HK40001112B - Method and apparatus for random access in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Description

Method and apparatus for random access in a wireless communication system

Technical Field

Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for random access in wireless communication systems.

Background Art

This section introduces aspects that may be helpful in better understanding the present disclosure. Therefore, the statements in this section should be read in this light and should not be construed as admissions of what is or is not prior art.

In a wireless communication system, a terminal device must establish a connection with a network node before sending any data to the network node. The process by which a terminal device requests connection establishment is generally referred to as random access (RA). A terminal device may perform random access on a carrier on which it has determined to reside based on the results of a cell search. Random access may be performed using a contention-based scheme (which requires the terminal device to select resources for random access from a shared resource pool) or a contention-free scheme (which allows the terminal device to perform random access using allocated dedicated resources). A contention-based scheme requires a mechanism for the network node to resolve any contention caused by multiple terminals attempting to access the network using the same random access resources.

During the random access procedure, the terminal device may send a random access preamble (also known as a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble, preamble, RACH request, or Msg1) to the network device. The transmission of the random access preamble may use resources determined based on the PRACH configuration index. More details about these parameters and their values may be found, for example, in Section 5.7 "Physical random access channel" of 3GPP TS36.211v10.1.0. In response to receiving the random access preamble, the network device sends a random access response (RAR) message (which may also be referred to as Msg2) to the terminal device, which carries a timing advance (TA) command to adjust the UL transmission timing of the terminal device. The terminal device sends a message 3 (which may also be referred to as Msg3) to the network device using the resources allocated/scheduled by the network device via the RAR message. In response to the received Msg3, the network device may send a contention resolution message (which may also be referred to as Msg4) to the terminal device.

Summary of the Invention

Current designs for random access may not be suitable for some new wireless communication systems, such as fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR). To provide a more efficient random access process, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided in the present disclosure. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to NR system information transmission/reception in 5G systems, but can be more broadly applied to any wireless communication system with similar problems.

The various embodiments of the present disclosure are primarily intended to provide methods, devices, and computer program products for transmitting and receiving information. Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be understood when the following description of the various embodiments is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure by way of example.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a terminal device is provided. The method comprises: receiving a random access configuration from a network device, the random access configuration comprising information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; sending the random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number; wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of a Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access.

In some embodiments, the random access preamble may be selected from a group of candidate preambles based on the size of the Msg3.

In a further embodiment, the terminal device may receive another configuration of a set of thresholds regarding the size of the Msg3 and a mapping relationship configuration between the set of thresholds and PRACH transmission; and determine PRACH transmission based on the set of thresholds to indicate the size of the Msg3 to the network device.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a network device is provided. The method comprises: sending a random access configuration to a terminal device, the random access configuration comprising information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; receiving a random access preamble from the terminal device in a subframe within a radio frame, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number, wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access; and determining a size of the Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device during the random access based on at least one of the subframe number and the system frame number.

In some embodiments, the network device may further determine the size of the Msg3 based on the random access preamble.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device for random access in a wireless communication network is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor, whereby the device is operable to: receive a random access configuration from a network device, the random access configuration indicating a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; send the random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number; wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of a Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device for random access in a wireless communication network is provided. The network device includes a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor, whereby the device is operable to: send a random access configuration to a terminal device, the random access configuration indicating a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; receive a random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame from the terminal device, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number, wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access; and determine the size of the Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device during the random access based on at least one of the subframe number and the system frame number.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program product is contained, wherein the computer program product includes instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any method described in the first aspect of the present invention.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program product is contained, wherein the computer program product includes instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any method described in the second aspect of the present invention.

According to the various aspects and embodiments described above, the efficiency of the random access procedure can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals or letters are used to represent the same or equivalent elements. The accompanying drawings are shown to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

FIG1 illustrates an example wireless communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG2 shows a flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3 shows a flow chart of a method implemented at a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG4 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that may be embodied as/in a network device and an apparatus that may be embodied as/in a terminal device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, the principles and spirit of the present disclosure will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. It should be understood that all of these embodiments are provided solely to facilitate a better understanding and further implementation of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For example, features shown or described as part of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment to produce yet another embodiment. For the sake of clarity, not all features that are actually implemented are described in this specification.

References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment will necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with one embodiment, it is assumed that those skilled in the art will be able to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not those other embodiments are explicitly described.

It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

The terms used herein are intended only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprises," "includes," "has," "contains," "includes," and/or "covers" specify the presence of claimed features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term "wireless communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable wireless communication standard, such as NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), etc. In addition, communication between network devices in the wireless communication network can be performed according to the following items: any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or other suitable first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other suitable wireless communication standards; and/or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device in a wireless communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a gNB, a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low-power node such as a femto, a pico, etc., depending on the terminology and technology used.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). A terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless terminal device, a mobile station, a notebook embedded device (LEE), a notebook mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

The terminal device may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing the 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communication device.

As another example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and sends the results of these monitoring and/or measurements to another terminal device and/or network device. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which is referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the terminal device may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as electricity meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances, such as refrigerators, televisions, personal wearable devices such as watches, etc. In other scenarios, the terminal device may represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

As used herein, DL transmission refers to transmission from a network device to a terminal device, and UL transmission refers to transmission in the opposite direction.

FIG1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG1 , the wireless communication network 100 may include one or more network devices, such as network devices 101 and 111, which may take the form of an eNB or gNB, providing a cell 130 and a cell 140, respectively. It should be understood that the network devices 101 or 111 may also take the form of a Node B, a base transceiver station (BTS) and/or a base station subsystem (BSS), an AP, etc. The network device 101 may provide wireless connectivity to a group of terminal devices (e.g., UEs 102 and 103) within the cell 130, while the network device 111 may provide wireless connectivity to another group of terminal devices (e.g., UE 104 in another cell 140 shown in FIG1 ). The network devices 101 and 111 may take different forms.

In wireless communication systems, a terminal device must establish a connection with a network node before sending any data to the network node. The process by which a terminal device requests connection establishment is commonly referred to as random access. During random access, the terminal device transmits a random access preamble (also known as a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble, a preamble, a random access channel (RACH) request, or Msg1) to the network device. The transmission of the random access preamble can use resources determined based on the random access configuration.

Regardless of how the PRACH design is employed in, for example, a 3GPP radio access network 1 (RAN1) for a wireless system (e.g., NR), there may be a corresponding random access configuration (e.g., NR-prach-ConfigIndex, or PRACH-Configuration-Index) that is broadcast to indicate the possible time and frequency configurations. In some cases, there may be PRACH radio resources configured in multiple subframes within a radio frame. Table 5.7.1-2 of 3GPP TS 36.211-v10.1.0, which shows an example of a random access configuration for frame structure type 1, is reproduced below as Table 1. More details on the parameters shown in Table 1 and their values can be found, for example, in Section 5.7, "Physical Random Access Channel," of 3GPP TS 36.211 v10.1.0.

Table 1

In response to receiving the random access preamble from the terminal device, the network device sends a random access response (RAR) message (which may also be referred to as Msg2) to the terminal device, which carries a timing advance (TA) command to adjust the UL transmission timing of the terminal device. The terminal device sends a message 3 (which may also be referred to as Msg3) to the network device using the resources allocated/scheduled by the network device via the RAR message. In response to the received Msg3, the network device may send a contention resolution message (which may also be referred to as Msg4) to the terminal device.

In LTE, the size of Msg3 can be indicated via PRACH transmission. In the current LTE specification, random access preambles are divided into two groups, namely, the first random access preamble group and the second random access preamble group. If the size of Msg3 is less than or equal to a preconfigured threshold, the UE selects a random access preamble from the first random access preamble group, otherwise, the UE selects a random access preamble from the second random access preamble group. The eNB can determine the size of Msg3 based on the detected PRACH preamble index and allocate an UL grant to the UE so that there is a certain probability that the UE sends all data. That is, the selection of the random access preamble group provides a bit to indicate the size of Msg3.

However, the inventors of this application have observed that this coarse-grained indication of the size of Message 3 in LTE may not be sufficient for NR. In NR systems, terminal devices can send small packets, so it may be desirable to transmit such small packets during random access (e.g., using Msg3). In order to indicate the size of the small packets carried in Msg3, finer granularity may be required.

To address at least some of the aforementioned issues, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided herein. Certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions that facilitate efficient random access procedures. Specifically, compared to conventional RACH procedures, more information about the size of Msg3 can be provided to network devices during the RACH procedure.

For example, in some embodiments, some parameters in the traditional PRACH configuration can be reused to indicate the size of Msg3. That is, for the dense PRACH transmission opportunities shown in Table 1 above, the PRACH transmission time position (subframe number) can also be used to indicate the size of Msg3.

In some embodiments, the subframe number or system frame number (SFN) used for PRACH transmission can be used to indicate the size of Msg3. As a further enhancement, any combination of the subframe number, SFN and random access preamble of PRACH transmission can be used to indicate the size of Msg3.

For purposes of illustration and not limitation, some examples are provided below for indicating the size of Msg3 during a RACH procedure. Although in some examples, the size of Msg3 is indicated via the subframe number or SFN of the PRACH transmission, or any combination of the subframe number, SFN, and random access preamble of the PRACH transmission, in some other embodiments, additional parameters may be used for such indication.

Example 1: Using the PRACH transmission subframe number to indicate the size of Msg3

In this example, the subframe number is used to indicate the size of Msg3 when transmitting PRACH. The subframe number is divided into z groups, and z-1 thresholds for the size of Msg3 are configured to enable the UE to determine the subframe number of the PRACH transmission. It should be noted that in some embodiments, z can be an integer greater than 2.

For example, according to Table 1 above, when the PRACH configuration index is set to 6, there are two transmission opportunities in radio frame subframes 1 and 6, and the transmission opportunities are divided into two groups (referred to as PRACH transmission groups) according to the subframe number of the PRACH transmission: PRACH transmission at subframe 1 is included in group 0, and PRACH transmission at subframe 6 is included in group 1. If the size of Msg3 is less than or equal to the configured threshold Y bits, the UE can be configured by the base station to send PRACH in subframe 1, and if the size of Msg3 is greater than the configured threshold Y bits, send PRACH in subframe 6.

Example 2: Using the SFN transmitted on the PRACH to indicate the size of Msg3

For this example, the SFN is used to indicate the size of Msg3 when transmitting PRACH. PRACH transmissions are divided into z groups (referred to as PRACH transmission groups) based on the SFN, and the group index of the radio frame can be determined by the SFN modulus z, that is, group index = mod(SFN, z). z-1 thresholds for the size of Msg3 are configured to enable the UE to determine the SFN of the PRACH transmission. The UE determines the PRACH transmission group based on a comparison between the size of Msg3 and the z-1 thresholds for the size of Msg3. It should be noted that in some embodiments, z can be an integer greater than 2.

For example, according to Table 1 above, when the PRACH configuration index is configured as 3, the UE is allowed to transmit PRACH in subframe 1 within any radio frame. PRACH transmissions can be configured to be divided into two groups, for example, Group 0 for PRACH transmissions in radio frames with odd-numbered SFNs, and Group 1 for PRACH transmissions in radio frames with even-numbered SFNs. A threshold of K bits for the size of Msg3 can be configured for the UE. If the size of Msg3 is less than or equal to K bits, the UE can transmit PRACH in radio frames with SFNs from Group 0; otherwise, the UE can transmit PRACH in radio frames with SFNs from Group 1.

Example 3: Any combination of the subframe number, SFN, and random access preamble of the PRACH transmission is used to indicate the size of Msg3.

According to this example, PRACH transmission occurrences are grouped using any two or all of the subframe number, SFN, and random access preamble of the PRACH transmission. PRACH transmission occurrences belonging to different groups (referred to as PRACH transmission groups) indicate different sizes of Msg3. A corresponding threshold for the size of Msg3 can be configured, and the UE can determine the PRACH transmission based on a comparison between the size of Msg3 and the threshold for the size of Msg3.

For example, according to Table 1 above, when the PRACH configuration index is set to 6, PRACH can be transmitted in subframe 1 or 6 within any radio frame. PRACH transmissions can be divided into four groups, for example, PRACH transmission group a0, for PRACH transmission in subframe 1 of radio frames with odd SFNs; PRACH transmission group a1, for PRACH transmission in subframe 6 of radio frames with odd SFNs; PRACH transmission group a2, for PRACH transmission in subframe 1 of radio frames with even SFNs, and PRACH transmission group a3, for PRACH transmission in subframe 6 of radio frames with even SFNs. Accordingly, there are three Msg3 threshold sizes: O0, O1, and O2 (O0<O1<O2). If the size of Msg3 is less than or equal to O0, greater than O0 but less than or equal to O1, greater than O1 but less than or equal to O2, or greater than O2, the UE transmits PRACH using resources belonging to groups a0, a1, a2, and a3, respectively.

Similarly, other grouping schemes (multiple) for the size of Msg3 can also be defined. For example, PRACH transmission occurrences can be grouped based on the subframe number of the PRACH transmission in combination with random access preamble grouping. When the random access preamble is divided into two groups (e.g., preamble groups A and B) and the PRACH configuration index 6 is set, the PRACH transmission opportunities can be divided into 4 groups: group b0, for PRACH transmission using random access preambles from preamble group A in subframe 1; group b1, for PRACH transmission using random access preambles from preamble group A in subframe 6; PRACH transmission group b2, for PRACH transmission using random access preambles from preamble group B in subframe 1; PRACH transmission group b1b3, for PRACH transmission using random access preambles from preamble group B in subframe 6. Accordingly, there can be 3 Msg3 threshold sizes, P0, P1, P2 (P0<P1<P2). If the size of Msg3 is less than or equal to P0, greater than P0 but less than or equal to P1, greater than P1 but less than or equal to P2, or greater than P2, PRACH is transmitted by the UE using resources belonging to groups b0, b1, b2, and b3, respectively.

For any of the above examples, the UE should first determine which PRACH transmission group to use for PRACH transmission by comparing the size of Msg3 with a preconfigured threshold to select a PRACH transmission group, and then the UE determines the PRACH transmission parameter(s) within the determined PRACH transmission group (identified by, for example, but not limited to, SFN, subframe number, and random access preamble) and transmits PRACH using the determined PRACH transmission parameter(s).

For any of the above examples, the base station first detects the PRACH preamble code, secondly determines the group index of the PRACH transmission according to the preconfigured PRACH transmission group, and thirdly determines the size of the Msg3 range according to the mapping between the PRACH transmission group and the size of Msg3; determines the UL grant according to the determined size of the Msg3 range, and sends the UL grant to the UE for UL small data transmission from the UE.

The system can configure the PRACH transmission grouping scheme and parameters via system information (SI) or dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling. As an example, other SI can be used to configure the parameters for the PRACH transmission grouping and the corresponding threshold for the Msg3 size. As another example, when the UE is configured to be in the RRC Inactive state, the parameters for the PRACH transmission grouping and the corresponding threshold for the Msg3 size can be sent to the UE via dedicated RRC signaling.

Reference is now made to FIG2 , which illustrates a flow chart of a method 200 in a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal device may, for example, be any of the terminal devices 102-104 shown in FIG1 . For ease of discussion, the method 200 will be described below with reference to the terminal device 102 and the environment described with reference to FIG1 . However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and may be more broadly applied to other scenarios presenting similar problems.

As shown in Figure 2, at block 210, the terminal device 102 receives a random access configuration from the network device 101, the random access configuration including information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers (SFNs) for sending a random access preamble. Each SFN is associated with a radio frame. At block 220, the terminal device 102 sends the random access preamble in a subframe within the radio frame. A subframe is associated with a subframe number, and a radio frame is associated with a system frame number. In addition, based on the size of Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during random access, a subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or a system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers.

The subframe number and/or system frame number used by the terminal device to transmit the random access preamble can be used by the network device to estimate the size of the subsequent Msg3 to be transmitted by the terminal device. Therefore, the method 200 enables the network device 101 to grant appropriate resources to the terminal device 102 using the RAR message in response to the RACH preamble. The transmission and reception of the subsequent RAR, Msg3, and Msg4 can be implemented according to the conventional RACH procedure specified in LTE, for example, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive another configuration of a set of thresholds regarding the size of Msg3 and a mapping configuration between the set of thresholds and PRACH transmission; and determine PRACH transmission based on the set of thresholds to indicate the size of Msg3 to the network device.

Reference is now made to FIG3 , which illustrates a flow chart of a method 300 in a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal device may be, for example, any of the network devices 101 and 111 shown in FIG1 . For ease of discussion, method 300 will be described below with reference to the network device 101 and the environment described with reference to FIG1 . However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and may be more broadly applied to other scenarios presenting similar problems.

As shown in Figure 3, at block 310, network device 101 sends a random access configuration to a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 102). The random access configuration includes information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble. At block 320, network device 101 receives a random access preamble from the terminal device in a subframe within a radio frame, where a subframe is associated with a subframe number and a radio frame is associated with a system frame number. In addition, the terminal device selects a subframe number from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or a system frame number from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on the size of Msg3 to be sent by terminal device 102 to network device 101 during the random access. At block 330, network device 101 determines the size of Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device during the random access based on at least one of the subframe number and the system frame number. This determination enables network device 101 to grant appropriate resources to the terminal device for sending Msg3.

Figure 4 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 410 that can be implemented in/as a network device (e.g., the network device 101 or 111 shown in Figure 1) and an apparatus 420 that can be implemented in/as a terminal device (e.g., any one of the terminal devices 102-104 shown in Figure 1).

The apparatus 410 may include one or more processors 411 (e.g., data processors (DP)) and one or more memories (MEM) 812 coupled to the processors 411. The apparatus 410 may also include a transmitter TX and a receiver RX 413 coupled to the processors 411. The MEM 412 may be a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, and it may store a program or computer program product (PROG) 414. The PROG 414 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processors 411, enable the apparatus 410 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, such as performing the method 300. The combination of the one or more processors 411 and the one or more MEMs 412 may form a processing device 415 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The device 420 includes one or more processors 421 (e.g., DP) and one or more MEMs 422 coupled to the processors 421. The device 420 may also include a suitable TX/RX 423 coupled to the processors 421. The MEM 422 may be a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, and it may store a PROG 424. The PROG 424 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 421, enable the device 420 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, such as performing the method 200. The combination of the one or more processors 421 and the one or more MEMs 422 may form a processing device 825 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a computer program or computer program product, software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof, executable by one or more processors 411 and 421 .

MEMs 412 and 422 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, semiconductor-based storage terminals, magnetic storage terminals and systems, optical storage terminals and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory.

Processors 411 and 421 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

Although some of the above descriptions are made in the context of the wireless communication system shown in Figure 1 , they should not be interpreted as limiting the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The principles and concepts of the present disclosure can be more generally applied to other scenarios.

In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory containing the above-mentioned computer program or computer program product, wherein the medium includes a machine-readable medium and a machine-readable transmission medium. A machine-readable medium may also be referred to as a computer-readable medium and may include a machine-readable storage medium, such as a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, an optical disk, a phase-change memory, or an electronic storage terminal device such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory device, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, etc. A machine-readable transmission medium may also be referred to as a carrier and may include, for example, an electrical, optical, wireless, acoustic, or other form of propagation signal, such as a carrier wave, an infrared signal, etc.

The techniques described herein can be implemented by various means such that the means for implementing one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described by an embodiment include not only prior art means, but also means for implementing one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described by the embodiment, and may include separate means for each separate function, or may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, implementation can be performed by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein.

The example embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the block diagrams and flowcharts of the methods and apparatus. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts, can be implemented by various means including hardware, software, firmware, and combinations thereof. For example, in one embodiment, each block of the block diagrams and flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts, can be implemented by a computer program or computer program product comprising computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded into a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device create a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart.

In addition, although operations are shown in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that these operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or requiring that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment of this specification may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination. In addition, although these features may be described above as working in a particular combination, even initially claimed to be protected as such, in some cases, one or more features from the combination may be removed from the claimed combination, and the claimed combination may relate to a sub-combination or a variation of the sub-combination.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the concepts of the present invention may be implemented in various ways. The above embodiments are provided to illustrate, not to limit, the present disclosure, and it should be understood that modifications and variations may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as readily understood by those skilled in the art. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A method (200) for random access in a wireless communication network (100) in a terminal device (102, 103, 104), the method comprising: receiving (210) a random access configuration from a network device (101, 111), the random access configuration comprising information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for transmitting a random access preamble; transmitting (220) the random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number; In which, based on the size of message 3, i.e., Msg3, to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access, the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers, and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers. 2. The method (200) of claim 1, wherein the random access preamble is selected from a set of candidate preambles based on the size of the Msg3. 3. The method (200) of claim 1, further comprising: receiving another configuration of a set of thresholds regarding the size of the Msg3 and a mapping configuration between the set of thresholds and PRACH transmissions; and A PRACH transmission is determined based on the set of thresholds to indicate the size of the Msg3 to the network device. 4. A method (300) for random access in a wireless communication network (100) in a network device (101, 111), the method comprising: sending (310) a random access configuration to a terminal device (102, 103, 104), the random access configuration comprising information for determining a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; receiving (320) a random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame from the terminal device (102, 103, 104), the subframe being associated with a subframe number, the radio frame being associated with a system frame number, wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of a message 3, Msg3, to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access; and Based on at least one of the subframe number and the system frame number, a size of the Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device (102, 103, 104) during the random access is determined (330). 5. The method (300) according to claim 4, wherein determining the size of the Msg3 comprises: The size of the Msg3 is further determined based on the random access preamble code. 6. An apparatus (420) for random access in a wireless communication network (100) in a terminal device (102, 103, 104), the apparatus (420) comprising a processor (421) and a memory (422), the memory (422) containing instructions executable by the processor (421), whereby the apparatus (420) is operable to: Receiving a random access configuration from a network device (101, 111), the random access configuration indicating a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; Sending the random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, and the radio frame being associated with a system frame number; In which, based on the size of message 3, i.e., Msg3, to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access, the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers, and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers. 7. An apparatus (410) for random access in a wireless communication network (100) in a network device (101, 111), the apparatus (410) comprising a processor (411) and a memory (412), the memory (412) containing instructions executable by the processor (411), whereby the apparatus (410) is operable to: Sending a random access configuration to a terminal device (102, 103, 104, 420), the random access configuration indicating a set of candidate subframe numbers and a set of candidate system frame numbers for sending a random access preamble; receiving a random access preamble in a subframe within a radio frame from the terminal device, the subframe being associated with a subframe number, the radio frame being associated with a system frame number, wherein the subframe number is selected from the set of candidate subframe numbers and/or the system frame number is selected from the set of candidate system frame numbers based on a size of a message 3, Msg3, to be sent by the terminal device to the network device during the random access; and Based on at least one of the subframe number and the system frame number, a size of the Msg3 to be sent by the terminal device during the random access is determined. 8. A computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program (424), said computer program (424) comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (421), cause said at least one processor (421) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 9. A computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program (414), said computer program (414) comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (411), cause said at least one processor (411) to perform the method according to any one of claims 4 to 5.