Random access reporting method and user equipment

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a random access reporting method and a user equipment. The random access reporting method comprises: a user equipment (UE) executing a random access (RA) procedure; determining that the RA procedure is completed; and storing small data transmission (SDT) information in a RA report, comprising: when it is determined that the RA procedure is used for SDT, and the RA procedure is initiated with the RA type set to four-step, the UE sets first RA information to a downlink signal quality value acquired at the initiation of the RA procedure, or the UE sets third RA information to the amount of data in an uplink buffer at the initiation of the RA procedure.

Description

Random access reporting method and user equipment TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and more particularly, to a random access reporting method and a corresponding user equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] Network optimization in wireless network can achieve the purpose of optimizing network performance. Generally, data collection and data analysis and other means are performed on the existing deployed and running network to find out the reasons affecting network quality, and network performance is improved by modifying the configured network parameters, adjusting the network structure and the deployed equipment and other means. For self-configuration and self-optimization network (SON), it refers to the process of automatically adjusting the network based on user equipment and / or base station measurement / performance measurement. The network side can configure the UE to perform measurements for SON. SON functions include many aspects, such as automatic neighbor relation function (ANR) for reducing the burden of operator's neighbor cell management, mobility load balancing function (MLB) for balancing the mobile load between different cells, mobility robustness optimization function (MRO) for optimizing mobile performance, random access channel optimization function for optimizing random access channel parameters, and wireless link failure reporting function for optimizing coverage and MRO, etc.

[0003] In addition, minimization of drive tests (MDT) technology is also an important means for operators to optimize the network. By obtaining network optimization related parameters from the drive test data obtained by the UE, and based on the analysis of these data, the state of network deployment and operation is obtained, so as to decide how to improve the operation state of the network. The main application scenarios of MDT are coverage optimization, capacity optimization, mobility management optimization, QoS parameter optimization and public channel parameter configuration optimization, etc.

[0004] In the system of version 17 and previous versions, random access (RA) reporting is used to record the information of the random access process performed by the UE side, for the optimization of random access parameters and network coverage and other issues by the network side.

[0005] Small Data Transmission (SDT) mechanism is introduced in Release 17 of NR system. The purpose of this mechanism is to optimize the signaling overhead and power consumption caused by infrequent small size data traffic of users. For user equipment (UE) in Radio Resource Control-Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, some infrequent small size data traffic (such as instant messages, heartbeat signals to keep online, periodic information of smart wearables or sensors, and periodic meter reading traffic caused by smart metering devices, etc.) transmission requires the UE to enter Radio Resource Control-Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state to perform small size data packet transmission, which causes signaling overhead and reduces network performance, and also greatly consumes the energy of the UE. Therefore, for such traffic, SDT mechanism can be used to realize small data transmission in RRC_INACTIVE state, thereby avoiding the above problems.

[0006] The present disclosure aims to solve the problem of random access information reporting in NR networks, and further, to solve the problem of RA reporting in networks supporting SDT. SUMMARY

[0007] The main purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a RA reporting method and a user equipment to solve the problem of reporting SDT related performance information and setting random access information when performing RA reporting in SDT scenario in a system supporting SDT.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a RA reporting method is provided, comprising: a user equipment (UE) performing a random access procedure; the UE determining that the random access procedure is completed; and the UE saving small data transmission (SDT) information in a RA report, comprising: the UE determining that the random access procedure is for SDT, and the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps, the UE setting first RA information as a downlink signal quality value obtained when the random access procedure is initiated, or the UE setting third RA information as a data amount in uplink buffer when the random access procedure is initiated.

[0009] In the RA reporting method of the above first aspect, the random access procedure is for SDT is that the random access procedure is initiated due to RA-SDT.

[0010] In the RA reporting method of the above first aspect, the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps, which means that the random access type (RA_TYPE) corresponding to the random access procedure is set to four steps (4-step RA).

[0011] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiating the random access procedure is a downlink signal quality value obtained at the time when a radio resource control (RRC) layer or a medium access control (MAC) layer of the UE evaluates whether the SDT should be performed.

[0012] The data amount in the uplink buffer is an amount of data in the uplink buffer at the time when the RRC layer or the MAC layer of the UE evaluates whether the SDT should be performed.

[0013] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, the data amount in the uplink buffer refers to a size of all payloads in the buffer of the UE.

[0014] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, when the UE determines that the second RA information is not set, the first RA information is set as the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiating the random access procedure; wherein the second RA information is a dlPathlossRSRP information element, which is used to indicate a reference signal received power of a downlink path loss reference measurement obtained at a time point of a random access type selection stage in the random access procedure.

[0015] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, when the UE determines that the fourth RA information is not set, the third RA information is set as the data amount in the uplink buffer at the time of initiating the random access procedure; wherein the fourth RA information is a msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize information element, which is used to indicate a size of all payloads in the buffer of the UE at the time of initiating the two-step random access procedure.

[0016] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, when the UE determines that the random access procedure is triggered due to a beam failure recovery of the SDT or is triggered in an ongoing SDT procedure, the fifth RA information is set to indicate that the random access procedure is triggered for the beam failure recovery of the SDT.

[0017] In the RA reporting method of the first aspect, when the SDT procedure fails due to a random access problem indication from a MAC layer, if the random access procedure associated with the random access problem indication is initiated due to a beam failure recovery of the SDT or is initiated in an ongoing CG-SDT procedure, the value of the sixth RA information is set to indicate a failure of the beam failure recovery of the SDT; otherwise, the value of the sixth RA information is set to indicate a random access problem.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the RA reporting method described above. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The above and other features of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic flowchart of a competition-based four-step random access process.

[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a non-contention-based random access procedure.

[0022] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the SDT process based on random access.

[0023] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the SDT process of the configuration-based licensing CG-SDT mechanism.

[0024] Figures 5 to 16 are schematic flowcharts illustrating multiple RA reporting methods.

[0025] Figure 17 shows a block diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Other aspects, advantages, and key features of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0027] In this disclosure, the terms “comprising” and “containing” and their derivatives are used to mean including rather than limiting; the term “or” is inclusive and means and / or.

[0028] In this specification, the various embodiments described below to illustrate the principles of this disclosure are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any way. The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, is intended to aid in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. The following description includes various specific details to aid understanding, but these details should be considered merely exemplary. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of well-known functions and structures have been omitted. Additionally, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for similar functions and operations.

[0029] The following description uses an NR mobile communication system as an example application environment to illustrate several implementations according to this disclosure. However, it should be noted that this disclosure is not limited to the following implementations, but is applicable to many other wireless communication systems.

[0030] The base station in the present disclosure can be any type of base station, including a Node B, an enhanced base station eNB, a 5G communication system base station gNB; or a micro base station, a pico base station, a macro base station, a home base station, etc.; the network side generally refers to a base station. The cell can also be a cell under any type of base station described above. Unless otherwise specified, the cell, the beam, the transmission point (Transmission point, TRP) can be interchangeable, and the base station can be a central unit (gNB-Central Unit, gNB-CU) or a distributed unit (gNB-Distributed Unit, gNB-DU) of the base station. Different embodiments can also work together, such as the same variable / parameter / noun in different embodiments being interpreted in the same way. Cancel, release, delete, empty and clear can be replaced. Execution, use and application can be replaced. Configuration and reconfiguration can be replaced. Monitor and detect can be replaced. Initiation and triggering can be replaced. If…, if… and in the case of… can be replaced, and UE can also be replaced.

[0031] Some existing mechanisms related to the present disclosure will be described first. It is worth noting that some of the names in the following description are only example illustrations and are not limiting, and other names can also be used.

[0032] Physical random access channel resource: Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource. The base station configures the physical random access channel parameters used by the cell through system information broadcast. The physical random access channel resource PRACH resource can refer to the physical frequency resource and / or time domain resource and / or code domain resource (such as preamble) used for random access.

[0033] Random Access Channel, RACH, refers to a channel used for sending random access preambles. RACH can refer to either the transport channel RACH or the physical random access channel PRACH, without distinction. RACH parameters / configurations refer to the radio configurations for enabling random access functions, including the related configurations of PRACH, such as the maximum number of preamble transmission, power ramping parameters, random access response reception window size, MAC contention resolution timer configuration, PRACH time-frequency resource configuration, message 1 (i.e., preamble) subcarrier spacing, configuration of the number of Synchronizaion Signal Block (SSB) corresponding to each RACH occasion (RO) and the number of contention-based random preambles corresponding to each SSB (configured by ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB information element), backoff parameters (in scalingFactorBI information element), etc.

[0034] Random Access, RA, procedure:

[0035] In existing NR mechanisms, the random access procedure can be divided into contention based random access (CBRA) and contention free random access (CFRA). The procedure of CBRA is shown in FIG. 1, which is divided into four steps: in the first step, a UE sends a message 1 (i.e., a random access preamble) to a base station; in the second step, the UE receives a message 2 (i.e., a random access response, RAR) from the base station; in the third step, the UE sends a message 3 (an uplink transmission scheduled by an uplink grant in the message 2), which generally contains a UE identifier, a radio resource control (RRC) message for RRC connection establishment / resume / reestablishment, a UE contention resolution identifier for random access contention resolution, etc., to the base station; and in the fourth step, the UE receives a message 4 (i.e., a message for contention resolution) from the base station. The PRACH resource used in CBRA is shared by many UEs, and the random access procedure is successfully completed when the UE completes the above four steps of CBRA and the contention resolution is successful. The procedure of CFRA is shown in FIG. 2, which is divided into two steps: in the first step, a UE sends a message 1 (i.e., a random access preamble) to a base station; and in the second step, the UE receives a message 2 (i.e., a random access response, RAR) from the base station. After successfully receiving the message 2 associated with the message 1, the UE considers that the CFRA procedure is successfully completed. CFRA generally allocates a dedicated PRACH resource such as a preamble (referred to as step 0 in FIG. 2) to the UE by the base station in advance, so there is no contention. Two-step random access procedure is introduced in R16 and later NR. The first step and the third step of the above four-step random access procedure are combined into the same step and referred to as message A. That is, the message A contains a random access preamble and a subsequent associated PUSCH payload, and the content of the PUSCH payload is consistent with the content contained in the message 3, which can include an RRC message, user plane data, a MAC control element such as a buffer status report, and a UE identifier, etc. The second step and the fourth step are combined into the same step and referred to as message B. The message B is a response to the message A in the two-step random access procedure, and the content contained in the message B is similar to the content of the above message 2 and message 4, which can include a response for contention resolution (a contention resolution identifier, a random access preamble identifier, a UE identifier, etc.), a fallback indication, a backoff indication, a time advance command, an uplink grant, and can also include a response RRC message for responding to the RRC message contained in the message A, etc.Compared with four-step random access, two-step random access process can shorten the latency of random access. Generally, the network side can configure different random access resource configurations for two-step random access and four-step random access.

[0036] The UE can trigger a random access procedure in multiple cases, such as initial access performed when transitioning from RRC idle state or RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) to RRC connected state, beam recovery request, handover (also known as synchronization reconfiguration in NR), and the like. The UE in the RRC connected state has uplink data arrival while the uplink is not synchronized, the UE in the RRC connected state has no available physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource, and the like. After the UE triggers a random access procedure, the UE selects whether to initiate a two-step random access or a four-step random access type, CBRA or CFRA, according to the network side configuration and the UE measurement result. In addition, the UE can fall back to a four-step random access procedure when performing a two-step random access, such as when receiving a fallback random access response (fallbackRAR) sent by the network side, or when the number of two-step random access attempt message A transmissions exceeds a configured maximum number, and the like. The random access procedure described in the present disclosure includes but is not limited to the above random access procedures.

[0037] Random access (RA) report:

[0038] In the current NR system, there are mainly three scenarios in which the UE reports the RA information related report to the network side.

[0039] In the first RA information report, the UE records the RA information of each successfully completed random access procedure in the variable VarRA-Report. For the random access report (referred to as RA report) recording the information of the successfully or unsuccessfully completed random access procedure, the base station sends a UE information request (UEinformationRequest) message to the UE, which contains an RA report request indication (ra-ReportReq information element) for requesting the UE to report the saved RA report of the random access procedure. After receiving the UEinformationRequest message containing the indication, the UE reports the saved RA report to the base station in the UE information response (UEinformationReponse) message. The base station takes the RA report reported by one UE as a sample. Based on a sufficient number of samples, the base station can analyze whether the current RACH performance meets the demand, and adjust the RACH parameters according to the demand to improve the RACH performance.

[0040] The second RA information related report is the Connection Establishment Failure (CEF) report. If the initial access fails (RRC connection establishment procedure fails or RRC connection resume procedure fails), the corresponding CEF report also saves the random access information of the random access procedure performed in the RRC connection establishment / resume procedure. If the UE has saved CEF reports in the variable VarConnEstFailReport, the UE will include a connEstFailInfoAvailable information element in the RRC message such as the RRC resume complete message to inform the base station that it has saved CEF reports. The base station sends the UEinformationRequest message to the UE, which includes the CEF report request indication (connEstFailReportReq information element), to request the UE to report the saved CEF report information. After receiving the UEinformationRequest message including the indication, the UE includes the saved CEF report (ConnEstFailReport information element) in the UEinformationReponse message to report to the base station.

[0041] The third RA information related report is the Radio Link Failure (RLF) report. For example, in the case of radio link failure triggered due to random access failure, the corresponding radio link failure report also saves the corresponding random access information. If the UE has saved RLF reports in the variable VarRLF-Report, the UE will include an rlf-InfoAvailable information element in the RRC message such as the RRC resume complete message to inform the base station that it has saved RLF reports. The base station sends the UEinformationRequest message to the UE, which includes the radio link failure report request indication (rlf-ReportReq information element), to request the UE to report the saved RLF report information. After receiving the UEinformationRequest message including the indication, the UE includes the saved RLF report (rlf-Report information element) in the UEinformationReponse message to report to the base station. If the random access procedure is performed in the RLF procedure (for example, the RLF is triggered due to random access failure), the RLF report will include the information of the random access procedure.

[0042] In general, the RA report refers to the first RA information report described above. The subsequent embodiments of the present disclosure describe specific implementation methods taking the RA report as an example, but it is worth noting that the implementation methods can also be applied to the second or third RA information report described above.

[0043] In NR system, UE is allowed to save the RA information corresponding to multiple random access procedures. When UE completes a random access procedure, UE determines whether the number of entries in the random access report list ra-ReportList in the UE variable VarRA-Report is less than the maximum number of RA reports maxRAReport supported by the system. If so, UE adds a new entry in VarRA-Report to record the information of the successfully completed random access procedure. The information of a random access procedure includes: cell information (global cell identity, tracking area code or physical cell identity and carrier frequency) where the random access preamble is sent, random access purpose information and random access common information. The random access common information includes reference downlink frequency information (such as the absolute frequency of Point A, subcarrier spacing, bandwidth location information locationAndBandwidth, etc.) associated with the random access procedure and the associated RA information of each random access attempt in chronological order. The associated RA information of each random access attempt includes the beam index value, the number of consecutive random access attempts on the beam (i.e. the number of corresponding consecutive random access preambles sent on the beam), the indication information of whether the random access contention is detected, and the indication information of whether the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the beam corresponding to the random access resource used by the random access attempt is higher than a configured threshold. The RA report of Release 17 adds the RA information of two-step random access procedure, including: the fallback information of two-step random access procedure falling back to four-step random access procedure, the downlink quality measured by UE before triggering two-step random access procedure, the payload size of UE uplink buffer when triggering random access procedure, etc.

[0044] In NR, UE is allowed to save up to 8 RA reports. After entering RRC idle or inactive state, UE still saves the previously generated RA reports. UE can send the saved RA reports to the network side after entering connected state again.

[0045] Small data transmission (SDT) mechanism:

[0046] The small data transmission (SDT) mechanism in R17 version of NR system realizes the mobile terminal triggered small data packet transmission in RRC_INACTIVE state. The SDT mechanism has two implementation modes: random access based SDT (RA-SDT) and configured grant based SDT (CG-SDT).

[0047] FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart showing the RA-SDT process. As shown in FIG. 3, when the UE in RRC_INACTIVE state has data to be sent on the wireless bearer configured with SDT, the UE sends a small data transmission request to the network side through the SDT dedicated PRACH resource in the random access process, and the network side knows that the UE will perform small data transmission in RRC_INACTIVE state, so as not to configure the UE to enter RRC connected state. Subsequently, the UE sends the small data to the network side in the message A of the two-step random access process or in the message 3 of the four-step random access process, and the message A or the message 3 simultaneously contains the RRC resume request message. If all the small data has been successfully sent by being contained in the message 3 or the message A (even if the data buffer corresponding to the wireless bearer or the logical channel enabled with SDT is empty), the UE determines that the SDT process ends after receiving the response message of the network side containing the RRC release message; if the small data has not been completely sent (i.e., there is still uplink small data in the uplink buffer of the UE which has not been sent), after the random access is successfully completed, the network side schedules the UE to complete the uplink or downlink small data transmission through the UE dedicated wireless network identifier (such as the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI)), and when the small data is completely transmitted, the SDT process ends. In the SDT process, if the UE has non-SDT uplink data (data on the wireless bearer which is not enabled with SDT) to arrive, the UE will perform uplink data transmission by sending a corresponding message to the network side to request to enter RRC connected state or autonomously fallback to the traditional non-SDT process.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart showing the SDT procedure based on the CG-SDT mechanism. As shown in FIG. 4, in the CG-SDT mechanism, the network side configures the CG-SDT resource for small data transmission to the UE, and generally the CG-SDT configuration is contained in the RRC release message. After receiving the message, the UE releases the RRC connection, enters the RRC_INACTIVE state, and applies the CG-SDT configuration. The CG-SDT configuration contains the semi-static uplink grant resource for uplink data transmission and the corresponding L2 and L1 configurations, and generally this resource is a periodic resource. When the UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state has data to be transmitted on the wireless bearer configured with SDT and the CG-SDT initiation condition is met, the UE does not need to initiate a random access procedure, but directly uses the configured CG to transmit small data, and completes the remaining small data transmission by listening to the scheduling information of the base station on the downlink channel.

[0049] As mentioned before, SDT not only supports single packet transmission, but also supports multiple packet transmission. In the SDT procedure, the first transmission of data contains the Common Control Channel (CCCH) data (RRC resume request message) and user plane data, which is called initial transmission or initial Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission, and the transmission of user plane data performed thereafter is called subsequent transmission or subsequent PUSCH transmission. In the RA-SDT, the initial transmission generally refers to the PUSCH transmission of message A or message 3, and the subsequent transmission occurs after the successful completion of the initial random access RA procedure. In the CG-SDT, the initial transmission uses the allocated CG resource, and the subsequent transmission can use the allocated CG resource or use dynamic grant. The UE performs the subsequent transmission only after confirming the success of the initial transmission. In the process of subsequent transmission, for the RA-SDT, if the UE occurs uplink out-of-sync (i.e., the corresponding uplink time alignment timer expires), the UE can initiate the random access procedure again to obtain uplink synchronization; or if the beam quality used for small data transmission becomes poor and beam failure occurs, the UE can initiate the random access procedure again in the ongoing small data procedure to perform beam failure recovery. For the CG-SDT, if the beam quality used for small data transmission becomes poor (e.g., the beam signal quality associated with the configured CG is lower than a threshold value), but the small data transmission is not completed (there is still data in the UL buffer), i.e., beam failure occurs, the UE can initiate the random access procedure again in the ongoing small data procedure to perform beam failure recovery or request new CG resource.

[0050] During the whole SDT procedure, the UE keeps in RRC_INACTIVE state, which greatly reduces the signaling overhead brought by the traditional data transmission procedure, saves the UE energy consumption, and also shortens the data transmission delay.

[0051] The UE can only initiate and use the SDT procedure to transmit data when the conditions for initiating the SDT procedure are met. These conditions can include: the network side configures the resources for SDT (such as the PRACH configuration dedicated to SDT) through system information or UE dedicated signaling, the radio bearer (RB) associated with the UE's pending uplink data is enabled to use the SDT procedure, the downlink quality (such as the reference signal received power (RSRP) greater than or equal to a configured link quality threshold TH1) of the UE's primary cell (i.e. the camped cell in RRC_INACTIVE state), the UE's pending uplink data size is less than or equal to a configured data size threshold TH2, etc. For CG-SDT, it also includes that the UE has a valid uplink time alignment (i.e. the uplink time alignment timer cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer for SDT is in running state) and the downlink quality RSRP of the UE's primary cell is greater than or equal to a configured link quality threshold TH3.

[0052] When the RRC layer initiates the SDT procedure, it starts an SDT timer T319a and initiates the RRC resume procedure by sending an RRC resume request message. The timer T319a is used to monitor the SDT procedure; it is stopped when the SDT procedure ends, such as when the UE receives an RRC release message, an RRC reject message, an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message, or the UE performs cell reselection, or the SDT procedure fails. If the timer T319a expires, the SDT is considered to have failed, and the UE performs the operation of entering the RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE). In the current SDT mechanism, the RRC layer of the UE considers the SDT operation to have failed when one or more of the following conditions occurs: the timer T319a expires, the RA fails during the SDT procedure, an indication is received from the radio link control (RLC) layer of the master cell group that the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached while the SDT procedure is in progress, an integrity check failure indication is received from the lower layer while the SDT procedure is in progress, the lower layer indicates that the timer cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer or the timer configuredGrantTimer has expired before a network response to the uplink CG-SDT transmission is received while the SDT procedure is in progress, and the like. If the SDT procedure fails, the UE performs the operation of entering the RRC idle state. Here, the UE considers the SDT procedure to have failed is equivalent to the UE considering that the SDT procedure is not running.

[0053] The characteristics of the SDT procedures as described above make the SDT procedures different from the conventional RRC resume procedure or RA procedure. The differentiated collection and recording of the RA reports in different scenarios, the more refined network state monitoring, can make the network side more refined and accurate in network parameters such as random access parameters in different scenarios or resource configuration of SDT. In the current 3GPP SON discussion, the enhancement of the RA report related to SDT is one of the topics. In the current conclusion, the UE records the downlink channel quality value measured when determining whether SDT can be used before the initiation of the random access, and the data amount. Considering that when the UE performs a two-step random access procedure, the UE will record the downlink channel quality value when the RA type is selected and the PUSCH load size of message A in the corresponding RA report. Then when the UE performs a random access procedure of the two-step type for SDT, the downlink channel quality value and the data amount in the RA report may be redundant, causing the UE to record and report unnecessary RA information. Therefore, how to avoid this situation becomes a problem concerned by the present disclosure. In addition, as mentioned above, the UE will also initiate a RA procedure due to beam failure during the ongoing SDT procedure, and at this time the UE is in the SDT procedure in the RRC_INACTIVE state, which is different from the conventional UE initiating a RA procedure in the connected state. Therefore, whether the UE needs to record the information of this type of random access procedure in the RA report and how to record the related RA information also become one of the problems to be solved by the present disclosure.

[0054] The present disclosure mainly proposes a solution to the above-mentioned problems related to the RA report in the SDT scenario. The following specific embodiments are given in the present disclosure. Through the RA related information setting method in the RA report in the SDT scenario described in the present disclosure, the UE can reasonably or accurately set the RA related information in the RA report, avoid unnecessary energy consumption and signaling overhead caused by the reporting of unnecessary information, and enable the network side to know whether the RA report is triggered by the beam failure recovery in the SDT scenario, so as to perform more refined network parameter optimization such as optimization of the random access parameters corresponding to the SDT or configuration of the SDT parameters. In the following embodiments, the RA information in the RA report, the SDT information in the RA report, the RA related information in the RA report, or the SDT related information in the RA report can be replaced.

[0055] The RA report information setting method related to the present disclosure is described below.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart showing an embodiment of an RA report. As shown in FIG. 5, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0057] Step 501: UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0058] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0059] Optionally, this step is also equivalent to that the UE performs and completes a SDT procedure, and the successful completion or failure of the random access procedure is also equivalent to the successful completion or failure of a SDT procedure.

[0060] Step 502: UE sets or adds the content associated with the random access procedure in the RA report variable as follows:

[0061] If the random access procedure is for SDT, and the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps, the UE sets the first RA information as the downlink signal quality value obtained when the random access procedure is initiated.

[0062] Optionally, the signal quality value is a reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0063] Optionally, the downlink signal quality value is a measured RSRP of a downlink path loss reference.

[0064] Optionally, the downlink signal quality value obtained when the random access procedure is initiated is a downlink signal quality value obtained when the UE assesses whether the SDT should be performed. Optionally, the operation of assessing whether the SDT should be performed is assessed / determined at the MAC layer of the UE or at the RRC layer of the UE. When the conditions for assessing whether the SDT can be performed are met, the UE performs the SDT procedure, and these conditions are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0065] Optionally, the random access procedure being for SDT means that the random access procedure is initiated due to the SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure is for RA-SDT.

[0066] Optionally, the random access procedure being initiated with a random access type setting of four steps means that the random access type corresponding to the random access procedure is set to four steps, i.e., RA_TYPE is set to 4-stepRA.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart showing another embodiment of the RA report. As shown in FIG. 6, this embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0068] Step 601: UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0069] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0070] Optionally, the step is also equivalent to the UE performing and completing an SDT procedure, and the successful or failed completion of the random access procedure is also equivalent to the successful or failed completion of an SDT procedure.

[0071] Step 602: The UE sets or adds the content associated with the random access procedure in the RA report variable as follows:

[0072] If the random access procedure is for SDT and the second RA information is not set, the UE sets the first RA information as the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiation of the random access procedure.

[0073] Optionally, the second RA information is a dlPathlossRSRP information element. The information element is used to indicate the downlink path loss reference measurement RSRP obtained at the time of the random access type (RA_TYPE) selection stage in the random access procedure.

[0074] Optionally, the first RA information and the second RA information use the same field (i.e., the same information element) in the RA report.

[0075] Optionally, the signal quality value is a reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0076] Optionally, the downlink signal quality value is a measured RSRP of a downlink path loss reference.

[0077] Optionally, the second RA information not being set can also be equivalent to the random access procedure not being initiated by the random access type two-step.

[0078] Optionally, the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiation of the random access procedure is a downlink signal quality value obtained when the UE assesses whether SDT should be performed. Optionally, the operation of assessing whether SDT should be performed is assessed / determined at the MAC layer of the UE or at the RRC layer of the UE. When the conditions for the assessment of whether SDT can be performed are met, the UE performs the SDT procedure, and these conditions are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0079] Optionally, the random access procedure being for SDT means that the random access procedure is initiated due to SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure is for RA-SDT.

[0080] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart showing another embodiment of a RA report. As shown in FIG. 7, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0081] Step 701: UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0082] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0083] Step 702: UE sets or adds, in the RA report variable, the content associated with the random access procedure as follows:

[0084] If the random access procedure is not for SDT, and the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of two steps, UE sets the second RA information as the downlink loss reference measurement RSRP obtained at the time of the random access type (RA_TYPE) selection stage in the random access procedure initiation.

[0085] Optionally, the second RA information is a dlPathlossRSRP information element.

[0086] Optionally, the random access procedure not for SDT means that the random access procedure is not initiated due to SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure is not for RA-SDT.

[0087] Optionally, the random access procedure initiated with a random access type setting of two steps means that the random access type corresponding to the random access procedure is set to two steps, i.e., RA_TYPE is set to 2-stepRA.

[0088] Optionally, the order between the UE judging that the random access procedure is not for SDT and the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of two steps is not limited.

[0089] FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart showing another embodiment of the RA report. As shown in FIG. 8, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0090] Step 801: UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0091] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0092] Step 802: UE sets or adds, in the RA report variable, the content associated with the random access procedure as follows:

[0093] If the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of two steps, and the second RA information is not set (or the first RA information is not set), the UE sets the second RA information as the downlink loss reference measurement RSRP obtained at the time of the random access type (RA_TYPE) selection stage in the random access procedure initiation.

[0094] Optionally, the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of two steps means that the random access type setting corresponding to the random access procedure is two steps, i.e., the RA_TYPE is set to 2-stepRA.

[0095] Optionally, the second RA information is a dlPathlossRSRP information element.

[0096] FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart showing an embodiment of an RA report. As shown in FIG. 9, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0097] Step 901: the UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0098] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0099] Optionally, the step is also equivalent to the UE performing and completing an SDT procedure, and the successful or failed completion of the random access procedure is also equivalent to the successful or failed completion of an SDT procedure.

[0100] Step 902: the UE sets or adds the content associated with the random access procedure in the RA report variable as follows:

[0101] If the random access procedure is for SDT, and the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps, the UE sets the third RA information as the amount of data in the uplink buffer at the time of the random access procedure initiation.

[0102] Optionally, the amount of data in the uplink buffer refers to the size of all payloads in the UE buffer.

[0103] Optionally, the third RA information is the amount of data in the uplink buffer when the UE evaluates whether the SDT should be performed. Optionally, the operation of evaluating whether the SDT should be performed is evaluated / determined at the MAC layer of the UE or at the RRC layer of the UE. When the conditions for evaluating whether the SDT can be performed are met, the UE performs the SDT procedure, and these conditions are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0104] Optionally, the random access procedure is for SDT means that the random access procedure is initiated due to SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure is for RA-SDT.

[0105] Optionally, the random access procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps means that the random access type corresponding to the random access procedure is set to four steps, i.e. RA_TYPE is set to 4-stepRA.

[0106] Figure 10 is a schematic flow chart illustrating another embodiment of RA reporting. As shown in Figure 10, this embodiment comprises any one or more of the following steps.

[0107] Step 1001: the UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0108] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0109] Optionally, this step is also equivalent to the UE performing and completing an SDT procedure, and the successful or failed completion of the random access procedure is also equivalent to the successful or failed completion of an SDT procedure.

[0110] Step 1002: the UE sets or adds the content associated with the random access procedure in the RA report variable as follows:

[0111] If the random access procedure is for SDT and the fourth RA information is not set, the UE sets the third RA information to the size of the data in the uplink buffer at the time of initiation of the random access procedure.

[0112] Optionally, the size of the data in the uplink buffer means the size of all payloads in the UE buffer.

[0113] Optionally, the third RA information is the size of the data in the uplink buffer when the UE assesses whether SDT should be performed. Optionally, the operation of assessing whether SDT should be performed is assessed / determined at the MAC layer of the UE or at the RRC layer of the UE. The UE performs the SDT procedure only when the conditions for assessing whether SDT can be performed are met, which are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0114] Optionally, the fourth RA information is a msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize information element, used to indicate the size of all payloads in the UE buffer when the UE initiates a two-step random access procedure.

[0115] Optionally, the random access procedure is for SDT means that the random access procedure is initiated due to SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure is for RA-SDT.

[0116] Optionally, the third RA information and the fourth RA information use the same field (i.e. the same information element) in the RA report.

[0117] Optionally, the fourth RA information not being set is equivalent to the random access type not being set to two-step when the random access procedure is initiated.

[0118] Figure 11 is a schematic flow chart illustrating yet another embodiment of a RA report. As shown in Figure 11, the embodiment comprises any one or more of the following steps.

[0119] Step 1101: The UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0120] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0121] Step 1102: The UE sets or adds, in the RA report variable, the content associated with the random access procedure as follows:

[0122] If the random access procedure is not for SDT, and the random access procedure is initiated with the random access type set to two-step, the UE sets the fourth RA information to all payload sizes in the UE buffer at the moment when the two-step random access procedure is initiated.

[0123] Optionally, the fourth RA information is a msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize information element.

[0124] Optionally, the random access procedure not being for SDT means that the random access procedure is not initiated due to SDT. Optionally, the random access procedure not being for RA-SDT.

[0125] Optionally, the random access procedure being initiated with the random access type set to two-step means that the random access type corresponding to the random access procedure is set to two-step, i.e. RA_TYPE is set to 2-stepRA.

[0126] Figure 12 is a schematic flow chart illustrating yet another embodiment of a RA report. As shown in Figure 12, the embodiment comprises any one or more of the following steps.

[0127] Step 1201: The UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0128] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0129] Step 1202: The UE sets or adds, in the RA report variable, the content associated with the random access procedure as follows:

[0130] If the random access procedure is initiated with a two-step random access type setting, and the third RA information is not set (or the fourth RA information is not set), the UE sets the fourth RA information as all the payload sizes in the UE cache at the time of the two-step random access procedure initiation.

[0131] Optionally, the fourth RA information is a msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize information element.

[0132] Optionally, the third RA information is the amount of data in the uplink buffer when the UE assesses whether the SDT should be performed. Optionally, the operation of assessing whether the SDT should be performed is assessed / determined at the MAC layer of the UE or at the RRC layer of the UE. When the conditions for the assessment of whether the SDT can be performed are met, the UE performs the SDT procedure, which are described above and will not be repeated here. Optionally, the operation of the UE assessing whether the SDT should be performed is performed before the UE initiates the random access procedure. If the UE determines that all the conditions for the initiation of the SDT are met, i.e., the SDT should be performed, the UE initiates the random access procedure for the SDT. Otherwise, the UE initiates the random access procedure that is not for the SDT.

[0133] Optionally, the random access procedure is initiated with a two-step random access type setting means that the random access type corresponding to the random access procedure is set to two-step, i.e., the RA_TYPE is set to 2-stepRA.

[0134] FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart showing another embodiment of the RA report. As shown in FIG. 13, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0135] Step 1301: The UE performs a random access procedure and completes the random access procedure.

[0136] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0137] Optionally, the step is also equivalent to that the UE performs and completes an SDT procedure, and the random access procedure is failed to complete is also equivalent to that the SDT procedure / operation is failed.

[0138] Step 1302: The UE performs the RA report determination procedure as follows: If the random access procedure is initiated due to SDT beam failure recovery or the random access procedure is initiated in an ongoing SDT procedure, the UE does not perform the related operation of the RA report determination procedure, i.e., does not record the information related to the random access procedure in the RA report variable.

[0139] Optionally, the ongoing SDT procedure is an ongoing CG-SDT procedure.

[0140] Optionally, the operation of step 1302 can also be described as: when the UE successfully completes or fails to complete a random access procedure, or successfully completes or fails to complete an SDT operation, the UE performs the operation for RA report determination, including including the information related to the random access procedure or the information related to the SDT procedure in the RA report variable, except for the case that the associated random access procedure is initiated due to SDT beam failure recovery or the random access procedure is initiated in an ongoing SDT procedure.

[0141] FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart showing another embodiment of the RA report. As shown in FIG. 14, the embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0142] Step 1401: The UE performs a random access procedure, and completes the random access procedure.

[0143] Optionally, the random access procedure is successfully completed or failed.

[0144] Step 1402: The UE performs the RA report determination procedure as follows:

[0145] The UE adds a new item in the random access report variable to record the information associated with the random access procedure, including: the UE sets the fifth RA information to indicate that the purpose of the random access procedure triggering is the beam failure recovery of the SDT.

[0146] Optionally, the fifth RA information is the raPurpose information element, used to indicate the purpose of the random access procedure triggering.

[0147] Optionally, when the random access procedure is triggered due to the SDT beam failure recovery or is triggered in an ongoing SDT procedure, the UE sets the fifth RA information to indicate that the purpose of the random access procedure triggering is the beam failure recovery of the SDT. Optionally, the ongoing SDT procedure refers to an ongoing CG-SDT procedure. Optionally, the triggered due to the SDT beam failure recovery refers to the triggered due to the RA-SDT beam failure recovery.

[0148] Optionally, the fifth RA information is set as one of sdtBeamFailureRecovery, sdt-beamFailureRecovery, beamFailureRecoverySDT, beamFailureRecovery-SDT or beamFailureRecovery-sdt.

[0149] Optionally, the fifth RA information is set as beamFailureRecovery in the prior art ra-Purpose. That is, beamFailureRecovery in the ra-Purpose indicates the use in the following cases: a successful beam failure recovery related random access procedure in a special cell (SpCell), a successful or failed SDT beam failure recovery related random access procedure, a successful or failed random access procedure in an ongoing CG-SDT.

[0150] FIG. 15 is a schematic flow chart illustrating yet another embodiment of RA reporting. As shown in FIG. 15, this embodiment includes any one or more of the following steps.

[0151] Step 1501: The UE initiates an SDT procedure.

[0152] As described before, when the UE judges that the condition for initiating SDT is met, the UE initiates an SDT procedure and considers that the SDT procedure is ongoing. After initiating the SDT procedure, the UE RRC layer instructs the underlying layer to perform the transmission and reception of data using the SDT mode. In the RA-SDT procedure, the MAC layer is triggered to initiate a random access procedure using the SDT-specific random access resource.

[0153] Step 1502: The SDT procedure or SDT operation fails to complete, and the UE sets the information in the RA report as follows.

[0154] For the completed SDT procedure, the UE adds a new entry in the RA report variable VarRA-Report, and includes the sixth RA information in the RA-Report of the entry, which is used to indicate the cause of the failure of the SDT procedure. The operation of the UE to set the sixth RA information includes the following: if the failure of the SDT procedure is due to a random access problem indication from the MAC layer, the UE further judges whether the random access problem indication is associated with a random access procedure initiated due to SDT beam failure recovery, or initiated in an ongoing CG-SDT procedure. If so, the UE sets the value of the sixth RA information to indicate the failure of SDT beam failure recovery (e.g., set to beamFailureRecoveryFailure or SDTbeamFailureRecoveryFailure); otherwise (i.e., the random access procedure is not initiated due to SDT beam failure recovery or not initiated in an ongoing CG-SDT procedure), the UE sets the value of the sixth RA information to indicate the random access problem (e.g., set to randomAccessProblem).

[0155] FIG. 16 is a schematic flowchart of another information reporting method provided by the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 16, the method can include the following steps.

[0156] Step 1601: The UE receives a UEInformationRequest message from the network side, which carries an indication / request for requesting the UE to report the saved RA report.

[0157] Step 1602: The UE includes the content in the saved RA report in a UEInformationResponse message, and sends the UEInformationResponse message to the network side. The RA report included in the UEInformationResponse message at least includes a combination of one or more of the first to sixth RA information in the foregoing embodiments.

[0158] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a user equipment 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 17, the user equipment 10 includes a processor 101 and a memory 102. The processor 101 can include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 102 can include, for example, a volatile memory (such as a random access memory RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a non-volatile memory (such as a flash memory), or other storage, etc. The memory 102 stores program instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor 101, the above-described random access reporting method in the user equipment can be performed as described in detail in the present disclosure.

[0159] A program running on a device according to the present disclosure can be a program that enables a computer to implement the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure by controlling a central processing unit (CPU). The program or information processed by the program can be temporarily stored in a volatile memory (e.g., a random access memory (RAM)), a hard disk drive (HDD), a non-volatile memory (e.g., a flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0160] A program for implementing the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The corresponding functions can be implemented by causing a computer system to read the program recorded on the recording medium and execute the program. The computer system here can be a computer system embedded in the device and can include an operating system or hardware (e.g., a peripheral device). The computer-readable recording medium can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-time dynamic storage program recording medium, or any other computer-readable recording medium.

[0161] The various features or function modules of the device used in the above-described embodiments can be implemented or executed by a circuit (e.g., a single-chip or multi-chip integrated circuit). The circuit designed to perform the functions described in the specification can include 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 devices, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but can also be any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The above-described circuit can be a digital circuit, but can also be an analog circuit. In the event that new integrated circuit technologies emerge as a result of advances in semiconductor technology, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0162] Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as terminal devices or communication devices, such as AV devices, kitchen devices, cleaning devices, air conditioners, office devices, vending machines, and other home appliances.

[0163] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present disclosure also includes any design modification without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. In addition, various modifications can be made to the present disclosure within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, components described in the above-described embodiments that have the same effect can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1.A random access (RA) reporting method, comprising: a user equipment (UE) performing a random access (RA) procedure; the UE determining that the RA procedure is completed; and the UE saving small data transmission (SDT) information in a RA report, including: the UE determining that the RA procedure is for SDT and the RA procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps, the UE setting a first RA information as a downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiation of the RA procedure, or the UE setting a third RA information as a data amount size in an uplink buffer at the time of initiation of the RA procedure. 2.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein the RA procedure is for SDT is that the RA procedure is initiated due to RA-SDT. 3.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein the RA procedure is initiated with a random access type setting of four steps means that a random access type (RA_TYPE) corresponding to the RA procedure is set to four steps (4-step) RA. 4.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiation of the RA procedure is a downlink signal quality value obtained when a radio resource control (RRC) layer or a medium access control (MAC) layer of the UE evaluates whether SDT should be performed; the data amount size in the uplink buffer is a data amount in the uplink buffer when the RRC layer or the MAC layer of the UE evaluates whether SDT should be performed. 5.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein the data amount size in the uplink buffer means a size of all payloads in a buffer of the UE. 6.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein when the UE determines that a second RA information is not set, the UE sets the first RA information as the downlink signal quality value obtained at the time of initiation of the RA procedure; wherein the second RA information is a dlPathlossRSRP information element for indicating a reference signal received power of a downlink path loss reference measurement obtained at a time of a random access type selection stage in the RA procedure. 7.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein when the UE determines that a fourth RA information is not set, the UE sets the third RA information as the data amount size in the uplink buffer at the time of initiation of the RA procedure; wherein the fourth RA information is a msgA-PUSCH-PayloadSize information element for indicating a size of all payloads in a buffer of the UE at the time of initiation of a two-step RA procedure. 8.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein when the UE determines that the RA procedure is triggered due to SDT beam failure recovery or is triggered in an ongoing SDT procedure, the UE sets a fifth RA information for indicating that a purpose of the RA procedure triggering is SDT beam failure recovery. 9.The RA reporting method of claim 1, wherein ​ If the SDT procedure fails due to a random access problem indication from the MAC layer, the UE determines whether a random access procedure associated with the random access problem indication is initiated due to SDT beam failure recovery or initiated in an ongoing CG-SDT procedure, and sets a value of the sixth RA information to indicate an SDT beam failure recovery failure; otherwise, sets the value of the sixth RA information to indicate a random access problem. 10.A user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the RA reporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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