Communication methods, terminal devices and network devices

Abstract

Provided are communication methods, terminal devices and network devices. A communication method comprises: a terminal device receiving first DCI sent by a network device, wherein the first DCI is used for triggering a random access procedure or indicating a first PRACH resource. A network device sends first DCI to a terminal device to trigger a random access procedure or indicate a first PRACH resource, so as to provide the terminal device with additional random access opportunities or resources, thereby facilitating the rapid recovery of uplink synchronization, and also optimizing the allocation of network resources and improving the system flexibility.

Description

Communication method, terminal device and network device TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and more particularly, to a communication method, a terminal device and a network device. BACKGROUND

[0002] The random access procedure refers to a procedure from a terminal device sending a random access preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) channel to attempt to access a network to a procedure before a basic signaling connection is established between the terminal device and the network, which is a key step for establishing an initial communication connection between the terminal device and the network. Therefore, the random access procedure needs to be optimized. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides a communication method, a terminal device and a network device. The following introduces each aspect of the present application.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, a first DCI sent by a network device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or is used to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: sending, to a terminal device, a first DCI, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or is used to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0006] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a transceiver configured to receive a first DCI sent by a network device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or is used to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: a transceiver configured to send, to a terminal device, a first DCI, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or is used to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a transceiver, a memory and a processor, the memory is configured to store a program, the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send a signal, so that the terminal device performs the method according to the first aspect.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a transceiver, a memory and a processor, the memory is configured to store a program, the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send a signal, so that the network device performs the method in the second aspect.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising a processor configured to invoke a program from a memory, so that the apparatus performs the method in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor configured to invoke a program from a memory, so that a device installed with the chip performs the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program, the program causes a computer to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, the program causes a computer to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect, a computer program is provided, the computer program causes a computer to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0015] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device to trigger the random access process or indicate the first PRACH resource, thereby providing the terminal device with additional random access opportunities or resources, which is conducive to the fast recovery of uplink synchronization, and can optimize the allocation of network resources and improve the flexibility of the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is an example of a system architecture of a wireless communication system suitable for embodiments of the present application.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a wireless communication method according to embodiments of the present application.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal device according to embodiments of the present application.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a network device according to embodiments of the present application.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for communication according to embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Wireless communication system

[0023] FIG. 1 is an example diagram of a system architecture of a wireless communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. The wireless communication system 100 can include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 can be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120. The network device 110 can provide network coverage for a specific geographic area, and can communicate with the terminal device 120 located within the coverage area. The terminal device 120 can access a network, for example, a wireless network, through the network device 110. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 can further include a network controller, a mobile management entity, and other network entities, and embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0024] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, a fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), and the like. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, for example, a sixth generation mobile communication system, for example, a satellite communication system, and the like.

[0025] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user apparatus. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a device providing voice and / or data connectivity for a user, and can be used to connect people, things and machines, such as handheld devices with wireless connection function, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. The terminal device can also be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity, which provides sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle to everything (V2X) or device to device (D2D), etc. For example, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. The cellular phone and the smart home device communicate with each other without relaying the communication signals through the base station.

[0026] In embodiments of the present application, the network device can be a device for communicating with the terminal device. The network device can be an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device can be a base station. The base station can broadly cover various names in the following or can be replaced by the following names, for example: Node B (Node B), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station (MeNB), secondary station (SeNB), multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip configured to be disposed in the foregoing devices or apparatuses. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that assumes a base station function in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that assumes a base station function in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0027] In addition, the base station can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, the helicopter or the drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0028] The network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; and can also be deployed on the aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. The scene where the network device and the terminal device are located is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0029] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform, such as a cloud platform.

[0030] In a wireless communication system, a user needs to establish downlink and uplink synchronization with the system after starting up. In, for example, LTE systems and NR systems, when a user initiates a connection request to a network device during initial access, recovery from a dormant state, and switching to a new cell, downlink synchronization needs to be performed first, and then uplink synchronization and access are performed. Through PRACH, a terminal device can request the network device to allocate resources for it to perform data transmission or other communications. When the traffic changes, the terminal device can dynamically request the required resources through PRACH, enhancing the flexibility of the network. Using random preambles, PRACH can effectively reduce the probability of collision and handle collisions through a retransmission mechanism. There are various events that trigger a random access procedure, including, for example, initial access from the radio resource control (RRC) idle (RRC_IDLE) state, RRC connection reestablishment procedures, scheduling request (SR) failures, beam failure recovery, and the like. Therefore, the random access procedure can be performed when the terminal device is in the RRC idle state, the RRC active (RRC_INACTIVE) state, and the RRC connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state. In order to enable the terminal device in the network to have the opportunity to perform random access, the network device needs to configure PRACH resources for the terminal device to receive random access preambles from the terminal device. As an example, the terminal device can obtain PRACH configuration through high-layer signaling, thereby obtaining PRACH resources in the time domain. Each PRACH configuration has a corresponding index, and each PRACH configuration corresponds to a distribution of random access occasions (ROs). The RO distribution is usually defined by a radio frame index, a subframe number within the frame, and a starting symbol within the slot.

[0031] In a real random access procedure, a terminal device first listens to system information transmitted by a network device, such as system information block (SIB) 1 and SIB 2, to learn the configuration and availability of PRACH resources. Then, according to the obtained PRACH configuration, the terminal device selects a PRACH preamble for random access. The terminal device transmits the random access preamble in a predetermined PRACH slot, and the network device receives and processes the preamble.

[0032] In a wireless communication system, a network device needs to continuously monitor a PRACH channel and receive random access preambles transmitted by terminal devices. The energy consumption of the network device is mainly embodied in the process of processing random access requests, including signal reception, decoding, resource allocation, and response, etc. Decoding preambles of multiple terminal devices and detecting collisions requires high signal processing capability, especially in a high-load environment, the network device needs to invest more computing resources, increasing energy consumption. The configuration of PRACH resources (such as allocation in frequency and time domain) will affect the energy consumption of the network device. If too many resources are allocated for PRACH monitoring, it will increase the occupation of invalid resources and processing overhead. The activation and management of additional PRACH resources (such as enhanced PRACH for special scenarios) also increase the energy consumption of the network device. In the scenario of high-density terminal devices, the frequency of random access collisions increases, and the network device needs to additionally process retransmission and collision resolution, further increasing energy consumption. The network device needs to perform interference cancellation on the received preamble signals, especially in large coverage cells or high interference environments, which requires high computing capability and leads to increased energy consumption.

[0033] PRACH is a periodic and always-on process, and PRACH periodicity can only be semi-statically changed. These resources cannot be dynamically adjusted to adapt to changes in traffic load or save energy at the network device. In such a cell, PRACH reception must still be performed frequently even in the absence of traffic or light traffic, which consumes network energy. According to the current 3GPP specification, PRACH resources cannot be effectively dynamically adjusted to adapt to changes in traffic load or demand.

[0034] The processing and resource management of PRACH are important components of the energy consumption of network devices, especially in current and future complex network environments, where PRACH load presents significant differences in different wireless communication scenarios. For example, in a high-speed mobile scenario, during the peak operating period or a small time interval of high-speed rail, Internet of Vehicles, the user moves fast and the serving cell frequently switches. For another example, in a large-scale Internet of Things scenario corresponding to a smart city, a large number of Internet of Things devices (for example, sensors, intelligent terminals) access the network, most of which are low-power devices, with long transmission intervals but periodic peaks. A large number of devices attempt to access at a certain point in time, which can cause short-term congestion of the PRACH channel. In emergency or disaster scenarios, a sudden event causes a large number of users or devices to access simultaneously (for example, making emergency calls or uploading real-time data). When the network is partially damaged, there is also a situation of instantaneous high load, in which a large number of users simultaneously send random access requests, which can easily cause channel congestion and preamble collision. In an indoor scenario, users are concentrated in a closed space (for example, a shopping mall, a conference center), and the number of people fluctuates greatly. Although data communication is mostly medium or low speed data demand, the number of users can be large. When the user density is high, access conflicts can occur, and the load fluctuates significantly as the number of users changes.

[0035] Therefore, the system needs to dynamically adjust the PRACH resources according to the load, reduce the energy waste caused by excessive configuration of PRACH resources and constant wake-up detection in low-load situations, and also reduce the increased energy consumption of network devices due to access collisions and excessive invalid detection caused by insufficient PRACH resources in high-load situations. For example, reduce PRACH monitoring resources during off-peak hours, and during low traffic periods, part of the processing units of the network device can enter a low-power mode, maintaining only a minimum PRACH monitoring capability. Increase PRACH resources during peak hours to reduce PRACH collisions and reduce random access collision rates, thereby reducing the energy consumption of repeated processing.

[0036] By adaptively adjusting the PRACH resources in the time domain, the network device can reduce unnecessary monitoring. In principle, the network device can change the PRACH configuration by updating the system information or performing RRC reconfiguration. However, frequent updates of system information or frequent RRC reconfigurations can also have adverse effects on network energy saving and signaling overhead.

[0037] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the network device can send one or more PRACH configurations to the terminal device and dynamically adjust the PRACH configuration used by the terminal device, so that the PRACH transmission can adapt to changes in current traffic and load, network energy saving requirements, terminal device distribution, and time, thereby optimizing the utilization rate of resources and balancing the access performance of terminal devices.

[0038] It is understandable that for traditional terminal devices, such as those supporting lower protocol versions (e.g., release 18 and earlier in NR), network devices instruct them on PRACH configuration via system information or RRC messages. This is referred to as the basic PRACH configuration or baseline PRACH configuration. The various PRACH parameters included in the basic PRACH configuration can be adjusted, but updates are required via system information or RRC messages. The basic PRACH configuration may also be used by terminal devices supporting higher versions (e.g., release 19 and later in NR). Simultaneously, these higher-version terminal devices can receive one or more additional PRACH configurations from the network device, thus gaining access to additional PRACH resources for uplink access. Given the potential for an even greater number of higher-version terminal devices in the future, providing them with one or more additional PRACH configurations and dynamically instructing them to use the PRACH configurations adapted to the current scenario can significantly improve the access efficiency of wireless networks. This is particularly suitable for high-density, low-latency, and high-speed mobile communication scenarios, and can achieve network energy savings while meeting uplink access requirements.

[0039] In the NR system, the RRC state is an extension of the LTE RRC state to adapt to more application scenarios and more complex network requirements. The NR system introduces new RRC states and some mechanism optimizations. The main RRC states include RRC idle state, RRC connected state, and RRC inactive state. In the RRC idle state, the terminal device does not establish an RRC connection with the network device, but only receives cell broadcast information and listens for paging messages. In the RRC connected state, the terminal device establishes an RRC connection with the network device, enabling real-time data and control signaling interaction and maintaining real-time communication with the network device. The RRC inactive state is a new state unique to the NR system, introduced in NR release 15 and later versions. It lies between the RRC idle state and the RRC connected state, used to balance power consumption and signaling efficiency. The terminal device does not need to completely release the connection as in the idle state, but can quickly return to the connected state. Compared to the RRC connected state, it can significantly reduce power consumption and signaling burden. After data transmission is complete, the network device may switch the terminal device from the RRC connected state to the inactive state to reduce power consumption while maintaining a certain connection context. When a terminal device needs to transmit data, it can quickly return to the connected state through a recovery process without re-establishing a complete RRC connection. If the terminal device has no data interaction for an extended period, the network device may completely release it to an idle state.

[0040] In wireless communication systems (e.g., LTE and NR systems), downlink control information (DCI) is control information transmitted by network devices through the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to allocate radio resources to terminal devices or trigger specific operations. The signaling received by a terminal device differs depending on whether it is in an RRC connected state or an RRC idle / RRC inactive state.

[0041] When the terminal device is in RRC idle state, it only detects DCI scrambled with the paging-radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI). In RRC connected state, the terminal device detects both P-RNTI-scrambled and cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI-scrambled DCIs). The random access channel (RACH) procedure based on PDCCH orders is a mechanism where the terminal device directly triggers random access via PDCCH in RRC connected state. When the terminal device switches to the target cell, it triggers the PRACH procedure via PDCCH orders. Alternatively, if the network device detects a connection problem or link failure in the terminal device, but downlink data is pending, it can instruct the terminal device to re-initiate random access via PDCCH orders. Network devices achieve uplink resynchronization with terminal devices through PDCCH orders. Specifically, this can be achieved through DCI format 1_0 (or DCI 1_0). DCI 1_0 can indicate the allocation information of downlink physical resource blocks (PRBs), informing the terminal device on which resources to receive data. It can also be used to trigger uplink physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission and specify its related resources in the random access procedure. DCI 1_0 is used to trigger the terminal device to send PRACH through PDCCH orders. Typically, DCI 1_0 is scrambled with C-RNTI. C-RNTI is used to identify a specific terminal device. This field ensures that the trigger command only applies to that terminal device, avoiding conflicts between multiple users.

[0042] Network devices send DCI 1_0 to specific terminal devices via PDCCH order. Using C-RNTI scrambling, DCI 1_0 ensures the message is only parsed by that terminal device. DCI 1_0 includes a PRACH resource indication field, preamble index, and other information to guide the terminal device in sending PRACH on the specified resource. The terminal device sends the preamble on the specified PRACH resource according to DCI 1_0, completing the random access attempt. The network device responds to the PRACH sent by the terminal device with a random access response (RAR) message to complete the access process. PDCCH order RACH bypasses the waiting steps of the conventional random access process, significantly reducing access latency. By specifying the PRACH resource location and preamble index, it adapts to different network loads and scenario requirements. It can allocate unique PRACH resources and preambles to terminal devices, minimizing access conflicts between multiple users. In user-intensive scenarios, PDCCH order can effectively distribute access requests and alleviate PRACH conflicts. Provides low-latency random access triggering for highly mobile users (e.g., vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and train communication). Reduces latency and failure probability during handover, ensuring connection stability.

[0043] As mentioned earlier, if a network device provides one or more PRACH configurations (hereinafter referred to as second PRACH configurations) in addition to the basic PRACH configuration (hereinafter also referred to as the first PRACH configuration) for a higher version terminal device, that is, the network device provides additional PRACH resources for the higher version terminal device, then in the above situations, such as the network device detecting that the terminal's uplink is out of sync or there is downlink data that needs to be sent to the terminal but the terminal device has not yet synchronized, there is currently no solution for how the network device can trigger random access of the terminal device.

[0044] Therefore, this application proposes that the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device to trigger a random access procedure or indicate a first PRACH resource, thereby providing the terminal device with additional random access opportunities or resources, which is beneficial for achieving rapid recovery of uplink synchronization, while optimizing the allocation of network resources and improving the flexibility of the system.

[0045] The embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 2.

[0046] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 200 shown in Figure 2 can be executed by a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device can be, for example, the terminal device 120 shown in Figure 1, and the network device can be, for example, the network device 110 shown in Figure 1.

[0047] Referring to Figure 2, in step 210, the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device.

[0048] Accordingly, in step 220, the terminal device receives the first DCI sent by the network device.

[0049] The first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate a first PRACH resource. Optionally, the first PRACH resource can be a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration, and / or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration. The first PRACH configuration may, for example, refer to the basic PRACH configuration described above for a traditional terminal device (e.g., an older version of the terminal device); the second PRACH configuration may, for example, refer to the additional PRACH configuration described above for a specific terminal device (e.g., a newer version of the terminal device). That is, the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device (e.g., a newer version of the terminal device). In some implementations, the second PRACH configuration may be associated with the RRC state of the terminal device (e.g., RRC idle state, RRC connected state, RRC inactive state). For example, if a second PRACH configuration is associated with an RRC idle state, then the PRACH resources indicated by the second PRACH configuration information are suitable for random access by terminal devices in the RRC idle state; as another example, if a second PRACH configuration is associated with an RRC connected state, then the PRACH resources indicated by the second PRACH configuration information are suitable for random access by terminal devices in the RRC connected state. Optionally, the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration can be configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

[0050] In this scenario, optionally, the first DCI may include ninth information, which indicates whether the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration. For example, the ninth information may be used for one or more of the following: indicating that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration; or indicating that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration; triggering a random access procedure based on the PRACH resource indicated by the first PRACH configuration; or indicating the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource. Furthermore, optionally, the ninth information may also include other information associated with the first PRACH resource (e.g., the first PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration). As an example, when the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration, the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource can indicate which of the multiple second PRACH configurations indicates which PRACH resource is used for random access by the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device performs random access on the second PRACH configuration corresponding to the index or sequence number indicated by the ninth information. For example, if second PRACH configuration #1 is for a terminal device in a connected state, and second PRACH configuration #2 is for a terminal device in an idle state, then when the ninth information indicates second PRACH configuration #1, it means that the terminal device in a connected state performs random access on the PRACH resource indicated by second PRACH configuration #1; when the ninth information indicates second PRACH configuration #2, it means that the terminal device in an idle state performs random access on the PRACH resource indicated by second PRACH configuration #2.

[0051] Optionally, the first DCI may include a first field, for example, a frequency domain resource allocation field. Different values ​​of the frequency domain resource allocation field can indicate different content, such as indicating that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource configured for the second PRACH, or indicating the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource, or triggering a random access procedure on the first PRACH resource. The frequency domain resource allocation field carrying the ninth information is compatible with existing systems and efficiently utilizes the fields in the first DCI.

[0052] The first DCI format could be, for example, DCI 1_0. In one implementation, the first DCI is based on C-RNTI scrambling, in which case the first DCI could be the aforementioned PDCCH order; in another implementation, the first DCI is based on P-RNTI scrambling. When the first DCI is based on P-RNTI scrambling, any terminal device in an RRC state can receive (e.g., periodically receive) the first DCI, thereby improving its random access performance. Furthermore, by appropriately applying certain fields in the first DCI, PRACH resource updates can be achieved without incurring additional overhead. It is understood that since the transmission interval of the P-RNTI-scrambled first DCI may be relatively long, the update of the first DCI is slow for terminal devices in an RRC connection state. In this case, the aforementioned PDCCH order can be used to trigger the random access procedure of the terminal device or indicate additional PRACH resources. In other words, for a terminal device in an RRC connection state, it may receive a PDCCH order (i.e., a DCI scrambled with C-RNTI) to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the PRACH resources for that random access procedure, or it may receive a first DCI scrambled with P-RNTI to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the PRACH resources for that random access procedure.

[0053] The DCI based on P-RNTI scrambling typically includes a short message indicator field, a short message field, a scheduling information field, and reserved bits. As shown in Table 1, the short message field usually consists of 2 bits, and the values ​​corresponding to these 2 bits can be found in Table 1.

[0054] Table 1

[0055] When a terminal device detects a P-RNTI scrambled DCI, it performs a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to determine whether the DCI contains short messages, scheduling information, or both. In other words, the terminal device first reads the short message indicator field and then determines the content of the other fields based on the value of two bits in that field.

[0056] The short message field in a DCI is typically 8 bits. If the DCI only carries paging scheduling information, this field is reserved (or, in other words, reserved for future use).

[0057] The scheduling information field in DCI typically carries information such as the uplink resources associated with the paging message of the network device. For example, it may include one or more of the following:

[0058] Frequency domain resource assignment: This field is reserved if the message is only intended for short messages. The size of this field is related to the size of control resource set (CORESET) 0.

[0059] Time domain resource assignment: 4 bits. This field is reserved if the message is only being sent to short messages.

[0060] Virtual resource blocks (VRB) to physical resource blocks (PRB) mapping: 1 bit, this field is reserved if it only carries short messages;

[0061] Modulation and coding scheme: 5 bits; this field is reserved if the message is only being sent to a short message.

[0062] Transmission block (TB) scaling: 2 bits. This field is reserved if the message is only short.

[0063] Tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication: If TRS-ResourceSetConfig is configured, it is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bits; otherwise, it is 0 bits.

[0064] The DCI may also include reserved bits. For shared spectrum channel access operations in frequency range 1 or operations in frequency range (FR) 2-2, the reserved bits are (8-M) bits; for cells that do not use shared spectrum channel access, the reserved bits are (6-M) bits, where M is the number of bits in the aforementioned "TRS Availability Indicator" field.

[0065] The following describes in detail several possible implementations of the first DCI, in conjunction with Examples 1 to 5.

[0066] Example 1

[0067] In Embodiment 1, the first DCI can be based on P-RNTI scrambling. The first DCI includes a short message indication field, which indicates first information related to random access. That is, the first information related to random access is carried in the short message indication field of the first DCI to trigger the random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0068] The first information may be used to indicate, for example, that: the first DCI includes only the second information; the first DCI includes a short message and / or the second information; or, the first DCI includes scheduling information and / or the second information; or, the first DCI includes scheduling information, a short message, and the second information. The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate a first PRACH resource. The first information may, for example, include two bits, the values ​​of which are 00, 01, 10, or 11.

[0069] As an example, as shown in Table 2, a value of 01 for the Short Message Indication field indicates that the first DCI includes only scheduling information; a value of 10 indicates that the first DCI includes short messages and / or second information; and a value of 11 indicates that the first DCI includes both scheduling information and short messages. The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0070] Table 2

[0071] For example, as shown in Table 3, a value of 01 for the Short Message Indication field indicates that the first DCI includes only scheduling information; a value of 10 indicates that the first DCI includes short messages; and a value of 11 indicates that the first DCI includes both scheduling information and short messages and / or second information (i.e., it may include scheduling information and short messages, scheduling information and second information, or scheduling information, short messages, and second information). The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0072] Table 3

[0073] For example, as shown in Table 4, a value of 00 for the Short Message Indication field indicates that the first DCI includes the second information; a value of 01 indicates that the first DCI includes scheduling information; a value of 10 indicates that the first DCI includes a short message; and a value of 11 indicates that the first DCI includes both scheduling information and a short message. The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0074] Table 4

[0075] Example 2

[0076] In the implementation shown in Table 2 of Embodiment 1, a value of 10 for the Short Message Indicator field indicates that the first DCI includes a short message and / or the second information. In this case, the terminal device may still not be able to determine whether the first DCI specifically includes a short message, includes the second information, or includes both short messages and the second information based on the value of 10 for the Short Message Indicator field. Similarly, in the implementation shown in Table 3 of Embodiment 1, a value of 11 for the Short Message Indicator field indicates that the first DCI includes scheduling information, and also includes a short message and / or the second information. In this case, the terminal device may still not be able to determine whether the first DCI specifically includes scheduling information and a short message, includes scheduling information and the second information, or includes both scheduling information, a short message, and the second information based on the value of 11 for the Short Message Indicator field.

[0077] Therefore, in Embodiment 2, when the SMS indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI may also include third information. The third information may indicate one or more of the following states: the first DCI includes the second information; the first DCI does not include the second information; the first DCI includes an SMS; the first DCI does not include an SMS; the first DCI includes only the second information; the first DCI includes only the SMS; and the first DCI includes both an SMS and the second information.

[0078] As an example, the third information can be 1 bit, and its value can include either the first value or the second value. Specifically, the first value is 1, and the second value is 0; or, the first value is 0, and the second value is 1. For instance, if the third information is the first value, it means the first DCI includes the second information; if the third information is the second value, it means the first DCI does not include the second information. As another example, if the third information is the first value, it means the first DCI includes SMS messages; if the third information is the second value, it means the first DCI does not include SMS messages. And so on.

[0079] For example, the third information can be 2 bits. In this case, the state indicated by the third information can be: including short messages; including second information; or including both short messages and second information. Different values ​​of the third information indicate different states. Taking Table 2 as an example, a value of 10 for the short message indication field indicates that the first DCI includes short messages and / or second information. In this case, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI includes only short messages, only second information, or both short messages and second information based on the value of the third information. Taking Table 3 as an example, a value of 11 for the short message indication field indicates that the first DCI includes scheduling information, as well as short messages and / or second information. In this case, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI includes scheduling information and short messages, scheduling information and second information, or scheduling information, short messages, and second information based on the value of the third information.

[0080] Example 3

[0081] In embodiment 3, the first DCI may include fourth information. This fourth information may include, for example, one or more of the following: a random access preamble index; an uplink (UL) / supplementary uplink (SUL) indicator; a synchronous signal physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) index; a PRACH mask index; fifth information indicating the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource; sixth information indicating the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; and seventh information indicating whether the first PRACH resource is activated. Optionally, the first DCI may also include reserved bits.

[0082] First, let's briefly introduce the Random Access Preamble Index, UL / SUL Indicator, SS / PBCH Index, and PRACH Mask Index. For the Random Access Preamble Index, it is configured according to the ra-PreambleIndex in the higher-layer protocol. This field is reserved if the DCI only carries short messages. For the UL / SUL Indicator, if the value of the "Random Access Preamble Index" field is not all 0, and the terminal device has configured the supplementary uplink in the Serving Cell Configuration in that cell, this field indicates the uplink carrier used for PRACH transmission in that cell according to the protocol; otherwise, this field is reserved. For the SS / PBCH Index, if the value of the "Random Access Preamble Index" field is not all 0, this field indicates the SS / PBCH used to determine the RACH timing for PRACH transmission; otherwise, this field is reserved. For the PRACH mask index, if the value of the "Random Access Preamble Index" field is not all 0, then the field indicates, according to the protocol, the RACH timing associated with the SS / PBCH indicated by the "SS / PBCH Index" field is used for PRACH transmission; otherwise, the field is reserved. If only short messages are carried, the field is reserved.

[0083] It is understood that the aforementioned PDCCH order typically includes a random access preamble index, a UL / SUL indicator, an SS / PBCH index, and a PRACH mask index. The aforementioned PDCCH order is usually based on C-RNTI scrambling. In some implementations, such as in embodiment 3, the first DCI can be based on C-RNTI scrambling. However, unlike the PDCCH order, the first DCI may also include fifth, sixth, and seventh information. These fifth, sixth, and seventh information are associated with the PRACH resources indicated by the second PRACH configuration. That is, the PRACH resources indicated by the fifth, sixth, and seventh information are additional PRACH resources configured for a specific terminal device (e.g., a higher version terminal device). Therefore, the C-RNTI-scrambled first DCI in this embodiment can also be used to indicate relevant information about the PRACH resources indicated by the second PRACH configuration. The C-RNTI-scrambled first DCI can be for terminal devices in an RRC connection state.

[0084] In other implementations, such as in embodiment 3, the first DCI can also be based on P-RNTI scrambling. Similar to the PDCCH order based on C-RNTI scrambling, the first DCI can also include one or more of the following: a random access preamble index, a UL / SUL indicator, an SS / PBCH index, and a PRACH mask index, and / or one or more of the following: fifth information, sixth information, and seventh information associated with the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration. The P-RNTI scrambling first DCI can be for terminal devices in RRC connected state, RRC idle state, or RRC inactive state.

[0085] The fifth piece of information is used to indicate the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource. This time-domain information includes, for example, information about the radio frame interval x (or period) and / or the radio frame offset y (i.e., the offset of the radio frame containing the PRACH resource relative to a certain radio frame) (e.g., the indication numbers of x and y). Here, y is obtained by taking the frame number of the radio frame containing the first PRACH resource modulo x, i.e., n. f mod x = y, n f Let x be the frame number of the radio frame containing the first PRACH resource, x be the radio frame interval of the first PRACH resource, and y be the radio frame offset. The radio frame interval x can be the parameter x shown in Table 6.3.3.2 of Protocol 38.211, and the radio frame offset y can be the parameter y shown in Table 6.3.3.2 of Protocol 38.211.

[0086] The sixth information is used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources. If the network device provides multiple additional PRACH resources for the higher version terminal device through the second PRACH configuration, and the first PRACH resource that needs to be indicated to the terminal device for uplink access through the first DCI is a subset of PRACH resources formed by several of these multiple PRACH resources, then the first DCI includes the sixth information to indicate the index of the PRACH resource subset, so that the terminal device can determine the first PRACH resource for uplink access based on the index.

[0087] Since the first DCI scrambled by P-RNTI may be transmitted periodically, the first DCI may also include a seventh message to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

[0088] Example 4

[0089] In embodiment 4, the first DCI can be based on P-RNTI scrambling. The first DCI may include a short message field. The aforementioned fourth information can be carried within the short message field. For example, the short message field in the first DCI may include one or more of the following: random access preamble index, UL / SUL indicator, SS / PBCH index, PRACH mask index, fifth information, sixth information, and seventh information. Here, the fourth information is carried within the short message field of the first DCI because short message fields typically have remaining bits; for example, bits 5-8 of an 8-bit short message field may be unused, thus the fourth information can be carried using bits 5-8 of the short message field.

[0090] Additionally, if the first DCI includes reserved bits, the fourth information can also be carried within those reserved bits. For example, the reserved bits in the first DCI may include one or more of the following: random access preamble index, UL / SUL indicator, SS / PBCH index, PRACH mask index, fifth information, sixth information, and seventh information.

[0091] The number of bits required to carry the fourth information varies depending on the parameters included in the fourth information. Therefore, optionally, the network device can send an eighth information to the terminal device; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the eighth information sent by the network device. This eighth information can, for example, be higher-layer signaling. The eighth information is used to indicate the position and / or number of bits in the first DCI used to carry the fourth information. For example, the eighth information is used to indicate the position and / or number of one or more bits in the short message field or reserved bits used to carry the fourth information; that is, the eighth information indicates which bits in the short message field or reserved bits are used to carry the fourth information. As an example, suppose the fourth information includes a seventh information, which indicates whether the first PRACH resource is activated. In this case, the eighth information can indicate which bit in the short message field or reserved bits carries the seventh information, where a value of 0 indicates that the first PRACH resource is not activated, and a value of 1 indicates that the first PRACH resource is activated.

[0092] Example 5

[0093] In embodiment 5, the first DCI may include a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate a first PRACH resource. For example, the first field is a frequency domain resource allocation field. Another example is that the first field is a time domain resource allocation field. The first value may be, for example, the value corresponding to all bits in the first field being 1, or the value corresponding to all bits in the first field being 0.

[0094] As an example, when all the bits in the frequency domain resource allocation field of the first DCI are 0, it indicates that the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource. Using all the bits in the frequency domain resource allocation field to indicate that the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource is compatible with existing systems and can efficiently utilize the fields in the first DCI.

[0095] The method embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The apparatus embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 3 to 5. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments; therefore, any parts not described in detail can be referred to the preceding method embodiments.

[0096] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application. The terminal device 300 shown in Figure 3 may include a transceiver unit 310. The transceiver unit 310 is used to receive a first DCI sent by a network device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0097] In some implementations, the first DCI is scrambled based on the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, the first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

[0098] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

[0099] In some implementations, the first information is used to indicate that: the first DCI includes only the second information; or, the first DCI includes short messages and / or the second information; or, the first DCI includes scheduling information and / or the second information. The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0100] In some implementations, the first information includes two bits, the values ​​of which are 00, 01, 10 or 11.

[0101] In some implementations, when the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: the first DCI includes the second information; the first DCI does not include the second information; the first DCI includes a short message; the first DCI does not include a short message; the first DCI includes only the second information; the first DCI includes only the short message; the first DCI includes both the short message and the second information.

[0102] In some implementations, the first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: random access preamble index; UL / SUL indicator; SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; fifth information, used to indicate the temporal information of the first PRACH resource; sixth information, used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; and seventh information, used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

[0103] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

[0104] In some implementations, the first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

[0105] In some implementations, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving an eighth message sent by the network device, the eighth message being used to indicate the position of one or more bits in the short message field or the reserved bits used to carry the fourth message.

[0106] In some implementations, the first DCI includes ninth information, which is used to indicate that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource of the first PRACH configuration indication, or to indicate that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource of the second PRACH configuration indication.

[0107] In some implementations, the second PRACH configuration is associated with the RRC state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

[0108] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0109] In some implementations, the first field is a frequency domain resource allocation field.

[0110] In some implementations, the first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

[0111] It is understood that the transceiver unit 310 may be, for example, a transceiver 530. Additionally, the terminal device 300 may optionally include a processor 510 and a memory 520, as detailed in Figure 5.

[0112] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application. The network device 400 shown in Figure 4 may include a transceiver unit 410. The transceiver unit 410 is used to send a first DCI to a terminal device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate a first PRACH resource.

[0113] In some implementations, the first DCI is scrambled based on the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, the first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

[0114] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

[0115] In some implementations, the first information is used to indicate that: the first DCI includes only the second information; or, the first DCI includes short messages and / or the second information; or, the first DCI includes scheduling information and / or the second information. The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0116] In some implementations, the first information includes two bits, the values ​​of which are 00, 01, 10 or 11.

[0117] In some implementations, when the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: the first DCI includes the second information; the first DCI does not include the second information; the first DCI includes a short message; the first DCI does not include a short message; the first DCI includes only the second information; the first DCI includes only the short message; the first DCI includes both the short message and the second information.

[0118] In some implementations, the first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: random access preamble index; UL / SUL indicator; SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; fifth information, used to indicate the temporal information of the first PRACH resource; sixth information, used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; and seventh information, used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

[0119] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

[0120] In some implementations, the first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

[0121] In some implementations, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving an eighth message sent by the network device, the eighth message being used to indicate the position of one or more bits in the short message field or the reserved bits used to carry the fourth message.

[0122] In some implementations, the first DCI includes ninth information, which is used to indicate that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource of the first PRACH configuration indication, or to indicate that the first PRACH resource is a PRACH resource of the second PRACH configuration indication.

[0123] In some implementations, the second PRACH configuration is associated with the RRC state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

[0124] In some implementations, the first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

[0125] In some implementations, the first field is a frequency domain resource allocation field.

[0126] In some implementations, the first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

[0127] It is understood that the transceiver unit 410 may be, for example, a transceiver 530. Additionally, the network device 400 may optionally include a processor 510 and a memory 520, as detailed in Figure 5.

[0128] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application. The dashed lines in Figure 5 indicate that the unit or module is optional. The apparatus 500 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. The apparatus 500 may be, for example, a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0129] The apparatus 500 may include one or more processors 510. The processors 510 may support the apparatus 500 in implementing the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor 510 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor 510 may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor 510 may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0130] The apparatus 500 may also include one or more memories 520. The memories 520 store programs that can be executed by the processor 510, causing the processor 510 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 520 may be independent of the processor 510, or they may be integrated into the processor 510.

[0131] The device 500 may also include a transceiver 530. The processor 510 can communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 530. For example, the processor 510 can send and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 530.

[0132] This application also provides a communication system. The communication system includes the terminal device and network device described above. In some implementations, the system further includes other devices that interact with the terminal device and network device.

[0133] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in this application, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in various embodiments of this application.

[0134] This application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. This computer program product can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in this application embodiment, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the various embodiments of this application.

[0135] This application also provides a computer program. This computer program can be applied to the terminal device or network device provided in this application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the various embodiments of this application.

[0136] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the terminology used in this application is only for explaining specific embodiments of this application and is not intended to limit this application. The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0137] In the embodiments of this application, the term "instruction" can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0139] In the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" can indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or an association between two things, or a relationship such as instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured.

[0140] In this application embodiment, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0141] In this application embodiment, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, such as the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0142] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0143] In the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0144] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0145] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0146] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0147] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can read or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0148] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The terminal device receives a first downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first DCI is based on scrambling of the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, The first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate: The first DCI includes only the second information; or, The first DCI includes short messages and / or a second message; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information and / or second information; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information, short messages, and second information; The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first information includes two bits, and the value of the two bits is 00, 01, 10 or 11.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that, When the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: The first DCI includes the second information; The first DCI does not include the second information; The first DCI includes short messages; The first DCI does not include short messages; The first DCI includes only the second information; The first DCI only includes short messages; The first DCI includes a short message and the second information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: Random access leading index; Uplink UL / Supplemental Uplink SUL Indicator; Synchronization signal broadcast channel SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; The fifth piece of information is used to indicate the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource; The sixth piece of information is used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; The seventh piece of information is used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives the eighth information sent by the network device, the eighth information being used to indicate the position and / or number of bits in the first DCI used to carry the fourth information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first DCI includes ninth information, which is used for one or more of the following: Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the first PRACH configuration; Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration; Trigger a random access procedure based on the PRACH resource specified in the first PRACH configuration instruction; Indicates the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field, and the ninth information is carried in the first field.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that, The second PRACH configuration is associated with the Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The network device sends a first downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first DCI is based on scrambling of the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, The first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate: The first DCI includes only the second information; or, The first DCI includes short messages and / or a second message; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information and / or second information; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information, short messages, and second information; The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The first information includes two bits, and the value of the two bits is 00, 01, 10 or 11.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that, When the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: The first DCI includes the second information; The first DCI does not include the second information; The first DCI includes short messages; The first DCI does not include short messages; The first DCI includes only the second information; The first DCI only includes short messages; The first DCI includes a short message and the second information.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that, The first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: Random access leading index; Uplink UL / Supplemental Uplink SUL Indicator; Synchronization signal broadcast channel SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; The fifth piece of information is used to indicate the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource; The sixth piece of information is used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; The seventh piece of information is used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

26. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, characterized in that, The method further includes: The eighth information is sent to the terminal device, the eighth information being used to indicate the position and / or number of bits in the first DCI used to carry the fourth information.

27. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 26, characterized in that, The first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

28. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, characterized in that, The first DCI includes ninth information, which is used for one or more of the following: Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the first PRACH configuration; Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration; Trigger a random access procedure based on the PRACH resource specified in the first PRACH configuration instruction; Indicates the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field, and the ninth information is carried in the first field.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

31. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, characterized in that, The second PRACH configuration is associated with the Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

32. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 31, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

34. The method according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that, The first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

35. A terminal device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver unit is used to receive first downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

36. The terminal device according to claim 35, characterized in that, The first DCI is based on scrambling of the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, The first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

37. The terminal device according to claim 35 or 36, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

38. The terminal device according to claim 37, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate: The first DCI includes only the second information; or, The first DCI includes short messages and / or a second message; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information and / or second information; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information, short messages, and second information; The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

39. The terminal device according to claim 38, characterized in that, The first information includes two bits, and the value of the two bits is 00, 01, 10 or 11.

40. The terminal device according to any one of claims 37 to 39, characterized in that, When the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: The first DCI includes the second information; The first DCI does not include the second information; The first DCI includes short messages; The first DCI does not include short messages; The first DCI includes only the second information; The first DCI only includes short messages; The first DCI includes a short message and the second information.

41. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 40, characterized in that, The first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: Random access leading index; Uplink UL / Supplemental Uplink SUL Indicator; Synchronization signal broadcast channel SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; The fifth piece of information is used to indicate the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource; The sixth piece of information is used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; The seventh piece of information is used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

42. The terminal device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

43. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 42, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used for: The network device receives an eighth message, which indicates the position and / or number of bits in the first DCI used to carry the fourth message.

44. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 43, characterized in that, The first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

45. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that, The first DCI includes ninth information, which is used for one or more of the following: Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the first PRACH configuration; Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration; Trigger a random access procedure based on the PRACH resource specified in the first PRACH configuration instruction; Indicates the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource.

46. ​​The terminal device according to claim 45, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field, and the ninth information is carried in the first field.

47. The terminal device according to claim 46, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

48. The terminal device according to any one of claims 44 to 47, characterized in that, The second PRACH configuration is associated with the Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

49. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 48, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

50. The terminal device according to claim 49, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

51. The terminal device according to claim 49 or 50, characterized in that, The first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

52. A network device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver unit is used to send a first downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device, wherein the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first physical random access channel (PRACH) resource.

53. The network device according to claim 52, characterized in that, The first DCI is based on scrambling of the Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI); or, The first DCI is scrambled based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

54. The network device according to claim 52 or 53, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message indication field, which is used to indicate first information related to random access.

55. The network device according to claim 54, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate: The first DCI includes only the second information; or, The first DCI includes short messages and / or a second message; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information and / or second information; or, The first DCI includes scheduling information, short messages, and second information; The second information is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

56. The network device according to claim 54, characterized in that, The first information includes two bits, and the value of the two bits is 00, 01, 10 or 11.

57. The network device according to any one of claims 54 to 56, characterized in that, When the short message indication field indicates the first information, the first DCI further includes third information, which indicates one or more of the following states: The first DCI includes the second information; The first DCI does not include the second information; The first DCI includes short messages; The first DCI does not include short messages; The first DCI includes only the second information; The first DCI only includes short messages; The first DCI includes a short message and the second information.

58. The network device according to any one of claims 52 to 57, characterized in that, The first DCI includes fourth information, which includes one or more of the following: Random access leading index; Uplink UL / Supplemental Uplink SUL Indicator; Synchronization signal broadcast channel SS / PBCH index; PRACH mask index; The fifth piece of information is used to indicate the time-domain information of the first PRACH resource; The sixth piece of information is used to indicate the subset index corresponding to the first PRACH resource in the configured PRACH resources; The seventh piece of information is used to indicate whether the first PRACH resource is activated.

59. The network device according to claim 58, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a short message field or a reserved bit, and the fourth information is carried in the short message field or the reserved bit.

60. The network device according to any one of claims 52 to 59, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used for: The eighth information is sent to the terminal device, the eighth information being used to indicate the position and / or number of bits in the first DCI used to carry the fourth information.

61. The network device according to any one of claims 52 to 60, characterized in that, The first PRACH resource is either a PRACH resource indicated by a first PRACH configuration or a PRACH resource indicated by a second PRACH configuration, wherein the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration is an additional PRACH resource configured for a specific terminal device.

62. The network device according to any one of claims 52 to 61, characterized in that, The first DCI includes ninth information, which is used for one or more of the following: Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the first PRACH configuration; Indicates that the first PRACH resource is the PRACH resource indicated by the second PRACH configuration; Trigger a random access procedure based on the PRACH resource specified in the first PRACH configuration instruction; Indicates the index or sequence number of the PRACH configuration corresponding to the first PRACH resource.

63. The network device according to claim 62, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field, and the ninth information is carried in the first field.

64. The network device according to claim 63, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

65. The network device according to any one of claims 61 to 63, characterized in that, The second PRACH configuration is associated with the Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the terminal device, and the RRC state associated with the second PRACH configuration is configured by the network device through higher-layer signaling.

66. The network device according to any one of claims 52 to 65, characterized in that, The first DCI includes a first field. When the value of the first field is a first value, the first DCI is used to trigger a random access procedure or to indicate the first PRACH resource.

67. The network device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The first field is the frequency domain resource allocation field.

68. The network device according to claim 66 or 67, characterized in that, The first value is the value corresponding to when all bits in the first field are 0.

69. A terminal device, characterized in that, The device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program in the memory and controls the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the terminal device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

70. A network device, characterized in that, The device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program in the memory and controls the transceiver to receive or transmit signals so that the network device performs the method according to any one of claims 18 to 34.

71. An apparatus, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34.

72. A chip, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34.

73. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It contains a program that causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34.

74. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a program that causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34.

75. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34.

Images