Prach configuration indication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a PRACH configuration indication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving N PRACH-related configurations, which are from a network device; and / or the terminal device receiving RRC signaling and / or an MAC CE and / or DCI, wherein the RRC signaling and / or the MAC CE and / or the DCI is used for indicating / activating / triggering at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations.

Description

PRACH configuration indication method and device Technical Field

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

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

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

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

[0005] To achieve energy conservation, network devices can perform energy conservation processing in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, and / or energy domain based on network load. For example, in the spatial and energy domains, network devices can turn off some antennas to achieve energy conservation when the load is low. In the time domain, network devices can adjust the period or time domain position of the cell common reference signal (such as SSB / SIB) when there are few users and light load to achieve energy conservation.

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

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The inventors discovered that in terms of time-domain energy conservation, in order to increase the chances of network devices entering sleep mode, the number of frequent transmissions between two synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) can be reduced. For example, minimizing the number of periodic receptions, such as the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), can save significant energy.

[0009] However, currently, information such as PRACH time-frequency resources and PRACH and SSB mapping is obtained through system information (SIB1) or radio resource control (RRC) configuration messages. If network equipment needs to adjust PRACH-related configuration information, it can only be achieved through SI update or RRC reconfiguration, which takes a long time to change and cannot quickly and flexibly adjust PRACH. Therefore, providing a PRACH adjustment mechanism that is lighter than SI has become a pressing issue for network energy-saving technology.

[0010] To address at least one of the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a method and apparatus for indicating a PRACH configuration.

[0011] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for indicating a PRACH configuration is provided, including:

[0012] The terminal device receives N PRACH-related configurations from the network device, where N ≥ 1; and / or

[0013] The terminal device receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0014] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a device for indicating a PRACH configuration is provided, including:

[0015] a receiving unit configured to receive N PRACH-related configurations from a network device, where N≥1; and / or

[0016] The receiving unit receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0017] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for indicating a PRACH configuration is provided, including:

[0018] The network device sends N PRACH related configurations to the terminal device, where N ≥ 1; and / or

[0019] The network device sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0020] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a device for indicating a PRACH configuration is provided, including:

[0021] A sending unit, which sends N PRACH related configurations to the terminal device, where N≥1; and / or

[0022] The sending unit sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0023] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication system is provided, including:

[0024] A network device that sends N PRACH-related configurations to a terminal device, where N≥1; and / or sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI;

[0025] A terminal device that receives the N PRACH-related configurations, and / or RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0026] One of the beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application is that in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), network equipment and terminal equipment can quickly and flexibly indicate / activate / trigger PRACH configuration, which can not only improve network gain (such as energy-saving gain) but also ensure normal transmission of terminal equipment.

[0027] With reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, indicating the manner in which the principles of the present application can be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited in scope. Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the embodiments of the present application include many variations, modifications and equivalents.

[0028] Features described and / or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with features in other embodiments, or substituted for features in other embodiments.

[0029] It should be emphasized that the term "include / comprising" when used herein refers to the presence of features, integers, steps or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The elements and features described in one figure or one embodiment of the present application can be combined with the elements and features shown in one or more other figures or embodiments. In addition, in the accompanying drawings, similar reference numerals represent corresponding parts in several figures and can be used to indicate corresponding parts used in more than one embodiment.

[0031] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating a PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG3 is an example diagram of a DCI activation / deactivation configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG4 is another example diagram of a DCI activation / deactivation configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating a PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a PRACH configuration indication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a PRACH configuration indication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The above and other features of the present application will become apparent through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description and the accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, which illustrate some embodiments in which the principles of the present application can be adopted. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the described embodiments. On the contrary, the present application includes all modifications, variations and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish different elements from the name, but do not indicate the spatial arrangement or temporal order of these elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms. The term "and / or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terms "comprising", "including", "having", etc. refer to the presence of the stated features, elements, components or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components or components.

[0042] In the embodiments of this application, the singular forms "a," "the," etc. include plural forms and should be broadly understood to mean "a" or "a type" rather than being limited to "one." Furthermore, the term "said" should be understood to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the term "according to" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", and the term "based on" should be understood to mean "at least in part based on...", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "communication network" or "wireless communication network" may refer to a network that complies with any of the following communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A, LTE-Advanced), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), etc.

[0044] Furthermore, communication between devices in the communication system may be carried out according to communication protocols of any stage, for example, including but not limited to the following communication protocols: 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G and 5G, New Radio (NR), future 6G, etc., and / or other communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0045] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "network device" refers to, for example, a device in a communication system that connects a terminal device to the communication network and provides services to the terminal device. Network devices may include, but are not limited to, the following devices: base station (BS), access point (AP), transmission reception point (TRP), broadcast transmitter, mobile management entity (MME), gateway, server, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), etc.

[0046] Among them, base stations may include but are not limited to: NodeB (NodeB or NB), evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) and 5G base station (gNB), IAB host, etc., and may also include remote radio head (RRH, Remote Radio Head), remote radio unit (RRU, Remote Radio Unit), relay (relay) or low-power node (such as femeto, pico, etc.). The term "base station" can include some or all of their functions. Each base station can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. The term "cell" can refer to a base station and / or its coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "user equipment" (UE) or "terminal equipment" (TE) refers to, for example, a device that accesses a communication network through a network device and receives network services. A terminal device can be fixed or mobile and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a terminal, a subscriber station (SS), an access terminal (AT), a station, and so on.

[0048] Among them, terminal devices may include but are not limited to the following devices: cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, machine-type communication devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, smart phones, smart watches, digital cameras, etc.

[0049] For another example, in scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the terminal device can also be a machine or device for monitoring or measurement, including but not limited to: machine type communication (MTC) terminal, vehicle-mounted communication terminal, device-to-device (D2D) terminal, machine-to-machine (M2M) terminal, and so on.

[0050] In addition, the term "network side" or "network device side" refers to one side of the network, which can be a base station or one or more network devices as described above. The term "user side" or "terminal side" or "terminal device side" refers to the user or terminal side, which can be a UE or one or more terminal devices as described above. Unless otherwise specified herein, "device" can refer to either network equipment or terminal equipment.

[0051] The following describes the scenarios of the embodiments of the present application through examples, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0052] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, schematically illustrating a situation using a terminal device and a network device as an example. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include a network device 101 and terminal devices 102 and 103. For simplicity, FIG1 illustrates only two terminal devices and one network device as an example, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0053] In the embodiment of the present application, existing services or future services can be transmitted between the network device 101 and the terminal devices 102 and 103. For example, these services may include but are not limited to: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), etc.

[0054] It is worth noting that FIG1 shows that both terminal devices 102 and 103 are within the coverage range of network device 101, but the present application is not limited thereto. Both terminal devices 102 and 103 may not be within the coverage range of network device 101, or one terminal device 102 may be within the coverage range of network device 101 while the other terminal device 103 is outside the coverage range of network device 101.

[0055] Random access is a key function of the access network. For example, it is the fundamental process for establishing a connection between a UE and a gNB, and plays a crucial role from 2G to 5G. The random access process involves protocols such as the physical layer, MAC layer, and RRC layer. The physical layer defines the preamble sequence code, PRACH resources, and timing required for the random access process; the MAC layer defines the overall random access process; and the RRC layer, in addition to configuring random access parameters, is directly involved in some specific random access procedures.

[0056] In an RRC establishment scenario, the UE transitions from the idle state (RRC_IDLE) to the connected state (RRC_CONNECTED). This means that the initial UE must establish a connection with the cell to enable signaling and data transmission within the cell. From an RRC perspective, the UE must complete the RRC establishment process, which is interspersed with the random access process. Because the UE in the idle state can only receive cell system messages and not any dedicated signaling, contention-based random access is used. This means that the gNB cannot identify the UE until random access contention is resolved. The UE's contention-based random access parameters are obtained through broadcast cell system information.

[0057] For example, the information exchange process for contention random access is divided into four steps: the first step is to send Msg1, that is, to send the Preamble code; the second step is to receive Msg2, that is, the Random Access Response (RAR); the third step is to send Msg3, that is, the RRC request; and the fourth step is to receive Msg4, which is the contention resolution. The embodiments of this application mainly involve the first step, Msg1, so Msg1 is introduced below.

[0058] Msg1 is an uplink message sent by the UE and received by the gNB. For example, based on the random access channel (RACH) configuration information notified by the cell broadcast message, the UE determines the mapping between the preamble code, PRACH time-frequency resources, and the SSB and RACH occasion (RO) information. The UE then sends the preamble code to the gNB to initiate the random access procedure.

[0059] The above schematically illustrates random access, and the following further illustrates PRACH time-frequency resource configuration.

[0060] PRACH resources are periodic resources. In the time domain, different PRACH Preamble formats have different durations. The time domain position of the PRACH resource is defined by the PRACH configuration period, radio frame index, subframe / time slot index, starting PRACH OFDM symbol index in the time slot, and the number of time domain ROs in the time slot. Among them, the candidate values ​​of the PRACH configuration period are {10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms. In each PRACH configuration period, the PRACH resources are only distributed in a valid radio frame (10ms). The valid radio frame contains one or more subframes / time slots. There is only one starting PRACH OFDM symbol index in each subframe / time slot, and there is one or more time domain ROs in a time slot.

[0061] In the frequency domain, different PRACH preamble formats and subcarrier spacings jointly determine the frequency domain bandwidth occupied by the PRACH. For a long preamble format with a length of 839, when the PRACH subcarrier spacing is 1.25kHz, the frequency domain bandwidth is 1.08MHz (corresponding to 6 PRBs with a PUSCH subcarrier spacing of 15kHz), and when the PRACH subcarrier spacing is 5kHz, the frequency domain bandwidth is 4.32MHz. For a short preamble format with a length of 139, when the PRACH subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, and 120kHz, the corresponding frequency domain bandwidths are 2.16MHz, 4.32MHz, 8.64MHz, and 17.28MHz, respectively.

[0062] The configuration of PRACH time domain resources in NR is the same as that in LTE, that is, the PRACH configuration is determined by looking up the configuration table pre-defined in the protocol. For each configuration index, the table defines the period, system frame number, subframe / time slot number, starting symbol index within a time slot, and the number of time domain ROs. There are a total of 256 configurable indexes, which are notified by 8 bits in SIB1. The number of different PRACH frequency domain resources for frequency division multiplexing (FDM) occupying the same time domain resources is 1, 2, 4, and 8, and the specific value is notified by 2 bits in SIB1.

[0063] NR defines three PRACH configuration tables. The design of the configuration tables takes into account the support of different TDD semi-static uplink and downlink cycle configurations, different PRACH capacities, the typical configuration period of common PRACH preamble formats of different operators, and the uplink starting position within a time slot in the TDD system.

[0064] For example, the first table applies to uplink carriers or supplementary uplink carriers (SUL) in FDD spectrum in FR1, and includes four long preamble formats 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 and 10 short preamble formats: A1, A2, A3, B1, B4, A1 / B1, A2 / B2, A3 / B3, C0, and C2. Formats A1 / B1, A2 / B2, and A3 / B3 have a period of {10, 20} ms, format C0 has a period of {10, 20, 40, 80} ms, and the remaining 10 formats have a period of {10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms. The starting symbol index within a timeslot is all 0.

[0065] For example, the second table applies to the FR1 TDD spectrum and includes four long preamble formats 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 and 10 short preamble formats: A1, A2, A3, B1, B4, A1 / B1, A2 / B2, A3 / B3, C0, and C2. The periods of formats A1 / B1, A2 / B2, and A3 / B3 are {10, 20} ms, the period of format B1 is {10, 20, 40} ms, and the periods of the remaining 10 formats are {10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms. The value set of the starting symbol index in a time slot is {0, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9}, and each format uses two index values.

[0066] For example, the third table is applicable to the TDD spectrum of FR2, including 10 short preamble formats: A1, A2, A3, B1, B4, A1 / B1, A2 / B2, A3 / B3, C0 and C2. The period of all formats is {10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms, and the value set of the start symbol index in a time slot is {0, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8}. Except for the index value of format A3 / B3 being 2 and the index values ​​of formats A3 and C2 being 0, 2, and 7, the remaining 7 formats use two index values.

[0067] For each PRACH configuration table, the PRACH configuration index (8 bits indicating 0 to 255) indicates the PRACH Preamble format, configuration period, system frame number, subframe / time slot number, starting symbol index within a time slot, and the number of time domain ROs within the time slot. The contents are as follows:

[0068] -PRACH Preamble format;

[0069] -PRACH configuration period: {10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms;

[0070] - System frame number index within the PRACH configuration period;

[0071] -For frequency bands below 6 GHz, the number of PRACH slots contained in 1 ms is:

[0072] --When the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH Preamble is 15 kHz, the number of PRACH slots in a subframe is 1;

[0073] --When the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH Preamble is 30 kHz, the number of PRACH slots in a subframe can be 1 or 2; when there is only one PRACH slot, the second PRACH slot is used;

[0074] -For frequency bands above 6 GHz, the number of PRACH slots contained in 0.25 ms is:

[0075] --When the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH Preamble is 60kHz, the number of PRACH slots in 0.25ms is 1;

[0076] --When the subcarrier spacing of the PRACH Preamble is 120kHz, the number of PRACH slots within 0.25ms can be 1 or 2; when there is only one PRACH slot, the second PRACH slot is used;

[0077] -The starting OFDM symbol index of the PRACH Preamble in a time slot. For the long preamble format, the PRACH OFDM symbol is calculated according to the subcarrier spacing of the long PRACH Preamble format; for the short PRACH Preamble format, the PRACH OFDM symbol is calculated according to the 15Hz subcarrier spacing;

[0078] -The number of time-domain ROs in a time slot; if there are multiple ROs in a time slot, the multiple time-domain ROs are numbered in the order of the time domains.

[0079] The above schematically illustrates the PRACH time-frequency resource configuration, and the following describes the SSB and RO resource mapping.

[0080] The association relationship between SSBs and ROs supports one-to-one, many-to-one, and one-to-many. Among them, one-to-one mapping is applied to the scenario where the SSB period is moderate and the total number of SSBs and ROs in the association period is relatively close; many-to-one mapping is applied to the scenario where the SSB period is short and the number of SSBs in the association period is greater than the number of ROs; one-to-many mapping is applied to the scenario where the SSB period is long and the number of SSBs in the association period is less than the number of ROs.

[0081] For example, the specific mapping rules are as follows: the UE reads the high-level parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB and obtains two parameters N and R, where N represents the number of SSBs associated with one RO; R represents the number of consecutive Preambles for contention random access corresponding to each SSB. If N<1 (one-to-many association), one SSB is mapped to 1 / N consecutive ROs. If N≥1 (many-to-one association or one-to-one association), R consecutive indexed Preambles for contention random access (Contention Based Random Access, CBRA) are associated with SSB#n, and the CBRA Preamble index value corresponding to each RO associated SSB#n ranges from n·N preamble / N, where the parameter n represents the sequence number of the actual SSB associated with an RO, and the value range is 0≤n≤N-1, N preamble It is defined by the higher-layer parameter totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and is an integer multiple of N. The preamble of Contention Free Random Access (CFRA) is directly assigned to the UE by the base station.

[0082] For the contention random access process, the order in which the SSB index is mapped to the RO is as follows: first, within an RO, arrange in ascending order of the Preamble index; second, multiple frequency-division multiplexed ROs are arranged in ascending order of the frequency resource index; third, time-division multiplexed ROs within a PRACH time slot are arranged in ascending order of the time resource index; fourth, arrange in ascending order of the PRACH time slot index. After a round of SSB to RO mapping is completed, all SSBs actually transmitted within an SSB cycle are mapped to the RO once. For the random access process triggered by the PDCCH, the order in which the SSB index is mapped to the RO index only includes steps 2 to 4 above.

[0083] The association period for SSB mapping to RO is defined as the period during which at least one round of SSB to RO mapping is completed, so that each actually transmitted SSB is mapped to at least one RO. The association period for SSB mapping to RO must be an integer multiple of the PRACH configuration period, and the multiple is the minimum value listed in Table 1 below.

[0084] Table 1: Mapping between PRACH configuration period and SSB to RO association period

[0085] (Mapping between PRACH configuration period and SS / PBCH block to PRACH occasion association period)

[0086] For example, the association period is calculated from radio frame 0. Within an association period, after completing a round of SSB to RO mapping, the next round of mapping continues until the remaining ROs are insufficient to complete a round of SSB to RO mapping. If the remaining ROs are insufficient to complete a round of SSB to RO mapping, these remaining ROs are an invalid RO set. All ROs in the invalid RO set cannot be associated with SSB and cannot be used for PRACH transmission. Because under some configuration conditions, the number of valid ROs contained in the association period of SSB mapping to RO is variable, the NR protocol further defines the time domain repetition period of the association period of SSB mapping to RO through the association mode period. The maximum value of the association mode period of SSB mapping to RO is 160ms.

[0087] The above schematically illustrates the contents of the PRACH-related configurations of the embodiments of the present application, and reference may also be made to related technologies.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present application, the signaling may be, for example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling; for example, an RRC message, including, for example, MIB, system information, or a dedicated RRC message; or an RRC information element (IE). The signaling may also be, for example, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling; or a MAC control element (MAC CE). However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0089] In the following description, the terms "PRACH" and "physical random access channel," "random access information," or "RACH" are interchangeable to avoid confusion. Furthermore, transmitting or receiving PRACH can be understood as transmitting or receiving random access information carried by the PRACH. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "indication," "activation," and "trigger" are interchangeable, or a combination of the two or more.

[0090] Embodiments of the first aspect

[0091] The present application embodiment provides a method for activating / indicating / triggering a PRACH configuration, which is described from the perspective of a terminal device. FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating a PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the method includes:

[0092] 201, the terminal device receives N PRACH related configurations from the network device, where N≥1; and / or

[0093] 202. The terminal device receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0094] It is worth noting that FIG2 above is merely a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above description, and are not limited to the description of FIG2 above.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present application, a UE in RRC_IDLE state, RRC_INACTIVE state, or RRC_CONNECTED state can be provided with N PRACH-related configurations, where N≥1. The N PRACH-related configurations are related to network energy saving. If a terminal device is provided with N PRACH-related configurations, the terminal device receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, and the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration of the N PRACH-related configurations, that is, the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used for dynamic adjustment of PRACH in the time domain.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in an RRC idle (RRC_IDLE) state or an RRC inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH-related configurations through a broadcast message (SIB1). In addition, the terminal device can perform a first type of contention-based random access (CBRA) or a second type of contention-based random access (CBRA) according to the activated PRACH-related configuration and / or the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration, wherein the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration can be PRACH configuration information in an existing protocol or PRACH configuration information in a future protocol.

[0097] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in an RRC connection (RRC_CONNECTED) state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH-related configurations through an RRC message. In addition, the terminal device can perform a first type of competitive random access (CBRA) or non-competitive random access (CFRA) according to the activated PRACH-related configuration and / or the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration, or a second type of competitive random access (CBRA) or non-competitive random access (CFRA), or a link recovery process, or a system information (SI) request process.

[0098] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration includes at least one of the following information:

[0099] -Information on cell-specific random access parameters; for example, the information is an IE "specify the cell specific random-access parameters", for example, the IE RACH-ConfigCommon can be reused; or parameters such as RACH-ConfigCommon-nes and / or RACH-ConfigCommon-r19 can be defined;

[0100] - Information on the cell-specific PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters for transmission of MsgA in 2-step random access type procedure, such as the IE "Configuration of the cell specific PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters for transmission of MsgA in 2-step random access type procedure", for example, msgA-ConfigCommon-r16 can be reused; or parameters msgA-ConfigCommon-nes and / or msgA-ConfigCommon-r19 can also be defined;

[0101] - Information on cell-specific two-step random access parameters; for example, the information is an IE of "specify cell specific 2-step random-access type parameters"; for example, the IE RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA may be reused; or parameters such as RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-nes and / or RACH-Config CommonTwoStepRA-r19 may be defined;

[0102] - Information on dedicated random access parameters; for example, the information is an IE "specify the dedicated random access parameters", for example, the IE RACH-ConfigDedicated can be reused; or parameters such as RACH-ConfigDedicated-nes or RACH-ConfigDedicated-r19 can be defined;

[0103] - Information on random access parameters for regular random access and beam failure recovery; for example, the information is an IE "specify the random-access parameters both for regular random access as well as for beam failure recovery". For example, the IE RACH-ConfigGeneric can be reused; or parameters such as RACH-Config Generic-nes or RACH-Config Generic-r19 can be defined;

[0104] - Two-step random access type parameter information; for example, the IE RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA can be reused; or parameters such as RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes or RACH-ConfigGenericTwo StepRA-r19 can be defined;

[0105] - Information of SSB per RACH occasion; for example, IE ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB can be reused; or ssb-perRACH-Occasion can be reused; or parameters such as IE ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB-nes and / or IE ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB-r19 and / or ssb-perRACH-Occasion-nes and / or ssb-perRACH-Occasion-r19 can be defined.

[0106] - Information on the total number of preambles used for contention and / or non-contention random access; for example, the IE total NumberOfRA-Preambles or msgA-TotalNumberOfRA-Preambles-r16 may be reused;

[0107] -PRACH time domain resource configuration related information; for example, prach-ConfigurationIndex and / or msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-r16 may be reused, or parameters such as prach-ConfigurationIndex-nes or prach-ConfigurationIndex-r19 and / or msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-nes and / or msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-r19 may be defined;

[0108] -PRACH frequency domain resource configuration related information; for example, the IE msg1-FrequencyStart and / or msg1-FDM, and / or msgA-RO-FDM-r16 and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-r16 can be reused, or parameters such as msg1-FrequencyStart-nes and / or msg1-FDM-nes, and / or msg1-FrequencyStart-r19 and / or msg1-FDM-r19, and / or msgA-RO-FDM-r19 and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-r19, and / or msgA-RO-FDM-nes and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-nes can also be defined.

[0109] The above schematically illustrates the PRACH-related configuration of an embodiment of the present application. The present application is not limited thereto. For example, the configuration may include one or more of the above IEs, other IEs may be used, and other names or information formats may be used. In addition, the PRACH-related configuration of an embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as PRACH (time-frequency) resources, RACH / PRACH occasion, or PRACH occasion configuration, etc., and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0110] In some embodiments, the N PRACH-related configurations may be associated with type-1 random access, i.e., 4-step random access, or may be associated with type-2 random access, i.e., 2-step random access, wherein one PRACH-related configuration may be associated with type-1 random access or type-2 random access; for example, N=2, the N PRACH-related configurations are RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes and RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes, respectively, i.e., one PRACH-related configuration is RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes, and the other PRACH-related configuration is RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes.

[0111] In some embodiments, the N PRACH-related configurations may be associated with type-1 random access, i.e., 4-step random access, or may be associated with type-2 random access, i.e., 2-step random access, wherein one PRACH-related configuration may be associated with type-1 random access and type-2 random access; for example, N=1, and one PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19 and RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes / r19.

[0112] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives / is provided with N PRACH-related configurations, where N = 1. A PRACH-related configuration includes information about cell-specific random access parameters and / or information about cell-specific two-step random access parameters and, for example, a PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-ConfigCommon-nes / r19 and / or RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-nes / r19.

[0113] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives / is provided with N PRACH-related configurations, where N = 1. A PRACH-related configuration includes information on random access parameters for conventional random access and beam failure recovery and / or information on two-step random access type parameters and / or information on SSBs per RACH occasion, for example, a PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-Config Generic-nes / r19 and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes / r19 and / or ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB-nes / r19 and / or ssb-perRACH-Occasion-nes / r19.

[0114] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives / is provided with N PRACH-related configurations, where N = 1. A PRACH-related configuration includes information related to PRACH time domain resource configuration and / or information related to PRACH frequency domain resource configuration, for example, a PRACH-related configuration includes parameters prach-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r19 and / or msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FrequencyStart-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FDM-nes / r19, and / or msgA-RO-FDM-nes / r19 and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-nes / r19.

[0115] In some embodiments, the N PRACH-related configurations may be PRACH enhanced configurations based on network energy saving, that is, in addition to receiving / being provided with the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration, the terminal device also receives / is provided with the N PRACH-related configurations of the embodiment of the present application, that is, N PRACH enhanced configurations. Among them, the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration is a PRACH-related configuration parameter / IE in an existing or future protocol. The present application is not limited to this, and may not distinguish between the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration and the enhanced PRACH configuration.

[0116] In some embodiments, the N PRACH-related configurations are included in a broadcast message, such as SIB1.

[0117] For example, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the BWP uplink common information (BWP-UplinkCommon) in the system information block (SIB1) and / or the BWP uplink common information (BWP-Uplink Common) in the RRC reconfiguration message. In the following description, "→" means "include" or "carry". In one example, SIB1→ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE→UplinkConfigCommonSIB→ BWP-UplinkCommon, where BWP-UplinkCommon includes N PRACH-related configurations; in another example, Reconfiguration WithSync→ServingCellConfigCommon→UplinkConfigCommon→BWP-UplinkCommon, where BWP-UplinkCommon includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0118] For example, N=1, a PRACH-related configuration may be named AdditionalRACH-Config-r19, wherein the PRACH-related configuration includes information about cell-specific random access parameters and / or information about cell-specific PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters for transmitting MsgA in a two-step random access process and / or information about cell-specific two-step random access parameters. For example, a PRACH-related configuration AdditionalRACH-Config-r19 includes parameters RACH-ConfigCommon-nes / r19 and / or MsgA-ConfigCommon-nes / r19 and / or RACH-ConfigCommon TwoStepRA-nes / r19, the information of the cell-specific random access parameters of the PRACH-related configuration and / or the cell-specific PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters for transmitting MsgA in the 2-step random access process and / or the cell-specific two-step random access parameter information is included in BWP-UplinkCommon, for example, a PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-ConfigCommon-nes / r19 and / or MsgA-ConfigCommon-nes / r19 and / or RACH-Config CommonTwoStepRA-nes / r19, and the one or some parameters are included in BWP-UplinkCommon.

[0119] For another example, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the RACH configuration common information (RACH-ConfigCommon) and / or RACH configuration common two-step random access information (RACH-Config CommonTwoStepRA-r16) in the system information block (SIB1), and / or the PRACH-related configuration is included in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0120] In an example, SIB1→ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE→UplinkConfigCommonSIB→BWP-UplinkCommon→RACH-ConfigCommon, where RACH-ConfigCommon includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0121] In another example, SIB1→ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE→UplinkConfigCommonSIB→BWP-UplinkCommon→MsgA-ConfigCommon-r16→RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStep RA-r16, where RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-r16 includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0122] In another example, N PRACH-related configurations are included in RACH-ConfigCommon and / or RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-r16, that is, RACH-ConfigCommon and / or RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-r16 include N PRACH-related configurations, for example, N=1, N PRACH-related configurations are one PRACH-related configuration, one PRACH-related configuration includes information on random access parameters for normal random access and beam failure recovery and / or information on two-step random access type parameters, for example, one PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19 and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes / r19, RACH-ConfigCommon includes RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19, and RACH-ConfigCommonTwo StepRA-r16 includes RACH-ConfigGenericTwo StepRA-nes / r19. In the embodiment, different parameters of one PRACH-related configuration are included in different IEs.

[0123] For another example, the PRACH-related configuration is included in RACH configuration general information (RACH-ConfigGeneric) and / or RACH configuration general two-step random access information (RACH-Config GenericTwoStepRA-r16) in the system information block (SIB1).

[0124] In an example, SIB1→ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE→UplinkConfigCommonSIB→BWP-UplinkCommon→RACH-ConfigCommon→RACH-ConfigGeneric, where RACH-ConfigGeneric includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0125] In another example, SIB1→ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE→UplinkConfigCommonSIB→BWP-UplinkCommon→MsgA-ConfigCommon-r16→RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStep RA-r16→RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16, where RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16 includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0126] In another example, N PRACH-related configurations are included in RACH-ConfigGeneric and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16, that is, RACH-ConfigGeneric and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16 include N PRACH-related configurations, for example, N=1, N PRACH-related configurations are one PRACH-related configuration. One PRACH-related configuration includes information related to PRACH time domain resource configuration and / or information related to PRACH frequency domain resource configuration, for example, one PRACH-related configuration includes parameters prach-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r19 and / or msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FrequencyStart-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FDM-nes / r19 and / or msgA-RO-FDM-nes / r19 and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-nes s / r19; RACH-ConfigGeneric includes prach-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FrequencyStart-nes / r19 and / or msg1-FDM-nes / r19 parameters, and RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16 includes msgA-PRACH-ConfigurationIndex-nes / r1 and / or msgA-RO-FDM-nes / r19 and / or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart-nes / r19.

[0127] Table 2 exemplarily shows some IEs in SIB1, in which N PRACH-related configurations may be included.

[0128] Table 2

[0129] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration is included in an RRC message, such as an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message.

[0130] For example, the PRACH related configuration is included in the non-contention information (cfra) and / or non-contention two-step information (cfra-TwoStep-r16) in the RRC message.

[0131] In one example, the RACH-ConfigDedicated IE in the RRC reconfiguration message includes cfra and cfra-TwoStep-r16 IEs, and cfra and / or cfra-TwoStep-r16 IEs may include N PRACH-related configurations. For example, N=1, and N PRACH-related configurations are one PRACH-related configuration, wherein one PRACH-related configuration includes information on random access parameters for conventional random access and beam failure recovery and / or information on two-step random access type parameters. For example, one PRACH-related configuration includes parameters RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19 and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes / r19, wherein cfra includes RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19, and / or cfra-TwoStep-r16 includes RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-nes / r1.

[0132] Table 3 exemplarily shows some IEs in an RRC message, in which N PRACH-related configurations may be included.

[0133] Table 3

[0134] For another example, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the beam failure recovery configuration information (BeamFailureRecoveryConfig) in the RRC message.

[0135] In an example, the RRC message includes a BeamFailureRecoveryConfig IE, and the BeamFailure RecoveryConfig IE includes N PRACH-related configurations.

[0136] For example, N=1, one PRACH-related configuration includes information on random access parameters for normal random access and beam failure recovery; for example, one PRACH-related configuration includes the parameter RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19; the RACH-ConfigGeneric-nes / r19 parameter is included in the BeamFailure RecoveryConfig IE.

[0137] Table 4 exemplarily shows some IEs in an RRC message, in which N PRACH-related configurations may be included.

[0138] Table 4

[0139] The above schematically illustrates PRACH configurations and explains how Rel-19 network energy conservation can adjust PRACH time and frequency resources, as well as the SSB and RACH mapping relationship. The following describes indication / activation / triggering.

[0140] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered via RRC.

[0141] For example, the PRACH-related configuration includes one or more parameters, which are used by the terminal device to determine whether the PRACH-related configuration is activated, and / or, are used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform random access or link recovery operations based on the PRACH-related configuration.

[0142] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered by a MAC CE.

[0143] For example, the MAC CE may reuse an existing MAC CE, or may be a newly defined MAC CE.

[0144] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered via DCI.

[0145] For example, the DCI is group-common signaling (UE group-common signaling) and / or UE specific signaling (UE specific signaling). For the convenience of expression, the following description is given by taking DCI format N_X as an example. The DCI format N_X can be a newly defined DCI format N_X, and Q_RNTI is a newly defined RNTI; the DCI format N_X can also reuse the existing DCI format, such as reusing DCI format 2_7 or DCI format 2_9 or DCI format 1_0, etc. DCI format N_X can add bits on the basis of the existing DCI format to implement the indication / activation / triggering of at least one PRACH-related configuration in this application. For example, the DCI format 2_9 adds bits to implement the indication / activation / triggering function of at least one PRACH-related configuration.

[0146] For example, a terminal device in RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, or RRC_CONNECTED state receives / is provided with N PRACH-related configurations, and the terminal receives DCI format N_X, where DCI N_X is used to activate / trigger / indicate at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations. The terminal device determines at least one PRACH-related configuration to be activated / triggered / indicated based on DCI format N_X, and performs operations such as random access or link recovery.

[0147] In some embodiments, the size of the DCI is indicated based on a higher layer parameter S, the number of information bits of the DCI is less than or equal to a payload size; and the DCI is scrambled by a first RNTI.

[0148] For example, DCI format N_X can be used to notify one or more terminal devices of the indication / activation / trigger of the at least one PRACH-related configuration. DCI N_X is scrambled by Q_RNTI CRC. The size of DCI N_X is based on the indication of the high-level parameter S. The number of information bits of DCI N_X must be equal to or less than the payload size of format N_X. If the number of information bits of DCI N_X is less than the payload size of format N_X, the remaining bits are reserved. Wherein, N, X are natural numbers greater than 0, for example, DCI N_X is DCI 4_3. S is a high-level parameter used to indicate the size / dimension of DCI N_X. Q_RNTI is the RNTI used for DCI format N_X CRC scrambling.

[0149] In some embodiments, the DCI includes at least a field for indicating / activating / triggering PRACH-related configuration, wherein the field includes bitmap information and / or codepoint information and / or bit information. The field includes M bits, where M is provided by a higher-layer parameter P.

[0150] For example, the DCI format N_X includes at least an indication / activation / triggering field for the PRACH-related configuration, hereinafter referred to as a PRACH indication field. The PRACH field is M bits, M ≥ 1, and M is the number of the PRACH-related configurations, provided by a higher-layer parameter P. For example, P is a newly defined higher-layer parameter for indicating the number of the PRACH-related configurations.

[0151] For another example, the PRACH indication field is a bitmap, one bit of the bitmap corresponds to a PRACH related configuration, and the bitmap includes a bit sequence p m-1 ,…,p1,p0, where p0 is the LSB, p m-1 The MSB corresponds to the order of the bits in the bitmap from low to high and the PRACH-related configuration indexes configured by the higher layer from small to large. That is, the lowest bit in the PRACH indication field corresponds to the PRACH-related configuration with the smallest PRACH-related configuration index configured by the higher layer, or the first PRACH-related configuration configured by the higher layer. If a bit in the bitmap is 1, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration associated with / corresponding to the bit is activated / triggered / indicated. If a bit in the bitmap is 0, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration associated with / corresponding to the bit is not activated / triggered / indicated.

[0152] In some examples, m=N, p m-1 ,…, p1, p0 correspond to N PRACH related configurations, p i Corresponds to the i-th PRACH related configuration; for example, p0 is associated / corresponds to the first PRACH related configuration, p m-1 That is, p N-1 Corresponding to the Nth PRACH related configuration.

[0153] In some examples, m=N+1, p m-1 ,…, p1, p0 correspond to N PRACH related configurations and legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configurations, for example, p0 is associated / corresponds to legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration, p m-1 ,…, p1 corresponds to / is associated with N PRACH related configurations, for example, p1 corresponds to the first PRACH related configuration, p m-1 That is, p N-1Corresponding to the Nth PRACH related configuration.

[0154] For another example, the PRACH indication field is a codepoint, and according to the order or index value of the PRACH-related configurations, one codepoint maps one PRACH-related configuration or a legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration.

[0155] In some examples, codepoint "0" maps to the first PRACH-related configuration, codepoint "1" maps to the second PRCH-related configuration, and so on, sequentially corresponding to the Nth PRACH-related configuration.

[0156] In some examples, codepoint "0" corresponds to the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration, codepoint "1" corresponds to the first PRACH-related configuration, codepoint "2" corresponds to the second PRACH-related configuration, and so on, corresponding to the Nth PRACH-related configuration.

[0157] For another example, the PRACH indication field is 1 bit, and N=1 in the N PRACH-related configurations, that is, the high layer configures a PRACH-related configuration. If the value of the PRACH indication field is 1, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration is activated. If the value of the PRACH indication field is 0, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration is not activated.

[0158] In some embodiments, if DCI format 2_9 is reused, N bits may be added to the field of each cell in DCI format 2_9 for the PRACH indication field.

[0159] The above schematically illustrates DCI. The following describes higher-level parameters related to DCI.

[0160] In some embodiments, the terminal device can monitor the DCI on PCell or SpCell, and one terminal device can only monitor the DCI on one cell; or, the terminal device can monitor the DCI on PCell or SpCell or SCell, and one terminal device can only monitor the DCI on one cell.

[0161] In some embodiments, the terminal device is provided with at least one search space sets through a higher layer parameter, and the terminal uses a common search space to monitor the DCI on an activated downlink BWP.

[0162] In some embodiments, the information of the offset of the frame or subframe used to monitor the DCI and / or the information indicating the number of RACH resources or ROs included in the DCI is provided by higher layer parameters.

[0163] Taking DCI format N_X as a newly defined DCI format as an example, the high-layer parameters related to DCI format N_X include at least one of the following:

[0164] - A higher-layer parameter S used to indicate the size of DCI N_X. For example, S can be named payloadSizeDCI-NX and is used to indicate the payload of DCI N_X. The payload of S cannot be larger than the maximum payload of 41 bits for authorized DCI and 43 bits for unauthorized DCI.

[0165] - A high-level parameter for indicating the frame or subframe offset for monitoring DCI format N_X; for example, the parameter may be named rach-FrameOffset or rach-SubframeOffset, and the terminal monitors PDCCH according to the number of search space sets to detect the DCI format. The parameter is used to indicate the forward or backward frame / subframe offset relative to the start time of the reference frame / subframe at the time of monitoring DCI format N_X, that is, the number of frames / subframes offset forward or backward relative to the start time of the reference frame / subframe; the reference frame / subframe may be an SSB-related frame / subframe, for example, the reference frame / subframe is the subframe where the first SSB in the SSB period is located; or the reference frame / subframe may be a PRACH transmission-related frame / subframe, that is, the PRACH transmission moment, the PRACH It is the PRACH corresponding to at least one PRACH-related configuration among N PRACH-related configurations related to network energy saving. The PRACH transmission time may be the starting time of PRACH transmission within a PRACH configuration period of the PRACH, or it may be the starting time of PRACH transmission within the association period in which an SSB of the PRACH is mapped to RO, or it may be the starting time of PRACH transmission within the association mode period (160ms) in which an SSB of the PRACH is mapped to RO.

[0166] For example, the reference frame / subframe is a PRACH transmission start time of an SSB corresponding to at least one PRACH-related configuration among N PRACH-related configurations mapped to an RO associated period, and the frame or subframe offset parameter is used to indicate a forward (prior to) offset time relative to the parameter frame / subframe, and the terminal device detects the DCI format at the moment of the time indicated by the high-level parameter offset before each associated period of the PRACH configuration.

[0167] For another example, the terminal device may detect the DCI format at a time offset from the high-layer parameter indication time before each PRACH configuration period of the PRACH configuration.

[0168] For another example, the terminal device may detect the DCI format at a moment offset from the high-layer parameter indication time before each SSB of the PRACH configuration is mapped to the associated mode period (160ms) of the RO.

[0169] - a higher layer parameter P for indicating the size of the PRACH indication field; the parameter is used to indicate the size of the PRACH indication field;

[0170] - A higher-layer parameter used to indicate the number of included RACH resources or ROs; the parameter is used to indicate monitoring of a DCI format once.

[0171] For example, the above-mentioned high-level parameters related to DCI format N_X may be included in DownlinkConfigCommonSIB or UplinkConfigCommonSIB in SIB1 message, and / or the above-mentioned high-level parameters related to DCI format N_X may be included in RRC reconfiguration message. The above schematically illustrates the high-level parameters related to DCI, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0172] Take the reuse of DCI format 2_7 or DCI format 2_9 or DCI format 1_0 as an example, or take the newly defined DCI format N_X based on DCI format 2_7 or DCI format 2_9 or format DCI format 1_0 as an example. DCI N_X is used to activate or deactivate the cell DTX / DRX configuration of one or more cells, and / or the first SSB configuration and / or the first PRACH configuration and / or the first Paging configuration of one or more cells. For example, the first SSB configuration or the first PRACH configuration and / or the first Paging configuration is related to Rel-19 NES, and is an independent / separate SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration related to network energy saving outside the SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration specified in the existing protocol. The SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration may be an SSB / PRACH / Paging resource configuration. The first SSB configuration may be an on-demand SSB configuration.

[0173] In some embodiments, the DCI includes one or more blocks; the block includes one or more fields for indicating the activation / deactivation of at least one of the following information: discontinuous reception (DRX), discontinuous transmission (DTX), SSB configuration, PRACH configuration, and paging configuration.

[0174] For example, the following information is transmitted using the DCI format N_X, and the CRC is encrypted using NES-RNTI or Q_RNTI.

[0175] Block 1 (Block 1), block 2 (block 2), ..., block N (block N), where N is greater than or equal to 1.

[0176] The starting position of a block is provided to the UE by a higher-layer parameter, for example, the higher-layer parameter is positionInDCI-cellDTRX, or a newly defined higher-layer parameter.

[0177] If the UE is configured with a higher layer parameter X, where the X parameter is used to determine that the UE has a cell DRX / DTX function and / or an SSB / PRACH / Paging adjustment function, the UE may detect the DCI format N_X in an RRC-IDLE state, an RRC_INACTIVE state, and / or an RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0178] The UE may be configured with one or more blocks, each of which includes at least one of the following contents (fields):

[0179] -Cell DTX / DRX indication (2 bits), the MSB corresponds to the cell DTX configuration and the LSB corresponds to the cell DRX configuration; otherwise the indication is 1 bit;

[0180] - A first indication (N bits), where the first indication is used to indicate the activation / deactivation status of the first SSB configuration and / or the first PRACH configuration and / or the first Paging configuration; the first SSB configuration may also be an on-demand SSB configuration.

[0181] For example, N=1, the first indication is used to indicate the activation / deactivation status of the first PRACH, SSB, or Paging configuration; for example, a value of 1 for this bit indicates that the corresponding configuration is activated, otherwise, it indicates that the corresponding configuration is deactivated;

[0182] For another example, N=2, the first indication is used to indicate A and B, where A represents a first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, and B represents another first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, and A and B cannot be the same configuration; A and B are 1 bit respectively, the MSB corresponds to A and the LSB corresponds to B; the value of A or B is 1, indicating that the corresponding configuration is activated, otherwise, it indicates that the corresponding configuration is deactivated;

[0183] For another example, N=3, the first indication is used to indicate A, B, and C, where A represents a first PRACH configuration, a first SSB configuration, or a first Paging configuration, B represents another first PRACH configuration, a first SSB configuration, or a first Paging configuration, and C represents another first PRACH configuration, a first SSB configuration, or a first Paging configuration, and A, B, and C cannot be the same configuration; A, B, and C are 1 bit respectively, the MSB corresponds to A, followed by B, and the LSB corresponds to C; A, B, or C taking a value of 1 indicates that the corresponding configuration is activated, otherwise, it indicates that the corresponding configuration is deactivated;

[0184] For another example, N=X, the first indication is used to indicate the activation / deactivation state of the first PRACH, SSB, or Paging configuration, X>1, X is in bitmap format, and the previous embodiment takes the PRACH configuration as an example. Similarly, this embodiment can be applied to the embodiment of the SSB or Paging configuration;

[0185] For another example, N=X*2, the first indication is used to indicate A and B, where A represents a first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, and B represents another first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, and A and B cannot be the same configuration; A and B are X bits respectively, and the X bits are in bitmap form, as described in the previous embodiment.

[0186] For another example, N=X*3, the first indication is used to indicate A, B, and C, A represents a first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, B represents another first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, C represents another first PRACH configuration or a first SSB configuration or a first Paging configuration, and A, B, and C cannot be the same configuration; A or B or C is X bits respectively, and the X bits are in bitmap form, as described in the previous embodiment.

[0187] Figure 3 is an example diagram of the DCI activation / deactivation configuration of an embodiment of the present application, illustrating an example of DCI N_X activating or deactivating the cell DTX / DRX configuration of one or more cells, a first SSB configuration and / or a first PRACH configuration and / or a first Paging configuration.

[0188] As shown in Figure 3, for example, DCI N_X may include Block 1, ..., Block N, where N is greater than or equal to 1. For example, Block 1 may include: 0 or 1 bit for activation / deactivation indication for cell DTX; and / or, 0 or 1 bit for activation / deactivation indication for cell DRX; and / or, 0 or 1 bit for NES-mode indication; and / or, 0 or N bits for activation / deactivation indication for the first SSB configuration / first PRACH configuration / first Paging configuration, where N≥1.

[0189] For another example, Block N may include: 0 or 1 bit for activation / deactivation indication for cell DTX; and / or, 0 or 1 bit for activation / deactivation indication for cell DRX; and / or, 0 or N bits for activation / deactivation indication for the first SSB configuration / first PRACH configuration / first Paging configuration (activation / deactivation for SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration, N≥1).

[0190] Figure 4 is another example diagram of the DCI activation / deactivation configuration of an embodiment of the present application, showing an example of DCI N_X activating or deactivating the first SSB configuration and / or the first PRACH configuration and / or the first Paging configuration.

[0191] As shown in Figure 4, for example, DCI N_X may include Block 1, ..., Block N. For example, Block 1 may include: 0 or N bits, which are activation / deactivation indications for the first SSB configuration / first PRACH configuration / first Paging configuration (activation / deactivation for SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration), where N ≥ 1. For another example, Block N may include: 0 or N bits, which are activation / deactivation indications for the first SSB configuration / first PRACH resource (activation / deactivation for SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration), where N ≥ 1.

[0192] In some embodiments, if a UE is provided / configured with a high-layer parameter X, and X is related to Rel-19 network energy saving, that is, the UE is configured with the first SSB and / or PRACH and / or Paging adjustment operation, for example, the first SSB / PRACH / Paging adjustment operation means that the first SSB / PRACH / Paging configuration can be activated or deactivated, the UE will receive an indication of DCI format N_X to monitor the PDCCH candidate of DCI format N_X.

[0193] If the UE is configured with the first SSB and / or PRACH and / or Paging adjustment operation, the first indication field in the DCI format N_X will include N bits to indicate the activation status of the first SSB and / or PRACH and / or Paging configuration.

[0194] In some embodiments, a UE does not desire to monitor DCI format N_X on more than one serving cell, that is, the UE only monitors DCI format N_X on a certain serving cell.

[0195] In some embodiments, when the UE receives a DCI format N_X indicating a first SSB and / or PRACH and / or Paging adjustment operation on an activated BWP in slot m, the UE performs a first SSB and / or PRACH and / or Paging adjustment operation on the corresponding service cell at slot m+k, where k is a group of slots of the SCS of the downlink activated BWP of the service cell.

[0196] In some embodiments, on a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the same PRACH configuration, the terminal device does not expect to successfully detect more than one DCI format N_X, and the values ​​of at least one field in the more than one DCI formats N_X are different.

[0197] In some embodiments, the terminal is provided with search space sets to monitor PDCCH for detecting the DCI format N_X. If the terminal successfully detects the DCI format N_X, the physical layer reports the DCI information to the upper layer; or, if the terminal does not detect the DCI format N_X, the physical layer does not report any information to the upper layer.

[0198] The following further illustrates activation / triggering / indication of DCI-based PRACH configuration through examples.

[0199] In some examples, a terminal device in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state receives a SIB1 message that includes the PRACH-related configuration and / or a higher-layer parameter configuration related to DCI format N_X. The terminal device determines the time and location to monitor DCI format N_X based on the higher-layer parameters related to DCI format N_X in SIB1.

[0200] The terminal device monitors DCI N_X and determines whether the corresponding PRACH-related configuration is activated / triggered / indicated based on the PRACH indication field in the DCI N_X; if the DCI N_X indicates that one or more PRACH-related configurations are activated / triggered / indicated, the terminal device performs type 1 or type 2 random access based on the PRACH time-frequency resources of the activated / triggered / indicated PRACH-related configuration, and / or, the terminal device performs type 1 or type 2 random access based on the PRACH time-frequency resources of the activated / triggered / indicated PRACH-related configuration and the PRACH time-frequency resources of the legacy (default or conventional) PRACH configuration; if the DCI N_X indicates that any PRACH-related configuration is not activated / triggered / indicated, the terminal device performs type 1 or type 2 random access based on the PRACH time-frequency resources of the legacy (default or conventional) PRACH configuration.

[0201] In other examples, the terminal device receives a SIB1 message, which includes a PRACH-related configuration, namely, a PRACH enhanced configuration based on NES. The terminal device also receives a DCI format N_X, and the PRACH indication field in the DCI format N_X is 1 bit. If the PRACH indication field is 1, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration is activated / indicated / triggered. If the PRACH indication field is 0, it indicates that the PRACH-related configuration is not activated / indicated / triggered.

[0202] If the PRACH indication field is 1, it may indicate that both the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration and the PRACH-related configuration are activated / indicated / triggered at the same time. The terminal device performs random access or link recovery operations based on the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration and / or the PRACH-related configuration.

[0203] In some other examples, the terminal device receives a SIB1 message, wherein the SIB1 includes three PRACH-related configurations, namely, three PRACH enhanced configurations based on NES. The terminal device also receives a DCI format N_X, wherein the PRACH indication field in the DCI format N_X is 3 bits, and each bit in the PRACH indication field corresponds to a PRACH-related configuration. The lowest bit of the PRACH indication field corresponds to the first PRACH-related configuration configured by the high-level layer, and so on. If the bit value in the PRACH indication field is 1, it indicates that the corresponding PRACH-related configuration is activated / indicated / triggered. If the bit in the PRACH indication field is 0, it indicates that the corresponding PRACH-related configuration is not activated / indicated / triggered.

[0204] If at least one bit in the PRACH indication field takes the value of 1, it may indicate that the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration and the PRACH-related configuration corresponding to the bit set to 1 are simultaneously activated / indicated / triggered, and the terminal device performs random access or link recovery and other operations based on the legacy (conventional or default) PRACH configuration and / or the PRACH-related configuration corresponding to the bit set to 1.

[0205] The above embodiments illustrate the activation / triggering / indication of PRACH-related configurations based on RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, thereby realizing dynamic adjustment of PRACH in the time domain. Similarly, the activation / triggering / indication of SSB-related configurations based on RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI can also realize dynamic adjustment of SSB in the time domain. The RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI used for dynamic adjustment of PRACH can also be used for dynamic adjustment of SSB at the same time, that is, the RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI used for activation / triggering / indication of PRACH-related configurations can be used for activation / triggering / indication of SSB-related configurations at the same time, thereby realizing adjustment of SSB and PRACH simultaneously by the same RRC and / or MAC CE and / or DCI signaling.

[0206] For example, a terminal device is provided with a PRACH-related configuration and an SSB-related configuration. One bit in the DCI is used to simultaneously activate / trigger / indicate the PRACH-related configuration and the SSB-related configuration. A value of 1 in the DCI bit indicates that the PRACH-related configuration and the SSB-related configuration are simultaneously activated. A value of 0 in the DCI bit indicates that the PRACH-related configuration and the SSB-related configuration are simultaneously deactivated. The method can achieve simultaneous adjustment of the PRACH and SSB using the same signaling, saving signaling overhead.

[0207] The above embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0208] It can be seen from the above embodiments that in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), network equipment and terminal equipment can quickly and flexibly indicate / activate / trigger PRACH configuration, which can not only improve network gain (such as energy-saving gain) but also ensure normal transmission of terminal equipment.

[0209] Embodiments of the second aspect

[0210] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for activating / indicating / triggering a PRACH configuration, which is described from the perspective of a network device. The embodiment of the second aspect can be combined with the embodiment of the first aspect, and the same contents as the embodiment of the first aspect will not be repeated.

[0211] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating a PRACH configuration according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the method includes:

[0212] 501, the network device sends N PRACH related configurations to the terminal device, where N≥1; and / or

[0213] 502. The network device sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI to the terminal device; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0214] It is worth noting that FIG5 above is merely a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order of the various operations may be appropriately adjusted, and other operations may be added or some operations may be reduced. Those skilled in the art may make appropriate modifications based on the above description, and are not limited to the description of FIG3 above.

[0215] The above embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments may be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments may be combined.

[0216] It can be seen from the above embodiments that in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), network equipment and terminal equipment can quickly and flexibly indicate / activate / trigger PRACH configuration, which can not only improve network gain (such as energy-saving gain) but also ensure normal transmission of terminal equipment.

[0217] Embodiments of the third aspect

[0218] The embodiment of the present application provides an activation / indication / triggering device for PRACH configuration. The device may be, for example, a terminal device, or one or more components or assemblies configured in the terminal device. The same contents as those in the embodiment of the first aspect are not repeated here.

[0219] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a PRACH configuration indication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the PRACH configuration indication device 600 includes:

[0220] A receiving unit 601 receives N PRACH related configurations from a network device, where N≥1; and / or

[0221] The receiving unit 601 receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0222] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG6 , the PRACH configuration indicating device 600 may further include a processing unit 602 and a sending unit 603 .

[0223] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH-related configurations via a broadcast message (SIB1).

[0224] In some embodiments, the processing unit 602 performs a first type of contention-based random access (CBRA) or a second type of contention-based random access (CBRA) according to the activated PRACH-related configuration.

[0225] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in an RRC connected state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH-related configurations via an RRC message.

[0226] In some embodiments, the processing unit 602 performs a first type of non-contention random access (CFRA), or a second type of non-contention random access (CFRA), or a link recovery, or a system information (SI) request according to the activated PRACH related configuration.

[0227] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration includes at least one of the following information:

[0228] Information on cell-specific random access parameters;

[0229] Cell-specific information on PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters used to transmit MsgA in the 2-step random access procedure;

[0230] Information on cell-specific two-step random access parameters;

[0231] Information on dedicated random access parameters;

[0232] Information on random access parameters for normal random access and beam failure recovery;

[0233] Information on two-step random access type parameters;

[0234] Information on SSBs per RACH occasion;

[0235] Information on the total number of preambles used for contention and / or non-contention random access;

[0236] Information related to PRACH time domain resource configuration;

[0237] Information related to PRACH frequency domain resource configuration.

[0238] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration is included in a broadcast message.

[0239] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the BWP uplink common information (BWP-UplinkCommon) in the system information block (SIB1);

[0240] Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the RACH configuration common information (RACH-ConfigCommon) or RACH configuration common two-step random access information (RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-r16) in the system information block (SIB1);

[0241] Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in RACH configuration general information (RACH-ConfigGeneric) or RACH configuration general two-step random access information (RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA-r16) in the system information block (SIB1).

[0242] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration is included in an RRC message.

[0243] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration is included in a non-contention information (cfra) or non-contention two-step information (cfra-TwoStep-r16) in an RRC message;

[0244] Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the beam failure recovery configuration information (BeamFailureRecoveryConfig) in the RRC message.

[0245] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered via RRC.

[0246] In some embodiments, the PRACH-related configuration includes one or more parameters, which are used by the terminal device to determine whether the PRACH-related configuration is activated, and / or, are used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform random access or link recovery based on the PRACH-related configuration.

[0247] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered by a MAC CE.

[0248] In some embodiments, at least one of the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered via DCI.

[0249] In some embodiments, the DCI is group common signaling and / or UE-specific signaling.

[0250] In some embodiments, the DCI includes at least a field for indicating / activating / triggering PRACH-related configuration, and the field includes bitmap information and / or codepoint information and / or bit information.

[0251] In some embodiments, the field comprises M bits, where M is provided by a higher layer parameter P.

[0252] In some embodiments, the DCI includes one or more blocks; the block includes one or more fields for indicating the activation / deactivation of at least one of the following information: discontinuous reception (DRX), discontinuous transmission (DTX), SSB configuration, PRACH configuration, and paging configuration.

[0253] In some embodiments, the size of the DCI is indicated based on a higher layer parameter S, the number of information bits of the DCI is less than or equal to a payload size; and the DCI is scrambled by a first RNTI.

[0254] In some embodiments, the information of the offset of the frame or subframe used to monitor the DCI and / or the information indicating the number of RACH resources or ROs included in the DCI is provided by higher layer parameters.

[0255] In some embodiments, the sending unit 603 sends random access information to the network device.

[0256] It is worth noting that the above only describes the components or modules related to the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. The PRACH configuration indication device 600 may also include other components or modules. For details of these components or modules, reference may be made to related technologies.

[0257] In addition, for the sake of simplicity, FIG6 only illustrates the connection relationship or signal direction between various components or modules. However, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various related technologies such as bus connection can be used. The above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; the implementation of this application is not limited to this.

[0258] Through the embodiments of the present application, in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), network equipment and terminal devices can quickly and flexibly indicate / activate / trigger PRACH configuration, which can not only improve network gain (such as energy-saving gain) but also ensure normal transmission of terminal devices.

[0259] Embodiments of the fourth aspect

[0260] The embodiment of the present application provides an activation / indication / triggering device for PRACH configuration. The device may be, for example, a network device, or one or more components or assemblies configured on the network device. The contents that are the same as those in the first and second aspects of the embodiment are not repeated here.

[0261] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a PRACH configuration indication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , a PRACH configuration indication device 700 includes:

[0262] A sending unit 701 sends N PRACH related configurations to a terminal device, where N≥1; and / or

[0263] The sending unit 701 sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0264] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG7 , the PRACH configuration indicating device 700 may further include:

[0265] The receiving unit 702 receives random access information from the terminal device.

[0266] It is worth noting that the above only describes the components or modules related to the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. The PRACH configuration indication device 700 may also include other components or modules. For details of these components or modules, reference may be made to related technologies.

[0267] In addition, for the sake of simplicity, FIG7 only illustrates the connection relationship or signal direction between various components or modules. However, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various related technologies such as bus connection can be used. The above-mentioned components or modules can be implemented by hardware facilities such as processors, memories, transmitters, and receivers; the implementation of this application is not limited to this.

[0268] Through the embodiments of the present application, in some scenarios of wireless communication applications (such as energy-saving mode), network equipment and terminal devices can quickly and flexibly indicate / activate / trigger PRACH configuration, which can not only improve network gain (such as energy-saving gain) but also ensure normal transmission of terminal devices.

[0269] Embodiments of the fifth aspect

[0270] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, and reference may be made to FIG1 . The contents that are the same as those in the first to fourth aspects of the embodiments will not be repeated.

[0271] In some embodiments, the communication system 100 may include at least:

[0272] A network device that sends N PRACH-related configurations to a terminal device, where N≥1; and / or sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI;

[0273] A terminal device that receives the N PRACH-related configurations, and / or RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0274] The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal device, but the present application is not limited thereto and may also be other devices.

[0275] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8 , terminal device 800 may include a processor 810 and a memory 820. Memory 820 stores data and programs and is coupled to processor 810. It should be noted that this diagram is exemplary; other types of structures may be used to supplement or replace this structure to implement telecommunication or other functions.

[0276] For example, the processor 810 may be configured to execute a program to implement the method for indicating a PRACH configuration as described in the embodiment of the first aspect. For example, the processor 810 may be configured to perform the following control: receiving N PRACH-related configurations from a network device, where N ≥ 1; and / or receiving RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration of the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0277] As shown in Figure 8 , the terminal device 800 may further include: a communication module 830, an input unit 840, a display 850, and a power supply 860. The functions of these components are similar to those in the prior art and are not described in detail here. It is worth noting that the terminal device 800 does not necessarily include all of the components shown in Figure 8 , and these components are not essential. Furthermore, the terminal device 800 may also include components not shown in Figure 8 , for which reference may be made to the prior art.

[0278] An embodiment of the present application further provides a network device, which may be, for example, a base station, but the present application is not limited thereto and may also be other network devices.

[0279] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9 , network device 900 may include a processor 910 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) and a memory 920 ; the memory 920 is coupled to the processor 910 . The memory 920 may store various data and may also store an information processing program 930 , which is executed under the control of the processor 910 .

[0280] For example, the processor 910 may be configured to execute a program to implement the method for indicating a PRACH configuration as described in the embodiment of the second aspect. For example, the processor 910 may be configured to perform the following control: sending N PRACH-related configurations to the terminal device, where N ≥ 1; and / or sending RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration of the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0281] In addition, as shown in Figure 9, network device 900 may further include: a transceiver 940 and an antenna 950; wherein, the functions of these components are similar to those in the prior art and are not further described here. It is worth noting that network device 900 does not necessarily include all the components shown in Figure 9; in addition, network device 900 may also include components not shown in Figure 9, and reference may be made to the prior art for details.

[0282] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program, wherein when the program is executed in a terminal device, the program causes the terminal device to execute the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration described in the embodiment of the first aspect.

[0283] An embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a terminal device to execute the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration described in the embodiment of the first aspect.

[0284] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program, wherein when the program is executed in a network device, the program causes the network device to execute the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration described in the embodiment of the second aspect.

[0285] An embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a network device to execute the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration described in the embodiment of the second aspect.

[0286] The above devices and methods of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a combination of hardware and software. The present application relates to such a computer-readable program that, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the devices or components described above, or enables the logic component to implement the various methods or steps described above. The present application also relates to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory, etc.

[0287] The method / device described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. For example, one or more of the functional block diagrams shown in the figure and / or one or more combinations of functional block diagrams can correspond to various software modules of the computer program flow or to various hardware modules. These software modules can respectively correspond to the various steps shown in the figure. These hardware modules can be implemented by solidifying these software modules, for example, using a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0288] The software module may be located in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium; or the storage medium may be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium may be located in an ASIC. The software module may be stored in the memory of the mobile terminal or in a memory card that can be inserted into the mobile terminal. For example, if the device (such as a mobile terminal) uses a large-capacity MEGA-SIM card or a large-capacity flash memory device, the software module may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the large-capacity flash memory device.

[0289] One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any appropriate combination thereof for performing the functions described in this application. One or more of the functional blocks and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in communication with a DSP, or any other such configuration.

[0290] The present application has been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that these descriptions are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application based on the spirit and principles of the present application, and such modifications and variations are also within the scope of the present application.

[0291] Regarding the implementation methods including the above embodiments, the following additional notes are also disclosed:

[0292] 1. A method for activating / indicating / triggering a PRACH configuration, comprising:

[0293] The terminal device receives N PRACH-related configurations from the network device, where N ≥ 1; and / or

[0294] The terminal device receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0295] 2. According to Supplementary Note 1, the method further comprises:

[0296] The terminal device receives M SSB-related configurations from the network device, where M≥1; and / or

[0297] The terminal device receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one SSB-related configuration among the M SSB-related configurations.

[0298] 3. According to Note 2, the at least one PRACH-related configuration and the at least one SSB-related configuration are activated by the same RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI, or the at least one PRACH-related configuration and the at least one SSB-related configuration are deactivated by the same RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI.

[0299] 4. According to Note 3, the first value of one or more bits in the DCI indicates that the PRACH-related configuration and the SSB-related configuration are activated at the same time, and the second value of one or more bits in the DCI indicates that the PRACH-related configuration and the SSB-related configuration are deactivated at the same time.

[0300] 5. A method for activating / indicating / triggering a PRACH configuration, comprising:

[0301] The network device sends N PRACH related configurations to the terminal device, where N ≥ 1; and / or

[0302] The network device sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

[0303] 6. A terminal device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration as described in Note 1.

[0304] 7. A network device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration as described in Note 2.

[0305] 8. A computer program product, comprising at least a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, enables a terminal device to execute the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration as described in Note 1.

[0306] 9. A computer program product comprising at least a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the network device executes the activation / indication / triggering method of the PRACH configuration as described in Note 2.

Claims

1. A PRACH configuration indication device, comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive N PRACH-related configurations from a network device, where N ≥ 1; and / or The receiving unit further receives RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein The terminal device is in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH related configurations via a broadcast message.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein The device further comprises: A processing unit performs a first type of contention-based random access or a second type of contention-based random access according to an activated PRACH-related configuration.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein The terminal device is in an RRC connected state, and the terminal device receives the N PRACH-related configurations through an RRC message.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein The device further comprises: A processing unit performs a first type of non-contention random access, or a second type of non-contention random access, or a link recovery, or a system information request according to an activated PRACH related configuration.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein The PRACH-related configuration includes at least one of the following information: Information on cell-specific random access parameters; Cell-specific information on PRACH and PUSCH resource parameters used to transmit MsgA in the 2-step random access procedure; Information on cell-specific two-step random access parameters; Information on dedicated random access parameters; Information on random access parameters for normal random access and beam failure recovery; Information on two-step random access type parameters; Information of SSB by RACH opportunity; Information on the total number of preambles used for contention and / or non-contention random access; Information related to PRACH time domain resource configuration; Information related to PRACH frequency domain resource configuration.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein The PRACH-related configuration is included in a broadcast message and / or an RRC message.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein The PRACH related configuration is included in the BWP uplink common information in the system information block and / or RRC message; Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the RACH configuration common information or RACH configuration common two-step random access information in the system information block and / or RRC message; Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in RACH configuration general information or RACH configuration general two-step random access information in a system information block and / or an RRC message.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein The PRACH related configuration is included in the RRC message.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein The PRACH related configuration is included in the non-contention information or non-contention two-step information of the RRC message; Alternatively, the PRACH-related configuration is included in the beam failure recovery configuration information in the RRC message.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein At least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered through RRC.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein The PRACH-related configuration includes one or more parameters, which are used by the terminal device to determine whether the PRACH-related configuration is activated, and / or, are used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform random access or link recovery based on the PRACH-related configuration.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein At least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered through the MAC CE.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein At least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations is indicated / activated / triggered through DCI.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein The DCI is group common signaling and / or UE dedicated signaling; The DCI includes at least a field for indicating / activating / triggering PRACH-related configuration, where the field includes bitmap information and / or code point information and / or bit information; wherein the field includes M bits, where M is provided by a high-level parameter P.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein The DCI includes one or more blocks; the block includes one or more fields for indicating activation / deactivation of at least one of the following information: discontinuous reception (DRX), discontinuous transmission (DTX), SSB configuration, PRACH configuration, and paging configuration.

17. The device according to claim 14, wherein The size of the DCI is indicated based on a higher layer parameter S, the number of information bits of the DCI is less than or equal to the payload size; and the DCI is scrambled by the first RNTI.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein The information of the offset of the frame or subframe for monitoring the DCI and / or the information for indicating the number of RACH resources or ROs included in the DCI are provided by higher layer parameters.

19. A PRACH configuration indication device, comprising: A sending unit, which sends N PRACH related configurations to the terminal device, where N ≥ 1; and / or The sending unit further sends RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; the RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI are used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

20. A communication system comprising: A network device that sends N PRACH-related configurations to a terminal device, where N ≥ 1; and / or, sending RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; A terminal device receiving the N PRACH-related configurations, and / or RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI; The RRC signaling and / or MAC CE and / or DCI is used to indicate / activate / trigger at least one PRACH-related configuration among the N PRACH-related configurations.

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