Symbol type switching processing method and apparatus, terminal, and network side device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a symbol type switching processing method and apparatus, a terminal, and a network side device. The method comprises: when a terminal repeatedly transmits a Message 1 on a first-type random access channel occasion (RO), if a first condition is satisfied, switching to repeatedly transmit the Message 1 on a second-type RO; and when the terminal repeatedly transmits the Message 1 on the first-type RO and repeatedly transmits the Message 1 on the second-type RO, respectively determining the numbers of repeated transmissions of the Message 1, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: the number of random access attempts executed by the terminal on the first-type RO reaches a first threshold; and the number of repeated transmissions of the Message 1 on the first-type RO is the maximum number of repeated transmissions of the Message 1 supported by a random access resource.

Description

Symbol type switching processing methods, devices, terminals and network-side equipment

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510379080.4, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on March 28, 2025, entitled “Method, Apparatus, Terminal and Network Side Device for Symbol Type Switching Processing”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a symbol type switching processing method, apparatus, terminal and network-side equipment. Background Technology

[0003] Current technology introduces a Message1 (Msg1) retransmission mechanism, with the maximum candidate set of Msg1 retransmission counts being {2, 4, 8}. When a single Random Access Channel (RACH) resource supports multiple Msg1 retransmission counts, the User Equipment (UE) can choose a larger Msg1 retransmission count to transmit the preamble under certain conditions. In Subband Full Duplex (SBFD) systems, when the UE simultaneously supports both RACH occasion (RO) type switching and the Msg1 retransmission mechanism for Msg1 transmission, the UE's Msg1 transmission behavior cannot be determined. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a symbol type switching processing method, apparatus, terminal, and network-side device, which provides the Msg1 transmission behavior of the terminal when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching and Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism for Msg1 transmission.

[0005] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a symbol type switching processing method, including:

[0006] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0007] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO and when it repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively.

[0008] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0009] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0010] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0011] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a symbol type switching processing method, including:

[0012] When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO.

[0013] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0014] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0015] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0016] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a terminal, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0017] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for receiving and sending data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0018] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0019] When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type of RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively;

[0020] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0021] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0022] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0023] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a network-side device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0024] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for receiving and sending data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0025] When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO.

[0026] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0027] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0028] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0029] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a symbol type switching processing apparatus, comprising:

[0030] The first processing unit is configured to, when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access time RO, switch to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO if a first condition is met;

[0031] The first determining unit is used to determine the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type of RO, respectively.

[0032] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0033] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0034] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0035] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a symbol type switching processing apparatus, comprising:

[0036] The second processing unit is configured to, when the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, switch to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO if the first condition is met.

[0037] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0038] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0039] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0040] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a program for causing the processor to perform the methods described above.

[0041] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip including a processor coupled to a memory for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, the above-described method is performed.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned technical solution disclosed herein are:

[0043] In embodiments of this disclosure, when a terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on a first type RO, if a first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on a second type RO. The terminal then determines the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on both the first and second type ROs. This switching mechanism improves the UE's random access procedure when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching and the Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism. This allows the UE to continuously adjust the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions under different RO types during the random access process, thereby increasing the probability of successful random access. Attached Figure Description

[0044] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of subband configuration in time-division duplex mode;

[0045] Figure 2 shows one of the flowcharts of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 3 shows a second schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0047] Figure 4 shows a third schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0048] Figure 5 shows a fourth flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0049] Figure 6 is a fifth schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] Figure 7 illustrates a sixth flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0051] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (the seventh one).

[0052] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (eighth one).

[0053] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 11 is a schematic flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figure 12 is an eleventh flowchart illustrating the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0056] Figure 13 shows a flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, number 12.

[0057] Figure 14 is a flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, number thirteen.

[0058] Figure 15 shows a flowchart of the symbol type switching processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, number fourteen.

[0059] Figure 16 shows one of the structural schematic diagrams of the symbol type switching processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0060] Figure 17 shows a second schematic diagram of the symbol type switching processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0061] Figure 18 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0062] Figure 19 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a network-side device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0063] Figure 20 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0064] To make the technical problems, solutions, and advantages of this disclosure clearer, a detailed description will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as particular configurations and components are provided merely to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of known functions and structures have been omitted.

[0065] It should be understood that the phrase "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" throughout the specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic relating to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Therefore, "in one embodiment" or "one embodiment" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0066] In the various embodiments of this disclosure, it should be understood that the sequence number of each process described below 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 disclosure.

[0067] In this embodiment of the invention, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between associated 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. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following associated objects have an "or" relationship.

[0068] In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0069] In this disclosure, the term "cell" can be understood as the coverage area that a node can provide using a carrier. Generally, a "cell" as a radio resource (e.g., time-frequency resource) is associated with bandwidth, which is the frequency range configured for the carrier. The "cell" associated with the radio resource is defined by a combination of downlink and uplink resources, such as a combination of downlink (DL) component carriers (CC) and uplink (UL) CCs.

[0070] Since DL coverage (i.e., the range in which a node can transmit a valid signal) and UL coverage (i.e., the range in which a node can receive a valid signal from a UE) depend on the carrier carrying the signal, the coverage of a node may be related to the coverage of the “cell” associated with the radio resources used by the node.

[0071] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0072] In describing the embodiments of this disclosure, some concepts used in the following description will first be explained.

[0073] I. Duplex mode.

[0074] The 5G mobile communication technology supports Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) modes via its New Radio (NR) interface. TDD and FDD are two duplex communication modes in mobile communication technology. In TDD mode, transmission and reception occur at different times on the same frequency channel (carrier), using time to distinguish uplink and downlink transmission resources. In FDD mode, transmission and reception occur simultaneously on different frequency channels, using frequency to distinguish uplink and downlink transmission resources.

[0075] The network system supports full-duplex with non-overlapping subbands, meaning that the base station can simultaneously transmit and receive within a single frequency band / carrier / BWP using different subbands, without overlap between the subbands used for transmission and reception. As shown in Figure 1, the uplink subband exists in some symbols and does not overlap with other frequency domain resources.

[0076] Network-side equipment can configure UL subbands on symbols set to DL or flexible in the TDD uplink / downlink common configuration field (TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon). Symbols configured with UL subbands are SBFD symbols. Only UEs that support transmission on Additional RO (SBFD-aware UEs) can perform uplink transmission on the subband. Symbols without UL subband configuration (including symbols configured as UL in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon) are non-SBFD symbols, and all UEs transmit according to the configured symbol direction.

[0077] II. RO type of Msg1 transmission.

[0078] The SBFD system introduces two types of Return Entities (ROs). One type is an additional RO that can only be transmitted by the SBFD-aware UE as part of the preamble. The additional RO can be a legacy RACH configuration configured for the SBFD-aware UE on the SBFD DL symbol; or it can be an additional RACH configuration configured for the SBFD-aware UE on the SBFD symbol. The additional RACH configuration is a RACH configuration introduced specifically for the SBFD-aware UE.

[0079] Another type of RO is all ROs that can be used by non-SBFD UEs, including ROs with legacy RACH configured on SBFD Flexible symbols and non-SBFD symbols. Legacy RACH configuration is all RACH configurations supported by traditional NR. After a SBFD-aware UE has transmitted preamble on an additional RO type and certain conditions are met, it can switch to legacy ROs to continue transmitting preamble.

[0080] III. Msg1 Repeat Transmission Mechanism.

[0081] Msg1 supports {2, 4, 8} repetitions, and one or more repetition counts can be configured within a single cell. The initial RACH attempt determines the number of Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmissions based on the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold. If a RACH attempt fails, power ramping can be implemented. When the maximum number of attempts corresponding to the current repetition count is reached, it can fallback to a larger repetition count that shares RACH resources with the current repetition count.

[0082] The maximum number of attempts is the same for different repetition counts. Fallback is only possible between different repetition counts configured for transmission on the same RACH resource. If the current RACH resource only supports one repetition count, the UE cannot fallback. If repetition counts 2, 4, and 8 are all transmitted on the same RACH resource, and the initial RACH attempt uses repetition count 2; when the RACH attempt counter reaches the maximum number of attempts, the UE falls back to repetition count 4 to continue RACH attempts; when the RACH attempt counter reaches twice the maximum number of attempts but still has not reached the maximum number of attempts for the RACH procedure, it can continue to fallback to repetition count 8 to continue RACH attempts.

[0083] The embodiments of this disclosure provide a symbol type switching processing method, apparatus, terminal, and network-side device, and provide the Msg1 transmission behavior of the terminal when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching and Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism for Msg1 transmission.

[0084] The method and apparatus are based on the same concept of the application. Since the methods and apparatus solve problems in similar ways, the implementation of the apparatus and methods can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0085] As shown in Figure 2, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a symbol type switching processing method applied to a terminal, specifically including the following steps:

[0086] Step 201: When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, then switch to repeatedly transmit message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0087] Step 202: When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type RO and when it repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively.

[0088] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0089] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0090] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0091] In this embodiment, the first type RO and the second type RO are two different types of ROs. The first type RO and the second type RO are either additional ROs or legacy ROs. For example, it is supported that the second type RO is a legacy RO when the first type RO is an additional RO; or, it is also supported that the second type RO is an additional RO when the first type RO is a legacy RO. The terminal supports switching from the first type RO to the second type RO for transmission, or it can also support switching from the first type RO to the second type RO for transmission and then switching back to the first type RO for transmission.

[0092] Message 1 is Msg1 in the four-step random access procedure, and the terminal supports repeated transmission of this Msg1. Specifically, when the terminal repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type RO, if a first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting Msg1 on the second type RO. The UE repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type RO, and after meeting the first condition, switches to repeatedly transmitting Msg1 on the second type RO. The UE determines the number of times Msg1 will be repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt under both the first and second type ROs. This can also be understood as: during the terminal's repeated message transmission process, the terminal determines the number of times Msg1 will be repeatedly transmitted when repeatedly transmitting Msg1 on the first type RO; the same step of determining the number of times Msg1 will be repeated when the terminal repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the second type RO is performed.

[0093] The first condition can be that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal on the first type of RO reaches a first threshold value. Alternatively, it can be understood that if the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal on the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value when repeatedly transmitting message 1, then the terminal switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO. The first condition can also be that the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 can be repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource. This can also be understood as: if the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO reaches the maximum number of times message 1 can be repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource when the terminal is repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the first type of RO, then the terminal switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0094] Determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted in this disclosure may include: determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt, or determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted for the first random access attempt after switching RO types.

[0095] In embodiments of this disclosure, when a terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on a first type RO, if a first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on a second type RO. The terminal then determines the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on both the first and second type ROs. This switching mechanism improves the UE's random access procedure when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching and the Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism. This allows the UE to continuously adjust the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions under different RO types during the random access process, thereby increasing the probability of successful random access.

[0096] As an optional embodiment, the first threshold is: K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0097] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a single type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device. In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then K is 1. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, i.e., multiple RO type switches, then K is the number of RO type switches allowed for random access attempts, for example, K is from 1 to floor (maximum number of random access procedure attempts / maximum number of RO type attempts), where floor is the floor value.

[0098] In some embodiments, the predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure. For example, the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is half the maximum number of random access attempts allowed in a random access procedure. If the value calculated based on the preset proportion is not an integer, it can be rounded up or down.

[0099] As an optional embodiment, if the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes: the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

[0100] In this embodiment, when the UE repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type RO, it can determine whether the handover condition is met by checking if the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource. Alternatively, it can determine whether the handover condition is met by comparing the result of the first count value or the third count value with the second threshold value and by using both the condition that the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource. For example, if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO reaches the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, it can be understood that the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 retransmission. In this case, the first condition is considered met, and the terminal performs a handover.

[0101] The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process. When determining whether the handover condition is met using the first count value, if the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process reaches a second threshold plus 1, and the current message retransmission is the maximum number of Msg1 retransmissions supported by the random access resources, the handover condition can be considered met. The third count value is the total number of random access attempts corresponding to the retransmission count of message 1. When determining whether the handover condition is met using the third count value, if the total number of random access attempts corresponding to the retransmission count of message 1 reaches a second threshold plus 1, and the current message retransmission is the maximum number of Msg1 retransmissions supported by the random access resources, the handover condition can be considered met. It should be noted that the initial value of either the first or third count value is 1, so it needs to be compared with the second threshold plus 1 when determining the handover condition.

[0102] The next higher level of Msg1 retransmission count refers to the number of retransmissions one level higher than the current retransmission count. The levels of retransmission counts can be understood as different numerical values ​​of retransmission counts arranged in sequence. For example, if the candidate set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2, 4, 8}, and the current Msg1 retransmission count is 2, then the next higher level of retransmission count is 4; and if the current Msg1 retransmission count is 4, then the next higher level of retransmission count is 8. Similarly, if the candidate set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2, 8}, and the current Msg1 retransmission count is 2, then the next higher level of retransmission count is 8.

[0103] As an optional embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1; N is a positive integer.

[0104] In this embodiment, the second threshold value can be N times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed by a Msg1 retransmission count, where N is a positive integer. For example, the network-side device can configure a maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to a retransmission count, such as 'a' times. Then the second threshold value is N times 'a'. The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to different retransmission counts, such as {2, 4, 8}, is 'a'.

[0105] In some embodiments, when determining whether the handover conditions are met, if a random access procedure only supports one RO type handover, then the value of N is 1 or 2. If the random access procedure supports repeated handovers, i.e., supports multiple RO type handovers, then the value of N is 1 to a value from floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for a Msg1 repeated transmission) mod 4 that results in 1 or 2, where floor is the floor value.

[0106] As an optional embodiment, the method further includes:

[0107] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, it is determined that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

[0108] In this embodiment, the terminal can determine whether a handover condition is met by comparing a first count value or a second count value with a first threshold value. The handover condition is that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value. The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process; the second count value is the total number of random access attempts performed in one type of RO.

[0109] Specifically, when determining whether the handover condition is met using the first count value, if the total number of random access attempts counted in a random access process equals the first threshold plus 1, the handover condition can be considered met. This can also be understood as the terminal reaching the first threshold in the number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO. Similarly, when determining whether the handover condition is met using the second count value, if the total number of random access attempts counted in the first type of RO equals the first threshold plus 1, the handover condition can be considered met. This can also be understood as the terminal reaching the first threshold in the number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO. It should be noted that the initial value of either the first or second count value is 1, so it needs to be compared with the first threshold plus 1 when determining the handover condition.

[0110] In some embodiments, the method further includes: resetting the second count value to an initial value when the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1.

[0111] In this embodiment, when the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the switching condition is considered to be met, and the terminal switches to the second type RO to repeatedly transmit message 1. At this time, the second count value is reset to the initial value and counts again.

[0112] As an optional embodiment, determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when it is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and when it is repeatedly transmitted on the second type of RO, respectively, includes:

[0113] When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

[0114] In this embodiment, the method used by the terminal to determine the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted under both the first type RO and the second type RO is similar. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt is determined by comparing a first count value or a third count value with a second threshold value. Alternatively, it can be understood that when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value; similarly, when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

[0115] In some embodiments, the method further includes: resetting the third count value to an initial value when the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1.

[0116] In this embodiment, when the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the handover condition is met. After the UE switches from the first type RO to the second type RO, the third count value is reset to the initial value, which can be 1.

[0117] In some embodiments, determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted based on a first count value or a third count value and a second threshold value includes:

[0118] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 at the higher level.

[0119] or,

[0120] If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0121] In this embodiment, the terminal can determine the number of times message 1 will be repeatedly transmitted in the next random access attempt. The determination method is as follows: if the first count value or the third count value equals the second threshold value plus 1, and the current random access resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repeated transmission count, then the next random access attempt will select the higher level of Msg1 repeated transmission count. The higher level of Msg1 repeated transmission count can be a repeat transmission count one level higher than the current Msg1 repeated transmission count. For example, if the candidate set of Msg1 repeated transmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2, 4, 8}, and assuming the current Msg1 repeated transmission count is 2, then the higher level of repeated transmission count is 4; assuming the current Msg1 repeated transmission count is 4, then the higher level of repeated transmission count is 8. Or, for example, if the candidate set of Msg1 repeated transmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2, 8}, and assuming the current Msg1 repeated transmission count is 2, then the higher level of repeated transmission count is 8.

[0122] If the first or third count value is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, or if the first or third count value is equal to the second threshold plus 1, but the current random access resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 retransmission count, then the Msg1 retransmission count for the next random access attempt remains unchanged and is still the current Msg1 retransmission count. For example, if the candidate set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2}, and the current Msg1 retransmission count is 2, the Msg1 retransmission count selected for the next random access attempt will still be 2. As another example, if the candidate set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current random access resource is {2,4}, and the current Msg1 retransmission count is 4, the Msg1 retransmission count selected for the next random access attempt will still be 4.

[0123] As an optional embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1;

[0124] or,

[0125] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and the first value, where the first value is M times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0126] Where N and M are positive integers.

[0127] In this embodiment, the second threshold value can be N times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed by a Msg1 retransmission count, where N is a positive integer. For example, the network-side device can configure a maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to a retransmission count, such as 'a' times. Then the second threshold value is N times 'a'. The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to different retransmission counts, such as {2, 4, 8}, is 'a'.

[0128] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, i.e., multiple RO type switches, then N is the increment of the maximum allowed number of Msg1 retransmissions during the random access procedure. For example, N is 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission), where floor is the floor value.

[0129] In this embodiment, the second threshold value used when transmitting message 1 on the first type RO and when transmitting message 1 on the second type RO may be different.

[0130] For example, if it is determined that switching the RO type is not necessary, meaning the next random access attempt will still be performed on the first type RO, then when determining the number of repeated transmissions of Msg1 for the next random access attempt, the second threshold value can be N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1. For example, the network-side device can configure a maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to a number of repeated transmissions, such as 'a' times, then the second threshold value is N times 'a'.

[0131] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, i.e., multiple RO type switches, then N is the increment of the maximum allowed number of Msg1 retransmissions during the random access procedure. For example, N is 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission), where floor is the floor value.

[0132] If it is determined that the terminal needs to switch to the second type RO to transmit message 1, after switching to the second type RO, the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 is determined by comparing a first count value or a third count value with a second threshold value. The second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and M times the maximum number of attempts allowed for a Msg1 repeated transmission (e.g., a). For example, if the first threshold value is b, then the second threshold value is b + M * a.

[0133] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then the value of M is 1 or 2. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, then the value of M is the increment of the number of Msg1 retransmissions allowed on a RO type during the random access procedure, for example, the value of M is from 1 to floor(maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure - first threshold value / maximum number of attempts for Msg1 retransmissions), where floor is the floor value.

[0134] As an optional embodiment, determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when it is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and when it is repeatedly transmitted on the second type of RO, respectively, includes:

[0135] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule;

[0136] The first rule includes the following:

[0137] Rule 1: Use the number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover;

[0138] Rule 2: If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0139] Rule 3: If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0140] Rule 4: Determine the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO;

[0141] Rule 5: Determine the first number of repeated transmissions based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0142] In this embodiment, if either the first count value or the second count value equals the first threshold value plus 1, the handover condition is met. The terminal then switches from the first type RO to the second type RO to transmit message 1. The terminal can determine the number of repeated transmissions of Msg1 in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO according to the first rule. The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process; the second count value is the total number of random access attempts performed on a single RO type.

[0143] Specifically, for rule 1 above, the terminal directly determines that the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is the same as the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions in the first type RO before the switch.

[0144] For rule 2 above, the terminal compares the first or third count value with the second threshold value to determine whether the first or third count value reaches the second threshold value plus 1 when switching RO types. If it does, and the current random access resource supports a higher level of Msg1 retransmission count, then the Msg1 retransmission count in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is determined to be a higher level of retransmission count than the Msg1 retransmission count before the switch. For example: if the Msg1 retransmission count in the first type RO before the switch is 2, then the Msg1 retransmission count in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is 4; if the Msg1 retransmission count in the first type RO before the switch is 4, then the Msg1 retransmission count in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is 8.

[0145] If the first or third count value is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, or if the first or third count value is equal to the second threshold plus 1, but the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the Msg1 repeated transmission count in the first random access attempt after handover to the second type RO will still be the Msg1 repeated transmission count before the handover. For example: if the Msg1 repeated transmission count in the first type RO before the handover was 2, then the Msg1 repeated transmission count in the first random access attempt after handover to the second type RO will also be 2; if the Msg1 repeated transmission count in the first type RO before the handover was 4, then the Msg1 repeated transmission count in the first random access attempt after handover to the second type RO will also be 4.

[0146] The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process; the third count value is the total number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0147] For rule 3 above, the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is determined based on the number of Msg1 retransmissions supported by the current random access resource. Specifically, if the current random access resource supports a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions than the number before the switch in the first type RO, then the higher number of retransmissions is used. For example: if the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first type RO before the switch was 2, and the current random access resource supports a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, then the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is 4. As another example: if the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first type RO before the switch was 4, and the current random access resource supports a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, then the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO is 8.

[0148] If the current random access resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 repeat transmissions than the number on the first type RO before the handover, then the number of Msg1 repeat transmissions in the first random access attempt after the handover to the second type RO will still be the same as the number on the first type RO before the handover. For example: if the number of Msg1 repeat transmissions on the first type RO before the handover was 2, and the current random access resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 repeat transmissions, then the number of Msg1 repeat transmissions in the first random access attempt after the handover to the second type RO will still be 2. As another example: if the number of Msg1 repeat transmissions on the first type RO before the handover was 4, and the current random access resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 repeat transmissions, then the number of Msg1 repeat transmissions in the first random access attempt after the handover to the second type RO will still be 4.

[0149] For rule 4 above, the number of Msg1 retransmissions after the handover can be determined based on the RSRP threshold corresponding to different retransmission counts on the second type RO. On the second type RO, different retransmission counts have corresponding RSRP thresholds. By comparing the reference signal measurement results with the RSRP thresholds, the number of Msg1 retransmissions in the first random access attempt after the handover to the second type RO can be determined.

[0150] For example: When a UE switches to Type 2 RO, if the current RACH resource supports Msg1 retransmission times {2, 4}, where Msg1 retransmission time 2 corresponds to an RSRP threshold and Msg1 retransmission time 4 corresponds to an RSRP threshold, the reference signal measurement result is compared with the RSRP thresholds corresponding to retransmission time 2 and retransmission time 4. For example, if the measurement result is less than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission time 4, then the Msg1 retransmission time in the first random access attempt after the UE switches to Type 2 RO is 4. If the measurement result is less than the RSRP threshold for retransmission time 2 and greater than the RSRP threshold for retransmission time 4, then the Msg1 retransmission time in the first random access attempt after the UE switches to Type 2 RO is 2. Alternatively, as long as the measurement result is greater than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission time 4, the Msg1 retransmission time in the first random access attempt after the UE switches to Type 2 RO is 2.

[0151] For rule 5 above, the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions after handover (the first repeated transmission count) is determined based on the RSRP threshold corresponding to the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions on the second type RO after handover. This determined number of Msg1 repeated transmissions (the first repeated transmission count) is determined using the same method as in rule 4, and will not be repeated here. If the determined number of Msg1 repeated transmissions is less than the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions on the first type RO before handover, then the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions in the first random access attempt after the UE hands over to the second type RO is the same as the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions on the first type RO before handover.

[0152] It should be noted that in all embodiments of this disclosure, the UE needs to have both SBFD capability and Msg1 retransmission capability.

[0153] The following example illustrates the specific method for determining the number of repeated transmissions of Msg1 when performing RO type switching in this disclosure.

[0154] Example 1: This example 1 includes the main flow of the random access procedure, which includes two parts: determining the RO type switching involved in this disclosure and determining the number of Msg1 retransmissions corresponding to the next random access attempt. The first condition is that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type RO reaches a first threshold value.

[0155] As shown in Figure 3, after the random access procedure begins, the UE first determines the RO type and compares the reference signal measurement results with the RSRP threshold corresponding to the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions under the determined RO type, thereby determining the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions in the initial random access attempt.

[0156] The random access procedure includes: the UE repeatedly sending a preamble on the selected RO resource, followed by the base station sending a Random Access Response (RAR) message, and the UE sending the Msg3 Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) according to the base station's scheduling. After this part of the procedure, the UE needs to determine whether the current random access procedure was successful. If successful, the random access procedure ends; if unsuccessful, it needs to update some parameters for the next round of random access. First, the value of the first counter (i.e., the first count value) is incremented by 1.

[0157] In this embodiment, the first counter is a counter that counts all random access attempts during a RACH process, such as a preamble counter (PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER), and the statistical value of the first counter is the first count value. The first counter is also used to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the random access procedure, the maximum number of attempts for the current RO type, and the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 repeated transmission.

[0158] As shown in Figure 3, the system first checks whether the value of the first counter has reached the maximum number of random access attempts. Specifically, if the value of the first counter equals the maximum number of random access attempts plus 1, then the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts, the current random access attempt fails, and the random access process ends. If the value of the first counter does not equal the maximum number of random access attempts plus 1, the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts, and the UE can attempt another random access attempt.

[0159] Then, it is determined whether the value of the first counter has reached the first threshold value, as shown in this embodiment. The first threshold value is K * the maximum number of attempts for the RO type, which is K times the maximum number of attempts allowed on the RO type. Specifically, if the value of the first counter is equal to K * the maximum number of attempts for the RO type plus 1, then the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type, and the next random access attempt needs to switch the RO type. If the value of the first counter is not equal to K * the maximum number of attempts for the RO type plus 1, then the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type, and there is no need to switch the RO type. The next random access attempt will still use the same RO type as the current random access attempt. In this embodiment, switching the RO type includes the following cases:

[0160] Scenario 1: Only switching from Additional RO to Legacy RO is supported. In this case, the first type of RO is Additional RO, and the second type of RO is Legacy RO. The random access process can be shown in Figure 3. The above restrictions can be further explained in the protocol. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4, a judgment process (dashed judgment box) can be added before determining whether to switch RO types. For example: determine whether the current RO type is Additional RO. If the current RO type is Additional RO, proceed to the branch to determine whether to switch RO types; if the current RO type is Legacy RO, whether the RO type determined by the initial random access attempt is Legacy RO, or whether switching from Additional RO to Legacy RO after a certain number of attempts, it is not necessary to enter the branch to determine whether to switch RO types again.

[0161] Scenario 2: Supports switching from additional RO to legacy RO or vice versa, with only one RO type switch allowed during the entire random access process. In this case, if the first type RO is an additional RO and the second type RO is a legacy RO, or vice versa, the random access process can be as shown in Figure 3. The above limitations are further explained in the protocol. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4, a judgment process (dashed judgment box) can be added before determining whether to switch RO types. If the RO type has not been switched during the random access process, the process proceeds to the branch determining whether to switch RO types; if the RO type has been switched during the random access process, the process does not proceed to the branch determining whether to switch RO types (only one switch is allowed).

[0162] Scenario 3: Supports switching from additional RO to legacy RO or vice versa. The entire random access process can switch RO types back and forth. In this case, the random access process is shown in Figure 3. Each time, it is necessary to enter the branch that determines the RO type switch, which requires no further explanation.

[0163] It should be noted that for cases 1 and 2 above, a random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, so the value of K is 1. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, that is, supports multiple RO type switches, then the value of K is the number of RO type switches allowed in the random access attempt. For example, the value of K is from 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts in the RO type), where floor is the floor value.

[0164] As shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4, after determining that the next random access attempt will still be transmitted on the first type of RO, the UE judges whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold value. In this embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission. Specifically, if the value of the first counter is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the currently used Msg1 retransmission count. If the RACH resource supports a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, then the next random access attempt needs to use a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt.

[0165] In this disclosure, all references to higher-level Msg1 retransmission counts refer to the higher-level Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current RACH resource. For example, if the set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current RACH resource is {2, 4, 8}, the higher-level Msg1 retransmission count 2 is retransmission count 4, and the higher-level Msg1 retransmission count 4 is 8. Similarly, if the set of Msg1 retransmission counts supported by the current RACH resource is {2, 8}, the higher-level Msg1 retransmission count 2 is retransmission count 8.

[0166] If the value of the first counter is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, meaning the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of random access attempts allowed by the current Msg1 retransmission count; or if the value of the first counter is equal to the second threshold plus 1, meaning the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts but the current RACH resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, then the next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 retransmissions as the current random access attempt, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt.

[0167] For the second threshold value in this embodiment, if it is case 1 or case 2 above, where a random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, then the value of N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, i.e., supports multiple RO type switches, then the value of N is the number of times the maximum number of Msg1 repeated transmissions allowed during the random access process increases. For example, the value of N is from 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 repeated transmission), where floor is the floor value.

[0168] As shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4, when the terminal determines that the next random access attempt requires switching to a second type RO, the process proceeds to the step of determining the number of Msg1 retransmissions. The determined number of Msg1 retransmissions at this point is the number of Msg1 retransmissions corresponding to the first random access attempt after switching to the second type RO. After switching RO types, the UE can determine the number of Msg1 retransmissions using any of the following rules:

[0169] Rule 1: Use the number of Msg1 retransmissions before the RO handover. For example, if the UE has 4 Msg1 retransmissions on the first type RO, the number of Msg1 retransmissions will still be 4 after the handover to the second type RO.

[0170] Rule 2: Determine if the value of the first counter when switching RO type meets the second threshold. If it does, and the current random access resource supports a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions, then a higher number of Msg1 retransmissions will be used after the switch. If the second threshold is not met, the previous number of Msg1 retransmissions will still be used. For example, if the UE's Msg1 retransmission count on the first type RO is 4, the maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a given Msg1 retransmission count is 3. When the UE switches to the second type RO, if the value of the first counter is equal to N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the Msg1 retransmission count plus 1 (e.g., 4 or 7), it means that the UE has already used 4 Msg1 retransmissions in 3 random access attempts, reaching the limit. If the current random access resource supports 8 Msg1 retransmissions, the UE's first random access attempt on the second type RO will use 8 Msg1 retransmissions. In addition, if the value of the first counter does not meet the second threshold, or if the value of the first counter meets the second threshold but the current random access resource does not support 8 Msg1 repeated transmissions, the UE's first random access attempt on the second type RO will use 4 Msg1 repeated transmissions.

[0171] Rule 3: Use the highest possible number of Msg1 retransmissions supported by the current random access resource compared to the number before the RO handover. If no such number exists, use the same number of Msg1 retransmissions as before the RO handover. For example, if the UE's Msg1 retransmission count was 4 on a Type 1 RO, after switching to a Type 2 RO, if the current RACH resource supports 8 Msg1 retransmissions, then the Msg1 retransmission count will be 8 after switching to the Type 2 RO. If the current RACH resource does not support 8 Msg1 retransmissions, then the Msg1 retransmission count will be 4 after switching to the Type 2 RO.

[0172] Rule 4: Determine the number of Msg1 retransmissions after the handover based on the RSRP thresholds corresponding to different retransmission counts on the new RO type. When the UE switches to the second type RO, if the current RACH resource supports Msg1 retransmission counts including {2,4}, compare the reference signal measurement result with the RSRP thresholds corresponding to retransmission count 2 and 4 on the second type RO. For example, if the reference signal measurement result is less than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission count 4, the UE performs 4 Msg1 retransmissions on the second type RO. If the reference signal measurement result is less than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission count 2 and greater than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission count 4, the UE performs 2 Msg1 retransmissions on the second type RO. Alternatively, the UE performs 2 Msg1 retransmissions on the second type RO as long as the reference signal measurement result is greater than the RSRP threshold corresponding to retransmission count 4.

[0173] Rule 5: Determine the number of Msg1 retransmissions after the handover based on the RSRP threshold corresponding to different retransmission counts on the RO type. If the determined number of Msg1 retransmissions after the handover is less than the candidate value of the number of Msg1 retransmissions before the handover, then the number of Msg1 retransmissions before the RO handover is used. Based on Rule 4, assume that the UE's last random access attempt before the RO type handover used 4 Msg1 retransmissions. For example: if the number of Msg1 retransmissions determined according to Rule 4 is 4, then the UE uses 4 Msg1 retransmissions on the second type RO. If the number of Msg1 retransmissions determined according to Rule 4 is 2, the UE still uses 4 Msg1 retransmissions on the second type RO.

[0174] After the terminal determines the number of Msg1 retransmissions for the first RACH attempt on the second type of RO according to the above rules, the process enters the random access attempt process. If the random access attempt fails, the count value of the first counter is incremented by 1. It is then determined whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the random access process. If it has, the random access process ends. If it has not, regardless of whether the flowchart in Figure 3 or Figure 4 is followed, the random access process will proceed to determine whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold. If the second threshold is reached, and the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, then the next random access attempt needs to use a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. If the value of the first counter has not reached the second threshold, or if the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold but the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, then the next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 retransmissions as the current random access attempt, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt.

[0175] Alternatively, in this embodiment, when the UE transmits on the second type of RO, it determines whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold. The second threshold is the first threshold plus M * the maximum allowed number of attempts for a Msg1 retransmission. If the value of the first counter equals the second threshold plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum allowed number of Msg1 retransmissions. If the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, the next random access attempt will need to use a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt. For example, if the first threshold is 3, meaning the UE switches to the second type of RO after three failed random access attempts on the first type of RO, the Msg1 retransmission count is determined to be 4, and the maximum number of attempts corresponding to the Msg1 retransmission count is 2. If the UE fails on the fourth and fifth random access attempts, the value of the first counter is 5+1=6, the second threshold is 3+2+1=6, the value of the first counter is equal to the second threshold, and the current RACH resource supports 8 Msg1 retransmissions, then the UE uses 8 Msg1 retransmissions for the sixth random access attempt.

[0176] If the value of the first counter is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, or if the value of the first counter is equal to the second threshold plus 1, but the current RACH resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 repetitions, then the next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 repetitions as the current random access attempt, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt. In this disclosure, if it is case 1 or case 2 above, a random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, then the value of M is 1 or 2. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, that is, supports multiple RO type switches, then the value of M is from 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure - first threshold / maximum number of attempts for Msg1 repetition), where floor is the floor value.

[0177] Example 2, building upon Example 1, uses the value of the first counter to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the random access procedure, and whether the value of the first counter has reached the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 repeated transmissions. The value of the second counter is used to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the current RO type. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the values ​​of the first counter compared with the first threshold value in Example 1 are replaced with the values ​​of the second counter. Furthermore, wherever the value of the first counter in Example 1 is incremented by 1, the value of the second counter is also incremented by 1.

[0178] In Example 2, the first threshold is the maximum number of attempts allowed on the RO type. If the value of the second counter is not equal to the maximum number of attempts allowed on the RO type plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type. The next random access attempt will still use the current RO type, that is, no RO type switch will be performed, and the random access procedure will proceed to the next random access attempt. If the value of the second counter is equal to the maximum number of attempts allowed on the RO type plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type, and the next random access attempt will need to switch RO types.

[0179] If the random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, i.e., cases 1 and 2 in the above embodiments, the value of the second counter can be reset to the initial value or not after the RO type switch. The procedure then proceeds to determine the number of Msg1 retransmissions for the first RACH attempt on the second type RO. If the random access procedure supports multiple RO type switches, i.e., case 3 in the above embodiments, the value of the second counter needs to be reset to the initial value after the RO type switch. The procedure then proceeds to determine the number of Msg1 retransmissions for the first RACH attempt on the second type RO. The other procedures in Figures 5 and 6 are the same as in Example 1 and will not be described again here. In all embodiments of this disclosure, the initial value can be 1 or 0. In this embodiment, the second threshold value after switching to the second type RO can be N times the maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission, or it can be the first threshold value + M * the maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission, where M = 1, 2.

[0180] Example 3, building upon Example 1, uses the value of the first counter to determine whether the maximum number of attempts for the random access procedure and the maximum number of attempts for the current RO type have been reached. The value of the third counter is used to determine whether the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 repeated transmissions has been reached. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the values ​​of the first counter compared with the second threshold in Example 1 are replaced with the values ​​of the third counter. Furthermore, wherever the value of the first counter is incremented by 1 in Example 1, the value of the third counter is also incremented by 1.

[0181] In this embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of attempts for Msg1 retransmission, where N = 1, 2. If the value of the third counter is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts allowed when transmitting Msg1 using the current retransmission count. If the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 retransmission count, the next random access attempt needs to use a higher level of Msg1 retransmission count, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. If the value of the third counter is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the value of the third counter is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, but the current RACH resource does not support a higher number of Msg1 retransmission count, the next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 retransmission count as the current random access attempt, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. In this embodiment, after the terminal switches to the second type of RO, it does not need to consider the case where the second threshold value is the first threshold value + M * the maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission count.

[0182] In this embodiment, based on the description in Example 1, it is determined whether the value of the first counter has reached the first threshold. When the value of the first counter equals the first threshold plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts allowed to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type. The next random access attempt needs to switch RO types. After the RO type switch, the value of the third counter needs to be reset to the initial value, and the random access procedure enters the UE to determine the number of times Msg1 can be repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO. If the value of the first counter is not equal to the first threshold plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type. The next random access attempt will still use the same RO type as the current random access attempt, that is, there is no need to switch RO types, and the random access procedure enters the next random access attempt. The other processes in Figures 7 and 8 are the same as in Example 1, and will not be described in detail here.

[0183] Alternatively, in this embodiment, the second threshold can be fixed to the maximum number of attempts allowed for Msg1 repeated transmissions. Whenever the value of the third counter reaches the second threshold, the third counter is reset to its initial value. Furthermore, the third counter can also be reset to its initial value when the first type RO reaches the first threshold.

[0184] Example 4, building upon Example 1 and combining Examples 2 and 3, uses the value of the first counter to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the random access procedure, the value of the second counter to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts for the current RO type, and the value of the third counter to determine whether the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 repeated transmission has been reached. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the values ​​of the first counter compared with the first threshold in Example 1 are replaced with the values ​​of the second counter, and the values ​​of the first counter compared with the second threshold in Example 1 are replaced with the values ​​of the third counter. Furthermore, where the value of the first counter is incremented by 1 in Example 1, the values ​​of the second and third counters are also incremented by 1 respectively.

[0185] In this embodiment, the first threshold value is the maximum number of attempts for the RO type. If the value of the second counter is not equal to the maximum number of attempts for the RO type plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type, and the next random access attempt will still use the current RO type, that is, there is no need to switch the RO type. Then the UE determines whether the value of the third counter has reached the second threshold value. In this embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of attempts to retransmit Msg1, where N = 1, 2. If the value of the third counter is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 using the current repetition count. If the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, the next random access attempt needs to use a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. If the value of the third counter is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, or if the value of the third counter is equal to the second threshold plus 1, but the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 retransmission count, the next random access attempt will still use the same Msg1 retransmission count as the current random access attempt, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt. Similar to Example 3, in this embodiment, after the terminal switches to the second type of RO, it does not need to consider the case where the second threshold is the first threshold plus M * the maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission count.

[0186] If the value of the second counter equals the maximum number of attempts for the RO type (the first threshold) plus 1, the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 on the current RO type. The next random access attempt needs to switch RO types, and the value of the third counter needs to be reset to the initial value. If the random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, i.e., cases 1 and 2 in the above embodiments, the value of the second counter can be reset to the initial value or not after the RO type switch. Subsequently, the procedure proceeds to determine the number of repeated transmissions of Msg1 in the first RACH attempt on the second type RO.

[0187] Example 5: The conditions for RO handover in Example 5 are: the UE uses the maximum number of Msg1 retransmissions supported by the current RACH resource on the first type of RO, and the first counter value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1. In this embodiment, the value of the first counter is used to determine whether the random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure, and whether the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 retransmission has been reached. As shown in Figure 11, the process from the start of the random access procedure to determining whether the value of the first counter has reached the maximum number of random access attempts is the same as in Example 1, and will not be repeated in this embodiment. If the value of the first counter is not equal to the maximum number of random access attempts plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure, and the UE can still make another random access attempt.

[0188] Then, it is determined whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold. In this embodiment, the second threshold is N times the maximum number of attempts allowed for a Msg1 retransmission. Specifically, if the value of the first counter is not equal to the second threshold plus 1, it means that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 using the current retransmission count. The next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 retransmissions as the current random access attempt, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt.

[0189] If the value of the first counter equals the second threshold plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 using the current repetition count. In this case, it is necessary to further determine whether the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repetition count. If the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, the next random access attempt will use a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt. If the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, it indicates that the maximum number of Msg1 repetition counts has been reached, and the next random access attempt will need to switch RO types. After the RO type switch, the random access procedure proceeds to the UE determining the number of Msg1 repetition counts on the second type RO. The method by which the UE determines the number of Msg1 repetition counts for the first RACH attempt on the second type RO is the same as in Example 1, except that rule 3 does not apply to this embodiment, and other rules are not elaborated here.

[0190] In this embodiment, if it is Case 1 or Case 2 in the above embodiments, a random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, then the value of N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, that is, supports multiple RO type switches, then the value of N is 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of repeated transmissions of Msg1), where floor is the floor value. A random access procedure only supports one RO type switch, which can be further specified in the protocol. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 12, a judgment process (dashed judgment box) can be added before determining whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold value, such as determining whether the current RO type is additional RO, or whether the RO type has not been switched during the random access procedure.

[0191] After determining the number of Msg1 retransmissions for the first RACH attempt on the second type RO according to the first rule, the process proceeds to a random access attempt. If the random access attempt fails, the value of the first counter is incremented by 1. It is then determined whether the maximum number of attempts for the random access process has been reached. If it has, the random access process ends. If it has not, regardless of whether the flowchart in Figure 11 or Figure 12 is followed, the random access process will proceed to determine whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold. If a random access process only supports one RO type switch, and the value of the first counter reaches the second threshold, and the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, the next random access attempt will use a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. If the value of the first counter has not reached the second threshold, or if the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold but the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 retransmissions, the next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 retransmissions as the current random access attempt, and the process proceeds to the next random access attempt. If a single random access procedure supports multiple RO type switching, the method for determining the value of the first counter and the second threshold value is the same as the method for determining the value of the first type of RO.

[0192] Alternatively, in this embodiment, when the UE transmits on the second type RO, it is determined whether the value of the first counter has reached the second threshold. In this case, the second threshold is the first threshold plus M * the maximum number of attempts allowed for a single Msg1 repeated transmission. The determination method is the same as above, divided into two cases: allowing one RO type switch per random access procedure or allowing multiple RO type switches. The specific determination process is not detailed here.

[0193] Example Six: Building upon Example Five, Example Six uses the value of the first counter to determine whether the maximum number of attempts for the random access procedure has been reached, and uses the value of the third counter to determine whether the maximum number of attempts for the current Msg1 repeated transmissions has been reached. As shown in Figures 13 and 14, the values ​​of the first counter compared with the second threshold in Example Five are replaced with the values ​​of the third counter. Furthermore, wherever the value of the first counter is incremented by 1 in Example Five, the value of the third counter is also incremented by 1.

[0194] In this embodiment, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of attempts to retransmit Msg1, where N = 1, 2. When the UE transmits Msg1 on the first type RO, if the value of the first counter is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, it indicates that the current random access attempt has not reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 using the current repetition count. The next random access attempt will still use the same number of Msg1 repetitions as the current random access attempt, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt.

[0195] If the value of the first counter equals the second threshold value + 1, the current random access attempt has reached the maximum number of attempts to transmit Msg1 using the current repetition count. It is then necessary to further determine whether the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repetition count. If the current RACH resource supports a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, the next random access attempt will use the higher level of Msg1 repetition count, and the process will proceed to the next random access attempt. If the current RACH resource does not support a higher level of Msg1 repetition count, it indicates that the maximum number of Msg1 repetition counts has been reached, and the next random access attempt will need to switch the RO type. After the RO type switch, the value of the third counter is reset to its initial value, and the random access procedure proceeds to the UE determining the number of Msg1 repetition counts on the second type RO. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to consider the case where the second threshold value after switching the RO type is the sum of the first threshold value and M times the maximum allowed number of Msg1 repetition counts.

[0196] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the value of the counter reaching the threshold value means that the value of the counter is equal to the threshold value plus 1.

[0197] In embodiments of this disclosure, when a terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on a first type RO, if a first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on a second type RO. The terminal then determines the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on both the first and second type ROs. This switching mechanism improves the UE's random access procedure when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching and the Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism. This allows the UE to continuously adjust the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions under different RO types during the random access process, thereby increasing the probability of successful random access.

[0198] As shown in Figure 15, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a symbol type switching processing method, applied to a network-side device, including:

[0199] Step 1501: When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO.

[0200] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0201] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0202] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0203] In this embodiment, the first type RO and the second type RO are two different types of ROs. The first type RO and the second type RO are either additional ROs or legacy ROs. For example, it is supported that the second type RO is a legacy RO when the first type RO is an additional RO; or, it is also supported that the second type RO is an additional RO when the first type RO is a legacy RO. The terminal supports switching from the first type RO to the second type RO for transmission, or it can also support switching from the first type RO to the second type RO for transmission and then switching back to the first type RO for transmission.

[0204] Message 1 is Msg1 of the four-step random access procedure, and the terminal supports repeated transmission of this Msg1. Specifically, when the terminal repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type of RO, the network-side device also receives the repeatedly transmitted Msg1 on the first type of RO; if a first condition is met, the terminal switches to repeatedly transmitting Msg1 on the second type of RO, and the network-side device also switches to receiving the repeatedly transmitted Msg1 on the second type of RO.

[0205] The UE repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type RO. After satisfying the first condition, it switches to the second type RO to repeatedly transmit Msg1. The UE determines the number of times Msg1 is repeatedly transmitted for the next random access attempt under the first type RO and the second type RO, respectively. This can also be understood as: when the terminal repeatedly transmits messages, the terminal determines the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when it repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the first type RO; when the terminal repeatedly transmits Msg1 on the second type RO, the same step of determining the number of times message 1 is performed.

[0206] The first condition can be that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal on the first type of RO reaches a first threshold value. Alternatively, it can be understood that if the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal on the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value when repeatedly transmitting message 1, then the terminal switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO. The first condition can also be that the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 can be repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource. This can also be understood as: if the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO reaches the maximum number of times message 1 can be repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource when the terminal is repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the first type of RO, then the terminal switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0207] As an optional embodiment, the first threshold is: K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0208] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

[0209] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then the value of K is 1. If the random access procedure supports repeated switching, i.e., supports multiple RO type switches, then the value of K is the number of RO type switches allowed in the random access attempt, for example, the value of K is from 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts in the RO type), where floor is the floor value.

[0210] In some embodiments, the predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure. For example, the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is half the maximum number of random access attempts allowed in a random access procedure. If the value calculated based on the preset proportion is not an integer, it can be rounded up or down.

[0211] As an optional embodiment, if the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes: the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

[0212] In some embodiments, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1; N is a positive integer.

[0213] Specifically, when determining whether the handover conditions are met, if a random access procedure only supports one RO type handover, then the value of N is 1 or 2. If the random access procedure supports repeated handovers, i.e., supports multiple RO type handovers, then the value of N is 1 to a value from floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for a Msg1 repeated transmission) mod 4 that results in 1 or 2, where floor is the floor value.

[0214] As an optional embodiment, the method further includes:

[0215] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, it is determined that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

[0216] As an optional embodiment, the method further includes:

[0217] Send the first message to the terminal;

[0218] The first information includes at least one of the following:

[0219] The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted;

[0220] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a terminal on a type of RO.

[0221] In this embodiment, the network-side device can send the terminal a maximum number of random access attempts allowed for repeated transmissions of Msg1. The network-side device can also send the UE the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a certain RO type, or the network-side device can determine the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a certain RO type through a predefined method, such as defining the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a certain RO type as half the maximum number of random access attempts in the random access procedure. The network-side blind detection receives the Msg1 repeatedly transmitted by the UE.

[0222] In some embodiments, the network-side device has a consistent understanding of the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted as determined by the terminal. For example, if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted in the next random access attempt is determined to be the higher number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0223] or,

[0224] If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0225] In some embodiments, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1;

[0226] or,

[0227] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and the first value, where the first value is M times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0228] Where N and M are positive integers.

[0229] In this embodiment, the second threshold value can be N times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed by a Msg1 retransmission count, where N is a positive integer. For example, the network-side device can configure a maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to a retransmission count, such as 'a' times. Then the second threshold value is N times 'a'. The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to different retransmission counts, such as {2, 4, 8}, is 'a'.

[0230] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, i.e., multiple RO type switches, then N is the increment of the maximum allowed number of Msg1 retransmissions during the random access procedure. For example, N is 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission), where floor is the floor value.

[0231] In this embodiment, the second threshold value used when transmitting message 1 on the first type RO and when transmitting message 1 on the second type RO may be different.

[0232] For example, if it is determined that switching the RO type is not necessary, meaning the next random access attempt will still be performed on the first type RO, then when determining the number of repeated transmissions of Msg1 for the next random access attempt, the second threshold value can be N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1. For example, the network-side device can configure a maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to a number of repeated transmissions, such as 'a' times, then the second threshold value is N times 'a'.

[0233] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then N is 1, 2, 3, or 4. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, i.e., multiple RO type switches, then N is the increment of the maximum allowed number of Msg1 retransmissions during the random access procedure. For example, N is 1 to floor (maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure / maximum number of attempts allowed for one Msg1 retransmission), where floor is the floor value.

[0234] If it is determined that the terminal needs to switch to the second type RO to transmit message 1, after switching to the second type RO, the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 is determined by comparing a first count value or a third count value with a second threshold value. The second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and M times the maximum number of attempts allowed for a Msg1 repeated transmission (e.g., a). For example, if the first threshold value is b, then the second threshold value is b + M * a.

[0235] In some embodiments, if a random access procedure supports only one RO type switch, then the value of M is 1 or 2. If the random access procedure supports repeated switches, then the value of M is the increment of the number of Msg1 retransmissions allowed on a RO type during the random access procedure, for example, the value of M is from 1 to floor(maximum number of attempts in the random access procedure - first threshold value / maximum number of attempts for Msg1 retransmissions), where floor is the floor value.

[0236] For example: if the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule;

[0237] The first rule includes the following:

[0238] The number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover;

[0239] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0240] If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0241] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold on the second type of RO.

[0242] Based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO, the first number of repeated transmissions is determined. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover is used.

[0243] In embodiments of this disclosure, when a network-side device receives a repeatedly transmitted message 1 on a first type RO, it switches to receiving the repeatedly transmitted message 1 on a second type RO if a first condition is met. This switching mechanism improves the random access procedure when the terminal simultaneously supports RO type switching for Msg1 transmission and the Msg1 repeated transmission mechanism, allowing the UE to continuously adjust the number of Msg1 repeated transmissions under different RO types during the random access process, thereby increasing the probability of successful random access.

[0244] Based on the same technical concept, this disclosure also provides a symbol type switching processing device. This device can realize the terminal-side functions described in the foregoing embodiments.

[0245] Referring to Figure 16, this is a schematic diagram of the symbol type switching processing apparatus 1600 provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 16, the apparatus 1600 may include:

[0246] The first processing unit 1610 is configured to switch to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if a first condition is met.

[0247] The first determining unit 1620 is used to determine the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, respectively.

[0248] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0249] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0250] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0251] In some embodiments, the first threshold value is:

[0252] K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0253] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

[0254] In some embodiments, the predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is: a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure.

[0255] In some embodiments, when the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes:

[0256] The first or third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

[0257] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0258] The second determining unit is used to determine, when the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

[0259] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0260] The third processing unit is configured to reset the second count value to its initial value when the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1.

[0261] In some embodiments, the first processing unit is specifically used for:

[0262] When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

[0263] In some embodiments, determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted based on a first count value or a third count value and a second threshold value includes:

[0264] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 at the higher level.

[0265] or,

[0266] If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0267] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0268] The fourth processing unit is configured to reset the third count value to its initial value when the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1.

[0269] In some embodiments, the first determining unit is specifically used for:

[0270] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule;

[0271] The first rule includes the following:

[0272] The number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover;

[0273] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0274] If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0275] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO;

[0276] Based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO, the first number of repeated transmissions is determined. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover is used.

[0277] In some embodiments,

[0278] The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process;

[0279] The second count value is the number of random access attempts performed on a single RO type.

[0280] The third count value is the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0281] In some embodiments, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1;

[0282] or,

[0283] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and the first value, where the first value is M times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0284] Where N and M are positive integers.

[0285] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the terminal, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0286] This disclosure also provides a symbol type switching processing apparatus. This apparatus can implement the functions of the network-side devices described in the foregoing embodiments.

[0287] Referring to Figure 17, this is a schematic diagram of the symbol type switching processing apparatus 1700 provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 17, the apparatus 1700 may include:

[0288] The second processing unit 1701 is used to switch to receiving the message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO when the network-side device receives the message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met.

[0289] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0290] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0291] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0292] In some embodiments, the first threshold is: K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0293] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

[0294] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0295] The first sending unit is used to send first information to the terminal;

[0296] The first information includes at least one of the following:

[0297] The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted;

[0298] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a terminal on a type of RO.

[0299] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to network side devices and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0300] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure 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. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0301] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0302] As shown in Figure 18, an embodiment of this disclosure also provides a terminal, including: a memory 1820, a transceiver 1800, and a processor 1810; wherein, the memory 1820 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1800 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 1810; and the processor 1810 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0303] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO.

[0304] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO and when it repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively.

[0305] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0306] The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value;

[0307] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0308] In some embodiments, the first threshold value is:

[0309] K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0310] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

[0311] In some embodiments, the predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is: a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure.

[0312] In some embodiments, when the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes:

[0313] The first or third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

[0314] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0315] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, it is determined that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

[0316] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0317] If the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the second count value is reset to the initial value.

[0318] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0319] When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

[0320] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0321] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 at the higher level.

[0322] or,

[0323] If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

[0324] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0325] If the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the third count value is reset to the initial value.

[0326] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0327] If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule;

[0328] The first rule includes the following:

[0329] The number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover;

[0330] If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0331] If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used.

[0332] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO;

[0333] Based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO, the first number of repeated transmissions is determined. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover is used.

[0334] In some embodiments, the first count value is the number of all random access attempts counted during a random access process;

[0335] The second count value is the number of random access attempts performed on a single RO type.

[0336] The third count value is the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0337] In some embodiments, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of repeated transmissions of message 1;

[0338] or,

[0339] When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO, the second threshold value is N times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the second threshold value is the sum of the first threshold value and the first value, where the first value is M times the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

[0340] Where N and M are positive integers.

[0341] In Figure 18, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 1810 and memory represented by memory 1820. The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1800 can be multiple components, including transmitters and transceivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. For different user equipment, the user interface 1830 can also be an interface capable of connecting external or internal devices, including but not limited to keypads, displays, speakers, microphones, joysticks, etc.

[0342] The processor 1810 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory 1820 can store the data used by the processor 1810 during operation.

[0343] In some embodiments, the processor 1810 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0344] The processor executes any of the methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure by invoking a computer program stored in memory, according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

[0345] It should be noted that the terminal provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the terminal, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0346] As shown in Figure 19, an embodiment of this disclosure also provides a network-side device, including: a memory 1920, a transceiver 1900, and a processor 1910; wherein, the memory 1920 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1900 is used to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor 1910; and the processor 1910 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0347] When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO.

[0348] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0349] The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold.

[0350] The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

[0351] In some embodiments, the first threshold is: K times the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO, where K is a positive integer;

[0352] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

[0353] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0354] Send the first message to the terminal;

[0355] The first information includes at least one of the following:

[0356] The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted;

[0357] The maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a terminal on a type of RO.

[0358] In Figure 19, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits together, represented by one or more processors (processor 1910) and memory (memory 1920). The bus architecture may also link various other circuits, such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1900 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and transceivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. The processor is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing. Processor 1910 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 1920 may store data used by processor 1910 during operation.

[0359] The processor 1910 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0360] It should be noted that the network-side device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment applied to the network-side device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0361] This disclosure also provides a processing apparatus, including a processor and an interface. The processor can be used to execute the methods described in the above-described method embodiments.

[0362] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be a chip. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), can include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), can be a system-on-a-chip (SoC), can be a central processor unit (CPU), can be a network processor (NP), can be a digital signal processor (DSP), can be a microcontroller unit (MCU), can be a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chip.

[0363] In implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software. The steps of the method disclosed in this embodiment can be executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor. The software modules can reside in readily available storage media in the art, such as random access registers, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. Since this storage medium is located in memory, the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method; to avoid repetition, these will not be described in detail here.

[0364] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of this disclosure can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this disclosure. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0365] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this disclosure can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes various forms such as: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0366] Based on the same concept, this disclosure also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0367] Based on the same concept, this disclosure also provides a chip including a processor coupled to a memory for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, such that when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method provided in the above embodiments is implemented.

[0368] Based on the same concept, this disclosure also provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a program for causing the processor to execute the steps of the above-described symbol type switching processing method, and achieving the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0369] The readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that the processor can access, including but not limited to magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magnetic optical disk (MO)), optical memory (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), high-definition versatile disc (HVD)), and semiconductor memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid state hard disk (SSD)).

[0370] As shown in Figure 20, this disclosure provides a chip system 2000. The chip system 2000 (or processing system) includes logic circuitry 2010 and an input / output interface 2020. The logic circuitry 2010 can be the processing circuitry within the chip system 2000. The logic circuitry 2010 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 2000 to implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of this disclosure. The input / output interface 2020 can be the input / output circuitry within the chip system 2000, outputting processed information or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 2000 for processing.

[0371] As one approach, the chip system 2000 is used to implement the operations in the various method embodiments described above. For example, the logic circuit 2010 is used to implement the relevant operations performed by the terminal in the method embodiments described above, such as the relevant operations performed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 14; the input / output interface 2020 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving related operations performed by the terminal in the method embodiments described above, such as the sending and / or receiving related operations performed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 14.

[0372] It should be noted that the technical solutions provided in this disclosure are applicable to a variety of systems. For example, applicable systems may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5G New Radio (NR) systems and their evolved communication systems, and the 6th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (6G) systems. These systems may include terminal equipment and network equipment. The systems may also include a core network component, such as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and the 5G Core (5GC).

[0373] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users, handheld devices with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The names of the terminal devices may differ in different systems; for example, in 5G or 6G systems, the terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE). Wireless terminal devices can be USB storage devices, other personal computer memory devices, and dongles. They can also communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). Wireless terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the radio access network. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablets, and Machine-type Communication (MTC) terminal devices. Wireless terminal devices can also be referred to as systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile devices, remote stations, access points, remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, user devices, and wireless access devices and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, but are not limited to these in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0374] The network device involved in this disclosure can be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application, the base station may also be called an access point, or a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device can be used to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in this disclosure can be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation system, or a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), relay node, femto, pico, network testing equipment, etc., and is not limited in this disclosure. In some network architectures, network devices may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, which may also be geographically separated.

[0375] Network devices and terminal devices can each use one or more antennas to perform Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be single-user MIMO or multi-user MIMO. Depending on the shape and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be two-dimensional MIMO (2D-MIMO), three-dimensional MIMO (3D-MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), or massive-scale MIMO (MMIMO), or it can be diversity transmission, pre-coded transmission, or beamforming transmission, etc.

[0376] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0377] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0378] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0379] These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0380] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents, this disclosure is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A symbol type switching processing method, the method comprising: When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO. When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO and when it repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value; The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first threshold value is: The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is: a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, If the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes: The first or third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, it is determined that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: If the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the second count value is reset to the initial value.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and on the second type of RO, respectively, includes: When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, Determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value includes: If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 at the higher level. or, If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: If the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the third count value is reset to the initial value.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and on the second type of RO, respectively, includes: If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule; The first rule includes one of the following: The number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover; If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used. If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold on the second type of RO. Based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO, the first number of repeated transmissions is determined. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover is used.

11. The method according to any one of claims 4 or 8 to 10, wherein, The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process; The second count is the number of random access attempts performed on a single RO type. The third count value is the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

12. The method according to any one of claims 4 or 7 to 10, wherein, The second threshold is the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted, or the second threshold is twice the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeated.

13. A symbol type switching processing method, the method comprising: When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The first threshold is: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a single type of RO; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: Send the first message to the terminal; The first information includes at least one of the following: The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a terminal on a type of RO.

16. A terminal, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; A transceiver, used to receive and send data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO. When the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of RO and when it repeatedly transmits message 1 on the second type of RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined respectively. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value; The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

17. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, The first threshold value is: The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

18. The terminal according to claim 17, wherein, The predefined rule includes: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is: a preset proportion of the maximum number of random access attempts in a random access procedure.

19. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, If the first condition includes the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO, which is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource, the first condition further includes: The first or third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1.

20. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, it is determined that the number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO has reached the first threshold value.

21. The terminal according to claim 20, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the second count value is reset to the initial value.

22. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: When message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type RO, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the first count value or the third count value and the second threshold value.

23. The terminal according to claim 22, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 at the higher level. or, If the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the current number of repeated transmissions, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 in the next random access attempt is determined to be: the current number of repeated transmissions of message 1.

24. The terminal according to claim 22, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the third count value is reset to the initial value.

25. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If either the first count value or the second count value is equal to the first threshold value plus 1, the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined according to the first rule; The first rule includes the following: The number of times message 1 was repeatedly transmitted before the RO switchover; If the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource supports a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the higher number of repeated transmissions shall be used; if the first count value or the third count value is not equal to the second threshold value plus 1, or if the first count value or the third count value is equal to the second threshold value plus 1, and the random access resource does not support a higher number of repeated transmissions than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used. If the random access resource supports a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the higher number of retransmissions shall be used; if the random access resource does not support a higher number of retransmissions than the number of retransmissions before the handover, then the number of retransmissions of message 1 before the handover shall be used. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted is determined based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO; Based on the RSRP threshold on the second type of RO, the first number of repeated transmissions is determined. If the first number of repeated transmissions is less than the number of repeated transmissions before the handover, then the number of repeated transmissions of message 1 before the handover is used.

26. The terminal according to any one of claims 19 or 23 to 25, wherein, The first count value is the total number of random access attempts counted during a random access process; The second count is the number of random access attempts performed on a single RO type. The third count value is the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted.

27. The terminal according to any one of claims 19 or 22 to 25, wherein, The second threshold is the maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted, or the second threshold is twice the number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeated.

28. A network-side device, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; A transceiver, used to receive and send data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: When the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, if the first condition is met, it switches to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

29. The device according to claim 28, wherein, The first threshold is: the maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a single type of RO; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed on a type of RO is determined according to predefined rules or configured by the network-side device.

30. The device according to claim 28, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send the first message to the terminal; The first information includes at least one of the following: The maximum number of random access attempts corresponding to the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted; The maximum number of random access attempts allowed for a terminal on a type of RO.

31. A symbol type switching processing device, comprising: The first processing unit is configured to, when the terminal repeatedly transmits message 1 on the first type of random access time RO, switch to repeatedly transmitting message 1 on the second type of RO if a first condition is met; The first determining unit is used to determine the number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO and when message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the second type of RO, respectively. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed by the terminal in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold value; The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

32. A symbol type switching processing device, comprising: The second processing unit is configured to, when the network-side device receives message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the first type of RO, switch to receiving message 1 repeatedly transmitted by the terminal on the second type of RO if the first condition is met. The first condition includes at least one of the following: The number of random access attempts performed in the first type of RO reaches the first threshold. The number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted on the first type of RO is the maximum number of times message 1 is repeatedly transmitted supported by the random access resource.

33. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein, The processor-readable storage medium stores a program for causing the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

34. A chip including a processor coupled to a memory for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method of any one of claims 1 to 15 is performed.

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