict resolution information, the first information including at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier. The first message is transmitted using repeated transmission.

[0038] The present application requests the network device to retransmit the first message through preamble or logical channel identifier, thereby achieving coverage enhancement of the first message, improving the success rate of random access, reducing communication delay, and improving the coverage range of the terminal device.

[0039] In one possible design, the first information is used to request the network device to use repeated transmission to send the first message in the random access process, including: the first information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method can save signaling overhead by requesting repeated transmission of the first message through the preamble.

[0040] In one possible design, the first preamble belongs to a preamble set, which may also include a second preamble. The second preamble is used to indicate repeated transmission of a second message in the random access process, and the second message is carried via a physical uplink shared channel. This approach allows for flexible scheduling of repeated transmission of the first or second message.

[0041] In one possible design, the first preamble is also used to request the sending of a second message during the random access process by repeated transmission, with the second message carried by a physical uplink shared channel. This method allows the first message and the second message to be scheduled simultaneously and repeatedly, saving signaling overhead.

[0042] In one possible design, the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process by repeated transmission, including: the first information is carried on a first random access resource, and the first random access resource is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method can save signaling overhead by requesting repeated transmission of the first message through the random access resource.

[0043] In one possible design, the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process by repeated transmission, including: the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, and the first logical channel identifier is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission. This method requests repeated transmission of the first message by using the logical channel identifier, which can save signaling overhead.

[0044] In one possible design, the value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

[0045] In one possible design, before receiving the first information, the method also includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0046] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0047] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0048] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0049] In one possible design, the second message is Msg3.

[0050] In one possible design, after receiving the first information, the method also includes: sending DCI, the DCI is encrypted by TC-RNTI, the DCI indicates the configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and sending the first message according to the configuration information.

[0051] By using TC-RNTI encrypted DCI to configure repeated transmission of the first message, the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0052] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of repeated transmissions of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the MCS field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0053] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted.

[0054] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: a downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0055] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0056] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: 1 bit in the downlink allocation index field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0057] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0058] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0059] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: the most significant 1 bit of the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0060] In one possible design, the DCI format is format 1-0.

[0061] In one possible design, after receiving the first information, the method further includes: sending a RAR UL grant, where the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and sending the first message according to the configuration information.

[0062] By configuring the repeated transmission of the first message through the RAR UL grant, the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of the repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0063] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the time domain resource allocation field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0064] In one possible design, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0065] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0066] In one possible design, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicating the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits including at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0067] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, and the execution subject of the method can be a terminal device or a chip, chip system or circuit located in the terminal device. The method can be implemented by the following steps: receiving DCI, DCI is encrypted by TC-RNTI, DCI indicates the configuration information of repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; receiving the first message according to the configuration information.

[0068] This application uses TC-RNTI encrypted DCI to configure repeated transmission of the first message, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0069] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of repeated transmissions of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the MCS field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0070] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted.

[0071] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: a downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0072] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0073] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: 1 bit in the downlink allocation index field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0074] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0075] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0076] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: the most significant 1 bit of the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0077] In one possible design, the DCI format is format 1-0.

[0078] In one possible design, before sending the first information, the method also includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0079] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0080] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0081] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0082] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The executor of the method can be a network device or a chip, chip system or circuit located in the network device. The method can be implemented by the following steps: sending DCI, DCI is encrypted by TC-RNTI, and DCI indicates the configuration information of repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; sending the first message according to the configuration information.

[0083] This application uses TC-RNTI encrypted DCI to configure repeated transmission of the first message, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0084] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of repeated transmissions of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the MCS field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0085] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted.

[0086] In one possible design, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message during random access, including: a downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted. This method can save signaling overhead by reusing the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0087] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0088] In one possible design, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: 1 bit in the downlink allocation index field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0089] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message, including: part of the MSB of the MCS field is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0090] In one possible design, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message. This approach can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the MCS field and the downlink allocation index field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0091] In one possible design, the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, including: the most significant 1 bit of the MCS field is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message.

[0092] In one possible design, the DCI format is format 1-0.

[0093] In one possible design, before receiving the first information, the method also includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0094] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0095] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0096] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0097] In the fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, and the execution subject of the method can be a terminal device or a chip, chip system or circuit located in the terminal device. The method can be implemented through the following steps: receiving RAR UL grant, RAR UL grant indicates the configuration information of repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; receiving the first message according to the configuration information.

[0098] This application configures repeated transmission of the first message through RAR UL grant, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0099] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the time domain resource allocation field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0100] In one possible design, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0101] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0102] In one possible design, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicating the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits including at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0103] In one possible design, before sending the first information, the method also includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0104] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0105] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0106] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0107] In the sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, and the executor of the method can be a network device or a chip, chip system or circuit located in the network device. The method can be implemented by the following steps: sending a random access response uplink grant (RAR UL grant), where the RAR UL grant indicates the configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and sending the first message according to the configuration information.

[0108] This application configures repeated transmission of the first message through RAR UL grant, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of the first message before transmitting the first message, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the first message, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0109] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the time domain resource allocation field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0110] In one possible design, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0111] In one possible design, the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message. This method can save signaling overhead by multiplexing the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field to configure repeated transmission of the first message.

[0112] In one possible design, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicating the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits including at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0113] In one possible design, before receiving the first information, the method also includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0114] In one possible design, the second information is included in system message block 1.

[0115] In one possible design, the method is applied to a 4-step random access procedure.

[0116] In one possible design, the first message is Msg4.

[0117] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device. The communication device has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the first aspect, the third aspect, or the fifth aspect above. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0118] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the method described above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and equipment such as a service satellite, such as the transmission and reception of data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0119] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0120] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing unit) and a communication unit (or communication unit), which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the first aspect, the third aspect or the fifth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0121] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is a network device or a chip in a network device. The communication device has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, or the sixth aspect. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0122] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding satellite servicing functions described in the above method. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and a terminal device, such as transmitting and receiving data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0123] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0124] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing unit) and a communication unit (or communication unit), which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the second aspect, fourth aspect or sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0125] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods of the aforementioned first aspect, third aspect, or fifth aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0126] In the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods of the aforementioned second aspect, fourth aspect, or sixth aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0127] In the eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the method in any one of the aforementioned aspects from the first to the sixth aspect and any possible design.

[0128] In the twelfth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method in any one of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 6 and any possible design.

[0129] In a thirteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and possibly a memory, for implementing the method of any of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 6 and any possible design. The chip system may be composed of a chip alone or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0130] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising the apparatus described in the first aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the second aspect (such as a network device).

[0131] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising the apparatus described in the third aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the fourth aspect (such as a network device).

[0132] In the sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the device described in the fifth aspect (such as a terminal device) and the device described in the sixth aspect (such as a network device).

[0133] The technical effects that can be achieved by the technical solutions of any of the above-mentioned aspects 7 to 16 can be described with reference to the technical effects that can be achieved by the technical solutions of the above-mentioned aspects 1 to 6, and the repetitions will not be repeated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0134] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a two-step random access process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an expanded coverage area according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a connection between a terminal device and a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0141] FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0142] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0143] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0144] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0145] Below, some terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0146] 1) Terminal equipment, which can be a device with wireless transceiver functions or a chip that can be set in any device, can also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, an XR device (such as a VR device, an AR device, an MR device, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in video surveillance, and a wearable terminal device. The terminal equipment can also be an eMBB UE, a URLLC UE, a drone, other Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a positioning device, etc.

[0147] A network device may be a device for implementing the functions of an access network device. An access network device may refer to a device in an access network that communicates with a wireless terminal device through one or more cells over an air interface. For example, it may be a next-generation base station (gNB) in an NR system, or an evolutionary base station (eNB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system. A network device may also be a device that can support a network device to implement the functions of the access network device, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device.

[0148] 2) Reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal equipment (REDCAP UE)

[0149] A REDCAP UE can be understood as a terminal device with reduced capabilities compared to a legacy UE. The differences between a legacy UE and a REDCAP UE include at least one of the following:

[0150] 1. Different bandwidth capabilities. The maximum bandwidth supported by legacy UEs can be greater than the maximum bandwidth supported by REDCAP UEs. For example, a legacy UE can support simultaneous communication with network equipment using up to 100 MHz of frequency resources on a single carrier, while a REDCAP UE can support communication with network equipment using up to 20 MHz, 10 MHz, or 5 MHz of frequency resources on a single carrier.

[0151] 2. The number of transmit and receive antennas is different. The antenna configuration of the legacy UE can be larger than that of the REDCAP UE. For example, the minimum antenna configuration supported by the legacy UE can be larger than the maximum antenna configuration supported by the REDCAP UE. For example, the minimum antenna configuration supported by the legacy UE can be 4 transmit and 2 receive, that is, under the minimum antenna configuration, 4 receive antennas are used to receive downlink signals, and 2 transmit antennas are used to send uplink signals; while the maximum antenna configuration supported by the REDCAP UE can be lower than 4 transmit and 2 receive, for example, the REDCAP UE only supports 2 receive and 1 transmit, or it can also support 2 receive and 2 transmit.

[0152] 3. Different uplink maximum transmit power. The maximum uplink transmit power of a legacy UE can be greater than that of a REDCAP UE. For example, the maximum uplink transmit power of a legacy UE can be 23dBm or 26dBm, while the maximum uplink transmit power of a REDCAP UE can only be between 4dBm and 20dBm.

[0153] 4. Legacy UEs and REDCAP UEs correspond to different protocol versions. For example, NR Rel-15 and NR Rel-16 terminal devices can be considered legacy UEs, while REDCAP UEs can be considered NR Rel-17 terminal devices.

[0154] 5. Legacy UEs and REDCAP UEs support different carrier aggregation (CA) capabilities. For example, legacy UEs can support CA, while REDCAP UEs do not. Another example is that both REDCAP UEs and legacy UEs support CA, but the maximum number of CAs supported by the legacy UE is greater than the maximum number of CAs supported by the REDCAP UE. For example, a legacy UE can support aggregation of up to 5 or 32 carriers simultaneously, while a REDCAP UE can support aggregation of up to 2 carriers simultaneously.

[0155] 6. The frequency division duplex (FDD) capabilities of legacy UEs and REDCAP UEs are different. For example, legacy UEs may support full-duplex FDD, while REDCAP UEs may only support half-duplex FDD.

[0156] 7. REDCAP UE and legacy UE have different data processing time capabilities. For example, the minimum delay between a legacy UE receiving downlink data and sending feedback on the downlink data is smaller than the minimum delay between a REDCAP UE receiving downlink data and sending feedback on the downlink data, and / or the minimum delay between a legacy UE sending uplink data and receiving feedback on the uplink data is smaller than the minimum delay between a REDCAP UE sending uplink data and receiving feedback on the uplink data.

[0157] 8. Legacy UE and REDCAP UE have different processing capabilities.

[0158] 9. The uplink and / or downlink transmission peak rates of legacy UEs and REDCAP UEs are different.

[0159] 10.REDCAP UE supports the downlink bandwidth part (BWP) configured by UE-specific radio resource control (RRC) and including cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB) or non-cell-defined SSB (NCD-SSB). Legacy UE only supports the downlink BWP configured by UE-specific RRC and including CD-SSB.

[0160] 11.REDCAP UE supports NCD-SSB based measurements in the downlink BWP configured by RRC.

[0161] 3) Enhanced Reduced Capability (eREDCAP) Terminal Equipment (EREDCAP UE)

[0162] EREDCAP UE can be understood as a terminal device with further reduced capabilities compared to REDCAP UE. EREDCAP UE adopts most of the configurations of REDCAP UE, and further enhancements include at least one of the following:

[0163] 1. The uplink and downlink peak rates are 10 Mbps, and for UEs in feature group FG 48-1, the corresponding peak rate is v*Q*f = 3.2. Here, v is the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, Q is the modulation order, and f is the scaling factor. For UEs in feature group FG 48-2, when the number of layers is 1, the corresponding peak rate is v*Q*f = 0.8; when the number of layers is 2, the corresponding peak rate is v*Q*f = 0.75.

[0164] 2. For UEs in FG 48-1, the maximum number of uplink or downlink unicast scheduling physical resource blocks (PRBs) supported by a single slot or hop is 25 PRBs at 15 kHz or 12 PRBs at 30 kHz.

[0165] 3. When the number of resource blocks (RBs) scheduled by the random access response (RAR) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or Message B (MsgB) PDSCH exceeds 25 PRBs at 15 kHz or 12 PRBs at 30 kHz, the RAR processing timing is relaxed by 1 / 0.5 ms corresponding to 15 / 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), respectively.

[0166] 4) The random access process includes a contention-based random access (CBRA) process and a contention-free random access (CFRA) process. The CBRA process is described below.

[0167] The CBRA process can be completed through a 4-step random access channel (RACH) or a 2-step RACH.

[0168] Referring to Figure 1, the four-step RACH process includes:

[0169] S11. The terminal device sends a random access request message to the network device, and the network device receives the random access request message from the terminal device. The random access request message may also be referred to as a first message (Msg1), which includes a random access preamble.

[0170] S12: The network device sends a RAR message to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the RAR message from the network device. The RAR message may also be referred to as a second message (Msg2).

[0171] S13: The terminal device sends scheduled transmission information to the network device, and the network device receives the scheduled transmission information from the terminal device. The message carrying the scheduled transmission information is called a third message (Msg3).

[0172] After receiving the RAR message, the terminal device transmits the message based on the scheduling of the RAR message. Specifically, the terminal device may send Msg3 via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the RAR UL grant carried in the first RAR.

[0173] S14: The network device sends contention resolution information to the terminal device. The message carrying the contention resolution information is called a fourth message (Msg4). The terminal device receives Msg4 from the network device and obtains the contention resolution information.

[0174] The above introduction is about 4-step RACH. The following is about 2-step RACH. Referring to Figure 2, 2-step RACH includes:

[0175] S21. The terminal device sends message A (MsgA) to the network device, and the network device receives MsgA from the terminal device.

[0176] The terminal device selects a Msg A resource from the public Msg A resources broadcast by the network device and sends Msg A through this Msg A resource. The Msg A resource includes the resources (time-frequency code) used to send the preamble and the corresponding PUSCH resources. Msg A also consists of two parts: one is the preamble, and the other is the PUSCH payload.

[0177] The MsgA message can be considered to include the content included in the preamble and Msg3 in the 4-step RACH.

[0178] S22. The network device sends MsgB to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives MsgB from the network device.

[0179] MsgB may include contention resolution information and the contents included in the RAR message in the 4-step RACH.

[0180] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and subsequent associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0181] Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, the first message and the second message are only used to distinguish different messages and do not indicate a difference in the sending order, content, priority, or importance of the two messages.

[0182] The foregoing text introduces some of the terms and concepts involved in the embodiments of this application. The following text introduces the technical features involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0183] In order to further improve the application scope of terminal devices with reduced capabilities (such as REDCAP UE, EREDCAP UE, or other terminal devices with reduced capabilities that will appear in the future) or adopt a lower network density, the coverage can be expanded by further reducing the edge rate of the terminal device. For example, the network equipment can configure different cell access parameters for terminal devices with reduced capabilities and legacy UEs, so that the coverage of different terminal devices is different. For example, as shown in Figure 3, assuming that the rate of the legacy UE is 1Mbps and the rate of the terminal device with reduced capabilities is 200kbps, the coverage of the terminal device with reduced capabilities is larger.

[0184] To improve coverage for reduced-capability devices, it's necessary to identify the channels with the greatest coverage loss for these devices. Coverage assessment results show that in urban scenarios with a 4 GHz carrier frequency, the three channels with the greatest coverage loss for reduced-capability devices are: Msg2 > PUSCH > Msg4. Existing protocols already support coverage enhancement for Msg2 and PUSCH. The PUSCH channel can support multiple repetitions through the DCI TDRA configuration, enhancing coverage. The Msg2 channel can implement transport block scaling through the TB scaling field, further improving coverage. However, protocols currently don't define how to enhance coverage for other messages, such as Msg4, resulting in poor communication performance for reduced-capability devices. For example, the significant loss in Msg4 can prevent devices from accessing network equipment. This is especially true for EREDCAP UEs, where the further reduced capabilities lead to even greater loss in Msg4, resulting in a lower probability of successful random access.

[0185] Based on this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for enhancing coverage of messages such as Msg4. The method and apparatus are based on the same inventive concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and the repetitive parts will not be repeated.

[0186] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), long term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G) communication system, LTE and 5G hybrid architecture, 5G new radio (NR) system, and 6G or new communication systems emerging in future communication development. The 5G communication system described in this application may include at least one of a non-standalone (NSA) 5G communication system and a standalone (SA) 5G communication system. The communication system may also be a machine to machine (M2M) network or other network.

[0187] The network device and the terminal device can communicate through the licensed spectrum, the unlicensed spectrum, or both. The network device and the terminal device can communicate through the spectrum below 6G, the spectrum above 6G, or both. The network device and the terminal device can communicate through the spectrum below 6G and the spectrum above 6G at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used between the network device and the terminal device.

[0188] Referring to Figure 4, a communication system is provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes a network device and six terminal devices, namely UE1 to UE6. In this communication system, UE1 to UE6 can send uplink data to the network device, and the network device can receive uplink data sent by UE1 to UE6. In addition, UE4 to UE6 can also form a sub-communication system. The network device can send downlink information to UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE5, and UE5 can send downlink information to UE4 and UE6 based on device-to-device (D2D) technology. Figure 4 is only a schematic diagram and does not specifically limit the type of communication system, the number and type of devices included in the communication system, etc.

[0189] Exemplarily, the network device and the terminal device may be connected via an air interface. For example, the connection relationship between the network device and the terminal device may be as shown in FIG5 .

[0190] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a communication system of a terminal device with reduced service capabilities, and of course can also be applied to a communication system of a terminal device with reduced service capabilities and a legacy UE.

[0191] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0192] The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For ease of introduction, the following takes the method executed by a network device and a terminal device as an example.

[0193] See Figure 6, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0194] S601: A terminal device sends first information, and a network device receives the first information accordingly.

[0195] The first information is used to request repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first information includes at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier. The first message carries conflict resolution information. The first message may be Msg4 in a 4-step random access process, or the first message may be MsgB in a 2-step random access process. The following also relates to a second message in the random access process, which is carried via a physical uplink shared channel. The second message may be Msg3 in a 4-step random access process, or the first message may be MsgA in a 2-step random access process.

[0196] The specific manner of repeatedly transmitting the first information request Msg4 will be described in detail below.

[0197] S602: The network device sends a first message in a repeated transmission manner. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message.

[0198] This application requests the network device to transmit Msg4 repeatedly through preamble or logical channel identifier, thereby achieving coverage enhancement of Msg4, improving the success rate of random access, reducing communication delay, and improving the coverage range of terminal devices.

[0199] To facilitate understanding of the solution, the following description is given by taking the case where the first message is Msg4 and the second message is Msg3 as an example.

[0200] Three examples of repeated transmission of the first information request Msg4 are introduced below.

[0201] In Example 1, a specific preamble can be used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. For example, the first information includes a first preamble, and the first preamble is used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. Specifically, the first preamble is predefined or pre-agreed to indicate a request for repeated transmission of the first message (e.g., Msg4). When the network device receives the first preamble, it can be determined that the terminal device requests to send Msg4 in a repeated transmission manner, and no additional indication information is required.

[0202] There are two possible implementations based on the above example.

[0203] One implementation is to request repeated transmission of Msg4 and Msg3 respectively through different preambles. For example, the preamble set in which the first preamble is located may further include a second preamble, and the second preamble is used to request repeated transmission of Msg3.

[0204] Optionally, there can be multiple first preambles, that is, multiple specific preambles can be used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. If a terminal device sends any of these preambles, the network device can schedule repeated transmission of Msg4. By requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 using multiple specific preambles, different terminal devices can select different preambles for random access, thereby reducing the probability of terminal device collisions.

[0205] There may be multiple second preambles, that is, there may be multiple specific preambles for requesting repeated transmission of Msg3. If the terminal device sends any of the preambles, the network device may schedule repeated transmission of Msg3.

[0206] For example, assume that the preamble set includes 64 preambles, K1 preambles in the preamble set are used to request repeated transmission of Msg3, and K2 preambles are used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. The K1 preamble sequences and K2 preambles are two subsets of the preamble set. K1 is an integer greater than 0 and less than 64, and K2 is an integer greater than 0 and less than 64. If the network device detects any preamble among the K1 preambles, the network device can schedule repeated transmission of Msg3. If the network device detects any preamble among the K2 preambles, the network device can schedule repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0207] One implementation is to request repeated transmission of Msg4 and Msg3 using the same preamble. For example, the first preamble is used to request repeated transmission of Msg3 and Msg4.

[0208] Optionally, there may be multiple first preambles, that is, there may be multiple specific preambles for requesting repeated transmission of Msg3 and Msg4. If the terminal device sends any of the preambles, the network device may schedule repeated transmission of Msg3 and Msg4.

[0209] For this example, assume a preamble set includes 64 preambles, with K preambles in the set used to request repeated transmissions of Msg3 and Msg4. The K preamble sequences are a subset of the preamble set. K is an integer greater than 0 and less than 64. If a network device detects any of the K preambles, it can schedule repeated transmissions of Msg3 and Msg4.

[0210] Example 2: Repeated transmission of Msg4 can be requested through a specific random access resource. For example, the terminal device can carry the first information on a specific random access resource to request repeated transmission of Msg4. For example, the first information is carried on the first random access resource, and the first random access resource is used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. Specifically, the predefined or pre-agreed first random access resource is used to indicate a request for repeated transmission of the first message (such as Msg4). When the network device detects a preamble on the first random access resource, it can be determined that the terminal device requests to send Msg4 in a repeated transmission manner, and there is no need to introduce additional indication information.

[0211] Optionally, there may be multiple first random access resources, that is, multiple specific random access resources may be used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects a preamble on any of the random access resources, the network device may schedule repeated transmission of Msg4. By requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 using multiple specific random access resources, different terminal devices can select different random access resources for random access, thereby reducing the probability of terminal device collisions.

[0212] In an example, the random access resource pool may be divided, where L random access resources are used to request repeated transmission of Msg4, where L is an integer greater than 0. If the network device detects a preamble on any of the L random access resources, the network device may schedule repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0213] Example 3: Repeated transmission of Msg4 can be requested through a specific logical channel identification (LCID). For example, the first information includes a first LCID, and the first LCID is used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. Specifically, the predefined or pre-agreed first LCID is used to indicate a request for repeated transmission of the first message (e.g., Msg4). When the network device receives the first LCID, it can be determined that the terminal device requests to send Msg4 in a repeated transmission manner, and there is no need to introduce additional indication information.

[0214] Optionally, there can be multiple first LCIDs, that is, there can be multiple specific LCID values ​​for requesting repeated transmission of Msg4. By requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 by multiple specific LCIDs, different types of terminal devices can use the corresponding LCIDs, which is conducive to improving communication performance.

[0215] Exemplarily, the value of the first LCID is 39, 40, 41, 42, or 47. In a possible example, the multiple specific LCID values ​​may include one or more of 39, 40, 41, 42, or 47, that is, the selectable value of the first LCID may include one or more of 39, 40, 41, 42, or 47.

[0216] For example, when the LCID value is 35 or 36, it indicates that the UE type of the terminal device is a REDCAP UE. When the LCID value is 39 or 40, it indicates that the UE type of the terminal device is a REDCAP UE and requests repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects an LCID value of 35 or 36, it can be determined that the UE type of the terminal device is a REDCAP UE and there is no need to schedule repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects an LCID value of 39 or 40, it can be determined that the UE type of the terminal device is a REDCAP UE and there is a need to schedule repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0217] When the LCID value is 37 or 38, it indicates that the UE type of the terminal device is an eREDCAP UE. When the LCID value is 41 or 42, it indicates that the UE type of the terminal device is an eREDCAP UE and requests repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects an LCID value of 37 or 38, it can be determined that the UE type of the terminal device is an eREDCAP UE and there is no need to schedule repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects an LCID value of 41 or 42, it can be determined that the UE type of the terminal device is an eREDCAP UE and there is a need to schedule repeated transmission of Msg4. As shown in Table 1.

[0218] Table 1

[0219] Exemplarily, the value of the first LCID may also be 35, 36, 37, or 38. In a possible example, the multiple specific LCID values ​​may include one or more of 35, 36, 37, or 38, that is, the selectable value of the first LCID may include one or more of 35, 36, 37, or 38.

[0220] In this example, when the LCID value is 35 or 36, it indicates that the UE type of the terminal device is REDCAP UE and requests repeated transmission of Msg4. If the network device detects an LCID value of 35 or 36, it can be determined that the UE type of the terminal device is REDCAP UE and that repeated transmission of Msg4 is required.

[0221] When the LCID value is 37 or 38, it indicates that the terminal device's UE type is an eREDCAP UE and requests repeated Msg4 transmission. If the network device detects an LCID value of 37 or 38, it can determine that the terminal device's UE type is an eREDCAP UE and requires scheduling repeated Msg4 transmissions. This is shown in Table 2.

[0222] Table 2

[0223] It should be noted that the above three examples only use the preamble, the random access resource carrying the preamble, and the LCID to separately request the repeated transmission of Msg4 as an example. In a specific implementation, it is also possible to make a joint request through any two of the preamble, the random access resource carrying the preamble, and the LCID. For example, the repeated transmission of Msg4 is jointly requested through the preamble and the random access resource carrying the preamble. For example, if the network device detects a specific preamble on a specific random access resource, the repeated transmission of Msg4 can be scheduled. Alternatively, if the network device detects a preamble on a specific random access resource, and the LCID is a specific value, the repeated transmission of Msg4 can be scheduled. Alternatively, if the network device detects a specific preamble on a specific random access resource, and the LCID is a specific value, the repeated transmission of Msg4 can be scheduled. Alternatively, if the network device detects a specific preamble, and the LCID is a specific value, the repeated transmission of Msg4 can be scheduled.

[0224] Alternatively, a joint request can be made using the preamble, the random access resource carrying the preamble, and the LCID. If the network device detects a specific preamble on a specific random access resource and the LCID is a specific value, it can schedule repeated transmissions of Msg4.

[0225] The above method jointly requests repeated transmission of Msg4 through at least two specific resources, which can save signaling overhead compared to the method of requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 through signaling messages.

[0226] The above describes the method in which the terminal device requests the network device to retransmit Msg4. Optionally, before requesting the network device to retransmit Msg4, the terminal device may determine whether to retransmit Msg4.

[0227] One possible implementation is: when the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the downlink reference signal is less than the RSRP threshold, the terminal device initiates a Msg4 retransmission request. The downlink reference signal can be a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) with measurement function.

[0228] Optionally, the present application may support repeated transmission of Msg4 on the main carrier and the auxiliary carrier. In this embodiment, the main carrier and the auxiliary carrier may correspond to different RSRP threshold values. When the RSRP of the downlink reference signal on the main carrier is less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the main carrier, the terminal device may request repeated transmission of Msg4 on the main carrier; when the RSRP of the downlink reference signal on the auxiliary carrier is less than the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the auxiliary carrier, the terminal device may request repeated transmission of Msg4 on the auxiliary carrier. Among them, the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the main carrier and the RSRP threshold value corresponding to the auxiliary carrier may be the same or different, and are not specifically limited here.

[0229] In the present application, the terminal device may also determine the priority for obtaining repeated transmissions of Msg4 before requesting repetition of Msg4. For example, before step S601, the network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate the priority for repeated transmissions of Msg4. Exemplarily, the second information may be included in system information block 1 (SIB1).

[0230] In one possible implementation, the network device may configure multiple sets of random access resources for the terminal device, where the multiple sets of random access resources may correspond to multiple features. For example, random access resource A corresponds to REDCAP UE, that is, REDCAP UE can perform random access through random access resource A; random access resource B corresponds to network slicing, that is, terminal devices supporting network slicing can perform random access through random access resource B; random access resource C corresponds to small packet transmission, and terminal devices requiring small packet transmission can perform random access through random access resource C; random access resource D corresponds to Msg3 coverage enhancement, and terminal devices requiring Msg3 coverage enhancement can perform random access through random access resource D; random access resource E corresponds to Msg4 coverage enhancement, and terminal devices requiring Msg4 coverage enhancement can perform random access through random access resource E; etc. When the terminal device is configured with multiple sets of random access resources, the configured random access resource set and the features applicable to the current random access process are used as input. Specifically, the random access resource corresponding to the feature with the highest priority can be applied to the current random access process.

[0231] It should be noted that the method described in FIG6 is illustrated by taking the example of requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 as the first information. In a specific implementation, it is also possible to request non-repeated transmission of Msg4. Specifically, non-repeated transmission of Msg4 can be requested in a manner similar to Examples 1 to 3 above, for example, by requesting non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific preamble, requesting non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific random access resource, requesting non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific LCID, etc. For details, please refer to the relevant description above and will not be elaborated here.

[0232] It is understood that non-repeated Msg4 transmission and repeated Msg4 transmission can be requested through different information. For example, using a specific preamble request, the preamble used to request non-repeated Msg4 transmission is different from the preamble used to request repeated Msg4 transmission. By separating the resources for requesting repeated Msg4 transmission and non-repeated Msg4 transmission, the accuracy of the request can be improved, which helps improve communication performance.

[0233] Taking a specific random access resource request as an example, the random access resource used to request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 is different from the random access resource used to request repeated transmission of Msg4. Taking a specific LCID request as an example, the LCID used to request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 is different from the LCID used to request repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0234] Alternatively, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 using a specific preamble and non-repeated transmission of Msg4 using a specific random access resource. For example, preamble A is predefined to request repeated transmission of Msg3 and Msg4, while random access resource A is predefined to request non-repeated transmission of Msg4. If a network device detects preamble A on random access resource A, it can schedule repeated transmission of Msg3 without scheduling repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0235] Similarly, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific preamble, and request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific LCID. Alternatively, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific random access resource, and request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific LCID. Alternatively, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific random access resource, and request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific preamble. Alternatively, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific LCID, and request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific preamble. Alternatively, you can request repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific LCID, and request non-repeated transmission of Msg4 through a specific random access resource. And so on.

[0236] This application requests repeated transmission of Msg4 from the network device through the preamble or logical channel identifier, thereby achieving enhanced Msg4 coverage, improving the success rate of random access, reducing communication latency, and improving the coverage range of terminal devices. In addition, requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 through the preamble, the random access resource carrying the preamble, the logical channel identifier, etc. can save signaling overhead.

[0237] The above describes how a terminal device requests a network device to repeatedly transmit Msg4. Before repeatedly sending Msg4, the network device can configure the terminal device to repeatedly transmit Msg4. The following describes two ways for the network device to configure Msg4 to repeatedly transmit.

[0238] It should be noted that the method of requesting repeated transmission of Msg4 and any method of configuring repeated transmission of Msg4 can be implemented separately as a solution, or can be combined and implemented as a solution. Specifically, if the method described in Figure 6 is combined with the method described in Figure 7 as an implementation scheme, S701 can be executed after executing the above S601, and S602 can be executed after executing S701, wherein the configuration information in S701 can be used to send the first message (that is, S702) when executing S602. If the method described in Figure 6 is combined with the method described in Figure 8 as an implementation scheme, S801 can be executed after executing the above S601, and S602 can be executed after executing S801, wherein the configuration information in S801 can be used to send the first message (that is, S802) when executing S602.

[0239] Method 1 for configuring repeated transmission of Msg4:

[0240] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0241] S701: A network device sends DCI, and a terminal device receives the DCI accordingly.

[0242] The DCI is scrambled by a temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI), and the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information. Optionally, the format of the DCI can be format 1-0.

[0243] The first message may be Msg4 in a 4-step random access process, and may also be called a message scheduled using DCI format 1-0 scrambled by TC-RNTI, or the first message may be MsgB in a 2-step random access process.

[0244] The specific manner in which the DCI indicates the configuration information for repeated transmission of Msg4 will be described in detail below.

[0245] S702: The network device sends a first message according to the configuration information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message according to the configuration information.

[0246] This application uses TC-RNTI encrypted DCI to configure Msg4 repeated transmission, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of Msg4 repeated transmission before transmitting Msg4, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of Msg4, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0247] To facilitate understanding of the solution, the following description is given by taking the first message Msg4 as an example.

[0248] The following describes four examples of configuration information indicating that the DCI indicates repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0249] Example A1: The modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field in the DCI indicates the number of times Msg4 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0250] Exemplarily, the number of repetitions of Msg4 may be indicated by 2 bits of information of the most significant bit (MSB) of the MCS field.

[0251] For example, as shown in Table 3, when the 2 bits of the MCS field (for example, the 2 bits of the MSB) take the value of 00, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 1, that is, no repetition; when the 2 bits of the MCS field take the value of 01, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 2; when the 2 bits of the MCS field take the value of 10, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 3; when the 2 bits of the MCS field take the value of 11, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 4.

[0252] Table 3

[0253] It should be understood that Table 3 is only an exemplary illustration, and the present application does not limit the number of repetitions indicated by the MCS, nor does it limit the correspondence between the value of the MCS field and the number of repetitions.

[0254] Example A2: The downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times Msg4 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0255] Exemplarily, the number of repetitions of Msg4 can be indicated by 2 bits of information in the downlink allocation index field.

[0256] For example, as shown in Table 4, when the 2-bit value of the downlink allocation index field is 00, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 1, that is, no repetition; when the 2-bit value of the downlink allocation index field is 01, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 2; when the 2-bit value of the downlink allocation index field is 10, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 3; when the 2-bit value of the downlink allocation index field is 11, it can indicate that the number of repetitions K is 4.

[0257] Table 4

[0258] It should be understood that Table 4 is only an exemplary description, and the present application does not limit the number of repetitions indicated by the downlink allocation index field, nor does it limit the corresponding relationship between the value of the downlink allocation index field and the number of repetitions.

[0259] Example A3: The downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of Msg4, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of Msg4 when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0260] Exemplarily, 1 bit in the downlink allocation index field may indicate whether Msg4 is repeatedly transmitted. In the case where the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of Msg4, 2 bits in the MCS field (e.g., 2 bits of the MSB) may indicate the number of repeated transmissions of Msg4.

[0261] For example, when the value of one bit in the Downlink Allocation Index field is 0, it indicates that Msg4 is not to be retransmitted; when the value of one bit in the Downlink Allocation Index field is 1, it indicates that Msg4 is to be retransmitted. When the Downlink Allocation Index field indicates that Msg4 is to be retransmitted, the number of times the MCS field indicates Msg4 retransmission can be found in the description of Example A1 and will not be repeated here.

[0262] Example A4: The MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of Msg4, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of Msg4 when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of Msg4.

[0263] Exemplarily, the MSB bit in the MCS field may indicate whether Msg4 is repeatedly transmitted. In the case where the MSB bit in the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of Msg4, the 2 bits in the downlink allocation index field indicate the number of repeated transmissions of Msg4.

[0264] For example, when the MSB bit in the MCS field is 0, it indicates that Msg4 is not transmitted repeatedly; when the MSB bit in the MCS field is 1, it indicates that Msg4 is transmitted repeatedly. When the MSB bit in the MCS field indicates that Msg4 is transmitted repeatedly, the number of times the downlink allocation index field indicates Msg4 transmission repetitions can be found in the description of Example A2 and will not be repeated here.

[0265] In the present application, the terminal device may also determine the priority for obtaining repeated Msg4 transmissions before configuring repeated Msg4 transmissions. For example, before S701 above, the network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate the priority for repeated Msg4 transmissions. Exemplarily, the second information may be included in SIB1. For a specific implementation, please refer to the relevant description of the method described in FIG6 , and will not be repeated here.

[0266] This application uses TC-RNTI-scrambled DCI to configure repeated Msg4 transmissions, allowing the terminal device to obtain the relevant configuration for repeated Msg4 transmissions before transmitting Msg4. This helps improve Msg4 transmission performance, thereby increasing the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication latency. In addition, by reusing fields in the DCI to configure repeated Msg4 transmissions, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0267] Method 2 for configuring repeated transmission of Msg4: FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0268] S801: The network device sends a random access response uplink grant (RAR UL grant). Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RAR UL grant.

[0269] The RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information. The first message may be Msg4 in a 4-step random access process, or MsgB in a 2-step random access process.

[0270] The specific manner in which the RAR UL grant indicates the configuration information of the repeated transmission of Msg4 will be described in detail below.

[0271] S802: The network device sends a first message according to the configuration information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message according to the configuration information.

[0272] This application configures repeated transmission of Msg4 through RAR UL grant, so that the terminal device can obtain the relevant configuration of repeated transmission of Msg4 before transmitting Msg4, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of Msg4, thereby improving the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication delay.

[0273] To facilitate understanding of the solution, the following description is given by taking the first message Msg4 as an example.

[0274] The following describes two examples of configuration information for indicating repeated transmission of Msg4 by the RAR UL grant.

[0275] Example B1: The time domain resource allocation (TDRA) field in the DCI indicates the configuration information of repeated Msg transmission.

[0276] Exemplarily, the number of repetitions may be indicated by the state of the TDRA field. For example, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond to N repetition transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0277] For example, 4 of the 16 states indicated by the 4 bits of the TDRA field can be used to indicate the number of repetitions of Msg4 from 1 to 4 times. For example, 4 rows in Table 6.1.2.1.1-2 of the protocol 3GPP TS 38.214V17.4.0 (2022-12), which is the default PUSCH TDRA indication table for normal cyclic prefix, can be selected as the indication state of the number of repetitions. For example, the first 4 rows in Table 6.1.2.1.1-2 of the protocol 3GPP TS 38.214V17.4.0 (2022-12) can be selected as the indication state of the number of repetitions, as shown in Table 5. Since the processing delay corresponding to the first 4 rows may exceed the scheduling delay, these scheduling configuration parameters are actually unavailable and can be used to indicate the number of repetitions of Msg4.

[0278] Table 5

[0279] Among them, K2 is the number of time slots in the interval, S is the start symbol, and L is the symbol length.

[0280] It should be understood that Table 5 is only an exemplary description, and the present application does not limit the row index indicating the number of repeated transmissions, nor does it limit the number of repetitions indicated, and the correspondence between the row index and the number of repetitions.

[0281] Example B2: The frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

[0282] Exemplarily, P bits indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits include at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0283] For example, one bit is selected from the 14 bits of the FDRA field of the RAR UL grant, and one bit of the frequency hopping field indicating whether frequency hopping is performed is used to jointly indicate the number of Msg4 repetitions. The FDRA field has a total of 14 bits. When the UE is a REDCAP UE or EREDCAP UE, only 13 bits are required to indicate the frequency domain resource configuration of 106 resource blocks (RBs), resulting in one reserved bit. In this embodiment, one reserved bit of the FDRA field and one bit of the frequency hopping field are used to jointly indicate the number of Msg4 repetitions.

[0284] The above method uses a field indicating whether frequency hopping is performed to indicate the number of repetitions of Msg4. However, the information on whether frequency hopping is performed can be indicated by other methods. For example, the information on whether frequency hopping is performed can be indicated by a frequency hopping offset indication field. For example, when the size of the bandwidth part (BWP) is greater than or equal to 50, the frequency hopping offset indication field includes 2 bits. The present application can indicate frequency hopping and frequency hopping offset by using the value states 00, 01, and 10 of the frequency hopping offset indication field, and indicate non-frequency hopping by using the value state 11.

[0285] In the present application, the terminal device may also determine the priority for obtaining repeated Msg4 transmissions before configuring repeated Msg4 transmissions. For example, before S701 above, the network device may send second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate the priority for repeated Msg4 transmissions. Exemplarily, the second information may be included in SIB1. For a specific implementation, please refer to the relevant description of the method described in FIG6 , and will not be repeated here.

[0286] By using the RAR UL grant to configure repeated Msg4 transmission, this application allows the terminal device to obtain the relevant configuration for repeated Msg4 transmission before transmitting Msg4, which is beneficial for improving Msg4 transmission performance, thereby increasing the success rate of the random access process and reducing communication latency. In addition, by reusing fields in the RAR UL grant to configure repeated Msg4 transmission, signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0287] Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the structure of which may be as shown in FIG. 9 , including a communication unit 901 and a processing unit 902 .

[0288] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 6. The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the terminal device that is used to execute the functions of the related method. The processing unit 902 is configured to send first information via the communication unit 901, the first information being used to request the network device to transmit a first message in a random access process using repeated transmission, the first message carrying conflict resolution information, the first information including at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier; and receiving the first message via the communication unit 901.

[0289] Exemplarily, the first information includes a first preamble code, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission; or, the first information is carried on a first random access resource, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission; or, the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission.

[0290] Exemplarily, the first preamble belongs to a preamble set, and the preamble set may further include a second preamble, and the second preamble is used to indicate repeated transmission of a second message in the random access process, and the second message is carried through a physical uplink shared channel.

[0291] Exemplarily, the first preamble is further used to request that a second message in the random access process be sent by repeated transmission, and the second message is carried by a physical uplink shared channel.

[0292] An exemplary value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

[0293] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: receive second information through the communication unit 901, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0294] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of FIG. 6 . The device can be the network device itself, or it can be a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The processing unit 902 is configured to receive first information via the communication unit 901, the first information being used to request the network device to transmit a first message in a random access process using repeated transmission, the first message carrying conflict resolution information, and the first information including at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier. Furthermore, the first message is transmitted via the communication unit 901 using repeated transmission.

[0295] Exemplarily, the first information includes a first preamble code, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission; or, the first information is carried on a first random access resource, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission; or, the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, which is used to request that the first message be sent by repeated transmission.

[0296] Exemplarily, the first preamble belongs to a preamble set, and the preamble set may further include a second preamble, and the second preamble is used to indicate repeated transmission of a second message in the random access process, and the second message is carried through a physical uplink shared channel.

[0297] Exemplarily, the first preamble is further used to request that a second message in the random access process be sent by repeated transmission, and the second message is carried by a physical uplink shared channel.

[0298] Exemplarily, the value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

[0299] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: send second information through the communication unit 901, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0300] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 7. The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip or chipset in the terminal device, or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the relevant method. Among them, the processing unit 902 is used to receive DCI through the communication unit 901, the DCI is scrambled by TC-RNTI, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and receive the first message through the communication unit 901 according to the configuration information.

[0301] Exemplarily, the MCS field or the downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted; or, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message; or, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0302] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0303] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of Figure 7. The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or part of a chip in the network device for performing the functions of the relevant method. The processing unit 902 is configured to send a DCI through the communication unit 901, where the DCI is scrambled using the TC-RNTI, the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message during a random access process, and the first message carries conflict resolution information; and send the first message through the communication unit 901 according to the configuration information.

[0304] Exemplarily, the MCS field or the downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted; or, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message; or, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

[0305] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: send second information through the communication unit 901, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0306] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 8. The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the terminal device that is used to perform the functions of the relevant method. The processing unit 902 is configured to receive, via the communication unit 901, a RAR UL grant, where the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; and receive, via the communication unit 901, the first message based on the configuration information.

[0307] Exemplarily, the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grantI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

[0308] Exemplarily, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0309] Exemplarily, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

[0310] Exemplarily, P bits indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits include at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0311] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: receive second information through the communication unit 901, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0312] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of FIG. 8 . The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The processing unit 902 is configured to send a RAR UL grant via the communication unit 901, where the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message during a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; and send the first message via the communication unit 901 based on the configuration information.

[0313] Exemplarily, the time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

[0314] Exemplarily, the N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0315] Exemplarily, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

[0316] Exemplarily, P bits indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits include at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

[0317] Optionally, the processing unit 902 is further used to: send second information through the communication unit 901, where the second information is used to indicate the priority of repeated transmission of the first message.

[0318] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processor, or can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It is understood that the functions or implementations of the various modules in the embodiments of the present application can be further referred to the relevant description of the method embodiment.

[0319] In one possible embodiment, a communication device may be as shown in FIG10 . The device may be a communication device or a chip within the communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a network device in the aforementioned embodiments. The device includes a processor 1001 and a communication interface 1002, and may also include a memory 1003. The processing unit 902 may be the processor 1001. The communication unit 901 may be the communication interface 1002. Optionally, the processor 1001 and the memory 1003 may be integrated.

[0320] The processor 1001 may be a CPU, a digital processing unit, or the like. The communication interface 1002 may be a transceiver, an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, or the like. The device further includes: a memory 1003 for storing programs executed by the processor 1001. The memory 1003 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory 1003 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0321] The processor 1001 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1003, specifically to execute the actions of the processing unit 902, which will not be described in detail in this application. The communication interface 1002 is specifically used to execute the actions of the communication unit 901, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0322] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1002, processor 1001, and memory 1003 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 10, the embodiment of the present application shows that the memory 1003, processor 1001, and communication interface 1002 are connected via bus 1004. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 10. The connection method between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not limiting. Buses can be divided into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 10, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0323] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor, which includes a program required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor.

[0324] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 6 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 6.

[0325] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 7 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 7.

[0326] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 8 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 8.

[0327] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0328] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0329] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0330] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0331] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process in a repeated transmission manner, where the first message carries conflict resolution information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier; The first message is received.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is used to request the network device to send the first message in the random access process by repeated transmission, including at least one of the following: The first information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission; Alternatively, the first information is carried on a first random access resource, and the first random access resource is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission; Alternatively, the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, and the first logical channel identifier is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first preamble belongs to a preamble set, and the preamble set may further include a second preamble, where the second preamble is used to indicate a second message in a repeated transmission random access process, and the second message is carried through a physical uplink shared channel; Alternatively, the first preamble code is further used to request to send a second message in the random access process by repeated transmission, and the second message is carried by a physical uplink shared channel.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive first information, where the first information is used to request a network device to send a first message in a random access process by repeated transmission, where the first message carries conflict resolution information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: a preamble or a logical channel identifier; The first message is sent in a repeated transmission manner.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information is used to request the network device to send the first message in the random access process by repeated transmission, including at least one of the following: The first information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission; Alternatively, the first information is carried on a first random access resource, and the first random access resource is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission; Alternatively, the first information includes a first logical channel identifier, and the first logical channel identifier is used to request to send the first message by repeated transmission.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first preamble belongs to a preamble set, and the preamble set may further include a second preamble, where the second preamble is used to indicate a second message in a repeated transmission random access process, and the second message is carried through a physical uplink shared channel; Alternatively, the first preamble code is further used to request to send a second message in the random access process by repeated transmission, and the second message is carried by a physical uplink shared channel.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The value of the first logical channel identifier is 39, 40, 41, 42 or 47.

10. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving downlink control information DCI, where the DCI is scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier TC-RNTI, where the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; The first message is received according to the configuration information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, including: The modulation and coding scheme MCS field or the downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted; Alternatively, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message; Alternatively, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending downlink control information DCI, where the DCI is scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier TC-RNTI, where the DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; The first message is sent according to the configuration information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The DCI indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, including: The modulation and coding scheme MCS field or the downlink allocation index field in the DCI indicates the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted; Alternatively, the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the downlink allocation index field indicates repeated transmission of the first message; Alternatively, the MCS field in the DCI is used to indicate repeated transmission or non-repeated transmission of the first message, and the downlink allocation index field in the DCI is used to indicate the number of repeated transmissions of the first message when the MCS field indicates repeated transmission of the first message.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a random access response uplink grant RAR UL grant, where the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; The first message is received according to the configuration information.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: The time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein: The RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: The frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: The frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits include at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a random access response uplink grant RAR UL grant, where the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of a first message in a random access process, where the first message carries conflict resolution information; The first message is sent according to the configuration information.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: The RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: The time domain resource allocation field in the RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: The N states of the time domain resource allocation field correspond one-to-one to N repeated transmission times, where N is an integer greater than 0.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein: The RAR UL grant indicates configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message in the random access process, including: The frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field in the RAR UL grant indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein: The frequency domain resource allocation field and the frequency hopping field indicate configuration information for repeated transmission of the first message, including: P bits indicate the number of times the first message is repeatedly transmitted, the P bits include at least one bit in the frequency domain resource allocation field and at least one bit in the frequency hopping field, and P is an integer greater than 1.

28. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 27, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a priority for repeated transmission of the first message.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, or a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 10, or a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, or a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16, or a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 22, or a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 28.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, and when the computer-readable instructions are executed on the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 16 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 28 is executed.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed on a device, the device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

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